ALCS Game 4 Thoughts And Afterthoughts- Part II (The Rest Of It)

- The top of the 1st went about as well as anybody could have hoped last night.  I was still sweating bullets when it was over, but at least A.J. helped to calm all of our nerves early.

- I don't know how I haven't noticed this yet, but how the fuck does Michael Young have a Gold Glove at 3rd over A-Rod???  Michael Young is a fucking TERRIBLE 3rd baseman and he's got a Gold Glove?!  Yikes.

- Good stat by TBS early last night: The last pitcher to win a postseason series with as much rest as A.J. had coming into last night's start was Red Ruffing in 1939.  Damn!

- Cano crushed that ball in the 2nd inning off of Tommy Hunter, but the fans definitely reached over and definitely interfered with Nelson Cruz.  I'd like to let my Yankee fandom override the facts, but I can't.  That home run shouldn't have counted.

- By the time the 3rd inning rolled around, it was obvious Hunter didn't have much.  He couldn't throw his curveball for a strike to save himself and the Yankees were just sitting on his fastball and cutter, waiting for him to make a mistake, a la the one he grooved to Jeter for his 3rd-inning triple.

- Unfortunately, the TBS crew was too busy talking about Hunter's odd physique, his family history, and his being a former US Jr. Olympic judo champion to focus on how shitty he was pitching.  After the Lee victory in Game 3, suddenly everybody in the booth was a big Ranger fan.  We've got Sager reporting on what their team psychiatrist told them before the game, EJ is going on and on about the Molina family history and how Darren O'Day became a side-arm pitcher.  It was like watching an episode of "SportsCentury."

- Beautiful double play by the Yanks in the 5th inning: great scoop and throw by Teix while avoiding a flying bat, great turn by Jeter, and great job getting over to cover first by A.J.  Big play and exactly what A.J. needed after putting the leadoff runner on again.

- After that, though, Jeter and A-Rod showed that they have no range left on that side of the infield on Andrus' bouncer through the hole.  If that thing bounced anymore and rolled any slower through that side, it would have fucking stopped and they still couldn't get a glove on it.

- to the fan trying to catch the foul ball and fucking up Gardner in the 5th: Are you fucking serious, dude????  You're a grown man!  You want a ball that bad, go to Sports Authority and buy one.  When the Yanks are in field, get the fuck out of the way and let them make the catch.  If Hamilton would have done something after that and that dude becomes the NYC Steve Bartman, I would have put money on him not making it out of The Stadium alive.

- The pitch A.J. made to Molina was terrible, but really, what do you expect?  It's A.J. Burnett.  It just sucked that he finally missed a spot up and in in that situation.  I still put all the blame for that on Joe.

- What the hell is going on with the bullpen?  D-Rob blows up in Game 3 then yesterday he's the only guy who can get an out without getting pelted all over the park.  Logan might be out of a job come next year because he's been terrible in this series, and Joba is another bad outing or 2 away from possibly being run out of town with him.

- I hate to do  it, but I have to hand it to Derek Holland for the job he did.  Tommy Hunter had nothing, the Yanks hit a lot of scorchers off of him but couldn't ever put him away with a big inning and Holland came in and shut the door on the Yankee offense, giving his team a chance to do what they did later in the game.

- Can we get Kevin Long to work with Brett Gardner before next year on swinging the bat with some authority?  I love Gardner, but this slap-and-run bullshit has to stop.  His speed is weapon, but it can be better utilized if he can get a little more oomph into his swing and start putting the ball into the outfield.  Start hitting for the gaps and he can rack up 20-25 triples a year.  Speed is good, but it don't mean shit when you can't get the ball out of the infield.

- Even after it got to 7-3, the Rangers still seemed hellbent on letting the Yankees back into it.  They walked the bases loaded in the bottom of the 8th and Swish definitely got hit by that pitch by Oliver.  As bad as the pitching has been, this series has been just as much about the Yankee bats not coming up big when they need to and take advantages of the opportunities given to them and last night was just the latest example.

- Just to put the offensive ineptitude into further perspective, the Ranger 7-9 hitters have 10 combined RBIs in the series.  The Yankees have only scored 11 runs as a team.

- Anybody see Boomer and Carton sitting behind the plate last night?  Good stuff right there.  I know I'm in the minority here, but I love Carton.  Dude is entertaining.

- The Conan promos on TBS aren't nearly as horrible as the Lopez ones from last season, but they are much more annoying after a late-game Yankee meltdown.

- I'm going a little Peter King on you here, but I love the E*Trade commercials with the talking baby.  Give me more of that and less shitty UPS commercials with the "That's logistics" song.

- Apparently the dude who got on the field last night was trying to attack A-Rod for dating Cameron Diaz.  Newsflash, dude: Diaz is a washed-up old slut and her vag is way past it's prime with the pounding it's no-doubt taken from some of Hollywood's finest over the years, not to mention A-Rod.  Get a new celebrity crush and get the fuck off the field.

- So what do you do about the lineup tonight without Teix?  I say it should look like this:

1) Jeter, 2) C-Grand, 3) Cano, 4) A-Rod, 5) Thames, 6) Posada, 7) Swish, 8) Berkman, 9) Gardner with Berkman at 1B and Thames DH'ing.

I know it's a lefty on the mound but Granderson has swung the bat far better than Swish and needs to stay at the top.  And since Cano has been the only one swinging with any consistency, you have to bump him up and give him a chance to drive in runs early.  A-Rod doesn't have much protection behind him, but when nobody is hitting that's what happens.

Play of The Game: Molina's 3-run HR in the top of the 6th

Took the wind out of everybody's sails: the players and the fans.  The KO punch that followed up the staggering blow that was the Teix injury.

Player of The Game: Bengie Molina

3-4, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, including the go-ahead and eventual game-winning RBI.  Not to mention he caught a good game too.  Fucking asshole...

- Last one, I sure hope CC has it this afternoon because I won't be able to watch the game thanks to the early start and I can't stand to think about not being able to see the last Yankee game of the season.  As much as it sucks, if they are going to go down I want to be able to see it as a fan.  It would hurt more to not be able to see than it would to suffer through it.