The Yankees’ season hangs in the balance tonight. Win and it’s back home for Game Five. Lose and it’s back home to pack up the lockers and the clubhouse. A.J. Burnett and Rick Porcello are your starters for this game. Here are the lineups:

Tigers:
1. Austin Jackson, CF
2. Ramon Santiago, 2B
3. Delmon Young, LF
4. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
5. Victor Martinez, DH
6. Don Kelly, RF
7. Jhonny Peralta, SS
8. Alex Avila, C
9. Wilson Betemit, 3B

Yankees:

1. Derek Jeter, SS
2. Curtis Granderson, CF
3. Robinson Cano, 2B
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Mark Teixeira, 1B
6. Nick Swisher, RF
7. Jorge Posada, DH
8. Russell Martin, C
9. Brett Gardner, LF

Let’s go Yankees!

 

129 Responses to Game Thread: ALDS Game Four: Elimination Game

  1. smurfy says:

    Great catch by curtis! oh, there was the game, maybe, if he missed it. One of those right-at-him liners, hard to judge.

  2. bornwithpinstripes says:

    why does granderson and swisher always play shallow..they are not going to throw anybody out..

    • Professor Longnose says:

      Trying to cut off a few singles from dropping in. I think I read toward the beginning of the season that the Yankees were intentionally trying to play shallower this year. Overall, I think it’s worked, but I haven’t seen any data. That’s just a guess.

    • They play deep because it’s more likely that they have a play in front of them than it is that they have a play behind them. Many more balls will fall between the OF/IF .

      • bornwithpinstripes says:

        that would be a single…over the head and not having angles by playing short can be costly..if that goes over his head, inside grand slam

        • And if he reads it properly, it doesn’t make a difference. Most of the time, you’re not going to make a play on the ball over your head. It’s better to cut off the singles than to try and play no doubles defense all the time.

  3. bornwithpinstripes says:

    they will hit this guy tonight. AJ needs to be shut down..he needs to establish his FB before he start that in the dirt all the time pitch that creates all these hugh innings and short outing..

  4. bornwithpinstripes says:

    that’s it FB , moving it around the plate..he has to do that for a few more innings..then use the out pitch

  5. Professor Longnose says:

    Our best hitter gets on base!

  6. Professor Longnose says:

    3 for 24 with RISP. That’s why they’re behind in the series.

  7. Professor Longnose says:

    Nice running by Martin! Or something…anyway, he made it.

  8. bornwithpinstripes says:

    jeter if you noticed back up off the plate that time then crushed a ball he usually would ground out..who ever told him might have won this game for us

  9. smurfy says:

    excellent slide by Russell, after a BOOMING hit. Somebody said Jete’s hits were meaningless. Pshaw!

  10. smurfy says:

    Jackson was playing deeper for Robbie, or for having missed Jete’s.

  11. Professor Longnose says:

    Ah, a 2-run lead with Burnett on the mound is like being behind in a regular game.

    • smurfy says:

      well, it almost seems ideal, given he could blow a 12 run lead. He’s better if it’s tighter. Not that I would tell anybody not to score.

      • Professor Longnose says:

        Definitely more than I expected. At least they’ve got a chance so far. I hope he’s on a short leash, and that the pen does the job.

  12. smurfy says:

    See? Don’t tell me Tex doesn’t get on.

  13. smurfy says:

    Porcello, suddenly impressive. Great curveball for Posada, terrific, esp from a guy who hardly throws them.

    And I loved Smoltzy’s oxymoronic comment that”High sinkers” that come down into the strike zone “worked, but they’re not supposed to do that.” Probably told Greg Maddox to straighten out his inside corner pitch to lefties, till they realized that, hey, it worked!

  14. Professor Longnose says:

    I’d take Burnett out at the next baserunner.

  15. Professor Longnose says:

    “Tough to get comfortable.” Yeah, right. I can’t stand Girardi’s yapping anymore He’s so full of it.

  16. smurfy says:

    whew, nice curves slotted in the zone, two in a row. Has to do that if his fastballs all end in the middle.

    yeah, the curve saved him there.

    • Professor Longnose says:

      The curve is his out pitch. The FB really is only to set it up.

      • smurfy says:

        But early on, he was trying to use his curve intensively, and it got out of control with walks and bouncers. He established order with the fastball, mixing it in more, but they started to wait on it.

  17. Arno says:

    I made this in preparation for tonights start, my fellow internet-nerds may appreciate it.

    http://cl.ly/3N223Q3O0n2v3o3G2P0p

  18. Professor Longnose says:

    I can’t believe they’re not hitting Porcello. Or getting walks. Or making him throw a lot of pitches. They can’t win if they don’t hit.

  19. Professor Longnose says:

    Stupid bunts.

  20. Professor Longnose says:

    Granderson comes through! All right, Porcello’s losing it. Pour it on.

  21. smurfy says:

    nice hits, though. Several!

    oh, boy! walks now, too. (Rubs his hands)

  22. Professor Longnose says:

    Another chance for Rodriguez to win the fans over.

  23. Professor Longnose says:

    Teixeira’s chance to win a few fans over.

  24. smurfy says:

    I’d like to know about the accuracy of the strike call on Tex of the curve. Seems like it was caught at the top of the zone, and since it was breaking down, it was over the zone.

    Near impossible to hit, that’s for sure.

    • Professor Longnose says:

      Umps been giving Porcello the high strike. Burnett, too, I think, although he’s not there as often.

      • smurfy says:

        I actually like the “high” strike, that is, at the letters. Just here, it has to pass thru the zone, to give the hitter a chance, and it seemed (thru the telephoto lens) to be above the letters till it was caught.

  25. Professor Longnose says:

    DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE PEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

  26. smurfy says:

    whoo! That dp had extra excirement at the end: would Tex be able to pick it? Jete unusually wild.

  27. Professor Longnose says:

    5 innings, 1 run. We’ve gotten as much as we could have hoped for from Burnett. I tip my cap to him.

  28. Professor Longnose says:

    The strike zone today is so different from yesterday.

  29. Professor Longnose says:

    Tough hitters up this inning for Burnett.

  30. Professor Longnose says:

    I’d have Robertson up now in case they get runners on.

  31. Professor Longnose says:

    Giving up 4 runs in 6 innings is not “keeping your team in the game.” It’s “sucking eggs.”

  32. smurfy says:

    Fire in the Sky!

    (this liner probably scared Joe.)

  33. Professor Longnose says:

    Hat tip to AJ: http://tinyurl.com/3rfcp9c

    Can’t argue with Girardi taking him out. You don’t want to get things messy, and the bullpen is ready.

  34. Professor Longnose says:

    What. A. Catch.

  35. smurfy says:

    whooooo! MVP! MVP! MVP!!!!!!

    Boy, if he hadn’t, this woulda got real messy.

  36. bornwithpinstripes says:

    great game by AJ..great move finally by girardi taking AJ out now..what can you say about grandy tonight.. now the bad stuff..what is with sori..he keeps getting blasted..boy he is a big problem for us..

  37. smurfy says:

    that was weird. The ball almost hit Curtis, curveball way inside, and he called it a strike.

  38. smurfy says:

    Boy, Granderson catches, Coke pitches and Jackson gets all the flyballs. A showcase or what?

  39. Professor Longnose says:

    8 outs to go.

  40. smurfy says:

    Nice first two outs. Soriano has trouble with first batters?

    Not a handy thing, but he handled the rest after Young’s homer perfectly, too.

  41. bornwithpinstripes says:

    sori looked smooth..

  42. bornwithpinstripes says:

    coke will get hit

  43. smurfy says:

    there’s the pepper! Congrats, Arod.

  44. Professor Longnose says:

    Just for the hell of it, let’s score 10 runs this inning.

  45. Professor Longnose says:

    Yanks pound lefties, especially Teixera and Swisher. Why leave Coke in there? Not that I mind…

  46. bornwithpinstripes says:

    i told you guys coke will get hit..but i thought a little harder tex needs the cage all day tomorrow………..

  47. Professor Longnose says:

    These balks are ridiculous.

    • smurfy says:

      yeah. Sure fooled me. Maybe they are making up for the balks they don’t call on lefties going to first.

      • Professor Longnose says:

        The whole point of the balk rule is to keep pitchers from faking out baserunners. But in situations like this, the baserunners aren’t going anywhere, there are no pickoff attempts, there’s no reason to make any calls.

  48. Professor Longnose says:

    That was one of the wildest pitches I’ve ever seen.

  49. smurfy says:

    oh, my granny lies over the ocean

    my granny lies over the sea

    hmmdedummdum

    oh, bring back my granny to meeeee

    (messed it up again. Aw, clear ‘em anyway, Robbie.)

  50. smurfy says:

    oh, Luis! Luis Ayala! We need you, afterall.

  51. bornwithpinstripes says:

    who asked for ten runs???? happy now…. dob and mo can now watch…save them arms

  52. Professor Longnose says:

    Looks like this is in the bag, and I’m going to sign off. Catch you all Thursday.

  53. smurfy says:

    well, there’s 10. Or did you want 10 more?

  54. smurfy says:

    well, born… what should we play Thursday?

    How ’bout Sherman’s March to the Sea?

  55. smurfy says:

    ah, it’s still spring training.

  56. smurfy says:

    did you hear the announcer? just can’t give the Yanks credit: “Cabrera..strikes out…Phil Hughes.”

  57. bornwithpinstripes says:

    let’s bring the tigers to the colosseum in rome{yankee stadium}..let our gladiators triumph ..back ground music from gladiator

  58. smurfy says:

    ahhh, we live another day. Sleep well, Yankeedom.

  59. bornwithpinstripes says:

    who could have thought ivan nova will be our big guy for the whole season..i like it…..good night..i will listen to all these bums try and talk good about the yanks

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

Set your Twitter account name in your settings to use the TwitterBar Section.