Posted by Mark Levy on Tuesday, October 20, 2009 at 12:20 pm

Mark Levy joins the BDD team to give us the fan perspective as his New York Yankees travel through the 2009 postseason!

The last two games have been like polar opposites…and I’m not just talking about the weather!

It was a cold night in the Bronx on Saturday. I wore layers of clothes thinking I would be warm enough out in left field for a three hour game. Unfortunately, the second ALCS game between the Yankees and Angels actually lasted just over 5 hours! Ha!

Still, it was a great 13 inning battle. Once again, quality start pitching came from both teams. A.J. Burnett and Joe Saunders kept the game tied into the seventh inning with the score at 2-2.

The game moved into the bullpens and on to the 9th inning. The Yankees had runners on second and third, and Robinson Cano had a chance to be the walkoff hero. He grounded out. Extra innings.

The rain began to come down hard, and it felt much colder. But I wasn’t about to leave. I believe in The Yankees!

In the 10th inning, the Angels got a runner on base but could not drive in a run. The Yanks came up empty as well in the bottom of the inning. In the top half of the 11th, Chone Figgins drove in the go ahead run for Los Angeles. I got nervous. I was thinking how cold, wet and tired I was. What about the Yankees?

Alex Rodriguez led off the last of the 11th. Even though I was all the way out in left field, I felt like I could hear Arod say, “I got this.” You got the feeling that the night would not end with a New York loss. Arod went yard out to right. All tied up. Whatever adjustments Alex has made, it has certainly turned him into the post season playmaker everyone hoped he would be.

More free baseball! Fast forward to the 13th inning…

With Jerry Hairston on second in the bottom of the 13th, Melky Cabrera hit a ground ball to Maicer Izturis and the rest, as they say is history. Izturis threw the ball away for an error and Jerry scored to win the game. Just after 1:00 AM,  the Yankees went up 2-0 in the series. The Angels wound up with two errors on the evening while New York had three. The difference was, the Yanks were able to take advantage of the Angels mistakes.

On to California we would go. I have a ticket for game 6 in the Bronx. However, if I don’t get to use it, I’m okay with that. There are always World Series tickets!

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Game 3 started off with a bang…a home run by Derek Jeter! I felt like things were going the Yankees way early. In the top of the second and fourth innings, New York had base runners on first and second with NO outs. In both innings, though, the Yankees failed to score. That really bothered me. I know what the Angels are capable of doing on a clear, dry day on their home field. Missed opportunities are killers. I wanted the Bombers to remain relentless with the bats and pile on the runs.

The Yankees defense was sharp again in game 3. They caught Torii Hunter stealing, and they nailed Bobby Abreu trying to stretch a double into a triple.

In the bottom of the 7th, Los Angeles took the lead. Joba Chamberlain had a rough outing, but I wasn’t really worried. The Yanks are the comeback kings!

In the top of the 8th inning, Hideki Matsui walked, and Brett Gardner came in to pinch run. With Jorge Posada up, the Angels called a pitchout and nailed Gardner attempting to steal second. I knew that would come back to haunt us. On the very next swing, Jorge hit the ball out of the park. While I was happy, I was also upset because the Yanks could have taken the lead had Gardner not been thrown out.

That one run would eventually prove costly. In the bottom of the 11th, the Angels would finally outlast the Yankees bullpen and get to Alfredo Aceves. Game over. Angels 5, Yankees 4.

I know that New York is up 2-1 in the series, but I don’t like momentum shifts. I would like to see the Yankee bats come alive for game 4 and push the Angels to the brink of elimination.