Uphill Battle for Yanks

ALCS- Rangers lead Series 3-1

It does not look good for the New York Yankees, although it's not entirely unheard of for a team to come back from a 3-1 deficit.  Sabathia will take the mound still looking for a quality start this postseason against the Rangers' CJ Wilson, who was impressive in his LCS debut, getting a no decision thanks to his bullpen.  The Yankees pitching on a whole definitely needs to be better, with the starters, aside from Pettite in game 3, being ineffective.  The bullpen, while impressive in Game 1, has been hindered by David Robertson, Sergio Mitre, and one bad showing by Boone Logan who was taken deep by the white hot Josh Hamilton.  The Yankees need not just a good performance from their ace, but a dominating gem from Sabathia to turn this thing around.  And can someone else other than Robinson Cano hit the ball?  Robinson Cano hit another home run on Tuesday night, his third in the series, albeit maybe an aided one.  Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixiera (now injured), and Nick Swisher have been AWOL this series, letting the bulk of the work fall to the All Star second baseman.  The Yankees are supposed to have the best offense in all of baseball, but haven't put up more than three runs in a game since the opener.  The Rangers, on the other hand, have done nothing but hit, with 7 guys hitting at or better than .294.  As a team they are hitting at a .307 clip.  What's more they are getting the pitching from their starters and, except for Game 1, their bullpen.  At the beginning of the postseason, I opined that the good teams do two things.  They pitch better in late innings, and they hit your pitching in later innings.  The Rangers are doing both, and by the looks of things, they are almost a lock to upset the Yankees and make their first ever appearance in the World Series.

Game 4 Recap
AJ Burnett was tapped to start Game 4, and was rolling along through 5 innings only allowing two runs, when he got into a little trouble in the 6th.  With a man on as the tying run, Joe Girardi signaled from the bench to intentionally walk David Murphy so Burnett could pitch to Molina instead, who blasted a 3-Run home run to left field.  Can someone please tell me why Girardi would signal for an intentional walk to Murphy.  I know he's having a good series, but since when did Murphy become a prolific hitter that AJ Burnett is incapable of retiring?  With Burnett's mental stability questionable on the mound, Girardi basically told him that he doesn't trust him to face a guy like Murphy, a perennial All-Star (wink, wink).  Josh Hamilton is having the series everyone dreams of.  He's hitting .333 with 4 homers, 7 RBI, 5 walks, and 3 stolen bases.  He's hitting starters, relievers, lefties, and righties.  No one can get this guy out.

Game 5 Keys to Success for the Yankees:
Sabathia needs to go at least 8 innings strong.  This bullpen cannot be trusted right now, so Sabathia needs to regain his true form, and pitch like the season is on the line.  Because now the season really is on the line.  A-Rod and Swisher need to step up, and share the load with Robbie Cano.  Cano, who is on fire, is hitting .467 with 3 home runs and 4 RBI.  Rodriguez and Swisher combined are hitting .100 with no homers and 2 RBI.  If anyone were getting on base for Cano, the outcomes of these games might be a little different.  Now with Teixiera likely out for the remainder of the postseason, it is more important for these guys to start contributing. 

Game 5 keys to Success for the Rangers:
Don't change a thing.  That simple.  Ron Washington has done an unbelievable job with this team.  He has taken them from pretender every year, to an on the cusp Championship team.  They've always been able to hit in Arlington, but now they pitch.  3 of the 4 starters that have pitched in this series have given the Rangers an opportunity to win, and although Tommy Hunter was less than stellar, Derek Holland came in and gave them 3 2/3 solid innings of relief for the win.  The Rangers run better than any team remaining in the playoffs, and with the way they've been hitting and pitching, it makes them a very scary team to face in the World Series.

Prediction for Game 5:
CC sends it back to Texas and passes the torch to Phil Hughes to keep this series going.