So here we are, one win away from a championship. The Yankees have not come this close since 2001 and all they have to do is get 27 outs and they are your World Champions.
What can you say but wow. Tie game, the Yankees just blown a lead and have to mount a rally. Damon steps up with 2 outs. Yet somehow I was still confident. It is Brad Lidge after all. And then Damon has a series changing 9 pitch at bat and gets a single. After awful Tex gets hit, A-Rod steps to the plate. You knew it would come down to him, it always does. AND BAM!!!!! A shot one hop to the left field wall and there is your moment we all were waiting for with arod. This hit, this moment, will change his career forever. This series, in all honesty, is a formality. (ok all you ridiculous people who think I just jinxed the team, I have felt that winning a World Series was a formality since middle Aug, and nothing has dettered that so far). Whether it happens tonight or wednesday or god forbid thursday, the Yankees are going to win number 27, and when they do, A-Rod's legacy SHOULD change forever.
Mariano, Mariano, Mariano. I would say regarding anything major happening, Mo gets World Series MVP. Getting out of that jam in Game 2 and then shutting down the Phils in Game 3 and Game 4, I think he deserves it. Again, you wont realize it until he is gone, but he is the greatest pitcher me and you will ever see in our lifetime.
I thought C.C should the heart of a champion and a winner last night. He did not have his "A" stuff, but he was good enough and got out of every jam that he got himself into. Striking out Jayson Werth in the 5th was absolutly huge. Yes, Utley has destroyed him, but its not like Utley isnt the best second baseman in baseball. C.C hung in there and I feel his performence will inspire A.J to go out there and give about as gutsy a performence as you can give. Those two feed off each other, especially in the postseason, and you love to see that. A reason why the Yankees are where they are right now.
I think I told you so with Ryan Howard. I realized he is not that good AN OVERALL PLAYER. As a power hitter, one of if not the best in the game. But as a hitter, he simply is not that good. Against lefties he is flat out AWFUL, and against sliders and hard curves, he is equally as bad, and that is what A.J threw at him in Game 2, hard curves along with outside fastballs that he could not catch up to. I would, however, be careful A.J because left center in Philly is 25 feet shorter than at Yankee Stadium, so Howard could go left center and hit it out of the park, which he loves to do.
I liked the Joba move, and I even liked giving him a fastball there, but Joba threw it right down the middle to Feliz and Feliz just CRUSHED IT. At the time, a DEVASTATING Home Run, but yet good job by Joba to recover and K Ruiz. If we are down, use Joba, if we have a lead into the 8th tonight, you have to use Mo for two.
I thought Johnny Damon's steal of 2nd and then going to third was one of the most heads up baseball plays I have seen in sometime. What a big spot to do it in, and the cajones on Damon to actually try it. What if Feliz tagged him out, Marc Malusis' head would have exploded. That right there CHANGED the outcome of the game and the series, but A-Rod WON the game and potentially the series. There is a difference, but they played as a team, and as the Yankees did all year pulled another rabbit out of their hat. What is lost in all of this, because it did not matter, is Posada's 2 run RBI. Ok, first off Posada DID NOT purposly get thrown out and make sure the run scored (like Harold Reynolds said) if you look at the replay, Posada was looking at dead center field and had NO IDEA if A-Rod scored or not.
You remember how Tom Jackson on old NFL Primetime used to say, "What does Cris Carter do...He catches Touchdowns." Well thats exactly what Derek Jeter does except with hitting. What does Derek Jeter do....He gets hits." Batting .412 this series and had a hit to lead off the game, and an RBI single to take the lead. No big deal.
In what could literally be five hours, the Yankees could become World Champions, winning number 27. Its been a long road this decade, but the Yankees could close out out baseball in both the 90's and 00's with a Championship. Pretty amazing. You would have to say if they win, they would be team of the 00's, which seemed EXTREMELY unliky only a few months ago. However, they did not win yet, and I promise you, if they do, read it here because some very interesting articles about this title will appear, the team of the decade, A-Rod's legacy, and what this title means to NY. Could this also be a return of Championship New York. What is one the line could be a second title for me in two years, Giants in '07 Yanks in '09.
- Lew
O, By the way...LISTEN TO JOHN STERLINGS CALL OF THE A-ROD DOUBLE. He literally pulls a Gus Johnson and screams.
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=7113665&c_id=nyy&topic_id=
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