Yanks' Rodriguez still seeking first Series hit
October 31, 2009 |11:19 | Players By : Team X
Kate Hudson was talking to Kurt Russell when she suddenly stopped, leaned forward in a second-row box seat and clasped her hands together. Moments later, she kicked back and shook her head. The mighty A-Rod had struck out again. A beast in the AL playoffs, Alex Rodriguez has become a bust in his first World Series.
Totally out of whack, swinging at shadows, his performance at the plate in Game 2 Thursday night mirrored his output in the opener. So far: 0 for 8 with six strikeouts. "I'm not concerned," the New York Yankees star said. "The fact that I'm 0-fer in this Series and we're 1-1 makes me feel good." Hudson sure didn't seem to enjoy watching her boyfriend struggle against the Philadelphia Phillies during the Yankees' 3-1 win.
Pedro Martinez slowly walked off the mound, listening to the taunts from the Bronx crowd. He looked skyward to acknowledge his late father, then smiled at the screaming hecklers. Looking for one more big win in a spectacular career, Martinez couldn't send the Philadelphia Phillies home with a commanding 2-0 lead over the New York Yankees in the World Series.
The Yankees waited six long years for this. hey had not won a World Series game since that rainy night in Miami when Mike Mussina beat Florida's Josh Beckett for a 2-1 lead in 2003. Since then, they had lost four in a row in the Series the only games that really matter for a franchise that counts championships by the dozen. They had churned through starters such as Kevin Brown, Javier Vazquez, Randy Johnson and Carl Pavano in a futile flurry that failed to regain the team's lofty level.
The Yankees, meanwhile, have not ruled out the possibility of using Game One starter CC Sabathia on Sunday and again on Thursday to get two more starts from the big left-hander if the best-of-seven Fall Classic goes the distance. Phillies manager Manuel said Lee had never pitched on three days' rest but said he might be able to use Lee in relief in a Game Seven..jpg)
Mark Teixeira and Hideki Matsui shook the New York Yankees from their lumber slumber and sent the World Series to Philadelphia all tied up. Teixeira and Matsui hit solo homers off familiar foe Pedro Martinez, backing a sharp performance by A.J. Burnett and giving the Yankees a 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 2 on Thursday night.
Look out for Cliff Lee, Chase Utley and this New Red Machine. Lee outdueled CC Sabathia, Utley homered twice and the Philadelphia Phillies kept rolling through October, beating the New York Yankees 6-1 on a misty Wednesday night in the World Series opener. The defending champion Phillies shut down Alex Rodriguez & Co. in the first Series game at the new billion-dollar Yankee Stadium. Trying to become the first NL team to repeat since Cincinnati in 1975-76, the Phils' 17-4 postseason run is the best in league history. Big Red Machine, meet your match. "We have confidence. We know we have a good team," Utley said. ame 2 is Thursday night, with wily Pedro Martinez pitching for the Phillies against jumpy A.J. Burnett. Ryan Howard reprised his MVP performance, doubling twice and driving in the final run for the Phillies. Rodriguez, however, went hitless and struck out three times in his Series debut. Hardly looking like the 2-to-1 underdogs they are, the Phillies were in such control that many fans left before the final out.
LOS ANGELES – Jamie McCourt on Tuesday filed for divorce from Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and asked a judge to reinstate her as the team's chief executive, signaling what could be a lengthy and nasty fight over the storied baseball franchise. Court documents obtained by The Associated Press cite irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split. The McCourts have been married since 1979 and have four grown sons, ranging in age from 19 to 28. Frank McCourt fired his wife as the team's chief executive last week when the Dodgers were eliminated from the playoffs by the Philadelphia Phillies. The dispute comes as the Dodgers enter a busy offseason and could be a distraction when spring training arrives in February. The team has the most potential players eligible for free agency with 16, including Manny Ramirez, who must decide if he will exercise his $20 million option for next season and return. Manager Joe Torre is headed into the final season of his three-year contract and Ned Colletti was recently given a long-term contract extension as general manager..jpg)
They've played ball for more than a century, the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees, yet they're hardly rivals. Despite their proximity — a 2-hour drive up I-95, even faster on Amtrak — the teams share little history. Their only previous World Series meeting came in 1950 when New York swept four close games. But a three-game set earlier this season at Yankee Stadium showed a fun Series could be in store..jpg)
The New York Yankees, baseball's biggest spenders, finally cashed in with their first pennant in six years Sunday night, beating the Los Angeles Angels 5-2 in Game 6 of the AL championship series behind the savvy pitching of that old October pro, Andy Pettitte..jpg)
Alex Rodriguez, welcome to the World Series. The New York Yankees are back in baseball's big event. The sport's top spenders finally cashed in with their first pennant in six years Sunday night, beating the Los Angeles Angels 5-2 in Game 6 of the AL championship series behind the savvy pitching of that old October pro, Andy Pettitte. Next up, New York hosts defending champion Philadelphia in the World Series opener Wednesday night. Cliff Lee is expected to face Yankees ace CC Sabathia in an enticing pitching matchup between former Cleveland teammates and the past two AL Cy Young Award winners.
