Right now, I'd be driving the sound truck through Joe Girardi's Westchester neighborhood, demanding he be deported to Chicago. Alphonso would be handing out Tiki torches. The Yankiverse would be mobilizing into a finely tuned strike force, and Hal Steinbrenner would be in hiding.
But if we'd blown all three to the Twinkies, we'd still be a game up on them with less than 10 left. And that's where Minnesota stands this morning - one up on the wingless Angels, who lost to Cleveland, 6-5.
Here's a fact: A huge chasm exists between the AL's fourth and fifth best teams. It's possible the final Wild Card slot could go to a .500 team... though it won't help us in the one-game season.
It's coming down to who do we want to face, Ervin Santana or Garrett Richards?
Against us this week, Santana went 5.2 with 7 hits and gave up 2 earned runs. It was by far the best Twins pitching performance in NY.
Richards returned from injury on September 5 and has started three games for the Angels. He has pitched 13.5 innings and given up 4 runs, an ERA of 2.00. In his last two outings, he went 5 innings each time, pulled for pitch counts. He's a veteran.
Treading water now... waiting to see who steps up... no outfield collisions... no foul tips off the ankle... waiting...
GREG BIRD.....
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About the Twins, it really matters how they fair against the other teams. It could be that they wore themselves out and are unable to win in their last 10 or so games. It seems the Angels are just as tired and worn out as well. It could be that it doesn't matter which team the Yanks faces as they are all pretty beat up right now. The Yanks amazingly seem to be recharged and going well which is an amazing change from the 5 or so weeks after the All-Start break where they played rather poorly. Pity that the Red Sox are just as recharged and playing well too.
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping that the one thing all these extra-inning games will do is wear the Sox out, at least a little.
ReplyDeleteTheir hitting, for the most part, is still not what it was with the Big Juicer in the middle of the lineup. They remain, all in all, the team I fear the least in the playoffs.
Good point about how upset we'd be, Duque.
ReplyDeleteSome years ago, a friend of mine was in Dallas during one of the Cowboys' rare off-years. He was talking to a cabbie about it, and the cabbie told him it wouldn't last. He said the people down there wouldn't put up with it. He was right.
Not to give us too much, credit, Duque, but I think it's the same thing with Yankees fans. We don't put up with it. We scream and holler, and raise the roof.
We want one winning season after another. We demand DYNASTIES!
Fans in other cities, as you've often pointed out, they're thrilled to have the home side make the Bud Selig Magic One-Game Wild Card Play-in.
Hell, fans in this city—even US, in our other guises, as Knicks or sometimes (shudder) Jets fans—have been so beaten into submission that we're content to take anything we can get.
But not Yankees fans. That's what the tradition does for us. We don't settle for just showing up.
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