This one’s gonna hurt for about 43 hours and 15 minutes.

Fastball down the middle…are you kidding? Someone besides Mo needs to show some guts, challenge their hitters, and come through with the game on the line… or they’ll be watching the world series on TV.

… as well as no doubt we are the best team in baseball — as long as we have CC for 7 2/3 and then Mo. Anything else is a ‘down in the dogpit’ same-as-the-rest-of ‘em crapshoot. Without those two studs at the front and back on the mound we are merely as periodically dangerous as the Boston Red Sox — or L.A. Angels. So here’s what we’ve learned:

AJ = NO in playoffs. Merely a talented but erractic whiffle baller who’s effectiveness and psyche is not “Big Game” willed but merely subject to the nervous twitch of his release point. Don’t overlook the fact, my fellow Pinstripers, that AJ had only two “stress” innings tonight — the first and the seventh — when the game was in the balance. After the disaster of the 1st the only other “stress” inning he faced was the 7th. He crumbled in each. AJ is NOT the answer. He’s talented though — which is why next year he should be the 3 starter.

SWISHER = NO in playoffs. And you can add CANO and HUGHES to that list. Wasn’t worried in the least about tonight’s 9th inning because the Fuentes/Swisher matchup was like watching a death match between two deer in the headlights — merely a matter of which one was going to suck first.. Swish out of his element on the Big stage and ends the game quickly on a first pitch “Geez lets get this over with” swing — except much to his chagrin it was foul. Then Fuentes panics himself into a tight squeeze cuz his butt is even tighter than Nick’s. Believe me — as proven — all Fuentes had to do was pipe it and the game would have been over on pitch two. Both on a Big Stage moment neither of them deserve to be back on. Trust me — the whole at-bat was either going to be a walk or weak-ass out.
HUGHES = NO in playoffs. Nick meet Phil. He’ll be sharing the road with you as you stare into the headlights.

On the plus side — no way ANDY is going to get beat twice — especially back at the Stadium. Yanks in six. But no way this team of 4 guys (Jeet, A-Rod, CC and Mo) is going to beat the Phillies in the WS.

Don’t believe the hype. They are being carried by a very few players and they will not beat a complete team like the Phillies over 7 games (sorry to say).

Joba in the 7th, Hughes in the 8th, Mariano in the 9th. Shorten the game. That’s what should work, Joba and Hughes have to cause their own trouble to be pitching from the stretch. Did I miss something somewhere? Is Joe trying to get himself fired? Why, why, why start the seventh with AJ?

We got ourselves out of it in the 1st, then for 6 innings it looked like it was over, then we were only back in it for another 20.

I think I agree that it should have been Hughes or Joba at the start of the 7th. They’ve been so much more consistent than Burnett this year that for that reason alone you want to turn this over to the relievers immediately in the 7th.

Let’s look at reality here for a minute, and not get too carried away with fear and trepidation on what this loss means to the team and its fans.

This is not the end of the world.

We have to keep in mind the fact that the Angels are one hell of a baseball team. They won the West, they swept the Sux, and they’ve been the tormentor of the Bombers for years.

The Yanks are not the only good team in this post season.

On the other hand, I think that LIttle Joe made another series of stupid moves with his pitching staff. Marte relieving AJ? Why not Coke or Joba?

But, our guys put up 6 runs in the 7th. That’s clutch.

Yes, we left too many RISP. We gave up too many clutch plays to Vlad et al. But, they’re great ballplayers, and we have 2 more opportunities to finish up.

Face it, we’ve won 6 of the last 8 games. (.750 ball) We’ve won 3 of the last 5 (.600 ball). Any other team would die for those numbers. Especially the Red Sux. 0 of the last 3 games. (.000 ball)

I like our odds, and our team.

I agree with the consensus that AJ should not have gone out in the seventh. Look at it from the mental standpoint of the game. AJ leaked in the first putting the team in a hole, then battled to keep the team in the game. Once the Yanks took the lead and let him off the hook, Joe G should have realized that AJ was emotionally gassed – go to the pen: Joba for the 7th, Phil for the 8th and Mo for the 9th. Ballgame.

As for benching Swisher, I’m in full agreement. But it’s a game too late. Last night, was the right handed Lackey pitching, which would have been a perfect time for BG to enter the lineup. Sat is lefty Saunders, which means Swish has the better hitting matchup.

It would be nice to see Joe G put his guys in position to succeed instead of setting them up for failure. Maybe it’s time to burn Joe G’s matchup book – yes, the same book that told him to replace the dealing Robertson with Aceves mid-inning on Monday and told him to start Swish instead of Gardner last night against Lackey.