LDS 4 recap: Bats Go Quiet

One call may have made the difference. A 2nd inning, 0-2 pitch to Irod was called outside, but it clearly looked like a strike. Wright eventually walked him, and allowed a HR to Monroe, putting the Yanks in a 3-run hole. With the way the Yanks were swinging the bats, 3 runs was big.

I've been reading that the Yanks were TOO patient, and that they should've been more aggressive. What I saw in game 4 contradicts this sentiment. Through the first 2 innings, the Yanks didn't get to one full count. And 3 hitters made outs on the first pitch: Jeter, Cano and Arod. Maybe if they HAD been more patient against Bonderman, they could have tired him out. Leyland said he has a kind of 'paint-ball' mentality: he'll be hiding behind a tree (cruising), and then he'll just get lazy or tired and step out into the open and get pounded by paint-balls (shelled). I guess anxiety got to them and they became unusually aggressive. Verlander has great stuff - that's easy to see. And Rogers pitched the game of his life, even hitting 94 mph on a few pitches. But I did not see the greatness in Bonderman - a moving fastball that barely hits 91, a very good slider, and an average-at-best change. The Yanks were in a funk though, and many times looked lost at the plate.

8-3 Detroit

2*: Posada, 2-4, HR, r, 2 rbi
2: Abreu, 2-4, r
1: Cano, 1-4, broke up the perfecto
1: Jeter, 1-4, r