Crazy Yankee Chick: Previewing Game 2 of the ALDS, Yanks/Twins @ 6:07

It doesn't get any easier from here on out..

Yeah, I don't know who I'm referring to right now--the Yankees' battle with the Twins, or my stomach's battle with overwhelming anxiety and nausea.

On Wednesday, the Yankees took Game 1 of the ALDS with the help of CC Sabathia's 8K brilliance, and pouncing on the inadequate rest of a fatigued Twins' line-up. (I think that's the last I'll mention this little leg-up the Yanks had. Because I'm growing a bit aggravated with all the haters rationalizing that we had an unfair advantage. Life's not fair. One word: midges.)

Tonight, we're all on even ground (sleep-wise, anyway), with A.J. Burnett (13-9, 4.04) making his postseason debut against Nick Blackburn (11-11, 4.03). The way people talk about AJ, you'd think he was a call-up from the A's farm system or something. From what I can tell, he's a pretty good pitcher. The only, ONLY, thing I'll concede is that he may or may not be one of those one-extreme-to-the-other type arms.

But for my money, I trust him--Jose Molina or not, AJ's too much of a manic nutjob to be complacent about feasting on the Twinks tonight.

Blackburn has been fantastic for the Twins down the stretch, winning his last 4 starts while posting a 1.65 ERA. Apparently, he's known as a "big game pitcher," proving once again that "significant sample size" is not a phrase in analyst lexicons. In 4 starts against the Yanks, however, he's 0-1 with a chubby 5.89 ERA. His control is excellent, his power unremarkable.

Which is EXACTLY the kind of pitcher that terrifies me.

I hope Kevin Long held some after-school study sessions on the Art of the Offspeed Pitch. We fans are the only people who should be dominated by instability right now...

(And just when you think the ALDS 5-game series can't make you any crazier, you remember you have to hear booth announcers et al make claims of "must-win" situations, after every. single. game.)

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