Happy Hiroki Kuroda Day!

After  nearly two weeks on the road, that's just what I needed on a lazy Thursday afternoon: A Yankee matinee, featuring the league's best starting pitcher.

Some others in New York might disagree. Mets fans will greet each other, "Happy Matt Harvey Day" on the day their All-Star pitcher is scheduled, the way Alabama fans greet each other "Roll Tide." But since Harvey isn't even the best pitcher in his city, I say Happy Hiroki Kuroda Day.

In 100+ degree heat in Texas, Hiroki Kuroda gave us 7 shutout innings (for the 7th time this season) and made the Yankees anemic offense look good enough in a 2-0 win.

While the Yankees plod along at 54-48, averaging under 4 runs a game, alternating Lyle Overbay and Vernon Wells as their cleanup hitters, and ace CC Sabathia (9-8, 4.37) has been unreliable, Kuroda has been the team's MVP.

Nobody will gravitate to Kuroda for Cy Young because of his 10-6 record, despite a 2.51 ERA that's 2nd in the AL. But the less than stellar Won-Loss mark deserves closer examination.

> On April 20 in Toronto, Kuroda gave up just 1 ER in 7.1 IP. David Robertson blew the lead in the 8th before the Yankees won in 11 innings.

> On May 28, Kuroda outdueled Matt Harvey for 7 innings, but Mariano Rivera blew the sane in the 9th and the Mets won 2-1.

> On July 7, Kuroda gave the Yankees 7 shutout innings (again), but Rivera gave up a home run to Adam Jones in the 9th in a loss to Baltimore. Rivera's swansong season has been glorious, he's 33 for 35 in save opportunities, but both fiascos have come at Kuroda's expense.

So Kuroda should really, legitimately, be 13-6. And in the 6 losses, the Yankees have scored a grand total of 10 runs, so maybe a couple of those should be wins as well.

And he carries himself like an ace with presence and swagger, on a staff that boasts prolific types like Sabathia, Rivera, and Andy Pettitte.

It's going to be a tough job for the Yankees the rest of the way with 60 games to go. They're 6 games back in the AL East, and 3 games out of an AL Wild Card Playoff. But it's good to know that once every 5 days the man is on the mound.

Yanchorman

It's early in the season yet, but stoic and undersung right-hander Hiroki Kuroda (6-2, 1.99) hasn't just become the Yankees ace, he might just be the best pitcher in baseball. As of this minute anyway, since the Red Sox Clay Buchholz (6-0, 1.78) has dropped from spectacular to merely great.

It didn't take long in 2013 for Kuroda to surpass both Andy Pettitte and CC Sabathia as the Yankees dominant stopper. After his first start of the season, when he was lifted as a precaution when a ball hit off his finger, Kuroda has put the Yankees in a position to win his next 8 starts. His only loss was when the Yankees were shut out 2-0, at Coors Field of all places.

Nobody trumpets Kuroda because he is so methodical, but the inside numbers have been brilliant:

> In 58.2 Innings, he's given up 42 hits and 14 walks, putting his WHIP at 0.95 (5th in AL).

> Of the 42 hits allowed, there have been just 3 HR and 10 2B. So opponents are hitting just .201 and slugging at an anemic .292 (2nd in AL).

> And he has allowed Zero Stolen Bases, very rare for an RHP with 9 starts. That must be a concentrated area of improvement since he allowed 17 last season.

In the last 35 years, only one Yankee (Roger Clemens, 2001) has won the AL Cy Young award. And in the last 20 years, only one pitcher (Justin Verlander, 2011) has won the AL MVP.

With Kuroda anchoring the Yankees unimaginable 26-16 start, he should certainly be in the running for both awards. Though he'll likely have to beat out his own teammate, Mariano Rivera, to get them.

I know it's still early, but I am inspired to make wild predictions everytime I watch Kuroda pitch.

Happy Mo's Day

After a sweep in Kansas City, the Yankees have now won 5 straight to go 23-13. It's a number nobody expected at this stage with about two-thirds of the lineup on the DL. The difference between predicted an actual results has been the pitching of course. And specifically, the matter-of-fact return to form of 43-year old Mariano Rivera.

Rivera announced this would be his final season after tearing his ACL in a freak batting practice accident back in Kansas City a year ago. And he does his job with the same ruthless efficiency: like Robert Patrick's character in Terminator 2. And going 15-for-15 in save opportunities in the Yankees' first 36 games deserves a smile and a break from character.

To put that in perspective, Rivera has more saves than the Yankees have losses. And while Mo seems like the obvious Yankee MVP at this point, he wouldn't be in position to close without the strong starting pitching, led by Hiroki Kuroda.

Each of Kuroda's starts (5-2, 2.31) has been winnable and he goes deep into games, like another 7.2 innings today. This is Kuroda's 6th season on this side of the Pacific and for 4 seasons in LA the results differed drastically from start to start, though the stats evened out by the end of each season.

As a Yankee, his first few starts of 2012 were much of the same until he became the rotation's anchor, even better than CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte. And there's been some fire to go with his ice. Today it was a little dust up with home plate ump Laz Diaz upon his departure in the 8th.

Kuroda still uses an interpreter so you'd have to think Diaz was put off by body language. But the international language of baseball always translates: pitching.

Picking Up Where We Left Off

After the completion of play this afternoon in Toronto, the Yankees are now 10-6. So, they blew a late lead and cost Hiroki Kuroda a win, but the result was still favorable. With 10% of the season done, we can now assess how the team is doing and what a nice surprise April has been.

Brian Cashman is spinning his usual mastery, handling the Yankees' voluminous injuries with experienced stopgaps, and thus far the spare parts are humming. Kevin Youkilis, Travis Hafner, Vernon Wells, and Lyle Overbay not only have exceeded expectations but provided veteran leadership.

But the best Bronx Bomber thus far is a pitcher: Hiroki Kuroda. And it's not all that shocking considering what he did last year.

CC Sabathia (3-1, 2.57) has been strong, and Andy Pettitte (3-0, 2.01) has been brilliant. But Kuroda (2-1, 2.35) has put together back-to back gems, allowing one run and eight hits in the last 16+ innings. And based on how he ended 2012, that seems to be what we can expect.

After his first 9 starts as a Yankee last year he was still adjusting to a new coast in a new league at 3-6 with a 4.56 ERA. Since then, he's 15-6 with a 2.91 in 28 starts, not including two outstanding playoff starts.

In those 28 starts, Kuroda has allowed two or fewer runs 17 times. He is a stopper, and he's done it with just about as little fanfare as you can get in New York. While Sabathia commands all the money, and Pettitte has the resume, Kuroda is just a Hiro.

A Monday Night Hit And Run

So one Monday night, two crucial games and the only two professional teams that I follow, on at exactly the same time.

Usually football is the priority. The Jets have only 16 games in their regular season and they're all crucial until the annual tragic elimination. The Yankees on the other hand were playing a road playoff game, looking to go up 2-0 on Baltimore.

What do you do? Well the first thing is to make sure you make dinner ahead of time. The Yankees/O's was scheduled for 8 PM ET, and the Jets/Texans at 8:30, so plenty of time for chicken and sausage nachos with green olive salsa.

Since the Yankees were delayed 45 minutes by rain, I put the Jets on the big screen and the Yankees in the office 30 feet away. It's the path I would wear out all night with DVR rewinds ready to get caught up on whichever wasn't getting my immediate attention.

After the Texans went right down the field and scored on their opening drive and the Jets responded with a 3-and-out, I changed screens to try and shake things up. And the Yanks scored in the top of the 1st on a bizarre play in which Ichiro Suzuki should've been tagged out twice.

Now I'm not saying it was a bad call, but we were fortunate to have Angel Hernandez, the league's worst umpire, presiding over it.

Meanwhile, the Jets crowd actually was pumping up their team instead of groaning about them. Antonio Cromartie made a nice pick in front of Andre Johnson, and the Mark Sanchez found Jeff Cumberland for the tying TD.

But the good times didn't last. Arian Foster ran 13 yards for a TD on a play that Jon Gruden likened the blocking to a "symphony." Foster was shredding the Jets D for 93 rush yards in 19 minutes of action.

Andy Pettitte was mowing down the Orioles' first eight hitters, which prompted Ernie Johnson's first "perfect game" reference, citing the 56th anniversary of Don Larsen's World Series gem. The O's promptly staged a 2-out rally and took a 2-1 lead in the 3rd. Funny how that works.

After the Yankees tried to answer, but left the bases loaded in the 4th, the Jets were marching down the field in the 2-minuted drill before the half. Say what you want about Mark Sanchez, but he looks poised in these situations.

But as the Jets were closing in on some sort of score before the half, the unavoidable J.J. Watt got one of his big mitts up and deflected a pass to Brice McCain who returned the INT 86 yards. The deflated Jets managed to hold the Texans to a FG in the final seconds and went to halftime down 17-7.

Intermission was a good time to fold laundry, and ice a bruised foot that wasn't feeling any better with my constant pacing back and forth. So I relaxed in the big chair while the Yankees offense did nothing, and Pettitte looked solid.

The Jets opened the 2nd Half with Joe McKnight in at RB for the ineffective Shonn Greene. It wasn't the understudy that many of the Jets fans wanted (though the one I wanted), and resulted in another 3-and-out. The Texans then went on a 14-play, 70-yard drive that ate up half the 3rd quarter to go up 20-7.

The Jets were being manhandled on both sides of the ball and needed a spark. 100 yards later, McKnight was soaring across the goal line after an inspired kick return.

The Jets tried to seize on the momentum with a brilliantly executed onside kick, except our guy dropped the ball.

Andy Pettitte was pitching well, but allowed a run (the decisive run) in the 6th. After turning a 1-6-3 DP to end the inning, he intensely stalked off the mound chiding himself, "That's on me!"

Pettitte finished the night with 7+ innings, 3 runs on 7 hits, 1 walk and 5 Ks. He threw an efficient 98 pitches, and kept his team in it. But it wasn't good enough to win on this night.

The Jets held the Texans out of the end zone early in the 4th to stay in the game, but they wasted a strong Tim Tebow run and stalled for a FG themselves. The Jets were in striking range at 23-17, but time was running out. Not to mention the Jets had been plagued by disorganization and miscommunication on both sides of the ball, resulting in the premature use of time outs, which turned out to be a killer.

The Yankees got a Derek Jeter RBI single in the 8th to close to 3-2, but O's Manager Buck Showalter earned his paycheck. He brought in LHP Brian Matusz to intentionally walk LH hitting Robinson Cano to set up a matchup with switch-hitting Nick Swisher, who was 1-for-19 in his career against Matusz. Swish popped a weak flyball to left and the O's were out of danger.

The Jets last-gasp efforts were done in by the Texans D, and there was no magic for the Yankees in 9th (as opposed to the night before) against Baltimore's 51-save closer Jim Johnson.

So I spent a night engrossed in every detail of my two favorite squads, and they both lost. But there are takeaways, otherwise the time would've been wasted - which would haunt me more.

For the Jets, they look troubled but aren't that bad off at 2-3. The 3 losses are to Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Houston. No shame in any of that, even if the last two were home.

For the Yankees, they're right where they're supposed to be. They won the AL East, and now just have to win 2-out-of-3 at home to advance to the ALCS.

The next potential conflict is Sunday. The Jets host the Colts at 1 PM, and the Yankees will presumably  (hopefully?) have the Tigers in the Bronx for ALCS Game 2.

Flash Backtime: Pettitte And Forgettitte

How was your 2012? Well, how about un-retiring, turning 40, and getting a broken ankle after being hit by a line drive? And through it all, pitching great.

Andy Pettitte posted a 2.87 ERA in 12 starts in a year nobody saw coming and then had his season... interrupted. If past performance is any indicator, they Yanks have a pretty good horse to ride in ALDS Game 2 in Baltimore with a 19-10 career postseason record.

I dug up the Backtime archives about 3 years back. Pettitte had just won World Series Game 3, and would later go on to win the clincher in Game 6.

The question now becomes whether we get the old Andy Pettitte, or just an old Andy Pettitte.

Backtime - November 1, 2009

When there’s money on the table, you want a money pitcher. And Pettitte’s postseason history and 1,000-yard stare speaks to that.

I remember all the way back to Game 5 of the 1996 World Series, when Andy Pettitte was just a 24-year old 2nd year starter. He outdueled the best pitcher in baseball, John Smoltz, in a 1-0 squeaker. The Yankees closed out Fulton County Stadium winning all three in Atlanta and took the World Series in 6 games.

Then in 1998, Pettitte outpitched the best pitcher in baseball, Kevin Brown, in a 3-1 win in Game 4 in San Diego, completing a World Series sweep.

Now, he hasn’t always come through in the World Series – a couple of different Game 6’s come to mind, including getting pummeled by Arizona in ’01 and losing the clincher to Josh Beckett and the Marlins in ’03.

But more often than not, he’s going to gettitte done for you. And last night was a perfect example of that. There was no need to panic after giving up 3 early runs. Andy pretty much shut down the Phils the rest of the way, and added a key Pet-hitte RBI-single off of 2008 World Series MVP Cole Hamels for good measure.

Pettitte finished with 6 solid innings and his major-league record 17th postseason win. The length of the start is nothing unusual for the Yankees’ hurlers. All 12 postseason starts have gone at least 6 innings.

Next up is CC (aka Cruise Control) Sabathia. He’ll take on Joe Blanton instead of Cliff Lee, whom the Phils are hesitant to use on 3 days’ rest. Can Blanton beat CC? Not likely. But the Phillies lineup sure can.

But the bottom line is the starting pitching. As long as the Yankees keep getting high quality starts, they will surely take home the title. And maybe we won't even need to see our man Andy in Game 6 (his bad number), as it may already be wrapped up.

Yankees & Jets: Separate Worlds As Usual

They are two parts of me, my two sports teams. (The above symbol fits my two children as well, but that's another post for another site.)

They are the sun and the moon, order and chaos, heaven and hell. The New York Yankees and The New York Jets. They don't even really belong together. Most metro New Yorkers are either Yankees/Giants or Mets/Jets.

The New York Yankees are the gold standard. They don't always win, but it's hard to be disappointed with the results: 5 World Series titles in my adult life, and they've made the playoffs every year except one since 1995. But more than that, they make a great team to follow night in night out, year after year.

People talk about the Yankees being rich and buying their way to titles. It's partially true. But throwing money at players doesn't guarantee success. Ask Dan Snyder and the dynasty he's built in Washington.

The Yankees had the foresight to grow Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, and Robinson Cano through their system (as well as Yankee modern legends Bernie Williams and Jorge Posada). It is a top-notch organization in every sense.

Then there's the New York Jets. They last appeared in a Super Bowl a month before my birth. Yes they've had some good years, great players, and some memorable playoff upsets, but they always ultimately implode and break your heart.

Today they were both on at the same time, so I put them on two separate TVs and shuttled between rooms. While I logged miles back and forth, each team's character was revealed.

The Yankees looked like they were done. They weren't playing that poorly but weren't hitting. Was it possible that this was the weekend the Blue Jays decided to be good? Toronto showed slick infield defense, good pitching, and enough hitting. They certainly appeared headed for 3-out-of-4, and looked to be shredding the Yankees' hopes of an AL East title.

The Yankees trailed 5-1 and were giving away the division lead while Baltimore was cruising against Boston Sunday. But the Pinstripes chipped away, scoring in the 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th. They sweated through a shaky Rafael Soriano appearance and gutted out a 9-6 win behind an extremely hot Cano (15 for last 24).

The Jets were a disaster. They got destroyed at home by the 49ers 34-0 in a game that wasn't as close as the score indicated. The defense showed a lot of heart to keep it 10-0 until 18 minutes to go. But ultimately Mark Sanchez and the offense were inept, totaling just 145 yards of offense - 100 less than San Francisco rushed for.

And in the ultimate adding injury to insult, Santonio Holmes crumbled down and gave up the ball in the process of grabbing his leg. Carlos Rogers raced the other way for 51 yards and a score.

The margin and the performance were staggering, but beating the 49ers was a dicey proposition to begin with. It's only one loss and the Jets are 2-2, but look well on their way to 8-8. There's nothing good to take away from the drubbing.

The Yankees finish their season with 3 at home against the Red Sox while the O's have to travel to Tampa, so that looks promising. But winning the division may get them a date with these guys:

The Detroit Tigers have all but wrapped up the AL Central with a magic number of 1 over the spiraling White Sox. They've got a huge 1-2 punch in the lineup with Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder (who launched a clutch 8th inning HR today).

Detroit has been a nemesis for the Yankees, knocking them out of the postseason in 2006 and 2011 in the divisional round.

And things don't get any easier for the Jets with the 4-0 Texans coming to town next Monday night. At least they'll have an extra day to figure things out. And if the Jets don't and unravel on national TV, maybe the gods of karma will be kind and the Yankees will be on at the same time.

Yankees Find Newest Hiro, But Can't Shake Birds

All season, Yankees starter HIROki Kuroda has served as the rotation's stopper (14-10, 3.26, over 200 IP). I argue that you could start him in Game 1 of the playoffs over CC.

And last night the real IcHIRO Suzuki stepped up. In a doubleheader vs Toronto that the Yanks needed to sweep, Suzuki did it all: 7-for-8 total at the plate, the super game-winning catch in Game 1 and a 4-hit, 4-steal nightcap, where he drove in the game-winning run to boot.

He didn't look like a guy on the gradual career decline, he looked like they guy who hit .350 four times in his career. In fact since his acquisition from Seattle on July 23, he's hit .317 in Pinstripes. It reminds Yankee fans (or at least this one) of the late-season, late-career surge of Tim Raines who hit 7 HR down the stretch in September 1996.

But there were plenty of heroes on Tuesday. Andy Pettitte (Raines' former teammate) returned from a DL and pitched 5 unblemished innings. David Phelps went deep in the Game 2 start, sparing the bullpen - except for Rafael Soriano who amazingly nailed down Saves #41 & #42. Oh yeah, and Derek Jeter got his 200th hit.

Meanwhile out west, the MLB's feel-good story Orioles did it again. Even Yankee fans appreciate what they're doing, we just wish they'd be battling for the Wild Card instead.

They battled King Felix Hernandez to an 8-inning stalemate, and took the game into the 11th when Adam Jones launched his 30th to break the tie and then they record the final out on a caught stealing.

It was a mind-bending 15th straight extra-inning win. This one only kept me awake until 1:23 AM ET as opposed the 18-inning marathon the night before. The incredible O's did what they had to do, taking their last 4 games on the west coast. And they are 39-20 in the last 2 months.

It's worth pointing out again that for the first time since 1995, there is a much greater significance in winning the division over the wild card.

Yankees Arms Race To The Finish

Two-out-of-three in Boston. Just what the Yankees should have expected, and got. There are 19 games left in a nail-biting AL East race where they still can't seem to shake (or be shaken by) the upstart Orioles.

You can't get too high or too low with so much time left, just trust the man on the hill will do his job. And this year, Phil Hughes (15-12, 3.96) has done that. In a season which C.C. Sabathia, Andy Pettitte, and Ivan Nova have all spent time on the DL, and Mariano Rivera was lost for the year, Hughes has taken the ball every time out.

Yes he's given up a ton of Home Runs (33) but the key number (besides 15 wins) is 175 Innings Pitched. And after a rocky first two months, he's gone 6 innings or more in 14 of his 19 starts.

You can point all the way back to May 22nd when the Yankees were 21-21 and 5.5 games out of 1st place. They were still lost in the wilderness without Rivera and had no direction. Hughes (then 3-5, 5.23) threw 6 solid innings in a win vs KC which began a team run of starting pitching that had not been seen before, and may not be seen again.

It was a 24-game span in May and June that defined the Yankees season. The Yankees won 20 of 24 and their starting pitchers, with their rotation fully in tact, went 18-2. And maybe even more remarkably, those starters went 6 or more innings in 23 of those 24 games.

You could say that makes Joe Girardi's job a lot easier, but he had to have the trust in guys like Hughes and Hiroki Kuroda to work through their issues, and they flourished. On June 3, Hughes went the distance, out-dueling Justin Verlander. And Kuroda has arguably been the Yankees' ace - and is a start away from 200 innings.

Now Nova returns from the DL on Saturday, and Pettitte on Tuesday. The Yankees have held the fort down for the cavalry to return while the O's get a 6-game West Coast trip.

And just another reminder before any more games are played that Girardi is only the second-most tightly-wound manager in baseball.

Addition By Addition, Joba Chamberlain Edition

Joba's back. Enough of guys getting injured, one finally returns.

Fourteen months after elbow surgery, and then for good measure dislocating his ankle in a trampoline accident this spring, Joba Chamberlain returned to the mound. The moment wasn't lost on the Yankee fans. There was talk he'd never pitch again, or at least not in pinstripes, but he made his return on August 1, well before the playoffs.

Despite leading the AL East by 7 games in the loss column, the Yankees have been beset by a ton of injuries. Mariano Rivera's freak knee buckle shagging batting practice flies was devastating enough. But Brett Gardner is out for the year, A-Rod is out indefinitely after getting plunked on the wrist. Andy Pettitte was pitching great before he took a line drive in the leg. Even the monster-durable CC Sabathia had a DL stint, and Mark Teixeira is very iffy in the short term.

Injuries are part of the game (baseball was the first sport to use the term "disabled list"), but this year seems a little much.

I don't know if fans are expecting a lot from Joba, his presence is just a bonus at this point. But imagine if he was the force of 2007. You can never have too much pitching.

I lived in Nebraska when Chamberlain was a Cornhusker and I know the adversity he's been through in his life, and he hasn't been perfect himself. But maybe the second act of his career begins now.

The Pinstripe Way

As a die-hard Yankee fan, I have to laugh off the haters out there that claim the Yankees buy championships. Now the Yankee empire is certainly capable of spending big money for free agents, or trading for stars who command bigger salaries.

But it's the cultivation and maturation of players you watch their whole career that makes you so attached to your particular team.

I remember Mariano Rivera coming up as an electric starting pitcher in 1995.

I remember Andy Pettitte, as a 24-year old, beating John Smoltz 1-0 in Game 5 of the '96 Series.

I remember Jorge Posada's solo Home Run at 9:11 PM in game 3 of the 2001 World Series.

And Derek Jeter continues to make memories along with the rest of them.

Now you can make arguments that the Yankees, unlike other teams, have the ability to pay their own stars when they reach a certain level of seniority while other teams don't. That's a more valid argument than the purchasing of pennants, but it's still all about the commitment of the organization to develop their own guys.

EXHIBIT A - Robinson Cano

A born-and-bred Yankee is now in his 6th season, complementing Jeter up the middle at Second Base. He plays slick defense every day, and carries a .308 career average (and rising).

This year he's been moved to the 5th slot in the lineup, so his bat protects A-Rod.

EXHIBIT B - Phil Hughes

The 23-year old "5th" starter was integral as the 8th inning guy last year. Now he's been moved back to his natural role of starting pitcher and is a sensational 5-0, 1.38 ERA in 6 starts.

Hughes was a 1st Round pick by the Yankees, as was...

EXHIBIT C - Joba Chamberlain

He flip-flopped with Hughes and is now the set-up man for Rivera again, a role he burst on the scene to in 2007. He looks to have the stuff and the closer demeanor. He saved two games last week while Mariano was a little sore and tight, and Joba seems like the heir apparent in that role.

EXHIBIT D - Brett Gardner

After the Yanks' 2009 Championship, they waved goodbye to outfielders Johnny Damon and Melky Cabrera (sigh), and made a commitment to a different kind of Yankee.

Gardner's gritty style and speed game (16 SB - 2nd in AL) give the Yankees a different dimension than his slugging predecessors. But he's hitting .333 for good measure.

So witness the young home-grown Pinstripers who follow in the footsteps of the iconic ones. And that doesn't even count cult-favorite backup catcher Francisco Cervelli.

Maybe 12-15 years from now, Exhibits A through D will comprise the next generation Core Four. And to watch that progression is what being a baseball team's fan is all about.

Pettitte and Forgettitte

When there’s money on the table, you want a money pitcher. And Pettitte’s postseason history and 1,000-yard stare speaks to that.

I remember all the way back to Game 5 of the 1996 World Series, when Andy Pettitte was just a 24-year old 2nd year starter. He outdueled the best pitcher in baseball, John Smoltz, in a 1-0 squeaker. The Yankees closed out Fulton County Stadium winning all three in Atlanta and took the World Series in 6 games.

Then in 1998, Pettitte outpitched the best pitcher in baseball, Kevin Brown, in a 3-1 win in Game 4 in San Diego, completing a World Series sweep.

Now, he hasn’t always come through in the World Series – a couple of different Game 6’s come to mind, including getting pummeled by Arizona in ’01 and losing the clincher to Josh Beckett and the Marlins in ’03.

But more often than not, he’s going to gettitte done for you. And last night was a perfect example of that. There was no need to panic after giving up 3 early runs. Andy pretty much shut down the Phils the rest of the way, and added a key Pet-hitte RBI-single off of 2008 World Series MVP Cole Hamels for good measure.

Pettitte finished with 6 solid innings and his major-league record 17th postseason win. The length of the start is nothing unusual for the Yankees’ hurlers. All 12 postseason starts have gone at least 6 innings.

Next up is CC (aka Cruise Control) Sabathia. He’ll take on Joe Blanton instead of Cliff Lee, whom the Phils are hesitant to use on 3 days’ rest. Can Blanton beat CC? Not likely. But the Phillies lineup sure can.

But the bottom line is the starting pitching. As long as the Yankees keep getting high quality starts, they will surely take home the title. And maybe we won't even need to see our man Andy in Game 6 (his bad number), as it may already be wrapped up.