NEW YORK – Finally, there was life in Ryan Howard's bat, energy in his words. "Come on man, let's go," he shouted upon crossing the plate, as if adding a hardy exclamation point to his two-run homer in the sixth inning would spark whatever the defending champions had been missing since they took a brief World Series lead way back in October.
The Philadelphia Phillies brought the bravado, for sure. On the eve of the Fall Classic, Jimmy Rollins made one of his many extemporaneous observations, saying on the Jay Leno Show, of all places, "If we're nice, we'll let it go six. But I'm thinking five. Close it out at home." So here's the first lesson, to any budding big leaguers: try not to mouth off when playing the wealthiest, hungriest, most talent-stacked team on the planet.
NEW YORK -- This was not the type of World Series that the Phillies are going to spend much time replaying in their minds. Not long after they watched the Yankees celebrate on the field, taking the title that they won last year, the Phillies were already in full shoulder-shrug mode.
Regrets? Not really.
"They got the hits and we didn't," Jimmy Rollins said. "Simple. There's no science other than that. Get a hit or you don't. And they did."
Jack Marucci's focus this week has been the health of his LSU Tigers as they prepare for Saturday's SEC showdown at third-ranked Alabama. But Marucci can't help but sneak a peek at the World Series between the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies.
Especially after Marucci prior to the start of the Series received a message from Philadelphia's Chase Utley that indicated he wanted a special bat to swing against New York reliever Mariano Rivera.
"It's the same wood but a different style, a little thicker and shorter," Marucci told FanHouse Wednesday.
Phillies second baseman Chase Utley is having quite the World Series. The perennial All-Star is hitting .333 with five home runs, eight RBI and a disgusting 1.651 OPS. Needless to say, he's as locked in as anyone in the series. Four of those round-trippers came in the two Phillies victories (two in each), which illustrates the point that it is paramount for the Yankees to stop him in order to win Game 6.
PHILADELPHIA -- Phillies hitting coach Milt Thompson didn't need any detailed analysis to get his players to understand what they needed to do differently against A.J. Burnett.
The game plan might as well have consisted of one word: "Swing."
"Be ready to hit the fastball," Thompson told FanHouse after the Phillies walloped Burnett for six quick runs en route to a season-saving 8-6 victory in Game 5 of the World Series. "We let him get first-pitch strikes on us last time and he got his confidence and started getting his curveball over. Tag the fastball. That's all."
Playoff Pulse is our morning rundown of the night that was and the night that will be during the MLB postseason.
Looking Forward ...
Not this again. The World Series hasn't gone past five games since 2003, and that streak could be extended for a sixth straight year if the Yankees take care of business Monday night in Philadelphia.
There's a good chance that it won't and the Yankees will return to New York for Game 6 instead of a parade. The reason for that, of course, is Cliff Lee. But if Lee's form slips, A.J. Burnett could very easily put away the defending champs.
Playoff Pulse is our morning rundown of the night that was and the night that will be during the MLB postseason.
Looking Forward ...
For the seventh time in his playoff career as a closer (1995-96 not included), Mariano Rivera made a second consecutive appearance of two innings or more Thursday, sealing it with a six-out save in Game 2 of the World Series after he shut the door on the Angels in Game 6 of the ALCS.
That, of course, is a tribute to Rivera's unrivaled excellence and his durability, but it may also reveal something about the state of the Yankees' bullpen.
NEW YORK -- Much as we love to lean on numbers as we dissect the game of baseball, they often can mislead you. A look at just a part of the story told by the numbers can lead you astray.
If you looked at CC Sabathia's dominant statistics against left-handed hitters this year and figured that he'd be an especially tough assignment for the Phillies, you neglected to take one thing into account: Not all left-handed hitters are created equal.
After the Philadelphia Phillies won the 2008 World Series championship, highly respected general manager Pat Gillick decided to step down. A few days later, the reins of the franchise were handed to rookie general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr., who had been serving as Gillick's right-hand man for the past three seasons.
Needless to say, Amaro wasn't exactly heading into an easy gig. He was taking over a team that had nowhere to go but down, he was succeeding someone considered one of the best in the business and he was doing it in the unforgiving city of Philadelphia. The deck was already stacked against him, but Amaro appeared to make matters worse when his first big move drew the skepticism of many: he signed Raul Ibanez instead of retaining the services of Pat Burrell.
LOS ANGELES -- It happens suddenly and inexplicably, virus-like, an out-of-body experience that can turn the best ballplayers into hopeless head cases. Worse, the condition might linger for weeks or months, even years. For sure, it comes with the worst possible timing for Chase Utley, heretofore known as baseball's most productive second baseman, a man whose only previous gaffe in his professional life came at the World Series celebration last fall in Philadelphia.
"World champions! World [bleeping] champions!" he shouted to the fans, apparently unaware that the ceremony was being telecast without a tape delay.
NEW YORK -- This was not the type of World Series that the 
Jack Marucci
Phillies second baseman 
PHILADELPHIA -- 
Playoff Pulse is our morning rundown of the night that was and the night that will be during the 
Playoff Pulse is our morning rundown of the night that was and the night that will be during the 
NEW YORK -- Much as we love to lean on numbers as we dissect the game of baseball, they often can mislead you. A look at just a part of the story told by the numbers can lead you astray.
After the 
LOS ANGELES -- It happens suddenly and inexplicably, virus-like, an out-of-body experience that can turn the best ballplayers into hopeless head cases. Worse, the condition might linger for weeks or months, even years. For sure, it comes with the worst possible timing for 
