Philadelphia Phillies

By keeping Cliff Lee in the game in the ninth inning after losing his shutout bid, Phillies skipper Charlie Manuel may have hurt the Philadelphia Phillies chances of winning a second straight World Series. 

Top of the eighth, Yankees lead 3-1. Jimmy Rollins at first, Shane Victorino at second, and one out. The legendary Mariano Rivera toes the rubber, then delivers the payoff pitch to Chase Utley.

In a move so bad that even the Fox broadcasters lampooned it, Charlie Manuel did not send the runners on the pitch. The Yankees turned an easy, inning-ending double play, and Ryan Howard was left hanging in the on-deck circle.

But that wasn’t the stupidest decision Manuel made last night.

All the bright spots and the warts have been exposed after two games in the 2009 World Series.

Mariano Rivera, perhaps the brightest of all stars, pitched a two-inning save to preserve a 3-1 Yankees victory over the Phillies on Thursday night in New York.

The World Series is now tied, at one win a piece.

Hideki Matsui hit the go-ahead solo home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to give the Yankees their first lead of the series, 2-1.

This Column Originally Published at GetOutofMyBallpark.com

His challenge arrived ever so quickly amid an epic duel unimaginably surprising at a time baseball extends to November, reducing our interest as we direct our full attention on football and basketball. 

The boo birds are lying in wake. They are getting ready to let loose a tirade the likes of which have not been seen in a very long time in the Bronx. Last night there were rumblings, signs of things to come.

Despite the fact that Alex Rodriguez was hitting over .430 in the post season and hit clutch tying home runs late in games, here he was on baseball’s greatest stage with the opportunity to completely bury his past failures and finally be accepted as a true blue New York Yankee.