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We are one out away from the Yankees winning their 27th World Series title.  Carlos Ruiz is on first base with Shane Victorino batting.  One ball, two strikes, and two outs face the Flyin' Hawaiian.  He hits a foul ball.  He foul tips the next.  This continues for the next couple of pitches.

I knew the game was over a long, long time ago.

It fell apart when Pedro Martinez just couldn't cook up enough of that “Pedro” special hot sauce to power his sub-par fast balls.  Teams that let the Yankees get away with loading up four runs early in the game just ain't gonna bring home the bacon.

So what went wrong?  Why did the wheels come off the wagon?  What happened to prevent the Phillies – arguably a better team - from being the first National League team since the mid-70's to repeat their World Series victory of 2008?

In a word, the Yankees were the superior team in this series.  Period.

Okay, what does that mean, Steve-O?  You can't just say they were the "superior team" because they won.  Why did they win?  What did they do that the Phillies didn’t?

Let's start with pitching.  Everyone thought it was going to be CC Sabathia's show.  It turned out to be AJ Burnett’s and Andy Pettitte's show.

The Phillies just couldn't compete with the Yankees’ starting pitching.  Cliff Lee is just one man.  He’s an amazing pitcher, but he’s no Steve Carlton.  Even on short rest, Lee is still just one man with just one chance to pitch in just one game at a time.  After that...  Well, the Phils wound up pinning their hopes on an aging, slowing arm of a once-great Hall of Fame pitcher better known as "Who’s Your Daddy?"  Joe Blanton was Joe Blanton.  He was "okay."  But he wasn’t near enough to stop the bleeding. 

Cole Hamels?  Don't get me started.  There are gray cells misfiring in that lad's head.  Somebody needs to give him a free pass to the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs to help him figure out just why he prefers living with the big team.

So starting pitching was suspect.  That much was obvious.  It was so obvious even at the beginning of the season that the only reason the once-retired Pedro Martinez was signed by the Phillies late in the season was to get them even a 50/50 shot at the post season.

What about the bullpen?  Uhhh... You mean the “gas can” squad?  The Phillies bullpen, with few exceptions, brought flamethrowers, not fire extinguishers, to their inning-eating and mop-up tasks.  Brad Lidge has the "stuff" to be that great closer again.  He, like Hamels, seems to be taking an extended mental vacation somewhere in the Caribbean.  Chan Ho Park was "good,” not “great.”  Ryan Madson, too, was "good."  Happ was "adequate."  Ayre was...  Where was Ayre?  Durbin?  Don’t get me started.

How about the hitting?  Not bad, especially if you consider that guys at the bottom of the order saved the day a couple of times.  Ryan Howard, like Hamels and Lidge, seemed to have forgotten how to play the game.  "SWING and a miss!  Struck 'em out!" became Ryan's new nickname.

(Hint to anyone who faces the Phillies next year who wants to shut down Howard.  Breaking balls down and away from the big left-hander.  Guaranteed strike-out.  Yes, Howard's baseball instincts have improved, but his swing against left-handed pitching is still a bit hitchy.)

"But," you're thinking, "the Phillies certainly didn't get to the post-season without doing something right.  Right?"

 You'd be correct.  Rueben Amaro, Jr. is, by most accounts, a freaking genius.  Were it not for Amaro pulling a rabbit out of his hat not once but twice (Ibanez, Lee, and Francisco), it is almost a certainty that the Phillies would never have won two games in this fall classic.  Without Cliff Lee the Fightin' Phils would have been swept in four, not fighting through six.

And there were other bright stars.  Carlos Ruiz is a back-stopping genius.  Chase Utley, as Harry the "K" said last year, "You are the man!"  If the Phils had won the series, we’d be talking about a new “Mr. October” to replace Reggie Jackson.

Was this world series as much about what the Yankees did right as it was about the Phillies did wrong?

No.

When you outspend everyone in the game almost two to one, you had better clobber the competition.  Put more simply, it ought to embarrass the Yankees that after spending $200mil a year they couldn't sweep the Phillies in four games.

I guess it just goes to show you, having A-Rod and Jeter and Damon and Teixiera doesn't guarantee you anything.  Does it make you a strong contender?  Yes.  A guaranteed winner?  Not really.

Oh, and a note to Bud Selig... 

The only testament this World Series leaves is the one that says George Steinbrenner never met an athlete he couldn't overpay.

The Yankees deserved to win based on the way the Phils played.  The Yankees played better overall than the Phillies, they wanted it more, and they had fewer flaws in their lineup.  Andy Pettitte proved why he is one of the best post-season performers in history.  Hit-able, but solid.

Gimme Johnny Damon any day.  That man is the real deal.  He’d look mighty nice in a Phillies uniform.

Keep A-Rod.  What a wuss.  Other than standing close enough to the plate to manage to get hit three times, I'm still trying to figure out what all the fuss is about.

Jeter?  It's a push.  I'll still take J-Roll.  Jeter's a more pure hitter, but J-Roll is a spark-plug.

And this final note...

It is long-past time for baseball to either dump the DH or make it the norm in both leagues.  It is an unfair advantage for teams in the American League to groom and retain guys like Matsui when the Phils are forced to have the pitcher bat for himself throughout the entire year.  It is a decided advantage in the post season that can't be overlooked when you realize that the AL gets to perfect their offensive crutch 150+ games a year.

So congratulations to the stinkin' Yankees.  That’s a mighty nice trophy they just bought.