The Stud

The Man who saved the World Series.

Chase Utley made sure the Phillies would play a Game 6 in the Bronx. The slugging second baseman hit two home runs, tying Reggie Jackson for most round trippers in a single World Series (five).

Utley’s second homer – a solo shot in the seventh – proved to be the game-winning run.

The Story

The three-days rest experiment failed for the Yankees in Game 5.

A.J. Burnett, who was brilliant in Game 2, was rocked right from the start. In the first inning, Jimmy Rollins singled, Shane Victorino was hit by a pitch (more on that in a second) and Utley hit a first-pitch fastball out of the yard. That set the tone for the Phillies, who with their back against the wall, came out firing.

Burnett pitched two-plus innings and allowed six runs. So, you got to believe the lack of proper rest hurt the guy. And you’ve got to believe Joe Girardi is having some reservations on pitching Andy Pettite in Game 6…

Anyway, the Philleis adjusted well to Burnett and made him pay.

Meanwhile, Cliff Lee was effective for the Phillies. Lee didn’t dazzle like in Game 1, but he gave a gutsy performance. The Yankees scored a quick run in the first inning, but the lefty pretty much shut them down until the eighth, when Alex Rodriguez smashed a two-run double to cut the lead to 8-4. Lee lasted seven-plus frames and gave up five runs on seven hits. Again, it wasn’t his best, but it was certainly good enough.

The Phillies bombarded Burnett and went quiet until the seventh, when Utley and Raul Ibanez launched homers to make it 8-2. Those were two HUGE runs.

Like a zombie that never dies, the Yankees kept crawling and crawling their way back in the game. Against Ryan Madson in the ninth, the Yanks got the first two guys on base before Derek Jeter hit a 6-4-3 double play to kill the rally.

So you thought.

Johnny Damon had another amazing at-bat, eventually getting on when he roped a single to left field. Madson, though, struck out Mark Teixeira to end the game. Great job by Ryan to work himself out of trouble.

By the way, I can’t stop raving about Damon. He’s MVP if the Yankees go on to win it…

One big concern is the health of Victorino, who was pulled in the eighth inning. He got drilled by a Burnett fastball right on his knuckles. X-rays taken were negative and Victorino said afterward that he feels fine. We’ll see.

The Turning Point

You can look at the Jeter twin-killing in the ninth. That prevented another nightmare on Broad and Pattison, for sure.

Utley’s first-inning bomb sent a pretty loud message. The Yanks had gotten a quick run off Lee, so they had the momentum right away. Utley’s homer really gave the Phillies early hope that, yes, they can do this. They can comeback from a 3-1 deficit.

You know, if nothing else, I’m just glad as hell the Yankees didn’t celebrate in Philly. Honestly, it won’t hurt as nearly as much if they win it all in New York.

The Next Game

It’s Game 6 on Wednesday night as Pedro Martinez takes the mound for the Phillies. It’s almost certain that Pettitte will start for the Yankees, but no official announcement has been made.

If I had to put a number on it, I’d say the Phillies have about a 25 percent chance of doing this. If there is a Game 7, I can almost guarantee we’ll see Lee in some capacity.

Then again, you gotta win Game 6 first, so … that’s a moot point right now.

Brad Lidge took the brunt of the blame for Game 4′s ninth-inning disaster.

The key play of the World Series came when Johnny Damon stole second base … and kept on running because, well, nobody was covering third base.

Baseball 101 would suggest that Lidge should have been over at third. Every player has to be moving on every play… usually… because, usually, all pitchers have to do on a stolen base attempt is duck for cover. Except for rare instances such as this.

Because the Phillies had the shift on Mark Teixeira, Pedro Feliz had to take the throw at second base.

However, in a situation like this, Lidge shouldn’t have to worry about being an infielder when his focus should be on getting out of the inning unscathed. Instead, Ruiz should have been darting to third base. Charlie Manuel mentioned that in his post-game press conference …

This play could have been avoided all together. Here’s why:

• Carlos Ruiz has no business throwing in the first place. Ruiz was in a vulnerable position. Instead of throwing from an upright position, Ruiz fired from his knees. He got nothing behind the throw, which explains why Feliz had to jump in front and use his body to block the ball… which prompted Damon to keep chugging.
• The shift on Mark Teixeira. Why? The slugging first baseman has done next to nothing at the plate. I understand the Phillies were playing percentages, but a standard defense would have worked there. Instead, Feliz was all the way over near the second-base bag, had to take Ruiz’s throw and, well, the rest is history…
• Where was J-Roll? He was on the other side of the bag… but he could have taken the throw. Rollins admitted it was his bad for not handling the stolen base attempt. Obviously, had Rollins been there, Feliz could have been in a better position to cover third.

Unfortunately, we’re dealt with what we got. The Yankees capitalized on the Phillies’ mistakes.

Damon, as far as I’m concerned, won the Yankees that game. Yes, A-Rod delivered the huge go-ahead RBI double, but Damon worked a helluva at-bat, managed to get on base and manufactured the winning run. Heady baseball on Damon’s part, no matter how you look at it.

The Dud

Repeat offender.

Brad Lidge gave up three runs — all with two outs — in the ninth inning. Game over.

The Story/The Turning Point

Lidge allowed Johnny Damon to battle back from a 1-2 count. With two outs and nobody on base, Lidge kept firing fastball after fastball — completely neglecting his slider — until Damon finally whacked one to the outfield for a base hit. That opened the door for the Yankees…

Damon stole second base and kept running to third. Nobody was covering third because Feliz was manning second base as Jimmy Rollins was on the other side of the bag, playing the shift against Mark Teixeira. Lidge SHOULD have ran to third to take the place of Feliz. Instead, Damon made it to third uncontested.

Huge mistake.

Teixeira walked and Alex Rodriguez delivered the big blow — a run-scoring double to left field. Jorge Posada put the nail in the coffin with a two-run single.

Trailing 4-2 in the seventh inning, Chase Utley smashed a solo homer off CC Sabathia to cut the deficit to one. Pedro Feliz hit the game-tying homer off Joba Chamberlain in the eighth.

It was at that moment you thought the Phillies would pull it out and even the series. Even more encourgaging was seeing Lidge breeze through the first two batters in the ninth.

Those damn Yankees are good.

You can hate them all you want, but you got to respect them. They’ve had an answer for everything in this series, sans Game 1.

You can question what the hell Lidge was doing throwing Damon fastball after fastball when his slider was working so well. But, at the same time, the Yankees find ways to get it done, much like the Phillies had done earlier in the playoffs.

Also, you can question why Joe Blanton started in place of Cliff Lee. I wrote on Saturday that Charlie Manuel opting to go with Blanton over Lee could result in a short series. It sure is turning out that way.

To his credit, Blanton kept the Phillies in the game. He allowed four runs over six innings. Not Cliff Lee-like, but he was solid. Sabathia was there for the taking, but the Phillies did not capitalize. One too many guys were left stranded on base …

Again, I can’t give enough credit to the Yankees. They are a championship team and are the better team right now. There’s nothing wrong with admitting that and it doesn’t mean we can”t make an epic comeback.

The Next Game

Lee pitches against AJ Burnett in Game 5 Monday night. I would love to see one last dominant performance by Lee to send the series to New York. I can’t stand the thought of seeing them win it on our home turf.

Then again, I’m not ready to count out the Phillies. This is a resilent team. Maybe Lee can take the life out of the Yankees’ bats.

There’s no sense in giving up now.

The Dud

Ryan Howard struck out four times

By no means am I putting the entire blame on Howard’s shoulders. The Phillies, as a team,  did not hit. It’s becoming clear that Howard will not get good pitches to hit. Frankly, he got nothing to hit in Game 2.

The Story

Pedro Martinez pitched very well. A.J. Burnett was better.

I’ll admit that I thought the Phillies had a great chance to hammer Burnett, who is the kind of pitcher the Phillies feast on. His entire make up reminds me of Vicente Padilla. He has excellent stuff, but he can get rattled, too, if you’re fortunate enough to jump on him early. Unfortunately, the Phillies really didn’t have a shot against him. He pitched a hell of a game.

Martinez made two crucial mistakes. Mark Teixeira sent a bomb over the center field wall to tie the game at 1-1. In the sixth inning, Hideki Matsui hit a ball that would have been an easy fly ball in any other park — including Citizens Bank Park. It was a great piece of hitting by Matsui and a poor pitch by Martinez, who threw the ball down and in to a left-handed hitter. Not where you want it there, Pedro.

Mariano Rivera got a six-out save. Chase Utley grounded into a twin-killing to end the eighth inning. Yes, he was safe at first base, but you can’t blame the umpire there. It was a bang-bang call.

While Rivera did his job (what else is new?), I think the fact that every batter got at least one AB against him will help the Phillies as the series moves forward.

The Turning Point

Jayson Werth led off the top of the seventh inning with a single. The Phillies trailed, 2-1.

Werth was dancing too far off the bag at first and was thrown out by Jose Molina. That killed whatever momentum the Phillies were trying to gain.

The Next Game

Cole Hamels needs to deliver in Game 3 at CBP on Saturday night. He’ll face a battle tested Andy Pettite, who pitched pretty well against the Phillies at Yankee Stadium in June.

Obviously, it would have been great to take a 2-0 lead into Philly, but a split is nice, too. The Phillies have been dominant at home in the postseason the last two years, losing only one game. By the way, the Phillies are 0-4 in their last four playoff Game 2s, for whatever that’s worth. Actually, it means they are a team that bounces back pretty nicely.

Game 3 is kind of like a second Game 1. It won’t make or break the series for either team.

Ryan Howard OVER Mark Teixeira

I understand Tex has the huge contract and he’s probably the best defensive first baseman in all the land. Oh, and he can murder the baseball…

Still, I’d take Ryan’s bat over his. Howard has proven time and again that he is a lethal force that can’t be messed with. He’s a superstar.

Chase Utley OVER Robinson Cano

OK, so maybe Chase hasn’t been the same player since, well, May 2008. That’s cool. I think he’s playing with an injury again, but we won’t know for sure until after the postseason.

I love what Cano brings and he has a bright future. But, by and large, Utley has been the best second baseman in the league since 2007. I know he’s struggle,d but he’s a gamer. Gotta love his attitude.

Jimmy Rollins OVER Derek Jeter

yeah, I know Jeter is the son of Jesus Christ and all, but I’ll take J-Roll any day. Sounds crazy considering he’s nowhere near as consistent with the bat as Jeter, but Jimmy has a flare for the dramatic. He comes through when you need him to. He’ll aggravate you, but he always makes up for it. Not to mention, he’s the best defensive shortstop in baseball. Period.

A-Rod OVER Pedro Feliz

Uhh, yeah, this is a no-brainer. I like A-Rod as a player. He’s a fraud in some ways, you know, because of that steriod thing… but he’s still one of the best of the game regardless

LF Raul Ibanez OVER Johnny Damon

They’re both old, but Ibanez has more potential… if that makes sense.

Shane Victorino OVER Melky Cabrera

Victorino is the best center fielder in the NL, in my opinion. Love him or hate him, he’s a stud. Melky reminds me of a Marlon Byrd type, but I may be wrong

Jayson Werth OVER Nick Swisher

Not even a debate. I would like to punch Swisher in his nose. He just has that look to him…

Carlos Ruiz OVER Jorge Posada

Ruiz has established himself as one of the best all-around catchers in the game. I respect Posada, but at this point in his career, I think he’s a step or two behind his prime.