Maybe it was because it was a night game, the only game left on Sunday’s docket.  Maybe it was because it was Yankees vs. Red Sox.  Most likely, it was because this game, as it just so happened, had come to mean so much more.  A weekend of squandered opportunity and really dismal baseball had forced manager Joe Girardi’s hand in going with Phil Hughes to try to stop the bleeding and get a foothold on clinching a berth in the 2010 postseason.  Hughes was slated to be skipped until Wednesday, but now he was needed.  The Yankees’ starters had not fared well since Thursday and a tired bullpen needed rest.  Hughes’ 8-0 record following a Yankees loss this season seemed to only confirm the need for this decision.  All of this added up to what seemed like a desperate and pressure packed situation on a chilly, breezy Bronx.  And that made it feel like October.

Hughes didn’t disappoint, allowing one run over six plus innings.  He gave the Yankees exactly what they needed.  It was a big performance in a big moment.  Unfortunately for the Yankees, his counterpart was more than equal to the task.  Daisuke Matsuzaka held the Yankees scoreless through six innings, facing only one batter over the minimum.  In the 7th, another “October moment” had arrived.  Perhaps tiring, Hughes walked two consecutive batters, so Girardi turned to his beleaguered bullpen.  Hughes had done all the Yankees could have asked for.  David Robertson came in and shut the Red Sox down in an inning where Yankee fans’ sanity seemed to hang in the balance.

When A-Rod came to bat in the bottom half of the inning, he carried with him the potential go ahead run thanks to Mark Teixeira’s bloop single.  When Matsuzaka got ahead 0-2, the situation looked bleak.  But A-Rod drilled the next pitch just over the wall in right center, giving the Yankees a 2-1 lead.  As one notable former Yankee once said, it was “Deja Vu all over again”. There was pandemonium in the Bronx.  The ghosts had seemed to show up early.  They too must have sensed the importance of this game.

But, as so many Octobers have shown, the drama was far from over.  Anticipating this, Girardi called on his future Hall of Fame closer for a four-out save, again adding to the notion that this was more than just game 156 on the schedule.  But Rivera faltered, and the Red Sox stole bases as if it was 2004 all over again.  The Yankees were now down with only three outs remaining.  A team on the precipice of their fifth straight defeat might have wilted in the summer months and just moved on to the next game.  But the chill in the air, and the realization of their desperate situation, awakened something in the Yankees bats.

The Yankees rallied once more in the bottom of the ninth to tie the score at three when Robinson Cano laced a bases loaded single through the right side off of Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon.  Suddenly you could feel that the Yankees weren’t going to let this all important game slip quietly into the night.

That feeling came to fruition in extra innings.  A dramatic exclamation point in a dramatic game, during the most dramatic season of the baseball calendar.  It wasn’t a moon shot home run.  It wasn’t a solid single either.  When Juan Miranda drew a bases loaded walk to force in Brett Gardner as the winning run Sunday night, he showed all the poise and fortitude that it takes to play this game at this time of year.  It may not have been loud, but it was every bit as dramatic of a win as there has been so far this season.

Now the Yankees magic number is one, with six games to play, to clinch a playoff berth.  They have played themselves into this situation.  But the silver lining may be that if the Yankees feel as if it is already October, perhaps they will be better prepared to defend their title when October finally does arrive.

You will need to read Feinsand’s entire article, but here is a small excerpt from it after he explains the things A-Rod has said:

This is classic A-Rod. He says one thing, then contradicts himself five minutes later. If he truly cares about nothing besides driving in runs and helping the team win, then he should be on cloud nine. A player with more than 600 home runs can say he doesn’t consider himself to be a home run hitter all he wants, but at the end of the day, he’s a home run hitter whether he likes it or not.

Please take the time to read the article in its entirety in order to fully understand Feinsand’s stance because this excerpt doesn’t do the article justice.

Is Feinsand nitpicking? Maybe a little, depending on your opinion of A-Rod. A-Rod is who he is and there is, and always will be, a target on him. Why must people hang on to every single word the guy says? We know the type of guy he is and we know what he has done and said in the past. After saying that however, Feinsand is allowed to show his own frustrations on this subject because he’s a part of the media and A-Rod said those things to him and his peers in the media. But to a fan, it could seem like another article pouring it on A-Rod.

You can see the outcry by Yankee fans by viewing the replies to @BloggingBombers on Twitter. Some agree with Feinsand and others disagree. There are some great arguments made by both sides.

And so, when Rodriguez stepped to the plate today in the 1st inning, the ritual that would seem to go on forever, resumed once more. Baseballs were exchanged, cameras were readied, and fans stood and cheered. It was all done so many times before, it was becoming far too routine. This time would be different. This time #600 would finally come to fruition. As the ball sailed over the outfield wall and into Monument Park, an eruption went up from the crowd, as well as every corner of the Yankees Universe.

It is exactly three years to the day that A-Rod hit his 500th home run. Baseball is funny that way. That is also the day that marks when Barry Bonds, the man whom, Rodriguez is ultimately pursuing, tied Hank Aaron at 755 home runs. If and when A-Rod passes him remains to be seen, but that’s a story for another day. Today is about #600 and what it means.

At 35 years and 8 days old, Rodriguez is the youngest player in Major League Baseball history to hit 600 home runs. There are only six others in that illustrious club. A-Rod is also only the second Yankee to make it. The other is Ruth, who also happens to be the Charter Member. It is a special accomplishment, and a special moment for Rodriguez and the Yankees.

Now, both Alex and the Yankees can move on. The march to 700 begins in the middle of what should be an epic pennant race.  The Yankees are going to need a few more of those home runs to outlast the Rays if they are going to win the AL East Flag.

Here is a closer look:

Notice anything odd? According to ESPN.com’s front page, we’re all waiting for A-Rod to hit home run number 567. Weird mistake to make and it’s been up for quite a while. So while ESPN awaits A-Rod’s 567th home run, the rest of us await A-Rod’s 600th home run, which is a much bigger, more even plateau.

The Yankees are a year older, but that’s what was said last year when they were coming off a year in which they didn’t make the post-season. The “Core Four” is growing old together, but there is a great mix of young players and multiple championship-winning veterans that will make up the 25 man roster to start the season.

I hear a lot of talk about the Yankees’ 7-8-9 hitters, of Granderson, Swisher and Gardner, being weak. That may be “weak” when considering it to Yankee standards, but that bottom three is still one of the best in the majors. How many teams can say that they have a guy coming off a 30 home run season batting 7th and a guy coming off a 29 home runs and a .371 OBP season batting 8th? I know Granderson is stymied by lefties and that concerns a lot of people, but I’m willing to deal with him being an automatic out most of the time against lefties if he can tear the cover off of the ball against righties. That becomes a different story in the playoffs, but I’m optimistic that Granderson’s average against lefties won’t be sub-.200 (.183 vs. lefties in ’09).

Another question for the Yankees is which Javier Vazquez will they be getting? The one that struggled somewhat in 2004 (14-10 record, 4.91 ERA) with the Yankees or the one with a 2.87 ERA (15-10 record) with Atlanta in 2009? Since he will be the team’s fourth starter, I’d be extremely happy if he has 13 or 14 wins and an ERA ranging anywhere between 3.40 and 4.00 in 2010. The Yankees haven’t had double-digit wins out of its fourth starter since Jaret Wright won 11 games in 2006 (4.49 ERA). I’d be concerned if Vazquez was being asked to be the No. 2 starter, but as a No. 4 starter, he is more than capable of giving the Yankees more than they’ve had in recent years out of the pitcher in that spot.

Now to the main question. Can the Yankees repeat in 2010?

Yes.

Having a healthy A-Rod for the entire season could mean an MVP season for Mark Teixeira. He finished second in the AL MVP voting last year and he had a poor start to the season. If he can get off to a good start in April and May (unlike last year) he could be looking at an MVP season with 40+ home runs, 140+ RBI and a .315+ average.

A pitching staff of Sabathia, Burnett, Pettitte, Vazquez and Hughes should be better than last year’s staff when they pieced together a fifth starter and the fourth starter, Joba Chamberlain, was on inning restrictions.

If Mr. Consistent, Derek Jeter, stays Mr. Consistent, and Nick Johnson remains healthy the entire season, those two guys will score a ton of runs in front of A-Rod and Teixeira. Robinson Cano becomes a key part of the lineup with the departure of Hideki Matsui. He’ll be counted on to produce with men in scoring position more often while batting either 5th or 6th. He didn’t hit well with runners in scoring position in 2009, so that may be a concern. If he lives up to his abilities, though, it shouldn’t be a problem. We still haven’t seen the best of Cano yet and hopefully we’ll see the peak of his talent in upcoming years.

It’s hard to argue that this team did not improve from a year ago for the mere fact that the pitching staff is deeper now. But other teams have improved as well. The Yankees should be able to hold off the demons in the AL East and get back into the World Series in 2010 barring any major injuries, which sometimes comes with age. I like this team’s chances to repeat as World Series champions.