Ok here we go into Game 4. CC Sabathia is on the mound hoping to put the Angels in a 3-1 hole. The reality is the Yankees should be looking to move on to the World Series tonight, but no team has ever gone undefeated in a postseason since the installation of the Division Series in 1995.
I wont speak too much about Girardi's over-managemant of the bullpen in Game 3 since it has been discussed ad nauseum for the entire day. I will sum up my feelings by saying Dave Robertson is good and should be trusted more than Girardi is trusting him. Girardi really only trusts Mariano Rivera, and after last night's magic act in the 10th he has thoroughly proven he is from another planet, but I would trust Robertson almost as much as Phil Hughes after his playoff performance so far.
Anyway back to tonight. There will be much talk about Scott Kazmir and his history against the Yankees. While the numbers are good for his career against the bombers, from my experience of watching Kazmir against the Yankees, the key will be how quickly they elevate his pitch count. The Yankees have success against the lefty when the work the count and many times they get him out of the game before the sixth.
There shouldn't be too much worry about Sabathia. The big man has had success on three days rest and the Yankees purposefully under used him September for this very reason. He should be on point again, but the key to the game will be how quickly the bats can get to work on Kazmir.
1 comment:
I actually thought both managers handled their bullpens very well. The truth is these teams are pretty evenly matched, as evidenced by two extra inning games so far. Sometimes you just give up a few hits.
As for tonight, I imagine the Angels just want to stay within striking distance until they get CC out of the game.
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