I thought Ibanez was going to hit another one out

 

 Admit it. You did too. I was screaming to the radio listening to the game. “Do NOT take Verlander out! Don’t do it!”

I don’t care if he pet up the Nunez homer.

It doesn’t matter. I would take a sleepwalking Justin Verlander over anyone else in baseball right now.

When they took him out, of course the Yankees started to rally. 

And of course Ibanez was at the plate.

And the Yankees, dead from the neck up three batters earlier, suddenly had a wild scenario in their favor.

Verlander out and their 9th inning secret weapon at the plate. Another Ibanez homer with the count full would give the Yankees the lead.

If they held on, Sabathia would pitch the next day.

Suddenly the series could be 2-2 and the Yankees would have pulled off the most incredible shifts of momentum since… well since the Giants just last week.

Admit it. You thought of that scenario.

It didn’t happen.

Sabathia pitches today and if he replicated what the Yankees pitching did in game 3, everyone would be satisfied.

A win or go home game where the starter goes 8 innings letting up 2 runs would be a solid performance.

That is exactly what the Yankees pitching did and it was not enough.

The Yankees needed Ibanez’s heroics.

Then again, it would behoove the Yankees to have someone other than Ibanez be the hero. He’s filled his dramatic quota.

By this time tomorrow, the Yankees season might be over.

That scenario wasn’t going through my head earlier.

Joe Girardi should NOT start Raul Ibanez

It would be irresponsible for Joe Girardi to start Raul Ibanez in Game 4 of the Division Series or any future playoff game for that matter.

And I am not saying this as a Yankee hater who posted the following Tweet last night.

No, if you are rooting for the Yankees, you need to have Ibanez on the bench.
Why? Because he has shown he is valuable coming off the bench as a threat. Lingering, waiting and having the ability to enter the game, tie it and win it.

He did it against the A’s on September 22. Game off the bench, homered twice including the 13th inning game tying shot.

He did it against the Red Sox on October 2. He pinch hit in the 9th and homered to tie the game. Then in the 12th he won the game with a single.

Last night he came off the bench, homered to tie the game and then homered to win it.

This is what he does. He’s like Dave Roberts with the 2004 Red Sox. Roberts was the looming threat of a stolen base when then needed it.

The Yankees can turn to the bench for a game tying homer.
You know he will do it when he pinch hits today.

Girardi might not be sure when he needs that homer.
Will he need to pinch hit for Chavez? Nunez?

Thinking he can do it for the whole game might be a fallacy.
But you know when Ibanez walks into the on deck circle, the crowd would go berzerk.

That’s Ibanez’s job.
Don’t start him.

The Phillies outfielders looked good to me

Going into the “World Series Preview” series, all I heard about was how the Phillies had outfield issues.

Domonic Brown was a bust and Raul Ibanez was a shell of his former self.
Not from what I saw so far.

Both homered in the series and both help sink Josh Beckett and John Lackey.

Meanwhile where the hell are the bats? If it weren’t for Lackey, the Sox would have zero runs this series.

DODGED BULLET GAMES – 22

April 8 – 9-6 win against the Yankees. (The Sox end their 6 game losing streak with a slugfest. John Lackey stinks but Phil Hughes stinks even more.)
April 10 – 4-0 win against the Yankees. (Beckett and Sabathia duel in a game that was 1-0 until the late innings.)
April 20 – 5-3 win in Oakland. (Red Sox survive a lead off homer and two bases loaded situations and facing the tying run at the plate to win their first road game.)
April 21 – 4-2 win in Anaheim. (The Red Sox stranded 15 men on base and Josh Beckett’s went 8 strong with no decision. But the Sox rallied in the 11th to win.)
April 22 – 4-3 win in Anaheim. (Peter Bourjos makes a 2 run errors and the Red Sox survive a bizarre passed ball by Jarrod Saltalamacchia that let a run scored from second.)
May 1 – 3-2 win against the Mariners. (Ichiro loses a ball in the sun that turns into a 9th inning triple for Lowrie. Crawford singles him home for the win.)
May 8 – 9-5 win against the Twins. (Dice-K lets up 3 runs in the first but settles down as the Red Sox clobber Carl Pavano.)

May 9 – 2-1 win against the Twins. (A bullpen breakdown cost Beckett the decision but Cark Crawford ended the game with an 11th inning walk off hit.)
May 13 – 5-4 win in the Bronx. (Youkilis homers off of Joba and Bard and Papelbon make it more interesting than it needed to be.)
May 15 – 7-5 win in the Bronx. (Sox fall behind 4-1 but come back as Youk, Papi and Salty all homer.)
May 16 – 8-7 win against the Orioles. (Down 6-0 after 6 innings, the Sox rally and win it with a 2 run walk off double by Adrian Gonzalez)
May 18 – 1-0 win against Detroit. (With 2 outs in the 8th, Salty doubles home Crawford from first for the only run. Papelbon gets himself in and out of 9th inning trouble.)
May 19 – 4-3 win against Detroit. (Bard blows Beckett’s lead but Carl Crawford wins it with a walk off hit.)
May 24 – 4-2 win in Cleveland. (Varitek throws two runners out and homers as the Red Sox win their first game against the Indians.)
May 29 – 4-3 win in Detroit. (The Red Sox blow an early 3-0 lead but David Ortiz wins the game with a pinch 9th inning homer.)
June 3 – 8-6 win against Oakland. (Buchholz lets up 4 runs in the first but the Sox come back thanks to Carl Crawford’s 2 run single.)
June 4 – 9-8 win against Oakland. (Red Sox blow a 4 run 9th inning lead and trail in the 11th before Ellsbury ties it and Drew wins it in 14.)
June 7 – 6-4 win in the Bronx. (Papelbon strikes out A-Rod to end the game with a runner on base.)
June 9 – 8-3 win in the Bronx. (Down 2-0 to Sabathia in the 7th, the Sox score 7 runs as Papi exacts revenge after getting plunked. A 3+ hour rain delay pushed the game past 1:30 AM)

June 15 – 3-0 win in Tampa Bay. (Youkilis homers in the 7th for the only runs in Beckett’s 1 hit masterpiece.)
June 16 – 4-2 win in Tampa Bay. (Papelbon wiggles out of a 2 on, nobody out jam in the 9th thanks to Youk’s diving catch.)
June 26 – 4-2 win in Pittsburgh. (The Pirates make 4 errors and the Red Sox score 2 in the 7th to avoid a sweep by the Bucs.

TEETH GRINDER GAMES – 22

April 1 – 9-5 loss in Texas. (The Sox tie Opening Day in the 8th with an Ortiz homer only to have Bard implode and the Sox let up 4 in the bottom of the 8th.)

April 5 – 3-1 loss in Cleveland. (The Sox drop their 4th straight as the bats are dead in Cleveland.)
April 7 – 1-0 loss in Cleveland. (Sox blow a great Lester performance on a squeeze bunt and Darnell McDonald overrunning the bag to end the game.)
April 12 – 3-2 loss to Tampa Bay. (A solid Lester performance is wasted as Kyle Farnsworth of all people shuts down the Sox.)
April 15 – 7-6 loss to Toronto. (Bobby Jenks implodes with a 4 run seventh inning as the Red Sox waste Pedroia and Youkilis homers and a clutch RBI double by Scuatro.
April 19 – 5-0 loss in Oakland. (Pedroia gets picked off, the Sox bats go dead and waste a solid Lackey start.)
April 26 – 4-1 loss in Baltimore. (Buchholz pitches tentatively and the Sox let Kevin Gregg of all people to close out the 9th.)
April 27 – 5-4 loss in Baltimore. (The Sox tie the game with a 3 run 8th only to have Bard lose it in the bottom of the 8th.)
April 29 – 5-4 loss to Mariners. (Bobby Jenks blows a 7th inning lead, wasting 2 Mike Cameron homers.)
April 30 – 2-0 loss to Mariners. (The Sox strand 11 runners and let Milton Bradley double home the go ahead run.)
May 4 – 5-3 loss to Angels. (7 hours with rain delays and stranded runners. Marco Scutaro was thrown out at the plate in the 12th)
May 10 – 7-6 loss in Toronto. (8th and 9th inning heroics, including a homer by Adrian Gonzalez, are undone by a walk off sacrifice fly by David Cooper.)
May 21 – 9-3 loss to Cubs. (Up 3-1 in the 8th inning, the bullpen and defense implode. The Cubs score 8 runs while both teams wear their 1918 uniforms.)
May 23– 3-2 loss in Cleveland. (The Sox blow a 2-1 8th inning lead when the Indians rally with 2 outs. Crawford ends the game on a double play.)
May 29 – 3-0 loss in Detroit. (Verlander keeps the Sox off base and prevents the sweep.)
June 1 – 7-4 loss to White Sox. (Konerko drives in three, spoiling a game tying Ortiz homer.)

June 14 – 4-0 loss in Tampa Bay. (Wakefield’s solid outing is spoiled. Longoria scores on a passed ball.)
June 18 – 4-2 loss to Milwaukee. (The Brewers hit three homers early off of Lester and hang on.)
June 21 – 5-4 loss to San Diego. (Ortiz hits a double play in the 9th to stifle a potential winning rally.)

June 24 – 3-1 loss to Pittsburgh. (The Red Sox strand 7 runners in scoring position.)
June 25 – 6-4 loss to Pittsburgh. (The Red Sox fall out of first as Pedroia’s error leads to a Pirates run.)
June 29 – 2-1 loss in Philadelphia. (Vance Worley duels John Lackey and slumping Raul Ibanez drives in both runs.)

Break Even.

I for one hope this is a World Series preview.
Because that would mean this crazy up and down team would have won the pennant.

May we all wish such a fate for this club.