WS Game 6 - WORLD CHAMPIONS!

Andy Pettitte staired down Old Man River and defied the odds stacked against pitchers going on 3 days rest in the postseason. With Joe Girardi getting grilled about his decision to use a 3 man rotation in the Series, his plan came to fruition, as the Yanks rode the back of an ol' reliable horse. Pettitte tossed 5.2 innings of 3-run ball, with only Ryan Howard's 2-run shot in the 6th marring what was otherwise a brilliant pitching performance, but by then, the Yanks held a 7-3 lead and seemed to be perfectly in command of their 27th World Series Championship.

Hideki Matsui, perhaps in his last game as a Yankee, went out in style, earning the Series' MVP honors. Godzilla was a one-man wrecking crew, destroying Pedro Martinez and JA Happ for 6 RBIs on a 2-run bomb, a bases loaded single and a 2-run double. Matsui finished the Series 8-13, hitting .615 with 3 HRs and 8 RBIs, despite not starting 3 games in Philly.

Mariano Rivera, the Rock of Gilbraltar of the Yankee bullpen for the past 14 seasons, came on to finish this one, as the Phillies and Jimmy Rollins never "figured him out". Mo was the only reliever in the postseason who did not blow a game for his team. Ryan Franklin, Joe Nathan, Jonathan Papelbum, Jonathan Broxton, Huston Street, Brian Fuentes, and Brad Lidge all blew critical games for their respective teams. Yankee fans have been spoiled for a long time with Mariano, and one day, we'll all have our wake up call when the greatest reliever of all time won't be trotting out to "Enter the Sandman".

The "Curse of The ARod" has been lifted. Unlike the "Curse of the Bambino", which lasted 86 years, ARod's curse only lasted 5 years. Since ARod joined the team in 2004, when the Yanks had their epic collapse against Boston (largely due to Joe Torre's incompetence), the Bombers haven't even sniffed the World Series. But this postseason, ARod put the Yankee offense on his back and 3 times helped tie or put the team ahead in the 9th inning. I guess I can stop being an ARod apologist, as he's finally earned his due.

So the "Core Four", Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Pettitte and Rivera, finally earned their elusive 5th ring, after racking up 4 rings in 5 years between 1996-2000. I'm sure they never anticipated it would take this long, and perhaps later, had doubts if they would ever ascend to such heights again, but here they were, enjoying the fruits of their labors and entrenching their status as baseball immortals.

When these great ballplayers have finished out their careers, will we ever see the like of their talent and will to win again? Somehow, I highly doubt it.

Yankees Postseason: Mission Accomplished - 27th WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

WS Game 5 - Has Girardi Blown This World Series?

Joe Girardi roled the dice and decided to start AJ Burnett on 3 days rest - terrible move, Joe. Up 3-1 in the Series, Girardi tried to go for the kill, but instead he might have killed the Yanks chances at a 27th championship. Burnett got lit up for 5 runs in 2+ innings, and was down 3-1 after before recording an out. In a word, he was horrendous. Chad Gaudin easily could have given the Yankees that same performance, and nobody would have thought any less of Girardi.

Apparently, Girardi didn't write a list of pros and cons before deciding on Burnett on short rest. I'll do it for him.

Pros: AJ asked for the ball; go for the kill and end the Series quickly; AJ's past record on short rest

Cons: AJ is horrendous on the road; by starting AJ on the road, the Yanks lineup had Swisher batting 5th and Jose Molina in the lineup without Posada and Matsui; that lineup was facing Cliff Lee, who dominated the Yanks in Game 1; how about the fact that they were facing Cliff Lee, thus making their chances to win slim in the first place? And last but not least, if AJ lost, which he did, it now impacts Game 6 and 7 because Andy Pettitte and CC Sabathia are going on short rest, as well.

Hey Joe - that Cons list is pretty long. Now the Yanks must entrust their season on the shoulders of Andy Pettitte, who historically does not have great numbers on short rest, and most important of all, is a 37-year old man who hasn't done it in 3 years.

Thoughts on Game 5:

- Everyone of Utley's HRs have come on a pitch right down the pipe - how do the Yankee pitchers keep missing so badly?

- AJ, great job hitting Shane Victorino - couldn't you have hit Utley?

- Has anyone seen Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano? Absolutely horrendous performance in the World Series. At least Tex looks like he cares out there. Cano looks like he's playing in the Dominican Winter Leagues without a care in the world.

- Phil Coke, just go home. We won't need you the rest of the series.

- If Tex got on in the 9th inning, there was no way they were pitching to ARod. Introducing your 5th place hitter - Nick Swisher. Game over anyway.

- With 2 batters, the Phillies tied 2 records: Utley tied for the most HRs in a WS with 5 and Ryan Howard tied the record for most strikeouts in a Series with 12. When does the Yankee staff and coaches wake up and realize maybe they should pitch around Utley and go after Howard?

Yankees Postseason Record: 10-4

World Series: Yankees up, 3-2

WS Game 4 - ARod's Heroics Give Yanks 3-1 Series Lead

The Yanks led 4-2 for most of the game as their lineup began to take a siesta, but things began to look grim as the momentum changed towards the Phillies. Chase Utley and Pedro Feliz both hit solo shots to tie the game at 4 and Brad Lidge retired the first 2 Yanks out in the 9th with Phil Coke warming up in the bullpen. But Johnny Damon started the improbable rally when he battled back from an 1-2 hole to single to left field on a full count. With Mark Teixeira at the plate, Damon stole second and took off for 3rd when no one (Brad Lidge) covered 3B. Feliz was covering second because of the shift.

Thankfully for the Yanks, Lidge plunked the hyperventilating Teixeira with the next pitch, thus setting the stage for an ARod-Lidge rematch. Earlier in the season, ARod took Lidge deep in back-to-back games. With Damon on third, it appeared Lidge wanted to stay away from his sharp slider, and after getting ahead of ARod on a fastball, ARod didn't miss the second one. He ripped it into the LF corner to knock in Damon with the go ahead run, allowing Mariano Rivera to begin warming up in the pen and hushing the rather obnoxious Philly crowd. Jorge Posada knocked in 2 insurance runs with a single to left center to give the Yanks a 7-4, although he continued his baffling runnig mistakes when he was thrown by 30 feet at second to end the rally.

Things began quickly for the Yanks. Derek Jeter singled and Damon doubled to lead off the game. Tex knocked in a run when Ryan Howard robbed him of a potential double and Posada knocked in the 2nd run with a sac fly. Meanwhile, ARod was plunked for a 3rd time in the Series, leading to a warning for both teams before CC Sabathia even threw a pitch.

Phillies starter, Joe Blanton, 0-3 lifetime with a career ERA over 8.00, settled down to retire 11 straight Yankees. The Yanks touched him up for 2 more runs in the 5th on RBI singles from The Captain and Damon after Feliz tied it up at 2 for the Phillies in the 4th.

Sabathia, pitching on 3 days rest, battled all night. He escaped a 2 runners on, no out jam in the 5th, retiring the heart of the Phillies order, and appeared to be cruising till he gave up a 2-out, 1-2 count HR to his nemesis, Chase Utley. It was Utley's 3rd HR and 4th extra base hit off Sabathia in the series. Out went Sabathia and in came new Yankee hero, Damaso Marte, who retired Howard on a fly ball to LF. Marte is pitching a la Graeme Lloyd in the 1996 World Series when Lloyd dominated Braves lefty hitters Ryan Klesko and Fred McGriff.

The Yanks brought in Joba Chamberlain in the 8th, and for 2.5 batters, Joe Girardi appeared to be a genius. Joba struck out Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez before going up 1-2 in the count to Pedro Feliz. After falling behind 3-2, Joba laid a fat fastball over the plate that the weak-hitting Feliz crushed into the LF seats, sending Citizens Bank Park into bedlam. The sharks smelled blood in the water as it appeared the Phils were going to perform another of their postseason comebacks.

But ARod had other plans, and with the 3 run lead, Mo came out and retired the shell-shocked Phillies on 8 pitches, including Jimmy Rollins for a 2nd straight night, despite his proclamation that the Phillies "had him figured out".

The Yanks will send AJ Burnett to the mound tomorrow on 3 days rest against Cliff Lee, who absolutely dominated the Bombers in Game 1. Nothing would be sweeter than watching the Yanks clinch this series in front of the arrogant, ignorant, and clueless fans of Philadelphia.

Yankees Postseason Record: 10-3

World Series: Yanks up, 3-1