ONE LAST MOVE

We're on the move again - click here to continue reading 200 Miles From the Citi. Then bookmark it. And keep coming back.

Thanks for reading.

THE CASE FOR THE PHILLIES

There aren't many Yankees fans I see on a day-to-day basis here in Massachusetts. Thus, I haven't been talking much to anyone who has an opinion on the Yankees' 3-man rotation.

So I'll offer mine - it's totally allowing the Phillies back into this World Series. And it might just cause the Yankees to blow their 3-games-to-1 lead.

(I know...if you rely on this space as your only source of sports news - and who doesn't? - you might be surprised to know there even was a World Series this year. But I've been keeping an eye on things. Not a close eye, mind you. But an eye nonetheless.)

Despite his 4-0 career record on short rest, I feel that starting A.J. Burnett on three days' rest was really a roll of the dice. He's inconsistent on regular rest, let alone when you blow up his routine. And I realize I have 20/20 hindsight...so let's start looking ahead.

I don't know that I can bet against Andy Pettitte in a series-clincher...but you also won't catch me betting on him on short rest at this stage of his career. The short rest probably won't affect C.C. Sabathia tremendously...but there are other factors at play if this series goes 7 - more on that in a minute. Let's look at Game 6.

Sure, Andy Pettitte could pitch well...but I think he will be out-performed by Pedro Martinez in Game 6. Pedro is all about drama...the big stage. Fired up in front of the Yankee Stadium crowd - combined with the fact that he's coming off a loss there less than a week ago. Throw in the fact that he can leave his career on the field if he has to, and he's going to be lights-out in Game 6. Think Sunday Night Baseball against the Mets - we're talking six-hit shutout type of stuff.

Which brings us to Game 7. The amount of pitches he's thrown on short rest after short rest could catch up to Sabathia...but until I see him fail in a big game I can't count him out. And Cole Hamels has done nothing but fail in the big games this year - but he's shown us in the past that he can show up...and I think he has something to prove after he was called out by teammate Brett Myers after some controversial comments he made.

I don't think the Game 7 starters factor into the decision at all though - I think it comes down to what had been the Phillies' weakness all along, but in Game 7 becomes their strength. They suddenly have all hands on deck out of the bullpen, including Cliff Lee. Sure, it's after only 2-days rest...but watch that guy pitch and tell me he won't be the first off the bench if need be. And Charlie Manuel, I'm sure, will have to think long and hard about passing up Lee for someone like Brad Lidge.

The Yankees will have Mariano Rivera and their solid relievers...but not their starters. And all of this doesn't even take into account that I think it's going to be Ryan Howard breaking out and turning himself into World Series MVP.

Yep. The Phillies are going to take the two games at Yankee Stadium and complete an improbable comeback. This World Series is just getting interesting. Phillies in 7.

I NEED THE BYE WEEK

I was talking to a friend Monday...someone who didn't see the Jets game Sunday.

I was explaining to him how the Jets should have won the game, like the previous Dolphins game, which the Jets also should have won. And I started thinking and said, "So the Jets are 4-4, which they really deserve to be...but man, they could have been 5-3. And if they had beaten the Dolphins that first time, they could be 6-2." And the more I thought about it, they should have beaten the Bills in that disaster of the game...dare I say they could have been 7-1 at this point?

I know, you can 'would have, should have' any team to death - but really, the Jets are that close to having turned 3 games right around - the two Dolphins games came down to the last play and the Bills game was an overtime loss. And the Jets gave the best team in football a run for their money in the Saints.

So I guess the second half of the season holds quite a bit of promise...filled with games the Jets could and probably should win...but I'm sure it, too, will hold its share of disappointments:

vs. Jacksonville
at New England
vs. Carolina
at Buffalo
at Tampa Bay
vs. Atlanta
at Indianapolis
vs. Cincinnati

On paper that looks like 4-4 again, leaving the Jets at 8-8 on the season, right where they belong. But if those would-have, should-haves had come through, the Jets would be sitting much prettier for that valued post-season experience for Mark Sanchez...and who knows what kind of team they are coming out of the bye week? (Actually, I think I know - a weaker team, less the likes of Kris Jenkins and Leon Washington.)

All told, the 3-0, back to 3-3, ending up at 4-4 has me pretty wiped out. (I can only imagine how the players feel.) Unless something dramatic takes place, I'm taking full advantage of the bye week and not writing about the Jets for a week. I need to regroup.

There will be plenty else to write about I'm sure, and we'll make this the last word on the Jets for now.

DOLPHINS 30, JETS 25

Can't blame the defense this time. And the offense did its job (in the second half, at least).

If you're pointing fingers, this one falls squarely on the shoulders of the special teams.

Kick returns for touchdowns are terrible. They come after a score (barring the opening of a half), taking away any excitement you just built. But every once in a while they happen. And you move on. Until they happen again.

That's what happened to the Jets on Sunday...and there's really no excuse for it. Yes, Ted Ginn can be explosive in those situations, but on the second kick return, the Jets should have had him at about the 20 - first Larry Izzo whiffed, then someone else flat-out missed him, before he made his moves and bolted 100+ yards for his second return touchdown of the third quarter.

That's why the special teams played the biggest role in dropping the Jets to 4-4.

The defense was very good. They only gave up 9 points (there was a defensive touchdown by Miami in that third quarter as well), and looked like they had the Miami offense figured out...but the Miami offense was not very good either, so take that for what it's worth.

The Jets offense was nothing to shout about either for the first part of the game. Mark Sanchez saw a lot of pressure, and made some pretty bad passes - short-hopping a number of his throws. When they needed to, though, after falling behind in the second half, they again scored seemingly at will on the Dolphins' defense, like they did Monday night in Miami a few weeks ago.

Until the final drive.

Let's stop here to examine two things - 1) the Jets mismanaged their points, and 2) they kind of got jobbed by the refs.

They mismanaged their points because in the third quarter they started chasing 2-point conversions when they didn't need to yet. Kicking an extra point would have left them in the same position at the end of the game that their failed 2-point conversion left them...although I guess it didn't hurt them tremendously either. (I'll add that after the Jets scored following the second kickoff return TD I would have gone with an onsides kick - it would not have been returned for a touchdown like their previous two kickoffs, and the Jets could have recovered. At the very least the Dolphins would have had the ball at midfield instead of in the Jets' end zone...)

The Jets got jobbed because after they scored to make it 24-19 Dolphins, they converted a 2-point play that was negated by an illegal shift penalty. There was no clear violation...though if you held a gun to my head I'll admit that Mark Sanchez took a step backwards while the receiver was in motion, which could have been the shift. (But Phil Simms didn't see it, so if he doesn't call it, who am I to say I saw something.) Anyway, that's a terrible call in front of the home crowd, and it cost the Jets the game, because at the end (after the Dolphins went for a questionable 2-point conversion), the Jets needed a touchdown and couldn't get it on 4th down, when they could have kicked a game-tying (or winning) field goal.

So now the Jets are .500, and really, they're no better than that. But they could have stolen another game and gotten to 5-3, which would have been a whole lot closer to the beneficial playoff experience that I want for Mark Sanchez.

SUNDAY PAPER

Someday soon it will be time to measure up Mark Sanchez again. Maybe the next time he plays in cold weather, which wasn't so successful two weeks ago against Buffalo. Maybe it's when he plays Buffalo next, since that's the team that picked him off five times in that game. Maybe it's the next matchup against the Patriots - in New England, instead of in front of the home crowd.

But this week the object of scrutiny is not the rookie quarterback - it's the rookie coach. The last time the Jets played the Dolphins, Sanchez was fine. It was Rex Ryan's vaunted defense that looked exposed just three short weeks ago against Miami and its wildcat formation.

That shortcoming seems a bit more magnified following the Saints' ability to neutralize the wildcat last week as they staged a monster comeback on Miami.

At the same time, the Jets' defense was showing signs of life again after a couple of 'just OK' weeks - nothing close to the way they started the season. But that performance comes with a huge asterisk, because it was against the subpar Oakland offense.

And now it's Jets-Dolphins again, and it's a chance for Ryan to show how he can game plan.

*Tough to see Pedro Martinez pitching for the Phillies in the World Series. That was the dream in 2006, and after helping the Mets to first place that season, Pedro wasn't around for the post-season. The Mets wouldn't be back to the post-season in the rest of Pedro's tenure. I had no doubt Pedro would be able to help someone this year after seeing how he pitched in the World Baseball Classic way back in March and April...but to have it be the Phillies and to have it go this deep into the post-season is a little hard to take.

*I know it's a little late by now, but I haven't addressed it yet: I don't see how Mark McGwire coming back to be the St. Louis Cardinals hitting coach does anyone any favors. For baseball in general it's a scar that becomes visible again. Unless he plans on having a tell-all press conference and owning up to the black eye he contributed to (and which he has hid from these past few years), it's going to be a burden for him. And it's certainly not doing the Cardinals hitters any favors - since when is Mark McGwire qualified to coach hitting?

*I'm already bored with the NBA.

*Nothing freaks me out more on Halloween than a kid standing at my door wearing one of those masks from 'Scream'. It happened again Saturday night. This year, my 3-year-old daughter happened to be with me, and it got her a little frightened. So I asked the kid to take off the mask to show her it was no one to be afraid of. The kid was nice enough to do it. I think it worked. You know. For my daughter.

*I'll go with the Jets to get that revenge win over Miami today, but it won't be by much. I'll say a touchdown. Jets 27, Dolphins 20

*How much disrespect are the undefeated Broncos getting? They're underdogs (again) in Baltimore today. I haven't picked the Broncos right all season, and I haven't picked the Ravens right all year. I'm taking Denver getting points, because I think they win this game outright...but that probably means it'll turn out to be their first 'L' of the year. How bad are the Jaguars to go into winless Tennessee as underdogs? I'm picking the Jaguars getting those points, which means welcome to the win column, Titans. And I don't think the Falcons hand the Saints their first loss Monday night, but I also don't think the Saints win by 10 (despite their unimaginably doing so last week). I'm taking Atlanta getting 9-and-a-half.