Monday's First Pitch: The end, Utley and more

2009-11-06T11:24:20-05:00

2009-11-02T11:49:50-05:00

2009-11-03T11:23:54-05:00

tandrews75

Wilmington 894958

2 "It won't be the thing most remembered from this Series, but Chase Utley has been terrific, hitting as many home runs off CC Sabathia as all other left-handers did all year." I'm not sure I agree. Even if the Yankees finish it in 6, I think Utley's got a case for series MVP. Heck--Lee might too. The Phillies' lamentable inability to play well as a team in games 2-4 only emphasizes the impact these two have had. 7512726

1. It's over. So the New York Yankees are champions of the world in all but name, and they earned it honestly. You can mock the team's pretensions and money if you like, but in the ninth inning of Sunday night's game they showed in every way why they're the best team in baseball. Johnny Damon stealing second and third on one pitch, Alex Rodriguez delivering yet again to seize the lead and Mariano Rivera coaxing three soft outs from the Phillies -- it was all classic. The problem with the Yankees of the aughts was less their obscene payroll than their grim joylessness and knack for failure on the great stage. On early returns this newer version looks to suffer from neither flaw, and however bizarre Joe Girardi's in-game management may occasionally be, in the big picture he seems to have done something Joe Torre hadn't done in a long, long time: Get his men to play to the level of their talent. There's no shame for the Phillies in losing to this team, but they'll still have a long winter to wonder what might have been. If Brad Lidge had gotten one more strike on Damon, they could have taken the game to extra innings, tired Rivera out and scored a Series-tying run. If Charlie Manuel had taken up Cliff Lee on his offer to start on short rest, Lidge might have been pitching with a lead, or not at all. If Cole Hamels had stayed with his fastball and changeup in Game 3 and either of the above had happened, perhaps the Yankees would go into Monday's game down 3-1 and desperate. Who knows? Of course all of this is slightly premature. The Yankees haven't won anything yet, and while no team has come back from a 3-1 Series deficit since 1985, with Lee going on Monday, Pedro Martinez slated for a potential start and the Yankees' starters having showed slight signs of wear from having pitched through the playoffs on a three-man rotation, the Phillies have a puncher's chance. But that's all it is, and if they pull off a miraculous comeback a lot of people, maybe most, are going to recall Sunday's ninth inning and its comprehensive display of one team's superiority and think of this as a World Series that the better team squandered. 2. A great, great player   It won't be the thing most remembered from this Series, but Chase Utley has been terrific, hitting as many home runs off CC Sabathia as all other left-handers did all year. In slightly different circumstances -- if defense were truly considered by voters, if Albert Pujols didn't play in the National League -- Utley could well be in line for a third straight Most Valuable Player award. The Phillies are probably going to enter next year as favorites to win a third straight pennant, and their best player will be the single most important reason why. If only he were a bit more colorful he might get the credit for being what he is, a National League version of Derek Jeter with more power and a better glove. 3. This is why ballplayers never say anything honest Cole Hamels is no doubt going to get a lot of stick for confessing that he can't wait for this year to be over. Can you really blame him? Hamels has never had to deal with failure before, only fluke injuries that didn't really threaten his career. A year ago he was just about the most beloved man in Philadelphia; now when millions of people think of him they think of a soft liner off Andy Pettitte's bat driving in a run. There are a lot of reasons why athletes don't talk about the emotions that come with failure -- it's drilled into them to think positively, and doing something as simple as admitting that pitching miserably leads to misery can end badly with the press and fans. Hamels ought to be applauded for admitting the obvious. 4. A fantastic piece For a lot of people, even people who love the Yankees, all things being equal it might be best for them to win on Monday. The sight of them celebrating a championship on the field at their $1.5 billion monument to a caste system that America likes to think it doesn't have might be a bit much to take. David Samuels gets at this point in a <a href="http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091030/REVIEW/710299996/1008" target="_blank">long, thoughtful article</a> for The National about a summer spent watching the recession from the stands at the new Stadium. 84581 http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/813/744/thumb/tim-marchman-fannation.jpg 3 IL

Tim Marchman

Chicago 814404