Comments on last night's Game 2

This was a game the Yankees had to have last night. And they took it in a very surprising way. Game 2 last night showcased two very good pitching performances from Pedro Martinez and A.J. Burnett, with the latter throwing up 7 innings of magnificent work comprised of 4 hits, 1 earned run, and 9 strikeouts. Burnett was wheeling and dealing some nasty stuff, using his curveball and four-seam fastball to weave a gem against the Phillies all-star lineup. However, as typical with Burnett this season, there were many nerve-racking situations that he got himself into but, and this is the surprising part, he managed to work his way out of them. The only situation Burnett didn't get out of was the one time the Phillies got the lead on a Matt Stairs base hit in the 2nd. And at that point I'm sure every Yankee fan was starting to think "Oh my god, Pedro's gonna shut us down and the quest for #27 is as good as lost". Yet, in the 4th inning of last night's win, Mark Teixeira stepped up to the plate and demonstrated why he has been the MVP for the Yankees this season, delivering a solo blast out to right-center field that tied the game at 1. This gave the Yankees some much-needed momentum throughout the game against Pedro and allowed them to operate with a quiet confidence and relax a little bit in the game. Eventually, the Yankees were able to finally get to Pedro again with a Godzilla attack out in right field. Matsui crushed a low curve ball by Pedro and allowed for the Yankee Stadium crowd to finally celebrate the fact that they had a lead in the World Series. Before Matsui's home run, Pedro was having a very decent game of his own, striking out hitters left and right and getting out of scary situations when the Yankees were threatening. And let me just say one thing, where the hell has A-Rod been in this series? It seems the Kate Hudson Effect is starting to wear off a little bit, kinda like the Secret Stuff in the movie Space Jam. If this is going to be a problem for the rest of the series, then it looks like the rest of the Yankee lineup is gonna have to discover that they don't need the Secret Stuff anymore and score some runs with or without A-Rod. However, I am not worried about A-Rod entirely. I think he will come through when the Yankees visit Philadelphia for Games 3, 4, and 5.

In a much similar fashion to Game 1, the Yankees were able to provide a little leeway between themselves and the Phillies when Charlie Manuel left Pedro in for the 7th inning (a Grady Little moment perhaps?) and he gives up 2 base hits and leaves with runners on 1st and 3rd with nobody out. Jorge Posada nails an RBI single and the Yankees were able to take a 3-1 lead. To show how much the Yankees needed this game, Joe Girardi brought out the Sandman for 2 innings last night. Despite getting into a little bit of trouble in the 8th, Rivera took care of business against the Phillies lineup, striking out Matt Stairs with authority to end Game 2 last night and send the Yankees to Philly with the series tied at 1.

Now, a little preview of Game 3. The pitching matchup is very interesting to say the least. Andy Pettitte is obviously one of the best postseason pitchers in MLB history and will no doubt bring his A-game to the table for Game 3. However, the guy to watch is obviously Phillies starter Cole Hamels, who had an incredible postseason last year and was named World Series MVP. This year has not been so incredible for Hamels as he has struggled consistently and has not been able to give the Phillies a strong outing on the mound. If Hamels can find some way to shut down the Yankees lineup (and that is a very tall order), then Game 3 could be very interesting especially being on the road in Philadelphia. Another thing to watch for is if the Phillies lineup starts to hit against Yankees starting pitching. Against CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, the Phillies lineup has only managed 6 hits collectively and just 3 ER. And with Andy Pettitte stepping on the mound for Game 3, the Phillies' struggle to score runs just might continue. Again though, a lot depends on what you're getting from Cole Hamels as well. Can he bring his A-game to the mound on Saturday? Can the Phillies score some runs off Pettitte? Will the Yankees control the pace of the game? We shall find out all this on Saturday night and I think it's gonna be very interesting.

Game 3 Prediction: Yankees 4, Phillies 2

Comments on last night's Game 1

Last night's Game 1 of the World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Yankees featured a classic pitching performance from veteran and former Cy Young award winner Cliff Lee, who threw a complete game "shutout" against the Bronx Bombers on 122 pitches. I put "shutout" in quotations because even though the Yankees managed to score one run in the 9th off Lee, the run was unearned due to a throwing error and did not really undermine the masterful work given to us by Lee. I mean, there were times where Lee just seemed unfazed by what must have been enormous pressure to win the opening game of the Fall Classic. He looked calm, cool, collected on the mound, making hitters swing and miss on pitches that were both inside and outside. He mixed and matched on hitters, taking command of the strike zone with such efficiency and precision that Yankee hitters remained baffled for nearly the entire game last night. It also appeared as if their inability to solve Lee throughout the course of the evening led to frustration and maybe even allowed some hitters to force swings a bit. I mean, how else do you explain Johnny Damon's pop fly to the pitcher's mound and the blind luck of Lee's behind-the-back grab of Cano's possible single up the middle. Cliff Lee was nearly perfect last night and if he keeps pitching like this and it comes down to a Game 7 where Lee has to pitch on 3 days rest, watch out because this may not be the year of #27 after all.

This is not to undermine the performance of CC Sabathia last night as well. Sabathia gave 7 strong innings of work and only made two mistakes throughout. Unfortunately, both mistakes were home runs to right field by Chase Utley, who took advantage of fastballs that were right down the middle of the plate. He was trying to throw inside to Utley and make him chase the inside pitch only to have himself miss completely and allow the Phillies to take a 2-0 lead. But other than that, Sabathia pitched just as well as Lee in my opinion. However, the Yankee bullpen did not look great last night. Phil Hughes still has not solved his postseason woes and the game was pretty much over when Raul Ibanez hit a 2RBI single through the hole to give the Phillies a 4-run lead. The way Lee was pitching last night, the Yankees were not coming back from that because they were not putting up any offensive numbers and when they did get hits off Lee, they would always be held in check.

Tonight's Game 2 is a pivotal matchup for the Yankees. The Phillies are sending Pedro Martinez to the mound primarily because of his history against the Yankees and because Hamels has struggled mightily this postseason so Charlie Manuel wanted to make him feel comfortable by giving him Game 3 at home. But the Yankees are not exactly sending up a strong opponent in A.J. Burnett, who has had his share of pitching problems this postseason even with Jose Molina behind the plate. I think James would argue for a strong offensive showing by both teams tonight, with both pitchers probably exiting the game after the 5th or 6th innings. I wouldn't be surprised if the game went into extra innings tonight with the final dividend being a 6-5 game. Hopefully, Joe Girardi will have some sense to place Jorge in the catcher's role tonight and make Burnett suck it up and throw the ball like he is supposed to. I understand you want Burnett comfortable, but these are grown men and this is the World Series. You throw the ball over the plate and you make your pitches, get the win, and notch your team closer to championship glory. That's how its done in the big leagues, or at least that's how it should be done. And I think it will happen tonight for the Yankees, but it probably won't be because of A.J. Burnett.

Game 2 Prediction: Yankees 6, Phillies 5 (11 innings)

"It's deja vu all over again"

Does anyone remember this feeling? It's been awhile. Six years, in fact. Six LONG years. This may be even better than 2003. I would even argue it feels more like 2001, where it was all about the WS titles and not merely beating the Red Sox. I recall the start of the 2003 series feeling anticlimatic, due to the Aaron Boone ALCS victory (and it obviously ended with a similar, if not worse feeling). Suffice to say, I'm pretty over the rivalry. Do not get me wrong, it's always fun to beat them for bragging rights against Brian and Brett, if nothing else. But getting super hyped up for a regular season victory leaves me with a shallow feeling, even against the sox. We could go 0 - 18 against the Sox (we were on track after 9 games this season), but would anyone care if we came out with a WS title? NOOO.. I am back in the mantra that a win over the sox counts as much as it does beating any other division opponent. Important, but no longer does it mean the world to me. Even beating them in the playoffs is not a priority. I could not have cared less who we beat in the ALCS as long as we were still playing tonight. I guess not having Pedro throwing Zimmer to the ground, the Big Poopie or Manny being Manny to loathe shapes my feelings. But you get my point.


-So on to the World Series talk. On a personal note, there is an inter-family rivalry between my mom and myself as she is an avid Phillies fan. And I cant believe we actually got our wish to meet in the WS. In fact, we're headed to Game 5 (if necessary) upon my request - I wanted to experience a new ball park, and for her to not deal with any taunting. What a good son I am. Citizens Bank will actually be my 9th MLB ballpark.**

-Both lineups are stacked, both teams have a flare for the dramatic, the bullpens are solid but unpredictable so far (minus Mo). So it comes down the starting pitching. That said, I've got the yanks in 6. Here is why:



Game 1: Lee vs. CC ->

Toss up, so clearly I hope the Yanks get the better end of this one. 1 - 0 either way


Game 2: Pedro vs. Burnett

The most intriguing game. There is no shot that Pedro will shut the yanks down AT YANKE STADIUM no less. Look for a very crooked number sometime between the 4th and 6th inning after the yanks see him a second and third time. However, there are two things working against us here: Its AJ Burnett on the hill. You can get a gem or a dud and be not surprises either way and its October, where anything can happen. We'll have a better idea of what Games 5-6-7 will be after Game 2.

Game 3: Pettitte vs. Hamels

I think the yanks take this one. Hamels has not been very effective this post season as he hasn't made it through 6 innings yet in his three starts. I think he's battling some sort of injury??? It looks like last year's workload did a number on him this year. He's done. Yanks up 2 - 1 at this point or 3 - 0 at this point depending on Game 1.

Game 4: CC vs. Lee x2

Again a toss up. I'm going to take the safe route and say that whoever won game 1 will probably lose this one. Something to mention - I'm not sure of Lee's numbers on short rest, but anyone who watched last year knows what CC can do on 3 days rest, ESPECIALLY since he's been well rested down the stretch of the season and playoffs. Series 3 - 1


Game 5/6: Burnett/Gaudin/Pettitte vs. Blanton, Pedro, Happ, Meyers?

The yankees look pretty tough to beat for the first four games, but it gets pretty fuzzy once you have guys like Burnett/Pettitte going on short rest/Gaudin starting. My feeling is that Girardi will start AJ on longer rest (game 6) if he pitches well into game 2, and they'll pitch him in game 5 if he only lasts only a few innings and hav Pettitte pitch Game 6. Gotta remember also that AJs track record indicates he'll be fine on short rest. But either way I see them wrapping it up here in 6 games.

**old Yankee, new Yankee, Citi Field, Fenway Park, Coors Field, Petco Park, Dodger Stadium, SafeCo Field, Citizens Bank Ballpark.

Greetings from Emeightime

Hellllllloooooo. Glad to be apart of this blog- a great idea by my very good friend Lenny. We talk about sports so much, we may as well write it down. A great way to add some accountability to our opinions and words. 90 Pembroke was not only home to myself and my roommates, it was the go to place for our friends at PC. So kudos on the name. So yeah, excited to be doing this. Not sure how precise the system will be. If I have something on my mind in regards to football, I'll write about it even though its Lenny's forte. And pardon my writing skills/grammer or lack thereof. Lenny was an english major and I was an accounting major so you can see who has the advantage there. Yanks game is on now, I'll look to write in the next day or so, possibly responding to something Lenny wrote if he writes first. LETS GO YANKS

Welcome

Welcome to Sports Lovers of 90 Pembroke. The title itself is an exercise in false advertising because sadly I was not a resident of 90 Pembroke during my senior year at Providence College. However, I practically spent every weekend there along with the occasional weekday for birthday celebrations, bonfires, basement parties, and the expected "dutch" session. However, as soon as my friend Mr. James Emeigh accepts my invitation to write for this blog, he will indeed confirm that I was practically a resident of 90 Pembroke and will no doubt put to shame the errors of the aforementioned title. With that being said, upon my recent visit to Stony Point and New York City, Mr. Emeigh and I decided that it would be a great idea to write a sports blog together. Our plan is to divide the commentary of the major sports equally with James possibly taking baseball and college basketball and myself taking football (both college and pro) and professional basketball. Occasionally, we would like special guest commentator Brian Wendth to provide insight into his new bandwagon love for the New York Rangers but all this is pending the approval of Mr. Wendth. It is possible that we will devote some coverage to the sports of hockey, soccer, golf, and tennis but not extensive coverage because I don't think James and I follow those four sports rather closely (golf probably being the exception for Mr. Emeigh). I also think James and I will split the duties on one of the sports we choose to cover because as I look at it now, we would only be covering five sports religiously on this blog. Clearly, we have not really planned all this out yet but I can assure you that this blog will be up and running as soon as possible. So for now, stay tuned for more fun and exciting things to emerge later on and have a good night.