(Enjoy the comments section and be mindful of our house rules–feel free to curse, just don’t curse at each other.)

Thank you Alex, for preserving a place where we can all let our inner Al Swearengen curse freely!!!

=)

Roy F***in' Halladay!

I hope we don't have to face Halladay, if he's pitching like that.

[3] He's got his post season no no out of the way.

What's the Yankees record against Roy?

[4] Halladay against the Yanks, lifetime:

18-7, 2.98 ERA, 253.1 IP, 229 HA, 56 W, 195K

Basically, he kicks their asses.

[4] I dunno, but the Reds have the best offense in the NL.

[3] I'll sign up for it right now.

Now, I'm AMPED. LET'S GO YANKEES!!!!!

[3] Well, he has nowhere to go but down

9) Plus, for the Reds is just counts as one loss. They win on Friday night and they've done their job.

[5] Thanks. Gulp.

[9] I dunno. He did walk Jay Bruce. It wasn't a perfect game! ;-)

Evening, all. I logged in a bit during the regular season, but I'm back in force for the postseason.

Halladay probably began a HOF campaign with his season. At 33, he's probably too far away from 300 to make it, but with a probable second Cy Young Award, a possible championship here, and baseball immortality tonight, everyone now knows what AL East opponents have known for years.

My suggestions for the Yankees:
1) Give Jeter the TAKE sign until he has 2 strikes.
2) Have Grandy and Cano wear identical top hats, and fake glasses and Mustaches. When Grandy comes up, sneak Cano in there instead.
3) Have Posada look only for slders.
4) Have Gritner crowd the plate and give him $10,000 everytime he gets hit by the pitch
5) Tell ARod to try and go the other way on everything

Patience... patience... patience.
Make the pitchers work.

Dear Mo, as we embark on this autumn journey, please bless us with all the fruits of your time-earned wisdom. Help us stay calm in the face of the Fundamentals Storm of Twindom, help us stand firm against the Punto Playinggamerightwayness of the scions of Gardenhire. In the name of you our lord Mariano we pray, AAAAAA-MEN!

Let's get it ON!! GO GO CC!! Let's Go YAN-KEES!

[14] 1) The Brett Gardner strategy, I see.

No matter what happens this week, at least we're spared Chip Caray. That's a moral victory right there.

[10] Yeah, and I think that was part of their strategy. Starting Volquez was a high-risk, high-reward gamble. He's always been a bit inconsistent, and has been even more so this year (coming back from TJ surgery). If he has a good night, he has a chance to beat Halladay. If not...well, it's not like anyone else in their rotation is likely to beat Doc, either.

[10] Honestly, I'm not sure I'd want to be Roy Oswalt on Friday

[16] You don't see the Jeter strategy?

Hoss..... Hoss.... Hossssssssssssssssss!
Dammit! Are you there?!?!?!?!?!?!???????

[19] Unless someone's offered him a bulldozer.

This voice might get annoying.

damn. LET'S GO YANKEES!!

I'm starting to get that terrible feeling that playing for the Wild Card was a huge mistake.

Jesus, when did James Woods start announcing baseball games???

Well, there we go

the home team in the last 2 games has thrown 10 consecutive no-hit innings ... :-(

For those waiting for Jeter to turn it around in the post season, his first AB was a bad sign. He swung at two pitches well out of the zone, which was the reason for his struggles in the regular season.

[17] Yes.

BTW, Orel & Jon Miller are doing the game on ESPN radio. Dunno if there's a time delay.

[29] Liriano is also no slouch as a pitcher.

Its nice to be back in the postseason . . . looking forward to being here religiously with all of you!

Decent at bat by Swisher, though he swung at ball four. Otherwise, blah.

Cano has been our MVP, but Swisher is not that far behind. He consistantly has good ABs.

Jeter is pressing already. Swung at a bad pitch for strike 2, and tried to cream the ball when he struck out.

Well left work early to watch live and chat here with you guys. Soooo anxious!

the announcer sounds like he is inebriated, constipated, or both

I love how the TBS strikezone shows you in real time how wrong the umps are.

ok ... that was definitely a fair ball

What's the matter with Span? He shortened his swing with 2 strikes instead of trying to cream the ball.

Great man in scoring position for Mauer. I'm terrified already.

i'll take that. he could have just stole second against our battery.

sacrifice. Bunch of fucking pussies.

[35] Ernie's cool...but he's mostly an NBA guy, so its odd to hear him here. He's a pro though, obviously a step up from The Chip Experience

bear down CC!

[41] Yeah, in the 1st? With your #2 hitter? Hey, they love the fundamentals in Minnesota.

35) Really odd. Just doesn't seem right.

[45] Who's announcing?

Onions. Now, no SOUP for Delmon Fucking Young.

NICE!

Smoltz: "Both of these pitchers like to throw Strike 1 and get ahead."

Oh boy. It's going to be a long series.

[41] HA! awesome.

Whew.

[46] ernie johnson

Phew. Phoul.

Oh so smooth.

Wow, Cano flashing the leather already! C'mon A-Rod, crank one.

Okay. Pretty good inning for the big guy

Nice play by Cano!

ROBBIE! I love robbie.

I see I wasn't live. oops

Awesome ... the announcers feed on the already shitty MLB "postseason tv" is 20 seconds behind the actual game.

Just Fucking Great.

It's amazing, but that's like a routine play for Robbie. No doubt whatsoever he'd make it.

[52] He's not bad, just takes some getting used to

A-Rod clealy can't handle the pressure

Hmm.

Damnit, Liriano looks on. This could be a really tough game.

ok...who the fuck was wearing crocs in the Twins dugout??

[63] Wasn't his name legally changed to A-Fraud? I think I read that in a book somewhere.

nice at bat for thames

Nice AB by Marcus. Alex and Robbie didn't have good swings, Marcus smashed a foul ball. Good patience.

Yo Liriano, maybe button your jersey up...a little bit.

I think we might have a bit of a floating zone tonight

Nice little scrappy hit.

Nice hitting Jorgie. Way to go with the ball. Does TBS not have a pitch count display?

Well, at least we know we're not getting no hit

Damnit, Grandy smashed that, but right at someone.

Fongoole, and he hit that well too.

I gotta try to make a road trip out to this park next year, I'm really into it.

fuckin eh...got some good swings in on him though. They'll break through eventually I think

Its impossible to not like Jim Thome

That was kind of scary.

yes folks...that was clearly intentional

shit

[78] seriously one of my favorite players of all time

I wonder if Thome can steal on the Yankees

[78] Pavano, on the other hand. . .

Michael Cuddyer epitomizes the Twins? Terrible fake tans?

christ

Crap.

Fuck!

Uh Oh...

And there I just had my first "you're posting too quickly" of the postseason.

That one fucking hurt. Fuck.

Just a reminder. If we hadn't stopped trying in late August and early September, we probably could have lined Sabathia up on normal rest.

Inauspicious.

[92] Yes, but would everyone look so fresh and well rested??

Why is Smoltz talking about a "cat and mouse game"? Sabathia left a flat fastball down the middle. Seems pretty obvious.

has Corey Koskie really been gone 6 years? well I feel old

[95]

That is one very very large cat then.

[94] touche.

Oh boy.

Son of a fucking fuck of a fuck.

fuckin eh

FUCKITYFUCKITYFUCKFUCKFUCK.

It was NOT a great throw, John.

Got to get this out here. No three run inning horseshit.

where is Emma ... her brother is up

Let's stay positive: the Yanks fell behind 2-0 to Minny last year in Game 1, then scored 7 straight.

Sanity prevails.

Okay. They took a 2-0 lead in game one last year.

This is NOT what I wanted for my birthday. The Yankees need to get to Liriano in the next two innings because otherwise I think he gets real comfortable and it winds up being a very long night for us.

Last year, yes. But team era was a lot better and rotation was much stronger.
Count me as a nervous nellie tonight.

How about a little drag bunt here?

[109] Happy birthday. I hope, for your sake and mine, you have a good one.

Nice. Let's get down to business.

good shit, here comes the dp

yeah. let's go go go gardner!

STEAL

shame on me for having no faith

Don't GIDP Derek. Just don't. Please. Signed, every Yankee fan.

I really do appreciate the skills of BG.

he's swinging at everything.

STEAL NOW

c'mon, Mr November

go go isn't reading liriano well it doesn't look like. hopefully he figures it out.

Steal on the MIGHTY MAUER? Inconceivable.

Have I ever mentioned how much i love having a speedster that''s reluctant to run?

make him work, dj

FORTHELOVEOFGODSTEAL

in the off season they really need to get Rickey or Mickey Rivers or *someone* to work with Gardner.

Take the walk Derek

(125) is it Gardy or Girardi who is reluctant?

phew!

Or single to left. That works too.

If Gardner had fucking stolen second he'd be on third by now.

Ok I'll take it

Swisher go boom?

Good job Jetes.

[130] Girardi insists its Gardner.

uh really with the bunt just now?

c'mon swish. no need to bunt.

[133] I can hear Michael Kay lecturing the press corps right now.

Also, Swish, don't bunt again. Thanks.

Don't do that again Nick.

Phew! Jeter comes through. Could be a game changing AB......

must avoid dp

That would have been a sac fly.

[130] I think it's obvious gardy is super fast but struggles at reading pitchers. my opinion of course. but he can learn that.

Frankly, I would have been happy with a good bunt.

Smoltz still doesn't understand why he didn't bunt

Let's go Mark!

rbi right here for you, Tex

i don't have the confidence in tex right now. i know it sucks to feel that way but he hasn't looked great this year or ever in the playoffs.

Smoltz thinks Tex needs to aim for a nice little dribbler down the line here

[145] Agreed. With no out and top of the order up, I don't want him going unless he gets a good read. Mauer is no slouch.

[145] They need to make that a top priority for next season.

TAKE THE WALK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[125] When that reluctant speedster was Bernie, we were ok with it. Gardner doesn't hit nearly as well.

Was that ball 4?

That would have been a sac fly too.

Motherfucker

It's up to you Clutch-Rod.

[153] i think now that he's figured out to hit in the majors i agree that is something they can prioritize.

Fucking mother of fuck. Fuck this fucking game, fuck it right in its fucking fucked ass. Fuckfaces. Fuck.

Make me take it back, A-Rod.

what are you swinging at?

ARod is not good at reading slop....

C'mon Alex....

STABBY!

STABBY!!

STABBY!!!

(159) funny
in a sad kind of way

[152] I think Brett Gardner being unable to get an early read on pitchers has been a consistent trend with him and probably the biggest flaw in his game.

That was VERY hittable.......

Fuck

fuck my life

Did Teix swing at Ball 4?

what a bunch of horseshit

Now I'm annoyed.

that was an ugly at bat. clutch-rod looked uncomfortable.

!%$#@^&%^$%#&*&*^$%#%@!

For all the Yankees' problems this year, their inability to cash in with RISP may be their final undoing.

i actually do think it's real good news that we drove lirianos pitch count up. he's going to be tough to hit hard. so if we don't manage to get much off of him the next best thing is to start making their bullpen work.

Liriano at 57 pitches after 3..we'll crush their bullpen. I am confident!

Man, that sucked.

Jesus, three pitches?

The Yankees have made the two early mistakes (Sabathia hitting Thome and Gardner not going to third on Young's bobble) and paid both times.

The early signs are not looking so good for the Yankees. Arod has been going out of the zone, and Tex still not coming through with the big hit.

Hate seeing A-Rod expand the zone to try to make up for Teix's continue worthlessness at the plate.

Oh god

fuck you Craig

[181] Gardner not getting to third one way or another was huge for the Twins

[185] we get it

This is not looking good so far. Sigh, hold them here CC.

Fuck you, Twins. And fuck you, Minnesota. Fucking bitches. Take your stupid fucking accent and choke on it, you fucking bastards.

[186] I'm fucking pissed. This is a problem that should have been addressed months ago.

That pitch was up up up...not good.

Killer curveball....

CC has nothing

Hey, look what happens when you run a little bit.

wow, baserunning. whats that?

FUCK YOU ORLANDO HUDSON, YOU FUCKING FUCKER.

good play by tex but where was cc on that?

Great play by Tex. Why was no oen covering 3rd? Alex! Wake the fuck up.

[196] Meandering on over.

so Pettitte vs Pavano...

Fucking motherfucker.

Ugh, sloppy ass playing all around costs the team another run. That's inexcusable.

Posada ... glue factory as a defensive catcher :-(

OH that's fucking wunnerful.

Right off Posada's glove.....

that sucked. really, the consquence of playing posada there. total flub on his part.

Well ... *this* is a "load of bollocks".

Glad I didn't go out to a bar for this one ...

The Yankees are playing the same sloppy baseball they had been all September. Hopefully, the organization learns its lesson.

A Rod caught sleeping. Posada looking like a fucking statue.

[202] Is Montero ready? Couldn't be worse, stick Jorge at DH.

"You don't think they want this game?" As opposed to the other playoff teams that just want to try hard and go out for pizza later. Ugh.

I had completely forgotten that Posada was due to let a ball get by him

*That* was a nice pitch.

Two pitchers should never be paired together in the broadcast booth. I like Darling even if his Yalieness comes out at times. Smotlz is a fucking dolt.

[207] What lesson is that? Don't sign sloppy players???

Also, time to cue the questions about having Sabathia go on 8 days rest. He definitely does not look sharp tonight.

Hudson schooled Gardner there. Well, this is what we've been seeing for a month- sloppy baseball.

There's still plenty of time, folks. BTW, I don't buy the idea that the Rays are done at all. They will win that series somehow. They're inscrutable.

[213] Darling is usually a very good analyst.

So, does Girardi respond by doubling down on "anchor the man to first base" strategy, or do we start seeing Jorge Posada/Marcus Thames hit and runs?

[217] No way can you count the Rays out yet.

OK guys, get some runs.

come on, get at least one back here

[214] Don't take the foot off the gas because you don't care about how you make the post season.

[215] Taking the foot off the gas earlier in the month was a stroke of genius on so many levels.

oh please there are no lessons to learn yet. this game isn't even close to over let alone the series.

Now, do they make Lirano look like Koufax or do they actually keep the pressure on?

This team is really, really pressing... and it's ugly.
We can't afford to swing at balls anymore.

[214] once you let up it can be hard to get going again

[222] eh, the 2000 Yankees played September like Jerry's kids and won. same with the '05 White Sox and '06 Cards. September ultimately doesn't have a whole lot to do with October.

[222] And really, Girardi is way too tight to *really* take the foot off the gas, so who the hell knows what that clubhouse was like.

[224] True, but the Yankees are already making the kind of mental mistakes the Twins made last year. And we saw how this movie ended all too often during September.

OMGOMGOMG!!!

John Smoltz *IS* JAMES WOODS!!!!

I will admit, every time the Yankees look bad in the first few innings of Game 1, I start thinking about 2002 and 2006.

ok listen, I think Gardenhire is a totally fine manager...but lets calm down here.

[209] Montero had a rough start this year, but was playing well by the end. Scouts complained about his defense, but he looked great compared to Chad Moeller (at least to my eye).

And yeah, how bad could he be? The only one on the team who has more errors than Posada is Cervelli.

Everyone is expanding the strike zone.

[228] [222] Indeed, Jay Jaffe did a study of that a couple of years back and determined there is almost zero correlation between how a team finishes out the season and how far they go in the postseason.

Guys, work the friggin count here, don't extend this outing.

Looks like they have some plans tonight and want to get this game over with.

[229] He can say that he's trying to win all he wants. His actions did not match up at all.

[236] I think he only looked at 10 games. The Yankees went into cruise control with about 3 weeks.

The big issues here is the low pitch count for this inning. liriano going deep into the game is an issue.

Ehhh, like a wise man once said, "Looks like I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue ..."

I really like the TBS pitch graphics. I look forward to seeing many a Mo cutter darting on the overhead one.

Fuck.

Okay, now Posada fucking OWES us a 2 run HR later. At least!

Not a very inspiring inning to say the least.

Not awesome, fellas.

Well, we lost game one to the Twins in 03 and 04.

granderson and gardner can reset the tone when they leadoff next inning. hopefully they do just that.

[231] I think that its Ron Darlin in the booth that sounds like James Woods

[234] "And yeah, how bad could he be? The only one on the team who has more errors than Posada is Cervelli."

Oy. We need to turn to Jesus.

nice! twins losing patience will help.

is girardi talking at 150 MPH?

When asked about Montero's defense, one scout responded, "Jesus is just alright."

[253] I don't know but apparently you can't talk strategy at that speed.

[254] they are so going to hell

[236] 2000 a.d. Yankees shat the bed the last month but wone.

[255] ha yeah, that was a strange comment i thought.

[238] They got tickets for Morris Day perhaps..

Man, my Banter was inaccessilble until now. I am not liking this game. Did anything interesting happen in the earlier games? ; ) I know, I know.

[258] I assume he meant that he's not going to talk strategy on the air.

[259] no Jerome?

[261] yeah that makes sense. it wasn't how he said it exactly but he was talking fast so maybe he was all worked up and the words came out weird.

better cc!

CC needed that

So.... 2 of the 3 runs are due to a HBP and a passed ball?

[266] And CC not covering first, allowing the runner to move to 3rd base, setting up the passed ball.

And the Yankees cost themselves a run when Gardner failed to advance on a misplayed ball to left.

[256] Just a joke. It's a song, famously recorded by the Byrds and Doobie Brothers. Just trying to lighten the mood around here.

I do believe my upstairs neighbor (and his fiancee) are at this very moment scoring more than the Yankees ...

(excuse me .... could you perhaps put a CARPET on the floor?!)

[263] I'm not sure what difference it would have made if he said it was called from the bench, but its Girardi and everything is always a big secret anyway, so thats what i took from it

Please take a strike.....

[269] good for them!

damn. i was feeling good about grandy there too.

[269] Nice to know SOMEONE is getting past 2nd base....

[267] CC tried to cover first. He just couldn't get over there in time. The man is immense, and not exactly speedy. I think he might lose to a Molina brother in a footrace.

Gardner runs and bunts like Posada catches. Fucking pathetic.

ok that was NOT a good at bat from gardy.

Very, very un-Gritner-like

This is not fun

OKay, this 2 hits shit is unacceptable.

well, he hit that well. hmm.

[274] And actually scoring. Just hope no one's going to be waiting til the end of time.

[268] Someone doesn't know about the Doobie Brothers? Oh wait, the damn kids are one the lawn again.

[282] Remember when Re-Run was bullied into bootlegging a Doobies show in Watts (?!) and they reacted like "man Re-Run, we thought you wer eour friend.."

What a bunch of shit

[283] Missed that episode.

[283] Classic epsiode..would rather be watching that right now.

Its pretty telling that I've barely noticed Ernie Johnson tonight.

[283] That was a two-parter! I believe Rerun's bootleg was unusable because all you could hear was him eating popcorn loudly.

Now, back to our listless Yankees.

Fearless (aka Horseshit) Prediction: The 6th inning? Yanks will put a five-spot on the board.

Has the post season started yet?

[289] I'm calling the 7th for the Yankee rally.

[290] Not for the Yankees. Still waiting for them to show up.

OK, this shit ends now!

LET'S GO YAN-KEES!!!

CLAP CLAP CLAP-CLAP-CLAP!!

[288]

http://www.hulu.com/watch/6752/whats-happening-doobie-or-not-doobie-part-1

And can I just go on the record as hating, absolutely loathing, despising, would rather have a Yankees rotation of 3 Carl Pavanos & 2 Ed Whistsons than watch them, talking baby ads.

[288] Yes! Popcorn!!

Man, any 80s sitcom would be better than this offensive "performance" at this point...

[293] Or not

THis would be a great inning to have some actual offense.

Still doesn't change the fact that no one liked (or hated) my Jesus Is Just Alright joke. Oh well.

HOW ABOUT SOME GODDAMN HITS?

Fucking finally. Howz about a Modamn run! Or 3!

please Alex

[300] I appreciated it. Just that a Yankees game where it seems they left their bats behind, well I'm sensing 2002.

[303] I'm going to the game on Saturday. My last playoff game? Game 2 2002

Man on third. Less than 2 out. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Mark Teixeira showing Gardner how its done

[304] ooooph, El Duque...that was rough

[303] As I said earlier, every time they look flat in a game one, I flash on 2002 (and 2006). Oddly, I have faith in this team in this series.

a runner on 3rd, 1 out - what on earth?

C'mon ROBBIE!

I hate the talking baby ads, too.

I was really ticked that the government gave E-trade bailout money. I was hoping they'd go bankrupt, just to spare us the baby ads.

c'mon Robbie
little knock here- single or double be a good starts

(308) from your screen to the gods' of baseball's inbox

If the Yankees can't score here, with their MVP at the plate, they don't deserve to win.

[308] I don't think in '02 the problem was them being flat (they led games 2 and 3), just that the Angels refused to stay dead.

'06 they were just flat.

Cano! You can do it! I am not a witch! I am you! 3-run tater, please!!

YES!

HOLY SHIT A RUN!!!

woo hoo a RUN!!!!!

WHOO HOOO!!! Rocket Robbie!

Is CC getting as many 'marginal' strikes as Liriano??
And............
ROBBIE!!!!!!!!!

[315] I should have said "they sucked."

A hit with RISP? Is that allowed?

RIPPER!!!

MOTHERFUCKING RIPPER!!!

We need more. No DP!

Madonna taught Alex that move.

[307] Yeah, no fun.

My only other playoff game was what was, up until today, the only playoff win in Texas Rangers history.

I'm bad luck

Howdeeee! Let's go Yankees!

Where would we be without Cano? Hard to believe they tried to trade him to the D-backs...and they didn't want him.

Now, Mr. Thames is going to get *all* sorts of me-di-evil on Liriano's ass ...

Oh, that's impressive, Lirano thorwing that past Thames

That 3rd run off Sabathia (kind of) is a bitch aint it?

[322] well...yeah. '02 was just that no one at the time realized how good the Angels really were. That Tigers team sucked though.

that's a good thames vs liriano stat
well, it would be if it included a total number of at bats

attaboy
now for Thames to show why Girardi smallsamplesized him into the lineup

Holy crud, threw another one past him. That's onions.

Thank God for Robbie Cano.

Now it's your turn, Thames.

Man.... Thames missed a pretty fat pitch there....

Not sure what Thames was doing there.

Time for a big hit from Posada

Make up for that run, Jorge.

POSADA OWES US!

just a single Jorge, thats all I'm asking for here

Jorge used to be able to get the occasional rbi...

This crowd really thinks everything is a strike.

I'd walk Posada now.

[345] They're pretty bad...

YES!

Nice!!

HE LIVES!!

See?

Like I said. Way to go Jorge!

Yowzers. Close.

HIP HIP!

HOT FUCKIN' DAMN! GO YANKEES!

Another hit with RISP? I know that's against the rules.

[346] You had the right idea (may i say I thought the same thing? I did)

HIP-FUCKING-HIP!

JOR-GE!!!!

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And a good AB from Grandy here might be Liriano's last batter!

Can the Grandy man?

Let's go Curtis

True Yankee moment...NOW!

C'mon Curtis. Make up for that weak-ass K last time up.

Both of FL's runs were given up with him in the stretch. Holy shit. What analysis. Just throw in he hasn't give up any homers either.

"Caveman Baseball"...I like that

THE GRANDY MAN FUCKING CAN!

Grandy!

BOOM B!TCH!

GRANDY

FUCK YEAH!!!!! Goddamn Curtis Rules.

Math major Ernie- tied?

What happened there?

Thank you Kevin Long. Signed Curtis Granderson and every Yankee fan.

I had a good feeling about Curtis there. Too bad it didn't go out, for his sake, but hell we got the lead!

Tied! Liriano at 106 pitches.

"This game is now tied. And the Yankees have taken the lead 4-3"

That's some announcing.

Nothing better than postseason manic depression.

wow, that ball fooled the outfielders almost as much as it fooled the ace brodacast crew
buh-bye Liriano, go Yankees!

Grandyman can!

Damn Liriano looked so dominant and now he's gone before 6 innings are in the books

I have a feeling this is gonna be a late night

FISTED!

I can't believe how long that thing floated up there. That felt like an eternity- kept waiting for Span to settle under it.

One more time! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIX5EbY12O0&feature=fvst

[375] He sounds like he's on a ton of narcotics. "And now for a word from Dilaudid."

I'd like a couple more runs now

Did that hit off the top of the dome? Oh, wait.....

[381] That was about the game, right, not your upstairs neighbor?

[372] Yeah you gotta give it up for the guy. Granderson and Swisher, just some awesome results.

[380] Yup. Tomorrow morning's gonna be a bitch.

Big-league at-bats by the Yankees in this inning against a tiring pitcher. You can't predict baseball, Suzyn.

[385] No kidding. I am so much more calm when they are losing. On edge now.

[387] LOL! Wasn't gonna go there.

[381] Bubbaluh... you are listening to your upstairs neighbors too much...

Let's see some physics defying Gardnering.

[391] Polar opposite here. lol

CC will be PUMPED!

If you're a Twin fan or Twin, you gotta be gulping right about now. Oh shit the announcers stole my thunder

That’s some announcing.

Sterling-esque!!!

[393]

lol ....

[389] lucky for me I have the kind of boss who sends out 800 word emails on why Pavano will "get beaten like a stepchild"

Man, Gardner really does have some great ABs

[395] Oh, I'm terrible. I'm dying now.

Well done boys, WELL DONE!

Okay, so a four-spot. We'll take it.

Keep it going CC

I said this before, and maybe its because I'm so used to Chip, but EJ is going a real fine job.

Well, that Granderson triple JUST missed being a HR but on the other hand it also just missed being an inning ending out. So yeah I'll take it.

[399] I can relate, had a neighbor with the squeakiest freaking bed in history. Living downstairs was a bitch.

[400] Nice. Mr. Spacely here is from Down Under so asks me Qs like "those baseballers..how do they play 162 games when so many of them are fat?"

Big inning for CC

[405] I'm a big EJ fan, the NBA on TNT studio show is seriously one of the best things on tv...you don't even have to like the NBA to enjoy it.

[400] Mine's from Minnesota. Though to be fair, he's a decent guy.

Need to CC to lock it down now...let's go BIG man.

Will Orel proclaim that it's important for CC to have a shutdown inning? If he does, I'll sip my beer.

I just don't want a close game in Joba's hands....

Ok CC, 1-2-3 inning here would be perfect.

I miss the YES pitch count box.

Damn nice pitch there. 2 more CC

Making Mauer look foolish. Well Played, CC!

SIDDOWN JOEY!!!

I was flipping through Darling's book the other day, kinda cool format. I might pick it up during the winter.

[410] I'm very pleasantly surprised.

Impressive handling of Mauer, who is one of those few hitters that makes me wonder how anyone ever gets him out (Edgar Martinez was another).

This camera man sucks!

Teeter Totter?

Holy pants shitted.

Oh man, I thought that was gone for sure. Phew!

That was unnecessarily scary

FUCK YOU TBS CAMERAS!!

Holeeeeee shit

Wowza..... I was sure that was gone. Too much up... not enough out.

Please pass the heart defibrillator.

Seemed like the announcers lost that ball. Gardner didn't, luckily.

[426] The wide shot did us no favors.

Wow...how did that stay in the park!

[416] Sad, isn't it?

How did that not go out?

[424] Smoltz is from "Murica"...he's not like you and me. He calls soda "pop" and puts Mayo on everything.

By the way, the Twins trade of Garza and Bartlett for Delmon Young doesn't look so bad now.

Gardner was the only one who knew it would be caught. Did Thome stand up CC's sister or something? Lotsa close ones. And on the mark ones.

[438] I thought it was a pretty fair trade at the time.

CC is losing it a bit. Dropping his shoulder and coming under the ball.

Easy CC, easy, big fella...don't like how this sequence is starting...

Good trip by Eiland...not sure why Sabathia started over throwing.

[438] I honestly think its still pretty terrible.

but Pierzynski for Nathan and Liriano makes up for it

[437] It's still weird everytime I hear it in the mid-west, calling soda "pop". It's soda, goddammit.

Ohhhhhh man, that would have been an incredible play.

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!

Thank God Thome is so slow

These announcers are a little behind the curve when it comes to left field this inning

Almost an awesome play by Gardner. Wow. And damn it!

Fuck. Just missed it. Damnit. E7.

Oh, fuckitty fuck fuck.

Yikes...so close. Maybe time to get CC outta there, except who comes in during the sixth? Mitre?

[445] It's actually soda pop. There was a split sometime around the Civil War (unrelated, I'm sure)

Do not drop the ball Jorgie.

I don't feel good about CC right now.

What was that move Gardner did after losing the ball? Looking for style points? I actually chuckled, even though I'm freaking out.

Can Girardi go into catch?

Uh Oh

Come on, CC

Double Uh Oh

How did he lose it all of a sudden?

If he walks him, it's still better than a hit

[453] Don't you blaspheme!

Joba 7th
Wood 8th
Mo 9th

I foresee very bad things.

I might throw an intentional one here

What the hell is going on with Sabathia? The strike thrower??

[462] To get out the rookie. I hope.

Robertson, Joba, Wood, Mo?

CC wasn't gonna let up a long ball. I'm OK with him being careful there.

Sabathia will get out of this

Cashman doesnt look very comfortable.

Strikes CC

[454] I'm just so used to calling it soda, then I come to Toledo & simply hear "pop", it's jarring.

CC looks rattled.

hows about throwing the child a strike?

C'mon CC, let's get this rook.

Not good

Come on CC. Don't give them this.

oh... my....

He will have to make a pitch eventually though

Damnit

GOD

[478] Very, very not good.

Awful job by Sabathia.

Bear DOWN CC. THROW A STRIKE!

He's going to walk in the fucking tying run, isn't he?

Jeebus!

What the FUCK

You have to be kidding me. Joe. Hook. Now.

Fucking shit! Shitting fuck!

Home field seems like it came into play there. Sabathia was rattled big time.

you can't be fucking serious

PISS away 2 fucking gift runs. Horse Shit.

CC choked it right back.

THIS is why we needed to play for home field. Tie game in the late innings is giving me heartburn

CC has zero command. That kid was not gonna bite, to his credit.

I think CC's just tired. He's over 100 pitches, and it's a high-pressure game.

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!?!?!?

DANNY VALENCIA?!@?!?!?!?

FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKYOU>

Man... no help from the ump on that AB

Why is CC still pitching?

Posada's gonna let one get by

Total failure by Sabathia here. I know he's trying but it's just a godawful job

[492] Don't buy it.

[502] You mean another.

What? Two strikes? It's a miracle!!!

Make the fucking pitch.

Don't think I've ever seen Sabathia look this out of control before.

For health reasons, maybe I shouldn't be watching this.

[504] I don't think it came in to play here. I think it may later

Ok, battle of the pens now. Here we go...

Okay. Could have been worse.

ok ok, could've been much worse...anybody's game here

Good.
3 inning game. Passed ball run. Walked in run. Pass the glue.

So...whose bullpen do we like more?

Start it off Jeter. Roll on these ass clowns.

Okay kids, that's that. Now here we go for some SCORE TRUCK ACTION!

[509] My liver is on the same page. This is just game one of the LDS.

Yup, gunna be a late night.

It's a battle of the bullpens now

All of that with 2 outs. I really don't understand what happened. Obviously it could have been worse but it just seemed so ... unnecesary

[520] And no Gaudin!

With CC pitching game #4, he has to be done now. Robbie, Wood and Mo? If it's still a tie, we might have to squeeze Joba in there and be prepared to go 10.

Ya wonder if AJ can go 1 in there... but I think he is terrible in his first inning. Not a good trait for a relieve.

Sheeet. After a brief scientific study I have concluded that when I watch the Yanks tank. When I don't they rake. Got out of the subway and they're ahead. Get to my office just in time watch CC give it back. GAH!

[523] I'm also really worried that Joe's going to do what he did last year and run through all his top tier relievers in two innings.

That's why ya gotta take the first pitch.

Jeter is just guessing these days, and guessing WRONG.

I'm going to miss Joe Nathan. He always seemed to implode in big spots.

Crain's pretty nasty.

I think I'm gonna hit the bed and listen on the radio ...

Gotta gets some runs before those three closers?!? get in the game...

For once I really want to hear the postgame interview with a player. CC - what in the name of all that's holy happened there?

Anyway; moving on

For god sakes, take a fucking pitch, Jeets.

William.... what do you know about the Twin's BP?

[531] this may come back to haunt me, but Rauch-Fuentes-Capps does not send a chill down my spine

But not that one!

Crud

Shit. Hit it on the screws.

[524] bad Jersey vibes, Boatzilla..of maybe Chuo Line bad "ki"?

Jete's hit it on the button. And nice job by Swish.

Fucking Swisher is so steady

Right on, Swish. Let's go, Yanks! C'mon big Tex.

Golson? Pinch Run?

[543] Please no.

Wow, these Twins fans really DO think everything's a strike. C'mon TEX!

Should Teix and ARod just look for the curve on every pitch (B4 2 strikes) and hope to launch one?

way to clear your throat right into the mic John

Whoa!

WOOHOO!

OH HELL YES!

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES

ON THE MARK

HOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.. WHOOOOOOOt WOOOOOOOOOOOT

I knew he'd do that.

HE WAS LOOKING FOR THE CURVE!!!!!!!!!!!

TEIXEIRA!!!!

LONG GONE!!!!

Teix Meissage!

I had a good feeling about that AB too! Sweet!!

Oh so quiet at Target Field!

BOOM GOES THE MOTHERFUCKING DYNAMITE!!!!!!!!

Oh yes! My 2009 rally-inducing song came in handy yet again! If the Yankees hold on, I will have to ask Alex if I can post a youtube clip of it tomorrow.

Tex's first 4 at-bats > his entire 2009 postseason.

Hey TNT team. Go fuck yourself. You're not calling a funeral.

[558] So did I, actually

[561] haha

[562] I genuinely think they couldn't tell.

[539] Yahoo! That's a message. Good Jersey vibes now, Jazz. BTW I was on the Maurnouchi.

[560] Don't jinx it!

[561] Are you forgetting the game winning laser homer in extras last year?

A little quiet in Minny?

LOVE IT!

Tex rid her over the moon!

[562] Well the World is losing...

[567] I said "IF!" C'mon Yankees...let's get greedy here!

[568] He was soooo bad otherwise though.

Hey Jazz, or anyone out of the USA, the At Bat iPod app is blacking me out, even though I have the Post Season pass and Japan is not part of the international black out. What gives? Anyone know?

Now... with a 2 run lead, do you try to save Robbie or Wood for tomorrow and give Joba the 7th?

Sorry, that's an iPhone app.

Nice work, A-Rod!

I love him, but I really don't want to see Mo tonight. I want a five run lead.

Hip-less Hip-less Horray!

Evening, Team. Please excuse my extended hiatus. I hope to be back for the duration.

I see I've missed some baseball.

Something else the Yanks couldn't do in September: tack on runs. Let's get this one in, boys!

Hey Gardner. That dude's got a bad hip and HE'S stealing bags.

A steal!

[577] You read my mind.

Cano speeding towards 1st

Bring A-Rod home.

That steal wound up mattering

A single. I just want a single.

pleasepleasepleaseplease don't start mixing and matching Joe

Boone Logan? That means 4 RPs in 3 innings.

[579] You missed the first 6 innings???

Is it just me or does Fuentes throws like my sister?

drat

[590] I caught prolonged glimpses of it with Sterling and Kay but mostly, yes.

[590] Err, and Waldman.

[589] Hopefully only four

[591] Your sister must be talented. It's a long way from third to first for mortal men and women.

Boone.

Did you guys hear the "That's what I'm talkin' 'bout" after Tex's HR? Was that Tex or Swisher?

The Boone Logan experiment begins. : /

[598] I heard "long gone" when he hit it

Why not save Boone for Thome? Why waste him on leadoff hitter Span???

C'mon Boone, punch 'im out!

Remember how we all felt about Boone in the early part of the season, before he went down to the SWB?

What a turnaround.

Graeme Lloyd their asses.

1 down - 8 to go...

Okay. That worked.

[604] hheheheh.

can we agree to call it "the Boone Logan trade" from now on?

oh my god Smoltz is awful

He's still out there

Up by 2... down by 2... I feel sick either way.
Why do I look forward to this?

[611] I have no idea. I was asking myself that before

[611] Because you're insane, or somehow not quite right -- like the rest of us.

Good job Boone. One more

A WHOLE INNING FOR LOGAN?
Where's Girardi?

I'm impressed with Joe leaving him in for the righty

[611] It's a better sick kinda feeling now. Alcohol helps.

[615] Its better than running through everyone and then getting stuck with Mitre in extra innings like we did last year

[609] Like Boston stint awful.

I'm so looking forward to booing Pavano on Saturday. Does that make me petty?

Wow... that foul tip would knock down 10 pins.

Let's go Boone! Punch Mauer out!

[618] I like it... I'm just stunned the ChessMaster has done it.

[620] No.

UhOh

I'm going to need another bottle of Johnnie Walker.

Damn, Mauer's a great hitter.

Rats!

Here we go,

So why is he coming out now? I don't get it. What's the shame in giving up a hit to Mauer?

Damn, Ali's daughter is hot in that Subway commercial.

[620] He might be on the field, but probably not introduced. When will there be a chance to boo him on Saturday?

Damn! Too good to be true to hope for a 1-2-3. If Young gets on, Thome becomes the winning run at the plate.
(Why do I look forward to this?)

Well, that was nice

[620] Just booing?

"Alyssa said you can't fuck"

[632] Hell, I'm booing him right now.

Strikes, Robertson! Strikes!

[632] I *think* they introduce both teams down the lines before the first home game

[630] Better-more rested RHP for a RH batter. Correct move.

Okay, Robertson can get Young. Let's get it done, Dave!

[637] Better resend that memo

[630] If Young gets on Thome is the go ahead run

Oh fuck me....

Not even close Dave

I have a headache

For Pavano, the best thing is for the Yankees to embarrass his ass tomorrow.

STRIKES YOU CAD

As YES analysts have pointed out all season, when D-Rob throws strikes, he's golden. When he doesn't, not so much. First three pitches, not too auspicious.

Crap. C'mon Dave...jeez.

Cripes! 11:30 and only the 7th.

Who wants to see Robertson pitch to Thome? Not me

Balls, Robertson! Balls! Try the reverse and all that.

Time for more whiskey.

I would have started the 7th with Joba.

GOD DAMMIT!

Fuck. . . .

FUCKFUCKFUCK

hy HFGCFBHDFHRTJ

$#%#% Jim Thome.

here come the pain

Oh God. Not what I want to see here. Thome will always scare me.

Anyone NOT think he's going to hit a three run dinger?

[653] Vodka here.

Ugh. That sucked. This is scary now. Thome. Well, we'll have time to score some more.

Thome is a low ball hitter.
Repeat:
THOME IS A LOW BALL HITTER!

He should've just left Boogan in. Like I said, giving up a single to Mauer is meaningless. The guy gets hits. And it was tough for him there too. Should have left him in, just in case. He looked good to me

[662] Hopefully Robertson. But he may be alone.

Gutsy fucking pitch, that slider. Waaay the fuck up!

hi team.

been teaching all night. saw a score when we were down 3-0. then saw tex hit the go-ahead homer. listened a bit in the car. home now.

me no likey this situation...

c'mon, d-rob. get him out!

Fuck, two in a row.

Gut-sy.

Good curveball. Throw it again.

One more, Dave...c'mon...GET IT DONE!

Hight and Inside. NOW!

Sweet sweet curve. Keep it up youngin

Whew!

NICE

THREE IN A ROW!

DAMN!

FUCCCCK YEAAAH!

Nice curve there. Phew!

YEAH!

Well that was exciting. YES!!!!

Thanks Dave.

My heart didn't need that

Huge pitch by DRob.

Oh PHew!

Wood
Mo

[665] But not low enough!

WOW.... Thome chases one!!!!!!!
(Excuse me.... I nned to throw up now)

WOW. Cannot believe it. He looked terrible vs a light hitting righty then blows Thome away. It almost makes me think you can't predict baseball or something

Whooo. The Logan David was sweet as usual.

Man am I glad Royce Ring was left off the roster. Otherwise, Thome would be circling the bases now.

ON-IONS!

Hard to believe Thome is 40.

I see the Rangers released Rich Harden today- he must have pissed someone off. I've never seen that from a playoff team.

Well fucking done.

D-Rob may lose the strike zone sometimes, but dude's got stones. Big ones.

[691] Must have bitched about not making the post season roster. Guess he can kiss his post season share good bye.

I might have make my students memorize the box score tomorrow while I nap for 2 hours and then give them a 2 hous test and nap for another 2 hours. OY.

[689] Great point! That would've been awful to see.

FYI Dept... from ESPN:
"Joe Girardi revealed shortly before the start of Wednesday night's ALDS Game 1 against the Minnesota Twins that the slugging first baseman [Teixiera] was given a cortisone shot in the base of his right thumb on Sept. 20."

I like Thome a lot, and like him more now. But not so sorry to wish him failure.

[697] Thank God steroids aren't illegal.

[695] that's awesome! i might steal your lesson plan for my students! ; )

[694] I think if you're on the roster for the season, they can't take it away. But yeah, he must have really whined. I mean, you think they'd keep him around just in case a bunch of guys get hurt.

Let's go JORGE. The way I see it, he still owes us a run.

Great AB here by Posada.

MORE RUNS

I was hoping to see Jorge with the lead off walk and then not pinch run for.

Yankees sucks chants?!?!

Robertson starts the 8th, right?

Posada is 39, he swung at that last pitch like Jack Benny.

By the way... I believe Cortisone shots take a long time of penetration to deliver and use a nasty needle. At the base of the thumb???? Ouchie.

And Diane... I hope my 'penetration' comment doesn't get you back heated up.

[701] It was a roster move as they got a player form another team. Still stone cold. I don't thing there was a reason to put this move off until after the WS.

[705] or a pinch stand there

I like Ron Darling. He sounds like James Woods.

[709] I got a cortisone shot in my knee once. The needle was ****ing GIGANTIC.

[709] They are. My hip guy considers them to be surgery.

[712] In general, I'd trade the Yankee announcers for the Mets announcers in a heartbeat.

[715] Still say Singleton is the best in either booth though

No walks Kerry

Did Gardner work a full count each at-bat tonight?

This was posted at Lohud just before the game...
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Curtis Granderson is a career .182 hitter against Francisco Liriano. He’s hit well against nearly every other pitcher on the Twins staff, but Granderson has struggled against tonight’s starter.

Whether to play Granderson, though, was never a debate for Joe Girardi.

“I don’t look at his numbers in the past,” Girardi said. “He’s a different hitter now, we think. You look at what he did the last two months in his at-bats against left-handers. He was a different guy for us.

Joe Joe pushing some correct buttons so far?

[716] I agree with that. I think a Singleton/Jack Curry tandem would be good, with O'neil joining them once in a while for comic relief.