Too Much to Handle, Yanks win 27

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.

Phillies Stay Alive in Game 5

The Phillies made it interesting Monday night after letting a 8-2 lead dwindle into an 8-6 victory in Game 5. Lee wasn't great or flashy as in previous contests, but he held the Yankees to 2 runs before running into trouble in the 8th inning. The Phillies owned this game from the moment Burnett offered a pitch over the middle of the plate to Chase Utley in the bottom of the 1st inning. Suddenly the Phillies were up 3-1 on a 3-run homer off the bat of Utley. For good measure, he would homer again later in the game. Burnett was awful coming off short rest (3 days), and couldn't make it out the 2nd inning before surrendering 5 runs, leaving down 5-1. After Utley's 2nd home run as well as Ibanez's homer, the Phillies led 8-2, never looking back.

Much was made in New York about Joe Girardi's decision to pitch Burnett on short rest instead of Chad Gaudin. After Burnett's shelling, much more will be said about whether it was smart to allow Burnett and Pettitte to pitch on short rest instead of opting for Gaudin in Game 5, and selecting either Burnett or Pettitte for a Game 6 with full rest.

The Yankees are up 3-2 in the series heading back to New York for Game 6. Andy Pettitte will oppose Pedro Martinez. Pettitte will pitch on 3 days rest as Burnett did, whereas Pedro will have a full 4 days. If the Phillies should reach a Game 7, Cliff Lee will be available to pitch at least an inning.

Where has the Time Gone?

In the blink of an eye, the Yankees have gone up 3 games to 1 in the 105th installment of the World Series. Almost forgotten is Cliff Lee's complete game gem in Game 1, with the Phillies now finding themselves relying on Lee again in Game 5 to secure a trip back to New York for potential Games 6 and 7.

In Game 3, it looked as though Cole Hamels had settled in nicely with the aid of an early 3-0 Phillies lead, however it would not last as Pettitte held on and Hamels unraveled. Hamels has done an about face from this year over last, and his miserable season continued on Halloween night with a homer from Rodriguez which opened the floodgates, resulting in a 8-5 Yankee win. Last night in Game 4, the Phillies played catchup all night against the Yankees, tieing Yankee leads of 2-0 and 4-2. After Utley hit a solo shot late to make it 4-3 and chase starter CC Sabathia, Chamberlain surrendered a game-tying home run to Pedro Feliz. In a bizarre ninth in which Lidge retired the first two batters, Johnny Damon lined a single to left and stole 2nd and 3rd on the same play as the Phillies played their infield to a right shift, which allowed Damon to continue to third as 3rd baseman Pedro Feliz received the throw to 2nd. Lidge didn't cover 3rd and Damon made it easily to score the go-ahead run on a Rodriguez double. Posada would drive two more in to bring the Yankees a commanding 3-run lead that Mariano Rivera would not relinquish for a 7-4 win.

No brainer, but Philly really needed this one, especially with Lee (full rest 4 days) pitching Game 5 against an A.J. Burnett on short rest (3 days) with a weaker hitting Molina probably going to be his battery mate. The cards would appear stacked against the Yankees tonight, however with a 3-1 series lead and two potential remaining games in New York, the Yankees are 1 win from World Championship #27.

Trick or Treat, Series Knotted at 1-1

After a classic Game 1 battle between Cliff Lee and CC Sabathia ended in a dominating complete game performance by Lee and the Phillies, fans were treated to another close game in Game 2. In a Game 1 that pitted the last two AL Cy Young Award winners, Lee was good as advertised, recording 10 strikeouts in a 9-inning complete game effort. Sabathia was good as well going 7 innings before Girardi gave him the hook down 2-0. After Yankee parade of pitchers in the 8th and 9th innings led to 4 more runs, the Phillies had the game in hand, winning 6-1. Game 2 promised the potential for great starting from A.J. Burnett and Pedro Martinez, or utter disaster. You simply didn't know what would happen, but luckily, it was the former, with the Burnett throwing 7 innings of one-run ball before handing the reins to Mariano for 6 outs, and a 3-1 win.

As expected MLB fans are in for real treat for Game 3 on Halloween night, and again as has been the issue all postseason, the weather will hopefully hold out. On paper Yankee Doodle Andy Pettitte will have the advantage over Cole Hamels tonight, but Citizens Bank Ballpark is a band-box and untold amounts of scoring are always possible.

World Series 2009 Preview

This may ultimately be the best World Series since 2001 between the Yankees and Diamondbacks, which went 7 games, and was capped off by a series-winning duck-snort by Luis Gonzalez over the head of Derek Jeter. As a Mets fan, I've been entirely disgusted by the outlook of fellow Mets fans who deem this World Series matchup as a "Mets fan's worst nightmare" or "hell." Who cares? The Mets' season was over almost as soon as it began, and fans have to put the season to rest and turn over a new leaf. As said before, its okay to be a MLB fan. You have to respect what the Phillies did this year off a 2008 World Series Championship.

Position Matchup (offense)

C- Posada- one of the best offensive catchers of his generation; Ruiz has been good this postseason
1B- Howard- very clutch/hot in the playoffs, consecutive rbi game streak, Teixera hitting .205
2B- Utley- even on regular season, but advantage goes to Utley mostly because Cano hasn't hit well with RISP
SS- Jeter- guy's a hitter, doesn't matter the situation; Rollins had huge walk-off 2 rbi double, but still doesn't stack up to Derek Jeter
3B- Rodriguez- most deadly hitter in playoffs, IBB with 2 outs bases empty in 9th inning against Angels closer Brian Fuentes
LF- Push (Ibanez/Damon)- Ibanez has better overall stats, but fizzled after an injury during the year and their postseason stats are even
CF- Victorino- similar stats, "the Flying Hawaiian" has a 20 pt better avg
RF- Werth- 36 hr 99rbi .268 vs. Swisher's 26 hr 81 rbi .249

Position Matchup (defense)

C- Ruiz- Posada gets flack for his defensive play, he's in there for offense
1B- Teixera- no question, 2x glove glover- will win again this year
2B- Push (Utley/Cano)- both above average infielders who will make bone-head plays from time to time
SS- Push (Jeter/Rollins)- if you give anyone an edge it would be Jeter for his spectacular throws, but Rollins has better arm
3B- Rodriguez - 2x gold glover; Pedro Feliz committed 15 errors this season to A-Rod's 9.
LF- Damon- it doesn't always look good, but Damon usually makes the play despite his terrible arm; Phillies have put Ben Francisco in LF as a defensive replacement late for Ibanez in the playoffs
CF- Victorino- covers a remarkable amount of ground in CF; Melky can be an adventure
RF- Werth- also covers quite a bit of ground in RF; Swisher will lose the ball in the lights

Overall

Starting Pitching
NYY- Sabathia, Burnett, Pettitte over Lee, Hamels, Martinez, Blanton

Bullpen
NYY- only give it to Yankees because of Mariano Rivera; Chamberlain, Hughes, Coke were supposed to be the bridge to Mariano, but they have faltered. Weak Phillies bullpen hasn't blown any saves with Brad Lidge and Ryan Madson this postseason

Offense
PHI- close, but big Yankees boppers like Mark Teixera have not been as impressive as the explosive Phillies lineup.

Defense
Infield- NYY- fabulous defense all-around except for maybe Cano at times.
Outfield- PHI- Werth and Victorino over Cabrera and Swisher any day of the week.
Overall- NYY- Infield is key to overall defense here, whereas Melky and Swisher can get by.

Manager
Charlie Manuel- won last year's World Series; Girardi won NL Manager of the Year with Florida Marlins some years ago, and the quick hook on pitchers in the playoffs along with the offensive reshuffling sans DH in Philadelphia might hurt.

Intangibles
Push- the Yankees came back to win many many times this year, and have had some late clutch hits to win games (see A-Rod); the Phillies had a late walk-off double by Jimmy Rollins when faced with their final out.

Keys to the Series: Starting Pitching and Bullpen
Both teams have worthy aces in Sabathia and Lee. Burnett can be rattled but has been good overall thus far, whereas Hamels with a 6.00+ ERA is not getting it done. Having Pettitte as a #3 with all his postseason experience overshadows Blanton, Happ, and even Pedro Martinez.
Coming into their ALCS with the Angels, the Yankees bullpen was rock-solid, however Joba and Phil Hughes have been anything but solid. Couple this with a poor Phillies bullpen that finished games with moderate trouble and you are beginning to see parity among these two bullpens minus of course Mariano Rivera.

Prediction: This World Series is tough to call. If Yankees starting pitching and bullpen are good, they win in 6. Otherwise the Phillies will win in 7 games, as they will need to go the distance to overcome their poorer starting pitching and unsure bullpen; expect their wins to include 8-6 slugfests to stay competitive.

Turnpike Tussle

Its official, the Yankees will meet the Phillies in the 2009 World Series. On the backs of great pitching from starter Andy Pettitte (6.1 IP) along with six solid outs from Mariano Rivera, the Yankees clinched their 40th AL pennant with a 5-2 Game 6 win at Yankee Stadium Sunday night.

You'll forgive my East Coast Bias, but this is definitely the best possible matchup for this year's World Series. Representing the NL, you have the Philadelphia Phillies, defending 2008 World Series Champions versus the AL's best team, the 103-win New York Yankees. This World Series shapes up to be an interesting series not seen in some years, as WS sweeps in 2004, 2005, and 2007 proved lackluster and anti-climatic. Here's hoping this series goes 6 or 7 games to erase the lopsided contests of recent years.

World Series breakdown to follow soon. Stay tuned.

No Swish-a-licious Tonight

The Yankees blew a golden opportunity to set up a World Series meeting with the Phils, and instead will prepare for the Angels in a Game 6 at Yankee Stadium on an ominous-looking Saturday evening. They scored late, as has been their M.O. the entire postseason thus far, scoring no runs in the first 6 innings. Down 4-0, they rallied in the 7th, scoring 6 runs in an inning where John Lackey may have prematurely been taken out of the game by skipper Mike Scioscia. After the Angels scored 3 runs of their own in the bottom of the inning to take a 7-6 lead, the Yankees looked to Mariano to bail them out. He did, and in the 9th, Nick Swisher popped up to end the game with the bases loaded.

Chants of '2004 Red Sox' should be no problem as veteran Andy Pettite takes the hill on Saturday, with safety-net CC Sabathia ready if needed for a Game 7. The true issue is that the Yankees' bats always seem to take some innings to get going. This pattern will not be particularly helpful if their starting pitchers fail to produce solid outings. Tonight saw A.J. Burnett give up 4 runs in the first inning before eventually settling in. During the five innings to follow, John Lackey continued to shut the Yankees down. Luckily the Yankees were finally able to get into the Angels bullpen and cash in 6 runs to go on top 6-4, with the hope they would end series here tonight in Anaheim. But it wasn't to be as the "dependable" Yankee bullpen, along with some interesting pitching decisions by Joe Girardi, hampered the Yankees ability to maintain the lead long enough for Mariano Rivera to reach the mound.

Heavy rains may disrupt Game 6 on Saturday, but Sunday and Monday--if series pushed back-- look good. Hopefully, the bad weather on Saturday doesn't result in an unfair result for a monumentally important game.