ON THE BRINK
Angels 11-7 pounding put Yankees on edge of elimination




By: Russ Rose
Special to Yankees Talk Shop
October 8, 2005

What is it about the Los Angeles/California/Anaheim Angels the New York Yankees can’t solve? In another must win situation in front of the Pinstriped Nation the Yankees failed miserably. The Angels, who left the heat and sun of Southern California for the cold and rainy weather of the east coast, wasted no time in getting home field advantage back on their side of the ledger with an 11-7 drubbing of the Bronx Bummers.

There was nothing that wasn’t favorable to the Yankees. The nasty weather, the home crowd, the sights and sounds of New York, a line up of clean up hitters, and on the mound one of the meanest, filthiest pitchers ever to chalk up a rosin bag in the name of Randy Johnson.

Game 3 was a lock right?

Needless to say, Randy Johnson and the rest of the Yankees failed to read the script. Instead of throwing un-hittable pitches to the Angels the no-so-big unit threw batting practice instead. In three innings of work Johnson gave up five runs on nine hits, leaving his team in a 5-0 hole to dig out of. Johnson, who had finished the season with six straight wins, including the division winning game at Fenway Park, started the fourth inning, but couldn’t record an out. After 62 pitches of inefficiency and loading the bases Joe Torre had seen enough. He brought out his hook and pulled Johnson from the game. The Unit walked off the mound to a chorus of boos and a hefty 15.00 ERA. Everyone was stunned.

Torre brought in Aaron Small to face a near-impossible situation. Torre was asking Small to apply a tourniquet to the gapping wound opened by Johnson’s butchery. Small quickly went to work and struck out the first man he faced, Adam Kennedy. He then got a ground ball out of the next batter, Chone Figgins, who hit it to the right of second baseman Robinson Cano. Cano ranged to his right, made a sliding stop of the ball, stood up and threw it under his left arm to a waiting Derek Jeter who completed the spectacular double play. In a New York minute Aaron Small got his team out of a bases loaded, no outs jam without surrendering a single run.

It was a turning point in the game for the Yankees.

Hideki Matsui lead off the bottom of the fourth with an opposite field home run. Cano and Bernie Williams followed with singles. Next, Tino Martinez grounded out to the right side of the infield, to move Cano and Williams to second and third. Jorge Posada also grounded out, but it was enough to score Cano making it 5-2 with two outs. Derek Jeter singled to right field and scored Bernie Williams. Alex Rodriguez walked sending Jeter to second. Angels' manager Mike Scioscia relieved starter Paul Byrd with Brendan Donnelly. Jason Giambi hit a squibber through the left side of the infield and Jeter scored from second base. Gary Sheffield smacked a laser beam shot to center field, but the ball stayed up long enough for speedy centerfielder Figgins to make a sparkling, sliding catch to end the inning. The Yankees had closed the gap to 5-4.

Small went back to work in the top of the fifth inning and the Angels went down in order. The Yankees still energized from the previous inning continued where they left off. Matsui walked to open the inning, followed by a double by Cano to deep left field to score Matsui from first. The Angels attempted to get Matsui at the plate, but Orlando Cabrera’s throw sailed over the head of catcher Bengie Molina allowing Cano to take third. Bernie Williams hit a sacrifice fly into left field scoring Cano. Suddenly the Yankees had come all the way back from a 5-0 deficit to take a 6-5 lead at the end of the 5th inning. The crowd inside the stadium was loud and back into the game.

However, their glee was short-lived when in the top of the 6th inning the Angels Juan Rivera hit a one out double to deep left field and was scored by Darin Erstad’s single to right. Angels’ centerfielder Steve Finley struck out, but second baseman Adam Kennedy singled to right to give the Angels a first and third situation. Figgins came to the plate and smacked a single to center scoring Erstad. The Angels were suddenly back in front 7-6. They never looked back. Tanyon Sturtze relieved Small and got out of the inning without further trouble.

The Yankees did nothing in the bottom of the 6th and 7th innings. The Angels, meanwhile, scored two more runs in both the 7th and 8th innings to give them an 11-6 lead. The Yankees last run came on a lead off home run by Derek Jeter in the bottom of the 8th inning to make the final score 11-7. In all the Angels collected 19 hits, seven of which were multi-base hits. It was the Angels who chose not to wilt when the Yankees came roaring back to take a temporary lead. It was the Angels who made things happen, like Finley’s suicide squeeze bunt in the 7th inning scoring Jose Molina from third base to give his team a 9-6 lead.

It was the Angels who didn’t panic or crack under pressure.

The Yankees, on the other hand, never seem to try and mix things up. They are content in waiting for some kind of miracle to happen. Where the Angels play their cards close to the vest, pulling things out of the small ball playbook, the Yankees show their cards face up all the time, rarely doing anything out of their set script. This team, which used to be as exciting to watch as any team in baseball, has become tiresome, predictable and old. There never seems to be any joy or bounce in the dugout. You see smiles and laughter on the faces of the Angels and tight lips and expressionless looks on the faces of the Yankees.

Game 4 is this afternoon at 4:05 p.m. ET. Unless the Yankees start changing their set ways it will be the last game of the year for them. They will be following the Red Sox out to the driving ranges and practice greens to work on their golf games, while the Angels invade Chicago in an ALCS showdown. Alex Rodriguez said his offense is very capable of turning things on. Well, they better find the switch in a hurry, because so far all the Yankees faithful has seen from him and others are big holes in the line up. Shawn Chacon takes the mound for the Bombers and Jarrod Washburn starts for the Halos. Chacon has to have his best game today; otherwise, it’s going to be another long, cold winter in the Bronx.

PLAY BALL!



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