Howards playoff strikeout total grows (AP)

Ryan Howard's home run trot has been replaced by a trudge back to the dugout. The Phillies' big bopper has gone down swinging more than he's gone deep. He went 0 for 4 and added three more strikeouts to his growing postseason K total in Philadelphia's 8-5 loss to the Yankees in Game 3 of [...]

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Replay gives A-Rod HR, Yankees win 8-5 (AP)

Guess who showed up for Halloween dressed as sluggers? The New York Yankees and Alex Rodriguez, whose double clanked off a television camera in the right-field corner and was ruled a home run in the first instant replay call in World Series history. It changed the game. "I think it woke our offense up a [...]

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Replay gives A-Rod HR in Yanks 8-5 win (AP)

The first instant replay call in World Series history did more than turn a double into a home run. It changed the whole game for Alex Rodriguez and the New York Yankees. Rodriguez's disputed shot started a big comeback and those dangerous Yankees bats finally broke loose, backing Andy Pettitte in a rain-delayed 8-5 victory [...]

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Yanks Battle Back To Win, Take Lead In Series

(Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
R H E NYY 0 0 0 2 3 1 1 1 0
8 8 1 PHI 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
5 6 0
WP - Andy Pettitte (1-0)
LP - Cole Hamels (0-1)
It was a gutty and gritty performance by the Yankees tonight as they fought their way back from a 3-0 deficit to win and take a 2-1 lead in the series. But the way things started out this one looked like it was going to be a total disaster.
First there was the hour and 20 minute rain delay. Then, after Cole Hamels breezed through the first two innings Yankees starter Andy Pettitte got into some serious trouble in the bottom half of the second. Jayson Werth led off the inning with a solo homer to left to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead. Following a strikeout of Raul Ibanez, Pedro Feliz doubled and Carlos Ruiz walked putting runners on first and second and the pitcher coming to bat. Hamels laid down a nice bunt, neither Pettitte nor Jorge Posada fielded it, and the Phils had the bases loaded with one out and the top of the order coming up. Jimmy Rollins then walked to drive in a run and it looked like Pettitte was headed for a short outing.
But that's when the inning and maybe the game turned around. Pettitte got Shane Victorino to hit a sac-fly and struck out Chase Utley to end the inning. The lead was now 3-0, but Andy was just one out from getting out of the jam without letting the game get away from him.
After a scoreless fourth the Yankees finally got to Hamels. Mark Teixeira walked with one out, and Alex Rodriguez followed with his first hit of the World Series, a two-run homer off a TV camera in right. At first the play was ruled a double, but after the umpires reviewed the replay they correctly called it a homer. It was A-Rod's sixth of the postseason tying him with Bernie Williams for most home runs in a single postseason. More importantly it got the Yankees, who now trailed by just one, back in the game.

Pettitte had settled down at this point and put up another zero in the bottom of the fourth. He would then come through with a big hit in the next half inning. Nick Swisher led off with a double. Melky Cabrera then struck out bringing Pettitte to the plate. Many people, including myself expected a bunt, but Joe Girardi had Pettitte swing away and it paid off. Pettitte blooped a first-pitch curveball into left-center and the game was tied. Derek Jeter then singled, another bloop, and Johnny Damon lined a two-run double into the gap in right-center and the Yanks now led 5-3. Unlike Pettitte three innings earlier Hamels couldn't make the big pitches to minimize the damage and get out of the jam. He would walk Teixeira before leaving the game to a chorus of boos from the hometown fans.
It was an amazing turn around. Talk about a role reversal; Pettitte started out terrible but settled down, while Hamels started out looking unhittable but ended up imploding. It just shows you that guts and moxie are the two most important tools a pitcher has. Great stuff means nothing if you don't have those two things.
After being handed the lead the most important thing a pitcher can do is put up a zero. This wasn't going to be easy for Pettitte with Shane Victorino, Utley, and Howard coming up. But a fly out, a ground out, and a pop up later that's just what Andy did.
Pettitte would last one more inning before leaving the game after six. He did give up another solo homer to Werth, a long blast off the second deck in left, but considering how little stuff he had tonight he deserves a ton of credit. This start for Pettitte was certainly a battle; he fell behind most hitters on the night, threw just 56% of his pitches for strikes, and no command of his curve, and had his defense betray him twice (Both times were A-Rod).
In the end he allowed four earned runs on five hits, walked three, and struck out seven on his way to his MLB best 17th postseason win.
The Yankees would tack on two more runs: a Jorge Posada RBI single in the seventh and a pinch-hit solo homer by Hideki Matsui in the eighth. The two runs were huge insurance runs, and I don't have to tell you how important those are against a lineup like the Phillies'.
Another great sign from tonight's win was the work Damaso Marte and Joba Chamberlain did in middle relief. Chamberlain came in for the seventh and retired Jimmy Rollins, Victorino, and Utley in order on just nine pitches. Then Marte pitched a 1-2-3 eighth, getting Howard, Werth, and Ibanez. Marte, with a better slider than he's had since coming here, has been one of the biggest most pleasant surprises of the postseason. In six games he's thrown three innings, allowing no runs on two hits, walked none, and struck out three. This is the Marte the Yankees were hoping they were getting in that trade last year.
Trying to save Mariano Rivera, Joe Girardi went with Phil Hughes in the ninth. It was a very understandable move, but it ended up being another frustrating outing for Hughes. After getting Pedro Feliz to ground out to start the inning, he gave up a solo shot to Carlos Ruiz and Joe had seen enough. Mo came in and five pitches later the Yankees had the lead in the series. Jimmy "I think we figured Mo out" Rollins popped out weakly to third to end the game.
One of the keys to tonight's win that I haven't mentioned yet was how well Yankees pitching handled the Phillies 2-3-4 hitters. Victornio, Utley and Howard combined to go 0-for-12 with seven strikeouts. Throw in Rollins and their 1-4 hitters went a combined 1-for-16.
But that's not it, there were many good things that happened for the Yanks in this huge win tonight. Swisher got two hits after being invisible all October, Damon got a big hit, A-Rod picked up his first World Series hit, and the Yanks finally got some decent relief pitching. The Yankees now find themselves up 2-1 with CC Sabathia on the mound tomorrow. Joe Blanton, who has a career 8.18 ERA against the Yankees, will get the ball for the Phillies. First pitch is set for 8:20 p.m.

ABRHRBIBBSOLOBAVGJeter, SS5110010.385Damon, LF4112100.167Teixeira, 1B3100221.100Rodriguez, A, 3B2112102.100Posada, C5011004.300Cano, 2B4000023.091Swisher, RF4221001.286 Gardner, CF0000000.000Cabrera, Me, CF-RF4000021.100Pettitte, P3111010.333 Chamberlain, P0000000.000 a-Matsui, H, PH1111000.571 Marte, D, P0000000.000 Hughes, P, P0000000.000 Rivera, Ma, P0000000.000Totals358884812
a-Homered for Chamberlain in the 8th.
BATTING
2B: Swisher (1, Hamels), Damon (1, Hamels).
HR: Rodriguez, A (1, 4th inning off Hamels, 1 on, 1 out), Swisher (1, 6th inning off Happ, 0 on, 1 out), Matsui, H (2, 8th inning off Myers, 0 on, 2 out).
TB: Jeter; Damon 2; Rodriguez, A 4; Posada; Swisher 6; Pettitte; Matsui, H 4.
RBI: Rodriguez, A 2 (2), Pettitte (1), Damon 2 (2), Swisher (1), Posada (2), Matsui, H (2).
2-out RBI: Posada; Matsui, H.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Posada; Cano.
Team RISP: 3-for-7.
Team LOB: 6.

BASERUNNING
SB: Damon (1, 2nd base off Durbin, C/Ruiz).

FIELDING
E: Rodriguez, A (1, throw).

IPHRERBBSOHRERAPettitte (W, 1-0)6.05443726.00Chamberlain (H, 1)1.00000000.00Marte, D1.00000200.00Hughes, P0.111100181.00Rivera, Ma0.20000000.00
Pitches-strikes: Pettitte 104-59, Chamberlain 9-5, Marte, D 15-13, Hughes, P 8-5, Rivera, Ma 5-4.
PHILLIES STATS
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Andy Pettitte (Not your typical POTG performance, but between battling to a win and the game-tying single he gets it.)
HONORABLE MENTION: Nick Swisher (2-for-4, HR, 2B, RBI, 2 R).......... Jayson Werth and his two bombs also deserve a mention.
Game 4
Yankees @ PhilliesGame Time: 8:20 p.m. | TV/Radio: FOX, WCBSLHP CC Sabathia (3-1, 1.52) vs. RHP Joe Blanton (0-0, 4.66)

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Homer-happy Yankees take 2-1 series lead

The once quiet World Series sluggers Alex Rodriguez and Nick Swisher broke out of their slumps in a big way to surge the Yankees past the Phillies 8-5 in Game 3. Quick ?Cap: Jayson Werth?s first of two homers sparked a two-run rally in the[...]

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Pettitte helps Yankees with arm and bat (AP)

If the New York Yankees have any money left over after the World Series, they might consider buying a bunch of earplugs. Because Derek Jeter predicts they're going to hear it all winter from Andy Pettitte. The winningest pitcher in postseason history hung on for another victory Saturday night. It was Pettitte's bat, however, that [...]

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Hamels latest poor outing costs Phils (AP)

Cole Hamels shook his head, muttered an expletive and stood with one hand on his hip a few feet away from the rubber. Hamels used to be a cool customer on the mound. Now, the 25-year-old left-hander sulks when things don't go right. And, not much has gone his way this year. Hamels allowed five [...]

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Game 3 of the World Series: Open Thread

[...]

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open-thread/

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Scientology's Bombshell: Xenu vs Zena on PPV

In a stunning development, the Church of Scientology has decided to spin off its core beliefs into a separate entity whose relationship with Scientology would only exist through monitored arm's length transactions. The new company, Thetan But Not Beaten [TBNB] Group LLC, is expected to be a major player in the video game and kids clothing market this coming holiday season.

The coming out event for the new entity will be an animation sensation as an Avatar version of Xenu will face a live version of Zena, Warrior Princess, on pay-per-view television. While the ground rules have yet to be developed, UFC® and MMA® are in negotiations with the TBNB Group.

From Celebrity Center to Revenue Center -- How Scientology Intends to Turn a Negative into a Positive [Cash Flow]

In business, staying ahead of the curve is a necessary survival instinct. Scientology, which has been able to turn it's willingness to abuse the legal system and celebrity actors -- a group whose members are not distinguished by their intellectual capacity or emotional stability -- into a shield which allows them just enough room to run their worldwide scam. However, combined with some recent court defeats and Cruise's appearance in Tropic Thunder, those days seemed to be coming to an end.

Industry analysts are agog over how Scientology may potentially have turned their never ending embarrassment over their beliefs into an annual 750 million dollar revenue bonanza. Insiders disclose that Scientology's pattern of abusing the legal system may once again be paying dividends. The IRS approval of the proposed structure is believed to have been heavily influenced by the agency's experience and capitulation to Scientology's guerrilla tactics to obtain their initial tax exempt status during the Clinton Administration. To say that the Scientology crowd does not take no's well is an understatement.

The structure of the new entities will allow Scientology to charge TBNB a licensing fee for the likeness of Xenu, while still maintaining their non-profit status. TBNB, despite being expected to gross upwards of $750 million dollars in the coming year, is not expected to pay any taxes as a result of the approved fee structure.

Xenu, We Hardly Knew Ya

I see Lafayette Ronald Hubbard as a worthy predecessor to Oliver Stone as a storyteller. When Stone couldn't decide who to blame for the JFK assassination in his movie, he just blamed everyone. Similarly, when Hubbard was making up his science fiction stories, the 'maybe I should make this remotely believable' factor was noticeably absent. But that was just a warm up. Turning those stories in a 'belief system' was a task worthy of an Ahmadinejad denying the Holocaust, as the graph and the following bullet points might suggest:

• Xenu was the dictator of the Galactic Confederacy who brought billions of his people to Earth in a DC-8-like spacecraft, stacked them around volcanoes and killed them using hydrogen bombs.
• The essences of these many people remained, and that they form around people in modern times, causing them spiritual harm.
• These events are known as Incident II, and the traumatic memories associated with them as The Wall of Fire or the R6 implant.
• The story of Xenu is part of Scientologist teachings about extraterrestrial civilizations and alien interventions in Earthly events, collectively described as space opera by Hubbard.
• The Xenu story is part of the Church of Scientology's secret Advanced Technology normally only revealed to members who have already contributed large amounts of money.

For an animated glimpse into Scientology, please check out this episode of South Park:

• Trapped in the Closet - Season 9 - an actual explanation of Scientology's beliefs begins at 11:15 and runs 2 minutes - if nothing else, there is an A.J. Feeley reference at the beginning of the episode from 2006 - must see TV!

On a more serious note, read the recent reporting from the St. Petersburg Times on how Scientology operates. Also, those noted haters, the Carnegie Mellon?s School of Computer Science, has devoted space on it's web site to gather data which documents Scientology's efforts to intimidate the IRS, in the process of obtaining their non-for-profit exemption.

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http://www.2thinkgood.com/2009/10/scientologys-bombshell-xenu-vs-zena-on.html

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2009 World Series Game 3

Time to find out if holding Hamels back for Game 3 was worthwhile. Despite what some might say, Hamels pitched nearly the same in 2009 as he did in 2008. FIP of 3.72 both years and his xFIP dropped from 3.78 to 3.75. True he had fewer innings, but maybe having a 24 year old [...]

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http://stickandballguy.com/blog/2009/10/31/2009-world-series-game-3/

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