ALCS Game 1 Roundup
By Frank Russo ~ October 17th, 2009. Filed under: 2009 Playoffs, Frank Russo Rants and Raves.
Final Score Yankees 4, Anaheim 1
4 wins down, 7 more to go for “Girardi’s Minions.”
It was a great night for the Yankees last night at the “New House,” as they opened up the ALCS with a 4-1 win over their arch nemesis. CC Sabathia was just superb, allowing just 4 hits in 8 innings of work while allowing just two runners to reach 2nd base. From the very first batter, Sabathia “busted” hitters inside with his fastball, which in turn set up his breaking ball and changeup. He was particularly effective against Figgins and Abreau, who went a combined 0-8. His only blemish was an RBI single by Morales in the 4th inning. In a reversal of fortune, Yankee bats managed to capitalize on three Anaheim errors. The most costly one happened in the bottom of the 1st when Figgins and Aybar let an infield popup by Matsui fall between them. The blunder allowed Johnny Damon to score from 2nd base, giving the Yankees a 2-0 lead. After walking Morales to lead off the 9th inning, Mariano shut the door to record his 36th post season save.
It seems like it just wouldn’t be a Yankees game without some kind of controversy. With one out and no one on in the top of the 6th inning, Hunter laid down a bunt to the 3rd base side of the mound. Sabathia fielded the ball and threw an off balance throw to a stretched out Teixeira. When first base umpire Laz Diaz signaled him out, Hunter went ballistic, arguing that Teixeira’s foot had come off the bag. Interestingly, the last replay that Fox showed right before the commercial break showed that the ball was in Teixeira’s glove before Hunter’s foot came down and Teixeira’s foot came off the bag.
Of the 5 runners that Sabathia allowed on base, none of them led off an inning.
A-Rod’s sacrifice fly in the 1st inning gave him 7 total RBI for the post season. He now has at least one RBI in all four postseason games and is now batting 462 in 13 at-bats,
Speaking of A-Rod, you could hear a lot of Yankees fans hold their breath during his 5th inning collision at home plate.
In my ALCS preview, I mentioned that Damon, Swisher, Cano and Cabrera all needed to step up hitting wise. Damon went 2-5 with a double and 2 runs scored, Cabrera 1-2 with 2 walks and 1 run scored, Swisher 1-4 and Cano 0-3 with a HBP.
The Yankees 11 LOB, Anaheim 5 LOB.
Yankees were 3-12 with RISP, Anaheim 1-3
Game 2 will be another important start for AJ Burnett. As we stated in our previous column, it is very important for the Yankees to win their home games and not allow Anaheim to steal away home field advantage. Going up 2-0 in a 7 game series against Anaheim would put the Yankees in great shape.
Home plate umpire Tim McClellan, one of the best umpires in MLB, was very consistent last night.
Funniest moment of the game was when Fox showed Girardi conversing with Tim McClellan, informing him that Mariano Rivera was coming into the game. McClellan then playfully asked Girardi if Rivera was a new “rookie pitcher.”
Just when you thought it was safe to enjoy the game last night, Joe Buck and Tim McCarver spoiled it all with their incessant banter.
It would be really nice to see Fox utilize some sort of “pitch track” system like the one TBS uses.
Great interview by Mike Francesa with Yankees GM Brian Cashman yesterday afternoon. “Cash” admitted to Francesa that he had told Bob Klapisch that he felt that Anaheim “looked down their noses at the Yankees.” Cashman also mentioned that it was unfair to judge Johnny Damon’s performance so far this post season solely based on a “small sample size.”
Note: Mike Silva has graciously agreed to write a Game 2 roundup, (if a game is played on Saturday night), as I will be unable to cover the game due to family considerations.
