ALDS: New York Yankees vs. Baltimore Orioles

[philleotardo]

Did the 2000 Yankees "suck less" than the Mets because they needed terrible Mets baserunning mistakes, a 9th-inning run to tie, and an extra-inning hit from Jose Vizcaino to win Game 1, or because they almost blew a 6-run lead in the 9th inning of Game 2, or because they needed a dribbler up the middle from Luis Sojo in Game 5?

This one might be answered "Yes." The 2000 Yanks were lucky to be in the Series in the first place.
And, in retrospect, the roster is like a cut-and-paste from the Mitchell Report.

[hardrain]

I could not disagree more. This series will be remembered for Ibanez' heroics and CC's pitching.

I'd like to remind everyone what the dynasty Yankees always said. They said that winning came down to pitching and timely hitting. In this series, the Yankees pitched. There can be absolutely no question about that. And in 3 games out of 5 -- in other words, enough to win -- they got the timely hitting.

Let's not forget how close, how tightly contested so many of those games were in the years the Yankees won. Let's not forget how many times they fell behind and had to come back late.

Did the 1996 Yankees "suck less" than the Braves because they got dominated for the first two games, had to come back from 6-0 in Game 4, won Game 5 1-0, and won Game 6 with John Wetteland putting the tying and winning runs on base before barely escaping?

Did the 2000 Yankees "suck less" than the Mets because they needed terrible Mets baserunning mistakes, a 9th-inning run to tie, and an extra-inning hit from Jose Vizcaino to win Game 1, or because they almost blew a 6-run lead in the 9th inning of Game 2, or because they needed a dribbler up the middle from Luis Sojo in Game 5?

And had Mariano nailed down the save, would the 2001 Yankees have "sucked less" than the Diamondbacks? Go back and look at the offensive numbers from that series. They were atrocious. But that would have been the greatest World Series win in Yankees history.

This ALDS was fantastic, and after the amazing daily tension of the pennant race through the month of September, it was an incredible end to a truly memorable battle with the Orioles. Definitely one to remember and one to enjoy.

This is an amazingly articulate post -- very timely and so true. It's a thing of beauty

[Battingly]

I could not disagree more. This series will be remembered for Ibanez' heroics and CC's pitching.

Couldn't agree more.

Rightly or wrongly, the results dictate how a series is remembered.

If you lose the series, with rare exceptions the series is remembered for the GOATS

And if you win a series, with rare exceptions the series is remembered for the HEROES

In this case its the latter, and the heroes (CC & Raul) were unforgettable in their performances.

[Mr Coffee]

I was kind of making a joke regarding the negativity around here.

Sorry if I got you all wound up, Lou.

I agree with all you said.

[teknetic]

This series sucked major ass. The good majority of it wasn't very fun at all. Happy at the outcome, but, yea, not something I'd like to go through again.

[Battingly]

I was kind of making a joke regarding the negativity around here.

Sorry if I got you all wound up, Lou.

I agree with all you said.

Kidding or not, you brought up an interesting point because winning this series took Arod and Swisher off the griddle. Nobody (other than the media) will care that Arod got benched or that Swish kept sucking, unless that continues in the ALCS and we lose, but if they hit in the ALCS and we win, this whole Arod saga is water under the bridge with Yankee fans. Again, perhaps not with the media who can't help but focus on the negative, but if the Yankees are winning and these two clowns start hitting, no Yankee fan will care about Arod's ALDS drama.

Hit a couple of bombs in the ALCS and all is forgiven

[Yankees61]

Well said sweet_lou_14. In the immortal words of Al Davis - "Just win, baby."

We all get frustrated watching our team struggle - but as long as they do better than their opponent - all is good. We should be encouraged by the absolutely great pitching in all 5 games. Most hitters struggle in the post season - pitchers bare down on every pitch - managers are constantly going to the bullpen for favorable matchups. In the end all that counts is the championship.

[JSG]

This series sucked major ass. The good majority of it wasn't very fun at all. Happy at the outcome, but, yea, not something I'd like to go through again.

probably the most stressful series i have ever gone thru. tied and tilting against until the Martin HR game 1. stuck in quicksand 1 run loss game 2. dead in the water and bailed out in the penultimate breath by Raul and Girardi. game 3 game 4 slow motion Jamie Moyer water torture percolates to another 1 run loss. and game 5 a nail biter with insanity in the 8th just as you started to relax. i'm toasted, man !!

[enozlac]

It's over. It's finally over. Months of the Orioles being annoying in pursuit, winning every day, scoreboard watching, Buck Showalter making pitching changes, Nate McLouth and Lew Ford turning into cyborgs. It's finally over. The Orioles are in the rear view mirror.

[sweet_lou_14]

Q: Who's got over 600 home runs, didn't show up for the ALDS, and ended up watching Game 5 from the bench?

A: Jim Thome

[Battingly]

Q: Who's got over 600 home runs, didn't show up for the ALDS, and ended up watching Game 5 from the bench?

A: Jim Thome

Ha!

I was very happy about that too, that guy scares me, even past his prime he still spooks me from some of the bombs he hit off us in Cleveland. I was happy CC kept him nailed to the bench all night.

[sweet_lou_14]

Other than Nate McLouth, none of the "big names" on that team showed up. The Yankees handled Jones, Davis, Wieters, Reynolds, Thome, and Hardy pretty handily, with Hardy getting a big RBI and Reynolds getting one on an excuse-me dribbler the opposite way.

Almost all of their offensive output came from the rookie Machado and super-scrubs like Lew Ford, Ryan Flaherty (who???) and Robert Andino.

[BaBe RuThLeSs]

Tough as nails series, real good pitching, bats were pretty much silent.

CC stepped up and dropped the hammer to bring us back to the ALCS. Can't wait !

[Black Sabbathia]

Satisfying win after a long and frustrating series

CC has been man-sized so far, 1 out from throwing two complete games. Props to our entire pitching staff.

Props to the Orioles on a great season and a hard fought ALDS

[Hitman23]

CC is awesome. So glad Granderson finally broke out tonight. Pen got much needed rest. Great game. I love the intensity.

GO YANKS!

[Battingly]

Girardi takes a lot of grief for his strict adherence to the binder, numerous pitching changes and sometimes questionable lineups, but I thought he made a critical decision in Game 5 that went against the modern day standard and it was the right call in my view.

This one wasn't as obviously gutsy as pinch hitting Ibanez for Arod in Game 3, but it was another wise decision from the gut and it cut against the grain of the standard norm and it might have won us the game.

I'm talking about his decision to bring CC out in the 9th despite having already thrown 111 pitches and despite coming off a grueling 8th inning where you easily could have surmised that he emptied his gun.

The norm in that spot is to congratulate CC on a job well done after the 8th and ask your closer to take us home.

But watching Jim Johnson, he of the 50+ Saves in 2012, blow two games in this series, and again watching the Nationals closer blow a two run lead in the 9th with a trip to the NLCS in the bag, or watching Valverde cough-up Game 4 and the list is endless (and timeless, like Nathan blowing saves to us, Eck getting beat by Gibson, Gossage getting beat by Gibby and Brett etc. etc.), we see this every year in the post season like clockwork, we are reminded time and time again that there is only one Mariano Rivera, only one Sandman, only one Mr. 99% Automatic in a big spot, and the rest of these guys are a crapshoot.

No matter how strong they are in the regular season, no matter how many Saves they compile, none of these guys are better than a CC Sabathia, even with a 100+ pitches under his belt, with the lone exception of Mariano Rivera ... thats the ONLY GUY (ever) you can put out there in the 9th with everything on the line and feel like you upgraded over an ace.

That doesn't mean he's infallible, no man is infallible, but thats the ONLY CLOSER (ever) who gives you a better chance to win in that spot than CC Sabathia who was still dialing it up to 94 in the late innings.

Kudos to Girardi for understanding that.

That move won't receive the level of praise the Ibanez move received, but it may be another reason why we are playing again tonight, just ask the Washington Nationals (or Orioles) about that.

And thats not a knock on Soriano who has been brilliant this year, but he's no CC Sabathia, no closer is, except one.

[joela]

I think there was another reason to keep Sabbatthia in for the 9th inning last night: Soriano pitched 2 innings (if my memory is correct) on Thursday. The day off will help if he is needed tonight.

[RenoHightower]

Having a guy like CC makes managing a lot easier. I can't think of many times when this team has leaned on him and he hasn't come through.

[mr.roy]

Very well Battingly.