Guzman Added, Hinske Dropped

Joe Girardi announced today that Freddy Guzman will be on the roster and that he will be replacing Eric Hinske's spot. Also A.J. Burnett was officially announced as the Game 2 starter and Andy Pettitte will pitch Game 3. Girardi continues to keep everyone on their feet as a Game 4 starter is still yet to be announced.

I really like this move out of Girardi. The Angels are a very fast team and the only way to beat them may be to make their greatest strength a strength of ours as well. Hinske would only have been used in a pinch-hitting situation, which is highly unlikely considering the Yankees lineup. With Guzman on the bench, that gives you him, Gardner (or Gardy as Girardi calls him), and even Jerry Hairston Jr. as possible pinch-runner options. This also leads me to believe Gardner will get a start in the ALCS too, now that they have an extra pinch runner.

As far as Burnett pitching Game 2, Molina will most likely catch him again although I do not think Girardi has made that official. Although you lose Posada's bat, Molina will be twice as important because if Burnett is walking guys, they will steal and Molina's arm is much better than Posada's.

Lastly, the one thing on everybody's mind before we begin the ALCS tommorow is the weather. Heavy rains are expected the entire weekend (it evened snowed today in Connecticut). Friday there appears to be a window in which the game can be played, but Saturday is very questionable. The Yankees would not want to have a rainout because it would allow them to use Sabathia three times in this series should it go to seven games. Also, with the games being broadcasted on FOX, if they cancel a game and it is replayed Sunday there will be a conflict with the football games. All I can say is hopefully the rain is light and they can play through it or else the entire ALCS schedule is going to have to be remodeled.

Also, those who have tickets for Games 1 and 2 must use their tickets for the game that they bought. So if Game 1 is pushed back to Saturday night, fans with tickets for Game 1 would go Saturday and fans with Game 2 tickets would go Sunday. I hace tickets for Game 2 and the easiest thing for my travel plans would be for them to play the game Saturday night. But the MLB loves screwing me over with playoff tickets so who knows.

Anyway that's all the news out of Yankeeland today. Seems like I wrote a lot so I'll try and find a picture of Freddy Guzman to make this post look better.

Now, back to writing a paper on the bioethics of human cloning!!! (Don't ask me why a journalism major is required to take 7 credits of science).

(Note from Jim: It may have snowed in Connecticut, but it hasn't snowed more than a couple of minutes yet in Syracuse, and none of it's stuck. Unfortunately, however, I haven't seen the sun in over a week.)
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Yanks may use 3-man rotation for ALCS

As reported by Sam Borden from the LoHud Yankees Blog, Joe Girardi and the Yankees are "definitely considering" using only three starters for the ALCS against the Angles.

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

If they do, the rotation would set up like this:

Game 1 (Friday, Oct 16 in NY): Sabathia
Game 2 (Saturday, Oct 17 in NY): Burnett
Game 3 (Monday, Oct 19 in LA): Pettitte
Game 4 (Tuesday, Oct 20 in LA: Sabathia (on short rest)
Game 5*: (Thursday, Oct 22 in LA): Burnett
Game 6*: (Saturday, Oct 24 in NY): Pettitte
Game 7*: (Sunday, Oct 25 in NY): Sabathia
*If necessary

Sabathia would be able to pitch 3 times in the event of a seven-game series. This would allow the Yankees to keep Joba in the bullpen, and not have to use Chad Gaudin in a pressure-packed situation. Joba hasn't started since September 30 when he gave up 3 runs on 7 hits in 3.2 innings against the Royals. Gaudin hasn't pitched at all since October 3rd when he came in in relief against the Rays for 1.1 scoreless innings.

I think if you can get Sabathia three starts, and he feels comfortable with it, you have to do it. He hasn't had to go on short rest all season and he had a light workload in September, so he's well-rested.You already have Joba in bullpen mode, so leave him there, and they can fix all the problems with him in the off-season and Spring Training. I will put up with Joe Buck and Tim McCarver talking about him pitching on short rest a million times (assuming I haven't already muted the TV permanently by Game 4) to watch Sabathia get the ball again.

While helping the rotation, it also helps the bullpen. With Joba, Hughes, and Mo in the back end, and Coke (hopefully not Choke), Aceves, and Robertson in the middle innings, the bullpen will be solid.

While I don't know, because of superstition, if we will do a series preview, but we might do a scouting report-type post on the Angels. Either way, we will still provide news as it happens throughout the week.

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Move Along: Yanks sweep Twins on way to ALCS

Yankees 4 7 0
Twins 1 7 0

WP: Pettitte
LP: Pavano
S: Rivera

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Tough choice, but considering everything that's happened, I'll give it to Alex Rodriguez. He's finally shed his post-season choke artist stigma with 2 big home runs in back to back games.

PLAY OF THE GAME: HIP HIP Jorge Posada's go-ahead home run in the 7th inning, that just cleared the left-field wall.

TURNING POINT OF THE GAME: A-Rod's game-tying home run in the 7th inning. It was vintage A-Rod, going to right center for the bomb.

GAME NOTES:

• This win moves the Yankees into their 13th ALCS and their first since 2004 (known to me as "The Year that never happened").
  
• After the Angels completed their sweep of the Red Sox today, they will face the Yankees beginning on Friday.
  
• With four days between games, the Yankees will obviously look to stay sharp with batting practice and other workouts.
  
• With the long layoff, the rotation will also need to be set up. Pettitte would be in line to pitch Game 1 at the Stadium, possibly followed by Burnett in Game 2 and Sabathia in Game 3. I'm sure Girardi will have the rotation set by Tuesday or Wednesday.
  
• That was the final game at the Metrodome before they move into Target Field next season, and a fan decided that the bottom of the 9th would be the best time to run across the field one final time. Why anyone would think that's a good idea is beyond me, since the players have a right to defend themselves against a threat, which running on the field like that is. And 99.99999% of people who go to baseball games would get the living $^!% out of them.
• We'll be sure to pass along any news during the week. So stay tuned.
  

NEXT GAME:
Friday vs. the Angels
ALCS Game 1

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