So much for all the talk about how the Yankees would suffer with CC Sabathia pitching on only three days rest. Turns out that this Joe Girardi move paid off – big time – for the Yankees, with CC being an AA – Absolute Ace – last night.
And A-Rod continued his postseason superstardom yesterday, hitting a homer, a single, and a double, stealing a base, and hustling the whole game like a kid. He’s nicer than I would be, though. If that were me, I’d be all, “Take that, you &*^)!” the way Ted Williams once gestured towards the press box during a big game.
Not to jinx things, though, but I think A-Rod is the MVP of the series so far, even though CC is making a big case for it as well. Here’s why – for the past five years, the media and the fans have insisted that the reason the Yankees didn’t win it all was because of A-Rod’s lack of clutchitude. Never mind that bad pitching and Joe Torre’s mismanagement were also a huge part of why the Yankees lost.
So, since the media insisted on making A-Rod A-Goat for all the October failures, it is only fair that he should get the MVP for this series, when he has had one of the greatest postseasons ever. Nothing against CC, but it’s like when the media went after Peyton Manning for years for not winning the big game. He deserved the Super Bowl MVP of that year – even though he wasn’t the player with the best numbers – because the story was all about him. But unlike Manning, who had a good, but not epic, Super Bowl, A-Rod has extraordinary numbers here to back it up.
I know CC’s having an extraordinary postseason as well, and that he had his own postseason rep to beat, but it’s not even in the same ballpark as what A-Rod’s had to deal with. But I don’t expect A-Rod to win MVP if the Yankees win the series. The chances that the media will ever admit in such a way that they were wrong in their perception that he would never come through in October are pretty small.
In other news, how about those crazy umpire calls? Even Yankee fans have to admit that Robinson Cano was out at third, no matter what was in Tim McClelland’s heart. What a terrible call. Then there was Nick Swisher being called safe when he was out, and out when he was safe.
And how about Jorge Posada forgetting how many outs there were? Good grief.
While yesterday’s game ended up being a blowout, there were still some tense moments. When the Angels were threatening in the fifth, I was getting a little worried. Fortunately, though, CC got through it, and the Yankees are now 27 outs away from their first World Series in six years.
In the “now it can be told” department, I was a little worried that the Yankees might roll over after Monday’s horrible loss. Too many times in the Yankees’ postseasons in recent years, the team had a glass jaw, and never recovered after just one punch. We’ve seen that all too often. So even the first one the Yanks’ scored last night seemed huge. And John Sterling was so excited over Melky Cabrera’s two-run single that he broke out “the Melkman delivers” and “the Melky way”!
Everybody else seemed to join the Yankee hit parade, except for Swisher. So, instead of being tied 2-2, the Yanks are up 3-1. Good times!
What did you think about the game? Tell us about it!
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