Hellickson's Debut Causes Flashback

A.J. Burnett's fifth inning meltdown last night, coupled with another win by the Rays has New York and Tampa Bays knotted atop the AL East. The Rays won last night on the strength of an outstanding Major League debut by stud pitching prospect Jeremy Hellickson. Hellickson went seven innings of two run ball, allowing just six baserunners and fanning six.

That the touted rookie played such a critical role in the Rays climbing back into first for the first time since June 19th reminded of something that happened during the Yankees' stretch run in 1996.

The Yankees had entered a tie for first place on April 28th and never looked back. Three months later, their lead over Baltimore swelled to an even dozen games. But from July 29th through September 16th, the Yanks went just 22-24 while the O's went a blistering 31-15. As Baltimore came to the Bronx for a critical three game series starting September 18th, the lead had shrunk to just three games. The Yankees sent their ace, sophomore Andy Pettitte, to the mound that night. He carried a 21-8 record as he opposed Baltimore's Scott Erickson.

Baltimore took a 1-0 in the top of the first on the strength of Brady Anderson leadoff double, a sacrifice bunt from Robbie Alomar, and an RBI groundout from Todd Zeile. The Yankees used the same blue print to tie the score in the fifth, with a double from Jim Leyritz, a bunt from Mariano Duncan, and an RBI groundout from Wade Boggs. Eddie Murray then singled home Bobby Bonilla in the seventh to put Baltimore up 2-1.

Down to their final three outs and trailing by a run, the Yankees faced Oriole closer Randy Myers in the ninth. Paul O'Neill drew a leadoff walk. Hobbled by a torn hamstring that would plague him for the remainder of the year, O'Neill was lifted for pinch runner Ruben Rivera.

A cousin of the Yankees then set-up man Mariano Rivera, it was Ruben who was more likely to be the future Hall of Famer as the two came up through the minor league system. Ruben won back-to-back MVP awards in the NY-Penn and South Atlantic Leagues in '93 and '94, was named the Yankees minor league player of the year by Baseball America for three years running, was the #2 overall prospect entering 1995, and the #3 overall entering 1996. Though Derek Jeter had beat Rivera to the punch in becoming a Big League regular, the two were considered equally promising prospects by the organization.

Rivera moved to second when Cecil Fielder walked, then scored the tying run on Bernie Williams' RBI single. Mariano held the fort in the top of the tenth. Ruben was due up fourth in the bottom of the inning.

Derek Jeter led off the inning with a base hit. Charlie Hayes bunted him to second, and Tim Raines' groundout moved him to third. With two outs and the winning run just 90 feet away, Rivera stepped into the box for just his 82nd Major League plate appearance. He was batting an impressive .270/.400/.460 on the season, but had been to the plate just 19 times in the three plus weeks since his last recall, going just four for sixteen with three walks in that time.

Former Yankee Alan Mills was on the mound for Baltimore and had two bases open. But he needed just one out to extend the game for another inning, and he had top of his potent line up due to bat in the top half of the eleventh. Mills was going to go after the rusty rookie rather than take his chances with whoever would pinch hit for Pat Kelly (who had run for Fielder the inning before).

Rivera fouled off the first two pitches, leaving him in an 0-2 hole. He battled back to even the count at 2-2, and on the fifth pitch of the at bat he lofted a hump back liner over the head of Robbie Alomar, giving the Yankees the win. The Yankee lead was back to four games; Baltimore would get no closer over the season's final eleven days.

One week later the Yankees clinched their first division title in fifteen years when they took the first game of a doubleheader from the Brewers, a 19-2 rout. Rivera played right field that day, and despite the blowout score, took a pair of opportunities to show off his rocket right arm. The next day he awoke with shoulder soreness, which eventually required surgery the following spring. He never played for the Yankees after that, instead serving as the centerpiece of the package the Yankees shipped to San Diego for the rights to Hideki Irabu in April 1997.

Rivera never fulfilled his promise in San Diego, or in any of his three other Major League stops. He had a chance to rejoin the Yankees as a back up outfielder in 2002, but blew that opportunity when he stole a glove from Derek Jeter's locker during Spring Training and sold it to a memorabilia dealer. After a brief return to the Yankees' minor league system in 2005, Rivera has spent the past four years posting impressive numbers in the Mexican League.

Just as Rivera did fourteen years, Hellickson helped his team to a big victory last night. For Hellickson's sake I hope he fulfills his promise better than Rivera did. For the Yankees' sake, I hope Hellickson's heroics last night prove less decisive than Rivera's were on that September night against the O's.

Morning Linkaround

Good morning, Fackers. Here are some items of interest while we wait for the all-important World Series rematch at 1:00.

I don't care if they're both from the northeastern part of Cincinnati, I don't like the fact that Paul O'Neill is giving Kevin Youkilis advice. However, the suggestion was for Youk not to start hitting until February 1st, so if he gets off to a cold start this season, maybe we owe Paulie one.

Our favorite lawyer-turned-blogger uses some of his legal expertise to talk about Governor Paterson's illegal acceptance of free World Series tickets from the Yankees. You can find a more in-depth conversation if you scroll through this thread as well.

Bobby Abreu finally sold his Condo on East 58th Street for $5.1M. El Como Dulce and his agent were initially reluctant to take a loss on the property, but the market for apartments in New York City that covered limited square footage in buildings over 35 years old had been on the decline.

Cliff Corcoran at Bronx Banter writes about a topic that we're all pretty sick of, but somehow finds a way to make it interesting. That's the mark of a good analyst who is also a good writer, folks.

Over at River Ave. Blues, Daniel R. Levitt authored a guest post about how the economics of the Great Depression changed baseball and gave the Yankees a competitive advantage. Before the late 1920's, a Major League team could only control players on their 40 man rosters, meaning their Major League 25 man and 15 minor leaguers. But Minor Leauge teams, hurting for capital, asked the Big League clubs for help. In return, the MLB teams demanded greater control of the players. Additionally, unlike the Steinbrenners now, Col. Jacob Ruppert had his brewing business to fall back on and the repeal of Prohibition gave him a steady stream of income that most other owners didn't have.

NoMaas interviewed Brett Gardner. Topics include Gardner's thumb, the departure of Melky Cabrera, bunting, his contact rate, sweet tea and stealing first base.

Chad Jennings continued his "5 Questions" series with hero of yesterdays game, Colin Curtis.

Marc Carig asked Bernie Williams how much he thinks about the Hall of Fame and the fact that other people around the league were using steroids when Bernie was ostensibly clean.

Joe Posnanski + FanGraphs = Really Interesting Stuff

Dave Cameron compared Adrian Gonzalez and Mark Teixiera and found that they are pretty similar players. However, Cameron also adds that A-Gone probably shouldn't hold his breath for 8 year and $180M with the Yankees out of the bidding.

Orel Hershiser is taking the place of Steve Phillips in the Sunday Night Baseball booth. Thank you, Brooke Hundley!

Tyler Kepner caught up with the one guy who didn't give Joe Mauer his first place vote for MVP. Keizo Konishi says that he voted for Miguel Cabrera because:

"If I took Cabrera out of the Tigers’ lineup, I thought it would be a very different team. If I did the same thing for the Twins, if I picked Mauer out of their lineup, they would still have a better lineup compared to the Tigers".

He also cited the fact that Cabrera's team went further into the World Baseball Classic (not a joke).

And finally, can you guess where this quote come from?

Poor Kevin Kernan. His suggestion here brought cause for some of the usual FJM Wannabes in the Yankees blogosphere to emerge from their ivory towers – constructed out of their alleged righteousness – gunning for him with torches and pitchforks.

Oh yes, poor Kevin Kernan. Can't a newspaper guy just mail in a hacky column without someone calling him out for it anymore? What happened to the good old days when sports writers didn't have to use fancy things like "numbers" or "logic" and you could just spout off racial stereotypes without consequence?

21 Days Until Spring Training: Paul O'Neill

According to George Steinbrenner, #21 is a Warrior. Given his respect for the immortal General Douglas MacArthur, I’m entirely sure that there can be no higher praise from the Boss.

O’Neill is my 2nd favorite Yankee ever after the chronically under appreciated Bernie Williams. His intensity for the game was unmatched matched. He truly cared about the team and his success. He was the antithesis of the increasingly common type of athlete who just wants to make sure his salary is being paid. His desire is best summed up by the number of water coolers that have slammed the concrete of the old Yankee Stadium dugout and the number of his bats that have been furiously tossed on the famed Kentucky Bluegrass of the diamond.

When Paul finished his Yankee career, which began in 1993, he hadn't complied the most impressive numbers. Prior to his tenure with the Yankees, O'Neill's numbers were even worse. He was sported a line of .259/.336/.431 in Cincinatti and only hit more than 20 homers once (in 1991) before was traded to the Reds for Roberto Kelly. Yankees fans were LIVID. Stick Michael, being the genius that he is, thought he could become something much better with the help of the short porch in Yankee Stadium. During the dynastic run of the late 90's, Paulie was the heart and soul of the team.

O'Neill had his share of postseason drama at Yankee Stadium, but none more poignant than the clinching Game 4 of the 1999 World Series against Atlanta. That morning, Charles "Chick" O'Neill, Paul's father, had died of lung and kidney failure at age 79. Paul had visited his father daily at Manhattan's Lenox Hill Hospital where the senior O'Neill had undergone heart surgery. Paul openly wept in the clubhouse before the game, but told Torre he felt he could play. Said first-base coach Jose Cardenal, "Paulie wanted to see if he could get through batting practice first. He thought being in the game would take his mind off things."

O'Neill also had what was perhaps the best plate appearance in Yankees history. In Game 1 of the 2000 World Series, down 2-1 in the top of the 9th against the Mets, O'Neill worked a 10 pitch one-out walk against Mets closer Armando Benitez. Subsequent singles by Luis Polonia and Jose Vizcaino loaded the bases before the Yankees tied the score on a sacrifice fly by Chuck Knoblauch. The Yanks won it in the 12th on a bases-loaded single by Vizcaino and went on to win the Fall Classic in 5 Games.

In 2001, his last year with the Yankees, at age 38, he became the oldest player ever to have a 20/20 season.

Since his retirement, his number 21 had not been worn by any Yankee player, leading to speculation that it will be officially retired. Yankees relief pitcher LaTroy Hawkins briefly wore the number in the 2008 season but, on April 16, 2008, Hawkins switched to number 22 in response to the criticism and boos he received from many Yankee fans.

O'Neill was a Cincinnati native, but like fellow Ohio native Thurman Munson, embraced New York fully. "Playing in New York really worked out for me," O'Neill said. "It was the best time of my life."

Paulie has also provided great Seinfeld memories. In the episode entitled "The Wink," O'Neill is accosted by Cosmo Kramer in the Yankees' locker room and is told by Kramer that he must hit two home runs in the same game so that Kramer can retrieve a birthday card signed by all the Yankees from a little boy who wasn't supposed to get it in the first place. O'Neill angrily replies that this is very difficult and that he is not usually a home run hitter; he then asks Kramer, "How'd you get in here anyway?" In the ensuing game, O'Neill does hit two home runs, but one of them is an in-the-park home run and scored a triple due to the other team's error, so the little boy Kramer is trying to appease is not totally satisfied. Kramer manages to get the Yankee-signed birthday card back from the boy, but he has now promised the boy that O'Neill will catch a fly ball in his hat during the next game.

His playing career ended on a sour note when Luis Gonzalez's blooper fell onto the turf in Arizona but he received a poignant send off during his last game in the Bronx. In Game 5 of the 2001 World Series when the Yankees were losing to the Diamondbacks 2-0 in the top of the 9th Inning, Yankees fans, anticipating the fact that it would be O’Neill’s last game ever at The House That Ruth Built, cheered for him by chanting his name endlessly. Paulie responded with tears in his eyes and by tipping his hat.

O'Neill was one of the few Yankees that fans have embraced completely despite coming up with a different organization. Part of it was that he expressed the frustrations that fans sometimes feel by he slammed his bat or destroyed a water cooler. It has even more to do with the fact that Paulie came on-board in 1993 when the Yanks were still finding their way out of the dark period of the late 80's and stayed with them until they were on top of the baseball world.

Game 162: Ten Years Gone

So here we are folks, at game 162. It's a little hard to believe isn't it? Thankfully, the Yankees don't have anything to worry about today, so their game is probably the least compelling of the 4 relevant early afternoon sporting events in my opinion. But the game has some interesting connections with the last game of the season 10 years ago.

As Marc Carig of the Newark Star-Leger noted this morning, back in 1999, Joe Girardi had his first taste of managing a big league ball club.

It was October 3rd and the Yankees were playing their last game of the season against the then Devil Rays at Tropicana Field with a playoff spot already secured. Per tradition, Joe Torre turned over the managerial reigns to Paul O'Neill, who appointed Girardi to be the bench coach and David Cone coaching the pitchers. Jorge Posada was behind the plate that game, in his second season as the Yankees' primary catcher.

During the fourth inning, the Rays loaded the bases against journeyman Jeff Juden in what would be his last appearance as a Major League pitcher. The bags were juiced thanks in part to current Yankees broadcaster and former backstop John Flaherty's double. Juden then hit a batter and another run scored on an E3, bringing Randy Winn to the plate with the sacks still packed. Winn pulled off the rare feat of an inside the park grand slam on a line drive over the head of Chad Curtis, blowing the game wide open.

With the game pretty much out of hand, during the sixth inning, O'Neill went down to the locker room to get treatment for his bad back, leaving Girardi in charge and in his words today "high and dry".

Ten years have gone by, Cone and Flaherty work for the Yankees and Girardi is the real manager whose team has the luxury of allowing a player to be skipper for the game. Since he's going to be on the bench anyway, Posada will be acting as manager for the game and can chose two other players to be his bench and pitching coaches.

Jorgie will have some responsibilities to tend to, as he needs to decide when to pull the plug on A.J. Burnett and how to get Joba Chamberlain, David Robertson, Mariano Rivera and possibly Phil Hughes some work. He'll also probably shuffle in some bench players as the game wears on as Girardi has done in previous days.

We all know how the 1999 season ended. Let's hope this isn't the last connection this team makes with that one.

Then as it was, then again it will be,
An' though the course may change sometimes,
Rivers always reach the sea.

Flyin' skys of fortune, each have separate ways,
On the wings of maybe, downing birds of prey,
Kind of makes me feel sometimes, didn't have to go,
But as the eagle leaves the nest, it's got so far to go.

1999 World Series: Game 4

[With the Yankees squaring off against the Braves this week, we thought it would be appropriate to take a look back at the two World Series during which they faced off in the late 90's]

At 2:30 in the morning on October 27th, not long after the dramatic conclusion of Game 3, Paul O'Neill got the kind of phone call that everyone dreads. When the phone rings at that hour, it rarely brings good news. When he answered, he found out that his father, Chick, who had watched his health decline over the previous months had passed away.

With Game 4 only 18 hours away, there wasn't much time to grieve. O'Neill decided to take the field and not to tell any of his teammates about his father until after the game. However, the organization was already aware of what had transpired and Joe Torre called to extend his condolences to his player. The time from when he received that call until it was time to play must have seemed like an eternity for Paulie.

When Whitey Ford finally threw out the first pitch, he set the stage for two other pitching titans to clash.

Roger Clemens first regular season after being acquired from Toronto proved to be a disappointing one. Coming off of back to back Cy Youngs and twenty win, 230+ inning, 270+ strikeout seasons north of the border, The Rocket turned in only the third best season of the Yankee starters. He had a 4.60 ERA, went 14-10 and actually had a WHIP higher than Hideki Irabu's. John Smoltz had fallen from his peak as well, heading to the DL twice in 1999, but still pitched effectively (3.19 ERA) when he was healthy. He was still regarded as a big game pitcher and the Braves could have done much worse than to have him on the mound.

Clemens and Smoltz matched scoreless frames in the first and second and Roger sat down the Braves in order in the top of the third.

Against Smoltz in the bottom half, Chuck Knoblauch led off with a single and Derek Jeter followed suit with one of his own, putting runners on the corners with no one out. Paul O'Neill struck out, then with Bernie Williams up, Jeter put himself into scoring position by stealing second. Smoltz then intentionally walked Bernie, to create the potential for a double play, a decision which came back to bite the Braves. Tino Martinez singled down the right field line, scoring Jeter and Knoblauch and moving Bernie to third. Darryl Strawberry went down on strikes for the second out of the inning, but Jorge Posada knocked a single to right to put the Yanks up 3-0.

That cushion would be all that Clemens needed. He cruised through the Braves line up, allowing only three baserunners over the next 4 2/3 innings. He retired the first two batters of the eighth inning, his 16th and 17th groundballs of the night, but hit a snag. He allowed two singles to Gerald Williams and Walt Weiss, which prompted Joe Torre to call to the bullpen. Clemens received a rousing ovation and doffed his cap, because barring a bullpen disaster, Clemens had just given the signature Fall Classic performance he had always yearned for. Jeff Nelson did allow one of Clemens' runners to score, but Rivera got Chipper Jones to ground out, lining up Clemens to be the winning pitcher in the clinching game of the World Series.

Jim Leyritz added a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth to give Mo some breathing room, but it wasn't needed. The Braves went down 1-2-3, the final out coming on a fly ball to Chad Curtis in left field.

The Yankees became the first team to sweep back to back World Series since their 1938-39 counterparts and validated their torrid 1998 campaign with another division title and unstoppable postseason run. Joe Torre actually said that he thought the '99 Yanks were better than the '98 version because they had to walk in the shadow of a 114 win juggernaut. After the game, Sojo, O'Neill, Brosius and Clemens, who had lost his father at a young age gathered in a quiet room away from the celebration in a moment of both remembrance and camaraderie.

The Yankees didn't need the late 90's run to secure a place as the best team of the 1900's, but the three championships in 1996, 1998 and 1999 did bring their tally to an unmatched 25 titles.

1999 World Series: Game 1

[With the Yankees squaring off against the Braves this week, we thought it would be appropriate to take a look back at the two World Series during which they faced off in the late 90's]

For the second time in four seasons, the Yankees and Braves matched up in the Fall Classic. In 1996 the Braves entered the Series as the defending champions; this time around the Yankees held that distinction. Neither team had missed the postseason since their last October meeting. The Braves were bounced from the NLCS in six games in both of those seasons, while the Yankees lost Game 5 of the ALDS in 1997 and swept the World Series in 1998.

Interleague play was introduced following the '96 Series. As a result, the Yanks and Braves had met every season since their last World Series match-up. In '97 the Braves took 2 of 3 at The Stadium. In '98 they split a two game set in New York then went to Atlanta where the Yanks swept two games. Finally, in July of '99 the Braves once again took two of three in New York, with both teams plating 20 runs over the course of the series.

The Yankees had posted the best record in the AL in 1999, at 98-64 (96-66 pythagorean) while the Braves had the best record in baseball at 103-59 (98-64 pythagorean). The Yankees had lost just one postseason game en route to the Series, the Braves three. The Yankees tied for the AL's best offense and had the second best pitching according to OPS+ and ERA+ respectively. By the same metrics, the Braves were roughly league average in offensive, but characteristically at the top of the heap in pitching.

In Chipper Jones the Braves had the eventual NL MVP, while Kevin Millwood was their ace of the year, finishing third the Cy Young race. Derek Jeter would finish third in the AL MVP voting, but was arguably the best position player in the AL, leading all batters in Win Probability Added. On the mound Mariano Rivera and David Cone finished third and sixth respectively in the AL Cy Young voting. In short, the two teams were very evenly matched.

Game 1 featured an outstanding pitching match up: Orlando Hernandez against Greg Maddux. It was a rematch of the July 16th interleague matchup in which both received no decisions but pitched poorly. El Duque went 4.2 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 4 HR. Maddux was no better at 3.1 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 K

Despite that start, El Duque led the '99 Yankees in wins (17) and IP (214.1) and was second to Cone amongst starters in ERA (4.12). He started Game 1 in both the ALDS and ALCS as well as the clinching Game 5 of the ALCS. He came to the States with a reputation as a big game pitcher on the strength of his international resume for the Cuban national team, and his performance in the postseason showed that reputation was legit. He entered Game 1 having made five postseason starts, going 4-0, with a 0.97 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and 30 K in 37 IP.

For the Braves, Greg Maddux took the mound. The 33 year-old led the Braves in wins, going 19-9 with a 3.57 ERA. By anyone else's standards he had an exceptional year, but by Greg Maddux' standards he had slipped a bit. His ERA+ of 125 was his poorest since '91. His 10.6 H/9 remains the worst of his now completed career and his WHIP of 1.35 was better than only his rookie season. But he looked like his old self in the postseason, going 1-1 in 3 starts and a relief appearance, and posting a 2.14 ERA in 21 IP.

Game 1 took place at Turner Field and despite the interleague debacle the previous summer, it proved to be a classic pitchers' duel. El Duque struck out the side in order in both the first and third innings, and worked around a walk in a hitless second. He gave up his first hit of the night on a solo HR to Chipper Jones in the fourth, but followed that with a perfect fifth, perfect sixth, and a seventh inning in which all he gave up he was a leadoff walk. By the time he was lifted for a pinch hitter in the top of the eighth, he had gone seven innings of one run ball, allowing the solo shot as his only hit, and walking two against ten Ks. It lowered his postseason WHIP to 0.98, raised his postseason ERA 1.02 and left him with 40 K in 44 IP.

Through seven, Maddux was nearly as good as El Duque, and benefited from not making the one big mistake Hernandez did. Maddux had faced four over the minimum. He registered perfect innings in the fourth and sixth, worked around singles in the first, third, and fifth, and around walks in the second and seventh. The two runners to make it as far as second base did so via a stolen base.

Just as it had in Game 6 in '96, one slightly poor inning did in Maddux, as the Yankees caught their break in the eighth.. Scott Brosius, with the World Series gods still smiling on him from the year before, led off with his third basehit of the night. With El Duque's spot due and desperately needing a run, Joe Torre called on Darryl Strawberry.

Just over a year earlier, Darryl Strawberry had been diagnosed with colon cancer. It knocked him out for the entire 1998 postseason. When spring training came around in February, Strawberry was in camp, but felt detached from the team, not participating fully and periodically leaving camp for chemotherapy treatments. The plan was for Straw to continue his recovery in Tampa and rejoin the team later in the sesaon. But as the team was breaking camp the isolation forced Straw to turn to old demons. On April 3rd he solicited what he thought was a prostitute only to find she was an undercover cop. While being arrested, he was found to be in possesion of cocaine. Major League Baseball handed down a 140 day suspension. Straw rejoined the team when rosters expanded in September and went on a tear, hitting .327/.500/.612 in 66 PA.

Strawberry drew a walk, an uncharacteristically high third free pass from Maddux on the night. Chad Curtis pinch ran for Straw and the lineup turned over with two on and no out. Entering the inning Bobby Cox sent Brian Hunter to replace Ryan Klesko at firstbase for defensive purposes. Klesko had made a costly error at first in Game 4 in '96, but it was not as costly as the errors Hunter was about to make. Chuck Knoblauch laid down a bunt, but Hunter misplayed it, leaving the bases loaded with no one out and the Yankees best hitter coming to the plate.

Jeter sent a single to left, tying the score and chasing Maddux. Bobby Cox called on Atlanta's inbred/racist/homophobe/moron/closer John Rocker. Paul O'Neill greeted Rocker with a single, plating Curtis and Knoblauch. Hunter committed another error on the cutoff, leaving two runners in scoring position. It was now 3-1 Yankees and still, no one was out.

Rocker intentionally walked Bernie Williams to load the bases, then fanned Tino Martinez and Jorge Posada. 1996 hero Jim Leyritz pinch hit for Ricky Ledee and walked to force Jeter home. Scott Brosius was then finally retired to the end the inning.

In the bottom of the inning the Yankees used Jeff Nelson, Mike Stanton, and Mariano Rivera to get an out each, stranding a Nelson walk at first. Torre's mixing and matching forced Bobby Cox to burn four pinch hitters for two plate appearances. Despite our most recent memories of him, there was a time when Joe Torre was a fairly brilliant tactician. He routinely managed circles around his counterparts in the 1999 postseason.

The Yankees went quietly in the ninth. In the bottom half of the inning, Mo retired the leadoff man, then allowed a single and a walk to bring the tying run to the plate with one out. But Mo struck out Brian Jordan and got Greg Myers to foul out to Brosius to end the game. The victory not only gave the Yankees a 1-0 lead in the Series, but ran their World Series winning streak to nine games, with five of the victories coming against the Braves, and four of them coming in Atlanta.

1996 World Series: Game 6

[With the Yankees squaring off against the Braves this week, we thought it would be appropriate to take a look back at the two World Series during which they faced off in the late 90's]

As the Yankees left New York following Game 2, they were trailing in the Series two games to none and had been embarassed in the two losses. Yet Joe Torre had assured George Steinbrenner they would win all three in Atlanta and take Game 6 in New York. Now, five days later and back in New York, Torre was 75% of the way to being prophetic.

Game 6 was a rematch of the last game in New York, Game 2, in which Jimmy Key and Greg Maddux squared off. The 1992-93 offseason was a critical juncture in the transformation of the Yankees from a losing franchise to a championship team. Bernie Williams had just finished his second consecutive half season with the Major League team, and was primed to become the full time centerfielder in 1993. Derek Jeter had just been drafted sixth overall and had made his professional debut that past summer. Mariano Rivera had finished the year in High A Ft. Lauderdale while both Andy Pettitte and Jorge Posada were transitioning from Low A Greensboro to High A Prince William.

Paul O'Neill was acquired in a trade for Roberto Kelly, opening up centerfield for Williams, and Wade Boggs was signed on the free agent market. But as good as both O'Neill and Boggs would be, neither filled the team's biggest need.

The Yankees were the winningest team of the 1980s, but all they had to show for it was the 1980 AL East title and the AL Pennant in the strike-shortened 1981 season. They were always good, but never great, and it was usually due to a lack of pitching. From 1988, the last Yankee winning season as they entered that offseason, through 1992, the Yankees pitching staff gave up more runs per game than the AL average every year, never finishing better than 11th in the 14 team league. So with a mouth-watering crop of free agent pitchers hitting the market that offseason, the Yankees were hell bent on fixing that problem once and for all.

The team first set their sites on David Cone and Greg Maddux. On December 8th, Cone signed with the Kansas City Royals for a suitcase full of Ewing Kauffman's cash. On December 9th, Maddux chose to sign with Atlanta for less than what the Yankees were offering. So on December 10th, the Yankees settled for Cone's former Blue Jays teammate, Jimmy Key, for 4 years and just under $17M. Key might not have been the pitcher Cone and Maddux were, but as Jay detailed yesterday, he was brilliant in pinstripes and earned every penny of that deal. The Yankee staff would find itself above league average every year of his time in pinstripes. Game 6 of the 1996 World Series proved to be Jimmy Key's final appearance for the Yankees, and it would be the cherry on top of an outstanding four year stay in the Bronx.

Key had it easy through the first three innings. He retired the side in order in the first, allowed just a walk in the second, and a one out double in the third that was left stranded.

In the bottom of the third, the Yankees knocked the air of invincibility off Maddux. Paul O'Neill and his gimpy hamstring led off with a double, then moved to third on a Mariano Duncan groundout to second. Girardi then knocked a triple to deep centerfield, over the head of Marquis Grissom. As O'Neill crossed the plate giving the Yankees a 1-0 lead, Yankee Stadium was literally shaking.

The lineup turned back over to Derek Jeter, who drove Girardi in to make it 2-0. Jeter stole second, then Wade Boggs popped out for the second out of the inning. Bernie Williams then drove Jeter home with a single for his 15th and final RBI of the '96 postseason.

Key gave a run back in the fourth. With one out, he walked Fred McGriff, then gave up back-to-back singles to Javy Lopez and Andruw Jones to load the bases. Jermaine Dye worked a five pitch walk to force McGriff home, but Key then got out of the jam by getting Terry Pendleton to ground into a doubleplay.

In the fifth, Key faced the minimum. Marquis Grissom managed a one out single, but he was erased at second when trying to advance on a pitch that squirted away from Girardi. Replays showed he was clearly safe, and Grissom lost it. He was fortunate he didn't get ejected, making repeated contact with umpires as he protested. Bobby Cox was not so lucky; he got tossed and watched the rest of the World Series from the clubhouse.

Key returned for the sixth and gave up a leadoff double to Chipper Jones. McGriff then grounded to second, moving Jones to third. Torre came out and got the ball from Key. He ended his Yankee career in line to be the winning pitcher in the clinching game of the World Series, the same way he ended his tenure with the Blue Jays.

David Weathers relieved Key. Like Graeme Lloyd, Weathers was atrocious to the tune of a 9.35 ERA in 17.1 IP after being picked up from the Florida Marlins at the July 31st deadline. But also like Lloyd, Weathers put it together in the postseason, working eight scoreless innings of four hit, five K ball in the AL Playoffs. He entered Game 6 having given up a run in 2.2 IP in the Series.

Weathers fanned Lopez for the second out of the sixth and then walked Andruw Jones to put runners on the corners and the potential tying run on base. Torre called on Lloyd to face fellow lefty Ryan Klesko and Lloyd completed his perfect World Series by getting Klesko to pop out.

In the seventh it was time for Torre's Formula. Mariano Rivera, the MVP of the 1996 Yankees, came in from the pen for the eighth and final time that postseason. After a leadoff walk to Pendleton, Rivera put down three in a row. He followed that with a perfect eighth.

John Wetteland, the other half of the The Formula, took the mound for the ninth. He fanned Andruw Jones, then gave up singles to Klesko and Pendleton. Once again, there were runners at the corners and the tying run was on first.

Luis Polonia pinch hit for Jeff Blauser and struck out for the second out of the ninth. But Marquis Grissom temporarly postponed the celebration, singling on the first pitch he saw to make the score 3-2, moving the tying run into scoring position and putting the go-ahead run on base.

Mark Lemke stepped to the plate. The New York native worked a full count. He fouled a 3-2 pitch off to the left side. Charlie Hayes, a defensive replacement for Boggs at third, gave chase and fell into the Atlanta dugout in a futile attempt to snag it. On the next pitch, Lemke popped another foul ball, just behind third base, over by the tarp. Hayes settled under it, hauled it in, and gave the Yankees their first World Series Championship in 18 years and 23rd overall. Wetteland had saved all four Yankee victories and was named the MVP of the Series.

Three years later, they would meet again in the Fall Classic.

1996 World Series: Game 4

[With the Yankees squaring off against the Braves this week, we thought it would be appropriate to take a look back at the two World Series during which they faced off in the late 90's]

Joe Torre had held back David Cone for Game 3, believing it to be the most critical game of a series. That move worked like a charm. But the Yankees still trailed two games to one, making Game 4 nearly as critical. A win would even the Series, but a loss would push the Yankees to the brink of elimination.

The difference between Game 4 and Game 3 was that instead of handing the ball to the gutsy, tested David Cone, the start would go to Kenny Rogers. A native of nearby Savannah, Rogers had signed a four year, $20M free agent contract following the 1995 season, as he, Jack McDowell, and Ken Hill went on a free agent carousel that mirrored a three team trade.

Rogers had been a successful pitcher in Texas, spending his first four seasons as a reliever. Converted to a starter in 1993, Rogers performed well, going 44-25 with a 3.95 ERA (117 ERA+) in his final three seasons in Arlington. The Yankees always seek quality left handed pitching, but almost immediately following the signing there were questions as to whether Rogers had the right mental make up for New York.

1996 got off to a rough start for The Gambler, taking a BP line drive from Tony Fernandez of his pitching elbow early in spring training. He recovered to make thirty starts, going 12-8. He posted an ERA of 4.68, which was actually below league average in a record setting offensive year, good for an ERA+ of 107. But he was a constant tightrope act, allowing nearly 1.5 baserunners per inning, and posting a K/BB of only 1.11. He had been a disaster in his three postseason appearances, allowing 6 ER in 5 IP and failing to make it to the fourth inning in either of his starts.

For Game 4 he was opposed by future Yankee and friend to streetwalkers everywhere, Denny Neagle. Neagle was a deadline pick up for the Braves, and he pitched poorly in his six starts for the Braves, going 2-3 with a 5.59 ERA. But he had been dynamite with Pittsburgh earlier in the year and his final line for 1996 was 16-9, 3.50 ERA 126 ERA+. He had yet to register a decision in the '96 postseason, but entered Game 4 with a postseason ERA of 2.63 over 13.2 IP.

Rogers worked a perfect first, inducing three groundouts. He was an utter disaster thereafter. The Crimedog led off the bottom of the second with a solo shot. Rogers then issued free passes to Javy Lopez and Andruw Jones. Lopez moved to third on a Jermaine Dye flyout to right, then scored on a bunt single from Jeff Blauser. Neagle sacrificed the runners to second and third, then Marquis Grissom cleared the bases with a double. A Mark Lemke groundout ended the inning, but the damage was done. Rogers had spotted the Braves a four run lead.

Rogers returned to the mound for the third, but threw only seven more pitches, yielding back-to-back singles to Chipper Jones and Fred McGriff to put runners on the corners. As he had in Game 1, Torre turned to Brian Boehringer in the early going, and Boehringer faired far better this time around. He set down three in order to wriggle out of Rogers' jam, allowing the Braves fifth run to score on a sacrifice fly. Boehringer followed that with a perfect fourth.

Boehinger gave way to David Weathers for the fifth. He sandwiched two walks between two Ks, before allowing the sixth Brave run on an Andruw Jones double.

Neagle entered the top of the sixth up six runs and cruising. He had gone five scoreless innings, retired the first eight in a row, and allowed just two hits - one of them an infield single. His only hiccup came in the fourth when he walked three, but used a double play and his third strikeout of the night to get out of trouble. He had been close to untouchable, but his luck was about to change.

Derek Jeter led off the sixth with a single and moved to second on a Bernie Williams walk. Cecil Fielder and Charlie Hayes, starting against the lefty in place of Tino Martinez and Wade Boggs respectively, followed with back-to-back singles. An error by Jermaine Dye on the Fielder single allowed Williams to score, and Fielder to move to second then score on the Hayes single. That was it for Neagle; he exited leading 6-3 and responsible for Hayes on first.

The remainder of the sixth turned into a chess match. Terrell Wade relieved Neagle and walked Darryl Strawberry, making it first and second with no one out. Wade gave way to Mike Bielecki. As Jay pointed out yesterday, Bielecki wasn't the Atlanta closer, but he was their fireman. The veteran righty was in the second to last and best season of his 14 year career. He put out the blaze by striking out the side, getting Mariano Duncan and pinch hitters Paul O'Neill and Tino Martinez although it took him 15 pitches to do so.

The game stayed at 6-3 for the remainder of the sixth and through the seventh. Jeff Nelson worked those two frames for the Yankees, yielding no hits and a walk against 2 Ks. Bielecki was nearly as effective in the seventh as he was in the sixth, giving up just a walk and notching another strikeout.

In the top of the eighth the whole World Series changed. Bobby Cox turned to his closer Mark Wholers. Hayes and Strawberry led off with back-to-back singles. Strawberry was erased on a fielder's choice from Duncan, leaving runners at the corners with one out. Jim Leyritz stepped to the plate and was about to make a career for himself.

Leyritz had first come up to the Yankees in the disastrous 1990 season, making him the most tenured member of the team. It took him until '92 to stick for good, but one thing Leyritz never lacked for was confidence, even as he hit .182/.300/.221 in '91. His brashness rubbed some the wrong way, but also earned him a measure of respect amongst him teammates, as well as two good nicknames: Elvis and The King. He already had won a bit of a reputation for coming up big in the post-season, as his 15th inning home run ended Game 2 of the 1995 ALDS.

Leyritz had entered the game in the bottom of the sixth, after O'Neill pinch hit for Joe Girardi, and had to face the fireballing Wholers in his first plate appearance of the night. Wholers peppered Leyritz with fastballs approaching 100 MPH and Leyritz struggled to keep up with them. Then, Wholers inexplicably threw a 2-2 slider. He hung it, and Leyritz yanked it over the left field fence to tie the score at six.

Mariano Rivera took over in the bottom of the eighth and worked around a leadoff single to keep the score tied. Wholers made it interesting again in the top of the ninth, allowing three consecutive two out singles to load the bases, before getting Duncan to line out and end the threat.

In the bottom of the ninth, Rivera put two on with one out when Torre summoned Graeme Lloyd to face McGriff. Lloyd was absolutely awful after coming over from the Brewers in an August trade. His ERA was 17.47 and WHIP was 3.00 over 13 appeances. There were rumors that he was damaged goods and there was reason to believe that he was. The initial trade also had former Rookie of the Year Pat Listach going to the Yankees until he was found to be injured, requiring the Brewers to send Ricky Bones to complete the deal.

But as the fall dawned, Lloyd turned over a new leaf. He allowed just one hit and no runs over four appearances and 2.2 IP between the ALDS and ALCS and was perfect through 1.1 IP between Games 2 and 3 of the World Series, striking out three of the four batters he faced. Lloyd continued his superb October by getting a doubleplay grounder from McGriff to send the game to extra innings.

In the tenth, Cox replaced Wholers with Steve Avery. At the outset of the Braves postseason run in 1991 it appeared that Avery would be part of "The Big Three" with Glavine and Smoltz. He went 47-25 from '91-'93 and finished sixth in the '91 Cy Young Award voting. But Avery began slipping in '94 and by '96 he was a sub-.500 pitcher with an ERA slightly poorer than the league average. The arrivals of Maddux and Neagle had bumped him from the postseason rotation.

Avery recorded two quick outs. But Tim Raines drew a walk, followed by an infield single from Jeter that put the go-ahead run in scoring position. Cox elected to intentionally walk Bernie Williams to load the bases. Light hitting Andy Fox was due up, but Torre had one last bullet in his gun.

Wade Boggs was the last position player on the bench. Hayes had started at third with the lefty Neagle starting, and Torre had elected to use O'Neill, Martinez, and even Mike Aldrete for earlier pinch hitting duties. It was almost as if Torre was waiting for this opportunity to come around.

Boggs had suffered through the Red Sox collapse in the 1986 World Series as well as their beatdowns at the hands of the Oakland A's in the 1988 and 1990 ALCS. His arrival in New York was a big part of changing the culture of the organization, and he rewarded the team with two Gold Gloves and two Silver Sluggers in his first four seasons in pintstripes. But Hayes' arrival at the waiver deadline reduced Boggs' playing time. He had gone a combined 3 for 27 (.111) in the AL playoffs, but rebounded to go 3 for 8 between Games 1 and 2 of the Series.

Boggs pinch hit for Fox, and as he had done so often in his career, he worked a full count, then drew a walk to give the Yankees the lead. Cox pulled a double switch, putting Ryan Klesko at first and bringing in Brad Clontz to face Charlie Hayes. Hayes popped up to first, but Klesko made an error, giving the Yankees a two run lead.

Lloyd came back to the mound for the bottom of the tenth. He struck out Klesko leading off the inning, to run his World Series ledger to 2.1 perfect innings with four strikeouts. Torre then called on John Wetteland to get the final two outs. Wetteland gave up a single to Andruw Jones, then ended the game by getting both Dye and Terry Pendleton to fly out to left.

With that, the Series became a best of three.

Countdown To Opening Day: #46

Are Yankee fans racist? Maybe just a little bit?

Remember last year, when LaTroy Hawkins was continuously booed because he was sporting Paul O'Neill's #21? It probably didn't help that he gave up six runs in 2/3 of an inning in his second appearance in the Bronx, and had an ERA over 10.00 as late as his 10th outing. However, the 5 Yankees who donned #46 after Andy Pettitte left for Houston weren't that much better, but no one bothered to boo them and petition for Pettitte's number to be retired.

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Donovan Osborne was the first to pull on a #46 jersey after Pettitte left in 2003. On May 15th, 2004, Osbourne became the first Yankee since Babe Ruth to start a game for the Yanks after not starting a game for over 5 years. He gave up six runs in 5 innings and never appeared in another game for the Yankees. That year he pitched 17 2/3 innings gave up 14 home runs, and, um, sucked.

Next up was Darrell May. He was traded from the Padres to the Yankees in early July of 2005 and made his first appearance for the Yankees at the Stadium against the Indians on July 9th. May allowed 7ER in 4 1/3 IP and surrendered 3 HRs. His next outing was in Fenway Park and was equally atrocious. May came into to replace Tim Redding who was battered for 6 runs in the first inning, and gave up 6 more of his own in the followed 2 1/3. After giving up 13 earned runs in seven innings with the Bombers, George Steinbrenner had him shipped to an internment camp in Peru. May was never seen or heard from again.

Later that same year, Alan Embree was added to the Yankees after being released by the Red Sox. While with Boston, Embree gave up only two runs in 13 1/3 postseason innings, but was marginal during the regular season, with ERAs above 4. He arrived with an ERA of 7.88 and amazingly his ERA never rose to 8.00 or dropped below 7.00 while he was with the Yanks. He appeared in 14 1/3 innings over 24 games and gave up 12 ER. The Rockies signed Embree for $2.5M for the 2009 season. Good luck with that.

In 2006, Scott Erickson slipped on #46 for nine relief appearances in May and June. His 7.94ERA reflects the fact that he gave up 10 earned in 11 1/3. Like Darrell May, Erickson's last game with the Yankees game with the Red Sox, and he gave up 2 runs in 2/3 of an inning. He was sent to Uruguay.

In July of that year, a position player actually had the honor of donning Andy's numeral. The Yankees claimed Aaron Guiel off waivers from the Royals where he had spent parts of 5 seasons. He played only 4 complete games, but appeared in 44 for the Yanks and actually posted an OPS+ of 99 and popped four home runs.

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You are all racists. I rest my case.

Number of Days Until Spring Training: Paul O'Neill (#21)

According to George Steinbrenner, #21 is a Warrior. Given the his respect for the immortal General Douglas MacArthur, I’m entirely sure that there can be no higher praise from the Boss.

O’Neill, Bernie’s Williams' drummer, is my 2nd favorite Yankee ever (after the very unheralded Bernie). His intensity for the game could not be matched. He truly cared about the team and his success. He was the antithesis of the common athlete who could not care less as long as his salary was being paid. His desire is best summed up by the number of water coolers that have slammed the concrete of the old Yankee Stadium dugout and the number of his bats that have been furiously tossed on the famed Kentucky Bluegrass of the diamond.

When Paul finished his Yankee career, which began in 1994, he hadn't complied the most impressive numbers. In fact, Prior to his tenure with the Yankees, O'Neill's numbers weren't the greatest either. He was a .259 hitter and only hit more than 20 homers once before was traded to the Reds for Roberto Kelly. Yankees fans were LIVID. Stick Michael, being the genius that he is, clearly saw something more in him. During the dynastic run of the late 90's, Paulie was the heart and soul of the Yankees

O'Neill had his share of postseason drama at Yankee Stadium, but none more poignant than the clinching Game 4 of the 1999 World Series against Atlanta. That morning, Charles "Chick" O'Neill, Paul's father, had died of lung and kidney failure at age 79. Paul had visited his father daily at Manhattan's Lenox Hill Hospital where the senior O'Neill had undergone heart surgery. Paul openly wept in the clubhouse before the game, but told Torre he felt he could play. Said first-base coach Jose Cardenal, "Paulie wanted to see if he could get through batting practice first. He thought being in the game would take his mind off things." What more could you ask for in the face of adversity?

O'Neill also had what was perhaps the best at-bat in Yankees history. In Game 1 of the 2000 World Series, down 2-1 in the top of the 9th against the Mets, O'Neill worked a 10 pitch one-out walk against Mets closer Armando Benitez. Subsequent singles by Luis Polonia and Jose Vizcaino loaded the bases before the Yankees tied the score on a sacrifice fly by Chuck Knoblauch. The Yanks won it in the 12th on a bases-loaded single by Vizcaino and went on to win the Fall Classic in 5 Games.

In 2001, his last year with the Yankees, at age 38, he became the oldest player ever to have a 20/20 season.

Since his retirement, his number 21 had not been worn by any Yankee player, leading to speculation that it will be officially retired. Yankees relief pitcher LaTroy Hawkins briefly wore the number in the 2008 season but, on April 16, 2008, Hawkins switched to number 22 in response to the criticism and boos he received from many Yankee fans. MEMO TO HANK AND HAL: RETIRE #21!!!! (AS WELL AS #51!)

O'Neill was a Cincinnati native, but like fellow Ohio native Thurman Munson, embraced New York fully. "Playing in New York really worked out for me," O'Neill said. "It was the best time of my life."

Paulie has also provided great Seinfeld memories. In the episode entitled "The Wink," O'Neill is accosted by Cosmo Kramer in the Yankees' locker room and is told by Kramer that he must hit two home runs in the same game so that Kramer can retrieve a birthday card signed by all the Yankees from a little boy who wasn't supposed to get it in the first place. O'Neill angrily replies that this is very difficult and that he is not usually a home run hitter; he then asks Kramer, "How'd you get in here anyway?" In the ensuing game, O'Neill does hit two home runs, but one of them is an in-the-park home run and scored a triple due to the other team's error, so the little boy Kramer is trying to appease is not totally satisfied. Kramer manages to get the Yankee-signed birthday card back from the boy, but he has now promised the boy that O'Neill will catch a fly ball in his hat during the next game.

To recognize his greatness, Yankees fans did one of the classiest things that any fan base has ever done to support a player. In Game 5 of the 2001 World Series when the Yankees were losing to the Diamondbacks 2-0 in the top of the 9th Inning, Yankees fans, cognizant of the fact that it would be O’Neill’s last game ever at The House That Ruth Built, cheered for him by chanting his name endlessly. Paulie responded with tears in his eyes and by tipping his hat. This is unlike many other fan bases (ahem, Boston) who would start cursing him because the Yankees were losing.

Since O'Neill's retirement, the Yankees have not won a World Series. Coincidence? Perhaps.

We love you and miss you Paulie. PLEASE COME BACK! If not, please continue to abuse Michael Kay in the YES booth.