Yankees Keep the Drama Train Rollin'

The Yankees led the major leagues in walk-off wins this year, and they did it again last night as they took a commanding 2-0 lead over the Twins in the A.L.D.S.

They received a solid pitching outing from A.J. Burnett, but when Minnesota took a 3-1 lead in the top of the eighth inning, it appeared that the series may be tied as the teams headed to Minnesota for game three.

The Yankees offense couldn't get anything consistently going, and it looked bleak that they would pull it out. Especially when you consider that the Twins have one of the better closers in baseball, Joe Nathan.

But, once again, the Yankees found a way to win. A-Rod should feel like the weight of the world is off of his shoulders as far as his postseason critics are concerned, as he's had several big hits in this series so far, but none were bigger than his two-run jack that tied the game. But I'm sure that the questions will still follow him until he produces in baseball's biggest event, the World Series.

Those are fair criticisms, but let's not forget that you don't get to the series unless you produce along the way, so even if his bat doesn't lead the Yankees to winning it all, don't forget that he helped them get there (if, indeed, they do).

And can enough be said about Mark Texeira? Many free agents have been signed to huge numbers in the past and found that they could not handle the pressure of playing on the game's biggest stage, New York City (can you say Rick Rhoden?).

Texeira, however, has shown since game one of the season that playing in New York agrees with him, and he did everything humanly possible for this team to be in the place that it's in right now.

He has a good chance to be voted the league's MVP, and I can't recall if any other player came to the Big Apple and was voted the MVP in their first New York season, be it Yankee or Met.

At first, I didn't think that Texeira's shot had a chance of making the seats, because I don't think that the ball got more than 20 feet off of the ground its entire trip. Had the left field wall in Yankee Stadium been six inches higher, Texeira most likely would have been held to a long single, given the speed in which the ball got to the wall.

But, it cleared the fence, and the Yankees are heading to Minnesota with a two-games-to-none lead and are sitting in the driver's seat.

Couple that with the fact that the Ded Sux' bats have gone silent on the left coast, and all is right in the baseball world on this fine autumn Saturday. Go Notre Dame.