Anybody who believes the three-game series between the Phillies and Yankees that opens tonight at Yankee Stadium has anything to do with last year’s World Series is a fool.
Cliff Lee is in Seattle. Roy Halladay is a Phillie after coming from Toronto. Johnny Damon is a Tiger, Brett Gardner the Yankees’ left fielder. Hideki Matsui, the MVP of the Yankees’ 27th World Series title, is an Angel.
DAMON: CABRERA BETTER THAN A-ROD
Curtis Granderson is the Yankees’ center fielder, Melky Cabrera a Brave. Phillies catalyst and shortstop Jimmy Rollins is on the disabled list. Phillies Game 2 and 6 starter Pedro Martinez is out of baseball.
The Yankees are tied with the Rays for first in the AL East and the anemic hitting Phillies are 31⁄2 games behind the NL East-leading Braves in third, two lengths back of the second-place Mets.
Get the picture? October 2009 might as well be 1950 when the Yankees beat the Phillies 4-0 in the World Series.
Asked if October will flash into his head tonight when he takes the mound, CC Sabathia said it wouldn’t.
“No, I don’t think so. I faced them my first start of spring (training) and I’m over it now,” said Sabathia, who will be opposed by Halladay, a Yankees killer when a Blue Jay. “It’s really deep into the season. We’re focusing on this year and trying to win another one.”
The Phillies opted to get Halladay and trade Lee, who would have started Game 7 last year. So far they haven’t been disappointed since Halladay is 8-4 with a 1.96 ERA and tossed a perfect game. Halladay is 18-6 with a 2.84 ERA in his career against the Yankees, who often are dominated by Halladay.
The fan in Mark Teixeira anticipates a buzz at the Stadium tonight for two of baseball’s best.
“That’s going to be a fun match-up for both teams, for the fans,” said Teixeira, who is batting .250 (9-for-36) with two homers and four RBI against Halladay.
Missing Rollins has hurt the Phillies on the field and in the clubhouse where his competitive personality is infectious. In the past seven games (five losses) the Phillies are averaging 3.6 runs per game and have scored two or less runs in four of those defeats.
“It’s a combination of things, you can’t blame one element,” Phillies GM Ruben Amaro said when asked by The Post how big of an impact not having Rollins has had on the lineup that is ranked 19th in hitting with a .258 average. “It’s just that guys haven’t swung the bat well. At some point they will swing the bat well.”
Sabathia, who can pitch better than his 6-3 record and 4.01 ERA, doesn’t believe Ryan Howard and friends will remain muted.
“They’re struggling but you know how good they’ve been in the past. We know how good their team is,” Sabathia said. “They’ve got a lot of veteran ballplayers on that team, so I’m sure they’ll come here ready to play.”
Gardner logged three June games with the Phillies in the same file as the Subway Series tilts with the Mets.
“Probably more so for the fans than us. For us, it’s just another series and possibly a team that we might see later on in the year.” Gardner said. “Halladay’s probably pitching all three games, if I had to guess. It seems like we face him all the time.”