Pop Open The Bubbly, The Yankees Are Headed Back To The Fall Classic

7 down! 4 to go! The Yankees are back in the Fall Classic! What a huge win for the Yanks! A huge win! I said after the rain out that this game was a must-win for the Yankees. I'm glad to see that Joe Girardi agreed with me. I thought he (finally) made a smart move by using Mariano Rivera for 6 outs. If that's not a sign that the Yankees didn't think the game was a must win I don't know what is. What a game! Talk about nerve-racking. It was around the 4th inning that I slid to the edge of my seat. It made me sweat too. I'll admit it. I smell a little funky. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Not sure how many of you guys follow me on Twitter but I got sent to "Twitter Jail" during the bottom half of the eight inning for posting too much. I didn't know one could do that. So if you're wondering why I suddenly disappeared, there's your explanation. Talk about bad timing. It was such a fun inning too. The Angels, one of the most defensively sound teams in baseball, imploded on themselves. A dropped ball at first by Howie Kendrick on Nick Swisher's sac bunt. An air-mailed throw over the first baseman's head by Scott Kazmir on Melky Cabrera's sac bunt attempt. Talk about a rough inning. The 2 errors allowed 2 runs to score and gave the Yankees a 3-run cushion headed into the 9th. Those runs were pretty much the nails in the coffin.

Andy Pettitte had a huge outing. He was pretty much in charge all night long. He had great control. Andy threw a lot of first pitch strikes. That's one of the keys to having a great outing. Andy is a big time pitcher. You don't become the all-time winningest postseason pitcher if you're not. Great job AP!

As I wrote above this was a must win for the Yankees. Using Mo for 6 outs was a smart move. He's the GOAT. I think every Yankee fan in the world wanted to see Mo get the final 6 outs. I know I sure did. And Mo, as he's done so many times in the past, delivered.

Congrats to CC Sabathia for winning the ALCS MVP. CC was lights out in both of his starts. The win tonight lines him up to pitch game 1 of the World Series. Thank God the Yankees won tonight because I did not want to see him start game 3. You can argue that A-Rod was just as deserving but it definitely was CC's award. Alex had a monster ALCS, hitting .429 with 3 HRs and 6 RBI. Alex was without a doubt the most consistent offensive performer in the lineup. He was locked in and has been all postseason. I predicted a monster postseason for Alex at the start of the ALDS. I like it when I'm right. Alex seems to be in a very good place right now. He's got a great supporting cast and that definitely takes off a lot of the pressure. It's his team right now and deservedly so. I suppose I should also say thanks to Kate Hudson for doing whatever she is doing for Alex. Keep up the good work Kate.

It's been a long time but the Yanks are finally back in the World Series. Bring on the Phillies. Game 1 is Wednesday night and thanks to Andy Pettitte, it's going to be CC vs. Cliff Lee. Man, I really want to be there. There's an outside chance and when I say outside I mean way outside. I possibly have a way to go to game 6 or 7 but I'm not sure I want to go down that road. Who am I kidding? I definitely want to go down that road. Gotta talk to the wife in the morning. Speaking of which, the morning is about 5 hours from now. So for now, I'm off to bed to get what should be a great night's sleep. Regardless of how short it is. Be back tomorrow for sure!

They're back baby! 4 more wins to go!! Wooooooooooo!

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie