Joe Blanton: Pardon Me, Do You Have Any Gray Poupon?

Last December, my little nephew had a speech impediment and a very specific list. A total boy and a Toy Story fan since birth, he spouted his Christmas wish as only he could:

 

“I want a big fruck an’ Woody.”

 

Okay, maybe that’s not funny.

 

Maybe there’s nothing funny about the 7-4 ninth-inning loss soured by a New York rally that yanked the turf out from under Citizens Bank Park. If you didn’t see it, that’s when the regular-season Brad Lidge reared his ugly head like a double agent twist in a James Bond movie.

 

I’ll admit. I didn’t see that coming.

 

My husband calls him “Lights Gone Out” Lidge. Could be. It was definitely a dark scene.

 

Honestly, I thought the rash would be in the Phightin’s bats, with an annoying itch in the bullpen. But I never imagined, even in my worst nightmare, that “Two-Run Lidge” would come down with the plague.

 

I think the problem is, 2008 was an amazing season. It had a fairy tale charm that climaxed against a Cinderella team. Like a Disney movie, everything we needed, we got. The top of our lineup hustled to keep up with a bottom as fine as Shane’s behind, pitchers pitched better, batters hit farther, and even without gratuitous chest shots, unsuspecting heroes took the main stage for the feel good movie of the year.

 

In this series, there have been moments of true inspiration, but at no time has the team fired on all cylinders.

 

Bar one. I’d like to pull back the curtain on the booth housing Ruben “The Great Oz” Amaro, Jr. and say, “Pardon me, do you have any more Cliff Lees?”

 

Last night’s three-run loss didn’t feel like one. The Phillies stayed in the game in spite of the error-that-wasn’t-an-error pinned on Raul Ibanez, and a performance from Joe Blanton that wasn’t qiute like Cliff Lee’s on the mound. 

 

Ryan Howard hit his way on base, stole second unopposed, and then scored without ever touching home plate.

 

Wow, I’ve never had that happen to me. And you thought this wasn’t a fairy tale.

 

The Phils only had one less hit than the Yanks, Charlie Manuel’s bandage matched his skin color perfectly, Derek Jeter didn’t earn his first RBI of the series until the fifth inning, and both teams left seven good men on base.

 

But the Yankees got the bargains they needed like the perfect yard sale, especially when Johnny Damon’s heads-up baseball earned him the best baserunning performance of the night on his unopposed steal of third.

 

I’ve never had anyone take third base without a warning.

 

Who am I kidding?

 

Then, in the bottom of the eighth, the Philadelphia boys, who earned more come-from-behind wins than any other team in the National League, made a break for it. But not until after Jayson Werth—the white-hot hope—struck out and was followed by another lame at bat by Raul Ibanez. That’s when Pedro Feliz, who got it in gear in Game Two, shifted into overdrive. Suddenly, we thought we had ourselves a convoy.

 

But like my husband said, our only rally was in the towels.

 

Then he said, “Please put in Scotty Eyre.” He prefers a jelly-bellied leftie with a bone chip in his elbow to a closer who grew an Amish beard for the series.

 

But after two quick Lidge outs, I could taste the third.

 

I had a big fruck an’ Woody.

 

Okay, maybe figuratively.

 

Then…game over. Wow, that was anticlimactic.

 

So why did the Yankee bats that at times struggled coming into this series, suddenly find their fire? Maybe it’s in their water. If it is, that’s because it flows gold like liquid Steinbrenner.

 

The Bombers can be as stone cold as a pack of genetically modified wolves, stalking from the shadows until they sense a weakness and pounce.

 

But even they lost 59 games; even they lost to the Nationals. Every team has an Achilles’ heel. Their truncated three-man rotation has come as close as possible to bridging the gap to Mariano Rivera.

 

Hey look, Oprah’s gone nuts for corndogs!

 

Okay, maybe that’s not funny. But it wouldn’t hurt to smile. Smiling’s my favorite.

 

They said a World Series between the Dodgers and the Yankees would have been the series of the century, restoring the public’s interest in a game recently tainted by steroid use.

 

Let’s not be fans who taint the public’s interest in the game any further.

 

I love the Phillies, but I’m in love with the game of baseball. And if you’re reading this blog, you probably are, too.

 

Let’s act like it.

 

Go Phils!

 

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Yankees-Phillies: Brad Lidge Implodes, Yankees on Cusp of World Series Title

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It’s Up to You, New York, New York…Yankees

I am not going to blast Brad Lidge, but he is not on the same planet as Yankees’ closer Mariano Rivera.

Then again, no one else is.

The key moment of this game is shown above.

With two outs in the ninth inning, Johnny Damon hit a bloop single to left field.

With Mark Teixeira batting, Damon took off for second. After beating the throw, he realized no one was on third (due to the Phillies using a heavy shift for Teixeira). He judged that he could beat Pedro Feliz, who’s momentum was carrying him toward first, to the bag.

Damon took off and easily took third, beating Feliz and Lidge, who seemed to be trotting over.

Now with a man on third and two outs, Lidge no longer could throw the slider for a strike, slider-in-the-dirt combo. If the ball got away, Damon scores the go-ahead run.

Lidge, limited to his fastball and change-up, hits Teixeira.

Now, here is my knock on Brad Lidge: Too bad Lidge didn’t hit A-Rod, because he would have been thrown out of the game.

Alex Rodriguez followed with a go-ahead double and Jorge Posada singled in two more runs. The score was 7-4 at that point.

Ball game. Series. Game recap.

The game had not been won yet, but in the Yankees’ mind, it was won when Rodriguez stepped up to the plate.

Before Rodriguez was introduced as the next batter and Damon was on third, Yankee closer Phil Coke sat down and Rivera got up.

The game was tied at that moment, but the Yankees knew, even with two outs, that Rodriguez would get a knock against a shaken Lidge, or that Lidge would throw a wild pitch to put the Yankees ahead.

The Phillies will get a reprieve with Cliff Lee on the hill Monday in Game Five.

The Phillies may, and should, believe that they can come all the way back. Only a few teams have come back from a 3-1 hole in the World Series. Only one against the Yankees in 14 tries.

They did a good job to tie Sunday’s game, as Pedro Feliz hit a clutch game-tying home run against Joba Chamberlain.

The Phils even got C.C. Sabathia out of the game with two outs in the seventh inning following C.C.-killer Chase Utley’s solo shot. Utley is 4 for 6 with 3 HRs against Sabathia this World Series.

Many good things can be taken from this, but here are a few things to consider:

* Brad Lidge is no longer the guy who can win you a World Series. Not this year.

* The Phillies place in history is not set unless they come back and win this World Series.

* If Cliff Lee pitches a complete-game shutout again Monday in Game 5, he could be only the third player in history to win a series MVP on a losing squad.

* Derek Jeter is the likely series MVP, he is hitting .412.

* While the Phillies have 43 come-from-behind win this season, the Yankees have 51. It is not just luck, these guys are good.

* The Phillies are not the Yankees or the Big Red Machine. They have to make their own history.

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Bone Head of The Week

Normally, loyal reader, this space is reserved for bone heads in the NFL. However, while watching the World Series I couldn’t help but make an exception tonight.

In the top of the ninth with Brad Lidge on the mound and a 4-4 tie and two outs, the Philadelphia Phillies seemed to be cruising to a bottom of the ninth where they would only need one run to win it and tie the series at two games apiece.

Then Johnny Damon picked up a base hit for the New York Yankees.

Coming up next was the ever dangerous Mark Teixeira. During the at bat, Damon takes off for second to get into scoring position.

Here is where Phillies manager Charlie Manuel becomes my bone head of the week. 

The throw to second was a one-hopper and Damon popped up and took off to third.

At first I was thinking that Damon thought the ball had gone into center field.  I thought for sure this would be an easy out and the Phils would head into the ninth tied.

Nope.

Apparently with a speedy runner on first base, Manuel thought it would be a good idea to still have the over-shift on.

Damon didn’t think the ball was in the out field, he knew he could win a foot race to third and he took it.

I’ve always thought the over-shift was dumb, since all a batter (a smart one at least) would take a few extra cuts in batting practice and work on going the opposite way.

With Alex Rodriguez’s double (following Teixeira being hit by a pitch) Damon easily scores and would have from second, but this leads the my second point of why Manuel is my “Bone Head of the Week”.

Why pitch to A-Rod?

You have a base open why not walk him?  I mean lets face it, any kind of a hit scores the leading run, who would you rather face, A-Rod or Jorge Posada?

Charlie, your team is now down three games to one, sure you may win tomorrow but I doubt, I highly doubt, you’ll win three in-a-row. Your actions tonight sir cost your team the game and probably a repeat.

Sorry Phillies fans your team is cooked and your manager is my Bone Head of the Week.

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Phillies-Yankees: Game Four Notes

> In the first, Joe Blanton had no movement on his pitches, not that he’s usually drowning in it, and wound up surrendering two runs after the first two men reached base. Adding to the interest was watching A-Rod get hit, the third time that’s happened in the last two games, leading to a warning to both dugouts.

That’s always good fun, really, when you are rooting for the team that’s been doing the plunking, but A-Rod’s pointed stare into his dugout more or less gave up any chance that he was going to see vengeance. As always with The Centaur, it’s all about A-Rod.

> In the bottom of the first, the home team got a break with a bloop double to left from Shane Victorino, followed by a hammered double to right for Chase Utley. Unfortunately, CC Sabathia owned Ryan Howard, getting him on nasty stuff with a full count, and Howard is on path towards a World Series record for whiffs.

Ceec then pitched around Jayson Werth, walking him intentionally, and that’s not a sentence I’d ever thought I’d write. Three strikes set down Ibanez and kept the lead with New York, but at least they made the starter throw 24 pitches and gave me the hope of seeing the Yankee pen. But not getting the run home from second is kind of deadly against this offense; the Yankees are too good to leave opportunities uncashed.

> Joe Buck’s a fan of the Philadelphia quarantine of sports venues, which is nice and all, but until there’s actually some places to go after the game is over, the locals actually find it lacking. Supposedly, that’s what is going to happen when the Spectrum is gone, but it might take some time.

> Blanton started the second with a borderline strikeout looking call on Nick Swisher, who decided to laugh it off. Realistically, kind of a better reaction than screaming, though I’m not sure it buys you a better call next time up. A semi-hard fly ball to right was followed by a called third strike on the competent with a bat Sabathia, and there’s some mild encouragement.

> Pedro Feliz is an auto out these days, and someone that probably needs to be replaced next year, given his age and utter fungibility. It’ll be curious to see how strongly GM Ruben Amaro goes after that. I’m unaware of any obvious farm system prospect to replace him. And now that I’ve insulted him, Pedro comes back with the tying RBI to score Howard in the fourth.

> The tying run in the fourth was made in large part by Howard, who rifled a single to center and then stole a base that shocked the Fox heads almost as much as it did Sabathia. The secret of Howard running well has been slowly coming out all summer, and had he not lost weight and started moving better, there’s no way he would have scored on the single to left.

Also noteworthy was that the Phils ran at Johnny Damon’s noodle arm, which means they’ve seen Damon throw before; a good and stronger throw might have had the runner. (And for the umpire baiters among us, Howard clearly didn’t tag home plate.)

> The first two Yankees reached in the fourth, on a four-pitch walk and an infield single that Utley couldn’t convert. Sabathia looked much less comfortable trying to bunt than trying to hit, and he wound making a gift out for Blanton’s improbable sixth strikeout.

Jeter then converted on another of those bleeding little singles that the Yankees keep seeming to get, and Rollins probably keeps it in the infield had they not been playing for the double play. Damon then blooped yet another seeing-eye ball to shallow right, scoring Cabrera, and dammit, if the Yankees are going to score consistently, it’d be nice if they actually had a well-hit ball to do it. Cabrera ran through a stop sign and didn’t slide, but it didn’t matter; such are the blessings of speed.

> The next hitter was Teixeira, and he did the home team a favor by flying out on a 3-1 count to fairly deep left. Philly Fan gave A-Rod a quick “You Took Steroids” chant, and he responded by looking uncomfortable on an inside curveball before flying out to center. Blanton has been gutty, but he’s also behind, and he’s showing the world why No. 4 starters aren’t usually big World Series heroes.

> A small point from the fourth: Since Feliz took second on the overthrow and the Yankees walked Ruiz to face Blanton, they started the fifth with Rollins, not Blanton. On average, that means up to a third of a run of difference on average, and Rollins made the numbers look good with a leadoff single.

Seven base runners now in four innings, and 70 pitches; some hope with that, especially with some squeezes from the home plate umpire. Victorino waited out a five-pitch walk to bring up Utley, who looked terrible on a four-pitch pop up to short, and Howard looked no better on a two-pitch pop up of his own. Fah.

Werth needed to pick up the others, but Sabathia was tougher, and the rally died. So much for the value of starting with the leadoff man.

> Blanton worked a mostly calm sixth, getting the third out on a nifty flip from Howard off a shattered bat ground out. He’s worked six innings with seven base runners and seven strikeouts, and there’s only been one extra base hit, but he’s pitched in a little bit of bad luck, all things considered. Four earned runs in six innings against this lineup really isn’t that bad. It’s just not enough, at least so far. Park for the seventh.

> Melky Cabrera auto-ejected on a pulled hamstring for Brett Gardner, which probably won’t make that big of a difference. Ibanez continued to look helpless, but Feliz stung a ball to right to bring up the tying run, and advanced on a ground out by Ruiz. Ben Francisco hit for Blanton and flied out to center on his first pitch, and irritatingly, that’s a real fast inning for Sabathia. Pitch counts, people. Pitch counts.

> Park works the closest we can seemingly get with this offense to a clean inning, which is to say one base runner and no runs. I was starting to count outs and work on the early part of the notes when Utley took Sabathia out for the third time in the series, ending his evening and waking up the locals. Huge hit. Marte entered for Howard, and continued his irritating late-season renaissance, retiring the slugger on a middling fly ball to left. At some point, a lead would be nice.

> Madson for the eighth, and this is the third straight game he’s worked. The familiarity didn’t help The Centaur, and he’s now at .077 for the Series, with Teixeira at .071. You’d think the Yankees would be losing with numbers like that, really.

Cano reached on a bloop pop up to left, and does this offense really need luck along with everything else? Madson freezes Swisher for a called strikeout, then gets Gardner on a pop up, and we’re into the bottom of the eighth—aka, The Last Inning That Isn’t Absolutely Rivera. No time like the present, gentlemen.

> Chamberlain in for the Yanks to face Werth. You’d think Joba could afford a clean hat, but 96 mph gas up and in made that hat look good. He then rang up Ibanez up and away, and looked like Old Time Joba…and then Pedro Feliz just crushed a ball to left for the tying home run. Unbelievable. Who’s the a-hole that called Feliz an auto out?

> Brad Lidge in for the ninth, and he hasn’t worked in 10 days, while still remaining Brad Lidge. To say I’m a little nervous as he came in would be understating the point, but what the hey, bygones, right? A four-pitch out got Matsui on a pop up to short. He got ahead of the first two men with good sliders, then threw a fastball past Jeter to get ahead in the count. Big Nerves Time. Ball two doesn’t miss by much, low, and after the count goes full, the closer got Jeet to flail at a low slider. Two away.

Damon made Lidge throw nine pitches before singling to right, and ye gads, there’s some law about the Yankees ever giving you an easy inning. Then, not shockingly, Damon steals second, since Lidge is terrible holding runners on…and much worse, just takes third since the shift meant no one was covering third. GAHHHH. Lidge then continued the torment by hitting Teixeira on a 1-1 count, putting runners on the corners for Rodriguez.

Series in the balance here, along with, well, A-Rod’s career rep. No pressure. Strike one at the knees, second pitch is crushed to the wall in left. Yup, that bad feeling about Brad Lidge paid off. Won’t miss him as closer next year. Just a straight line fastball, and short of a Rivera wipeout, the Yankees have clinched the Series tonight. I was trying not to feel the Mitch Williams deja vu there, but, well, I was.

With first base open and Lidge closing in on 30 pitches, Manuel (a) leaves him in, and (b) watches the Yankee catcher end all drama with a two-run double to left. Well, what the hell, we might as well make sure that the bed isn’t only crapped in, it’s set on fire. Posada mercifully runs into the out at second, one suspects just to give Rivera the save opportunity.

Clear air turbulence rally, all with two outs and no one on, a Lidge special for 2009. On the bright side, there’s a reasonable chance that Lidge won’t ever work for the team again. Please? Pretty please?

A wag on Twitter points out that Lidge still hasn’t blown a save this post-season. Gallows humor, folks, you can’t beat it. But at least we got to see Joba Chamberlain win a game. The Phillies go meekly to Rivera in the ninth, and it’s up to Cliff Lee tomorrow night to see if the Yankees clinch in Pennsylvania or New York. Happy happy, joy joy.

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Ryan Howard, You Want a Piece of Me?

Cole Hamels took the mound with the poise and confidence of a rock star on a blind date. He sailed through the first inning—three up, three down; beaned A-Rod with a pitch to staunch any intention he had of snuggling up to the plate, and then held the Yankees to one hit over three innings.

 

But the night snuck up on him like a light weight on cheap booze. And by the fourth inning, hitting Hamels was like an Irish lass on Russian vodka—easy.

 

Not that I’d know anything about that.

 

He took the loss on Halloween, no less. Like they say, candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker.

 

Just ask my husband.

 

Whoops. Was I thinking out loud?

 

Where were we?

 

Oh, postseason pitching.

 

I hoped Andy Pettitte would lose his cool after the Philly lineup had its way with him in the second inning—putting three runs on the board off four hits. But Philadelphia’s lefties failed to do what AL left-handers had done against him all season—hit. Utley, Howard, and Ibanez were 0-for-9.

 

Coming into Game 3, Alex Rodriquez was 0-for-8 with six K’s and Ryan Howard was 2-for-9 with six opportunities to sulk away from the plate.

 

But A-Rod’s reviewed home run in the fourth was the siren he needed to wake that slumbering bat. Big men with quiet bats have been a postseason issue. Remember 2008?

 

Big Papi, David Ortiz, batted .154 in the 2008 ALCS series that went seven games against Tampa Bay. He was O’fer until he tripled in Game 4, but it wasn’t enough to win a trip to the last series.

 

In last year’s World Series, Howard started out slow, going 0-for-4 in Game 1 while fanning three times. It wasn’t until Game 4 that he worried the Rays with three hits at four at-bats and used two home runs to boost his RBI to five.

 

And remember the slumps of 2009?

 

All season we’ve thought that, “When Jimmy Rollins is hitting, the Phils are winning.” That proved true during his mid-season slump. Now it seems like the tables have turned to Ryan Howard. He had two hits in Game 1.

 

Philadelphia won by five.

 

In Games 2 and 3, he never got on base.

 

The Yanks won both.

 

Where in the world is Ryan Sandiago?

 

Sports Illustrated called this series the “Big Bash” for two reasons: Ryan Howard and Alex Rodriguez.

 

Sometimes they know what they’re talking about, but sometimes all they do is jinx the man on the cover. This season is proof. Cole Hamels’ season was shot after he was the cover model, and now Ryan’s gone cold turkey since they used his mug to sell issues.

 

In the third inning of Game 3, Howard’s eighth strikeout in 11 at-bats cooled the team’s momentum like a flashlight shining into a parked car. Even the second hit by Pedro Feliz couldn’t rile things up in the fourth.

 

Then all we had left was the long ball. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

 

Jayson Werth—that six foot five cool drink of water, hit his seventh dinger of the postseason, moving him within striking distance of tying the all-time postseason record of eight.

 

And Carlos Ruiz tried to show his teammates how to be habanero hot by hitting a single, drawing two walks, and capping his game with a homer. But it wasn’t enough to compete with the ease the Yankees showed at manufacturing runs.

 

It’s almost like they’re paid to win.

 

Oh, that’s right, they are.

 

Last year, people told me the Phillies wouldn’t win the World Series with the long ball. Of course, they were wrong.

 

But this year, the Bombers proved they could be right. Last night, homers only kept Philly in the game. And although this series won’t be won by one man alone, I believe the turning point teeters on the six foot four shoulders of a man they call the “Big Piece.”

 

And when you’re called a “piece” you’re expected to deliver.

 

Not that I’d know anything about that.

 

Ryan, we want a big piece of you.

 

Go Phils!

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World Series Game Four Preview: This Is for You, Nick Adamo

For the first time since they were down 2-0 to the Colorado Rockies in the first round of the 2007 playoffs, the Phillies find themselves in a very uncomfortable position. They are behind for the first time in six previous playoff appearances, and instead of having their ace to bring back for a tying series victory, they are forced to start a guy who has given up only 30 home runs during the regular season.

This, and CC Sabathia again is what the Phillies have to face to get even in this 2009 World Series. The only saving grace is the Phillies are confident they can handle CC here at Citizens Bank Park. They will flashback to the last year’s NLDS, where Shane Victorino parked a Grand Slam home run off a Sabathia fastball, sending him and the Brewers to the showers and virtually out of the 2008 post season.

In Game One this year, Sabathia was effective going seven innings allowing only the two Home Runs to Chase Utley who by the way has disappeared since then.

Alex Rodriguez finally put a bat on the ball last night with a questionable two-run homer. I say questionable only because it had to be reviewed officially being the first time instant replay has been used in a World Series. Given the vast number of poor calls during the postseason, I’m sure we will be seeing some changes in the instant replay process.

Here’s my dilemma regarding this series. As a reporter, I’m trying to be as objective as I can possibly be by not taking sides and hopefully offering the quality insight of a fan who has been watching baseball since 1951. If I had to grade myself so far, and I’m a former teacher and school principal, I feel I’m qualified to give an unbiased grade, I would give myself an A.

The problem is I’ve always been an intense and loyal fan first. I have reading my favorite blogs, sports sites and as much of the media outlook as I can and one of the main topics is which team should loyal New York Mets fans root for in this World Series. For those who said I’m not going to root or even watch the Series, to you I say forgetitaboutit, you’re not baseball fans and I couldn’t care less what you think.

There are amazing arguments for both sides. One fan friend of mine says if the Phillies win, it will help them generate more income and re-sign their better players and put them in position to be more active in the free agent market, which they were after the 2008 World Series. That’s from a 15 year old who is as passionate of a Mets fan as I am.

Then there’s another fan who says he would rather stick needles in his eyes than see the Yankees win another title and rub it in the faces of Mets fans everywhere, validating their superiority once again for bragging rights in the Big Apple.

I’m perplexed, so after hours of thought after last nights game which messed up my nice predictions by the way, I have decided that I’m not rooting for either team to win, but I will delighted to see either team loss on that particular day. In the end I will be so so about the winner of the 2009 World Series and hope I covered it thoroughly but I will be overwhelmed with happiness for the team that loses. Fair enough, NICK A?

Prediction: Talk about a must game for the Phillies; this is surely the one. I think their over anxiousness is going to hurt them. I still like them in the series but after today’s game they will need to win three straight.

Lee, Pedro, and Hamels however will still get it done and for the record how great would it be to see the “Sankees” blow a 3-1 seies lead. By the way, they did it before. I believe it was 1957 and the opponent was the Milwaukee Braves. Look it up.

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New York Yankees Half Way to 27th World Series Title

I’ll admit, as a longtime Phillies fan, I am more familiar with failure than I am with success.

I even predicted a 6-3 Yankees win Saturday afternoon, because as much as I hoped not, I knew Andy Pettitte would pitch better than Cole Hamels.

Hamels was staked to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second on a Jayson Werth homer that Werth almost one-handed the ball over the left field fence and a base loaded walk and sacrifice fly.

I still think Cole Hamels has to mature and put bad plays behind him. Following a two-run home run by Alex Rodriguez that hit the TV camera in right, Hamels fell apart in the fifth.

Above, Rodriguez pleads with umpires to over turn what was initially ruled a double.

Hamels hung a curve ball to pitcher Andy Pettitte for a one-out RBI single to tie the game at 3-3.

The pitcher? Hamels’ third best pitch? What was he thinking?

The Yankees expanded the lead to 5-3 before the fifth inning and Hamels’ night was done. The 8-5 win gave the Yankees a 2-1 series lead.

As the clock moved closer to midnight in the rain-delayed start, it appeared the Phillies would not win.

The clock moved back after midnight, due to the end of daylight savings.

For Phillies’ fans, the wish was that the clock would be moved back for Cole Hamels.

The 2008 NLCS and World Series MVP has been anything but consistent.

As I stated before, I expected Pettitte to pitch better than Hamels and predicted a Yankees win.

My quandary is that the Yankees’ best pitchers are making Ryan Howard, Shane Victorino, and now Chase Utley, look bad.

The model for a Phillies series win, by most experts, was for Hamels to follow up Cliff Lee’s dominant Game One victory.

My only hope is that Joe Blanton gives us a Lee/2008 Hamels performance in Game Four, or this series could be over real quick.

The Yankees bullpen leading up to Rivera is not special at all. They could be had.

But when the Yankees starters go six or seven innings, the bridge to Rivera is filled with less crocodiles than in the Phillies rickety bridge to Lidge.

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