Update 12:53: For tonight, I'm just a fan. Matt will be here in a second with his take. There will be plenty of time to recap tomorrow. Just some quick thoughts:
Congrats to Hideki Matsui. With the three separate 2 RBI hits he had tonight - a homer, single and a double - tied the record for most RBIs in a World Series game previously in possession of Bobby Richardson (Game 3 in 1960) and supplanted his legacy with an incredible effort in the biggest game of his MLB career.
How appropriate that Mariano Rivera (with the greatest non-save of his career), Derek Jeter (with three hits and two runs scored) and Andy Pettitte (benefactor of the official decision) all played major roles in the clinching victory.
How about Damaso Marte, who threw six pitches and got two strikeouts against the Phillies' 3 & 4 hittters?
Sorry to Mike Mussina who found the worst possible 8 years to be a Yankee. (h/t Mike)
And last but not certainly least, good for A-Rod. He carried the Yanks to the World Series and made his hits count when they got there.
Thanks a lot for reading this season. Feel free to commiserate in the comments.
Last night's game was fairly long (3:17), and after the Yanks jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning, the game was never in doubt. But that doesn't even begin to explain this:
No "Thuh Yankees Win... Thuuuuuuh. Yannnnnnnkkkkeeessss. Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnn"?!?!??
What's next? Are they going to forget to play New York, New York after they win at home?
Sterling's apparent jet lag/heavy medication, coupled with the fact that Michael Kay is on vacation until after the All-Star Break has made both the radio and TV broadcasts damn near tolerable. Now if they could just jettison Suzyn Waldman...
It's a nice Saturday afternoon and we'll see our second New York - New York match-up of 2009. Today's game can't be any sloppier than yesterday's can it?
Fernando Nieve will start for the Mets in place of the recently DL'd John Maine. After a respectable rookie season for the Astros in 2006, Nieve has only pitched 12.2 MLB innings since, beset by both injuries and ineffectiveness. It would be awfully nice if the Yanks would hang a crooked number on him this afternoon.
And they may well need it. In 18 career regular season starts against the Mets, Andy Pettitte is 8-4 with a 3.46 ERA and 1.23 WHIP. But, Pettitte has not been particularly sharp of late. He's been battling a balky back, and has been allowing base runners at an uncomfortble rate. His WHIP currently sits at 1.53 and in his last five starts he's given up 35 H and 16 BB in just 29.2 IP. Still the team has gone 4 and 1 in those games, with Pettitte registering three of the victories. As Joe Girardi likes to say, Andy has a way of bending but not breaking. Hopefully he'll have a little extra room to bend today in opposing a replacement level pitcher.
Two updates courtesy of Pete Abe: Bruney tossed a perfect inning in AA earlier this afternoon. He threw 8 of his 12 pitches for stirkes and hit 94 MPH. Secondly, Damon returns to the line-up today, but it's Nick Swisher, not Brett Gardner, who takes a seat on the bench.
Regarding Swisher, perhaps it's a delayed benching for his numerous boneheaded plays earlier this week. But if Girardi wouldn't sit him in May when he was slumping horribly, I find it odd that he chooses to now. As for the pinch hitting situation last night, Abe also relays that Girardi's rational was indeed that Swisher has poor numbers against K-Rod, and that he hoped Gardner would get on and steal second. I still say that Swisher's 11 at bats mean very little and that Damon was more likely to reach base and steal second than Gardner. But I digress.
With Johan Santana going for the Mets in Sunday's finale, it'd be nice to put the series away today and be playing with house money tomorrow.
Today's game is on FOX, so it's pick your poison time: Buck, McCarver, and that little weasel Rosenthal on the tube or Sterling and Waldman on the dial. Jeez. I think maybe I'll listen to Howie Rose on the FAN.
The particularly poignant video I wanted to use today can't be embedded. You can view that one here, or view the Letterman performance of the same song below. Or view both. One way or another, enjoy the game.
Love don't play any games with me anymore like she did before The world won't wait, so I better shake that thing right out there through the door Hell I still love you New York
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