Welcome to Chase: 2009 World Series Game 2 Preview

--Sure, the grit and surgical control displayed by Cliff Lee translated to one of the finest World Series complete games in modern baseball memory. Fans marveled at Cliff's nonchalance in fielding hot shots back to the box, in a fashion altogether resembling a Subway employee scooping tuna fish into a bread tube. Best of all, though, was Lee's assassin-like calm at the post-game mic, recycling the word "ironic" when a reporter asked him to write her lede for her about his string of New York successes.

--CC could still have won the game, but he ran into the Lee buzzsaw. Chase Utley apparently sees his backspin like none other, or has employed guess hitting to its utmost effect. Some batters can assimilate a scouting report to a superior degree, regardless of the elite status of the pitcher. We appear to have one of those cases here.

--The postseason lens again humbles the best umpires in the world. Nonetheless, the confusion about the line-drive double play was largely the Yankees' fault, although first-base ump Jeff Nelson failed to notice that Ryan Howard had kept his toe on the bag to haul in Jimmy Rollins' throw.

--Rollins disrupts Phil Hughes on his way to stealing second, and the Yankee pen falls apart for the Philly offensive flood.

--So A-Rod whiffed not once, not twice, but thrice against Lee. That's no choke. Lee would have struck out every member of Murderer's Row I, the way he was rumbling. The Babe never saw movement like that at 91 MPH.

GAME 2 PREDICTION: A lot of doubt has been hung around the neck of A.J. Burnett, but he will locate well and try to pound Howard away (this is when Howard's spray power might come to the forefront). Despite no Don Zimmer to throw around like a rag doll, Pedro Martinez will befuddle and confuse the NYY order until the sixth, when he'll have to put the game in the hands of the pen. Yankee magic in the final at-bat may well earn them the split. NEW YORK 4, PHILADELPHIA 3.