yankees228

I think the winner of tomorrow's game wins the series.

It was a fastball, and it was in off the plate. The execution was not the issue. It was the pitch selection.

I'm so much more upset about the pitch selection to Vlad, in all honesty, than I am about the decision to bring in Aceves. Girardi's decision was awful, but they lost their best chance to win when they threw a f***ing two strike fastball to Vlad. The same Vlad that chases every f***ing breaking ball in the dirt. The Yankees' have had problems with pitch selection all year, which I've mentioned numerous times on this board, and it just cost them a playoff game.

Lol, I'm not an old timer.

The bone head move of playing the infield in for Luis Gonzalez? Are you f***ing serious? That is just about the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Holy s*** Gom, you can't say something that stupid, and then tell people like Jacko that they should never even bother to argue with you.

The other problem that the Yankees have had all year is pitch selection. Throwing Vlad a fastball in with two strikes, when he was the tying run, is inexcusable.

I f***ING HATE JOE GIRARDI. I talked all year about how I was afraid Girardi would do something stupid in the playoffs. Well there you go. That one is for the all the f***ing idiots on this site who screamed and cried about wanting a manager gone who never missed the playoffs. Holy s***. f*** Joe Girardi.

Nick Swisher is simply not capable of hitting a breaking ball. It's incredible. If they lose this game, it's on him and whoever the f*** wanted to throw a fastball to Vlad with two strikes.

CD, you gotta love that automatic 3-0 strike.

That last sentence sums up my thoughts on the matter as well.

What sticks out to me is that he had Rivera still available. I know that protocol on the road is not to bring your closer into a tie game, but in the postseason, things have to be done differently. Aaron Boone's strikeout against Looper with the bases loaded and one out. Awful.

Based on his actions, mainly the thing with the Red Sox and switching positions, I happen to feel that winning is just as important to A-Rod as money, if not more important.

How do you know he hasn't favored winning since? He signed the largest contract in professional sports history with a team that has an excellent chance to win. Based on his prior actions, I'm wiling to bet that he would not have accepted that offer from a non-contending team (purely hypothetical, because a non-contending team probably couldn't afford that salary). As for A-Rod not favoring winning before that instance, once again, how do you know that? The Texas Rangers were bad in 2000, but prior to that, they had made the playoffs in three out of four years. They were wiling to spend a lot of money, and it's very possible that A-Rod thought that had a legitimate shot to contend. As for disagreeing with me on the importance of winning, fair enough. Just think about this for a minute. We're actually debating the mindsets of other people. Think about how ridiculous that is. At least I'm acknowledging that it's simply my opinion, and nothing more. You're talking about it as if it's a certainty.

I admitted that to most players top dollar is the most important factor. All I said was that I think you're minimizing the importance of winning. Winning, to most players, is very important in my opinion. The funny thing about A-Rod is you would have enough evidence to make the case that winning is actually more important to him than top dollar. He does, if you remember, have a very interesting connection with the Boston Red Sox.

It's conjecture that winning isn't a significant factor. As for A-Rod, you are a Red Sox fan, correct?

There are obviously examples of error's hurting teams. It happens all the time. But a couple misplays is not a cause for concern.

There is no reason to be concerned about the errors, simply because they aren't unusual. That happens to Cano from time to time. He tends to be very nonchalant at times, and, every so often, he pays for it. We also know that Jeter is prone to an error every now and then.

That analogy doesn't apply. Towards the middle part of the decade the Braves were showing a lot of signs of slowing down, and by 2006, it had finally happened. On the other hand, there is no real reason to think that the Yankees' aren't going to remain extremely competitive in the future. Now, if the player values winning, I'm not saying they wouldn't choose the Red Sox over the Yankees, for example. What I am saying is if winning is a priority, the Yankees are going to be one of the teams that the player is going to look at. I'm not going to give you that crap about coming to the Yankees because of the history and tradition. Same thing with the fans. We both know that is garbage, and if it does matter to a particular player, it is likely a small factor. I'm also not going to tell you that money isn't the most important factor. For the majority of players, it absolutely is. However, I do think that you're minimizing the importance of winning. Money matters to everyone, and winning doesn't, but I'm of the opinion that winning is important to a significant portion of the players. Think of about this: in the mind's of some people, Alex Rodriguez exemplifies the greedy ballplayer. But, to anyone that has any knowledge of the situation, we both know that winning is right up there for A-Rod. He has proven this through his actions. Here's my other problem with your argument, J_E. You're speaking about the motives of these players as if you know for certain. At the end of the day, it's total conjecture on your part, and, by your posts, you don't seem to recognize this.

Regardless of the weather, we both know that a few of these hitters, especially Teixeira, look terrible at the plate.

My other concern, which no one really wants to discuss, is the offense. Teixeira looks terrible. Damon, while he has gotten a few soft hits to left field, still does not look good at the plate. Matsui has gotten a few hits, but he doesn't look great. Same with Cano. Hopefully the warmer weather gets them going, so we'll see.

Shockingly, I'm a bit more concerned with ALCS Game 3 than the Yankees' payroll. Weaver's success at home this year worries me, and if Pettitte struggles early (which often happens) I have a feeling it might turn into five or six runs, instead of just a couple.

If a player is looking to go to a winning franchise, the fact that they have consistently won since 1995 actually is relevant. Because of all the money they spend, they are probably the best bet year in and year out to make the playoffs. Their regular season success since the strike proves this. EDIT: In response to J_E.