Post by musicradio77 on Oct 10, 2005 18:20:55 GMT -5
Going West for decisive duel
BY SAM BORDEN
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
Jorge Posada out his right leg far, as far as it could go, his spikes glinting for a moment beneath the Stadium lights. He was reaching for home plate. And for California, too.
Bengie Molina dived back towards Posada but his desperate tag came a split-second after Posada's foot stomped down on the dish, giving the Yankees a seventh-inning lead they wouldn't relinquish. Joe Torre took no chances, calling on Mariano Rivera to pitch the final two innings as the Yankees rallied for a 3-2 victory over the Angels in Game 4 of this AL division series.
The teams boarded charter planes and headed west after midnight for an all-night flight back to Anaheim. They will play a decisive Game 5 tonight at Angel Stadium, with Mike Mussina facing Bartolo Colon and the winner heading to Chicago to face the White Sox in the ALCS the next night.
It's the third time in five years the Yanks have taken a cross-country trip for a next-day Game 5; in 2000, they had to trek back to Oakland and there they beat the A's, and in 2001 they beat Oakland at the Stadium.
"I don't care if we have to fly from here to Hawaii or Alaska," Alex Rodriguez said. "We're very proud to be playing this game."
At first it looked like the Yankees' season might have ended in front of a frothy crowd of 56,226 as Shawn Chacon - who pitched magnificently in his first postseason outing - cracked ever-so-slightly in the sixth, allowing a walk and two doubles that put the Angels in front 2-0.
But the Bombers got one run back off starter John Lackey in the bottom of the frame on a Gary Sheffield RBI single and then surged ahead in the seventh when the Angels' vaunted bullpen finally broke. Scot Shields allowed an infield single to Robinson Cano and a one-out walk to Posada before pinch-hitter Ruben Sierra cranked a blistering single to right.
Vladimir Guerrero charged and threw a strike home, but Cano - who, curiously, didn't slide - streaked across the plate just ahead of the tag to tie the game.
That play wasn't nearly as close as the one that followed, however. Posada had moved to third on Sierra's hit and third-base coach Luis Sojo stepped up to him and whispered that he should break for the plate on contact. When Derek Jeter chopped a grounder to third baseman Chone Figgins, the slow-footed Posada put his head down and started running.
"We were hoping that little extra adrenaline would get him to the plate," Jason Giambi said with a smile.
It did. Figgins had no chance for an inning-ending double play, so he hurriedly tossed a one-hopper to Molina that was just to the first-base side of the plate. The catcher made a good play just to snag it, but his dive was in vain as Posada did an awkward-looking aborted slide and then tumbled to the dirt.
"I think if I would have slid, I would have slid right into him," Posada said.
Instead, he just beat Molina's lunge and as soon as that happened, Torre knew he had Rivera ready. Unlike his decision to remove Chacon and bring in Al Leiter (the eventual winner) in the seventh - which prompted a loud "No!" from the crowd - this was easy.
Rivera didn't allow a hit and induced a groundout from the dangerous Guerrero to end the game, earning his second save of the series. "That's basically what you want to do in the postseason," Giambi said "Just get the ball to Mo."
The way he looked at the start, it appeared Chacon might simply take it all the way to Rivera himself. The righthander showed no signs of trepidation despite pitching in what was easily the biggest game of his life. He retired the first nine hitters in order before Hideki Matsui made a bizarre error - simply dropping what appeared to be a routine soft liner - that allowed Figgins to reach leading off the fourth.
Figgins was thrown out stealing, but another out later, Guerrero got the Angels' first hit on an infield single. Posada then threw out Guerrero at second and Chacon moved easily through the fifth before wilting slightly in the sixth.
Torre knew it was an unpopular decision to remove him after a one-out single in the seventh, but Torre's faith in Leiter was rewarded when the lefthander got a double-play ball from Darin Erstad.
A half-inning later, he called on Sierra, who delivered as well.
"Everybody contributed," Jeter said. "We're all pulling together."
The shortstop got up from his chair then and trudged to the shower, preparing for yet another flight. The Yankees were headed toward sunrise and Posada said he's not a particularly good sleeper on planes, so he wasn't counting on being able to snooze much before going to the park this evening.
Torre didn't know what time the team was hoping to land, but then again, he didn't care, either. It didn't matter. At this point in the season, fatigue would have to wait.
BY SAM BORDEN
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
Jorge Posada out his right leg far, as far as it could go, his spikes glinting for a moment beneath the Stadium lights. He was reaching for home plate. And for California, too.
Bengie Molina dived back towards Posada but his desperate tag came a split-second after Posada's foot stomped down on the dish, giving the Yankees a seventh-inning lead they wouldn't relinquish. Joe Torre took no chances, calling on Mariano Rivera to pitch the final two innings as the Yankees rallied for a 3-2 victory over the Angels in Game 4 of this AL division series.
The teams boarded charter planes and headed west after midnight for an all-night flight back to Anaheim. They will play a decisive Game 5 tonight at Angel Stadium, with Mike Mussina facing Bartolo Colon and the winner heading to Chicago to face the White Sox in the ALCS the next night.
It's the third time in five years the Yanks have taken a cross-country trip for a next-day Game 5; in 2000, they had to trek back to Oakland and there they beat the A's, and in 2001 they beat Oakland at the Stadium.
"I don't care if we have to fly from here to Hawaii or Alaska," Alex Rodriguez said. "We're very proud to be playing this game."
At first it looked like the Yankees' season might have ended in front of a frothy crowd of 56,226 as Shawn Chacon - who pitched magnificently in his first postseason outing - cracked ever-so-slightly in the sixth, allowing a walk and two doubles that put the Angels in front 2-0.
But the Bombers got one run back off starter John Lackey in the bottom of the frame on a Gary Sheffield RBI single and then surged ahead in the seventh when the Angels' vaunted bullpen finally broke. Scot Shields allowed an infield single to Robinson Cano and a one-out walk to Posada before pinch-hitter Ruben Sierra cranked a blistering single to right.
Vladimir Guerrero charged and threw a strike home, but Cano - who, curiously, didn't slide - streaked across the plate just ahead of the tag to tie the game.
That play wasn't nearly as close as the one that followed, however. Posada had moved to third on Sierra's hit and third-base coach Luis Sojo stepped up to him and whispered that he should break for the plate on contact. When Derek Jeter chopped a grounder to third baseman Chone Figgins, the slow-footed Posada put his head down and started running.
"We were hoping that little extra adrenaline would get him to the plate," Jason Giambi said with a smile.
It did. Figgins had no chance for an inning-ending double play, so he hurriedly tossed a one-hopper to Molina that was just to the first-base side of the plate. The catcher made a good play just to snag it, but his dive was in vain as Posada did an awkward-looking aborted slide and then tumbled to the dirt.
"I think if I would have slid, I would have slid right into him," Posada said.
Instead, he just beat Molina's lunge and as soon as that happened, Torre knew he had Rivera ready. Unlike his decision to remove Chacon and bring in Al Leiter (the eventual winner) in the seventh - which prompted a loud "No!" from the crowd - this was easy.
Rivera didn't allow a hit and induced a groundout from the dangerous Guerrero to end the game, earning his second save of the series. "That's basically what you want to do in the postseason," Giambi said "Just get the ball to Mo."
The way he looked at the start, it appeared Chacon might simply take it all the way to Rivera himself. The righthander showed no signs of trepidation despite pitching in what was easily the biggest game of his life. He retired the first nine hitters in order before Hideki Matsui made a bizarre error - simply dropping what appeared to be a routine soft liner - that allowed Figgins to reach leading off the fourth.
Figgins was thrown out stealing, but another out later, Guerrero got the Angels' first hit on an infield single. Posada then threw out Guerrero at second and Chacon moved easily through the fifth before wilting slightly in the sixth.
Torre knew it was an unpopular decision to remove him after a one-out single in the seventh, but Torre's faith in Leiter was rewarded when the lefthander got a double-play ball from Darin Erstad.
A half-inning later, he called on Sierra, who delivered as well.
"Everybody contributed," Jeter said. "We're all pulling together."
The shortstop got up from his chair then and trudged to the shower, preparing for yet another flight. The Yankees were headed toward sunrise and Posada said he's not a particularly good sleeper on planes, so he wasn't counting on being able to snooze much before going to the park this evening.
Torre didn't know what time the team was hoping to land, but then again, he didn't care, either. It didn't matter. At this point in the season, fatigue would have to wait.