Indians fans watched Sabathia grow from a 20-year-old rookie with inspiring raw stuff in 2001 to a bona fide AL Cy Young winner in '07. But Sabathia is the first to admit that, in his biggest October opportunity Boone Logan Authentic Jersey with the club in the fall of '07, he put too much pressure on himself. CC simply didn't have his "A" game in the Tribe's seven-game loss in the ALCS. The following year -- his free-agent walk year -- his early-season struggles were a major factor in the slow start that eventually led the Indians to trade him to the Brewers in July.

So as great as he was in Brandon Guyer Authentic Jersey his prime, Sabathia has a bit of a tortured legacy here. He was terrific in Game 2 of this ALDS, and, if he can come through with another pristine performance in a Yankee clincher, it would be quite the full-circle story.

"I've pitched here a lot," Sabathia said. "Played here parts of almost eight years. So I'm very familiar with the city, a lot of the fans. A lot of who I am as an adult, as a male, as an adult man, Cleveland kind of shaped that. Three of my kids were born here. I have a lot of history in the city. So it will be a lot of fun to be able to take the [ball] in Game 5 and hopefully get a win."
Judge had a historic rookie Carlos Frias Authentic Jersey season and a huge homer in the AL Wild Card Game win over the Twins. But he had done absolutely nothing at the plate in this series until his two-run double off a Trevor Bauer fastball in Game 4. Generally, the Indians have succeeded against him with a breaking ball-heavy approach, and it has led to a 1-for-15 showing with 12 strikeouts and four walks.

So far, Judge's biggest Eddie Robinson Authentic Jersey moment in this series came with his glove (robbing Lindor of a home run in Game 3) and not his bat. Can that possibly remain the case?
Every fall, it's the same. The leaves change colors, the air gets crisper and the pitchforks come out for postseason managers. That's happening all over the Major League landscape this October, but in this series, they could be particularly pointed. After all, while the Yankees have stormed back from a 2-0 deficit after Joe Girardi's famous flub, there would, in the event of a Game 5 loss, still be reason to say the non-challenge of the Lonnie Chisenhall hit-by-pitch in the sixth inning of Game 2 cost the Yanks this series.

Girardi got emotional in the wake of Game 4 when talking about how the mood had changed since the aftermath of Game 2.

"It's not just Edwin Encarnacion Authentic Jersey caring about myself," Girardi said. "It's caring about everyone else that is involved, and that is wrapped up in the Yankee baseball. You know, whether it's the fans, the front office, the owner, the players, the trainers, the support staff, the coaches, I really care. And, you know, we've gotten it back to 2-2, and we got a shot now."
Francona, meanwhile, has obviously earned the benefit of the doubt in his managerial career. But the curious decisions with regard to the pitching alignment (despite a supposed overload of starting options, the Indians used Bauer on short rest in Game 4) are sure to be major talking points in Northeast Ohio if the Indians don't get this done.