October 05, 2006
game 2 - tigers.
Well. That was disappointing. It seems the Tigers have figured out something regarding Our Boy Robbie, as he is now 0 for 8 with 11 men left on base in two games. Yes - you read that number 11 correctly - it's not Rodriguez that's choking the life out of every single Yankee rally, it's Robbie "Carew" Cano. The Detroit pitching staff seems to have figured out that Cano is one of the few Yankees that hates to watch a pitch pass him and hit the catcher's mitt. Apparently, this need to swing has become even more pronounced in the playoffs, as it looks like Robbie is determined to do anything but strike out - Todd Jones put two balls about two inches from Cano's back knee, well off the plate, and the kid hacked at them when he should have taken the pitches to even the count. The loss isn't the fault of Robinson Cano, but he didn't do anything to help his club from the batter's box today - especially when they needed one of his patented right field slap-hits the most.
The Third Baseman is certainly doing his part to kill the team, though, considering that a single hit today at any point probably would have led to another Yankee run - since he has yet to produce anything worthwhile in any playoff game since Game 3 of the 2004 ALCS he still finds himself entrenched in this afternoon's Who's The Goat? discussion. I refuse to ignore his failures until he comes up with a big hit or two and provides us with something positive to remember during a bases loaded strikeout. Torre moved the guy down to 6th and put UpperDeki behind him for protection, and he still looks scared at the plate. Rodriguez is too scared to fail to allow himself to succeed - if the Yankees were a comic book, Alex Rodriguez would be known as Bizarro Captain. When Jeter fails, we forgive him and we expunge the record from our memories. Why? Because he's Derek freakin' Jeter. The man is the epitome of the Yankees, and he's everything we want his teammates to be. He plays hard. He wins games. He never farts. Everyone knows what The Captain's all about: winning, and winning only. Joe Torre said it best two days ago, when asked about Jeter's 5 for 5: "He has no fear of failing." It's that lack of fear that allows Jeter to be at his best when the moment is most intense. Alex, on the other hand, is consumed by that fear of failing - especially when it's important. There's your Jeter-ARod difference-maker.
Alright. Now that he's 1 for 8 with 4 Ks and 6 LOB, it's time for The Rod to do something worthwhile tomorrow. The Yanks are suddenly in a bad spot, having given the Tigers a chance to avoid a return trip to Yankee Stadium this postseason, and you know Detroit is more than happy to face Randy Johnson and Jaret Wright in their potential homestand clincher. The middle of the order looked ridiculous today, with the other 6 Yankees trying to make up for it by getting on base before and after the 4-5-6 hitters, who combined to go 0 for 11 with 7 strikeouts and 6 LOB (Damon, Jeter & Abreu: 4 for 12, 3 RsBI, BB. Matsui & Posada: 4 for 6, 2R, 2BB). With Big Rand guaranteed to give up 4 or 5 (at least) tomorrow night, the heart of the lineup has got to come through with a few big hits.
Fortunately, the Yankee veterans tend to do pretty well against old man Kenny Rogers (3-2, 3.10 since Sept 1st). Their numbers, for your review:
Sheffield: 3 for 17 (.176), 2HR... the lone exception.
Giambi: 10 for 23 (.435), 4 HR
Rodriguez: 10 for 19 (.526), 5 HR
Matsui: 2 for 3, 1 HR
Posada: 8 for 16 (.500), 2 HR
Considering Sheff's performance versus Rogers, I wonder if we'll see the All-Time Postseason RsBI leader in the lineup instead...
Williams: 12 for 34 (.353), 2 HR
Really, if Giambi and Rodriguez don't produce a few RsBI, I'd guess we're looking at an elmination game Saturday - not a chance to clinch. My prediction: Yankees Win, 8-6. Series 2-1, NY.
