When it comes down to it, the Yankees simply had too much depth for the Philadelphia Phillies to handle. The Yankees had all areas covered including starting pitching and closer Mariano Rivera. This point was quite telling as the only 2 games won by the Phillies were pitched by starter Cliff Lee, who was brilliant. The Phillies didn't have the starting pitching or the bullpen to keep pace with the Yankees. What appeared to be an evenly matched fight after Philadelphia's Game 1 victory, was not a fair fight at all. Despite poor overall offensive numbers, the Yankees relied on timely hitting in clutch situations in order to hoist World Series Championship number 27. Hideki Matsui was named World Series MVP mostly for his Game 6 exploits-- a 2-run home run and 6 rbi-- as no clear front-runner existed among Yankee hitters and pitchers.
If told that CC Sabathia did not win a single game in this World Series, I would have most likely asked how many games did the Phillies win in? Of course they didn't as the Yankees won the series 4-2. As cliche as this might sound, this was in fact a true team effort on the part of the Yankees. If not for Matsui's big offensive night, it may have proved difficult to decide a World Series MVP. In the end the Yankees just got it done, what else can be said? The offense didn't exactly punish Philadelphia pitching, but the Yankee pitchers outpitched their Philadelphia counterparts. Outside of Cliff Lee's 2 starts, the Phillies could not rely on Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton, Pedro Martinez, J. Happ and Co. to provide enough support against a stacked Yankee lineup where any one individual could hurt you. Going with a 3-man rotation of Sabathia, Burnett, and Pettitte figured to be a calculated risk on the part of manager Joe Girardi, putting all three on short rest for Games 4, 5, and 6. But it certainly reaped its rewards, as Sabathia and Pettitte both pitched extremely well, resulting in Yankee victories.
Moving forward, GM Brian Cashman-- whom oddly wasn't present at the W.S. Award presentation-- has job security for another year, as the Yankee franchise under the Steinbrenners' ownership isn't satisfied with just one championship. Expect the Yankees to go well over $200 million in payroll in order to recreate the dynasty of the late 1990s. As for the Phillies, its incredible now to think that this team made it to the World Series with the starting and relief pitching they displayed throughout the regular season. However, this is a testament to how good this team really was, as they were able to repeat as NL Champions. An overhaul including the need for starting pitching and a closer will ensue this offseason in search of a 4th straight NL East title and a possible return to the World Series.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
When you have a closer as good as Mo, you effectively make the game a 7 inning game. With excellent starting pitching all post-season, this series was quickly over. The Phillies are close to an American league team as they come but the rest of the National little league is trash. Oh and by the way, Jeter has 3 more rings than the entire Mets franchise.
ReplyDeleteMariano Rivera is the best closer in the game, and yes, because of this games could really be shortened significantly. The gap between the AL and NL is slowing closing, as evidenced by interleague play this year. Historically, there have been several periods where one league was much stronger than the other.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to compete with the Yankees who now have 27 World Series rings, as the franchise with the next most is the Cardinals (10). The Yankees have built up a legacy over their 100+ year history that has afforded them the buying power that the have had over the last 20 years to compete year in and year out. Older Yankees teams which won consecutive World Series did so before the league championship round was introduced in 1969. Since the Mets' inception in 1962, the Yankees have won 8 World Series (5 in the Derek Jeter era).