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ALCS: New York Yankees Can Chase Demons Tonight »
There were four references to the 2004 ALCS in one hour of SportsCenter this morning. Your friends who are Red Sox fans have joked about the series on Facebook and Twitter since Tuesday. If you step outside your home or office, there's probably a single-engine plane flying overhead with a "2004 ALCS: You Blew It" message tailing behind. You had to [...]
The ALCS MVP Race Spelled Out: A-Rod or CC? »
If 2004 taught us anything, besides how to properly apply fake blood on a sock for profound effect, it would be to assume nothing. What you're about to read assumes absolutely nothing. Zilch. Nada. It lives solely in the moment. The Yankees played one of their best all-around games of the season on Tuesday night, a 10-1 win over the Angels that [...]
ALCS: Yankees, Girardi Must Break Deadly Habits »
During the 11th inning on Monday, seconds after Dave Robertson had registered the second out of what seemed to be an uneventful half inning, FOX cameras cut to Joe Girardi. The Yankees manager looked discombobulated...even frantic. He took three quick steps toward his matchup binder sitting on the dugout bench, hurriedly flipped through the first [...]
ALCS: Yanks Look to Do Some Angels Gravedigging »
The Yankees outlasted the Angels in Game Two of the ALCS on Saturday, taking a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. The series continues this afternoon in Anaheim. River & Sunset takes a look at some of the subplots orbiting Yankee Universe. We're not close to the celebration yet They say in sports that a playoff series doesn't truly begin [...]
Yankees-Angels: What To Look For In ALCS Game One »
The Yankees had little trouble topping the over-matched Twins in the ALDS, but things get serious starting tonight in the Bronx. The Angels have eliminated New York from postseason play twice this decade, and now they're the only thing standing in the way of a Bombers trip to the World Series. River & Sunset takes a closer look at what to [...]
N.Y. Yankees May be Brewing October Magic »
Watching Nick Punto face reporters on Sunday night was almost hard to watch, even for a Yankees fan. Almost. A fringe player who looks more like a plumber than a professional athlete, Punto sat ashen and bleary-eyed in front of his locker trying to explain why he had barrelled around third base in the eighth inning like Rex Ryan toward a buffet [...]
Minnesota-New York, ALDS Game Two: The Subplots »
The Yankees put forth a workmanlike effort in their 7-2 victory over the Twins in Game One of the ALDS on Wednesday. As we head toward Game Two tonight in the Bronx, River & Sunset takes a closer look at the subplots to watch. It's all about Allan James As in Allan James Burnett, who will finally give us some true insight into whether or [...]
ALDS Preview: The Stage Is All Yours, Mr. Rodriguez »
Alex Rodriguez began his final regular-season game of 2009 with 28 homers and 93 RBI, very respectable numbers for a 34-year-old guy who had missed a month of action following hip surgery. But for Rodriguez, there was undoubtedly disappointment. He had fallen short of the 30-homer, 100-RBI plateau for the first time since 1997. Behind all those [...]
Primetime For Future Yankees Old-Timers »
Derek Jeter batted .334 this season. He had 212 hits, 18 homers, 30 steals, and 107 runs scored. He also played Gold Glove-caliber defense at shortstop, the game's most demanding position. Think about that for a second. Of all the subplots of a superb 2009 regular season for the Yankees, this is by far the most welcomed and unlikely [...]
New York Yankees: No Excuses As ALDS Dawns »
We can get all worked up into a lather about how the ALDS is a crapshoot, but at the end of the day, sanity must prevail here. The Yankees have no business losing this series, regardless of opponent. New York has certainly struggled in this setting in recent years, having been bounced rudely from the first-round in '05, '06, and '07. But all the [...]