MLB FanHouse http://mlb.fanhouse.com MLB FanHouse http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/media/feedlogo.gif MLB FanHouse http://mlb.fanhouse.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Scioscia: Baseball Will Consider Condensing Playoff Schedulehttp://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/18/scioscia-baseball-will-consider-condensing-playoff-schedule/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/18/scioscia-baseball-will-consider-condensing-playoff-schedule/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/18/scioscia-baseball-will-consider-condensing-playoff-schedule/#commentsFiled under: ,

During the postseason, Angels manager Mike Scioscia spoke out publicly about the nature of the playoff schedule. And on Wednesday, Scioscia said he expressed the same concerns to commissioner Bud Selig.

"I'm very hopeful and confident that they're going to tighten up that schedule a little bit," Scioscia said on a conference call after being named AL Manager of the Year by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. "I think there's things that the commissioner is going to take to heart and look at."

Selig was initially not available for comment on the matter, but has since said he will try to tighten up the postseason schedule.

The Yankees played 15 games in 31 days on their way to winning the World Series. Because of that schedule, they were able to be the first team since the 1991 Twins to win a championship while using just three starters in the postseason.

That's the reason that playoff baseball is greatly different from regular season baseball, and the requirements to get through the postseason are different than those to get there in the first place.

"I think it goes against what the 162 games [of the regular season] stands for," Scioscia said.

Of course, the other reason to condense the schedule is to avoid bad weather. The postseason ended this year on Nov. 4 with Game 6 of the World Series.

When Major League Baseball acquiesced to FOX in the latest TV contract, allowing the World Series to begin on a Wednesday instead of a Friday, it meant adding extra off days throughout the postseason. There is now one between Games 4 and 5 of each League Championship series, for example.

Scioscia's biggest complaint was with the off days before the opening of the Division Series. Three of the four Division Series start on the Wednesday after the final Sunday of the regular season, with the fourth opening on Thursday.

That gives all teams a chance to set up their rotation, not just the ones that clinched early.

"I think that's absolutely the first step, yes," Scioscia said.

But this year, MLB needed the two off days, since the Twins-Tigers one-game playoff could not be played on that Monday due to a conflict with Monday Night Football at the Metrodome.

As of now, the 2010 regular season ends on Oct. 3, meaning if the postseason schedule goes unchanged, Game 7 of the World Series would be Nov. 4.

Scioscia: Baseball Will Consider Condensing Playoff Schedule originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:22:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Bud SeligMike SciosciaEd PriceWed, 18 Nov 2009 16:22:00 EST School's Out for Winter: Here Are Lessons Learned From 2009 Postseasonhttp://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/05/schools-out-for-winter-here-are-lessons-learned-from-2009-post/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/05/schools-out-for-winter-here-are-lessons-learned-from-2009-post/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/05/schools-out-for-winter-here-are-lessons-learned-from-2009-post/#commentsFiled under:

Brian CashmanNEW YORK -- The Yankees had just begun celebrating their 27th World Series title, and first in nine years (that's 63 in Yankee-drought years), when general manager Brian Cashman was asked about people saying his team bought a title.

"You can call us anything you want," Cashman said. "You're also going to have to call us world champions."

But if the Yankees' latest championship teaches us anything, it's that a big payroll is just money unless it's combined with smarts.

Here's what we can conclude off the 2009 postseason:
Complete World Series Coverage

1. The Yankees took awhile, but they got it right.

Let's back up a bit. The 1998 Yankees -- to whom every Yankees team since will be compared -- did not have the highest payroll in the majors. The Orioles did.

Yet the Yankees assembled enough talent to win 114 games and romp through the postseason.

After the 2001 season, the Yankees debuted the YES Network, setting the standard for team-owned cable networks that -- thanks to cable-subscriber fees -- provide reliable, deep revenue streams.

So what did the Yankees do with all that money? They spent it.

They spent it on the top free agents available every winter, whether they fit or not. Jason Giambi was good for a while, then an albatross. Carl Pavano and Jaret Wright were the best pitchers out there (besides Pedro Martinez) after the 2004 season, but that didn't mean they were good.

Gary Sheffield, Tony Womack, Alex Rodriguez, Kevin Brown, Randy Johnson, Javier Vazquez, Hideki Matsui -- none of those acquisitions, at least immediately, paid off with another title.

Then, after the 2005 season, Brian Cashman convinced George Steinbrenner to stop his management-by-conflict practice, ending the New York/Tampa split that kept the Yankees from working with a cohesive plan.

And the other 29 teams' worst fear came true: the Yankees began spending their gobs of cash wisely.

So people will point to the $423.5 million spent last winter on CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and A.J. Burnett and say the Yankees just bought another title.

But Cashman could sign Sabathia because he refused to deal prospects for Johan Santana, who would have required a similar contract. That helped keep the Yankees out of the 2008 playoffs, but Cashman stuck to his guns. He has sunk money into the draft and the international market and is trying to mix youth with big-time acquisitions to build an organization that can sustain success.

And remember, Cashman was against re-signing Rodriguez after his 2007 opt-out, willing to suffer the offensive hit to spend the money elsewhere.

When they do spend -- and now they have the revenue and reduced revenue sharing that come with a new park -- the Yankees will continue to try to figure out who will fit in the unique Yankees atmosphere and who will just end up gasping for air when choked by expectations and the spotlight.

Sabathia's calm helped him. Burnett benefited from being the No. 2 pitcher despite having a No. 1's salary. And Teixeira already had the phony polish that helped him fit into what can still be -- despite the pies and Swish-hawks -- a 25-player/25-corporation clubhouse.

"It's a lot of different things," Cashman said. "There are guys who come in here and do well and get off to a good start. Then all of a sudden they go bad, and when they go bad, it starts spinning out of control.

"It's hard to say. It's a different place. It's just a different place. Our scouts will continue to go out and target guys with big stuff and we believe are tough mentally and put them in this environment and see what happens. I can't sit here and say, 'You know what, we're going to get it right going forward all the time.' We'll just keep trying."

They'll have to. Cashman will tweak the roster, perhaps letting Matsui and Johnny Damon go. Because he knows repeating won't be easy in the AL.


2. The Phillies aren't going anywhere.

Here are the free agents on the Phillies roster: Paul Bako, Miguel Cairo, Scott Eyre, Pedro Martinez, Chan Ho Park, Brett Myers, Matt Stairs. That assumes Philadelphia picks up the options on Pedro Feliz and Cliff Lee.

So the entire starting lineup is intact. Lee, Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton and J.A. Happ are set for the rotation.

The Phillies will still have their drive and toughness, and the NL East still has the Nationals and the bumbling Mets (see above, under spending without a plan).

"Nothing is really going to change as far as who we put on the field," Jimmy Rollins said after the Game 6 loss. "Everyone is going to be there. That's the good thing. It will take 162 games to determine that, but we don't plan on being anywhere but here.

"We still have a good group of guys that will be here. We don't have to worry about a lot of guys leaving. That's the good thing. We're a good team. We just came up a couple games short, but in the future I don't see a lot of things changing. We can definitely be here next year."

3. October/November is different

For a week, all the talk around the World Series was about short rest: "Will Sabathia come back on short rest?" "Will Lee come back on short rest?" "Can Burnett and Pettitte come back on short rest?" "Was Burnett bad because of short rest?" "Why didn't Lee go on short rest?" "Why didn't the Phillies pull Lee so he could come back on extra-short rest?" "How has Pettitte done on short rest?"

It just furthered the point that what it takes to win in the postseason is different from what it takes to get there. Because of a TV-driven schedule that can result in more off-days than game days, teams need just three or four starters, not much more than one or two reliable relievers and their every-day players.

That's about 15 players, not the 25-plus it takes to survive the 162-game grind.

The Yankees are just the third team in the past 20 years to lead the majors in wins in the regular season and then win the World Series. We just have to accept that usually it takes two different kinds of teams to accomplish those goals.

4. SoCal is so over.

OK, we shouldn't write off the other half of baseball's final four entirely. But the L.A. teams lacked something -- Torii Hunter called it "nuts" in September -- when it came to the playoffs.

The Angels showed "nuts" in Game 3 of the American League Division Series and then wilted against the Yankees. The Dodgers dispatched the Cardinals and then looked no match for the Phillies.

Next year, the Angels are going to take a step back. They re-signed Bobby Abreu on Thursday (two years with an option for 2012), but of their other three key free agents -- John Lackey, Chone Figgins and Vladimir Guerrero -- they may retain no more than one.

So if the Rangers avoid the usual dropoff after a leap into contention (i.e., the 2008 Rays and 2007 Indians), the AL West could be there for the taking.

Up the freeway, the Dodgers have a nice collection of young talent, but some of it didn't progress this year -- Russell Martin and Chad Billingsley -- and the fulcrum of the lineup is an aging Manny Ramirez.

It seems now that the best record in the NL was due in large part to a soft division.

Add in the inevitable upheaval from the McCourt divorce, and 2010 could be rough for the Dodgers.

5. Dance invitations are available.

The Minnesota Twins had to win just 87 games -- with win No. 87 coming in game No. 163 -- to get to the playoffs. The Cardinals made it with 91 wins. Colorado had 92. San Francisco (88) and Detroit (86) just missed.

So outside of the Eastern divisions, it doesn't take much more than an average team to get to the postseason.

Going deep into it takes a toughness, and talent, that the Phillies and Yankees showed in 2009.

School's Out for Winter: Here Are Lessons Learned From 2009 Postseason originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:19:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Brian CashmanBrianCashmanEd PriceThu, 05 Nov 2009 20:19:00 EST Trio With Uncertain Future Makes Yankees' Present Awfully Sweethttp://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/05/trio-with-uncertain-future-make-yankees-present-awfully-sweet/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/05/trio-with-uncertain-future-make-yankees-present-awfully-sweet/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/05/trio-with-uncertain-future-make-yankees-present-awfully-sweet/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Johnny Damon / Andy Pettitte / Hideki Matsui
NEW YORK -- None of them were on the field Wednesday when Robinson Cano threw out Shane Victorino to clinch the Yankees' World Series championship.

And no one should be surprised if neither Hideki Matsui, Andy Pettitte nor Johnny Damon are on the field in Tampa, Fla., next February for Yankees' spring training.

But this championship would not have happened without them.

All three are potential free agents. And all three may wind up leaving the Yankees, for various reasons.
FanHouse World Series Coverage: Fletcher | Mariotti | Moore | Olson
Game 6: Yankees 7, Phillies 3 | Box Score | Matsui MVP

The Yankees could let Matsui and his balky knees go because they seem to prefer not to have a full-time DH, instead rotating that spot in the lineup to give players some rest (remember, Jorge Posada, Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter are all in their 30s).

Damon's defense and durability are in decline, and the Yankees do have outfielders Melky Cabrera, Brett Gardner and Nick Swisher under control for 2010.

Pettitte, meanwhile, would probably be welcomed back next year -- if he wants to play. He wavered on retirement the past three winters, especially after 2006 and '07, and now that he has fulfilled two goals by playing in the new Yankee Stadium and earning another ring, perhaps this is the time to walk away.

General manager Brian Cashman said he spent part of the 1998 World Series, his first as GM, stressing over the upcoming winter decisions, such as whether to re-sign Bernie Williams.

Now he knows to put everything off until after the postseason is over.

"Now is not the time to deal with that," Cashman said on the field after Game 6. "We're going to celebrate. The business side of the game will kick in here at some point."

Matsui drove in six runs in the 7-3 Game 6 victory, tying the record for a World Series game and most ever in a World Series clincher. He earned Series MVP honors even though, as a DH, he got just one plate appearance each night in Games 3-5, as a pinch hitter.

"I hope [to return]," Matsui said, through interpreter Roger Kahlon, upon being presented with the World Series MVP. "I hope it works out. I love New York. I love the Yankees. I love the fans here."

Yankees assistant GM Jean Afterman, who was instrumental in recruiting and signing Matsui after his 10 seasons with the Yomiuri Giants, said Matsui grew up idolizing Babe Ruth.

"His dream was to become a Yankee," Afterman said.

"He wanted to play where Babe Ruth played. He wanted to do what Babe Ruth did."

As if he was making a last-ditch case for the Yankees to being him back, Matsui hit .615 (8-for-13) with three homers, eight RBI and a 1.385 slugging percentage -- the second-highest in World Series history.


"I think you've got to think about everything that he's done," Afterman said when asked about bringing back Matsui. "I think you've got to think about everything he's achieved and who he is. And then who he is and what he means to this team. And what he means to this country and his country.

"It's quite a thing to be a hero in two countries at the same time."

Pettitte is such a hero that his postgame speech from the on-field stage was inaudible in Yankee Stadium, drowned out by the fans' chants of "An-dy Pett-ittte!"

He won two games in the Series, including Game 6 -- making him the first pitcher ever to start and win the series clincher in the Division Series, LCS and World Series the same season. His 18 career postseason wins are a record, and only Whitey Ford has pitched in more World Series than Pettitte's eight.

"I'm not sure," Pettitte said of his future. "I'm not. I need to get home, talk to my family. I'll need to talk to the Yankees and find out where they're at. And then I'll probably start trying to figure out what I'd like to do."

Pettitte wasn't great on three days' rest, walking five in 5 2/3 innings. But only one of those runners scored.

"There was really nothing special," Phillies leadoff man Jimmy Rollins said, "but he made one great pitch every at-bat it seemed like. When he needed that pitch he was able to make it, got some double plays that really shortens an inning.

"That's what Andy does. He keeps his team in the game. You walk away shaking your head -- how didn't we get to him? -- but obviously he's pretty good because he's been doing it a long time."

Closer Mariano Rivera wouldn't admit to any recruiting calls last winter but did say he "wanted to make sure that Andy came back."

Because Pettitte's past fence-sitting was based in large part on his health, and he showed with Wednesday's short-rest outing that he is OK, perhaps it won't be a tough sell this time around.

In contrast to Matsui and Pettitte, Damon showed in the finale why it might be wise not to re-sign him. He had to come out of Game 6 with a strained right calf, suffered running home on Matsui's third-inning single.

Damon did score a team-high six runs in the Series, none more important than the one in the ninth inning of Game 4 after his heady double steal. (The Hall of Fame has already taken possession of the cleats Damon wore that night.)

While Damon has said he would like to come back, he also admitted he doesn't know if he will.

Matsui, Damon and Pettitte have something else in common besides their contractual status: they are respected by their peers for their professionalism.

Damon is a goofy free spirit. Matsui shows great respect to everyone around him and seems serious but has a sense of humor that he can unveil, in English, at moments. Pettitte is a tireless worker with great pride.

But when time comes to play, they all show up.

With George Steinbrenner's health in decline, irrationality is gone from Yankees' front office. And Cashman can be cold-blooded in his decision-making; there was a blip of sentimentality after the 2007 season when Steinbrenner's sons -- in the wake of the Joe Torre parting -- signed Rodriguez, Rivera and Posada to over-market contracts, but that seems to have been wiped out.

So in the coming days, Pettitte will ponder his future as Cashman considers how badly he wants Matsui and Damon back, if at all.

The story lines won't play out quickly this winter. But even if all three are somewhere else come spring, their contributions this fall won't soon be forgotten by the Yankees and their fans.
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Trio With Uncertain Future Makes Yankees' Present Awfully Sweet originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Andy PettitteHideki Matsuijohnny damonEd PriceThu, 05 Nov 2009 03:45:00 EST Few Mysteries as Phils Abdicate Thronehttp://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/05/few-mysteries-as-phillies-abdicate-throne/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/05/few-mysteries-as-phillies-abdicate-throne/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/05/few-mysteries-as-phillies-abdicate-throne/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Chase Utley and Ryan HowardNEW YORK -- This was not the type of World Series that the Phillies are going to spend much time replaying in their minds. Not long after they watched the Yankees celebrate on the field, taking the title that they won last year, the Phillies were already in full shoulder-shrug mode.

Regrets? Not really.

"They got the hits and we didn't," Jimmy Rollins said. "Simple. There's no science other than that. Get a hit or you don't. And they did."
FanHouse World Series Coverage: Price | Mariotti | Moore | Olson
Game 6: Yankees 7, Phillies 3 | Box Score | Matsui MVP

Reliever Scott Eyre: "They got hits when they really needed 'em, and that's what it takes to win. That's what we did last year against the Rays. Sometimes you have to step back and say 'Hey, we got beat.' It's not like we made errors or threw the ball around the park. We left it out there."

The Phillies had one major gaffe in the series -- Brad Lidge's failure to cover third base on Johnny Damon's now famous double-steal in Game 4 -- but it's debatable whether that even cost them a game. Although it was certainly a punch in the gut, Damon would have been in scoring position for Alex Rodriguez's ensuing hit, regardless of the extra base."Are [the Yankees] better than we are? This series they were. They got the trophy. We don't. We gave it up. But we're going to get it back."
-- Charlie Manuel

The simple reason the Phillies lost, as Rollins said, was that their hitters consistently failed in the clutch. So, for that matter, did their pitchers. Whether it was what the Yankees did right or they did wrong is impossible to know, and if anyone in the Phillies clubhouse knew, they weren't saying.

"I felt like every game was a pretty good game," said Chase Utley, whose record-tying five-homer series was in a losing effort. "Both teams had opportunities to win at different times. The Yankees were just able to win more than we were."

Although the Yankees had the best offense in the majors this season, the Phillies were right up there. They had an American League-type offense, full of power hitters. Indeed, they delivered on the power, hitting 11 homers -- just one shy of the World Series record. The problem was that nine of them were solo homers. Utley hit a key three-run homer that sparked a victory in Game 5. Otherwise, the only homer with a man aboard was Ryan Howard's oh-by-the-way two-run shot in Game 6.

All told, the Phillies were 11 for 44 (.250) with runners in scoring position, but four of those hits were in the Game 1 victory. In the final five games, they were 7 for 35 (.200), including 4 for 28 (.143) in the four losses.

Howard had a particularly miserable series. He was 4 for 23 (.174) with a World Series-record 13 strikeouts. This came just after he had won the MVP award in the National League Championship Series against the Dodgers.

Even Utley, if you can believe, was practically invisible other than his five homers. He hit four of them in the two Phillies victories. In the other four games, he was 2 for 15. Rollins (.217) and Shane Victorino (.182) were not the sparkplugs they are supposed to be at the top of the order.


"Their left-handed pitchers, I felt like did a good job on our left-handed hitting and stopped them," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "That is a big part of our offense."

The Phillies also didn't pitch. The only pitcher who proved to be consistently reliable in the series for Philadelphia was Cliff Lee, who started both victories. Lee had a 2.81 ERA in the series, and the other Phillies pitchers had a 6.50 ERA.

After Lee's Game 1 effort, none of the starters got through a game without giving up at least three runs. None of the starters other than Lee got an out in the seventh inning, and none of them gave up fewer than three runs.

One of the worst performances came at the end, with Pedro Martinez getting whacked for four runs in four innings of Game 6. Martinez, who had pitched a credible six innings, allowing three runs, in Game 2, had no velocity at all. And he didn't have much to begin with. Although Martinez bolted from the clubhouse before reporters were allowed in, the word was that he had reported he still felt a little under the weather, just as he was in Game 2.

He made a mistake that Hideki Matsui deposited into the left-field bleachers for a two-run homer in the second, and he allowed Matsui to bang a two-run single in the third. That put the Yankees up 4-1. Against a wobbly Andy Pettitte on three days rest, the Phillies still might have had a chance to come back, but the Yankees tacked on three more runs charged to Chad Durbin in the fifth.

"We just got beat," Joe Blanton said. "Coming into the series it was two pretty even teams. I thought it was 50-50 or 55-45. They just won four games before we did."

The Phillies could swallow all of this a little more easily because they know they are a team that is pretty young, with most of their key players back for next year.

"Are they better than we are? This series they were," Manuel said. "They got the trophy. We don't. We gave it up. But we're going to get it back."

Rollins, who had talked in the past about the Phillies becoming a dynasty, said he still has hopes of that.

"It would have been nice to win two in a row," he said, "but San Antonio is pretty good winning every other year."
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Few Mysteries as Phils Abdicate Throne originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Charlie ManuelChase UtleyJimmy RollinsJeff FletcherThu, 05 Nov 2009 03:15:00 EST No Fraud: Rodriguez Finally a Champhttp://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/05/no-fraud-rodriguez-finally-a-champ/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/05/no-fraud-rodriguez-finally-a-champ/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/05/no-fraud-rodriguez-finally-a-champ/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Alex RodriguezNEW YORK (AP) -- Alex Rodriguez grabbed the World Series trophy and wouldn't let go.

After the New York Yankees regained the title for the first time in nine years, after the podium presentation before a delirious crowd of 50,315 christened the new ballpark with a title in its first year, A-Rod was the one to carry the trophy back to the clubhouse. He raised it high, showing it off to the fans, a triumph for the team and for himself.

"Look, a lot of people ran the other way. My teammates and coaches and organization stood right next to me. And now we stand together as world champs," he said a few minutes later in the clubhouse, under a shower of Moet & Chandon and Armand de Brignac. "It's been a special year. I know it started rocky for us."

He had piled up money in the bank and MVP awards on his mantle. Now he has the one and only prize he's ever wanted -- a World Series championship ring.

"He's exorcised a lot of demons," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said a few feet from the podium. "There's no reason to take any 'He can't do this; he can't do that.' He's done it all now. So now, he can just continue to write history, because he's one of the greatest players to ever play this game."

After six seasons of hits and home runs, heartaches and headaches, he finally earned his pinstripes in the eyes of the fans the only way Yankees can -- with a title.

"I'm so happy the way they treated me all year," he said. "They stood behind me. Walking around the City of New York, everybody was so supportive."

He arrived in spring training exposed and embarrassed, labeled a steroid user from his years with Texas. His news conference was the low point of his career.

"I just knew then when I had the 25 guys there standing next to me, and organization and my general manager, they meant the world to me," he said. "I said that day that this is going to turn out to be maybe one of the most special years of our lives, and it sure has."

Then, weeks later, he wound up on an operating table in Colorado, unsure whether he'd make it on the field.

When he returned from hip surgery, it was a season of superlatives. He homered on his first swing in Baltimore, rousing the Yankees from the slumber of a 13-15 start, and homered on his last of the regular season at Tampa Bay. His three-run homer and grand slam against the Rays that afternoon gave him 30 homers and 100 RBIs for the 12th consecutive year.

And then he did away with the 0-for-October reputation that had stuck to him as much as his three AL MVPs. Rodriguez put together a performance that matched those of the players he seems to most admire, Reggie Jackson and Derek Jeter.

"He's one of the big reasons we're here," captain Jeter said.

A-Rod had been 8 for 59 (.136) in the postseason dating to 2004 and hitless in 18 consecutive playoff at-bats with runners in scoring position.

But this was a new A-Rod, liberated and transformed in his 16th big league season. Finally starting to grow up at age 34, he shed the distractions caused by his $275 million contract and an entourage of handlers he picked up from Madonna. He glowed in his relationship with new girlfriend Kate Hudson.

"I saw Kate, she was smiling so much I barely recognized her," Jackson said. "I think he feels happy. Seeing him, he's just happy."

This A-Rod was a one-man highlight reel.

He chased the Minnesota Twins' starter with an RBI single in the postseason opener, tied the score in the ninth inning of Game 2 with a two-run homer off Joe Nathan and tied the score again with another home run in the seventh inning of Game 3. He hit a tying 11th-inning homer off the Angels' Brian Fuentes in Game 2 of the American League championship series, then homered again in Games 3 and 4.

His only World Series home run, awarded after a video review in Game 3, awoke the Yankees from a 3-0 deficit against Cole Hamels. He led the Yankees in the postseason with a .365 average, six homers, 18 RBIs, 15 runs and 12 walks. After an 0-for-8 start in the Series that included six strikeouts, he was 5 for 12 with six RBIs in the final four games.

When he first joined the Yankees in 2004, the Yankees spurted to a 3-0 lead against Boston in the AL championship series before the greatest postseason collapse in baseball history.

Acceptance delayed. But not denied.

"It," he said, "probably feels better than '04 would have felt."

By RONALD BLUM, AP Sports Writer

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.



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No Fraud: Rodriguez Finally a Champ originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>alex rodriguezkate hudsonFanHouse NewswireThu, 05 Nov 2009 02:10:00 EST Yankee Fans Delight on Streets of N.Y.http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/05/yankee-fans-delight-on-streets-of-n-y/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/05/yankee-fans-delight-on-streets-of-n-y/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/05/yankee-fans-delight-on-streets-of-n-y/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Yankee fans celebrateNEW YORK (AP) -- Hundreds of Yankees fans poured into the streets of New York early Thursday to celebrate the team's 27th World Series championship, a party that extended uptown and began building hours earlier when the crowd at Yankee Stadium danced and sang to the music even before the first pitch.

Fans in Yankees jerseys and hats who watched the 7-3 victory over Philadelphia at sports bar Stout spilled out onto 33rd Street between Sixth and Seventh avenues early Thursday in Manhattan. Greeted by an NYPD van, several patrol cars with lights flashing and officers standing on street corners, they remained well-behaved.

New York City police said there were no early reports of disturbances related to the Yankees victory.

A ticker-tape parade and ceremony to honor the team has been scheduled for Friday.

Outside the team's $1.5 billion ballpark in the Bronx, 16-year-old Ryan Wessel of Somers, N.Y., bought two Yankees hat right after the game. He reveled in the team's win, underscored by Hideki Matsui's record-tying six RBIs. Matsui was named World Series MVP.

"He definitely should have gotten it," Wessel said. "He's my favorite player."

Fans at Stout yelled, "MVP! MVP! MVP!" every time Matsui came to bat.

The three-level bar was packed most of Wednesday evening with fans from as far away as San Diego hanging on every pitch as they watched Game 6 on flat-screen televisions.

"It's phenomenal," said Robert Christiansen, 41, of Malverne, N.Y. "It's all you can ask for."

When Yankees left-hander Damaso Marte struck out Phillies second baseman Chase Utley on three pitches with two runners on to end the top of the seventh inning, a sense of relief overcame the packed house at Stout.

The crowd responded to the strikeout by chanting: "Yankees! Yankees! Yankees!"

Gabriel Ortega, 28, a credit card executive from San Diego, called it "an extraordinary game; it's keeping us on our toes."

"We love Matsui," said Ortega.

Fans had waited nine years since the team's last World Series win, a Subway Series against their crosstown rivals, the Mets, in 2000.

Some were quick to note that before the series began, Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins had predicted a Philadelphia victory in five games.

But it was a quiet night on Broad Street in Philadelphia, where thousands of fans partied when the Phillies won the National League championship.

There were no postgame troubles in the city early Thursday, Philadelphia police spokesman Officer Stephen Malen said.

At Yankee Stadium, the stands trembled after each key hit.

A television blimp circled above the stadium during the entire game, and at one point the electronic lettering on the side beamed "Lisa, will you marry me? Love John."

The blimp circled the stadium again, and on the next round it brought the answer: She said "yes."

By VIRGINIA BYRNE, AP

Associated Press writer Verena Dobnik in New York City contributed to this report.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

Yankee Fans Delight on Streets of N.Y. originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:25:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>hideki matsuiFanHouse NewswireThu, 05 Nov 2009 01:25:00 EST Hideki Matsui Named World Series MVPhttp://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/05/hideki-matsui-named-world-series-mvp/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/05/hideki-matsui-named-world-series-mvp/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/05/hideki-matsui-named-world-series-mvp/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Hideki MatsuiHideki Matsui was named the Most Valuable Player in the 2009 World Series after a record-setting performance in the decisive Game 6.

Matsui drove in six of the Yankees' seven runs in their World Series-clinching victory, staking New York to an early lead with a two-run homer off of Pedro Martinez in the second inning and falling a triple short of the cycle. His six RBI were the most by any player in a World Series clincher. Five others -- including Reggie Jackson -- held the record of five RBI previously.

"It's awesome," Matsui said through a translator of his achievement. "Unbelievable. I'm surprised myself.

"It's certainly different. All I can say right now is I feel great," he added.

Due to be a free agent this winter, Matsui is the first native of Japan to win the award -- yet another milestone as Japanese players begin to lay their roots in the major leagues.

Asked whether he would return to the Yankees next season, Matsui, 35, sounded optimistic.

"I hope so. I hope it works out that way," he said. "I love New York, I love the Yankees."

The Yankees will look to get younger this offseason, so Matsui may not fit into their plans, particularly with some of their other veterans like Jorge Posada headed for more DH duty down the line. It will certainly be a lot harder to let him hit the open market after his performance throughout the 2009 season, but particularly in the playoffs.

Matsui is only the second designated hitter to win World Series MVP after Paul Molitor, who won it with the Blue Jays in 1993.

Molitor played three games at DH, two at first base and one at third base in that series, but Matsui did not start any games for the Yankees when the series shifted to Philadelphia (where National League rules were in play) for Games 3, 4 and 5, being relegated to pinch-hitting duty instead.

Matsui hit .615 in the series, with three home runs and eight RBI.

Hideki Matsui Named World Series MVP originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:13:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Hideki MatsuiAndrew JohnsonThu, 05 Nov 2009 00:13:00 EST Yankees Capture 27th World Series Titlehttp://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/04/yankees-capture-27th-world-series-title/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/04/yankees-capture-27th-world-series-title/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/04/yankees-capture-27th-world-series-title/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Yankees Capture 27th World Series Title
NEW YORK (AP) -- Paint the town in pinstripes! Nearly a decade after their dynasty ended on a blooper in the desert, the New York Yankees are baseball's best again.

Hideki Matsui tied a World Series record with six RBIs, Andy Pettitte won on short rest and New York beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-3 in Game 6 on Wednesday night, finally seizing that elusive 27th title - the most in all of sports.

It was the team's first since winning three straight from 1998-2000.
Mariotti: Not the American Dream, but Give Yankees Props
Fletcher: Phillies Abdicate Throne | Moore: Yanks Quit Playing Games
Price: Uncertain Future for N.Y. Trio | Olson: Phillies Fade Into Night
Box Score | Matsui MVP | A-Rod Finally a Champ | Fans Rejoice in Victory

Matsui, the Series MVP, powered a quick rout of old foe Pedro Martinez. And when Mariano Rivera got the final out, it was ecstasy in the Bronx for George Steinbrenner's go-for-broke bunch.

What a way for Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and crew to christen their $1.5 billion ballpark: One season, one championship.

And to think it capped a season that started in turmoil -- a steroids scandal involving A-Rod, followed by hip surgery that kept him out until May.

"My teammates, coaches and the organization stood by me and now we stand here as world champions," Rodriguez said. "We're going to enjoy it, and we're going to party!"

During postgame ceremonies on the field, the big video board in center flashed: "Boss, this is for you." And commissioner Bud Selig dedicated the moment to Steinbrenner.

About 100 miles south, disappointment.

For Chase Utley and the Phillies, it was a frustrating end to another scintillating season. Philadelphia fell two wins short of becoming the first NL team to repeat as World Series champions since the 1975-76 Cincinnati Reds.

Ryan Howard's sixth-inning homer came too late to wipe away his World Series slump, and Phillies pitchers rarely managed to slow Matsui and the Yankees' machine.

"It's important in our next couple years to stay afloat," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "I know we can do better."

In a fitting coincidence, this championship came eight years to the day after the Yankees lost Game 7 of the 2001 World Series in Arizona on Luis Gonzalez's broken-bat single off Rivera.

New York spent billions trying to get back. At long last, it did.

"We're looking forward to this parade," Jeter said.

Hey Babe and Yogi, Mr. October and Joltin' Joe -- you've got company. Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia and a new generation of Yankees have procured their place in pinstriped lore.

And for the four amigos, it was ring No. 5.

Jorge Posada, Jeter, Pettitte and Rivera came up together through the minors and were cornerstones for those four titles in five years starting in 1996.

Now, all on the other side of age 35, they have another success to celebrate. And surely they remember the familiar parade route, up Broadway through the Canyon of Heroes.

Indeed, a New York City-sized party is next. Nine years in the making, with all the glitz and glamour this tony town can offer.

"You never know when you're going to get back here," Posada said.

Carrying flags that read 2009 World Series champions, Joba Chamberlain and Nick Swisher led a victory lap around the warning track. Players high-fived fans, then sprayed bubbly behind the mound.

For the 79-year-old Steinbrenner, who has been in declining health, it was the seventh championship since he bought the team in 1973.

Though he stayed back home in Tampa, Fla., he certainly wasn't forgotten. The grounds crew wore "Win it for The Boss" shirts last week, which were on sale outside the ballpark Wednesday.

New York wasted its chance to wrap things up in Game 5 at Philadelphia, then set its sights on clinching the World Series at home for the first time since 1999.

While nine years between titles is hardly a drought for most teams, it was almost an eternity in Yankeeland.

New York's eight seasons without a championship was the third-longest stretch for the Yankees since their first one, following gaps of 17 (1979-95) and 14 (1963-76).

Reggie Jackson's three homers in Game 6 against the Los Angeles Dodgers made the Yankees champs in '77. On this November night, Matsui delivered a sublime performance at the plate that must have made Mr. October proud.

"It's awesome," Matsui said through a translator. "Unbelievable. I'm surprised myself."

By the Numbers
27
World Series championships by the New York Yankees
6
RBI by Hideki Matsui in the decisive sixth game -- a record for a World Series-clinching victory
1.57 Billion
Approximate dollars spent by the Yankees on payroll since their last World Series title in 2000
.373
Alex Rodriguez's batting average in the 2009 postseason. He also had six home runs and 18 RBI. In his previous four postseason trips with the Yankees, Rodriguez hit .245
19
Combined World Series rings won by the Yankees' core four of Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera
Playing perhaps his final game with the Yankees, Matsui hit a two-run homer off Martinez in the second inning and a two-run single on an 0-2 pitch in the third.

A slumping Teixeira added an RBI single in the fifth off reliever Chad Durbin, and Matsui cracked a two-run double off the right-center fence against lefty J.A. Happ.

A designated hitter with balky knees, Matsui came off the bench in all three games at Philadelphia. Still, he had a huge Series, going 8 for 13 (.615) with three homers and eight RBIs. His go-ahead shot off an effective Martinez in Game 2 helped the Yankees tie it 1-all.

Bobby Richardson was the only other player with six RBIs in a World Series game, doing it for the Yankees in Game 3 against Pittsburgh in 1960. Richardson had a first-inning grand slam and a two-run single in the fourth.

Matsui's big hits built a comfortable cushion for a feisty Pettitte, who shouted at plate umpire Joe West while coming off the field in the fourth. Still, Pettitte extended major league records with his 18th postseason win and sixth to end a series.

The 37-year-old left-hander, pitching on three days' rest, became the first pitcher to start and win the clincher in all three postseason rounds. He beat Minnesota and the Los Angeles Angels in the AL playoffs.

Pettitte lasted 5 2-3 innings, allowing three runs, four hits and five walks. Chamberlain and Damaso Marte combined for 1 2-3 innings of scoreless relief before Rivera secured the final five outs.

It had been nearly a half-century since players had won five titles with one team. The last to do it? Of course a bunch of Yankees: Yogi Berra (10 titles), Mickey Mantle (seven) and Whitey Ford (six) in 1962, according to STATS LLC.

For Joe Girardi, a three-time Yankees champion as a player, it was the fulfillment of a mission. When he succeeded Joe Torre in October 2007, Girardi chose uniform No. 27, putting his quest on his back for all to see. His tenure didn't start out so well, with New York missing the playoffs in its final season at old Yankee Stadium following 13 consecutive appearances.

Steinbrenner's well-paid players hadn't soaked themselves in bubbly after the season since Bernie Williams gloved Mike Piazza's midnight flyout at Shea Stadium to win the 2000 Subway Series and cap the Yankees' third straight championship and fourth in five years.

Two outs from winning in 2001, the Yankees stumbled in the desert. New York then spent more than $1.6 billion after that trying to regain glory, falling short with infamous flops such as Kevin Brown, Javier Vazquez and Carl Pavano.

But last offseason the Yankees got smart, adding a trio of top free agents -- Teixeira, Sabathia and A.J. Burnett -- for $423.5 million. They jelled with Rodriguez, the game's highest-paid player but a winner for the first time in 16 major league seasons.

Notes: Howard set a World Series record with 13 strikeouts. ... Jeter batted .423 in the Series. ... Teixeira had been 2 for 20 before his RBI single in the fifth. ... It was the fourth time Rivera got the final out of a World Series. ... Yankees LF Johnny Damon left after three innings with a strained right calf. ... All-Star CF Shane Victorino was in Philadelphia's lineup despite an injured index finger. Victorino was hit on the right hand by A.J. Burnett's fastball early in Game 5 and removed in the eighth inning.

By MIKE FITZPATRICK, AP Sports Writer

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
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Yankees Capture 27th World Series Title originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:50:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>alex rodriguezAndy Pettittecc sabathiaderek jetergeorge steinbrennerHideki Matsuijoe girardijohnny damonmariano riveraFanHouse NewswireWed, 04 Nov 2009 23:50:00 EST World Series Game 6 Live Chathttp://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/04/world-series-game-6-live-chat/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/04/world-series-game-6-live-chat/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/04/world-series-game-6-live-chat/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Shane VictorinoAs if the first Game 6 in the World Series in six years wasn't enough to whet your appetite, it's Pedro Martinez in the Bronx, Round 2, on Thursday night. Oh, there's a championship on the line as well as the Yankees try for the second time to win their 27th championship.

Yes, there will be no shortage of drama as the Fall Classic returns to Yankee Stadium, and the MLB FanHouse crew will be here to take you from the first pitch to the final out and beyond.

Will the Yankees celebrate or will the Phillies deliver the best thing all of sports -- a Game 7? Join us after the jump, starting at 7:45 PM ET for a LIVE chat as we find out.

World Series Game 6 Live Chat originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Andrew JohnsonWed, 04 Nov 2009 18:30:00 EST Playoff Pulse: It's in the Manuelhttp://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/03/playoff-pulse-its-in-the-manuel/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/03/playoff-pulse-its-in-the-manuel/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/03/playoff-pulse-its-in-the-manuel/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Ryan MadsonPlayoff Pulse is our morning rundown of the night that was and the night that will be during the MLB postseason.

Looking Forward ...

Much will be made in the lead-up to Game 6 of another Yankees starter -- Andy Pettitte -- going on three days' rest, assuming of course that that is officially announced Tuesday. Of course, there wasn't much of a choice for Joe Girardi.

The Phillies do have some interesting options as they head back to New York. Game 6 starter Pedro Martinez was the easy part, but you can't expect him to go all nine innings, so, especially if the Phillies have a lead, what happens then?

Ryan Madson apparently supplanted Brad Lidge in Game 5 after Lidge's meltdown in Game 4, but even though he closed out a win, Madson hardly inspired a ton of confidence, allowing three hits and an earned run.

And what happens if Philadelphia gets beyond that? Cliff Lee on two days' rest seems like the longest of shots. Cole Hamels -- the guy who is ready for the season to be over and has a 7.58 ERA in the playoffs -- hardly seems like the best option. Joe Blanton? J.A. Happ? That could be Charlie Manuel's toughest choice of all, one we're sure he'd gladly make.

In Their Own Words
"If I can steal signs, I will. I mean, if I can. That means we're definitely not. I mean, or if they do, I don't know nothing about it. Usually I do. No, we're definitely not stealing. We don't have their signs and we're not stealing their signs. But we are trying." -- Phillies manager Charlie Manuel clearing up (we think) the accusation that his club is stealing the Yankees' signs.
By the Numbers
2

Home runs allowed by Phil Coke in 2/3 of a inning of work in Game 5. Coke is the first pitcher in World Series history to allow that many homers in an appearance and not record at least three outs. -- Ed Price
More From FanHouse
Mariotti: Lee's Too Late
Fletcher: Champs Swing Away
Price: Yankees' Short Story
Looking Back ...

It looks like fans aren't the only ones who have noticed the numerous mound meetings between Yankee catchers and pitchers throughout the course of the postseason.

Major League Baseball is planning to discuss the near-constant mound meetings, which are unlimited as long as a coach or manager isn't involved, during the offseason. MLB has, at times, made a point of trying to speed up the game.

The Yankees naturally defended all the meetings, with Jorge Posada pointing out the gravity of every at-bat in the playoffs and pitching coach Dave Eiland pointing out MLB's hypocrisy on the matter.

"Don't take three minutes between innings," he said, referring to the extended commercial breaks that come with baseball in primetime on network television. "You know how many times a pitcher is standing on the mound waiting for an umpire's call to throw the first pitch?"

That's well taken, but Eiland went on to admit that the Yankees sometimes use mound conferences as a "momentum-breaker" and that while it might upset fans it's -- that old standby -- "part of the game."

Well, OK, the Yankees may care mostly about winning and being able to employ whatever methods they can to do so, but it's Major League Baseball's job to, in most facets, serve the fans. You'll be hard-pressed to find any who would miss all those strategy sessions/time-wasters.

Scout's Eye View ...

Chase Utley has, for the most part, been pitched away by the Yankees in this World Series. One has to wonder when that strategy will change as the Phillies' second baseman continues to tear apart Yankee pitching. Utley likes to crowd the plate and has the ability to lean out and hook any mistakes on the outer third of the plate. Unfortunately for the Yankees, he has not been missing even the slightest mistake.

While they have occassionally gone inside to keep him honest, New York is going to need to establish the fastball in there if they plan to slow him down. However, that will be a tough task for Andy Pettitte, a pitcher who usually lives on the outside part of the plate against left-handed hitters. To Utley's credit, the Yankees have made good pitches on him early in some counts but he just doesn't seem to be missing that one mistake. Right now, it's taking perfect pitches to put him away.

-- Frankie Piliere

Wednesday's Tale of the Tape ...

Phillies (Pedro Martinez) at Yankees (Andy Pettitte?), 7:57 PM ET: Martinez lost Game 2, but he was terrific in doing so, pitching backwards and using every ounce of guile he had to limit the powerful Yankees. Virtually every corner of Martinez's history against New York has been scoured, so what about this year's Pedro? This will be only the third time he's facing a team for the second time in 2009. In the previous two -- against the Braves and Mets -- he went 1-1 with a 2.46 ERA, so it doesn't appear he'll suffer from overexposure based on that limited sample. Pettitte will become the third straight Yankee starter to start on three days' rest. He's done it before, with success in the postseason (2.80 ERA) and hardly any at all in the regular season (4.70 ERA), but as FanHouse's Ed Price points out, the most important number of all is 29. That was the 37-year-old Pettitte's age the last time he started on short rest after throwing 100-plus pitches in his previous start.

Playoff Pulse: It's in the Manuel originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Charlie ManuelDave Eilandplayoff pulseRyan MadsonAndrew JohnsonTue, 03 Nov 2009 06:00:00 EST Phillies Come Out Swinging to Stay Alivehttp://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/03/phillies-come-out-swinging-to-stay-alive/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/03/phillies-come-out-swinging-to-stay-alive/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/03/phillies-come-out-swinging-to-stay-alive/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Chase Utley hits one of his two home runs in Game 5PHILADELPHIA -- Phillies hitting coach Milt Thompson didn't need any detailed analysis to get his players to understand what they needed to do differently against A.J. Burnett.

The game plan might as well have consisted of one word: "Swing."

"Be ready to hit the fastball," Thompson told FanHouse after the Phillies walloped Burnett for six quick runs en route to a season-saving 8-6 victory in Game 5 of the World Series. "We let him get first-pitch strikes on us last time and he got his confidence and started getting his curveball over. Tag the fastball. That's all."
FanHouse World Series Coverage: Mariotti | Price
Game 5: Phillies 8, Yankees 6 | Box Score | Series Home

Burnett, who held the Phillies to one run in seven innings in Game 2, continued to dump first-pitch fastballs into the strike zone, and one in particular ruined his chances of locking up the Yankees' 27th championship. Chase Utley belted the first pitch he saw into the right-field bleachers for a first-inning three-run homer, putting the Phillies up 3-1 and sending the message that this series was going back to New York.

For good measure, Utley added another homer in the seventh, his record-tying fifth of the World Series.


"He's looks like one of the best players in baseball to me," Thompson said. "That's why he's an All-Star, a perennial All-Star."

Utley was no secret in major league circles. The guy had been an All-Star each of the past four years, and he has consistently hit 25 to 35 homers. He's a left-handed hitter with a stroke so short and quick that left-handed pitchers can't get him out any easier than righties - four of his homers in the series have been against lefties, three against CC Sabathia.

Utley was merely the brightest hitting star on a night that the Phillies offense finally showed up in all of its glory. Sure, they had scored a respectable, 16 runs in the first four games, but they were a quiet 16 runs. They had hit seven solo homers.

"It felt like we were up 3-1 in the series. The guys were upbeat, having fun. We just had a kind of looseness."
-- Ryan Madson Utley's three-run blast was the kind of crushing blow they had administered to the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. The Phillies hit four three-run homers in their five-game victory to win the pennant.

The Phillies also worked Burnett for four walks, two of which led to runs. Essentially, they grinded him up the way they had done to so many pitchers all season. Throw a strike, they'll crush it. Throw a ball, they'll take a walk.

"I think we're very capable of playing that type of game, day in and day out," Jayson Werth said.

The Phillies' offensive breakthrough was a pretty clear indication that they weren't squeezing the bats too tightly or feeling the heat that a 3-1 series deficit ought to create. No, these guys are, perhaps in the mold of the infamous "idiots" on the 2004 Red Sox, not into overthinking their situation.

"It felt like we were up 3-1 in the series," reliever Ryan Madson said of the pregame environment. "The guys were upbeat, having fun. We just had a kind of looseness."

Manager Charlie Manuel had said before the game that he might talk to each of his players to deliver a message, but Ryan Howard said that never happened.

"I think he came in here and saw everyone messing around, so I guess he thought he didn't need to say anything," Howard said. "Everyone was relaxed and loose."

The result was a sea of runs. Although it got a little dicey at the end, when the Yankees started getting to Cliff Lee and Madson, they eventually locked up the victory and a trip back to New York. There, they will try to finish off one of the more improbable comebacks in World Series history. Of the 18 teams that fell behind 3-1 while playing the middle games at home, only three have come back to win the series, taking games 6 and 7 on the road: the 1958 Yankees, the 1968 Tigers and the 1979 Pirates.

For the Phillies to join that list, they'll need to keep doing what they did on Monday night.

"We're a very confident team, at home and on the road," Howard said. "The situation we're faced with now is we've got to go on the road and try to win on Wednesday."
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Phillies Come Out Swinging to Stay Alive originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:23:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Chase UtleyJeff FletcherTue, 03 Nov 2009 02:23:00 EST Selling Short: Will Pettitte Be Better Than Burnett on Three Days' Rest?http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/03/selling-short-will-pettitte-be-better-than-burnett-on-three-day/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/03/selling-short-will-pettitte-be-better-than-burnett-on-three-day/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/03/selling-short-will-pettitte-be-better-than-burnett-on-three-day/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Andy Pettitte / A.J. BurnettPHILADELPHIA -- Ready and willing is one thing.

Able is another.

"Oh yeah," Andy Pettitte said with a definitive nod when FanHouse asked if he'd be able to pitch Game 6 of the World Series on short rest. "Whenever they tell me to pitch."

But how will it go?

CC Sabathia was fine on three days' rest in Game 4. A.J. Burnett -- less durable than Sabathia but younger than Pettitte -- was awful in Game 5.
FanHouse World Series Coverage: Mariotti | Fletcher
Game 5: Phillies 8, Yankees 6 | Box Score | Series Home

And while manager Joe Girardi stopped short of committing to Pettitte, he has no real choice, and Pettitte said, "I'm plenty up for it."

Pettitte, who started and won Saturday while throwing 104 pitches, said he threw Monday and felt fine.

So what to expect from him on Wednesday?

Pettitte is 37 with a history of elbow problems -- and he skipped a start in September with "shoulder fatigue."

Of course, he is the all-time leader in postseason wins, and he has made five playoff starts on three days' rest, going 3-1 with a 2.80 ERA in them.

In his 12 regular-season starts on short rest (not counting those following a relief outing), Pettitte is 2-6 with a 4.70 ERA. The most recent of those games was Sept. 30, 2006, for Houston.

But perhaps the most germane fact is this: Pettitte has not come back to start three days after throwing 100 or more pitches since July 19, 2001.

When he was 29 years old.

And in that game, at Detroit, he allowed seven runs on 10 hits in four innings.

Girardi said he would check with Pettitte during Tuesday's workout at Yankee Stadium before committing to him in Game 6.

"Physically I've got to see how he is," Girardi said. "He threw a side [session] today and felt good. But I'll check with him tomorrow."

Girardi said his decision would be based solely on Pettitte's state and would not factor in Burnett's struggles Monday.

"If Andy physically feels good, he's going to go on Wednesday," Girardi said. "This is something that we talked about all throughout. We check with our guys.

Pedro Martinez vs. Andy Pettitte head-to-head (all regular season, all Red Sox vs. Yankees, have never faced each other in postseason):
Date Pedro Pettitte
5/31/98 (@NY) W, 5.2 IP, 4 R L, 2.2 IP, 6 H, 8 R
9/10/99 (@NY) W, 9 IP, 1 ER, 17 K L, 6 IP, 2 R
6/10/00 (@Bos) L, 8 IP, 3 R, 9 SO W, 7.2 IP, 6 H, 0 R
9/9/00 (@Bos) L, 7 IP, 3 R, 9 SO W, 8 IP, 1 R
8/30/03 (@Bos) L, 4 IP, 9 H, 5 R W, 7 IP, 4 R, 7 SO
9/5/03 (@NY) W, 6 IP, 1 R, 9 SO L, 2.1 IP, 9 H, 8 R
TOTALS 3-3, 3.86 ERA 3-3, 5.88 ERA
"If he feels good, he's going."

Burnett said he felt good, but this is what he did Monday: two-plus innings, six runs, four hits, four walks and a hit batter.

After beginning the third inning by going walk-walk-single-single he spent the rest of the inning in the dugout hanging his head.

"I let 25 guys down," he said later, "and I let the city down."

Burnett threw 28 strikes and 25 balls and started nine of 15 batters with a strike -- a far cry from his Game 2 outing, when the Phillies were looking for fastballs, and got them, but didn't attack because Burnett was putting them on the corners at 95 mph.

Not so in Game 5.

"I didn't throw strikes," he said.

Girardi said he didn't think there was "any correlation" between Burnett's short rest and his outing, the shortest by a World Series starter since Roger Clemens in 2005.

"He just lacked command tonight," Girardi said, "similar to what he did in [Game 5 of the ALCS in] Anaheim. But he was able to recover better there. Tonight he just wasn't able to get it going."

Said Burnett: "No, I felt good. I felt strong. It was a matter of locating pitches, and I didn't do that."


Asked if the short rest might have affected his command, Burnett said, "I don't think so. ... I felt great in the [bullpen]. I was throwing strikes in the 'pen. I just didn't get it done in the game.

"I just couldn't get the ball where I wanted to. Everything was up. I had no hook [curve] tonight."

Who really knows when short rest is a factor? All we can really tell is Sabathia seems built to do it when necessary, because of his frame. Whether short rest caused Burnett to implode is impossible to tell.

So we have no idea what to expect from Pettitte.

And it will almost certainly be Pettitte, because Plan B is Chad Gaudin -- who has thrown one competitive inning and 13 pitches in the past month.

So the Yankees will try to become the first team since the 1991 Twins to win the World Series with a three-man postseason rotation.

The Yankees are in this situation because, even with a $200 million payroll, they don't have a reliable fourth starter.

Chien-Ming Wang got hurt, Phil Hughes was too valuable in the bullpen (until the postseason) to move back to a starting role and the self-imposed innings limit on Joba Chamberlain screwed him up in so many ways -- pitch selection, aggressiveness and length of outings late in the season -- that he wasn't a starting option in the playoffs.

Thus Pettitte will become the third straight Yankees starter going on three days' rest.

And the Yankees need a long outing from him, since their relievers other than Mariano Rivera have allowed 34 hits and walked 11 in 28 1/3 innings.

If Pettitte isn't up to the task Wednesday, then there will be a Game 7.

With Sabathia starting.

On short rest, of course.
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Selling Short: Will Pettitte Be Better Than Burnett on Three Days' Rest? originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:57:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>A.J. BurnettAndy PettitteJoe GirardiEd PriceTue, 03 Nov 2009 01:57:00 EST Hamels Backtracks From Comments; Lee Ready to Help in Possible Game 7http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/03/hamels-backtracks-from-comments-lee-ready-to-help-in-possible-g/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/03/hamels-backtracks-from-comments-lee-ready-to-help-in-possible-g/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/03/hamels-backtracks-from-comments-lee-ready-to-help-in-possible-g/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Cole HamelsPHILADELPHIA -- Now that the possibility of a Game 7 start is looming for Cole Hamels, he is backtracking madly from his eye-opening comments about being eager for the season to end, comments that reportedly sparked a clubhouse tussle with Brett Myers.

Although the Phillies still may opt to give someone else the ball for Game 7, assuming they even get there, Hamels said that his perceived mindset should not be a reason for him not to pitch.

"The way it came out was not the way I intended," Hamels told reporters after the Phillies' 8-6 victory in Game 5. "It hurt the way it came out. I was shocked. I didn't even know what I said. It's not what I was thinking."

The comment in question came following Hamels' disappointing Game 3 performance, yet another in a season that has failed to live up to the expectations he set last year.

"I can't wait for the season to end," he said Saturday. "It's been mentally draining."

In Hamels' defense, he also said in the same interview that he felt confident that he could turn it around and that he hoped his teammates and manager Charlie Manuel still had enough confidence in him to give him the ball on his normal turn, which would fall in Game 7.

Considering the options -- a slumping Hamels or J.A. Happ, who hasn't pitched much lately -- there is going to be a growing sentiment among Phillies fans for Manuel to give the ball to Cliff Lee, on two days' rest, in Game 7. Manuel had already said that Lee would be available for two or three innings of relief. Lee threw 112 pitches on Monday night.

After Monday's game, Lee said his normal between-starts bullpen would fall on the second day after his start, which in this case would be Wednesday, the day of Game 6. Presumably, he'll skip that and be available in whatever capacity he can pitch in Game 7 on Thursday.

Again, assuming the Phillies get there.

"I think I'll be fine," he said. "You're going to have to talk to Charlie. I don't know what his plans are. I'll be ready to pitch whenever they want me to."

Manuel said that maybe he'd hope for rain that would push the series back a day. Short of that, he wasn't ruling out anything. He said he and pitching coach Rich Dubee would definitely talk to Lee.

Hamels Backtracks From Comments; Lee Ready to Help in Possible Game 7 originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:16:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Cliff LeeCole HamelsJeff FletcherTue, 03 Nov 2009 01:16:00 EST World Series Game 5 Live Chathttp://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/02/world-series-game-5-live-chat/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/02/world-series-game-5-live-chat/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/02/world-series-game-5-live-chat/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Phillies FansIt's now or never for the Philadelphia Phillies, who, for the first time in the last two postseasons, face elimination in Game 5 of the World Series Monday night at Citizens Bank Ballpark.

The defending champs will have the raucous Philadelphia crowd on their side as well as ace Cliff Lee, who has been virtually unhittable so far in the playoffs, but they'll have to tangle with A.J. Burnett, who shut them down in Game 2, and the rest of a Yankees team that can smell its first title since 2000.

Join the MLB FanHouse crew after the jump for a LIVE chat throughout Game 5. The festivities start at 7:45 PM ET.

World Series Game 5 Live Chat originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Andrew JohnsonMon, 02 Nov 2009 18:30:00 EST Playoff Pulse: Coming Up Shorthttp://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/02/playoff-pulse-coming-up-short/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/02/playoff-pulse-coming-up-short/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/02/playoff-pulse-coming-up-short/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Chase UtleyPlayoff Pulse is our morning rundown of the night that was and the night that will be during the MLB postseason.

Looking Forward ...

Not this again. The World Series hasn't gone past five games since 2003, and that streak could be extended for a sixth straight year if the Yankees take care of business Monday night in Philadelphia.

There's a good chance that it won't and the Yankees will return to New York for Game 6 instead of a parade. The reason for that, of course, is Cliff Lee. But if Lee's form slips, A.J. Burnett could very easily put away the defending champs.

And that would be baseball's loss.

For whatever reason -- league imbalance, dumb luck and so on -- the sport's signature event has lacked the drawn-out drama that can make a best-of-seven baseball series the greatest entertainment on the planet.

There's plenty that's troubling about the postseason as its currently set up -- the schedule jumps immediately to mind -- so here's hoping the 2009 World Series at least makes it to six games. If you're an impartial observer, you've got to be pulling for every last bit of baseball you can get before settling in for a long winter.

In Their Own Words
"I think we take a lot of pride on being resilient and the way we bounce back. I know that we're going to come out and play tomorrow to win. I know that. I've seen us go through it before. We've blown 22 games from the seventh inning on or something this year. That's got to tell you something about the resilience of our team." -- Phillies manager Charlie Manuel.
By the Numbers
12

Combined blown saves this postseason by all teams after Joba Chamberlain allowed a game-tying home run to Pedro Feliz in the eighth inning of Game 4. The 12 blown saves is an all-time record. -- Ed Price
More From FanHouse
Graziano: A-Rod Clutch Again
Fletcher: Lidge Crumbles
Price: 'Idiot' Uses Smarts
Looking Back ...

Chase Utley didn't have all that great of a World Series last year (two home runs, yes, but he hit only .167), so it's nice to see him making a statement this time around, even if it doesn't end up lifting the Phillies to another title.

Utley is the game's most anonymous superstar, not even recognized by many casual fans as the best player on his own team (consider that teammates Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins have MVP awards, while he does not).

A few more people should know him now that he's homered three times in the first four games of this Fall Classic, with all three drives coming off of arguably the best left-hander in the game in CC Sabathia. Just for good measure, he's belted all three in two-strike counts.

Scout's Eye View ...

When a pitcher doesn't have his best stuff, more often than not the game will be struggle. And when a pitcher can't rely on his best secondary pitch, it frequently spells a short night on the mound. On Sunday night, CC Sabathia was, quite frankly, not close to his peak in terms of command. But few pitchers in baseball are as good without their A-game as the Yankee ace. He sets the bar so high that it's easy to say his Game 4 performance was less than impressive, but the reality is that his ability to hang in and get key outs is what allowed New York to pull out a victory.

Sabathia, in peak form, can cruise through a game simply by mixing his fastball and changeup. On Sunday night, he seemed to realize the typical feel for the changeup wasn't there and he was forced to throw more sliders. Although he was burned by Chase Utley on one, he threw some nasty sliders just about every time he needed a big out against a left-handed hitter. There were plenty of times in this game where Sabathia could have easily folded. This was a classic case of bend but don't break. Having a strong performance without your best stuff is what separates an ace from an ordinary pitcher.

-- Frankie Piliere

Monday's Tale of the Tape ...

Yankees (A.J. Burnett) at Phillies (Cliff Lee), 7:57 PM ET: Burnett was terrific in his last start, the Yankees' Game 2 win over the Phillies, but there are a couple of things to keep an eye on as New York tries to clinch its first title since 2000. First, Burnett is not the same pitcher away from Yankee Stadium; his ERA was more than a run higher on the road this season. Second, he's starting on three days' rest for the first time this postseason, and indeed the first time all year. He's been very good on short rest in the past, going 4-0 with a 2.33 ERA in four career starts. Everyone knows just how good Lee has been this postseason (for a reminder, two earned runs in 33 1/3 innings). Lee was terrific at Citizens Bank Park after his arrival from Cleveland in a deadline deal, going 3-2 with a 2.52 ERA down the stretch there.

Playoff Pulse: Coming Up Short originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Chase UtleyAndrew JohnsonMon, 02 Nov 2009 06:00:00 EST Lidge's Rebirth Turns Out to Be Tall Talehttp://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/02/lidges-rebirth-turns-out-to-be-tall-tale/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/02/lidges-rebirth-turns-out-to-be-tall-tale/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/02/lidges-rebirth-turns-out-to-be-tall-tale/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Brad Lidge and Carlos RuizPHILADELPHIA -- The Brad Lidge Story was shaping up to be a happy one this postseason. A guy who had endured one of the worst season-to-season collapses in recent memory was suddenly reborn, it seemed, busting fastballs and throwing nasty, unhittable sliders.

The latest chapter was unfolding on Sunday night, with Lidge on the mound making tough pitches while the crowd roared, anticipating the Phillies completing an improbable comeback victory and jumping back into the World Series.

"I felt good," Lidge said. "I felt like it would be one of those innings that would be a good quick inning. I made some good pitches to Damon. Then very quickly he was on third base. It turned pretty quick."
FanHouse World Series Coverage: Graziano | Price
Game 4: Yankees 7, Phillies 4 | Box Score | Series Home

Johnny Damon emerged from a classic nine-pitch confrontation with Lidge by poking a two-out single in the top of the ninth and then quickly stole second and third.

On the same play.

The "miscommunication," as manager Charlie Manuel called the absence of anyone covering third, was a jaw-dropper, the kind of play that happens, well, never. Manuel said either Lidge or catcher Carlos Ruiz was supposed to be at third. Shortstop Jimmy Rollins said he was to blame for not reminding Lidge to cover third.

Whoever was responsible -- Ruiz probably also could have just held the ball, since he had little chance to get Damon at second -- the unusual play turned out to be the spark that led to a Lidge meltdown in their 7-4 Game 4 loss. He had so many of them in the regular season, but so far he was working on one month that could make everyone forget the previous six.

Lidge had been perfect in three save opportunities and he had a victory. He had retired 11-of-15 batters when he took the mound on Sunday night, not long after Pedro Feliz's homer against Joba Chamberlain had tied the game, 4-4. Lidge got Hideki Matsui on a popup and he struck out Derek Jeter.

Cruising.

Then, Damon.

"Obviously, the whole inning is frustrating. [Damon] had a great at-bat. Sometimes hitters do that stuff. ... It's frustrating when you make some good pitches and you hope to get the result you want."
-- Brad Lidge He fouled off three consecutive nasty sliders. Lidge then missed with two fastballs. Then he threw two more fastballs, which Damon fouled off. Several of those pitches were the kind that should have been good enough to put away a big-league hitter. But Damon wouldn't go away.

"It's frustrating," Lidge said. "Obviously, the whole inning is frustrating. He had a great at-bat. Sometimes hitters do that stuff. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get the job done after that. It's frustrating when you make some good pitches and you hope to get the result you want, but they did a good job."

Damon's single to left seemed innocent enough, but the urgency of the inning immediately was turned up when Damon broke for second on the first pitch. Feliz, the third baseman, was playing in the shortstop position for a shift on Mark Teixeira, with Rollins on the other side of the bag. Rollins, the captain of the infield, said that when he called for Feliz to cover the bag, he should have told Lidge that he needs to break to third.

"I take responsibility for it," Rollins said. "It's my job to let him know he's got to go to third. It's my job. I just didn't do it that time."

Technically, Damon was in scoring position at second, so there should have been no difference with him being at third. Was Lidge rattled by the startling play?

"No," he said.

Did having a runner at third prevent Lidge from throwing sliders, which may have been in the dirt?

"No," he said.

Whatever the explanation, Lidge lost it. All that nasty stuff he had for the first three batters of the inning was gone. He immediately plunked Teixeira on the elbow. Alex Rodriguez then came to the plate. Second base was open -- with Mariano Rivera looming in the bullpen, it didn't really matter if the Yankees scored one or two or three runs -- so Lidge could have pitched around Rodriguez. He wanted to pitch him inside. His second fastball was inside, but not far enough. Rodriguez smoked it into the left-field corner for a two-run double.

"I hadn't seen him do a whole lot of that on (inside) fastballs in this series, but he got to that one," Lidge said. "You've got to tip your hat. He made an adjustment. I wish I would have gone to a slider earlier, but he did a good job. ... I think we would have gone to sliders real soon."

That is what they call regret, which is what Lidge is likely to live with over a long winter. Sure, the Phillies are still alive in the series, and they have their ace, Cliff Lee, going on Game 5 on Monday, but their chances are slim. If Lidge had just gotten Damon, or made some better pitches to Teixeira and Rodriguez, the Phillies would have had a wave of momentum and a raucous crowd on their side as they went after the Yankees' soft middle relief. A series-evening victory was within their grasp.

Instead, there was Lidge, standing in front of reporters in a deathly quiet clubhouse, just as he had all too many times this season, talking about what had gone wrong, begging for a chance to make amends.

"Hopefully," he said, "I'll get a chance to go back out there, and get a save or a win."
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Lidge's Rebirth Turns Out to Be Tall Tale originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Brad LidgeJeff FletcherMon, 02 Nov 2009 02:30:00 EST 'Idiot' Damon Uses Smarts to Put Yankees On Cusp of Titlehttp://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/02/idiot-damon-uses-smarts-to-put-yankees-on-cusp-of-title/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/02/idiot-damon-uses-smarts-to-put-yankees-on-cusp-of-title/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/02/idiot-damon-uses-smarts-to-put-yankees-on-cusp-of-title/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Johnny Damon and Pedro FelizPHILADELPHIA -- If Johnny Damon isn't careful, people are going to find out that he's got some smarts.

"That's the only thing that keeps me going now," he jokingly told FanHouse early Monday after almost single-handedly creating the Yankees' winning run in Game 4 of the World Series.

With the score tied in the ninth inning, two out and nobody on, Damon battled Brad Lidge through a nine-pitch at-bat to single. He then stole second and third on the same pitch before scoring on Alex Rodriguez's double.

"He really won the game for us," Jorge Posada said.
FanHouse World Series Coverage: Graziano | Fletcher
Game 4: Yankees 7, Phillies 4 | Box Score | Series Home

Damon coined the "idiots" term for the 2004 Red Sox, and, if he hasn't intentionally cultivated a reputation as goofy and carefree, he at least doesn't fight it -- doing postgame TV interviews barechested, giving funny quotes or maintaining his caveman look in Boston.

But on the inside, Damon is actually a brainy ballplayer.

Kevin Long has known Damon since 1995, when they were side-by-side in the outfield of the Double-A Wichita Wranglers (and Damon was named Texas League Player of the Year).

"I think he should get more credit for how smart he is. He's always been real savvy, real smart. He thinks things out. And he comes across as someone who's -- 'Boy, I'm just a talented athlete.'"
-- Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long on Damon "I think he should get more credit for how smart he is," said Long, now the Yankees' hitting coach. "He's always been real savvy, real smart. He thinks things out. And he comes across as someone who's -- 'Boy, I'm just a talented athlete.'

"He's a talented athlete that's pretty smart, too."

Third base coach Rob Thomson said he never has to tell Damon where to play in left field "because he's always in the right spot."

"He's got great instincts," Thomson said, "he really does."

When Damon came up in the top of the ninth, Brad Lidge had blown away Hideki Matsui and Derek Jeter. Damon fell behind 1-2 but fouled off a pitch, took two balls, fouled off two more and then singled to left.

"I kept sitting slider, and he kept throwing the fastball," Damon said.

"They really don't teach you to do it that way. They normally always tell you to look fastball because if you sit slider, it would be too tough to catch up to a fastball. But I felt like his slider made me look silly on a couple pitches, so I kept sitting slider and just reacted to the fastball. So after the third 3-2 count, he threw three fastballs, and fortunately I got enough of it to get it over the shortstop and not enough of it to bounce in front of Raul [Ibanez in left]."

According to baseball-reference.com, the last time in World Series history a hitter battled for nine or more pitches to get a hit, with the score tied in the ninth inning or later, was Jeter's 2001 game-winning Game 4 homer off Arizona's Byung-Hyun Kim.

"It's a hell of an at-bat," Long said. "I marvel at the thing that Johnny Damon can do. That was one of the at-bats you just kind of shake your head and go, 'Wow.' "

Even though Lidge is perhaps the easiest pitcher in the majors on whom to steal, the Phillies still employed a drastic shift on Mark Teixeira. So when Damon took off on the first pitch to Teixeira, third baseman Pedro Feliz -- the only infielder on the left side -- took the throw at second.

Damon said he wasn't planning to go to third the entire play, that it would depend on where Feliz ended up after catching the ball. As Feliz had to step in front of second base to field a short hop, Damon popped up from his slide, glanced over his left shoulder and decided to take off.

"I got up to full speed pretty quick," Damon said, and that acceleration made it impossible for Feliz to catch him.

"I'm just glad that when I started running, I still had some of my young legs behind me."

Neither Lidge nor catcher Carlos Ruiz covered third, so Damon made it there without a play.

"I think he shocked everybody," Long said.

Said Thomson: "It was just a great heads-up play on Johnny's part. ... That's all instinct on him. I had nothing to do with it. I wish I could take credit for it."

Thomson said the Yankees do remind players that whenever they run to second -- on a steal or otherwise -- with the shift on, to anticipate a chance to go to third base.

In fact, that ploy figures into one of the most painful plays in recent Yankees memory.

On Opening Day 2003 in Toronto, Jeter was on first base and the Blue Jays shifted their infield against Jason Giambi. When Giambi grounded back to the pitcher, Jeter tried to go all the way to third.

Except catcher Ken Huckaby was alert enough to cover third, and when he took the throw from first baseman Carlos Delgado, he fell onto Jeter, causing a dislocated left shoulder that kept Jeter out until mid-May.

Six-plus years later, Damon's gambit worked, and it had a double benefit. Because the Phillies' outfielders throw well and tend to play shallow, Thomson said, it gave Damon a much better chance to score on a single.

And, Long said, by going to third, Damon may have kept Lidge from using his slider. It has been Lidge's best pitch recently, including Sunday night, but with Damon on third, if Lidge missed with a slider for a wild pitch, it would mean a run.

So after Lidge hit Teixeira with a pitch, Rodriguez saw two fastballs -- and ripped the second for a go-ahead double.

"I mean, for me the whole key of that whole inning was an unbelievable tenacious at-bat by Johnny Damon," Rodriguez said. "This guy is just a great competitor, and then goes first pitch and then goes to third. Put us in a position to get a big hit there in the ninth."
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'Idiot' Damon Uses Smarts to Put Yankees On Cusp of Title originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 01:56:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>johnny damonEd PriceMon, 02 Nov 2009 01:56:00 EST Wings on Pigs, Icicles in Hell, A-Rod a World Series Hero ... Yet Againhttp://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/02/wings-on-pigs-icicles-in-hell-a-rod-a-world-series-hero-ye/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/02/wings-on-pigs-icicles-in-hell-a-rod-a-world-series-hero-ye/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/02/wings-on-pigs-icicles-in-hell-a-rod-a-world-series-hero-ye/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Mark Teixeira and Alex RodriguezPHILADELPHIA -- If the Phillies were trying to get into Alex Rodriguez's head by hitting him with pitches, they're going to need to find another tactic, and fast. Something very strange has happened here in late 2009, and the inside of that particular head is no longer the mushy, insecure, vulnerable place it once was. Matter of fact, when Cole Hamels hit Rodriguez with a pitch in the second inning on Halloween night, the Yankees' All-Star third baseman and would-be centaur says, it had the opposite effect.

"Kind of woke me up a little bit," Rodriguez said early Monday morning, after his ninth-inning double had broken a Game 4 tie and moved the Yankees within one game of a championship. "Just reminded me, 'Hey, this is the World Series. Let's get it going a little bit.' "
FanHouse World Series Coverage: Price | Fletcher
Game 4: Yankees 7, Phillies 4 | Box Score | Series Home

Woe, ever since, to the City of Brotherly Love and its red-pinstriped defending champions. Rodriguez hit a two-run home run in his very next Game 3 at-bat. The Phillies hit him twice more in the four plate appearances that followed, including one of the most obviously intentional HBPs in World Series history by Joe Blanton in Sunday night's first inning, and Rodriguez punished them by knocking in the go-ahead run in Game 4.

"[A-Rod]'s the reason why we're sitting here. ... Without him, who knows where our road may have stopped?
-- Johnny Damon He now has 15 RBI in this postseason -- tying a Yankees team record set by Bernie Williams in 1996 and matched by Scott Brosius in 1998 -- and will look Monday night to collect however many more he needs to make the Yankees World Series champs. At this point, nothing he does will surprise his appreciative teammates.

"I wasn't here before this season, so I couldn't tell you how he was," Yankees Game 5 starter A.J. Burnett said. "But I know he's about as relaxed as I could have imagined him ever being. It doesn't matter what the situation is when he comes up. He's confident. He's loose. He's hitting the ball and he's having a blast. When he's doing that, it's kind of hard to beat him."

"Relaxed" is not a word we have come to associate with Alex Rodriguez, especially not in the postseason. There are few prominent athletes who have ever been so clearly and uncomfortably unable to get themselves out of their own heads in big spots. It has, until this past month, been a defining aspect of Rodriguez that he comes up small when it matters most.

But that was then, and this is a loony new now. This is a transformed baseball world in which Rodriguez has just spent seven months calling attention to himself for on-field reasons only. A world in which he could take Kate Hudson to the team picnic and somehow not have it be a fiasco. A world in which Alex Rodriguez, known choke artist, has a chance to define himself as a Yankee World Series hero.

"He's the reason why we're sitting here and we're in Philadelphia right now," said Johnny Damon, whose tough nine-pitch at-bat and base-stealing magic act put him on third base ahead of Rodriguez's double in the ninth. "Without him, who knows where our road may have stopped? He's the guy who's been driving us through the playoffs."

Rodriguez is in such a good spot now, he's actually able to think his way out of a funk. After a rough first two games of the World Series, he took a deep breath and reminded himself what he needed to do to succeed. Sounds simple, but so few things have ever been simple with this guy that you have to treat it as a major psychological breakthrough.

"I made an adjustment after the first two games," Rodriguez said. "I was expanding the strike zone, and that's something I didn't do against Minnesota or Anaheim [in the first two rounds]."

And so here we are. A season that began with a spring-training revelation that the man regarded as the game's greatest player was, in fact, a steroid cheat may well end with that same man redeemed in ways no one ever imagined. As a hero. And a champion. And it may all be because he got things straight between the ears.

"Yes, I feel more relaxed," he said. "This year has been a unique year for me. Obviously, after spring training and all the stuff that I've been through, you have nothing to lose. For the first time in my career, I've felt like an underdog."

If that's the mental trick a man who makes $30 million a year needs to play on himself to get things clicking, then the team that signs those paychecks will gladly take it. But for Rodriguez, it was likely far more simple.

"When I get a good pitch to hit and I put a good swing on it," Rodriguez said, "good things usually happen."

Amazing, what a guy can accomplish when he gives himself over to the obvious.
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Wings on Pigs, Icicles in Hell, A-Rod a World Series Hero ... Yet Again originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 01:28:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>alex rodriguezAlexRodrigueznew york yankeesNewYorkYankeesDan GrazianoMon, 02 Nov 2009 01:28:00 EST World Series Game 4 Live Chathttp://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/01/world-series-game-4-live-chat/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/01/world-series-game-4-live-chat/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/01/world-series-game-4-live-chat/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Joe BlantonGame 4 of the World Series is a pivotal one for the defending champion Phillies. After dropping Game 3 Saturday night, they'll need to win Sunday to avoid a huge 3-1 hole.

Unfortunately for the Phils, things seem stacked against them with Joe Blanton taking the hill against Yankees ace CC Sabathia. Can Philadelphia buck the odds and even the Fall Classic, or will New York have a chance to clinch its 27th championship Monday night?

After the jump, join the MLB FanHouse crew for a LIVE chat throughout Game 4, starting at 8 PM ET.

World Series Game 4 Live Chat originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sun, 01 Nov 2009 18:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Andrew JohnsonSun, 01 Nov 2009 18:30:00 EST Yankees Pick Burnett on Short Rest for Game 5http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/01/yanks-pick-burnett-on-short-rest-for-game-5/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/01/yanks-pick-burnett-on-short-rest-for-game-5/http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/11/01/yanks-pick-burnett-on-short-rest-for-game-5/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

PHILADELPHIA -- A.J. Burnett is scheduled to start Game 5 of the World Series for the Yankees on Monday, manager Joe Girardi announced on Sunday. Burnett would be going on three days rest for the first time this season, although he's had some success on short rest in his career.

The decision was not a surprise, because the other alternative was Chad Gaudin, who has pitched just one inning this postseason. It now appears the Yankees are going to use only three starters throughout the playoffs. Andy Pettitte would be starter on three days' rest in Game 6, but Girardi said he'd have to check with Pettitte in the coming days before finalizing that.

"Our guys feel good this time of year," Girardi said. "We took it easy on them -- that's probably a bad way to state it. We tried to give them som extra rest in the month of September, and they've had some extra rest during the playoffs and we thought that was very important."

Burnett has made four starts on three days' rest, including three last year with Toronto, and he is 4-0 with a 2.33 ERA. Burnett was the winning pitcher in Game 2. He gave up one earned run in seven innings of the Yankees' 3-1 victory.

The Phillies will send Cliff Lee to the mound on Monday. There was some discussion among the media about whether Charlie Manuel should have used Lee on three days' rest for Sunday's Game 4, but Manuel said it was never really a consideration because Lee had never done it.

"You're asking Clff Lee to do something that he has never done before, but we're also asking him to do it in a very big, important place, and that's in the World Series," Manuel said. "I didn't have to think very long at all about that, and neither did [pitching coach Rich] Dubee."

Lee said that Manuel asked him if he had ever pitched on three days' rest, and that was the extent of the conversation.

"I let him know that I'd pitch whenever he wants me to pitch," Lee said. "I think I could do it, but he makes the calls."

Yankees Pick Burnett on Short Rest for Game 5 originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Jeff FletcherSun, 01 Nov 2009 17:15:00 EST