Preview/Prediction

Hollywood would be hard pressed to write a better script than the one we have today in real life.

The New York Yankees go after their 27th World Title in the spanking brand new $1.2 billion stadium replica of the House That Ruth Built. They will attempt this monumental feat on the back of 37-year old Andy Pettitte, who has won more postseason games than anyone else in the history of the sport.

He was without a doubt the most dominant, feared, respected and admired pitcher in all of baseball during the steroid-era. He was the one pitcher that you felt the need to watch every single time he took to the mound.

For seven years, Pedro Martinez was Boston.

The great thing about the postseason, and the World Series in particular, is that redemption is always just around the corner.

Alex Rodriguez knows all about that. He entered last month as a playoff pariah—his October failures as big a part of his identity as his three MVP awards.

It took just 14 games (and 18 RBI) to change all that.

Playoff baseball is convenient like that: It's a one-stop shop for re-shaping your legacy.

In the grand scheme of things, baseball is a kid's game.

It makes heroes out of ordinary men. It makes celebrities out of lowlifes like Jose Canseco and John Rocker.

It turns cities against each other—sometimes, even boroughs of the same city. Its victories and defeats are celebrated and suffered with pure emotion.

It can make an 18-year-old kid lean out of his 14th-floor dormitory window at one in the morning and joyfully scream "Boston Sucks!" at the top of his lungs out into Washington Square Park. It compels the people down below to join in when they hear it.

As the 2009 World Series moves back to the Bronx, the Philadelphia Phillies once again put the ball in the hands of Pedro Martinez.

The Phillies, after witnessing Martinez's performance in Game Two of this series, believe he is the right choice to get the win and force a game seven.

Martinez has performed well this postseason, posting an ERA of 2.08 and has showed signs of pitching like his former self.

The Minnesota Twins may be on the verge of completing a major deal to improve the infield for 2010 and beyond.

Mark Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times is reporting that the Rays are close to dealing second baseman Akinori Iwamura to an undisclosed team.

Charlie Manuel says his team is resilient. He points out the fact that the team has lost 22 games this season in which they led after the seventh inning. That sounds like the 2008 New York Mets to me. But, it was the Phillies and not the Mets who ultimately wound up winning the 2008 World Series. (ouch)

As I had mentioned in my previous post, it has been nearly a year since the Mets acquired J.J. Putz from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for a bevy of players.

When they acquired the hard-throwing righty, the Mets envisioned having a proven closer that could fill the closer's role if needed.

However, as usual, things did not work out as planned for the Mets.

For the first time since they were down 2-0 to the Colorado Rockies in the first round of the 2007 playoffs, the Phillies find themselves in a very uncomfortable position. They are behind for the first time in six previous playoff appearances, and instead of having their ace to bring back for a tying series victory, they are forced to start a guy who has given up only 30 home runs during the regular season.

Last offseason, I started writing a series of columns that profiled each member of the Mets bullpen and analyzed their performance in the previous season.

At the conclusion of each article, I would make a determination on whether or not I thought the pitcher should be brought back.

The articles, for the most part, were met with solid reader reception so this year we will continue the tradition.