In the end, it was the Diamondbacks who mobbed the field, who whooped with disbelief and sheer joy and hugged one another.

In the end, Bob Brenly's hunches about his lineup in the series worked out better than Joe Torre's. Early in the series, Torre had played David Justice and Randy Velarde because of their numbers and had nothing to show for it. Brenly benched low-ball hitting Reggie Sanders in favor of Danny Bautista for the clincher, and Bautista delivered the RBI hit that put the Diamondbacks on the board in the 6th. Brenly also put Mark Grace in on a hunch, instead of Erubiel Durazo, and Grace came up with a three-for-four night, including the hit that lead off the ninth, igniting the game-winning rally.

In the end, it was a classic duel, two 20-game-winners, both power pitchers, mowing down their opponents and trading blows. Curt Schilling struck out nine, Roger Clemens ten. Schilling credits Clemens for giving him a straighten-up fly-right speech in an offseason weight room in Texas years and years ago, and here he was, facing him in Game Seven. Clemens would scatter seven hits over six and a third innings, only allowing one run to score. Schilling would give up three singles in the seventh, allowing the Yankees to tie the game at one, and then Alfonso Soriano would take him deep to lead off the eighth. So it was that two hard-throwers would dominate the lineups, keeping the game scoreless through five, and making it 2-1 by the time they were both out of the game.

In the end, it could have turned out differently. If Steve Finley doesn't run down two hard hit balls by Shane Spencer in the second and in the seventh, or if Matt Williams doesn't snare a hard liner off the bat of Derek Jeter in the eighth, perhaps the Yankees pile on some runs. If Craig Counsell doesn't make a perfect relay throw to Williams at third, Paul O'Neill would have been on third with one out in the first inning. The Diamondbacks' defense kept momentum on their side, while the Yankees' fielding was erratic throughout the series. The time when an error cost them the most, though, was in the ninth inning. After Grace singled, catcher Damian Miller, perhaps the easiest out for the Yankees all series, came to the plate and bunted right back to Mo. He spun and fired the ball to Jeter to cut down the lead runner, but the throw was wide, yanked into right field, and everyone was safe. Jeter was knocked down on the play and had difficulty standing up. Instead of one on, one out, it was two on, no out. On the next play, Jay Bell pinch hitting for the pitcher, Mo tried it again, this time successfully cutting down the runner at third. Two on, one out, still a one run lead. Tony Womack came to the plate. Womack, whose father died this year, has been playing the entire season in dedication to his memory, but wouldn't allow himself to grieve until the season was over. He must have known that time was coming and wanted to soften his grief with some joy. He lined an RBI single into right to tie the game. The best chance to get out of the inning was with a double play ball off the bat of Craig Counsell, but as Rivera came up and in, Counsell could not get out of the way. A blooper, an error, a fielder's choice, a hit, and and a hit by pitch, that was what brought Gonzo to the plate.

In the end, 49,589 fans took part in the postgame ceremonies, as a stage was wheeled onto the field and the MVP award was given to both Randy Johnson (who got the wins in Games Six and Seven, in relief) and Curt Schilling. MLB Commish Bud Selig had banned the usual champagne spray from the postseason, and instead made the people part of the party. Despite the drizzle, the roof stayed open at Bank One Ballpark, fireworks flew, and "We Are The Champions" played.

In the end, Derek Jeter sat in the Yankees dugout and watched with narrowed eyes as the Diamondbacks celebrated on the field. "You remember this feeling and you never want to experience it again," he would say after the game. He remembers the last time Mariano blew a save, against Cleveland in 1997, the last time these Torre Yankees were eliminated from a postseason. It was that loss that galvanized the 1998 team into the incredible winning machine that it was, and the trial by fire that transformed Rivera into the implacable best closer in the game. Perhaps Jeter was savoring this bitter moment for the same reason, hoping to turn the disappointment to determination for next year. Jeter himself limped through both the ALCS and the World Series, in Game Seven pulling a muscle in his leg on a play in the fifth, cutting behind the mound to snare a hot shot up the middle, and throw while still moving toward first. The injury didn't prevent him from playing, or from making a super relay throw in the sixth to nip the D-backs rally in the bud, as Bautista tried to stretch his RBI double into a triple. But in the ninth, that inning where too many bad breaks came at once, Jeter was tangled in pinch runner David Dellucci's legs while trying to snare Rivera's errant throw. He stayed down on the ground after the play, on his hands and knees, seemingly unable to get up. When he did, the trainers ran out, but Jeter stayed in the game. In the end, though, you have to wonder how badly he is hurt.

In the end, you have to wonder about a lot of things. Will Mariano need surgery on his cranky ankle in the off season? Will El Duque return through arbitration or be let go? Will Tino, Brosius, Chuck, or Justice be back? Paul O'Neill has all but announced his retirement, and Luis Sojo has also said he'll hang 'em up. O'Neill, who was serenaded by fans chanting his name at Yankee Stadium in Game Five, who received a standing ovation for every at bat in October (and November), was the Yankee with the team-high batting average this World Series/postseason (.333) and became the oldest man in baseball to both hit 20 home runs and steal twenty bases this year. But his body is old and his kids are growing up fast and in the end he wants to spend time with them.

In the end, even the spectacular late-inning magic the Yankees summoned in Games Five and Six, which was enough to get them to the bottom of the ninth of Game Seven with a lead, was not enough to get them all the way through. Those incredible game-tying home runs, one by Tino, one by Brosius, and then the extra innings hitting of Derek Jeter, Chuck Knoblauch, Alfonso Soriano, gave Yankees fans memories to last all winter, and some of the greatest moments in franchise history, but ultimately not another championship.

In the end, you know no team can win it every year. You know it has to happen some time. You know we had our share of miracles, coming back against Oakland, the Jeter play, Soriano slamming a homer off Sasaki and squelching Lou Piniella's promise of a return to Seattle... in the end, with all the changes the team will go through and the string of championships now broken, you know it's the end of an era. But is it the end of the dynasty? Ha. Just wait 'til next year.

This article originally appeared at YankeeBaseball.net.