New York won its eighth consecutive AL East title on Saturday, scorching Tim Wakefield for three homers and riding Randy Johnson to an 8-4 victory over Boston. Posted on 10/01/2005 4:10:51 PM PDT by Straight Vermonter
BOSTON (AP) -- The New York Yankees are going to the playoffs. And the Boston Red Sox still have a couple of chances to join them there.
New York won its eighth consecutive AL East title on Saturday, scorching Tim Wakefield for three homers and riding Randy Johnson to an 8-4 victory over Boston.
Alex Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield and Hideki Matsui homered, and Rodriguez had four hits to help Johnson settle down and win his sixth consecutive decision.
When Johnny Damon hit a high chopper back to the mound, Mariano Rivera grabbed it and first baseman Tino Martinez pumped his fist as he caught the final out. The Yankees streamed out of the dugout with purpose -- but not quite joy -- a celebration befitting a 26-time World Series champion that survived its most difficult regular season in a decade.
Players gathered on the mound for just a few minutes, hugging and high-fiving, before returning to the visitors' clubhouse.
"I can't take my glasses off. I'm crying like a baby," Yankees manager Joe Torre said after the final out.
The Yankees' victory, their 16th in 20 games, clinched a playoff berth, and they took the division because Cleveland lost 4-3 to the Chicago White Sox a few minutes earlier. The Red Sox finished second in the division for the eighth straight year, but it's not all bad news for them.
Because of the Indians' loss, the defending World Series champions can do no worse than a tie for the AL wild card -- news that got a medium-sized cheer when it was announced on the Fenway scoreboard.
If Boston loses on Sunday and Cleveland wins, they will meet at Fenway Park on Monday to decide the AL's last playoff berth. If Cleveland loses on Sunday, the Red Sox get the wild-card berth no matter what they do.
Curt Schilling (7-8) is scheduled to go against Mike Mussina (13-8) on Sunday at Fenway, though Mussina might get a rest instead now that the game doesn't matter for the Yankees. If the Red Sox have a one-game playoff against Cleveland, Matt Clement (13-6) would pitch on three days' rest.
Johnson (17-8) allowed three runs, five hits and three walks, striking out eight in 7 1-3 innings. He walked leadoff batter Damon in the first before Manny Ramirez homered -- his first of two homers on the day. The 6-foot-10 left-hander walked a pair in the second, glaring at plate umpire Gary Darling when the calls didn't go his way.
But Johnson retired 16 of his last 18 batters after David Ortiz doubled to start the third. Only Tony Graffanino, who had three hits including a homer, seemed to solve the five-time Cy Young Award winner, acquired during the offseason to anchor their $67 million rotation.
Wakefield (16-12) started on three days' rest for the first time this year and gave up seven runs on seven hits, striking out one in five innings. He had won eight of his last 10 decisions while avoiding the clunker of an outing that the knuckleball seems to produce, only allowing three homers in September.
But he quickly matched that on the first day of October.
Sheffield hit a two-run shot as New York took a 3-0 lead in the first.
"I took responsibility for all the guys," he said. "I just told them ride me all the way."
Ramirez's two-run homer in the bottom half cut the deficit to one run. The Yankees scored on a pair of sacrifice flies in the second inning and then made it 5-2 on Matsui's homer in the third.
Rodriguez added a solo shot in the fifth -- his 48th of the year, moving him ahead of Ortiz for the AL lead. Wakefield also allowed one of the more painful homers in Red Sox history when he gave up Aaron Boone's shot that ended Game 7 of the 2003 AL championship series.
The Red Sox recovered the next year and won their first World Series title since 1918. But they'll have to wait at least one more day to find out if they've got a chance to defend their title.
Under baseball rules, the Yankees (95-66) clinched the division over Boston (94-67) because of Cleveland's loss to Chicago in the AL Central. The loss by the Indians (93-68) eliminated the possibility of a three-way tie -- and an unprecedented two-game, three-team tiebreaker -- and gave New York the East because the Yankees clinched the season series against Boston, 10-8.
New York began the year 11-19, its worst start since 1966, and dropped nine games off the division lead. The Yankees trailed Boston by 5½ games on the morning of Aug. 11, but the Yankees went 35-12 the rest of the way. Johnson was a big reason why, going 6-0 in eight starts since Aug. 21.
Game notes Derek Jeter reached the 200-hit milestone for the fourth time. Only Lou Gehrig, who had 200 hits eight times, has more as a Yankee. ... When Boston manager Terry Francona heard that the Yankees had brought in a knuckleball pitcher to pitch batting practice to them Saturday to prepare for Wakefield, he quipped, "we imported a 6-foot-11 guy."... Torre said facing a knuckleballer in batting practice is more to get the Yankee hitters adjusted to the speed of the pitch rather than the movement. "So much today is based on timing to a certain speed of pitch," he said. ... Torre moved Robinson Cano up to sixth in the batting order and Martinez up to seventh largely because of the success they've had against Wakefield in the past.
hehehehe
YEA BABY, EVERY YEAR IS STILL SWEET!
81 W's with 2 to go. Looks like they'll face the NL top seed.
Go Cards!
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
"For $240,000,000 they need to do nothing less than win the WS."
I thought we liked the risks and rewards of capitalism here. The new curse begins today!
For all the talk of their big-name players and big payroll, the Yankees would be looking up right now at both the BoSox and the Indians were it not for the contributions of some small-name players--starting with a player by the name of Small, 10-0 Aaron Small. After Unit and Mussina, their three winningest starters this year were Smallball, Everybody Wang Chung Tonight, and Get-Me-Out-of-Coors-Field Chacon, who went a combined 25-8. Add in rookie 2b Robinson Cruso, and you've got some huge contributions from lesser names and salaries.
I didn't say it was an unfair advantage, I said it cheapens the accomplishment. For that kind of cash, Steinbrenner's a piss-poor CEO if all he can accomplish is a last minute clinch. For $240 million dollars, they ought to have 120 wins.
Ain't that the truth!
I am confused. I thought there would have been a one-game playoff had Boston and NY finished tied.
But it just feels better for some folks to whine about A-Rod's paycheck and Steinbrenner's deep pockets.
Chemistry and the winning way. Heck, the Yankees nearest World Series championship competition is the St. Louis who need to win 17 to tie the Yankees. Hmm, highly improbable! The stats below tell the story. From the days of Mccarthy, Stengel, Houk, Torre, etc. the Yankees have been and continue to be the team to beat, the team that draws a crowd to the ballpark and lastly the team everyone except true Yankee fans love to hate. Perhaps the curse of the Bambino is back!
World Series Club Standings
(through 2004)
Series Won Lost Pct.
Toronto (A) 2 2 0 1.000
Florida (N) 2 2 0 1.000
Arizona (N) 1 1 0 1.000
Anaheim (A) 1 1 0 1.000
Pittsburgh (N) 7 5 2 .714
New York (A) 39 26 13 .667
Oakland (A) 6 4 2 .667
Minnesota (A) 3 2 1 .667
Philadelphia (A) 8 5 3 .625
Boston (A) 10 6 4 .600
St. Louis (N) 16 9 7 .563
Los Angeles (N) 9 5 4 .556
Cincinnati (N) 9 5 4 .556
New York (N-Mets) 4 2 2 .500
Milwaukee (N) 2 1 1 .500
Boston (N) 2 1 1 .500
Chicago (A) 4 2 2 .500
Baltimore (A) 6 3 3 .500
Kansas City (A) 2 1 1 .500
Detroit (A) 9 4 5 .444
Cleveland (A) 5 2 3 .400
New York (N-Giants) 14 5 9 .357
Washington (A) 3 1 2 .333
Atlanta (N) 5 1 4 .200
Philadelphia (N) 5 1 4 .200
Chicago (N) 10 2 8 .200
Brooklyn (N) 9 1 8 .111
St. Louis (A) 1 0 1 .000
San Francisco (N) 3 0 3 .000
Milwaukee (A) 1 0 1 .000
San Diego (N) 2 0 2 .000
Recapitulation Won
American League 58
National League 40
Wow, the answer to a question I didn't ask. Thanks.
An excellent proof of the proposition that the Yankees have the biggest bandwagon.
I'll never forget the contributions of walk-ons and journeymen that led the Yankees from 14 1/2 games behind Boston to win against the Dodgers in the 1978 World Series. IRC, Brian Doyle was the Series MVP.
I never think about payroll as the formula for success. Yankees seem to dig down and find success as a TEAM this year. Can't begrudge any team that character trait.
BTW, Small's unknown status reminds me of another great pitcher for the Yanks--Ron Guidry The Louisiana Lightning.
Correct us if we're wrong.
My apologies. I misunderstood the nature of your post.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who's confused. A one-game lead with a game to go means Boston can yet tie (and in fact win the division in a one-game playoff).
Of course the Yanks clinched a spot in the playoffs, which is what they're celebrating. But the headline is clearly premature.
Since you must not follow baseball closely, you might want to know that the Yankees lost all but one starter for large amounts of the season. Randy Johnson, their ace, was really not providing much for the better part of the season. Pavano and Wright were out for a majority of the season. The top pitchers the second half were Chacon who was 1-7 when acquired from the Rockies, and Small - a rookie brought up from the farm system, who posted a 10-0 record. Yes, their offense was powerpacked, but it is tough to dominate with virtually no starting pitching.
Oy vey - hit the link in post #32 already...
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