GRAND Finale

Sadly, I did not watch every single pitch of Wednesday's rubber match between the Yankees and the Diamondbacks. But I woke up when it counted. In one of the ugliest games you'll ever see, the Yankees turned in a memorable 10th inning victory, capped off by another clutch Curtis Granderson homer, followed by a Harry Houdini act by the greatest closer of all time. After pitching a perfect ninth and grounding out in the tenth, Mariano Rivera loaded the bases with no one out, only to retire the next three hitters on two pop ups and a strikeout. The guy never ceases to amaze me. No matter what, you always have faith that he's going to get out of it, even if the game DID take place in Arizona, probably his least favorite stadium in baseball for obvious reasons.

Why was the game ugly? Because the Yankees really had every opportunity to blow the Diamondbacks out of the water. Dontrelle Willis started for Arizona, and walked SEVEN batters in just over two innings, yet left the game with the score tied at 2. For a while, despite countless opportunities, it looked like the Yankees were going to drop the series to the hapless Diamondbacks. Javier Vazquez was not as sharp as he has been, but it was the bats who needed to be blamed in the early going. Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano each hit into two double plays, and the Yankees had several runners thrown out on the base paths, killing rally after rally.

Damaso Marte came in to pitch the sixth inning and showed why Joe Girardi has lost faith in him. He gave up a run without surrendering a hit. Two walks, a balk, and a wild pitch later, the Yanks were on the verge of a 5-4 loss. But fortunately, former Met Aaron Heilman came on for the save and did his best Marte impression, giving up the tying run without yielding a hit. Props to A-Rod for the clutch sacrifice fly.

I really have to give Curtis Granderson a lot of credit. I've heard plenty of people ripping the Jackson, Kennedy, and Coke for Granderson deal, and I've been one of them at times. Jackson was off to a good start and Kennedy has not pitched badly out in the desert. If you looked at Granderson's stats without watching a game, you'd think he was really choking in New York. But the guy was out for a month, and almost all of his homers have been clutch. Two of his homers have been game winners in extra innings, another beat the Mets this past weekend, one came off of Roy Halladay, and another was a GRANDerson slam that knocked out the Orioles. He never complains, runs his mouth, or watches the ball leave the yard.

The best part of the night, however, came after the game was over. YES Network's Kim Jones interviewed Rivera after his magical 10th inning, and instead of talking about himself, he told Jones, "We played horrible. It's unacceptable." Mariano Rivera is one of the greatest Yankees of all time. I cannot wait to see him enshrined in Cooperstown one day.