Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Yanks leave Angels gasping for air YANKEES LEAD SERIES 3-1


ANAHEIM, Calif. — So much for the Angels making this a series. A night after they rallied for a dramatic victory, they were blown out 10-1 Tuesday night at their home park. Now they're one loss from the offseason.The way the Yankees are going, umpires have a better chance of righting their embarrassing postseason than the Angels have of beating New York three straight. "We've still got a breath left," Angels center fielder Torii Hunter said. "It seems impossible but it's not. We've won three games in a row before."The Angels even won three in a row against the Yankees but that was in July, before CC Sabathia started dominating October and Alex Rodriguez turned back into the game's best hitter (right-handed, anyway. The way the playoffs are shaping up, the World Series could turn into an A-Rod vs. Ryan Howard duel for the right to surpass Albert Pujols). After homering again and driving two more runs—that's five homers and 11 RBIs in seven playoff games—Rodriguez and his teammates are finding it difficult to describe his performance. "Whatever is above upper-echelon," Nick Swisher says. "I don't have a word for it. You come up with it, and I'll agree. That's what he has been. Every time he comes up in a clutch situation, he's coming through for us."Jorge Posada couldn't do much better. "He's doing a lot of things well," Posada said. "Having a lot of great at-bats. Taking what they give him. Doing everything we can ask for. He really has been unbelievable."Don't look to the man himself for an explanation. "I don't talk much anymore," A-Rod said. "I don't ever have to explain myself, that's a good thing."A-Rod would rather talk about Sabathia, who dominated the Angels for eight innings even though he was working on three days rest. "You know, CC gets loose after 90 pitches," A-Rod said. "He's a horse. He's a monster."The Angels, who beat Sabathia twice during the regular season, would not disagree. They were kept off-balance by a heavier mixture of changeups to go with his fastball that still touched 95 mph. "He was using his fastball to set up his changeup," Hunter said. "When a guy throws 95, you have to sit on his fastball.""That changeup he was throwing for the last couple of times we saw him wasn't nearly as consistent as it is now," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "That was probably the biggest thing we had trouble adjusting to."This was more than The A-Rod, Sabathia and Derek Jeter Show for once. Melky Cabrera ended the Yankees' 0-for-26 skid of hitting with runners in scoring position. He finished with three hits and four RBIs and Johnny Damon added a two-run homer.Even Mark Teixeira had a hit, just his second in 18 at-bats this series. Think about that. The Yankees are a win away from the World Series and their three-hole hitter hasn't gotten going yet. Hunter better not breathe for a while. That breath is about all the Angels have left.This story appears in Oct. 21's edition of Sporting News Today. If you are not receiving Sporting News Today, the only daily digital sports newspaper, sign up today for free.
Stan McNeal is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at smcneal@sportingnews.com.http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb/article/2009-10-21/yanks-leave-angels-gasping-for-air

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