Curtis and Nick

Thank you for the moment of silence.

For Yankee fans these two departures, especially the one by Mr. Matsui, brings a deep feeling of loss. Like losing a friend. They will be missed, that's for sure.

But Yankee fans, do not despair. Our heroes went out on top. And with their departures brings new opportunities for new heroes to emerge next year, ballplayers who will captivate and excite and inspire just as Damon and Matsui once did.

Enter Curtis Granderson and welcome back Nick Johnson. Some fans have been unhappy about the moves, sure that the Damon and Matsui combo must be better than Granderson and Johnson. But I'm not so sure about that.

On replacing Damon with Granderson: Granderson is not as well-rounded a hitter. But he's a lefty with power and just as much speed as Johnny. He is a massive upgrade defensively. And according to reports he gets along with the others in the clubhouse just as well as Mr. Damon did. Because of his age, I think the Yankees made a fine move here.

On replacing Matsui with Johnson: There's no doubt that Matsui is an almost un-replacable elite hitter. But Nick Johnson ain't bad. In fact Johnson has consistently been over .400 in on base percentage during his career, a benchmark that Matsui has never attained in MLB. Matsui has more power but Johnson is even more patient, and can play the field, giving other regulars a rest. It will be great to have him back in pinstripes.

So long, Matsui and Damon. We wish you well.

Johnny and Hideki

The New Yorker's Roger Angell wrote a great piece about the Yankees' title run this year. At the end he gave a vivid, moving tribute to two of the team's biggest world series heroes, Matsui and Damon, both of whom will probably be with other teams next year.

Matsui hit .600 in the World Series. Damon's late-inning heroics in game 4 were the turning point in the World Series. A moment of silence, please, for these two great Yankee heroes....

The Offseason chess match

It has probably been said before that championships are often won or lost in the offseason. This is the time when teams are created, or re-created. It's the time when players are traded, the money changes hands, and the brightest minds in each organization around the league go toe to toe to build a world series winner.

And the chess match has already begun. A moment of silence, please, for Brian Bruney, who pitched very well for the Yankees early in the year, for Ian Kennedy, who never pitched well and will now go work on his two seam fastball elsewhere, for Phil Coke, who pitched heroically many times and will be missed, and for Austin Jackson, probably the Yankees' best position prospect. Mr. Jackson had all the tools, except for power. He should be a starter next season for another team, and we wish him luck.

Enter Curtis Granderson. He's a nice addition to the team. He'll be a full-time outfielder, he's young, he has power, and he can really field. He's got speed and he'll be popular in the clubhouse. I like him.

And welcome back Andy. Just yesterday Andy Pettitte signed another one-year deal with the team, worth 11 million bucks. Good for him. With his addition the Yankees now will come back next season with the same 3 starters who carried them to glory in the 2009 playoffs.

Let's see how the chess match develops from here.

12000 snapshots in 3 minutes

Game 6, old school style.

The Yankees on Letterman

Jeter, Posada, and Pettitte went on Letterman just after winning the series. Here they are.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

The Parade

The Yankees once again make their trip down the Canyon of Heroes.

The Yankees are Champions Again (Yanks 7, Phillies 3. Yankees win World Series 4-2)

Yankee Baseball, baby. Yankee baseball.

Looking Behind...

More on Damon's brilliant 9th inning.

And on Burnett's struggles.

Get ready, New York. There's more baseball to be played. (Phillies 8, Yanks 6. Yankees lead World Series 3-2.)

There was campaign in the visitors clubhouse at Citizens Bank Park. The World Series championship trophy was in the house, somewhere, awaiting the claim from it's owner.

But it's owner has not yet been determined. Today Cliff Lee outpitched AJ Burnett, who imploded after just two innings pitched. The Yankee bullpen also succumbed to the Phillies hometown home run bats, and Philadelphia eventually built a lead that was just a bit too much for the Yankees to overcome.

The Yankees tried. As Mariano Rivera said this year, "On this team we play 9 innings." Down 8-2 after 7 the Yankees mounted a comeback in the late innings and by the 9th inning brought the tying run to the plate twice. But twice they were unable to continue the rally.

And so we go back to New York. The campaign will also come to NY. So will the championship trophy. On Wednesday night (Thursday morning, my time) Pettitte will face Pedro Martinez in game 6, with the Yankees on the brink of immortality.

1 more and the Yankees are home (Yanks 7, Phillies 4. Yankees lead World Series 3-1)

It's been said that the early games of a series are like the beginnings of a chess match. The first game or two is just the opening, where you feel your opponent out. You get a sense of his strategy. You study his approach. You find the weakness, and develop your plan of attack.

The first two games in the Bronx almost seemed that way. But the last two games, especially today's game, were a war. Players' nerves have calmed down. The game plan is ready. Now the real attack begins.

The Yankees struck first. Jeter and Damon, red hot now, both got on base, and before the inning was over both had scored and the Yankees had a 2-0 lead.

But these are the Phillies. And like I said, this is a war. The Phillies tied it against CC Sabathia, who was starting on 3 days of rest. Once again it was Utley doing the major damage. And we had ourselves a 2-2 ballgame early on. Evidently, things were just getting started.

The Yankees, with the tide turning against them but led by Jeter, responded. With a couple of runs the Yankees pulled ahead 4-2. The Phillies responded in the bottom of the 5th with an attack on Sabathia. But CC escaped (some analysis of Sabathia's extraordinary performance in the 5th inning).

But these are the Phillies, and this is an epic series. CC stayed in during the 7th inning. He got two outs and 2 strikes on Utley. But Utley struck again. 4-3. Momentum swing again. And as a fan you almost knew that the Phillies were going to tie the game. Somehow, we knew that 4 runs would not be enough to win tonight.

Joba entered in the 8th. He got Werth. He got Ibanez. But Pedro Feliz jacked a solo homer to left that tied the game and sent those Phillie orange fireworks booming, and that sea of white towels waving. Citizens Bank Park shook with bedlam from the masses. The game was tied.

Marte got the next out. And we went to the 9th, tied at 4-4.

Brandon Lidge, the Phillies' closer, perfect in the postseason, was deployed. Matsui pinch hit and was set down. Jeter had a long at bat that might have tired Lidge a bit, but he eventually struck out on a nasty, diving slider.

With two outs Damon stepped to the plate. He fell behind 1-2 but went to work. Fouling off pitches with defensive swings. Taking close pitches for balls. Fighting, battling, warring like he did in all those big games and from behind that massive beard as a Red Sock. Damon wore down Lidge and laced an opposite field single to get on base, the kind of hit that inspires a team.

But Damon wasn't done. Tex batted left handed and the Phillies overshifted against him, with Feliz playing at short, Rollings at second, and Utley in shallow right. The Phillies did not hold Damon, and Johnny made a break for second with a massive jump. Ruiz was caught by surprise and hit Feliz on two hops, well behind Damon's slide. But Ruiz had thrown to the right side of the bag, pulling Feliz towards first base. Feliz lunged to save the ball, but Johnny saw his chance. And with a "positively Demonic" burst of speed from his 35 year old legs, Damon accelerated towards third past the hapless Feliz...who had nobody to throw to. Damon went in to third standing up.

Manuel called for Tex to be plunked, to bring up A-Rod and a force at second base. And with a heroic swat Alex Rodriguez smashed a line drive down the left field line, a one-hopper to the wall that scored Damon and gave the Yankees the only cushion they would need for Mariano in the 9th. Posada doubled in Tex and A-Rod to make the score 7-4, and the Yankees were three outs away from a 3-1 Series lead.

Mariano did not disappoint. With two weak grounders an a tiny pop fly to second, Mo broke more Phillies bats and proved once again that he belongs in a different league. The Phillies went down 1-2-3. And the Yankees celebrated in the middle of the field, in front of the quietly exiting Philly fans, knowing that they would need just one more to bring the World Series Championship back to New York.

Johnny Damon. He's been here since 2006. But today he really did become a Yankee. What a tremendous performance in the 9th inning. The man who once was a part of those old awful Red Sox teams is now a Yankee for all time.