You Idiot! Oh - great play!

...is what was bellowed from Cappiello's Yankee Corner (known by the Mrs. as "the clubhouse" since that's where I spend all my time.  Kids, don't be like me).  Two outs, no one on, Damon gave the kind of AB that I thought may pay off only if they made it to the 10^th inning against Lidge.  But he earned the single and clearly swiped the second base in a highly premeditated move whereby Damon knew he would nab third if no one was covering.  I don't know if he consciously thought "If I'm standing on third, Lidge won't throw the slider", but perhaps this is so and it most certainly played out that way.  At first glance I erroneously thought he fell for a simple age-old decoy by Feliz, but maybe I've just grown accustomed to bad baserunning this post-season that my yelling at the TV is more muscle memory than anything.  Either way, what was obvious is the Yanks (or at least Damon himself) prepared for this situation whereas the Phillies did not.  They did their homework by positioning Teixeira with the overshift, but they were thoroughly caught with their pants down when it lead to an extra base on a steal.  It was a heads-up play by Damon, but this is not unprecedented.  Either Lidge or Ruiz fell asleep on the play and forgot what was discussed in a team meeting, or such a situation was never discussed in the first place - the latter being what could prove to be an egregious oversight.   That at bat and subsequent heads-up baserunning is what we have not seen enough of in the post-season in general. 

The game tying HR by Feliz in the 8^th screamed of being a series turning point.  Instead of Rivera coming in to close out a close lead, it appeared Phil Coke was coming in to lose it.  Damon looks like he has laid claim to a different turning point altogether.  But that can change six more times before the series is over.

Mo Holding Steady

Mo is still efficient.  So far, he still is Superman™, rather than the pitcher who looks like he's been overused weeks before his 40^th birthday.  Knock on wood, he's the only stopper left who is essentially untainted this post-season.  He's looked shaky once or twice and in the process of this post-season all's he's done is improved his already preposterous lifetime post-season ERA.  In closing out the game tonight, even he showed emotion.  Good, gameface emotion, not histrionics emotion.  This one could be a back-breaker for Phils, and Charlie Manuel's post-game testiness is a good sign.

Legacy Clinched?

          Arod has been a funny cat in this series.  His strike zone still looks too big, he still looks a bit too anxious, yet his hits have been huge.  The two out double to drive in Damon defined clutch and was sweet poetic justice for a guy who looked like he was plunked for the fun of it.  I know it's the WS, but his HBP early in the game was suspicious.  Blanton was clearly going to pitch around him and in all likelihood put him on 1B (should Arod have chosen to not expand his strikezone), so plunking him high and hard on a fastball that was not targeted for that general area is very curious.  The HBPs yesterday did not seem dodgy.  Tonight's definitely raised an eyebrow.

          Still, somebody explain to me the significance of an umpire warning both benches.  They are allowed to use their judgment to kick someone out without warning, yet they can also use their judgment to not eject someone after there's been a warning.  So the point is...?  

Jorge, Come Back!

So Posada comes up with a clutch 9^th inning hit himself.  And... then where is he going?  In getting thrown out by 97 feet trying to get to 2B, I considered that maybe he was sacrificing himself by drawing the throw to ensure Arod scores from second, but... on a ball hit to the gap, Arod scoring is a no-brainer.  When and why did Posada magically morph into Manny?

Incoming 

It's moot, but Ryan Howard obviously never touched home on the run that scored early in the game.  Ump missed it, but so did the Yanks.  They may have deserved to have that run score after giving up a stolen base to Howard. Maybe shame is why they didn't protest. 

Also...

Is Matt Stairs really Charlie Manuel's best PH when he does not represent the tying run?  He's come up the last two games in instances where he can go ahead and launch a Broxton type 500 ft HR and the Yanks would still have a lead, so there's not been much drama to his ABs.  His OBP has been decent considering how low his average is, but when he's not representing so much as the tying run, no pitcher should be walking him.

Tex

Teixeira is still not hitting well in this post-season, but with the occasional big hit and stellar defense, his post-season is reminiscent of his early struggles in the regular season with the team this year.  He at least brings something to the table when not fully on his game.  Still, if Teixeira v.May-September shows up, the Yanks may be able to win without the smoke, mirrors and whatever voodoo they've been doing.

By the Way

Considering the way Joba is throwing vs the way Hughes is throwing, I liked Joba pitching the 8^th.  Temporarily heartbreaking HR to Feliz aside, he may yet loom large in this series.

Lee Waits

CC is clearly laboring, but tonight he displayed the type of performance I figured Cliff Lee could have provided, if not better.  When running your #1 out there three times in a series, it's a bit much to assume he'll be lights out each time, but if he's steady enough to keep it tight, that could be a huge boost.  We are left to wonder if Lee has been coddled too much. 

Short Rest