I had to check on Facebook that Keep the Faith wasn't copyrighted by Red Sox fans. So I was told that was okay to use, but a Met fan friend warned me to stay away from Ya Gotta Believe!
I keep on having flashbacks to the horror that was the 2006 ALDS. (And I'm glad I missed Kenny Rogers throwing out the first pitch last night!) But at least the Yanks showed some fight in rallying during Game 2 and Game 3, even if the rallies were ultimately unsuccessful. Verlander may have won the game, but he did not look great out there.
On the other hand, Joe Girardi kept CC Sabathia in too long. CC's outings as of late have been awful -- not exactly a great contract drive for him getting that new deal! And he looks like he's put on another 25 pounds this year. Is it any surprise that he has been laboring so much when he pitches?
And it would be nice if Mark Teixeira contributed a little. (For all the grief A-Rod gets, he drove in a run and walked twice last night, only to be stranded by Tex.) Not to mention Captain Clutch striking out to end the rally last night.
Anyhow, given that so many of the big names for the Yanks haven't come through in the playoffs, while the two players who have shown some consistency are Jorge Posada and Brett Gardner, it would be fitting if A.J. hurled a brilliant game tonight. He could erase the last two years with one gutty, gritty performance.
Or he could make me hurl. But I'm gonna stay positive here. Keep the faith!
Unlikely heroes have come up time and time again in Yankee history. Maybe tonight is Burnett's turn.
ReplyDeleteAnd, Lisa, observe: Derek Jeter, BA .267, OPS .533; Alex Rodriguez, BA .000, OPS .231. There's plenty of blame to go around (Tex and Swish, for example, have just 3 hits between them), and nobody, except maybe Gardner and Posada (the baseball equivalent of death throes?) is exempt.
The season is coming down to one game in which the likes of Jeter, Teixeira, A-Rod and A.J. must redeem themselves or face the wrath of Yankee fans forever. Is this the gritty, come from behind, never give up team that the media has raved about? The team with the vaunted offense and great, great bullpen?
ReplyDeleteWhat makes their performance up to now, so bitter a pill to swallow, is that they have gazillion dollar contracts that go on well into the future. We have to look forward to these "stars" for years to come. Unless there is a great rebirth of this team tonight, some mighty big heads should start rolling.