Game Four, Take Two:

Ichiro Suzuki LF
Nick Swisher RF
Robinson Cano 2B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Raul Ibanez DH
Eric Chavez 3B
Russell Martin C
Brett Gardner CF
Eduardo Nunez SS

Never mind holding back: Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Photo Credit: Jeremy Geddes via This Isn't Happiness]

Season on the line.

Ichiro Suzuki LF
Nick Swisher RF
Robinson Cano 2B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Raul Ibanez DH
Eric Chavez 3B
Russell Martin C
Brett Gardner CF
Eduardo Nunez SS

Never mind the mishegoss: Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Photo Credit: Thomas Prior]

Here goes:

Brett Gardner LF
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Raul Ibanez DH
Russell Martin C
Eric Chavez 3B
Curtis Granderson CF
Eduardo Nunez SS

Last Chance Saloon tonight.

Never mind the Odds: Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Photo Credit: Steven Siegel]

Tonight…Justin Verlander aka Doom.

“It’s a fun challenge,” Mark Teixeira said. “People think we’re crazy to say that, but it is a fun challenge, because if you’re going to win a World Series, you got to beat the best, and he is the best right now. So we’re going to Detroit, their crowd’s going to be rocking, they’re going to be cheering for their own team, so we have an opportunity to do something special and win a few games out there.”

[Photo Credit: Damian Strohmeyer/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images]

The Yankee offense continued its run of futility today and it cost them another game as they were shutout, 3-0. That’s the main story though there are a few subplots worth mentioning. First, Hiroki Kuroda was terrific, giving up three runs (should have been just one) in 7.2 innings, five hits, no walks and 11 strikeouts. Working on three days rest for the first time in his major league career, he was a stud. Second, is that there were so many empty seats at the Stadium today you’d think this was Atlanta in the late ’90′s. It’s as if Yankee fans showed their displeasure by staying away or that since Derek Jeter wasn’t going to be there, neither were they.

The other, more enraging part of the game was a blown call buy Jeff Nelson in the eighth inning that would have kept the score 1-0. Omar Infante overran second base on a base hit to right field, Nick Swisher threw the ball to Robinson Cano who applied the tag.

Instead of ending the inning, the Tigers took advantage of the umpire’s gaffe and tacked on two runs. Joe Girardi got himself run arguing the call and spent most of his post-game press conference talking about instant replay (while Nick Swisher bellyached about the Bleacher Creatures). Nelson told reporters, “The hand did not get in before the tag.The call was incorrect…I had the tag late and the hand going into the bag before the tag on the chest.”

“I think the umpire got confused ’cause he saw my hand, something with my hand made him think I was safe,” Infante said.

When asked if he he out, Infante said, ”Of course.”

Two critical calls go against the Yankees in the first two games and yet while they give us something to pin our anger on, it’s not what cost them either game. The Yankees didn’t win today because they couldn’t hit water if they fell out of a fucking boat. Four hits all game and none for Robinson Cano, their best player who is in a horrid drought-0-for-his-last 26. ‘

Shit, even if they could hit that doesn’t mean it’d result into runs crossing the plate.

“We’ve been through stretches like this all year,” Alex Rodriguez said. “It has been a very volatile stock market for us this year. You just hope you take a day off and come back with a lot of energy and turn it around…It may start with a change of scenery. I think getting a day of rest tomorrow, take a deep breath, everybody come out and not try to do too much, let the river flow a little bit. We’ve been used to this type of hostile environment and having our backs against the wall, but I’ll tell you what, our heads are not going to go down.”

The fair weather, front running dilettantes have already bailed on this team as evidenced by all the empty seats today.

As irritated as we may be, however, round these parts we stick with our team through it all. And yeah, Verlander vs. Hughes in Game Three seems like Doom on a Platter. But stranger things have happened. Like the 1996 Whirled Serious, as Matt B pointed out last night in a text last night.

Regardless of the slumps and the loss of Jeter and the overall mishegoss we love our boys. And if we don’t always love ‘em, we won’t stop rooting them on. They aren’t done yet, no matter how poorly they are hitting, and they are still one of the the final four teams playing.

Could be worse. Could be raining.

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Photo Credit: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America; Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY Sports]

Yeah, things look grim. But you know what? The Yanks are winning today. Hiroki will be good enough, they’ll score a mess of runs, win one for the Jeppier, and leave New York with the series tied.

Ichiro Suzuki LF
Robinson Cano 2B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Raul Ibanez DH
Russell Martin C
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Curtis Granderson CF
Nick Swisher RF
Jayson Nix SS

Never mind last night: Let’s Go Yank-ees!

It will be cold tonight in the Bronx. I’ll be out most of the evening and won’t be around the game thread but hope to be back before the end of the game.

Here’s the lineup:

Derek Jeter SS
Ichiro Sukuki LF
Robinson Cano 2B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Raul Ibanez DH
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Nick Swisher RF
Curtis Granderson CF
Russell Martin C

Never mind 2006, never mind 2011: Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Photo Credit: Bryan Sargent]

From Chad Jennings here’s the roster (Eppley added, Nunez dropped):

PITCHERS
CC Sabathia
Andy Pettitte
Hiroki Kuroda
Phil Hughes
Rafael Soriano
Dave Robertson
Boone Logan
Joba Chamberlain
Clay Rapada
Cody Eppley
David Phelps
Derek Lowe

CATCHERS
Russell Martin
Chris Stewart

INFIELDERS
Mark Teixeira
Robinson Cano
Derek Jeter
Alex Rodriguez
Eric Chavez
Jayson Nix

OUTFIELDERS
Curtis Granderson
Nick Swisher
Ichiro Suzuki
Raul Ibanez
Brett Gardner

And the schedule:

Tonight

ALCS Game 1
Tigers at Yankees
8:07 p.m., TBS

Sunday

ALCS Game 2
Tigers at Yankees
4:07 p.m., TBS

NLCS Game 1
Cardinals at Giants
8:15 p.m., FOX

Monday

NLCS Game 2
Cardinals at Giants
8:07 p.m., FOX

Tuesday

ALCS Game 3
Yankees at Tigers
8:07 p.m., TBS

Wednesday

NLCS Game 3
Giants at Cardinals
4:07 p.m., FOX

ALCS Game 4
Yankees at Tigers
8:07 p.m., TBS

Thursday

ALCS Game 5
Yankees at Tigers
4:07 p.m., TBS

NLCS Game 4
Giants at Cardinals
8:07 p.m., FOX

Friday

NLCS Game 5
Giants at Cardinals
8:07 p.m., FOX

Saturday

ALCS Game 6
Tigers at Yankees
8:07 p.m., TBS

Sunday

NLCS Game 6
Cardinals at Giants
4:45 p.m., FOX *

ALCS Game 7
Tigers at Yankees
8:15 p.m., TBS

Monday

NLCS Game 7
SF @ WSH or STL @ SF
8:07 p.m., FOX

* If ALCS is complete, then NLCS Game 6 will shift to 7:45 p.m. (ET).

[Photo Credit: David Rachman]