The Yankees won Game 6 of the ALCS to move onto the World Series. But you didn’t have to watch the game to know the outcome. Our buddies at TheMikeFrancesa.com alerted us that MLB.com was selling Yankees ALCS Championship gear hours before the game had even started.
Conspiracy theories aside, the Yankees showed why they belonged in the World Series last night. The Yankees got a high-quality effort from Andy Pettitte who went 6.1 innings and only allowed one earned run. Joba Chamberlain relieved Pettitte in the 7th and got two outs with an inherited runner on base. Then Mariano Rivera shut the door by pitching two innings and allowing one run. The Yankees had scored three runs with a Damon 2 RBI single and A-Rod bases loaded walk in the fourth inning and never let the Angels match them.
The Bronx Bombers were clearly emotional after the victory. For some, it was a return to the prominence that had seemed so common about a decade ago. For others, the experience of playing in the World Series will be an entirely new experience. Jeter seemed to be more caught up in the moment than usual and called Ken Rosenthal out for glossing over the fact that they’d just won the ALCS. Alex Rodriguez sounded equally jubilant, relieved, and overwhelmed by the task that lies ahead. Hilariously, he wanted to “thank the Lord, first of all.” Is that a Kate Hudson thing or a post-steroids A-Rod thing?
The Yankees face the Phillies at home on Wednesday in what may be a clash of former Cleveland Indian aces. It’s likely that CC Sabathia will face newly-acquired Cliff Lee in the opener. The series should be very close since the Phillies seem to be firing on all cylinders. It would be safe to pick either team in six or seven games. However, I’m going to say Yankees in five games. If we’re lucky, we’ll get another chance to see Derek Jeter dump champagne on Jennifer Steinbrenner. It’s amazing how he does it in such a “you know you love it” kind of way.
