Yankee Banter

Back in 2003, I had tickets for Game 6 of the ALCS against Boston.

The Yankees entered that game with a 3-2 series lead and like last night, they sent Andy Pettitte to the mound. As 99.9 percent of you reading this know (actually I hope it’s 100 percent), the Yankees won the series on Aaron Boone’s bottom of the 11th inning home run in Game 7. There’s a chance you may have forgotten what happened in Game 6.

Let’s review:

After Pettitte surrendered four runs in the third, the Yankees took a 6-4 lead after scoring four runs in the fourth and one in the fifth off of John Burkett. Then Joe Torre happened.

Like his successor Joe Girardi, Torre’s managing of the bullpen in the postseason (post-2001) left a lot to be desired. With a World Series berth within grasp, Torre turned to the likes of Jose Contreras, Felix Heredia and Gabe White to bring home the series. Long story short: Final score – Red Sox 9, Yankees 6.

In the end, it all worked out in that series thanks to the Game 7 heroics of Jason Giambi, Mike Mussina, Mariano Rivera and Boone. Very few remember the debacle that took place in the sixth game. Personally, missing out on the Boone home run in-person was disappointing because you never know how many opportunities you’ll have to witness a clincher in the stands.

Six years later, amazingly with the same pitcher and catcher battery, I found myself in the stands again in the same situation. This time, Pettitte had a great outing, allowing only one run in 6 1/3 innings, his third consecutive strong outing in the playoffs. A-Rod reached base five times, Johnny Damon had a huge two-run single that gave the Yankees the lead for good, and despite a shaky eighth inning, Mariano Rivera fittingly closed out the series.

I have been lucky enough to have attended five clinchers (1999 World Series, 2000 ALCS, 2001 ALDS and ALDS, 2009 ALCS). It never gets old, as Derek Jeter likes to say.

Some thoughts on the night:

If the voters were allowed to select co-MVPs for the series, I believe they would’ve selected that option with A-Rod and CC Sabathia. Both were spectacular and lived up the large amount of green paper they earn. Here’s a random World Series prediction: CC will get a hit or two in Philadelphia. Remember, he drove in a run at Citi Field against the Mets this season and in 2008, he clobbered a home run over 450 feet at Dodger Stadium. He’s not the average American League pitcher when it comes to hitting, that’s for sure.

As for A-Rod, barring making an error that loses the World Series in the ninth inning of Game 7 (that would be his luck, wouldn’t it?), his critics, including myself, will not have anything to say for a long time. He carried the Yankees offensively in the first two rounds and even if he goes 2-for-15 in the World Series, that would not diminish how great he has been this October.

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Joe Girardi should consider himself lucky that Joba survived the seventh inning. If he was going to use Mariano for two innings, why wouldn’t he bring in Phil Hughes in the seventh? I know Hughes has had some issues in the postseason, but Girardi can’t think Joba is a better option, can he? The old Joba out of the bullpen that resembled Rich Gossage, I can understand. Not this version, who more resembles Rich Garces.

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I know he has made some big plays defensively in October, but Nick Swisher still scares me in right field. I’m just worried that something will go wrong with him out there at the worst possible moment.

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If you didn’t hear, John Sterling had this call on Mark Teixeira’s sacrifice fly in the eighth inning: “It is high, it is far, it is…..caught.” Usually, I just laugh it off when Sterling does this, but sitting in the stands, within two seconds you knew the ball wasn’t gone. Maybe over the head of Torii Hunter, but it had little chance to go out. John, come back to us.

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Met fans, who are you rooting for? Thankfully, during the Red Sox-Mets 1986 World Series, I was only five and was more interested in coloring in the lines than I was with baseball.

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Bud Selig, if you are reading (What are the odds he is? .00001 percent? .00002 percent?), something needs to be done about the time of these games. It would’ve been an upset if the Giants-Cardinals game in Jersey ended after the Yankee game last night. You may want to start with limiting the amount of times a catcher can visit the mound.

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On Tuesday, I’m going to post my favorite World Series moments and Wednesday, we’ll have a position-by-position breakdown and preview of the World Series. It’s going to be a fun two weeks.

I’ll leave you with a couple of celebration pictures from the left field bleachers last night:

Yours truly will be appearing on Tim Gaffney’s High School Football radio show tonight on WAPJ 89.9 FM and 105.1 FM in Torrington. The show is on from 5:15-5:45 p.m. (Note the earlier start time for this show)

Also, I’ll have a Game 6 review post with a couple of amateur photos up tonight. It’ll be worth the wait. Or at least I’ll hope it’ll be.

Well that picture just about sums it up.

In a development less shocking than the balloon boy hoax, people around the country tonight knew the game was rained out before the fans at Yankee Stadium did. I received a phone call from a friend in Connecticut at 6:15 p.m. advising me the game had been postponed, per a report from Mike Francesa. At the time of the call, I was sitting in the right field stands. At 6:25 p.m., after selling an extra few items at the concession stands, the Yankees decided they would be kind enough to alert the people who braved the elements that the game was called off.

Back in 2006, the exact situation played out for Game 2 of the ALCS against the Tigers as the Yankees left their fans out of the loop, while people in Nebraska knew more of what was going on.

I laugh every time I hear someone say the Yankee organization is full of class.

Anyway, I’ll be back sometime on Monday with a Game 6 review and possible Game 7 preview. Stay dry.

After exploding for six runs in the seventh, who didn’t think the Yankees were on their way to clinching the ALCS Thursday night?

It turns out the clincher, if it ever does happen, has been delayed until this weekend as the Angels rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh to force Game 6 with a 7-6 victory.

Some thoughts on Game 5:

I actually have no problem with how Joe Girardi managed the bottom of the seventh. The right move, in my opinion, was to bring A.J. Burnett back out for that inning.

After allowing four runs before you could blink in the first, Burnett composed himself and then pitched five terrific innings. It’s going to get lost in the headlines today, and he did end up allowing six runs, but Burnett deserves credit for last night. I fully expected him to melt down even further after the disastrous first inning. But he settled down and held the Angels to four runs, a deficit this Yankee offense can come back from in their sleep.

We’ve seen Burnett self-destruct in similar situations (remember the infamous blow up at Fenway on that Saturday afternoon?) and it was nice to see some mental toughness out of him.

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You have to be concerned about Phil Hughes. He was outstanding out of the bullpen in the regular season and I don’t know if it’s fatigue or if he’s overwhelmed by the moment, but he hasn’t been the same in the playoffs. It will be interesting to see how Joe Girardi handles the late innings if the Yankees have the lead in Game 6 or 7. Don’t be surprised to see Mariano Rivera for two innings.

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I think it’s time to move David Robertson ahead of Joba Chamberlain in the bullpen rotation. It’s clear we will not be seeing the Joba we used to know out of the bullpen this postseason.

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You know someone is not hitting well when a pitcher, holding a one-run lead with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, willingly throws an 89 mile-per-hour fastball down the middle to that hitter. Nick Swisher couldn’t have gotten an easier pitch to hit from Brian Fuentes. Where’s Xavier Nady when you need him?

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Seriously, what was Mike Scioscia thinking in the seventh inning when he took out John Lackey? Mark Teixeira has been awful at the plate in this series as a left-handed hitter and the only good swings he had up until last night were from the right side against Scott Kazmir in Game 3. Putting the season in Darren Oliver’s hands instead of your ace is just asking for trouble. Scioscia is lucky the Angels are alive to see another day.

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It looks like you may need to hop on Noah’s Arc if you have plans to attend Game 6 Saturday night in the Bronx. The early forecast is calling for a 90 percent change of precipitation with 14 mile-per-hour winds. I am going to the game and would hate to see it rained out, especially since the makeup would go against the Giants-Cardinals game over at Giants Stadium.

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I believe it’s imperative for the Yankees to win Game 6. If they don’t, CC Sabathia would have to pitch the seventh game and if they win Game 7, CC would not be available for Game 1 of the World Series on Wednesday. They are going to need him available to pitch three games against the Phillies’ potent lineup.

I would still be surprised to see the Angels to win this series. The only way I see that happening is if they blow out the Yankees in both games, something I don’t see happening because the Angel lineup is just not that deep. And if the games are close, I can’t see Brian Fuentes getting out of the Bronx alive.

I’ll be back after Game 6 with an in-person account. Thanks for reading.

CC Sabathia and Alex Rodriguez combined have contracts worth an insane $461 million dollars. You can argue over the past three weeks alone, they’ve earned every penny.

Sabathia’s eight inning, one-run performance on three days rest to stabilize the ALCS for the Yankees was everything they envisioned when they bid against themselves to bring the big guy to the Bronx.

Since watching Josh Beckett save the Red Sox behinds in the 2007 playoffs, the Yankees were not shy about their quest to bring a legit No. 1 starter aboard. The game plan of throwing senior citizens (in baseball years) like Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens and Mike Mussina in playoff games like they did over the past five years had finally been squashed.

They did pass on Johan Santana in 2008, which ultimately cost them that season. Brian Cashman took a lot of heat for not pulling the trigger on a deal for Johan, but by passing on that trade, the Yankees were able to keep Phil Hughes and sign Sabathia. In the end, not trading the ranch for Santana turned out to be for the best.

Last night, Sabathia didn’t melt under the pressure of pitching on three days rest, instead he thrived in the moment. Coming off a terrible loss in Game 3, he put the Yankees on his back (he literally could fit most of the team on it), took the game out of Joe Girardi’s hands (thankfully) and has all but put the Yankees back in the World Series for the first time in six years.

I know, I know, the series is not over yet. But do you really think if the series should go seven games, Sabathia would be stopped? I have no doubt he wouldn’t.

As for A-Rod, we and himself have over-analyzed why he failed miserably in the postseason over the years. Thankfully, that endless talk is over.

Along with Derek Jeter, A-Rod has carried the Yankees offense in October, including another dominant performance last night when he tallied three hits with yet another home run.

In 2004, A-Rod was in the same position as he is now. Twenty-seven outs from the World Series and an ALCS MVP (although he may have to fight CC for it). We all know what happened that year. This time around, though, I can’t see a similar end taking place.

Finally, it appears, A-Rod is on his way to the Fall Classic. A few years later than everyone may have hoped, but better late than never.

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I’ve come to expect mental breakdowns on the field from time to time from Robinson Cano. But Jorge Posada, the 15-year veteran and holder of four World Series rings? Not so much. From terrible base-running (How do you not score from second on a ball off the center field wall?) to forgetting how many out there are (especially with runners on base), Jorge was lost last night. Hopefully, it’s a one-night aberration.

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Between the horrendous base-running and terrible umpiring throughout the 2009 playoffs, it’s been one ugly month of baseball. I highly doubt any of these game tapes will be shown at instructional camps in the future.

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Did we really have a Melky Cabrera sighting last night? I couldn’t believe my eyes.

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Brett Gardner, I don’t care if the Angels know you are running, you can’t get thrown out stealing every night. Especially since your only role at the moment is as a pinch-runner.

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For those still looking for Yankee World Series tickets, they go on sale at 10 a.m. today at ticketmaster.com. I’m sure there will be very few available, but it’s worth a shot no less.

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If the Phillies clinch tonight (I expect that to happen) and the Yankees wrap up this series on Thursday, it’s going to be a long wait until Game 1 of the World Series, which is not scheduled until Wednesday. I know this is TV driven (FOX does not want to go up against the Giants-Cardinals Sunday night football game), but a one-week wait in-between series is ridiculous. Most of America will probably forget the season is still going on.

Thanks for reading today, I’ll be back after the possible Game 5 clincher. Also, let me know if you’re able to scoop World Series tickets today. I’m always interested in those type of stories. Post a comment or send me an email.

Sometimes you just know. When I got home from work today, I turned on the TV in the top of the second inning and what was the first thing I saw? Pat Sajak staring at me and America from Scott Boras’ luxury box behind home plate. I then knew it would be a long day and boy was it ever.

My thoughts:

Buck Showalter Jr., I mean Joe Girardi, needs to take that stupid notebook of his and throw it in the trash. To say he over-managed Game 4 would be the understatement of the year.

First off, I wanted to see him bring in Alfredo Aceves in the top of the 11th and hold off using David Robertson in case a save situation arose. He instead went right to Robertson, which I can live with. Taking out Robertson, the kind of hard thrower you like to have available in extra innings on the road, after he easily recorded two straight outs? The only word I can think of is asinine. Girardi’s explanation was that he liked the matchups better. OK, fine. But doesn’t the way Robertson threw to the two hitters he faced play any role in the decision? And shouldn’t the possibility that the game will last five or six more innings come to mind when making that move?

Say Aceves got out of the 11th and pitched another inning or two. That leaves Chad Gaudin and his 4.50 career ERA left with the game in his hands. The odds that he keeps the game alive with multiple shutout innings are slim to none.

Girardi put the Yankees in position to lose in the extra innings. This loss is on him.

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Like Charlie Manuel should have done with Pedro Martinez in Game 2 of the NLCS, I would’ve liked for Girardi to leave Andy Pettitte in the game until another hitter reached base. I know he allowed the game-tying home run to Vladimir Guerrero an inning earlier, but I trust a tired Pettitte more than I trust a rested Joba. The Joba of 2007 seems like a lifetime ago, doesn’t it? The Yankees turned a Goose Gossage-like reliever into a shaky starter then hoped they would catch gold by switching him back to a reliever in the playoffs. The only problem is that he looks like a shell of what he was in 2007. I would hesitate to throw him back into a pressure situation again this postseason.

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He has been terrible at the plate in this series (1-for-13), but Mark Teixeira continues to be a weapon with his glove. He made three more great plays in Game 3, two of them coming in the 10th inning to keep the game alive after the Angels had runners on first and third and no one out. It’s time, though, for him to start hitting.

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With a left-hander in Scott Kazmir on the mound scheduled for Game 4, I don’t expect to see Girardi to make any lineup changes. For Game 5, I’d seriously consider playing Brett Gardner over Melky Cabrera (3-for-14 in the series) or Nick Swisher (2-for-10, 5 strikeouts), who have been near-automatic outs in October.

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In total, the Yankees have left 33 runners on base in this series. That was a major theme when the Yankees lost four consecutive playoff series between 2004 and 2007. If that continues, this series will have a similar ending to those.

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On the bright side, since the Yankees lost, FOX won’t be able to post the list of major professional teams that have blown a 3-0 playoff series lead. No need to go back down that road.

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A couple of pet peeves from tonight:

It always annoys me when fans boo when pitchers throw over to first base. The Angel fan base was all over Andy Pettitte today every time he threw over. What’s next? Boo when he throws a pitch? Pickoffs are a part of the game. Deal with it. Fans at Yankee Stadium and other parks throughout the country are guilty of this too.

Also, you have to love that Jack Nicholson is a Yankees and Lakers fan. Jack hasn’t exactly had a tough life when it comes to his sports teams to say the least.

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I agree with Joe Girardi pitching CC Sabathia on three days rest in Game 4. This is, by far, the most important and daring move of his short managerial career. If it works, today’s debacle will just be an afterthought in the big picture.

Hopefully, Pat Sajak won’t be there.

Thanks for checking in. Talk to you after Game 4.

From the day A-Rod made his storybook-like comeback in May at Baltimore (Michael Kay’s words, not mine), the Yankee offense smothered opposing pitching from then until the end of the regular season, especially at the new Yankee Stadium.

We have yet to see the Yankee offense at its best in this postseason and despite that, the Yankees sport a 5-0 record in the playoffs, including a 2-0 series lead against the Angels in the American League Championship Series. Obviously, you see better pitching in the playoffs than you see against hideous teams like the Orioles and Royals, so it’s to be expected that your offensive production would go down a little once the playoffs begin. Therefore, pitching becomes even more important. And to be frank, the Yankee pitching staff has been nothing short of spectacular in October.

Despite a shaky and long fifth inning and 77 pitching conferences on the mound, A.J. Burnett had his second consecutive strong playoff start Saturday night, holding the Angels to only two runs in 6 1/3 innings, striking out four and, most importantly, walking only one. In two postseason starts, Burnett, who entered the postseason with no career playoff appearances, has given up only three runs in 12 innings, good for a 2.19 ERA. Although Burnett has not been the winning pitcher in either start, the Yankees won both games.

The signing of Burnett to a five-year contract in the offseason drew some criticism, not because of his talent, but due to his injury history and mental makeup. Burnett did not miss a start this season, silencing those concerns and he also has proven he is up for the challenge of pitching in New York and the big stage of the postseason.

After a slew of terrible pitching acquisitions over the years (I don’t have two hours to go through the whole list), Brian Cashman took a huge risk giving Burnett a contract that large. One year in, it looks like Cashman got this one right.

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There were many game-changing plays Saturday night that you can look back on and say that is the reason why the Yankees are up 2-0 in the series instead of tied at 1-1. But if you want to narrow it down, you have to look no further than the closers. Brian Fuentes, as we’ve chronicled here before, is not a good closer, no matter what his numbers say. I wouldn’t trust him to shut down a high school team in a playoff setting. With a one-run lead in the 11th inning and an 0-2 count on A-Rod, you have to throw nothing but pitches in the dirt. Especially with Freddy Guzman or Jerry Hairston Jr. (he would’ve pinch-hit for Guzman if A-Rod didn’t reach base) coming up next. The Yankees caught a huge break that Fuentes melted down in that situation and threw their hottest hitter a pitch he could hit out of the ballpark.

As for the Yankees closer, whatever his name is, he is pretty good. I think they have a keeper in him.

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If the Yankees end up winning this series, there’s a very good chance A-Rod would win the MVP. Remember, he would’ve been the MVP of the 2004 ALCS if not for the Yankees’ collapse.

Should the Yankees win Monday, everyone from the fans to the media to the players’ families will remind them constantly of what happened in 2004. For A-Rod, a trip to the World Series would erase a good portion of the bad memories he’s been a part of since he arrived in New York. Expect the word relief to come out of his mouth several times in the post-game press conference after the clincher.

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About a half-mile from where I live, I’m sure Buck Showalter had a smile from ear-to-ear Saturday night at the ESPN studios watching Joe Girardi over-manage. It’s not getting a lot of press, but I think he went to Mariano Rivera too early with the game tied in the eighth. Phil Hughes did allow two runners on (Juan Rivera blooped a single to center and Maicer Izturis reached on an error by Derek Jeter), but no one hit the ball hard off of him and Girardi took him out right after he blew Gary Matthews Jr. away. I would’ve left Hughes in and let him pitch the ninth, preserving Rivera for later in the game. The Yankees should consider themselves extremely lucky they won a game in which they were forced to use Damaso Marte in extra innings.

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Joba Chamberlain’s performance in the seventh inning Saturday was night and day. His approach to Torii Hunter was terrible, hanging consecutive sliders to start the at-bat that Hunter, inexplicably, let go by. Hunter reached on an infield single and Joba then got his act together, aggressively attacking Vladimir Guerrero with fastballs and striking him out with the bases loaded. The less Joba thinks on the mound, the better.

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I think it’s time for Robinson Cano to throw out his speed-skater head gear. Seriously, what do football players think when they tune into a baseball game and see someone dressed like that?

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Speaking of football, I think the Saints just scored another touchdown against the Giants.

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It’s nice to see Johnny Damon come back to life in this series after a bad September and ALDS. Damon is 4-for-11 in the series to go along with a nice sliding catch in left field on Saturday. The Yankees are at their best when Derek Jeter and Damon are hitting well simultaneously.

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Raise your hand if you stared at StubHub’s page for a considerable amount of time Saturday morning debating whether you should buy the tickets they had listed for under face value, but didn’t pull the trigger. Shamefully, I’m raising mine. That’s the last time I listen to Mike Francesa’s weather advice.

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I think Mark Sanchez just threw another interception.

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The acquisition of Jerry Hairston Jr. went under the radar at the trade deadline, but it’s turned out to be a solid move by Brian Cashman. While you often see hitters in extra innings swinging for the fences, Hairston Jr. had a great approach leading off the 13th, calmly lining a single to center. Role players play critical parts every year in the playoffs and Hairston Jr. could be one of those players down the road that become an unexpected World Series hero.

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Doesn’t it seem like 100 years ago that Jason Giambi was stumbling around defensively at first base for the Yankees? Mark Teixeira, as we predicted in the summer, has made a major impact defensively in the postseason. You can argue the Yankees wouldn’t be undefeated in the playoffs if not for Teixeira’s glove.

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Be prepared to get jealous when FOX airs numerous shots of the California sun in the next two games (three if necessary). I know I will be.

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Joe Girardi announced today that CC Sabathia will start Game 4 on three days rest. I’m still not convinced he will pitch that game if the Yankees win Monday and take a 3-0 series lead. I would take my chances with Chad Gaudin (although not too confidently) and hold CC back for Game 5 if it’s necessary, which will not be played until Thursday.

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Thanks for reading. Check in for further updates throughout the week.

Back in May when the Yankees and Philles got together for a three-game series at Yankee Stadium, you heard some of the usual chatter when good teams face each other in Interleague play.

The obvious “Possible World Series preview in the Bronx?” question found itself in the headlines of many newspapers and, of course, FOX played it up in the promos for their Saturday game of the week.

People were also saying how that series would be a good measuring stick for the Yankees, who, at that point of the season, were still behind Boston in the standings.

The series, outside of the first game that the Phillies won pretty easily, did not disappoint in the least.

In the second game, with the Yankees trailing 4-2 in the ninth, A-Rod connected on game-tying home run off Brad Lidge that sent the remaining fans in the building (a lot had already fled the scene) into a frenzy. Two batters later, Melky Cabrera finished the Phillies off with a game-winning single to right-center that scored Robinson Cano.

Like the champions the Phillies are, they did not carry the brutal loss from the day before into the third game. In the battle of the big names on the mound, CC Sabathia went eight innings, allowing three runs, while Cole Hamels tossed six innings of two-run ball.

The Philles led 3-2 in the eighth before the Yankees got to Brad Lidge again (didn’t everyone?), tying the game on a dramatic single from Melky. The Yankees, however, were not able to carry the momentum into extra innings, losing on a RBI double by Carlos Ruiz in the 11th off the long-gone Brett Tomko.

Walking out of the stadium that day, I couldn’t help but feel that these teams were not finished with each other. The intensity on the field and in the stands (there were thousands of Philly fans at each game) was October-like and one little series in May just didn’t feel like enough.

Well, here we are in October and both teams are four wins away from meeting again.

The Yankees certainly have the harder road ahead, and getting by the Angels is going to be extremely tough.

I love that Joe Girardi, barring rainouts (the forecast looks awful), is going to go with a three-man starting rotation. The only pitcher that will have to pitch on three days rest is Sabathia, who pitched on short rest all of September last year for Milwaukee and was outstanding. Plus, he’s hasn’t pitched a lot in the last three weeks and has had plenty of rest.

The odds that Joba Chamberlain or Chad Gaudin would pitch well as a starter in Game 4 on the road are on par with the odds that the Raiders will win the Super Bowl. In other words, there’s very little chance. I know Gaudin has pitched fine since he arrived in the Bronx, but at some point the real Chad Gaudin is going to stand up. You can not afford to take that risk that he will in Game 4, in a stadium that has haunted the Yankees this entire decade.

Give me CC on three-days rest, thank you very much.

In order to beat the Angels, the Yankees simply have to hit better than they did in the first round against Minnesota. Outside of A-Rod, Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira and Jorge Posada, the Yankees received minimal contributions from anyone else and that went under the radar thanks to their outstanding pitching. The rest of the hitters, notably Cano, Johnny Damon and Nick Swisher will not be able to hide in this series.

All season, the Yankees have been near unstoppable in their new stadium. From their obscene amount of home runs to their late inning magic, this team has the look of one that will not be denied. This series won’t be easy, but I think having Games 6 and 7 at home will prove to be crucial. Not to mention, the Yankees have Mariano Rivera as their closer and not Brian Fuentes.

The pick: Yankees in 7.

Over in the National League, I see a less competitive series taking place, especially if Lidge pitches the way he did against Colorado for the Phillies.

I love the Phillies’ trio of lefties in Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and J.A. Happ, plus it will be interesting to see how effective Pedro Martinez is in this series. I’m sure Joe Torre is not as worried about facing Pedro as he was earlier this decade.

Offensively, I don’t see Philadelphia dying a slow death against the Dodgers like the Cardinals did. Their lineup is even stronger than a year ago with the emergence of Jayson Werth and the addition of Raul Ibanez to go along with a three-four combination of Chase Utley and Ryan Howard that ranks at the top of baseball next to Teixeira and A-Rod.

The likes of Vincente Padilla may have shut down the Cardinals, but it will be a much different story in this series.

The pick: Phillies in 6.

Quick sidebar before we wrap things up: On Nov. 1, Game 4 of the World Series will be played at the National League team’s stadium. Also that day, the New York Football Giants will visit the Eagles at 1 p.m. For those of you that don’t know, the Eagles and the Philles play right next door to each other. If the Yankees and Philles meet in the World Series, we could have a very wild scene in Philadelphia that day. I would bet on more than a punch or two being thrown.

I’ll talk to you after Game 1. Thanks for checking in.