A DIFFERENT YANKEE TEAM

***YANKS DEAL TEXAS A LATE INNING BLOW***
As my Dad used to say, "Now's the time to break their hearts." And they did, with an 8th inning rally, fueled by Ranger bullpen that couldn't get an out.

KEYS TO THE GAME:
# Sabathia diving across the plate to nail a runner trying to score on a wild pitch. Girardi's comment was, "When you see him get up all dirty, you worry a little, but CC's big enough to win most of those home plate collisions." Maybe CC should have run the ball across home plate, instead of throwing it.
# A complete shut-down by the Yankee bullpen: Chamberlain, Mosley, Woods and, of course, Rivera.
# Ranger Manager Ron Washington was perfect all night. Every move he made was worse than the last. After 'mixing and matching' for the whole 8th inning, he brings in a lefty to face lefty- hitting specialist, Marcus Thames. This is like giving Usain Bolt a 50 yard lead in a 100 yard race. Even if he breaks a leg, you know he'll limp across the finish line ahead of you. And that's what happened: Marcus broke his bat and STILL limped one out into left field for the go-ahead (and winning) run.
# Michael Young and the ole' fielding technique. This is the playoffs. Even if they have to surgically remove a ball from your chest, you have to get in front of ground balls.
# Ian Kinsler gets picked off first base. If the score is tied and you're at home, you can take chances. If you're behind in the 8th, you can't get picked off. If you kill a rally, Mariano Rivera will be throwing dirt on you in the ninth.

A FEW CHOICE COMMENTS:
Michael Young on A-Rod's grounder: "I would have liked to have the ball find my glove." Perhaps we should open our eyes when making a play, Michael.
Marcus Thames on his broken-bat single: "My bat died a hero,'' Thames said, "but I'll take that any day.''
Brett Gardner, on sliding into first, when the conventional wisdom is that sliding does you no good: "Whoever says that probably isn't playing,'' Gardner said. "If I would have gone in standing up, I would have been out.''
CJ Wilson, on the Yankee comeback: "They used to have this show called the 'Twilight Zone.' That's how I felt," Wilson said. "We were all kind of pacing in the dugout. It was surreal."
Janet Hough: Fox baseball analyst Tim McCarver came out against instant replay, saying it "will kill the pace of the game." You know what already kills the pace of the game? Listening to Tim McCarver.

THE PICTURE OF THE NIGHT:
Nolan Ryan's chin buried deep in his chest in the ninth inning.

CP-