Like it or not, the Yankees have won the pennant. The Angels trailed by a single run in the bottom of the eighth inning, but a pair of inexcusable errors subsequently killed their chances.

The sport’s top spenders finally cashed in with their first pennant in six years Sunday night, beating the Los Angeles Angels 5-2 in Game 6 of the AL championship series behind the savvy pitching of that old October pro, Andy Pettitte.

Pettitte set a postseason record for wins, Johnny Damon hit a two-run single and Mariano Rivera closed it out in familiar fashion with a six-out save as the Yankees won their 40th American League crown by vanquishing the Angels, a longtime nemesis.

Joba Chamberlain got two key outs and Girardi went to a well-rested Rivera in the eighth. He gave up a two-out RBI single to Vladimir Guerrero, making it 3-2, then retired Morales to end the inning.

A diving play by first baseman Mark Teixeira helped Rivera escape further damage.

It was the first earned run allowed at home by the 39-year-old Rivera in a postseason save situation. But the Yankees added two insurance runs in the eighth on a pair of Angels errors and Teixeira’s sacrifice fly.

Rivera finished up in the ninth for his record 37th postseason save, and the Yankees had their pennant.

In the end, experienced prevailed, as Andy Pettitte, Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, and Mariano Rivera were all vital to the Yankees recent success. This was Pettitte’s 16th postseason win, breaking a tie with John Smoltz for the major league record. Pettitte had been 0-4 against the Angels over the last two regular seasons, but Yankees manager Joe Girardi kept his faith in the 37 year-old veteran.

Although CC Sabathia grabbed the ALCS MVP, Alex Rodriguez was undoubtedly the heart of the Yankees’ offense. In this postseason, Rodriguez is hitting .438 with five home runs and 12 RBIs.

Cliff Lee and CC Sabathia will get the start for their respective teams in Game 1 of the World Series on Wednesday. Both are former AL Cy Young winners and pitching better than ever. This World Series will obviously get more attention than it did last year. The Phillies will try to repeat as champions against the thirsty Yankees. It feels more exciting than the Phillies vs. Rays, doesn’t it? I’m just as dejected as any baseball fan from California, but I’m still looking forward these games.

Thanks to their 7-6 victory over the Yankees in Game 5 of the ALCS on Thursday night, the Angels saved themselves from elimination to force a Game 6.

L.A. starter John Lackey gave up three runs on six hits over 6.2 innings of work, while striking out seven and walking three. He was cruising until the sixth inning when he allowed a double to Melky Cabrera, then walked pinch hitter Jorge Posada on a terrible call by home plate umpire Fieldin Culbreth.

The call definitely rattled Lackey, who wound up walking the bases loaded before retiring the second out of the inning. He was relieved with the two outs and the bases loaded, but the Halos bullpen wound up getting shelled as the Yankees put six runs on the board to take a 6-4 lead.

But the Angels answered back with three runs of their own and then held on over the final two innings to secure the victory.

The call by Culbreth completely swung the momentum in the Yankees favor. Lackey had every right to be pissed, although he allowed his emotions to get the best of him and Mike Scioscia had little choice but to relieve him. Had New York wound up winning, the Angels could have pointed to that call as their death nail.

Joe Girardi will once again be subject to criticism following his decision to let starter A.J. Burnett go back out for the seventh inning. The Yankees had all the momentum and Girardi should have had more faith in his bullpen, but he allowed Burnett to start the inning and A.J. would up allowing the first two batters to reach base to spark the Halos.

Another Yankee that will face some heat is Nick Swisher, who went 0-for-5 and popped out with bases loaded in the top of the ninth to end the game. He had a solid regular season, but he’s hitting just .118 so far in the postseason and has killed several scoring opportunities for the Bronx Bombers.

Game 6 is set for Saturday at 8:07 p.m. ET and will feature Joe Saunders vs. Andy Pettitte.

“It’s very difficult, when you’re looking up at all those raindrops and trying to find the biggest one. And Jeter did.”

- Tim McCarver commenting on Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter catching a pop fly in the rain.

I needed to laugh. After watching nearly 13 innings of enthralling play, I was absolutely infuriated with the outcome of this game. I’m not even rooting for either team — I was just screaming at the television because the ending was bad baseball. Luckily, Tim McCarver delivered countless lines of nonsense to keep things light. The gem I’ve included above was easily his best.

It’s a damn shame this game ended because of an error. Both teams played their hearts out and gave fans five hours or grueling, yet exciting competition. The players, coaches, and fans deserved a walk-off hit or a final strikeout. With one out, Jerry Hairston Jr. on second, and Robinson Cano on first in the bottom of the 13th, Melky Cabrera hit a routine ground ball to Angels second baseman Maicer Izturis. All he had to was make the easy out at first. Then, with two outs and runners on second and third, Ervin Santana would have faced Jorge Posada. Instead, Izturis attempted a double play and completely missed the glove of shortstop Erick Aybar. Granted, there was a slim chance that they would have turned two, as Cabrera isn’t the fastest guy in pinstripes. Still, why risk it? Get the easy out and try your luck against the next batter.

While this game was filled with clutch pitching and hitting, the Angels and Yankees were both sloppy on defense. Robinson Cano, Chone Figgins, Derek Jeter, and Macier Izturis all committed errors (Cano had two). I know the rain didn’t help, but some of these mishaps were inexcusable. You know the overall defense was brutal when Johnny Damon made the best grab of the night.

Joe Saunders and A.J. Burnett both provided solid starts for their clubs. Saunders went seven innings, allowing two runs on five hits, while Burnett powered through six with two earned runs on three hits. As the game progressed, the Yankees almost went through every pitcher on their roster, excluding the starters. Surprisingly, the Angels looked to Ervin Santana in the game’s late innings. Santana, a starter who spent most of the year battling injuries, managed to control the Yankees during his time on the mound. Although he’s credited with the loss, he won’t take the blame. Maicer Izturis and Brian Fuentes should have a rough flight back. With the Angels up by one run, Fuentes gave up an 11th inning home run to Alex Rodriguez. Mike Scioscia had decided to reserve Fuentes until the Angels took the lead, and it cost him. Fuentes, who led the American League in saves, looked very nervous out there, and A-Rod read him like a book.

With the Yankees up two games to none, the series now heads to Anaheim. Jered Weaver is set to pitch for the Angels against veteran Andy Pettitte of the Yankees in Game 3.

What a day for pitching. Vicente Padilla goes seven and a third for the Dodgers, surrendering one run; the Phillies’ Pedro Martinez throws seven shutout innings on two hits; CC Sabathia wows his fans at Yankee Stadium in a marvelous eight-inning performance; Angels starter John Lackey is…not good. Sadly, Lackey couldn’t treat baseball fans to a pitching clinic — it’s practically impossible against the Yankees. Over five and two thirds innings, the Angels ace gave up four runs (two earned) on nine hits. This was hardly an outing typical of Lackey’s stature, but his supporting defense was even worse. In their 4-1 loss to the Yanks in Game 1 of the ALCS, the Halos committed three errors and were absolutely clueless up at the plate against CC Sabathia.

The Angels, who set a franchise record for fewest errors this season with 85 and played flawlessly against Boston in the division series, were horrible on defense. . Only twice this season did the Angels commit three errors in a game; they made three Friday night.

t appeared Lackey would minimize damage in the first inning when, with runners on second and third and no out, he got Mark Teixeira to fly to shallow left, the runners holding, and Alex Rodriguez to hit a sacrifice fly to center.

Hideki Matsui hit a towering popup to the left side of the infield. Third baseman Chone Figgins and shortstop Erick Aybar converged, both looked at each other thinking the other would catch it, and the ball dropped for a single, allowing Johnny Damon to score.

This exciting postseason has witnessed some horrific defense by otherwise Gold Glove-caliber fielders. Considering crucial errors by Matt Holliday, Chase Utley, and almost the entire Angels roster, something seems out of whack. After skating by against the Red Sox, one would think the Angels knew how to communicate on the diamond. With A-Rod, Derek Jeter, Mark Teixiera, and the Yankees rotation in the groove, the Angels have their work cut out for them. They need to quickly forget this embarrassment and give starter Joe Saunders some solid support in Game 2.

Bobby Abreu has rejected a two-year contract offer worth $16 million from the Angels, SI.com’s Jon Heyman reports.

Abreu, called the Angels MVP by manager Mike Scioscia, was frustrated by a tight market last winter and wound up signing a one-year deal with the Angels for $5 million after making $16 million the year before. Scioscia and other Angels officials credit Abreu for helping to improve the hitting approach of several of their young players, most notably leadoff man Chone Figgins.

Abreu hit .293 with 15 home runs and 103 RBIs. He, Alex Rodriguez and Albert Pujols are the only players to have driven in at least 100 runs in each of the last seven years.

Interestingly, Abreu was offered that same $16-million, two-year contract by the Rays early last winter but turned it down. When the market dried up, he took the Angels’ offer over some others because he liked the idea of going there. Abreu has enjoyed his year in Southern California, but he isn’t immediately rushing to take the first offer.

I don’t think it’s the money that Abreu is after as much as the length of the contract. I don’t blame him for not wanting to go one or two years at a time, but he also has to be realistic. He’s 35 years old and while he’s coming off a productive season, clubs aren’t willing to hand players multi-year contracts when they’re 35 or older.

It is interesting that he runs the risk of making less money again next year after rejecting yet another $16 million deal. If he winds up signing a one-year deal again, then Abreu’s strategy will have once again backfired. Of course, if he winds up being a ALCS or World Series hero, then the move could pay off in the winter.

According to a report by The Journal News, Yankees manager Joe Girardi is considering using a three-man pitching rotation against the Angels in the ALCS.

Girardi pointed to the lighter workload that CC Sabathia faced in September, as well as the longer layoff he’s getting now since the Yankees swept the first round. Girardi said that the team would like to have plan in place for the rotation going into the series, as opposed to just waiting to see where the team stands when Game 4 rolls around. Remember, too, that because of off-days Sabathia could pitch Games 1, 4 and 7 and only have to pitch on short rest once instead of twice.

It’s not a bad strategy, although if the Yankees and Angels push it to a Game 7 that means Sabathia won’t start Game 1 of the World Series if New York wins. That said, it’s Girardi’s mission to get the Yankees to the World Series and then worry about how to game plan for the Fall Classic when the time comes. So if he feels as though a three-man rotation is the best strategy against the Halos, then he should go with it.

If the Yankees are forced to use a fourth pitcher, than it will likely be Chad Gaudin and not Joba Chamberlain, who will remain in the bullpen.