Tag: Alex Rodriguez (Page 5 of 13)

      Sabathia, A-Rod carry Yankees again

      October 21, 2009 /

      For the time being, CC Sabathia and Alex Rodriguez have completely silenced their critics.

      Sabathia held the Angels to one earned run over eight innings on Tuesday night as the Yankees earned a 10-1 victory to go up three-games-to-one in the ALCS. Rodriguez went three-for-four on the night with three runs scored, two RBI and a home run, which was his third of the postseason.

      Both of these players have been ridiculed in the past for their lousy postseason play, but are now carrying their club. Sabathia is absolutely dominating hitters while pitching late into ballgames, while A-Rod is hitting a scoring .375, which leads all New York batters.

      This win was huge for the Yankees because if they can’t close things out in Game 5, the Angels have to go back to New York for two games. If the Yankees can’t win one of two at home, then they didn’t deserve to go to the World Series anyway.

      MLB

      A-Rod redemption

      October 18, 2009 /

      It’s been a surreal year for Alex Rodriguez. It began with disgrace, as he joined the club of major league players implicated in the never-ending steroids scandal. He was never a fan favorites in New York, and now he had sunk to a new low. His reputation would be forever tarnished.

      Yet after watching A-Rod’s postseason performance so far, this may be the best thing that ever happened to him. Last night, A-Rod rose to the occasion again to provide a dramatic home run to save the day for the Yankees in Game 2.

      • To be honest, for all his remarkable numbers, A-Rod has never inspired legend quite like a Williams or Ruth, a Bonds or a Mantle. Yet through five postseason games, he now has three home runs that have either tied or put the Yankees ahead. One off Joe Nathan and another off Brian Fuentes, two pretty darn good closers, too. Here’s the reaction from The LoHud Yankees Blog:

      • His story of exorcising October demons has almost become old hat. Four times he has been asked the same questions and four times he has continued to repeat what he said in St. Pete. “I know you guys are probably looking for something profound. I’m just in a good place. I’m seeing the ball and I’m hitting it. That’s about it.” Rodriguez now has an RBI in each of the first five postseason games, setting a new Yankee record. Here’s audio from Rodriguez:

      • Burnett said he, Phil Hughes, Phil Coke and Joba Chamberlain were in the clubhouse watching the 11th inning unfold. People would never believe the scene they made after Rodriguez hit the tying homer. “We were like little kids,” Burnett said, “jumping around and hugging.”

      • In the dugout, Mark Teixeira couldn’t fathom that Rodriguez had done it. Again. “I just kept yelling, ‘He did it again! He did it again!” Teixeira said. “I just couldn’t believe it.”

      It’s amazing what a great athlete can do when he just focuses on the job at hand. A-Rod has admitted to being so self-absorbed that he put tremendous pressure on himself. The scandal seems to have forced A-Rod to grow up and develop a more mature approach to the game. If he keeps this up and the Yankees win the World Series, this will be one of the fastest and most dramatic image turnarounds we’ve ever seen in sports.

      MLB

      Yankees sweep Twins, set up ALCS matchup with Angels

      October 12, 2009 /

      Brady

      Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada each homered on Sunday as the Yankees defeated the Twins 4-1 to complete a three-game sweep in the ALDS. New York will now face the Angels in the ALCS.

      “People can say whatever they want about home runs and big hits,” Rodriguez said. “If you don’t pitch and you don’t defend, you are not going to win. The story of this has been CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettitte, and all three of them were fantastic.”

      “I think we played the same way we have been playing the whole regular season,” Posada said. “I think pitching is just so important when it comes to a series like this. Once you see it, you understand why pitching is so important now.”
      Pavano frustrated the Yankees for four years of an injury-marred signing, and for six innings, he did it in a different way.

      Setting a new Twins postseason record with a nine-strikeout performance, Pavano saw his cruise turn sour in the seventh as A-Rod continued his monster ALDS.

      The reborn slugger crushed a game-tying line-drive home run that struck the top row of the football bleachers in right field. It was the second homer of the series from Rodriguez, who belted a game-tying shot late in Game 2 at Yankee Stadium and finished the series with a .455 batting average and six RBIs.

      The Yankees have a long way to go before they’re hoisting a World Series trophy, but they have to be encouraged from what they saw vs. the Twins. A-Rod is actually hitting in the playoffs and their biggest concern over the past couple of years (their pitching) is coming through as well.

      That said, it’s imperative that CC Sabathia pitches well to help set the tone for the ALCS. The Angels have one of the top offenses in baseball and will certainly test the Yankees’ resolve. This should be a great series.

      MLB

      CC solid as Yankees take Game 1 from Twins

      October 8, 2009 /

      CC Sabathia allowed just two runs – one earned – over 6 2/3 innings in the Yankees’ 7-2 win over the Twins in Game 1 of the ALDS. Derek Jeter and Hideki Matsui each had two-run dingers in the victory.

      The Twins took the early lead with two runs in the third inning against Sabathia, as Michael Cuddyer followed two singles with an RBI hit. Sabathia had trouble ironing out sequences with Jorge Posada, crossed up for a second time as a passed ball ticked off the catcher’s mitt with Joe Mauer sliding home safely.

      The first miscue was on Posada, the second on Sabathia. But they found their rhythm in time to earn applause, as Sabathia clamped the damage there and kept the threatening Twins from bringing anyone further around. Sabathia had lost his past three playoff decisions for Cleveland and Milwaukee, but he was a winner on Wednesday.

      Appropriately, Jeter drove in the Yankees’ first postseason runs at the new Stadium, pulling a two-run homer into the left-field seats off Twins left-hander Brian Duensing to tie the game.

      Swisher gave the Yankees the lead off the rookie Duensing in the fourth with a bullet double down the left-field line, sending Robinson Cano sliding home. As the go-ahead run scored, Swisher stood on second base, pumping his fist and pointing his two index fingers toward the sky.

      A-Rod gave the Yankees needed insurance in the fifth inning, lining a run-scoring single to left-center field to send home Jeter and chase Duensing to the showers. It was Rodriguez’s first hit with runners in scoring position in a span of 19 postseason at-bats, dating back to Game 4 of the 2004 AL Championship Series.

      This was a perfect start for the Yankees. Not only did they take a 1-0 lead in the series, but Sabathia and A-Rod (two players that have earned criticism for their lack of production in the postseason) contributed in big ways, Jeter was as clutch as ever and Joe Girardi’s club didn’t overlook a pesky Twins team.

      The key for the Bombers is sustaining this momentum and carrying it through an entire series. In the past, the Yankees have fallen victim to lackluster postseason play after racing through the regular season. They have a long way to go, but they couldn’t have asked for a better start.

      MLB

      Yankees clinch, back in playoffs

      September 23, 2009 /

      Alex Rodriguez homered and hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the Yankees’ 6-5 victory over the Angels Tuesday night as New York became the first team to clinch a postseason berth in baseball.

      New York clinched the first phase of its postseason plans while still on the field, the berth finalized by the Athletics’ 9-1 victory over the Rangers while Jorge Posada was batting in the eighth inning. But that gave the Yankees little cause to rejoice — not after they gave back all five runs to the pesky Angels.

      Facing Matt Palmer in the ninth inning, Gardner opened the frame with a line-drive single to center and waited out the right-hander, who threw to first base repeatedly to check the speedster. Gardner took second base on the 1-0 delivery, and Derek Jeter walked.

      The playoff entry was acknowledged after the game with hugs and handshakes, but no wild celebrations — a tact that was encouraged by the Yankees’ team leaders. Those will be reserved for a potential division clinch in the near future, when next chapter of the club’s season truly begins.

      Not to be a downer, but the Yankees have done this before. It’s the next step that has eluded them.

      It’s time for CC Sabathia and A-Rod to step up in the postseason just once in their careers. This is a club that routinely looks past the first round and routinely finds themselves out of the playoffs too early. The Yankees need the players they spent millions on in the offseason to produce or else this playoff berth means nothing.

      The Yankees are built to win championships so anything less should be a disappointment. (Especially considering their payroll.)

      MLB

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