CLEVELAND – C.C. Sabathia was just begging for a whooping last night, but Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui kept letting the Indians lefty off the hook.
Playing the October role usually reserved for Alex Rodriguez, Posada and Matsui shared Mr. Rally Kill honors last night, going a combined 0-for-8, leaving five runners on base in the first five innings of the Yankees’ 12-3 loss in Game 1 of the ALDS.
Posada’s misery started in the first inning, with runners on first and second and one out after Johnny Damon had homered leading off. Posada struck out swinging against Sabathia, and when Matsui followed with a ground out, the Yankees had missed an early opportunity to land a major blow on the Cleveland ace.
It got worse for Posada. With the bases loaded in the fifth and the Yankees down a run, Sabathia got Posada to foul off a 3-0 pitch, and later with a full count, got him to swing and miss a borderline pitch.
“Probably the last pitch I got to hit in that at-bat was the 3-0 pitch,” Posada said. “It was tough to lay off.”
Sabathia again retired Matsui with two outs, this time on a pop fly to shortstop, leaving the Yankees frustrated. Indians manager Eric Wedge called it the turning point of the game.
Posada did not have a pronounced slump this season – he hit .338 to finish fourth in the AL batting race. As for Matsui, the tough times continue. Matsui hit.185 in September and has the added burden of a sore right knee that may limit him to DH duty for the remainder of the series.
Torre had the option of sitting Matsui in favor of right-handed bat Shelley Duncan, but took into account Matsui’s experience. Matsui entered last night a .311 lifetime hitter in the postseason.
“I hate to have one game change my mind about his ability,” Torre said. “He seems to be fine. He can go out and play left field if we need him to. No excuses tonight. We got our rear end kicked.”