Phillies-Yankees: Game 1 talking points

What we are talking about after the Phillies' 6-1 win in Game 1 of the World Series:

* One up: Manager Charlie Manuel wouldn't take the bait before the game when asked whether his realistic goal was to split the first two games at Yankee Stadium. And now that the Phillies won the World Series opener, he'd love to take a 2-0 lead back to Citizens Bank Park for Game 3 on Saturday night.

* But ... No matter what happens tonight, the Phillies have assured themselves of winning at least once before leaving the Bronx. That means they've taken over the home-field advantage. And, remember, in the last 2 years they're 11-1 at home in the postseason.

* Cliff Lee's pitching. CC Sabathia was good for the Yankees. Lee was even better than his former Indians teammate. He's now 3-0 with an 0.54 earned run average in four postseason starts. He threw 122 pitches, 80 for strikes. Roy who?

* Cliff Lee's fielding. These are the kinds of plays YouTube was made for. With a runner on first and one out in the sixth, Johnny Damon hit a popup to the mound. Lee casually reached out and caught the ball with the nonchalance of taking a throw from the catcher. Then, in the eighth, he reached behind his back to snag a bouncer up the middle hit by Robinson Cano, then threw him out at first.

* Chase Utley. Sabathia hadn't allowed a home run to a lefthanded hitter at the New Yankee Stadium all year. Utley took him deep twice last night. Utley now has four home runs in six career World Series games.

* Aura and mystique. The Twins and Angels, solid fundamental teams, played poorly against New York in the first two rounds. Against the Phillies last night, the Yankees looked like a very good team, but hardly invincible, especially now that the Phils have beaten Sabathia.