Yankees infielders Robinson Cano, left, Alex Rodriguez (13), Mark Teixeira, right, and Derek Jeter celebrate their 5-2 victory over the Angels in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series at Yankee Stadium on Sunday night that clinched a berth in the World Series. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
NEW YORK -
The batter swung and missed and it was over. Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera met on the mound and hugged, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez were there in seconds.
This was a celebration, and many of the Yankees players have had a lot of them, but not like this.
"Failure is part of it," said Rivera, who got the final six outs as the Yankees beat the Angels 5-2 Sunday night and made it over the finish line and into the World Series for the first time in six years. "It feels like a lot longer than six years."
There was a lot of frustration released when Gary Matthews Jr. struck out and the hugging and champagne showering commenced. The Red Sox's comeback in 2004, the sloppy loss to the Angels in '05, the missing the playoffs altogether last year — a ton of frustration.
"That made this a lot sweeter," Posada said.
This time, the Yankees defeated the Angels, one of their October nemeses, four games to two, to reach the World Series for the 40th time, but first since 2003. They will play the defending champion Phillies beginning Wednesday night.
"The Yankees played an incredible series," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "They outplayed us, and they deserved to win."
Rivera, Andy Pettitte, Jeter and Posada have played on four championship teams, but have seen a lot of high-profile players come and go since the last in 2000, as groups that did not have what it took bowed out early in October. This year, new players, especially CC Sabathia, who won Games 1 and 4 and was the MVP of the ALCS, proved things were different.
And to this point the Yankees have passed every test. After losing Game 5 of this series, losing a lead in the late innings when they were close enough to smell the Series, there was talk of a collapse a la 2004. But they had Pettitte, who was gone in 2004-06, to pitch this time, they had an A-Rod who was scaring the daylights out of opponents, they had solid defense.
"This is a different group of guys," Rivera said.
Said Jeter: "Coming into the series everybody was talking about how tough the Angels were, then when we lost Game 5, everybody said we were choking. That's a tough team over there."
Pettitte, winning his 16th postseason game and his fifth series-clinching game to establish records, pitched brilliantly into the seventh inning with a 3-1 lead, and Joba Chamberlain got the final two outs in the inning. Then Joe Girardi did what he avoided all year, he called on Rivera, 39, to pitch two complete innings.
"Go for it," Rivera said. "I was all for it."
Rivera gave up a run in the eighth, but the Yankees scored two more, with the help of a couple of errors, and then he pitched an easy ninth, the easy ninth that eluded him at Fenway Park in 2004.
Ex-Yankee Bobby Abreu singled to drive in a run in the third inning, giving the Angels a 1-0 lead. But the Yankees worked over Joe Saunders in the fourth to score three runs. Johnny Damon singled with the bases loaded to knock in two, putting the Yankees ahead to stay, and Rodriguez, headed to his first World Series, drew a bases loaded walk to make it 3-1.
The Yankees failed in several chances to break the game open. But the Angels, who made seven errors in the three games at Yankee Stadium, threw away their last chance after scoring off Rivera. Robinson Cano walked to start the eighth, and the Angles botched successive bunts, second baseman Howie Kendrick dropping one throw and pitcher Scott Kazmir throwing one over Kendrick to allow a run.
"I don't call it luck," Rivera said. "I call it blessings."
Mark Teixeira's sacrifice fly made it 5-2.
"A lot of great players have never had the honor to go to a World Series," said Rodriguez, who has a hit in each of the Yankees' nine postseason games to completely reverse his October reputation. "It's just an incredible feeling."
The Yankees won the World Series the year the original Yankee Stadium opened in 1923, and reached it when the renovated Stadium reopened in 1976. Now, they've made one connection to their predecessors and christened the new, $1.5 billion Yankee Stadium with a World Series appearance.
"This is great," Damon said, "but the job is not done."
This was a celebration, and many of the Yankees players have had a lot of them, but not like this.
"Failure is part of it," said Rivera, who got the final six outs as the Yankees beat the Angels 5-2 Sunday night and made it over the finish line and into the World Series for the first time in six years. "It feels like a lot longer than six years."
There was a lot of frustration released when Gary Matthews Jr. struck out and the hugging and champagne showering commenced. The Red Sox's comeback in 2004, the sloppy loss to the Angels in '05, the missing the playoffs altogether last year — a ton of frustration.
"That made this a lot sweeter," Posada said.
This time, the Yankees defeated the Angels, one of their October nemeses, four games to two, to reach the World Series for the 40th time, but first since 2003. They will play the defending champion Phillies beginning Wednesday night.
"The Yankees played an incredible series," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "They outplayed us, and they deserved to win."
Rivera, Andy Pettitte, Jeter and Posada have played on four championship teams, but have seen a lot of high-profile players come and go since the last in 2000, as groups that did not have what it took bowed out early in October. This year, new players, especially CC Sabathia, who won Games 1 and 4 and was the MVP of the ALCS, proved things were different.
And to this point the Yankees have passed every test. After losing Game 5 of this series, losing a lead in the late innings when they were close enough to smell the Series, there was talk of a collapse a la 2004. But they had Pettitte, who was gone in 2004-06, to pitch this time, they had an A-Rod who was scaring the daylights out of opponents, they had solid defense.
"This is a different group of guys," Rivera said.
Said Jeter: "Coming into the series everybody was talking about how tough the Angels were, then when we lost Game 5, everybody said we were choking. That's a tough team over there."
Pettitte, winning his 16th postseason game and his fifth series-clinching game to establish records, pitched brilliantly into the seventh inning with a 3-1 lead, and Joba Chamberlain got the final two outs in the inning. Then Joe Girardi did what he avoided all year, he called on Rivera, 39, to pitch two complete innings.
"Go for it," Rivera said. "I was all for it."
Rivera gave up a run in the eighth, but the Yankees scored two more, with the help of a couple of errors, and then he pitched an easy ninth, the easy ninth that eluded him at Fenway Park in 2004.
Ex-Yankee Bobby Abreu singled to drive in a run in the third inning, giving the Angels a 1-0 lead. But the Yankees worked over Joe Saunders in the fourth to score three runs. Johnny Damon singled with the bases loaded to knock in two, putting the Yankees ahead to stay, and Rodriguez, headed to his first World Series, drew a bases loaded walk to make it 3-1.
The Yankees failed in several chances to break the game open. But the Angels, who made seven errors in the three games at Yankee Stadium, threw away their last chance after scoring off Rivera. Robinson Cano walked to start the eighth, and the Angles botched successive bunts, second baseman Howie Kendrick dropping one throw and pitcher Scott Kazmir throwing one over Kendrick to allow a run.
"I don't call it luck," Rivera said. "I call it blessings."
Mark Teixeira's sacrifice fly made it 5-2.
"A lot of great players have never had the honor to go to a World Series," said Rodriguez, who has a hit in each of the Yankees' nine postseason games to completely reverse his October reputation. "It's just an incredible feeling."
The Yankees won the World Series the year the original Yankee Stadium opened in 1923, and reached it when the renovated Stadium reopened in 1976. Now, they've made one connection to their predecessors and christened the new, $1.5 billion Yankee Stadium with a World Series appearance.
"This is great," Damon said, "but the job is not done."
