World Series Heroes

The New York Yankees claimed their 27th World Series Championship on Wednesday night, defeating the Philadelphia Phillies in six games, thanks to some outstanding performances from some likely heroes and one unlikely hero:

Derek Jeter - As usual, Jeter hit over .400 for the series, and was especially effective against Phillies ace Cliff Lee, who none of the other Yankee batters could solve.

Johnny Damon - Also hit over .400 in what might have been his last games as a Yankee. His incredible at-bat in the 8th inning of game 4, and subsequent 2 steals on one pitch, were the turning point of the series.

Hideki Matsui - Despite not starting in 3 of the 6 games, Matsui managed to hit .615 for the series, with 3 home runs and 8 RBI. His 6 RBI performance in game 6 was one of the greatest in World Series history, and earned him the MVP. Matsui also could have been playing his final games in pinstripes.

Mariano Rivera - Was his usual dominant self, and somehow lowered his post-season ERA from 0.77 to 0.74 in the process. He single-handedly snuffed out the Phillies patented late-inning comebacks. When he entered each game, it was over.

Damaso Marte - In my mind, Marte should have been the series MVP. He masterfully handled the dangerous lefties Chase Utley and Ryan Howard in numerous key situations. His strikeout of Utley in the 7th inning of game 6 eliminated any chance the Phillies had to get back in the game. Would anyone have guessed Marte would be a key player in post-season before the playoffs started? I sure didn't...

Andy Pettitte - Gutted his way though two starts with not-so-great stuff, including the series clinching game 6 on 3-days rest. The Yankees had the right man on the mound when it counted. Pettitte now has 17 post-season wins, the most ever.

What do all of these players have in common? They've all won championships before. (Matsui, don't forget, won 3 titles in the Japanese league) It's difficult enough to win the World Series, but it's almost impossible to do without experienced players to lead the way.

Pettitte vs. Pedro

With only minutes until first pitch at Yankee Stadium, I figured I'd post a quick thought or two on game 6. Here's the question I have: why is the New York media acting like this is another 2004-like collapse?

Don't believe what you read in the papers: the Yankees clearly have the edge in this series the rest of the way, even though Pettitte goes on 3 days rest tonight. Would you want A.J. Burnett pitching in this spot? I wouldn't. Yankees manager Joe Girardi pitched Burnett in game 5 because it didn't matter if they lost. Now he's got Pettitte on the mound for game 6, the man he wants there with the season on the line, and if the Yankees somehow lose tonight, he's got CC Sabathia as the back-up for game 7.

I'm sticking with my prediction of a Yankees World Series win in SIX games. I think the Yanks will get to Pedro Martinez early, and the Phillies bullpen will have no answer for the Yankees in the late innings.

Mark it down: Yankees championship number 27 comes tonight in the Bronx. In about 4 hours or so, let the celebration begin!

1=27

The Philadelphia Phillies came within a tiny foul tip of making this a 2-2 World Series last night, but the Yankees' Johnny Damon (who had a brilliant at-bat against Phillies closer Brad Lidge) stayed alive on that foul tip, and now New York is 1 win away from championship number 27.

I could write for hours on the 9th inning only, but I'll try to keep it short here. If the Yankees win this series (and it's extremely likely they will), Johnny Damon has cemented his place in Yankee lore for eternity. He may have even earned himself a contract for next season in the space of five minutes.

Damon's at bat against Lidge will surely go down as one of the greatest in Yankees history, right up there with Paul O'Neill's at bat against Armando Benitez in 2000 World Series game 1. With two outs and no one on in the top of the 9th, Damon fouled off slider after slider (including that teeny-tiny foul tip with 2 strikes), finally getting a base hit after 10+ pitches. Then on the first pitch, Damon stole two bases, getting a great jump on Lidge to grab the first bag, then smartly heading for third when Lidge failed to cover the base (Phillies third baseman Pedro Feliz had vacated the base to cover second with "the shift" on Mark Teixeira). I've been watching baseball for more than 30 years, and have seen thousands of games, and I've never seen that done, even once.

Damon on third changed the entire complexion of the inning, keeping Lidge from throwing his slider, for fear of allowing Damon to score on a pitch in the dirt. Lidge subsequently hit Teixeira with a pitch, gave up a double to Alex Rodriguez on a fastball right down the middle to score Damon, and then a 2-run single to Jorge Posada. Mariano Rivera enters for the bottom of the ninth, and 8 pitches later, game over.

The reason I say the Phillies were a foul tip away from winning themselves? If the game had stayed tied, Phil Coke would have been the pitcher, with the crowd going wild in a 4-4 game. A recipe for disaster for the Yankees. It almost certainly would have resulted in a Phillies walk-off win.

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel almost got away with pitching Joe Blanton last night, and saving ace Cliff Lee for tonight. If not for that teeny tiny foul tip, Manuel is a genius this morning. Now, the Phillies backs are against the wall, and Manuel needs not only a second masterful performance from Lee tonight, but a miracle in the Bronx in games 6 and 7. A game of inches indeed.

Back in Control

With the Yankees 8-5 win over the Phillies last night, the New York Yankees are back in control of the 2009 World Series. If the Phillies win, they'll now have to do it back at Yankee Stadium, in either game 6 or game 7 (sorry Jimmy Rollins). The Yankees, on the other hand, could wrap it up in 5 games in Philadelphia, but at worst will get another chance to play at home.

Some other positive developments for the Yankees:
* Alex Rodriguez broke of of his World Series slump with a home run. He should be able to relax for the rest of the series, which is bad news for the Phillies.
* Nick Swisher broke out of his playoff-long slump with a double and a home run. Look for Swisher to be back in the line-up again tonight.
* Joba Chamberlain and Damaso Marte looked great in the bullpen, perhaps finally giving Joe Girardi the "bridge" to Mariano Rivera he's been searching for the entire post-season, since Phil Hughes has shown he can no longer hack it.
* Girardi's moves in game 3 paid off yet again, especially his decisions to pitch Marte the entire 8th inning, and pinch-hitting Matsui in the 8th (he hit a home run).

The negatives? Phil Hughes. Joe Girardi can no longer afford to pitch Hughes in a big spot. As great as he was in the regular season, he's been lost in the post-season. In this World Series, he's given up 3 runs in 1/3 of an inning. Not good...

Now, for today's big decision: the starting pitchers for game 4. Tonight's game is now the pivotal game in the series, and on Friday, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel announced he's throwing Joe Blanton instead of opting for Cliff Lee on short rest. Joe Girardi is going with CC Sabathia on 3 days rest, just like he did in ALCS game 4.

First, the Phillies side. I think Manuel is making a mistake here. I know Blanton pitched great in last year's World Series, but the Yankees always tee off on him. That combined with the Yankees throwing their ace Sabathia, most likely will result in a Phillies loss. Manuel's theory is that Lee has never pitched on 3 days rest. There's a first time for everything, isn't there?

On the Yanks side, I think Girardi's doing the right thing. Chad Gaudin (the Yanks current 4th starter) hasn't started in over a month. And Sabathia has proven he can pitch well on 3 days. Going for the jugular is the right call.

That said, if the Phillies somehow pull out tonight's game, the momentum clearly shifts back into Philadelphia's favor, and Manuel looks like a genius.

Tomorrow, we look back at game 4, and preview game 5.

Mo Money

I was first in line to slam Yankees manager Joe Girardi after his overmanaging in ALDS game 2 (and again numerous times in ALCS), but it's time to give credit where credit is due. Girardi made the right move using Yankees closer Mariano Rivera for 6 outs in last night's World Series game 2. Whether he won or lost the game, this was the only move to make.

Mariano Rivera is his best pitcher, and regardless of the fact that he threw 39 pitches yesterday, he'll be fine for an inning in game 3 after today's off day. Game 2 was a must win game for the Yankees, and Girardi correctly treated it as such.

Joe also made a few other key moves that worked out swimmingly:
* Leaving A.J. Burnett in the game in the 7th instead of bringing Joba Chamberlain (A.J. pitched brilliantly the entire game, by the way)
* Putting on the hit and run with Melky Cabrera at bat and Brett Gardener at first in the 7th inning (Melky got a hit, moving Gardner to third)
* Pinch hitting Jorge Posada for Jose Molina in that same inning (Posada delivered an RBI single)

In the earlier playoff rounds, Girardi had no business trying to outmanage Ron Gardenhire or Mike Scioscia - but Phillies manager Charlie Manuel? Girardi certainly can outmanage him. Manuel isn't a "by the book" guy like Girardi, which he proved by failing to send the runners in the 8th (resulting in a double play).

The biggest managerial decision for both men is coming up after the crucial game 3. Bring back the aces Sabathia and Lee for game 4 on 3 days rest? Or go with your 4th starters, Gaudin for the Yankees, and Blanton for the Phillies. Which pitchers they choose could determine the outcome of the series, and I'm guessing neither will make that call until after game 3.

I wouldn't either, by the way. I'll tell you which way I'd lean on Sunday morning.

World Series Vibes

With the start of the 2009 World Series less than an hour away, I thought I'd point out something I noticed after reading the comments the Yankees and Phillies players have made over the past few days leading up to the Fall Classic.

The Phillies have made quite a few bold and brash statements - from Jimmy Rollins predicting a Phillies win in five games on Jay Leno Monday, to Jason Werth spouting off about how CC Sabathia doesn't scare them, to Pedro Martinez announcing he was the most influential player ever to play at the old Yankee Stadium. I wouldn't call these statements "confident". "Cocky" and "arrogant" seem to be a better fit.

The Yankees, meanwhile, made no bold predictions. Following the lead of their manager Joe Girardi, and captain Derek Jeter, they only offered kind words about the Phillies, and exuded confidence, not arrogance.

It seems to me that the Phillies ARE in fact concerned about playing the Yankees, and are attempting to mask that concern with their overconfidence. The Angels' Torii Hunter spouted off in much the same way before the ALCS, and look where it got him.

It's surprising to me that Rollins and the rest of the Phillies thought it was a good idea to give the Yankees some more motivation with this bulletin board fodder. Yes, you're in New York, Jimmy. But you're not playing the Mets.

A Battle of the Pens

My predictions for the ALCS and NLCS were short and simple. I thought the bullpens would decide the outcome. I was right about the ALCS. Angels closer Brian Feuntes' blown save in game 2 was the difference between a 4-2 Yankees series victory and winner-take-all game 7. I wasn't so right about the NLCS. The Phillies high-powered offense made Brad Lidge and the rest of the Phillies bullpen obsolete (although the pen did perform well against the Dodgers).

On paper, the 2009 World Series is one of the most evenly matched we've seen in years. The Yankees and the Phillies have the top two offenses in baseball (the Yanks were a bit better), the Yankees have a slight edge in the starting rotation, and the Phillies have a slim edge on defense and at manager. So again, I believe this series will come down to the bullpens, specifically Phillies closer Brad Lidge vs. Yankees closer Mariano Rivera.

As I mentioned in my LCS predictions, Lidge was terrible in the regular season. But in the post-season, he's turned it around, giving up zero runs so far. Phillies' manager Charlie Manuel has been careful with him though - pitching him in situations where he can succeed, sometimes for as little as a third of an inning.

Future Hall-of Famer Rivera has been his usual spectacular self this post-season, entering games in the most precarious of positions, pitching 2 innings or more in a few spots, and not giving up a run until last night's game 6 (he gave up 1 run with a 2 run lead). Without Rivera's brilliance, the Yankees likely would not have beaten the Angels.

I believe this series will come down to which closer blinks first - Lidge or Rivera - and my money is on Lidge doing lots of blinking. Yankees in six, with Rivera closing out Yankees championship number 27 at the new Yankee Stadium.