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This from the Yankees:

PUBLIC ON-SALE FOR A LIMITED NUMBER OF TICKETS TO WORLD SERIES HOME GAMES AT YANKEE STADIUM
TO BEGIN WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21 AT 10:00 A.M.

A limited number of tickets for 2009 World Series games at Yankee Stadium will go on sale to the public on Wednesday, October 21 at 10:00 a.m. Tickets will be sold online only at yankees.com from the start of Wednesday’s on-sale until 9:00 a.m. on the date of the Yankees’ first scheduled World Series home game.

Subject to availability, tickets can be purchased online at yankees.com and at Yankee Stadium Advance Ticket Windows beginning at 9:00 a.m. on the date of the Yankees’ first scheduled World Series home game.

Please note that World Series tickets will not be available for purchase at Yankees Clubhouse Shops, Ticketmaster outlet locations or via phone sales.

Due to the limited number of tickets available for sale, those purchasing tickets will be limited to two tickets to one game of the World Series, subject to availability. Orders exceeding the assigned ticket limits will be canceled without contact from Ticketmaster or the New York Yankees.

Tickets purchased via the Internet for Yankee Stadium World Series Game 1 and Game 2 must be purchased utilizing “print at home” technology. There will be no option for Will Call or express shipping for Game 1 and Game 2.

In a continuing effort to create additional opportunities for fans to attend 2009 postseason games at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees will make 59 Café seats per game on the Field Level concourse available for $156 per ticket and approximately 220 standing room tickets per game for dedicated standing locations on the Field and Main Levels available for $104 and $93, respectively, per ticket.

Fans are encouraged to visit yankees.com for complete postseason ticket information, including the refund procedure for any unplayed games.

It got lost in the shuffle a bit last night because of how the game ended (and because of several other more costly managerial decisions), but watching Mike Scioscia intentionally walk Alex Rodriguez with two outs and the bases empty in the ninth inning was remarkable for two reasons:

1. It’s almost unheard of for a manager to willingly put the go-ahead run on base.

2. Despite that, it absolutely seemed like the correct decision.

Can you imagine other closers doing that? Could imagine Mariano being asked to do it? But Scioscia saw that the Yankees had a weak hitter behind Rodriguez (it ended up being Jerry Hairston as a pinch-hitter) and knew just how much damage A-Rod had done, so he had Brian Fuentes put him on. Fuentes then struck out Hairston to end the inning.

“I can just think of Barry Bonds,” Scioscia said when asked for any precedent on making such a decision. “That’s the only time I think I can remember doing anything like that, or we can remember doing anything like that. … The ball was carrying pretty well, and Alex can backspin some pitches like nobody’s business, and we just wanted to take our chances.”

Obviously it worked out. Near the end of his interview, Rodriguez was asked if he’d often been walked with two out and nobody on. “Often?” he said. “Never.”

The best aspect of this job is all of you. Your passion for the Yankees is incredible and it makes doing the work that Chad and I do incredibly rewarding. You guys have made this the single best Yankees destination around and, ideally, there would be no restrictions or limitations on what can be said here.

That said, this is a newspaper blog and so there have to be some rules to keep things civil and appropriate. What does that mean? Not much more than just having common courtesy.

• Racism, sexism or anything like it is absolutely NOT allowed. Same with personal attacks or insults.

• Posing as another poster is NOT allowed.

• Cursing or using foul language – even if you don’t actually spell out the word – is NOT allowed.

Basically, this is a Yankees forum at its core, and that should be the focus. Everyone’s views are valid and welcome, and should be respected. Sure, people will disagree some times – probably even a lot – but that doesn’t mean it has to degenerate into something inappropriate. Some basic civility is all that’s needed.

If you have any questions, problems or concerns about any of this, please don’t hesitate to e-mail Chad or me. Thanks again for being part of our world here.
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By the way, for those who have e-mailed either of us with suggestions about updating the blog roll, changing styles in the blog or anything else, please know that Chad and I are planning to talk about all of those “big picture” blog questions after the season is over. It’s just so busy during the playoffs that those kinds of things can’t get the attention they deserve until things have settled down. We do appreciate the input though, so feel free to keep it coming.

Joe Girardi made a few debatable decisions and the Yankees missed a chance to put a stranglehold on the ALCS, losing in extra innings to the Angels yesterday. Chad Jennings has the story.

As much heat as Girardi is getting, none of it would have mattered if the Yankees hitters weren’t so putrid with runners in scoring position. Strange as it sounds, I wrote in my column, the Yankees can’t succeed if the only hits they get are the biggest ones.

Now the pressure on CC Sabathia is even greater, with the Yankees ace starting today’s Game 4 on short rest. The notebook also has items on Rays starter Scott Kazmir and other assorted news.

The Yankees have been living well all postseason – getting big hits to make up for missed opportunities and dramatic victories that rendered Joe Girardi’s curious decisions irrelevant. Tonight was the night it ended.

Girardi will face all types of heat for how he handled his pitchers – most especially the Dave Robertson vs. Alfredo Aceves call – and the Yankees hitters, particularly the bottom of the order, deserve a ton of criticism, too. Instead of having a lock on the series at 3-0, the Yankees are only up 2-1 with a starter on three-days rest going to the mound in Game 4.

Another strong start from CC Sabathia will make things look better for the Yankees, but for now they’ll go to sleep wondering about what might have been. As good as they felt at the end of Game 2, that’s how tough it was to be on the other side of a walkoff in Game 3. The postgame clubhouse was absolutely hushed.

“When you lose,” Jorge Posada said, “you look forward to tomorrow.”

Great job by everyone today – we’re well over 110,000 page views and the comments since first pitch were approaching 4,000 at last check. Amazing stuff. Back at it again in the morning.

Management of the pitching staff will surely be the hot topic of tonight’s Yankees loss in Anaheim. Joe Girardi went to the mound to talk to Andy Pettitte before Vladimir Guerrero came to the plate in the sixth, and Guerrero hit a two-run, game-tying home run. Girardi pulled Pettitte after 95 pitches to give the ball to Joba Chamberlain, whose first pitch went for a triple that led to a run. Girardi turned to Alfredo Aceves with two outs and the bases empty in the 11th, and the game was over seven pitches later.

“We have all the matchups and all the scouting reports,” Girardi said of the Aceves decision. “And we felt that, you know, it was a better matchup for us.”

“I’m not going to get into specifics of why,” pitching coach Dave Eiland said. “We just liked the matchup better, and Ace had (Howie Kendrick) where he wanted to, he just couldn’t make the pitch to put him away. And still, it was a five-hopper up the middle or a 10-hopper up the middle, but he just wasn’t able to make that one pitch to put him away.”

The decision to talk to Pettitte before the Guerrero at-bat seems curious. I’m not sure exactly what was said out there — and the Yankees clearly had information they wanted Pettitte to keep in mind – but I’m not sure you want to disrupt a pitcher’s rhythm for that at-bat, especially when that pitcher is a been-there, done-that veteran like Pettitte.

“He missed his spot,” Eiland said. “That’s all I can tell you. Wish I could tell you more but we still have games to play against them.”

One debatable decision that had nothing to do with the pitching staff was the decision to put Jerry Hairston into left field in place of Johnny Damon in the 10th inning. The move eliminated the DH and took Damon’s bat out of the lineup, which mattered a great deal when Francisco Cervelli had to pinch hit in front of Mark Teixeira with two outs in the top of the 11th.

“You have to put yourself in a situation where if the ball is hit directly at the left fielder, you maybe give yourself a better chance,” Damon said. “Jerry does have a better arm than I do, so I can’t disagree with that. Unfortunately it didn’t come to him and he did not make a play, and unfortunately we lose my bat the next inning.”

Joe Girardi’s postgame press conference lasted about three minutes, and his explanation for taking out Dave Robertson and bringing in Alfredo Aceves was that the Yankees “liked the match-up better.” Asked to elaborate on that since Howie Kendrick was 1-for-2 lifetime against Robertson and had never faced Aceves, Girardi declined. Pitching coach Dave Eiland did the same. As you know, Kendrick singled and Jeff Mathis brought him home with the winning run moments later.

Of course, none of that might have been an issue if the Yankees hitters had managed to take advantage of the numerous opportunities they had. The Yankees were 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position, and left 10 men on base.

Back with more clubhouse reaction later.

UPDATE, 7:32 p.m.: We go to the ninth and to the third thread of the day. This one could take awhile.

UPDATE, 7:37 p.m.: Wow. You can’t say Scioscia doesn’t learn from the past. He intentionally walks A-Rod – putting the go-ahead run on base – and now gets Jerry Hairson, pinch-hitting for Gardner. Here’s the crazy part: It’s your closer, putting the go-ahead run on base in the ninth inning and it’s probably the right move.

UPDATE, 7:40 p.m.: Scioscia gets it right. Hairston had no chance and it’s Hughes back out to try and keep it tied in the bottom of the ninth.

UPDATE, 7:47 p.m.: Lockdown inning for Hughes. Bulger in for Fuentes in the 10th.

UPDATE, 7:57 p.m.: Girardi is staying with Hughes in the bottom of the inning. He’s thrown 16 pitches so far.

UPDATE, 8:00 p.m.: Mathis ropes a double off the wall in left leading off. Now Posada is stalling so Rivera can finish getting ready.

UPDATE, 8:01 p.m.: Rivera coming in. It’s unorthodox bringing your closer in to a tie game on the road, but in this particular situation, I think it’s the right move. This is October, not July.

UPDATE, 8:05 p.m.: Score that a sacrifice and fielder’s choice … and a bad case of deja vu, if you’re a Yankees fan.

UPDATE, 8:08 p.m.: Great play by Texieira on the grounder. One out now, and Girardi has Rivera walk Abreu to load the bases. Hunter up and everyone on the Yankees infield gathers at the mound for a quick conference.

UPDATE, 8:09 p.m.: Girardi sends in Hairston – losing the DH – to left field, replacing Damon. He wants the better arm in the outfield here.

UPDATE, 8:12 p.m.: Another grounder to Tex and he goes home with it. Two out. Vlad up.

UPDATE, 8:13 p.m.: Unbelievable. A third ball to Teixeira, who grabs it and takes it himself to complete one of Rivera’s greatest postseason escapes ever. Especially after he threw away the bunt, you had the feeling the Yankees were done. Instead, Rivera re-writes the end of that story and now the Yankees will face Ervin Santana in the 11th. Amazing drama.

UPDATE, 8:16 p.m.: By the way, it got DEAD silent here when Guerrero bounced to first. That was the Angels’ chance to get right back in the series.

UPDATE, 8:18 p.m.: Cervelli to hit for Rivera. The Yankees lost the DH when Hairston went into left field in the 10th.

UPDATE, 8:29 p.m.: Another strange move from Girardi: He takes out Robertson and calls for Aceves to face Howie Kendrick. Not sure the rationale here – one righty, replacing another righty. Kendrick was 1-for-2 lifetime against Robertson, according to Chad, and has no history with Aceves. In a tie game, Robertson faced only two batters.

UPDATE, 8:35 p.m.: And that’ll do it. Jeff Mathis, light-hitting catcher, crushed his second shot of the night off the wall and Kendrick came all the way around from first. Angels win, 5-4. Yanks lead the series, 2-1.

UPDATE, 5:55 p.m.: We’re halfway through and it’s already time for a second thread. Yankees up 3-0.

UPDATE, 6:02 p.m.: So much for the Yankees not allowing a home run this postseason. Solo shot by Kendrick makes it 3-1.

UPDATE, 6:05 p.m.: That’s it for Weaver. Darren Oliver coming in to pitch for the Angels.

UPDATE, 6:11 p.m.: Random fact: Darren Oliver’s last postseason appearance against the Yankees before this series? For the Texas Rangers in the 1996 ALDS (as a starter!).

UPDATE, 6:15 p.m.: Ugly, ugly swing from Swisher on strike three. He’s 3-for-21 this postseason. Meanwhile, Melky nearly assassinated Chone Figgins with that bat shard. Nice job by Figgins hanging on to the ball and not getting impaled.

UPDATE, 6:24 p.m.: That base hit by Abreu snapped an 0-for-11 this series. Also, Joba Chamberlain is getting loose in the Yankees bullpen.

UPDATE, 6:30 p.m.: Monster shot from Vlad and suddenly it’s 3-3. He absolutely crushed it to deep left.

UPDATE, 6:32 p.m.: Looked like Pettitte got way too much of the plate to Guerrero, who generally will swing at anything that’s in his zip code. Vlad is waking up – he was 2-for-11 in the first two games but is 2-for-2 with a walk and two RBI today.

UPDATE, 6:39 p.m.: Nice work by Texieira to work a walk there, getting A-Rod to the plate with a man on. Scioscia is going to Kevin Jepsen – who throws near 100 mph – to try and get Rodriguez.

UPDATE, 6:44 p.m.: Not this time for A-Rod. Fielder’s choice to third and it’s stretch time. Yankees have seven LOB today.

UPDATE, 6:51 p.m.: That’s it for Andy, as Joba comes in to face Kendrick. Meanwhile, they just showed the Rally Monkey in a clip from “Pirates of the Caribbean” on the big screen. The place is going nuts.

UPDATE, 6:54 p.m.: That didn’t take long — Kendrick absolutely smokes one off the right-field wall and doesn’t ever slow up, sliding into third with a triple. Swisher tried to climb the wall and get it but couldn’t. Yanks have the infield in as Izturis bats for Napoli.

UPDATE, 6:56 p.m.: Izturis gets the job done. Crushes a fly ball to right that Swisher catches by the warning track. Nothing he can do as Kendrick walks home with the go-ahead run. 4-3 Angels.

UPDATE, 6:58 p.m.: Joba is getting roped around pretty good. Three straight hard-hit balls, this one down the line into the RF corner for a double. Now Figgins up. This place got very loud, very quick.

UPDATE, 6:59 p.m.: Marte coming in to face Figgins. Rally Monkey now in the “Psycho” shower scene on the big screen. Hilarious.

UPDATE, 7:02 p.m.: Here we go. Chad tells me Figgins is 0-for-6 against Marte lifetime.

UPDATE, 7:03 p.m.: Make that 0-for-7. Now Yankees have to rally against Jepsen.

UPDATE, 7:07 p.m.: Leadoff walk for Matsui and Gardner hops off the bench to pinch-run.

UPDATE, 7:10 p.m.: This is one of those good news/bad news situations: Posada just hit a game-tying homer to dead center but it came seconds after Gardner was caught stealing. Instead of being up a run, they’re tied at 4. I think they’ll take it.

UPDATE, 7:18 p.m.: After a single and walk, Cabrera continues to be brutal. Now it’s up to Jeter to try and break the tie.

UPDATE, 7:20 p.m.: Jeter on the back foot and taps back to the mound. It’s 4-4 going to the bottom of the eighth and Coke is coming in. What a game.

UPDATE, 7:23 p.m.: Not quite sure why Girardi is going with Coke to replace Marte. One lefty for another? Seems like a waste. It’s not match-up, either: Abreu was 0-for-3 against Marte, Chad says.

UPDATE, 7:25 p.m.: That is an absolutely brutal mistake by Abreu. Terrible. In truth, he had a better shot at being safe at third than he did going back to second. Great play Teixeira to get to the bag for the tag. Huge break for the Yankees.

UPDATE, 7:32 p.m.: We head to the ninth and to a third thread. Come on over.

YANKEES
Derek Jeter SS
Johnny Damon LF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Hideki Matsui DH
Jorge Posada C
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Melky Cabrera CF

Pitching: LHP Andy Pettitte (1-0, 1.42 ERA)

ANGELS
Chone Figgins 3B
Bobby Abreu RF
Torii Hunter CF
Vladimir Guerrero DH
Juan Rivera LF
Kendry Morales 1B
Howie Kendrick 2B
Mike Napoli C
Erick Aybar SS

Pitching: RHP Jered Weaver (1-0, 1.23)

TIME/TV: 4:07 p.m., FOX

WEATHER: Take a wild guess – it’s Southern California! Temps in the 70s, clear skies. It should be a beautiful day for baseball. The full forecast is here.

STATE OF THE STRIPES: The Yankees are two wins from the World Series and six from their 27th title after snatching a marathon Game 2 on Saturday night. They haven’t lost yet in the postseason, and the last Yankees team to win its first five postseason games was the 1999 Yankees – who, you may recall, won the World Series. The only AL team to win its first six playoff games is the 1970 Orioles (who also won the title).

BATTER VS. PITCHER: Here’s the Angels vs. Pettitte. And here’s the Yankees vs. Weaver.

PETT ROCKS: Andy Pettitte’s win over the Twins in the ALDS was his 15th career postseason victory, tying him for the top spot on the all-time list. A win today would move Pettitte past John Smoltz into sole possession of the record.

TEAM GAME: The only Yankees who didn’t play in Game 2 were CC Sabathia, Pettitte, Francisco Cervelli and Chad Gaudin. The 21 players used set a new ALCS record in an extra-inning game, and the 38 combined players used by both teams also established a new ALCS high.

AMERICAN PIE: Jerry Hairston received the walkoff pie for scoring the winning run in Game 2, and it was the 17th walkoff win for the Yankees this season (15 in the regular season, one in the ALDS and now one in the ALCS). One of the most important parts of all the walkoffs? The Yankees bullpen. Yankees relievers have allowed three earned runs in 17 2/3 innings pitched this postseason, and are 2-0 with two saves and 20 strikeouts. Without a lockdown pen, there’s no chance for the hitters to rally.

STUCK IN THE MUD: The Angels are supposed to be the crisp and fundamentally-sound club but they’ve made four errors in the first two games of the series and are hitting just .154 as a team.

NOT-SO-SUPERMAN: Vladimir Guerrero often wears a Superman t-shirt when he’s lounging around the clubhouse but the Yankees (along with many other major league teams this year) have been his kryptonite: He struck out twice with the bases loaded in Game 2, and stranded eight runners. He has only two RBI this postseason.

CAPTAIN’S LOG: Derek Jeter’s third-inning home run in Game 2 was his 19th career postseason homer, moving him past Reggie Jackson and Mickey Mantle and into sole possession of third place on the all-time list. (Full disclosure: Jeter has played 127 playoff games. Jackson played 77. Mantle played 65.)

RANDOM QUESTION OF THE DAY: Is there an East Coast equivalent of In-N-Out Burger? (i.e. something so universally revered and coveted yet so attached to only one coast?)

IF THERE WERE WALK-TO-THE-PLATE MUSIC IN REAL LIFE, TODAY’S WOULD BE: Dani California by Red Hot Chili Peppers

UPDATE, 1:54 p.m.: The sun is out, the Angels are on the field hitting and we’re hours away from Game 3. Not much from Girardi in the pregame – he talked a little about choosing Sabathia for short rest, instant replay and a few other things. Here’s the audio:

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Then CC came to the podium and did a very short press conference where he touched on what changes when you pitch on three days rest (basically, not very much at all). Here’s his interview:

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UPDATE, 2:02 p.m.: Chad here with some notes from Girardi’s session with the beat writers.

-  Brian Bruney is joining the team today. He’s not being activated, but there’s nothing left to do in Tampa. He’s just going to be around the team, kind of like Eric Hinske. Sergio Mitre and Ramiro Pena are not joining the team.
-  Everyone is available in the bullpen. Even though Mariano Rivera went 2.1 innings on Saturday, Girardi said it’s still possible for Rivera to get four outs today.
-  Not happy with the way Girardi has burned through relievers for only an out or two? Blame Chad Gaudin. Girardi said he’s comfortable playing matchups so often because he has Gaudin in his back pocket if the bullpen gets thin.
-  If the bench is finished and Girardi has burned his DH for some reason, would CC Sabathia be the emergency pinch hitter tonight? “I would probably have to say yeah,” Girardi said. “He definitely has the most power.”
-  Sabathia would not be the emergency pinch runner.

Finally, something I did not know: If you check the box score from Saturday night, David Robertson is listed at 33 pitches, but the Yankees have him at 25. They don’t count the pitches used for intentional walks.

UPDATE, 2:20 p.m.: Yankees are out on the side of the field, just starting to stretch while the Angels finish up BP. If you’re looking to kill some time, check out this story from Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times. It’s all about the pitch Brian Fuentes threw to Alex Rodriguez in Game 2 and has this terrific quote from the always-quotable Torii Hunter on what he thought when he looked in from center field saw the catcher’s sign for a fastball away:

“I wanted to call timeout,” Hunter said. “I saw it and thought, ‘Nooooo!’ Alex is one of the greatest players in the game. You know he’s going to hit that pitch. There’s a short porch in right field. . . . We threw two fastballs inside, and he didn’t budge. Then we threw one away . . . that was weird.”

UPDATE, 3:34 p.m.: There was a fairly large group of Yankees fans behind the visiting dugout for batting practice, but this place is slowly becoming a mass of red t-shirts. For me (Chad) this is the first I’m seeing Angel Stadium and I have no complaints about the place. It’s only the second time I’m seeing California — I covered the NCAA Tournament out here in 2002 — and again, it’s hard to complain.

That’s a shot of Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada during BP.

UPDATE, 4:10 p.m.: They’re playing “Enter Sandman” as we wait for the Angels to take the field. I always think that sounds weird when the Yankees are in the other dugout.

UPDATE, 4:14 p.m.: And we’re off. It’s 73 degrees at first pitch here. Lots of empty seats, though not surprising since it’s the middle of the afternoon on a workday. We’ll see if they fill in.

UPDATE, 4:15 p.m.: Three pitches in and it’s 1-0 Yankees. That was Jeter’s third career postseason leadoff home run, and third during this year’s playoffs. Absolutely drilled it to left.

UPDATE, 4:24 p.m.: Figgins on base is never good news. Meanwhile, the Angels gave out Thundersticks to fans on their way into the stadium. It sounds like … well, like a lot of people banging plastic sticks together all the time. Kind of irritating.

UPDATE, 4:28 p.m.: Great turn by Cano at second to hang in on the double play. Figgins was right on top of him and did a hard slide, but Cano didn’t bail out – that’s something he’s really improved on. A few years ago, he would often fade out into the outfield and his throws would sail; this time he stayed right on the bag and got plenty on his throw to first.

UPDATE, 4:42 p.m.: Not deep enough from Swisher to get the run in. Now it’s up to Melky to try to extend the lead.

UPDATE, 4:45 p.m.: Nothing doing. Melky grounds out and Weaver escapes.

UPDATE, 4:49 p.m.: Among the celebs in the house are Jack Nicholson, Adam Sandler and – my personal fave among that group – Pat Sajak. I went through a phase as a kid where I wanted to be a game show host. Sajak is cool, though I always liked Dick Clark on the old “$25,000 Pyramid.”

UPDATE, 4:57 p.m.: Weaver back at it. He’s at 40 pitches already. Pettitte has thrown 20.

UPDATE, 5:02 p.m.: Yankees needed to make Weaver work more there. Only 10 pitches to get three outs that inning.

UPDATE, 5:14 p.m.: Pettitte has thrown 33 pitches, which doesn’t count the 12 – yes, 12 – pickoff attempts he’s had through three innings.

UPDATE, 5:19 p.m.: Yup, Alex is “in a good place.” He kills it at Angel Stadium, and crushes one to left to make it 2-0. That’s his fourth homer of the postseason.

UPDATE, 5:22 p.m.: A-Rod also has nine RBI during this postseason, which is a new career-high for him. He had eight in 2004.

UPDATE, 5:25 p.m.: That homer by Alex gives the Yankees an even 10 for the postseason – four by A-Rod, three by Jeter, one each by Matsui, Posada and Teixeira. How many have they given up? Another round number. Zero.

UPDATE, 5:33 p.m.: Yanks let Weaver off the hook there. The Angels had Darren Oliver up and throwing, and one more hit probably would have knocked Weaver out.

UPDATE, 5:43 p.m.: And it finally pays off for Pettitte – he picks off Hunter and points his glove at Teixeira afterward for making a perfect throw to second.

UPDATE, 5:46 p.m.: It’s 51 pitches and 15 pickoff throws for Pettitte through four.

UPDATE, 5:50 p.m.: That was a brutal change-up from Weaver and Damon crushed it over the right-field fence. Weaver hadn’t allowed more than two homers in a game all season before today. Oliver is back up in the bullpen. This could be it for Weaver.

UPDATE, 5:52 p.m.: A-Rod just misses another homer. Weaver got lucky there.

UPDATE, 5:57 p.m.: Day game, night game – you guys don’t care. We cross the four-digit mark in comments before the end of the fifth and are already into Thread No. 2. Come on over.