A Monday Night Hit And Run

So one Monday night, two crucial games and the only two professional teams that I follow, on at exactly the same time.

Usually football is the priority. The Jets have only 16 games in their regular season and they're all crucial until the annual tragic elimination. The Yankees on the other hand were playing a road playoff game, looking to go up 2-0 on Baltimore.

What do you do? Well the first thing is to make sure you make dinner ahead of time. The Yankees/O's was scheduled for 8 PM ET, and the Jets/Texans at 8:30, so plenty of time for chicken and sausage nachos with green olive salsa.

Since the Yankees were delayed 45 minutes by rain, I put the Jets on the big screen and the Yankees in the office 30 feet away. It's the path I would wear out all night with DVR rewinds ready to get caught up on whichever wasn't getting my immediate attention.

After the Texans went right down the field and scored on their opening drive and the Jets responded with a 3-and-out, I changed screens to try and shake things up. And the Yanks scored in the top of the 1st on a bizarre play in which Ichiro Suzuki should've been tagged out twice.

Now I'm not saying it was a bad call, but we were fortunate to have Angel Hernandez, the league's worst umpire, presiding over it.

Meanwhile, the Jets crowd actually was pumping up their team instead of groaning about them. Antonio Cromartie made a nice pick in front of Andre Johnson, and the Mark Sanchez found Jeff Cumberland for the tying TD.

But the good times didn't last. Arian Foster ran 13 yards for a TD on a play that Jon Gruden likened the blocking to a "symphony." Foster was shredding the Jets D for 93 rush yards in 19 minutes of action.

Andy Pettitte was mowing down the Orioles' first eight hitters, which prompted Ernie Johnson's first "perfect game" reference, citing the 56th anniversary of Don Larsen's World Series gem. The O's promptly staged a 2-out rally and took a 2-1 lead in the 3rd. Funny how that works.

After the Yankees tried to answer, but left the bases loaded in the 4th, the Jets were marching down the field in the 2-minuted drill before the half. Say what you want about Mark Sanchez, but he looks poised in these situations.

But as the Jets were closing in on some sort of score before the half, the unavoidable J.J. Watt got one of his big mitts up and deflected a pass to Brice McCain who returned the INT 86 yards. The deflated Jets managed to hold the Texans to a FG in the final seconds and went to halftime down 17-7.

Intermission was a good time to fold laundry, and ice a bruised foot that wasn't feeling any better with my constant pacing back and forth. So I relaxed in the big chair while the Yankees offense did nothing, and Pettitte looked solid.

The Jets opened the 2nd Half with Joe McKnight in at RB for the ineffective Shonn Greene. It wasn't the understudy that many of the Jets fans wanted (though the one I wanted), and resulted in another 3-and-out. The Texans then went on a 14-play, 70-yard drive that ate up half the 3rd quarter to go up 20-7.

The Jets were being manhandled on both sides of the ball and needed a spark. 100 yards later, McKnight was soaring across the goal line after an inspired kick return.

The Jets tried to seize on the momentum with a brilliantly executed onside kick, except our guy dropped the ball.

Andy Pettitte was pitching well, but allowed a run (the decisive run) in the 6th. After turning a 1-6-3 DP to end the inning, he intensely stalked off the mound chiding himself, "That's on me!"

Pettitte finished the night with 7+ innings, 3 runs on 7 hits, 1 walk and 5 Ks. He threw an efficient 98 pitches, and kept his team in it. But it wasn't good enough to win on this night.

The Jets held the Texans out of the end zone early in the 4th to stay in the game, but they wasted a strong Tim Tebow run and stalled for a FG themselves. The Jets were in striking range at 23-17, but time was running out. Not to mention the Jets had been plagued by disorganization and miscommunication on both sides of the ball, resulting in the premature use of time outs, which turned out to be a killer.

The Yankees got a Derek Jeter RBI single in the 8th to close to 3-2, but O's Manager Buck Showalter earned his paycheck. He brought in LHP Brian Matusz to intentionally walk LH hitting Robinson Cano to set up a matchup with switch-hitting Nick Swisher, who was 1-for-19 in his career against Matusz. Swish popped a weak flyball to left and the O's were out of danger.

The Jets last-gasp efforts were done in by the Texans D, and there was no magic for the Yankees in 9th (as opposed to the night before) against Baltimore's 51-save closer Jim Johnson.

So I spent a night engrossed in every detail of my two favorite squads, and they both lost. But there are takeaways, otherwise the time would've been wasted - which would haunt me more.

For the Jets, they look troubled but aren't that bad off at 2-3. The 3 losses are to Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Houston. No shame in any of that, even if the last two were home.

For the Yankees, they're right where they're supposed to be. They won the AL East, and now just have to win 2-out-of-3 at home to advance to the ALCS.

The next potential conflict is Sunday. The Jets host the Colts at 1 PM, and the Yankees will presumably  (hopefully?) have the Tigers in the Bronx for ALCS Game 2.

A Saturday Away From The Fray

It's unusual that I get a Saturday off in the fall (or winter). It's quite the out-of-body experience to catch glimpses of afternoon college football from my own kitchen. But bouncing around for the weekend with the kids isn't such a bad Plan B.

First, the White Bluff Burger King for breakfast. Entirely their call. Breakfast and an indoor playground, and I concurred since I knew I'd get to break in my next book. It was maybe the slowest and most understaffed counter service I've ever experienced at a fast food restaurant. It was beyond frustrating but I have to admit, the food wasn't bad. And the kids ate plenty. E-Man astutely pointed out that fall began at 10:49 AM.

On to Star Bike. C-Love is dangerously close to losing the training wheels, but her legs get longer every day and she had just outgrown the old one. I carry a wrench every time we ride now as I am constantly hiking up the seat or the training wheels, so I splurged on a used Raleigh Retro Sixteen.

The staff told me she should be good for the next couple of years. The kids both got new helmets and we were on our way home. We read some books and played video games, while I made lunch and kept track of the football scores and tried to keep one eye on the Yankee game in what has become a gripping AL East pennant chase.

The Yankees were up 5-4 on Oakland in the 7th when we pulled up at the theater to meet two other families for Finding Nemo 3D.

Now I like Pixar films as much as the next dad, and this is a good one. But I'm sure Finding Nemo was far more ground-breaking in its 2003 debut than in the 3D re-release. The kids look cool in the glasses but the 3D thing doesn't do much for me.

The saving grace was that through an incredible stroke of luck, the Yankee game was still going in the bottom of the 13th when I got to the car. I heard the amazing rally from 4 runs down (fortunately ESPN Radio had it and I wasn't forced to listen to John & Suzyn) but didn't catch the triumphant 14th as we all did pizza at a friend's place.

I got home and searched for highlights and game stories. I reconstructed the late innings, extra innings, and historic comeback as best I could in my own mind and was going to renumerate it here. But there was a level of drama and tension I couldn't possibly reenact having not watched it.

What I can say is that Ichiro Suzuki is in rare air this week. In the last 5 games, he's 14-for-20 (.700), bringing his average up to .335 in 56 games in Pinstripes.

The other prong in all this drama is that the Orioles won another extra-inning game today themselves, the 16th straight such win for the math-defying O's. And if there's any wonder how great they've been playing: the Yankees have won 7 straight, and the Orioles still only trail by 1 game.

I was convinced that September baseball is more compelling than September football. But last night's results with Kansas State, Oregon State, Rutgers, and a resurgent Notre Dame scoring huge wins throw that argument back up in the air. And there's still NFL today - if you can get around your life and get situated to catch it.

Yankees Find Newest Hiro, But Can't Shake Birds

All season, Yankees starter HIROki Kuroda has served as the rotation's stopper (14-10, 3.26, over 200 IP). I argue that you could start him in Game 1 of the playoffs over CC.

And last night the real IcHIRO Suzuki stepped up. In a doubleheader vs Toronto that the Yanks needed to sweep, Suzuki did it all: 7-for-8 total at the plate, the super game-winning catch in Game 1 and a 4-hit, 4-steal nightcap, where he drove in the game-winning run to boot.

He didn't look like a guy on the gradual career decline, he looked like they guy who hit .350 four times in his career. In fact since his acquisition from Seattle on July 23, he's hit .317 in Pinstripes. It reminds Yankee fans (or at least this one) of the late-season, late-career surge of Tim Raines who hit 7 HR down the stretch in September 1996.

But there were plenty of heroes on Tuesday. Andy Pettitte (Raines' former teammate) returned from a DL and pitched 5 unblemished innings. David Phelps went deep in the Game 2 start, sparing the bullpen - except for Rafael Soriano who amazingly nailed down Saves #41 & #42. Oh yeah, and Derek Jeter got his 200th hit.

Meanwhile out west, the MLB's feel-good story Orioles did it again. Even Yankee fans appreciate what they're doing, we just wish they'd be battling for the Wild Card instead.

They battled King Felix Hernandez to an 8-inning stalemate, and took the game into the 11th when Adam Jones launched his 30th to break the tie and then they record the final out on a caught stealing.

It was a mind-bending 15th straight extra-inning win. This one only kept me awake until 1:23 AM ET as opposed the 18-inning marathon the night before. The incredible O's did what they had to do, taking their last 4 games on the west coast. And they are 39-20 in the last 2 months.

It's worth pointing out again that for the first time since 1995, there is a much greater significance in winning the division over the wild card.

Yankees Arms Race To The Finish

Two-out-of-three in Boston. Just what the Yankees should have expected, and got. There are 19 games left in a nail-biting AL East race where they still can't seem to shake (or be shaken by) the upstart Orioles.

You can't get too high or too low with so much time left, just trust the man on the hill will do his job. And this year, Phil Hughes (15-12, 3.96) has done that. In a season which C.C. Sabathia, Andy Pettitte, and Ivan Nova have all spent time on the DL, and Mariano Rivera was lost for the year, Hughes has taken the ball every time out.

Yes he's given up a ton of Home Runs (33) but the key number (besides 15 wins) is 175 Innings Pitched. And after a rocky first two months, he's gone 6 innings or more in 14 of his 19 starts.

You can point all the way back to May 22nd when the Yankees were 21-21 and 5.5 games out of 1st place. They were still lost in the wilderness without Rivera and had no direction. Hughes (then 3-5, 5.23) threw 6 solid innings in a win vs KC which began a team run of starting pitching that had not been seen before, and may not be seen again.

It was a 24-game span in May and June that defined the Yankees season. The Yankees won 20 of 24 and their starting pitchers, with their rotation fully in tact, went 18-2. And maybe even more remarkably, those starters went 6 or more innings in 23 of those 24 games.

You could say that makes Joe Girardi's job a lot easier, but he had to have the trust in guys like Hughes and Hiroki Kuroda to work through their issues, and they flourished. On June 3, Hughes went the distance, out-dueling Justin Verlander. And Kuroda has arguably been the Yankees' ace - and is a start away from 200 innings.

Now Nova returns from the DL on Saturday, and Pettitte on Tuesday. The Yankees have held the fort down for the cavalry to return while the O's get a 6-game West Coast trip.

And just another reminder before any more games are played that Girardi is only the second-most tightly-wound manager in baseball.

Yanks Get A Little Breathing Room

It's September 10th and the Yankees can exhale for two reasons: they escaped Baltimore with a slim 1-game lead in AL East, and they have a day off. There's only one more of those left after today with 22 games remaining.

But winning the division is at a premium. Yes there's an extra Wild Card team, but for the first time since the inception of the Wild Card (1995), the scales have been heavily tilted to the division winner (as they should). As the two Wild Cards face-off in a one-game death match, the survivor's pitching staff and travel schedule will already be in disarray.

That's why the Yankees need to hang on to the division title they've almost given away. And there are good signs. A-Rod's bat looks like it's back and Joba Chamberlain may be reverting to form as that hammer coming out of the bullpen again.

Yesterday in Baltimore, the Yankees found themselves in a tie for first place with the Orioles in a September "must" game. Joba took over for a struggling Freddy Garcia in the 4th inning, and blew away 4 of the 6 O's batters he faced, holding a 5-3 lead, which led to a 13-3 rout.

It was a great rebound win after the disturbing events of Saturday night.

Mark Teixeira beat out a possible game-ending double play to drive in the tying run in the 9th. He slid head-first into 1st base (which you're taught never to do) because he blew out his calf just a few feet from the promised land.

Teixeira willed every ounce of his body after an injury that will keep him out a week or three to get that tying run home. Except umpire Jerry Meals called him out and the Yankees lost.

It was a terrible call in the closest of games in the closest of pennant races. That's why you can't leave it up to the umps. You need a margin for error, whether it be yours or somebody else's.

Call it a buffer, a cushion, breathing room.

What's That About Objects In The Rearview? Never Mind, They're Already Here

It's September 5th. You might have one eye on the political landscape or the start of football season. But the Yankees have had one eye over their shoulder, where the Orioles have moved from 10 games back to a flat-footed tie for first. All while the Yankees do their best September impersonation of the New York Mets.

It's September 5th. And for the last 14 seasons the O's average AL East deficit on this date was 22 games behind.

The only reason to watch the Birds late in the season was to see if they could spoil anyone else's success - which is exactly what they did September 28, 20011 - when they came back with 2 outs in the 9th against Jonathan Papelbon and knocked the Red Sox out of the playoffs. That precipitated the ultimate domino theory with Boston revamping their entire managerial structure, which led to the trading off of their most expensive players a couple of weeks ago.

1997 was the last time the Orioles made the playoffs, losing a classic ALCS to the Indians. And to lend some perspective to how long ago that was, the Indians were in that series because they defeated the Yankees and Mariano Rivera in his first season as the closer.

In 1997, the O's lineup featured a still-steady Cal Ripken, Hall-Of-Famer Roberto Alomar, would-be Hall-Of-Famer Rafael Palmeiro (whoops), and an awesome 1-2 punch at the front of the rotation with Mike Mussina and Scott Erickson.

In 1997, the O's were still the most prominent thing in Baltimore. The Wire was just a spark in David Simon's head while Homicide: Life On The Street was playing out the string. And Ray Lewis had not yet been to 13 Pro Bowl or led the Ravens to a championship.

Now in his 3rd season managing the Orioles, one-time Yankee manager William Nathaniel "Buck" Showalter III, has a team that may be ready to take down the team that had groomed him and later washed their hands of him.

Tomorrow begins a 4-game weekend set at Camden Yards. After that we'll know how real the Orioles are, and if the Yankees can get off the mat.