New York Yankees

Playing at home is a bit like having the serve in tennis: It confers a distinct advantage. As between two evenly matched contestants, the one with the home field/serve will win most of the time.

The Yankees "held serve" for two games at home, and then "broke the serve" of the Angels in the middle of three games played in Anaheim. It is this fact, and not the 3-2 tally, that suggests that the Yankees are the better team.

(If Los Angeles was leading 3-2 by virtue of their homestand, it would be far less clear they were the better team.)

Trust me, Yankees fans, it’s going to be fine. This is not 2004, this is not history repeating itself—or as Yogi Berra would say, “Déjà vu all over again.”

There are so many differences between this team and the one that will forever be synonymous with being the only (probably first at some point) team to blow a 3-0 series lead, it is preposterous to think this team is going to or should fold because that one did. 

To me the most obvious difference is in the starting pitching that the Yankees will be having in Games Six and Seven. 

The Aroldis Chapman sweepstakes have already begun. The Yankees, Mets, Rangers, Red Sox, and many other teams have already expressed their interest in the Cuban defector. Chapman has already arrived in the United States after being declared a free-agent and has started talks with Major League teams. 

Let me startout by stating that I cannot stand the New York Yankees for the life of me, but there is one player that I will cheer for to have success. That player is Nick Swisher because he's everything a major league player should be.

Swisher will never be one of the higher paid baseball players, but he'll always be the one having the most fun. His personality and the way he treats fans is refreshing especially for an athlete.

Alex Rodriguez is having a career-altering postseason.

Nick Swisher? Not so much.

No matter whether he's hitting left-handed or right-handed, whether he's swinging at fastballs or breaking balls, whether the pitch is a foot outside or right over the middle of the plate and thigh high, he is the surest out in the Yankee lineup right now.

The 2009 New York Yankees came into the regular season with a lot of hope and promise. They splurged big time in their off-season by signing ace CC Sabathia, another ace in A.J. Burnett, and slugging first basemen Mark Teixeira.

This was beginning to look like the most talented lineup and pitching staff that the Yankees have ever put out on the field. And, indeed it has been.

Phil Hughes is showing his age, or lack thereof.

The 23-year-old right-hander, who excelled in the bullpen throughout the regular season, has been shaky thus far in the postseason.

In the hours since the Yankees allowed a golden opportunity to secure the American League pennant slip away—fans, media, and unnecessarily loud Korean War veterans at Dunkin Donuts are attempting to assign blame for the 7-6 loss to the Angels.

Some are saying that Joe Girardi acted alone in this assassination of the Yankees' World Series hopes on Thursday, the opinion being that the second-year manager made a series of dubious decisions that doomed New York.

Philadelphia. The City of Brotherly Love. A fan base classified, though often unfairly, as unruly and vicious.

A blue collar city where its residents work hard and expect the same from its professional sports teams.

You see, that's all Philadelphia fans want from their teams. Leave it all out on the playing field. Give it everything you've got. If you push yourself to the limit and fall short, so be it. You lost honorably.