Diamondbacks Bullpen

[doplgangr]

hope i'm putting this in the right place... just thought you guys would enjoy the following article from today's new york times:

Tigers 4, Yankees 3

Lost in Shadows, Yanks Now Turn to Johnson

By TYLER KEPNER, New York Times
October 6, 2006

All of his career, Randy Johnson has been a beacon to his teams. He helped save a franchise in Seattle and helped build one in Arizona. The Yankees flew to meet him last night in Detroit, where Johnson, to them, must stand as tall as the Renaissance Center that soars over downtown.

Johnson’s new assignment is simple: rescue the Yankees. He flew ahead of the team Wednesday after testing his stiff back in a bullpen session. Presumably, Johnson watched the proceedings in the Bronx, and recognized the pattern of the hitter who took down his team in Game 2 of the division series.

The Tigers beat Mike Mussina, 4-3, to even the best-of-five series at one game apiece. Marcus Thames had three hits, pouncing on the first pitch from Mussina all three times. Thames singled in the Tigers’ first run and scored two others.

“Thames saw three pitches and got three hits — and they were all different pitches,” said Mussina, who gave up five other hits over seven innings. “That’s the way the day went.”

When Thames was a rookie for the Yankees in 2002, he swung at the first pitch he ever saw and belted it over the left-field fence for a homer. The pitcher was Johnson, and the site was Yankee Stadium, which will always be special for him.

“Every time I come here, I’m going to do something,” Thames said. “I was drafted by the Yankees, I had my first major league hit here, and every time I come here, I want to do something. It’s exciting to be in the postseason, playing against them.”

For the Tigers, the victory erased whatever doubt they might have had about their place on the October stage. They went 19-31 to finish the regular season, and had not won in eight days. But this game showed how they got here.

The Tigers used their typical formula in Game 2, with dominant pitching and an aggressive offensive approach. They respect the Yankees, but do not fear them.

“I’m sure we haven’t convinced everybody, because, obviously, nobody knows how this thing is going to play out,” Tigers Manager Jim Leyland said. “But I hope in my heart that everybody realizes that we are a playoff team, and I hope that we at least proved that today.”

Consider the Yankees convinced. They were 1 for 15 with runners on base yesterday, the only hit coming on Johnny Damon’s three-run homer against the rookie starter Justin Verlander in the fourth inning.

Verlander hit 100 miles an hour on the stadium’s radar gun. The setup man Joel Zumaya hit 102 m.p.h., and the closer, Todd Jones, topped out at 94. With part of the game played in twilight, Yankee batters struck out nine times.

“When the shadows come in,” Damon said, “100 miles per hour looks like 120.”

Of course, the Tigers mixed their pitches, and Gary Sheffield said that was what made them so tough. Sheffield saw a 99-m.p.h. fastball in his first at-bat, but could not check his swing in time on a third-strike curve.

“You had to expect fastball, and very rarely did you get it,” Sheffield said, referring to Verlander’s pitching. “Sliders, changeups, curveballs, and he threw them for strikes. That was the key to the ballgame.” Sheffield went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts; Alex Rodriguez was 0 for 4 with three strikeouts. When the Yankees loaded the bases in the first inning, Rodriguez struck out looking.

“We had our chances,” Rodriguez said. “We didn’t come through.”

Verlander threw nearly a quarter of his pitches (24 of 105) to one hitter, Jorge Posada, who walked twice and singled. The hit all but drove Verlander from the game with one out in the sixth, but the Tigers’ bullpen was even stingier.

Robinson Canó saw two pitches after Posada’s single, but when Verlander’s fastball dipped to 92 m.p.h., Leyland removed him in the middle of the at-bat for a left-hander, Jamie Walker.

“Your instincts take over and say, ‘Look, this is just not right, and I’m going to make my move,’ ” Leyland said. “Fortunately, Walker made the move look O.K.”

Canó bounced into an inning-ending double play, and by the end of the game he was 0 for 8 in the series. The edge the Yankees seemed to have from their 8-4 Game 1 victory — an overwhelming lineup — was muted.

“A lot of people wanted to count Detroit out after the first game,” Jason Giambi said. “But those guys battled all year. They’ve got great starters and an unbelievable bullpen. Those guys take good at-bats and kind of grind the game.”

The Yankees’ hitters are much more patient than the Tigers, who ranked second in the league in strikeouts and second to last in walks. Mussina, who can make hitters chase his variety of pitches, seemed prepared to exploit that.

But that was not how Mussina saw it. He said he was leery of nibbling around the corners and hoping the Tigers would fall into bad counts.

“You’re better off just going right after them and getting strike one and working from there,” he said. “That’s the approach I took. I wasn’t as successful getting myself in good situations as much as I would have liked.”

With two outs in the second, Mussina fell behind Craig Monroe, who lined a 3-1 pitch to left for a double. Thames hit the next pitch to center to score Monroe.

In the fifth, after Damon’s homer gave the Yankees a 3-1 lead, Thames led off with a double, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly. Carlos Guillén bashed a 2-0 pitch for a game-tying homer in the sixth.

Thames led off the seventh with a single, advancing to third on Posada’s passed ball. Brandon Inge was trying to bunt, and he sacrificed Thames to third. With the infield in, Mussina faced Curtis Granderson.

Granderson had led off the game with a strikeout, his 175th since the start of the regular season. But Mussina could not finish him off this time, getting ahead, 0-2, allowing two fouls and then trying to back him off the plate with a fastball.

“I didn’t execute what I was trying to do,” Mussina said. “I was trying to get the ball in so far he couldn’t swing at it.”

Granderson hacked at Mussina’s mistake and shot it to the gap in left-center for a triple. The Tigers had a 4-3 lead on their terms.

“We’ve been aggressive from Day 1,” Granderson said. “The more aggressive we are, I think it ends up playing into our hands.”

The Tigers will take their chances again tonight against a pitcher they may view differently than the Yankees do. To the Tigers, Johnson may be an aging legend with a bad back and a shaky history in division series games.

Which Johnson shows up — the elite performer or the fading star — will say a lot about the fate of two teams.
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[moviegeekjn]

If RJ falters, NYY media and fans will then have to debate whether they crucify RJ or A-Rod first as their sacrificial offering to the baseball gods. Is there no one in Metropolis to save the day and fight for Truth, Justice, and the Yankee way?

[shoewizard]

They can't crucify RJ for not being "clutch" , as they are painfully aware that is not the case.

they will just be bummed out that they got him when he was too old.

A-rod on the other hand will be run out of town on a rail.

[TAP]