Is it too early for this? I think not.

Here are my top ten Yankee moments from 2000-2010–feel free to leave a comment with any you think I missed!

10. Subway Series A lot of you might argue that this is too far down on the list, but the 2000 Yankees team was perhaps better lucky than good. If the most remembered moment of that series involves Roger Clemens throwing the barrel of a bat at Mike Piazza, then, well, it’s probably not a very good World Series.

09. Jobamania Not since, perhaps, the coming of Derek Jeter had a Yankee rookie been so heralded. In one year Joba Chamberlain had risen from the lowest levels of the minors to becoming one of the most recognizable names in New York, and perhaps most of all, along with Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, signalling the first ripened fruits of a reborn Yankee farm system.

08. Boston Massacre(s) A rare regular-season five game series in Boston in 2006 that saw the Yankees sweep will always bring smiles to the faces of Yankee fans. As nice as it was, however, the four game sweep in August 2009 may have been even more meaningful–the law of averages coming full bore after an 0-8 start and a sweep that included perhaps the best regular season game all year–a 15 inning scoreless affair ended with an Alex Rodriguez home run.

07. Jeter Flies into the Stands (h/t Matt Lorenzo): This one moment perhaps sums up what Derek Jeter means to the Yankees. During a regular season game in 2004, Derek Jeter attempted to catch a foul ball, and in doing so ended up diving into the stands along the third base line. He emerged bruised and bloody but never the worse for wear; the Yankees went on to win the game in extra innings.

06. Aaron Boone Plays a Pick Up Basketball Game At some point between the 2003 and 2004 seasons, Aaron Boone played a pick up game of basketball and tore his ACL, and the Yankees needed a third baseman. Enter Alex Rodriguez. Fans love him or hate him, but his mark on the team this decade–from playoff goat to playoff hero, from HAH! to Cynthia to Madonna to Kate, from hip surgery to 500 home runs, his mark on the team is indelible.

05. Mariano’s 500th save…and first RBI It might be this moment, much more than the 2000 World Series and even more than the Luis Castillo dropped pop up that best exemplifies the differences between the Yankees and the Mets. More importantly, it exemplifies just how much Rivera has meant for the Yankees–whatever the fault with the save statistic, only one other pitcher in MLB history has that many, and unlike Rivera, he does not have a stellar postseason record. Every year this decade Yankee fans appreciated Mo just a little more and in 2009, he was the only closer not to blow a lead in the postseason. It’s not a coincidence.

04. Babe, Bucky, Boone, any Questions? One swing on an October night in 2003 summed up everything it meant to be a Yankee, and everything that, until 2004, it meant to be a Red Sox. Eighty-four years, summed up in ball that sailed over the left field fence. Never mind the ultimate consequences, that one moment, those few minutes–if one ever asks you why you are a Yankee fan, just find a video of that swing.

03. Nine Innings From Ground Zero. Nevermind the ultimate result of the 2001 World Series–what matters is that in October 2001, the Yankees played. They fell behind Oakland two games to none and then won three straight, partially due to perhaps the greatest play of Derek Jeter’s defensive career; they beat the 116-win Mariners in a five game ALCS (remember the No-game-six chants?), and then, most remarkably of all, they managed to perform the same feat in back-to-back World Series games: Tying each game with a two-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning. Even today, so many years later, no one in New York will be surprised at all when you tell them that it was Tino Martinez and Scott Brosius that hit those home runs. The most chilling moment, however, may not have been the home runs, but instead when, in game five, the entirety of the Stadium started chanting Paul O’Neill’s name, a moving send off to one of the Yankees’ most beloved right fielders.

02. Goodbye, Hello I must confess, if you had told me as recently as 2005 or 2006 that the Yankees would ever leave the old Stadium, I would not have believed you. Still, despite the flaws, they pulled it off as well as such things can be pulled off–the farewell ceremonies were done while the Yankees were still in the playoff hunt, they got the glory of one more All Star game in New York City, Mariano Rivera threw the last pitch, and then, when they moved across the street, they won it all in year one. The old Stadium was not baseballl’s cathedral because of its aesthetics; it was baseball’s cathedral because of everything that happened on the field. If 2009 is any portent, the ghosts moved across the street, and the Yankees wasted no time in Christening their new digs.

01. 27 This isn’t much of any debate. The Yankees won two World Series titles in the decade, and they actually won more games when they missed the playoffs in 2008 than they won in the 2000 season. In 2009 the Yankees were the best team in baseball, played like it, and had a postseason to remember. Whether it was Alex Rodriguez carrying the line up on his back through the ALDS and ALCS, Matsui’s rampage in the clincher or Mariano Rivera simply playing G-d, the 2009 World Series may very well be the most satisfying World Series for Yankees fans since the 1996 team upset the defending Atlanta Braves.

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[I will have a recap with photos and videos from the bar--AND OMG DID I MENTION CHRIS MELONI WAS THERE?!--a little later on]

Let us now praise famous men.

Let us praise men that took Twenty-Seven, that did so easily in a 7-3 fashion.

Let us praise them.

Let us praise Hideki Matsui, who had six RBI, a home run, single and double. Matsui, who had the third highest batting average this World Series ever (min 10 ABs). Matsui, who’s six RBI ties Bobby Richardson with the most RBI in a single World Series game. Matsui, who’s eight RBI total in the World Series are the most since Reggie Jackson. Matsui, who is the first full-time DH to ever win the World Series.

Let us praise him.

Let us praise Andy Pettitte, who pitched his 37-year-old body on three days’ rest to the tune of three runs over five and two-thirds’ innings. Pettitte, who clinched everything this year–the AL East, the ALDS, the ALCS and the World Series, all for the Yankees, the first time any pitcher has ever done that. Pettitte who became just the second pitcher after David Wells in 98 to win four postseason games for the Yankees. Pettitte who did everything the Yankees asked and then more.

Let us praise him.

Let us praise Mariano Rivera, who saw it to the end. Rivera, who’s World Series ERA is now 0.99. Rivera, who’s 41 pitches were the most he has ever thrown in a World Series game. Rivera, who has now been the finishing pitcher in the final game in each of the Yankees’ last 6 Series appearances and in 15
overall playoff Series.

Let us praise him.

Let us praise Alex Rodriguez, who may be the sole person responsible for the Yankees making it to the World Series. Rodriguez, who’s ALDS and ALCS for once and all rid him of the playoff demons and the unfair scapegoating. Rodriguez, who can now say he is a True Yankee in every sense of the word. Rodriguez, who has proven, once and for all, that he can play for a World Series winner.

Let us praise him.

Let us praise Joe Girardi, who has now won the World Series in just his third year as a manager and second with the Yankees. Girardi, who guided his team to 103 wins in the regular season–and 114 overall. Girardi, who became the first person to play for and manage the same team to a World Series title since Billy Martin.

Let us praise him.

Let us praise the Yankees, who have now won their 27th world title, the most ever for a professional sporting team. The Yankees, who never gave Philadelphia a chance last night, who knocked Pedro out in the third inning, who played smart baseball and had the game more or less decided by the sixth inning.

Let us praise them.

It is said that some are born great, and some have greatness thrust upon them.

This is wrong.

It does not allow for the fact that some become great, not because they were born that way or because they found themselves in extreme circumstances, but because they themselves decided to become great.

In 2009, greatness came to those who took it.

It came to New York.

It came to the Yankees.

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Generally speaking, I try to remain calm. There are few things that really get me riled up–human rights, civil rights, etc…and fans that have the gall to ask if Mariano Rivera can handle the pressure.

Look, I know we’re all on edge. I know the Yanks missed the chance to clinch on Monday and that we’re scared to death of a Game Seven given recent history.

That doesn’t give you license to lose all semblance of reality, however.

Has Mariano failed before? Yes. I don’t deny it.

The thing is, those failures are so rare, so abnormal, that they stand out because they are so deviant from the norm.

Just remember, over fifteen years, Mariano’s postseason ERA is still less than one. Regardless of what he may or may not do tonight, you don’t have a postseason ERA over a time period that long and that low if you can’t handle the pressure.

The Yankees have some issues. Pettitte on short rest, Canó not hitting at all, the possibility Joe Girardi might start Hairston again–all of these are legitimate concerns (though, as I’ve argued, starting Pettitte is still the right move).

Mariano Rivera is not one of them.

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It’s tempting to judge a decision as right or wrong based on whether or not it works out.

While this may be the case in some aspects of life–ie, surviving on a desert island–it is not necessarily the case in baseball.

Since so much in baseball depends simply on pure luck, it is entirely possible to make the wrong decision–starting Hairston in Game 2 of the World Series–and not be penalized for it.

On the other hand, it’s entirely possible to make the right decision and have it backfire. History abounds with plenty of these and I’m sure you can find an example without much thought.

The decision to go with a three-man rotation–invariably one that requires each pitcher to make at least one start on three days’ rest, could end up the most egregious example of a right decision that doesn’t work if the Yankees cannot win tonight or tomorrow.

I’ve had this argument with a few of you, but let’s rehash why the three man rotation is the right decision. It goes something like this:

1) Chad Gaudin has pitched one inning since September. One. Asking him to suddenly make a start–against the Phillies, no less-would be like asking my brother, who hasn’t done much running since the birth of his son six months ago, to have run the NYC marathon last Sunday.

2) Joba Chamberlain, the other option for a fourth starter, utterly bombed in his last start. Don’t try to tell me different–I had the misfortune of seeing that one in person!

Anyway, for what it’s worth, the Yankees actually really have needed Chamberlain in the bullpen, as Hughes has more or less run out of gas, and Girardi, for whatever reason, still seems scared of using Robertson (though he’s getting better).

Joba’s last performance from the bullpen, in Game Four, was stellar, even with the mistake to Pedro Feliz.

***

That the Yankees would go to the postseason with a three man rotation has its roots in the injury to Chien Ming Wang and the fact that, well, Sergio Mitre is still Sergio Mitre.

A healthy Wang that pitches anywhere near his performance pre-June 2008 is a more than competent fourth starter, and this discussion never happens. In fact, it’s tantalizing to think about just how good the Yankees would have been this season if Wang had been healthy and, well, Wang all season long–they won 103 games more or less without him (he had two wins).

***

Such as it is, the three man rotation is the best choice the Yankees could have made given their circumstances.

It should also be noted that Gaudin in the bullpen has allowed Girardi the flexibility of playing bullpen mix-and-match (even if sometimes he shouldn’t), but that has kept the bullpen from being burnt out.

Tonight, the Yankees have a full bullpen available–even AJ Burnett in an emergency–to back up Pettitte’s start.

It’s not a bad place to be.

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(h/t: The Yankee Universe)

The City, it seems, is in a groggy funk this morning.

Lots of people who think a Game 5 loss automatically means the Yankees are going to completely collapse and Philadelphia will win the series.

Clearly, these people did not watch the 2009 ALCS.

Philadelphia’s a good team. The Yankees have their work cut out for them, yes, but don’t forget, it’s the Yankees–not the Phillies–who are up three games to two.

The Yankees haven’t been this deep in a postseason in almost a decade–a series that either the Yankees will win or a series that will go seven games.

How many of you would sign up in February for a team that will play in the sixth and possibly seventh game of a World Series? I guarantee you every single one of you would do so.

Let me say this again, for dramatic effect: the Yankees are in the World Series.

As far as baseball is concerned, you cannot ask for more than that.

The Yankees are the only team in the American League left standing; better than the Red Sox and the Angels and the Rays and the Twins and the Tigers and on and on.

As much as we may worry about Andy Pettitte going on three days’ rest, remember also who Philadelphia is throwing on the mound–Pedro Martinez, who’s had a decent postseason, and Cole Hamels, who is so utterly lost he provoke a teammate to ask “Hey, didn’t you quit?”.

The Yankees, instead of turning to infighting and public remarks about wanting the season to end, have instead chosen to wear it, owning up to when they don’t play well, and taking it in stride when they do.

That’s class.

There is no good reason, no way to convince me, that these 2009 Yankees, that these fine men and centaurs cannot finish the task set before them.

Even if calamity strikes and they do not, I will still hold my chin high–this is one of the best, most fun to follow Yankee teams that there ever has been, and I am honored to be a fan the whole way through. Whatever happens from here on out, nothing will invalidate how much fun this season has been, and how much it has meant to be able to remember why it is we are Yankee fans in the first place.

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You will want to blame Derek Jeter and Phil Coke.

You should not.

If AJ Burnett pitches past the third inning, none of what happens in the later innings becomes an issue.

Not being able to record an out in the third inning is bad pitching any way you slice it.

Part of you may feel for AJ. That is now twice this postseason he has been on the mound for a clinching game and twice now that he has been unable to accomplish it. There is no doubt that unlike some other pitchers (I am looking at you, Hamels) Burnett wanted to be on the mound.

Alas, a twenty-seventh was not in the cards tonight.

It’s not so bad though-Andy Pettitte is on the mound in game six, in the Bronx and the Phillies are without their best pitcher.

There is no reason to dispair.

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I know this has been said before, but one play in last night’s game was so important that it bears repeating: Johnny Damon’s steal of second and third base with two outs in the ninth inning.

First, let’s go over, really simply, how he did it.

Damon stealing second itself is not that earth shattering, though to do so with two outs in the ninth inning of a tied game on the road involves some risk that should not be overlooked.

The key part of the play, however, is that the Phillies–just like the Twins and the Angels–picked a bad time to forget their fundamentals.

If you want to shift for Teixeira, that’s all well in good–but when you do so, either the pitcher or the catcher is supposed to cover third base. Simple, right?

Well, no one on the Phillies was able to remember this one, simple thing, so third base remained unconvered. Damon saw it, and Damon went. As Damon would later say (via the fine folks at LoHud):

“I think what I had to see before I could start running to third base was how Pedro (Feliz) caught the ball,” Damon said. “So I knew it drug him off some. I’m just glad that when I started running, I still had some of my young legs behind me… You know, it worked out, because I felt like being on third base, it possibly takes away a slider, a tough slider in the dirt that I may be able to score on. Alex got two fastballs. Hopefully it, well, it did work out for us.”

Since the play occurred so fast–not more than nine seconds–one has to imagine that it was something that was based more on gut than something overly-thought-out, perhaps a nice contrast to Girardi’s conservative risk-safe managerial style.

Here’s how important the play is:

Imagine Damon steals second, but not third base.

The entire way Lidge pitches to Teixeira changes. There are still breaking balls in the dirt, pitches that Teixeira might very well swing-and-miss on–and could send the game to extra innings.

Imagine the game goes into extra innings. Girardi plays it conservative, pitching Coke when he should probably be pitching Mo as the top of Philadelphia’s lineup is due to come up. Coke’s a decent enough bullpen guy during the season, but he has been known to give up the occasional home run.

Now imagine him pitching to Victorino and Utley and Howard. Not a pleasant thought–though,here I must admit that the one Philadelphia bat that scares me more than any is Werth. Anyway.

The thing with extra innings on the road, as we saw in Anaheim, is that it’s incredibly hard to win because if the other team scores even just one run the game is over.

At home, the Yankees are in their element in extra innings, but that is because they are home.

Extra innings on the road does not definitely mean the Phillies win, but it certainly increases their chances.

If they win, the series is tied at two games apiece and all of a sudden we have a best-of-three set, and the Yankees have to face Cliff Lee in game one.

The possibility of going back to New York down 3-2 is not one that would make any Yankee fan happy, even with Pettitte and Sabathia on the bump for games six and seven.

As it is, though, third base was stolen.

Third base was stolen, taking away any pitch in the dirt. Teixeira was hit and A-Rod’s double scored Damon. With Rivera looming–in games 3 and 4 he’s thrown 13 pitches combined–one run would very possibly have been enough, but just for good measure Posada got the Yankees two more, and the Yankees pushed the Phillies to the brink.

All because Johnny Damon had the foresight to take a base no one was covering and, once again, the Yankees took advantage of poor fundamentals from the other team.

After all, Johnny Damon, the former Red Sox, should know how important a stolen base can be.

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After all this time, the ultimate magic number is down to one.

The Yankees’ favorite number, however, may very well be nine: all season long, the team has worked ninth inning magic, and tonight was no different.

After blowing a one-run lead in the eighth, the Yankees came to bat in the ninth inning against the Phillies’ enigmatic Brad Lidge. It went something like this:

Matsui: out
Jeter: out
Yankee fans on Twitter: GROAN. After all, Phil Coke is warming in the bullpen. As much as we might like Coke, it still makes us nervous…but then….

Johnny Damon: single.
Johnny Damon: Steals second, then goes to third when he sees no one covering–he simply outruns Feliz.
Mark Teixeira: Hit by pitch.
Alex “centaur” Rodriguez: Double to the gap. In the postgame, Rodriguez says, “well, I mean, Brad Lidge is a great competitor.” What he means is: “Brad Lidge threw me a freaking meatball”.
Yankee fans on Twitter: WOOOHOOO ALEX FREAKIN’ CENTAUR RODRIGUEZ.

Jorge Posada: Doubles off of Lidge, scores Teixeira and Rodriguez, and then, being Jorge Posada, runs himself into an out.

The Yankees go to the bottom of the ninth with a three run lead, and with the Sandman on the mound, the result was a win that has the Yankees up three games to one.

****

CC Sabathia started the game on three days’ rest, and while certainly not awful, seemed to struggle at times–please note, when I say struggle, I’m speaking in relative terms. Struggling for Sabathia is not the same as, say, struggling for Sergio Mitre.

Still, Sabathia gave the Yankees seven innings, and the Yankees never trailed. It’s hard to ask for more than that.

Joba Chamberlain was that close to get out of the eighth inning, and actually looked extremely strong, but one mistake and the Yankees were suddenly that much closer to the series being tied at two games apiece.

The Yankee bullpen right now is in an interesting spot, where Hughes looks like he’s run out of gas, Girardi keeps shying away from Robertson and Marte might be the best non-Mariano reliever this series. Whudda thunk it, huh?

****

Lost in all the hubub of the ninth inning, it should not go unnoticed that Melky Cabrera had to leave the game with a slight hamstring strain.

If Melky is not available for the game tomorrow, it would seriously weaken the lineup–Molina is presumed likely to catch Burnett in the NL park; Gardner at the bottom of the line up would not be ideal. If such is the case, one has to hope that Girardi will give more thought to starting Posada.

****

The Yankees are now have one final step to take. All eyes are on them.

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While playoff baseball itself can be entertaining, the experience is that much more when you are able to share it with others.

So it was, last night, when ten of us crowded into Blondie’s on 79th and Amsterdam. Well, originally it was ten, but the number grew as friends found themselves in the right place at the right time.

I’ve been in bars before, watched games on tvs before, but never like this–never a World Series game for my team, in a bar, on Halloween, on a Saturday night.

All it takes is the right thing happening at the right time–such was the case.

Man, we were loud.

Between chanting Let’s Go Yankees, demanding that A-Rod’s home run be called, well, a home run, and singing along to Enter Sandman (yes, they played it as Mo walked in from the bullpen), you may have thought that we were there, at Citizen’s Bank Park, watching.

Well, that or that we were all very drunk.

After you watch this video, you’ll probably think it was the latter:

[Warning: We are not good singers. Please do not play this video in front of your music class or anyone whose ears you would like to protect.]

(Photos are credit: Amanda Rykoff and Rebecca Glass. Video credit: Rebecca Glass)

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When Andy Pettitte was down 3-0 in the bottom of the second and had thrown around forty pitches, admit it, you were worried.

We don’t learn, do we?

In game 3 of the 1999 World Series, with Andy Pettitte starting, the Yankees were down 5-1 in the game and came back and won.

Down 3-0, then, should have been nothing.

Of course, at the time, Cole Hamels was dealing, no-hitting the Yankees, but Hamels has been so ordinary, so human this postseason, that it could not last.

So it didn’t.

In fact, the very first Yankee hit of the game was a 2-run home run from Alex Rodriguez that hit off of a camera in right field.  One astute twitterer compared the role of the camera to that of Jeffrey Maier.  With comparisons to the late nineties so prevalent, this one seems more than apt.

Rodriguez’s home run was as if a pressure valve had been released:  the very next inning, Swisher, who had been batting under .150 in the postseason, doubled, and came home on an RBI from Andy Pettitte.  This was followed by a bloop single from Derek Jeter and a two-run double from Johnny Damon.

The Yankees took a 5-3 lead and did not look back–instead, they got four more runs on a Swisher home run, Matsui home run and Posada single.

Pettitte gave the Yankees six innings that were far frm his best but, in the end, good enough, and then the bullpen took over, and, believe it or not, did a decent job.

Joba Chamberlain and Damaso Marte pitched 1-2-3 innings in the seventh and the eighth; Phil Hughes still is not right, but with a four run lead the Yankees had a luxury and only needed to use Mariano for two outs.

The game, of course, could only end one way:  with Mariano Rivera facing Jimmy Rollins, who had, as discussed earlier, attempted to trash talk the Yankees’ closer.

There’s only one way that could end, and I think you know:  Rollins popped out on the second pitch.

Now, whatever happens, the Yankees are guaranteed at least one thing:  unlike what Jimmy Rollins predicted, the Phillies cannot win the 2009 World Series in five games.

The Yankees, on the other hand, should the gods smile upon them, can make it happen.

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