 Outfielder Johnny Damon said of Boone 's home run : " If we do advance to the World Series and win , it 's a better story that we went through New York . We needed to get back here . This is where a lot of hearts were broken , and we 're in a perfect seat to stop the hurting . " Damon told USA Today : " If we are going to win the World Series , it 's better to beat the Yankees to get there . Otherwise , everybody will say , ' Well , you didn 't have to face the Yankees . ' I think we have the best team , so I hope the best team wins . But the Yankees are no slouches . We know that [ Gary ] Sheffield can hit every single pitch thrown to him . " 
