Pedro's Last Stand

Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, welcome to the Big Show. I'm writing to you today because its been a few years since baseball has had a storyline like the one that is brewing in the Bronx tonight. If you are a sports fan then you should be thankful that you are being blessed with theater that is almost never seen in baseball. At face value, you've got just another Game 6 with yet another chance for the Yankees to win the World Series. But look deeper and you will see the plot thickens.

It would appear that all the signs point to a significant Yankee advantage tonight. The game is in the Bronx, a place they rarely lose and they have their trusty veteran on the mound in Andy Pettitte, a "Core-4" guy who helped build the current dynasty along with Jeter, Rivera and Posada. And all that stands between the Yankees and their 27th Championship is a man no larger than the average female. A man that every Yankee fan loves to hate. That man is old foe Pedro Martinez.

Pedro is no doubt a first ballot Hall of Famer and in his prime was the best pitcher in baseball for a span of 5 years. Once an electric and intimidating pitcher, he is now crafty and methodical , no longer able to throw a 97 mph fastball but instead relies on his changeup and curveball. As a Red Sox he was the one guy that was most hated by Yankee fans. Not only did he love plunking Jeter and A-Rod, he also threw 74 year old Don Zimmer to the ground during a bench clearing brawl. He was a key member of the '04 team that pulled the greatest comeback in the history of sports as the Red Sox came back from a 3-0 deficit to win the American League Championship (I had to mention it). He was also famous for calling the Yankees his "daddy", a comment that prompted the always popular chant "Who's Your Daddy" which will no doubt be echoing through Yankee Stadium tonight. So why should you be excited about this? Let me try and explain.

Pedro lives for the big stage. He feeds off of opposing crowds and seems to elevate his game when everyone counts him out. What we saw from him in Game 2 was a pure competitor. He had no business throwing as well as he did, and aside from 2 bad pitches that resulted in home runs, he pitched a gem. After Game 2 you figured Pedro would never get another chance to silence the Yankee crowd but alas here we are. This very well could be Pedro's last game, but its safe to assume this is the last big game he will ever pitch in. Tonight is Pedro's last stand. Can he channel the young Pedro and bring us to a Game 7? Or like a more famous last stand, will he fall like Custer? I think Pedro will shine. I think he's got one vintage performance left in the tank. If anyone saw him walk off the field in Game 2, you saw him look up at the Yankee fans and gave a grin/smirk/smile. I hope he was thinking, "I want one more shot". Tonight he gets that shot, and we will find out what Pedro Martinez has left.

On the other side, and perhaps equally as compelling, is Andy Pettitte. He is making a case for his status as a Hall of Fame pitcher, and a win tonight would certainly help his argument. And like Pedro, this very well could be his last time he walks out onto the mound. He's the veteran that's been here before. Throughout the whole Yankee run and with more famous guys around him like Clemens and Wells and Cone, Pettitte has been the rock. Yankee fans trust him, and you expect him to deliver. But here's the interesting caveat, he will be pitching on 3 days rest. That's not unheard of but, for our less informed baseball readers, usually pitchers go on 5 days rest. Pettitte is getting up there in age (he's 37) and its going to be interesting to see how sharp the old man is on short rest. Essentially your asking him to get 7 innings of solid pitching to get the ball to Mariano Rivera. I think Pettitte will be good, but can he go 7 innings is the question. I'd be concerned if he can get 6 strong, let alone 7. But he too is a competitor and I'm hoping for a great performance by both pitchers.

Tonight's game almost has the feel of one of my favorite sports movie, and very underrated sports movie in my opinion, "For the Love of the Game". You can make an argument that both pitchers are in the position of Billy Chapel (played to perfection by Kevin "the Cos" Costner) looking for one more shot at glory. I don't foresee a perfect game, lets not get carried away, but I think 1 of them will rewind the clocks and deliver a great performance.

As a fan of the game I can only hope for a Game 7. If you don't know by now (then you haven't been reading my blogs) I don't like the Yankees, so you can make an argument that I'm biased in my opinions in that I want the Phillies to win tonight. But Game 7 is a rarity in sports, and I find that baseball Game 7's are more exciting and dramatic than any other sport's Game 7. In a close game every pitch matters, every scenario has extra meaning, and every pitcher becomes available regardless of when they last pitched. Just saying the words "Game 7" gets me excited. I hope tonight's game is everything that I'm making it out to be. Otherwise I just wasted a lot of time and effort.

Now let's change gears for a hot second. This blog has been a source of entertainment and a place of (to steal a Seinfeld expression) "no hugging, no learning". But something came to my attention that I needed to add to the blog. My oldest friend, and contributor to the blog, Aaron "Yahtzee" Smith, has asked me to help out for a noble cause. And it just so happened that the way to help the noble cause is to grow a mustache. As you may recall I created the Top 10 movie mustaches blog a few months ago (it may have been my finest hour as a blogger). I love a good 'stache, and now you can grow one for a good cause. So here's what Yahtzee has to say.....

"Pulse of the Rockies"

Friends,


Testicular and prostate cancer have ravaged men long enough. Today is the day I say NO MORE! The month of Movember is upon us. For those of you that don't know, Movember is an annual, month-long celebration of the mustache, highlighting men's health issues-specifically prostate and testicular cancer.


I write you now asking two things:


1. Join me and my mustache in our quest to destroy prostate and testicular cancer. Join my team and grow your own 'stache.



2. If you can't (or won't) join me, support me. To whoever supports me, I promise bi-weekly photos of me and my little man (get your head out of the gutter).


What do you say? (And recruit your friends, the more mustaches, the merrier)


Good Growing.
-Aaron



PS-I should also mention my birthday is Nov. 11th. In the (unlikely) event you were going to buy me a present, save it and donate instead. I'll take anything!


He also send me a picture of his ground zero 'stache. The starting point.....



Remember, Rome wasn't built in a day and neither is a great mustache. If you look closely you can see a slight dusting on the upper lip. I can't wait for our next picture update. If anyone else would like to partake in the mustache for a cause, feel free to email me a picture of your stache and we can see who is a Mike Ditka guy and who is John Cleese guy. But if you don't want to grow the stache, then at least make a donation and support Aaron. Thanks guys.

That will do it for today's blog. If you're a Yankees fan, you're obviously not rooting for a Game 7, but I most certainly am. I hope tonight's game is as good as I've hyped it up to be. Stay tuned for the next edition, as we resume our acclaimed series of the Nic Cage Movie Review System. So until next time, as always.....STAY SWEET