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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The New York way

2-0, third inning.

The Yankees are sinking, and sinking fast. CC Sabathia is breaking down in the playoffs once again; A-Rod won't be getting a hit tonight; Derek Jeter is too old for playoff heroics. The tired Twinsies have already gotten themselves on the board, and they're in for the long haul. Game over, sweep's up; Minnesota's in the American League Championship Series.

At about 6:30 tonight, that was the word on the street (especially at the Boston Globe sports desk, where I have the pleasure of watching tonight's game). Everyone was saying, "Wouldn't it be great if the Twins swept the Yankees? A-Rod's gonna choke again tonight."

Bite your tongue, kids, because it's the bottom of the eighth, and New York is up 7-2.

Old man Jeter is for 2-for-2, with a single to lead off the series and a two-run homer to even it up. Sabathia got over the two-run bump in the third and whiffed eight batters, going deep into the seventh inning. And Alex Not-In-The-Clutch Rodriguez is a crazy-.500 2-for-4 with two big runs batted in.

In fact, every Yankee batter except million-dollar-man Mark Texeira and phenom Robinson Cano have notched hits tonight. Phil Hughes, Phil Coke and Joba Chamberlain have combined to keep Minnesota off the board since.

Needless to say, reports of the Yankees' death are highly exaggerated.

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