Yankee Celebration

AP-Paint the town in pinstripes! Nearly a decade after their dynasty ended on a blooper in the desert, the New York Yankees are baseball’s best again.

Hideki Matsui tied a World Series record with six RBIs, Andy Pettitte won on short rest and New York beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-3 in Game 6 on Wednesday night, finally seizing that elusive 27th title. It was the team’s first since winning three straight from 1998-2000.

Matsui powered a quick rout of old foe Pedro Martinez – and when Mariano Rivera got the final out it was ecstasy in the Bronx for George Steinbrenner’s go-for-broke bunch.

What a way for Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and crew to christen their $1.5 billion ballpark: One season, one championship.

And to think it capped a season that started in turmoil – a steroids scandal involving A-Rod, followed by hip surgery that kept him out until May.

About 100 miles south, disappointment.

For Chase Utley and the Phillies, it was a frustrating end to another scintillating season. Philadelphia fell two wins short of becoming the first NL team to repeat as World Series champions since the 1975-76 Cincinnati Reds.

Ryan Howard’s sixth-inning homer came too late to wipe away his World Series slump, and Phillies pitchers rarely managed to slow Matsui and the Yankees‘ machine.

In a fitting coincidence, this championship came eight years to the day after the Yankees lost Game 7 of the 2001 World Series in Arizona on Luis Gonzalez’s broken-bat single off Rivera.

New York spent billions trying to get back. At long last, it did.

Hey Babe and Yogi, Mr. October and Joltin’ Joe – you’ve got company. Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia and a new generation of Yankees have procured their place in pinstriped lore.

And for the four amigos, it was ring No. 5.

Jorge Posada, Jeter, Pettitte and Rivera came up together through the minors and were cornerstones for those four titles in five years starting in 1996.

Now, all on the other side of age 35, they have another success to celebrate. And surely they remember the familiar parade route, up Broadway through the Canyon of Heroes.

Indeed, a New York City-sized party is next. Nine years in the making, with all the glitz and glamour this tony town can offer.

For Steinbrenner, it was the seventh championship since he bought the team in 1973. The Yankees had talked about winning another for their 79-year-old owner, who has been in declining health.

Though he stayed back home in Tampa, Fla., he certainly wasn’t forgotten. The grounds crew wore “Win it for The Boss” shirts last week, which were on sale outside the ballpark Wednesday.

New York wasted its chance to wrap things up in Game 5 at Philadelphia, then set its sights on clinching the World Series at home for the first time since 1999.

While nine years between titles is hardly a drought for most teams, it was almost an eternity in Yankeeland.

New York’s eight seasons without a championship was the third-longest stretch for the Yankees since their first one, following gaps of 17 (1979-95) and 14 (1963-76).

Reggie Jackson’s three homers in Game 6 against the Los Angeles Dodgers made the Yankees champs in ‘77. On this November night, Matsui delivered a sublime performance at the plate that must have made Mr. October proud.

Playing perhaps his final game with the Yankees, Matsui hit a two-run homer off Martinez in the second inning and a two-run single on an 0-2 pitch in the third.

A slumping Teixeira added an RBI single in the fifth off reliever Chad Durbin, and Matsui cracked a two-run double off the right-center fence against lefty J.A. Happ.

A designated hitter with balky knees, Matsui came off the bench in all three games at Philadelphia. Still, he had a huge Series, going 8 for 13 (.615) with three homers and eight RBIs. His go-ahead shot off an effective Martinez in Game 2 helped the Yankees tie it 1-all.

Bobby Richardson was the only other player with six RBIs in a World Series game, doing it for the Yankees in Game 3 against Pittsburgh in 1960. Richardson had a first-inning grand slam and a two-run single in the fourth.

Matsui’s big hits built a comfortable cushion for a feisty Pettitte, who shouted at plate umpire Joe West while coming off the field in the fourth. Still, Pettitte extended major league records with his 18th postseason win and sixth to end a series.

The 37-year-old left-hander, pitching on three days’ rest, became the first pitcher to start and win the clincher in all three postseason rounds. He beat Minnesota and the Los Angeles Angels in the AL playoffs.

Pettitte lasted 5 2-3 innings, allowing three runs, four hits and five walks. Joba Chamberlain and Damaso Marte combined for 1 2-3 innings of scoreless relief before Rivera secured the final five outs.

It had been nearly a half-century since players had won five titles with one team. The last to do it? Of course a bunch of Yankees: Yogi Berra (10 titles), Mickey Mantle (seven) and Whitey Ford (six) in 1962, according to STATS LLC.

For second-year manager Joe Girardi, a three-time Yankees champion as a player, it was the fulfillment of a mission. When he succeeded Joe Torre in October 2007, Girardi chose uniform No. 27, putting his quest on his back for all to see. His tenure didn’t start out so well, with New York missing the playoffs in its final season at old Yankee Stadium following 13 consecutive appearances.

Steinbrenner’s well-paid players hadn’t soaked themselves in bubbly after the season since Bernie Williams gloved Mike Piazza’s midnight flyout at Shea Stadium to win the 2000 Subway Series and cap the Yankees’ third straight championship and fourth in five years.

Two outs from winning in 2001, the Yankees stumbled in the desert. New York then spent more than $1.6 billion after that trying to regain glory, falling short with infamous flops such as Kevin Brown, Javier Vazquez and Carl Pavano.

But last offseason the Yankees got smart, adding a trio of top free agents – Teixeira, Sabathia and A.J. Burnett – for $423.5 million. They jelled with Rodriguez, the game’s highest-paid player but a winner for the first time in 16 major league seasons.

A-Rod became a newly minted champion following a sordid spring in which he admitted using steroids from 2001-03 with Texas and then needed hip surgery.

Maybe now, demanding fans in the Bronx will consider him a true New York Yankee .

-Mike Fitzpatrick

The victory parade will begin on Broadway at Battery Place at 11 a.m. and continue uptown along the Canyon of Heroes to Chambers Street. Then, a ceremony will be held at City Hall Plaza, where Mayor Michael Bloomberg will present the Bronx Bombers with the Keys to the City.

The sidewalks lining Friday’s ticker-tape parade up the Canyon of Heroes along Broadway from the Battery to City Hall are open to all members of the public.Anyone who would like to participate and view the Yankee parade is able.

The city will set up a large screen near City Hall Park for members of the public to watch the ceremony. That will allow others who are not able to see, due to large crowds. to have a decent view of the celebration.

There is very limited space on City Hall plaza for the ceremony itself. The city will make a limited number of tickets available to the public.

A-Rod Going Deep Off Of Hammels-AP Eric Gay

The Yankees bats have awakened as they have taken a 2-1 series lead over the Philadelphia Phillies.

The New York Yankees hit 3 home runs against the Phillies to take a one game lead in the World Series.

The Halloween game, which was delayed by rain for about 80 minutes, started off as a horror show.

Pettite was having problems, walking batters and he and Jorge Posada didn’t seem to be on the same page. A Jayson Werth blast — the first of two off Andy — and a misplayed Cole Hamels bunt led to three runs in the second inning.

But the Yankees and Andy Pettitte did not give up.

Alex Rodriguez hit a controversial two run blast off Cole Hamels in the fourth which got them back in the game.

Yes, the umps initially signaled a double and had to go to the review television under the bleachers before declaring the blast a home run. But it WAS a home run. The ball bounced off a FOX camera perched in right field and came back on the field. ESPN’s John Kruk was ranting about how embarrassing it was for Major League Baseball.

What the chunky ex-ball player didn’t know, was that the umpires had discussed the camera before the game and they had come to an agrrement: Any ball that hit the camera in the air would be ruled a home run.

That play was the turning point of the game. Cole Hammels couldn’t get an out and the Yankees went on a tear and couldn’t be denied their second victory of the series.

The big players of the game were Andy Pettite, A-Rod, Matsui, and Damon, who all came up clutch with some big hits and some nice RBIs. Yes, I included Pettite in that group because he did knock in his 18th career RBI.

I guess Cole Hammels enjoyed his Halloween as he got booed by the Philly faithful.

Today was the first day that the tickets were available, but many fans of the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies were disappointed when they showed up to their team’s stadium box office, only to be turned away. That is right. The tickets for the World Series are currently only available online.

This morning at 10:00 am, yankees.com automatically directed visitors to ticketmaster, where they were able to purchase tickets. However, by 10:07 am, the tickets were all sold out!

Many Yankee fans were very upset, especially those that lined up outside the box office early in the morning, only to be turned away at 9:00 am when the office opened.

Tickets can still be had, but they are only available through private online vendors, and they will cost an arm and a leg to get them.

Steve Phillips-- You Dirty Dog

ESPN news anchor and analyst  Steve Phillips and 22-year-old production assistant Brooke Hundley have been secretly having an affair behind the back of Marni Phillips, Steve’s wife.

Many reports show that the previous New York Mets manager, Steve Phillips, was having an affair with Hundley, who sent Phillips’ wife Marni a letter describing their relationship — and a birthmark Phillips has on his crotch — after Phillips ended their relationship.

The  story is full of scandalous details: Hundley crashed her car into Phillips’ home after dropping off the letter; she may have impersonated a 16-year-old to chat with Phillips’ son online; Marni Phillips has since filed for divorce.

ESPN has dealt out a punishment to Phillips and he will be suspended from the network for a week.

This info was taken from celeb news. Also, read about Tiger Woods Affair.

Yankees' CC Sabathia vs Angels--Washington Post

The Yankees definitely came to play tonight as they routed the Angels 10-1 to take a series lead 3-1. CC Sabathia was lights out and could not be touched. He only gave up one run in eight innings of well executed baseball. The pitch he used the most to shut down the Angels…his power changeup.

Alex Rodriguez also seems to be wanting a World Series ring. He showed up big tonight with three hits and three runs, while Melky Cabrera knocked in four runs of his own. With dominating pitching and hitting, the Yankees have taken a commanding lead in this series.

In the eight innings that featured CC Sabathia on the bump, the Angels were only able to muster up five hits, while between innings, Sabathia could be seen yawning in the dugout as if it was nothing.

Even with only thee days of rest, Yankees‘ manager Joe Girardi knew Sabathia might not have his best stuff, but he chose Sabathia over inexperienced Chad Gaudin or struggling Joba Chamberlain. The choice ended paying off for the Yankees and Girardi.

The allegedly clean Rodriguez now has at least one RBI for each of his seven postseason games this year and three home runs, officially doubling his career postseason totals in both categories. It seems like the underperforming Mr. Not-October is gone, and A-Rod might finally be re-proving himself as one of the best players in baseball. If he can lead his pinstriped teammates back to the World Series, he’ll definitely be up for some MVP consideration.

This guy is not like by very many people outside of New York. From his on-field unsportsmanlike play to his off-field scandalous lifestyle, there’s not much reason to like him. But don’t deny the fact that Rodriguez can play baseball. He came up as a shortstop – one of the toughest defensive positions to play – and only moved to third base because there was no chance that Derek Jeter was going to be moved instead.

When it comes to the New York Yankees, it seems as if any one of them can be the hero on any given night. Consistently impressive play seems unimpressive overall, but A-Rod certainly looks to be breaking that cycle. If and when the Yankees advance to the World Series, you can be sure that Rodriguez’s face splattered across every sports magazine in the country. For the sake of “moving forward”, let’s just hope that the articles inside are written with the same intentions.

Rob Boudreau

After Jeter and Damon both reached safely, thanks to two nice base hits, Alex Rodriguez was able to score Jeter on a sacrafice fly to deep center. The next hitter, Hideki Matsui was able to score Damon thanks to a communication error by Angel’s third baseman Chone Figgins and shortstop Erick Aybar. Matsui hit a soaring fly ball in the direction of the two Angel infielders. To put it simply, they both thought the other was going to catch the routine flyball. Either way, it led to a Yankees 2-0 lead.

If the Yankees 1-4 hitters can hit for better than .275 each game, they will have no problem getting the job done against the Angels, however, if they can’t come through, this could go to the Angels. Either way, I feel that the Yankees pitching will show up to play and will not disappoint in the postseason.

Many Yankee fans think that if the weather is rough, it will favor the Yankees, and I couldn’t agree more. When you play in a colder environment, it is the small ball that wins games. When it comes to small ball, the Yankees are probably the best. True, they like to swing for the fence, but they also know when to lay down the bunt or hit a sacrafice fly. Let the rain pour, baby!! The Yanks will not lose when their is bad weather. Mark my words.