New York Yankees Half Way to 27th World Series Title

I'll admit, as a longtime Phillies fan, I am more familiar with failure than I am with success.

I even predicted a 6-3 Yankees win Saturday afternoon, because as much as I hoped not, I knew Andy Pettitte would pitch better than Cole Hamels.

Hamels was staked to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second on a Jayson Werth homer that Werth almost one-handed the ball over the left field fence and a base loaded walk and sacrifice fly.

I still think Cole Hamels has to mature and put bad plays behind him. Following a two-run home run by Alex Rodriguez that hit the TV camera in right, Hamels fell apart in the fifth.

Above, Rodriguez pleads with umpires to over turn what was initially ruled a double.

Hamels hung a curve ball to pitcher Andy Pettitte for a one-out RBI single to tie the game at 3-3.

The pitcher? Hamels' third best pitch? What was he thinking?

The Yankees expanded the lead to 5-3 before the fifth inning and Hamels' night was done. The 8-5 win gave the Yankees a 2-1 series lead.

As the clock moved closer to midnight in the rain-delayed start, it appeared the Phillies would not win.

The clock moved back after midnight, due to the end of daylight savings.

For Phillies' fans, the wish was that the clock would be moved back for Cole Hamels.

The 2008 NLCS and World Series MVP has been anything but consistent.

As I stated before, I expected Pettitte to pitch better than Hamels and predicted a Yankees win.

My quandary is that the Yankees' best pitchers are making Ryan Howard, Shane Victorino, and now Chase Utley, look bad.

The model for a Phillies series win, by most experts, was for Hamels to follow up Cliff Lee's dominant Game One victory.

My only hope is that Joe Blanton gives us a Lee/2008 Hamels performance in Game Four, or this series could be over real quick.

The Yankees bullpen leading up to Rivera is not special at all. They could be had.

But when the Yankees starters go six or seven innings, the bridge to Rivera is filled with less crocodiles than in the Phillies rickety bridge to Lidge.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com