Orioles 3 - Yankees 2

Game Over; Yankees Lose 3-2

There's not much to say. The Yankees didn't make any mistakes. Their pitcher just gave up one more key hit than the other guy. One-run losses are the universe's way of saying that some days you get the bear, some days the bear gets you (and as Casey Stengel said, on cloudy days you use a fastball pitcher).

A-Rod made the last out, which will surprise none of his many detractors.

Now the Yankees will have to win two of three games at home, which is, of course, entirely possible.

Yankees vs. Orioles ALDS Game Two Overflow II

Why Does Joe Girardi Do That?

Joe Girardi's whole, "I will let the pitcher start the inning but if anything happens I will change my mind" always bothers me. If CC Sabathia was strong enough to start the ninth last night, he was strong enough to finish the ninth. If Pettitte was strong enough to pitch in the eighth, he is strong enough to keep pitching after a ball is lined up the middle. He's not necessarily wrong to go to the bullpen at that point, given that he's got some very good pitchers back there, but why not give them the luxury of starting the inning with the bases empty instead of bringing them into a stress situation?

Make It 1-for-33 with RISP, Nick

There will be no second description of the Yankees rally, because they stranded two -- Buck Showalter's set-up duo works again, and as I said earlier, one gets the sense that this will come down to Jim Johnson and a possible sequel to last night's spanking.

Anatomy of a Yankees Rally, Part I

A bloop hustle-double by Eduardo Nunez on a 3-2 pitch, aided by Chris Davis, an inexperienced right fielder, diving for the ball opened the frame. No less a personage than Yankees manager Casey Stengel said that you shouldn't dive unless you're going swimming, and that's why.

Derek Jeter seemed to know not to bunt down two runs. Nor did he take a pitch and quickly was down 0-2. Indeed, he didn't take a pitch for the entire at-bat, hacking until he pulled a hit to right field, scoring Nunez.

Ichiro showed bunt to open his at-bat. Buck Showalter nowhere to be seen. Cartoon bird still grinning idiotically. Ichiro bunts foul, goes down 0-2. The bunting is depressing. Fouls off another, still down 0-2. Maybe this 0-2 thing constitutes a new strategy, but the stats say it doesn't work. Ball high and outside, finally someone took a ball. Grounds weakly to short on the next pitch, a double-play grounder for most hitters, but Ichiro can still fly and he beats out the relay to first. Still an out, and Chen is gone. One out, runner on first.

All Quiet On the Cartoon Bird Front

As far as Orioles caps go, which is your favorite? I would rank them in this order:

1. Script O
2. Ornithologically correct bird
3. Cartoon bird

They're wearing the cartoon bird tonight and it seems to be working for them. An E-6 by J.J. Hardy put Russell Martin on first base with two outs, but Curtis Granderson hit a foul pop to third. Yankees have been held scoreless for five innings now. Will they carry this score to the ninth? Will the pounding on Jim Johnson last night tell this evening? Stay tuned...

Yankees vs. Orioles ALDS Game Two Overflow

Gimme Some Truth

Getting tired of predicting the roof is going to fall in on Chen every time he gets in trouble, only to see the Yankees fail to to pay off the prediction.

Also: As I said before the game, Eduardo Nunez really isn't a hitter.

That's all I've got.

Ixnay on the Pettitte for Hall of Fame Thing

When a Veteran's Command Suddenly Disappears: And a 40-year-old pitcher throws a pitch that is grounded to a 38-year-old shortstop. Well, never mind. Pettitte got out of the inning with only the two runs scoring. It wasn't the two two-out singles that were troubling, but the walk to load the bases -- particularly when the walk was to J.J. Hardy, who, y'know, doesn't. The Orioles didn't capitalize on their opportunity as much as they might have. Now the Yankees will have to be more efficient with their chances.

Still 1-0 After 2.5 Innings/Andy Pettitte's Hall of Fame Invite Revoked

Perhaps I wrote off Chen prematurely, as he's now tossed two scoreless innings since the contretemps in the first. Still, the two-out rally the Yankees staged in the top of the third underscored his vulnerability the storm is coming. In the meantime, Andy Pettitte has had two innings of doing that thing he does. Pettitte's regular-season career may not yet amount to being worthy of the Hall of Fame, but his great post-season numbers have to count for a lot, and probably will push him over the line in the minds of some votes... And perhaps by then the HGH thing, which probably meant nothing anyway, will be nothing more than an irrelevant memory.

In other news, I just told one of my writers that I have only seen three episodes of "The Simpsons." He now thinks something is wrong me, but I've just gotta go against the grain with certain things.

Update: I seem to have jinxed Pettitte. Bases loaded with two outs.

Further Update: Bases no longer loaded, 2-1 Orioles, Pettitte no longer nominated for the Hall of Fame.

The Home Plate Hokey Pokey in the Top of the First

The Yankees may have scored but one run in the top of the first, but they easily could have had more and will have more. That one run was a gift of Ichiro Suzuki who flew from first to home with two outs on a Robinson Cano liner only to find that the ball had been hit so hard that Chris Davis was able to get it back to the infield in a hurry. His dance 'n' dive past Matt Wieters, who had the ball in plenty of time, will go down as one of the highlights of the season, win or lose.

The real takeaway here is that Wei-Yin Chen didn't look any better than he did in September. I said yesterday that Chen looked bushed last month, and call it a confirmation bias if you will, but it sure seems like that's what we're seeing here tonight. Jeter, Cano, and Alex Rodriguez hit the ball hard, even if A-Rod lined into a double play. I stand by last night's prediction: this one will be over quickly.

What a Surprise, It's a Rain Delay

Just a brief preview of the scene a few years hence, when rising ocean levels mean both New York and Baltimore will be underwater. This one isn't expected to carry on as long as last night's rain delay or the future inundation of the eastern seaboard.

In other news, the Nats-Cards game was a snoozefest, 12-4 final for the Cards, and it wasn't as close as the score would suggest.

Yankees vs. Orioles, Game 2 ALDS

Joe Girardi stacks his lineup against a lefty with... Eduardo Nunez.

ALDS Game 2: Yankees at Orioles