Back, Back in the New York Groove?

Writes Mike Lupica in the New York Daily News: "The Yankees showed up on Wednesday in Game 5, they did, hundred percent. Now they have to do it again in Texas, or they become another big, bad Yankee team of this decade that got hit somewhere before the World Series and never recovered. You know who is supposed to show up Friday night for Game 6? Alex Rodriguez."

Scribbles George A. King III in this morning's New York Post: "Seeing Cliff Lee on the mound in October is like seeing a Great White's dorsal fin slowly circle your inflatable life raft. It's probably not going to turn out well. Yet the Yankees will be very happy to see Lee tomorrow night in Game 7 of the ALCS, because it will mean their season stayed alive with a victory in tonight's Game 6 at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington."

Notes Ken Davidoff in Newsday: "From the time he agreed to terms with the Yankees in 2004, Phil Hughes has dutifully followed orders from his superiors. Start. Relieve. Pitch. Rest. Rehabilitate. Rest again. Hence the irony that covers this Yankees' do-or-die moment: For once, it's Hughes controlling the Yankees' fate rather than the other way around."

Closes Neil Paine in this morning's New York Times: "Contrary to what you may have heard, the Yankees do have a fighting chance of beating Cliff Lee if they can force a Game 7 against the Rangers. There's no denying that Lee has been outstanding this postseason, pitching a pair of gems against the Rays in the division series and following those performances with a dominant outing in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series against the Yankees,. But hope for the defending champions comes in the form of history, which suggests that Lee is unlikely to be quite as sharp facing the Yankees the second time around."

Extra innings: Also from The New York Times, a profile of Tom Hicks: "Despite losing what he said were a couple of hundred million dollars on the Rangers, including $85 million the last three years, Hicks will be at their stadium, trying to move on. 'I can't do anything about having too much debt like thousands of other companies in this financial crisis,' he said. 'I've transitioned, and I'll be at the game on Friday.'"

Ace Frehley, what do you have to say about all this?