Yankees on brink of infamy

NEW YORK (AP) -- One chance left. Otherwise, infamy.
On the brink of the biggest collapse in postseason history, the New York Yankees have one opportunity remaining to pull themselves together and finally finish off Boston.
If not, this storied team with 26 World Series titles also will be remembered for the biggest October choke ever.
Against its bitter rival, no less.
Talk about a painful winter of wondering what if. Talk about an angry George Steinbrenner.
Time to panic in pinstripe city.
"If you've got nerves, you shouldn't be there," star closer Mariano Rivera said.
Curt Schilling shut down the Yankees on a gimpy right ankle Tuesday night, and the Red Sox saved their season for the third day in a row with a 4-2 victory in Game 6 of the AL championship series.
First team to do it
Boston became the first team in baseball history to pull even after trailing 3-0 in a best-of-seven series. Only twice in North American major professional sports has a club come back to win such a series after dropping the first three games, both times in hockey: the New York Islanders against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the quarterfinals of the 1975 NHL playoffs and the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Detroit Red Wings in the 1942 Stanley Cup final.
The Yankees desperately don't want to be added to the wrong side of that short list.
"We can't worry about history here," Alex Rodriguez said. "If we win tomorrow, it won't be embarrassing."
Rivera should be fresh for Game 7 because he didn't pitch Tuesday night. The problem for New York is not the end of the game, the question is who to start tonight. Even after Game 6, manager Joe Torre said he hadn't decided yet.
Hey, it's only the whole season on the line.
Brown likely choice
Kevin Brown seems the likely choice, mostly because there are few other options. The 39-year-old right-hander would be pitching on just three days' rest, and he lasted only two innings in Game 3 at Fenway Park. Plus, he's never a sure thing due to his balky back.
The Yankees really might have to piece it together to pull this one out. They haven't lost four straight games since April -- three of those came at home against the Red Sox.
"Their team has responded. We're going to find out about our team," captain Derek Jeter said. "We haven't been in this situation. Not this team."
After blowing late leads in Boston the previous two days, the Yankees thought coming home would give them a boost.
Instead, the momentum remained with the Red Sox.
"Nobody in here, even all of us, thought that this was going to be easy," reliever Tom Gordon said. "We just need to go out there and do what we do, make it fun for ourselves."