Jorge Posada

Hot PHILLIES: Chase Utley. If Phillies fans are looking for good karma it should be noted that Utley hit a home run in Game 1 of the 2008 World Series. His first home run last night was in the third inning, his second was in sixth, both off CC Sabathia. YANKEES: Derek Jeter. The Yankees shortstop is well versed in postseason baseball, hitting .308 in 132 career postseason games. In 32 World Series games before last night, Jeter hit .302 with three RBI and eight home runs.

THE BIG PLAY X-RAY THE PLAY: It's hard to believe Alex Rodriguez had just one Series hit before he came to bat in the ninth inning last night, but he did. He promptly made his second safety a big one. THE SETUP: After the Phillies had tied the game on a Pedro Feliz solo home run in the eighth, the Yankees mounted a two-out rally off Brad Lidge in the top of the ninth. Johnny Damon singled to left, stole second and third on the same play (don't ask) and Mark Teixeira was hit by a pitch.

Most of the time, Cliff Lee made it look easy - like catching a lazy pop-up without flinching on the mound or fielding a dribbler and playfully tagging Jorge Posada on the butt for the out. The Phillies' ace was in a groove. And the Yankees had seen this before. "He seems like he's been in a rhythm for the last year and a half," said Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, who struck out three times. "I mean, he's been pitching at a great pace. " That pace was hardly disrupted by the Yankees in a 6-1 defeat in Game 1 of the World Series.

The New York Yankees' front office will convene in Tampa, Fla., tonight for its annual postseason organizational meetings. The team could be poised for major personnel changes, and owner George Steinbrenner's sons, Hank and Hal, will be deeply involved for the first time. The meetings are set to begin late tonight or early tomorrow. First on the agenda is a decision on whether Joe Torre will return for a 13th season as manager. The Yankees also must decide on what to do about potential free agents Alex Rodriguez, Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada.

Tino Martinez doesn't want to get used to a pinch-hitting role - although the New York Yankees are glad he felt comfortable doing it last night. Martinez hit the first pinch-hit homer of his career, a two-run shot in the seventh inning that lifted New York to an 8-7 victory over the visiting Cleveland Indians. "Hopefully I won't have too many pinch-hits, because I want to be in there every day," Martinez said. Martinez didn't start against lefty Chuck Finley, but was ready to save a game that had gotten away from the Yankees.

New York Yankees third-base prospect Drew Henson, who gave up his senior season as the starting quarterback at Michigan, went 2 for 4 with three RBIs in an extended spring-training game yesterday, his first game since suffering a broken left hand seven weeks ago. Against the Phillies' extended team in Clearwater, Fla., Henson had an RBI triple in the first inning and a two-run double in the sixth. Henson was sidelined after being hit by a pitch while playing for single-A Tampa in a Florida State League game on April 14. He could join triple-A Columbus by mid-June.

Orlando Cabrera and Bengie Molina both drove in two runs as the Los Angeles Angels came from behind last night to beat the New York Yankees, 5-3, and tie their best-of-five American League divisional series at one game each. In the seventh inning, Cabrera put the Angels in front for the first time in the series when he hit a single off Yankees starter Chien-Ming Wang that scored Steve Finley and Jeff DaVanon. An inning earlier, Molina's RBI single had scored Cabrera and pulled the Angels into a 2-2 tie. Molina later added a solo homer in the eighth off Al Leiter to pad the margin to 5-2, a run that took on added meaning when Jorge Posada homered in the top of the ninth.

New York Yankees catcher Jorge Posada yesterday was suspended for six games by Major League Baseball for his confrontation with home plate umpire Andy Fletcher during Monday's 7-5 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Posada, who also was fined an undisclosed amount for the incident, said he would appeal the suspension. The Yankees also activated Scott Brosius from the 15-day disabled list. St. Louis Cardinals rookie pitcher Bud Smith, who no-hit the Padres on Monday, will skip a turn in the rotation after throwing 134 pitches in the win. Paul Tinnell's contract as player development director of the Pittsburgh Pirates won't be renewed.

Nick Swisher hit a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning and the New York Yankees rallied from a five-run deficit for an 6-5 victory over the visiting Baltimore Orioles last night. After Joba Chamberlain used his big body to save a run in the eighth by blocking the plate and keeping the Yankees within 5-4, Jorge Posada led off the bottom of the ninth with a tying homer on the first pitch off closer Kevin Gregg. Michael Gonzalez (0-1) walked Mark Teixeira and gave up a double to Alex Rodriguez to start the 10th.

Nothing like a little back-and-forth between New York and Philly baseball teams, but this time it's not the Mets and Phillies. It's the Yankees. Seems some in the Yankees organization bristled when Cliff Lee said among the reasons why the Yankees were his third choice this offseason behind the Phils and Texas was because "some of the Yankeee guys are getting older. " "Some of our core guys that we have relied on have gotten up there, but we have a group of young players that we're excited about," Yankees GM Brian Cashman responded, according to the New York Post . "All we care about is being called champions.

TWO-TIME NL Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum and the San Francisco Giants reached a verbal agreement yesterday on a 2-year contract worth $40.5 million, a source said. The deal includes a $500,000 signing bonus and salaries of $18 million this year and $22 million in 2013. Lincecum still must take a physical to complete the deal. Lincecum had asked for a near-record $21.5 million in salary arbitration and had been offered $17 million by the club. He remains eligible for free agency following the 2013 season.

NEW YORK - Unable to finish off a ninth-inning rally in the rain, New York was beaten by Max Scherzer and the Tigers, 5-3, on Sunday to even their best-of-five American League division series at a game apiece. The Yankees tried to rally late on solo homers by Curtis Granderson and Nick Swisher. Jorge Posada hit his first postseason triple in the ninth and Detroit catcher Alex Avila slipped on a slick on-deck circle, preventing him from catching a foul pop for the final out. That seemed to be just the break the Yankees needed to complete a stirring comeback from a four-run deficit.

JORGE POSADA came off the bench and helped the Yankees to yet another first-place finish with a go-ahead single in the eighth inning, and New York swept the Tampa Bay Rays by identical 4-2 scores in a day-night doubleheader yesterday to win the AL East. Accomplishing most of their regular-season goals with a week to spare, the Yankees earned their 16th playoff berth in 17 seasons by winning the day game behind Robinson Cano's tiebreaking, two-run double in the eighth. They didn't bother celebrating after that one - Yankees blase at its best - but vowed to let loose when they ensured the division crown.

As he had 298 times before, Yankees closer Mariano Rivera pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning - setting down the Twins' Trevor Plouffe , Michael Cuddyer and Chris Parmelee . In doing so, he picked up the save in New York's 6-4 win over Minnesota on Monday, as he had 602 times since May 17, 1996. Then, for probably the first time, he stayed on the Yankee Stadium mound (at the urging of Jorge Posada ) to bask in the cheers of the 40,045 fans - the smallest crowd in the life of the new stadium.

NEW YORK - Tampa Bay's James Shields and B.J. Upton and New York's CC Sabathia threw the Yankees into the all-star break on quite the roll. Shields and Upton made egregious throwing errors that let Robinson Cano score the only run, sending the Yankees to a 1-0 victory Sunday over the Rays. "You usually don't win a 1-0 game like that," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. A day after Derek Jeter got five hits, including No. 3,000, all-stars Shields and Sabathia (13-4) staged a classic pitchers' duel, matching zeros until the bottom of the seventh inning.

NEW YORK - Alex Rodriguez hit a colossal home run, Curtis Granderson also connected, and the New York Yankees got back on track with an 11-7 victory over the skidding Cleveland Indians in a game that quickly grew testy Friday night. Yankees manager Joe Girardi and Cleveland counterpart Manny Acta got into a face-to-face screaming match when both benches and bullpens emptied after Mark Teixeira was hit by a second-inning fastball from struggling Indians starter Fausto Carmona. No punches were thrown and there appeared to be little pushing and shoving - if any. Plate umpire Dale Scott issued warnings to both teams, and there was no further trouble.

NEW YORK - David Ortiz slugged a two-run homer, and Jonathan Papelbon labored through the ninth inning to earn his 200th save, leading the Boston Red Sox past the New York Yankees, 6-4, Tuesday night. Jacoby Ellsbury led off the game with a home run, and Adrian Gonzalez ripped an RBI triple as the Red Sox roughed up Freddy Garcia (4-5) early to move within two percentage points of the first-place Yankees in the AL East. New York first baseman Mark Teixeira left the game in pain after getting hit on the kneecap by a first-inning pitch from Jon Lester.

Jorge Posada seemed happy to be back in the Yankees' lineup, and let his bat send the message. Posada had two hits in his first game back since a dispute over his role on the team, and Alex Rodriguez homered twice as visiting New York stopped a six-game losing streak with a 6-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays last night. With Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner in attendance, New York ended its longest skid since dropping seven in a row from April 20-27, 2007.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Alex Rodriguez homered twice, Jorge Posada had two hits, and the New York Yankees stopped a six-game losing streak with a 6-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night. With Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner in attendance, New York ended its longest skid since dropping seven in a row from April 20 to 27, 2007. Posada doubled and singled while batting seventh as the designated hitter. It was his first start since he pulled himself out of the lineup Saturday soon after he was set to bat ninth.

Sam Fuld and B.J. Upton both hit two-run homers to help the Tampa Bay Rays rally and hand the visiting New York Yankees their sixth consecutive loss with a 6-5 victory last night. Yankees starter A.J Burnett (4-3) sailed through five innings and had a four-run advantage before imploding in the sixth. After Fuld homered and Matt Joyce drove in a run with a single, Upton ended Burnett's night with his two-run drive that put Tampa Bay up 6-5. Curtis Granderson had given the Yankees a 5-1 lead on his three-run shot off Rays ace David Price in the fifth.