Orioles decline option on 3B Mora
October 29, 2009
BALTIMORE (AP)—The Orioles have declined their 2010 option on Melvin Mora(notes),allowing Baltimore’s longest-tenured player to become a free agent.
Mora, 37, came to the Orioles in a 2000 trade with the New York Mets. Heplayed 1,256 games for Baltimore, including 807 at third base—the second-mostin franchise history behind Brooks Robinson.
Mora’s best season was 2004, when he hit .340 with 27 homers and 104 RBIs.
The Orioles also announced Thursday that they’ve declined their 2010 optionon backup catcher Chad Moeller(notes).
The team also hired Jeff Datz as bench coach. Datz spent the past eightseasons on the Cleveland Indians’ staff, including four years as bench coach.
Yanks take lead on Matsui, Teixeira HRs
October 29, 2009
NEW YORK (AP)—Hideki Matsui(notes) and Mark Teixeira(notes) homered off an otherwise sharpPedro Martinez(notes), giving the New York Yankees a 2-1 lead over the PhiladelphiaPhillies after six innings in Game 2 of the World Series on Thursday night.
A.J. Burnett(notes) was in control on the mound for the Yankees. He struck outseven, including Ryan Howard(notes) three times. The hard-throwing right-hander yieldedfour hits, one a run-scoring single by Matt Stairs(notes) in the second.
Stairs’ hit drove in Raul Ibanez(notes), who made a diving catch in left field tohelp Martinez stay out of serious trouble.
Throwing an array of soft breaking balls, Martinez fanned Derek Jeter(notes) andAlex Rodriguez(notes) twice each. Teixeira homered to right-center leading off thefourth for the Yankees, who were shut down by Philadelphia ace Cliff Lee(notes) in a6-1 loss in the opener.
Matsui snapped a 1-all tie with two outs in the sixth when he reached downand yanked a 1-2 breaking ball over the short porch in right. That gave theYankees 16 homers this postseason, tying a franchise record.
Rodriguez, however, was 0 for 7 with five strikeouts in his first WorldSeries.
It was the second World Series start for Martinez, one of the great pitchersof this era. He tossed seven shutout innings of three-hit ball for Boston in2004 against St. Louis, helping the Red Sox win their first championship in 86years.
Now 38, the right-hander lacks the overpowering fastball he once had, but hestill loves the big stage. Signed by the Phillies in mid-July after sitting outthe first half of the season, he went 5-1 with a 3.63 ERA in nine starts downthe stretch. Then, he allowed two hits in seven scoreless innings during Game 2of the NL championship series at Dodger Stadium.
Of course, Martinez had a long history of memorable moments at the oldYankee Stadium from his days with Boston.
The familiar Bronx chants of “Who’s Your Daddy?” began as Martinez startedstretching in the outfield 30 minutes before game time. They picked up whenJeter led off the bottom of the first inning.
The reference was to Martinez’s priceless quote from 2004 with Boston.Frustrated after another loss to New York, the colorful pitcher said: “I justtip my hat and call the Yankees my daddy.”
He flummoxed the Yankees in the first inning, however, striking out Jeterwith an 88 mph fastball and then Johnny Damon(notes) with a 75 mph changeup. With thePhiladelphia infield playing a pronounced shift, Teixeira hit a towering popupthat was caught by staggering shortstop Jimmy Rollins(notes) on the right side.
Burnett looked good, too. After leading the AL with 97 walks this season, hethrew a first-pitch strike to his first 11 batters—nine watched it go by.
Chase Utley(notes) was intentionally walked in the third, extending his majorleague record to 27 consecutive postseason games in which he has reached basesafely. Burnett fanned Howard with a breaking ball, stranding two runners, andpumped his fist as he walked off the mound.
The Phillies gave Martinez a lead in the second inning. Ibanez blooped atwo-out double that dropped on the left-field line and Stairs followed with aone-hop smash to the left of third baseman Rodriguez, who barely got a piece ofit.
The ball skipped off the edge of the infield grass and under Rodriguez’sglove as he went to his knees. Ibanez easily beat the throw from Damon in left,and A-Rod glanced into his empty glove.
Before that hit, Stairs had been 4 for 51 (.078) dating to July 1. SinceJune 25, his only RBIs had come on a solo homer against Pittsburgh on July 11and a grand slam at Washington on Sept. 10.
Burnett struck out Pedro Feliz(notes) to avoid further damage.
Martinez froze Rodriguez with a 2-2 curveball to start the bottom of thesecond. Matsui singled but Ibanez made a diving catch in left field to robRobinson Cano(notes) of a hit before Jerry Hairston Jr.(notes) flied out.
The winner of Game 1 has gone on to win the past six World Series and 11 ofthe last 12.
Pedro sharp as Phillies lead 1-0 after 3
October 29, 2009
NEW YORK (AP)—Pedro Martinez(notes) kept the slumping New York Yankees off balance,and Matt Stairs(notes) hit a run-scoring single to help the Philadelphia Phillies takea 1-0 lead after three innings in Game 2 of the World Series on Thursday night.
Throwing an array of soft breaking balls, Martinez struck out four. HidekiMatsui’s(notes) second-inning single was the only hit for the Yankees, who were shutdown by Philadelphia ace Cliff Lee(notes) in a 6-1 loss in the opener.
The winner of Game 1 has gone on to win the past six World Series and 11 ofthe last 12.
Making his fourth postseason start, A.J. Burnett(notes) had four strikeouts for NewYork.
It was the second career World Series start for Martinez, one of the greatpitchers of this era. He tossed seven shutout innings of three-hit ball forBoston in 2004 against St. Louis, helping the Red Sox win their firstchampionship in 86 years.
Now 38, the right-hander lacks the overpowering fastball he once had, but hestill loves the big stage. Signed by the Phillies in mid-July after sitting outthe first half of the season, he went 5-1 with a 3.63 ERA in nine starts downthe stretch. Then, he allowed two hits in seven scoreless innings during Game 2of the NL championship series at Dodger Stadium.
Of course, Martinez had a long history of memorable moments at the oldYankee Stadium from his days with Boston.
The familiar Bronx chants of “Who’s Your Daddy?” began as Martinez startedstretching in the outfield 30 minutes before game time. They picked up whenDerek Jeter(notes) led off the bottom of the first inning.
The reference, of course, was to Martinez’s priceless quote from 2004 withBoston. Frustrated after another loss to New York, the colorful pitcher said:“I just tip my hat and call the Yankees my daddy.”
He flummoxed the Yankees in the first inning, however, striking out Jeterwith an 88 mph fastball and then Johnny Damon(notes) with a 75 mph changeup. With thePhiladelphia infield playing a pronounced shift, Mark Teixeira(notes) hit a toweringpopup that was caught by staggering shortstop Jimmy Rollins(notes) on the right side.
Burnett showed good control, too. The right-hander, who led the AL with 97walks this season, threw a first-pitch strike to his first 11 batters—ninewatched it go by.
Chase Utley(notes) was intentionally walked in the third, extending his majorleague record to 27 consecutive postseason games in which he has reached basesafely. Burnett struck out slugger Ryan Howard(notes) with a breaking ball, strandingtwo runners, and pumped his fist as he walked off the mound.
The Phillies gave Martinez a lead in the second inning. Raul Ibanez(notes) bloopeda two-out double that dropped on the left-field line and Stairs followed with aone-hop smash to the left of third baseman Alex Rodriguez(notes), who barely got apiece of it.
The ball skipped off the edge of the infield grass and under Rodriguez’sglove as he went to his knees. Ibanez easily beat the throw from Damon in left,and A-Rod glanced into his empty glove.
Before that hit, Stairs had been 4 for 51 (.078) dating to July 1. SinceJune 25, his only RBIs had come on a solo homer against Pittsburgh on July 11and a grand slam at Washington on Sept. 10.
Burnett struck out Pedro Feliz(notes) to avoid further damage.
Martinez froze Rodriguez with a 2-2 curveball to start the bottom of thesecond, the slugger’s fourth strikeout in five World Series at-bats. Matsuisingled but Ibanez made a diving catch in left field to rob Robinson Cano(notes) of ahit before Jerry Hairston Jr.(notes) flied out.
Each team made a lineup change for Game 2. Yankees manager Joe Girardibenched slumping right fielder Nick Swisher(notes) and again put Jose Molina(notes) behind theplate to catch Burnett.
Philadelphia moved Ibanez from designated hitter to left field and insertedStairs as the DH.
Hairston replaced Swisher in right and batted seventh. Hairston entered 10for 27 in his career against Martinez, but hadn’t faced him since 2004.
Before the game, hip-hop star Jay-Z and fellow New Yorker Alicia Keys sanghis hit “Empire State of Mind” on a large stage set up in shallow centerfield. The performance originally was scheduled for Wednesday night, but waspostponed because of wet weather.
Moments later, New York hitting coach Kevin Long got fired up in the dugout.
Apparently trying to wake up the Yankees’ bats, a smiling Long rattled abunch of them around at the bat rack and tossed a piece of equipment onto thefield, with the whole display shown on the big video board in center.
Jay-Z, Alicia Keys perform before Game 2
October 29, 2009
NEW YORK (AP)—Jay-Z and Alicia Keys fired up the Yankee Stadium crowdbefore Game 2 of the World Series on Thursday night, performing a clean versionof “Empire State of Mind” from the rapper’s hit album.
The two New Yorkers were originally scheduled to perform Wednesday night butwere pushed back because of rainy weather. There was some concern about some ofthe song’s raw language but Jay-Z kept it PG for the nationally televisedperformance.
The rap king—wearing a Yankees hat and jacket—and Keys got a loudovation when they walked through an opening in the outfield wall in left-centerto the stage behind second base. Keys, in a black and hot purple outfit, playedkeyboard before joining Jay-Z in the center of the stage for the end of thesong.
Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter(notes), who uses a snippet of “Empire State ofMind” for his at-bat music, bobbed his head during the performance. New Yorkreliever Joba Chamberlain(notes) also was grooving to the song while the PhiladelphiaPhillies watched attentively from the top step of the visiting dugout.
A buzz went through the crowd when Jay-Z rapped one of the signature linesof the hit: “I made the Yankee hat more famous than a Yankee can.”
There was more applause after the performance as Jay-Z and Keys walked armin arm through the outfield to the gate. Phillies pitcher Pedro Martinez(notes) waspreparing for his Game 2 start nearby but he kept long tossing as the musicstars disappeared from sight.
TOP SPOT: Ruben Amaro Jr. was one of Pat Gillick’s top lieutenants when thePhillies won the World Series last season.
This time, he’s in charge.
Amaro took over as general manager when Gillick retired following lastseason, ascending to the top spot after 10 years as an assistant inPhiladelphia. The club hasn’t skipped a beat under his leadership, winning theNL East and the pennant for the second consecutive year.
“What is really pretty cool about this being here right now is the factthat it’s the big stage, it’s New York,” Amaro said before Game 2. “It’s thehistory and we’re playing clearly one of the best teams in baseball, in ourminds the best team in the American League.
“To be able to match up with this storied franchise and to be in thissituation is pretty gratifying. It’s pretty neat.”
Amaro made a couple of shrewd moves during the season to help the Philliesget to this point. He acquired left-hander Cliff Lee(notes) and outfielder BenFrancisco(notes) from the Cleveland Indians for four prospects and signed free-agentpitcher Pedro Martinez.
Lee struck out 10 in a dominant performance in Philadelphia’s 6-1 victory inthe Series opener. Martinez went 5-1 with a 3.63 ERA in nine starts in theregular season and started Game 2.
Amaro, 44, joined the Phillies immediately after his playing career ended in1998. He worked under former GM Ed Wade for seven seasons and the last threewith Gillick.
“I’ve had a chance to learn from some very, very good GMs in my mind,”Amaro said. “They each had some pretty interesting qualities to kind of feedoff of.”
MIC CHECK: The World Series is back in New York—without its voice.
Longtime public address announcer Bob Sheppard, who recently turned 99, ismissing his first World Series since he began his career behind the YankeeStadium microphone in 1951. Sheppard worked 121 consecutive postseason games,including 62 in 22 Fall Classics, a stretch that ended with the 2006 playoffs.
“Frankly, I’m content to be out of the swing of things,” Sheppard said ina phone interview with The Associated Press on Thursday. “I couldn’t do itanymore.”
With his distinctive voice and the perfect diction that personified hisplayer introductions, Sheppard said his memories of his time with the Yankeesare “precious.”
His favorite moments at Yankee Stadium spanned his long career.
“Yankee Stadium has so many memories, among them, of course, is the DonLarsen game. That might be near the top,” he said. “Reggie Jackson’s threehome runs in a row. He was outstanding.”
Larsen pitched the only perfect game in postseason history on Oct. 8, 1956.Jackson became Mr. October in Game 6 of the 1977 World Series.
And what memory did he cherish most from the Yankees’ run of four WorldSeries titles in five years from 1996-00: “They run together like slices ofham.”
Sheppard has not worked a game since late in the 2007 season due to abronchial infection, although he did record the lineups at his home for thefinal game at the original Yankee Stadium last September.
BIG NUMBERS: The Yankees are back in the World Series, and televisionratings are up.
The Phillies’ 6-1 win in Game 1 on Wednesday night earned an 11.9 fastnational rating and 19 share. That’s up 29 percent from the opener last year,when the Phillies-Rays series drew record-low ratings.
Fox said Thursday it’s the second-best Game 1 rating this decade, trailingonly Red Sox-Cardinals in 2004. It’s also the best rating for a non-decisiveWorld Series matchup since Game 3 that year.
Ratings represent the percentage of all households with televisions tunedinto a program, and shares represent the percentage of all homes with TVs in useat the time.
AP Sports Writer Howie Rumberg contributed to this report.
Selig welcomes Cards’ hiring of McGwire
October 29, 2009
NEW YORK (AP)—Bud Selig is happy Big Mac is back in baseball.
Mark McGwire was hired this week as hitting coach of the St. LouisCardinals, ending an exile for the former slugger who became notorious for hisrefusal to answer congressional questions about steroids use.
“Over the years I developed affection for players who I get to know andhave been good,” Selig said Thursday before Game 2 of the World Series.
McGwire hit a then-record 70 homers in 1998 and retired with 583 in 2001.Four years later at a congressional hearing on steroids, he repeatedly said hewasn’t there to talk about the past.
The Cardinals plan to hold a telephone news conference with McGwire afterthe World Series.
“When he comes back, you’ll all have a lot of opportunities to talk tohim,” Selig told reporters. “The fact that he’s coming back gives you anopportunity you wouldn’t have had.”
McGwire got under 25 percent support from voters in his three appearances onthe Hall of Fame ballot, well under the 75 percent needed, and some sayallegations of steroids use are a reason for his lack of support.
Selig has been in contact with team management about McGwire.
“I know how badly the Cardinals wanted to do it. I know that Tony La Russa,who has been talking to me about it, has been working with him. I know how closethey are,” Selig said. “I know much Bill DeWitt wanted to do it.”
Without being prompted, Selig defended baseball’s drug-testing program.
“I can only deal with the present and the future, and I could not be moreproud,” he said. “We administered 3,700 major league tests this year and hadtwo positives. That’s the story. We administered for the ninth straight year8,955 minor league tests, and we had seven-tenths of 1 percent positive.”
On another topic, Selig said his stance against expanding the use of replaysto aid umpires has not changed—but he did promise more discussions. A seriesof blown calls during the postseason has led to some calling for replay use toexpand beyond its current use, for whether potential home runs carried overfences or were fair or foul.
“I understand we had some incidents that were most unfortunate,” Seligsaid. “I think there are other ways we can make corrections. During theoffseason we’ll review everything. … I’m not afraid of change. but you have tobe very careful when you tamper with the sport.”
He also said he had spoken with Angels manager Mike Scioscia, who criticizedan offseason scheduled that had his team play eight games in the first 20 daysbecause of an increase in off-days that began in 2007 at the request ofbaseball’s broadcast partners. Selig said the unpredictability of the length ofpostseason series made planning complicated.
“How do you know in the middle of March if they’re going to go three games,four games, five games? How do you if you’re going to need an East Coast-WestCoast travel day?” he said. “People say you hate going into November? Yeah, ofcourse I do. Nobody worries about the weather more than I do.”
Selig refused to discuss the divorce proceedings between Dodgers owner FrankMcCourt and his wife, former Dodgers chief executive officer Jamie McCourt.Frank McCourt fired his wife last week, and Jamie McCourt claims she is aco-owner.
“That’s a matter between them,” Selig said.
Phillies’ Dobbs goes home with flu
October 29, 2009
NEW YORK (AP)—Phillies utility man Greg Dobbs(notes) has returned to Philadelphiabefore Game 2 of the World Series because he has the flu.
Dobbs was a candidate to be the designated hitter against Yankeesright-hander A.J. Burnett(notes) in Thursday night’s game, but Matt Stairs(notes) got the nodin his absence.
Dobbs is 0 for 4 in the postseason. The infielder/outfielder hit .247 withfive homers and 20 RBIs in 154 at-bats this season.
Postseason pressure can bite MLB’s best
October 29, 2009
NEW YORK (AP)—Mark Teixeira(notes) swings at a pitch near his eyes for strikethree. Chase Utley(notes) makes a wild throw into the stands. Hideki Matsui(notes) freezes ona popup and gets doubled off first base.
Sometimes it’s hard to fathom: the dropped balls, the baserunning blunders,the embarrassing at-bats. Hey, this is the postseason, these guys are supposedto be baseball’s best!
But playoff pressure can create all sorts of jitters. And even at thislevel, elite players make the most elementary mistakes.
“Sometimes even on the biggest stage you tend to lose it,” New YorkYankees outfielder Johnny Damon(notes) said. “It’s tough. We’ve been playing this gamea long time and we understand what is at stake. The focus can get lost.”
With players pressing so hard to succeed in October, desperate for thatchampionship ring, sometimes it seems they try to do too much out there.
Never has that been more evident than this season. The first two playoffrounds produced enough bad baseball to fill a blooper reel. Sometimes, majorleague All-Stars looked as though they could use a couple of primers on thegame’s fundamentals from those 12-year-olds at the Little League World Series.
“When you’re in the postseason, you get a little extra click of adrenaline.There’s more on the line, and it can either help you or hurt you,” saidPhillies closer Brad Lidge(notes), who’s had his share of success—and failure—inOctober. “I think with our guys, it ends up helping them because they’re veryconfident and relaxed and use that extra boost to help their ability.”
Not so for everyone.
Earlier this postseason, Minnesota’s Carlos Gomez(notes) and Nick Punto(notes) made costlymistakes on the bases. Bobby Abreu(notes) had a similar miscue in the AL championshipseries for Los Angeles. Thinking triple, he went too far around second and wasthrown out in a crucial situation.
In fact, Abreu and the Angels committed a slew of ugly errors in the fieldand on the bases during their six-game loss to New York. And they’re consideredone of the sharpest teams in the game.
“You just have to move on, be strong about it because mistakes happen.That’s not the whole reason of why teams lose. I think just because it’s themagnitude of a game, it gets the headline of the front page,” Angels thirdbaseman Chone Figgins(notes) said. “Guys come and give you a pat on the back, butthat’s just being good teammates. That’s all you can do about it.”
National Leaguers had their playoff troubles, too.
Matt Holliday(notes) dropped a sinking liner in left field, costing the Cardinals avictory. Colorado closer Huston Street(notes) and Los Angeles’ Jonathan Broxton(notes)squandered save chances. Utley threw away a pair of double-play balls forPhiladelphia in the first two games of the NLCS.
“You really have to have a ‘so-what’ attitude,” Phillies Hall of FamerMike Schmidt explained in an e-mail. “You have to believe you gave it your bestand that was all you had. You must learn from the failure and figure out a wayto relax.”
Schmidt knows both sides. He was the World Series MVP in 1980 against KansasCity, then went 1 for 20 when the Phillies lost the ’83 Series to Baltimore.
“If you hit early it steamrolls into bigger things, relaxes you. You feel apart of it all, you want the big-stage at-bat,” he wrote. “The opposite isfailing in key at-bats, reading and hearing about it and trying to make up forit with every swing. The pressure builds with each failure. You feel uneasy,like you’re letting the team and town down.”
Umpires haven’t been immune this postseason, either. A string of blown callsled Major League Baseball to assign only umps with previous World Seriesexperience to this year’s Fall Classic.
Usually, however, it’s the gaffes by players that get remembered.
“There’s a lot of emotions that go into these games. Can players try to dotoo much? Absolutely,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said Thursday. “You have tolearn how to bounce back. Sometimes the more a guy has experienced, he’ll bounceback maybe a little bit easier. But then you have those free spirits that areable to always put yesterday behind them.”
Indeed, the ability to overcome mistakes in October—quickly—can be thekey to success.
Utley is a perfect example. He went 0 for 4 with four strikeouts in hisfirst postseason game two years ago. But he reached base safely in the next 26,setting a big league record, and his two home runs Wednesday night helpedPhiladelphia beat the Yankees 6-1 in the Series opener.
“Failure is a part of this game. You have to learn how to deal with it at ayoung age if you want to stay sane,” Utley said. “For me, as big of a game asthese games are, you try to really treat it like just another game.”
Isn’t that difficult to do?
“Not really. I guess it could be at times. But it is just another game,”he said. “You’re going to get another chance, whether it’s in the field orwhether it’s at the plate. So you always want to stay positive. And the morepositive you are, the more confident you are, I think the better you do.”
AP Baseball Writers Ben Walker and Ronald Blum, and AP Sports Writers BethHarris in Anaheim, Calif., and Rob Maaddi in Philadelphia contributed to thisreport.
Girardi benches Swisher, starts Hairston
October 29, 2009
NEW YORK (AP)—Yankees manager Joe Girardi has decided to bench slumpingoutfielder Nick Swisher(notes) for Game 2 of the World Series.
Jerry Hairston Jr.(notes) was in right field and batting seventh for Thursdaynight’s game against Philadelphia. Hairston is 10 for 27 in his career againstPhillies starter Pedro Martinez(notes).
Swisher went 0 for 3 in New York’s 6-1 loss in Wednesday night’s WorldSeries opener. He is batting .114, with no homers and 12 strikeouts in thepostseason.
Jose Molina(notes) also replaced Jorge Posada(notes) behind the plate. Molina has caughteach of A.J. Burnett’s(notes) starts in the playoffs.
Pujols says he wants to stay with Cards
October 29, 2009
ST. LOUIS (AP)—Albert Pujols(notes) said in a radio interview that he wants to playfor the St. Louis Cardinals for the rest of his career, clearing up remarks fromhe made earlier this month.
In the interview a few weeks ago with a Dominican radio station, thetwo-time NL MVP had said he was in no hurry to sign a contract extension. He hasone year left on his contract plus an option year and said then he wanted theCardinals to concentrate on signing Matt Holliday(notes) and other free agents first.
On Thursday, Pujols told WXOS-FM of St. Louis that there’s “no rush” tosign.
“But if they come tomorrow and say ‘Albert, you know, we want to lock youup,’ hey they know that we’re open to that,” he said.
Pujols also praised the hiring of Mark McGwire as the team’s new hittinginstructor.
Ibanez delivers clutch hit in Game 1
October 29, 2009
NEW YORK (AP)—Raul Ibanez(notes) was hoping to make it to his first World Serieswhen he agreed to a free-agent deal with the defending champion Phillies in theoffseason.
Now that he’s here, he’s determined to make the most of the opportunity.
Ibanez bounced a two-run single into right field to help Philadelphia beatthe New York Yankees 6-1 in Game 1 of the Fall Classic on Wednesday night. Thehit off David Robertson(notes) made it 4-0 and came after the designated hitter wenthitless with two strikeouts in his first three at-bats against CC Sabathia(notes).
“Two different pitchers,” Ibanez said. “I didn’t change my approach, justtried to put the ball into play.”
Yankees manager Joe Girardi, who has been playing the matchups allpostseason, curiously stayed with the right-handed Robertson when thelefty-batting Ibanez came to the plate.
“Robby just almost got out of it, and they hit a ground ball in the hole,”Girardi said.
Ibanez got off to a fast start after agreeing to a $31.5 million, three-yearcontract with Philadelphia in the offseason, making his first career All-Starteam. He slowed down in the second half when he was bothered by a sore groin butstill finished with a career-high 34 homers.
“Everybody in here is a grinder,” Ibanez said. “They grind things out.They grind at-bats out. They play hard. They hustle. They do things the rightway.”
STAR POWER: There were plenty of stars off the field, too.
Alec Baldwin, Matthew McConaughey, NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon, former NewYork Rangers captain Mark Messier, ex-Homeland Security head Tom Ridge and moviedirectors Spike Lee and Steven Spielberg were all in attendance for the firstSeries game at the new Yankee Stadium.
Alex Rodriguez(notes) and Derek Jeter’s(notes) actress girlfriends were in their usualspots. Kate Hudson was sitting up front and Minka Kelly was in Jeter’s suite.
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani was in his front row seat next to theYankees dugout along the first-base line.
He expected to see many famous faces in the Bronx for one simple reason.
“New York’s the capital of the world,” Giuliani told The Associated Presswhile standing on the field before the game.
THE BOSS IS BACK: George Steinbrenner watched Game 1 of the World Seriesfrom his suite above home plate, returning to the new Yankee Stadium for thefirst time since opening day.
Steinbrenner arrived about 45 minutes before New York’s 6-1 loss to thePhillies and was driven in a dark minivan with tinted windows all the way to theelevators that lead up the suites at the $1.5 billion palace.
The frail owner, who has made few public appearances since his healthdeteriorated, was helped out of his car and into a wheelchair in the stadiumtunnel. General manager Brian Cashman then accompanied him on the elevator tripto his box.
Steinbrenner has kept a low profile since turning over the day-to-dayoperation of the team to his son, Hal Steinbrenner, last November. He sat in thelast row of his box during the first inning and took time to visit with Hall ofFame catcher Yogi Berra in the middle of the game.
The Yankees have said throughout the postseason that they hope to win aseventh World Series title for the 79-year-old Steinbrenner, who bought the teamin 1973. The grounds crew donned T-shirts that read “WIN IT FOR THE BOSS” onthe front and 27 on the back—New York is seeking its 27th crown overall.
LOTS OF GOOD NUMBERS: The Phillies won Game 1 of the World Series on theroad for the second consecutive year and have won four straight Series gamesoverall. They beat the Rays 3-2 in the opener last year and went on to win thetitle in five games.
“We treat every game the same, whether it’s the first game or the lastgame,” second baseman Chase Utley(notes) said. “We prepare and we play hard and weplay to win, and when that game is over, we’ll focus on the next game. It isnice to get off on a good start, but for us, it starts tomorrow.”
Philadelphia also has won its last seven World Series games when it scoredfirst.
PRICEY TIX: Want to go to a World Series game? Try the Big Apple.
The average ticket price for the first two games at Yankee Stadium was $600on Wednesday afternoon, compared with $1,400 for Games 3-5 at Citizens BankPark. The cheapest tickets were going for about $310 in New York and $475 inPhiladelphia.
FanSnap.com, an Internet search engine that finds tickets on resale sites,reported there were more than 6,000 tickets available for Game 1 and 4,000-plusfor Game 2 on Thursday night, with some sellers wanting more than $2,600 for anice seat to watch Pedro Martinez’s(notes) highly anticipated start for the Phillies.
There were more than 15,000 tickets listed for the next three games inPhiladelphia, with the highest-priced seats advertised for almost $3,000 forGame 5, according to FanSnap.com.
PIONEER: Yankees broadcaster Suzyn Waldman became the first woman to call aWorld Series game on the radio.
Waldman was on WCBS-AM in New York for Game 1 between the Yankees andPhillies.
Waldman became the Yankees’ color commentator in 2005, joining John Sterlingin the booth and becoming the first woman to hold a full-time position as amajor league broadcaster, according to the team media guide.
