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New York Yankees: 12th ALCS berth
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MIKE: Alright! HERE WE GO, back on The Fan, Yankees take down the Astros, ELEVEN to SIX, they win the series three games to one, and they head to their SIXTH straight ALCS. That’s right, SIX in a row — count ’em! And the TWELFTH in franchise history. The Yankees are movin’ on, baby!
MAD DOG: HAAAAA! THEY’RE IN THE ALCS AGAIN, MIKEY! THEY CAN’T HELP THEMSELVES! THIS TEAM LIVES IN OCTOBER! I MEAN HOW MANY TIMES ARE THEY GONNA BE IN THESE GAMES?!
MIKE: Listen… you play four games, you score ELEVEN runs today, fourteen hits, big swings all over the place — Rawlings, Rivera, Kim — Kim was SENSATIONAL in this series. Four hits today! Four! He hits .421 for the series. He’s the MVP, no question.
MAD DOG: OH HE WAS GREAT! HE WAS FABULOUS! And the Yankees — they just kept COMIN’ AT ‘EM, Mike! Four runs in the sixth! FOUR MORE in the eighth! They just buried Houston! Astros couldn’t get off the mat!
MIKE: Houston’s pitchers… forget it. Doll? Terrible. Olivarez? Terrible. You can’t win playoff games giving up two crooked innings like that. Yankees blew it WIDE open.
MAD DOG: AND MIKEY — THE DEFENSE! WHAT ARE THE ASTROS DOING?! Three errors! THREE! You can’t win ANYTHING in October playing like that! The Yankees practically GIFT-WRAPPED the ball, and they STILL couldn’t get ‘em out!
MIKE: Meanwhile, the Yankees… they make mistakes too. Three errors themselves. But when you score ELEVEN runs, nobody cares. You clean it up later.
Now listen — the story is the lineup. Rivera with the big three-run homer in the eighth. Rawlings with the grand slam in the sixth. Kim all over the place. And how about the HOMETOWN KID — Leo Romero. Born and raised in New York City — he’s the Bronx boy made good, Dog!
MAD DOG: THAT’S RIGHT! NEW YORK BORN! NEW YORK BRED! HE GETS ON BASE, HE SCORES A RUN, HE GETS A HIT — AND MIKEY, HE’S BEEN DOING IT ALL SERIES!
MIKE: It’s the little things. A walk here, a hit there, puts pressure on the defense. Romero fitting right in with this lineup.
MAD DOG: AND TO THINK — YANKEES TRYING TO END A DROUGHT HERE, MIKEY! 13 YEARS WITHOUT A TITLE! THEY’VE GOT TWO — 1909, 1912 — AND NOW THEY’RE TRYING TO ADD A THIRD!
MIKE: They have a chance. Absolutely. They’re one of the best teams in baseball, they’ve been here before, they know how to win. But this is where it gets tricky — they’re gonna face either the Mariners or the Indians next. That series is tied two-two.
MAD DOG: OH YOU KNOW SEATTLE… THEY GET LOUD OUT THERE! CLEVELAND, THEY’RE DEFENDING CHAMPS! YANKEES DON’T CARE! THEY’LL PLAY ANYBODY!
MIKE: They’ll be favored. Yankees will be the favorite against either team. But as we know, Dog, ALCS is a different animal. You want that third championship? You gotta earn it.
MAD DOG: YOU GOTTA GO OUT AND GRAB IT! YOU GOTTA TAKE IT! YOU GOTTA HIT! YOU GOTTA PITCH! YOU CAN’T LET THE MOMENT GET TOO BIG!
MIKE: And the Yankees… they’re built for it. And now? They’re four wins away from the World Series.
MAD DOG: OH THEY’RE RIGHT THERE, MIKEY! THEY’RE RIGHT THERE! SIXTH STRAIGHT ALCS! HERE WE GO AGAIN!
MIKE: Buckle up. October’s just getting started.
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