The Yankees took it on the chin last night in Game One of the ALDS, getting smacked around by the Indians to the tune of 12-3. Chien-Ming Wang was absolutely awful and was duly pounded. The Yankee offense made C.C. Sabathia throw a lot of pitches early, and had him right where they wanted him, but Sabathia worked out of a bases loaded jam in the top of the fifth inning, the Indians scored five in the bottom of the inning, and the game was essentially over.

Yanks will look to old reliable Andy Pettitte late this afternoon in Game Two.
Good thing too, as Pettitte is 70-33 following a loss in his Yankee career, and 6-3 in Game 2 starts. Since 1995, the Yankees are 5-0 in the ALDS after dropping the first game. Let’s hope the trend continues…

Here is a play-by-play…

Top 1

Falls behind Johnny, 2-1. Then outside, 3-1. Controversy. Damon goes yard, they call it foul. Torre goes out. Immediate huddle of the umps. They break. Homer! Bruce Froemming makes the signal, twirling his finger in a circle over his head.

Jetes. Outside, ball one. Inside, strike. Off speed, fouled off. Up and in, 2-2. Now, down and away? Back inside? Inside, fouled off. Pitch was over the plate, Jeter couldn’t get around. Got away with one there. Popped up to second.

Bobby. Low outside. Missed his spot didn’t get the call. Fastball, strike. Low. Nice. Fastball, high outside strike, 1-2. Change, pulls off, fouled off. Breaking ball, low and away. Bobby doesn’t bite, 2-2. Another breaking ball, Sabathia falling way off the mound to third, bobby checks, doesn’t get the ball. Just outside, but close. 3-2. Fastball up and away, misses. Walk.

Alex. Fastball, inside, strike. Inside again, almost hits him in the hip. 20th pitch of the inning. Breaking ball, and a beauty, floats across the plate for a strike. Hard breaking ball, up and in, 2-2. Fastball up and in, 3-2. Fastball inside, ball four. Okay…nice at bat, bubby. “Have clear at bats. Unclutter your mind. Don’t think about the past,” Reggie according to Graig Sager.

Visit from the pitching coach. They play that famous Pearl Jam song on the pa system.

Jorgie. Fastball, low and just in, ball one. Sabathia turns and Bobby moves back to first. Slow movements. Fastball, just up and away, ball two. He’s not far off, but he’s Just far off enough not to be getting these calls. Fastball, same spot but better, strike one. Same pitch, Jorgie swinging, late, 2-2. First swinging strike of the inning. Jake making noise. Strikes him out, fastball over the plate. Blows him away. Pitch was a little up but tough to resist.

Matsui. Fastball, paints the outside corner, strike one. Breaking ball, slider, paints the outside corner, 0-2. Fastball, late, but enough to foul it off. Breaking ball, rolls over, pussy ass grounder to second. Inning.

33 pitches for Sabathia.

Bottom 1

Grady. Hits him in the back foot. Only hit 8 all year. Hits him. Great.

Cabrera. Strike. Throw to first. Double play. Two hopper to Jeter. Up the middle. Steps on bag and boom. 2 out.

Pronk. Ball in and low. Fastball, strike. Change of Slider, off speed, fading away, swing and a miss. Beauty. Announcers say Pronk wore a shirt all season that read, “I may not be smart but I can lift heavy things.” Sinker but cuts back in, just low, 2-2. Change, foul, barely. Fastball, up, tailing away, 3-2. Inside, smacked over the Yankees dugout, foul. Fastball, low. Ball four.

Victor. Fastball, big swing, fouled back, 0-1. Fastball, outside strike, taken. Breaking ball, not bad, but low, 1-2. Sharp single to right, to Bobby on a hop. Sinker was up a bit. Good hitting.

Garko. Sinker, low, check, no, didn’t go, ball one. Called strike, Posada throws to second and almost throws it away. Melky backing up, streaking. Single up the middle. Tied game. Hafner scores. Shit.

Jhonny. Sinker, low. Low again. Change, strike. Fastball, fouled. 2-2. Slider, doesn’t get the call! Slider, fouled off. Fouled off. 25 pitches. Sinker, a good one, fouled off his foot. Fastball, up and in ball four. Posada out, Jeter in, A Rod and Cano now.

Lofton. Fastball, late, foul. Fastball, up, base hit. 2 runs. Garko gets caught off second. Third out.

Top 2

Robbie. Fastball up, ball. Slider, low, 2-0. Fastball away, misses. Fastball up ball four. Audio from Froemming to Wedge. “He [the first base ump] lost sight of it me an ____saw it and it was a fair ball, no doubt about it.” Terse, clear. Gotta love Brucie.

Melky. Fastball strike. Fastball in on the hands, tough, swinging, 0-2. Slider in the dirt. Fastball, busting in, popped up foul to first.

Minky. Say he got hurt running into a camera man before the game and questionable to start. Fastball strike. Double play, watch…Fastball, away, 1-1. Fastball away, moaning from the crowd, but Bruce doesn’t budge, ball two. Fastball popped up to short. You suck.

CC only walked 3 in a game twice all year. Already done it tonight.

Johnnycakes. Fastball away, this one a strike. Down. Slow breaking ball, swing and a miss, 0-2. The crowd is really into it now. Breaking ball, check, no. Martinez snuffs it in the dirt. Breaking ball up, Cano goes, out by a mile. Terrible, Robbie, you have one large ass, kid. Victor continues his season of throwing runners out. I’d say go figure if he threw out Jeter, Abreu, Alex or Johnny, but he threw Cano out and that’s a different ball of wax, isn’t it?

49 pitches.

Bottom 2

Guiterrez. Ball. Sky high pop out to Alex. Easy out.

Blake. Called strike. Good slider, swing and miss. Yankees suck chant. Another slider, holds off, just outside. Fastball, low and away, swings through it. Two out.

Grady. Ball one. Fastball, fouled back. On it. Two seamer, high and away. Wild, 2-1. Fastball, fouled back again. Still on it, 2-2. Sinker, in, sharp single past Cano. Not too terrible a pitch. Nice hit.

Cabrera. Grady doesn’t take a huge lead but runs on the first pitch. Jorgie pops up, makes a great throw and they nail him by plenty. Hey Now! “Tit of tit,” as Dwight Schruete would say.

Top 3

Johnny Redux. Fastball, outside, strike. Slider outside, 2-0. Fastball outside, swing and a miss, late. Breaking ball, Damon stabs at it, fouls it off. Fastball inside, blows it by him, swing and miss. Strikeout.

DJ. Fastball strike. Breaking ball away, swing and a miss. Cheering and standing and waving white flags. Fastball up and away, fouled off. Jeter pursing his lips and frowning in that way of his… Fastball inside, trade mark Jack-Knife move by Jetes, 1-2. Fastball, way in, 2-2. Fastball inside, swing and miss, Jeter almost loses his balance. Completely buried the ball in on his hands. Tough.

Bobby. Fastball strike. CC is locking in now…Breaking ball, away, 1-1. Fastball, late swing, foul, 1-2. Fastball at his dome. Hello. That’ll put the fear of a higher power into ya, yikes. Fastball, outside, 3-2. Breaking ball, Abreu off-stride, ass falling away, knicks it but Victor can’t hold it. Breaking ball, low and away, Bobby sees it and lays off, ball four.

Alex. Pops first pitch up to short. In on the fists.

That was fast.

Bottom 3

Asdrubal. Slider, away, strike. Another one and another called strike. Bruce looking good on the calls here. Froemming looks like a wall with arms. Ball. Pitch up, pops it out to right. You have got to be kidding me. The place is going nuts. Sinker right down the cock. “He swung so hard he turned nearly completely around,” says the announcer.

Pronk. Fastball, strike. Sinker, low. Fastball, low and in, strike two. Fastball up and in, weak ground out to second. Lebron is in the stands being interviewed Sager. He’s rockin a Yankee cap and says he’s always been a Yankee fan.

Victor. Fastball, ball. Ball two. Called strike. Fly ball right at Cabrera, two out.

Garko. Bloop to right, cheap hit but a hit anyway.

Jhonny. Ball one, inside. Fly out to right.

Top 4

Jorgie. Fastball strike. Jorgie doesn’t like the call, thinks it was high and away. Slider, pokes at it and slices it right, but it hangs up for an easy out.

Godziller. Strike. Fastball outside, called strike. Breaking ball, gets him.

Robbie. C’mon, dude, let’s get it going now. Fastball, pee at the knees, strike. Breaking ball, low and away. Breaking ball, away, 2-1. Cano hasn’t swung yet tonight, go figure that. Fastball blows it by him, swing and a miss. Breaking ball, line drive homer. Right off the black on the top of the right field wall. Lined it, a frozen rope, as it were. Camera man with a blue shirt follows him around third and past the plate. Get the hell out of the shot. I hate seeing the camera men during a game. That’s so intrusive.

Melky. Fastball strike. Pop up to second.

Bottom 4

K. Lofton. Sinker, low and away, Kenny goes to bunt, called strike. Kenny is not pleased with the call, shakes his head. Sinker, a 45 footer, ball one. Bunt, foul, 1-2. Fastball, way outside, 2-2. Good sinker, moving, fouled off. Pop out to Robbie.

Franklin. Sinker, low. Low again, ball two. Fastball floats up and away, 3-0. Fastball, strike. Low, ball three. Third walk.

Casey Blake. Throw to first. Foul. Hard grounder to A Rod’s back hand. Goes to second. Throw on a bounce. Robbie scoops it, two out. Wouldn’t have turned two anyhow. Nice play by A Rod, low throw (“one of the best sinkers we’ve seen in the ballgame”), but nice scoop.

Grady. Foul. Called strike, outside corner. Announcers talking about A Rod and his great season. Alex smiles at third and spits. Looks relaxed. Sinker low. Now they are talking about Grady as the next superstar…Fastball inside, 2-2. Crowd getting louder now. Throw to first. Boos. Fastball lined foul over third. Fastball moving back, called strike three. Good movement on the pitch, Grady leaning forward, Bruce with the firm punch out.

Top 5

Minky Dinky Dog. No, it’s SHELLEY. Wow. Joe being bold. Fastball strike. Another fastball, Conan swing, 0-2. Minky must be hurt. Slider, low. Fastball, fouled back. Chip Carey just said “Duh-fense” not “D-fence.” Somewhere my father is smiling. Breaking ball, slower, but lower, Shell lays off. Fastball, in, lays off. Way to go, Shelley! Hang tough…Fastball, gets a good rip, but foul, past third. Dag. That pitch got too much plate. Fastball, outside, line drive to right. Drops in for a single. Way to go, Shell!

Johnnycakes. Fastball, strike. Fastball, away, just misses. Another one, away again, the crowd groans. Another one, Johnny checks but doesn’t offer. The crowd moans. Way outside, ball four. Two pitches were close, that one wasn’t. 5th walk. He did that in his only other playoff start too.

Jetes. Not bunting…fastball, away, ball one. 94th pitch of the night for CC. Pitching coach comes out. Fastball, in on the hands, fouled off. Late. Fastball, way away, almost threw it past Victor, 2-1. Still no sign of the bunt. Fastball, missed it again, 2-2. Dag. Okay, hang in there, DJ. Breaking ball, Jeter leans over, but doesn’t offer, full count. Line drive right at Guiterrez in right. One out, no advance.

Bobby. 100th pitch of the night…Line drive down the third base line. Shelley scores. Second and third. Fastball outside, right on it, “How beautiful is that?” says Tony Gwynn.

Alex. Intentional walk.

Jorgie. Fastball, away, ball one. Fastball, up and away again, 2-0. Ball three, fastball. Just missing, but missing enough. Swinging. Jesus. Foul. Oh my. My heart jumped right there. Swing and a miss. Pitch could have been a ball. Fans making much noise now. Fastball in, fouled off. Fastball by him. Damn. Two out.

Matsui. Breaking ball away, nice block by Victor. Fastball, low and away, Matsui just holds up. Another close one. The Jake crowd is getting killed by Bruce. Pops him up to short. Matsui has looked horrible tonight. Yanks back in it, but that was a big jam for CC to escape. But at 115 pitches, that’ll be all for him, you’d think.

Bottom 5

Asdrubal. Sinker, away, ball one. Another one low, ball two. Fastall, away, 3-0. Strike. Fastball, nowhere near, ball four. C’mon Wang, for Pete’s sake.

Pronk. Outside, ball one. Fastball, strike. Throw to first. Low, ball two. Broken bat fly out to Melky.

Victor. Strokes the first pitch deep into right center. 6-3. Wang. Awful outing. Sinker, right down the cock. Awww, man. Sweet swing. Dag. Crowd going nuts.

Garko. Strike. Swing and a miss, 0-2. 5-3, two out.

Jhonny. Strike. Ball, low and away. Yankee suck chant. Broken bat bloop to right. “And all of a sudden, everything’s going Cleveland’s way,” says Chip Carrey.

Lofton. Foul. Ross is up in the bullpen. Posada goes out for a quick word with Wang. Hard base hit up the middle. Run scores. Agony. Lofton kills Yanks with 3 RBI. Couldn’t have scripted it any worse. 7-3. Wang is done. Only 5 ground ball outs. The crowd is going nuts.

Franklin. Ross Ohlendorf pitching. Fastball, away, ball one. Lofton runs, great jump, curve ball strike, Jorgie doesn’t even bother to throw. Slider or a splitter in the dirt, swing and a miss. Another one, breaking hard and fast, this one is too low, 2-2. Jorgie struggling to catch the last couple of pitches. Drum pounding, another slider low, 3-2. Good block by Jorgie. Crowd making noise. Another one, low, ball four. He lost all confidence in throwing a fastball. Shoot. Gator out.

Casey Blake. First pitch fastball, line drive to right. Two runs score. 9-3. Oh, brother. This is awful.

Grady. Swing and a miss. Called strike two. Slider, low, check swing, doesn’t go. The announcers are questioning whether Jeter should have bunted in the top of the inning. Pop up to center. Third out. 5 runs in.

Top 6

Robbie. Rafael Perez pitching. Uh oh. Fastball strike. Slider, away. Fastball, late, 1-2. Breaking ball, doesn’t chase, 2-2. Fastball in, foul, good swing. Fastball in, another foul, good swing. Liner over Perez but Johnny moves two steps to his left, fields the ball and fires to first for the out.

Leche. Fastball, up. Strike. Fastball away, 2-1. Breaking ball, ground ball foul. Good slider, Melky waits and pulls it foul. Nice cut there. Way to stay on it, Melk. Fastball away, out of the zone, chasing, whiff.

Duncanstein. Slider, low, 1-0. Fastball in, swing and a miss. Fouled at the plate, 1-2. Crowd gets noisy. Slider, fouls it off. Slider in the dirt, check swing, ball, 2-2. Another slider, low, Shelley holds up, full count. Slider, low and away, Shelley waves at it. Three out.

Bottom 6

Asdrubal. Fastball, strike. Called strike two. Ball, low. Fastball, fouled back. Breaking ball almost hits him, 2-2. Foul. Fastball, low 3-2. Ground out to Cano.

Pronk Hafner. Line drive homer to right center. What a rip.

Victor. Doubles to left on the first pitch. He’s 3-4. Gator out to chat.

Garko. Fastball, in on the hands, fouled off. Fastball, hits him.

Jhonny. Fastball, inside, ball one. Soft grounder to Jeter, who flips to A Rod for the force.

Kenny. Gets a big hand. RBI double to right center. Good night Ross. And Happy Birthday, Kenny.

Frank. Jose Veras. Slider, low, ball one. Fastball, up, ball two. Fastball, swing and a miss. Pop out to Shelley.

Top 7

Damon. Perez still in there. Strike. Slider in the dirt, 1-1. Fastball away. Foul, 2-2. Slider, check swing, but he goes too far, strike three. Bruce makes the call himself.

Jetah. Fastball, low and in. Foul ball off Jeter’s foot. Ouch. Line drive to right, Gut gets a great jump and makes a nice sliding catch. Two out.

Bobby. Fastball, strike at the knees. Slider, swing and a miss, 0-2. Slider, got him looking. Bobby pulls off, and wow, what a gorgeous pitch. Somamabitch.

Bottom 7

Casey Blake. Phil Hughes in now. Strike one. Strike two. Both fastballs. Foul. Curve, swings and misses.

Grady. Curve ball, strike one. Ball. Fastball, called strike, 1-2. Pop up to Jeter in short left.

Asdrubal. Fastball, just low, ball one. Fastball, outside, 2-0. Fastball, right down the plate, swing and a miss. Fastball, in, fouled back, 2-2. Fastball, low, 3-2. Fastball, fouled back. Another heater, fouled back. Cabrera steps out. Fastball, outside corner, Bruce punches him out.

Top 8

Alex. Jensen Lewis, a righty, pitching. Fastball, strike. Fastball, up and out of the zone, swing and a miss. First pitch was good, this one was too high. Fastball, inside, 1-2. Another heater, in, broken bat pop up to second.

Jorgie. Fastball, line drive to left.

Matsui. Fastball, strike. Fastball, outside corner, 0-2. Again, and Bruce does the honors. Three out.

Bottom 8

Pronk. Curve, low, ball one. Fastball, strike. Fastball, line out to center.

Victor. Curve, strike. Fastball, outside corner, strike two. Fastball popped to left, two out.

Garko. Fastball, strike. Fastball, taken for strike two. Fastball, low and away, punched foul. Another fastball, this one punched over the right field wall for a solo homer. 12-3. Wow, nice pop there.

Jhonny. Fastball on the outside corner, strike. Curve, low. Fastball, knocked deep to right. Abreu catches the ball on the warning track.

Top 9

Raffy Betancourt. Wow. I guess he’s okay on back to back nights.

Cano. Fastball, right on it, fouls it back. Fastball, blows it by him, 0-2. Fastball outside corner, good morning, good afternoon and good night.

Leche. First pitch hacking. Foul. Fastball, away, 1-1. Fastball, late, fouled off. Fastball, just misses outside. Crowd groans, but Bruce don’t budge. Fastball, fouls it back, late. Another heater, Melky spoils it. Fastball up, Melky checks, fouls it off. Fastball, fouled back, good swing this time. Missed one there. Fastball, down, maybe it was a breaking pitch, Bruce almost rings up the arm, but doesn’t. Full count. Fastball, late, fly out to Lofton in left, moving into foul territory.

Giambo pinch hits for Shelley. Takes a fastball low for a ball. Crowd standing, clapping, loud. Fastball, outside corner, strike one. Fastball, inside, ripped right at Cabrera, playing short right field. It came at him on a hop and bounced past him for a single.

Damon. Fastball, fouled back. Fastball on the outside corner, 0-2. Now, a lot of noise, towels waving. Fastball, high. Fastball, low and away. Fastball, high and outside, full count. Line drive, broken bat, right at Sizemore. 22 pitches for Betancourt at least…

An ass-whipping for the Yanks. Andy will pitch the biggest game of the year tomorrow.