ALDS Game One Thoughts

Random thoughts after watching the Yankees win behind CC Sabathia, two years after losing to him and the Indians in the 2007 ALDS:

•  Jorge Posada looked awful tonight.  Two passed balls, one of which may have been a cross-up that he flat out missed and a 1 for 4 game at the plate.  It's not easy to be sympathetic to Posada and his benching for Molina in game two when he puts in a performance like that.  Posada historically has not been great in the postseason, posting a .731 OPS in 96 games.  He's had his ups and downs, but the downs have obviously outweighed the ups.

•  ARod has officially taken himself off the schnide.  Can we please leave the man alone now?  I have to admit, I was worried after his first two at-bats because he was swinging at everything that was thrown at him.  Thankfully, he turned it around his next two at-bats, drilling the ball to left-center to drive in a run, then going to opposite way off the wall to score another.  Hopefully, he'll relax a bit more and just be production rather than trying to be the savior.

•  Rough game at the plate for Teixeira.  0 for 4 with a double play.  He looked good in the field (as usual) and almost turned a nifty double play on Kubel's liner to first off of Coke.  Tex wasn't hitting the ball very hard, seemingly continuing his slow end of the season when he went 1 for his last 10.  Tex can be streaky.  It would be a great help if he got hot.

•  Once again, Derek Jeter gave the Yankees exactly what they needed.  His two run homer in the bottom of the third was the quick answer the Yankees needed to the Twins 2 spot posted at the top of that same inning.  Jeter drove the ball deep to left field, proving once again that he can hit with power when he actually tries to pull the ball.  It's just a continuation of a great season by Jeter.

•  CC Sabathia was good but not great.  With this offense, good was more than good enough.  Sabathia didn't walk anyone but gave up 8 hits and two runs in 6.2 innings.  He also struck out 8 while throwing 113 pitches, 71 for strikes.  His command seemed a bit inconsistent, with his slider fooling the Twins batters the most.  It was a fight, but Sabathia battled through for a good start to the series.

•  The Yankee bullpen shut the door as usual.  Phil Hughes came in during the seventh, getting a strike out on Orlando Cabrera to end the inning, then gave up a single to Joe Mauer before striking out Cuddyer in the top of the eighth.  Coke came in to face Kubel, who lined to Teixeira, then Joba came in, retiring Young on two pitches.  Mo gave up a few hits in the ninth but closed it out.

With the off-day Thursday, Girardi decided to get some guys some work and play matchups, which is fine.  It's a little bit of micromanaging, especially with a five run lead, but he had the chance to get some guys some playoff pitches without sticking them in a high leverage situation.  Does that mean anything mentally?  Beats me.  I guess it's probably better to make your playoff debut with little on the line than being thrown into a bases loaded jam in a tie game.  Either way, the arms got some light work and everyone goes home happy.

•  Hideki Matsui continues to flaunt his value as a designated hitter on this team.  We've covered this before, but Conventional Wisdom© has that with both Matsui and Damon becoming free agents in the fall, the Yankees won't want to resign both.  Damon's ability to kind-of play the outfield has made him the odds on favorite, with the DH role supposedly becoming a rest spot for Tex, Posada, Damon, etc.

Matsui isn't having it and his continued dominance against lefties (.976 OPS!) has to have the Yankees believing he has a place in this lineup next year.  As nice as it may seem to keep the DH spot open as a swing position, it almost guarantees that on most days you will have a weak spot in your lineup, whether it be a backup catcher, infielder, or outfielder giving your starter the half-day off.  If you're not resting your main starters, one of those backups will wind up being the DH unless the Yankees decide to go another direction.

It makes the most sense for the Yankees to keep the DH as a high offensive position at this point and Matsui continues to defy expectations and excel at the job.  He's of no use in the field and speculation is that Damon will soon suffer the same fate, but their roles as they're currently defined on this team can sustain at least another season.  The real question will be what type of contract each is looking for with Damon having the most potential to seek a multiyear deal elsewhere.

•  Finally, to anyone who thought the Twin's Joe Mauer couldn't be the MVP because he didn't play for a contender, well, change your vote.  There is no excuse for Mauer not to win the award this year.  Jeter had a good year but Mauer has an incredible year.  And while his power numbers dipped a bit the last month of the season, he still posted a .958 OPS while his team was putting the Tigers through their own personal hell.

Mark it down.  Joe Mauer was the MVP of 2009.

-- Join us again Friday night as we live blog and chat during game 2 of the ALDS between the Yankees and the Twins. You can chat with us here or at the Connecticut Post homepage.