Yes, he was this awesome.
On top of only giving up only 1 run off of 4 hits, while striking out 9, CC actually faced the minimum number of batters in 7 out of 9 of his innings. Just an incredible performance by the Yankee ace. In Sabathia's two starts in the ALDS he had an ERA of 1.53, while hitters batted just .190. I believe CC threw a few pitches in the 8th inning that reached 95mph, which tells me the big guy wasn't even tired this evening.
Although the Yankee hitters weren't nearly as awesome as CC was, 3 runs on 5 hits is an explosive performance for this team in the ALDS. Curtis Granderson, or as my partner refers to him... Kranderson, was the only player with more than one hit, one of them being a solo home run. And although Jeter failed to get a hit in a game for the first time this postseason, he still reached base on a walk in the 6th inning, and came around to score when Ichiro doubled right after him. The fact Derek was able to go from 1st to home tells me his foot is feeling just fine.
The news of the day was that Alex Rodriguez not only didn't start in the game, but he didn't make an appearance at all. But he has nowhere to complain, seeing as how he only had 2 singles in 16 at bats in the series. ARod's bat just looks incredibly slow right now, which really makes me worry about the next 5 years. Because not only could he be a black hole in the lineup, but it's not like he'd make a good bench piece either, seeing as how he's not a good pinch-runner, nor is he a good defensive replacement. I mean, imagine 5 more years with Andruw Jones, and you can see where I'm going with this.
Honestly, I loved knocking the Orioles out of the postseason. The Yankees handed Baltimore it's first extra inning loss of the year, and scored 9 runs in the 7th inning or later (yeah... 5 were in the 9th inning of Game 1) on a bullpen that had the 3rd lowest ERA in the AL. All year I've been saying how lucky they had been, and that extended into the ALDS too. Nothing really impressed me about the team this year outside of their bullpen. Heck, if it wasn't for the Yankee hitters being so poor, then Baltimore would have been on a plane home on Wednesday night. Their batting was average, their pitching was average, and their defense was average. I guess Buck Showalter is as magical as some make him out to be.
Anyway, I'm dreaming that the Yankee bats will wake up, and the pitching will be just as strong, against the Tigers. But if they swing like they just did against the Orioles, then you can be damn sure that the Tiger pitchers are going to tear through the lineup.
Personally, I'd like a day off to relax, but the AL Championship Series will start tomorrow night. And unfortunately we're going to have to put up with the pathetic announcers from TBS yet again, too.
