God Save the Yankees

I happened to think the Yanks are going to win the next 2 days. I don't know what to think about a return to Cleveland, but I feel okay with the idea that they will be making that trip. This is ugly though, no doubt about it.

If they win tonight, I'll be back to post about Game Four. If not, Torre is 100% gone and you can bet there will be MAJOR changes on the roster. That will be the subject if the unthinkable happens.

What's for sure right now is that the Yankees offense does not work in the post-season for whatever reason. We've seen it since the 2004 collapse. The pitching is the real problem though. Pettitte was brilliant, and Joba should have been out of that inning, if the locusts hadn't come down. The thing is, it got to Vizcaino and he blew it. The key to winning in baseball is so simple it's painful. Throw strike one. The Yankees don't do it enough. Wang didn't do it at all in Game One, and the bullpen (outside Joba and Mariano) doesn't do it at all. Sabathia and Carmona threw strikes. They also sport much better ERA+ numbers than any Yankee starter. That's a repeat of all the recent playoff ousters. Opposing teams start pitchers who throw strikes and sport superior ERA+ numbers than the Yankees. I propose that to win next year, we will have to get at least one guy with a 130-140 ERA+ at the front of the rotation and another in the 120's as a #2. Wang can be that #2, but the guy in the 130s-140s isn't on the team yet. (Joba?)

Go Yankees. Win it for Joe, if that's what it takes. Get 'em Rocket. For old times' sake.