THE DAY THE LAUGHTER DIED

We were in the Bronx. We were with our family, in pinstripes, bleeding blue, ready for the Yankees to beat the Tigers and advance to the ALCS. It's the Yankee way, it's destiny. I never like to climb back in games to win, but that's exactly what the Yankees have done so many times before in the playoffs, maybe tonight would be along the same lines. I tell you what though, I was kicked in the gut as soon as the game started.
The first inning was horrible for Ivan Nova and it made me mad nervous. Yes, Austin Jackson got a quick K as did Miguel Cabrera but Don Kelly and Delmon Young both cranked solo shots.
Now it's 2-0. Fister looked good, but hittable. The Yankees usually go through the order before they start hammering, so, I'm not getting crazy yet. Luckily Mark Teixeira cranked a double. To bad they couldn't get him around to score.
The 3rd inning Phil Hughes came in to relieve Ivan Nova. Apparently Nova had tightness in his arm. I was surprised actually, I was expecting another inning. Hughes struck out to first 2 batters he faced. Delmon Young got a single and then he got Miguel Cabrera to ground out.The bottom of the third, Brett Gardner singled. Jeter struck out and Curtis Granderson worked a walk. Robinson Cano came up and I had hope. Cano popped out to center field. Inning over.One thing I need to point out. The strike zone again was horrible. There were pitches that game in too low or off the plate that were called strikes and strikes that were definitely balls. There were many questions by the Yankees tonight and with good reason. Bad calls. Alex Rodriguez had a very very bad night.

The 4th inning gave me another surprise, after the first out and a single, Girardi made yet another pitching change. I'm thinking... man I hope it's not going to be one of those nights. I prayed at that point that Yankees offense would turn it around and the Girardi binder doesn't insert itself all night, otherwise, there's no way to win this damn thing. Boone Logan came in. I groaned. Yes, Boone struck out the side the last time out in the ALDS, but you never know what your going to get with this guy. I started to get pissed, what the hell is Girardi doing? Logan pitched to lefty Alex Aliva, and of course, the guy gets his first hit of the ALDS. Now we're in trouble, men on first and second. Peralta flied out which was great. Luckily with 2 men on Boone Logan got a strikeout.

The top of the 5th brought Alex Rodriguez to the box. I noticed ARod had a quicker swing in the last game. I'm hoping I'm right and he cranks it out. I told someone on my train expect hits by ARod tonight. Yeah right... who am I kidding? Luckily ARod walked this time. Nick Swisher then singled to right. 1 out. Jorge Posada came to the plate. A huge single and now the bases were loaded with 1 out. After a Martin pop up, Brett Gardner was up, our hottest hitter and the whole stadium was into it, Gardner popped out. I was crushed.
CC Sabathia came in to start the 5th. So strange to see him in relief. He allowed a run to score and at this point it's 3-0. I am shocked and I know the Yankees are running out of time.

The bottom of the 5th there were 2 quick outs in Jeter and Granderson. Wimpy outs. Then Robinson Cano came up. He buried the ball into the right field seats and suddenly it was 3-1. I realized right then that this was Yankee Stadium, the best place you want to be in a playoff game. I realized, we can do this, but our pitching needs to be solid and keep the Tigers from scoring. Luckily our pitching was great, the hitting was crap.

Rafael Soriano came into relieve CC in the 6th inning. He immediately got the double play. Good job RaSo.

Looking at the bottom of the 6th, Max Scherzer came in. Mark Teixeira was the first Yankee batter and flew out to Austin Jackson. Nick Swisher continues to disappoint and ground out and then Jorge Posada had a single. Russell Martin came to the plate with Jorge at first. He struck out. Way to kill a rally.

Rafael Soriano had a good second inning in relief. The Tigers looked off balance at the plate, I placed my Bucky Dent / Mike Torrez autographed bat on the floor in front of the television. I was desperate.In the bottom of the 7th, Delmon Young came out of the game. I felt the ghosts of Yankee Stadium coming out. I prayed this game would be in our favor. Gardner came to the plate and struck out. Jeter came up and fought hard waiting for his pitch, then, he beat out an infield single and at that point I saw a glimmer of hope. Say what you will about old man Jeter, he can easily set the tone. At this point Scherzer came out and Granderson came to the plate against Joaquin Benoit who had an enormous band-aid on his face and Girardi strategized and asked to have it removed, hopefully it rattled Benoit. Granderson rips one for a single. Now, men on first and second and Robinson Cano comes to the plate. An easy dribbler next to Benoit and he missed it. Bases loaded for ARod. Alex struck out. Unbelievable! Something's got to be wrong with this guy. How could that happen? Teixeira then came to the plate. He walked. 3-2 at this point and the bases are still loaded for Nick Swisher. If anyone needs to deliver tonight, it needs to be Swisher. Swisher struck out. The biggest opportunity of his career and he blew it. Based on this post season alone, I would not pick up Nick Swisher's option. You can't be all flash and show no bash in the playoffs. Pathetic.

David Robertson came in the top of the 8th and showed me why we love him. The inning went quick. The bottom of the 8th needed to be big for the Yankees, they needed 1 run. I took out my 1956 autographed Mickey Mantle Sports illustrated. I was clearly desperate at this point.
Jorge Posada came up in what could be his last at bat as a New York Yankee. Posada has been one of the hottest Yankees all playoffs. He needed a hit right now. We all did. He grounded out. Martin came up and he was overdue. I was sure he'd deliver here with a base hit. Martin struck out. Are you freaking kidding me? 2 outs and we look like crap. Shortly later, with Gardner on base, Jeter cranked one high to the wall, but caught by Don Kelly. So close...but not close enough.
Mariano Rivera came in in the 9th inning. The score is still 3-2 by the way, I'm not getting this, but whatever, this is what Girardi does, he either doesn't pull the pitcher quick enough, or the binder tells him all about match-ups and changes pitchers like Kool-aid. Mo was brilliant, a 1,2,3 inning.

This is it, 3-2 game. The Yankees are down in the Bronx. I have been at games and seen games on TV that have blown me away, always with the ghosts coming out and always with the Yankees winning. I've prayed, I have all my favorite collectibles out. We need alittle hitting now to win this God damn ball game. I do not want to see this clown Valverde dance in the Bronx, we must beat him.

Granderson came up and popped up. Robinson Cano had a broken bat hit that was caught all the way in center field by Austin Jackson. Then, once again it was up to Alex Rodriguez...and with a strikeout, the Tigers won.
Just like last year, Alex Rodriguez strikes out for the last out. Remember when he struck out and Bengie Molina jumped up and ran out to the mound to celebrate? I'm so crushed right now.
(Photo: 2010)
I cannot tell you how disappointed I am. The Yankees season is over. Jorge Posada's career is probably over in pinstripes. I wouldn't be surprised if in the next 4 days or so, you start hearing whispers of CC Sabathia wanting to opt-out and questions about whether or not Nick Swisher should come back. After having the best record in the American League, the Yankees lost to the Tigers. The Tigers didn't beat the Yankees, the Yankees beat the Yankees tonight. The pitching was good, the timely hitting was not.

Tip your hat to Jim Leyland, I love that man. He's a true baseball guy and he managed a good team.

If Bleeding Yankee Blue takes a day off, I know you'll understand.

Final Score: Tigers 3 - Yankees 2

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THE YANKEES ARE ALIVE!

The Yankees had their backs against the wall and no one was hitting Burnett was to pitch...and all day today, it was the only thing on my mind. Then, like I said in WHY I'M IN AN EMPIRE STATE OF MIND, something happened. I felt better because my iPod was telling me something. Why else would Empire State of Mind just randomly play on shuffle? It was a sign...The Yankees are back and tonight proved it.
(Photo: AP)
The first inning for AJ Burnett was horrendous, but I had hope. After walking 2 and 1 more intentionally, the bases were loaded with 2 outs. Don Kelly then hit the crap out of the ball to deep center and Curtis Granderson made a tremendous catch. Brian Anderson, the announcer called the play a "big break" for the Yankees. A big break? He also called it "kind of a mis-play". How about an outstanding catch? I'll never understand the TBS guys. I will give Ron Darling some credit. He's complimentary to the Yankees while trying to give constructive analysis. Smoltz is terrible. Sorry John.

The top of the second inning, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher went fast. One positive though, Alex and Tex hit the ball hard, which led me to believe they are close to snapping out of their rut. The bottom of the second went quick for AJ. Thank God. He started to get into a rhythm and actually looked good.

The top of the 3rd was beautiful. The Yankees actually had Ducks on the Pond and got them home. Jorge Posada was hit by a pitch. Russell Martin then singled. Brett Gardner stuck out on a lousy, high third strike call and then Derek Jeter came up. He cranked a double to center field and Posada and Martin scored. Martin's slide was sweet around Avila and touched home with his hand as he slid by. He was pumped.(Photo: AP)
The 4th inning just showed me Nick Swisher striking out and looking ridiculous. Let's face it, Swish can't do a thing in the postseason right now. The bottom of the 4th Victor Martinez took the ball yard. He just crushed it, there was no doubt about it. At this point, the score was 2 to 1 Yankees. Then Jhonny Peralta doubled. This is right about the time where AJ starts to feel the pressure. Right around the second time around the order, the opposing team sometimes gets to AJ. At this point, I was wondering what was up Girardi's sleeve. Then, AJ struck out Wilson Betemit stranding Peralta... inning over.

In the 5th inning Russell Martin singled again. Man was he pumped tonight. Then red hot Brett Gardner singled moving Martin to second. At this point there were no outs and Jeter coming to the plate. Jeter bunted and give credit to Rick Porcello, he threw to third and nailed Martin. 1 out. Curtis Granderson then rips one down the right field line, base hit and it scores Brett Gardner. Jeter moves to third. Robinson Cano was then intentionally walked to load the bases. Alex comes up the plate and you know he had home run on his brain. Instead, he sacrificed and Jeter scored. 4-1 Yankees. Mark Teixeira shit the bed and stuck out. Between he and Swisher, I really don't know who's worse at this point.

The bottom of the 5th, Austin Jackson singled to left. Then a quick double play and a beautiful scoop by Teixeira in the dirt to complete the double play. Delmon Young then knocked it back to AJ and the inning was over. Nice work so far AJ.

In the 6th, Nick Swisher now came up for his third time of the night. A hit to second and out number 1. I tell you... I have no use for Swish right now, what is going on with this guy? Will he ever hit?

In the bottom of the 6th with 2 outs, Girardi came out and relieved AJ of his duties. At this point I was excited to see the team pat him on the shoulders and tell him "Good job." We fans tend to forget that these guys are human. Rafael Soriano came in and his first batter cranked one to center field. Now I've seen outstanding catches in my 40 years of life, but seeing Granderson horizontal and making that catch to end the inning is something I have never seen. You think the Yankees want to win this one? I do.

The bottom of the 7th was smooth for Soriano who got out of the inning fast, 1,2,3.

In the 8th inning Alex Rodriguez finally got a hit. I said it earlier, you can tell by the swings, he was going to get a hit soon. Now, all I wanted is for that to rub off on Teixeira and Swish. Then a dribbler for Tex down third and suddenly 2 men on and no one out for Swisher. Then, it happened... Swisher got a single. See? There are 2 things that are addictive in baseball, losing and hitting. The Yankees are hitting in this Game 4 and now, everyone is starting the hit. That's a good sign.

Jesus Montero came to the plate with the bases loaded as a pinch hitter. It's good to see this kid in a postseason game. Phil Coke was replaced by Al Alburquerque and suddenly, a balk. ARod scores and it's 5-1. Montero crushed a single through 3rd and Short and Tex scored. 6-1 Yankees at this point. Alburquerque was replaced by Schlereth and Gardner keeps on hitting and another run comes into score. At this point I cracked open a beer and sat back. I felt the need to finally relax. With the bases loaded, Jeter came to the plate and struck out. Then a wild pitch brings in a run... 8-1. Cano came up to the plate and looped a single over shortstop. 2 runs scored and at that point it was 10-1. Another pitching change and then Alex came up and cranked a single. He hit it hard...he's hitting now. Like Ron Darling said, the bat speed is there now, Alex is back. Remember I said that.

Mark Teixeira then ripped one to right field and deep, but it was caught to end the inning. "Mark" my words, pardon the pun, Tex is back too.Phil Hughes came in and he got the Tigers 1,2,3. He looked great and it was a relief to see because who knew what he'd have. Girardi used him perfectly, a non-pressure situation to get some confidence and it worked.

In the 9th, Jesus Montero got postseason hit number 2. Martin then hit into a double play and the inning was over. The bottom of the 9th brought in Boone Logan. I knew it was 10-1, but why was I nervous? I shouldn't have been, Logan struck out the side.

Final Score: Yankees 10 - Tigers 1

The Yankees are going back to the Bronx, and Jose Valverde can suck it. The New York Yankees are back and just in time, we have everyone hitting and we're headed home, just where I love to clinch. I believe. I know we can do it.

I leave you with this:



Looking forward to seeing my guys clinching the ALDS at home in the Bronx bitches!!!!! Go Yankees!

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