Brenly Gives New Meaning to Mystique

Much has been made of the pride of the Yankees during their improbable comeback in winning three consecutive World Series games. But Jay Mariotti of the Chicago Sun-Times believes the Yankees have had some help, from the opposing dugout. Writes Mariotti:

“This isn’t simply about mystique and aura, dancing nightly at Yankee Stadium instead of Curt Schilling’s imaginary strip club. This isn’t only about a team unlike any in baseball history, squeezing so much from so little, producing miracles on cue when moments scream for them.

“No, what happened Thursday night is about hunches and dunces. To hang a possible world championship on the suspect arm of a 22-year-old relief pitcher--not once, but twice--ranks among the all-time dumb [maneuvers] in a sport with no shortage of them. If Bob Brenly would like, he can do something else this weekend in Arizona, like maybe broadcast the games, which is what he used to do.

“They might not let him back in Bank One Ballpark to manage the Diamondbacks, not when he insists on trying to blow the World Series all by himself.”

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More Diamondback desperation: Ray Ratto of the San Francisco Chronicle feels Arizona’s pain: “After all, it is one thing to have your heart metaphorically ripped out, but to come back the next day and lose your liver and kidneys as well, and then have your car stolen....It’s a dreadful bit of contemplation.”

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Trivia time: When is the last time the Yankees lost a postseason elimination game at Yankee Stadium?

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A tip for the uninitiated: Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post sees the Diamondbacks as the typical New York tourist:

“And for the second night, the Diamondback on the mound was tiny Korean 22-year-old Byung-Hyun Kim. The Arizona veterans affectionately call him ‘BK.’ Perhaps they don’t know that, on Wall Street, ‘BK’ is the euphemism for ‘bankrupt.”’

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Looking back I: On this date in 1994, the NBA’s No. 1 draft pick, Glenn Robinson of Purdue, agreed to terms on the largest rookie contract in history, a 10-year, $68-million deal with the Milwaukee Bucks. Robinson initially wanted $100 million.

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Looking back II: On this date in 1996, Kobe Bryant became the youngest player to appear in a regular-season NBA game when he played for the Lakers at the Forum at age 18 years two months and 11 days. Bryant beat the record of 18 years four months set by Philadelphia’s Stanley Brown in 1947.

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Trivia answer: Game 6 of the 1981 World Series, when the Dodgers beat the Yankees, 9-2, to win the series, four games to two. After losing the first two games, the Dodgers stormed back to win four in a row.

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And finally: Joe Hawk of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, gazing into his college football postseason-bowl crystal ball, posed a question to his Sin City readership:

“If the Las Vegas Bowl [were] played today instead of--Bah! Humbug!--Christmas Day, the game would feature Colorado State [Mountain West Conference No. 2] and UCLA [Pacific 10 Conference No. 5]. Would you go?”

Probably, but a USC-Nevada Las Vegas matchup would be more appealing with John Robinson coaching UNLV, though the Trojans and Rebels would each have to win out to become bowl eligible.