In the end, you really only needed to watch the first inning, as the game was summed up nicely after only six outs. No killer instinct on the mound, no killer instict at the plate. Bart was able to get ahead, but didn't have the ability to put hitters away. On the other side, Vlad took two meatballs for strikes before grounding out on a pitch that practically bounced on the plate.
Honestly, this concerns me about Vlad. I mentioned it earlier in the season when he was being walked intentionally virtually every time up. He doesn't have the care free attitude of Cabrera. You can tell he lets things get to him. Those walks led him right into a long slump, and the team slumped along with him. Take the grand slam away from last year's playoffs, and he didn't hit .150 in that series. He seems to have the temperament of a guy who is going to try too hard. I hope it doesn't take a 2-0 series deficit to loosen him up this year.
Colon looked like he was falling in love with the radar gun. He was bringing heat, to be sure, but he wouldn't get away from it, and he got burned. Tough to criticise him, though. Last year in the first half of the season, he was getting killed on two strike off-speed stuff, so I guess he's gotta do what he thinks he's gotta do. All of the damage was done with two outs. The Yankees are a team that you cannot afford to leave on life support. Bart could not plunge the knife in when he needed to.
The offense simply isn't reliable enough to score runs when the team is trailing. Their recent run of comeback wins notwithstanding, this isn't really a rally offense. It's not really a good offense, and if they get behind again, they're in trouble. Remember, this is all against a guy who got absolutely hammered by the Orioles in his last start.
Tomorrow night is the series, folks. The pitching matchup says the Angels should win, but this is a terrific Yankees offense against an anemic and unreliable Angels offense. I expect them to, at the very least, put up a better fight. But the next game is it. Lose and it's over. Win and they still have some sort of chance. They needed this one. The Angels had their ace on the mound against a shaky starter, and the Angels made Mussina look about 8 years younger. Leave the bats at home again tomorrow, and the hot stove starts heating up.
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2 comments:
Agreed that the Angels must win Game 2. The pitching match-ups favor the Angels in Games 2 and 4, the Yankees in Game 3, with Game 5 a toss-up (Mussina @ Colon redux). Let's get to Game 5 and see what happens. In 2002 the Angels lost the 1st game of each post season series. That all turned out fine. I like the 2005 Angels over the 2004 squad, especially the starting pitching. It is possible that the Paul Byrd will best Randy Johnson in Game 3 and the Angels will take the next three games in a row. Then there will be NO Game 5.
Did anybody notice in tonight's Angel program that the rosters of the Yankees and Chisox were included and the Bosox were omitted? Somebody on Arte's payroll is down on the Red Sox.
The Angels knew on Saturday that they would play either the Yankees or the White Sox. The wild card was not determined.
I helped write Super Bowl programs for years and you had to do mock-ups for every team in the playoffs. That is why some Super Bowl programs had four teams, and others only two. It was not a slight against the Red Sox. Just something to do to ensure that you would have programs for the opening game.
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