Many will want to talk about A-Rod driving in the tie-breaking run during the 9th inning of this game. And, he deserves credit for getting that hit. But, to me, without question, the hero of this one is Johnny Damon. First, Damon had big hits in the 1st and 5th innings. But, more importantly, that At Bat of his in the 9th inning and what followed was just incredible.

Yanks and Phils tied, top of the 9th, no one on, with two outs, and Damon comes to the plate. Phil Coke and Phil Hughes are warming up in the bullpen. I’m already thinking about writing this one up as a terrible loss for the Yankees – maybe a loss that costs them the entire series in the long run. Within three pitches, Damon finds himself in the hole with a 1-2 count. He fouls off the next pitch. Then, he takes two balls. Now, it’s a full count. Next, Damon spoils a pitch foul. And, then he does it again. Finally, Damon singles to left field and the Yankees have a runner on first albeit with two outs.

After that clutch, thrilling, and winning At Bat, Johnny Damon steals second base and then, on the same play, he steals third base because the Phillies have the shift on (for Mark Teixiera, batting) and Brad Lidge forgets to cover third base.

And, that set it up – after Teixiera was hit by a pitch – for A-Rod’s hit.

Johnny Damon’s effort in the top of the 9th inning of this game should go down in World Series history…because it was so important to the Yankees winning this game.

I’ll have more on this game at a later time – because I feel that Damon deserves the spotlight, alone, in this game entry.

Sure, there’s other things to discuss from this one – such as pitchers throwing at A-Rod and the gutty effort by CC Sabathia in this game. And, yeah, there’s the Joba-thing. But, again, for now, this one’s for you Johnny Damon. And, you’ve earned it.

As far as the Yankees…hey, you’re up three games to one now in this series. Do us all in Yankeeland a favor, and, GET IT DONE ON MONDAY.

Yes, it’s going to be hard – facing Cliff Lee on full rest and throwing A.J. Burnett, on short-rest, and on the road. But, just find a way to get it done, in Game Five, and DO NOT LET THE PHILLIES BACK INTO THIS THING. They’re down, and, please, let’s keep them there and finish this off, now, quickly…OK?

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It’s the Nick Swisher and Joe Blanton reunion game! Here are the fellas, together, back in 2005:

Don’t ask me whose hand that is making happy time with Swishalicious – but, it just might be Chad Gaudin!

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Via the Village Voice with a H/T to BBTF –

According to the Post, America’s Former Mayor was bumped from his favorite seats near the dugout in Yankee Stadium on the first night of the World Series to get him, and wife Judi, away from Michelle Obama. A source blames “the White House.”

To add insult to injury, Mrs. Obama ended up not using the seats because of the rain.

The Post, which says that Giuliani has a history of not having much of a sense of humor about this kind of thing, noted that the Yankees won when he was back in his favorite seat for the next game. His favorite seat is apparently the one where the cameras can catch him talking to players.

While this act was not as “spit in the wind” as when the Boston Red Sox front office sold the traditional seats on Duffy’s Cliff held for the Royal Rooters before Game 7 of the 1912 World Series to the general public, the Yankees are stupid to mess with anything that could bring back luck to them…especially during the World Series.

Shoot, let Michelle Obama sit next to Kate Hudson next time…she’ll get more camera coverage there, anyway.

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Via the AP -

A.J. Burnett will start Game 5 of the World Series for the New York Yankees on three days’ rest Monday night.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi chose the Game 2 winner over Chad Gaudin and could start Andy Pettitte on short rest in Game 6 if the Series returns to New York. Burnett beat Pedro Martinez in Game 2 and is 4-0 with a 2.33 ERA in four career starts on short rest.

Game 2 winner Cliff Lee pitches Game 5 for the defending champion Phillies. He has a 0.54 ERA on four postseason starts. New York is seeking its first title since 2000 and leads the Series 2-1.

According to STATS, no team has won the Series using just three postseason starters since the 1991 Minnesota Twins.

It’s an interesting approach, for sure, using Sabathia on three-days rest today, Burnett on three-days rest tomorrow, and, if needed, perhaps Pettitte on three-days rest in Game Six. Talk about a 1987 flashback…going the three-days rest route from Game Four until the end…

Let’s hope it doesn’t backfire in the Yankees face…which is always possible.

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Via the Yankees -

The New York Yankees announced today that they will open the Yankee Stadium Field Level and Great Hall to the public to watch the broadcast of the World Series Game 4 from Philadelphia on Sunday, November 1. (The opening will be dependent on weather conditions in Philadelphia permitting the game to be played.)
Turnstiles between Gates 4 and 6 will open at 7:00 p.m. for the 8:20 p.m. game. Fans can watch the Game in the Great Hall or in the opened sections of the Field Level.

“When we opened the Stadium for Game 3 in the ALCS, the response was positive and the energy from our fans was truly infectious. They really enjoyed coming together to watch the game,” said Hal Steinbrenner, Yankees Managing General Partner. “Once we reached the World Series, we felt that it was the perfect time to open the Stadium again. We remain grateful for the support of the best fans in baseball.”

Food and concession stands will be open and available to fans. NYY Steak and Hard Rock Café will also be open.

Last time the Yanks did this, it was bad luck for them – although they had a decent turnout. Wonder how this one will be different than last time…considering the time of the game for today…

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Via Bob Ford of the Philly Inquirer -

So, it is Joe Blanton to save the season tonight.

That’s the way it works now, after Cole Hamels disassembled in the middle innings against the Yankees last night. That is the rotation the Phillies have devised, and that is the savior you get.

The Phillies could lose tonight and still come back to win the World Series. It won’t be over. Not technically. But depending on how you feel about being set up with Pedro Martinez and Hamels in Yankee Stadium for potential starts in Game 6 and Game 7, it will be very close to being over.

Blanton has been a willing, predictable starter for the Phillies this season. He took the ball for 31 starts, usually went six innings, and gave up three runs and then went to the bench to hope for the best. He gave up 30 home runs, which was the fourth-highest total allowed in either league. Tonight, he takes that out against a team that hit 244 homers this season.

Mix it all together and ask if that’s going to be enough to beat the Yankees and avoid a perilous spot in which the Phils have to win three straight to earn a repeat championship. You can only hope.

Blanton’s confidence should be all right, for what that’s worth. Manuel decided not to pitch Cliff Lee on short rest in tonight’s game, which would have also made Lee available – also on short rest – for a Game 7.

“Blanton’s definitely been one of our most consistent pitchers this year,” Manuel said. “He’s a guy that when he goes out there, he has to have command of his pitches, and he’ll use all his pitches and he can make adjustments.”

Since the beginning of September, Blanton has made seven starts, six in the regular season and one in the postseason. He has a 5.22 earned run average in those starts, mostly within that elusive rhythm of the season. Tonight, he pitches on 12 days of rest. When he gave up four runs in six innings against the Dodgers, he had gone 16 days between starts.

“It was just one bad inning in that game,” Blanton said. “That’s kind of the way the game goes sometimes. I could throw exactly the same way against the same team the next time and it might be seven innings, one run.”

Yes, it might, and tonight would be a good spot for that next time to come around. Not that much is riding on Joe Blanton tonight, after all. Just the World Series.

Can the Phillies win this game today? Hey, stranger things have happened. But, clearly, the odds are in the Yankees favor in this one.

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Via the Daily News yesterday -

But it’s worth pointing out that Martinez twice made a bid to join his “daddies” in the family business – once when he was a free agent after the 2004 season, and again earlier this summer when he was also a free agent and worked out for numerous major league scouts.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said that in both instances, there was a slim chance that Martinez was going to sign with the Yankees, but for very different reasons. Five years ago, Martinez’s monetary demands were one hurdle for George Steinbrenner and Cashman, but the more serious concern was the righthander’s long-term durability.

“At that time we had internal information about his health that turned out to be accurate,” Cashman said yesterday after the Yankees’ workout at Citizens Bank Park. “We thought he was going to break down and he did.”

Martinez eventually signed with the Mets for four years and $54 million, but the health worries proved valid, as he made just 79 starts for them, going 32-23 with a 3.88ERA. Martinez’s woes included missing most of 2007 after rotator-cuff surgery. Martinez had a separate meeting with Steinbrenner in Tampa during that winter of 2004-05, which Cashman did not attend, a meeting that Martinez reflected on fondly during a 2005 interview.

“You know, Mr. Steinbrenner was a gentleman. Everybody in the Yankees organization was very gentlemanly to me,” Martinez said then. A source familiar with the meeting said that Steinbrenner even teased Martinez about his unruly hair at the time, and said that if the righthander did sign, he would have to get a haircut.

This past summer, Cashman said Martinez was asking for $5 million for half a season, which was too rich for even the Yankees. Martinez eventually signed with the defending champion Phillies for $1 million, plus incentives.

“We took a look at him, but he didn’t throw well in front of us. They said he was throwing 95. He was throwing 87, 88,” said Cashman. “What he showed us wasn’t what we were told. He was looking for $5 million. When he recalculated his demand, he didn’t tell us about it. We might have had interest.”

Cashman said Martinez pitched “fantastic” on Thursday night, when the 38-year-old gave up three runs on six hits over six-plus innings, while striking out eight. Enough to warrant another look by the Yankees this winter, when he’ll be a free agent again?

“Every year we have to plan the trade and free-agent market. We’ll assess what we might like. We’ll line the boards up and rank them accordingly,” said Cashman. “But he clearly was healthy and pitched great.”

Now you know…apparently $4 million dollars is the difference between a “yes” and a “no” in Yankeeland these days…when it comes to taking a flier. Let’s just hope that four-mill doesn’t come back to haunt New York in Game 5 or 6 of this World Series (should there be a Game 6, of course).

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Jo-Mar-Hu-Mo to close? Yup, apparently so…

As much as I hate to get Sterling-ish here, baseball really is a funny game. Through the first few innings of this game, it looked like Andy Pettitte was going to struggle and Cole Hamels was going to cruise. And, then, boom, the tables were turned – and Pettitte had the better night.

And, it was “night” – as the first pitch of this game was at 9:17 pm ET, the first pitch of the 3rd inning was 10:13 pm ET, the first pitch of the 6th inning was 11:18 pm ET and the last pitch of the game was at 12:42 am ET. Doubtful many of the kiddies got to see this one…

But, for those who were viewing, nice to see A-Rod and Swishalicious have some big bits. But, the hits by Pettitte, Posada and Matsui to drive in runs, in this one, were just as sweet.

This win sincerely helps the Yankees out in this series…in a big way. Now, they only need to win 2 of their next 4 games – whereas Philly needs to now take 3 out of 4 from New York. And, this win by New York turns Game Four into a “must win” game for the Phillies – with Joe Blanton starting for them against CC Sabathia. If the Phillies now also lose Game Four, then they’ll be looking at a situation where one more loss means the series is over for them…and they would have to then win three in a row to get a ring.

Now, for some miscellaneous observations…

Have to say, based on what we’ve seen so far in this series, the crowd at Citizens Bank Park is much louder than that at the new Yankees Stadium.

Good job by the umpires in this one – using the replay to get the call correct on A-Rod’s homer.

Speaking of A-Rod, he’s not been all that great in the field this World Series, has he? In Game Two, Matt Stairs got a “hit” on a ball that A-Rod should have caught. In this game, Jimmy Rollins led off the contest with a “hit” that A-Rod should have caught. And, later in this game, in the bottom of the 4th inning, A-Rod made a bad throw that did go as an error.

Phil Hughes this World Series, to date: 4 batters faced and three runs allowed. And, I believe that his ERA is 81.00. Yup, no typo there…eighty-one point oh-oh.

And, for the record, you bet, I was sweating bullets watching Joba, Marte, and Hughes pitch in this game – although Chamberlain and Marte did pretty good, to say the least.

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