FanHouse Aj Burnett

PHILADELPHIA -- They have nothing in common but history. Chase Utley is a southern California dude with gel in his hair who speaks in cliches and has all the pizzazz of a resin bag. Reggie Jackson was the portrait of flamboyance, the straw that stirred the drink, the problem child who jarred the equilibrium. But today, they are joined in baseball lore by the five home runs each hit in a single World Series, with Utley's latest two shots propelling the Phillies to an 8-6 victory in Game 5 and renewed life for a repeat title.

"It's pretty cool. It's pretty surreal," Utley said with typical nonchalance. "I'm glad we got the win. It was a do-or-die game."

In Advanced Scouting, MLB FanHouse's professional talent evaluator breaks down the playoffs from a scouting perspective.

The approach was there, the execution was there, but Pedro Martinez's stuff was just short of allowing him to completely shut down the New York Yankees. All in all, the Phillies have to be more than pleased with just a few runs in six innings for their veteran right-hander. At least for a little while, he had the Yankees eating out of the palm of his hand.

It can't be said enough: The best way to stop New York's lineup is often by allowing their patient approach to work against them. Martinez has the type of command and moxie to pull off such an approach. By letting Martinez consistently get ahead 0-1 and 0-2, you give him multiple pitches to play with and different ways of getting you out.

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In Advanced Scouting, MLB FanHouse's professional talent evaluator breaks down the playoffs from a scouting perspective.

Was it the pitching or the offense's inability to produce? It's the question we always want the answer to when pitching shuts down a lineup over an extended period. In Game 2 of the ALCS, we watched two teams scratch and claw through extra innings to push runs across. Of course, there can never be a completely definitive answer, but Saturday night there were some instances where there were some answers.

In Joe Saunders, the Yankees faced a pitcher that generally thrives on throwing first-pitch strikes and changing speeds. And in A.J. Burnett, the Angels faced a pitcher that must be forced out of the strike zone to get him out of his groove. One could argue that both lineups could have done a better job with their approach against these pitchers.

In Advanced Scouting, MLB FanHouse's professional talent evaluator breaks down the playoffs from a scouting perspective.

Pitch selection, execution of those pitches, and the situation those pitches are thrown in is never more scrutinized than it is in the playoffs. Time and time again, one pitch in a given situation drastically swung the momentum of Game 2 between the Yankees and Twins Friday night in the Bronx. The game may have ended with home run heroics, but the tone was set by the pitchers throughout, whether it was in a positive or negative fashion.

First, there were the two starters who in their own ways came up big. Nick Blackburn took a strategy to the mound that has proved again and again to be the most successful against the New York lineup.

Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.

Prospects' careers don't always progress the way we hoped they would. While players like Rick Porcello and Clayton Kershaw became fantasy-relevant before their 22nd birthdays, Nolan Reimold had to wait until he was 25 to get a legitimate shot. Travis Hafner wasn't a true force until he was 27, etc.. In any case, like the curious one of scorching outfielder Garrett Jones, it's important to keep that perspective in mind.

So what exactly do we know about "The Robber Baron"? (Other than the fact that he's drilled nine homers in his first 17 games with Pittsburgh)

NEW YORK -- Curtis Granderson made sure every business card was laminated, the times and places immaculately engraved. He confirmed the restaurant reservations, paid for the hotel rooms, wrote down exact instructions for the subway to Yankee Stadium. This is how they would get to and from the airport; here was the nightclub where everyone would meet at 11:30 p.m., sharp. If Granderson didn't already have a pretty good job, he'd be a fine community organizer.

As it is, Granderson plays center field for the Detroit Tigers -- when he's not going to extraordinary lengths to make life a whole lot better for people he may or may not know. Searching for an escape from the daily rundown of athletes involved in steroid scandals, gunplay, drug use and assorted mayhem? Granderson might be ground zero for good work and good deeds.

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
That Florida's Sean West is now within 299 wins of Randy Johnson on the all-time career list.

West, 22, out-dueled Johnson on Monday in the latter's first start after reaching the 300-win milestone, taking a no-hitter into the seventh against San Francisco. It was the fourth career start for West, and his first victory.

A tall left-hander, he naturally idolized Johnson growing up.

Going up against Johnson was an even greater thrill.

"It was so surreal seeing him out there [Monday]," West said. "It was like a dream."

So far, West – who at 6-foot-8 gives up two inches to Johnson – has a 2.22 ERA with just 14 hits allowed in 24 1/3 innings.

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SAN FRANCISCO -- Even though Randy Johnson was the one who was pitching, catcher Dave Valle still woke up the next day with a sore left shoulder.

Valle, the Mariners' primary catcher in the early '90s, was the man who had to handle Johnson when he was more Wild Thing than Big Unit.

"The fastball would soar up and away (to righties) and if you'd catch it at the wrong angle, it would feel like your arm is going to be pulled out of the socket," Valle told FanHouse. "Then he'd throw that slider down at the back foot. So that was a lot of territory to cover for a catcher ...

"He was a rough day at the office for a catcher. He was throwing 100 mph and didn't have a real good idea where it was going."

BALTIMORE -- Good news was not in short supply for the scuffling New York Yankees Friday night. Alex Rodriguez got the oohs and aahs, the adulation and the jeers, at Camden Yards, homering on the first pitch he saw from Jeremy Guthrie to give his team a lead it wouldn't relinquish in a 4-0 win over the Orioles.

It was CC Sabathia who made that edge stand up, though. A-Rod or not, that might be the best news of all for the Yankees.

"He wants to be the guy who's the stopper," manager Joe Girardi said of Sabathia. "That's exactly what he was."