As the saying goes, if you can’t hit the baseball get the hell off the field was the theme coming into Game 5 tonight in the Bronx.
Instead, it was the New York Yankees who got the job done beating the Texas Rangers 7-2, in a must-win to stay-in the series game.
The Rangers are still ahead of Yankees 3-2 in games. If this Wednesday afternoon game is an indication of what’s to come in the next game, Texas should be running home nervous.
The Yankees flat out put the Rangers back where they belong when Cliff Lee is not pitching.
I have held to my opinion about the Rangers all season long; I do not think the Texas Rangers are as good as people think.
The Rangers have some good players like Josh Hamilton, but someone had to replace Alex Rodriguez production when he came to New York. Overall the team is just not well rounded, because without Cliff Lee, the Rangers would not be in the ALCS and maybe make the playoffs because the AL West was such a joke in 2010.
Yankees are without all-star, gold glove first baseman Mark Teixeira for the rest of the playoffs. Tex’s Yankee teammates do not crumble without him, life is not easier by any means but the Yankees are talented enough to still win. Unlike the Rangers, who without Hamilton at the end of the regular season, fell apart.
Sabathia did not have one of his smooth days on the mound, but CC grind-ed his way through six innings and held the Rangers to two earned runs. This is what defines an ace, and it is why Sabathia was brought to New York in the first place.
The pitching has not been its best for the Yankees, but the main problem seems to be fixing itself because the Bombers are hitting again. This is the first time in the ALCS that the Yankees kept the lead from the start and never gave it up all game.
Finally reality hit the Yankees who seemed to be riding the late bus to school the last two games.
The Yankees entire lineup participated in the win, with a hit, RBI, home run or a walk. It is about time that the Yankees started playing like themselves again.
Imagine if the pitching and hitting could get it together for the same game, the Rangers would not stand a chance.
Guess the Rangers will have to wait another day to try and make it to a place they have never been.
The Yankees need to continue to just be themselves, but it’s another must-win for Game 6. When the Yankees have their backs against the wall, they seem to right themselves pretty quickly.
Cliff Lee will be on the mound for the Rangers in Game 7, but let's get through Game 6 before anyone starts to get ahead of themselves, even a lowly sports writer and die-hard fan like myself.
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