Plant the goalposts in Yankee Stadium’s turf. Change the scoreboards from innings to downs. College football is the main attraction in The Bronx.
The baseball season expired Sunday when the Yankees snored their way through Game 2 of the ALCS against the Tigers without Derek Jeter.
The Yankees trail the best-of-seven affair, 2-0, with the next three tilts on the road.
Hours before the game Joe Girardi sat in a chair outside his office and attempted to explain the emotions running through his body.
Already down a game, having lost Derek Jeter to a fractured ankle Saturday night and Justin Verlander looming in Game 3 on Tuesday evening night in Detroit, Girardi painted a picture of confidence.
“I feel good. I see the resolve in that room so many times,” Girardi said.”We were questioned, people thought we would panic. We laugh at that when people say that.”
Nothing about the Yankees’ dire situation is amusing. After dropping Game 2, 3-0, yesterday in front of 47,082 at the Stadium, the Yankees are two games away from their season ending. Based on the excessive booing of the hitters the past two games from a very disgruntled fan base, the season can’t end soon enough.
Beginning Tuesday night games 3, 4 and 5 are in Detroit. Games 6 and 7 are scheduled for the Stadium next weekend.
The only laughing going on is from the outside watching the Yankees attempt to hit.
Add Anibal Sanchez to the growing list of pedestrian hurlers to shut the Yankees down.
The right-hander who was acquired from the Marlins in July, allowed three hits in seven innings and held the Yankees hitless in four at-bats with runners in scoring position.
Hiroki Kuroda was the latest Yankee starter victimized by a lack of hitting from his teammates. Kuroda retired the first 15 Tigers and gave up one run in the first seven innings. Yet, it was enough for him to absorb a very difficult loss.
In seven postseason games Yankees starters are 2-1 with a 2.25 ERA and four no-decisions.
Kuroda allowed three runs, four hits and fanned 11 in 7 2/3rd innings.
He was replaced by lefty Boone Logan with runners at first and third and two outs in the eighth after second base umpire Jeff Nelson blew a call a critical on Omar Infante that would have kept the Yankees’ deficit at 1-0.
With Infante on first via a two-out single, Jackson singled to right. Seeing Infante round second and stop, Nick Swisher fired to Robinson Cano at the bag. Nelson ruled that Infante got back to second with a head-first dive. TV replays clearly showed Infante was out.
Boone Logan gave up an RBI single to Quintin Berry and when Girardi went to the mound to swap Logan for Joba Chamberlain, Girardi approached Nelson. Shortly after the one-sided discussion started, Girardi was ejected.
Chamberlain gave up a run-scoring single to Miguel Cabrera that made it 3-0. With the way the Yankees haven’t hit in the postseason that looked like 30-0.