With the Yankee season on the brink of extinction for 2005, Shawn Chacon pitched brilliantly and enabled the Bombers to come from behind and force a deciding game in California today. As I stated in an earlier post, Chacon has to be on the short list of Yankee MVP candidates this year and his performance last night solidified his worth to this team. He limited the Angels to 2 runs over 6 1/3 innings and kept the Yankees in the ballgame versus John Lackey, who was also pitching quite well on 3 days rest.
In order to win the game, the Yanks were faced with the challenge of beating the vaunted Angels bullpen, and with elimination staring them in the face, they were able to do it. Mariano Rivera came in to save the game with an efficient two inning performance and has declared himself ready to go two more innings tonight, if needed.
Tonight’s deciding game features a re-match of Game 1 starters, Mike Mussina and Bartolo Colon. My worry with Mussina is can he keep this Angels lineup off-balance for the second time within a week? With his style of pitching, I’m concerned that the Angels will benefit from the fact that they just faced Mussina 6 days ago. If Mussina isn’t effective, we know that Joe Torre won’t wait long to go to the bullpen (2003 ALCS – Game 7). Is Randy Johnson the first man out of the pen? Let’s hope we don’t have to find out.
It’s stating the obvious, but for several reasons, the Yankees need to win tonight. With the way the Yankees played to get into the playoffs, it would be a huge disappointment if the season ended today. Playing their best ball of the season is exactly the way you want to go into the Division Series, and for it to fall apart after that is going to be disturbing for the entire organization and the fans. The justification for a $200 million payroll and pre-season expectations won’t be satisfied with a first round exit.
Playing the Angels first was a tough draw as LA may be their bogey team. However, this team has been playing must-win games since the beginning of September, and tonight is a chance for them to keep this year’s dream alive.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
It would have been more fun to watch the Yankees lose without that strange running-inside-the-baseline call in the fifth. Come on, he was running straight for the base, avoiding the first baseman and the throw. Are you not allowed to step on the left half of first base? Crazy. Though that shouldn't detract from the entertainment provided by the Sheffield-Crosby collision.
Post a Comment