NewsPhilly cheesesteaks or Yankee pot roast?
By Thomas Boorstein / MLB.com
11/04/09 6:40 PM EST
What's your flavor entering Game 6 of the 2009 World Series?Philadelphia? New York?
A Philly cheesesteak? A Yankee pot roast?
Two rival cities. Two old standbys. Both represent the qualities of the two combatants.
Chase Utley slicks his hair full of L.A. Looks Gel, but that's nothing compared to the amount of grease of a typical cheesesteak. Thrown together on a grill, the sandwich has some of the grit the Phillies will need to show if they are to win this World Series.
A New York pot roast resembles the veteran Yankees roster. A good one is made by slow-cooking the beef in liquid in a covered dish. The Yankees' championship pot of Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera has been simmering for nine long years. It hasn't been cooked to perfection since the 2000 World Series win against the Mets. For others, like Alex Rodriguez, the pot has been going for an entire career. If it stays on the stove too long -- to a Game 7, for example -- it could turn inedible.
A cheesesteak has its vital center (the meat, seen in Utley and Ryan Howard), but it also has an underappreciated but critical outside (the bread, see Jayson Werth.) Pedro Martinez could be considered the onions, spicy but dangerous.
Of course, a pot roast isn't a pot roast if it is served alone. You can't have the meat without the potatoes (Johnny Damon, perhaps?), and some carrots (Mark Teixeira?) allow another food group into the palette.
Two traditional favorites, but only one will take the day.
What's your flavor?
Thomas Boorstein is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
