World Series Game 7 - "Hall-a day Celebration in Philly"

GAME 7
Hamels vs Pettitte
Phillies 10, Yankees 5
You couldn't have drawn up a better script.  Hamels vs Pettitte for all the marbles.  Each manager couldn't have been happier to have their big game lefties out on the hill for Game 7.  On one had you have Cole Hamels, the 2009 NLCS and World Series MVP.  A man, who at 27 is in the prime of his career with the history of pitching in a Series clincher and a 7-4 (3.09) lifetime post season record.  In the other corner you have Andy Pettitte, who has pitched in 8 Fall Classics and sports 19 post season victories...the most in history.  With all that build up and emotion the truth is neither of these men were a factor in today's game.  Hamels was bad, giving up 4 runs in 6 innings.  Pettitte was worse, giving up 4 runs in 5 innings.  By the time Hamels left the game, in the middle of the 7th inning, he had given up 4 runs, but still had a 2 run run lead.  The real pitching story was Doc Halladay, who manager Weinrib tapped to finish the final 3 innings and protect a tenuous 2 run lead.  Doc was on 3 days rest and today would have been his normal "throw day".  With no more games to be played after today manger Weinrib elected to have Doc do his bullpen session in the fishbowl called game 7.  Doc was shaky at first allowing the runners Hamels put on to score, but he quickly righted the ship.  With the score 6-5 after 8 the tension began to mount.  Manager Hopcroft made the necessary decision that Torre and Girardi both would have made...he elected to give Mo the ball to start the 9th.  The strategy was sound.  You hand the ball to the greatest releiver of all time and have him

protect a one run deficit and you get 3 outs in the bottom of the inning to score 1 run to tie or two to win.  No one in their right mind would do otherwise.  What Hopcroft, and any other manager, couldn't predict was the melt down that would occur.  Mariano Rivera, the greatest reliever in the history of both the regular season and the post season gave up 4 runs in one inning and recorded just one out.  When all the dust cleared the Broad Street Bombers were sitting on a 5 run lead with 3 outs to go.  Manager Weinrib got both Bastardo and closer Madson up in the pen, but thought the better of it and said, "Doc, you got us this far, go finish it out".  Halladay made his skipper look like a crafty riverboat gambler by rolling 3 more sevens in a row to set the Yankees down in order to clinch the KOD20 title.  The first man to hobble over and hug his manager was injured 2B Chase Utley, who managed to play through the pain and deliver a big RBI triple against Mo in the 9th.  How he made it to third was a minor miracle.  There would be no celebrating in Stan's Bar on River Street tonight.  That celebration would be held on 9th and Passyunk as the crowd waiting on line in front of Genos and Pat's went ballistic.  Never before has a man born and raised in Brooklyn, NY and a lifelong Met fan (Andy Weinrib) been celebrated so much by the fickle fans of Philly !
Phillies win World Series 4-3