Writing the Pine

I'd be excited too.

Nasty. Filthy stuff A.J. Great all-around game by both squads. Two top-tier teams playing top notch baseball.

I’m going to recap the game by focusing on some of the key players:

A.J. Burnett

Good A.J. showed up!

He’s pitched well in the postseason so far, but had been overshadowed by Pettitte and Sabathia. Tonight, Burnett pitched 7 brilliant innings. 1 run, 9 K’s, 2 walks, and worth every penny of the $82.5 million it took to sign him as a free-agent this past winter. He avoided those big innings with the crooked numbers, hitting batters, and his league leading wild pitches. A.J. was the star of the game.

Pedro Martinez

Credit still goes to Pedro for being a warrior and battling with his current stuff that pales in comparison to his arsenal during his prime to shut down a suddenly limp Yankees lineup. Pedro mixed and matched his way to 6 good innings. He give up only two long balls to Teixiera and Matsui. Unfortunately, as it’s always been in recent years with Pedro, managers just don’t know when to say no to Pedro. The same qualities that make Pedro a warrior and future first ballot Hall of Famer, can also be his weakness. Fox cameras showed him telling Manager Grady Little Charlie Manuel he was fine and ready to go out for another inning. Much like Little, Charlie Manuel allowed Martinez to dictate when he wanted to leave the mound. Which he finally did with runners on the corner and one out in the eighth.

Umpires

Brian

Brian Gorman missed a play in the bottom of the seventh that robbed the Yankees of a bases-loaded, 1-out situation, with Teixiera up at the plate. Luckily (if you’re a Yankees fan), it didn’t affect the outcome of the game and Gorman made a “make-up” call on the double-play in the top of the eighth. At this point, I’m conditioned to overreact to every missed call by an umpire. I foresee a situation where public backlash and media coverage will force Major League Baseball to eschew baseball tradition and allow replays and video review on questionable non-HR calls.

Mariano Rivera

We're not worthy. We're not worthy.

What more can be said. He made this into a 7 inning game for Girardi to manage. After the bullpen debacle of Game 1, was it much of a surprise to see Rivera pitch a 6-out save? Even with a walk and two hits, Rivera emerged unscathed and more importantly, allowed his team to head to Philly with the series tied at one apiece. Joe Torre always said Game Two was the most important game of the series. You either have a shot at taking a commanding 2-0 series lead, or you have a shot at tying it up. And luckily for Yankees Universe, it’s tied.

My Dad

I was able to catch the last half of the game with my pops. He had some pearls of wisdom during the game:

• On Tim McCarver and Joe Buck: Do they hate the Yankees?
• On pitching theory: First pitch strikes are key. (Jeez, thanks Captain Obvious)
• On Chan Ho Park: If he succeeds, I’m happy for him and his entire country will be happy. But the Yankees won’t score insurance runs. If he fails, I’m happy as a Yankees fan but unhappy as a Korean. Either way I’m screwed. And he should shave.