DH Hideki Matsui’s huge night(3 hits that produced 6 rbi) was more than enough as the New York Yankees won their record 27 World Championship ,defeating The Philadelphia Phillies 7-3 Wednesday night in the Bronx. Matsui’s 2 run homer in the 2nd inning set the tone and was the start of a record setting night. The pro’s pro, LH SP Andy Pettitte, was outstanding on 3 days rest for the Yankees, throwing into the 6th(5 and 2 thirds) while allowing 4 hits and 3 runs. He walked 5 and K-ed 3. Matsui’s 6 rbi tied Yankees 2B Bobby Richardson’s single game mark set in the 1960 Series. NY wins the series 4 games to 2 ending the Phillies reign as World Champions, marking the 6th time the Yankees have defeated the defending champ in the series.
Game Notes:
1- Too Late, Ryan! Phillies slugging 1B Ryan Howard’s 2 run homer dented Pettitte but it was a case of too little, too late for the NL RBI leader. He set a World series record with his 13 Ks and looked awful at times at the plate. In the big man’s defense, The Yankees staff is littered with lefties and his numbers(.207,6 homers, 33 rbi,.654 OPS vs. Southpaws compared to .320,39,108,1.088 vs. righties) did not forecast a strong series.
2- Free Godzilla! – Matsui, who is a tremendous offensive player, is a free agent in 2010. However, he has bad knees and is very limited in the field. Yankees would be smart to lock him up but have options. Veteran C Jorge Posada cannot catch every day and his bat is vital to their success. LF Johnny Damon is also a free agent and arguably the clubs top prospect on the plays CF.(Stud minor leaguer Austin Jackson) In my opinion, they keep Damon and let Matsui walk to an AL team.(Seattle?)
3- MVP Joke- Matsui had a huge game but I could name 3 Yankees- Damon, SS Derek Jeter and 3B Alex Rodriquez who are far more deserving of the honor. Damon is constantly in the middle of everything that happens offensively, he has great at bats and rarely makes mistakes. Jeter is Jeter(Hit .423 in the series), guy shows up and battles, a complete and total pain in the ass to pitch to. These two are a nightmare and back to back, they should be illegal! A Rod stepped up huge and had maybe the biggest hit of the series, a momentum swinging two run homer vs. Cole Hamels in game 3. Matsui was great Wednesday, but he did not start in 3 of the 6 games played. Awful job by MLB.
4- Small Company-The Yankees became the first team to lead the majors in runs and homers to win the World Series since the incredible 1984 Detroit Tigers club. That home grown squad that featured SS Alan Trammell, 2B Lou Whitaker, C Lance Parrish and RF Kirk Gibson, started out the season on an amazing 35-5 run. The club Tigers never looked back , winning the ‘84 World Series over the San Diego Padres.
