The New York Yankees have won the 2009 World Series. They won it the same way they won there other 26 titles…pitching, timely hitting, and unshakeable defense. That has always been the formula to winning a World Series. In spite of their $200 million dollar plus payroll, the Yankees earned this one the old fashioned way.
Their pitching was phenomenal. The Yankees had failed to win another title up to this point because their pitching had been mediocre, at best. It was one thing to get CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett, but is quite another thing to use them properly, especially Sabathia. Sabathia is a notorious inning-eater like his old Cleveland Indians teammate Cliff Lee. Sabathia, Burnett, and Andy Pettitte were not always dominant but they were effective. More importantly, they ate innings, kept their bullpen from getting involved too early, and allowed Mariano Rivera to shut it down. Which the Sandman did, he put the Phillies to sleep with that infamous cutter, which may as well be called Lunestra. On the other hand, it does not do any good stop an offense when you cannot produce any yourself.
This is where Hideki Matsui, Derek Jeter, Johnny Damon, and Alex Rodriguez come into play. Matsui, more aptly known as Godzilla was huge in the pivotal games, which were games 2 and 6. His slaying of Pedro’s pitches was the turning point in the series. Jeter and Damon set the table like kids on punishments. And, A-Rod finally delivered in a clutch moment. This fearsome foursome consistently made timely hits and offensive decisions that directly impacted the outcome. Throw in the fear of Mark Teixeira beating you and this lineup was hard to get around for four or five innings. Throw in the occasional Jorge Posada extra base hit or a Melky Cabrera double and you can see why everybody but Cliff Lee had trouble with this lineup. There are no obvious holes.
Speaking of holes, there were no holes in the Yankees defense either. This is really where Teixeira paid off. His addition allowed for the defense to align closer to the third base line which stopped people from pointing out that Jeter had lost range. That allegation was dispelled this season. Yeah, some are faster but are they controlled. Jeter has always combined his athletic ability with his keen decision making. But Jeter was not the defensive liability that title goes to Robinson Cano. However, Cano calmed down in the postseason and made the plays. That’s why the Yankees won their 27th championship. And guess what…they’re baaaaccckk!
GodSpeed
