Monday night, the Philadelphia Phillies won the NL East for the fourth straight season in a row.
Up in Toronto, the New York Yankees evening could have been a champagne party too. Instead, AJ Burnett imploded worse than ever on the mound and the Blue Jays won the game 7-5.
Burnett could not even get out of the third inning, and he was to blame for all seven runs scored.
Rock bottom?
I thought that already happened for Burnett, as he showed glimpses of why the Yankees acquired him in the first place just a week ago.
Well, whatever it is holding AJ back seems to be an off the field issue that is eating away at him. The best Yankee fans can do is just hope Burnett figures himself out, as he is a big piece of the playoff puzzle.
Looking at the playoff picture so far, the Phillies are unanimously the NL favorites to make it to the World Series for the third year in a row.
It would be hard for anyone to disagree with that predictions, considering how hot a September the Phillies are having posting a 19-5 record.
A lot of that success has to do with the pitching rotation, which includes Cole Hamels, Roy Halladay, and Roy Oswalt. It is by far the best threesome in baseball and they keep getting better.
This month their combined record is 13-1, pitching just shy of 95 innings, have a strikeout total of 87 and the month is not over yet.
Another critical component on any team is the closer, and the Phillies have been a roller coaster ride with Brad Lidge since 2008 ended.
Now Lidge has found his swagger again. His 27 saves this season don’t do how he is pitching justice, as Lidge only earned the team’s trust back the last two months. He admitted he needed to change due to loss of velocity on his pitches.
No need to explain how good the Phillies hitters are because the proof is in the names alone: Utley, Howard, Werth, Rollins, Ibanez, Victorino, Ruiz, Valdez, and I think you get the point.
So, could it be a rematch from last year’s World Series?
Sure it could, but the Yankees need to clinch officially and for any team to match-up with Philadelphia my advice is to bring your A-Game.
It would be a treat to fans to see a Yankees-Phillies World Series, because if it is anything like 2009, it is sure to be exciting for baseball as a whole.
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