Zell's Pinstripe Blog

The ’09 MLB Tiebreaker turned out to be one heck of a game. The Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers 6-5 in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the 12th inning to advance to the playoffs. The Minnesota Twins are the hottest team in baseball entering the postseason, but at the same time many fans wanted them instead of the Twins. Nobody wanted to see that Detroit Tigers pitching staff. You never know though, and the Twins can certainly be a threat to the Yankees World Series dreams.

The Yankees went 7-0 against the Twins this season, which is definitely nice to know. At the same time, the postseason gives everyone a clean slate and anything is possible.

“I think our club is confident right now because of the way we’ve played since May,” he said last night. “As far as meeting the Twins, we’re not going to have to face questions like “Can you beat them?” like we’ve had to answer during the course of the year . Once the playoffs start, though, it’s a new series and we know the importance of each game. You can pretty much throw everything else out the window.”

If they lose this series I would fire Girardi on the spot. I won’t hesitate to say that. Even though I doubt it will happen, since Hank and Hal don’t have the firing power that their dad had. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that though.

As I’ve said before, Girardi’s team is built to win it all. The home field advantage, a great Game 1 in the Yanks favor…this is supposed to be a lock. Getting knocked out in the first round with this team is just unacceptable. The Yankees fired Torre because making the playoffs wasn’t good enough. The standard was to win the ALDS and go beyond. Torre delivered a playoff team every year he was in New York. Now, Girardi has to meet the task of getting out of the first round.

Looking forward to a big day tomorrow. Let’s hope the Yankees start out on the right foot.

 BTW, here is a great video of every 2009 New York Yankees walk-off win. Also check out my friend’s brand new podcast…”The Sports Grill”

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Really, really expensive Stadium seats will only be really expensive in 2010

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Other Managers Talk About Girardi’s First Postseason / Twins heading to the Bronx

Is A-Rod Ready For a Big October? / Setting The Bar For CC In ALDS Game One

More Of Less From A-Rod In This LDS? / Extra-large expectations on ace Sabathia

In October, The Pen Is Mightier Than All? / Bring on the Twins!

Big Challenges Await Postseason Rookie Girardi, Just Ask His Peers

So it’s Minnesota / The best team in baseball / Mariano Giving Away State Secrets