Wow.
If you are a true baseball fan, you've go to be feeling like a kid in a candy store tonight. It'll be a cool night in the Bronx, 47 degrees, 9mph winds, and a clear sky that will have the night filled with stars in the air and on the field. And last but certainly not least, there will be a pair of aces on the mound, and what a pair it will be.
In the Yankee corner - Andy Pettitte, 37 years old, the most experienced postseason pitcher in the history of the game, and notorious for rising to the challenge of a big game. And in the Phillie corner - Pedro Martinez, 38 years old, storied enemy of the Yankees, and a member of the historic 2004 Boston Red Sox team that banished the Curse of the Bambino at Yankee Stadium. Between the two of them, they combine for 54 postseason games pitched with a record of 23-12.
Pettitte is a career Yankee (minus a 3-year sabbatical with the Houston Astros) and a no doubt, first ballot hall-of-famer when the time comes. He also has to be one of the most respected Yankees of this generation - infamous for his glove covering his face, his hat pulled tightly down over his brow, and through the tunnel the two create, peers his overpowering glance of determination. Any Pettitte is a competitor; he celebrates a big out, but not for himself, rather for his teammate that made the play, he doesn't talk trash, he doesn't guarantee victories, he doesn't make excuses, he gives credit where credit is due, even if to an opponent. Simply put Andy Pettitte is a true "ballplayer" and one could only hope he remains an ambassador of the game for a long, long time.
And on the other side Martinez - an 18-year veteran of the game who has definitely come full circle. Another first ballot hall-of-famer, who spent 7 years of his career making his mark on the hearts of Bostonians everywhere as well as on the dramatic history of the Red Sox organization. Pedro was a go-to pitcher in his prime, and when you saw him on the list of pitching probables for the day you knew the Sox were going to win. In his time in Bean Town, Martinez posted a record of 117-37, so on average his record was 17-5...wow. Then he went to the New York Mets where all good careers go to die (i.e. Carlos Baerga, Mike Piazza, Johan Santana, etc...) - he had 4 atypical seasons, plagued by injuries. But now Pedro is back for perhaps one last chance at glory. Like Seabiscuit and Red Pollard coming back from injury to obtain past success - it is not necessarily within the realm of physical law to determine the ability of a player like Martinez, that's too shallow. For what he lacks physically is compensated by his eager heart, his fierce determination, and the immense amount of wisdom he has grown since his time in Boston; making him as formidable an opponent as ever.
Perhaps it is poetic justice that the game of baseball is the only main sport not limited by time, because tonight, in the new Yankee Stadium, time will truly be irrelevant. Not just in terms of game length, but for the two studs opposing each other on the mound age will be of little, if any significance. The only role history will play is that each competitor is likely to fuel themselves with powerful memories of the past, where they have faced each other many times before. There will be no limitations on either pitcher - this is, for a fact, the last game they will pitch in the year 2009, so they will both be prepared to reach back and give it everything they've got, and then some.
I am prepared to be wrong and disappointed, but to be honest, I don't think the laws of the universe would allow it. This game is meant to be, and will be, one of the best games in the history of the Major League postseason. And as a true baseball fan I can honestly say that regardless of who wins, I just can't wait to sit down, turn on the TV, and be a blissful spectator of two guys doing what they love, and doing it exceptionally well.
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