> It didn't hurt that Pettitte pulled out a start from his dynasty days, pounding the strike zone ...

Well, pounding the BALL zone and having them CALLED strikes, but hey, that's what professionals do: take advantage of opportunities.

i believe the roof was open for both games at Minute Maid Park in the 2005 World Series.

Pounding the strike zone? More like Glavine-ing the strike zone. I'm just wondering how Fieldin Culbreath snuck behind the plate while LA was hitting.

I'm glad I wasn't the only person that noticed that Morales 3-6-3 double play.

What I don't understand is why Saunders started at all, with the rain-afforded opportunity to pitch Weaver on full rest and Lackey on three days rest to wrap up the series. There's no way that the full run of FIP between them (4.04 for Weaver vs. 5.17 for Saunders) is negated by Weaver's fly ball tendencies.

Not to go back to my rant last thursday, but I'm again shocked by Joe's crediting Girardi for his aggressive use of Rivera when his failure to do in the 7th inning of game 5 quite likely extended the series by a game. The only rationale for excusing Girardi going to Marte+Hughes with 2 on and a 2-run lead in that game is that no other manager would have done so either.

I just reviewed and tallied the gameday pitch data, and from my count it looks like Pettitte had 1 definite and 1 possible strike that were called balls, and 3 definite balls that were called strikes. Saunders had 3 definite and 3 possible strikes that were called balls, and 1 definite ball that was called a strike. The pitch/fx data clearly backs up the complaint that Saunders was getting squeezed, but is a less damning on the "Glavinesque" zone that folks want to ascribe to Pettitte.

Mariano's reply to Albert wasn't quite that harsh, but I did like how he went out of his way to say that not only had he not started thinking about the Phillies yet, he wouldn't be thinking about them today either.

"I will start thinking about them on Tuesday."

"For one night, Aura and Mystique did a show in the Bronx, and when they were done, the World Series was coming home again."

No, Aura and Mystique did not show up in the Bronx. It was a poorly played game with predictably homer pitch calling and no 9th inning suspense.

Joe, we know you're a Yankee fan who wears it on his sleeve. But, please, try to pull together enough objectivity to avoid calling the Bronx the home of the World Series. That's just nauseating.

Actually 1988 began a solid run of decent weather teams in the WS that went though 2005. Roofs notwithstanding, WS home games by team, weather better than STL - LA 21, OAK 17, ATL 14, SF 8, FLA 7, SD 4, ARI 4, ANA 4, HOU 2, TB 2.

Again we have a comment on managerial disparities having significant effect in the upcoming series. Didn't we learn our lesson with all the Scoscia love coming into this one?

Chances are both managers will make typical decisions, a few bad ones and a few good ones. The bad ones might lose a game, the good ones win one. But is Manuel somehow immune to this? Is he going to use Lidge with the game on the line? Because then he automatically fails.

I'm tired of comparing managers. It means next to nothing.

Why was the comment about the Yankee payroll buried? Seems a pertinent line of analysis. Teh Yankees are playing a game different from any other professional sports team in America/Canada. Consider:

o The Yankees have the highest paid player in all of baseball at 6 out of 11 positions (SP, RP, 1b, 3b, C, SS, but not DH (second place), 2b, or the 3 OF spots). More than 50% their positions are filled with the highest paid player.

o The Yankees got 48 of their 59 innings (thanks Fangraphs) from guys making $15,285,714, $16,500,000, $15,000,000 and $5,500,000. All 3 starters were 2009 free agent signs. (Numbers from ttp://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/)

o Four of the Top 5 Contracts of all time play for the Yankees (Arod (twice), Jeter, CC, Texeira).

That's bought in a way different from the Phillies, Angels, Dodgers, etc. Those teams compete with one another, but the Yankees compete with no one. Other fans can only hope for more Carl Pavanos, Jason Giambi, Javier Vazquez mistakes or injuries.

the Yankee clubhouse after the game, maybe 20 minutes after the first pitch, Kenny Albert asked a champagne-soaked Rivera, "Have you started thinking about the Phillies yet?" I would have given anything for this:

"Yeah, Kenny, that's what I was just doing, and all these mother******s won't shut up. My scouting reports are soaked in this crappy grape juice they're calling champagne. I need to think about whether to throw the cutter to Ryan Howard or maybe go to the knuckleball I've been working on. The 15 or 20 minutes we've had since the game ended…it's all wasted time. We'll never get it back. If we lose the World Series, lose because of a lack of preparation, these guys will have to live with that. Now get out of my face so I can go back to thinking about the Phillies."


PLEASE! tell me you saw Jeters' comments to him on the field, i think the question was about how they haven't won since 2000 and haven't made the series since 2003. Jeter replied uncharacteristically and said something to the effect of "you had to go straight to the negative didn't you? thanks for that." it was one of the harsher comments i've ever seen Jeter make and it was totally justified.