World Series: How Did We Get Here?

The Yankees are back where they belong, beating the Angels for their 40th pennant. Order has now been restored to the universe and the Yankees are four wins away from the World Series crown they've been seeking. CC Sabathia won the ALCS MVP, A-Rod was out-of-his-mind great, Andy Pettitte was the stopper, Mariano Rivera was the closer, and a date with the Phillies is set. So how did we get here? What happened in this ALCS? Let's take a look (I'll comment in italics):

Before the series: We looked at the Yankees recent history with the Angels, specifically the 2002 and 2005 playoffs. Bobby Abreu has set the perfect example for the Angels says Peter Gammons and LoHud. Big League Stew says that Bobby Abreu wanted to make the Yankees pay. I guess they meant by making big baserunning mistakes and not showing up for the first few games? The Yankees beat the Angels for CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeria writes Danny Knobler. I think that made QUITE a difference in this series, wouldn't you agree? Mike Lupica says that beating the Angels won't be like beating the Twins. Actually, it was pretty similar: great pitching, timely hitting and letting the other team beat themselves.

Predictions: Ken Davidoff had the Yankees over the Angels in 7 and the Phillies over the Dodgers in 6 (he was off by one game in each). Sweeny Murti, Ken Rosenthal, and Sam Borden also picked the Yanks in 7. The computers picked the Yankees as well.

Game 1: CC Sabathia earned his paycheck by dominating the Angels and got the Yankees out to an early lead, guided by the fans in the stands and the "CC" chants.

Game 2: It wasn't always pretty, but the Yankees won Game 2 in extra innings and they left for Anaheim with a 2-0 series lead.

Game 3: The pitching matchup was set and the scene was set for the Yankees to go up 3-0 (again), but Andy Pettitte missed on a pitch to Vlad Guerrero, the bullpen and Joe Girardi's overmanaging failed, the bats went silent, the Yankees lost for the first time all postseason, and things were a bit less pleasant. The big story from the game, though was "did Mariano Rivera throw a spitball?" which Major League Baseball emphatically denied and Rivera laughed off. Tough being a baseball player today.

Game 4: CC Sabathia came back to pitch a gem on 3 days rest and the Yankees bat woke up to the tune of 10 runs. But all people seemed to be able to talk about was the bad umpiring especially "the worst call of all time". Everyone was clamoring for increased instant replay and MLB panicked. But the real story was that CC pitched, Alex hit, and the Yankees were one win away from the World Series, yet needed to be reminded of the past before getting overconfident. The Angels needed a miracle and the Freeway Series looked done. Kate Hudson for ALCS MVP.

Game 5: Phillies fans wanted the Yankees but they would not be able to oblige. An OK pitching duel ended up getting messed up by the bullpens. The Yankees made a nice comeback but fell short in the end. The bullpen failed when the Rally Monkey came out, especially Phil Hughes. Memories of 1998 and 2000 surfaced. Some felt that the Yankees were fine with Jeter at the helm. Mike Scioscia survived criticism because his team was able to win.

Postponed Game 6: The Yankees wanted to play, almost needed to play. They set a lineup but the game was called in the end. The weather was awful and pushed the game off to the next day, but the Yankees decided to keep Pettitte and their confidence. One thing that seemed like a bad omen? Cracks in the New Yankee Stadium. Also bad? Putting World Series gear online before you clinch.

Game 6: We called it a "Must Win". The matchup was set. The Yankees knew they were risking it all without a win in Game 6, they needed to clinch, and the pressure was on. And, in the end, the Yankees won and are going back to the World Series for the 40th time. It looked like Girardi was running out of reliable relievers but he leaned on Joba Chamberlain in a big spot and got rewarded. The Yankees are back on the top of the world and Pedro got his wish as did the Phillies owner as they gets to face the Yankees.

Aftermath: The Yankees escaped with their pitching rotation intact. The Halos have to be haunted by all their sloppy play. The Yankees were the better team. A-rod finally reached the biggest stage and Rivera kept on dominating. Brian Cashman was the one man absent from the postgame celebration. The Yankees are now ready and set for the Phillies after celebrating with their fans and champagne.

Photo from the New York Post (H/T @mikeaxisa)