Yankees Phall Phlat

If the Yankees are looking for any positives after losing two of three from the Philadelphia Phillies, they just have to look back at last year's results. The Yankees captured just one contest in a three game series with the Phillies last May before topping the two time defending NL champs in the World Series.

It may be the only thing that helps Joe Girardi feel good about his squad after the last two games. After being baffled by the slower than slow pitching of Jamie Moyer, the Yankees could muster only a single run against Kyle Kendrick, who entered the game with a 4.80 ERA. The Yankees went 9-62 (.145) in the two losses combined.

Andy Pettitte (8-2) was sharp and didn't allow a base runner until the 4th inning when the Phillies scored an unearned run. But Shane Victorino pulled a Pettitte cutter into the left field seats for a 3-0 lead.

The Yankees finally got to Kendrick in the 6th on Robinson's Cano RBI single and had two on with two out. But third baseman Placido Polanco leapt onto the tarp to snare Nick Swisher's foul pop to end the inning.

The Phillies blew the game open in the 9th against an ineffective Joba Chamberlain and Damaso Marte.

Notes

Andy Pettitte made some history passing Ron Guidry for second place (1,779) on the franchise's all-time strikeout list. It came 32 years to the day that Louisiana Lightning struck out 18 California Angels. Pettitte also passed Bob Shawkey for 5th place on the team's career innings list. He should pass Lefty Gomez for 4th place in his next start.

The Yankees and Mets play the second half of the Subway Series beginning tomorrow (Friday) night. Hisanori Takahashi squares off with Javier Vazquez in the opener.

photo courtesy of Yahoo Sports

The Old Man And The C

Crafty, change up, cunning, career, consistent. All words that could be used to describe Jamie Moyer. He of the fastball slowball and even slower change up. The 47-yr old who became the oldest pitcher ever to defeat the Yankees when he and the Philadelphia Phillies topped the Bombers 6-3 last night.

Moyer hasn't just seemingly been around forever, he has been around forever. I saw the Yankees beat him as a member of the Baltimore Orioles...in 1993. Bob Wickman was the Yankees winning pitcher. In fact, last night marked the 24th anniversary of Moyer's major league debut with the Chicago Cubs.

The lefty was at his slowest best last night, limiting the Yankees to three hits and two runs - solo home runs by Robinson Cano and Jorge Posada - over eight innings. He even struck out five batters. Maybe that doesn't sound like a lot, but it is when you've only struck out 34 hitters in the previous 73.1 innings.

Moyer had plenty of help from his offense, which has been unusually anemic this year. Yankees starter A.J. Burnett served up pitches on a silver platter/batting tee and the Phillies knocked them out of the park.

Burnett, who pitches like the love child of Roy Halladay and Jeff Weaver, was tagged for six runs over six innings. In his last three starts, the tattooed right-hander has been tattooed for 16 earned runs in 16 innings. After an easy-breezy 1st inning, Burnett was charged with four runs in the 2nd, three of them on a bases loaded triple by Shane Victorino.

Cano's home run cut the score to 4-1, but Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth hit back-to-back home runs off Burnett in the 3rd for a 6-1 Phillies lead.

The Yankees actually sent the tying run to the plate in the 9th inning against closer Brad Lidge. Alex Rodriguez, back in the lineup as DH, doubled in a run to halve the lead and Cano followed with a single. But Lidge came back to strike out Jorge Posada to end the game.

Notes

Twitter and the blogs were abuzz last night with people bashing Burnett and screaming at the Yankees for not having the ability to beat up on Moyer. I'm sure the latter came from Moyer's one inning, nine earned run performance against Boston in his last start.

It doesn't matter if you have a 95-mph fastball or one that barely breaks the speed limit. If you know how to pitch and have enough weapons in your arsenal, you can beat teams. Until recent years, Moyer had been consistent for much of his career. Last night he was on.

Conversely, Burnett is the model of inconsistency. His stuff is awesome, you hear about it every time he pitches. But whether it's mental, physical, or both, he does not always bring his 'A' game. That included forgetting to cover first base on a grounder to the right side last night. He is what he is and it's ridiculous for fans to demand he be traded or talk about how much money he's making. It's absurd for any Yankees fan to want the team to spend whatever it takes to land a player and then criticize said player for making that money.

The only bright spot from last night's game was the performance of recently recalled Boone Logan and Chad Gaudin. The two limited the Phillies to just a single walk over the final 5.2 innings.

Yankees Doctor Up Halladay

It was a pitching match up the media and fans love and hitters hate. The Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies began a three game series at the Stadium tonight with aces CC Sabathia and Roy Halladay squaring off on the mound. Some things just don't live up to the hype. The Yankees hit three home runs and sent Halladay to the showers after six innings en route to an 8-3 win.

The Yankees had already put two runs on the board in the 2nd inning on a Brett Gardner triple and contined to slap the good doctor around in the third. Curtis Granderson made it a 3-0 game with a line drive home run to right. Three batters later, Nick Swisher hit one to the Bleachers Creatures with a man aboard for a 5-0 advantage.

The Phillies nearly came all the way back against Sabathia in the 4th. After dominating through the first three innings - including six strikeouts - the big man struggled with the lead.

The Phils loaded the bases on a pair of bouncers through the middle and a hit batter before Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez produced RBI singles. Ben Francisco bounced into a force out to cut the lead to 5-3 and the Phillies had the tying runs in scoring position with one out. But Sabathia struck out Juan Castro and induced an inning ending ground out from Carlos Ruiz.

The Yankees got their final run off Halladay in the 6th when Mark Teixeira went deep for just the second time in the last 13 games. The three homes run allowed by Halladay matched the total he had allowed for the year thus far and the most home runs the Yankees had hit in a single game against the right-hander.

Sabathia regrouped and gave the Yankees seven solid innings and Francisco Cervelli helped put the game away with a 2-run single in the 7th.

Notes

Prior to the game, Sergio Mitre was placed on the 15-day DL with a side injury. Boone Logan was recalled from Scranton to take his spot on the roster.

Phillies' shortstop Jimmy Rollins played his first minor league rehab game tonight.

Alex Rodriguez sat out again, but hopes to play on Wednesday.

A Sterling Finish

Here it is, complete with video (toh to Andrew at Scott Proctor's Arm) of John Sterling's call of the final out. I'm still laughing at his body gyrations.

Old Guard Brings Home #27

17 players on the Yankees 25 man roster are first time World Series champions, but it was the "old timers" that helped bring home the New York Yankees' 27th championship, and first in nine years. Andy Pettitte jabbed and counter punched his way to his record 18 post-season win with 5-plus innings of work and Mariano Rivera came on to get the final five outs in the Yankees series clinching 7-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

But it was a first-timer that played a key role and took home the hardware as series MVP. Hideki Matsui, playing in what could be his last game as a Yankee tied a series record (also held by Yankee Bobby Richardson in 1960) with 6 RBI. His 2-run home run off Pedro Martinez gave the Yankees an early lead and increased the volume of the "Who's your daddy" chants from the crowd. Godzilla later added a 2-run double and a 2-run single to cap an amazing night.


Derek Jeter had three hits to finish the series with a .407 and scored twice. Though he went 0-3, it was Jorge Posada once again behind the plate for a big Pettitte performance. And though the native Texan didn't have his best stuff working on three days rest, he gave the Yankees just enough of what was needed.

Pettitte allowed just one run through the first five innings, getting Jimmy Rollins to hit into a key double play in the fifth before the Phillies' big bats came to the plate. He heard his name chanted throughout the night just as Paul O'Neill had in 2001. Pettitte finally exited, one batter after Ryan Howard finally hit a series home run, to a standing ovation.

Joba Chamberlain got the final out of the 6th before putting two aboard with two outs in the 7th. But unexpected World Series hero Damaso Marte struck out Chase Utley to end the inning and K'ed Howard to start the 8th. That's when skipper Joe Girardi went to his closer to finish out the night.

Rivera gave up a hit and a walk along the way, but after a long at-bat, induced Shane Victorino to bounce out to Robinson Cano for the 27th out. Rivera's teammates poured out of the dugout and bullpen to join in on the wild celebration taking place on the field.


Series Notes

Despite not starting the three games in Philadelphia and having only 14 plate appearances, Matsui finished with 3 HR and 8 RBI. Oh, and a .615 batting average.

It was the fifth championship for Jeter, Pettitte, Rivera, and Posada. It was the second time around for Johnny Damon, Marte, Eric Hinske, and Jose Molina.

Pettitte also picked up the clinching victory in 1998. He's the first pitcher to get two winners since Bob Gibson accomplished the feat for the St. Louis Cardinals in '64 and '67. Rivera has picked up the final outs in four of the five championships the Yankees have won since 1996.

Joe Girardi joined fellow managers Joe Torre, Bob Lemon, Billy Martin, Ralph Houk, Casey Stengel, Bucky Harris, Joe McCarthy, and Miller Huggins in winning a World Series title with the Yankees. Girardi, who wore number 27 this year, announced today that he will wear number 28 next season as a new incentive to the team.

Girardi Made Right Decision with A.J.

Burnett Bombs, But Was Right Choice

Written for Baseball Digest Online.

Anyone watching last night’s World Series Game 5, must have thought they were watching a replay of the fifth game of the American League Championship Series. A.J. Burnett on the mound, no command, flat fastballs, opponent taking a quick lead. And like that 5th game, the New York Yankees came out on the wrong end of an 8-6 score to the Philadelphia Phillies last night. The series returns to New York for Wednesday night’s Game 6.

Second guessers came out of everywhere as soon as Burnett started giving up hit/walk/hit batter, one after another. Had a fully rested Andy Pettitte or CC Sabathia been waiting in the wings it would have been one thing. But the second guessing in this case centered on whether or not Chad Gaudin should have started Game 4.

To put it simply, Chad Gaudin has no business having an impact on a World Series game. unless it game goes 12 innings or more. He certainly does not have any career portfolio to warrant getting a World Series start.

But because of a good four innings here or there, members of the media and Yankees fans spent a good part of last night (and I’m sure today) grousing about Gaudin not getting the start. Heck no one can even agree how to pronounce his name and you want him to start a possible World Series clinching game for you? And you know that if Gaudin had started and was bombed, the second guessers would be going in the opposite direction.

A.J. Burnett has driven all Yankees fans, and probably his teammates, crazy with inconsistancy. It’s not just from game to game, but inning to inning as was the case in the ALCS Game 5, when he pitched well after the 1st frame.

Be that as it may, Burnett was 3-0, 1.86 ERA in his prior starts on three days rest and was dominant in his Game 2 start. The decision to start him on three days rest was a no-brainer for Joe Girardi. And while I’ve questioned many of Girardi’s strategies, particularly involving the bullpen, he was on the money in deciding to go with just three starters in both the ALCS and World Series.

Total Domination

Unlike that car rental commercial, the Yankees were in the wrong end of "Total Domination" last night. Phillies starter Cliff Lee was nearly unhittable. He allowed an unearned run, four hits, and struck out in tossing a complete game. He also didn't walk a batter.

The Yankees hitters were off balance all night as CC Sabathia did his best to keep his team in the game. Despite not having his best stuff or control, the big man allowed just two runs, both Chase Utley solo home runs, in seven innings of work.

The Phillies scratched across four more against a suddenly very shakey Yankees bullpen. Phil Hughes, David Robertson, and Brian Bruney were chief among those who didn't get their job done.

The Yankees had never been shut out in the opening game of a series, but nearly were last night. They got a run in the 9th, in part thanks to a Jimmy Rollins throwing error. It snapped a streak of 17 scoreless innings by the Yankees in World Series play (they had been shut out by Josh Beckett in the final game of the 2003 series).

Chase Utley joined Babe Ruth as the only left-handed hitters to have a 2-HR game against a left-handed pitcher. The Bambino accomplished the feat against the Cardinals in 1928.

Meet the Phaukers

2009 World Series Preview

Time for some more head to head comparisons.

Manager - Charlie Manuel is at the helm of the defending World Champions. That alone gives him an edge over Joe Girardi.

Edge - Phillies

1B - Ryan Howard is a mashing machine. He's averagde 47 home runs and 143 RBI over the last four seasons. He's driven in 14 runs in eight post-season contests this year and had at least one RBI in eight straight games.

But the edge here goes to Mark Teixeira and the Yankees. Teixeira's defense is the difference between these two. Tex will need to step up at the plate though after hitting just .205 in his first nine post-season games. On the bright side, he's 5-14 (.357) with 4 RBI in the last three games.

Edge - Yankees


2B - Chase Utley is one of the most consistent players in all of baseball. But Utley was slowed by hip surgery this season and the discomfort may have returned in October. His inability to turn the double play was costly against the Dodgers, but could be even more so in the World Series. His all around play and ability to hit with men on base, gives the Phillies a slight advantage over Robinson Cano and the Yankees.

Edge - Phillies


SS - Jimmy Rollins and Derek Jeter are the respective captains of their teams. But while Jeter is relatively quiet and doesn't create message board fodder, Rollins loves to speak his mind. He also backs it up with his play. This season though Rollins struggled at the plate with a .250 average and is batting six points lower in the playoffs.

Edge - Yankees


3B - Pedro Feliz is a nice player. A good defender who drove in 82 runs this year. He's not Alex Rodriguez.

Edge - Yankees


LF - Raul Ibanez had a monster season in his first year in Philly. He hit a career high 34 HR and drove in 93. Though just an adequate fielder, he's still stronger right now than his counterpart, Johnny Damon. Ibanez, who is in a 3-23 slide, will probably DH at Yankee Stadium in favor of Ben Francisco.

Edge - Phillies


CF - Shane Victorino, along with Rollins, is an emotional spark plug. The Flying Hawaiian has also gotten better year by year. He set career highs this season in hits, walks, RBI, and OPS. Melky Cabrera had a fine season and a very good ALCS, but Victorino is the more consistent player.

Edge - Phillies


RF - Jayson Werth often gets overlooked due to the bigger name stars around him. But the stepson of former Yankee Dennis Werth is a force all his own. This was the first season Werth got the opportunity to play more than 150 games and he took full advantage with 36 HR and 99 RBI. His hitting has continued in the post-season where he has belted 5 home runs and driven in 10 runs. The Yankees need Nick Swisher to break out of his slump to help the bottom of the order, which will be one hitter short in the NL ball park.

Edge - Phillies


C - Carlos Ruiz is a solid player, especially with his glove and arm. But the .246 career hitter also steps up on the biggest stage- he's hitting .346 with 7 RBI thus far. Jorge Posada's offense will be critical in Philly. Joe Girardi cannot have Jose Molina catch A.J. Burnett when the right-hander takes the mound in Philadelphia.

Edge - Yankees


DH - The Phillies will use Ibanez in NY, which means Francisco is inserted in the lineup. Even though he's struggling of late, Hideki Matsui is still a much better hitter and could break out at any time.

Edge - Yankees


Bench - The Phillies bench has better hitters and will be relied upon more in the NL parks.

Edge - Phillies


Starting Rotation - Though Joe Girardi still has not fully committed to a 3-man rotation, the trio of CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Andy Pettitte is better than Cliff Lee, Pedro Martinez, and Cole Hamels. Chad Gaudin could pitch a Game 4 and Charlie Manuel will probably use either J.A. Happ, Joe Blanton, or Jamie Moyer in that same game.

Edge - Yankees

Bullpen - Mariano Rivera clearly trumps Brad Lidge and Phil Hughes, despite recent struggles, is just as good, if not better, than Ryan Madson. Philly's pen has struggled all season.

Edge - Yankees


PREDICTION - YANKEES IN 6

Game 4 Viewing Party in the Bronx

The Yankees are once again opening Yankee Stadium to the public for a World Series Game 4 viewing party. The contest is scheduled to start at 8:20 p.m. ET (remember clocks go back on Sunday a.m.), and will of course be played in Philly.

Gates 4 and 6 will open up at 7 and you can watch from either field level on the big board or in the great hall. Concession stands as well as the NYY Steak and Hard Rock Cafe will be open.