2010 ALCS ~ N.Y.Yankees vs TEX Rangers

2010 American League Championship Series

GAME ONE

NEW YORK YANKEES  vs  TEXAS RANGERS

October 15, 2010

The Ball Park at Arlington

FINAL SCORE:

Yankees 6

Rangers 5

N.Y. Yankees:
Jeter ~ 2 for 5, 2 doubles, run, rbi
Swisher ~ 0 for 4, run, walk
Teixeira ~ 0 for 4, run, walk
Rodriguez ~ 1 for 5, run, 2 rbi, 2 k
CANO ~ 3 for 4, Home Run, run, 2 rbi
THAMES ~ 2 for 4, Game Winning RBI in 8th inning
Posada ~ 0 for 4, k
Granderson ~ 1 for 3, walk
Gardner ~ 1 for 3, run, walk



CC SABATHIA
4 innings pitched
6 hits
5 earned runs
4 walks
3 strikeouts
1 home run


How about D.MOSELEY !!
2 innings pitched
0 hits
0 runs
0 walks
4 strikeouts


MARIANO RIVERA ~ SAVE
1 inning pitched
0 hits
0 runs
0 walks
1 strikeout





MARCUS THAMES; Another in a long line of role players coming up huge for the Yankees.

Do I really want to get into a Texas sized melt-down; bad managing, their bullpen's walks, belt high fastballs and brain cramps?  No.  Instead I'll do this:


The YANKEES do not win championships with-out unlikely heroes and roll players the likes of Chicken Stanley, Brian Doyle, Bucky Dent, Luis Sojo and Jose Vizciano.  They do not win championships with-out a bench featuring David Justice, Darryl Strawberry, Oscar Gamble or Jim Spencer.  Yankee fans, you know all the names.

Add Brett Gardner to that list, who got the winning rally started by getting on base; diving into first in the 8th inning.

In big letters, add Marcus Thames to that list.  This isn't the first time I've lauded him for taking advantage of just about every opportunity he's received, it seems, this season.  Marcus Thames has been flat out incredible for the Yankees coming through with clutch hit after clutch hit after clutch hit...time and time again.

He's been tremendously pivotal to the Yankees' success during his short time here and he will not stop being so.  Yankee championships were predicated on starting pitching; Yes.  But Yankee Championships were complimented by strong benches.  Marcus Thames is as strong a bench/role player as the Yankees have ever had.  He's already done that much.

But I'm going to tell you what really got me started thinking about Yankee heroes of the more recent past.  I could have sworn I was watching the '98 Yanks, or the '99 Yanks tonight.  That's not to compare this team to those.  I'm not.

But tonight the Yankees hung around and hung around, struggling against Texas' starter C. WILSON.  The first 7 innings didn't go the Yankees' way with the bats.  But they outlasted the starter and when they got to the bullpen, Texas was toast, reminiscent of the way those late 90's teams beat you.

Unbelievable is the word I'd use to describe tonight's loss by Texas.  Yes, I said the loss by Texas.  When you are winning a game after 7 innings by a score of 5-0, and 5-1, and do not come out victorious, you literally LOST a game; as in ~ Where did it go?

For the Yankees however, crisis narrowly averted.  C.C. Sabathia was not good tonight but the Yankees managed to win the game started by their ACE, like they so desperately wanted (think AJ Burnett or the added pressure on Hughes to do well).

Tonight, the Yanks roughed it out.  Remember how Jason Giambi kept the Yanks loitering around  in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS with two solo home runs?  That's what Robinson Cano did tonight.  He kept the Yankees in the game (by their standards).  Cano wrapped a home run around the right field flag pole in the 7th inning to make it 5-1 giving the Yankees bench something to clap about..  Then it was just a matter of time before the rest of the Bronx Bombers started feeding off the Texas bullpen.

Also, if you remember that Game 7 back in 2003...It was Posada's dinky dunk hit that proved most harmful of all, after Grady Little left Pedro in the game.  Tonight, Marcus Thames, like many Yankee late inning hits they manage to dink and dunk, broke his bat pushing a single into left field to plate the go-ahead run.

What an unbelievable loss if you're the Texas Rangers.

If you're a Yankees fan, "Holy Cow" or "See Ya!" ~  I could have sworn I was watching a game from Yankee Championship Teams of yore.



Mike.BTB