10/9 – Yankees vs. Twins Note

MLB 9 comments

The Yankees beat the Twins in game 2 of the ALDS on 10/9 by a score of 4-3 in 11 innings. Many people are going to be blaming the Umpire for blowing a call in the top of the 11th. Mauer hit a liner down the left field line and it looked like it hit Melky Cabrera’s glove and it undoubtedly landed in fair territory and bounced in the stands. The umpire standing on the left field line, looking directly at the play called it a foul ball. The Twins went on to load the bases with no outs in that inning, but they did not score a run.

Yes, the Twins would most likely have scored in that inning, but it is not why they lost the game. The Twins left a runner on base in every single inning of the game (17 in total). They out hit the Yankees 12-7, they out walked the Yankees 7-3 , and they took more balls for the team 2-0. To sum it up, the Twins had 21 base runners to the Yankees 10. The Twins lost the game themselves, not because of one call. The Yankees were far more efficient scoring 40% of their base runners and the Twins scored a measly 14%. The Twins, or any team for that matter, cannot throw away that many opportunities against the Yankees and expect to win the game.

So, yes I agree the game might have been a 5-4 game if the Umpire didn’t blow the call, but the Twins were not going to win that game the way they were playing. They had the Yankees where they would want them, only 1 pitcher left in the pen, but they failed to capitalize several times and that is why they lost, not because of one call.

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9 comments

  1. Dude give it up they won because of that blown call. Yea they had a lot of scoring chances and yea Joe Nathan blew the save but come not only was that ball fair by a foot and a half but it went off of Cabrera’s glove while he was in fair territory. GIVE ME A BREAK!!!!! Just another win for a lucky team.

  2. The Yankees didn’t win 103 games on luck, they definitely have talent and a ballpark that fits the team chemistry (power pitching and power hitting) perfectly. You summed it up for me, they had a lot of scoring chances, and Joe Nathan (who is a top 3 closer in the game) blew the save that is why they lost- they failed to capitalize (bases loaded and no outs- all you need is a fly ball) and poor pitching at the end of the game.

  3. Yeah, why would a blown call in a playoff have any impact on the outcome of a game? If a team makes mistakes, then the umps obviously should blow calls. Great logic, MikesPickz. Thank goodness my kids don’t have teachers who think like you.

  4. Reality Based Fan,
    Are you kidding? Where do you see that logic? I said the team made several mistakes and that is why they lost. I did NOT say that since the team made mistakes it was OK for the ump to blow the call. It was a terrible call, but the Twins failed to score with the bases loaded and NO OUTS, all they needed was a fly ball.

  5. Twins fans may say that the reason they lost the game is because of a clearly blown call by the umpire, but there are so many more factors that determined this outcome, that you cannot say that the ONLY reason they lost is because of that.
    Sure it may have cost them a run or two, but, and this goes doubly in the playoffs, a team cannot fail to capitalize so many times and still expect to win the game. I don’t even like the Yankees, but you have to give them credit as a great ball team. They won more games than any other team this year, so when you fail to take advantage of runners on base, you can’t expect to win a game. It is not even during that last inning that the Twins left so many runners on base, there are no excuses for all the other times.
    This is not even mentioning that the Yankees scored the winning run with 0 out in the 11th, and with such a powerhouse of a lineup, who is to say they wouldn’t have scored more runs.

  7. I’m not saying the Yanks aren’t a good team. You make a good point they didn’t win 103 games on luck. I live in NY (I’m not a Yankee or Met fan) and have watched my fair share of Yankee games and it always seems in a big situation some crappy call like tonight’s plays into a Yankee win. Oh and btw when they lost to the D-Backs right after the game they interviewed Jorge Posada and he was all sour grapes about Gonzalez’s lucky hit so if it’s good enough for the cry baby catcher of the Yankee’s it’s good enough for me.

  8. It doesn’t really matter the outcome of this series. Yankees will fail again in the playoffs, just like they have for the past 8 years. Every year, I hear the same old story about the Yankees getting new all-stars. Well, their team may look good on paper, and you can throw all the stats you want at me, but the Angels will destroy this team once again. The Angels can beat the Yankees, playing the same way they play any team; playing small ball.

    Also, I agree that the foul ball call was awful. I don’t understand how that umpire could have missed the call. Regardless, although Joe Nathan didn’t show his stuff, let us take into consideration that Mariano Rivera did not look like the October legend he is. I’m just saying, the Yankees bullpen looked very shaky, and although they got out of a few jams, this will not happen against the Angels.

    I look forward for yet another series of the Angels beating the Yankees and Bud Selig sitting in the corner of his room crying because of the lack of ratings. Well, the Angels play baseball the way it was made to play, and although it may not be all that exciting to many, it gets the job done.

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