Another Joe Torre mistake

Joe Torre's decision to put Hideki Matsui into the game last night as designated hitter instead of Shelley Duncan, an idea he'd been toying with, according to the New York Post, backfired bigtime.
Matsui going into last night's game was 0 for 9 against Sabathia in his career.
Now he's 0 for 13.
Meanwhile, Duncan was put in as a pinch hitter and he actually got a hit against the Indians and scored one of the Yankees three runs.

A two-game series?

The Yankees' 2007 playoffs experience could be over by tomorrow.
They are facing two of the best pitchers in the American League, guys who have been absolutely lights-out against everyone they've faced this year.
And if the Yankees start things off 0-2, they will be putting their fate in the aging, pudgy hands of Roger Clemens, he of notorious playoff failure fame.
And if he gets run support in the 10-12 range and somehow prevails, it's on to Game 4, and Mike Mussina, and 10-12 runs might not be enough to keep the Yankees from another case of "wait until next year."
That being said, if any team can beat the Indians' top two pitchers, maybe it's the Yankees.
Fausto Carmona has an 0-1 career record against the Yankees, with a 3.86 ERA over five games, maybe not a big enough body of work to know how they'll fare against him.
And although the Yankees haven't faced C.C. Sabathia this year, his career record against the Yankees is 1-7, with a 7.13 ERA in eight games.

Red Sox advantage helps the Yankees

Cleveland's loss to Kansas City tonight means that the Red Sox get home field advantage throughout the American League playoffs.
And that's good news for the Yankees.
That's right, good news.
Not because the Yankees like playing in Fenway, but because under Major League Baseball rules, Boston gets to choose when it starts its series against Los Angeles. It has opted for an extra day of rest.
If Cleveland had won that right, it would have allowed the Indians to pitch C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona twice each in a five-game series with the Yankees.
The Yankees would be toast under that scenario.