This is going to be a big one. Oh, is it going to be a big one.

People have been lining the parade route for hours down on the Canyon of Heroes, getting ready on a cold day in New York to see their Yankees celebrate the 27th World Series championship. It's going to be windy, whipping all that confetti around and creating quite the spectacle.

"What's sweeter than a World Series won at home? The only thing that comes close is a ticker-tape parade up the Canyon of Heroes, and that's exactly what New Yorkers will get on Friday," Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said.

Up in the Bronx, the Yankees and employees are boarding two dozens buses that will take them downtown via police escort for the start of the celebration, which begins on Broadway at Battery Place and continue northbound to Chambers Street, followed by a ceremony at City Hall Plaza, where the Mayor plans to present Joe Girardi's Yankees with keys to the city for their defeat of the Phillies in the six-game Fall Classic.

If I may take you off-site for a moment, here is a handy parade guide from the New York Daily News. Bundle up if you're going to be out along with three to four million of your best buddies, but savor this one, the Yankees' long-awaited first parade since 2000. 

"New York has been hungry for a championship. We gave it to them," Alex Rodriguez said.

(Friendly reminder: I'll be tweeting from along the parade route, wherever I may wind up. Check that at http://www.twitter.com/bryanhoch.)

Now that Mary J. Blige has completed her "Bleeding Gums Murphy" rendition of tonight's National Anthem... (points to anyone who gets that classic 'Simpsons' reference)

We're ready to go in the Bronx on a cool but clear night. The building is packed and this place is juiced with what should be a much different crowd than in Games 1 & 2. All that stands between the Yankees and World Series title No. 27 are the next 27 outs, and they'll look to Andy Pettitte to deliver the lion's share of those.

With "old goat" Pedro Martinez standing on the mound for Philadelphia in one of the most anticipated World Series games in recent memory, this could be the last night of the 2009 MLB season. I'm predicting it will be.

PHILLIES
Jimmy Rollins SS
Shane Victorino CF
Chase Utley 2B
Ryan Howard 1B
Jayson Werth RF
Raul Ibanez DH
Pedro Feliz 3B
Ben Francisco LF
Carlos Ruiz C

Pitching: RHP Pedro Martinez (0-1, 2.08 ERA in postseason)

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
Brett Gardner CF

Pitching: LHP Andy Pettitte (3-0, 3.24 ERA in postseason)

The Yankees think they have Mariano Rivera available for two innings of work tonight; can't see any reason why he wouldn't be. The big question is, when should Joe Girardi call down to the bullpen and get Rivera up in the event of an emergency?

Could 'Enter Sandman' be played as early as the seventh inning?

The answer, in a word, is yes. It would be a definite if this was Game 7, but Girardi is already thinking that he will be burning a lot of pitches out of his future Hall of Fame closer if the opportunity presents itself to lock down a World Series title tonight.

"The limit is more at pitches than innings for Mo," Girardi said. "We've got him up to 39, so we feel that we can go there again."

"Hopefully we don't need it," Rivera said of pitching three innings. "We have to do whatever it takes to win the game. I have to be ready."

Brief uniform note - check out this photo from yesterday's workout at the Stadium. When you're Mariano Rivera, you can wear the wrong jersey for batting practice and no one cares.

I asked Jerry Hairston, Jr. yesterday if there was anything he appreciated more about Rivera, seeing him from this side. 

"He's a better shagger than I thought he'd be," Hairston said. "He loves playing center field. He thinks he's Bernie Williams or Willie Mays."

Keeping with the dynasty Yankees theme, Scott Brosius will throw out tonight's ceremonial first pitch in Game 6 of the World Series, following up on tasks performed in Game 1 by Bernie Williams and in Game 2 by Paul O'Neill.

"It's really neat to see, because you don't get to see them a whole lot during the course of a year now. I love seeing them," Joe Girardi said.

Girardi was asked if having those retired players come out, one after another, at the Stadium makes him feel old.

"I don't need those guys to feel old," Girardi said. "I get reminded every day in my house how old I am."

Tonight brings us one of the most anticipated games of the season, and you really cannot script it any better than this. All that stands in the way of the Yankees winning their 27th World Series title is Pedro Martinez.

Andy Pettitte gets the ball tonight for the Yankees on three days rest in what Martinez called a matchup of a couple of "old goats."

The Yankees have all the faith in the world that their offense will get it done in the first couple of times through the order against Martinez, with Alex Rodriguez oh so close to his first World Series ring, Derek Jeter commanding the ship as usual and Mark Teixeira grinning despite hitting 2-for-19 thus far in the Fall Classic.

What's he got to smile about? Well, for one thing, all of the Yankees can breathe a sigh of relief that Mariano Rivera is still there to lock down any leads in the late innings. Rivera is almost certainly going to be asked to get more than three outs tonight if New York is up late - the question is, when will Joe Girardi push that button?

If it's the difference between going to Game 7 and putting a World Series trophy on George Steinbrenner's desk, expect Rivera to be called into action in the eighth inning and maybe even the seventh. There could be no tomorrow, so it is time to empty the tank.

As the Yankees try to put away their 27th World Series championship and "Win One For the Boss," as the grounds crew t-shirts said at Yankee Stadium, there is a minor bit of news to report -- the Yankees have replaced Melky Cabrera on the World Series roster with Ramiro Pena, granted Major League Baseball's approval after Cabrera suffered a strained left hamstring in Game 4.

Should they polish this off, the Yankees will have employed three starters this postseason (Sabathia, Burnett, Pettitte)...the last team to reach the World Series using only three postseason starters was the 1992 Braves (Maddux, Glavine, Avery)...the last to win the World Series using three postseason starters was the 1991 Twins (Morris, Tapani, Erickson).

New York has scored 15 combined runs over the last two games, marking their most runs in consecutive World Series games since posting 18 runs over Games 1 and 2 of the 1998 World Series vs. San Diego. And they are 8-0 in World Series play when taking a 3-games-to-1 lead, winning Game 5 six times. The Bombers have never gone to seven games in the World Series when taking such a lead, and they certainly don't intend to.

Here are the lineups for the potential clincher:

YANKEES
Derek Jeter SS
Johnny Damon LF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Nick Swisher RF
Robinson Cano 2B
Brett Gardner CF
Jose Molina C
A.J. Burnett P

Pitching: RHP A.J. Burnett (1-0, 3.55 ERA in postseason)

PHILLIES
Jimmy Rollins SS
Shane Victorino CF
Chase Utley 2B
Ryan Howard 1B
Jayson Werth RF
Raul Ibanez LF
Pedro Feliz 3B
Carlos Ruiz C
Cliff Lee P

Pitching: LHP Cliff Lee (3-0, 0.54 ERA in postseason)

Major League Baseball has approved the Yankees' request to replace the injured Melky Cabrera on the World Series roster with infielder Ramiro Pena.

The 25-year-old Cabrera suffered a slight strain of his left hamstring while running out a sixth-inning groundout in Game 4 of the Fall Classic on Sunday and manager Joe Girardi said he was "very limited" on Monday, as the Yankees look to defeat the Phillies and finalize their first title since 2000.

MLB postseason rules provide that injured players can be replaced during the World Series if the severity of the injury, as determined by MLB, is such that it would require a disabled list assignment during the regular season. Had this been the regular season, Girardi said that Cabrera would have been out of action for "maybe a couple of weeks."

"He had an outstanding year," Girardi said. "I thought he grew up a lot this year, he matured as a player and became dangerous from the right side as well as the left side. He did so many good things for us. He was the start of the walk-off hits, really. It's unfortunate."

The Yankees need just nine more innings of winning baseball to secure the 27th championship that Joe Girardi strapped on his back before the 2008 season, offering a daily reminder of the mission that this franchise has been assembled to compile.

And as the sun begins to set over Citizens Bank Park and the tickets for Game 5 of the World Series begin to flow toward the turnstiles, the Yankees' greatest challenge is to just take this like any other game.

"Our attitude is that the clincher is the same as the first game," Derek Jeter said. "You're just trying to win a game. You can't worry about what happens in the aftermath. The bottom line is that we need to come out here and play well."

He's right, of course. A.J. Burnett can't necessarily try any harder just because the champagne has been wheeled somewhere into the basement, and the Yankees still have a heap of work ahead of them with handling Cliff Lee this evening.

"It's great.  I've waited a long time for it, and I'm going to take it full stride," Burnett said. "I'm going to go out there with everything I've got, and you take nothing for granted.  I've seen some crazy things this post season, and I guess that's why they call it post season baseball, because anything can happen.
   
"But you've got a great lineup over there, and we're going up against Cliffy.  So I'm just going to try to go pitch for pitch against him and keep our squad in it.  But I'm looking forward to it and can't wait."
 
There is a vibe in the building that the Yankees could get it done tonight. Even the Philadelphia reporters are pressing Charlie Manuel and Shane Victorino in the interview room as though the World Series is already over.

It isn't, but the Yankees can get it there.

Hello from Citizens Bank Park on a cool, clear night that is perfect for a little November baseball. We heard a few people talking about a full moon over Philadelphia tonight, and that might mean we're in for a little craziness as the Yankees and Phillies get set to play Game 4 of the World Series.

It seems like we might have a rowdy crowd on hand tonight, as today proved to be a great sports day out here with the Eagles playing the Giants across the street. A lot of fans are pulling off the gridiron/diamond doubleheader, and the beer was flowing out in the parking lot early this morning. That means that if the Yankees can put some runs on the board early, maybe they can take the crowd out of the equation, bringing on some droopy eyes.

Here are the lineups:

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

Pitching: LHP CC Sabathia (3-1, 1.57 ERA in postseason)

PHILLIES

Jimmy Rollins SS
Shane Victorino CF
Chase Utley 2B
Ryan Howard 1B
Jayson Werth RF
Raul Ibanez LF
Pedro Feliz 3B
Carlos Ruiz C
Joe Blanton P

Pitching: RHP Joe Blanton (0-0, 4.66 ERA in postseason)