The Yankees Set-Up Dilemma

A week ago we discussed the dilemma facing the Yankees in finding their bridge to Mariano Rivera. As we approach Game 6, the Yankees have the same dilemma. First, here's how you, the readers, voted in the poll:

Who Should Be the Yankees Set-up Man?

Phil Hughes	18%
Joba Chamberlain	24%
David Robertson	12%
Alfredo Aceves	0%
Phil Coke	0%
Damaso Marte	0%
Chad Gaudin	0%
Brian Bruney	3%
Mix-and-Match	9%
Mariano Rivera himself	33%

I hope that the vote for Brian Bruney was a joke. I would rather see Nick Swisher pitching in a big spot in this World Series than Brian Bruney (or Phil Coke for that matter). The other votes fluctuated wildly as the series began and went on. Mix-and-match is certainly an option as will A.J. Burnett (especially after only pitching 2 innings last night) but let's go through the other options:

5. Damaso Marte (0%). You don't know how painful it is for me to write his name there. This is a guy who had a 9.45 ERA in the regular season and was part of what may be one of the worst Yankee trades in a long time. But besides a rough first round, he's been lights out in the playoffs, not surrendering a baserunner in the ALCS or World Series. Marte has been great at neutralizing the lefties on the Phillies and has also gotten out some righties. He also has past World Series pitching experience (with the White Sox in 2005) and closer experience (with the Pirates last year and the White Sox in the early 2000s). The problem? He had a 9.45 ERA and pitchers, in the end, usually pitch to their averages. It seems like it's just a matter of time before Marte blows up. Here are his stats so far this playoffs:



4. David Robertson (12%). No offense to Mariano Rivera, but Robertson, in his short amount of work, may be the best reliever the Yankees have thrown out there. He led the league in K/9 in the regular season and has gotten the Yankees out of tough jams in the playoffs. The problem? He only turned 24 this season and he doesn't even have 80 innings of professional work. And while Girardi has shown faith in bringing him out in situations where he needs a big strikeout, he's not shown the willingness to bring him into a game in a big spot yet. Would Girardi put himself on the line by using Robertson in a big spot in a deciding game of the World Series? I doubt it, but maybe he should rethink that. Here is Robertson's output so far this playoffs:



3. Joba Chamberlain (24%). What to make of Joba? He looked absolutely vintage Joba the other night until he left a fat meatball over the plate to Pedro Feliz who deposited it into the seats. Joba looked so shaken up on the bench afterward that he looked on the verge of crying as he thanked A-Rod and Jorge Posada for bailing him out. That's not the strong demeanor of a set-up man you're looking for. His inconsistency thus far in the season and the playoffs are not what you want in a set-up man either. Do you trust that his naturally great stuff is now back after he showed it for two batters two nights ago or or do you think the Yankees are better off not pitching him in big spots? One plus on Joba's side: unlike the regular season, he has not walked a batter in 5.1 innings in the 2009 postseason. Here are his 2009 playoff stats:



2. Phil Hughes (18%). Hughes vote total plummeted as the series progressed. And with good reason. Even after 1.1 scoreless innings last night, Hughes' World Series ERA is 16.20. Ouch. But Hughes was Girardi's go-to guy in the bullpen for the second-half of last season and has some great stuff when he's on. He looked on last night and if he can build on that momentum, he should be the first guy out of the Yankees bullpen not named Mariano Rivera. But do you actually trust him? I don't think so. His curveball is his best pitch when he's on but the key for it is to miss low; instead, it's hung too much and Hughes has been hit hard. If the Yankees need more than 6 outs, I wonder if Girardi has faith in going to him for an inning (or sharing an inning with Marte). Here's his 2009 playoff numbers:



1. Mariano Rivera himself (33%). While Hughes vote total plummeted, this number went way up. The question is, how many outs can you use the greatest postseason pitcher for? Ben discusses that in his post on the subject. My opinion? If it's Game 7 and you haven't used him in Games 5 or 6, I think he may go for 8 outs...but how about if the Yankees have a lead tomorrow night? Many would say "go for the jugular" and use him for 3 innings...but what if the Yankees lose and Rivera is blown out? Do you go with A.J. Burnett as the closer in Game 7? I think you ask Mo how many pitches he has in his arm, and understanding he's 40 and has a lot of wear and tear on that right shoulder, you throw him out there cautiously. The key tomorrow night would be to get 7 from Pettitte, get the lead, and go to Mo for 2. But I think that's about all you can use Mo for. Maybe 7 outs. But that's about it. Game 7, though, you bring him out there in the 7th and ride him home like they did in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS. Here's Mo's 2009 postseason stats:



So who should be the Yankees set-up man in Game 6 and a possible Game 7 of this World Series? Leave your answer in the comments below

Picture from The Star-Ledger

When To Go To Mo

I asked Andrew the following question last night and I am hearing it debated this afternoon: if the Yankees have a lead in the 7th inning tomorrow, do you go to Mo for nine outs? He hasn't thrown three innings in a game since Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS against the Red Sox. Obviously a six out save should be a no brainer but do you push him to the limit?

If there is anything remotely close to a constant in baseball, it is Rivera. The rest of the Yankee bullpen has performed erratically and the Phillies are capable of getting a big hit at any moment. If you have the lead after six innings, you seriously have to think about doing anything to win that game and the corresponding action would be throwing Rivera out there for the old-fashioned three inning save.

Some have argued that if you go to Rivera for three innings tomorrow and he winds up losing the game for you, then you don't have him left for anything the next day (which may or may not be true). However, if you have the chance to win the series with your best on the mound then why would you risk anything else? If you go to someone else in your bullpen and the game is lost, what is the guarantee that you will have a lead again in Game 7? Besides, if Rivera loses the game for you, then what else do you really have to offer?

Here is my take: If the Yankees have a one run lead going into 7th inning, go batter by batter. As soon as a runner gets on, you go to Rivera. If they have a two or three run lead, I only go to Rivera once the tying run comes to the plate. Basically, if the lead is in jeopardy and you have a chance to win the World Series, go with your best odds.

Three Bothersome Things and a Few Takeaways

It's weird to feel nervous about this World Series. The Yankees are up 3-2 and coming back to the Bronx. The Yankees have lost two games in a row at home only twice since A-Rod returned to the lineup at the beginning of May. Amazingly, those two times were to the Nationals and the Orioles. So there's reason to have faith that the team with the best record in baseball and the best record at home should be able to win one of two back in the friendly confines of Yankee Stadium.

It also may be unreasonable to think the Yankees should have won all three games in Philly. The last team to sweep the middle three games of the series on the road were the 1996 Yankees who swept the Braves in Atlanta to win the 1996 World Series. But it doesn't mean that last night's game isn't bothersome. Here's four reasons why:

• Joe Girardi starting A.J. Burnett on 3 days rest and going with Molina over Posada. I was a big fan of going with A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte and CC Sabathia on 3 days rest. I still think it was the right decision to do so. It just didn't work out. Burnett was awful last night and the Yankees were forced to use their bullpen for a lot of pitches. That bodes poorly when you consider the Yankees have Pettitte on short rest coming up next. The one thing I have a problem with was keeping Jose Molina in the lineup over Jorge Posada. I can at least tolerate it in an American League park with the DH, but with Gardner, Molina and Burnett at the bottom of the Yankees lineup last  night against Cliff Lee, they were already playing from behind. And Molina's game calling hasn't stopped A.J. from having bad first innings in Game 5 of the past two series. So that move was a total failure.

• Phil Coke's two home runs. One big takeaway from last night was how well the Yankees bullpen pitched--except for Phil Coke. The rest of the bullpen (David Robertson, Alfredo Aceves and Phil Hughes) pitched 5.1 innings, giving up only 3 hits, 0 BB, and 4 K. Although they were mostly low-pressure situations, it was good to see some reliable arms emerge from the bullpen. Phil Coke, on the other hand, was downright awful. With Damaso Marte having worked a lot this series and coming off arm troubles this season, it was up to the other lefty in the Yankees 'pen to get the job done. Instead, Coke gave up two home runs to two lefties and those two runs were the insurance the Phillies needed as that was the difference in the game. Add Phil Coke to Brian Bruney on the list of pitchers who should never see the pitching mound again this season.

• Derek Jeter's GIDP and Mark Teixeira's K. The last bothersome thing is that the Yankees had a chance to come back, but fell just short. Derek Jeter grounded into a huge double play in the 9th inning. With runners on first and third and nobody out, Jeter had a chance to really put the pressure on the Phils. Jeter let a fastball go right down the middle then turned over on another fastball for an easy GIDP. Derek Jeter has hit into 14 postseason double plays, including 3 costly ones in the 2007 ALDS. None were more costly, however, than last night's. Johnny Damon reached after Jeter (another great AB by Damon) and Mark Teixeira represented the tying run. But Ryan Madson made Tex look silly and struck him out looking. The gameplan for the Phils facing Teixeira seem to be fastballs away and breaking balls down and it has been working. Teixeira now has struckout 7 times so far in the World Series after 8 Ks in the ALCS. He has only two hits in 19 ABs (although one was a HR and the other a 2B). Mark Teixiera's first playoffs in pinstripes is looking a lot like Tino Martinez's first playoffs for the Yankees in 1996, especially the World Series. Tino was only 1-11 in that series and had to be replaced by Cecil Fielder, but was an offensive force in his next 4 World Series with the Bronx Bombers. Teixeira still has a chance to be a hero both because of his defense and because he had 24 HR, 71 RBI and an OPS of 1.013 at home during the regular season. He also had 30 of his 39 HR and 91 of his 122 RBIs as a lefty this season and he will switch around to that side for Pedro Martinez, the pitcher he went deep off of in Game 2. That's little consolation for the Yankees comeback last night, however.
  

A few Twitter reactions when I posed the question about what bothered people the most this morning:

• @Lumpy231: how bout the decision to throw the whole staff on 3 days rest
• @yankeechick78: I was just talking about the goats of the game. and I named all three that you did. Cokes bothers me the most.
• @YankeeClipper09: Coke's HRs and Jeter's GIDP.  But, I love the fight in this team.  They made the Phillies, and their fans, nervous in the 9th
• @darry2385: coke's HRs.  turned out to be the difference in the game, despite AJ's no-show
• @Milfhunters: the gidp was the game killer, but tex's weak outs are really troubling
• @jonathan_meola: AJ put us in the hole 2 begin with.  Coke's HRs was just the frosting on the cake
• @5States: I'd say AJ's start, because without that, the other stuff really doesn't happen.
  

One good thing for the Yankees is that Pettitte has been really good for the Yanks on short rest. Here's what he's done in the postseason on 3-days rest via Baseball-Reference:

Date          Series G Tm   Opp GmReslt App,Dec    IP   H  R ER BB SO HR Pit Str GmSc BF AB 2B ERA
-------------+------+-+---+----+-------+---------+----+--+--+--+--+--+--+---+---+----+--+--+--+--+--+
1996-10-13    ALCS   5 NYY @BAL W  6-4  GS-8  ,W   8    3  2  2  1  3  2 100  60   70 28 27  0  2.25 
1996-10-24    WS     5 NYY @ATL W  1-0  GS-9  ,W   8.1  5  0  0  3  4  0  96  59   74 31 28  1  0.00 
1997-10-06    ALDS   5 NYY @CLE L  3-4  GS-7  ,L   6.2  6  4  4  0  2  0  97  68   48 26 23  2  5.40 
2000-10-08    ALDS   5 NYY @OAK W  7-5  GS-4       3.2 10  5  5  2  4  0  88  55   23 23 19  1  12.27 
2003-10-19    WS     2 NYY  FLA W  6-1  GS-9  ,W   8.2  6  1  0  1  7  0 111  70   76 32 31  0  0.00 

That's really only one bad start in there. I know Pettitte is a bit older, but if you look at the World Series success he has in the past on short rest, there's a reason to be optimistic

Here's another few reasons to be optimistic: the Yankees never give up, the Phillies bullpen is shaky at best, and the Yankees are still up 3-2 in this series. This is how the ALCS was won as well and keeping with my original prediction, I see the Yankees bringing it back to the Bronx and wrapping it up in 6. This team never gives up in a game and I think it would be apropos of the themes of the 2009 season if the Yankees won it at home tomorrow night with Pettitte starting, Rivera closing and a comeback win for the Yankees in the Bronx.

Trivia Tuesday: Last Postseason Out Edition

Ben made the point the other night that Damon rarely seems to make the last out of the game. With his ABs with two outs in the 9th the past two nights, it really seems like that's true. So I decided to see who has made the last out of the Yankees playoff games recently (thank you Baseball-Reference Play Index!).

Between Ruben Sierra grounding out to end the 2004 ALCS until Mark Teixeira's strikeout last night, the Yankees had 10 different playoff games end where a Yankee batter made the last out. Can you name those games/batters? Bonus points if you can name the pitcher it was against!

Post your answers in the comments below. I'll reveal the answers tonight!

Quick Side Note/Stat of the Day: Jorge Posada leads all Yankees with 6 game-ending postseason outs in his career. He is followed by Mickey Mantle at 5 and Hideki Matsui at 4.

2nd Stat of the Day: Hideki Matsui is the only Yankee in history to end a playoff game with an out that won the game (a 2004 sac fly against the J.C. Romero and the Twins in Game 2 of the ALDS).

3rd Stat of the Day: Johnny Damon, has, in fact, made the last out of the game. He has made the last out of the game for the Yankees 18 times in the regular season and *hint* twice in the postseason *hint*

Key World Series Stats

Key Yankees Hitters:



The Yankees have had only four big hitters so far this series: Hideki Matsui (.500/.556/1.250, 2 HR), Nick Swisher (1.030 OPS), Derek Jeter (.412/.444/.529, series-high 7 hits), and Johnny Damon (.745, 5 hits, 3 for 3 on SB). I was surprised to see Nick Swisher on there especially with the tough start he had to the series, but he has really come on as of late. The worst hitters have been Mark Teixeira (1-14), Melky Cabrera and Robinson Cano (combined 4-28, 1 run, 6 K, 0 BB)

Key Phillies Hitters:



For the Phillies, the biggest hitters have been Chase Utley (1.286 OPS, Phillies-high 3 HR and 4 RBI), Jayson Werth (.308/.438/.769, 2 HR), and Carlos Ruiz (1.067 OPS). Their worst hitters have been Ryan Howard (0 BB, 10 K), Raul Ibanez (0 BB, 9 K), and Jimmy Rollins (.586 OPS, 0 XBH after his 5-game prediction). The Phillies have only hit solo home runs this series.

Key Yankees Pitchers:



Mariano Rivera has been his normal great self and Damaso Marte has been their most reliable set-up man. A.J. Burnett was great in his first start and tries to follow that up tonight. CC Sabathia has been really good in two starts but only has a loss and a no-decision to show for it.

Key Phillies Pitchers:



The Phillies bullpen outside of Brad Lidge has not been bad. Should the Phillies have thrown Cliff Lee on short rest? If Brad Lidge had held onto the game last night, I don't think that decision would have been questioned. But it's all on him tonight.

Back in New York, Ready for Game 5

It was an adventure, but I am finally back in the United States. I heard the Yankees won Game 2 from the flight attendant on the loudspeaker when landed. Games 2 and 3 I watched, for the most part, in a hotel's business center. For Game 3, I wasn't even staying at that hotel anymore. That's why it was an adventure. Amazing that Europe refuses to show American sports except on satellite. I know that Americans don't love soccer, but at least we show it on television.

Now it's time for Game 5 of the World Series! The New York Post's Joel Sherman says that it's Ramiro Pena in for Melky Cabrera (injured in the last game) which is an interesting choice.

Hopefully the Yankees can wrap it up tonight and it won't matter much. But a bottom of the lineup of Brett Gardner, Jose Molina and A.J. Burnett is not going to be very intimidating tonight. If A.J. Burnett pitches like he did in his last game, it won't matter. Then again, if Cliff Lee pitches like he did in Game 1 of the series, it won't matter either.

I think the Phillies find a way to win one tonight. The Yankees bottom of the lineup is weak, A.J. Burnett is pitching on short rest and Cliff Lee has been one of the best pitchers of the playoffs. But I wouldn't be surprised if the Yankees found a way to win. Their ability to grind out wins late in games could be a huge advantage tonight in what should be a hard-fought pitcher's duel.

By the way Philly, I know that Jimmy Rollins predicted the Phillies in 5, but Macy's didn't have to rub in the fact that the Phillies did not accomplish this by running an ad congratulating them on winning. I understand when sometimes they make 19-0 t-shirts because anyone can win that one Super Bowl game, but this is a bit ridiculous.

A few interesting videos to enjoy before Game 5:



Did Chan Ho Park throw a spitball? Looks a lot more egregious than Mariano Rivera's supposed spitball, but I think it's just a case of a guy rubbing down the ball. YouTube has gotten a lot of attention this postseason, but I think that sometimes it gets overdone. Though I wonder if the Phillies and Park will get as many questions as Rivera and the Yankees after the viral video on Rivera.



This second video was sent to me by Jenn and is a crazy video. Just wow. Has nothing to do with baseball...but wow.

Too Bad I Was Sleeping

I want to open this post by saying I am not an early-to-bed kinda guy. On work nights I routinely go to bed after midnight, sometimes even later. If there is a big game on I will generally stay up to watch, even when my beloved Mets are on the west coast (I saw ALL their games against the Dodgers, including the extra inning Church-missed-the-bag debacle). So I am pretty committed to finishing up a late night game. But even I occasionally cant make it all the way through - and I bet I have a lot of company on this.

When Johnny Damon came up in the 9th last night and had his (and subsequently AROD's) defining moment as a Yankee I was already catching up on Zs. I watched the game up through the top of the 8th. It was already after 11 pm in New York, and due to the daylight savings change earlier yesterday morning it felt like it was after midnight. A long weekend of Halloween revelry (once again, I am pretty sure I wasn't along on this one) left me totally beat, so I went to sleep, and missed an ending for the ages.

My issue with this is, it didn't have to be this way. Sure, the game ran a bit long (3 hours, 25 minutes), but World Series games, on national television, with powerful and patient lineups ALWAYS run long. So then how is it possible that a game played on the east coast, in my timezone, managed to run past my formidable bedtime (and possibly WELL past the bedtime of most normal people)? The answer is simple, FOX Primetime. FOX chose to start this game around 8:20 pm. Due to the DST change this actually felt like 9:20 pm. The game ran almost to midnight, which felt like 1 AM! Had the game started right after football, say at 7:30 pm, I wouldn't have missed Damon's heroics.

I understand the football schedule left FOX with no option but to start late last night. But that excuse doesn't exist for any of the other World Series games, all of which have begun after 8pm. To ask viewers to stay up after midnight last night, and now come back again tonight and do it all over is a bit ridiculous. Live athletic events do not lend themselves to DVR technology - you really have to watch live. Baseball talks about being America's past-time, and a game of the youth of America. If that is so true then why routinely play games when most of east coast America and its youth aren't awake to see a dramatic two out, two strike comeback ending? The kind of ending that really would solidify that love of the game they are so desperately looking for.

Melky Could Be Done For Series

According to Sam Borden of the Journal News, Melky Cabrera could be out for the rest of the World Series. He strained his left hamstring and is being evaluated by team doctors today. Depending on the outcome, he could be replaced on the roster should it be determined that he is unable to play for the rest of the series.

Per Sam, if Melky is out, Brett Gardner will take over in Center Field and Melky's spot on the roster will be taken by either Francisco Cervelli, Ramiro Pena, Sergio Mitre, or Freddy Guzman. I agree with Sam that Guzman remains the most likely addition, as he would replace Gardner as the team's main backup outfielder and pinch-runner.

Thoughts on the Yanks' Game 4 win + Game 5 pitching matchup

It's 1:20 a.m. EST and my heart rate has finally dropped to a sustainable level after the Yankees stunned the Phillies, their crazy fans at Citizens Bank Park, and the rest of the baseball-watching universe with a series-changing, momentum-stealing 7-4 win in Game 4 of the 2009 World Series.

(photo H/T New York Times)

A-Rod delivered the game-winning hit with a double off Brad Lidge in the top of the 9th, scoring Johnny Damon from third to break a 4-4 tie. Jorge Posada followed with a 2-run single to give the Yankees some much-needed insurance. Mariano Rivera, of course, sealed the deal with a quick-and-tidy save that required only 8 pitches.

While A-Rod will get a lot of credit for driving in the winning run - as evidenced by the picture below from the Daily News - the real hero tonight was Johnny Damon.











Brad Lidge entered a 4-4 game in the top of the 9th after Pedro Feliz homered off Joba in the bottom of the 8th to tie it up. The fans had woken up and you could feel the momentum swaying the Phillies' way. Lidge rode the wave and got Hideki Matsui on a quick pop up and blew Derek Jeter away on a nasty slider. That's when Damon took over.

With 2 outs and nobody on, Damon worked the count full. He then fouled off 3 straight pitches -- more on this later -- before lining a pitch to left for a single. As Billy Mays would say...wait, there's more! On Lidge's first pitch to Mark Teixeira, Damon took off for 2nd and swiped it easily with a popup slide. But Damon didn't stop there. With one of his most heads-up moves in his Yankee career, Damon saw that nobody was covering third and took off. He turned on the jets to escape Feliz, who came pretty close to tagging him out, and reached third safely.

I saw three important things about this sequence. First, right after Damon worked the count full, he foul tipped a ball that Ruiz came thisclose to catching for an inning-ending strikeout. I mean, I thought he was gone, but fortunately the ball hit the ground and Damon was still alive. This really is a game of inches. Second, Damon stealing 2 bases at once really rattled Lidge (who had been cruising) and allowed the Yankees' big bats (i.e. Tex and A-Rod) to see a lot of pitches from a guy that the entire team hadn't seen since before the All-Star Break. Finally, Damon being on third base meant that Lidge couldn't throw too many sliders -- his best pitch, by far -- since he couldn't risk bouncing one in the dirt and allowing Damon to score from 90 feet away.

This last point proved enormous, as A-Rod got 2 fastballs. He took the first one for a strike (does A-Rod ever have an at-bat where he doesn't take the first pitch for a strike??) but rather than try to bury him with an unhittable slider, Lidge came right back with another fastball. On the inside corner. The exact location in which A-Rod has suddenly learned how to hit this postseason. A frozen rope into left field, and the Yankees retake the lead.

But Teixeira's still on 3rd with 2 outs! You can guess what that means. More fastballs for Jorge, and 2 more runs for the Bombers on a gapper between Ibanez and Victorino. Having guys on third base really prevented Lidge from putting hitters away with his slider. It must be rough having a closer who can't throw his best pitch with a guy on third. Once again, we Yankee fans are spoiled having Mo, who can throw the cutter whenever the heck he wants.

In any case, Damon deservedly won Player of the Game from every media outlet that offers such an award. He went 3-for-5 with 2 runs, 1 RBI, and 2 SB. His 9-pitch AB set up the 9th inning rally that allowed the Yankees to win their 3rd straight World Series game. Needless to say, the Yankees are in a dominant position. They are one win away from their 27th title. They have three games left and they only need to win one. Two of those games are in the Bronx. And they will have CC for Game 7, if necessary.

Here are a few postgame thoughts. A-Rod got plunked in the first inning for the 3rd time in as many games, prompting a warning from the umpire to both teams. Not sure if this was necessary. The Yankees were already up 1-0 and Damon was on 3rd base. Why would Joe Blanton want to put another man on base and risk giving up a huge first inning? The answer: he wouldn't. It wasn't intentional. But A-Rod's reaction more or less prompted it, so the warning was given; fortunately, no further action was taken.

Not sure what to think about Joba's 8th inning adventure. On one hand, he looked unhittable. He blew away Raul Ibanez and Jayson Werth with 96 MPH heat, up and in against both batters. He ended up striking out the side. But he couldn't strike out Pedro Feliz because he couldn't get his slider over the plate. He bounced nearly every one he threw. So despite overpowering Feliz with 2 fastballs, Feliz worked the count full, so he knew Joba would be forced to throw another fastball. He wouldn't risk another slider in the dirt to walk him, so Joba naturally left a fastball over the plate. Even at 96 MPH, a big league hitter knows what to do. And Feliz deposited the ball in the left field seats to tie the game at 4.

So...what to make of that? Great stuff, struck out the side. Blew the lead because he only had one pitch of his two pitches (out of the 'pen, Joba really has just fastball/slider) working tonight. Seemed a little too amped up, also....he was working really fast. Good and bad signs from tonight. Yeah, he was credited with the win, but let's hope he forgets about it and prepares for his next possible appearance.

Finally, here is the Game 5 matchup. Cliff Lee vs. AJ Burnett. The Phillies have the advantage, on paper anyway. Lee was unbelievable in Game 1, throwing a complete game and not giving up any earned runs. Burnett pitched extremely well in Game 2 -- not as untouchable as Lee, but still his best game of the year -- but he will be pitching in Game 5 on just three days' rest.

Here's where things get interesting. We have to assume that Lee can replicate his performance from Game 1. But can Burnett? On one hand, his home/away splits are not good:

Home ERA: 3.51
Road ERA: 4.59

Home BAA: .229
Road BAA: .264

Home WHIP: 1.33
Road WHIP: 1.47

The rest of the stats tell the same story. Burnett struggles on the road. And he's been much better at Yankee Stadium this postseason than he's been away from the Bronx.

But then there's this. In his career, Burnett is 4-0 in 4 starts on just three days' rest. With an ERA of 2.33. While he hasn't pitched on short rest in his one year in pinstripes, at least he has a good track record.

If Burnett can even approach what he did in Game 2, we are in for a heck of a pitchers' duel in Philly tomorrow night. Sleep well, Yankees fans, your team has a commanding 3-1 lead and lots of momentum. Let's hope we can seal the deal in Game 5 tomorrow night!

Big Sunday in Sports

What a Sunday of sports! Not counting preseason, when was the last time all four major sports were played on the same day? Add the New York Marathon to the mix and we had quite a day.

After Brett Favre's successful return to Green Bay and another Giants debacle across the street from Citizens Bank Park, we get set for World Series Game 4. Last night, Andy Pettitte made Charlie Manuel eat his words, after he gutted his way through 6 innings and the Yankee bats came alive. Nick Swisher finally broke through and is grateful for the faith that his manager showed in him. Hideki Matsui also came off the bench with a big home run. Phil Hughes continued to struggle but Mariano Rivera bailed him out as the Yankees took Game 3 8-4.

CC Sabathia will go on three days rest tonight and AJ Burnett will do the same tomorrow night, as he was name the Game 5 starter earlier tonight.