MLB Columns

Yanks bring city together in lovefest
"These are the best days of all, and only partly because they happen in the immediate afterglow of triumph, a championship in the bank and satisfaction sating every ounce of your sporting soul. That part of a parade day is nice, sure. But this is the better part: For the couple of hours that it takes the floats and the flatbeds and the bands to march from Battery Place to City Hall, for that piece of morning and chunk of afternoon when the players and the politicos mingle and chatter and exchange pleasantries and keys to the city, the most famous and most expensive baseball team in the world becomes a public trust, a penny stock. The Yankees belong to the people then, and the people belong ..."
Offseason moves pay big dividends
"The Yankees regained what matters most to their organization when they won their 27th title. And just to show their single-mindedness to that cause, manager Joe Girardi already had decided to switch from No. 27 to 28 for 2010, symbolically revealing the next quest before a single flatbed had navigated up the Canyon of Heroes. But the Yankees got something else vital back this year that is harder to explain. It can be called mystique and aura, or mojo, or chemistry. Difficult to define, it was easy to see this year, especially because of its absence in recent years. Now those who believe in cold, hard numbers will pooh-pooh such elements, and simply point to the overwhelming talent ..."
Hey, Yanks: Make this parade an annual event
"One parade is not nearly enough. There should be a parade next year and the year after that, too. A Yankees victory parade should become as common as the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, with the talent they have and their ability to outspend the competition. Money doesn't guarantee success (look at the Mets), but it sure beats the alternative. To the Yankees' credit they now all understand what it takes to be a champion. They know it takes playing as a team to win and they know what the Summer Game is all about in October and November. The home clubhouse at Yankee Stadium was a pretty quiet place yesterday. The only sign of the World Series celebration that came after their Game 6 triumph ..."
Alex's transformation from pariah to hero complete
"For one day in his life, there were no shades to Alex Rodriguez, postseason hero, though he put a put on a pair for yesterday's parade. A guy who has splattered himself on the floor of more canyons than Wile E. Coyote took a glorious ride up this one, typically without letting anyone see the whites of his eyes. If Rodriguez had feared pulling a Dick Vermeil, nobody would have begrudged him. If A-Rod had wanted to shield himself from the glare of his own brilliance, it would have been for the first time in his life. If he just wanted to show how cool it was to be Alex Rodriguez on a day it certainly was, he fully played the part. There he was, in Yankees jacket and a fedora, standing next ..."
Series crew good until end
"One of the reasons that I've never been a big fan of Fox play-by-play man Joe Buck is that he rarely says anything memorable after the final out in a World Series. And that held true Wednesday night after the New York Yankees beat Philadelphia, 7-3, to win in six games. "The Yankees are back on top," Buck said. "World champions for the 27th time." That wasn't as clever as The Buffalo News headline Thursday — "On top of the heap" — which played off the lyrics of the classic song, "New York, New York." That said, Buck and analyst Tim McCarver had an excellent series. They saw just about everything almost instantly during the six games and talked about every possible story line except one. ..."
Clueless Gomez a bigger risk than slumping Hardy
"The Twins have traded a toolbox without a key for a mystery. Carlos Gomez has talent, the greatest of which is raw speed. He also has the baseball instincts of an Icelandic grade-schooler. As wonderful as he was to watch play center field, Gomez was a disaster everywhere else. He was clueless in the batter's box. And he was prone to base-running gaffes, one of which probably cost the Twins a playoff game against the Yankees. If nothing else, his departure to the Milwaukee Brewers will add years to the life of Twins first-base coach Jerry White. Poor Jerry had the unenviable task of trying to keep Go-Go from getting picked off. That was tough sledding. J.J. Hardy either is an all-star or a ..."
McGwire's mum return
"The sadly misguided St. Louis Cardinals have hired Mark McGwire as a hitting coach for 2010. The question is, why in the name of Stan the Man do they want him? No matter how good he might be in the role - and I suspect not very - let's call it a Cardinal sin. Look at the record, as political challengers like to say. For 16 seasons in the bigs, Big Mac batted a very ordinary .263. This included such stellar averages as .231, .235 and .201 for the Oakland Athletics from 1989 to 1991 and .187 in 2001, his last season with the Cardinals. But what about those 70 home runs in 1998 and 583 lifetime? Ay, there's the rub, as Willie Shakespeare (or his designated ghost) might say. We don't know for ..."
Pitching prospects are rising in Arizona
"Getting hammered in his second Arizona Fall League start may have been the best thing that ever happened to Stephen Strasburg. The No. 1 pick of the 2009 draft and the linchpin of the Plan got beat like a drum on Oct. 22, giving up eight runs and seven hits in 2 2/3 innings. His ERA before the game: 0.00. His ERA after the game: 23.62. "He took it personal," said Paul Menhart, the pitching coach at Class A Potomac and the Nationals' representative on the Phoenix Desert Dogs. "I don't think he liked that very much. You hate to ever see anybody give up that many runs, but I believe it got his focus where he needed it to be. He's had an unbelievable bulldog attitude ever since." Indeed, ..."
DH Matsui perfect part of post-Series daydream
"The day after the World Series is a day I dread, especially if the Yankees win. Denied the anticipation of a real baseball game until April, fans are left to debate the pros and cons of an open-market system that ensures the Yanks can install a highly paid star at every position. But Thursday was different. Instead of groaning during each replay of Hideki Matsui's bravura performance - he tied a Series single-game record with six RBI on Wednesday - I imagined how the designated hitter might look in a Mariners uniform. It could happen. Matsui's contract with the Yankees has expired, and the team gets two weeks to decide whether to re-sign him, offer him arbitration for a one-year contract, ..."
Life goes on: Gloom now, but Phils' future still bright
"Five postseason series in a row had ended with the Phillies spraying champagne in clubhouses from Milwaukee to Los Angeles to Denver to South Philadelphia. The ritual of donning swim goggles and dumping buckets of ice and water on teammates' heads, a novelty in 2008, had become almost routine by the time the Phillies won their second consecutive pennant. So it felt very strange to step into the quiet of the visiting clubhouse at Yankee Stadium as Wednesday night slipped into Thursday morning. A knot of reporters had gathered around Cliff Lee, who had given the Phillies hope with two stellar pitching performances against the Yankees. Scott Eyre and Brett Myers were telling a couple of beat ..."
Next year, Phillies could use help from ace, closer
"Shane Victorino was making the long, lonely jog back to the dugout after grounding out to second base for the final out of the World Series as the Yankees were celebrating in a mass of humanity near the pitcher's mound. Victorino couldn't help but turn his head to watch as he went by. It was only seconds after the Phillies' 7-3 loss in Game 6 Wednesday night. Yet Victorino was thinking about the Phillies' celebration in 2008 when they won the World Series. And he was thinking about the dejection the Tampa Bay Rays must have felt while the Phillies celebrated. "I can feel what [Eric] Hinske felt last year," Victorino said about the Rays player who made the final out. "I guess I'll be ..."
Girardi's boldness pays off
"There's just one number that counts, being No. 1. Manager Joe Girardi has understood that from the first day he put on a baseball uniform. Now that Girardi is planning on changing his number from 27 to 28, the Yankees are officially in pursuit of World Championship No. 28. Way to go Joe. Too many teams are not bold enough to say they are shooting for No. 1. The Red Sox, who once challenged the Yankees, are now one of those teams just happy to be here, saying the goal is to get to the playoffs and then everything from that point on is a crap shoot, a matter of luck. Yeah, right. As long as the Red Sox keep thinking that way, the path to No. 1 for the Yankees will be wide enough to drive CC ..."
A bittersweet climb to the top
"Alex Rodriguez didn't want to celebrate prematurely, he knows better, but he couldn't help himself, couldn't keep his arms from flying in the air and his mouth from opening wide, couldn't keep the roar from spilling out of his heart and through his tongue and into the frosty New York night. Not now. He watched the baseball bound along on the ground toward second base, saw Robinson Cano scoop it up, flip it to first baseman Mark Teixeira, and now it was OK to act however he pleased. He'd seen this final act on television many times before, but it always had been someone else's party, someone else's celebration. And now it was his. Now it was theirs. Now it was time for the New York Yankees ..."
Beltre, Sweeney file for free agency
"Adrian Beltre and Mike Sweeney were among the 79 players that didn't waste any time and filed for free agency today on the first day they could do so. The Mariners still have exclusive negotiating rights with them until Nov. 20. Ken Griffey Jr., Endy Chavez, Miguel Batista, Russ Branyan and Erik Bedard haven't filed yet, but they have two weeks to do so. Also, the Mets have told J.J. Putz that they aren't picking up his $8.6 million option for 2010. Instead, they are buying him out for $1 million, making him a free agent. And Tim Lincecum is in a bit of trouble involving pot."
Yanks beat out the Bosox as team of decade
"Let's end one debate before it really gets started. The Red Sox gave it a nice run for a while, but the Yankees are the team of the decade -- again. I can just imagine what the scene in Red Sox Nation is about now. The fans are bitter. Very bitter. The Yankees are back on top, and that can't be sitting too well in New England. Boston fans can cry all they want that the Yankees bought a championship, but so what? The Yankees are winners. They get the ring. Their city is happy and they are sticking out their tongues at the Red Sox and the rest of the world. Don't get me wrong. Boston had a good team and made a nice run for a few years, but now they have got some holes. The Yankees and Red ..."
Money may keep Yanks off free-agent market
"The Yankees found $181 million lying around last offseason, and made a late, victorious bid to corral Mark Teixeira, so never say never when it comes to the Yankees and spending. But the initial read as the winter bazaar opens is that the Yankees do not intend to make a play for the three biggest free agents: Jason Bay, Matt Holliday and John Lackey. After signing the three biggest free agents last offseason (Teixeira, CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett), the Yankees just might be boring this winter. This is not about need, because corner outfield and starting pitcher are priorities to fortify what is now a champion. But based on conversations with multiple Yankees officials, I sense that ..."
'09 Yankees reminder of big, bad Bombers
"It took a while for the city and the Yankees to get together with this parade business, if you want to know the truth. Babe Ruth never got to see the Canyon of Heroes. Neither did Lou Gehrig, or Joe DiMaggio, or Lefty Grove. Phil Rizzuto had to wait until he'd taken residence in a broadcast booth to go. Casey Stengel had to wait until he was the manager of the expansion Mets to go. Bobby Jones got two ticker-tape parades and Ben Hogan got one before anyone ever thought to invite the Yankees to the Canyon of Heroes. The first baseball man of any kind to be showered in confetti wasn't even a New York baseball man, but Connie Mack, honored on Aug. 19, 1949, on his 50th anniversary as manager ..."
Join the club!
"Mariano Rivera jogged slowly toward the mound. This is what the beginning of the end has looked like in this generation, Rivera's steady procession toward the mound. The unfazed face, Enter Sandman booming. Late on a Wednesday night in The Bronx, the Phillies watched the arrival of their executioner, the man who would throw the final pitch of another season. Eight years to day earlier, Rivera had thrown the last pitch of the 2001 season and Luis Gonzalez deposited it beyond a drawn-in Derek Jeter. The Diamondbacks had won a World Series and the Yankees had lost a dynasty. Now, again on the latest date a baseball season had ever ended, Rivera brought the final offering, his windup as ..."
Greater Yankee truths and observations
"Random notes from baseball's Oktoberfest that spills into Novemker: -- Now that Alex Rodriguez has a World Series ring and is a postseason hero, will he trade up from Kate Hudson? -- To quote Yogi Berra on something he never said, "Everybody hates the Yankees because they're so popular." -- Defend your Yankees all you want, fans, but please don't tell us they win because their owners' competitive fire burns brighter than all the rest. There are at least a few other teams - not the Giants or A's - that have the same level of desire, and willingness to kiss off short-term profits, but none of them have Yankee dough. -- OK, I'll give you this: Brian Cashman is a freaking genius. Who else ..."
'Never seen a payroll on a ring'
"Damon Oppenheimer goes to scouting showcase events, college and high school games across North America. As scouting director of the New York Yankees, he gets one of two greetings: Either "Hi Damon" or "Ohhh, here come the Yankees with their $200-million payroll." "We get that all the time," Oppenheimer said yesterday awaiting his return flight to Tampa. "You know what, I held that World Series trophy and looked at all the teams listed over the years. Nowhere, not once, does it list team payroll. Same for a World Series ring -- I've never seen a payroll on a ring." You have heard about the four core homegrown players -- Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte and Jorge Posada -- who ..."
Visit with Doc first step to wellness
"Without actually hearing or seeing it, you can be sure Roy (Doc) Halladay was going at least a little crazy the past couple of weeks. Watching Cliff Lee star for the Phillies for a month, then seeing A.J. Burnett get a World Series ring with the Yankees, despite blowing up in two potential clinching post-season games, would make Halladay squirm: When does he get his chance to do this? That is what he lives for, the competition and chance to win. He hasn't had it with the Blue Jays and, at age 32, with one more big contract in front of him, it's not about the money. He has more than he'll ever need. It's strictly about the opportunity to go where Lee and Burnett, among many others, have ..."
Matsui wrong MVP choice
"It was great news for Major League Baseball growing the sport internationally in a season that began with Version 2 of the World Baseball Classic, but the selection of Japanese DH Hideki Matsui as MVP of the World Series was wrong. The real most valuable player, the biggest influence on the outcome, was closer Mariano Rivera. Matsui is strictly a designated hitter who could not play in the field because of his wonky knees. Therefore, in the three Series games at Philadelphia, at a time when it was turning around and the Yankees grabbed history by the throat, winning the first two games to go up 3-1, Matsui was a pinch-hitter, missing Game 4 entirely. Meanwhile, Rivera appeared in four of ..."
A-Rod finally gets validation
"Alex Rodriguez began the year in shame. He stammered, red-eyed and red-faced, as he gave his forced confession to using steroids in 2001-2003. His teammates listened with arms crossed, looking none too sympathetic. A-Rod was ripped as A-Fraud in Joe Torre's book. The tabloids continued to find him a treasure trove of juicy news on his divorce and romantic entanglements. Then there was the hip surgery. It looked to be another difficult year for Rodriguez, another year of trying too hard to be the best, to be accepted as a Yankee and to overcome his unlovable image. Look how it turned out. Not with another choke in the playoffs but with a World Series title, the 27th in Yankees' history, the ..."
Baseball playoffs 2009: Thanks for the memories
"Alex Rodriguez couldn't stop smiling. He was holding the World Series Commissioner's Trophy in his hands after the Yankees' Game 6 clincher Wednesday night. He rubbed it, he kissed it, he practically caressed it. There were real, honest tears in his eyes and nothing phony about his feelings for his teammates, from Derek Jeter to Jerry Hairston Jr. A gazillionaire who has moved through dozens of relationships had found a lasting bond. His season, one that had started as badly as possible with an admission of steroid use that clouds his standing as a future Hall of Famer, had ended with him earning respect along with a championship. "There have been a lot of ups and downs," Rodriguez said. ..."
'09 champions built for a long run
"What the New York Yankees accomplished during the 2009 postseason was not one of those feel-good, pinch-me-I'm-dreaming baseball love stories. When they put the Philadelphia Phillies out of their misery in Game 6 of the World Series Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium, it was not the culmination of a Cinderella season. It was not a 21st century, Tri-State version of the Impossible Dream. They were not plucky underdogs. This wasn't Rocky Balboa outlasting Apollo Creed in "Rocky II." Put another way, the 2009 Yankees lived up to their nickname: They were truly the Bronx Bombers. They didn't simply beat teams, they reduced them to puddles. Picture Pedro Martinez trying to sneak out of the new ..."
Business as usual for baseball's bully
"Years ago, the saying about Yankees fans was that rooting for the New York Yankees was like rooting for U.S. Steel. Let's modernize it a bit: Rooting for the 2009 World Series champion New York Yankees is like rooting for AIG. The Yankees are the perfect symbol for the times - bloated excess. While the federal government was bailing out AIG, the Yankees were charging thousands of dollars for the best tickets in a new $1.6 billion ballpark paid for in part with public funding and tax breaks. There is some symmetry to that - the Yankees have spent about $1.6 billion since they last won a World Series in 2000. So by all means, throw a ticker-tape parade for them Friday to celebrate their ..."
Alex Rodriguez gains respect along with title
"Alex Rodriguez couldn't stop smiling. He was holding the World Series Commissioner's Trophy in his hands after the Yankees' Game 6 clincher Wednesday night. He rubbed it, he kissed it, he practically caressed it. There were real, honest tears in his eyes and nothing phony about his feelings for his teammates, from Derek Jeter to Jerry Hairston Jr. A gajillionaire who has moved through dozens of relationships had found a lasting bond. His season, one that had started as badly as possible with an admission of steroid use that clouds his standing as a future Hall of Famer, had ended with him earning respect along with a championship. "There have been a lot of ups and downs," Rodriguez said. ..."
Gordon Beckham should move to shortstop
"The world as we know it is not going to end if the White Sox move third baseman Gordon Beckham to second base, though the true Beckham believers among you might build survival bunkers just in case. Most of us can agree that Beckham is a star in the making and that, in general, you don't put your best player at second base. Ryne Sandberg, Jeff Kent and a few others aside, it's like having your head chef peeling potatoes. Seeing as how Beckham has played shortstop most of his life and seeing as how Alexei Ramirez had 20 errors at the position last season, one might come to the conclusion this is a freakin' no-brainer. Beckham to short and Ramirez back to second, right? Apparently not. Two ..."
Bullpen not nearly as mighty as Phillies needed it to be
"Huddled up inside the enclosed Ritz-Carlton of bullpens in leftfield at Yankee Stadium, the Phillies' relievers would have stayed there all night - protected from the cold, harsh, pressure-cooker environment - if they could. Given their struggles this season and this World Series, the quiet bullpen was a sort-of shielding bubble. In Game 6 - with the season on the line for the second game in a row - that bubble popped early. Like a window that bursts inside a pressurized cabin, when J.A. Happ opened the door to the outside world at Yankee Stadium to warm up in just the third inning, the gaping hole sucked everyone out with him. In all, the Phillies used five relief pitchers to try to stop ..."
Phillies should start building for next year, starting with acquiring Halladay
"AFTER THE STING wears off and everybody gets a couple of nights' sleep, the quiet pride in the accomplishment of making it to a second consecutive World Series will envelop Phillies' general manager Ruben Amaro Jr., and all of them. They should be given some time to enjoy it, too - especially the general manager who is just finishing his first season. Because it was Amaro who brought Raul Ibanez here and it was Amaro who brought Cliff Lee here. They were huge moves, winning moves, and the general manager deserves an opportunity to bask in the whole thing for a good little while. OK, time's up. What to do to this roster for the 2010 season is the subject that will consume Phillies fans for ..."
More replay in sports is not the solution
"Countless sports commentators and millions of sports fans have arrived at one conclusion after viewing hours of football and baseball playoffs this fall. Officials need more replay help, they say. Nothing is more important than "getting it right," they contend. And they are dead wrong. Our major sporting events already have enough use of replay in officiating. What they need are fewer replays by the networks, not more delays in pursuit of unattainable officiating perfection. I am not anti-replay because of some old school "purist" sense of reasoning. I was against replay officiating when the NFL adopted it in 1986, and there were certainly flaws in its early execution. But as time ..."
With Hudson back, should Hanson become a closer?
"I'm just throwing it out there, OK? So don't all scream at once. (If you do choose to scream, please take turns.) So here goes: With the re-signing of Tim Hudson, the Braves have six starting pitchers under contract for 2010. The baseball truism holds that a team can never have too much pitching, but this one just might. The obvious solution would be to make Kenshin Kawakami a reliever, except for a couple of things: He makes too much money (around $8 million) to slot into middle relief and he generates too many baserunners to close. So …. what about this? Tommy Hanson as closer. I know, I know. Would any organization in its right mind redeploy its best pitching prospect in a generation so ..."
It's About the Money, and the Yanks Have a Lot
"Jimmy Rollins stood in the middle of the losing clubhouse early Thursday morning, speaking with reporters and putting the best face possible on the Philadelphia Phillies' four-games-to-two World Series loss to the Yankees. "They were the better team this series," he said. "Do I think we're the better team? I really do. They showed a lot of heart. A lot of grit. We drilled a couple of guys, no one backed down and they executed." Rollins, the Phillies' shortstop, set the tone before the Series when he predicted that the Phillies would beat the Yankees in five or six games. After the Yankees won Game 6, Derek Jeter told some reporters that Rollins's prediction had served as motivation."
Big lesson is bullpen
"All right, one of them is the money, but if you want to obsess about that, go watch a replay of the 1948 World Series. Nobody got paid then, and you can cozy up to the good old days all you want. No, the major lesson here is that for all the fretting about the Yankees' lack of a credible fourth starter, the playoffs aren't about having a fourth starter nearly as much as they are about having a bullpen. The offense is still what makes and breaks postseason series because if you can hit in the ridiculous conditions Bud Selig offers as he grinds the Series toward Game 7 on Thanksgiving Day, you win no matter what. The second most important thing is being able to get the hard outs, and the ..."
Not Just Another Plaque on the Wall
"Elijah McNally started rooting for the Yankees in 2004, when he was 6 years old. Back then, the Yankees were only a year removed from a World Series appearance, and another championship seemed just around the corner. Since then, Elijah had known nothing but seasons that ended with the Yankees falling short of winning a 27th World Series championship. On Wednesday night, he and his father, Chris, secured two seats in the right-field bleachers to see the Yankees end that dry spell. "I've lived too long hearing that the Yankees got eliminated," said Elijah, who stood in the bleachers in an Alex Rodriguez jersey trying to get players to toss him a ball during batting practice. Chris McNally, ..."
Scrappy Phillies come up short in World Series
"On Sept. 24, 2004, Pedro Martinez walked off the Fenway Park mound in the eighth inning a cauldron of frustration. His Red Sox teammates had just tied the game at 4, had just built some momentum in a key game todecide the American League East Division.Hideki Matsui stepped to the plate.A home run and a 6-4 loss later, Martinez sat on apodium andissued thisfamous quote: "They didn't beat my team. They beat me. They're that good right now. They're that hot. I just tip my hat and call the Yankees mydaddy."What Martinez missed then, what everybody missed when Boston manager Grady Little left him in too long in a Game 7 loss to the Yankees in the American League Championship Series the year ..."
In new Yankee Stadium, World Series title seems right at home as Bombers win 27th title
"The Yankees had won the World Series again, and they all came running for Mo Rivera and this was all the Yankee Stadium night you could ask for now. Any Stadium. Rivera had gotten the last out of another Series, and now players from one of the great Yankee teams, which is exactly what this one became in the end, seemed to come running from everywhere, maybe even from across the street, on the night when the Yankees were finally back to being the Yankees again. Old times at the new Stadium a few minutes before midnight, flashes of light everywhere. Felt like old times and sounded that way and felt that way. Felt that way most of all. So maybe it figured that they did it with old guys ..."
Yankees buck trends by winning World Series with three-man rotation
"Quite a slippery slope the Yankees chose to navigate in winning their 27th world championship. In the end, Andy Pettitte made the short-rest three-man rotation controversy a moot point with 5-2/3 innings of gutty pitching Wednesday night and Damaso Marte got the biggest outs of the game to dethrone the defending champion Phillies and set in motion plans for the parade up the Canyon of Heroes. Indeed, it didn't matter that, since 1999, starting pitchers on short rest were 9-28 in the postseason against pitchers with normal four days' rest or that the last team to win a World Series of more than four games using just three starting pitchers was the Minnesota Twins in 1991 with Jack Morris, ..."
Pettitte rewards Yanks' trust
"ANDY PETTITTE is like your favorite neighbor. He's there when you need him. He's the guy you want to hang with to watch the big game. When he's your teammate, you want him pitching that game. You need Big-Game Andy and last night the left-hander solidified his Yankee legacy. All the pomp and circumstance revolved around Pedro Martinez, but we all know what Pedro is these days, a sideshow, not the main attraction. When Pettitte told me he'd be ready as he walked to the team bus at Citizens Bank Park on Monday night, that he'd have "plenty" for Game 6, all you had to do was look in his eyes to know he was not just delivering a sound-bite. You just knew Pettitte would do his job. Pettitte ..."
Phillies good (but not great) year ends with loss
"When the last out was recorded, Yankee Stadium shook from the energy. A deep, primal howl reverberated from the stands. It was the sound of victory, of ultimate triumph - sweet music to the locals, pure pain to Philadelphians.The Yankees won their 27th championship last night and celebrated in full view of thousands of sickeningly happy New Yorkers. It was a difficult thing to watch.Back in Philly, after the Fightin's won Game 5, I had a conversation with a stadium worker at Citizen's Bank Park. The guy is a loyal Phils fan, and he hoped they would pull off the two-game sweep in the Bronx. But he also knew it would be difficult, and he acknowledged the possibility of failure. In so doing, ..."
Joe Girardi's moves validated by New York Yankees' 27th World Series title
"The mandate for Joe Girardi at the beginning of the season was simple, if not so easy to achieve - win a World Series with one of the most talent-rich and expensive baseball teams ever assembled. That is the charge for a Yankees manager every year, but never more so than this season, after GM Brian Cashman spent $423.5 million of the Steinbrenners' money to bring CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira to the Bronx after the Yankees missed the playoffs last season. It took six games in the World Series, and a gamble on a three-man rotation, but Girardi got his job done, as the Yankees beat the Phillies, 7-3, last night in Game 6. "I really believe in this club. I've always believed ..."
Matsui makes it hard for Yanks to release him
"I'VE maintained for a while that the Yankees should get younger and let Hideki Matsui depart this winter, but how do you do that now? This wasn't Reggie Jackson hitting three home runs in one game, but what we saw last night by Matsui (six RBIs in the Yankees' 7-3 World Series-clinching victory last night in The Bronx) was one of the great performances in World Series history. The Yankees are champions, and Matsui was every bit deserving of the MVP.It just goes to show you what kind of hitter he is. He could hit lefties from the first at-bat I ever saw him. Just his ability to hit all types of pitchers is amazing. He's probably got another three or four years left in him. The Yankees will ..."
Losing Hideki Matsui after MVP World Series performance may be wrong move for New York Yankees
"If this turns out to be goodbye for Hideki Matsui, it goes down as the greatest exit since John Elway won a second straight Super Bowl and rode off into the sunset. It's not exactly the same, of course. Matsui would love to keep his pinstripes and return to defend the championship that he, more than anyone else, delivered for the Yankees Wednesday night with a game that lived up to his nickname of Godzilla. He just may not have a say in the matter. Only how do you cut ties with the MVP of the World Series? Matsui earned that distinction mostly with his eye-popping performance last night, slugging a home run, a double and a single and driving in six runs in the Yankees' 7-3 Game 6 ..."
Title shared by fathers & sons
"EVEN in the middle of the clamor and the clatter, even at the top of the world, this remains a game about fathers and sons, about the passage of time and the passing of the seasons. All around the freshly crowned champions of baseball came offertories of joy and resounding crashes of glee. A good chunk of the 50,315 who passed through the turnstiles were still here, chanting themselves hoarse, singing along with Sinatra, periodically stopping to boo Joe Buck, finally rising to a crescendo when Derek Jeter raised the Commissioner's Trophy high over his head. "It's good to be back!" Jeter said, a preacher speaking to a rapt secular congregation. "This is right where it belongs!" It wasn't ..."
Matsui brings Yanks' elusive 27th title
"Think of the procession and the price. Think of all the stars brought in for nearly a decade at a staggering cost to try to recreate the dynasty years. It has been quite a parade, and yet no parade. There were Mike Mussina and Jason Giambi, Randy Johnson and Kevin Brown, Javier Vazquez and Gary Sheffield, Carl Pavano and Jeff Weaver. They were imported for one reason, and one reason only: To bring championship No. 27 to the Bronx. And they all left ring-less. Hideki Matsui, however, persevered through damaged knees and the loss of his regular outfield gig. He came in with a big nickname and was never more Godzilla than on possibly his last day in a Yankee uniform. The one-time Yomiuri ..."
In Bronx, love for game, not Yanks
"It takes years for the best of baseball players to get to Yankee Stadium.For Alex Jemann, it's a five-minute walk.Jemann is a 15-year-old from the Bronx. He's a freshman in high school.Jemann walked into the athletic complex at Macombs Dams Park late yesterday afternoon. He was carrying a gym bag, a baseball bat, and a dream.He wants to play big-league baseball someday. Preferably for the New York Mets, his favorite team. Or maybe the Phillies, his favorite team last night.Just not the Yankees."I don't like the Yankees," said Jemann, who said he lives "down the street" from the home of the sport's most famous franchise.Across 161st Street, the lights were coming up on the new Yankee ..."
Yankees earned this one
"The greatest 13-month stretch in Phillies history ended one night too soon for the simplest of reasons. It takes more than one pitcher and one hitter to win a World Series against a team as good and as star-kissed as the New York Yankees. The brilliance of Cool Cliff Lee and Home Run Chase Utley could get the Phillies only half the wins required to successfully defend their 2008 title. The Phillies made history last October, winning just the second title in the life of the franchise and thrilling a city that had gone a quarter-century without a championship parade. This time, they were bystanders. With the Yankees in their first season in a brand-new ballpark, their 27th World Series ..."
No shame in loss, but Phils' business unfinished
"There's nothing particularly unique or shameful about losing a World Series to the New York Yankees. It had been done 26 times before last night when the Phillies became the latest victim of the most decorated team in baseball history. That doesn't remove the sting of coming within two wins of a repeat championship, but neither the 7-3 final score nor the six-game decision is any sort of embarrassment. "They definitely deserved to win," manager Charlie Manuel said of the Yankees. "They did things right when they had to. We just didn't play as good as we can." In the short term, there are some decisions that can be picked at like the carcass of a Thanksgiving turkey along about midnight. ..."
In this Series, the Phillies didn't play like champions
"The greatest 13-month stretch in Phillies history ended one night too soon for the simplest of reasons.It takes more than one pitcher and one hitter to win a World Series against a team as good and as star-kissed as the New York Yankees. The brilliance of Cool Cliff Lee and Home Run Chase Utley could get the Phillies only half the wins required to successfully defend their 2008 title.The Phillies made history last October, winning just the second title in the life of the franchise and thrilling a city that had gone a quarter-century without a championship parade. This time, they were bystanders. With the Yankees in their first season in a brand-new ballpark, their 27th World Series victory ..."
We're way overdue for a treat: Let there be a Series Game 7
"Major League Baseball likes to call its World Series the ``Fall Classic,'' one of those apple-pie appellations evocative of autumn leaves in a Norman Rockwell painting -- except that the phrase has mostly become a misnomer. The Series has come to rarely present a bona fide ``Classic,'' only reaching the full, winner-take-all seventh game four times in the past 22 years, and not since 2002. Even the ``Fall'' part is stretching it now that the longest season reaches November and fans dress for ballgames as if girding for winter Sundays at Lambeau Field. Now, though, in Yankees-Phillies, an actual Fall Classic teases us. Philadelphia is one victory, Wednesday night in New York, from gifting ..."
With New York Yankees one win away from World Series title, Joe Girardi better be right about arms
"Joe Girardi knows the deal as well as he knows his way out to the mound. He's right about using only three starters in the postseason if the Yankees win, tonight or tomorrow night. He's right if Andy Pettitte does the job in Game 6 on three days' rest that A.J. Burnett didn't do Monday night. Or he's right if this thing plays all the way out and CC Sabathia carries everybody across the finish line. Girardi just better be right about three days' rest for these guys after being up three games to one. Because if the Yankees blow this Series, if the Phillies come all the way back, then Yankee fans are going to wonder how the Yankees could spend $206 million on baseball players and not have ..."
World Series shows it's about time for a timeout on all the timeouts
"AMID A WORLD SERIES in which records have been threatened, tied and broken, one possible milestone slipped through unnoticed the other night.An umpire was cheered. Heartily.As Cliff Lee placed his glove in front of his face and began his windup to start the seventh inning of Monday's Game 5, Yankees catcher Jorge Posada raised his hand to ask for time and stepped from the batter's box. The pitch hit the strike zone, home plate umpire Dana Demuth signaled strike and the Citizens Bank Park crowd of 46,178 bellowed a lusty approval.No one is quite sure when an umpire was last cheered in this manner in a World Series, or whether it had ever happened before at all. No one is quite sure what the ..."
Yankees playing with fire
"The thing about going with starters on three-days rest: Once you're in, you're all in. It's like one of those poker games you spot on three TV stations nightly when the shark pushes in all his chips. The difference? There isn't a graphic in the lower left hand corner telling whom has the best chance to win. Three starters on three-days rest is the path the Yankees have chosen. A.J. Burnett retired six men, allowed six runs to prolong the 105th World Series Monday in Game 5. And now the Yanks turn to Andy Pettitte ... again on three-days rest, tonight in Game 6. Should the Phillies win and force a Game 7, then it is CC Sabathia on three-days rest ... for a second time. The Yankees ..."
With Pedro Martinez on mound, Phillies think they can get to Andy Pettitte, Yankees
"A few hours after the Phillies staved off World Series elimination by beating the Yankees at Citizens Bank Park on Monday night, the transit union in Philadelphia went on strike, shutting down commuter buses and trains. The commuters in Philadelphia might not be going anywhere anytime soon. But the Phillies believe they're moving toward a second world title after the Yankees' Short Rest Express lost some steam in Game 5. Even though the Yankees hold a 3-2 lead in the Series, which returns to the Bronx tonight, the Phillies think they can get to Andy Pettitte, who will be pitching Game 6 on three days' rest, and then push matters to a Game 7 where all bets are off. Why shouldn't they ..."
Poor pitchers: Looks like a batty finish to World Series
"At times like these, great and historic and pivotal times for the Philadelphia National League Baseball Club, it is always wise to try to remember the acronym WWWS: What Would Whitey Say?And you can be sure, somewhere, that Rich Ashburn is about to turn to the man sitting next to him and say, "Harry, it's time to get the married men off the field."As the Phillies and Yankees careen toward Game 6 of the World Series, their pitching staffs are somewhere between stretched and splintered. The carnage is about to begin. It has been building toward this, hurtling toward the day when these two powerful, pugnacious offenses would gain the unequivocal advantage. Now, that time is upon us. This very ..."
Some jokes have truth to them
"Maybe he was kidding. Maybe not.You've no doubt heard what supposedly happened in the Phillies clubhouse after Game 5. Various media outlets reported that Brett Myers made a snide comment to Cole Hamels - something on the order of "what are you still doing here? I thought you quit." Myers told two Inquirer reporters yesterday that there was no confrontation - that he and Hamels are tight and he was just messing around.Could be. But here's the thing: Myers apparently told that same joke several times that evening in a room full of reporters. Players - like sportswriters - are notorious for busting chops. But if it was all in good fun, why crack on your boy in front of a pack of people who ..."
A mound of drama over a Game 7
"Philadelphia's Cole Hamels made a case that he hasn't quit. New York's CC Sabathia made a case that he's fine starting again on short rest. If the World Series goes to a seventh game, there will be drama in NYC, with both managers ripe for second- guessing because of how they've used their pitchers. Hamels has been under fire since his latest horrible effort Saturday in Game 3, after which he said he wished the season was over. Those comments cast him as selfish and, worse, soft. Hamels issued an apology, then had a dust-up with good friend Brett Myers on Monday, misunderstanding Myers' sarcasm. The two patched things up Tuesday. Hamels wants the ball again in Game 7 and told manager ..."
Phret not: The glass is half Phull
"Neil Devlin, The Post's mop- topped preps sports editor, grew up near Philly. He's the kind of passionate East Coast baseball fan who wears his heart on his sleeve, and on his head. I have rarely seen Devlin without his red Phillies cap. This morning, Devlin is no doubt on edge, wondering how his beloved Phillies can possibly take two games in the Bronx and win the World Series after being down 3-1. Well, Mr. Devlin, I dug hard for you - scrambling, lying to myself a little, crossing my fingers and throwing common sense to the wind - to come up with 10 reasons why your Phillies can pull it off: 1. Five teams have come back from a 3-1 hole in a seven-game series: 1985 Royals, 1979 ..."
For both teams, age before beauty on the mound tonight
"The Old Goat has a little company, and the 2009 World Series rides on the way the two pitchers handle the pressure tonight.Does it get any bigger, any better than this in American sports? Pedro Martinez vs. Andy Pettitte, a combined 75 years old, in Yankee Stadium? One trying to deliver a title for the most successful franchise in baseball, the other fighting to keep the defending champions alive?"Derek [Jeter] and me were just talking about it in the clubhouse" after Game 5, Pettitte said yesterday. "Just how strange this is, after all the battles with him being in Boston. I know I've faced him a bunch of times . . . and then to come full circle, this many years have passed, him with the ..."
Short rest for pitchers was once routine in Series
"If you want to win the World Series despite a three-games-to-one deficit and need to finish off the comeback with a pair of wins on the road, the best formula to follow would be the one employed by the Detroit Tigers in 1968.For the final three games of that Series, manager Mayo Smith had the good fortune to look at his pitching staff and come up with this rotation: Mickey Lolich, Denny McLain, Mickey Lolich.It worked out well for the Tigers, one of just three teams in World Series history to pull off exactly that sort of comeback. The New York Yankees also accomplished it in 1958 against the Milwaukee Braves, as did the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1979 against the Baltimore Orioles.The Phillies ..."
A night at the theater
"Six years later, he is back in new Yankee Stadium, still pitching for the honor of Red Sox Nation. Pedro Martinez gets the ball in Game 6 tonight of the World Series, and he is the only thing standing between the Evil Empire and its 27th world championship. In his role as Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher, Pedro knows he is carrying the colors for Sox fans around the world - just as he did in 2003 when Grady Little left him on the mound too long in the ancient ballpark across the street."
Brewers by the numbers
""The Bill James Handbook 2010," which was published this month, carries some statistical nuggets about some of the Milwaukee Brewers regulars. For example: • Ryan Braun was judged the best base-running leftfielder in baseball, according to James' metric for that skill. "Most people will tell you we should have (Tampa Bay's) Carl Crawford in left field ahead of Ryan Braun. . . . (But) we don't do this on reputation," James writes. James reports Braun went from first to third on a single 15 of 41 times; scored from first on a double 7 of 9 times; moved up 26 bases on wild pitches, passed balls, balks, sacrifice flies and defensive indifference; grounded into seven double plays in 136 ..."
When Texas Rangers make new hire, don't expect an instant hit
"In the summer of 1988, Bobby Witt threw nine consecutive complete games after a brief exile to the minor leagues, prompting speculation as to what brand of exorcism took place in Oklahoma City and whether the rest of the staff should be on the next bus up I-35. Ferguson Jenkins, Hall of Famer, earned most of the credit for Witt's revival. So much so, in fact, that it irritated Bobby Valentine. "What exactly did Fergie tell him," the Rangers' manager asked, "that we didn't?" Maybe it wasn't what Jenkins told Witt, I remember thinking, as much as who he was and how he said it. The vignette comes to mind as the Rangers prepare to hire a hitting coach for the first time in 15 years. ..."
For A.J., fear strikes out
"A.J. Burnett just looked plain scared last night. He had already allowed a three-run homer to Chase Utley in the first inning and seemed determined not to let the Phillies second baseman beat him again. So he walked him leading off the third, and you just knew Burnett was in trouble. He then threw a 3-2 curve and walked Ryan Howard, and the end was near. Base hit, Jayson Werth for a run. Then came an RBI single from Raul Ibanez. Burnett's night was finished. The Yankees lost Game 5 of the World Series and now have a day off to contemplate finishing off the Phillies back in The Bronx. This was not a clinic on how to pitch in big games. You've got to be aggressive and not afraid to fail. ..."
Pedro ready for real 'blood' battle
"This is the way it has to be for the Yankees. They will get the chance to win the World Series at home. They can spear the frog. Pedro Martinez is that frog. Before his Game 2 start, Pedro was waxing poetically about his career and what it means to pitch in Yankee Stadium. "Coming to Yankee Stadium for somebody like me who has, as we say, frog's blood, it doesn't mean much more than 27 outs and nine innings," Martinez said in Spanish, indicating that he was one cold-blooded Pedro, unfazed by pitching in the new $1.5 billion Yankee Stadium. "When I was younger, you could have expected a more volatile reaction, but now, I'm like a war veteran who's not fazed by bullets whistling by his ..."
Believe it: Buck, McCarver not playing favorites
"MANY YANKEES fans will disagree, but if by now I was supposed to have piles of hard, irrefutable evidence proving the Fox World Series team of Joe Buck and Tim McCarver to be overtly anti-Yankees and pro-Phillies, I've found nothing close to what those Yankees fans have found. Or think they've found. I haven't heard from many of them -- and I suspect some I've heard from are Mets fans who would never root for the Phillies but never, ever for the Yanks -- but Buck and McCarver aren't as overtly anti-Phillies and pro-Yankees as those fans think they've found. What happens, I suspect, is that two emotional circumstances collide, creating such impressions. 1) After a season in which fans have ..."
From dream to nightmare
"When it was over, the clubhouse boys were stuffing gear into bags rather than wrapping plastic over lockers. Instead of uncorking champagne, the Yankees were tossing socks and sanitary hose into big laundry bins. Bud Selig, with no presentation to make, walked briskly and bypassed the room altogether. There was no music, no laughter, very little conversation, very little interaction at all. But over in the far corner of the room, one very penitent pitcher took all of this -- all of the quiet, all of the disappointment, all of the frustration -- and heaved it onto his shoulders like a thousand-pound knapsack. "I let 25 guys down," A.J. Burnett said. "I let a whole city down." He wasn't ..."
Alex Rodriguez is A-money player for New York Yankees in this World Series
"History has shown the World Series can be a humbling experience for the greatest of players as well as a forum for unlikely heroism by those who were not-so-great. In this respect, Alex Rodriguez, who until this year came to dread the postseason, can take solace in the fact that, in his first World Series, he's already accomplished more than such immortals as Ted Williams and Willie Mays. Ever since he fessed up about the 'roids, A-Rod allowed the truth to set him free and he has become an October-November terror. Just when you wondered if that 0-for-8 with six strikeouts in the first two games of the Series was a sign that the old A-Rod was back, he homered in Game 3 to spark the Yankees' ..."
Pitching A.J. Burnett on short rest backfires for Joe Girardi, New York Yankees in Game 5
"Joe Girardi has all the patience of a hungry puppy. He can't sit back, let the natural order of things unfold in their own time. So he took another nervous chance Monday, starting A.J. Burnett on three days' rest, and now the Yankee manager has a serious Series on his hands. He has a Game 6, maybe a Game 7 back in the Bronx. He's facing a revived Phillies lineup, a Herculean Chase Utley. He might start two more pitchers on three days' rest. And he has only himself to blame. This isn't a case of second-guessing Girardi. There was a whole lot of first-guessing going on long before Burnett and the Yanks were beaten Monday night, 8-6, in Game 5 at Citizens Bank Park. Chad Gaudin was the ..."
Yankees come up short in World Series Game 5, but deliver message to Philadelphia Phillies
"The Yankees aren't the champs of baseball again, again and at last, because the current champs got up Monday night at Citizens Bank Park, at least to one knee. They got up and came back, came back from Johnny Damon running at them the way he did and Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada hitting them the way they did in the ninth inning of Game 4. A.J. Burnett had nothing, Cliff Lee had just enough, Chase Utley hit two more. If the Yankees are going to win No. 27, they will do it at home. They will do it at the new Stadium, Wednesday night or Thursday night. Maybe that is the way it was supposed to be, the new Stadium getting to see it all. The Yankees made a run at them, oh, you know they did. ..."
Joe's pitching plan hits bump in the road
"In its lust for dollars, Major League Baseball was providing its richest team an unintended benefit this postseason. To maximize revenues, the Commissioners Office constructed a playoff schedule to please its TV partners. Thus, a postseason was produced that was long on off- days and short on common sense. The Yankees last night played for just the 14th time in 29 days since the regular season ended. All of those off-days enabled the Yankees to -- literally -- cut out the middlemen. In the first 13 postseason games, the Yankees generated 101 of their 123 2/3 innings from four pitchers: CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera. That is 81.7 percent of the innings pitched ..."
Skippers' planning enlivens Series
"This is where the decisions earlier in the World Series can either haunt a team or make all the difference. Phillies manager Charlie Manuel began the process when he decided to keep Cliff Lee on his regular rest rather than pitch him on three days rest in Game 4. That seemed to backfire when the Phillies fell behind 3-1 in the series. Now, after the Phillies' 8-6 win over the Yankees in Game 5 on Monday, the decision by Yankees manager Joe Girardi to go with a three-man rotation could backfire on him. Girardi went with A.J. Burnett in Game 5 on three days rest. Burnett was awful, leaving after two-plus innings after giving up six runs. Once the Phillies took a big lead, it became a ..."
Yankees need end to Mark Teixeira mess
"The way the ninth inning was unfolding, you just knew it was going to come down to Alex Rodriguez. Could he possibly have another magic moment in him, in this remarkable postseason when he suddenly never makes an out in the clutch? The suspense was building with every pitch. Problem was, the new A-Rod was hitting in front of him. That's cold, I know. But let's be honest, Mark Teixeira is floundering at the plate in his first postseason the way A-Rod did in his pinstriped past. And while the Yankees have survived Teixeira's struggles so far, you have to ask: Can they really win a championship with their No. 3 hitter seemingly blinded by the bright lights of October/November? Perhaps ..."
Lee is key to possible title
"This is where the decisions earlier in the World Series can either haunt a team or make all the difference. Phillies manager Charlie Manuel began the process when he decided to keep Cliff Lee on his regular rest rather than pitch him on three days' rest in Game 4. That seemed to backfire when the Phillies fell behind 3-1 in the series. Now, after the Phillies' 8-6 win over the Yankees in Game 5 on Monday, the decision by Yankees manager Joe Girardi to go with a three-man rotation could backfire on him. Girardi went with A.J. Burnett in Game 5 on three days' rest. Burnett was awful, leaving after two-plus innings after giving up six runs. Once the Phillies took a big lead, it became a ..."
Phillies respond with backs to the wall
"Standing on the brink of elimination, the world champion Philadelphia Phillies came out with their ace on the mound and their guns blazing, beating the New York Yankees 8-6 Monday night to send the World Series back to the Bronx for Game 6. Despite leading by six runs heading into the eighth inning, the Phillies just managed to hang on, thanks to a another ragged bullpen performance. But as manager Charlie Manuel said on Sunday, "We're still breathing." Nursing a three-run lead with three outs to go, right-hander Ryan Madson came on to close it out in place of struggling Brad Lidge. Madson allowed the first two batters to reach base before Derek Jeter grounded into a double play and Mark ..."
It's high time to speed up player conferences in games
"Baseball prides itself on being the only major sport without a clock. But when did it become cool not to have a clue? Let's go back to Sunday night. By nature, baseball is a leisurely sport, built around strategy and idle chat. But what played out between pitcher CC Sabathia and Jorge Posada was stupid. If standard text message rates had applied, they'd both be broke. Worse, the umpires never broke it up. That's because - you guessed it - there's no rule against player conferences. One trip is allowed per inning by a manager or coach before a pitcher must be lifted. There's no limit on player conferences. It falls under a pace of game issue. It's funny how the speed-up rules never apply ..."
Punchy Phils make it OK again to hate Yankees
"This World Series has accomplished one beautiful thing: It's again fun to hate the New York Yankees. And baseball is better for it. There are again 208 million reasons to dislike the Yankees, starting with the goo-goo eyes actress Kate Hudson makes at New York slugger Alex Rodriguez. So thank you, Philadelphia. Your gritty 8-6 victory in Game 5 proved these Phillies just might yet put up the kind of fight that would do Rocky Balboa proud. In fact, Philly outfielder Shane Victorino is so fired up that on his way out the clubhouse door late Monday night, he threatened to beat up teammate Cole Hamels. "You better rephrase that statement," Victorino declared to the left-handed pitcher, his ..."
Mark Teixeira needs to make up
"On any list of wild and crazy World Series questions you thought would never be posed for public consumption, this one takes first, second and third place: Is anyone around here going to give A-Rod a little help? Yes, Mark Teixeira, consider this your $180 million hint. Monday night, while representing the tying run, Teixeira advanced his wretched World Series with a game-ending strikeout recorded by Ryan Madson, who was practically sucking from an oxygen mask. The Phillies sent the Yankees and case after case of unopened champagne back to the Bronx, back to a place Joe Girardi didn't want to visit in the worst way. Game 6. No, make that Game 6 with a 37-year-old pitcher going on short ..."
Chase Utley keeps the power turned up
"They've been playing the World Series for more than a century. No, not this one in particular, it only seems that way with the calendar reading November already. And in all that time, no one has ever hit more home runs in a single Series than Chase Utley. Not Babe Ruth, not Willie Mays, not Hank Aaron. Not even Reggie Jackson, whose previous record of five was tied by the Philadelphia Phillies second baseman last night. "Obviously, it's great company," said Utley, who seemed a bit uncomfortable with the attention after the Phils held off the New York Yankees, 8-6, in Game 5. "At some point, not right now, maybe I'll look back and see what kind of special moment it is. "But right now, our ..."
Is it too much to ask for baseball to wrap up in October?
"The World Series ended Monday, or maybe Philly delayed what feels inevitable and dragged this "Fall Classic" into Wednesday and NYC. Does it really matter? I, like most inhabitants of fly-over states, have trouble feigning interest, much less watching. We are talking baseball in November, a month most often associated with Thanksgiving and puffy ski jackets and college football rivalry games. And we're talking another N.Y. Yankees championship to further annoy matters. What did NYY exactly do worthy of fawning? This is not the little guy overcoming odds, or a team slowly building via a vibrant farm system, or even a long-suffering franchise buying itself a championship. This is a monopoly, ..."
The old-school Series
"Now, this is more like the World Series we were expecting and hoping for, isn't it? Or, since this is ornery Philly and the Big Apple doing baseball battle that we are talking about, why don't we just say it: This is a hell of a lot more like it. Polite is dead and buried for the rest of this Series. Now, after an 8-6 Phillies beat-down of the Yankees here in Game 5 to keep this Series alive, we're headed back to Amtrak, back to Yankee Stadium and, finally, back to bad-blood-filled, strategy-consumed, controversy-loving old-school baseball. Questions, oh, we've got questions. Will Chase Utley, who tied the all-time Series record with five home runs by crashing two more here in Game 5, ..."
Gonzo: Phils never count themselves out
"Charlie Manuel is a nice guy - or at least he treats most of the press with respect, which is what passes for pleasant as far as most of us are concerned. He wasn't in such a good mood before the Phils went out and beat the Yanks in Game 5, however. He seemed sort of annoyed, actually. I don't blame him. There's a way the media sausages are made, and it's a lot like how the Fightin's win - messy. When a team is down three games to one, some journalists start planning ahead. Some of that involves asking questions about what happens after the World Series is over - even though it isn't yet and might not be for a while. It's a delicate process, or it ought to be. Problem is, most reporters ..."
Phillies' Manuel now looks like a genius
"Chase Utley's bat must be magic. The moment it connected with A.J. Burnett's fat first-inning fastball, Charlie Manuel's IQ went up 50 points.One moment, the Phillies' manager was a fool for starting Joe Blanton in Sunday night's Game 4. By the time Utley's three-run blast landed in the right-field seats, Manuel was a genius. His dunce cap had been transported over to the Yankees' dugout and plopped onto the head of Joe Girardi.A decision that earned Manuel criticism for two days now points the way to a possible Game 7. That doesn't mean it will be easy. The road remains uphill, but at least it is paved after last night's 8-6 victory.You might say Cliff Lee's performance last night would ..."
Next win for Phils will be harder
"Now comes the hard part.Last night's World Series win over the New York Yankees was hardly a sure thing, but it was the surest card the Phillies had in their hand as they attempt to play their way out of the deep hole they dug in the first four games of the series.Cliff Lee settled down after a shaky first inning, got some run support and was able to pitch aggressively against the Yankees. The only reliable starter left in the makeshift rotation wasn't as sharp as he was in the opener, but he didn't have to be. New York hasn't been able to hit him consistently, but, in all likelihood, won't get a chance to prove that again.Having dodged elimination once by the 8-6 score - and saving local ..."
Now Phils need to do it again
"Now comes the hard part. Monday night's World Series win over the New York Yankees was hardly a sure thing, but it was the surest card the Phillies had in their hand as they attempt to play their way out of the deep hole they dug in the first four games of the series. Cliff Lee settled down after a shaky first inning, got some run support and was able to pitch aggressively against the Yankees. The only reliable starter left in the makeshift rotation wasn't as sharp as he was in the opener, but he didn't have to be. New York hasn't been able to hit him consistently, but, in all likelihood, won't get a chance to prove that again. Having dodged elimination once by the 8-6 score - and saving ..."
Rest is history for pitching strategy
"SOMETIMES YOU get the 3 days' rest and sometimes the 3 days' rest gets you, or something like that. This World Series has come down to two managers, Joe Girardi and Charlie Manuel, two men and two fundamental decisions they have made about how to use their pitching staffs. The contrast is rarely this stark and now there is no turning back. Girardi has gambled on stressing his best arms. Manuel has calmly counted on the depth of his staff. Girardi has sent out CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett on short rest and now seen Burnett blow up on him, giving the Phillies their opening. Manuel resisted the temptation to force the issue with Cliff Lee in Game 4 and was rewarded with resuscitation by Lee ..."
Yankees fans cash in on ticket situation
"THE MOOD outside Citizens Bank Park yesterday afternoon reflected the gray skies. The energy, especially compared to the insanity of Sunday, was slow to arrive. There was no Eagles game letting out and the Phillies were in a 3-1 series hole. Plus, it was a Monday. Anticipation was replaced by nervous agitation and the obnoxious-meter from our guests from the north also was soaring."Who's got my one ticket? Who's got my miracle ticket?" asked Bill Robinson, of Manhattan. "This team is not to be denied."Robinson was like a lot of Yankees fans who made the trip to Philadelphia for a chance to see their team close out their 27th World Series Championship. Tickets would be easier to get last ..."
Utley's poise makes a powerful statement
"CHASE UTLEY WALKED to the plate to start the third inning last night and everyone expected more fireworks. That is what has made coming to Citizens Bank Park so compelling every summer of its 6-year existence, regardless of who is pitching, who is in your bullpen, who you're playing, really.Bombs. Lots of bombs. It's how this team has scored the majority of its runs to win the majority of its regular-season games. The Phillies led the National League with 224 this season, scored 44.5 percent of their runs via the long ball. With 31 home runs, Chase Utley was an integral part of that equation, and his two home runs in the Phillies' 8-6, Game 5 victory last night is representative of ..."
Phillies face music with noteworthy effort in Game 5
"CLIFF LEE had just given up a first-inning run. That's like Tim McGraw starting off "I like It, I Love It" with a belch. It's like a Charlie Manuel sentence without an "At the same time" to bridge conflicting ideas.Yankees 1, Phillies 0. Here they go again. Crowd listlessly flapping its rally towels, 46,000 flags about to fly at half-staff.So, with Jimmy Rollins waiting for A.J. Burnett to finish his warm-up tosses, before a Phillies batter had faced a pitch, the robust Money Pit sound system blared to life with the stirring refrain of the unofficial South Philly National Anthem:The Theme from "Rocky" filled the jammed yard with its "Gonna Fly Now" promise.Mike Lupica, the ubiquitous New ..."
1993 Phillies veterans say this World Series looks familiar
"THE OUTLOOK was bleak. It always is when a team is down by three games to one in a best-of-seven series. Coming off two straight losses at home, including a heartbreaker in Game 4. Listening to all the statistics about how few teams have dug themselves out of such a hole.That was the situation the Phillies found themselves in . . . against the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1993 World Series.It was then, on the night of Oct. 21 at Veterans Stadium, that Curt Schilling did several things. Pitched the first Phillies shutout in World Series history, holding the Jays to five singles in a 2-0 win. Had his coming-out party as a Big Game Pitcher. And showed how true the old cliche about momentum being ..."
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