Mission 27, page 24
Still talking about their travails from the night before, the Yankees checked out of the hotel amid a snowstorm. As they boarded buses for the nine-mile ride to the airport, assistant general manager Jean Afterman tapped Lee on the shoulder, telling him that she hoped they won in the next round just so she could hear him play the piano again. “It was a wonderful, old-time celebration,” Afterman said. “There were so many parts of the postseason that were echoes of the past we left behind in the old Stadium. A party at a hotel with a grand piano? That was part of the magic of that season.”
21. No Monkeying Around
It had been five years since the Yankees had participated in the American League Championship Series, and, though that seven-game battle against the Boston Red Sox proved to be unforgettable, everyone connected with the franchise wished that they could wipe it from their collective memory banks. Boston had rallied from a three-games-to-none deficit to stun the Bombers, becoming the first team in history to overcome such a bleak scenario. The Red Sox went on to win the World Series, ending the 86-year-old Curse of The Bambino and turning the tables on what had been largely a one-sided rivalry for three generations.
When the 2009 postseason began, the stage was set for another such showdown. The Yankees were facing the Minnesota Twins in the American League Division Series, while the Red Sox were presented with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. With three wins for each AL East powerhouse, the world would be treated to another classic series with a trip to the World Series on the line. “We thought for sure we were going to get Boston,” Johnny Damon said.
The Yankees knew an ALCS matchup with the Red Sox would generate more attention than any other, and there was a part of them hoping for it to happen. They had recovered well after beginning the year 0–8 against Boston and, as dominant as the Yankees had been historically against the Twins, they knew the Angels had a similar track record against New York.
Those plans were dashed as the Yankees prepared for Game 3 at the Metrodome, watching the Angels finish off a three-game sweep at Fenway Park to become the first team to punch its ticket to the ALCS. When the Yankees polished off the Twins, it set up a best-of-seven series against the franchise that had sent them home in both 2002 and ’05. Assistant general manager Billy Eppler thought, Oh crap, here’s a team that’s going to make us look not as athletic and fast.
With the first game slated for October 16, the Yankees had five days to prepare for the Angels. The Halos had dealt them an embarrassing three-game sweep before the All-Star break, though the Yankees built confidence by beating them three times in four September games, including twice during a three-game set at Angel Stadium. “I knew how difficult it would be facing their club, how aggressive they were, how we really had to be on our toes at all times,” Joe Girardi said. “Mike Scioscia was willing to do anything. The amount of scouting that we put in to prepare for that, we were looking for all kinds of trends.”
Girardi had warned his team after the humiliating July series that they would run into the Angels again—words that proved to be prophetic. The Angels were all that stood between the Yankees and the World Series. That damn Rally Monkey wasn’t going to send them home again.
“I knew how formidable they were going to be, and we knew it was going to be a tough series,” said Mark Teixeira, who knew the opponent as well as anybody, having played 54 games with the Angels in 2008. “We were very confident going against the Twins; we felt like we were the better team. With the Angels we knew we had to bring it or we could get embarrassed.”
If Teixeira had fears about the series, imagine how those who had fallen victim to the Angels time and time again must have felt. The Angels may not have been able to match the Yankees’ powerful lineup and pitching prowess, but Scioscia’s club found edges by getting on base, running aggressively, and playing strong defense. Andy Pettitte summarized the Angels’ aura perfectly, saying, “They would give us fits.”
“We had no success against the Angels, at least in my time,” said assistant general manager Jean Afterman, whose Yankees career began in December 2001. “They beat us in the postseason constantly when we played them. They would scramble around the bases, make us look old and ponderous and heavy.”
The Yankees had a couple of things working in their favor, however. Their 103 wins during the regular season meant they held home-field advantage, placing the first two games of the series in the Bronx, where frigid temperatures and blustery winds were expected to wreak havoc.
More importantly, the scheduled day off between Games 4 and 5 meant the Yankees could use their top three starters—CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Pettitte—for the entire series with only Sabathia forced to pitch on short rest. They’d roll with the three-man rotation, having only briefly entertained giving a postseason start to Joba Chamberlain or Chad Gaudin. “It was the only decision,” Cashman said. “It was the way we had to go about it to get where we wanted to be. It was the right strategic decision to deploy, and we hoped it worked.”
Sabathia had proven he was game for any challenge the previous season with the Milwaukee Brewers, when he volunteered to make his final three regular-season starts on short rest, helping Milwaukee edge the New York Mets for a wild-card spot. When the Yankees discussed the concept of a three-man rotation, the big lefty said that he was ready. “I just wanted to pitch as many times as possible just because I was feeling good and I was healthy,” Sabathia said. “I remember Geno [team trainer Gene Monahan] was like, ‘What are you doing pitching on three days’ rest?’ I remember he was going crazy like, ‘What’s going on around here?’ I don’t think they had ever done it before that. I was ready to do it.”
When the teams took the field for Game 1, light rain fell on the Stadium while 17-mph winds whipped on a chilly, 45-degree night. Even the traditional pregame introductions were scrapped; neither team wanted to stand on the field any longer than necessary. The Yankees were accustomed to playing through inclement conditions, giving them a home-field advantage beyond crowd support and familiar confines. After all, Girardi had kept the team on the practice field through torrential downpours.
During batting practice several Angels took their swings wearing balaclavas, wool caps, and hooded sweatshirts. Though Damon, Teixeira, and Nick Swisher wore fleece-lined caps that evoked images of Elmer Fudd, Robinson Cano opted for a ski mask, prompting his teammates to mock him mercilessly. “Jeter kept saying, ‘Look! They’ve got masks on. They don’t enjoy this weather,’” hitting coach Kevin Long said. “But we knew it wasn’t going to be easy and we knew that some things were going to have to go our way.”
The first inning showed how far out of their comfort zone the team from Southern California was. Left fielder Juan Rivera made a throwing error on the second play of the game, and slick-fielding shortstop Erick Aybar let a pop-up fall near third baseman Chone Figgins, gifting the Yankees a pair of runs. Frustrated by the gaffes, Angels starter John Lackey crouched near the mound and screamed. “It was windy, it was cold, and it looked they hadn’t seen conditions like that very often,” Girardi said. “It looked like it bothered Aybar, and [Lackey] was really mad when that ball fell.”
The Angels made two more miscues, leading to another unearned run. Even Torii Hunter, the eight-time Gold Glove center fielder, allowed Derek Jeter’s sixth-inning single to roll past him. The Yankees didn’t hit a home run—only the second game played at the new Stadium without a long ball on either side—but the Angels’ sloppy play helped New York to an early lead. Sabathia took care of the rest.
The ace fired eight brilliant innings, holding the Angels to one run on four hits and a walk, striking out seven. He faced a three-ball count only twice all night, giving up his lone run in the fourth and then holding the Angels hitless over his final four innings before handing a 4–1 lead over to Mariano Rivera, who closed out the win. “It was about as cold as it gets,” Sabathia said after the game. “It was pretty nasty today.”
Hunter refused to use the conditions as an excuse. With Sabathia pitching the way he did, they could have been playing on a Caribbean island, and it wouldn’t have mattered much. “CC was the cold weather,” Hunter said. “CC’s the real deal, man.”
Sabathia was now 2–0 with a 1.23 ERA in his first two postseason starts for the Yankees, striking out 15 batters while issuing one walk over 14 ⅔ innings. If it was possible to outperform the biggest contract a pitcher had ever signed, the southpaw was doing it. Alex Rodriguez said that Sabathia was proving to be “the complete package” for the squad. “He’s left-handed, he’s 6’ 6”, over 300 pounds; he’s a monster out there,” A-Rod said. “He’s durable as hell, he’s dependable, he’s tough. He has three pitches that are all above major league average: a 95-mph fastball, a wipe-out slider to lefties, and then a change-up that could’ve been his best pitch that he threw exclusively to righties. He was just a dream.”
“CC’s performance during that series was huge,” Hideki Matsui said. “Him winning that first game to set the tone made a big difference.”
Indeed, starting the series with a victory was better than the alternative, but the Yankees had done the same in 2002 and again three years later. Each time, they were sent home within a week. Game 2 provided no reprieve for the players, who took the field with a game-time temperature of 47 degrees, intermittent rain, and a steady 15-mph wind that caused more chaos.
Cano’s second-inning RBI triple gave the Yankees an early lead for the second straight night, and Jeter hit a solo home run in the third to make it 2–0. Burnett cruised through four innings before running into trouble in the fifth, as the Angels scored twice to tie the game. Burnett pitched into the seventh inning but departed with the score still tied thanks to an equally effective outing by left-hander Joe Saunders.
Mariano Rivera entered with two outs in the eighth inning, recording the next seven outs as the game moved to the 11th. Figgins had been a Yankee killer during the regular season, hitting .333 with a 1.025 OPS in 39 at-bats against Bombers hurlers, but he opened the postseason hitless in 18 at-bats. The speedy switch-hitter was due, and Figgins gave the Angels a lead with an RBI single off Alfredo Aceves in the 11th, pushing the Yankees to the brink of losing their home-field advantage.
The clock struck midnight as rain continued to fall. The sellout crowd seemed deflated, and despite 15 regular-season walk-off wins and another in the ALDS, there was a familiar feeling about the way this series was shaping up. “The Angels didn’t scare you, but they small-balled you to death,” said John Sterling, the Yankees’ radio announcer. “Something always went wrong.”
Brian Fuentes, an All-Star left-hander who led the AL with 48 saves that season, jogged in from the bullpen with the assignment of finishing off the Yankees and sending the series across the country tied. He got ahead of A-Rod with two quick strikes and then tried an 89-mph fastball on the outside corner. It caught too much of the plate.
Rodriguez poked a drive to right field and dropped his bat, sprinting out of the box. He wasn’t sure if it had enough to get out of the park, especially given the blustery conditions. As Bobby Abreu leaped against the padded wall with his glove hand outstretched, the ball traveled just far enough. It struck a fan in the front row and fell back onto the warning track, where Abreu scooped it on a bounce and fired to the infield. Rodriguez raised his right index finger, signaling home run, and received confirmation from second-base umpire Jerry Layne. The game was tied. “I loved facing their pitchers,” Rodriguez said. “They always attacked you. They just didn’t want to walk you, and that just played into my strengths.”
Following a scoreless 12th inning in which the Yankees left the bases loaded, Girardi called on Jerry Hairston Jr. to pinch hit for pinch-runner extraordinaire Freddy Guzman as New York came to bat in the 13th. The veteran had played more than 900 regular-season games, but this would be his first in the postseason. “I’m getting loose in the tunnel, and Girardi says, ‘Hey, you’re leading off the inning,’” Hairston said. “As he said that, Derek looks at me. Derek had this little place next to Girardi where he sat when he wasn’t hitting. He turns to me and goes, ‘I told you you’re going to do something special. You’re going to do it right here.’ And I said, ‘I got this.’”
Hairston’s grandfather, Sam, and uncle, John, each had cups of coffee in the majors, while his father, Jerry Sr., and brother, Scott, enjoyed lengthy careers in the big leagues. Sam’s career spanned four games with the 1951 Chicago White Sox, while John’s lasted three with the 1969 Chicago Cubs. Jerry Sr. played two postseason games during his 14-year career, going 0-for-3 for the 1983 White Sox during their ALCS loss to the Baltimore Orioles. Scott would play 11 seasons in The Show without sniffing the playoffs. “I felt kind of an energy like, ‘This at-bat’s for my family,’” Hairston said. “I remember thinking, I’m going to do something. I’m getting on base to help us win tonight.”
Facing Ervin Santana, Hairston delivered, stroking a single to center field and moving to second on a Brett Gardner sacrifice bunt. As the game inched past the five-hour mark, Scioscia signaled to intentionally walk Cano in order to face Melky Cabrera, whose three walk-off hits led the Yankees that season. Cabrera stroked a grounder into the hole between first and second, where second baseman Maicer Izturis moved to his left, spun, and threw to second, attempting to start a double play. His throw sailed to Aybar’s left, and, though Figgins had backed up the play, he bobbled the ball, allowing Hairston to score the game-winning run. “I looked back and I saw the ball being kicked around a little bit and I made a break for home,” Hairston said. “I thought we needed that game because in a seven-game series anything can happen. It was a big game for us, a big moment for me personally. Getting an opportunity to play in the postseason, get an at-bat, and help the team win was special.”
A banner had waved from the upper deck earlier that night, reading, “We Want Pie!” That order was filled. After Hairston’s teammates pummeled him on the dirt behind home plate, he savored the sweet flavor of whipped cream, becoming Burnett’s latest victim. The Angels trudged off the field with no wins to show for the most frigid eight hours and 28 minutes of their lives. “The first two games at Yankee Stadium were two of the coldest nights I’ve ever been a part of,” third-base coach Rob Thomson said. “Those guys were all bundled up and they weren’t used to that. They were dropping pop-ups, and no one wanted to catch anything. They were making mistakes that they normally don’t make just because of the cold. I think the confidence and the momentum flipped at that point.”
The average first pitch temperature for the next two games in Anaheim was a much more palatable 73 degrees, and as the Yankees headed west toward Disneyland’s backyard, they knew the ALCS was far from over. Mickey Mouse wasn’t the concern; they had fallen victim to the Angels and their hyperactive furry friend too frequently throughout the decade. Still, there was an unusual confidence that spread from the clubhouse into the front office. “I remember getting on the plane late at night out of New York so excited,” Eppler said. “At that point I felt like we were going to get this one.”
Solo homers by Jeter, A-Rod, and Damon built a 3–0 lead against Jered Weaver in Game 3, but Pettitte served up a Howie Kendrick blast in the fifth, waking up the sleepy crowd at Angel Stadium. That’s when the Rally Monkey appeared on the scoreboard. House of Pain’s “Jump Around” blared through the public-address system as the Angels staged one of their trademark rallies. Vladimir Guerrero mashed a two-run homer off Pettitte in the sixth, tying the game 3–3. “You have to be ready all the time because they can come back, and they can hurt you,” Cano said. “We always said, ‘Don’t look to the board. It’s the Rally Monkey. Don’t look at it.’”
Chamberlain replaced Pettitte with one out in the seventh, quickly giving up a triple to Kendrick, who scored on Izturis’ sacrifice fly. Jorge Posada answered with a solo home run off Kevin Jepsen in the eighth, tying the game once more. Home or away, the Yankees refused to give up.
Like Game 2, it took more than 27 outs to decide Game 3. Phil Coke, Phil Hughes, Mariano Rivera, and David Robertson combined for three-and-two-thirds scoreless innings, but Aceves could not record the final out to the 11th inning. Kendrick singled, and light-hitting catcher Jeff Mathis doubled to deep left-center, driving home the game-winning run. “Anyone who thought we were going to breeze through a series with the Angels is crazy,” Teixeira said.
The setback lasted mere hours. The Yankees hammered Scott Kazmir for three fourth-inning runs in Game 4, and A-Rod hit a two-run homer in the fifth. It was his third straight game with a home run and it also marked Rodriguez’s eighth straight postseason game with at least one RBI, tying a major league record. The five-run cushion was plenty for Sabathia, who seemed unfazed by working on short rest, firing eight dominant innings of one-run ball. The lefty allowed five hits and two walks, striking out five in a 10–1 win that seized control of the ALCS. “He pulled teams together,” Girardi said. “But he also gave everyone on the field confidence when he was there and basically a don’t-worry attitude [of] ‘I got your back.’”
As he analyzed the Angels, Posada said he didn’t see the same fire that had been their trademark during the previous postseason meetings with Scioscia’s club. “The Angels would always have a little run during the middle of the game and make sure that they’d come back or they’d do something,” Posada said. “This team—I don’t know what was going on. It felt like they were not together. They were not the same team. They were not the same Angels anymore.”
Sabathia and A-Rod had delivered the Yankees to the precipice of the World Series, but they needed one more win. If those 2004 holdovers had learned anything, it was that the fourth win can sometimes be the toughest one. The teams had an off day between Games 4 and 5, and with a commanding lead in the series, the Yankees enjoyed some rest and relaxation. “We were there for five days because we had the two off days,” Sabathia said. “It was great. We were at Disney and shit. I remember having to kick myself and remind myself that this was a business trip.”
