NEW YORK (AP) -- Paint the town in pinstripes! Nearly a decade after their dynasty ended on a blooper in the desert, the New York Yankees are baseball's best again.
Hideki Matsui tied a World Series record with six RBIs, Andy Pettitte won on short rest and New York beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-3 in Game 6 on Wednesday night, finally seizing that elusive 27th title - the most in all of sports.
It was the team's first since winning three straight from 1998-2000.
PHILADELPHIA -- Not only will CC Sabathia come back on short rest for Game 4 of the World Series, but the Yankees seem to be leaning toward using A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettitte on short rest as well.
That would give the Yankees a three-man rotation for the World Series, which no team has done (in a Series of more than four games) since 1992.
The Yankees confirmed, in no surprise, that Sabathia will start Sunday's Game 4. He also started on short rest in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series.
And while manager Joe Girardi would say only he would "possibly" start Burnett in Game 5 and Pettitte in Game 6, he said Chad Gaudin -- the only other option -- would be "available to us in the bullpen" for Game 4.
NEW YORK -- With CC Sabathia's loss to the Phillies on Wednesday in Game 1 of the World Series, the Yankees will be at best up 2-games-to-1 going into Game 4.
Which probably means Sabathia will get that start.
And while the team won't yet commit to bringing back its ace on three days' rest, Sabathia has "no doubt" he can do it.
"I'm not saying we're going to," pitching coach Dave Eiland said, "but pitch-count-wise he's OK to do that."
In Advanced Scouting, MLB FanHouse's professional talent evaluator breaks down the playoffs from a scouting perspective.
Unless you are a fan with a rooting interest in this World Series, it's nearly impossible to not appreciate how good of a matchup this World Series is. Both the Phillies and Yankees have dominant aces they can rely on, sluggers that pound the ball with the best of them, and tenacious hitters who seem to make every at-bat an epic battle.
In such an even matchup, it's difficult to find glaring edges for either club, and that is where advanced scouting can come into play. Knowing how to pitch a certain dangerous hitter in order to neutralize him or what to look for against a particular pitcher could be what wins or loses a potentially tight series such as this. So, where are those holes each team can exploit and what will it take for them to come out on top?
NEW YORK -- People in Cleveland will tune in for Game 1 of the World Series, Brian Anderson said, as a sort of masochistic ritual.
Sort of like attending a Browns game.
"Cleveland fans," Anderson told FanHouse on Tuesday, "as much as it kills them to watch things, be part of things, get emotionally involved, they do it anyway. I bet a lot of people watch it for the ironic, do-you-believe-who's-facing-each-other kind of deal."
Who's facing each other is CC Sabathia of the Yankees and Cliff Lee of the Phillies. They were Cleveland Indians teammates just 16 months ago, each winning a Cy Young Award for the Tribe and getting traded the following July.
Playoff Pulse is our morning rundown of the night that was and the night that will be during the MLB postseason.
Looking Forward ...
The rain made it feel like eons between Game 5 and 6 in the American League Championship Series, but in terms of setting up the World Series it worked out pretty well.
In Advanced Scouting, MLB FanHouse's professional talent evaluator breaks down the playoffs from a scouting perspective.
The contrast between Tuesday night's starting pitchers could not have been more stark. CC Sabathia was efficient, mixed his pitches and threw nothing but strikes. Scott Kazmir, on the other side, never seemed to find any kind of rhythm and essentially played right into the strengths of the Yankee lineup.
New York's lineup is difficult enough to navigate without giving them any assistance, and assistance is exactly what Kazmir gave them. If you intend to have success against them, you must establish a secondary pitch in the early innings. Especially given the issues their lineup has had against the breaking ball in the early part of the ALCS, Kazmir's ability to locate his slider was going to be crucial to his outing.
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Maybe we all overthought this stuff about postseason performance. We had discussed endlessly which great players with which multi-multi-multi-million-dollar deals had what it takes to compete when the pressure is at its highest.
It's really not that complicated, after all.
Great players are going to play great, eventually, whether it's April, May, October or -- thanks Bud -- November.
For proof, see Exhibit A: Rodriguez, Alex; and Exhibit B: Sabathia, Carsten Charles.
During FanHouse's marathon live chat of the ALCS and NLCS yesterday, I couldn't help but notice Scott Boras directly behind home plate as the Angels took on the Yankees in Game 3. I was informed during the chat by our own Jeff Fletcher that Boras has season tickets behind home plate at both Angels and Dodger Stadium, and he likes to show up early so he's available to the media.
Playoff Pulse is our morning rundown of the night that was and the night that will be during the MLB postseason.
Looking Forward ...
Monday morning, the number was nine, as in the inning which might give the Angels trouble. Tuesday, it's three, as in the days of rest Yankees Game 4 starter CC Sabathia will have.
Sabathia, you will recall, did this sort of thing plenty last September as he propelled the Brewers to their first playoff appearance since 1982. He was terrific too, going 2-1 with an 0.83 ERA. But that was the NL in a pennant race. This is the AL in the League Championship Series.
PHILADELPHIA -- Not only will 
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NEW YORK -- People in Cleveland will tune in for Game 1 of the World Series, 
Playoff Pulse is our morning rundown of the night that was and the night that will be during the 
In 
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Maybe we all overthought this stuff about postseason performance. We had discussed endlessly which great players with which multi-multi-multi-million-dollar deals had what it takes to compete when the pressure is at its highest.
During FanHouse's marathon live chat of the ALCS and NLCS yesterday, I couldn't help but notice Scott Boras directly behind home plate as the 
Playoff Pulse is our morning rundown of the night that was and the night that will be during the 
