A good skip

Sports Illustrated's Michael Rosenberg does a good job explaining why Joe Girardi is a good fit as manager for the New York Yankees, but also how his selection could have gone wrong.

Everything I feared, and more

Game 1 of the World Series was everything I feared, and more. The bats didn't show up (4 total hits; 2 by Derek Jeter). The bullpen blew it (Phil Hughes got another 2 earned runs, and Damaso Marte and David Robertson were the guys who let them score; then Brian Bruney and Phil Coke couldn't put a cap on it). And worst of all, CC Sabathia was Chased -- not chased from the game (that didn't happen until the eighth inning), but slammed twice by Chase Utley, whose two solo home runs were the difference for most of the game.

Argh.

It was a wet, chilly night in the Bronx, a night that had most thinking the game shouldn't be played. The poor Yankees probably wish it hadn't been played, because the non-pretty loss was an almost must-win for them. Oh, and they didn't win it, by the way.

The game was at home, and Sabathia was on the mound -- two factors that the Bombers have hung on throughout the postseason while their bats haven't exactly been bombing.

But without even half an inning in the books, it already looked bad.

After Jimmy Rollins gave the Phils a whimpering start to the series by bunting (bunting?!?!) the first pitch of the game, Sabathia allowed Philadelphia to load the bases and went through six batters on 24 pitches.

He escaped that jam, but in the top of the ninth, Utley worked him for a nine-pitch at-bat then sent one out of the park.

Cliff Lee was unhittable in the bottom half of hte frames, seeming to get stronger as the game went on. He tossed a complete game, in fact, which was the only sensible thing for an unstoppable pitcher to do with these made-of-china bullpens.

Lee struck out the side in the bottom of the fourth and had seven strikeouts through the first four innings. He ended the night with 10.

Sabathia retired eight straight, but in the top of the sixth, Utley got him again to put the Phillies up 2-0. Sabathia got a big, three-pitch strikeout on Raul Ibanez to end the inning, but the damage was done.

And then the bullpen made it worse. Hughes has been the loose linchpin since October began, but manager Joe Girardi called on him again. Sure enough, he walked leadoff batter Jimmy Rollins (of all people) then let him steal before walking Shane Victorino. That brought in Marte, who surprisingly, didn't blow the game, but Robertson couldn't hold the men on. In the next inning, Bruney encouraged more carnage and saw the Phillies' margin move to 5-0.

Coke let another in on a Ryan Howard double.

6-0? Pitcher's duel? Well, it was, until the Yankees tapped that cesspool they've been calling their bullpen.

Ugh. Ugh. Ugly.

The Yankees' vaunted bats went out with little more than an error-aided whimper in the bottom of the ninth, and that was it.

There's always tomorrow, but I think we know what needs the tweaking before 7:57 Thursday evening.

Game recap

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A little tussle in the Bronx

Apparently, the Yankees read my post, because they came out fighting in the bottom of the eighth — but not the kind of fighting I was looking for.

Jorge Posada apparently tackled the Jays' catcher, and manager Joe Girardi emerged from the scuffle with a cut and a bruised head.

Way to show some fire, Yanks.

It's a shame I missed the fight. There's nothing like a sewer rat of a catcher taking down a blue bird. (The guy at the desk next to me here at the sports department of the Daily News Tribune says he hopes Posada didn't ruin his mug. Ha.)

Johnny Damon squandered a bases-loaded situation in the same inning, and the Yankees lost 10-4. Sergio Mitre was the unfortunate pitcher in the five-hole for New York, getting shellacked for seven earned runs through five innings while Roy Halladay held off the Bombers.

Brett Gardner, newly returned to the team, was great in his starting role tonight. He went 2-for-4 with a double and 2 RBI. Hideki Matsui and Derek Jeter were also 2-for-4 with an RBI apiece.

Other Yankees Posts

A NYY column: The reason behind their success

On why captain Derek Jeter is the reason the Yankees are earning their pinstripes this year.

Early in the New York Yankees’ 8-3 win over the Chicago White Sox this Sunday, the television commentators were engaged in their usual banter. They talked about all the jersey numbers the Yankees organization has retired, about Jorge Posada anchoring the plate, about Joe Girardi’s managing style, and, of course, the favorite topic whenever the Yankees play on a major network: Mr. Derek Jeter.

"Jeter" is one of those names imagined, bred, and birthed for sports, meant to be yelled as a one-word epithet, in gloating or in hatred. He’s been a player for the Yankees for 15 years, the captain seven years, an irreplaceable contributor every year.

Early in the New York victory on Sunday, though, Jeter was showing why he’s more than all that this year. Simply put, "Numbah Two," Derek Jeter, has been the main reason for the Yankees success this season.

His resurgence over the summer, in particular, has marked the return of the Bronx Bombers as real contenders.

Consider the bottom of the third inning in Sunday’s game. The score was closer then — with New York down 2-1. Jeter stepped into the batter’s box, complete with the usual repertoire of wriggling and shifting that does Broadway proud. Before his lurching legs were even planted, he was swinging at the first pitch — a liner over the infield’s heads that landed in the outfield grass with the nearest fielder 50 feet away.

The single looked routine, and even unimpressive. Such a hit is nothing compared to the slap-shot doubles that come off Johnny Damon’s bat, the sweeping perfection of Alex Rodriguez’s home run stroke, or the loose, hip-swinging cut of hard-hitting Robinson Cano.

But Jeter was on first. And one pitch later, he was on home plate, having completed his job as the leadoff batter.

That was exactly how it was supposed to work; Jeter did his job, then Damon did his — scoring them both with a rightfield homer.

The single was Jeter’s second hit of the night. He led off the Yankees’ half of the first frame with a double, on which he was also able to score, thanks to a sacrifice fly from the number three batter, Mark Teixeira.

After Jeter returned to the dugout in the third inning, having accounted for enough runs to tie the game, neither team scored for three innings. (The game might have ended with that one-run margin if not for a five-run explosion by New York in the seventh.) Jeter hadn’t been just a strong leadoff man; his runs were almost it for the home team.

Sunday’s win was exemplary of the types of games Jeter has been having all season — especially this summer — and the positive effect his performance has had on the team.

Remember, this is a lineup with troves of All-Stars, former MVPs, Cy Young winners, and would-be-the-top-player-on-any-other-team guys. It’s easy to forget how good Jeter is, how solid he’s been throughout the years, how important he is to this New York team.

People can be quick to dismiss the Yankees, with their millions invested in the payroll and their 26 World Series championships. They’re expected to be good, to win — but it’s not like the Babe or Joltin’ Joe are actually in that clubhouse anymore. Each Yankees generation has to prove itself, to overcome its hurdles of the times, to be just as good as the uniforms it wears.

That task has never been hard for Jeter. He entered the league as a hot prospect in 1995 (1996 was his first full season) and promptly won four championships in the next five seasons. He’s a lifetime .317 hitter, averaging 111 runs, 193 hits, 75 runs batted in, 16 homers and 21 steals a season. He fields at a .976 clip and is knocking down Yankees and league records systematically. And he’s also known for his standing in the community, his excellent attitude, his good-guy image, and his ability to never let frivolity affect the way he handles his life, or slip into his status as a Yankee. He is a professional, as a player and more, with little to tarnish his legacy.

But he is also aging. Critics have enjoyed the last couple years, when they’ve been able to talk down his ability as a fielder. Old, old, they say. Still playing that spot on the field because he’s Jeter. A flea on the back of four championships, not the legs that made them.

Jeter, in his usual Jeter way, hasn’t rebutted any claims, staying silent instead. Yankees manager Joe Girardi backed his shortstop, then gave him a vote of confidence that met accusations head-on — he moved Jeter to the leadoff spot in the lineup, where he’d have to leg out infield singles and steal second on hard-thrown fastballs. That’s not an assignment for an old, slow player.

Jeter has piled up 23 steals so far this season (he’s had more in only three seasons). And although he has only 60 runs batted in as he hits from the No. 1 spot, he’s stacked up 93 runs already (ninth in Major League Baseball). His best statistic: a hot .335 batting average, which is fifth out of all American League players and seventh overall. (If it holds, it will be Jeter’s fourth-best batting average in 15 years in the majors.)

But forget his numbers — look at the Yankees.

It’s a cliche that a team should perform as its captain does, but that’s exactly what’s happened in the Bronx this year.

For years, Jeter has been good, but not awesome. As the sprightly shortstop on the 1990s’ victory train (his first five full seasons), he batted around .323 and had 199 hits, 120 runs and 81 RBI a season. But in the last few years, as the Yankees have fallen short of their ultimate goal for nearly a decade, it’s been .312, 192 hits, 108 runs and 74 RBI (not including this season).

The Yankees have followed suit, being good, but not great. This New York team of the past couple years is the first one in a while to make its fans nervous — and legitimately so. The front office spends and spends; the "Bombers" choke and choke (or, bad pun: bomb and bomb). They can’t come back from a deficit; Rodriguez is horrid in the clutch; they’re absorbing double-digit losses.

The worst, of course, has been the early playoff losses — or last year, when there were no playoffs at all. That may have been added motivation for Mr. Derek Jeter.

This year, he’s on pace to break all his season averages. That includes a .357 batting average in July, and .374 in August. Some are saying he should be the American League MVP — but I won’t get into that here.

The point is that now, for the Yankees, anything can happen.

New York has had 11 walk-off wins this year, and a load of come-from-behind victories. Rodriguez has actually driven in runs when the Yankees are behind, and late in the game, too.

The Bombers have ripped through their schedule and racked up 82 wins (soon to be 89 in just one week — you read it here first) — four more than their closest challenger, the National League’s Los Angeles Dodgers (conveniently managed by ex-Yankees manager Joe Torre).

They’re rolling, decimating, controlling.

Go ahead, critics, complain about the Yankees again — they are finally as good as their paychecks and their pinstripes.

Top of the fourth, Sunday: Jeter spears a line drive. A little while later, he fields another ball and does "the Jeter" — a move named after the man who (may have invented and definitely) perfected it: snaring a grounder, planting, and flipping the ball, mid-air, to first, all in one motion, without a pause.

He may be slower; he is 35. But he’s also making the plays when he needs to, and hitting how he needs to, and getting his team to where it needs to be.

He’s as good as the lauding pundits say, as good as the paychecks read, as good as the pinstripes demand.

All the way this year, Jeter. It’s time for Numbah Two to get Number 27.

Another W for NY

The Yankees came back late again, topping the Twins 5-4. This is the kind of team they need to be if they're going to make any sort of run. Melky Cabrera and Brett Gardner have fueled each other, "competing" for the same spot (they'll be on the field together if they continue to play well). Starting pitcher Phil Hughes didn't start, but he had an average outing, enough to let the bats win the game.

If manager Joe Girardi can continue to tap into the style of play the Yankees have right now (including some feistiness from Johnny Damon, who got tossed after getting fired up over some strikes-and-balls at home plate), New York can start nabbing two of three and even go on a run.