The Lazy Ninja gives the Yankees the lead.
ALCS Game Two: Angels @ Yankees
With four days off between the Division Series and the Championship Series, there was plenty of time to focus on the negative, as some are wont to do. There was talk about CC Sabathia’s struggles in the postseason and against the Angels, Anaheim’s ownage of the Yanks, the weather, and just about everything negative you could possibly think of. Game One, however, could not have possibly gone any better for New York. Sabathia dominated (and J-Poz wrote about it), the Yankees got timely hits and capitalized on Angel errors, and The Sandman closed the door. It all adds up 1-0 series lead.
The Yanks get a bit of a break tonight, because Mike Scioscia is sending Joe Saunders to the bump rather than the grizzled AL East vet Scott Kazmir. It certainly is a curious decision, but I’m not complaining. The Yankees will counter with AJ Burnett, who will have personal catcher Jose Molina behind the dish. It’s a good thing, Jorge Posada did such a horrible job behind the plate last night. Sigh.
Anyway, here’s the lineups.
Angels
Chone Figgins, 3B
Bobby Abreu, RF
Torii Hunter, CF
Vladimir Guerrero, DH
Kendry Morales, 1B
Juan Rivera, LF
Maicer Izturis, 2B
Mike Napoli, C
Erick Aybar, SS
Joe Saunders (16-7, 4.60)
Yankees
Derek Jeter, SS
Johnny Damon, LF
Mark Teixeira, 1B
Alex Rodriguez, 3B
Hideki Matsui, DH
Nick Swisher, RF
Robinson Cano, 2B
Melky Cabrera, CF
Jose Molina, C
AJ Burnett (13-9, 4.04)
The weather doesn’t look great, but everyone’s hopefully they’ll get this one. The baseball gods usually take care of these things, so I feel pretty confident that we’ll get nine innings in tonight. FOX has the call yet again, first pitch is tentatively scheduled for 7:57pm ET. Enjoy.
Tickets available for tonight’s game
We’ve got another set of tickets available for tonight’s game. They’re located in Section 228, Row 18, Seats 18 & 19, so they’re along the line in left field, reasonably close to the field. Face value is $80, so it’ll be $160 for the pair.
If you’re interested, email me via the link on the sidebar and I’ll put you in touch with the seller.
Update (1:49pm): The tickets have been claimed.
ALCS Game One Spillover Thread IV
(h/t NoMaas)
Laird goes deep as Surprise wins again
AzFL Surprise (7-3 win over Mesa)
Brandon Laird: 1 for 5, 1 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 3 K – you think that .750 BABIP is sustainable?
Colin Curtis: 1 for 4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 BB
Austin Romine: 2 for 5, 1 K – allowed two stolen bases
Zach Kroenke: 2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1-2 GB/FB – picked a runner off first … 15 of 26 pitches were strikes (57.7%)
Well, most (but not all) of the Dominican Winter League rosters are out, so here’s what we got:
Estrellas de Oriente: RHP Noel Castillo, IF Wady Rufino
Gigantes del Cibao: RHP Gabriel Tatis
Tigres del Licey: RHP Jairo Heredia, RHP Hector Noesi, 1B Juan Miranda
Toros del Este: RHP Josue Calzado (yes, he’s a pitcher now), RHP Humberto Sanchez, SS Eduardo Nunez
Still waiting on the Puerto Rican League rosters, but the season doesn’t start for a month.
ALCS Game One Spillover Thread III
Yankees flashing the leather. I like it.
ALCS Game One Spillover Thread II
“[Mike Scioscia] misses nothing.” But his infielders miss popups.
Zing!