Run, Johnny, Run!!

One more win. One more win for #27. Didn’t manage to catch the game live on ESPN again, but caught most of the action on Gameday (as usual lol). The Yankees were up 4-3 when Joba Chamberlain serves up a home run to Pedro Feliz, tying it at 4-4 to end the 8th.

Send in “Mr. Blown Save” Brad Lidge at the top of the 9th inning to preserve the tie and what do you get? You guessed it; a loss for the Phillies… I have nothing against him (he seems like a genuine guy who’s struggling and trying hard to bounce back), but seriously. Cole Hamels and Lidge both need to work out where they went wrong this season/postseason…

After breezing through the first two outs, getting pinch-hitter Hideki Matsui to pop out to Jimmy Rollins AND striking out Derek Jeter, Lidge crumbles after a lengthy 9-pitch duel with Johnny Damon, giving up a single. THEN on the first pitch to Mark Teixeira, Damon takes off, bringing chaos along and an eventual win for the Bombers. Not only does he steal 2nd, but he manages to steal 3rd base as well on the same play (you have to watch the replay/highlight at MLB.com, because it’s simply epic). Lidge proceeds to hit Teix with a pitch, then Damon comes home on Alex Rodriguez’s clutch RBI-double. By now, the Yanks re-claim the lead, 5-4. Next up, Jorge Posada drills a two-RBI single to center, inflating the lead to 7-4.

Enter Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the 9th. Mo only needs EIGHT pitches to dispose of Matt Stairs, Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino. All three grounding out/popping up harmlessly to Teix at 1st. Game over, save, victory for the Yankees.

So there you have it. Clutch hitting from Damon, A-Rod and Jorgie; combined with clutch (and epic) base-running from Damon; and a solid save from Mo brings the Yankees within ONE win for #27. I look forward to Game 5 tomorrow!

Player of the Game for today? Johnny Damon. Period.

LET’S GO YANKEES!!

Bronx Bombers Up By One

Didn’t watch the game on ESPN today because of the three exams I have left… However, caught most of the “action” on MLB.com Gameday. Yankees bested the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, with veteran Andy Pettitte picking up the win and Cole Hamels the loss (what the hell is wrong with him this season/postseason?!).

Phil Hughes was shaky, giving up a home run to Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz in a non-save situation. Thankfully, Joe Girardi brought in who else but Mo to close out the win and pick up the save (since Hughes gave up the solo homer, the game became a save-situation) before any further damage could have been done.

What was most peculiar for me was Andy Pettitte logging a single to centerfield, then rounding the bases in a warm up jacket on Johnny Damon’s two-RBI double (was it a double or a single? I forget). Now I know he was most probably keeping his arm warm, but I’ve honestly never seen any other pitcher do that before lol. Forgive me if this is common practice, but I haven’t seen that many baseball games… Yet!

Nevertheless, great game. Yanks up 2-1!

Yanks Pull Even

A solid 7.0 innings by AJ Burnett coupled with a 2.0-inning, six-out save by Mariano Rivera usually means a win for the Bronx Bombers, and today was no exception. Although Mo kind of struggled in the 8th. Nearly gave me a heart attack; figuratively speaking Nevertheless, as Mo has done countless times in his illustrious career, he escaped the jam.

Homers from Mark Teixeira and Hideki Matsui paved the way for the win, along with a pinch-hit RBI by Jorge Posada. Alex Rodriguez, however, continues to struggle. Similarly, the Phils’ big first baseman, Ryan Howard. also struggled. Hopefully A-Rod wakes up soon. Otherwise his so-called postseason “transformation” thus far will be quickly forgotten.

Super OSCE went quite well yesterday (I hope!). Cellulitis with a penicillin allergy. One down, three more to go (4th, 7th and 11th Oct). Wish me luck!

Brad Lidge = EPIC FAIL…

Omfg… Brad Lidge blew another save  today… That’s “good” for ELEVEN MAJOR LEAGUE-LEADING BLOWN SAVES…

It’s a miracle the Phillies are even still top in their division…

The Yankees on the other hand were the first MLB team to clinch a playoff spot yesterday with a win over the always dangerous Angels. Late-game heroics (sac-fly) by A-Rod. I’m hoping that’s a preview to how much he’s going to step up (finally) these playoffs! They also won the game earlier this morning; Mariano Rivera coming through with the save = 524 career saves WOOHOO!! Mo also picked up the save yesterday, and was part of a sweet “double”-play (strike-out + throw-out) yesterday with Jorgie (Jorge Posada) in the 9th.

At Grafton IC as I type this. Trying to read the pre-reading for law (there’s a shitload today for some reason). Gonna be a boring workshop…

1st Week of November 2008 Update

I’m in the middle of my bloody university end of semester/year exams. 1 down, 2 more to go. Nearly there!

On other news, Obama is officially the next US President. What’s more, he’ll be the first African-American President as well. Congrats, Obama! I knew you could do it!

In the world of sports, a surprising trade between the Detroit Pistons and the Denver Nuggets has been confirmed; Denver’s Allen Iverson is shipped off to Detroit in exchange for Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess, and Cheikh Samb (who the hell is he lol).

Now I’m not sure which team benefits from this random deal, but I guess Denver slightly has the upperhand, as they get a veteran point guard (who’s pretty unselfish when it comes to playing ball) in Billups, a backup center in Samb to complement Nene, and a decent power forward in Mcdyess (however Mcdyess refuses to be traded and is threatening to retire lol… What a big baby). AI on the other hand, has been pretty quiet so far since the season started. Maybe his age is finally getting to him…

Manny Ramirez is reportedly asking for the same length of contract and the same amount of pay as A-Rod. I wonder who’ll sign him. I hope the Dodgers sign him on. He seems to be doing great there.

And finally, I end with Guitar Hero’s latest advert. Featuring four of the best ever athletes in their respective sports! Kobe Bryant (LA Lakers, NBA), Alex Rodriguez (NY Yankees, MLB), Tony Hawk (pro-skateboarder), and Michael Phelps (Olympic gold-medallist swimmer and multi-record holder). This advert is gold. Pure awesomeness!