CC Sabathia

 By the end of the six innings, the New York Yankees were down 5-0 to the Texas Rangers.

Yankees ace CC Sabathia had to exit after the fourth; his shortest outing of the season.

On the other end, Rangers starter CJ Wilson was shutting down the deep New York line-up. Wilson gave up a homerun to Robbie Cano to start the seventh, but retired the next three and the held the Yankees to a 5-1 score.

All eyes were in Arlington Friday night as the Yankees and Rangers kicked off Game 1 of the American League Championship Series.

The Yankees, who had almost a week of rest, sent their ace in CC Sabathia to square off against the Rangers lefty C.J. Wilson in Game 1.

The game quickly started in favor of the Rangers as Sabathia's control was off from the start of the first inning.

Elvis Andrus walked to lead off the game and Michael Young singled to set up first and third with no outs.

In the 1999 movie Unbreakable, the character played by Samuel L. Jackson explained that the incredible fragility of his bone structure, the reason he was derisively known as Mr. Glass, was directly tied to the fact that Bruce Willis' character was seemingly invincible.

Mr. Glass reasoned that if there's someone in the world who represents the extreme on one end, then the universe must have a person somewhere who represents the opposite end of the spectrum.

The New York Yankees won game one of the American League Championship Series 6-5, defeating the Texas Rangers at home in dramatic fashion.

After looking stymied by the pitching of CJ Wilson throughout the first seven innings, the Yankees staged a ferocious comeback, scoring five runs in the eighth inning to take the lead.

How did the Yankees perform? I've graded the performances of CC Sabathia and other contributing factors to the Yankees victory.

It all makes sense. There should never have been any doubt in anyone’s mind that in The Year of the Pitcher, some of the better arms in the American League will be fighting for the Pennant beginning with Game One on Friday night.

Tonight is the start of the American League Championship Series between the New York Yankees and the Texas Rangers.  This game is being played at the Ballpark in Arlington and first pitch is scheduled for 8:07 PM EST.

The pitching match-up for tonight's game is between C.C. Sabathia and C.J. Wilson, both of whom had good regular season numbers.  Texas needs to take at least one of Sabathia starts to have a chance. Tonight will be their first opportunity to do so.

The New York Yankees need a fourth starter for the ALCS. But the one they named was wrong. It should not have been A.J. Burnett, but rather Ivan Nova.

Nova, whom the Yankees refused to trade, was a major reason that they didn't get Cliff Lee from the Mariners midseason. He has since justified their retaining him. Except for one very bad start that skewed his respectable 4.50 ERA upward, he has been quite a serviceable pitcher both as a starter and a reliever. And he's only 23, in his first season.

A few days ago, my friend and I had a debate over the HOF credentials of Fred McGriff.  I said- the guy nearly had 500 Home Runs, that's gotta get him in.  My friend countered back- almost, but not 500.  

When the argument shifted to Mike Mussina, he stood up for him.  He said how Mussina almost had 300 wins.  I countered- almost, but not 300.  

Touche.

The World Series.

One of the most sacred events in the sports world. It goes without saying that getting there takes intense preparation, heart, skill and a little bit of luck.

The 162-game regular season is a grind, and it all boils down to even more baseball—October baseball, AKA: Baseball at its finest.

The Yankees have done all of this before, and this year they've completed one third of the postseason puzzle by sweeping the Minnesota Twins in the first round.

We now know the New York Yankees roster and their pitching rotation for the ALCS.