If Backman was never fired by the Arizona Diamondback and ultimately blackballed throughout affiliated baseball, would he have become one of the better managers in baseball or would he have just been a footnote on history.

It’s something no one would ever know, but now the 50 year-old Backman gets a second chance with his appointment by the Mets to helm the Brooklyn Cyclones next season.

“I take full responsibility for the things I did wrong, and I want to go forward,” said Backman, who had a number of problems in the past, including a DUI, domestic disputes, and a bankruptcy. “To start [over] here is good for me.”

Having Backman back with the Mets is a good thing for the organization, since the winning fire is missing. VP of Business David Howard said the team put a “zero-tolerance” clause in their new manager’s contract in order to protect the organization from any further transgressions and possible embarrassment.

That all sounds good and all, but is it really needed? The team did the right thing here by hiring Backman, a man who paid his price and ready to continue his career. But frankly it was long overdue.

This is not an indictment of the Mets, rather one of all affiliated baseball, which is filled with men of low moral character. With so many stars caught for steroid abuse and others – at least in the past – getting off basically scott free for drug abuse and digressions, why was Backman the one to be punished for his problems.

Backman, by his own admission, is a very flawed man, who encountered many off the field problems a decade ago. But does that make himself any different than Alex Rodriguez or Manny Ramirez, who were caught doing steroids? Or even fellow teammates Ron Darling and Darryl Strawberry with their reported problems with the IRS?

The only difference was that Backman was punished for his sins, which is not just unfair, but flat out wrong. Even with his problems, he still proved himself to be one hell of a manager, with a burning desire to win at all costs.

“We took winning and losing personally,” Backman said about the 1986 Mets. “I still do that. That might be why I’m a little bit too high strung at times. I like for the kids to try to take that stuff personal, too. I think it helps them throughout their career. If you can take a loss personal and use the proper energy the way it’s supposed to be used the next day, you end up winning a lot of baseball games.”

And that’s what the Mets hope for the Cyclones, one of their more important affiliates. The club always wants a winning franchise in Coney Island, and Backman pretty much assures that team will be competitive. Yet, this move should have happened a long time ago – again not just by the Mets, but throughout all of baseball.

Backman paid too long of a price for his sins. Now it’s time for him to take the first step on the rest of his career.

It was very obvious the moment King James set foot on the Madison Square Garden for his first and only visit this year, MSG is really where he wants to be. From the very first quarter, LeBron went out of his way have his own victory parade on his own. He started out a first quarter the way Michael Jordan started out his own first in the infamous “Double Nickel” back in 1995.

“LeBron’s first eight minutes were ridiculous,” coach Mike D’Antoni said. “A freight train coming at you.”

The Knicks could have had six men on the court and they were not going to stop LeBron’s special night. Normally not a great jump shooter, James was fading away and hitting wet jumpers that would make Larry Bird proud. There was no other way to say it but LeBron was in the “zone”! He would score 19 first quarter points and also contribute six assists.  James capped the quarter by faking out Jared Jeffries at the perimeter and drained a three pointer that everyone in the building knew it was going in.

Could it have been more ironic that LeBron’s favorite baseball, the Yankees, were sitting courtside still feeling the high of their World Series victory. Right after the first quarter ended, the Garden acknowledged the presence of  Alex Rodriguez, C.C. Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, Joba Chamberlain, Melky Cabrera, and Robinson Cano. As they made their way to center court to wave to the adoring New York crowd, who do you think was among the crowd who gave the Yankees a standing ovation?  Of course, none other King Janes who had as a big smile as a little kid at the candy store. He would not have wanted to be any other place in the world than Madison Square Garden on Friday night.

He was swishing jumpers, driving to the basket like a monster, and providing his teammates with the most beautiful no look passes you will ever see. As he sat down for the first half of the second quarter, LeBron was celebrating anytime his team scored a basket. He was dancing to any hip hop song that came on and was seen talking to many friends in the crowd. It’s nice to be the King, ain’t it?

This night was not about the pathetic Knicks who were easily defeated by Cleveland 100-91. It’s about the dream scenario about what would happen if New York ever had the NBA’s best player. As great as Partick Ewing was for his career, he was near at the top as one of the top players in the NBA. LeBron would easily take the cake as the greatest player ever to put on a Knicks uniform.

If that was not enough, LeBron went out of his way to talk to Knicks second year forward, Daniilo Gallinari. Gallinari, who never met James before, has shown flashes of brilliance so far this season that has caught the attention of James. He scored 17 points last night and has made Donnie Walsh look pretty good in making him the 6th pick in the 2008 draft.

“He just told me to keep working hard and keep taking care of my back with stretching,” Gallinari said. “He’s a great guy, great person. We talked before the game and after the game.”

It’s a pretty good indication that New York is in his radar because Danillo could be that guy LeBron needs to win a title in New York . To have never talked to the young Gallinari before last night can only be a good thing for Donnie Walsh.

But first things first, the fans still have 76 more games to go before this looming nightmare Knicks season is over. But the dream is not far from reality!

Matsui finished that at bat by striking out, but it didn’t matter.

The damage he inflicted on the Philadelphia Phillies’ pitching staff in Game 6 and earlier in this year’s World Series, had long been done.

Indeed, sixteen minutes after the final out of this year’s World Series was recorded, and the Yankees had completed the journey to the 27th championship in their history, Matsui was officially awarded the 2009 World Series Most Valuable Player trophy.

“It’s awesome, it’s just unbelievable,” Mastui said through an interpreter. “I mean, I’m surprised myself.”

He certainly wasn’t the only one.

Playing with a collection of some the game’s greatest current power hitters and clutch postseason performers all on one roster, including the likes of Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Derek Jeter, and Jorge Posada, the 35-year-old Matsui, with ailing knees and all, was initially an afterthought as a possible candidate to be this year’s World Series hero.

And yet, it wasn’t any of the much bigger stars, but it was instead Matsui, who walked away with the 2009 World Series MVP.

Matsui was so good against last year’s world champion Phillies, that Philadelphia can now relate to those who played against him when he first starting learning the game in Japan.

The accomplished left-handed hitting Matsui originally batted right-handed as a child. However, when he started playing with his older brother and his friends, Matsui was such a good batter that his embarrassed brother insisted that he bat left-handed or stop playing with them.

His brother later built the Hideki Matsui baseball museum in Japan.

Most likely, Matsui left the Phillies just as impressed, after batting .615 in the 2009 World Series, going 8–for-13, with three home runs, eight runs batted in, and three runs scored.

Talk about efficiency. An MVP award with as few at-bats as that.

Matsui put his stamp on this year’s World Series despite not being able physically, to play the field throughout the entire series.

It wasn’t always that way for Matsui. He actually still holds the major league baseball record for rookies for consecutive games played to start a major league baseball career. That streak was extended to 518 straight games played with the Yankees, which came on the heels of playing 1,250 consecutive games for the Yomiuri Giants in Japan, for a total professional baseball streak of 1,768 games in a row. He even played one more than the norm during his rookie year as a Yankee, being credited with the all-time major league rookie and Yankee team records of 163 games played in a season, due to a game in Baltimore that wasn’t completed due to rain.

To go from that, to being limited in this year’s World Series because of past injuries and lingering knee problems certainly had to be difficult to handle, at least mentally.

Yet, Matsui rose above it all, to shine, even in a restricted role, as the 2009 World Series’ single most outstanding offensive player, over a bunch of other offensive talent in both dugouts.

That type of success on a grand stage was nothing new for Matsui. He was a three-time MVP in the Japanese Central League (1996, 2000, and 2002), leading his team into four Japan Series, while winning three titles (1994, 2000 and 2002). He also made nine consecutive all-star games and led the league in home runs and RBI’s three times (1998, 2000, and 2002).

Still, because of the constrained role he was forced to play due to his achy knees and past surgeries, many looked elsewhere for World Series heroes in the Yankee lineup before choosing the player who always batted sixth as a DH in a loaded lineup at home, and as a pinch hitter on the road in this World Series.

Nevertheless, Matsui came through in a huge way.

He hit in five of the six games in which he appeared in the Series.

Mastui broke a 1-1 tie with a two-out, sixth inning solo home run in an eventual 3-1 Yankee win in Game 2.

In Game 3, he came off the bench for a pinch hit eighth inning homer to increase the Yankees’ lead to 8-4, as New York went on to win 8-5.

And then, he saved his best for last.

In the Game 6 clincher, Matsui went 3-for-4, tying a World Series record which stood for more than 49 years, that of former Yankee Bobby Richardson’s 6 RBI, set back on October 8, 1960.

Matsui set the tone in Game 6 with a second-inning two-run home run to put the Yankees ahead, 2-0. In the third inning, after the Phillies cut the Yankees’ lead in half, he drove in two more runs with a single, to give New York a 4-1 lead. And, in the fifth inning, Matsui put the game out of reach and started the process of getting the champagne ready in the Yankee clubhouse with a two-run double, giving the Yankees a commanding 7-1 lead, as New York went on to a 7-3 victory to seal its latest championship.

Baseball is ultimately a business, and despite winning a World Series MVP, Matsui, because of his inability to play the field the way he once used to, could very well not fit into the Yankees’ plans in 2010.

For that reason many people, fans and baseball experts alike, forgot about Matsui as being such a threat in this year’s World Series.

Obviously, the Phillies didn’t pitch to him like that, not the way they feared all of the other superstars in the Yankees’ lineup.

Matsui realized his childhood dream of turning success in Japan into triumph in the United States. He not only made it to the majors, but he excelled. And then, among all of the others who were thought to be bigger factors in this year’s World Series, Matsui was left hoisting the game’s most prized possession for a player –- the World Series MVP trophy.

When a minor league player makes to the major leagues, they say he’s made it to “The Show.”

The World Series is baseball’s grandest show.

Coming from Japan, Matsui not only made it to “The Show,” but surprisingly, he stole the biggest show of all.

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.

Lee had the confidence with a good slider, an effective changeup and his usual good fastball and limited the Yankees to six hits, striking out 10 and issuing one walk. In his World Series debut, Lee got his third win in the postseason and lowered his ERA to 0.54, the seventh lowest all-time in postseason play among pitchers with at least 20.0 innings.

More importantly, Lee showed no signs of being nervous and now the Yankees are faced with trying to even the series at home Thursday evening, facing another lefthander, the familiar face of Pedro Martinez. It is the first time this postseason that the Yankees trail in a series.

“Game time is the time go out there and have fun and let your skills take over,” commented Lee who was acquired by the Phillies from Cleveland before the trading deadline on July 29^th. And his acquisition could be a major reason why the Phillies are in position to win consecutive World Series titles.

Sabathia got off to a slow start and got out of a bases loaded situation in the first inning on a misty and cold night in the Bronx. The Yankees, back in the Fall Classic after a six year absence knew they would expect Lee to be on his game. Sabathia also threw two  solo home run balls to Chase Utley who became the second left handed batter in World Series history to hit two home runs off a lefthander pitcher in one game.

“It’s kind of weird,” said Lee about his performance that had the record new Yankee Stadium crowd of 50,207 come to a hush when he constantly retired the powerful bats in the Yankees lineup. “Boils down to confidence and trusting your teammates,” he said.

Lee’s 10 strikeouts were the most by a pitcher in a World Series game since Florida’s Josh Beckett fanned 10 on October 21, 2003 in game 3 when the Yankees opposed Florida. “He kept us off balance,” said Yankee manager Joe Girardi about Lee. “He got us to chase some pitches when we were down in the count, up in the zone. He used his cutter very well. He used his curveball very well.”

The Yankees seemed to be frustrated, though Girardi downplayed that thought. “As far as  being frustrated, our guys will grind it out,” he said. I’m not concerned about that” The only concern may be how the Yankees bounce back Thursday evening when A.J. Burnett takes the mound.  Girardi also said he would also contemplate keeping catcher Jorge Posada in the lineup instead of inserting Joe Molina who usually is in there when Burnett is on the mound.

“He mixes it up,” said the Yankees Derek Jeter about the variety of pitches that Lee throws. Jeter had some success with three hits, including a single in the ninth inning that for a moment had Yankees fans thinking of another ninth inning comeback that was such a trademark of their season.

As for game two being classified as critical for New York Jeter said, “Critical they’re all critical now. As you go further in the postseason the games get tougher, so does the pitching.” And Jeter should know about the importance of winning the first game. He is playing in his seventh World Series all as a Yankee.

“We definitely don’t like this situation,” said Johnny Damon. “We can’t lose three more,” he said about the urgency now for the Yankees to take game two, If the Yankees don’t prevail Thursday evening it makes things that moiré difficult because the Series shifts to Philadelphia for the next three games.

These are the Yankees and everyone expects them to rebound with Burnett on the mound. Not that Sabathia had an off night in losing his first game this postseason, after going 3-0, his first loss as a starter in the World Series.  Of his four hits in seven innings, two were the home runs hit by Utley and he struck out six,

“I was just trying to get my fastball over the plate and missed my location,” said Sabathia about the pitches thrown to Utley in the third and sixth innings, which was enough run support for Lee.  As for any panic after a game one loss Sabathia said, “This is a pretty good team and veteran clubhouse. We know what is at stake.”

Rodriguez had a horrible World Series debut and made no excuses. Lee was that good. “When a guy comes out like that, you tip your hat and go on,” he said about Lee. “He made some pretty good pitches.” Philadelphia got the first draw, their first win over the Yankees in World Series play having been swept by the Bronx Bombers in their previous World Series meeting back in 1950.

And drama in game two with Pedro Martinez on the mound for the Phillies and hearing the taunts of Yankee fans at the new stadium. “It’s all just being fans,” said Martinez Wednesday about his return to the Bronx and pitching again in New York, “I have all the respect in the world for the way they enjoy being fans,” he said.

And for the Yankees they hope they can enjoy some of Pedro’s pitches. If not the Phillies could be that much closer to becoming the first team since the Yankees to repeat as champions.

e-mail Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com

There were some questions in early May, before Alex Rodriguez returned to the lineup. After that the Yankees proved they were destined to get back to the World Series. They were the best team in baseball from then on, and now four more wins await them this time, before they can be called the best against the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies

And just like the ALCS battle with the Angels, the Yankees know their destiny to get championship number 27 won’t be easy. They don’t know much about the Phillies with the exception of the three games they played against them in June when the Phils came to the Bronx and took two of three games.

And so the mission for Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and the Steinbrenner owned Yankees is almost complete. It was Cashman, last October, after seeing his team fail to make the postseason making a statement. “We are not satisfied and won’t be,” he said, “unless we are in the World Series.”

So they spent money again to make it correct. They had to with a spanking new billion dollar ballpark. And the hope is it will all culminate in the next week with another World Series trophy.  But these Phillies provide just as much power as the Yankees do, and play just as well at their ballpark as the Yankees do in the Bronx.

“Don’t know a thing about them, don’t know much about them,” said the captain Derek Jeter when asked about the Phillies in the new spacious Yankees clubhouse that got another dose of champagne Sunday evening. Jeter is a part of that core of four with Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, and Andy Pettitte who now go to their seventh World Series.

For Rodriquez it is his first time going to the Big Dance. And all of the demons of previous postseasons are history. He could have been ALCS MVP that went to Sabathia, but what is more important is how Rodriquez shut the mouths of critics and finally became a Yankee the past few weeks.

He reached base five times in the ALCS finale, batted .429, hit three home runs, and drove in six against the Angels. After two of the core players embraced after the final out, Posada and the closer Rivera, it was no surprise that Rodriquez was the first Yankee on the field that got hugged by Jeter and the rest of his team.

“I felt really happy and really blessed and all I cared about this year was winning games,” said Rodriquez who had a tense spring training with a steroid controversy and then missing time until May with hip surgery.  But all along the goal was to get where he is now, a World Series with the Yankees.

And for the manager Joe Girardi every thing now has gone to plan. Like his predecessor, Joe Torre, management provided the players and opportunity to get the elusive 27^th championship. The moves made out of the bullpen that may have cost a game three win last week are now in the past.

His mission from the spring was to get where the Yankees are, beginning Wednesday evening in the Bronx. “We’ve had big players do big things,” he said. “That’s why we are going to the World Series.” Sabathia is one of those big players with two wins, one on three days rest against the Angels, Rodriguez the other, and of course Pettitte who got a baseball record 16^th career postseason win getting the clinching win against the Twins also in the ALDS.

Perhaps this will be the last time Pettitte and the core are together for this special moment in late October. Pettitte signed a one-year contract to get there again. Jeter, Posada and Rivera still have some time together.  But for now, the agenda for them and these Yankees are the Phillies, a team that picked up momentum in September and will provide a bigger test than the Angels.

“They outplayed us, that’s’ the bottom line,” said Angels manager Mike Scoscia. His team made errors, and the Yankees like the good team they are will capitalize on that. And the Angels only stole two bases in the six games, so the Yankees had a way of stopping their running game.

With Sabathia pitching Game 1 Wednesday evening, the Yankees quickly have an advantage.  “That’s’ what you play for,” said Rodriguez. “In order to win a World Series you have to get there first.”

Mission accomplished for now. Bring on the Phillies.

e-mail Rich Mancuso:  Ring786@aol.com

Analyze what has occurred with two evenly matched teams. Obvious that there has been no edge for either side, exception of course goes to Alex Rodriguez who should no longer hear that he is not a catalyst for his team. And enough said about Derek Jeter who has the eyes and ears of eight other teammates on the field.  And if CC Sabathia pitched the Yankees one step closer this week, and if the Angels force a game 7 in the Bronx Sunday evening, this will definitely look like a classic American League pennant series

The conditions were the same for both sides when this all started last Friday evening at the new Yankee Stadium. Cold and wind causing some havoc, though Sabathia with his eight solid innings put the Los Angeles Angels bats on ice and the Angels made a season high three errors. The Yankees capitalized, as they always do, in taking game one 4-1.

Then there was that classic Yankees 13-inning win that went into the early hours of Sunday morning on a cold and damp field in the Bronx.   Extra inning drama and the efficient Angels defense once again giving the Yankees what they needed with more postseason miscues that can be attributed to the intensity of what is on the line.

A trip to the World Series is what they are playing for. “They have a very good team and feel they are the best out there and we feel the same about ourselves,” commented the Yankees Johnny Damon after the Angels walk off 10-inning win Monday. That epitomizes what the players feel, and overall what baseball fans have been seeing.

The managers, Joe Girardi of the Yankees and Mike Scioscia also seem to be caught with emotion the past dew days. “We know this is going to be an extremely tough series,” said Giriardi after game one. He said it again after Games 2 and 3.  And he wasn’t surprised about the base running mistakes. “They don’t make them often,” he said about the Angels.

“We haven’t seen our guys crack the door open for a team like we did tonight in a long time,” said Scioscia about that first inning Friday night that led to the Yankees early lead because of errors his team hardly made during the season.

“The Yankees are going to take advantage of that, and they did,” added Scioscia showing the emotion on his face from a grueling first game, knowing full well that this series could resemble a good 12-round heavyweight fight with the last man standing.

And the series and Yankees hopes of returning to another World Series may rest on the shoulders of Sabathia, one of the big three acquisitions, along with AJ Burnett and Mark Teixeira, that that were brought here to get the Yankees back to the big dance.  This series was supposed to be about the Angels speed and ability to take the extra base, if they can get there.

The Yankees with their power, A-Rod providing it and Teixeira not, instead sparkling at first and saving some runs for a bullpen that has been utilized, with the exception of Chad Gaudin who seems to be the odd man out. And you can fault Girardi for lifting David Robertson Monday with two men out and bringing in Alfredo Aceves that got the Angels back in the series.

But this is playoff baseball and these are the two best teams giving us all a thrill in October. Baseball at this time of year is supposed to be played this way, Managers going with the percentages, the way Girardi does and Scioscia with the playoff managerial experience.

After their loss Friday night the Angels Torii Hunter said “Wake up in the morning and feel like we had amnesia.”  For the fans, who have stayed with every pitch there has been no need for forgetting what a thrill it has been to see what their Yankees and Angels have done for them.

e-mail Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com

After the Angels took a 3-2 lead in the top of the 11th inning on a Chone Figgins flair RBI single to left field off Yankees’ reliever Alfredo Aceves, the Yankees were saved by Alex Rodriguez’s clutch opposite field home run home run which barely cleared the right field wall and tied the game, 3-3, in the bottom of the 11th. Rodriguez’s blast came on an 0-2 mistake fastball from Angels’ reliever Brian Fuentes, who would have been a lot wiser to make Rodriguez chase a pitch or two with the favorable count and light-hitting, little-used Freddy Guzman on deck.

A-Rod’s homer eventually led to Izturis’ game-deciding error in the bottom of the 13th inning. With one out and runners at first and second, Izturiz, ranging to his left, made a nice backhand stop in the hole between first and second, robbing Melky Cabrera of what likely would have been a game-winning single. The smart play for Izturis would have been to get the sure out at first base and let Angels’ reliever Ervin Santana go after Yankees’ catcher Jorge Posada with runners at second and third and two outs.

Izturis however, made a poor decision, trying to start a double play that the Angels would have had little chance of turning. He threw the ball wildly toward second base, past shortstop Angels’ shortstop Erick Aybar, into short left field, allowing Yankees’ pinch hitter Jerry Hairston, Jr. to score the game-winning run from second base on the Angels’ second error on cold rainy night at Yankee Stadium, the fifth error of game combined for both teams, during an otherwise classic of a postseason game.

“I was a little aggressive there,” Izturis said. “I’m not scared to be aggressive. Unfortunately, it cost us the game.”

As, a result, the Yankees head to Anaheim up two games to none instead of being in a 1-1 battle, and all is okay with Yankee fans and with their current perception of A-Rod.

However, in the “What-Have-You-Done-For-Me-Lately” city of New York, and in the “Only-A-World-Championship-Is-Acceptable” world in which the Yankees live, had the Angels evened the series early Sunday morning, A-Rod might have been vilified for yet another playoff failure after flying out to center field with the bases loaded, to end the bottom of the 12th inning.

Failing in the 12th inning despite saving the game in the 11th would give most teams and players a pass.

But, fair or not, that’s not usually the case in New York. Not with the Yankees, and especially, not with the controversial A-Rod, and his past playoff failures, off-the-field issues, and admitted steroid abuse.

This year, A-Rod to this point, has certainly changed his reputation of a great regular season player who fails in the playoffs in New York. He’s hit in all five Yankee playoff games in 2009, with a .368 batting average, a .409 on-base percentage, and an .842 slugging percentage, while smacking three home runs and driving in eight runs.

And, he’s proven to his detractors that he can indeed be clutch in October. Against Minnesota, A-Rod tied Game 2 of the American League Division Series, 1-1, with a two-out single in the 6th inning before hitting a huge game-tying two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth, allowing the Yankees to win that pivotal game, 4-3, on a Mark Texeira walk-off home run in the 11th.

Perhaps, the difference in postseason production this year in comparison with past seasons is due to a changed mental approach, and not succumbing to the pressures of producing in a city like New York and for a storied franchise like the Yankees. “This whole year I’m playing with no expectations,” Rodriguez said after that Game 2 win.

In Game 3 of the same series, A-Rod’s home run in the 7th inning drew the Yankees even, 1-1, before they went on to a 4-1 victory and a three-game sweep of the Twins.

But, this is New York, this is the Yankees, and this is A-Rod.

And thus, a whole different measuring stick is used to evaluate postseason success.

The memories of New York sports fans in general, are short, especially when it comes to the Yankees. And, even more so when it comes to A-Rod because of the factors mentioned above, as well the insane money that A-Rod commands — all of which causes many Yankee fans to often demand the impossible from A-Rod.

There’s no doubt that this has already been a vastly different postseason for A-Rod in New York than in past years. But, you have to wonder, even with his 2009 success through the 11th inning on Sunday morning, if Izturis makes a different decision in the 13th, and the game ends later with an Angels’ win, are Yankee fans pointing to that 12th inning, and again questioning A-Rod’s ability to come through when it matters most?

Yankees’ third baseman Alex Rodriguez continued his newfound postseason heroics with a game-tying solo home run in the 11^th, and the Yankees pulled out the 4-3 win in the 13^th inning on a throwing error by on Maicer Izturis.

“We were fortunate to come out on top in this game,” New York manager Joe Girardi said.  “There were more than a few miscues in this game and we were fortunate to have come out on the right side of it.”

Rodriguez, who has blistered by media and fans alike during his six seasons in New York for his lack – and the team’s — postseason success, is enjoying the change.

“That was a fun game” Rodriguez said after the game.  “I didn’t do much for the rest of the night, but our bullpen has got a lot of guts.”

The Angels will have to respond with some guts of their own as the series now moves to Los Angeles.  For a team that was lauded before the series as a tough, smart, clutch and mistake-free team, they looked soft, intimidated by the weather and defenseless at the plate and in the field.

Choine Figgins and Bobby Abreu are a combined 1 for 16 in the first two games, though Figgins did slash an RBI single in the 11th to give the Angels a 3-2 lead.

Overall, Los Angeles went 3 for 15 with runners in scoring position, and stranded 16 in the defeat.

If the Yankees are the team of destiny this year, a season punctuated by several late inning heroics that is now manifesting itself again in the postseason, the Angels had better wake up from their slumber soon.

Like right now.

Read more at BaseballDigest.com.