NewsGame 6 strategy? It's all in the mind
Yanks, Phils each try to gain mental edge in crucial tilt
By Anthony DiComo / MLB.com
11/04/09 11:35 AM EST
NEW YORK -- Come Wednesday night, Pedro Martinez will waltz in front of a sold-out Yankee Stadium crowd, absorb the chants of "Who's Your Daddy?" and attempt to pitch the game of his life.
In one lineup will be Chase Utley, arguably the hottest hitter in World Series history and the one man the Yankees would rather avoid. In the other lineup will be Alex Rodriguez, perhaps the only man capable of matching Utley's production and one of the Phillies' greatest Game 6 fears.
Game 6 of the World Series, it seems, will be full of strategy, schematics and the type of mental intrigue normally reserved for a game of backgammon or chess. The Yankees and Phillies will engage in mind games.
May the most creative minds win.
One of the hotter topics of the early week were former Phillies manager Larry Bowa's accusations that his old team was stealing signs, possibly even using cameras to do so at Citizens Bank Park. Some of the Phillies, most notably Shane Victorino, did not take kindly to those accusations. But the source hardly mattered.
What matters is that Posada and backup Jose Molina, throughout the games in Philadelphia, took numerous trips to the pitcher's mound to change up their signals, even when no one was on base. Though the locale has changed, the Yankees will continue to do the same in Game 6. It's the World Series, after all. Can't be too careful.
"We have to," Posada said. "In the dugout and in between innings, in the middle of an at-bat, that's why we have to keep talking on the mound."
It is not the only point of contention between the two clubs. In Game 4 of the Series, umpires warned both benches after Rodriguez was hit by a pitch for the third time in two games. The Yankees never retaliated, and perhaps they never will. But the possibility looms. And if Rodriguez is hit again, it would not only set a new World Series record, but it may cause umpires to warn both benches again -- thus stealing from the Yankees their ability to retaliate.
Five off the floor
| Year | Winner | Loser |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Royals | Cardinals |
| 1979 | Pirates | Orioles |
| 1968 | Tigers | Cardinals |
| 1958 | Yankees | Braves |
| 1925 | Pirates | Senators |
If the Bombers are to throw at somebody first, it may well be Utley, by far the hottest hitter on either team. The Phillies second baseman has already tied Reggie Jackson for the most home runs in a single World Series, and will be looking for more. The Yankees, meanwhile, will combat his hot bat by trying not to throw him any more fastballs over the middle of the plate.
"He's adjusting to what we're trying to do," Posada said. "We're trying to adjust to him. We're trying to find a way of putting the ball where it's supposed to be. We have left a lot of pitches in the middle of the plate. He has put damage on them. He feels good at the plate. We need to really make him feel probably a little bit more uncomfortable, and make the pitches where they're supposed to be."
In other words, the Yankees may try to pitch Utley inside and send a message early. Intentional or not, such a pitch could stray too far in and hit him. And that could incite some ugliness.
Martinez, meanwhile, will be attempting to establish similar boundaries when he faces the Yankees for the second time in six days. He will need to keep them off-balance by any means necessary, and he believes he is the man to do it.
"What you see is a combination of experience and instinct," Martinez said. "It's just instinct, surviving. Everybody that grows up in the Dominican and didn't have a rich life, it's a survival. That's what we call it in the Dominican, survival. And in baseball I am a survivor."
But the Yankees will be trying to nudge him off his game. Whether that means frequently stepping out of the batter's box, swinging at a plethora of first pitches or being extra selective, the Bombers, of course, won't say. But it's a good bet they have a plan.
"Pedro is a smart pitcher," manager Joe Girardi said. "But you know what he's got and what his repertoire is, and you're a little bit more prepared when you've seen a guy."
The Phillies, though, have likewise seen Pettitte. And they will be trying to hit him hard.
Included in that group is slumping first baseman Ryan Howard, who is one strikeout away from breaking Willie Wilson's all-time World Series whiff record. If he passes the mark, the Yankees faithful will surely let him know. And Howard cannot allow that brush with history seep into his mind, for fear that it may sink him even further into a slump.
"The pitcher doesn't have nothing to do with it," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "Basically he's just [not] completely following the ball. [When] he's staying on the ball, following the ball, and when he does that, usually things come around for him."
Then there is the ninth inning, perhaps the most intriguing mind game of all. Both managers said they probably had some extra arms -- most notably starting pitchers A.J. Burnett for the Yankees and Joe Blanton for the Phillies -- available out of the bullpen if needed. For the Phillies, especially, that could potentially help the end game, in which they have struggled.
There's no telling whether Manuel would turn to his closer, Brad Lidge, in a save situation, or back to Ryan Madson, who struggled in Game 5 but nailed down the save. Even Manuel dodged the question, saying he's "probably going to use [Lidge] the way I want to when we get there."
Just one more variable, it seems, for some of the best minds in baseball to consider.
Anthony DiComo is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
