Yankees 3, Orioles 2: Some Magic of Our Own

The Yankees were trailing going to the bottom half of the ninth, but a recent hero was ready to rise to the occasion two more times.

Ibanez the Invincible/Bottom 12

Tanya: Love that defense from Tex.

Steve: He's doing a great job on one leg.

Tanya: All the more impressive.

Steve: Sort of the opposite of the famous Billy Martin play there. More like a famous Giants one, where Christy Mathewson didn't call the ball and both Chief Myers and Fred Merkle let it drop...

Tanya: I guess that's on D-Rob. He needs to get out of the way in that case.

Tanya: Did he really? He did.

Steve: I called that one, Tanya!

Tanya: You did!

Steve: They'll put his plaque in Monument Park tonight.

Tanya: I'll fund it.

Steve: And on that generous note, we conclude until Game 4.

Tanya: Wow.

To the Twelfth-Inning Station

Tanya: TBS wants Tex to bunt here. That's a real suggestion right now.

Steve: They must think someone will fall down.

Tanya: An outfielder could jog in and still get him at first, I think.

Steve: Granderson wanted to win the game on that swing.

Tanya: So did Martin.

Steve: On to the 11th.

Tanya: Gut says can't let the O's score first. I don't know if they can come back again.

Steve: Depends on if Ibanez is going to hit again.

Tanya: He couldn't possibly do it again...could he?

Steve: The way he's got right field lined up...

Tanya: I should know better than to doubt him at this point.

Steve: Another ability that might not carry over to next year. But then, he only has a one-year deal.

Steve: Does the guy who got the ball away from Swisher get pummeled?

Tanya: I hope so.

Holding it up like he's some kind of champ. Get out of here.

Steve: In fairness, he was a row further in than Swisher could reach.

Tanya: I just can't stand people who don't immediately run out of the way when the home team is in the field on foul balls like that.

Tanya: That's the D-Rob that could be the future closer.

Steve: He's not as good as he seemed to be last year (he had some extra luck going for him), but he's a very good pitcher.

Tanya: When he's got the curve working, he's so good.

Steve: And it's mostly working. He just has location problems sometimes.

Tanya: He abandoned it for a stretch earlier in the season. Never figured out why.

Steve: "Seemed like a good idea at the time."

Steve: It's possible the Tigers-A;s game will end before this one.

Tanya: Nothing would surprise me.

Steve: I had a feeling about Nix's at-bat there, but he didn't quite fulfill my prophecy.

Tanya: It was a lot closer than I thought it would be.

Steve: And we go on to the 12th.

Yankees vs. Orioles ALDS Game Three Overflow II

Ibanez and A-Rod/Bottom of the Ninth

Tanya: Think Soriano opts out when the season is over?

Steve: He might... He could go find a closer's job where he won't have to worry about Mariano coming back.

Tanya: The market is pretty thin for closers. He could get a good deal from someone that he might not get if he goes back to the eighth inning next season.

Steve: Pinch-hitting for A-Rod. With Ibanez. How the mighty have fallen.

Tanya: Oh my goodness.

Steve: Joe Girardi: Manager of the Decade. That's all I have to say. Raul Ibanez loves that porch!

Tanya: Has anyone come up bigger on offense lately? Anyone?

Steve: No. Not at home. A sinker that doesn't sink from Johnson and Ibanez's bat finds that jury box in right.

Tanya: On the verge of losing to the A's: Ibanez. On the verge of losing to the Red Sox: Ibanez. On the verge of losing to the Orioles: Ibanez. Not bad for one of the guys who has taken a good chunk of the hate all season. From myself, included.

Steve: Steve too. Counting that shot, that's 15 of 20 home runs for Ibanez at home this year.

Tanya: That's amazing.

Steve: A friend asks, "So why do you DH A-Rod, then PH for him in the ninth with Ibanez?"

Tanya: I'm not sure there is even any logical explanation you could give. Girardi pushes that button at such random time...and it's worked.

Steve: They have A-Rod for 40 more years...

Tanya: I have to think his broken hand is still bothering him. I want to think that, at least.

Holding the Line in the Ninth

Tanya: I've accepted the fact that they are going to need a home run to win this game.

Steve: They can't get a walk tonight, so building a run will be problematic.

Tanya: Maybe we can lend the Orioles Nova for an inning to pitch in this game.

Steve: The old "Embedded Yankee" idea, ay?

Tanya: I was thinking more like "automatic extra bases".

Steve: Can I first-guess pushing Kuroda into the ninth?

Tanya: Not sure who else I want in there, honestly.

Steve: Robertson? Soriano?

Tanya: Both kind of scare me.

Steve: Kuroda did have three complete games this year, so this is not unknown territory, but... I was about to say "I told you so," but Mark Teixeira made a great save there

Tanya: Jeter being out of the game may be good for defense, but that's half of the offense. He'll play tomorrow even if he's hurting, but if it's at shortstop his already bad range will probably be worse.

Steve: Agreed. Another example of Girardi not letting the reliever start off the inning. If you were going to pull Kuroda if anything at all happened, why not just start fresh?

Tanya: I am more ok with this than leaving in the starter until they give up a base hit, but it's still kind of silly.

Steve: Well, we'll see if it's still a 2-1 game going to the bottom of the ninth.

Steve: Thome has looked kind of... done in this series.

Tanya: He'd fit right in on the Yankees, I guess.

After Nick Swisher, Who? Plus: Why is Joe Torre Being Discussed?/Bottom 8

Steve: I feel sorry for Kuroda more than anyone else if the Yankees lose this one. He takes this stuff so seriously -- which he should, I guess.

Tanya: The offense has been allergic to helping him out seemingly all season.

Steve: I really worry about this offense for next season, not just with Kuroda, but in general.

Tanya: It seems even more troubling that they might have to downgrade right field offense significantly.

Steve: Swisher is vastly underrated, but even so, all he has to do is age out of ten points of batting average and he starts to get shaky. That said, they're going to have to replace that offense if he goes.

Tanya: I don't see any way they give him six years and 15-20 million per. But the options out there aren't great alternatives.

Steve: Exactly. In an ideal world, I don't give him that either, but I'm not sure there are better options.

Tanya: Half of our offense is clearly hurt right now. Always a good sign.

Steve: I think to some degree that's a function of the team's age.

Tanya: I was speaking of Jeter, specifically. He and Martin are the only ones hitting.

Steve: Jeter's ability to bounce balls through the infield is not something I'm certain transfers to 2013.

Tanya: Great, we've devolved into discussing A-Rod vs. Joe Torre.

Steve: This game is too tight to be talking about ancient history.

Tanya: Seriously. I don't need to be frustrated about Joe Torre on top of the offense in this game.

Steve: That was one of Torre's most ill-considered moments.

Tanya: I feel like it was more about Joe Torre than it ever was about A-Rod.

Steve: I felt as if he was actively undermining A-Rod there. But we said we shouldn't be discussing that.

Tanya: This game is flying. I guess that's what happens when the offense is flailing.

Steve: There was a time when every Yankees-Orioles game went 4.5 hours. I love baseball, but I don't need that much of it in one serving.

Tanya: 4.5 hours is a lot of baseball. I'd take it if it resulted in a win, though.

Steve: And they're back to Joe Torre.

Tanya: It's unbelievable. This entire crew has gotten on my nerves this series.

Steve: They are having serious problems with focus.
Tanya: Better than Chip Caray, but not by much. Red alert: they got Nate McLouth out.

Steve: They still have to hit something.

Tanya: Baby steps.

Steve: I really enjoy how expressive Swisher is at the plate.

Tanya: I think that's what makes everyone else hate him.

Steve: Does it make you hate him?

Tanya: Not at all.

Steve: I find his lack of stoicism refreshing.

Tanya: I think he's one of those players you love if he plays on your team, and hate if he doesn't.

Steve: I don't have that feeling about many players, especially the way they move around. They're all just guys earning a living to me. Wearing a different color pants doesn't make them a good guy or a bad guy.

Tanya: I agree, but Swisher seems to really rub opposing fans the wrong way.

Steve: I really don't see why. He's a little spirited, that's all. The only ones that rub me the wrong way are the wife-beaters and ex-rapists, etc.

Tanya: Oh, Granderson. You're hurting me.

Steve: Over 40 homers or not, he's regressed. ...T Yankees go quietly in the bottom of the seventh, the Orioles do the same in the eighth. Great start by Kuroda under any other circumstances.

Yankees vs. Orioles ALDS Game Three Overflow

Fearing Phil Hughes and Other Updates/Bottom 5

Yankees Rally/Bottom 3

Babe Ruth Hunting, A-Rod Hating, and Andy Pettitte for the Hall

Of Devils and Dumpsters (A Dialogue)

Tanya: Nate McLouth has to have made some deal with the devil to be this effective again.

Steve: When the Orioles hired Dan Duquette, I said that his dumpster-diving ways were all wrong for the Red Sox, but could pay off in a big way for the Orioles, an organization that previously couldn't find talent if it jumped up and down in front of them wearing a big sign that said, "Sign Me: I'm an All-Star!" McLouth is just one example of that.

As We Go Up We Go Down With Alex Rodriguez

Two quick notes on Joe Girardi's decision not to relocate Alex Rodriguez in the batting order:

• If you're going to play A-Rod at all, there is only so far you can bury him. Moreover, you can't move a player down without moving another up, and given the current state of the Yankees offense, that doesn't seem too promising.
• A 1-for-9 is no big deal. Ted Williams went 1-for-9 in two games sometime. This is the ultimate in small samples and there's no reason to overreact to it.
• Having said that, if you want to make the case that Rodriguez's post-injury form has been weak overall, I wouldn't disagree. But if he's really that diminished, why is he playing in the first place?
  

ALDS Game 3: Baltimore Orioles at New York Yankees

The Yankees and Orioles vie for the series lead in Game 3, almost always the most important game of a best-of-five series according to former manager Joe Torre.

Yankees/Orioles Game 3 Lineups Announced

There's a new name in Joe Girardi's lineup tonight.