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Boy  was that a long drawn out game. I thought it would never end .It had it's up and downs. AJ  still bothers me. One iinning he can be "lights out " and the next he can't find home plate, is  hitting batters, throwing  wold pitches. That is notcontrol for me . That is inconsistent. For what I saw, it made no difference  whether Molina or Posada was behind the plate. Molina was having just  as much of a hard time  with his pitches in the dirt.What is AJ  going to do next year? I doubt   Cashman is bringing Molina back when Cervelli is more than ready.

Funny how Abreu had a  problem  playing the  wall for us , yet has no problem  trying to  jump to  grab A Rod's  ball. LOL. And cano drove me nuts with his sloppy play . That one ball was clearly  easily caught.

Francesa  kept saying how much  better our pen is than  theirs. What  pen is he looking at ? From what I saw last night, they matched us  pitch for pitch. But, it was nice to see then handle   Guerrerro , Abreu and for the most part  Hunter and Figgins.

But, the leaviing bases loaded   can't be allowed to  happen . I know A Rod can't be expected to carry the  load. This is why I  am wondering when Tex  is  going to start being more consistent at the bat.

I also  wonder how Bruney feels about  being left off another post season  roster. It that does not  speak volumes of what the Yankees really think of   Bruney, I don't know what does. Would not be surprised if he is traded in the off season.

And how great was it for Hairston?  You have to love seeing  a  guy like him , who has never been in the playoffs   get so excited. Good for him.

Now, we need Andy to step up Monday. I realy don't  want to see CC on short rest. If  Andy wins ,  Gaudin will pitch Tuesday , otherwise  CC will.

And  did anyone  get a load of the hat Michael Kay was   wearing?   LOL

No  doubt about it . CC earned the pinstripes Friday  night. He was all we expected him to be. Now, no one can say that he  choked in the playoffs.

And to see Damon  finally show up, makes  the line-up now starting to click . All we need is for Teixieria and Cano to get  going. 

I was amazed to see the Angels  play so poorly and it was a  bonus to keep  Figgins and Abreu off the bases. 

The only draw back was having to listen to that  jerk Joe Buck. I can tolerate McCraver, but  Buck gets on my nerves. 

Just hoping that  Mother Nature  holds off . The sun is  now shining as I write this . I wish MLB would have pushed the  game  back to a  day game. It would give  us a better chance of  getting it in  without  any rain delays.

And did anyone  see Francesa  broadcasting from the  Stadium  Friday ?  I was amazed to see Russo back with him . I also  can not believe  Russo picked the Yankees to win the series. I hope that is not the kiss of  doom  from his   mouth.

Listening to the  weather  forecast, and they are talking about how we need to get Friday's game  or it  could affect the  rotation. Now  that is all we need  , rain delays  and   Girardi  having to take CC out  .

I have hated  playing in the  rain. Too much chance of injuries and  weird   things happening . I am crossing my fingers that this "supposed "  storm  blows  by.

And  all this fuss about Damon and whether he should continue to play , if he continues to slump . Do  you really like the other options?  You either  put  Cabrera in center and  Gardner in left  or  you go with Heinske or    Hairston in left.  If  Damon  is  trying to make a  case  for  coming back , it ain't  working. Matsui is making a better case for himself  instead.

I do think Girardi should go with the  3 man rotation. I don't believe there is any concern about  CC   going on  3 days rest. It is  only for one  game.. It is not like the Brewers did .Let's face it . The Brewers  abused him and rode him into the playoffs last year , with  no regard for his pitching arm or his  future. What the hell did they care ? They  knew they were not   going to be able to sign him , so  they did not give a damm if he  blew out his arm. He is a better option than  going with  Joba, who is no longer  stretched out as a  starter. If he starts,  did  expect to see him for more than 4 innings. And  what does that  accomplish? It  drains the  bullpen. I also don't  see Girardi  going with Gaudin. Though he would be  a   better option , since they  don't  really expect more than 4 -5 innings from him  anyway.

I hope   Girardi is  planning on carrying  Cervelli throughout the playoffs.  He is  going  to cave to  AJ  and  give him Molina  for  each of his  2  starts. Then he will pitch hit  with Posada. It makes more  sense to have that  reserve. I'd  rather leave Marte or  Bruney off the roster. But, from what I am hearing  , is that   he is considering carrying Bruney for the second  row. I call him  the return of   KYle  Farnswoth . I have no  confidence in  Bruney . I rather take my chances with Coke and  Robertson.

Work is not done. I/3 of the journey to destiny. But, The Angels do not  scared me as much as they used to . We are not the same team that they dominated for so many years,  It is finally the  time for the worm to turn.

Go Yankees. 

Damon , Swisher  and Cano, you need to step up . Jeter, Tex, Posada, A Rod and Matsui should not be carrying the entire  load.

Go with the  3 man rotation . CC can handle the  3 days rest for   game  4

My prediction -  series  goes  full  7  games. Yankees in 7.

What a time to be a Yankees  fan. There is noting  better than October baseball and cheering on your  favorite  team.

I am so glad that   Alex  has gotten the  "monkey " off his back . Now, finally  the  question of whether he can hit in the playoffs will be put to rest.

I admit that  Burnett drives me  crazy . He is like the little girl with the curl . You never know which Burnett is  going to show  up. Hopefully,  Andy will   show up  Sunday and put the  Twins to rest.

I am not knocking the  Twins at  all. They are  a  very good  team . But, let's  face reality here. The only reason they are even in this playoffs  series is because the  Tigers  did their imitation of the  2007  and 2008  Mets and their hitters  got  hot  the  last 2 weeks. They have  not real  pitching . The  cheap   owner who  is worth  more than  twice what the Steinbrenners  are worth, traded  away their"  Ace"   Santana. Lirano  is a bust, can't stay healthy. Who in that rotation scares you?  Slowley? He's  hurt. Blackburn ?   Pavano ? Please !  The American Idle ? If   by  some  miracle  we cave , they are not making it pass the Angels or Red Sox .

I just wish that   guys like Damon , Swisher  and Cabrera  would start to hit. I know we all expected Jeter and Tex  to hit , but we  do need the others to start  stepping up.

And keeping Joba in the pen  the rest of the way ?  It is funny how they did a  text poll and overwhelming people   voted to keep  him in the pen . Maybe  more  are starting to see what  I have been saying  , he is a reliefer and not a  starter. His motivation when  he comes in from the bullpen is  so totally different  than when he is a  starter. He , himself said it best. He does have to think about   going through the line-up  2 or  3 times. He just has to come in throwing   gas.  Every time I  turn on SNY or   the MLB Network they all are saying the  same thing.All the YES announcers  agree with me . Even Goosage  agrees and where is he ? Time  will only tell.

What  am I hoping for ? Two parades  . One after the WS with the Yankees and one after the Superbowl with the  Giants. Eli, you better man up and  play   through you bad  heel. If I  and my brother  can live  with the same thing , so can you. LOL.