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MLB

A-Rod, CC Show Cream Can Rise No Matter the Season

Posted Oct 21, 2009 2:00AM By Jeff Fletcher (RSS feed)

Filed Under: Angels, Yankees, MLB Playoffs, American League Championship Series

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Alex Rodriguez and CC SabathiaANAHEIM, Calif. -- Maybe we all overthought this stuff about postseason performance. We had discussed endlessly which great players with which multi-multi-multi-million-dollar deals had what it takes to compete when the pressure is at its highest.

It's really not that complicated, after all.

Great players are going to play great, eventually, whether it's April, May, October or -- thanks Bud -- November.

For proof, see Exhibit A: Rodriguez, Alex; and Exhibit B: Sabathia, Carsten Charles.

The two of them came into this postseason with big contracts and a record of failure in the playoffs. Now, it's not an understatement to say that they have carried the Yankees within one victory of their first pennant since 2003. They were the dual dominant forces in the Yankees' 10-1 victory over the Angels in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series on Tuesday night.

After Sabathia tossed eight innings, allowing only one run, to improve to 3-0 with a 1.19 ERA in the postseason, Andy Pettitte refused to suggest that Sabathia had lifted his game for the playoffs.

"He's been throwing the ball so good down the stretch, I can't say he's taken it to another level," Pettitte said. "He's just pitching the same way."

Rodriguez, who hit a two-run homer to break the game open, has hit five homers in seven games this postseason. Overall he's batting .407.

"He's locked in," manager Joe Girardi said. "When you're the type of player Alex is, these are the type of things that you can do. I mean, other players can be locked in, but they can't quite have the numbers that he's going to put up."

So much for that stuff about not being a clutch performer in the playoffs. Forget about the .245 average he had in four previous postseasons with the Yankees (.279 overall, including Seattle). Forget about the .148 he'd hit ever since the Yankees blew that 3-0 lead to the Red Sox in the '04 ALCS.

"I don't think he has to answer any of [those questions]," Jorge Posada said. "He's proven that he's probably the best player in the league."

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Yankees Angels Photos
Kate Hudson and Kurt Russell are seen after Game 4 of the American League Championship baseball series between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009, in Anaheim, Calif. The Yankees won 10-1. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
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Angels vs. Yankees

    Kate Hudson and Kurt Russell are seen after Game 4 of the American League Championship baseball series between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009, in Anaheim, Calif. The Yankees won 10-1. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

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    Los Angeles Angels' Vladimir Guerrero is seen in the dugout during the ninth inning of Game 4 of the American League Championship baseball series against the New York Yankees Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009, in Anaheim, Calif. The Yankees won 10-1. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

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    New York Yankees' Derek Jeter reacts after the ninth inning of Game 4 of the American League Championship baseball series against the Los Angeles Angels Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009, in Anaheim, Calif. The Yankees won 10-1. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

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    New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez, right, celebrates with Mark Teixeira (25) after the ninth inning of Game 4 of the American League Championship baseball series against the Los Angeles Angels Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009, in Anaheim, Calif. The Yankees won 10-1. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

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    The New York Yankees' Robinson Cano, left, and Nick Swisher celebrate their 10-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels at Game 4 of the American League Championship baseball series Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)

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    New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez is congratulated in the dugout after scoring during the ninth inning of Game 4 of the American League Championship baseball series against the Los Angeles Angels Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009, in Anaheim, Calif. The Yankees won 10-1. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

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    ANAHEIM, CA - OCTOBER 20: Matt Palmer #32 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim pitches against the New York Yankees during the ninth inning in Game Four of the ALCS during the 2009 MLB Playoffs at Angel Stadium on October 20, 2009 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Matt Palmer

    Getty Images

    ANAHEIM, CA - OCTOBER 20: Alex Rodriguez #13 of the New York Yankees hits a double to left field during the ninth inning in Game Four of the ALCS against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim during the 2009 MLB Playoffs at Angel Stadium on October 20, 2009 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Jacob de Golish/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Alex Rodriguez

    Getty Images

    The Los Angeles Angels dugout is seen during the ninth inning of Game 4 of the American League Championship baseball series against the New York Yankees Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009, in Anaheim, Calif. The Yankees won 10-1. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

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    The New York Yankees, including Robinson Cano, left, and Alex Rodriguez celebrate their 10-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels after Game 4 of the American League Championship baseball series Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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Not the best postseason player. The best player.

You would expect that a guy who is good enough to do all the things that Rodriguez has done in the regular season would, given enough time and exposure to the differences between regular season and postseason baseball, eventually produce in the postseason.

Reggie Jackson, a guy who knows a thing or two about producing in October, said that he's not surprised that Rodriguez has finally performed in the playoffs because this is the kind of player he is. Period.

"If someone would say Alex could hit .350 with 60 homers and drive in 150 runs, no one would say he does not have the ability to do that," Jackson said. "We all know he has the ability to do it. What he's doing now is something that only he and Albert Pujols and Ryan Howard can do. Just enjoy it. Sit back and have fun with it."

The Yankees are certainly doing that. They haven't been to the World Series since 2003, before Rodriguez arrived. That's a point that has been hammered home to him repeatedly.

"In other postseasons I've failed, and sometimes failed miserably," he said. "It certainly feels good to come through for my team and help the team win."

As for Sabathia, he's still new to the Yankees, so he didn't have a chance to earn the label of postseason failure in New York. He hadn't done very well in his previous trips with the Indians and Brewers -- a 2-3 record and a 7.92 ERA -- but New York fans don't care about anything that he did before signing that $161 million contract.

What matters now is that he's not only pitching well, but he's doing it in such a way as to eliminate the need for the soft underbelly of the Yankees pitching staff. He took the ball on three days of rest, meaning the Yankees could avoid a fourth starter in the ALCS. He also got deep into his games, so that the Yankees didn't have to use their whole bullpen. (Girardi must have been a little bummed that he only got to make one pitching change.)

Sabathia was just as good on short rest as he'd been on regular rest in the regular season or the eight days of rest he had before his Game 1 victory. The Angels had only one infield single through the first four innings. By the time Kendry Morales jumped on Sabathia for a solo homer in the fifth, the Yankees had already scored five times. Sabathia allowed the first two men to get on base in the sixth, as the crowd sensed some hope, but then he got a double play on his way to nine consecutive outs.

"He was spectacular again," Girardi said. "To be able to shut this club down like he did, again, is no easy feat. This is a very dangerous lineup."

Chad Gaudin, who mopped up the ninth inning to complete the victory, said he's been in awe of Sabathia since joining the Yankees in the middle of the season.

"You can count on him to go out there and pretty much dominate," Gaudin said. "In every clutch situation, he's come through. It's great to see and be a part of. What he did is not easy, and he made it look easy."
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