-First couple of innings, it's the Melky show. Cabrera makes me look dumb for questioning his place as a starter by gunning down Johnny Pheralta at home to keep the game scoreless in the first. In the top of the third, he gets some good wood on an off-speed pitch and pokes it inside the right-field foul pole. 1-0 Yankees.

-Non-baseball, TBS-related rant:
WHAT IS FRANK TV ABOUT? I mean, I've seen Frank's stand up special on Comedy Central and I thought it was pretty good...but does he just do impersonations? Because if that's it - he just went through a ton of material in all these different commercials (I've counted six so far).

More TBS notes: Frank Thomas comes off as a pretty good guy; knowledgeable but he definitely needs some work to become a better speaker. More often than not, the video clip is over before he starts his observation. Still, I'm not gonna be the guy to tell him to work on that - look at the size guy's dome! He would hurt me.

As for the rest of the panel, I actually find myself really enjoying Cal Ripken. He is well-spoken, provides good observations and is candid. I personally can't ask for much more than that.

-Man, Grady Sizemore can fly. He went first to third as quick as anyone I've seen not named Ichiro!

-Win or lose - even if Pettitte doesn't get another out in the game, he has done an unbelieveable job this start. 5 times this game, the Indians have gotten the leadoff man on and 5 times, Andy's left the inning unscathed. Unbelievable job - this is why he was brought back.

-Top of the 7th, Abreu gets on because of a fielding error. With the heart of the order up, you gotta find a way to get that run home. I know it's easier said than done...but still. Also, if Matsui comes up with RISP, PINCH HIT. For the sake of my sanity, please pinch hit for Godzilla.

-A-Rod is not helping his cause right now...and I'm not trying to make excuses, but you gotta tip your hat to the pitcher on this as well. Also, Matsui stays in...come on Hideki, make Joe look good for keeping you in there and me look bad for doubting you. Hideki grounds out...and Jorge gets good wood on the ball but a great jump and the speed of Sizemore makes it the third out.

-Pettitte is at 88 pitches through 6 and one-third with a man on second and the Yankee killer Kenny Lofton up at the plate. First things first, start warming up Joba and Viz.

-92 pitches, first and second with one out. Here comes Joe and in comes Joba. If this was the Stadium, Pettitte would be getting a standing O. For now, he has to live with me clapping for him from Philly...I hope he can hear me. Heck of a performance.

-Joba to Franklin Guitterez: You can't see me. What stuff this kid has...
-Joba to Casey Blake: 99 mph to start...fly ball to right. Yankees out of the inning. 5 pitches, all strikes, 2 outs. See Farnsworth? THAT'S HOW IT'S DONE!

-Heh. Frank Caliendo/Al Pacino makes a good point. Dane Cook - does anyone think that there's two Octobers? Also, of all the guys I would think off...when I think baseball...I don't think Dane Cook. My choice would have been Alyssa Milano...what? She knows her baseball! She's a Dodger's fan but hey, no one's perfect.

-Carmona has been spectacular. Wow. Great stuff and not yet 24. He, C.C. and Sizemore give the Indians a heck of a core to build around.

-Mosquitoes being used as a segue to a joke about the Nats (Nationals) being gnats during the last week...TBS - we know comedy.

-The Yankees go down easy in the top of the 8th. I think that the flies gave Carmona more trouble than the Yankees did in that inning.

-Leading by one and need 6 more outs for the win? That's when you call the firm of Joba and Mariano. 1-800-4THESAV.

-Did I just see Queen Latifah at the Cleveland pre-game? Is she from Cleveland? I thought she was Jersey.

-Really dude? Perspiration is moisture? REALLY? Thank you Mr. Wizard. By the by, great product placement by Off!

-The Indians have stranded 6 leadoff hitters so far this game. Let's hope it gets to 7. Joba doesn't help himself as the wild pitch moves Sizemore to second. The bunt moves him to third. Man on third, one out for Travis Hafner. Irresistible force - meet immovable object. Line drive - WHAT A PLAY BY DOUGGIE FRESH - great reaction.

-That sucked. Wild pitch - here comes Sizemore. Gotta check the replay to see if he was safe...and it looks like he was. Lousy insects. Whenever they start showing closeups, I throw up a little in my mouth. Those suckers are all over Joba and he is pretty much nowhere near the plate. Come on Joba - one more out so the Yankees can take the lead back in the top of the ninth.

-Top of the ninth. Top of the order up...this is where that vaunted Yankee lineup should earn its paycheck. So far, they've put up a horrible 2 hits and 2 walks in 27 plate appearances. Not. Good. Enough. Let's hope the flies mess up Carmona as much as they did Joba.

-I'm not one to comment on someone's fashion choices but I'll say this; that is a very interesting suit/tie combo from Craig Sager.

-Good hustle by Bobby Abreu and not exactly a crisp play from Johnny Pheralta puts Abreu on first and brings A-Rod to the plate. Of course. Who else would be be up in this situation? Naturally, A-Rod works the count to a more dramatic 1-2 so it will be more dramatic when he comes through, right? Well, we'll see. Heck of an at-bat so far from A-Rod. Carmona is dealing some nasty pitches but A-Rod is fighting them off. Well - not that last pitch. A-Rod down on strikes on the ninth pitch of the at-bat on 95 mph heat from Carmona. Great performance by the kid and a start they will be talking about in Cleveland for a long time.

-Bottom of the ninth. Mo in to keep the score tied and he has to start off against Willie Mays Hayes...oh wait, that's Kenny Lofton. Never mind. In any case, Mo mows him down...as well as the rest of the side in 8 pitches.

-Top of the tenth. Matsui is not exactly inspring confidence up there. Jorge with a very good at-bat but lines out to right. Robbie Cano with what seems to be a trend for him tonight - swinging on the first pitch.

-They just posted Carmona's GB-FB ratio: 18-4. Wang (when he's right) like.

-Tony Gwynn with a bad comment. "Both teams showing how they got here - pitching" Really Tony? Couldn't have anything to do with the 950 runs or so that the Yanks scored this season, right?

-Bottom of the tenth - great at-bat by Sizemore. A thirteen pitch at bat that culminates in a dropped third strike from Posada (who is having a pretty bad series all around) who throws the ball over Doug M. at first (Robbie backing up makes the save). A bunt moves Sizemore to second and here comes Hafner with a man on (again). Is it too much to ask for to get Hafner (and then Garko, I would intentionally walk Martinez) to remain hitless with RISP for the game? Well, Mo gets Hafner to ground out and IBBs Victor so here we go. Mo vs. Garko - winning run on third. On the third pitch, Mo hits Garko...say what you will but Garko did not move. He wanted to get hit in that situation and he had an elbow guard on so he took it. Here's Pheralta with the bases loaded...Mo at 37 pitches and 1-2 on Pheralta. He STRUCK HIM OUT. Thank you Mo!

-Can we PLEASE get some offense!?! No such luck from Melky as he puts up a soft fly to right field. Shelley in for Mientkiewicz to try to show a little Chad Curtis type magic. Again, no such luck - good AB though after getting to an 0-2 count. Rafael Perez ends up striking out Johnny Damon on four pitches to close out the inning. Yankees are now 3 for 35 - that's .086 for those keeping track at home.

-Bottom of the 11th and the Indians make it to the soft part of the Yankee pen. Here comes Vizcaino and I am honestly scared to death of what he's gonna be throwing. I hope the rest helped him out...because his 10.13 ERA in September was not exactly awe-inspiring. He doesn't start off well as he walks Lofton on 4 straight pitches. Vizcaino is slow to the plate so Lofton stealing is a very real possibility. He doesn't have to steal as after going 0-2 on Guiterrez, Vizcaino gives up a single to the left side. First and second, no out and Casey Blake lays down a beautiful bunt so second and third one out. IBB for Sizemore and here comes Asdrubal Cabrera with the bases loaded. Also, Damon gets taken out (on account of his weak arm) for Bronson Sardinha...and the infield (and outfield) comes in to try to prevent the winning run from scoring.

-How many times can you give the Indians chances before they come through? 1-2 on Cabrera at this point. He POPS HIM UP TO THE INFIELD! Wow. Here comes Hafner again...the man with the .398 career OBP so a walk is a very real possibility. At least the infield and outfield can move back now. Still, is Hafner due? 2-1 count now. Big swing and a miss and it's 2-2. Slider misses badly - 3-2 count. Come on Luis - can Pronk beat the Viz?

Yes he can. Hafner with the single to right. Yankees lose a heartbreaker. That was an amazing and frustrating game of baseball that lasted four and a half hours. If you're a Yankees fan - you gotta feel sick right now. After a fantastic performance by Andy...to be undone by bugs. Man, that sucks...seriously, I feel like someone punched me in the gut...and I have no energy left.

All right Yankees, make like 96, when down 0-2, all you gotta do is win the rest of them...because that's the only option you got left. Go do this.

Pete A. posts the line-ups and I am already annoyed.

YANKEES
Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Posada C
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF
Mientkiewicz 1B
Pettitte LHP


That is simply dumb. Matsui should not have been starting last night against Sabathia. I say this not only because he is a lefty but because he is a lefty who has just come off getting his knee drained. Shelly should have started.

In the same vein, Mientkiewicz should not be starting tonight and Giambi should be. Heck, DH Giambi if you have to and sit Matsui and play Duncan in left. I don't care what it is - be proactive. Heck, be reactive. JUST DO SOMETHING. Cabrera hasn't hit in a MONTH and more often than not, can't get the ball out of the infield. Matsui just had his knee drained. Mientkiewicz has a storm of bad luck hovering around him. Yet, all three are starting this game.

I hope I am proven wrong but as it stands, I really don't get the line-up... and the reasoning (or lack thereof) behind it is infuriating.

Update: Naturally Melky goes ahead and makes Torre look good and me look like an idiot...which is A-OK with me as long as the Yankees win. Still, Matsui does not look good up there - could be the knee - could be Carmona making him look bad - either/or both, he's not looking good.

(Pettitte was born in Louisiana and Clemens was born in Ohio, but bear with me). This is what Pettitte and Clemens came back for, right? We're down a game and they are pitching back to back starts and can help us get the upper hand in this series with a pair of solid outings. The last time that either pitched in the postseason was in the 2005 World Series, where Clemens pitched game 1 and Pettitte pitched game 2. Clemens had 3 earned runs, 0 walks and 1 strikeout over 2 innings and Pettitte had 2, 0 and 4 through 6.

A good performance would be them combining for 13 solid innings over the next 2 games. 13 innings, 6 ER or less, I'd say. That would give us 3 innings of Joba and 2 innings of Mo. And, hopefully, 2 victories.

From Bryan Hoch:


Jim Johnson reports that Michael Kay was on Mike and Mike this morning and he said that the Yankees were considering such a scenario. Works for me. Moose can come out of the pen, if need be.

Well, no, it's certainly not. But, Ken Davidoff pointed out yesterday that the loser of game 1 in every single ALDS the Yankees have played since 2000 has gone to to win the series. That's 7 ALDS series - and every single time, the team that lost game 1 has won the series. Kinda funny. Doesn't make losing a good thing, but it keeps things in perspective.

Before yesterday's game, while getting off the team bus, a cameraman fell on Doug Mientkiewicz's left leg. After treatment, he started game 1. It turns out that the cameraman was a local freelancer hired by YES, according to Kat O'Brien.

Furthermore, a spokesman for YES said that he was told to stop filming after the players had excited the bus and he did not follow the orders, so he has been "relieved of his duties".

The game starts well for the Yankees as Johnny Damon homers on the fifth pitch of the game, a 3-1 pitch as Sabathia is uncharacteristically wild. There was a lot of discussion amongst the umps about whether that HR was fair or foul but the home plate ump called it fair. First off, why do you have an extra couple of umps out there if they can't actually do their jobs? In any case, replays confirmed it - 1-0 Yankees.

Chien-Ming Wang takes the hill for the Yankees and after two outs, walks Pronk and then gives up single, single, walk and another single before getting out of the inning on a force out. Wow, 3-1 Indians and Wang's sinker is not sinking early in this game - let's hope he settles down real quick or this will be a long night.

Bottom of the third, first man up and Wang gives up a homer to the second baseman Cabrera who had 3 all year. Wang giving up homers is a bad sign. 4-1.

Top of the fourth. Sabathia has settled down a little bit but that adrenaline is still pumping. 96-97 MPH through the zone, even at the 80 pitch mark. Still, when you throw that hard, sometimes, all you gotta do is get that fat part of the bat on the ball and that's exactly what Robbie Cano does. HR Cano. 4-2 Indians.

Mitchell over at The Bronx Block says it best:


I could not agree more especially about Ernie Johnson. Wow. Anyway, back to the top of the fifth. Mientkiewicz is taken out of the game - that freak accident must have hurt more than he thought. Shelly Duncan comes in for Doug and promptly singles to right. Johnny Damon up next and he works a walk. Derek Jeter up and after a failed sacrifice, DJ flies out to right without moving the runners over. Bobby Abreu bails him out with a solid AB as he pokes a double down the left side. 4-3 Yankees and this could be where the Yankees make their charge. They intentionally walk A-Rod (!) to load the bases for Posada. That makes sense - Posada is probably the slowest guy on the team, would be an easy DP.

AWWWW NUTS. I am amazed but C.C. actually worked out of the bases loaded, one out situation. Posada struck out swinging and he got Matsui to pop out to short. Wow - that will come back to hurt them - I am sure of it.

Bottom of the fifth. Come on Chien-Ming - can you gut out one more inning?

The answer is a resounding no. Walk, fly out, home run to Victor Martinez. 6-3 Indians and a coaching visit to the mound. After a quick groundout, we are treated to more hard hits. Double from Peralta who scores on a Kenny Lofton single (what a game for Kenny) and that is all for Wang. Wow. Easily the worst start of the game 1 starters - let's hope he gets a chance to atone.

Ross O. is in and after that push last inning, it now feels like the Yankees have given up on this game. Franklin Guiterrez walks and Casey Blake doubles both guys in. 9-3 Indians. Ouch.

The Yankees go quietly in the 6th and at this point, I'm just hoping Ross gives them some innings. There's still a long way to go in this game and I don't want Torre emptying that bullpen this early in the series. My wish falls on deaf ears and Ross gets hammered in the sixth. Hafner homers. 10-3 Indians. Victor Martinez follows with a double and after a few ground outs, Kenny Lofton kills the Yankees again tonight as he doubles home another run. 11-3 Indians and in comes Jose Veras to close out the inning.

Rafael Perez is now in and man, he just mows down the Yankees hitters. No one even got a decent look off the kid.

Bottom of the 7th and there is Phil Hughes, who looks very good in the inning. Unless the Yankees stage a rally of EPIC proportions, he will close out the game and we can get to the next game.

The Yankees continue to go quietly (this Cleveland bullpen is no joke) and I think that they feel the same way.

Melky is actually putting together a good at-bat in the ninth. Hopefully, that will carry into the next couple of games because he had horrible at-bats prior to this inning. However, at this point, you have no other option than to play him (though you could slide Duncan to left and shift Damon back to center). The announcer just called Hideki "Kaz Matsui". Someone get that man a line-up card. Giambi comes up to bat and that's a good move getting him an AB since he will probably start in tomorrow's game. He puts together a good AB and singles past the shift. Still, I just want this fiasco over with.

Game over. Cleveland wins and you know what - let 'em celebrate. Good win for Cleveland and a BAD loss for the Yankees but hey, this series isn't over and this team has come off the deck before. Heck, maybe the Indians have even exhausted all their offense and good luck here in the first game. The Yankees got a good look at some of the better options in the Cleveland pen, too - maybe that will help them later on in the series. Hey, both have happened before, so here we go. First to 3 - let's go Yankees.

Edit: During the broadcast of game 1, they said it was a New York cameraman.

Edit 2: Kat O'Brien says it was a local (Cleveland) freelancer hired by YES.

Well... not quite. According to Mark Feinsand, when he was getting off the team bus, a photographer tripped and fell... right onto Doug Mientkiewicz's (it's taken me the better part of this year, but I am now able to spell his name without double checking) foot. Feinsand says that it's been taped and tested and he should be good to go tonight.

Via Ben.

Before tonight's game, head over to the Bronx Block to see Jim Johnson's breakdown of C.C. Sabathia. It's a very detailed analysis of the very good (and soon-to-be 2007 Cy Young) pitcher. I'd highly recommend reading through the comments as well as there's a lot of good info there as well.

As Jim points out, C.C. has three pitches:


To get an idea of how often Sabathia throws each pitch, I'd check out Josh Kalk's blog for a detailed player card. There you can find the pitch speed averages, which pitch he throws the most in each count and how he mixes it up between lefties and righties. It's a way to look at a pitcher and I'd encourage everyone to take a look.

In addition, Brian over at Depressed Fan has put together a heck of a resource for anyone taking an interest in this divsion series. From his main guide page, click on the batter vs. pitcher match ups link to find some Excel-based goodness. Also, included are links within that file to scouting reports (from the 2007 season) on each player and their tendencies. AWESOME stuff - way to come through Brian.

Finally, if you're looking for even more data, here's the game preview from Baseball Reference. Lots of good stuff there on both a team and player basis and it all links to each player's individual splits, gamelogs and BR's amazing play index.

Okay, all that's out of the way - LET'S GO YANKEES!

Watch below. Jeter gets asked a question about A-Rod and what he needs to do in the postseason and Jeter turns it around into what we need to do. As he's walking away, someone asks him for his thoughts on A-Rod's struggles in October and he says, "We. We. We. We. W-E."


Via Pinstripe Alley via noMaas.org.