New York Yankees

Who is a White Sox fan supposed to root for during this World Series?

Do I root for the Yankees because they represent the overall strength of the American league? Or do I root against them because they’re the “Evil Empire” and represent what’s wrong with salary cap-less baseball?

On the other side there’s the Phillies. Do I root for the defending champions and their fan friendly trio of Rollins, Utley, and Howard? Or do I root against the National league purely out of spite for their brand of baseball.

Every Yankees championship season in recent memory has had a signature moment that defined that particular postseason run.

Let's take a look back, shall we?

1996: The One With Jim Leyritz (World Series, Game Four)

The Yanks were down two-games-to-one against the defending world champion Braves and trailing by three runs in the eighth when Leyritz stepped into the box with two on against closer Mark Wohlers.

For the second time in the history of Major League Baseball, the World Series was being played in November.

After an exciting Game Three that saw the bats come alive, the Yankees were facing the Phillies in Game Four of the 2009 World Series.

Coming into the game, the Phillies fans were excited and some were present earlier in the day to watch the Philadelphia Eagles rip apart the New York Giants just across the street at Lincoln Financial Field, so for some of the fans at Citizens Bank Park, it was going to be a long night, but one filled with excitement and drama.

Joe Girardi may as well change his jersey number to 30 right now.

Monday night, the Yankees have a chance to leave Philadelphia with their 27th World Series title in hand. Thus fulfilling Girardi's goal he set out to accomplish when he replaced Joe Torre, and intentionally wore the number 27.  

With Johnny Damon down 1-2 in the count against Brad Lidge with two outs in the ninth, things were beginning to look very iffy for the Yankees' chances of winning their 27th World Series.

After Joba Chamberlain surrendered a game-tying home run to Pedro Feliz in the bottom of the eighth, the Phillies carried all the momentum into the ninth.

With Philadelphia's ace, Cliff Lee, scheduled to start Game 5 on Monday against A.J. Burnett on just three days' rest, a win on Sunday would've put the National League champs in control of this series.

I was going to wait until the World Series was over before I wrote a word.

I wanted to know everything and stop making predictions from game to game, as it drove me nine different kinds of crazy in the ALCS. And as superstitious as I am, I didn't have any intention of jinxing the Yankees on the doorstep of a championship.

But with the most important inning of the postseason—and surely the most amazing play in recent memory—under our viewing belts, the time is right.

Let me rewind to the 1995 ALDS between the Seattle Mariners and the New York Yankees.

It was Game Five, and the “Refuse to Lose” Mariners had rallied from a 2-0 series deficit to force a decisive final game at the old Kingdome.

The game was a classic and is undoubtedly remembered for the infamous Edgar Martinez walk-off, two-run double that scored a jet-fueled Ken Griffey Jr. in the 11^th inning.

But I want to flash back to the bottom of the ninth inning, with the game tied at 4-4.

With the soul of David Ortiz circa 2004 apparently having been transferred to Alex Rodriguez, at least for the 2009 playoffs, it's a good time to look back at the days before people thought he couldn't perform in the postseason.

An in-game analysis of Alex Rodriguez hitting approach:

In the second inning of tonight's game, Alex was hit in the upper back by a pitch from Joe Blanton. It was the third time in the last five at-bats Rodriguez was hit by a pitch.

After a conference between the umpires, they decided stupidly to warn both benches about retaliation. Alex exacerbated the situation by telling home plate umpire Mike Winters it was obvious the Phillies were throwing at him.