series comments [yanks vs sawks]

[mycroft]

so far...

Game 1~Joba was (insert superlative here). As granular as the English language is I really don't think there is an adjective to describe the performances of Joba and the way under appreciated by the national media, Mariano Rivera. Sure Joba got the headlines because of his dominating shutout, 9K effort over 7 but how about Mo. 2 on 1 out and the sawks had absolutely no chance. Joba's strike against Youkilis's head/bat was hysterical but striking him out with those nasty sliders after youk's little tirade really shows the mental toughness Joba has, and didn't let himself get caught up in the moment. He stayed focused which can't be easy and the mark of a true champion. Lowell's rant after getting punched by Mo's nasty inside cutter was the icing on the cake. What a great game.

I would like to congratulate the Yanks on pulling the Nady trade. This is Cashman's best trade and even if Nady is a bust I will not back off this statement. A nasty left hander, and a big bat and outfielder is a one-two punch that could be the knockout blow to the Rays and sawks. These are two missing pieces and #27 looks a bit closer. Matsui can get his surgery and watch the rest of the season.

[WeekendWarrior]

My feelings are as follows:

IT was a great win last night, establishing Joba as a future ace and someone who can come through in big games.

Getting the first win gives them a great chance of winning this series and even if that is not the case, the worst case scenario is being 4 back of the sox. No matter what happens in these next two games, the yankees have avoided a sweep and will remain in this race for the forseeable future.

[aeromac76]

Game 2, we bludgeon them..

Tomorrow, nothing would be sweeter than to land a KO punch on ESPN national TV.

Fenway does not seem to scary to the Yankees.

[JohnnyDamonfan]

Yeah, that would be sweet. We got Lester against Ponson tomorrow so we might not win but I'll tell you this just winning 2 games at Fenway is a big deal to me.

[continentalg5]

I hope Ponson doesn't get squeezed like Andy did today.

For a while it seemed like the only strikes Andy was getting were balls that were swung at.

[TheInfallibleOne]

Remember the 5 game sweep in 2006? That was in Fenway, and I believe Ponson can pull another one out to complete the sweep again!

[-tz]

Remember the 5 game sweep in 2006? That was in Fenway, and I believe Ponson can pull another one out to complete the sweep again!

That's right ... August 18th, 2006, the second game of the five-game series, was Sir Sid's last start for the Yankees in his first stint with the team. He was DFA'd right after the game (as was the Sox's starter in the first game of that day's doubleheader, Jason Johnson).

Ponson's line ...

IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	PC-ST	ERA
3.0	9	7	6	1	4	0	78-50	10.47

By an eerie coincidence, Ponson's opponent in that game, who also turned out to be pitching his last game for his team that season was ... Jon Lester!

Baseball, you just can't predict it.

Lester's line, by the way:

IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	PC-ST	ERA
3.2	8	7	7	3	4	1	95-58	4.72

[yankeesAZ]

Game 2, we bludgeon them..

Tomorrow, nothing would be sweeter than to land a KO punch on ESPN national TV.

Fenway does not seem to scary to the Yankees.

I need some stats, but it seems to me each team lately seems to do better in the other team's ballpark.

[JohnnyDamonfan]

Remember the 5 game sweep in 2006? That was in Fenway, and I believe Ponson can pull another one out to complete the sweep again!

I hope you are right. All that I ask is that Ponson keeps Boston at bay. Their bullpen is crap.(Aside from Papelbon) All we need to do is get some runs against the bullpen.

[mycroft]

Game 2~Yanks 10-3 Pettitte pitched a strong 6 innings with one earned run on a mistake cutter that was up and flat. Someone earlier in this thread mentioned Pettitte got sqweezed and it looked that way to me too but give credit to Andy as he really hung in there. Robinson Cano is just torching everything and as I mentionend in an earlier post Roby is the best second basemen in baseball and he is beginning to prove it, every day. Chase who? A stellar double play in game 1 and this offensive barrage in game 2 are big reasons why we are up 2-0 in this series and looking for a sweep. More props to the bullpen as Marte's first appearance in pinstripes is a success and he stikes out ortiz. Ramirez and Robertson close out the game with Edwar getting manny being manny on a weak fly ball to end the threat in the 7th.

I would like to congratulate ARod for showing far more class than little youky when he is intentionally drilled and the dirt bag sawks fans cheered but ARod just took his base and refused to call it intentional, which of course it was. Poor little youky, we all feel your pain. Then with the bases loaded Roby torches a shot off the left field wall and the route was on.

Today I plan to head over to Cooperstown to see the great Goose inducted as a Yankee into the Hall of Fame. Might even get to see Coney. Tonight Ponson goes up against Lester, another lefty that has just killed us. Hopefully X will give us that right handed punch we have been lacking.

LET'S GET A SWEEP!!

[JDPNYY]

Game 2~Yanks 10-3 Pettitte pitched a strong 6 innings with one earned run on a mistake cutter that was up and flat. Someone earlier in this thread mentioned Pettitte got sqweezed and it looked that way to me too but give credit to Andy as he really hung in there. Robinson Cano is just torching everything and as I mentionend in an earlier post Roby is the best second basemen in baseball and he is beginning to prove it, every day. Chase who? A stellar double play in game 1 and this offensive barrage in game 2 are big reasons why we are up 2-0 in this series and looking for a sweep. More props to the bullpen as Marte's first appearance in pinstripes is a success and he stikes out ortiz. Ramirez and Robertson close out the game with Edwar getting manny being manny on a weak fly ball to end the threat in the 7th.

I would like to congratulate ARod for showing far more class than little youky when he is intentionally drilled and the dirt bag sawks fans cheered but ARod just took his base and refused to call it intentional, which of course it was. Poor little youky, we all feel your pain. Then with the bases loaded Roby torches a shot off the left field wall and the route was on.

Today I plan to head over to Cooperstown to see the great Goose inducted as a Yankee into the Hall of Fame. Might even get to see Coney. Tonight Ponson goes up against Lester, another lefty that has just killed us. Hopefully X will give us that right handed punch we have been lacking.

LET'S GET A SWEEP!!

Have a nice time at the HoF Induction. Give Goose a round of applause for JDPNYY.

[mycroft]

Game 3~ well we stunk but I didn't feel all that good sending Ponson up against Lester anyway. I will take 2 out of three and we are now even in the season series.

Thoughts on the AL East race moving through the dog days:

manny being manny is up to old tricks again and his little vacation and controversy reminds me of the nomar fiasco. The problem with this from my perspective is that the sawks seem to thrive on this stuff in much the same way the mid 70's Oakland A's thrived on their clubhouse problems. I think it is very important that we put this game behind us, focus on the series win, and pound the daylights out of the O's starting tonight.

It was funny watching ESPN last night and listening to the change in their tune. 2 weeks ago they had written off the Yankees and...oops...now they are really worried that the Evil Empire is back and stronger than ever. Tampa will find that taking the east will be a daunting task and their Cinderella run is in serious jeopardy. Playing over your head and slinging rocks at Goliath isn't as easy as it seems. The Rays are 1 injury away from a total collapse.

A sweep would have been nice but two outa three ain't bad.

[Maynerd]

A sweep would have been nice but two outa three ain't bad.

Agreed. It just stings a little when you get those two wins first, and have the chance to sweep. Going in, I would have gladly signed up for 2-out-of-3.

[NewEraYanks2527]

Agreed. It just stings a little when you get those two wins first, and have the chance to sweep. Going in, I would have gladly signed up for 2-out-of-3.

The Yankees did what they had to do, they won with Joba on the mound against Beckett (big win), Big Game Pettitte won his game, and I think we all knew Ponson was going to get knocked around. 2 out of 3 isn't bad at all and winning 8 of their last 9 is also pretty sweet and all of the sudden the Yanks are not dead and buried. Weird how that happens isn't it?

[aeromac76]

Meatloaf:

I want a sweep (I want a sweep)
I need a sweep (I need a sweep)
But there was no way Ponson was gonna get it.
But I ain't sad (I ain't sad)
Cause 2 out of 3 ain't bad!!!

Team with best home record in the league pitching their ace in the series opener.

If Friday afternoon around 3 pm you would have given me the chance to take 2 out of 3m I'd have signed on for it.
No regrets..

Keep the ball rolling against the O's, Boston mission very much accomplished.

[Ynkcpt23]

2 out of 3--sucks that we didn't finish them off, but whatever. Taking the first two is another series win, and this one against a quality opponent. Let's get back on it tonight and start the next streak!

[Dannman103]

Considering the Red Sox had only lost 11 games at home coming into this series, a sweep would have been a tough proposition. It would have been great, but 2 out of 3 is still a fine outcome. Just gotta get another streak going now.

[TheJobaRules]

I'm happy. The Yankees continued to make up ground, and now they can't let up. The Sox have a tough opponent in the Angels, now we have to take care of business at home againts the Orioles. Hopefully the Jays can continue to play well for three against the Rays. They'll have Burnett and Halladay for the first two.

[Dustin563]

I thrilled that we took 2 out of 3. It was a tough series, matchup wise, heading in. Did you really think Joba would beat Beckett 1-0 at Fenway? Andy clearly had an edge over Wakefield and we knew ponson would be terrible last night.

[allybear]

I'm happy that we won 2 of 3 and I'm happy at how we did it - a close game against a top-flight pitcher, then a thumping, then we're on the wrong end of a thumping. Of course a sweep would have been nicer, but I'll take this.

And I'm thrilled with the trade - this is the kind of deal we used to make all the time - get rid of some spare parts and get some players we need.

It's only one weekend, but I'm feeling overall better about our chances at the end of it.

[aeromac76]

I'm happy that we won 2 of 3 and I'm happy at how we did it - a close game against a top-flight pitcher, then a thumping, then we're on the wrong end of a thumping. Of course a sweep would have been nicer, but I'll take this.

And I'm thrilled with the trade - this is the kind of deal we used to make all the time - get rid of some spare parts and get some players we need.

It's only one weekend, but I'm feeling overall better about our chances at the end of it.

Perfectly summed up.

[Blazer]

It's always nice to take a series in Fenway.

Game 1: Matchup of game 1 SP in a playoff series, Joba won in Fenway. Advantage Yanks

Games 2 & 3: Yanks beat up on Wakefield who will probably be the 4th SP for Boston.

Game 3: The Yanks get another look at Lester and hit him better than a 3+ weeks ago. Ponson won't be on the Yanks postseason roster.

It would be nice to get another look at Dice-K who the Yanks hit pretty well.

[primetime714]

This was certainly the best we could've realistically hoped for in this series. Us winning game 3 with Ponson and Lester on the mound was only ever a fantasy.

Great series which also brought two much needed additions to the team. We just have to keep this momentum up and keep winning more series and we should be all good.