Jane Heller

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author

ALCS Game 2: The Agony and the Ecstasy

Actually, I should have worded it in reverse: The Ecstasy and the Agony.

First came Ibanez’s improbable homer in the bottom of the ninth and the reaction of my not-favorite-person Valverde.

I couldn’t believe Raul did it again. Could. Not. Believe. It.

But the ecstasy didn’t last. Not only could the Yankees not score any more runs, but – curiously – Girardi went to Phelps instead of using Robertson for another inning, and things unraveled quickly. I could go on about Swisher’s somersault in right, not to mention his failures at the plate along with Cano’s, or A-Rod getting pulled for Chavez when others were struggling even more, or how angry Pettitte looked when he came out of the game, but all I really care about right now is this.

Seeing Jeter go down felt like Mo all over again and, as it turns out, their situations aren’t dissimilar: Jeter’s fractured ankle means he’s done for the rest of the the season. It was so hard to watch him not get up, to cry out in pain, to lean on others to carry him off the field. I’m still sick about it as I type this.

But I remind myself that he had a brilliant year, and no broken ankle will take that away from him. The Yankees will carry on and do their best for their captain. That’s all we can ask for.

As for the media, they need to stop talking about Jeet as if he died. No more eulogies. Seriously.

THAT WAS SO AGGRAVATING!

I’M WRITING THIS ENTIRE POST IN CAPITAL LETTERS TO CONVEY MY ABSOLUTE FRUSTRATION ABOUT TONIGHT’S GAME.

Okay, no I’m not. I can’t stand when people do that.

But this loss to the Tigers was one of the worst I can remember. And it wasn’t Kuroda’s fault; he pitched really well and deserved some run support. Unfortunately, this team doesn’t understand the concept of hitting with men on base. Unless they walk or get hit, they’re helpless…and hapless.

As I watched Miguel Cabrera smack those two towering homers to dead center field, I kept wondering why we even pitch to him. And then I thought about A-Rod…about how he should be striking fear in the hearts of opposing pitchers the way Cabrera does instead of making weak outs. Not that he was alone in lameness. Only Swisher had a big hit. The rest of them? Pffffft.

And we had Girardi’s ejection. What in the world is going on with the umpires? Long barked from the dugout about the strike zone (rightfully) and got tossed? Without a word of warning? And Davidson laughed? No wonder Joe’s veins were popping out of his neck. Mine would be too.

And then there was Valverde and his orange beard. The guy walked in the tying run and won the game. How screwy was that?

So now the Yanks need to salvage the series with a win against Verlander tomorrow. Good luck, boys.

 

 

 

Random Thoughts About Tonight’s Tigers-Rangers Game

I got home when the game was already in the 9th with the score tied.

When Joachin Benoit came on to pitch, I noticed that his infected boil/in-grown hair/facial deformity was all better; no giant Band-Aid necessary.

Photo: Reuters/nypost.com

I’m bringing this up because it reminded me how Girardi intervened in our game against the Tigers and asked the umps to get Benoit to remove the Band-Aid. Was it gamesmanship? Would our hitters have been distracted by the Band-Aid? Was the complaint legitimate?

Who cares. I love the fact that Girardi jumped in to do something, anything, to try to give the Yankees an edge in that game. For me the incident served in sharp contrast to the 2007 ALDS against Cleveland when the midges attacked Joba.

Joe Torre stood there while his pitcher and infielders were distracted by way more than a Band-Aid. He should have pulled the team off the field and didn’t, and he said as much in his book. I bet Girardi would have acted differently. He’s a more proactive manager, sometimes excessively so, but there it is.

My other thought while watching tonight was about Nelson Cruz. The Rangers’ right fielder is doing it all this postseason. I think Nick Swisher is a lot of fun and a much better player than I expected. But I always wanted the Yankees to go after Cruz (I did a post about it on my old blog, so this isn’t just me jumping on his bandwagon).

Oh. One more thing. Valverde was due for a beat down, and I can’t say I was sorry to see him get it.

Random Thoughts About Tonight's Tigers-Rangers Game

I got home when the game was already in the 9th with the score tied.

When Joachin Benoit came on to pitch, I noticed that his infected boil/in-grown hair/facial deformity was all better; no giant Band-Aid necessary.

Photo: Reuters/nypost.com

I’m bringing this up because it reminded me how Girardi intervened in our game against the Tigers and asked the umps to get Benoit to remove the Band-Aid. Was it gamesmanship? Would our hitters have been distracted by the Band-Aid? Was the complaint legitimate?

Who cares. I love the fact that Girardi jumped in to do something, anything, to try to give the Yankees an edge in that game. For me the incident served in sharp contrast to the 2007 ALDS against Cleveland when the midges attacked Joba.

Joe Torre stood there while his pitcher and infielders were distracted by way more than a Band-Aid. He should have pulled the team off the field and didn’t, and he said as much in his book. I bet Girardi would have acted differently. He’s a more proactive manager, sometimes excessively so, but there it is.

My other thought while watching tonight was about Nelson Cruz. The Rangers’ right fielder is doing it all this postseason. I think Nick Swisher is a lot of fun and a much better player than I expected. But I always wanted the Yankees to go after Cruz (I did a post about it on my old blog, so this isn’t just me jumping on his bandwagon).

Oh. One more thing. Valverde was due for a beat down, and I can’t say I was sorry to see him get it.

ALDS Game 3: Too Good And Not Good Enough

I’m depressed and, therefore, not in the mood to post pics. I hope words will do.

So. We lost.

There will be complaints about the tight strike zone. There will be talk about Girardi bringing in Soriano too late and even more talk about bringing him back for another inning instead of using Robertson. There will be a debate about not sending Montero up to pinch hit for Martin against Valverde. Blah blah blah.

This was about CC not having it and Verlander firing 100 mph fastballs through eight innings. Our guy wasn’t as good as their guy. End of story.

Still, the Yankees had their shining moments – from all those double plays that bailed out CC and A-Rod’s sure hand at third to Jorge’s tenacious at bats and Gardner’s huge game-tying double. If Soriano hadn’t coughed up that homer, we might have had extra innings and hung on a little longer.

But we had chances in the ninth and didn’t seize them, and the result was having to watch Valverde’s victory dance (although it was subdued, for him).

Did we ever imagine in our wildest dreams that our season would come down to AJ Burnett?

Of course not. But here we are, on the verge of elimination.

What needs to happen is this:

  1. The Good Great AJ has to show up.
  2. A-Rod has to be the 2009 model.
  3. Tex has to stop being Mr. April.
  4. Mo has to get into the game.

In other words, it’ll be all hands on deck so this baby doesn’t sink.

Photo: Mario Belluomo

(Okay, I had to post one pic.)

Let’s go Yankeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees!

Why The Yankees Will Beat The Tigers

Yes, Verlander is a great pitcher.

Yes, Cabrera is a scarier hitter than Jose Bautista.

Yes, our friend Austin Jackson was the kid we hated to give up.

And yes, they have position players like Martinez and Polanco and some setup guy that’s supposed to be as good as D-Rob, plus a closer that dances around the mound after a save.

Photo: Paul Sancya/AP

Doesn’t Verlander look like Luke Wilson, btw?

OK, maybe not.

Anyhow, yes, the Tigers have a lot of strengths, including manager Jim Leyland, who’s always been a favorite of mine. He’s not just a tough guy. He cries, people.

But the Yankees are, quite simply, the Yankees. Detroit may have beaten us in 2006, but we’re  a different team this year. A better team. There’s no dead wood, nobody who makes me roll my eyes every time I see him. (Well, except for Eduardo Scissorhands, but I know I’m in the minority there.) We’re solid. Not perfect, but no team is. We have a nice combination of veterans and newbies, along with players who are right in their prime. And we have a really good bench for a change.

Most of all, especially for Games 1 and 2, we have these.

Oh, and we have one more reason to win: me. I have no interest in writing a sad blog post about how we lost.

Follow Me!

  • Jane Heller on Goodreads
  • Jane Heller on Pinterest
  • Jane Heller on Facebook
  • Jane Heller on Twitter

Get in touch!

I’d love to hear from you! Contact me!

About Jane Heller

Jane Heller is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. Her fourteen breezy, witty novels of romantic comedy and suspense are now entertaining millions of readers around the world, along with her two books of nonfiction.