“This is where I wanted to be from Day 1,” he told reporters at his coming out news conference. “I’m sorry it took so long.”

Damon sounded like playing in New York for the past four seasons was just a hiccup in his journey from Boston to Detroit.

Apparently, Damon’s speech writer isn’t aware of the economic climate assailing this country nowadays.  Damon complained that he was offered a pay cut by the Yankees after having what anyone would call a great season.

“We’re coming off a great year and you’re told you’ve gotta take a pay cut,” Damon said to the media present. “You’re kind of like, ‘A pay cut? What the heck?’ It’s a little humbling.”

“You’re like, ‘Wow, is that what they really think of me? Or what I do for the ballclub?’ I did a lot for the ballclub. I even recruited (free agents) for those guys. I did everything.”

Talk about losing touch with reality.  Does Damon realize there are people who have been out of work for years, losing their homes, businesses and having trouble putting food on the table or in their stomachs?  How anyone could complain about being offered $14 million for two years, playing what in essence is a kid’s game, is ridiculous.

Gee, Johnny what were the Yankees thinking?

Maybe Damon should have spoken to Andy Pettitte before turning down the Yankees offer or making these insensitive statements.

In 2009, Pettitte took a sizable reduction in pay when the Yankees offered him a 1-year, $5 million contract to stay in the Bronx.  Pettitte’s salary in 2008?  $16 million.

However, Pettitte had to weigh out what was most important to him.  Turn down the offer and move on or accept it and remain in pinstripes.  Pettitte chose the latter.

“I had to eat a lot of pride,’’ Pettitte said in an interview this past Friday in the New York Post. “But they gave me a chance to make $5 million more in incentives.’’

Pettitte responded by having one of his better seasons over the past four seasons.  After going 14-8 with a 4.16 ERA and 4-0 with a 3.58 ERA in the playoffs the Yankees rewarded Andy with a 1-year, $11.75 million contract to stay in New York.

After turning down the Yankees initial offer Damon remained on the market while the Yankees went looking elsewhere.  After trading Curtis Granderson (Detroit Tigers), resigning Pettitte, signing Nick Johnson (Florida Marlins) and trading for Javier Vazquez (Atlanta Braves) there wasn’t enough money to interest Damon.

“I was in the same position and I could see it coming,’’ Pettitte said about the smaller pot of money. “That’s where I was last year. You need to be careful in that situation.’’

Damon and his agent Scott Boras overplayed their hand with the Yankees and got burned.  If Detroit hadn’t offered this one-year deal what then?  Damon would probably still be sitting at home waiting for the phone to ring.

After the season was completed, the playoffs and World Series over Damon made it clear where he wanted to play.

On November 23 Damon was contacted by the New York Daily News and was quoted as saying,

“I want to continue to be on a team that can win and to play in front of great fans – and we know that the Yankees fill both of those,” Damon said. “I think everyone knows my desire to come back. Still, every time I’ve been a free agent, I’ve ended up switching teams. It’s the nature of the beast. If people are interested, I’m going to listen.”

In another interview with Andrew Marchand of ESPN 1050 Radio in New York Damon told him, “I know where I want to be next year.  I want to be here in New York.”

If Damon would’ve stepped back and looked at the big picture instead of having a myopic view he would probably be a Yankee today.

Perhaps, Yankees’ General Manager Brian Cashman summed it up best.

“When we signed him (for four years, $52 million), he was playing center field, a premium position, and the market was high. Now he’s a left fielder, he’s 36, in a collapsed market. Why would he not expect to take a pay cut?”

Hopefully, for Damon his ego didn’t get the best of him, because he is going to have to go through all of this again next year.  The Tigers, in addition to Damon, got highly touted prospect Austin Jackson from the Yankees in the Granderson trade.  Jackson will get a year in the Tiger organization and will be ready to go in 2011.  Damon will be 37, and probably looking for a new employer.  For the difference of $2 million ($8 million x 2) Damon let the Yankees slip through his fingers.

Damon will be missed, but he is not irreplaceable.  If the new guys in pinstripes can play and hit up to their projected potentials Damon’s departure will be a distant memory.

In the end Johnny Damon will again wear the number 18 on his back, but he’ll wish he was playing for the number 28 in October.

Adding Granderson to the outfield corps was an instant boost in defense, but he’ll also be judged at the plate where Johnny Damon excelled batting either in front of or behind Derek Jeter.  Last year Damon hit behind Jeter and delivered.  His numbers were .282/82/24 for average, RBI and home runs.  He also had .365 on base percentage.  Damon was also very instrumental in the Yankees winning their first World Series championship in nine years, as he batted .364 and had an on base percentage of .440.

Damon also had the single highlight moment in the World Series.  In Game 4, with the score tied 4-4 in the top of the ninth inning and Philadelphia Phillies closer Brad Lidge on the mound Damon stole second, popped up and outran 3B Pedro Feliz (who was covering second on a defensive shift put on for batter Mark Teixeira) to an unprotected third base.  The move seemed to unhinge Lidge who hit Teixeira allowing Alex Rodriguez to come to the plate.  A-Rod delivered a 2-out double to left field scoring Damon and putting Teixeira at third.  Catcher Jorge Posada smacked a 2-run single to left, which doomed the Phillies to their fate.  Instead of possibly tying the Series at 2 games apiece the Yankees took a commanding 3-1 lead, and ultimately the Series in six games.

On Granderson’s side of the ledger he is only 28 (Damon is 36) and he is defensively head and shoulders above Damon in this stretch of Damon’s career.  Granderson hits for power.  Last season he knocked out 30 home runs and drove in 71.  Of concern is his .327 OBP, which was lower than Damon’s.  His batting average was 33 points lower as well.  However, throw out Granderson’s overall numbers for last year and he is offensively on par with Damon in all the pertinent categories.

The one move that has everyone scratching their heads is not resigning World Series MVP Hideki Matsui to a one-year contract.  Matsui wanted to come back to the Yankees, and it was reported he would’ve taken a one-year deal, around $7 million to make it happen.  Nonetheless, the Yankees jettisoned the man affectionately known as “Godzilla” and signed ex-Yankee Nick Johnson to a one-year deal for nearly the same money.

In the six years Matsui played in New York he averaged a .292 BA.  He averaged 23.3 HR per year, and that’s including an injury shortened 2008 season when he only hit nine round trippers.  Matsui also nearly averaged 100 RBI per year.  That’s a lot of firepower to let walk away.  The liability with Matsui is his knees, which have both been surgically repaired.  The injuries have basically relegated Matsui to a DH role.

Johnson, on the other hand, can play first base where he has a career .992 fielding percentage.  Johnson also has a better on base percentage than Matsui, and a comparable slugging percentage.  Where Johnson lags is in the power numbers.  He has played two more seasons than Matsui and has 51 less home runs.  He has also plated 218 less runs.  It will be interesting to see where manager Joe Girardi places Johnson in the Yankee lineup in order to effectively use him.

Next on the list is Javier Vazquez, who returns to the Bronx after being traded away following the 2004 season.  Vazquez was part of a three team trade, which sent OF Melky Cabrera to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Vazquez.

Vazquez had a mixed season in his one and only year with the Yankees.  In the first half of the campaign Vazquez went 9-5 with an ERA of 3.42 (as of June 29).  Vazquez’s performance earned him his first and only all-star appearance.  After July 1 Vazquez developed shoulder problems and his ERA averaged 6.78 for the remainder of the year.

In the 2004 playoffs Vazquez was a mess.  He gave up 12 earned runs in 11.1 innings earning Vazquez a one-way ticket out of town via trade.

Vazquez enters the 2010 season hoping to build upon the best overall season of his career.  Last year Vazquez pitched to a 15-10 record.  He attained career bests in win percentage (.600) and ERA (2.87).  Over the past three seasons he has struck out 200 or more batters and has pitched 200+ innings in nine of the last ten seasons.  The ability to eat up innings at the back of the rotation made Vazquez very attractive to New York.

The Yankees are hoping to catch lightning in a bottle and hope the pitcher they saw in the first half of 2004 and all of last year in Atlanta is the guy they traded for.

Lastly, the Yankees signed free agent Randy Winn to a one-year deal to play outfield.  Winn comes to New York by way of San Francisco.  His career numbers are very good.  Touting a lifetime average of .286 Winn plated 50 or more runs in each of the past 4 seasons.  He will probably share playing time with Nick Swisher and Brett Gardner.

Many observers think the Yankees are making these short term deals in order to make a run at Tampa Bay’s Carl Crawford who becomes a free agent after this season.

As for the rest of the squad there are question marks as well.  Posada is 37 years old entering the new season.  He has been the full time catcher since 2000.  In 2008 Posada, after signing a big 4-year contract, made two trips to the disabled list for the first time in his career.  He had surgery on his throwing shoulder, and only played in 51 games.  Last year Girardi rested his catcher often in order for Posada to make it to the finish line.  He responded positively by hitting .285 with 22 home runs and 81 RBI.  One has to believe that Girardi will continue to rest Posada as often as he can so he can have his bat late in the season.

A-Rod is expected to have a monster year this year.  He had the first significant injury of his career when it was discovered he had a torn labrum in his right hip.  Rodriguez had corrective surgery and after missing the first 31 games of the season came back to hit 30 home runs and knock in 100 RBI.  In his last game of the 2009 regular season A-Rod hit two home runs and drove in 7 runs in one inning to reach the 30/100 plateau for the 12^th season in a row.  He finally broke out of his playoff slump by hitting .378 while driving in 18 runs and hitting 6 home runs in 15 playoff games.

The biggest, potential, distraction to the upcoming season will come from Yankee captain Derek Jeter.  Jeter has been the face of the Yankees ever since he came up to the big club for good in 1996.  Jeter is coming off one of his best seasons, hitting a team high .334, while belting 18 home runs and driving in 66 runs all from the lead off position in the lineup.  He also scored 107 runs and came in third in the MVP balloting last year.

Jeter is entering the last year of his ten-year, $189 million contract and if he has another year close to last year the Yankees will be put between the proverbial rock and hard spot.  Last season Jeter earned his fourth Gold Glove award as well as the Silver Slugger award for being the best hitter at the shortstop position.  He also broke Lou Gehrig’s Yankees hit record and is only 253 hits from reaching the 3,000 hit mark to become the only Yankee in history to do so.

The list of accomplishments goes on an on.  Jeter is a 10 time all star, was the 1996 Rookie of the Year.  He was the 2000 ALCS and World Series MVP and he has had 7 seasons of 200 or more hits.  Without a doubt when Jeter hangs up his spikes he can punch his ticket into Cooperstown as a first ballot hall of famer.

The quandary for the Yankees is what to do with Jeter after this year.  He will turn 36 on June 26 of this year.  He is at an age where playing shortstop becomes more and more difficult.  The Yankees have to determine how much longer can he play there and how long of a contract will they give him.  Jeter has stood by and watched Mariano Rivera, Posada and A-Rod receive huge pay raises.  In a climate of economic strife will Jeter get the money he deserves or will he be offered less because of the market.

The Steinbrenners and Brian Cashman better have a big bottle of aspirin ready.  They’re going to need it.

Lastly, the pitching looks to be solid again this year.  With CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett and Andy Pettitte anchoring the top and middle of the rotation Vazquez’s presence should improve it as well.  Fighting it out for the fifth spot will be Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain.  Both have struggled as starters and pitched well as relievers.  It should be a terrific duel during spring training.

The bullpen will also add concrete support.  Alfredo Aceves, Damaso Marte, David Robertson, either Hughes or Chamberlain handing the ball to Rivera should all have good seasons.

The 2010 squad appears poised to defend their title going into the new decade.  The road will not be easy.  They play in the toughest division in baseball.  Boston, Baltimore, Toronto and Tampa Bay have all added depth to their teams and all have their sights set on the Yankees.  Other teams looking to knock off the Yankees are the Detroit Tigers, Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Angels, Chicago White Sox, Texas Rangers and the Seattle Mariners.

Fasten your seatbelts it’s going to be a bumpy and exciting ride to the finish line.

No two guys were more different than Torre and Girardi.  Torre was a player’s manager.  He was a media darling who always measured his words and always seemed to say the right things.  He had this aura about him that seemed to have a calming effect in the clubhouse.  He looked like your dad, or granddad or uncle Joe.

Girardi, on the other hand, looked like a recruiting poster for the United States Marine Corps.  Intense is a word that comes to mind when describing Girardi.  Girardi came into the Yankees clubhouse with just one year’s experience under his belt.  That year was spent managing the Florida Marlins in 2006.  Girardi did a fantastic job in the sunshine state; so much so that it earned him the National League Manager of the Year Award.

He was also the first manager to earn that award and then get fired in the same season. The incident that caused his dismissal came in August during a game when he and owner Jeffrey Loria got into an argument over Loria’s heckling home plate umpire Larry Vanover.  When Vanover complained to Girardi he and his bench coach Gary Tuck told Loria to stop.  Loria apparently didn’t like being told what to do and wanted to fire Girardi on the spot.  He said that Girardi swore at him, but people who know Girardi know he’s a devout Christian and doesn’t use profanity to get his point across.  Loria bided his time and got his pound of flesh at the end of the season when he sent Girardi packing.

Of course, Girardi was no stranger to the Yankees.  He spent four years in pinstripes (1996-1999), winning 3 rings along the way.  He was their everyday catcher, but gave way to another Yankee staple; Jorge Posada.  After his playing days ended Girardi was hired by the Steinbrenner owned YES Network as a commentator.  He spent the 2004 season as a broadcaster and as the host of YES’ “Kids on Deck.”

That lasted one year, at which time Girardi decided to pursue a coaching career.  He moved out of the broadcast booth and went into the Yankees dugout as Torre’s bench coach for the 2005 season.  He continued to host “Kids on Deck.”  When the season ended Girardi went south and became the Marlins manager.

At the end of the 2006 season Girardi was unemployed, but after losing out for the managing job with the Chicago Cubs and turning down a shot at the Washington Nationals Girardi went back to the YES Network where he was hired as an analyst.  He worked approximately 60 games in 2007.  In June of that year Girardi interviewed for the Baltimore Orioles manager’s position, but ultimately turned it down when offered.

As one door closed another door opened.  At the end of the 2007 Torre and the Yankees management had a parting of the ways.  Torre headed for Los Angeles and the Yankees went looking for a new manager.  They found him in the broadcast booth.

Girardi was apparently just the guy the Yankees were looking for.  He was a no nonsense type of personality.  Many of the Yankees coming into Spring Training for 2008 admitted they were not in the best of shape when they reported to camp in 2007.  They knew Girardi wouldn’t put up with any lack of preparation, because he would probably be in as good as or better shape than his entire squad.  They were right.

The first thing Girardi did was take the number 27 to signify he was going to lead the Yankees to their 27^th title.  However, 2008 wasn’t the year.  The Yankees plagued by injuries, clubhouse in-fighting and other issues missed the playoffs for the first time in 14 years.  They ended up in 3^rd place in the AL East behind the surprising Tampa Bay Rays (division winner) and Boston Red Sox (wild card).  It was a huge disappointment for an organization whose sole purpose is to win the World Series every year.  Anything less is considered a complete failure.

In the off season the Yankees made some drastic changes.  Gone were Mike Mussina, Jason Giambi, Carl Pavano and Bobby Abreu.  General Manager Brian Cashman went out and secured three premium replacements in CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett and Mark Teixeira.  He also landed some role type guys, the most notable being Nick Swisher.  Swisher would proved to be invaluable during the course of the season.  They also resigned Chien-Ming Wang, Brian Bruney, Melky Cabrera and Xavier Nady.

Early in April Nady, who was slated to be the everyday right fielder reinjured his right elbow requiring a second “Tommy John” surgery on it.  That ended his 2009 season and Swisher was inserted into the everyday lineup.  Swisher responded by hitting 29 homers and driving in 82 runs.

Wang was another key element the Yankees were hoping to rely on to get them into the post season.  Wang was coming off a serious foot injury he suffered in a game against the Houston Astros in June of ’08.  Wang had previously won 19 games in ’06 and ’07 and had compiled an 8-2 record before the injury.

However, the Wang the Yankees saw wasn’t the one they saw before the foot injury.  A guy possessed with a power sinker that batters described like hitting an anchor suddenly was very hittable and he was giving up a lot of fly balls.  After amassing an 0-3 start and an ERA of 34.50 the Yankees removed Wang from the starting rotation and sent him down to Tampa to work on mechanics.  He returned in May and was inserted into the bullpen, and eventually the rotation, but the results weren’t any better.

After Wang recorded a 1-6 record the Yankees put him back on the disabled list and on July 30 he had season ending shoulder surgery and is expected to miss up to a year.

Two other pieces of the Yankees puzzle were Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera.  Both returned after having shoulder surgery.  Posada had the more severe injury requiring a season ending procedure to repair a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder.  Rivera had minor surgery to clean up his throwing shoulder.  Both responded very well.  Posada ended the season with 22 home runs and 81 RBI.  Rivera saved 44 games in 46 chances this season, which is the most he has saved since saving 53 games in 2004.

Alex Rodriguez continued to struggle both on and off the field.  In spring training he admitted to using performance enhancing drugs for 2001-2003 while playing for the Texas Rangers.  He was also linked to a notorious New York madam and Madonna, as he divorced from his wife Cynthia.  Then the biggest blow came when A-Rod had to have surgery performed on his right hip to remove a cyst and repair the labrum.  He was expected to sit out up to 10 weeks.

While A-Rod was gone Teixeira struggled at the plate in April and the Yankees looked to be performing a death spiral.  In their first 28 games the Yankees were 13-15.  Somehow, Girardi managed to hold things together and managed to hold onto his job.  For once nothing was coming out of the front office intimating that a managerial change was imminent.

On May 8 Rodriguez returned to the lineup and that was the day the Yankees took off.  The Yankees were a completely different team.  After going 0-8 against the Red Sox the Yankees went 9-1 against them in the final 10 games to split the season series 9-9.  They also held their own against the always tough Los Angeles Angels by winning three of the final four games against them and also splitting the season series 5 apiece.

The Yankees were the only team to win more than 100 games  as they ended the season with a 103-59 mark, eight games in front of the second place Red Sox.

Nonetheless, winning 100+ games meant nothing in the playoffs.  The last team to win that many games and then go on to win the World Series was the 1998 New York Yankees when they won 114 games.

After failing to even make the playoffs in ’08 Girardi knew he had his work cut out for him.

The Yankees didn’t disappoint.  In the divisional series the Bombers overtook the Minnesota Twins in each game to sweep them 3-0 to advance to the Championship Series.  They ended up facing the Angels.

As we all know, the Angels had met the Yankees in two previous divisional series and beat them both times.

It wasn’t an easy series even though the Yankees vanquished the Halos in six games.  In the two games the Yankees lost Girardi was scalded for questionable pitching and personnel moves.  As always playing or managing in New York puts a permanent bulls eye on your back.

This journey brought the Yankees back to the stage they had not set foot on since losing to the Florida Marlins in 2003 and had not won since 2000.  It wasn’t going to be any easier for them, because they were facing a team that had everything the Yankees had.  Pitching, hitting, defense and power.  The Philadelphia Phillies were the defending champions and they were trying to be the first National League team to repeat as World Series champions since the Cincinnati Reds did it in 1975-76.

The brightest spot for the Phillies in the World Series was lefty Cliff Lee.  Lee was as dominant a pitcher as you could find in Game 1, and the Yankees offense was completely shut down.  Sabathia was very good as well, but not as good as Lee.  Sabathia gave up two homeruns to Chase Utley and the Phillies eventually won the game 6-1.  The one run the Yankees scored was unearned, but it helped them avoid not scoring in a World Series Game 1 for the first time in franchise history.

Another piece of history not favoring New York was the fact that in the last six World Series the team losing Game 1 went on to lose the Series.

Fortunately, this edition of the Yankees was no ordinary team.  They came back and took Game 2 and then went into Philadelphia and won the first two games giving the Yankees a 3-1 series lead.   Girardi seemed to be pushing all the right buttons.

In Game 5 New York went up against Lee again.  Although not as dominant as in Game 1 Lee had more than enough to stifle the Yankees’ bats.  Philadelphia insured the Series went back to New York trailing the Yankees 3-2.

Last night Girardi went to his game hardened warrior.  Pettitte has pitched in more post season games than nearly all of the pitching staff combined.  Going on 3 days rest Pettitte gave the Yankees all he had, but with two outs in the 6^th inning Andy’s 37 year old body was tired.  Girardi went and got his veteran and turned the ball over to Joba Chamberlain, Damaso Marte and the incomparable Mariano Rivera who kept the Phillies off the scoreboard.

The last batter of the Series, Shane Victorino, grounded out to 2B Robinson Cano to end the game.  Once Teixeira secured the ball in his glove to record the last out the wild celebration began.  Number 27 was no longer a goal, it was a reality.

Lest anyone forgets this Series was dedicated by the team to its ailing owner George Steinbrenner.

”This is what the Steinbrenner family has strived for, year after year — to deliver to the city of New York,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said to reporters following the game. “To be able to deliver this to the Boss, the stadium that he created and the atmosphere around here, it’s very gratifying to all of us.”

For the core four, Jeter, Posada, Pettitte and Rivera, it was their fifth time in the winner’s circle, and it took nine years to get there.

“You realize how difficult it is to get here,” Jeter told the media. “I never lost sight of the fact that it’s very difficult to get to the World Series, let alone to win one. You realize and remember how hard it is.”

For all the guys who had never tasted World Series champagne it was a special night indeed.

World Series MVP Hideki Matsui put it this way.  ”My first and foremost goal when I joined the Yankees was to win the world championship,” Matsui said. “Certainly, it’s been a long road and a very difficult journey. I’m just happy that after all these years, we were able to win and reach the goal that I had come here for.”

To be sure the man who pulled all the strings was Girardi.  In two short years he took the Yankees from the outhouse to the penthouse.  Now he’ll have another type of target on his back.  Since Girardi has finally guided this team to a world title he will be expected to do it again.

In order to accomplish that, however, he’ll need to trade in his number 27 for a 28.  Where is Shelley Duncan anyway?

It hasn’t been an easy road.  Going into Spring Training many so-called experts were split as to how well the Yankees would do in 2009.  In Sports Illustrated 13 sportswriters predicted the AL East.  Four predicted the Bombers would finish first, six chose the Boston Red Sox and three picked the Tampa Bay Rays.  Six of the writers predicted the Yankees would be the wild card entry and only two felt New York would be crowned American League Champions.

Flip over to ESPN and only Tim Kurkjian selected the Yankees as the 2009 AL East Champs and the winners of the American League crown.

Then there was the whole Alex Rodriguez drama, which started just as Spring Training got underway.  In January Joe Torre’s new book, “The Yankee Years,” had some derogatory things to say about A-Rod.  Then in February, Rodriguez’s name was leaked out of a list of 104 players who had tested positive in 2003 for performance enhancing drugs during an MLB sanctioned screening in order to see how bad the steroid/HGH/PED problem was in baseball.  There was no punishment attached to a positive test at the time.  A-Rod came out and admitted his use.

Things continued to get worse for Rodriguez as an injury to his right hip was discovered and he learned he needed to undergo corrective surgery to remove a cyst and repair a partially torn labrum in the hip.  The predictions were that A-Rod could miss up to 10 weeks of the regular season.  On top of all of that a news story broke that Rodriguez was linked to New York madam Kristin Davis, who is allegedly the same peddler that supplied ex-governor Eliot Spitzer with hookers before his dalliances became public, causing him to resign from office.

The Yankees also had some damaged goods players they were worried about.  Hideki Matsui was returning after having had surgery on both knees over the past couple of seasons and wasn’t projected to play the outfield until late June, early July.  Jorge Posada was returning after a winter of recovering from having surgery performed on his throwing shoulder to repair a torn labrum.  Lastly, Mariano Rivera had his throwing shoulder cleaned up and at nearly 40 everyone wondered how that would affect him.

The Yankees also started the new season with three new faces on the squad.  In the off season New York signed pitchers CC Sabathia (FA – Milwaukee), AJ Burnett (FA – Toronto) and probably one of the best signings in recent years, first baseman Mark Teixeira (FA-Los Angeles Angels).

On paper the Yankees looked as formidable as any team, but the proof of their toughness would have to be established between the white lines.

The season began horribly for the Yankees.  With Alex Rodriguez on the sidelines the Yankees staggered to a 13-15 record in their first 28 games.  They failed their first major test of the season by getting swept in a 3-game series against the Red Sox in April (24-26).

Then on May 8 the fortunes of the Yankees turned around with the return of A-Rod to the lineup.  The Yankees were facing the Baltimore Orioles and pitcher Jeremy Guthrie.  Guthrie was the same guy who outpitched Sabathia on opening day as the Orioles beat the Bombers 10-5.

Guthrie threw one pitch to Rodriguez and A-Rod knocked the ball out of the park.  It was as if A-Rod was telling baseball, ‘I’m back and I’m on a mission.’  A-Rod’s return energized a struggling Teixeira who had had a rotten opening month.  With A-Rod to protect him Teixeira’s home run and RBI production took a turn upward, as well as his batting average, on base percentage and slugging percentage.

The Yankees looked like they were taking two steps forward and one step back.  In their first meeting against the Angels, a club has always given New York fits; the Yankees took 2-of-3 at the Stadium.  That euphoria quickly evaporated at the Red Sox came in for a two game set and took both games from the Yankees.  The Rays also came in for two games following the Sox and they won both of their encounters.

Instead of getting down on themselves the Yankee players jump started their performance and began to climb out of the hole they had dug for themselves.  After the Rays left town, saddling the Yankees with the aforementioned 13-15 record the Bombers went on a tear for the remainder of the month and after two months of play the Yankees were 29-21.

After June it was 44-32, but there were still some potholes in the Yankees’ road to the playoffs.  They went to Boston for another 3-game series and the Red Sox continued their dominance by once again sweeping the Yankees out of town.  New York’s 0-8 start against Boston was the worst start in franchise history.  Until they could figure out their arch rivals winning the division, let alone making the playoffs, was going to an improbable task.

The Yankees ran into other glitches along the way.  They dropped 2-of-3 against both the Washington Nationals and Florida Marlins.  However, after leaving Florida the Yankees won 14 of 16 games giving them a huge boost as they flew into Orange County to take on the Angels in a 3-game series that would end the first half of the season.

As everyone recalls the Angels continued their mastery over the Yankees by sweeping them out of Angel Stadium.  It was a frustrating setback going into the all-star break.

Apparently, the break was exactly what the Yankees needed.  After play resumed following the all-star game the Yankees ripped off eight straight wins, and 10 of 11 before running into a bump in Chicago as the White Sox took 3 of 4 from the Bombers.

That hardly slowed the Yankees down as they went 19-6 over their next 25 games including taking 5 out of 6 from the Red Sox.  In fact the Yankees continued to steam roll through the American League.  In their final 32 games the Yankees put up a record of 21-11, and in doing so they took 2-of-3 from the Angels in a return visit to Anaheim, and then flew home to sweep the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium in their final regular season meeting.  That series allowed the Yankees to split the season series at nine games apiece.  That was an incredible feat for a team that started out 0-8.  Additionally, the Yankees split the 10 games played against the Angels something that neither Yankee nor Angel fans had seen in quite a while.

The Yankees finished the season with the best record in baseball at 103-59 and won the AL East by eight games over 2^nd place Boston.  Going into the playoff rounds the Yankees were brimming with confidence.

In the divisional series against the Minnesota Twins the Yankees held it together to sweep the Twins 3-0.  The series was a close match, but the Yankees pitching and timely hitting proved superior.

The championship series (no offense to the Phillies) the Yankees were pitted against the Angels.  The Angels came into the series with a lot of confidence as well.  They met the Red Sox, a team which had ousted the Angels from the playoffs 3 times this decade.  However, in a ritual of exorcism the Angels swept the Red Sox into a early exit from the playoffs.

It was the Yankees turn to do the same with the Angels and in a great series the Bombers did just that taking the Angels out in 6 games behind the arms of CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte, plus the bat of Alex Rodriguez.

That set up the 2009 Fall Classic against the Philadelphia Phillies, who many have called a mirror image of the Yankees.  Good starting pitching and a powerful lineup.

The Yankees lost Game 1 facing Cliff Lee, who on that night was pitching like was from another planet.  Sabathia took the hill for the Bombers, but wasn’t quite up to Lee’s standards.  He made two mistake pitches to Chase Utley who knocked both of them over the wall.  The Yankees lost 6-1 and in doing so dug themselves a hole.  Of the last six World Series, the loser of Game 1 also lost the series.  The Yankees had to right the ship.

Game 2 saw AJ Burnett starting for the Yankees and the Phillies countered with Pedro Martinez.  Both pitchers were brilliant, but Burnett had just a little bit more as the Yankees nipped the Phillies 3-1.

Philadelphia was going home with a split, and had aspirations of a 3-game sweep over the Yankees.  New York refused to cooperate, winning both Game 3, 8-5 and Game 4 with a dramatic 9^th inning rally to drop the Phillies 7-4.

Tonight the Yankees have the opportunity to close out the Series and Philadelphia in order to take their first ride down the Canyon of Heroes in 9 seasons.  The only thing standing in their way is Cliff Lee.  If he pitches like he did in Game 1 the Yankees may have to wait a day.  If AJ Burnett pitches like he did in Game 2 they may not.  This game comes down to pitching and which team will be the first to blink.

If the Yankees can win just one more game they can rinse a lot of post season disappointment and history out of their mouths with some bubbly.  In the immortal words of Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis, “Just win, baby.”

1 = 27.

Andy Pettitte has taken the hill in the post season more than any other Yankee pitcher not named Mariano Rivera.  Whitey Ford has the major league record for most wins the World Series with 10, but Pettitte had the most victories in the post season with 16.  Last night he was going for his 17^th.

The Philadelphia Phillies countered with last year’s World Series MVP, Cole Hamels, and the Phillies were banking on the Hamels of 2008 showing up.  As Game 3 unfolded it appeared that the boys from the City of Brotherly Love were going to get their wish.

In the first 3 innings Hamels completely shut down the Yankees.  The only flaw in his game up that point was hitting Alex Rodriguez in the top of the second, but he quickly erased that situation by inducing catcher Jorge Posada to hit into a force at second, striking out Robinson Cano and getting Nick Swisher to fly out to right.

Pettitte also looked like he was ready for the evening.  After giving up a leadoff single to shortstop Jimmy Rollins in the first Pettitte retired the Phillies big bats by popping out Shane Victorino, then striking out Chase Utley and Ryan Howard to end the inning.

The game appeared to be shaping up to another pitching duel, but things got dicey for Pettitte and the Yankees in the second.  In a script tailor made for Halloween Pettitte served up a leadoff home run to Jason Werth before striking out Raul Ibanez.  Catcher Pedro Feliz followed with a double to right and Carlos Ruiz walked.  With runners at first and second Hamels laid down a bunt single to load the bases.  Rollins walked to force in a run and then Victorino hit a sacrifice fly to left scoring Ruiz.  Pettitte finally escaped further damage by striking out Utley for the second time to end the inning.

The teams traded zeros in the 3^rd inning, but it wasn’t looking great for the Bombers as Hamels hadn’t given up a hit and appeared to be cruising through New York’s lineup.

That all changed in the top of the 4^th.

Hamels started the inning like he had the entire game by getting Johnny Damon to fly out to right field.  He walked  Mark Teixeira and up to the plate strode Alex Rodriguez.

Rodriguez, who had had stellar division and league championship series performances was hitless in the Fall Classic.  In eight official at bats A-Rod had recorded six strikeouts conjuring up memories of his preceding post season woes.

A-Rod put a charge into an 0-1 fastball and sent it down the right field line.  Initially, it looked like the ball hit the top of the wall and came back onto the field, causing Rodriguez to stop at second and Teixeira at third.  However, the strange way the ball bounced back onto the field caused Girardi to ask for a video review of the ball’s flight.  All six umpires retreated to a viewing room and in a very quick reversal ruled that A-Rod’s shot had hit a FOX camera located just behind the wall in the right field corner of the park.  It was now a 3-2 Phillies lead.

“I think it was a big hit,” Rodriguez said to reporters after the game. “I think it woke our offense up a little bit. It felt really good.”

Added Girardi about A-Rod’s breakout swing, “It was a big hit for us because it really got us going.  He has been so good for us in the playoffs. He’s a big reason we’re at this point.”

Pettitte pitched a scoreless 4^th and then the Yankees went back to work in the top of the 5^th inning.

Swisher finally got to the party by doubling to left to start the inning.  After Melky Cabrera stuck out  Pettitte helped his own cause by blooping a first pitch curveball into center as Swisher came around and beat the throw to home with a hard slide into Ruiz.

With the score tied Jeter singled to left, moving Pettitte to second.  Johnny Damon doubled to right center scoring Pettitte and Jeter.  Rapidly the game unraveled for Hamels and the Phillies.  After walking Teixeira manager Charlie Manuel took his staggered starter out of the game.

J.A. Happ quickly restored order by getting A-Rod to line out to center and Posada to pop out to second to shut down the Yankee threat.

Leading 5-3 Pettitte faced the heart of the Phillies lineup.  However, as he had done so many times in past post season games, Pettitte came up big getting Victorino to line out to center, followed by Utley grounding out to first and Howard popping out to short.

Both teams traded home runs in the 6^th as Swisher recorded his first knock in the World Series and Werth hit a monster shot over the left field wall for his second round tripper of the game.

In the seventh with two on and two out Posada got on the ledger by hitting a soft single to left scoring Damon as the Yankees took a 7-4 lead.

Pinch hitter Hideki Matsui, substituting for reliever Joba Chamberlain (who pitched a scoreless 7^th inning) finished up the Yankees scoring by hitting an opposite field home run off Brett Myers to make it an 8-4 ballgame.

With the Phillies down to their last 3 outs and the Yankees holding onto a 4-run lead Girardi elected to go with the erratic Phil Hughes to close out the game.  Unfortunately for Hughes, after Feliz grounded out, Hughes threw a 1-1 four seamer to Ruiz over the plate and Ruiz launched it over the left center field wall.  Girardi wasted little time finding his hook and pulling the beleaguered reliever out of the game.

For the third straight game closer Mariano Rivera was given the ball and asked to end the game.  Rivera did so on 5 pitches.  He induced pinch hitter Matt Stairs to ground out to second and Rollins to hit a soft pop up to Rodriguez at third.  Ballgame over.

Losing Game 1, and knowing the last 6 World Series runner ups lost Game 1 the Yankees knew they had a steep, but not impossible mountain to climb.

“We feel like we’ve got a real strong team,” Pettitte told reporters. “Obviously, losing that first game, we weren’t happy with that. We were upset about it, but we feel real good about what we’re doing and we felt good about coming in here.”

Pettitte critiqued his pitching performance as a rough one.  One that came after an 80-minute rain delay.

“It was a battle tonight — I wasn’t able to get ahead,” Pettitte said in the clubhouse. “I wasn’t able to get my breaking ball over. I was able to get some outs when I needed to get some, but it was a grind tonight for me.”

More from Pettitte on Pettitte:

“You’re out there and you’re by yourself,” Pettitte admitted to reporters. “There’s not a whole lot of anything that can help you except just trying to just keep battling and keep trying to get it there and keep trying to get it there, and hopefully, it’ll come around.”

Luckily for the Yankees Pettitte did come around, and so did the Yankees offense.   Although happy with the outcome the Yankees know the battle isn’t over.

“We feel good about being up, 2-1,” Pettitte mused afterward. “But we know there’s a lot of work left to do.”

New York hopes to put the Phillies on the brink of elimination today in Game 4 as their ace CC Sabathia takes the hill on three days’ rest.  The Phillies counter with RHP Joe Blanton.  Game time is 8:20 pm EST. As usual the broadcast will be carried by FOX and anchored by Joe Buck and Tim McCarver.

In order for that to happen the Yankees needed to set aside a Pesky Los Angeles Angels club that has been a thorn in New York’s side in what has seemed like forever.  The Angels took 2-of-3 in Anaheim to pull the series back to Big Apple and only trailing the Yankees 3-2.

As Angels center fielder Torii hunter said, “the pressure is all on them (Yankees).”  Pettitte took the ball and said ‘no problem.’

Pettitte faced off against Halos lefty Joe Saunders.  Saunders last appeared in Game 2 and pitched very well.  He threw 7.0 innings, surrendering 2 runs while striking out 5 and walking one.  The Angels bullpen, specifically Brian Fuentes and Ervin Santana, imploded and gave the Yankees a 4-3 win.

On the other hand, Pettitte started Game 3 and pitched well enough to keep his team in the game.  He was staked to a 3-0 lead before surrendering it and leaving the game tied after 6-1/3 innings of work.  The game went into extra innings and the Angels won it in the 11^th when new Yankee killer Jeff Mathis doubled in the winning run .

No one in the Yankees clubhouse wanted this series to reach a 7^th game.  It was an attitude of winning it now that permeated the team.  Girardi felt there was no better guy to give the ball to than Pettitte.  After all, “AP” had made 37 previous playoff starts and was tied with John Smoltz for career playoff wins at 15 apiece.

Pettitte was masterful in his approach toward the Angels lineup.  He reached back into his past and delivered a vintage Pettitte performance.  He bent , but never broke as he kept the ever dangerous Halos hitters in check.  Andy gave up 7 hits, but the Angels were only able to convert it into one earned run over 6-1/3 innings.  Pettitte surrendered a single to left fielder Juan Rivera before Girardi came and got his trusty lefty.

As Pettitte walked off the field toward the Yankees dugout the Stadium erupted into a din of cheers for the man who has given the pinstriped faithful so many wonderful memories.  Gratefully, Andy doffed his cap and waved it at the crowd before disappearing into the dugout.

Girardi called for embattled right-hander Joba Chamberlain.  It was a huge leap of faith Girardi was showing Chamberlain who entered the game with the Yankees holding on to a precarious 3-1 lead.  Chamberlain faced pinch hitter Maicer Izturis who grounded into a force play as 2B Robinson Cano got Rivera at  second, and then induced shortstop Erick Aybar (sans dreadlocks) to ground out to Mark Teixeira at first to end the inning.

As Chamberlain walked off the mound he thumped his chest as a sign of some personal redemption.

As the Yankees took the field for the top of the 8^th inning Girardi went to the one thing the Angels didn’t have, and that is the best closer in the history of the game.  Mariano Rivera entered the game to the strains of “Enter Sandman” and was asked to get 6 outs.

At age 40 Rivera is still doing things that other relief pitchers can only dream of doing.  At the end of the regular season Mo had recorded his 526^th career save, second only to Milwaukee Brewers closer Trevor Hoffman (591).  However, what separates Rivera from the rest is his performance in the post season where he has recorded 37 saves; more than twice the number of the second place closer, Philadelphia Phillies Brad Lidge.**

The never say die Angels opened the top of the 8^th with Chone Figgins blooping a weak single to left field.  Bobby Abreu grounded out to move Figgins to second, followed by Hunter who grounded to Cano for the second out.  Figgins was unable to advance.

It didn’t matter though as Vladimir Guerrero stepped in and shot a low 3-2 cutter into right field to score Figgins.  That would be the last Angel to cross home plate.  Kendry Morales grounded out to second to end the Halos threat.

In the bottom of the frame Angels manager Mike Scioscia brought in lefty Scott Kazmir after Ervin Santana walked Cano on four straight pitches.

Then in something right out of the Twilight Zone the Angels saw their playoff hopes dissipate as Nick Swisher sacrificed bunted Cano to second.  As Swisher was racing toward first, first baseman Morales picked up the bunted ball and fired to the bag being covered by 2B Howie Kendrick.  Kendrick dropped the ball and everyone was safe.

The speedy Brett Gardner replaced Swisher at first and then it was center fielder Melky Cabrera’s turn.  He laid down a bunt which was fielded by Kazmir.  Instead of firing the ball to first Kazmir lobbed it right over the head of Morales allowing Cano to score and it moved Gardner to third and Cabrera to second.

Derek Jeter grounded out to first as the runners stayed put and then Kazmir walked Johnny Damon to load the bases.  Teixeira hit a fly ball to center scoring Gardner  to make it 5-2.  Scioscia had seen enough and yanked Kazmir for Jered Weaver.

Weaver faced the dangerous Alex Rodriguez, but pitched around him; walking him on four pitches.  With the bases again loaded catcher Jorge Posada who had had a miserable game (hitting into two inning ending double plays) looked at strike three to end the inning.

Rivera took the mound for the Angels last stand.  The Angels went quietly into the night and into the winter as Kendrick grounded out to first, Rivera to fly out to right and as only Mo could do it struck out pinch hitter Gary Matthews, Jr. to end the game and the series.

The Yankees celebrated in the middle of their house before retiring to the clubhouse to enjoy the win and spray champagne on each other.  Honorary American League Vice President Jackie Autry presented the American League Championship trophy to Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner and lefty CC Sabathia was named series MVP.

For Andy Pettitte it was a game of satisfaction and new heights.  In addition to winning his 16^th career playoff game, breaking the tie with Smoltz, Pettitte set a new major league record with his 5^th career series closeout victory.

Like old times it was Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera leading the way for the Yankees to the promised land.

Today is a new day and now the Yankees turn their sights toward the City of Brotherly Love and the Philadelphia Phillies.  The Phillies have a boatload of hitters themselves, in Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and company.  They also have the pitching with Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, et. al.

The 2009 World Series is set to begin in the Bronx on Wednesday evening with FOX Sports televising the series in its entirety.  It will be Sabathia vs. Lee for Game 1 in what should be a classic pitcher’s duel.  The times will be announced by MLB later today.

Congratulations to the Yankees and to the Phillies.  May the best team reign supreme.

4=27.

**Source:  baseball-reference.com

The Yankees , after missing the playoffs last season, are on the brink of returning to the stage they are quite familiar with.  The hold a 3-2 lead in the American League Championship Series over the team that has given them the most trouble over the past decade.  That team being the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

The Angels have always played the Bombers tough.  In fact, as has been noted many times, they are the only team to hold a historical winning record against New York.  Over the past eight post seasons the Yankees and Angels have met twice in battle with the Angels coming out on top in the 2002 and 2005 AL Division Series.

The Yankees came into this year’s playoffs on a mission.  After missing the playoffs in 2008 New York had one purpose in mind and that was to win their 27^th world championship.  They accomplished the first leg of that quest by eliminating the Minnesota Twins from the divisional series; sweeping them in three straight games.

On the other side of the coin the Angels were facing a long time nemesis of their own.  The Red Sox had dominated the Angels in post season play by taking them out of the ALDS in 2004, 2007 and 2008 with a combined record of 9-1. The Angels met the Sox, once again, in the divisional series. However, instead of the Sox overpowering the Halos it was the Angels who dominated the Red Sox by eliminating them from contention with a 3-game sweep.  This set up the first ever Championship Series collision with the Yankees.

History did not favor New York.  Each time New York met the Angels in the post season the Yankees took the first game only to lose the series.  Keep in mind history didn’t favor the Angels going against the Red Sox either, but the Angels took care of business.  The Yankees were hoping to do the same.

The Yankees took care of business in the first two games in the Bronx. In less than ideal weather conditions the Yankees won both games with scores of 4-1 and 4-3.  They flew out west with the two-game lead only to see the lead evaporate by half as the Angels came back to nip the Bombers in Game 3, 5-4.

The Yankees took control of the series again on Tuesday night by taking the air out of both the Angels and their fans as they clobbered Scott Kazmir and the Halos in a 10-1 beat down.  CC Sabathia completely outdueled Kazmir for his second win in four games.

Both teams took the next night off, then came back on Thursday for Game 5.  It was a golden opportunity for the Yankees to close out the series and finally exorcise the Angels from their past.  AJ Burnett faced off against John Lackey.

Before an out was recorded Burnett placed the Yankees in a hole as the Angels put up a four spot in the first inning to lead the game 4-0.  Afterward, Burnett seemed to settle down, but the Angels kept the lead going into the 7^th inning.

After loading the bases with one out Lackey got Johnny Damon to fly out.  As Damon was making his way back to the dugout Angel manager Mike Scioscia bounded out of the dugout and headed for the mound.  An unbelieving Lackey looked angrily at Scioscia and said, “This is mine. Come on Scios.”  It didn’t change Scioscia’s mind and he took the ball from Lackey who stomped away and marched into the Angels’ dugout.

Scioscia called for lefty reliever Darren Oliver to face Mark Teixeira.  That’s when the wheels fell off the Angels wagon.  The Yankees scored 6 runs to go ahead of the Angels.  Right fielder Nick Swisher flew out to end the Yankees onslaught.  For the Yankees the finish line was on the horizon.

It didn’t last long.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi decided to stick with Burnett to open the bottom of the frame and Burnett promptly gave up a single to Jeff Mathis and then walked Erick Aybar.  Girardi pulled his starter and brought in lefty Damaso Marte.  Chone Figgins moved the runners to second and third with a sacrifice bunt.  Bobby Abreu grounded out to first scoring Mathis.  Girardi made another pitching change and called for righty Phil Hughes to face center fielder Torii Hunter.  Hunter walked and then Hughes gave up a run scoring singles to Vladimir Guerrero and Kendry Morales allowing the Angels to regain the lead.  Hughes struck out Maicer Izturis to end the inning, but the damage was done.

New York made one last attempt to take the game back in the 9^th inning when they loaded the bases against Angels closer Brian Fuentes.  However, Fuentes got Swisher  to pop out to short to end the game.

The Yankees now come home with the hopes of finishing this series on Saturday and then moving on to face the National League and defending World Champion Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday.  The Bombers will turn to their playoff stopper Andy Pettitte who will start his 38^th playoff game.  The Angels will counter with left-hander Joe Saunders.  Saunders pitched well in Game 2 in New York, but left with a no decision as did Pettitte who gave up a 3-0 lead in Game 3 in Anaheim, which was eventually lost by the bullpen.

Heavy rains are predicted for the New York area on Saturday, which may push the game back to Sunday.  That may be a break for the Yankees who have scheduled Sabathia to start Game 7 if necessary.  An extra day would give him his full rest.

The Yankees want and need to close out the Angels in Game 6.  It would help them exorcise their past playoff woes against the Halos and it will stem any comparison to New York’s ALCS collapse against the Red Sox in 2004.

Another part of this puzzle is what losing this series would do to Girardi’s future.  Many believe that anything below a World Series appearance will cost Girardi his job.  Some of the pressure is coming because of questionable pitching moves he’s made in the two Yankee losses and some from just being the manager of the New York Yankees.

The Angels will be playing Saturday like there’s no tomorrow, because for them there isn’t one unless they win.  The Yankees need to do the same, because a loss on Saturday will put them in the same boat as the Angels.

Win and go to the World Series.  It’s as simple as that.

The New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (I liked it better when it was just the Anaheim or California Angels) have been cross country rivals ever since 1961 when the Angels, under the ownership of the “Singing Cowboy” Gene Autry, was granted a spot in the American League.  The Angels shared digs with the Los Angeles Dodgers, first at the Coliseum in LA, and then later at Dodger Stadium.  This arrangement lasted until 1966 when the Angels opened up their own park in Anaheim and became the California Angels.

When you hear of a team having another team’s “number” you don’t have to look any further than the Angels and Yankees.  The Halos are the only team who has a historical winning record against the Bronx Bombers.  And, not just by a little either.  These two teams have met 586 times in the regular season and the Angels are 52 game over .500 against New York.

Living out here on the west coast, but still rooting for the boys in pinstripes I have seen my share of disappointments over the years.  More times than not I, like a lot of other displaced Yankee fans in and around Orange County, California, have seen the Angels make the Yankees look like a second rate team.  Whether the Angels were in last place or first they’ve always played the Yanks like it is the 7^th game of the World Series.

Earlier this season was no exception.  In July (10-12) the Yankees traveled to Anaheim for a 3-game set with the Halos.  It was their last series before the All-star break and they were coming in with a hot hand.  The Yankees had just won 15 of their last 17 games, but that didn’t matter to the Angels.  In Game 1 of the series the Yankees had a 5-0 lead, but blew it, and the Halos won 10-6.  In Game 2 the Yankees rewarded me on my birthday by allowing the Angels to erase a 4-1 lead by giving up 7 runs in the 5^th inning as the Halos won going away 14-8.  Game 3 saw the Angels overcome a 1-0 Yankee lead by scoring four runs in the 4^th inning and squeaking out a 5-4 win to sweep the Yankees going into the break.

Fortunately the Yankees didn’t stay down long and they ended up by going 48-25 in the 2^nd half to win the AL East Division by 8 games over second place Boston and they garnered the best record in baseball by six games over the Angels.  In fact, in September (21-23) the Yankees returned to Anaheim to take 2-of-3 from the Angels, splitting the season series 5-5.  There was room for optimism.  A glimmer of hope was on the horizon.

Both teams went into the divisional series with different expectations.  The Angels were facing the Red Sox who, like the Angels are with the Yankees, had the Halos’ number.  As many so-called experts saw the Red Sox winning the ALDS as those picking the Angels.  In 2004, 2007 and 2008 the Red Sox ousted the Halos from the divisional series with a combined 9-1 record.  You don’t even want to ask any longtime Angel fan about 1986.  The Angels lone win came during the ’08 series.  Although they lost the Angels won, because they finally had beaten their longtime playoff antagonists in a divisional game.  Now, at least they knew they could beat those pesky (no pun intended) Red Sox in a playoff setting.

The proof of that pudding came in this year’s divisional series as the Angels swept the Red Sox out of the playoffs and did so convincingly.  This set up this year’s confrontation with the Yankees.

On the other side of the coin, the Yankees were expected to beat the Minnesota Twins in their half of the ALDS quite handily.  Most experts predicted an easy series with the Yankees sweeping the Twins.  After all the Yankees won the regular season series 7-0, and the Twins have never played well at Yankee Stadium.  Well, the Yankees did sweep, but it was anything but easy.  In fact in all 3 games the Yankees had to come from behind to beat Minnesota to set up the first ALCS meeting between the Bombers and the Halos.

Depending on who you asked, the predictions about who would win this series was a varied as could be.  A lot of people pointed the Angels historical success as well as post season dominance.  The Angels rotation is better than the Yankees.  The Angels defense is better or the bullpen.  You would hear the same thing said about the Yankees.  The only area the Yankees were given a clear advantage was in the role of closer.  Mariano Rivera versus Brian Fuentes was a no-contest.  Rivera wins hands down.  Much of this predicting has been regional.  Los Angeles/Orange County area papers said the Angels would win, but newspapers in the east picked the Yankees.

In Game 1 the Yankees behind CC Sabathia handled the Angels very easily, winning 4-1.  The Halos helped by playing very sloppy and uncharacteristically poor defense.  However, for anyone who knows the playoff history between these two teams, the Yankees also won Game 1 from the Angels in the 2002 and 2005 ALDS only to lose those series in the end.

Last night, it appeared that the Yankees were going to follow past playoff scripts.  Game 2 was very important for both teams.  If the Yankees won they go to Anaheim up in the series 2-0 forcing the Angels to have to beat New York in 4 of the next 5 games.  Lose, and the series is tied 1-1 with the next three games played at Angel Stadium.  That would mean that if the Angels sweep the Yankees in their park they send the Yankees down to another humiliating defeat without ever getting the opportunity to get back to New York.

The Yankees jumped to an early 2-0 lead behind a run scoring triple by Cano in the 2^nd inning, followed by a solo home run in the 3^rd by Derek Jeter.  Yankee starter AJ Burnett was cruising through the Angels lineup in the first 4 innings, but, as has been the case in the past, Burnett got into trouble in the 5th inning.

Burnett surrendered a leadoff double to Izturis, a single to Erick Aybar scoring Izturis, then hit Chone Figgins with a pitch.  After getting Bobby Abreu to fly out to left for the 2^nd out Burnett walked Torii Hunter to load the bases.  With the ever dangerous Vladimir Guerrero at the plate Burnett uncorked a wild pitch past catcher Jose Molina allowing Aybar to score from third, tying the game at 2 apiece.  Fortunately, Guerrero cooperated by grounding out to short to end the inning.

Once again, it appeared that the Yankees were right where the Angels wanted them.  Lose Game 1, give the Yankees a lead in Game 2 only to come back to yank the rug out from under New York’s feet and steal another playoff series.

However, something different happened.  The Yankees refused to cooperate.  For the next five innings the Angels and Yankees threw up zeroes.  In the 11^th inning Yankees RHRP Alfredo Aceves took the mound to face the Halos.  All through the 2009 campaign Aceves has been the one guy manager Joe Girardi could point to in order to get the job done.  If he needed an emergency starter or a pitcher who could come into the middle of the game to give the Yankees length Girardi called on Aceves.

Nonetheless, Aceves committed the pitcher’s cardinal sin by walking the leadoff batter.  He gave Gary Matthews, Jr. a free pass and after moving to 2^nd on a sacrifice bunt Matthews scored on a soft liner by Figgins to left field in front of Johnny Damon.  Oh how many times had Yankee fans seen the Angels come back like this.

Aceves got out of the inning without any further trouble, but the damage had been done.  The Yankees had dug themselves into another hole against the team whom they’ve suffered their greatest failures.

For Yankee fans this game took on the look of a bad car crash.  It was ugly, but you had to watch.

In the bottom of the 11^th inning Angel manager Mike Scioscia sent in his closer Brian Fuentes.  Fuentes lead the American League in saves in ’09, but had blown 7 as well.  The first man he faced was Alex Rodriguez.  This Rodriguez was different from the Rodriguez the Angels have faced in the past.  This guy has been hitting and driving in runs.

Fuentes quickly got ahead of A-Rod by throwing 2 four-seam fastballs by him.  With the count 0-2 Fuentes made the mistake of going to the well once too often and tried to jam a third four-seamer by Rodriguez.  A-Rod did what all good hitters are supposed to do.  He promptly punched the ball over the right field wall to tie the game.

Said Fuentes to reporters after the game. “I was trying to elevate and didn’t get it up enough,” Fuentes talking about the pitch allowing A-Rod to drive the ball. “I felt like I threw the ball really well minus the one pitch. Unfortunately, it cost us the game. I take full responsibility for that.”

The two teams traded zeroes in the 12^th, and the Yankees kept the Halos off the board in the top of the 13^th.  This set up another improbable finish for a club who has been doing the improbable all season long.

Girardi started the bottom of the frame by sending up pinch hitter Jerry Hairston, Jr. to face the hard throwing Ervin Santana.  Hairston responded by lining a single to center.  Reserve center fielder Brett Gardner did his job by sacrifice bunting Hairston to 2^nd base.  Santana intentionally walked Cano in order to set up a potential inning ending double play.  Outfielder Melky Cabrera tried to cooperate with the Angels by hitting a hard grounder to second baseman Izturis’ left.  With Hairston moving to third and Cano to second Izturis made a beautiful grab, but instead of going to first to get Cabrera he decided to go to second.  The ball sailed by Aybar allowing Hairston to score the winning run.

It was the second game in a row where a team, which prides itself on playing sound defensive, has made a poor decision costing them a game.

“It shouldn’t have come down to that,” Chone Figgins said when  reporters asked him about Izturis wild throw. “We had too many opportunities that got away from us. That’s why we lost.”

Neither team did a great job in potential run scoring situations.  The Halos stranded 16 runners and the Yankees 12.

However, when it counted most the Yankees came through.

Hairston put a personal spin on his contribution.

“I knew if I got a chance to do something, I wanted to do something positive,” Hairston said after the game. “This game isn’t easy. I just wanted to enjoy the moment. My grandfather never had the opportunity that I’ve had. That was definitely for him.”

A-Rod who has now hit three, dramatic, late inning home runs told reporters, “I know I had a blast out there today. That was a great game. That’s what I’ve been doing all year — trying to keep things simple and not trying to think too much.”

Perhaps Joe Girardi summarized the game best.

“We’re fortunate to come out on top in this game, because it was a great game,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “And there were some miscues. Fortunately we were on the right side of it.”

The series now shifts to Anaheim where the next 3 games are scheduled.   Game 3 is scheduled for Monday at 4:13 EST for the first pitch.  It will be Andy Pettitte versus Jered Weaver.  In order to return to the Bronx the Angels have to take 2 out of 3.  On the other hand, the Yankees have the opportunity to do what no other team before them has done.  Celebrate a playoff series win on the Angels home field.

This series is hardly over and both teams know it.  That said the Yankees are now treading on heretofore unknown territory.  They are half way to a series celebration over their most successful playoff opponents.

Just another chapter in the Yankees latest ‘Bronx Tale.’

NOTE:  Derek Jeter just keeps adding to his legacy.  His home run in the 3rd inning was the 19th of his playoff career moving him past Reggie Jackson and Mickey Mantle (18) for third place behind Manny Ramirez (29) and Bernie Williams (22).

On Friday, October 16, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim invade the Bronx to face the New York Yankees in a best of seven championship series.  The prize is a trip to the World Series to take on either the Philadelphia Phillies or the Los Angeles Dodgers who begin their own quests for the ultimate reward on Thursday in Los Angeles.

This series has oodles of side stories to it.  The Angels are the only team to have a historical winning record against the Yankees.  They hold 319-267 advantage over New York, and their fans and news media point that out to their opposite numbers quite frequently.  They also like to point out how much money the Yankees spend to “buy championships,” even though the Yankees haven’t tasted World Series champagne in 8 seasons.

There is also the emotional connection with Nick Adenhart  whose number every member of the Angels squad wears on his jersey in remembrance of the 22-yearl old pitcher who was tragically killed by a drunk driver on April 10, 2009 after pitching the best game of his short career against the Oakland Athletics.  The Angels dedicated their season to Adenhart and his jersey hangs in the dugout at every game.  The fans even erected a memorial for Adenhart in front of the stadium between the two, red, giant batting helmets adorning the Angels’ home.  It is a very touching scene.

The Angels also come into the ALCS brimming with confidence.  After being ousted from the ALDS in 2004, 2007-08 by the Boston Red Sox the Halos exacted revenge by sweeping the Red Sox from this year’s divisional playoffs setting off a celebration in the middle of Fenway Park before a stunned home crowd.

They also have assurance in knowing they have had playoff dominance over the Yankees as well.  In 2002 and 2005 the Angels eliminated the Bombers in the divisional series to send them packing for an early October vacation.

However, for all the success the Angels have enjoyed by making the playoffs in six of the last eight seasons they have only converted it once into a World Series trophy.  That was in 2002 when the Angels miraculously came back from a 5-0 deficit in Game 6 of the Series against Barry Bonds and the San Francisco Giants to win the game 6-5 and then closed it out with a 4-1 victory to become the King of the Hill.

Indeed, the 2009 season has been an poignant, up-and-down, rollercoaster ride for the Angels.

So how do the Yankees counter all this sentiment and history?

First off, it won’t be easy, but it can be done.  The Yankees themselves are riding an emotional high this season.  After 85 years playing across the street they opened a new ballpark in the Bronx and signed three of the most highly prized and sought after free agents in the off season.

The new Yankee Stadium opened to rave reviews.  It is a visual masterpiece that captured the new advances and technology of the 21^st Century while capturing the magic of the old stadium.  Additionally, the Bombers signed CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett and Mark Teixeira and the three of them have contributed mightily to the Yankees success of posting the best record in the majors this year, along with a return to the playoffs after missing them in 2008.

This topic is also a sore subject with the players, especially those who’ve been around since before the four championship seasons in 1996 and 1998-2000.  The Yankees had made the playoffs every year from 1995 through 2007.  Every season, except 1995, was under the guidance of manager Joe Torre.  Torre left after the 2007 for Los Angeles and the Yankees hired ex-Yankees catcher Joe Girardi as the new skipper.  Girardi’s team suffered numerous injuries throughout the season and there were also player issues that affected the clubhouse.  It was too much to overcome and the Yankees failed to reach the post season after 13 straight years.  It was an embarrassment for a franchise whose sole goal is to win the World Series every year.  Anything less than that is viewed as an unsuccessful season.

What made it doubly humiliating was the fact that Torre went across the country to manage the Dodgers, and he guided them in his first season as manager to the post season. The Dodgers beat the favored Chicago Cubs in the divisional series before falling to the Phillies in the NL championship round.

By missing the playoffs Girardi came under the sights of the Yankees management, specifically George, Hal and Hank Steinbrenner.  The start of the 2009 campaign didn’t help Girardi’s chances either.  The Yankees, hamstrung by Alex Rodriguez’s well documented connection with steroids and other off the field scandals, started off the season very slowly.  On top of all that, A-Rod underwent surgery on March 9 to remove a cyst and repair a torn labrum in his right hip.  It wasn’t looking good for the Yankees.

Rodriguez returned to the lineup on May 8 and it was a shot of adrenalin to the team, and especially to Teixeira who was mired in a month+ long hitting slump.  Although, New York began to improve with A-Rod’s presence in the order there were still things not going quite right.

In the first 8 meetings with the Red Sox the Yankees lost every game and just before the All-Star break the Yankees traveled to Anaheim for a 3-game series with the Halos.  The Yankees had beaten the Angels 2-of-3 (one rainout) in May at Yankee Stadium, and had won 13 of their last 15 prior to coming to Anaheim.  That didn’t impress the Angels much as they swept the Yankees going into the break.  It was another embarrassing setback.

Starting with the 2^nd half the Yankees were 55-34 and trailing the Red Sox by 3 games.  The rumors were flying that Girardi’s job was on the line.  Then somebody threw “the switch.”

Beginning in Detroit the Yankees went on an 8-0 run, bypassing the Sox to lead the division by 2.5 games.  By the time the Sox and Yankees met for the first time in the 2^nd half in a 4-game set, on August 6, at Yankee Stadium New York led the division and the Sox by 2.5 games.

This proved to be a turning point in the Yankees season.  Get swept and they’d fall  one half game behind Boston.  Sweep and they’d expand their lead to 6.5 games.  The Yankees swept.

In fact, in the remaining 10 games played in the second half the Yankees went 9-1 against the Red Sox to tie the season series at 9 games apiece.  A Herculean feat that no one thought was possible given New York was down 8-0 in the first half.

The Yankees had similar, albeit a rare, success against the Angels.  New York beat the Halos on September 14 in a makeup game from a rainout in May and then traveled to Anaheim to take 2-of-3 from the Angels in September to split the season series 5-5.  The stat the Yankees point to is the reality they took 3 of the last 4 from them.

The Yankees finished the season 103-59.  They were the only team to top the century mark in victories.  They had 7 players with 20 or more home runs to tie a major league mark.  CC Sabathia was tied for the major league lead in victories with 19 and is in the hunt for the Cy Young Award. Mark Teixeira tied Carlos Pena for the AL lead in home runs with 39 and he lead the AL with 122 RBI. He will be battling Minnesota’s Joe Mauer for MVP honors.  Derek Jeter  hit .334 this season and topped 200 hits (212) for the 7^th time.  Alex Rodriguez who entered the final game of the season with 28 HR and 93 RBI hit two bombs and drove in 7 to finish the year at 30 and 100.  That was the 13^th time he had reached that plateau in his career.  Sabathia, Burnett and Andy Pettitte all reached double figures in wins.

The Yankees have as much to point to for momentum as the do the Angels.  This is going to be a heavyweight confrontation with the two best teams in baseball (sorry Dodgers and Phillies) throwing haymakers at each other.  The last team standing from this contest should have no problem dispatching their NL opponent for the World Series trophy.

One word of caution to the Halos.  Don’t rely too heavily on emotion.  The Yankees were dealing with the biggest shot of emotion provided this decade when the Twin Towers were felled by the acts of Al Qaeda terrorists.  That year everyone, even fans in Boston, became New Yorkers and pulled for the Yankees.  Still, it wasn’t enough as the Arizona Diamondbacks had other ideas and ruined a parade down the Canyon of Heroes by beating the Yankees in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series.

Enough talking.  Let the games begin and may the best team win.

Well look again.  It is a new A-Rod.  One who is delivering timely hits in run scoring situations.

Ever since Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS when the Yankees became the first team in sports history to blow a 3-0 series lead losing to the Boston Red Sox in 7 games A-Rod’s numbers had dwindled in the post season to microscopic proportions unfitting for a talented player of his magnitude.

Since signing on with the Yankees in 2004 Rodriguez has been a player of two seasons.  In the regular season A-Rod has been a tiger.  From 2004 – 2007 Rodriguez averaged  a .303 BA, 42 HR and 123 RBI.  His average on base percentage was .4004 and his slugging percentage was .5736.  Add those two figures together and Rodriguez’s on base + slugging was .974.  Lofty numbers indeed.  Those numbers helped Rodriguez secure two MVP trophies in 2005 and 2007 to become only one of six players in Yankees’ history to win the MVP trophy.  The others were Joe DiMaggio (3), Yogi Berra (3), Mickey Mantle (3), Lou Gehrig (2) and Roger Maris (2).

However, once the regular season ended and the calendar flipped to October those regular season heroics didn’t translate into post season magic.

In the 2004 ALDS against the Minnesota Twins Rodriguez amassed a .421 BA, a .476 OBP, and a .737 SLG%.  He hit one home run and drove in 3 RBI.  In the first three games of the ALCS, against the Red Sox, A-Rod hit .428 with one home run and 3 RBI.  The Yankees won Game 3 19-8 with the offense collecting whopping 22 hits along the way.  What flew under the radar at the time was the fact the Sox scored 9 runs of their own, next to 15 hits.  Not exactly a pitching gem by the Yankees pitching staff either.

The roof caved in on the Yankees after that.  It was like the well suddenly dried up and no more water was to be found.  This was especially true in A-Rod’s case.

In the next 4 games Rodriguez batted a dismal .118 with one home run and two RBI.  He wasn’t the only one.  It was a total team collapse.  It began back in Game 4 when the Yankees, leading the game 4-3 in the bottom of the 9th inning, brought in Mariano Rivera to shut down the Sox and lead the Yankees to their 40th World Series appearance.

Rivera did the unthinkable.  He walked Kevin Millar to open the frame.  Sox manager Terry Francona immediately sent in Dave Roberts to pinch run for Millar.  Roberts then stole second to put the tying run into scoring position.  The next batter, Bill Mueller, hit the first pitch he saw from Rivera into center field, scoring Roberts, and forever changing the course of baseball in Boston and the Bronx.  Three innings later, after Manny Ramirez singled, David Ortiz sent a 2-1 pitch from Paul Quantrill into the night securing a 6-4 Red Sox victory in front of the Fenway faithful.  Three nights later the Red Sox exorcised the so-called “Curse of the Babe” by beating the Yankees at Yankee Stadium 10-3 before a stunned home crowd of 56,129.

After that series things went totally wrong for A-Rod.  Not the most liked person in the press or in the dugout A-Rod always tried to give the answer he thought people wanted to hear.  He tried to say the right things, but often times it came out the wrong way, which just gave the press more fodder to write about.  Rodriguez quickly became his own worst enemy.  Both on and off the field, drama followed him everywhere.

During the next three season’s A-Rod’s individual numbers continued to flourish.  Between 2005 and 2007 Rodriguez hit .321, .290. and .314 respectively.  He knocked in 407 runs and sent baseballs over the wall 137 times.  However, one of the continual knocks on A-Rod was, yeah he got his numbers, but rarely in key situations.  He’d hit home runs if the Yankees were six runs up or down, but never when the game was on the line.

Not all was negative press in that time period for Rodriguez.  On August 4, 2007 Rodriguez hit his 500th home run over the left field wall at Yankee Stadium to become the youngest player in major league history to reach that milestone.  Statistically, 2007 was a monster year for him.  Rodriguez finished with a line of .314 BA, 156 RBI and 54 home runs.  His numbers were good enough for A-Rod to garner his second MVP trophy in pinstripes and third overall.

What happened to Alex Rodriguez during post season play was something out of the Twilight Zone.  Inexplicably A-Rod would just stop hitting and driving in runs.

Over the three year period covering 2005 to 2007 the Yankees were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.  Three different teams sent the Yankees packing.  The LA Angels in 2005, the Detroit Tigers in 2006 and the Cleveland Indians in 2007.  In that time Rodriguez’s numbers were appalling to say the least.

In 55 at bats A-Rod had 7 hits for a .127 average with one home run, one RBI and he had struck out 15 times.

Last year was another good year for Rodriguez.  He hit .302, plated 103 runs and knocked out 35 home runs.  However, for the first time since 1995 the Yankees missed the playoffs under new manager Joe Girardi, who replaced the iconic Joe Torre.  In fairness to Girardi, he was dealing with a lot of issues and injuries, but still managed to win 89 games.  In other seasons that might have been good enough to make the playoffs, but unfortunately for the Yankees an upstart Tampa Bay Rays team won the division 8 games ahead of the Yankees, followed by the runner up Boston Red Sox who made it in as the wild card entry.  The Yankees 3rd place finish was their lowest since the team came in 4th in 1992 under Buck Showalter.

It was embarrassing, nonetheless, for a team accustomed to playing in October.

Off the field, Rodriguez’s life was full of tabloid exploits well documented in the New York press, on sports talk shows and in the scandal rags.

In January of this year news leaked that the aforementioned Torre had written a sort of “tell-all” book about life behind the closed clubhouse doors of the New York Yankees.  Rodriguez was prominently referred to by Torre.  Torre said A-Rod’s teammates called him “A-Fraud” behind his back and he described the third baseman of having a “single white female” fixation on Derek Jeter.  He also described Rodriguez as stat driven, not getting a job done in a particular situation.

Of course, this caused teammates to become involved in defending A-Rod, which they did.

Torre’s expose was barely out of the box when the next big bombshell hit.  In February Sports Illustrated published that A-Rod’s name appeared on a list of 104 players who tested positive in 2003 for steroid and/or human growth hormone use.   Once again, the Yankees were thrust into a negative spotlight because of their embattled third baseman.

Doing the right thing, A-Rod, in an interview with ESPN’s Peter Gammons,  admitted he had taken illegal substances in 2001 – 2003 while a member of the Texas Rangers.  He told Gammons he stopped prior to joining the Yankees in 2004.  Without rehashing all of A-Rod’s excuses as to why he went down this road suffice it to say there has been absolutely no proof to this point to refute A-Rod’s statements.

Rodriguez private life became public as well.  Allegedly, A-Rod was cheating on his then wife Cynthia while traveling around the country with the Yankees.  He was photographed with a mysterious blond when the two of them entered the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto.  There were reports this same woman was seen at various other spots around the country with Rodriguez going to dinner and high end strip joints.

He was also romantically linked to singer/actress Madonna.  Both denied any involvement, however, both parties were divorced from their spouses within a short time of each other.

And just when you think you had seen and heard it all another A-Rod left hook came out of nowhere flooring his teammates and Yankee fans alike.

A-Rod’s name was associated with well know madam, Kristin Davis, the lady who had supplied fallen New York Governor Eliot Spitzer with hookers.  Email exchanges between A-Rod and Davis were published in the NY Daily News.  One had to wonder how long a proud organization like the Yankees were going to put up with these continual embarrassments.

On top of all of that in the beginning of March, Rodriguez learned he was going to have to have surgery on his right hip to remove a cyst and repair a torn labrum as well.  Initially it was thought that the injury might cost A-Rod the 2009 season, but after an examination by Dr. Marc Philippon in Vale, ,Rodriguez was told he could have corrective surgery done initially and he could play after a period of rest.  He would need another surgery to complete the repair after the season was over.  (Recently, A-Rod learned that he would need no further surgery after the playoffs.)

A-Rod opted for the surgery and was told he would be out of action between 8 to 10 weeks.

In the meantime, the Yankees opened a new stadium in the Bronx, but the 2009 campaign hardly started the way the organization had pictured it.  With A-Rod out of the lineup the Yankees struggled to a 15-16 record after the first 31 games.  Girardi’s name was continually being bandied about as a guy who was going to be fired at any time.  However, the front office kept mum, apparently content to let Girardi, with the team’s help, hang himself.

On May 8, all of that changed.

A-Rod returned to the lineup after his recovery went much faster and better than predicted.  His presence immediately helped a struggling Mark Teixeira, who had been signed in the off season to an 8-year, $180 million contract.  Prior to Rodriguez’s comeback Teixeira was hitting a woeful .192.  He had generated only 5 home runs and 15 RBI.  Afterward, and until the end of the season Teixeira’s numbers took off like a meteor.  He ended the season tied for the American League home run lead with Carlos Pena of the Rays with 39 bombs and led AL with 122 RBI.  He also hit a very respectable .292 to put him in the hunt for his first ever MVP trophy.

A-Rod’s return also re-energized the team as a whole after going 15-16 the Yankees went on a tear compiling a winning record of 88-43 (.693 winning percentage).

What was significant about Rodriguez’s season this year was, not only did he miss the first 30 games due to his injury, but he sat out an additional 8 games for rest.  That was almost 25% of the 2009 campaign.

Even more amazing was A-Rod’s deportment after returning to the lineup.  He appeared more relaxed, and a lot less wooden in the clubhouse.  In interviews, instead of giving company type answers to questions, he just talked.  Everyone around him noticed Rodriguez was more at ease with everything and that translated into one of the most enduring seasons of his career.

Rodriguez hit the first pitch he saw of his new season for a home run off Jeremy Guthrie of the Baltimore Orioles and he also hit the last pitch he saw of the season for a home run off Andy Sonnanstine of the Tampa Bay Rays.  In that last game Rodriguez had 28 home runs and 93 RBI.  Dating back to 1998 A-Rod had hit no less than 30 home runs or driven in less than 100 RBI for 11 straight years.  No one in their right mind thought he had a shot at reaching 30 and 100.

A-Rod proved us all wrong.

With the Yankees trailing 2-0 in the 6th inning Rodriguez hit a 2-run home run off the Rays Wade Davis to start the Yankees scoring and to make his numbers 29 and 96.  Then, in what I consider a gutless move, Rays manager Joe Maddon walked Teixeira in what would prove to be his last regular season at bat so he wouldn’t have the chance to break his home run tie with Pena.  That move loaded the bases and it also brought Rodriguez to the plate.

With the bases juiced Sonnanstine pitched to A-Rod and in a scene that only Yankee lore is made of Rodriguez made Maddon and the Rays pay for walking Teixeira by blasting a grand slam home run over the right-center field wall.  The Yankees scored 10 runs in the inning and Rodriguez set a new American League record by being the first player to plate 7 men in one inning.  He also set a new major league record for being the first player to hit at least 30 home runs and driving in 100 runs in 13 seasons (he also accomplished the feat in 1996).

With the regular season over the playoffs began against the Minnesota Twins who barely made it to the dance.  They ended the season in a dead heat tie with the Detroit Tigers and the teams were forced to play one more game in Minnesota to determine the AL Central Champs.  Minnesota took the game and the title to New York where they played the Yankees the very next day.

So far in the two games played against the Twins in the ALDS Alex Rodriguez has delivered in the clutch.  On Wednesday in Game 1 A-Rod was 2-for-3 with RISP.  On Friday he was 1-for-1, but even this statistic is misleading.  A-Rod delivered a game tying single in the 6th inning to tie the score 1-1.  After the Twins got to Hughes in the top of the 8th, taking a 3-1 lead, the Yankees got busy in the bottom of the 9th inning.

With super-closer Joe Nathan on the mound Teixeira singled giving the Yankee faithful a glimmer of hope.  That brought Rodriguez to the plate.  Nathan threw A-Rod a fastball down the middle of the plate and Rodriguez hit it over the right field wall, over the Yankee bullpen and into the seats adjacent to Monument Park.  Rodriguez dropped his bat and as he was running toward first looked into the Yankee dugout and pumped his fist.  A-Rod rounded the bases and headed back to an ecstatic Yankee dugout and a curtain call.

The game remained tied until the bottom of the 11th when Teixeira faced Jose Mijares and hit a 1-1 pitch which skipped off the top of the left field wall and into the seats for Teixeira’s first career walk off home run.  Teixeira rounded the bases and as he approached home plate tossed aside his batting helmet and jumped into a pile of celebrating teammates.

Said Teixeira after the game, “I don’t think there’s anything better in sports. Best place to play in the world.”

Rodriguez was also asked about his heroics and he told reporters, This whole year I’m playing with no expectations.”  A-Rod added this. “The fun part is I was just thinking base hit,” he said. “Hit the ball hard somewhere. And it went to the seats.”

Although it’s only been two games there appears to be a calmness in Alex Rodriguez’s approach to his game.  His teammates have responded as well.  So far A-Rod has a home run and 5 RBI, and has delivered in 3-of-4 in run scoring opportunities.  However, given the power of this club I would put his 2-run home run in the 9th inning of Game 2 in that category.  That would make him 4-for-5 in scoring chances.

How the rest of the playoffs go for A-Rod and the Yankees is anyone’s guess, but for now it seems that A-Rod is finally shedding his demons and that 800 lb. gorilla that he’s been carrying around for so long has finally jumped off his back and left the room.