Oswego Men's Hockey Dominates Opening Weekend With Pair of Wins

The opening of the regular season started for the Oswego State Lakers men's hockey team with a pair of home games and a pair of wins. Cortland and Elmira were the opponents for the weekend and Oswego beat them by a combined score of 16-4. First up was the Red Dragons of Cortland making the trip to the Campus Center on Friday night. After a rough start to the game Oswego was able to come away with a 7-4 victory.

Cortland jumped out to an early 2-0 lead with goals from Chris Kaleta and A.J. Moyer. The Moyer goal came at the 5:26 mark of the opening period. This lead to Andrew Hare getting pulled from the game by head coach Ed Gosek. Now with Dan Jones in goal, Oswego seemed to have things settle down just a bit and they responded quickly. Luke Moodie got Oswego on the board three minutes after the goalie change with a powerplay goal. Jon Whitelaw connected for his first goal of the year with just under five minutes remaining in the opening period to tie the score Jesse McConney capped off the scoring with a powerplay goal with just under three minutes left in the period tow give the Lakers a 3-2 lead heading into intermission. With the 2nd period underway, the scoring onslaught from both teams continued. Oswego upped their lead to 4-2 on a goal from Zach Josepher. AJ Moyer scored his 2nd of the night for Cortland to cut the lead to 4-3, but Chris Ayotte opened up the two goal lead again for Oswego with his 1st of the year. So after two periods, Oswego held a 5-3 lead at the end of two. Now with the third underway, Oswego was able to pull away and ice the game. Michael Lysyj scored for Corland to cut the lead to 5-4. Tim Carr would answer for Oswego with about six minutes left to restore the two goal lead, and Chris Brown would add a shorthanded empty netter to ice the game and seal the 7-4 Lakers victory.

Andrew Hare gave up two goals on three shots in the first before he was pulled.  Dan Jones allowed two goals on the 19 shots he faced during the night. Geoff Sadjadi was in net for Cortland and got lit up for all seven goals on just 28 Oswego shots. The offensive studs for Oswego in this contest were Jon Whitelaw (goal, two assists) Luke Moodie (goal, two assists), Chris Ayotte (goal, two assists), and Paul Rodrigues (two assists). So now the big question was going to be: who would head coach Ed Gosek go with in net for Elmira on Saturday?

The answer was Andrew Hare. Hare got another shot at it on Saturday night, which was also the hall of fame induction for Oswego State. Elmira's Soaring Eagles were in town as the opponent. Everybody thought this would be the tougher game than the night before, but it turned out not to be the case as Oswego skated away with a 9-0 victory. The first period was a scoring frenzy for Oswego. Matt Singelton got the party rolling with a short handed goal, then Paul Rodriguez connected for his first of the period. Tyler Leimbrock netted his first of the year to increase the lead to 3-0. Paul Rodriguez would strike twice more before the end of the period to complete the first period hat trick and give the Lakers a 5-0 lead after the first. The second period was a little kinder to Elmira as Oswego only scored once, as Luke Moodie hit the back of the net. The third period rolled around and saw three more Oswego goals, Moodie's second of the night, Leimbrock's second of the night and Rodriguez's fourth of the game to cap off the 9-0 shutout victory.

Andrew Hare got the shutout for his first victory of the year making 26 saves. Oswego fired 52 shots on three different Elmira goalies. Darren McDonald gave up 3 goals and made 8 saves, Matt Mline made 19 saves and allowed three goals, and finally Ryan deMelo made 16 saves and allowed two goals. Oswego got plenty of outstanding offensive performances on Saturday night. Nick Rivait (two assists), Luke Moodie (two goals three assists), Jesse McConney (two assists), Chris Muise (two assists), Tyler Leimbrock (two goals) and of course Paul Rodriguez (Four goals one assist) had monster evenings offensively. Two things about this win were of a concern to me however. One was that once again it seemed as if Oswego was spending way too much time in the penalty box. Two is that forward Peter Rodriguez had to miss the end of the hockey game due to an injury.

After their scoring exploits of this past weekend, both Paul Rodriguez and Luke Moodie are within striking distance of joining the 100 point club in Oswego history. Rodriguez needs just four points to get there and Moodie needs just six. Both guys should be able to join the club before the end of the teams next three game road trip. The trip starts Friday at Brockport, then continues this Saturday to Geneseo, and concludes next Fdriday November 9th at Morrisville. Good luck to both guys in their chase of 100 points.

(Above photo provided by Oswego State Athletics)

Loss and Tie Sinks Opening Weekend for Oswego Women's Hockey

The year didn't go off to as flying a start as the Oswego State Women's Hockey team would have wanted. It was an opening weekend series against Castleton and New England College, with both games being on the road. First up was Castelton State at Castelton. Oswego ended up on the wrong end of this decision, which ended in a 3-0 Castelton victory. Freshman Tori Trovato got the start in net for Oswego and made 28 saves on 32 Castelton shots. As for her counterpart Paula Stephens stopped all 28 Oswego shots. Oswego had two full lines two full defense pairs and one extra forward dressed for the game. Oswego was able to generate 28 shots on Castelton but with only two lines I feel it wasn't as effective as it had been the last two seasons.

So after a rough opening night against Castelton it was on to an afternoon game against New England College in New Hampshire. This time the Lakers offense showed up and was able to skate away with a 1-1 tie. Rachel Vigliano got New England on the board 6:09 into the hockey game. But Oswego was able to fight back and tie the game at 19:45 of the first period thanks to the goal from freshman Lizzy Marks, which was set up by Melissa Seamont and Chelsea Hunt. It was the first points of the year for the three players. That was the only scoring in the hockey game. Lauren Hopps made 21 saves for New England College and Oswego's Bridget Smith stopped 27 shots.

So now that the first two games are in the books, Oswego looks to get its first win of the season. But their next two games are going to be a very tough test, as it is a weekend home and home series with the Utica Pioneers. First game will be this Friday, November 2nd in Utica at 7pm. Game two of the series will be again against Utica on Saturday November 3rd at 7pm from the Campus Center Ice Arena in Oswego. This series will be another early season test for Oswego as Utica has proven in the past to be a tough opponent for Oswego to handle. As mentioned before, Oswego is going to be playing the entire season with only two full lines, so they are already at a disadvantage. With the schedule being as tough as it is this year, especially having to play teams like Utica, Elmira, and Plattsburgh, Oswego will be in for a dog fight this season to try and make the ECAC West playoffs. Head Coach Diane Dillon will have her hands full with this team, but in following the team the last few years, there's no quit in the team and they will find a way to stay competitive for most of the year.

Title to the Giants. San Fransisco Wins 2nd World Series in 3 Years!

For the 2nd time in three years the World Champions of Baseball reside on the west coast. The San Fransisco Giants have swept the Detroit Tigers in four straight games to take the title. The Tigers became only the third team to be swept in the World Series after sweeping the League Championship Series, following the 1990 Oakland Athletics and the 2007 Colorado Rockies. So now that we all know the Giants have won the title, lets take a look at how they were able to pull it off.

The Giants jumped to a 6–0 lead in the fifth inning en route to a 8–3 victory in Game 1, on the strength of Pablo Sandoval's 4-for-4 with 4 RBI, on three home runs his first three times up and a final single. He joined Babe Ruth (in 1926 & 1928), Reggie Jackson (in 1977) and Albert Pujols (in 2011) as the only players ever to hit three home runs in one World Series game. Sandoval was the first player to hit three homers in Game 1 of the Series, and the only one to homer in his first three plate appearances. Tiger ace Justin Verlander lasted only four innings, giving up five Giant runs, including Sandoval's first two homers. San Francisco starting pitcher Barry Zito did much better, allowing only one run in 5 2⁄3 innings. The Giants scored their final two runs in the seventh inning off demoted Tigers closer José Valverde, who hadn't pitched since Game 1 of the ALCS and who had surrendered nine earned runs in his last two appearances, against the Yankees in Game 1 of the ALDS and the Athletics in Game 4 of the ALCS, for two consecutive ninth-inning blown-save collapses in 3 1⁄3 postseason innings. Jhonny Peralta hit the Tigers' only home run, for two meaningless runs in the ninth with the game out of reach.

After Zito had allowed a run on three hits in the sixth inning, he was relieved by Tim Lincecum, who pitched 2 1⁄3 perfect innings with five strikeouts. It was only the second World Series game in which three Cy Young Award winners (Lincecum, Verlander and Zito) pitched; the first time it happened was Game 3 of the 1983 World Series, when Steve Carlton started for the Philadelphia Phillies vs. Mike Flanagan for the world champion Baltimore Orioles and was relieved by Jim Palmer.

In game two of the series the Giants went ahead 2–0 in the series after winning Game 2. The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the seventh when, with the bases loaded and nobody out, Brandon Crawford grounded into a double play scoring Hunter Pence, whose sacrifice fly in the eighth, with the bases loaded and one out, in turn scored Angél Pagán with the second and last Giant run. The Tigers' best chance to score occurred in top of the second. With Prince Fielder on first, slugger Delmon Young lined a double into the left field corner. Fielder was sent home on a gamble by third base coach Gene Lamont, but was tagged out on a close play at the plate by catcher Buster Posey after two perfect relay throws (from left fielder Gregor Blanco and, moving to the left side of the diamond to serve as the backup cutoff man after Blanco had overthrown shortstop Brandon Crawford as the intended lead cutoff man, second baseman Marco Scutaro). Madison Bumgarner pitched seven shutout innings, yielding only two hits with eight strikeouts, for the win. 

With their 2–0 victory in Game 3, the Giants became the first team in a World Series to record back-to-back shutouts since the Baltimore Orioles threw three straight against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Games 2-4, completing a sweep of the 1966; and the first NL team to do so since the Cincinnati Reds threw back-to-back shutouts against the Chicago White Sox (soon to be disgraced as the traitorous Series-throwing Black Sox) in 1919. San Francisco starter Ryan Vogelsong pitched 5 2⁄3 shutout innings. Detroit had the bases loaded with one out in the fifth inning, but Vogelsong got Quintin Berry to strike out swinging and Triple-Crown-winning Miguél Cabréra to pop out harmlessly on the second pitch (after lining a hard grounder just foul past the first base on the first pitch) to end the Tigers' scoring threat. The only runs of the game were scored in the Giant half of the second inning, on a one-out triple by Gregor Blanco scoring Hunter Pence from second and a hard two-out single by Brandon Crawford scoring Blanco.

And finally in game four, it took a hero to put the series away in extra innings. Marco Scutaro's RBI single in the top of the tenth, allowing Ryan Theriot to score, was the difference in the Giants' 4–3 victory in Game 4, sweeping the Tigers to win the World Series. San Francisco had scored first in the top of the second when Brandon Belt tripled to right field with one out, scoring Hunter Pence just as they had done in the same inning of Game 3, but this time the Giants could not score Belt from third even with two hard-hit balls (Blanco's hard grounder right at second baseman Infánte, and Crawford's near-gapper to right-center run down by right fielder Dirks).[30] Detroit took the lead in the 3rd inning with Miguél Cabréra's two-run homer off Matt Cain, an otherwise-routine windblown high fly that just made it over the wall in right-center for a fluke off-field round-tripper which gave the Tigers their first and only lead of the Series, ending a 20-inning scoreless streak.[31] The Giants regained the lead with Buster Posey's resounding blast for a two-run homer in the top of the sixth just to the right of the left field foul pole, but Delmon Young tied the game on a Matt Cain hanging slider with a line shot off-field solo home run to right-center in the bottom of the frame. After stellar relief from Jeremy Affeldt and winning pitcher Santiágo Casílla in the eighth and ninth followed by Marco Scútaro's winning single in the top of the tenth scoring designated hitter Ryan Theriot, who had opened the inning with a clean single, closer Sergio Romo struck out the side in the bottom of the 10th, ending with a called third strike on Cabréra on a surprise tailing fastball (after several consecutive hard sliders) for the last out (and his third save) of the Series.

Since the home team (Tigers) did not win the Series, the trophies for the winning team (Giants) and Most Valuable Player (Sándoval, who hit .500 added to the three home runs his first three times up in Game 1) were presented in the visiting team's locker room.

So there you have it. Here's my theory on the series. The Tigers had been hot as a wildfire coming into things after beating Oakland in five and then sweeping the Yankees in four to get to the series. But they had time off between the end of the ALCS and the start of the World Series. The Giants had to go a full seven games against the Cardinals to win the NLCS so they had been playing a bit more. Detroit's bats had gone cold which would explain their lack of offensive production in the entire series. As I have said in previous blog postings, teams need to get and try and stay hot in the post season. Detroit was hot through the first two rounds, but due to the time off between series, they weren't able to keep momentum going in the fall classic, and the Giants just kept rolling right along after winning their series against St. Louis.

So Congratulations to the San Francisco Giants for winning their second world title in three years and their seventh world title overall!

Oswego State Women's Hockey Look to Build off Last Season's Success

After another strong season last year, head coach Diane Dillon looks to lead her Lakers back into the ECAC West playoffs for the third year in a row. Last season, the club finished 11-14-2, and 8-8-2 in ECAC West play. In the opening round of the ECAC West playoffs, the team avenged the double overtime loss the year before to Neuman by pitching a 3-0 shutout win at home. It was the first playoff home game and the first playoff win in program history. Sadly, due to graduation and factors beyond the control of the team, a good chunk of last years team is now gone. Seven of the top eight scores from last years team are gone, so head coach Diane Dillion and new assistant coach Chelsea Walkland are going to have their work cut out for them this season.

This years club has lost a lot of talent compared to last year. Its captain and best defenseman from a year ago, Kathryn Sbrocchi, as well as high scoring forwards Kelly Collins, Jillian Bergeron, Mackenzie Lee, Leah McNaughten, and Lauren Gilpin, and goalie Megan Amlinger are all gone from the team because of graduation. Also no longer on the team, due to reasons beyond the control of the team and players, are Megan Howe, Carly Henderson, Emily Marks, Carly Marchement, and Chelsey Draker. So with a loss of that much valuable talent, the coaching staff had a fair share of rebuilding to do to go along with the talent that is still on the team.

So now with Kathryn Sbrocchi gone due to graduation, the question is who is going to take over as Captain of this hockey club? That distinction falls to Olivia Boersen. Boersen enters her junior year and takes over the leadership role on a very young hockey club, so she has some huge responsibilities to live up to. Helping Boersen with the leadership will be new Alternate Captain Jocelyn St. Clair. St. Clair has been a steady calming influence from the blue line with a great blend of offensive skill and defensive coverage. Often looked at as the team's best defender, St Clair is going to be counted on to help Boresen carry the leadership role.

Now due to graduation and outside forces, the team lost seven of its top eight scores from last year. So Diane Dillon is going to have to count on some of her forwards to really step their game up this season. Juniors Mady Paul, Melissa Seamont, and Emma Smetaniuk, along with Boersen and five freshmen, will try to fill the void left by the loss of talent. Seamont finished third on the team in scoring in 2011-12 with 16 points (six goals and ten assists), but will be looked to improve her offensive numbers.

One newcomer who stands out is junior transfer forward Megan Hagg. She comes to the Lakers following two seasons at Division I Quinnipiac University. Joining Hagg to help bolster the offense is freshman Bianca Camillaci, Erin Ganley, Bailee Goodon and Lizzy Marks. This crop of talent will go far in blending well with the talent already in place up front. Combining this with the skillset of Paul, Seamont, Smetaniuk, and Boersen, there is enough talent, that if everybody stays healthy, they will be really competitive in ECAC West this season.

As for the blue line, Jocelyn St Clair has plenty of help returning to the team this year. Senior Brea Reith, and juniors Chelsea Hunt, and Leslie Jarvis are going to try hard keep their team goals against average low. last year they had the fourth best team goals against in the ECAC West. Joining this group on the blueline is freshman Jayme McCreary. McCreary will be counted on to step in and make a big impact and fast in order for this team to continue it's success.

Finally we take a look at the last line of defense, that being the goaltending. Returning from last season are the teams two top netminders in Junior Catherine Côté and sophomore Bridget Smith. Both Smith and Cote split the position last year, and look to battle for the top goalie spot. After Côté suffered an injury, Smith stepped into the starting role, and ran with the starting job as long as she could. By the end of the campaign, both goalies recorded similar statistics as Côté logged 800 minutes and posted a 2.77 goals against average while Smith registered over 750 minutes and had a 2.16 goals against average. Smith was in net and got the win when Oswego beat Neuman at home in the playoffs, so Smith has proven she can play big in the big game situations. Joining Smith and Cote between the pipes is freshman Tori Trovato. Trovato will help get Cote and Smith to the top of their game, along with trying to get some playing time herself. Goaltending will once again be a strength for Oswego.

One large difference between this season and last is that ECAC West powerhouse RIT has moved up to Division I. RIT moving up leaves a void at the top of the conference for any team to slid into, as well as points up for grabs. This favors Oswego and everybody else in the division. There is still two more BIG obstacles in the form of Plattsburgh and Elmira. In the history of the program Oswego has yet to get a win over either team. They had tied a game two years ago against Elmira at home, but that is as close as they have come to beating either team. The season kicks off with an exhibition game against the Toronto Miget Aeros. Then it continues with a tournement in New England, followed by weekend series with Utica, Potsdam, Neuman, Plattsburgh, Elmira and Cortland just to name a few. To see the full schedule, click here.

So there you have it. The Oswego State Women's Hockey team is primed and ready for another exciting season of Hockey action. What will this season bring? Only one way to find out!

Oswego State Men's Hockey Ready for Another Deep Postseason Run

After coming oh so close last season, the 2012-13 Oswego State Men's Hockey team seems primed and ready for another deep playoff run again this year. Last season the club fell in the National Championship game to St. Norbert. They ended the season with an overall record of 24-4-2 and a SUNYAC record of 14-0-2. this year's team is going to have a few new faces in the lineup but the core of the team is still in tact.

At the end of last season, five key players departed from the team due to graduation. Stud netminder Paul Beckwith, defenseman Jarred Anderson and Hank Van Boxmeer, and forwards Ian Boots and Captain Andrew Mather are all gone from the team due to graduation and there are going to be some big skates to fill. Replacing Mather as Captain is going to be senior Jon Whitelaw, who last year joined the Laker 100 point club. With his great playmaking ability and his strong hockey sense and leadership skills, Whitelaw is the perfect fit to captain this team on the ice. Joining him will be new alternate captain Chris Brown. Brown put up terrific offensive numbers last season and will be relied on greatly to help Whitelaw lead this team on the ice.

With the loss of Boots and Mather up front, some of the players are going to have to step their game up. Two guys who will be looked upon to help carry the scoring load are Whitelaw's usual linemates in Luke Moodie and Paul Rodrigues. Both guys have been lethal on the ice, especially when paired with Whitelaw they were almost unstoppable. There is a good chance that both Moodie and Rodrigues could join Whitelaw and become the 49th and 50th members of the 100 point club. Moodie currently sits at 88 career points on 41 goals and 47 assists, and Rodrigues is right behind him with 87 points on 34 goals and 53 assists. So the 100 point club will have two new members by years end guarenteed.

 Another big name forward to watch out for this year will be Tyler Leimbrock. Leimbrock has proven in the past he can score big goals when needed, as evident in his team-leading four game-winning goals a season ago. It appears Leimbrock could be setting himself up as the teams second line center right behind Whitelaw. Chris Ayotte and Chris Muise also had breakout campaigns in 2011-12, with both players recording more than 20 points. Ayotte established a spot on the power-play unit with a strong slap shot, while Muise is a key member of the penalty-kill unit. Matt Singleton brings a physical presence and grittiness to the ice that provides a tangible energy for the squad.

And that's just what the seniors can bring up front to this years team. There's going to be plenty of talent and support coming from underclassmen, who will be seeing more playing time then in years past. Kyle Badham and David Titanic saw extensive ice time as sophomores and look to become even greater offensive and special-team contributors. Sophomores RJay Berra, Chris Carr, Eli Kim-Swallow, and Peter Rodrigues played in limited roles as freshmen, but they will be called upon more this year as more ice time has opened up. Each guy can make an impact on this hockey club, and given time they will all find a role to play on this team.

The blueline has seen a slight makeover this year with the departure of Anderson and Van Boxmeer. Anderson had a calming influence on the back line and Hank brought a cannon of a shot to the powerplay. Both elements will missed. Zach Josepher had a good year in his first season in Oswego, and he will more than likely be counted on to quarterback the powerplay from the point. Jesse McConney will also be taking on a bigger role on the blueline as well. Same thing can be said about Taylor Farris and Tim Carr who have been a brick wall on the line the last few years. Both guys may not put up the huge offensive numbers, but that's not what they are here to do. They are here to help shut the opposition down and they will be relied upon again this year for the same thing. Nick Rivait and Bobby Gertsakis will see their playing time increased this year and are going to make an impact. Finally rounding out the defenseive crop will be Denton King, who joins the club after playing with the Jersey Hitmen last year. King will bring another physical presence to the blueline which will have opponents thinking twice before trying to get off a scoring chance in Oswego territory.

Finally theres a look at goaltending, Dan Jones and Andrew Hare where outstanding last year in the absence of Paul Beckwith, who spent almost all of last year out with an injury. Hare and Jones could be splitting playing time between the pipes again this season, and will have some competition from new freshman goalie Justin Gilbert. Gilbert played last year for the Kingston Voyers and put up solid numbers, so look for him to keep Jones and Hare on top of their games for the entire season.

The season starts when the Lakers face the USA Under-18 National Development Team for the first time since 2008 when the USA prevailed in a 4-3 overtime decision. Oswego State will be at home for the bulk of the 2012 portion of the schedule, including the annual White-Out Weekend contests against Potsdam and Plattsburgh on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. The final home game of the regular season will take place on Friday, February 1 against Morrisville when the Lakers honor their 14 seniors. Another home game worth note is saturday January 12 against Nazareth. Its not only the first game in Oswego for Naz, it also marks the return home of Naz head coach George Roll. George was the coach of the Lakers 1997-2003. Other non-conference games of note see Oswego playing Elmira, Utica, Hamilton and Hobart as well as the Pathfinder Bank Oswego Hockey Classic, which this year includes Plymouth State, Castelton Stat and Lawrence. NCAA competition is slated to begin Wednesday, March 6 with the Frozen Four taking place once again in Lake Placid on March 15-16. 

Several significant milestones are also in sight as the program needs four wins to reach 800 total wins, while Coach Gosek needs 13 wins to become the 22nd active Division III coach to reach 200 career wins.

This year is going to be a highly entertaining one for your Oswego state Lakers, and the team is primed and ready for another deep run into the NCAA Tournament!

(Photo and some parts of the story provided by the Oswego State Sports Information Department)

Yankees Struggle in First Two Games Against Tigers

Since the American League Championship Series got underway, the New York Yankees haven't been able to find that certain stroke or whatever you want to call it, that they had in the Divisional Round against Baltimore.

Game 1 was one of the wildest ALCS games in recent memory. The Yankees threatened in the first inning when they loaded the bases, but Jhonny Peralta robbed Alex Rodriguez of an RBI single with a diving stop to end the inning. Peralta also took away a run in the second when, with the bases loaded and two outs once again, Robinson Canó hit a ball that glanced off the wrist of Tiger starter Doug Fister and caromed to shortstop. Peralta fielded it and just nipped Canó at first. The Yankees left 13 men on base in this game, which wound up costing them in more ways than one. Remarkably, it was the first time in the lengthy history of the Yankees franchise that they loaded the bases three times in a postseason game but failed to score.

Fister threw shutout ball into the seventh inning, scattering six hits. Postseason veteran Andy Pettitte almost matched him, pitching five shutout innings for the Yankees before giving up RBI singles to Prince Fielder and Delmon Young in the sixth. With a seemingly comfortable 4–0 lead going into the bottom of the 9th, Detroit brought in José Valverde to get the final three outs.

Russell Martin led off with a single, and Ichiro Suzuki followed two batters later with a home run. Canó then struck out for the second out, and Valverde got to 0–2 on Mark Teixiera before walking him. Raúl Ibañez, who had played the hero in this postseason already, blasted a game-tying homer, sending the remaining crowd into a frenzy and forcing extra innings.

Rafael Soriano and David Robertson each pitched one scoreless inning out of the bullpen, but the Yankees could not capitalize off Tiger relievers Octavio Dotel and Drew Smyly. Detroit finally broke through in the top of the 12th on a Delmon Young double off David Phelps, to score Miguel Cabrera. Six pitches later, Derek Jeter broke his left ankle while stopping a groundball from Peralta, forcing him to miss the rest of the postseason. One batter later, Andy Dirks drove in an insurance run on a chopper that glanced off Phelps' pitching hand for an infield single. The Tigers held on to their 2-run lead in the bottom of the 12th, to take the series' first game. Despite the loss, Ibañez's clutch homers in both the ALDS and ALCS brought him distinction as the only player to ever hit 3 HRs in the 9th inning or later in one postseason stretch.

Game 2 was a sleeper for the struggling Yankees hitters. Hiroki Kuroda retired the first 15 Detroit Tigers he faced before Jhonny Peralta singled, and New York pressed ahead without injured captain Derek Jeter and remained scoreless with Detroit after six innings. Kuroda, pitching on three days rest for the first time in his big-league career, dominated with a mix of fastballs, sliders and splitters. He allowed only one hit through six innings, walked none and struck out eight -- including seven of the first nine batters.

The Tigers' Anibal Sanchez was nearly as efficient, allowing three hits, striking out five and walking two.

Robinson Cano, batting second for only the first time since September 2010, grounded out in the first, third and sixth innings, and would end the game hitless in 26 postseason at-bats--the longest such barren streak in any one year of postseason play in MLB history. Alex Rodriguez took a called third strike on a changeup in the second and struck out on a foul tip in the fourth, dropping to 2 for 21 with no RBIs in the postseason, including 0 for 17 with 12 strikeouts against right-handers. Curtis Granderson fanned twice, falling to 3 for 25 with 13 Ks. Mark Teixeira doubled with two outs in the first and streaking Raul Ibanez walked. Russell Martin had a soft comebacker that Sanchez gloved behind his back before throwing to first. Nick Swisher reached with two outs in the second on an infield hit, a liner that second baseman Omar Infante dived for, but allowed to squirt out of his glove. Jayson Nix flied out to the left-field warning track on a ball Quintin Berry at first misjudged. Suzuki reached on an error leading off the sixth when Sanchez missed his spinning bouncer and Infante slapped the ball to first, too late to retire the speedy runner. Suzuki advanced to third on Cano's comebacker and Teixeira's grounder to shortstop. Ibanez was intentionally walked, and Peralta made a barehanded pickup of Martin's slow three-hopper to shortstop and threw to first for the inning-ending out.

The Tigers finally broke through with a run off Kuroda in the seventh. Quintin Berry doubled to lead off the inning, and advanced to third on a single by Miguel Cabrera. After Kuroda struck out Prince Fielder, Delmon Young hit an RBI force out, on which the potential double play relay throw was mishandled by Cano.

Yankees Manager Joe Girardi was ejected by second base umpire Jeff Nelson in the top of the 8th after arguing a call at second base which television replays confirmed was incorrectly ruled.[11] The play would have resulted in the inning's third out, and the Tigers took advantage by getting two insurance runs on RBI singles by Avisail García and Miguel Cabrera.

Prior to the game, Tiger manager Jim Leyland stated that struggling closer José Valverde, who had allowed seven runs in his last two postseason appearances, would not close Game 2 if the situation called for it. He instead used Phil Coke over the final two innings in this game, and Coke earned the save.


Now here's what I've taken from the first two games of the ALCS. Alex Rodriguez still has trouble hitting, that was evident in the opening round of the playoffs against Baltimore. Why A-Rod is slumping, I don';t think anybody really knows. He has had a history of not putting up as consistent of numbers in the postseason as he does in the regular season. As for the guys who have come up big in the playoffs there have been really only two for the Yanks, at least on offense, Raul Ibanez and Ichrio Suzuki. In the ALCS Ichrio is hitting .400 with a homer and two RBI's. Same thing with Ibanez. Hell Raul Ibanez for the playoffs is hitting .438 with three homers and five runs batted in. As far as big disappointments go there have been a few from the Yankees. A-Rod we have already talked about. Jeter Fractured his ankle on a freak play in game one and is done for the playoffs, which really hurts the Bombers as he has been one of their best players for a long time now. Cano is hitting under 100 for the playoffs. Both Granderson and A-Rod are hitting under .150 for the playoffs and both have more than ten strikeouts, Granderson has 14 A-Rod has 12. For the Yankees to be able to stay alive in the playoffs, Granderson and Cano REALLY need to wake up and start hitting, and so does Rodriguez. Manager Joe Girardi might find it a wise decision to play Raul Ibanez the rest of the playoffs with how hot a hitter he has been the last two weeks.

As for Yankee Pitching there isn't really much else to be talking about CC has been their ace as usual and it doesn't seem, at least from my point of view, like anybody else has been able to contain opposing hitters.

Coming from the Tigers perspective you really have to be impressed with the way things have gone at the start of the series. Prince Fielder and Miguek Cabrera have been a bit quiet so far in the playoffs, at least from a power and run production standpoint. Delmon Young is currently leading the club with six runs batted in so far. Right now comparing the two clubs Detroit has by far the more balanced lineup and looks like they might possibly run away with the series.

Game three of the series is set for tomorrow night in Detroit with first pitch coming at 8pm on Fox. The pitching matchup will see Justin Verlander go for the Tigers and Phil; Hughes go for the Yankees. Game four will be Wednesday night at 8 from Detroit and once again will be on Fox. Pitching that night will be CC Sabathia for the Yankees and Max Scherzer goes for the Tigers. If it gets farther then four games, game five will be Thursday afternoon at 4pm in Detroit, with Game six back in the Bronx Saturday the 20th and game seven on Sunday also in the Bronx.

Based on the way the series has played out through the first two games, I say Detroit takes game three, CC steals one for the Yankees in game four, but the Tigers close the deal out and win the series in five.

Raul is Indeed Cool! Ibanez Hits Walk Off Homer!

It always seems to happen every October. At least once a year during post-season baseball somebody comes out of nowhere to be the big time hero in a game. In the case of last night, that person was Raul Ibanez who hit two home runs coming off the bench, including the walk-off winner in the 12th inning. The home run gave the Yankees a dramatic 3-2 comeback victory and a 2-1 lead in the Divisional round going into game four tonight at the Stadium. The following recap of the game last night is provided to us from ESPN.com:

The highest paid player in baseball could only sit and watch when Raul Ibanez pinch hit for him and tied the game with a bottom-of-the-ninth home run.

Alex Rodriguez had another good view from the dugout three innings later when Ibanez homered to win it. 

Saved by manager Joe Girardi's gutsy move -- and Ibanez's big swings -- the New York Yankees rallied for a stunning 3-2 win in the 12th inning over the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night for a 2-1 lead in their best-of-five AL Division Series.

"You're going to be asked a lot of questions if it doesn't work," Girardi said. The slumping Rodriguez, among the greatest power hitters in history, offered no complaint, telling Girardi: "Joe, you gotta do exactly what you gotta do."

"Maybe 10 years ago, I would have reacted in a much different way," A-Rod said.

Ibanez then stepped up and hit a tying, solo shot to right-center with one out in the ninth off major league saves leader Jim Johnson to make it 2-2.

Yankees fans had been howling this week for Girardi to drop Rodriguez out of the No. 3 spot in the batting order. But Girardi was reluctant to move his fading slugger down in the lineup.

Until he took him all the way out.

"You have to make some decisions sometimes that are tough decisions. I just had a gut feeling," Girardi said.

Rodriguez has 647 career home runs -- he's chasing the all-time record of 762 by Barry Bonds -- and is making $29 million this year. But he was just 1 for 12 with no RBIs and seven strikeouts in this series when Girardi pulled him.

"It kind of caught me off-guard, hitting for a guy who's half-a-billionaire," Orioles center fielder Adam Jones said.

It was the first time Rodriguez had ever been pinch hit for in a postseason game, according to STATS LLC.

And it worked.

Rodriguez immediately turned to injured Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, raised one arm, then both arms and traded high-fives with his star teammate. When Ibanez returned to the bench, Rodriguez was the first player to greet him.

"He said great job. A-Rod is a great teammate and great team player," Ibanez said. "He's the first one on the top step congratulating you. It's about winning. It's about the Yankees and continuing."

Ibanez remained in the game and connected on the first pitch from Brian Matusz in the 12th. Ibanez became the first player to homer twice in a postseason game in which he didn't start, STATS said.

Phil Hughes will try to clinch it for the Yankees on Thursday night in Game 4. Joe Saunders will start for Baltimore. Baltimore had won 16 straight extra-inning games, and had been 76-0 when leading after seven before the Yankees stung them.

"It was a great experience. We do it as a team. We stay after it," Ibanez said. "I'm blessed to come up and have the opportunity like that. We do it together. It's about a team and about winning."

The brash, young Orioles appeared poised to move within a win of their first trip to the AL Championship Series since 1997 before the Yankees' comeback.

Ibanez hit a 1-0 pitch into the seats in the ninth, setting off a raucous celebration in what had been a demoralized Yankee Stadium crowd. After their 10-game July lead was cut to zero in early September, the Yankees repelled every Orioles charge.

The teams were tied 10 times in the final month but New York ended up atop the division. New York won the opener in Baltimore scoring five runs in the ninth off Johnson. The Orioles won Game 2 and rode Miguel Gonzalez's pretty performance to a 2-1 lead in the ninth. But the Yankees limited Baltimore to one hit after 20-year-old Manny Machado homered in the fifth.

Ryan Flaherty homered earlier for the Orioles. Robert Andino was doubled off second after leading off the Baltimore ninth with a single and advancing on a sacrifice. Boone Logan got one out in relief of Hiroki Kuroda, who gave up two solo homers in 8 1-3 innings.

Closer Rafael Soriano pitched 1 1/3 innings and David Robertson went two, finishing off his outing by bumping into and tagging Andino to end the top of the 12th. Derek Jeter tied the score with an RBI triple in the third for the Yankees. Jeter, limping after fouling a ball off his foot, came out after eight innings. He says we will be able to play Thursday.

OK now here's a surprising stat about the Ibanez Home Run. The pinch-hit performance set several major league records: he became the first player in major league history to hit two home runs in a postseason game he did not start; the first to hit two home runs in the 9th inning or later of a postseason game; the oldest player to hit a postseason walk-off home run; and the oldest player to hit two home runs in a postseason game. Another surprising fact about the walk off home run is that it was the 11th different Yankee to hit a walk off homer and the 12th time in history that a Yankee has hit a walk off homer. The other times were: Tommy Henrich, 1949 World Series Game 1; Mickey Mantle, 1964 World Series Game 3; Chris Chambliss, 1976 ALCS Game 5; Jim Leyritz, 1995 ALDS Game 2; Bernie Williams, 1996 ALCS Game 1; Bernie Williams, 1999 ALCS Game 1; Chad Curtis 1999 World Series Game 3;  Alfonso Soriano, 2001 ALCS Game 4; Derek Jeter 2001 World Series Game 4; Aaron Boone 2003 ALCS Game 7; and Mark Teixeira 2009 ALDS Game 2.

As this story relates to Alex Rodriguez, I find it very ironic that it was him who was taken out for pinch hitter Ibanez in the 9th inning. For as much money as Rodriguez is making, which is $30 Million, he should I feel be much better in the playoffs, when from what I can tell he hasn't been good at all at the plate. This year he is hitting 1 for 12 with one walk seven strikeouts and hitting .083. A-Rod's best year in the playoffs was the 2009 post season when the Yanks won their last championship. In the last three years he has gone silent. For the most part A-Rod isn't as quality a performer in the playoffs as he is during the regular season. After the way things went down last night, and through the first three games for that matter, I would consider putting Ibanez in the lineup instead of Rodriguez. But then again I'm just a writer and not the manager, which really is a good thing.

As I said before, every year during the playoffs somebody comes along to provide a new story of post season magic. Last night it was Raul Ibanez. Here is the video proof of Ibanez providing the magic in 2012:


Raul Ibanez walked off a hero in Game Three!