2007 New York Yankees (MVP 05)

[NYJets]

Re: 2007 New York Yankees (MVP 05)

The Yankees have won 11 of 13 since the last update, including a 3 game sweep of the Red Sox, moving into a first place tie with Boston, and setting the stage for an exciting September AL East race.

Standings
AL East:
New York       83-58
Boston          83-58
Toronto        72-69    11

AL Wildcard:
Boston          83-58
Chicago         77-63   5.5
Minnesota      73-67   5.5
Toronto         72-69   11 

Schedule/Results
vs. Tampa W 5-2
vs. Tampa L 4-3
vs. Tampa L 5-1
vs. Bal L 9-2
vs. Bal L 11-3
vs. Bal W 6-5
at Minn W 7-4
at Minn W 6-5
at Minn W 11-3
at Oak L 1-0
at Oak W 10-1
at Oak L 12-4

vs. Cleveland L 13-10
vs. Cleveland L 6-4
vs. Cleveland L 10-6
at Boston W 3-0
at Boston L 12-5
at Boston L 10-4
at Tampa Bay W 5-1
at Tampa Bay L 15-11
vs. Toronto W 5-1
vs. Toronto W 5-4
vs. Boston L 8-1
vs. Boston L 7-2
vs. Boston L 9-2

at Texas W 7-5
at Texas W 15-2
vs. Seattle L 13-8
vs. Seattle W 8-5
vs. Seattle L 13-11
vs. Seattle L 9-1
vs. Texas W 7-3
vs. Texas W 11-9
vs. Texas W 6-2
vs. Texas W 8-2
at Seattle L 10-5
at Seattle L 5-2
at Seattle L 7-6

at CWS L 7-3
at CWS L 10-1
at CWS W 6-3
at NYM W 3-0
at NYM L 6-5
at NYM W 8-3
vs. Boston L 3-1
vs. Boston W 2-1
vs. Boston W 13-6
vs. Anaheim L 6-2
vs. Anaheim L 4-1
vs. Anaheim W 4-3

at Toronto L 5-4
at Toronto W 4-2
at Toronto L 7-2
at Boston W 5-4
at Boston L 10-1
at Boston W 5-2
at CWS L 4-2
at CWS L 4-3
at CWS W 6-2
at CWS W 4-3
vs. Pittsburgh W 6-5
vs. Pittsburgh L 3-1
vs. Pittsburgh W 9-1
vs. Arizona W 8-7
vs. Arizona W 8-7
vs. Arizona W 6-5
vs. New York Mets L 5-3
vs. New York Mets W 11-3
vs. New York Mets W 6-2

at Colorado W 14-5
at Colorado W 5-2
at Colorado L 6-4
at San Francisco W 8-3
at San Francisco W 8-7
at San Francisco W 8-5
at Baltimore L 4-2
at Baltimore W 4-2
at Baltimore W 7-3
vs. Oakland W 12-8
vs. Oakland L 8-5
vs. Oakland W 3-1

vs. Minnesota W 10-7
vs. Minnesota L 11-10
vs. Minnesota W 6-5
vs. Minnesota L 9-2
vs. Anaheim W 10-9
vs. Anaheim L 10-7
vs. Anaheim W 5-3

at Tampa Bay W 16-0
at Tampa Bay W 8-0
at Tampa Bay L 10-9
at Tampa Bay W 4-2
vs. Toronto L 8-1
vs. Toronto L 4-1
vs. Toronto L 5-2
vs. Toronto L 5-1
vs. Tampa Bay L 4-1
vs. Tampa Bay W 9-2
vs. Tampa Bay W 5-2
at Kansas City W 9-6
at Kansas City W 4-3
at Kansas City W 5-0
at Kansas City W 3-2
at Baltimore L 3-2
at Baltimore W 5-3
at Baltimore W 5-1
vs. Chicago L 5-4
vs. Chicago L 3-1
vs. Chicago L 5-4
vs. Chicago L 10-9
vs. Kansas City L 10-9
vs. Kansas City W 5-4
vs. Kansas City W 6-5

at Toronto W 5-2
at Toronto L 4-3
at Toronto W 6-3
at Cleveland L 9-7
at Cleveland W 3-2
at Cleveland W 4-1
vs. Baltimore W 9-6
vs. Baltimore W 4-0
vs. Baltimore L 6-3
vs. Detroit L 4-3
vs. Detroit W 5-4
vs. Detroit W 9-8
vs. Detroit W 10-3

at Anaheim L 2-1
at Anaheim W 3-0
at Anaheim W 7-3
at Detroit L 10-9
at Detroit W 7-1
at Detroit W 4-0
at Detroit W 10-8
vs. Boston W 8-5
vs. Boston W 6-4
vs. Boston W 5-3
vs. Tampa Bay W 3-1
vs. Tampa Bay W 5-1
vs. Tampa Bay W 5-4
vs. Seattle W 7-3
vs. Seattle W 8-6
vs. Seattle L 10-5

Batting Stats
Notable Stats
(AVG/HR/RBI/OPS)
DH
Jason Giambi .297/23/93/.874

1b
Doug Mientkiewicz .269/3/14/.682
Josh Phelps .305/9/29/.842

2b
Robinson Cano .353/15/73/.897
Miguel Cairo .270/3/22/.671

SS
Derek Jeter .359/8/47/.920

3B
Alex Rodriguez .326/40/125/1.012

C
Jorge Posada .275/29/81/.815
Todd Pratt .265/0/1/.600

LF
Hideki Matsui .274/12/49/.738
Melky Cabrera .297/4/24/.762

CF
Johnny Damon .316/14/61/.848
Bernie Williams .250/3/12/.808

RF
Bobby Abreu .268/27/92/.830

Pitching Stats
(W-L/ERA/WHIP)
SP
Chien-Ming Wang 12-10/3.66/1.38
Mike Mussina 14-6/3.72/1.25
Andy Pettitte 11-8/4.38/1.30
Carl Pavano 6-7/5.58/1.58
Phil Hughes 9-6/5.60/1.41

BP
Kei Igawa 6-3/5.28/1.46
Chris Britton 4-5/3.63/1.53
Mariano Rivera 3-4/3.28/1.08 39 Saves 4 BS
Luis Vizcaino 5-2/6.09/1.56
Scott Proctor 4-2/5.00/1.54
Jose Veras 0-1/2.68/1.17

The Yankees now go on a 9 game road trip which begins with series at Kansas City and Toronto and ends with a huge 3 game series at Fenway for the final meeting between the Yankees and Red Sox of the year.

[NYJets]

Re: 2007 New York Yankees (MVP 05)

Since the last update, the Yankees came into the Red Sox series strong, sweeping the Royals and winning 2 out of 3 in Toronto. They came into Fenway Park with a 4 game lead, looking to deliver the knockout blow. In game 1 they won 8-6. They knocked out Dice-K in the first inning, as Dice-K got only 1 out, and the Yankees put up 5. Game 2 Carl Pavano separated his shoulder in the 4th inning, and he is done for the year. The Red Sox knocked around the Yankees bullpen and won 12-7. In game 3, the Yankees fell behind 5-0 as Hughes got knocked around. But they came back and forced extra innings, and then in the 11th Giambi hit a homerun over the monster giving the Yankees a 8-7 lead. However, Julio Lugo hit a 2 run homer off Rivera, giving the Red Sox the win.

So the Red Sox are now 3 games out of first, with 12 to play for both teams. They do have a strong hold on the wildcard with a 4.5 game lead. The Yankees appear well on their way to the playoffs. The magic number is 6 to clinch a playoff spot. The Yankees magic number to clinch the AL East is 9.

The Yankees have called up Jeff Kartsens to replace Pavano in the rotation, and optioned down the struggling Scott Proctor, replacing him with Humberto Sanchez.

Standings:
AL East
New York           89-61    
Boston              86-64         3

Wildcard
Boston           86-64
Chicago          81-68           4.5
Minnesota       76-73           9.5 

Schedule/Results
vs. Tampa W 5-2
vs. Tampa L 4-3
vs. Tampa L 5-1
vs. Bal L 9-2
vs. Bal L 11-3
vs. Bal W 6-5
at Minn W 7-4
at Minn W 6-5
at Minn W 11-3
at Oak L 1-0
at Oak W 10-1
at Oak L 12-4

vs. Cleveland L 13-10
vs. Cleveland L 6-4
vs. Cleveland L 10-6
at Boston W 3-0
at Boston L 12-5
at Boston L 10-4
at Tampa Bay W 5-1
at Tampa Bay L 15-11
vs. Toronto W 5-1
vs. Toronto W 5-4
vs. Boston L 8-1
vs. Boston L 7-2
vs. Boston L 9-2

at Texas W 7-5
at Texas W 15-2
vs. Seattle L 13-8
vs. Seattle W 8-5
vs. Seattle L 13-11
vs. Seattle L 9-1
vs. Texas W 7-3
vs. Texas W 11-9
vs. Texas W 6-2
vs. Texas W 8-2
at Seattle L 10-5
at Seattle L 5-2
at Seattle L 7-6

at CWS L 7-3
at CWS L 10-1
at CWS W 6-3
at NYM W 3-0
at NYM L 6-5
at NYM W 8-3
vs. Boston L 3-1
vs. Boston W 2-1
vs. Boston W 13-6
vs. Anaheim L 6-2
vs. Anaheim L 4-1
vs. Anaheim W 4-3

at Toronto L 5-4
at Toronto W 4-2
at Toronto L 7-2
at Boston W 5-4
at Boston L 10-1
at Boston W 5-2
at CWS L 4-2
at CWS L 4-3
at CWS W 6-2
at CWS W 4-3
vs. Pittsburgh W 6-5
vs. Pittsburgh L 3-1
vs. Pittsburgh W 9-1
vs. Arizona W 8-7
vs. Arizona W 8-7
vs. Arizona W 6-5
vs. New York Mets L 5-3
vs. New York Mets W 11-3
vs. New York Mets W 6-2

at Colorado W 14-5
at Colorado W 5-2
at Colorado L 6-4
at San Francisco W 8-3
at San Francisco W 8-7
at San Francisco W 8-5
at Baltimore L 4-2
at Baltimore W 4-2
at Baltimore W 7-3
vs. Oakland W 12-8
vs. Oakland L 8-5
vs. Oakland W 3-1

vs. Minnesota W 10-7
vs. Minnesota L 11-10
vs. Minnesota W 6-5
vs. Minnesota L 9-2
vs. Anaheim W 10-9
vs. Anaheim L 10-7
vs. Anaheim W 5-3

at Tampa Bay W 16-0
at Tampa Bay W 8-0
at Tampa Bay L 10-9
at Tampa Bay W 4-2
vs. Toronto L 8-1
vs. Toronto L 4-1
vs. Toronto L 5-2
vs. Toronto L 5-1
vs. Tampa Bay L 4-1
vs. Tampa Bay W 9-2
vs. Tampa Bay W 5-2
at Kansas City W 9-6
at Kansas City W 4-3
at Kansas City W 5-0
at Kansas City W 3-2
at Baltimore L 3-2
at Baltimore W 5-3
at Baltimore W 5-1
vs. Chicago L 5-4
vs. Chicago L 3-1
vs. Chicago L 5-4
vs. Chicago L 10-9
vs. Kansas City L 10-9
vs. Kansas City W 5-4
vs. Kansas City W 6-5

at Toronto W 5-2
at Toronto L 4-3
at Toronto W 6-3
at Cleveland L 9-7
at Cleveland W 3-2
at Cleveland W 4-1
vs. Baltimore W 9-6
vs. Baltimore W 4-0
vs. Baltimore L 6-3
vs. Detroit L 4-3
vs. Detroit W 5-4
vs. Detroit W 9-8
vs. Detroit W 10-3

at Anaheim L 2-1
at Anaheim W 3-0
at Anaheim W 7-3
at Detroit L 10-9
at Detroit W 7-1
at Detroit W 4-0
at Detroit W 10-8
vs. Boston W 8-5
vs. Boston W 6-4
vs. Boston W 5-3
vs. Tampa Bay W 3-1
vs. Tampa Bay W 5-1
vs. Tampa Bay W 5-4
vs. Seattle W 7-3
vs. Seattle W 8-6
vs. Seattle L 10-5

at Kansas City W 10-6
at Kansas City W 4-1
at Kansas City W 6-3
at Toronto W 11-5
at Toronto L 6-1
at Toronto W 8-2
at Boston W 8-6
at Boston L 12-7
at Boston L 9-8

A-Rod MVP Watch:
Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz are the top 2 candidates for MVP, and much like 2005 it appears A-Rod will get the better of this matchup, as he is running away with it.
A-Rod
AVG .325
HR 47
RBI 145
SB 14
Runs 110
OBP .388
Slugg .640
OPS 1.028

David Ortiz
Avg .297
HR 31
RBI 121
SB 1
Runs 98
OBP .407
Slugg .528
OPS .935

Batting Title Race
Robinson Cano .354
Kevin Youkilis .328

Cano is running away with it, the only way he could lose it is if teammate Derek Jeter gets enough at bats to be eligible. Jeter is hitting .354 as well, but because of his injury he doesn't have enough at bats to qualify.

Batting Stats
Notable Stats
(AVG/HR/RBI/OPS)
DH
Jason Giambi .299/25/98/.882

1b
Doug Mientkiewicz .260/6/17/.679
Josh Phelps .314/9/30/.854

2b
Robinson Cano .354/17/84/.901
Miguel Cairo .270/3/22/.671

SS
Derek Jeter .354/8/48/.910

3B
Alex Rodriguez .325/47/145/1.028

C
Jorge Posada .277/29/85/.805
Todd Pratt .254/0/1/.567

LF
Hideki Matsui .274/12/49/.738
Melky Cabrera .283/4/27/.722

CF
Johnny Damon .319/14/62/.846
Bernie Williams .256/3/14/.821

RF
Bobby Abreu .271/29/101/.831

Pitching Stats
(W-L/ERA/WHIP)
SP
Chien-Ming Wang 12-11/3.79/1.39
Mike Mussina 15-6/3.80/1.26
Andy Pettitte 13-8/4.38/1.30
Carl Pavano 7-7/5.38/1.52
Phil Hughes 10-6/5.82/1.46

BP
Chris Britton 4-5/3.33/1.43
Mariano Rivera 3-5/3.27/1.03 42 Saves 4 BS
Luis Vizcaino 6-2/5.91/1.57
Jose Veras 2-2/3.24/1.22
Kyle Farnsworth 0-2/9.25/2.14
Jeff Kartsens 2-0/10.66/3.00
Humberto Sanchez 0-0/6.00/1.33

The Yankees will wrap up the season with a 6 game homestand against the Orioles and Blue Jays, and then a 6 game road trip at Tampa Bay and Baltimore. I'll post updates when important things happen in the last 12 games, then I'll have a big end of the season update, and then game by game updates if and when the Yankees make the postseason.

[NYJets]

Re: 2007 New York Yankees (MVP 05)

The Yankees defeated the Orioles 7-3 behind strong pitching from Wang. Alex Rodriguez had a 2 run double, giving him 147 RBI's, and Johnny Damon added a 3 run homer.

The White Sox won and the Red Sox lost.

Magic number to clinch a playoff spot: 5
Magic number to clinch the AL East: 7

[NYJets]

Re: 2007 New York Yankees (MVP 05)

Yankees lose to the Orioles 8-4 thanks to a meltdown by the Yankees bullpen.

However, both Boston and the White Sox lost, so the Yankees move closer to the playoffs.

Magic number to clinch a playoff spot: 4
Magic number to clinch the AL East: 6

[NYJets]

Re: 2007 New York Yankees (MVP 05)

Yankees beat the Orioles 7-2 behind a strong 7 inning, 1 run performance by Andy Pettitte. It was a great day for the Yankees as both the Red Sox and White Sox lost as well.

The Yankees had an off day on the following day. The Red Sox were off and the White Sox won.

The Yankees can clinch a playoff spot Friday with a win and a White Sox loss.



Magic number to clinch a playoff spot: 2
Magic number to clinch AL East: 4

[NYJets]

Re: 2007 New York Yankees (MVP 05)

Yankees lose to Toronto 6-4, as Jeff Kartsens struggles in his first MLB appearance in months.

Red Sox and White Sox both lose however.

The Yankees can clinch a playoff spot with a win or a White Sox loss.

Magic number to clinch a playoff spot: 1
Magic number to clinch AL East: 3

[NYJets]

Re: 2007 New York Yankees (MVP 05)

Yankees lose their 2nd straight to the Blue Jays, 5-4. Vernon Wells broke a 4-4 tie in the top of the 9th with an opposite field homerun off Mariano Rivera.

However, the White Sox lost again, and the Yankees are in the playoffs.

The Yankees have clinched a playoff spot.
Magic number to clinch AL East: 3

[NYJets]

Re: 2007 New York Yankees (MVP 05)

Doug Mientkiewicz has the game of his life, going 4-4 with 2 homers, a double, 4 RBI's, and 3 runs scored, as the Yankees knock around Roy Halladay and win 10-4.

Red Sox lose to Tampa Bay.

The Yankees can clinch the AL East with a win or a Red Sox loss.

[NYJets]

Re: 2007 New York Yankees (MVP 05)

Alex Rodriguez hit 2 homeruns, including a grand slam, leading the Yankees to a 10-3 win over the Devil Rays and clinching the Yankees 10th straight AL East title. The Yankees have clinched homefield advantage up until the world series. They will spend their remaining games resting starters and setting up the playoff rotation.

[NYJets]

Re: 2007 New York Yankees (MVP 05)

Yankees have wrapped up the season with a 95-67 record. They are the American League East Champions and will face the AL Central champion Indians in the first round.

Schedule/Results
vs. Tampa W 5-2
vs. Tampa L 4-3
vs. Tampa L 5-1
vs. Bal L 9-2
vs. Bal L 11-3
vs. Bal W 6-5
at Minn W 7-4
at Minn W 6-5
at Minn W 11-3
at Oak L 1-0
at Oak W 10-1
at Oak L 12-4

vs. Cleveland L 13-10
vs. Cleveland L 6-4
vs. Cleveland L 10-6
at Boston W 3-0
at Boston L 12-5
at Boston L 10-4
at Tampa Bay W 5-1
at Tampa Bay L 15-11
vs. Toronto W 5-1
vs. Toronto W 5-4
vs. Boston L 8-1
vs. Boston L 7-2
vs. Boston L 9-2

at Texas W 7-5
at Texas W 15-2
vs. Seattle L 13-8
vs. Seattle W 8-5
vs. Seattle L 13-11
vs. Seattle L 9-1
vs. Texas W 7-3
vs. Texas W 11-9
vs. Texas W 6-2
vs. Texas W 8-2
at Seattle L 10-5
at Seattle L 5-2
at Seattle L 7-6

at CWS L 7-3
at CWS L 10-1
at CWS W 6-3
at NYM W 3-0
at NYM L 6-5
at NYM W 8-3
vs. Boston L 3-1
vs. Boston W 2-1
vs. Boston W 13-6
vs. Anaheim L 6-2
vs. Anaheim L 4-1
vs. Anaheim W 4-3

at Toronto L 5-4
at Toronto W 4-2
at Toronto L 7-2
at Boston W 5-4
at Boston L 10-1
at Boston W 5-2
at CWS L 4-2
at CWS L 4-3
at CWS W 6-2
at CWS W 4-3
vs. Pittsburgh W 6-5
vs. Pittsburgh L 3-1
vs. Pittsburgh W 9-1
vs. Arizona W 8-7
vs. Arizona W 8-7
vs. Arizona W 6-5
vs. New York Mets L 5-3
vs. New York Mets W 11-3
vs. New York Mets W 6-2

at Colorado W 14-5
at Colorado W 5-2
at Colorado L 6-4
at San Francisco W 8-3
at San Francisco W 8-7
at San Francisco W 8-5
at Baltimore L 4-2
at Baltimore W 4-2
at Baltimore W 7-3
vs. Oakland W 12-8
vs. Oakland L 8-5
vs. Oakland W 3-1

vs. Minnesota W 10-7
vs. Minnesota L 11-10
vs. Minnesota W 6-5
vs. Minnesota L 9-2
vs. Anaheim W 10-9
vs. Anaheim L 10-7
vs. Anaheim W 5-3

at Tampa Bay W 16-0
at Tampa Bay W 8-0
at Tampa Bay L 10-9
at Tampa Bay W 4-2
vs. Toronto L 8-1
vs. Toronto L 4-1
vs. Toronto L 5-2
vs. Toronto L 5-1
vs. Tampa Bay L 4-1
vs. Tampa Bay W 9-2
vs. Tampa Bay W 5-2
at Kansas City W 9-6
at Kansas City W 4-3
at Kansas City W 5-0
at Kansas City W 3-2
at Baltimore L 3-2
at Baltimore W 5-3
at Baltimore W 5-1
vs. Chicago L 5-4
vs. Chicago L 3-1
vs. Chicago L 5-4
vs. Chicago L 10-9
vs. Kansas City L 10-9
vs. Kansas City W 5-4
vs. Kansas City W 6-5

at Toronto W 5-2
at Toronto L 4-3
at Toronto W 6-3
at Cleveland L 9-7
at Cleveland W 3-2
at Cleveland W 4-1
vs. Baltimore W 9-6
vs. Baltimore W 4-0
vs. Baltimore L 6-3
vs. Detroit L 4-3
vs. Detroit W 5-4
vs. Detroit W 9-8
vs. Detroit W 10-3

at Anaheim L 2-1
at Anaheim W 3-0
at Anaheim W 7-3
at Detroit L 10-9
at Detroit W 7-1
at Detroit W 4-0
at Detroit W 10-8
vs. Boston W 8-5
vs. Boston W 6-4
vs. Boston W 5-3
vs. Tampa Bay W 3-1
vs. Tampa Bay W 5-1
vs. Tampa Bay W 5-4
vs. Seattle W 7-3
vs. Seattle W 8-6
vs. Seattle L 10-5

at Kansas City W 10-6
at Kansas City W 4-1
at Kansas City W 6-3
at Toronto W 11-5
at Toronto L 6-1
at Toronto W 8-2
at Boston W 8-6
at Boston L 12-7
at Boston L 9-8

vs. Baltimore W 7-3
vs. Baltimore L 8-4
vs. Baltimore W 7-2
vs. Toronto L 6-4
vs. Toronto L 5-4
vs. Toronto W 10-4
at Tampa Bay W 10-3
at Tampa Bay L 15-6
at Tampa Bay L 8-7
at Baltimore W 3-1
at Baltimore W 4-2
at Baltimore L 6-5


Batting Stats
Notable Stats
(AVG/HR/RBI/OPS)
DH
Jason Giambi .308/26/109/.892

1b
Doug Mientkiewicz .267/9/27/.720
Josh Phelps .319/9/30/.865

2b
Robinson Cano .346/18/87/.882
Miguel Cairo .269/4/23/.675

SS
Derek Jeter .346/8/50/.885

3B
Alex Rodriguez .316/50/158/1.012

C
Jorge Posada .273/29/88/.785
Todd Pratt .224/0/1/.500

LF
Hideki Matsui .271/12/49/.732
Melky Cabrera .278/5/30/.715

CF
Johnny Damon .325/19/76/.872
Bernie Williams .283/3/14/.853

RF
Bobby Abreu .276/32/109/.844

Pitching Stats
(W-L/ERA/WHIP)
SP
Chien-Ming Wang 13-11/3.66/1.40
Mike Mussina 16-6/3.74/1.26
Andy Pettitte 14-9/4.43/1.32
Carl Pavano 7-7/5.38/1.52
Phil Hughes 11-6/5.38/1.43

BP
Chris Britton 4-5/3.75/1.47
Mariano Rivera 3-6/3.48/1.07 44 Saves 4 BS
Luis Vizcaino 6-3/5.32/1.55
Jose Veras 2-3/3.76/1.25
Kyle Farnsworth 1-3/9.00/1.90
Jeff Kartsens 2-0/10.66/3.00
Humberto Sanchez 0-0/6.00/1.33


Batting Title
Derek Jeter edged teammate Robinson Cano by percentage points on the season's final day to win the batting title with a .346 average.


Playoff Matchups
New York vs. Cleveland
Seattle vs. Boston
San Diego vs. Milwaukee
Cincinatti vs. Washington

The Yankees have announced that Mike Mussina will pitch game 1, Wang will pitch game 2, Pettitte game 3, and Phil Hughes is scheduled to pitch game 4.

[NYJets]

2007 Yankees Playoff Run (MVP 05)

ALDS Game 1
Cleveland (Sabathia) at New York (Mussina)
This game started off well for the Yankees, as Mike Mussina pitched a 1-2-3 first inning, and Johnny Damon led off the bottom of the first with a single. When Derek Jeter than advanced him to 3rd with an opposite field double, it looked like the Yankees were really going to get off to a great start. But Sabathia struck out Abreu, and got A-Rod and Giambi to both lineout, and the momentum took a huge shift.

In the top of the 2nd, David Delucci led off with a walk, and Johnny Peralta doubled him home, giving the Indians a 1-0 lead. They then loaded the bases, and the big blow of the game came from #9 hitter Trot Nixon, as he blasted a Mike Mussina changeup into the right field seats, giving the Indians a 5-0 lead. In the 5th inning, Nixon struck again, again on a changeup, hitting a solo homer into the bleachers, and the Indians led 6-0.

That's all Sabathia would need, as he went 8.2 innings, giving up only 2 runs, solo homers from Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriguez. The Indians went on to win 6-2, taking a 1-0 lead in the series.

"I just couldn't get my pitches down tonight. I don't know why, I just left everything up in the zone and they made me pay. But we have Wang going tomorrow and then Andy, I'll be ready when I get the chance to redeem myself later in the series," said Mussina.



Joe Torre was not happy with the strikezone all game long.



Jeter robbed of an extra base hit by Dellucci.



A-Rod before hitting a 9th inning homerun.

[NYJets]

Re: 2007 New York Yankees (MVP 05)

ALDS Game 2
Cleveland (Westbrook) at New York (Wang)
Jake Westbrook struggled with his control in this one. He walked 3 batters in the first inning, 2 with the bases loaded, and the Yankees jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. That score would hold up until the top of the 5th until a 2 run double from Victor Martinez tied the game.

In the bottom of the 6th, Johnny Damon blasted a 3 run homerun over the short porch in right, giving the Yankees a 5-2 lead. In the top of the 7th, the Indians answered back with an RBI double by Grady Sizemore, and an RBI single by Victor Martinez, cutting the Yankees lead to 5-4.

That's as close as the Indians would get however. In the bottom of the 8th Hideki Matsui hit a 2 run homer, extending the Yankees lead to 7-4. Mariano Rivera came on for the save, tying the series up at 1.



Johnny Damon's 3 run homer dissapears into the seats.



Crowd gets on their feet, Yankees are one out away.

[NYJets]

Re: 2007 New York Yankees (MVP 05)

ALDS Game 3

New York (Pettitte) at Cleveland (Lee)
An incredible comeback from the Indians gave them an extra innings win and control of this series. Cliff Lee struggled badly early, giving up leadoff walks to Johhny Damon and Derek Jeter, and a single to Bobby Abreu, loading the bases. Lee got a big strikeout of A-Rod, but he couldn't hold off the Yankees bats any longer, as Jason Giambi blasted a grand slam to straight away center field. In the 2nd inning, Josh Phelps hit a solo homer into the same spot, making it 5-0 Yankees, and in the 3rd, Giambi added his 2nd homer of the game to make it 6-0 New York.

The Indians cut it to 6-2 in the 5th on a Josh Barfield double, but the Yankees still appeared to have control of the game, as that lead held until the bottom of the 8th. After a leadoff walk, Kyle Farnsworth came in to relieve Andy Pettitte. He worked himself into trouble, as the Indians put runners on 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs.

Farnsworth got a soft groundball to Jeter that appeared to get him out of trouble, but Jeter bobbled the ball, a run came in, and everyone was safe, making it 6-3. Victor Martinez added an RBI double, making it 6-4, with runners on 2nd and 3rd for Travis Hafner, who was hitless for the series. But Hafner redeemed himself, hitting a game tying double into the gap. Mariano rivera came on to get them out of the inning, and got them to extra innings with a scoreless 9th, but the Yankees would not recover.

In the bottom of the 10th, after a leadoff bloop double by Sizemore off of Chris Britton, Victor Martinez hit an RBI single to center, completing the comeback win for the Tribe, 7-6.

On a side not, after the game they showed an animation of Jeter walking off the field with his head down, and Minkievitch and Damon came over and patted him on the back in a "keep your head up" kind of way. Pretty cool.



Sizemore slides in ahead of the Damon throw for the game winner.

[WTF]

Re: 2007 New York Yankees (MVP 05)

Ouch.. what a way to lose.

[NYJets]

Re: 2007 New York Yankees (MVP 05)

ALDS Game 4
New York (Hughes) at Cleveland (Byrd)

For 2 straight seasons, the Yankees season ended in the ALDS, with Alex Rodriguez getting most of the blame. Going into game 4, it looked like the same thing would happen this year. The Yankees were down in the series 2-1, and A-Rod had only one hit.

But A-Rod did his part to keep the Yankees season alive, and rookie Phil Hughes did the rest, as the Yankees defeated the Indians 8-4, forcing a deciding game 5 in the Bronx. A-Rod drove in 5 runs, 2 on a 3rd inning triple, and 3 on a 4th inning homerun. Hughes surrendered only 1 run on 6 hits and 0 walks in 7 innings to get the win. The Indians put up a 3 run rally in the 9th off of Jose Veras, but Mariano Rivera came in to get the final 2 outs.

It will be a game 1 rematch, Mussina vs. Sabathia in game 5.

All 4 division series will have a deciding game 5.