Game 1, part two

Well, after officials from Major League Baseball and the two ballclubs met during the Friday night rainstorm, it was decided that the game would resume, exactly where it was interrupted, 1-1/2 innings in the books, the Yankees coming to bat in the bottom of the 2nd inning.  The game will resume at 6:30 tonight, with two different pitchers on the mound.  Rookie right-hander Ivan Nova (16-4, 3.70 ERA) will resume the game for the Yankees.  Six-foot-eight righty Doug Fister will be on the hill for the Tigers.  Fister came to the Tigers in a trade from the Seattle Mariners at the deadline this year.  He had crafted a 3-12 record in 21 starts with the hapless Mariners, with a respectable ERA of 3.33.  Since his arrival in Detroit, he has an 8-1 record in 11 starts, with an ERA of 1.80.  A good pitcher can become a great pitcher when the players around him are better.  Go figure. 

The rain-delayed series now means that enigmatic Yankee righty AJ Burnett becomes a very key player.  The Yankees were scheduled to go with a 3-man rotation, with Sabathia scheduled to start game 4.  Now, the rotation might go Nova today, right-hander Freddy Garcia (12-8, 3.62) on Sunday (3:00 start), and AJ Burnett (11-11, 5.15) Tuesday in Detroit.  It's highly possible that Sabathia may start Sunday, pushing Garcia back to Tuesday, and leaving Burnett out of the picture, to come out of the bullpen, in a potential long relief role.  Manager Joe Girardi said this morning that he is not inclined to let Sabathia start Sunday, but it makes the most sense, to have the big lefty pitch in Yankee Stadium, where the right-handed batters historically have always had a tougher time.  Plus the afternoon shadows around the batters box, as the game progresses from the 3:00 start time, will further enhance Sabathia's effectiveness.  I think, too, that Burnett would be a better fit either Tuesday or Wednesday, away from Yankee Stadium. 

The weather interruption actually helps the Yankees overall.  Now, Tiger ace Justin Verlander (24-5, 2.40 ERA, 250 strikeouts) will only pitch once more in the series, according to manager Jim Leyland.  Since Sabathia, a lefty, started game one last night, Leyland fielded a lineup stacked with right-handed batters.  Now, with righty Nova pitching the resumed game tonight, the Yankees now have more usually favorable righty-righty matchups.  Will Leyland mix up the lineup tonight to compensate?  Not likely, since the game has already started, and any juggling of the lineup eliminates players from re-entering the game.

Stay tuned................