My wife sent me the following e-mail:

Hey David, check it out. I'm sitting next to your new girlfriend. Don't you just love your new girlfriend?

Manny Ramirez remains with the Red Sox.

Maels Rodriguez has defected from Cuba so he can play in the United States.

Rodriguez, a 24-year-old right-hander, is one of Cuba's top pitchers and his fastball is said to regularly top 100 mph.

"I want to play the best baseball, and that's in the United States," Rodriguez said. "It's a difficult step because you know how things are in Cuba. So when Yobal and I made this decision, it was the most important one in our careers."

Rodriguez set the single-season strikeout record in Cuba with 263 in 178 1/3 innings three years ago. This season, he was 8-3 in 113 innings with 117 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.11. Cuban officials left him off the Pan American Games and Olympic qualifying teams, blaming arm and back injuries for the loss of 15 mph off his fastball.

"I'm going to demonstrate that

Sounds like there will competition for the nickname, "K-Rod."

Alex Belth has another in a long line of great interviews over at Bronx Banter, this time with Pat Jordan. My favorite bit:

BB: You like Schilling?

PJ: I don’t like him personally, I think he’s an [expletive deleted], but I think he’s a strong pitcher. Oh, he’s an ego [driven] media hound, and [expletive deleted] artist. But Randy Johnson, I like as a person and he’s a great pitcher.

You can read the deleted parts on Alex's website.

Feel free to leave a treat in the PayPal tip jar. :-)

The Pittsburgh Pirates are lowing prices on their cheaper seats. They are also giving a discount to season ticket holders:

The Pirates also are offering $3 off every seat for full-season ticket holders, meaning that every full-season ticket will cost at least $243 less than last season. Also, partial-season ticket holders will be offered a $1 per seat reduction for the first time.

"It's critical we work toward growing our season-ticket base," Pirates managing general partner Kevin McClatchy said Thursday.

I still think the Pirates are headed in the right direction as a team, so it's good to see they are trying to grow the fan base now, so when the team does get good they'll have the means to keep good players and continue to grow the organization. And with the discount, seems like the perfect time to get a season ticket.

Mike Carminanti has moved his excellent blog, Mike's Baseball Rants to the all-baseball.com web server. Excellent move, Mike! And he's now using Movable Type as well. Stop by and say hi.

Frank Thomas has exercised his option to return to the White Sox in 2004. He'll earn $6 million dollars. Seems like a bargain for a hitter like Thomas.

Ben Jacobs at Universal Baseball Blog has a bit of wild speculation on where Manny may end up:

Before I start, I would like to make sure everybody knows that I have absolutely no insider information here. However, it just occurred to me that the Devil Rays could seriously be interested in obtaining the services of Ramirez.

It's an interesting idea. There are a number of teams that could make a big splash by claiming Ramirez from waivers. The Mariners could use a big bat to augment their aging offense, and Ramirez would be a good replacement for Edgar Martinez. The Tigers have no one, and Manny might bring some fans to the stands. I think he'd be a great fit in LA, and with SD moving into a new stadium, why not have a great slugger to christen the ballpark?

While the consenus is that the Yankees are the only ones who would claim Ramirez in the next 36 hours, the Dodgers have just freed about 16 million in salary for next year. Frank McCourt is not the owner yet, but if he could get Fox to make the deal for him it would certainly be a bold move that would bring a lot of attention to his team, and also give the Dodgers the boost of offense they need.

Rob Neyer weighs in on the waiving of Manny Ramirez, and he thinks the move is very interesting (my thoughts here):

What makes all this so fascinating isn't that the Red Sox have placed Ramirez on waivers. That's just common sense. What's fascinating is that the Red Sox are essentially offering a great player to their sworn enemies, gratis. The reports I've seen mention a number of teams that might be interested in Ramirez, but unless the Red Sox are willing to send a significant sum of money with Ramirez, there's only one team, one owner, that might have serious interest.

Will Steinbrenner take the bait? Probably not. Sure is fun to think about, though. And you have to admire Theo Epstein for making the first move.

Rob goes on to discuss how claiming Ramirez would ruin the Yankees ability to remake their defense up the middle:

Ramirez is a great player, of course. If the Yankees had Ramirez, they might reasonably be said to have four of the dozen best players in the league (along with Giambi, Posada, and Soriano). But I suspect Cashman has plans to remake the Yankees' defense up the middle, and the arrival of Ramirez would make that impossible.

With Giambi and Nick Johnson set at DH and first base (and rightly so), Ramirez would have to play left field, which means Hideki Matsui has to play right field, which means Bernie Williams has to remain in center field, which means there's no way of moving Soriano or Jeter to center field (and you can forget about trading for Carlos Beltran or signing Vladimir Guerrero, too).

The other day, I was discussing the Yankees lineup with Irina Paley, and here's what I think New York should do.

• Move Jeter to third.


• Swap Matsui and Williams in the outfield.


• Move Soriano out of the leadoff slot into a power slot, but leave him at 2nd base.


• Sign Vlad Gurerrero to play right.


• Trade for or sign a no-hit, slick fielding shortstop.

Then the Yankees lineup would look like:

1. Jeter


2. Johnson/Williams (platoon)


3. Vlad


4. Giambi


5. Posada


6. Soriano


7. Williams/Johnson (platoon)


8. Matsui


9. Shortstop

If the Dodgers sign Miguel Tejada, then Cesar Izturis would be available to fill the hole at SS. Izturis had about 9 more fielding win shares at short than Jeter did last year. And because he can't hit, he'll be cheap.

Whenever I mention moving Jeter to third, I get one of two reactions:

1. What makes you think he can play third?


2. He'll never agree to move from shortstop.

Since shortstop is the toughest non-battery position, I assume that moving anywhere else will be easier. Jeter's problem at short is that he doesn't cover enough ground. At third, you don't need to cover much ground, just react well to the ball. Also, even if Jeter's defense was bad at third, it's going to do less damage than bad defense at short, and Jeter's offense at third would rate among the best in the league (he had more offensive win shares than Hank Blalock, for example).

As for the 2nd point, when has Jeter ever shown himself to be anything but a team player? I just did a google search for "Derek Jeter selfish" and found articles saying that selfish players should be more like Jeter. Here's an example:

"The guys who struggled in the postseason were the selfish guys, plus Aaron Boone, who just panicked," another club official said.

Most notable among the "selfish guys" are Giambi and Alfonso Soriano, who have yet to grasp the team concept embraced by Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, Bernie Williams and Andy Pettitte, the core five whose hopes for a fifth ring were undermined by the "efforts" of others.

So if the move is presented to him as a way to get back to a World Series Championship, I think Jeter will do it.

The Red Sox seem to be banking on the Yankees making a bad move. Cashman may not be in charge, but I believe he and Torre and Gene Michael still get to voice their opinions, and I can't believe any of them would be in favor of acquiring Manny now. The next 36 hours should be very interesting.

David Aceto comments on this post:

A minor point ... The emperor at Mozart's time was the Holy Roman Emperor, a title that had become almost hereditary to the Habsburg family (There was a slight problem in the 1740s, and the family became known technically as Habsburg-Lorraine, but this is all getting too complicated ....) . True, the person who was the emperor was also Habsburg ruler of Austria, too, but not as "emperor" of Austria. Not until 1804 was Austria proclaimed to be an empire, in response to Napoleon's self-proclamation as Emperor of France (or maybe it was emperor of the French - I'm getting rusty on some of the fine points) and the impending dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, which happened in 1806.

Napoleon was fired after losing to the British in seven games, despite bringing the French back from a 3-1 deficit due to his exile to Elba. Napoleon had home field advantage in game 7, but a postponement due to rain gave Wellington's starters an extra day of rest. Although Nappy's position had been in jeoparday for over 100 days, many blame his firing on the misuse of Marshal Grouchy in the 8th, allowing Wellington to bring in Blücher (sounds of scared horses) from the bullpen to shutdown the French in the ninth.

The Red Sox have put Manny Ramirez on irrevocable waivers, according to this report in the Boston Herald. This means any team can claim Manny's contract by midnight Friday, and the Red Sox will lose him along with all the money they owe him. The Red Sox will neither confirm nor deny this story, making me wonder how it got out. Waiver moves are supposed to be a secret unless they are executed. The leak will make it difficult for the Red Sox to keep Manny even if no one claims him.

The strategy, obviously, is to lose Manny's salary to give the Red Sox more flexibility to sign other players and make deals to improve the team. Is this the right move? Manny earned 28 win shares last year, tied with Beltran, Giambi and Posada for 4th in the AL. That's not easy to replace, but you would think that the $20 million the Red Sox would save in the deal could be spread around in the pitching staff to pick up the win shares there. If that's true, it gives the Sox a more balanced team, and the reduced offense should be able to win more games for a better pitching staff. So I think it's a reasonable move to get rid of Manny.

Should some team take him now? No. Now that the deal is public, the Red Sox have no choice but to trade Ramirez, since he won't want to play for the Sox now. This gives teams more leverage in dealing with Theo, since they'll be able to demand the Red Sox pick up a larger part of Ramirez's remaining salary. The problem with waiting for the trade, of course, is that you might have to bid against other teams.

While I think Manny is probably worth the money for the next couple of years, he's at the point in his career where a decline can be expected. So if I'm a team that wants Manny, I'm going to hold out for a trade and try to get the Red Sox to pick up at least 1/2 of his salary.

By the way, with all the articles about how heads are going to roll in NY, all the Yankees have done is fire their hitting coach. The Red Sox have fired their manager and tried to dump their best hitter! Maybe those stories are being written about the wrong team. :-)

Betsy Newmark points out how the World Series is like the Electoral College.

Rob Neyer has an excellent column on Yankee hatred today.

We're also still arguing about the Yankees. A few minutes after running across Cobbledick's column about the sacrifice "hit," I found this:

"In winning four straight American League pennants and world championships, the Yankees have not won popularity. If anything, as they travel along the path to a victory record unique in baseball, they are also moving through a gauntlet of unparalleled emotion that ranges from fear, envy, distrust, disgust and displeasure to downright hatred."

If you know your baseball (or at least your Yankees) history, then you know this could have been written only twice: not long after the 1939 season, or not long after the 1952 season, both of which ended with the Yankees winning a fourth straight World Series.

Those words were written by Milton Gross and published in the September, 1953 issue of "Sport." The very next month, the Yankees would win their fifth straight World Series, for a record that no one has really come close to breaking since. Gross' article was titled "Why They Hate the Yankees," and one wouldn't imagine that the Yankees were hated less after they won that fifth Series.

The FDA has declared that THG is an illegal drug, not a dietary supplement. This is the part I find most interesting:

Exactly who developed THG is unclear. Dozens of top Olympic and professional athletes have been subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury probing a California lab that sells nutritional supplements. Its owner has denied supplying THG, and federal officials, including FDA's Taylor, refuse to comment on the scope of their investigation.

Troubling to lawmakers is that THG apparently was sneaked onto the market in the guise of a dietary supplement. It's not a supplement but an unapproved drug, making any sale or usage illegal, FDA's Taylor said.

Currently, however, "There's nothing to stop another group of folks in another lab from concocting another designer steroid that will circumvent this FDA ruling," said Joe Shoemaker, spokesman for Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.

So they are saying that something got into the food supply, and we don't even know who invented it? And with this type of science getting easier to do, it won't be long before rich athletes have their own designer factory in their basements. One can imagine a star making 25 million a year putting aside $2 or $3 million annually to produce drugs designed specifically for him. And not necessarily performance enhancing drugs as we understand them now. Drugs that cause muscle not to break down (as opposed to build up) might extend a player's career, giving him more years to earn high pay. It would be like the Emperor of Austria hiring Mozart to write music for him; these athletes would be patrons of science.

Here's a good background piece on Reds GM Dan O'Brien.

Jeffrey Loria is promising to keep the Marlins together:

"This isn't going to be 1997," Loria said. "No way 1997. ... These guys have been spectacular, and we'll do everything we can to have as many of them back next year as possible. We are not doing 1997."

That's good. I suspect that season ticket sales will be up next year. They would have been up if Huizenga had kept the '97 team together. The payoff in fans is after you win.

Sometimes I worry that I don't write enough about teams that I'm not close to, especially the west coast teams. So I went to the SF Chronicle page today to see if they had any articles on the Giants potential free agents. There was not one new story on the page about the Giants. They had World Series stories and Grady Little getting fired, but I didn't see a column about the Giants. You would have thought a day after free agents started to file there would be an opinion piece or an analysis piece on how losing players is going to hurt or help the Giants. Maybe this is why I write about the Yankees so much; they're always making news.

Ira Berkow in the NY Times pens an inner look at Joe Torre. Ira asks Joe about inner peace, and Torre talks about his rough childhood and how he fights against abuse now.

So parental love may be, for Joe Torre, more important than victory. Human consideration may be, for Joe Torre, more important than victory. Helping those who need help may also be, for Joe Torre, more important than victory.

Which isn't to say that victory isn't important to Joe Torre. Ask any of his players and they'll tell you that few hate losing as much as Joe Torre, and few want to win as much as Joe Torre. It's just that, unlike Steinbrenner, apparently, Torre doesn't issue dire statements that, for example, there will be hellfire to pay just because a team goes to Game 6 of the World Series and loses to the Marlins. Steinbrenner wasn't as preposterous after this year's Series loss as he was in 1981 when he "apologized" to the people of New York after the Dodgers beat the Yankees.

This is why I think not only Torre has been successful with the Yankees, but why the team as a whole has been successful. You have the Boss, the bad cop, yelling and screaming and scaring. And you have Torre, the good cop, soothing and caring. But both want exactly the same thing, to win. And between the two of them, the players win.

We have another convert.

Update: The permalink is working right. Scroll down to the entry entitled, "SHHH."

Instapundit believes there may be another denial of service attack on Thursday. At this point in the year, it won't bother me much, but just to remind you, the backup blog is at http://pages.map.com/pinto/blogger.html.

Ozzie Guillen wants to manage the White Sox.

Oh, how Ozzie Guillen hungers for that White Sox job now. Talk about icing on the cake.

"Like I was telling my wife and my kids the other day," the 39-year-old Florida Marlins third-base coach said over the weekend at Yankee Stadium, "I don't want to be a manager for a couple of years. I want to be a manager like Bobby Cox, Tony La Russa. I want to be a manager for a long, long time."

And not just any team's manager.

"I belong to the White Sox," he declared.

Not just belongs with, but to, take notice.

I remember taking a tour of the new Comiskey Park in the mid 90's, and hearing how everyone who worked there loved Ozzie Guillen. He used to go to the reception desk and answer the phone for fun. I don't know if a fun loving guy like that has the right temperament for managing, but his connections with the White Sox are certainly going to get him an interview.

Despite all the speculation about Grady Little being fired for his game seven decision, Gordon Edes, I believes, nails the real reason:

The Sox no longer want to discover, to their dismay, that the manager, according to a team source, failed to hold a hitters' meeting before the Oakland playoff series, wasting countless hours of traditional scouting work and sophisticated video and statistical analysis that was done ostensibly to give the Sox an edge.

Sabermetric manager Whitey Herzog wants to run the Red Sox. I'd love to see that. Here's my thoughts on Whitey from yesterday.

It's going on right now. You can hear it at MLB.com. They have officially released Grady Little.

Update: The Red Sox are saying that Grady wanted a long term contract with full support of management. The Red Sox were unwillingly to go long term with Grady, so they didn't renew.

Update: Unfortunately, I can't hear the questions, so I can't tell if the Red Sox upper management is answering the questions straight or spinning.

Update: Adrian Wojnarowski thinks the Red Sox are making a big mistake.

Yes, Little let his stars run the Sox too often, all the way to the end. Pedro wanted to stay in Game 7, so Pedro stayed in Game 7. The manager needed to make a decision with his eyes, not his heart. Had Dave Wallace been the Sox's pitching coach for a longer period of time this summer, perhaps the interim aide might have felt more comfortable pushing Little to make the move on his ace. These are still areas in which a manager can grow on the job.

Yet, Grady's touch in the clubhouse, his ability to get the most of the Sox's over-achieving personalities, isn't so easily available and identifiable on the managerial market. The bottom line: The Sox are taking a far greater risk firing Little, than they ever could've by keeping him.

There was something right about the chemistry of these Red Sox, something someone else will have an impossible time duplicating. Ownership could've worked to re-program Little's late-game decision-making process, stocked his bench with stronger coaching presences and counted upon the fact that one more year of living and learning on the job would've made him a better bench manager.

It was interesting that in the new conference Theo Epstein noted that the new manager would have a lot of Grady Little in him, especially in the way he ran the club house. I guess the Red Sox think that quality is easy to find.

Players started filing for free agency today. Here's the list of potential and current free agents by team. And here's a list by position.

Also, Mike Berardino of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel writes about how ML ownership of the Expos puts a damper on the free agent market:

For the third straight winter, Major League Baseball is poised to control the free agent market thanks to its convenient stewardship of the Montreal/San Juan Expos.

Two years ago, it was the prospect of contraction and a dispersal draft that limited player movement on the open market. Contraction never happened, all those Expos stars stayed put and the agents were left to wail and gnash their teeth.

Last winter it was the budget fiasco in which Expos General Manager Omar Minaya didn't learn his 2003 payroll target until a few days before the winter meetings. Suddenly, the possibility of a Javier Vazquez, Vladimir Guerrero or Bartolo Colon being available through trade depressed a promising free-agent market.

Jim Thome was the only free agent who reached the $15 million-per-year tier. Proven commodities such as Cliff Floyd ($6.5 million a year) and Pudge Rodriguez (one-year, a heavily deferred $10 million) were left to fight for Thome's scraps.

Now Bud Selig is back with Round 3 of the Great Legalized Collusion Scam. Because the Expos still don't know how many games they will play away from Montreal next season, because Minaya is off interviewing for jobs from New York to Cincinnati to Seattle, the Expos remain in flux.

It's an interesting take. The biggest free agent on the market is Vlad Guerrero, and what happens to him will have an impact on everyone's decisions.

The Cincinnati Reds hired Dan O'Brien as general manager today. The move was expected and reported by the Cincinnati Enquirer yesterday. They also give some background on why O'Brien was hired:

O'Brien's accomplishments before going to the Rangers probably sold the Reds on him. The Astros have consistently competed in the National League Central, relying heavily on homegrown talent, particularly when it comes to pitching. O'Brien set up Houston's Venezuelan academy, which has produced 16 big-league players in 15 years.

It looks like the Reds want O'Brien to rebuild the farm system. Having low draft picks this year will certainly help that.

ESPN.com is reporting that Grady Little will be fired today and the announcement will be made at 3 PM EST. Stay tuned.

I'm not impressed with most of the candidates listed as possible replacements. Two I do find intriguing are Willie Randolph (because I've always felt he was a smart ballplayer) and Jerry Remy, who's impressed me with his knowledge of the game from the broadcast booth. I don't see Dierker's name on the list, however.

Before the series started, I was exchanging messages with Alex Belth of Bronx Banter, and one thing we wanted was that neither team would lose the series the way the Cubs and Red Sox did. We didn't want to point to a dumb move by a manager and say, "That's where the series was lost." Dan Le Batard, in wrapping up the Marlins victory, points out that this didn't happen.

''Do we get respect now?'' Willis asked. ``What more would you like us to do? Got anyone else out there you want us to beat?''

No, the Yankees will do. And, rest assured, no matter how much gnashing and wailing there is in New York today about how the most expensive team in the history of sports underachieved, this was not the Yankees underestimating or overlooking or disrespecting Florida. New York's best simply wasn't good enough, hard as that is to believe.

David Wells, who hadn't allowed a bunt single in two years, didn't field his position poorly in the first play of the World Series. Juan Pierre just put the ball where it couldn't be fielded. Heck, Wells pitched plenty well in Game 1. Penny just pitched better.

That Game 4 Marlins victory? Roger Clemens was proud of the outing that ended with a standing ovation. But he wasn't as good as Carl Pavano. The Yankees, remember, rallied majestically in that game, scoring two runs while one strike from defeat. That's hardly quitting or choking.

No, the Yankees lost because Braden Looper made exceptional pitches to get out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam, not because Aaron Boone and John Flaherty failed to do anything with them. And they lost because Alex Gonzalez fouled off several good Jeff Weaver pitches until he could get one far more to his liking.

And how about Game 5? It isn't like Derek Jeter and Bernie Williams gagged in this series. Both of them stung the ball. Williams would have tied Game 5 in just about any other ballpark with his warning-track flyout in the ninth inning. And how much harder would you have liked Matsui to hit the game-ending out? That's not Matsui failing in a key situation. That's Lee making an unbelievable play to prevent him from succeeding.

And Saturday's clincher? Right fielder Karim Garcia and catcher Jorge Posada made a very good play on a throw in Saturday's fifth inning. But Alex Gonzalez made a better slide. And Yankee pitcher Andy Pettitte pitched exceptionally well. Marlins pitcher Josh Beckett just pitched better. New York's bats didn't go cold. New York's bats were silenced. There's a difference. If you want to say the Yankees gagged, make sure to remember that it was because Beckett kept stuffing baseballs down their throats.

And that's how it should be. The Marlins made mostly the right moves, the Yankees made mostly the right moves, and one of the teams got the better performance from its players. And we got to see a great World Series.

Rich Lederer takes a look at Roger Clemens and Josh Beckett.

Edward Cossette at Bambino's Curse writes today about the impending release of Grady Little and how the Boston media is reacting to it. They are especially afraid of the sabermetric manager. He quotes Michael Gee of the Boston Herald:

Your new skipper will manage the Sox according to a 150-page order written by Epstein and Bill James. He'll be a cipher. If he's a passive cipher, guys like Pedro and Manny will run roughshod over him. If he's an abrasive cipher like Bobby Valentine, there'll be knife fights in the clubhouse by Mother's Day. Either way, good luck.

I wonder if Gee ever read a Bill James Abstract? If you do, you'll find that the two managers James has the most respect for are Earl Weaver and Whitey Herzog. Both were sabermetric managers, even though I doubt either would admit it. Here's Davey Johnson on Weaver:

"While I never thought I'd become a manager, I always paid attention to choices managers made: when they took out pitchers and how they set up defenses," says Johnson. "The consummate innovator and genius of the human psyche, Earl regularly tried to seize advantages, so I tried to convince him to computerize his notecards. I'd say 'Earl, do you know anything about predictability, standard deviation charts?' He probably looked at my stuff at night, but first he'd throw it in the garbage, and order me back to second. That's how I wound up being called 'Dum-Dum.' "

See, Earl knew how to survive. If the players and media people of the day saw him looking at charts like that, they'd run him out of town. But if you look at the way Earl managed, it's clear he was a big believer in OBA and Slugging, and he didn't like giving outs away with one-run strategies.

But David, you may ask, Herzog loved little ball! Yes, but the teams Herzog managed played in parks where little ball was the appropriate strategy. And Herzog used the stolen base right; in his tenure in St. Louis, from 1980 to 1990, the Cardinals led the NL in stolen base percentage at 74.2%. The next closest were the Reds at 71.9. That's a bigger lead than the Reds had over the 6th place club!

The other sign that Herzog used little ball properly was that he didn't bunt much with his #2 hitter. The Cardinals were 10th (out of 12 teams) in sacrifice bunts by the #2 hitter during his reign, while they were third overall in sac hits. Herzog wasn't wasting an out in the first inning.

So the question I've been asking myself since reading Moneyball is, "Why don't these teams hire someone like this to manage? Why put so much control in the hands of the GM? Why not hire someone who understands your plan and has the intelligence to implement it?"

In the 2nd book of Isaac Asimov's Foundation trilogy, he posits that it's an unstable situation to have a strong emperor and a strong field general, since the success of the one will threaten the stability of the other. Maybe that's the case in Oakland. But I don't think Boston really wants that. Maybe they'll hire Larry Dierker. He strikes me as perfect for the situation.

Scott writes:

I think there's another rather large error you can point to with Torre. He sent his team out there last night with no plan at all for winning the game. Right there, in the first inning, we saw Jeter and Nick Johnson hacking away. You've got a pitcher on three days rest, and you don't instruct your hitters to take a pitch now and then? I wouldn't be that upset about this if it weren't exactly the way the Yankees won their other recent championships. Who was the manager then? Oh yeah! It was Joe.

Interestingly, Beckett thought the Yankees were more patient last night:

Guess what? Beckett said he actually felt the Yankees were more patient against him last night than they were in Game 3, but he adjusted by mixing in more off-speed pitches and making several hitters look befuddled. Derek Jeter, who had the only three hits off Beckett in his last start, was 0 for 4, stranded three runners and made an error that led to Florida's second run. The player Luis Sojo called "the real Mr. October" played like it was a meaningless month.

It looked to me like Beckett was setting up his fastball with the changeup, instead of the other way around. As for Torre, yes, he should have had a meeting before the game where he said, "Everyone is going to take the first pitch." But Beckett was throwing so well last night, those pitches probably would have gone for strikes anyway. Posada had a great AB last night, described here. He got the count to 3-2, then Beckett threw an inside pitch. Posada took it, and the pitch just caught the inside corner for strike three. When a pitcher is hitting the corners and changing speeds, I'm not sure there is any other approach except to wait for him to make a mistake.

Don Zimmer resigned quietly after the Yankees lost last night. He showed off his great math skills:

For 25 years, (the Yankee owner) has called me 'Zimmer,' and for 25 years, I've called him the Boss. Well, tonight, he's not the Boss; he's Steinbrenner."

Wasn't Zimmer the manager of the Red Sox 25 years ago? So that explains a lot. The Red Sox blew the lead in 1978 because Zim was being paid by Steinbrenner. Will wonders never cease.

And, he's no longer Zimmer's boss, though Zimmer stopped short of saying he was going to retire.

"I'm going home -- we'll see what happens," said Zimmer. "I'm 72 years old; I don't know who would want me -- I'm not Jack McKeon (the World Series winning manager, who's also 72). But for 55 years, this has been my livelihood. And I'm going out the way my wife wanted me to go out."

Say, aren't the Red Sox looking for a new manager?

Two players I'm very happy for are Ivan Rodriguez (Everybody's Rod) and Mike Lowell. Ivan came up the majors at the age of 19 and immediately impressed everyone with his tremendous throwing arm. As the years went by, he developed into one of the best hitting catchers of all time as well. I-Rod thinks this is only the beginning for this team:

Maybe the Marlins could be more than just a one-year wonder. Catcher Ivan Rodriguez would love to see ownership keep the team intact.

"We have very good players in this clubhouse, and I think if this team stays together the way it is, I think they can be like the Yankees, they can win pretty much every year in the playoffs and win more World Series," Rodriguez said.

"I think this team right now is the thing that a lot of teams want to have, a team that can do everything: guys that can bunt, good pitching, guys that can move the guy over, power in the middle of the lineup," Rodriguez said. "I think overall, this team has all that, and if you have a team like this, you should keep this team for two or three or four years."

Cabrera, just based on his age, is likely to develop into a great hitter. Beckett and Cabrera gives a team a great base to build around.

Mike Lowell came up with the Yankees, but was never given a chance to develop. He survived cancer, and has developed into a good hitter, a better hitter than Brosius was with the Yankees from 1999-2001. This has to be sweet for him. It was very sweet for his father.

That's what Joel Sherman of the NY Post is doing:

They were 0-for-10 with runners on last night, 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position, making them 17-for-86 (.198) and 7-for-50 (.140) in those categories for the Series. The Yanks managed one extra-base hit in 32 at-bats against Florida starters with men in scoring position, a three-run, first-inning homer by Hideki Matsui off Mark Redman in Game 2, perhaps explaining why Beckett bumped Redman for the Game 6 start.

"We had opportunities to win games," Jason Giambi said. "We never seemed to get the big hit."

But before you go blaming the offense too much, remember that the Yankees offense in this series outscored the Marlins 21-17. They were 30 points better in batting average, 50 points better in on-base average and 100 points better in slugging percentage. They out-homered the Marlins 6-2. It was just a question of timing, or, dare I say it, luck.

The Yankees offense isn't perfect like in was in 1998, but I'd much rather have the Yankees lineup than the Marlins lineup. The Marlins won because they were able to take advantage of local weakness in the Yankee lineup (the bottom of the order), injuries (Giambi) and slumps (Soriano). They also got lucky with the one bad managerial move Torre made in the series, leaving Jeff Weaver on the mound in game 4.

And it wasn't exactly like the Marlins were wizards with men in scoring position. They hit .233 as a team in the series, which while better than the Yankees, it did not result in any more runs, as both teams had 14 RBI with their limited success in that situation.

There was nothing special about Scott Brosius or Jim Leyritz or Tino Martinez. They were decent players on a great team, and they all got lucky, just like Alex Gonzalez got lucky in this series. And sometimes, that's all you need to win a championship.

Jim Caple's piece wrapping up the World Series is titled "Disaster Strikes Yankees."

Hmmm. So how do you imagine George Steinbrenner feels about this revelry?

"I know he doesn't like this," first baseman Derrek Lee said. "I know he doesn't like this. But this is sweet. Dancing on the field at Yankee Stadium? That's sweet."

Sweet? It would have killed lab rats. But as wonderful as it was to see another team celebrate on "sacred" Yankee Stadium soil, many heads are going to roll for this.

To lose the World Series is bad enough when Furious George signs your checks. To lose to the Marlins, a team with a payroll $128 million lower than the Yankees? We're lucky George didn't light Brian Cashman on fire and toss him onto the subway tracks. I'm also surprised he didn't immediately offer Loria $100 million for the trophy and Beckett.

Actually, there is a report that George did offer to buy the trophy. :-)

But seriously, what is Caple basing his "heads will roll" mantra on? Cashman and Torre had lost two years in a row before this defeat. Why is this year different? Steinbrenner fired Dick Howser and Buck Showalter after their teams made the playoffs and lost. Torre has now lost in the playoffs four times. Cashman has put a great team on the field every year. If they were going to go, they would have been gone after the Arizona debacle.

The coaching staff? Fine. This is a coaching staff that can't teach Alfonso Soriano how to take a pitch. This is a coaching staff that can't teach middle infielders how to play defense. This is a coaching staff that is old and complacent. But if Torre stays on as manager, I bet a lot of them stay on, too.

And Steinbrenner says Torre is staying:

Owner George Steinbrenner has promised that Joe Torre will be his manager in 2004, the final year of his contract.

"Joe is the highest-paid manager in the history of baseball and he has the highest payroll in the history of baseball," Steinbrenner said. "I've given him everything he has asked for because I like him and he's the manager."

The Yankees have any number of problems that need to be addressed, from replacing the rotation to fixing the defense in the middle of the field to finding hitters for the bottom of the order who have some batting strength. It will be a different team next year, but my guess is Torre and Cashman will still be making the moves.

Dan Le Batard was in the middle of the celebration last night.

This was at the center of the delirium, right near the mound, amid the laughter and screams and tears and hugging and singing and smiling.

Florida Marlins pitcher Josh Beckett, surrounded by bobbing teammates, at the center of a celebration he created, looked into the stands of an emptying Yankee Stadium, in the quietest New York City you've ever heard, and the defiance came out of him with more hiss than even one of those fastballs the mighty Yankees could not hit.

''Go home,'' he spat. ``Have a nice offseason. We're going to have a parade.''

This is what the lovable underdog looks like when angered, disrespected and overlooked.

It looks like a champion.

I'm sorry, I missed the disrespect. All I read the last few weeks was about the great Josh Beckett. I guess a New York fan must have called him a name. Of course, that's the kind of competitive midset that won't make you popular but will make you a champion.

Others were just too happy to be mean:

''This is indescribable,'' Marlins second baseman Luis Castillo said in the middle of the delirium, after lifting 72-year-old Marlins Manager Jack McKeon on his shoulders. ``How do you find any words for this? There are none. There is no explanation for this. Nobody thought we could do this. You just don't see this in Yankee Stadium.''

Castillo was winded from celebrating, gasping for breath.

''That was the team we had to beat -- the Yankees,'' Castillo said. ``What can they say about us now? That we beat them because of a goat or a fan or a curse? That we got lucky? We won because we were the better team. We're the best.''

McKeon came over to Castillo for yet another hug.

''Thank you,'' Castillo said to him in mid-embrace. ``You deserve this.''

''I love you,'' McKeon said.

The old man was on the cusp of tears.

''I cried, too,'' shortstop Alex Gonzalez said. ``A lot of us did. I never thought I'd play in a World Series, and now I've won one. I had to release that joy.''

There's one other thing in this article, that backs up something I wrote earlier:

On his way to the stadium Saturday, while walking the streets here, McKeon couldn't believe how many people who were Yankee fans came up to him, shook his hand and told him they hoped he would beat New York.

''It was unreal,'' he said.

It seems even parts of this city, having grown tired of the corporate, antiseptic Yankees, had fallen in love with the passion and hustle of the Marlins in a way that had New York fans actually embracing Florida's leader on the street.

Hard to believe.

Posada hits a slow roller down the first base line, which Beckett picks up and uses to apply the tag. Marlins are World Champions!

That has to be one of the most amazing World Series performances I've seen, certainly the best since Jack Morris' game 7 in 1991. Beckett gets his 2nd complete game shutout of the post season, allowing five hits and striking out 9. So much for low payroll teams not being able to win the World Series.

I thought the Yankees approached their hitting all wrong tonight. I'll have to look it up tomorrow, but I think they swung at a lot of first pitches, and not all of them were strikes. They had their chances, going 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position. They just couldn't deliver.

I think the play of the game, and maybe the series, was Alex Gonzalez's slide at home in the fifth. He turned his series around, with the game winning home run and his 2 for 4 and game winning run tonight.

It's a great win, and the people of Miami have to be very proud tonight. I hope the Marlins do the right thing, keep the core of this team together, and the fans reward that with great attendance next year.

Congratulations to the Marlins on a great season! It's been a terrific playoffs.

Williams flys out to Cabrera in left, who almost misjudges the ball. Two outs to go.

Update: Matsui flies to left also. Up to Posada.

Rivera gets the side in order in the 9th. Pettitte and Rivera have turned in outstanding performances, but not as outstanding as Beckett so far. He'll face Williams, Matsui and Posada in the bottom of the ninth. Three outs away from the championship.

Soriano lines a single into left on the first pitch to start the 8th. He's 2 for 3 in the 9 hole.

Update: Now there is action in the bullpen as Jeter gets ahead of Beckett 2-0, and the pitching coach comes out to the mound.

Update: Urbina and Willis are warming up.

Update: Jeter flys to center. It was deep, but not deep enough.

Update: Nick Johnson hits into a double play to end the inning. Great defense by the Marlins. Yankees will have the heart of the order up in the 9th.

The announcers report that the Marlins bullpen is quiet. This is the Dusty Baker mistake, and I'm surprised McKeon is making it. If Beckett tires here in the 8th, McKeon might not be able to warm up a pitcher fastest enough to stop the damage. Will no one learn how to handle a pen?

Mariano Rivera comes in to start the eighth. I suspect Rivera will be in for the rest of the game, no matter how long it goes.

Update: Enrique Wilson, in for Boone, botches a ball at third, but it's scored a hit.

Update: Derrek Lee strikes out swinging on a pitch near the dirt.

Jorge Posada leads off the 7th for the Yankees with a double down the leftfield line.

Update: One thing helping Beckett is that after Posada, everyone is injured or not hitting well. Giambi grounds out to third, no advance by Posada.

Update: Beckett gets ahead of Karim Garcia 0-2, but Garcia runs the count full. He then gets called out on a high strike.

Update: Sierra pinch hitting for Boone.

Update: Sierra strikes out swinging. The Yankees waste a golden opportunity to score, not even advancing Posada to third. It's 2-0 Marlins after seven.

Pettitte follows Beckett's 6th with his own 1-2-3 7th. The Yankees have gotten everything they could have wanted out of Andy tonight. I suspect if New York takes the lead in this inning, Rivera will be out to finish the game.

Update: Rivera is warming up in the bullpen.

The Yankees go down in order in the sixth, with Williams and Matsui striking out. Beckett is looking better as the game progresses, with his curve ball being especially effective. He's only thrown 72 pitches through six innings. Marlins are now in a great position to win this game.

Jeter makes an error on a routine ground ball by Conine leading off the 6th. It's the first time in the game the Marlins have the leadoff runner on.

Update: Lowell walks on four pitches to put runners at first and second with none out. Pettitte could use one of his DP balls here.

Update: Lee bunts, and Pettitte gets the runner at 2nd. Not enough time for the double play. 1st and 3rd, one out.

Update: Encarnacion sac fly puts the Marlins up 2-0.

Update: Gonzalez bunts down the third base line for a single. Pierre up, and Pettitte is approaching 100 pitches.

Update: Pettitte strikes out Pierre. I believe the run is unearned. Yankees need to work Beckett here if they want to get him out of the game early.

After five innings, things are going well for both the Yankees and the Marlins. Pettitte is keeping the team in the game. The Yankees have to hope this comes down to a battle of the closers. Beckett, however, has kept his pitch count low; remember the only victory that Beckett has been credited with in the post season came when he pitched a complete game.

Karim Garica opens the inning with a single to right. The Yankees waste an out having Boone bunt him to 2nd. However, as poorly as Boone's been hitting, in this case it's not a bad move.

Update: Of course, Soriano swings at the first pitch and pops it up. Jeter's up.

Update: Jeter is blown away by a Josh Beckett fastball. Marlins remain up 1-0 after five.

With two out in the fifth, Gonzalez and Pierre single to put men on first and 2nd. It's up to Castillo, hitting .130 in the WS so far.

Update: Pettitte gets ahead of Castillo 0-2. Castillo fouls off some pitches, works the count to 2-2, then lines a single to right. Garcia makes a good throw, but Posada was slightly up the first base line, and Gonzalez made a great slide to miss the tag and catch the plate with his finger. Great hitting and baserunning by the Marlins. Runners ended up at 2nd and 3rd, prompting the Yankees to intentionally walk I-Rod to load the bases.

Update: Pettitte strikes out Cabrera to end the inning. They made Andy work that inning, however, making him throw close to 40 pitches. It's 1-0 Marlins in the middle of the fifth.

Beckett has an easy 1-2-3 fourth. The Yankees didn't make him work very much, just seven pitches.

Pettitte has finished four innings, and he's averaging about 12 tosses per frame. He's thrown 49 pitches, 34 for strikes.

Jeter just made a terrific play in the hole. He back-handed Mike Lowell's grounder, spun, jumped and threw Mike out a first, and it wasn't close. I thought for sure it would be a hit.

Soriano takes the 2nd pitch from Beckett into centerfield for a lead off single in the third.

Update: Run and hit, Jeter grounds out to 2nd, but moves Soriano into scoring position.

Update: Beckett seems to be missing the strikezone high when he's missing it.

Update: Nick Johnson walks on five pitches. 1st and 2nd with 1 out for Bernie Williams.

Update: Bernie hits the 2-2 pitch to Castillo, who turns it into a double play. It's 0-0 after three. Beckett has thrown 46 pitches through three, 27 for strikes.

Juan Pierre shows selectivity at the plate and draws the Marlins first walk of the game in the third.

Update: Castillo grounds slowly to third, forcing Pierre at 2nd. Soriano could not get the ball out of his glove to attempt the DP. Ivan Rodriguez sends Garcia back to the wall, where he makes a nice catch as he crashes into the padding.

Jorge Posada makes Beckett work a bit. He runs the count to 3-2, but Beckett gets him looking at a perfect pitch on the inside corner.

Update: Giambi walks on four pitches. Beckett looking more wild in this inning. Ten pitches so far, 7 for balls.

Update: Garica forces Giambi at 2nd. Giambi made a nice slide to break up the DP, but you could see him limp away from the play.

Update: Boone is swinging for the fences again.

Update: Boone strikes out on a pitch high, out of the strikezone. Still 0-0.

Mike Lowell doubles with one out in the 2nd to give the Marlins their first threat of the night. He's not 4 for 21 in the World Series.

Update: Pettitte strikes out Derrek Lee and Juan Encarnacion to end the inning. Three K for Andy through two. The more balls he keeps out of play, the better off he'll be. He's now averaging better than a strikeout per inning during the playoffs.

Jeter swings at the first pitch and pulls it foul. He swings and tips the 2nd. I think Jeter should be trying to take some pitches. It's to the Yankees advantage to make Beckett work a lot this game.

Jeter does take the third pitch and strikes out looking.

Update: With 2 outs and 2 strikes, Bernie Williams drives one into the gap in left center, and it just ticks off the glove of Pierre. Williams gets a double, although the way the ball bounced off the glove, I thought he could have gotten a triple. Matsui breaks his bat and flys out to right to end the inning.

Beckett looked strong, and the Yankees didn't make him throw many pitches. He made 12 tosses, 10 for strikes.

Pettitte works Pierre inside and gets him to pop to Jeter to open the game.

Update: Pettitte strikes out Castillo looking on three pitches.

Update: I-Rod hits the first pitch into centerfield for a single.

Update: Cabrera bounces back to Pettitte to end the inning. Pettitte demonstrates his poise as a fielder. The ball went off hits glove; he didn't panic, he chased it down and threw out Miguel. Ten pitches for Pettitte, seven for strikes.

Torre and I are thinking alike today. Jeter is leading off, Johnson is batting 2nd, and Soriano is batting 9th. Giambi is batting 6th, however.

Alex Belth points out that Pettitte hasn't fared well in recent game sixes. Of course, neither of those games were elimination games for the Yankees. Plus, Pettitte's already had his one bad outing of the post season.

Here's an interesting fact:

From 1999-03, pitchers working on three or fewer days' rest in the postseason have fared poorly. In 37 such starts, they've gone 6-20 with a 5.93 ERA, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

As you know by now, Josh Beckett will face Andy Pettitte tonight in game 6 of the World Series. Beckett will be pitching on three days rest, while Pettitte last took the mound five days ago. Beckett has had an interesting post season, in that he's pitched extremely well in three of his four starts, but is only 1-2 in those games. His one bad start resulted in a no-decision.

Like Beckett, Pettite has made four starts in the post season, and pitched well in three of them. Like Beckett, his poor start resulted in a no-decision. But unlike Beckett Pettite won all his good starts. Pettitte is 3-0 with a 2.30 ERA in the post season. Beckett is 1-2 with a 2.67 ERA. Frankly, I don't see the great advantage for the Marlins in this game. Giambi's going to be back at DH. If Torre is smart, he'll move Soriano down to 9th and bat Jeter and Johnson 1-2. And I'm sure Jeter has imparted any knowledge he has on how to hit Josh to his teammates. This is going to be a better Yankee lineup than Beckett saw in game 3.

The other thing working against Beckett is that he's on the road in a ballpark that favors lefties. Beckett's ERA goes up almost a run on the road. His 2-5 record on the road has more to do with his support than his ERA, but it's clear you can get to him on the road. Meanwhile, Pettitte's ERA goes down 1/2 a run at home.

One thing that does favor Beckett is that, like Petttitte, he's more effective against opposite handed batters. Lefties hit for a lower average and less power against Beckett than righties did in 2003. Pettitte did better against righties than lefties.

I'm on record as saying that McKeon is not giving his team the best chance of winning the series by starting Beckett today. The only win Josh has in the playoffs is when he was able to pitch a complete game. Going on three days rest, he's less likely to do that. So if Pettitte can hold the game close for seven innings and the Yankees hitters can get Beckett's pitch count high, it will come down to Urbina-Looper vs. Rivera. That's a matchup the Yankees like.

I can't wait to see how it turns out.

ESPN.com is reporting that Josh Beckett will indeed start game 6. After I wrote that nice post about McKeon this morning, I may have to retract it. A couple of years ago, before I started the blog, I did a study about starting on three days rest vs. four days rest in the post season. I'll try to find it when I get home and post it here.

But the gist of the study is that teams have less of a chance of winning throwing pitchers on three days rest than on four days rest. Now, of course, you have to balance that vs. a number of factors, including the quality of the pitcher, how you think he'll perform in the stadium and so forth. But the question boils down to, how does McKeon maximize the probability of winning at least one game out of two.

Let's say the Yankees and Marlins are evenly matched; each has a .5 probability of winning a game played between them. Then, we would expect the Marlins to have a .75% chance of winning at least 1 out of the two remaining games. But I don't think Redman against Pettitte is 50/50, and I don't think Pavano with three days rest against Mussina is 50/50. In fact, I think the Marlins expected winning percentage in those matchups is pretty low. In fact, I think if you put a tired Pavano vs. a rested Mussina in New York, I think Mike wins 8 out of 10 times. Redman stinks on the road, too, but I don't think Pettitte is as good as Mussina, so I'd rate a matchup between those two at the Yankees winning 7 out of 10 times.

Now, Beckett vs. Mussina, both on full rest, is about as 50/50 as you can get. Beckett on short rest vs. Pettitte, I have to give the edge to Pettitte, 55 to 45. If you do the math with these odds, I get a Redman/Beckett combination at 65% chance of winning the series, a Beckett/Pavano combination at 56% chance of winning the series. Now, you can play with the odds all you like, but the way I see it, McKeon is reducing his chances of winning the Worlds Series.

Update: By the way, if the Marlins were losing 3-2, pitching Beckett in game 6 would be the right thing to do. But up a game, where they can afford to lose game 6, I think it's a mistake.

One of the nice things about having the Marlins in the playoffs is getting to read Dan Le Batard everyday:

What we're witnessing is so flabbergasting, so unbelievable, so cartoonishly fairy-tale that we're now approaching Bigfoot-wrestling-the-Loch- Ness-Monster-while-Elvis- does-the-play-by-play territory.

It isn't merely that the Florida Marlins are now only one victory away from being crowned baseball's champions and winning the World Series after Thursday's 6-4 victory over the deflated, dispirited New York Yankees.

(Re-read that sentence and feel free to find the most implausible October phrase in it. Marlins champions? Winning the World Series? Deflated, dispirited Yankees? That sentence alone is bizarre enough that I would have been strait-jacketed, institutionalized and immediately sent into rehab if I had written it a few months ago, back when Florida's manager was being fired and the deposed pitching coach was chasing the owner and general manager out of his apartment through curses at midnight.)

But that isn't the most jaw-dropping thing about this jaw-dropping season.

This is:

The Marlins have the Yankees, the most majestic champions in the history of American sports, in a complete, five-alarm panic.

You know, one thing I've noticed in the playoffs is that McKeon doesn't do anything wrong. I don't think he's great or innovative or dynamic, but apart from bunting early in the game, I haven't seen him do anything that makes me want to start writing screeds in my blog. With the players he has, his batting order makes sense. His bullpen use is fine. He has relievers ready when they are needed. He neither overworks nor underworks his starters. He's not the center of attention. He doesn't panic.

Jim Caple thinks the Yankees payroll is too low. It's a very amusing article by a long time Yankee hater, but he has a good point. Why spend all that money on the team if the team has no depth?

This is why I don't go to bed when the World Series is on. Another great game by a starter, this time by Brad Penny. The early departure of Wells set off a series of events that put the Yankees down early. Sort of ironic, given Wells comments about Clemens workout regimen yesterday:

"Just goes to show you don't need to bust your (butt) every day to be successful. Wow. I was wondering when that was going to come out. ... I'll leave the working and conditioning to those guys forever. They can write a book and do videos. They can make money on that, on how to last 20 years in the big leagues by conditioning. I'll write, 'How Not to Work Out.'"

The Marlins, with this win, are in a great position to win the series. If I were them, I'd give Beckett his proper rest and have him pitch on Sunday. Start Redman on Saturday; maybe the Marlins will get lucky. If not, they'll have their best pitcher ready and rested for game 7.

Looper on to pitch the ninth. He'll face Boone to start the inning.

Update: Boone pops out to I-Rod in foul territory. Giambi pinch hitting.

Update: Giambi hits a 2-2 pitch into the right centerfield stands to make the score 6-3.

Update: Jeter singles past the diving Derrek Lee. The Yankees are not done yet. Jeter has reached base 4 out of 5 times. Of course, Torre's lineup puts the weak hitting Wilson up next.

Update: And of course, Wilson doubles. See the Torre Luck Factor post from earlier this evening. That's it for Looper.

Update: Urbina in to face Bernie Williams with Wilson on 2nd and the score 6-4. One out.

Update: Bernie drives Encarnacion back to the wall in right center, but he makes the catch. Just short of Giambi's HR. Wilson goes to third with two outs, but Matsui hits the first pitch hard to Derrek Lee, playing on the line, and the game is over.

Soriano pinch hits for Garcia and strikes out. Who will play right? Torre's already used Dellucci, Garcia, Rivera and Sierra. Will this be Soriano's debut in the outfield?

Update: Yes, Soriano moves into right. Some have suggested this may be where he'll play next year.

Update: Yankees get another K/CS DP to end the 8th. They need four runs in the 9th.

Dontrelle Willis is entering the game at the start of the 8th to relieve Penny. This may make his starting game six less likely.

Jeff Nelson in to start the bottom of the 7th. He gets Castillo to fly out to center. He's now batting .143 in the series and has not drawn a walk.

Nick Johnson singles to lead off the 7th. More importantly, he had a long AB, making Penny work a bit. Garcia follows with a single to put runners on 1st and 3rd with none out.

Update: Once again, with a runner on third and less than two out, Boone fails to deliver. He pops it up to right. Sierra batting for the pitcher.

Update: Sierra strikes out. Penny's pitching great in this jam so far.

Update: Penny blows two past Jeter, but then Derek gets a low fast ball and muscles it into right to drive in the Yankees 2nd run.

Update: Penny would appear to have a blister. Conference on the mound the decide what to do.

Update: Penny stays in, and so does Enrique Wilson, who draws a walk to load the bases for Bernie Williams.

Update: Williams flys out to right to end the inning. We'll see if Penny can keep pitching with the blister.

Chris Hammond in to pitch. I-Rod singles, and then Cabrera almost hits another opposite field HR. Garcia makes a great catch, but Pudge tags up and barely makes it to 2nd.

Update: Great play to bad play. Boone makes a terrific stop on a Conine shot. He gets Pudge in a run down, throws to Wilson, Wilson throws back to third and no one is there. Now there are men on 2nd and 3rd with one out. Mike Lowell then dumps one into center for a two-run single. Marlins lead 6-1 in the bottom of the 5th.

Update: Lee hits into a DP to end the inning.

Penny is keeping his pitch count down. He's only thrown 61 pitches 42 for strikes. He's on his way to a complete game at this point.

With two out and a man on 2nd, Pierre drives one up the middle between Williams and Garcia for a double and an RBI. It's 4-1 Marlins in the bottom of the 4th. Pierre is 1 for 2 with a walk, and he's batting .375 with a .524 OBA in the series.

Contreras seems to have suddenly found his stuff. With two out in the third, he's struck out three in a row.

Update: Must be something about two outs. Conine doubles down the leftfield line past Boone.

Update: Lowell grounds out to end the inning. 3-1 Marlins after 3 innings.

Jeter draws a walk to start the third. He's been on twice in two plate appearances. Unfortunately, Wilson hits into an around-the-horn double play.

Update: In the middle of the third, Penny is bright and shiny so far. He's only thrown 39 pitches so far, 25 for strikes.

David Dellucci is on deck for Wells. Something must be wrong with the starting pitcher. Dellucci will bat after a Boone single with two out in the 2nd.

Update: Dellucci grounds out to Penny. Contreras is coming in to pitch. I wonder if this is the old strat-o-matic switch, where you start a lefty so the opponent will start a certain lineup, then bring in the righty after one to screw that up. Probably not. The Marlins always use the same lineup.

Update: Replays show Wells in pain in the first. Of course, if was pitching that well while hurting, why not leave him in? :-)

Update: The Yankees lost a lot here. They used Dellucci as a pinch-hitter, so they lost him as a pinch-runner/defensive replacement for late in the game. They are going to need to use the bullpen extensively, especially with Contreras having pitched yesterday. Could they bring in Andy Pettitte at some point, start Mussina Saturday and Clemens Sunday on short rest?

Update: Contreras is wild. With two out, he's walked Lowell, and then walked Lee (he almost took Lee's head off). He thrown 19 pitches, 12 of them balls.

Update: Alex Gonzalez drives one up the gap in right center for a ground rule double and his 2nd RBI in as many AB. Brad Penny follows with a single to drive in two, and the Marlins lead 3-1 in the bottom of the 2nd.

Update: Contreras has nothing. He walks Pierre to put men on 1st and 2nd.

Update: Castillo strikes out to end the inning, and didn't look good doing it. Yankees are in a mess of trouble right now.

Pierre bunts down the first base line to start the bottom of the 1st, but Nick Johnson makes a nice fielding play and Wilson covers to get the speedy leadoff hitter. That play will make Torre think the move was worthwhile.

Jeter follows that with a nice play up the middle. Two out.

Update: David Wells has an easy first inning. I-Rod taps back to the mound to end the inning. He threw 8 pitches, 5 for strikes.

This is so typical. Torre puts a lousy hitter in the 2 spot, selects a one-run strategy by having Wilson bunt, and the Marlins screw up the play letting Wilson reach first and Jeter go to third.

Update: Jeter scores on a Bernie Williams sacrifice fly. Yankees lead 1-0 in the first.

Update: Why is Steinbrenner wearing sun glasses? Does he think he's Cory Hart, the tragic poet of MTV?

Penny starts the game by giving up a single to Jeter, a soft liner over the head of Castillo at 2nd base.

Yanni is playing the National Anthem. They should have benched Boone instead of Soriano. :-)

Buster Olney of ESPN reports that Soriano and Giambi will be benched tonight. Soriano will be replaced by Enrique Wilson, who will bat 2nd. Giambi is being benched because of his knee, but Buster doesn't buy it.

Giambi has swung poorly in the postseason, like Soriano, and he is hitting .214 after four games; Johnson is more of a contact hitter than Giambi, a trait which Torre values. Johnson also is better defensively, with more range -- something Torre might have wanted against bunt-happy Juan Pierre with the lumbering Wells pitching for the Yankees in Game 4.

I don't think the Johnson for Giambi switch is a big deal. There's not that much difference. But Torre is batting Wilson 2nd. Wilson is a lousy hitter and should be batting 8th. Actually, I'd rather see Soriano dropped in the order; even bad, he's still a better hitter than Wilson. Sounds like the Yankees are panicking a bit.

I wrote this back on Saturday:

Game 1 of the World Series pits righty Brad Penny of the Marlins vs. the Yankees lefty David Wells. The Marlins were 27-11 when the opposition started a lefty against them during the regular season, best in the major leagues. Some of that record was due to Pro Player Stadium. The distance to the fences is shorter down the leftfield line than in right. The Marlins were 17-6 at home when a lefty starter against them, 10-5 on the road. That's still an excellent record. It looks like the Yankees are going to be starting lefties in four games in this series; they may want to start Pettitte tomorrow so that three of those four games are at Yankee Stadium.

Penny does not walk many batters. That's good against the Yankees, since drawing walks is an important part of their game. David Wells does not walk any batters; that's less important against the Marlins because they don't draw a lot of walks. They were 13th in walks drawn in the NL this year. They also don't strike out much (14th in the NL) so they put the ball in play, something that very good to do against the porous defense of the Yankees.

And it still applies, except this time the Marlins are at home. If the Marlins are going to break out and score a lot of runs, I suspect this is the game. All the variables (home game, lefty opposition) are in place.

Penny did walk too many batters in game 1 (3 in 5 1/3 innings), and now that the Yankees aren't exhausted, I don't think he can get away with that again. Pavano did an excellent job last night of taking out two of the three parts of the Yankees offense; he did not allow a walk and he did not let them hit for power. Penny needs to follow Pavano's lead.

That's pretty much what Wells did in game 1. The six hits he allowed were all singles. However, Wells allowed a lot of balls to be put in play against him in that game. He only struck out 1 in seven innings. With the Yankees defense, that could be disasterous in the game.

I give the edge to the Marlins tonight. Should be another great game. Enjoy!

Chris Green points out this article on Grady Little's feelings about returning as manager of the Red Sox:

"Right now I am disappointed that evidently some people are judging me on the results of one decision I made -- not the decision, but the results of the decision," he said. "Less than 24 hours before, those same people were hugging and kissing me. If that's the way they operate, I'm not sure I want to be part of it."

A reasonable statement. What gets Chris, however is this:

If he had to do it again, Little said he would keep Martinez in to pitch the eighth inning, when the Yankees came back from a 5-2 deficit to tie the game.

Chris' reaction is:

After reading about how Little seemed to be an important part of the team's success (the change in attitudes and career years from half the starters, etc.), I was ready to say, "okay, fine, if he can learn from that mistake, then I guess he doesn't need to be fired; what I want isn't his head, but the assurance that that decision, or something similarly inexplicably dumb, won't happen again." But I don't see the Sox hearing him say that, and inviting him back -- if he means it, they shouldn't trust him, and if he doesn't mean it, they shouldn't trust him.

Grady doesn't realize he made a blunder. Instead of defending what he did, he should take the Rumsfeld position and question everything.

Aaron Boone's 11th inning plate apperance last night is a good negative example of why I like Hideki Matsui so much. We've been hearing praise of Matsui as a situational hitter, such as this by his manager, Joe Torre:

"He knows how to hit," Torre said. "By that I mean he knows how to hit in situations. To me, that's more important than a lot of ability somebody else might have. ... He's pretty good at being able to detect a strike as opposed to 'I'm going to look for a fastball and swing at it no matter where it is.' He's a good situational guy."

Boone was just the opposite at the plate in the 11th. The Yankees had the bases loaded, 1 out and the Marlins brought the infield in. Matsui (and most great hitters) in this situation would wait for a pitch that he could handle. The pitcher can't afford to throw balls in this situation, since a walk gives the opposition the lead. Unless the first pitch is the phattest you've ever seen, you should take it. Give the pitcher a chance to put himself in the hole so you can force him into the strikezone. Boone swung at the first pitch and missed. Now Boone's in the hole. He swings at the 2nd pitch and fouls it off. Now he's really in the hole, and has to swing defensively.

And, I might remind, that these were full-force spin-me-around grand-slam swings. He wasn't just trying to meet the ball, he was trying to kill it. The infield was in! If he just meets the ball the likelihood is that the Yankees are going to score.

In the end, Boone saw seven pitches and swung at six of them, missing the last one. He did not adjust to the initial situation. He did not adjust during the AB. He did everything wrong. I was waiting for Willie Randolph to run down from the third base coaching box and yell at him to choke up on the bat. Matsui or Jeter or Posada or (choose your favorite Yankee other than Soriano) would have approached that situation differently. I can't say that the outcome would have been different, but I can the chance of a better outcome would have been a lot higher. I hope Aaron's been properly scolded about that event.

John Harper of the NY Daily News has figured out how lucky Joe Torre is:

It was looking like another one of those October nights when Joe Torre could do no wrong. Like so many over the last eight years.
His gambles in the ninth inning - pinch-running for his catcher, pinch-hitting a lefty for a lefty - paid off in the form of another dramatic comeback.

And then he pushed his luck too far.

Jeff Weaver? Torre must have been feeling bulletproof. If he were playing blackjack, he'd have asked for a hit on 19.

You had to hear Yankee fans hustling for the exits at Pro Player Stadium here the minute Alex Gonzalez beat Weaver with a home run in the 12th inning last night to give the Marlins a 4-3 victory and even this World Series at 2-2:

"I knew it, I knew it," one guy with a Yankee cap was screaming at two friends as they ran for the door. "He does it every time."

I was just surprised that it didn't happen in the 11th. Torre defended Weaver's presence in the game:

And all of the Marlins' big hitters are righthanded, which is why the Yankees preferred to stay away from their lefties.

Still, it's awfully hard to justify Weaver at that point in the game. Never mind his season of self-destruction; he hadn't thrown a single pitch in these playoffs.

Yet Torre made it sound as if the circumstances dictated the decision, that he needed a pitcher who could give the Yankees a long stint, if necessary, in case the game stayed tied.

"We're going to go with our long man there," said Torre. "That's why you need a long man, for instances like this."

In that sense, it was a move right out of the manager's handbook, but in this case, you can't ignore all the reasons for not using Weaver there.

I was a bit surprised when Weaver took the mound in the 12th. I thought the Yankees would consider themselves lucky not to have lost in the 11th and brought in someone else at that point. Of course, I'm surprised that Weaver lasted the whole year on the team.

Dan Le Batard of the Miami Herald is questioning Jack McKeon's move of lifting Carl Pavano after eight innings.

Why in the name of all that is holy and sane would McKeon do something so out of character and -- how do we say this gently? -- profoundly, spectacularly and outrageously dumb?

Why would he take out starting pitcher Carl Pavano, who was pitching the game of his life Wednesday, had retired 15 of 16 batters with the ease of a man walking down a grocery aisle and generally muzzled the New York Yankees like very few pitchers have this season?

To make things more interesting, of course.

Why give the people of South Florida just nine innings of tension, theater and nausea when 12 innings is so much more fun?

The Marlins took an awfully creative route to victory, blowing a lead, extracting themselves from impossible jams, stranding runners in scoring position, but their road to victory rarely come with a map. And, at various points Wednesday, the tension was so thick you could have cut it with an enormous tension-cutting utensil.

Ugueth Urbina is not automatic Yankee reliever Mariano Rivera, not nearly. McKeon is a manager from another time -- he isn't merely old school; he wrote the textbooks for that old school -- and it was stunning to see him go to Urbina in the ninth inning and lapse into the push-button managing favored by today's managers who are so reluctant to let their starting pitchers finish what they started. Pavano, after all, had just had a 1-2-3 inning and was cruising. Urbina, of course, promptly gave up two runs, allowing the game to be tied at three and deflating this stadium and the surrounding city.

I have to disagree with Le Batard here. As much as I love a complete game, McKeon made the right move. Pavano's high in pitches this year was 117. He had thrown 115 last night. Sure, you could bring him out for the ninth and see what happens, but then you have Urbina pitching out of a jam, rather than starting fresh. The lesson of this year's playoff is to know when your starter is tired and get him out of there before something bad happens. I don't think this was push-button managing at all. I think if Pavano was at 100 pitches he would have stayed in.

Alex Gonzalez hits a 3-2 pitch down the line in left and over the fence for a 4-3 Marlins victory. It's his first HR of the post season, and another big last AB win for the Fish. I guess after a month off, Weaver could only go an inning.

With the bad calls at first early in the game, the Marlins should have won in regulation, so at least there was no harm from those missed calls. But the Yankees can hang this lost on the terrible AB by Aaron Boone in the 11th.

The series is tied at 2. A favorable matchup for the Marlins tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Giambi keeps the 12th inning alive with a single to right. The Yankees can't pinch run. Four-hit Williams is up.

Update: Bernie grounds out to second. To the bottom of the dozenth inning.

Jeff Weaver is in to pitch in the 11th.

Update: Wow. Weaver retires the side easily. I guess he just needed a month off. Just eight pitches, six for strikes.

Bernie Williams leads off the 11th with his fourth hit of the game, a double. Man on 2nd with none out.

Update: They are pitching to Matsui.

Update: They pitch carefully to Matsui and walk him on 5 pitches. Dellucci up and likely bunting.

Update: The bunt is good on the first pitch. 2nd and 3rd, 1 out, and Juan Rivera pinch hitting for Contreras.

Update: They are walking Rivera to pitch to Aaron Boone. Where's Yanni? :-)

Update: Looper in to pitch to Boone.

Update: Boone is 2 for 6 with a walk against Looper in his career (reg. and post season).

Update: Marlins bring the infield in. I don't understand this move. Go for the double play. It's not do or die, they'll still bat.

Update: Why is Boone swinging for the fences? He just needs to put the ball in play!

Update: Boone strikes out swinging. One of the worst situational AB I've ever seen. He just needs to get the bat on the ball to see what happens, and he's swinging from his heels. No discipline.

Update: Flaherty breaks his bat and pops out to third. A great relief appearance by Looper.

Contreras walks Pierre to start the 10th. Look for a bunt or a steal.

Update: Castillo lays down a perfect sacrifice. Pierre on 2nd for the big RBI man, Ivan Rodriguez.

Update: Contreras blows I-Rod away. He swings and misses at the last two pitches for the strikeout. It's up to Cabrera.

Update: Cabrera strikes out swinging to end the 10th. Contreras has struck out 4 of the 7 batters he's faced.

Chad Fox comes in to pitch the 10th for the Marlins.

Update: John Flaherty, in his first AB in the post season, sends Pierre back to the fence to make the out. Soriano up.

Update: After a Soriano K, Jeter comes through again with a double. Giambi up with the go-ahead run at 2nd.

Update: Giambi strikes out to end the inning. Marlins coming up in the 10th.

Contreras is in for the Yankees in the ninth, and strikes out Derrek Lee to start the inning.

Update: Gonzalez flies out to center. Hollandsworth bats for Urbina.

Update: Hollandsworth strikes out to send the game to extra innings. Contreras throws 12 pitches, eight for strikes.

Florida does not score in the 8th. To the top of the ninth with the Marlins leading 3-1. Giambi, Williams and Matsui will bat for the Yankees.

Update: Urbina is in to pitch the ninth.

Update: Giambi flies out to Conine in left. One out.

Update: Bernie Williams gets his third hit of the night. He's on first for Matsui with 1 out.

Update: Urbina walks Matsui, the first of the night. Men on first and 2nd with one out and Posada up.

Update: Posada hits into a force out, as Castillo gets Matsui at 2nd. 1st and 3rd with two out, as Ruben Sierra pinch hits for Garcia.

Update: Dellucci runs for Posada.

Update: Ball 1 to Sierra. 19 pitches by Urbina, 11 for balls.

Update: Huge mistake by Urbina. The count was 3-2, Sierra had taken two outside strikes and swung at another for a foul. I-Rod set up outside, but Urbina put the ball right over the plate, and Sierra creamed it into the rightfield corner. He scores Williams and Dellucci with the triple. Boone up.

Update: Boone grounds out to shortstop. Neither Pavano nor Clemens will figure in the decision. It's 3-3 going to the bottom of the ninth.

Jeter strikes out looking to end a 1-2-3 eighth for Pavano. My lovely wife Marilyn thought the last pitch was outside. :-)

That's probably it for Pavano. Eight innings, 1 run, 4 K, and most importantly, no walks. All seven hits were for one base. A great outing against a great pitcher, and a huge boost for the Marlins if they can hold on to this game.

An amazing comeback. After throwing 42 pitches in the first innings, Clemens throws 67 over the next six and doesn't allow a run. Against the last batter he'll face in the game, Roger records his 5th strikeout. Now he hopes the Yankees can score to support what was a great outing.

Update: Between innings, Clemens was was brought out for a curtain call. All the Marlins were lined up on the top of the dugout to cheer him along with the crowd. A fitting tribute.

The deeper Pavano goes, the stronger he looks. He's retired the last eight Yankees and has his 2nd consecutive 1-2-3 inning. He's now thrown 103 pitches, 71 for strikes. We'll see if he leads off the 7th.

Update: Pavano does lead off.

Through six innings, neither pitcher has allowed a base on balls. There have only been five World Series games in which no walks were issued. The last was on 10/11/1983 in game 1 at Philadelphia, a 2-1 victory by the Orioles.

I'm getting tired of writing this. With an 0-2 count, Rodriguez sets up about two feet off the plate, Pavano throws there, and Soriano swings and misses. McCarver had a good commentary on how batters are supposed to minimize the area where a pitcher can get you out, and right now Soriano is doing the opposite. Good to hear someone on the air finally say that.

Now, if they would only complain about Jeter's and Williams' fielding.

Update: Jeter hits into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning. The Marlins still lead 3-1 in the middle of the fifth.

Not usually a reason to blog, but the leadoff hit was by Roger Clemens leading off the fifth.

Four decent innings from Pavano. He's given up six hits, but they are all singles. And he hasn't complicated things with walks. And 47 of his 66 pitches have been for strikes. He retires the side in order in the 4th, his strongest inning so far.

Why is Selig sitting in the stands listening to the Fox feed on headphones? Were they planning on interviewing him? Or does he do that all game so he can monitor what they are saying in the booth? If Buck and McCarver say something he doesn't like, does he call Fox right away and complain? It looks a little strange. He's commissioner; why not just enjoy the game?

I complain a lot about Derek Jeter's defense, but he just made a very nice play on a ball chopped over Clemens' head by Rodriguez. Jeter charged in, got a good hop and fired Pudge out at first.

The Yankees are hitting with two out in the third. Consecutive singles by Giambi and Williams put men on 1st and 2nd for Matsui. Bernie is 2 for 2 and is hitting .462 in the series so far. Williams has not been a great series performer in the past, having hit .179 in the fall classic coming into today.

Mastsui flies out to Conine to end the inning.

Clemens has a much stronger 2nd inning. He retires the side in order and gets his first strikeout. He only threw eight pitches, seven for strikes.

Ed Rapuano is the umpire at first base who's made the two bad calls. It's cost the Marlins one run scored and one run allowed. They really should be up 4-0 at this point.

Bernie Williams leads off the 2nd with a single, then Matsui beats out an infield single with the help of the umpire. That's two calls that have been blown at that base in favor of the Yankees. 1st and 2nd with none out, and Posada hits one off Pavano that goes as an infield hit to load the bases.

Update: Garcia is doing a good job of making Pavano's pitches look like the are way inside when they are very close to the plate. Willie Randolph must have taught him that. :-)

Update: Garcia doesn't take the last inside pitch, but swings and misses to strike out.

Update: Boone hits a sac fly to medium center, and Matsui tags up and goes to third. On the weak throw there, Posada advances to 2nd. Poor defense by Pierre. Clemens grounds out to end the inning. 3-1 Fish in the middle of the 2nd.

Pierre grounds out to a drawn in Soriano to start the first.

Update: Castillo grounds out to shortstop. A bad throw by Jeter almost pulls Giambi off the bag who makes a great play to catch it. The umpire called Castillo out, but it looked to me like Giambi's foot came off the bag. But even looking at it in slow motion, I'm not 100% sure.

I-Rod follows with a single to right.

Update: Miguel Cabrera takes Roger Clemens deep the opposite way into the rightfield stands. It's Miguel's fourth HR of the post season. Conine follows with a single to left. Clemens like in game 7, is throwing strikes, but he's not fooling the hitters.

Update: Lowell dumps one into rightfield, moving Conine to third with two outs. Four hits in a row for the Marlins.

Update: Lee singles to left driving in Conine. It's clear this is not Clemen's night. Will he last the first?

Update: Weaver is warming up. I'd rather see Clemens get hammered.

Update: Alex Gonzalez flys out to right to end the inning, saving us from Jeff Weaver. Clemens threw 42 ptiches, only 25 for strikes, and, most importantly, did not come close to striking out a batter. Even if he straightens himself out in the 2nd, it's unlikely Clemens can go deep in this game.

Soriano takes a 1-0 pitch into centerfield for a single.

Update: A rare baserunning error by Derek Jeter. He hits a soft liner toward second that Castillo played on one hop. Jeter must have thought it was caught and didn't run at first, and the Marlins were able to get a double play out of it. Who does he think he is, Miguel Tejada?

Update: Giambi flies out to end the inning. Pavano throws 15 pitches, 10 for strikes.

A Soriano fan takes a very critical look at Alfonso's weaknesses.

Eric Simon has a new blog about the Mets called SaberMets Blog. Stop by and say hi.

Edward Cossette gets it.

I hope all baseball fans tune into this game tonight to watch what will in fact be the end of an era. Tonight, Roger Clemens makes his last major league start. Clemens is not just a great pitcher from his generation; he's one of the greatest of all time. And who knows, this may be the night he throws the no-hitter he's never had.

Clemens has started five games for the Yankees on the road in the post season. He's 3-1 with a 2.10 ERA in those starts. In those games he's pitched 34 1/3 innings and struck out 43, with opponents only batting .200 against him. He's also only allowed 1 HR in those games.

He'll be facing Carl Pavano in game 4. Pavano's pitched great in the post season, mixing one start with a number of stellar relief appearances. He's pitched 11 1/3 innings with a 1.59 ERA. He's walked only three while striking out 11, and only 2 of the 10 hits he's allowed have gone for extra bases (2 doubles).

Looks like another good matchup between the starters. It would be good to see Clemens cap his career in a blaze of glory, especially after his poor outing in game 7 of the ALCS. Enjoy!

Bronx Banter is up and running again. So is Mike's Baseball Rants.

Mark Hale of the NY Post picks up on Jorge Posada's remarkable World Series, in which he has a .000 BA but a .417 OBA.

Calling Jorge Posada "patient" isn't enough anymore. He's way past that.
Posada's the man waiting on line to ride Space Mountain. He's the guy waiting for his girlfriend to finish in the bathroom. He's the fellow who could join an FBI stakeout team and feel right at home. And he's the Yankee who drew the key walk last night.

Posada's remarkable patience continued to pay dividends last night, as his fourth-inning, bases-loaded walk drove in the Yankees' first run in their 6-1 win.

Incredibly, Posada now has drawn six bases-loaded walks this season. And he now has five walks in the World Series, good for a .417 on-base percentage that masks his, ahem, .000 batting average (0-for-7).

Of players who had at least five AB in a World Series without a hit, Posada's .417 OBA is way beyond the best. Darrel Chaney of the Reds was 0 for 7 in 1972 with 2 walks and a hit by pitch for a .300 OBA. Unlike Posada, however, Chaney's two walks were intentional.

Before the Red Sox-Yankees series, I wrote about the versatility of the NY offense. They can score runs with hits, they can score runs getting on base and they can score runs with power. The Marlins pitchers and defense are preventing hits. The Yankees are hitting just .258 in the three games so far. But they aren't stopping the other two parts of the Yankees offense. NY has a team OBA of .374 and a team slugging percentage of .464, based on five HR. In addition to the hits, the Marlins are going to have to stop the walks or the power if they hope to come back in this series.

Seems people are happy with Mussina now. Here's the NY Post's take from Mark Hale.

His effort was best painted by looking at his at-bats against the pesky Luis Castillo. In the first, Mussina struck him out with pure heat. In the seventh, with a runner on second and two outs, he elected to intentionally walk Juan Pierre to pitch to Castillo with two men on. Then he unfurled a nasty curve to send Castillo to the bench.

Mussina also pitched out of a tough jam in the sixth when the Marlins put runners on first and third with two outs. But he jammed Derrek Lee and got a comebacker, getting the lead out at home. Then he wiped out Mike Lowell with a split-finger.

The Yanks signed Mussina for games just like this one. He couldn't have paid off their investment any better last night.

George Richards of the Miami Herald details Mussina's hard luck all the way back to Baltimore.

In 1997, Mussina stymied Cleveland in the American League championships. Still, the Orioles lost both of his starts despite him giving Baltimore than everything it needed to win.

In that series, the former first-round pick out of Stanford gave up one run in 15 innings and struck out 25. He allowed just four hits, but the Orioles couldn't score against the Indians. Cleveland advanced to the World Series by winning Game 6 in the 11th inning; in that game, Mussina gave up one hit in eight innings.

''He pitched two of the greatest games I've ever seen in my 25 years in the game,'' Orioles first base coach John Stearns said after losing to Cleveland.

``We couldn't get it done.''

The Yankees finally came through for him Tuesday night.

Filip Brody of the NY Daily News finds Mussina's lucky number:
Mussina threw sevens: He scattered seven hits through seven innings, left seven stranded. He also struck out nine with his 111 pitches. "He had an outstanding breaking ball and was putting his fastball exactly where he wanted it," Mel Stottlemyre said.

I think Mussina was very close to be branded someone who couldn't pitch a big game, despite his history of doing very well in his post-season starts. I'm glad he won and put those stories to rest.

Alex Belth reports to me that his web site, Bronx Banter, is down, but he hopes it will be back soon. He'll post his opinions on last night's game when it comes back up.

Hollandsworth grounds out to Soriano to end the game. A huge win for the Yankees. For the 2nd time in consecutive series, the Yankees come back in game three to beat the opponent's ace. NY now knows the worst that can happen to them in Florida is being sent back to the Bronx. The matchups in games four and six favor the Yankees.

It was a great pitching duel between the starters. It was almost a relieve to the Yankees to get Beckett out of there. The Marlins actually outhit the Yankees 8 to 6, but the New Yorkers drew six walks and had two hit batters vs. the Marlins 1 intentional walk drawn. And all the homers belonged to the Yankees.

It's Clemens vs. Pavano tomorrow, same bat time, same bat channel!

Rivera does come out for the ninth. I guess the Yankees don't want the Marlins scoring eight runs in one inning. :-)

Update: Lowell grounds out to Jeter. 1 Down, Conine up.

Update: Conine singles to right, bringing pinch hitter Juan Encarnacion to the plate.

Update: It's really raining hard again.

Update: A pitch gets by Posada to put Conine at 2nd.
Update: Juan Gone. Encarnacion strikes out. Todd Hollandsworth pinch hitting with two down and a man on first.

No picture of Yanni, and Aaron Boone takes it out of the park. The leadoff HR gives Rivera a two run cushion for the ninth.

Update: Soriano walks! Alert the media!

Update: Looper comes in to replace Fox after the walk to Soriano.

Update: Looper hits Jeter, but gets Dellucci to fly out. Two on, two out for Bernie Williams.

Update: Bernie Williams goes deep to give the Yankees a 6-1 lead and set the record for post-season HR with 19. I wonder if Rivera will pitch the ninth, or if they will save him for tomorrow night?

With the one run lead, the Yankees bring out their best defensive team, putting Johnson at first, Dellucci in right and Rivera on the mound for the two inning save. Dellucci makes the first play of the innings, a foul fly off Ivan Rodriguez.

Update: Rivera makes Cabrera look like a 20-year-old. :-) Miguel did not look good striking out. Lee pops out to give Rivera an extremely easy 8th. He threw six pitches, five for strikes. If he has even a normal inning in the 9th, he'll be good to go for two innings tomorrow.

Matsui goes the other way through the shortstop hole to single in Jeter with the 2nd Yankees run of the game, and a 2-1 lead. Jeter has scored both runs. Another big hit for Matsui, and his 11th RBI in 14 post-season games.

Update: After Posada walks, McKeon comes out to get Willis. Not a great outing for Dontrelle, as he only gets 1 out in four batters. Fox is in to face Sierra.

Update: Sierra strikes out to end the 8th. It could have been a lot worse for the Marlins.

I'm starting to believe Jeter is the greatest player ever. :-)

Jeter makes up for Soriano again with his 3rd hit and 2nd double of the night. Jeter has all three Yankees hits.

That's it for Beckett. Dontrelle Willis enters the game in relief. Beckett pitched a great game, striking out ten to go with the three hits and three walks. He can't win the game, but he can lose it.

Update: Derrek Lee goes into the dugout while Willis is warming up, then comes out to the mound. The Marlins have been charged with a trip to the mound, so they can't go out to talk to him without taking Willis out of the game.

Update: Giambi walks. Bernie Williams turns around and bats righty.

Update: Nice save by I-Rod on 1-2 pitch from Willis. It looked like Willis slipped a bit, and the ball sailed way outside. Pudge stretched out and snagged it.

Update: Williams flys out to center. Jeter challenges Pierre's arm and makes it to third. A risky play, but Pierre's arm is really bad (the ball wasn't that deep).

Soriano continues to swing and miss. Three for three in this AB for his third K. The starting 2nd basemen are now 0 for 8 with 6 strikeouts tonight.

The Yankees bullpen was going in the top of the 7th, so if Mussina gets in trouble the Yankees are ready. There's action in the Marlins pen as Mussina starts his half of the 7th as well. Looks like Torre and McKeon are not making the same mistakes as Baker and Little.

Update: Gonzalez is bunting, but goes 0-2. If he's successful at moving the runner, McKeon will apparently bat for Beckett. That's good news for the Yankees.

Update: Gonzalez pops out foul to first. A bad piece of hitting by Alex. Beckett stays in the game and bats in the 7th, bunting. I don't agree with this. The Marlins need a run, and putting a man at 2nd with two out doesn't help that much. Why not bat Encarnacion and try to get a hit?

Update: A good bunt by Beckett brings Juan Pierre to the plate with a man on 2nd. Pierre has two hits today, although one of them was on a poor play by Bernie Williams. Mussina is walking Juan to pitch to Castillo, who has struck out twice tonight.

Update: Castillo strikes out for the 3rd time tonight. Over use and bad execution of the bunt costs the Marlins.

David Cassidy's singing God Bless America during the 7th inning stretch. Where's Tracy and her tambourine?

Last time they showed Yanni, Aaron Boone made an error. They show him again while Aaron is batting. We'll see if he strikes out.

Update: The rain is coming down again.

Update: The curse continues. Boone strikes out.

Ivan Rodriguez doubles with one out in the sixth, and Cabrera follows with his 2nd opposite field single. It's first and third with 1 out.

Update: On a ball hit back to the box, Mussina knocks it down and gets I-Rod in a run down at home. The announcers are praising the play, but I thought he had a good chance to field it cleanly and get a double play. Men on 1st and 2nd with 2 out.

Update: Mussina strikes out Lowell after falling behind 3-1. Marlins blow a golden opportunity to take the lead.

Like Mussina, Josh Beckett gives up a single to the first batter he faces after the rain delay. Jeter hits a solid single up the middle to lead off the 6th inning.

Update: After striking out Giambi and Williams, Beckett walks Matsui to put men on first and 2nd for Posada. Posada doesn't have a hit in the series, but he does have a .400 OBA.

Update: Posada grounds out to end the inning. Beckett has 7 K and 3 BB through six innings.

Update: Jeter is playing his 29th World Series contest, and that's his 9th multi-hit game in the series. The Yankees are 7-1 in the previous eight games where Jeter has had 2 or more hits. And he directly contributed to those wins by scoring 12 runs in those previous eight games.

With two out, Pierre singles to left off Mussina.

Update: Pierre is thrown out on the first pitch trying to steal. For a team with speed, they are only 2 out of 4 stealing in the World Series, and eight out of thirteen in the post season.

The game is supposed to resume in about five minutes.

With 2 outs in the bottom of the fifth, and the score tied, the grounds crew is pulling out the tarp. No telling how long it will go.

Update: You can see the radar loop here.

Beckett retires the Yankees in order in the fifth, another 10 pitch inning.

It's raining in the 4th. Probably won't last long.

Update: Mussina has his first 1-2-3 inning, although he probably should have had two others. Through four, Beckett has thrown 60 pitches, 39 for strikes, and Mussina has thrown 64 pitches, 46 for strikes.

Derek Jeter breaks up the no-hitter with a double to left.

Update: Giambi draws the first walk from Beckett. It was a pretty good pitch; I think I saw that called for a strike many times in the ALCS.

Update: Matsui is hit on the foot after a Williams pop out. Bases loaded and two out.

Update: Posada drew five walks with the bases loaded this year.

Update: Posada has a great plate appearance, fouling off two pitches with two strikes and working back from a 1-2 hole to draw the walk and tie the game.

Update: Garcia grounds out to end the inning. It's 1-1 in the middle of the fourth.

Soriano strikes out swinging again. It's his 22nd strikeout in 14 post-season games, and the 5th in the World Series.

Fox shows Yanni, Boone makes an error. Coincidence?

I just lost a lot of respect for I-Rod, listing Yanni as his favorite recording artist.

Update: Nice pitch by Mussina to strike out Cabrera. Boone's error on the Rodriguez ground ball doesn't hurt the Yankees. It's still 1-0 after three.

Mike Mussina has 8 hits in 37 AB in his career, but impressively, he's only struck out 6 times.

Update: Mussina strikes out. Another 1-2-3 inning for Beckett, and he continues to keep his pitch count low; 31 pitches, 23 for strikes.

Mike Mussina gives up another hit, but doesn't allow a run. He's also pitching well, having thrown 33 pitches, 25 for strikes.

Another easy inning for Beckett, as the Yankees go three up, three down again. No strikeouts, but once again he didn't use many pitches. He's thrown 20 now over two innings, 15 for strikes. At that rate, a complete game is a distinct possibility.

Bernie tries to make up for the misplay, but his long fly falls short of the warning in right center. A good example of why this is a tough park for lefties.

Bernie Williams once again shows why he shouldn't be in center. It was a popup that either he or Garcia could have caught, but Bernie called Karim off and didn't make the play. A gift double for Pierre.

Update: Mussina gets two outs before Cabrera singles the opposite way. His first hit drives in Pierre to give the Marlins a 1-0 lead. Lee grounds out to end the inning.

Beckett starts the game off by striking out Soriano. He worked him more inside than most pitchers.

Update: Jeter strikes out swinging.

Update: Beckett gets Giambi to pop out on a 1-2 pitch. A very easy first for him. Only 11 pitches, 9 for strikes.

Nick Johnson and Juan Encarnacion sit tonight. Encarnacion actually hits Mussina better than Conine, but it's a small sample.

It's so cool that Fox is using Shelia E's drumming to open the show!

Here's the latest story. Looks like Bonds will co-operate. He's been told he's not a target of the probe.

I'm going to keep this short while I can still blog. High strikeout pitchers like Beckett (greater than 100 IP, K per 9 greater than 8.5) were 3-1 against the Yankees this year with a 2.93 ERA in six starts. Mussina has started against the Marlins four times in his career; in his three starts with Baltimore he pitched well enough to win each time but the Orioles lost; in his one start with the Yankees in 2001 he was creamed, giving up 8 runs in 2 innings. Derrek Lee is four for five vs. Mussina, while Aaron Boone is the only starting Yankee to have seen him, and homered in his only AB. I give the edge to the Marlins in this game, should be a great pitching duel. Enjoy!

I'm having trouble on and off with Hosting Matters. Please book mark this site as a backup, my original blog, http://pages.map.com/pinto/blogger.html. If you can't reach this site, try there.

Hosting Matters got hit with another denial of service attack today. Sorry for the late postings. Look for Today's Matchup in a few minutes.

Longtime reader Steve Bonner attended last Thursday's Red Sox-Yankees game and sends this report:

In a stroke of what can only be described as outrageous fortune, I was traveling to New York on business for a meeting on Friday. I mentioned this to someone I work with in Chicago and she serendipitously mentioned that she was going to be in New York on Thursday and Friday for a meeting and that since I am her client she could rationalize buying tickets to the game if I could change my flight to fly in earlier on Thursday.

Long story short, my first trip to the Stadium in nearly 10 years was for Game 7 of the LCS with Boston. And what a game it was. Pure depression and sadness for the first 7 innings. The team always seemed to win with smoke and mirrors…their record seemed better than the individual players were capable of…this was someone else's year…Boston was a Team of Destiny… let their fans have the win, let them get over the Curse so we could expel it from the lexicon. ‘Oh well,’ I figured, ‘there will be reason to hope again next year.’

And then a funny thing started happening, each time Giambi homered I felt a little spark of something...but figured it was too little too late. Just enough to redeem the G man for a tough season in which injuries dragged him down.

Then came the 8th and after Jeter doubled we were on our feet chanting, "Paaaaaay-Dro, Paaaaaay-Dro," trying to help our team out in the only way we could. Trying to turn the knob on the pressure cooker up to a Spinal Tap-ish 11. When Jeter's hit was followed by Bernie's and then Matsui's and finally Posada's I felt like we were finally back in this thing. And once again the core of this team had come through.

Rivera was scintillating as usual. And when Wakefield came in I started mentally calculating how significantly he had kept the Yanks bats in check and started to realize that the simple law of averages dictated that he couldn't keep it up much longer. There was a glimmer that this may be the guy who gives it up.

Boone had been taking a beating from the fans around me all game, "he hasn't had a hit in 6 weeks," one guy said. When he stepped in and swung and launched that high drive I though it was going foul. Sitting in the second deck on the right field line I couldn’t see the ball well in relation to the foul pole....we were all on our feet, on our tip toes, not a breath escaping anyone and then slowly, magically I saw the fans in the left field seats...the seats in FAIR territory rise to greet the ball and the place EXPLODED into a wave a white noise.

Two days later, my voice has yet to fully come back, my ears are still slightly ringing and my hands are bruised from clapping and high-fiving with the throng in the street in the heart of the Bronx at about 12:30 am on a Friday morning. I'll never forget it as long as I live, never. People who don't understand baseball like to say that Yankee fans feel it's their right to win the World Series every year, that we take no joy in it because it is such a common occurrence. They are wrong, nothing is guaranteed, nothing is taken for granted and the joy I felt watching my team come back against their most bitter rival, against one of the best pitchers to ever pitch in the big leagues, to overcome a bust of a start by the Rocket, to still rally after Wells gave up the home run to Ortiz...well it's the most pure sort of joy I think I am capable of feeling over something that I didn't personally accomplish. I'll never forget how lucky I am that this team happens to be my team.

Go Yankees; Long Live Baseball

I get the feeling that the two league championship series introduce the game of baseball to a number of new fans. I think we would have done more to keep the fans if either the Cubs or Red Sox had made the series, but there are a few converts, even if their idea of fantasy baseball is somewhat underdeveloped. :-)

I'll keep my eye on this story to see if anything develops.

I just discovered the raindrops, a Mets blog. Stop by and say hi.

With the split in NY, the World Series has been reduced to a best of five, and the Marlins have the home field advantage, although that may not count for much. The Yankees record on the road was the best in the majors (51-29) and was almost as good as the Marlins record at home (53-28). So if the Marlins are going to triumph in this series, where will the wins come from?

Two good chances for victories are in the games pitched by Josh Beckett. He'll face hard-luck loser Mike Mussina twice if the series goes seven, and Mussina has shown he can be outpitched. The Moose redeemed himself with his performance in game 7 of the ALCS, but Yankees fans will forget that quickly if he gets beat by another great opposition outing.

The other game that looks ripe to take for the Marlins is game 5, Wells vs. Penny. Wells pitched well, but he let too many ball be put in play against him, and a few of those found their way through the defense to set up the Marlins runs. The ballpark configuration greatly favors Penny in that game. At this point, I have a hard time seeing that contest go to the Yankees.

As shown last night, Pettitte matches up well against the Marlins, so I think that one goes into the Yankees column, as well as game four, in which a well rested Clemens will go against either Pavano or Willis, and I think Clemens will outpitch either of them to go out in a blaze of glory.

So the more I think about it, the more it looks like the 1997 World Series, where the Marlins have the edge in the odd games, and the Yankees have the edge in the even games. In my opinion, it will all come down to Beckett vs. Mussina; whoever scores for their ace will win the series.

It's not clear who it will be yet, but both Pavano and Willis are willing to take the ball. They seem to actually like McKeon giving them multiple roles.

Willis, who pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings in a Game 1 victory, is the likely candidate to replace Redman in the rotation. He said he would be available to relieve in Game 3 tomorrow if starter Josh Beckett faltered, or to start Game 4.

"You've got to be ready to take the ball," Willis said. "Relieve, start. You just have to stay on guard. But that's good. It keeps everyone on their toes. We're all ready for the phone to ring."

Willis said he didn't care if he started or relieved, but Pavano made it clear he is able to start Game 4. "It's not my decision, but I want the ball," the righthander said. "When they called the bullpen, I was up on the mound right away. Before my last start in Chicago [Tuesday], I threw an inning on Saturday. I throw once between starts, anyway. I was successful the last time, so I have the confidence."

In that ballpark, the Marlins are better off going with the righty in game four. I'm betting on Pavano getting the start.

I wanted to say thank you to all the readers responsible for the growth of this site. I had more visitors last week than I did all of last October. Thanks for coming by, and I hope you continue to enjoy the information and opinion presented here.

Since NPR is conducting their pledge drive right now, I'll make a rare mention of my tip jar:

Pettitte pitches a great game, allowing only 1 unearned run. He allowed six hits and 1 walk, but three runners were erased on double plays. He ties Smoltz's record with 13 post-season wins.

The Yankees hitters woke up tonight as well, supplying power to support their pitcher. Matsui and Soriano go deep to drive in five of the team's six runs. They had 19 total bases on 10 hits.

The Marlins continue their pattern of winning odd numbered World Series games and losing the even ones. They'll be happy if that pattern holds up. :-)

Having thrown only 97 pitches, Andy Pettitte comes out to start the 9th for the Yankees to see if he can complete the shutout. A win tonight will tie him with John Smoltz for most post-season wins.

Update: Pierre grounds out to start the ninth.

Update: Castillo singles to center. Only the fifth hit of the night for the Marlins.

Update: Redmond flies to left. Two out for Cabrera.

Update: Cabrera reaches on the 2nd error of the night by Boone. Boone cuts in front of Jeter, who didn't really charge the ball hard.

Update: Derrek Lee singles to right to drive in Castillo. The shutout is gone and so is Pettitte. Yankees lead 6-1 in the ninth.

Update: Contreras is on to face Lowell with men on 1st and 2nd and two out.

Aaron Boone gets his first hit of the night in the eighth. All the Yankees starters have reached based, and only Posada has failed to get a hit.

Carl Pavano comes in to pitch in the bottom of the 7th. Interesting. I wonder if this means he won't start game 4?

Update: Not an easy inning for Pavano. He gives up a double to Giambi and walks Williams, but does not allow a run. However, he does throw 21 pitches, which is probably more tha McKeon wanted out of him. We'll see if he starts Wednesday, or if there is a change of plan.

Miguel Cabrera hits a ball down the third base line, but Cabrera doesn't run. It's an easy double play for Boone. Not hustling? The replay shows that the ball grazed Cabrera's ankle, so it should have been foul. The umpire just didn't see it. Bad break for the Marlins.

Aaron Boone strikes and Posada is caught stealing on a perfect throw (from his knees) by Ivan Rodriguez. Boone is the only Yankee not to reach base tonight. Johnson follows the DP with a double, his third hit of the night. Looks like that bunt did bust the slump.

Andy Pettitte has faced the minimum number of batters through five, despite allowing two hits. The two DP's turned by the Yankees wiped out the only two baserunners Andy has allowed. He's thrown only 53 pitches, 35 for strikes. This is more than the Yankees could have hoped for out of Pettitte tonight.

Soriano is back swinging at outside pitches, but then Helling makes a mistake over the plate and Alfonso puts it in the leftfield stands. It's 6-0 Yankees in the 4th.

With Pierre on at first, Boone makes a diving stop of a Castillo grounder and throws Pierre out at 2nd. It looked like Soriano's foot came off the bag to me; one angle seems to show it did, while another seems to show it didn't. It was real close, but I think the Marlins got victimized by a bad call there. Ivan Rodriguez follows up with a DP grounder to Jeter. Still 4-0 in the middle of the 4th.

Redman gives up a single to Jeter leading off the 3rd. It's becoming obvious that Redman isn't fooling anybody. McKeon wasn't afraid to pull him in game 6 of the NLCS, and I would guess he'll be gone on the next hit.

Update: After a fly out by Giambi, Williams walks and McKeon comes out to bring in a new pitcher. Redman threw 50 pitches, only 24 for strikes.

Update: Rick Helling comes on and gets Matsui and Posada to end the inning. They showed Dusty Baker in the stands. Maybe he'll get a lesson on when to remove your starter.

Pettitte strikes out the side in the third. So far, the short rest seems to be bothering Pettitte a lot less than Redman.

Nick Johnson drops a perfect bunt down the third base line to get a hit with one out in the 2nd. Whatever works.

Update: Juan Rivera doubles over Cabrera's head in left. Johnson tries to score and does on a wide throw. However, Rivera is thrown out a third. Yankees lead 4-0. The NY lineup sure seems awake tonight.

Marlins go 1-2-3. Pettitte threw 21 pitches in the first, only five in the 2nd.

Soriano has taken three outside pitches in a row. Will wonders never cease.

Update: Double wow, Soriano draws a leadoff walk!

Update: Jeter tries to bunt, but gets two strikes. It looked like he was bunting more for a hit than a sac.

Update: Jeter K's. Like last night, why are you bunting when a pitcher starts out wild? Let him prove he can throw strikes. Giambi back to the 3rd slot for this game.

Update: Good move by Redman catches Soriano stealing. Two out.

Update: Redman hits Giambi. Again, he's wild, let him be wild.

Update: Williams singles to center on a 3-2 pitch. Redman has thrown 18 pitches, 10 for balls.

Update: Matsui gets the green light on a 3-0 pitch and hits it out of the park to dead center. Yankees lead 3-0, and I suspect a lot of people in Japan are celebrating.

Update: Posada ends the inning with a ground out. 3-0 NY after 1.

The Marlins take a page out of the Red Sox first inning strategy and run into a strike 'em out, throw 'em out double play. One hit, three batters in the first as the Yankees come to bat in a scoreless game.

Pierre makes Pettitte work (8 pitch AB), but grounds out to 2nd base to start the game.

Game two is a battle of lefties, with Mark Redman of the Marlins facing Andy Pettitte of the Yankees. While the Marlins 27-11 record when the opposition started a lefty was best in the majors, the Yankees were only 1/2 a game behind them at 26-11. Both are going on short rest, having started games on Wednesday. Redman threw 69 pitches, Pettitte 92, so Mark may be a little bit sharper.

It strikes me that Andy Pettitte is the type of lefty who would do well against the Marlins. Pettitte is in a class of left-handers that include Tom Glavine and Jim Abbott who are more effective against righties than lefties. During the regular season, left-handed batters hit .321 vs. Pettitte, while right-handed batters hit .254. The Marlins are an extremely right-handed team, and the only lefties in the lineup tonight with be Pierre and Redman. Lefties like this are particularly effective against switch-hitters, like Luis Castillo, and sometimes you will see these hitters bat lefty against these pitchers.

Mark Redman has faced the Yankees before. Two matchups to watch are Redman against Giambi and Posada, both of whom are 4 for 11 vs. Mark. Redman has made three starts at Yankee Stadium between 2001 and 2002, and was 0-2 in those starts. In 2001, he made a start on 5/10, allowed 2 runs in six innings, but did not get a decision. Last year, he made a start on July 17th for Detroit at Yankee Stadium, pitched a shutout for eight innings, but lost the game when the Yankees scored two in the 9th. His opponent that day was Andy Pettitte. His thrid start there was not so good, however, allowing seven earned runs in 4 2/3 innings on 9/6/2001.

Pettitte has not faced the Marlins since 1999. He's 1-1 vs. Florida with a 3.86 ERA (one great start, one bad start). He has faced a few of the Marlins before. Watch for the matchup with Ivan Rodriguez; I-Rod is 15 for 41 (.366) with two HR vs. Pettitte in his career. Also Juan Encarnacion is 10 for 22 (.455) against Pettitte.

I believe this is another even game. Redman has a little edge in rest on the basis of fewer pitches thrown in his last start. Pettitte has an edge in that there will be few lefties in the Marlins lineup. Plus, the Marlins have never won an even numbered World Series game. :-)

Enjoy!

We just got back from visiting my dad. As we were driving up interstate 91, large snow flakes started falling from the skies. It's not a good sign to see snow in October in this part of the country.

When I was traveling with ESPN for the 1997 World Series, we went from 90 degrees in Miami to snow in Cleveland. We had to have long johns and shorts for that series.

Nick Johnson flies out to shallow center to end the game. Juan Pierre and Dontrelle Willis were the stars, Pierre reaching base four times and driving in two, while Dontrelle Willis proved effective in relief. Florida keeps it's string of winning odd numbered World Series games intact.

Contreras pitches a scoreless ninth. Urbina will face Giambi, Boone and Juan Rivera.

Update: Urbina walks Giambi on five pitches.

Update: Dellucci in to pinch run.

Update: Hit and run, Boone flys out to right. Sierra pinch hitting for Juan Rivera.

Update: Urbina's a bit wild in this inning. I think the Yankees missed an opportunity by having Boone try to bunt and then hit and run. Boone should have waited Urbina out to see if he could throw a strike. There's a chance he would have walked Boone, putting runners at first and second with none out. Now, you have Sierra and Soriano, who are not likely to be selective at the plate.

Update: Wow, Sierra impresses me by drawing a walk. A good AB for Ruben. UU has thrown 20 pitches, 11 for balls.

Update: Soriano strikes out looking. A great pitch on the inside corner by Urbina.

Dontrelle Willis gives the Marlins 2 1/3 innings of solid relief before getting into trouble with 2 out in the 8th. He retired the first seven batters he faced, striking out two. Williams and Matsui followed with back-to-back singles to put runners on first and third. Urbina is on for the 4-out save.

Update: Posada is 3 for 7 vs. Urbina.

Update: Urbina strikes out Posada. Marlins lead 3-2 after 8.

Sorry I didn't see this earlier, but if you read the links on my blog roll, you did. Rich has a comprehensive preview on his blog.

Stephen Rittenberg has an excellent post on a subject I've been thinking about based on this post season; why can't teams like the A's and Red Sox, who are very good at picking players, are not very good at choosing managers.

Bernie Williams' HR gives him 18 in his post-season career, tying him with Mantle and Reggie Jackson. Of course, Mantle did it in 230 AB, Jackson in 281. Bernie had 364 post-season AB coming into tonight.

Lowell and Rodriguez let a foul pop drop between them. Luckily, Boone flies out to center, so it didn't turn into game six vs. the Cubs. :-)

Brad Penny comes out after 98 pitches (only 55 for strikes) and only two runs allowed. David Wells just finished his 7th inning, 104 pitches, 70 for strikes. It's unlikely he'll come out for the 8th inning.

The Marlins have never lost an odd numbered World Series game.

Juan Pierre gets his 2nd hit of the game, lining a soft one through the drawn in infield with runners on 2nd and 3rd. Looks like Boone made a bad decision cutting off the throw and not relaying home, but throwing to first to try to get the returning batter. It's 3-1 Marlins in the 5th.

Jason Giambi continues to look bad at the plate. He continues to swing at pitches that he would normally take for balls, and I get the impression that he is overswinging, trying to hit everything out of the park. If he keeps this up, he'll deserve to bat 7th.

Although it seems like Jeter is always getting a big hit in the post season, he's now 13 for 60 with runners in scoring position after his game tieing single in the 3rd.

How many balls have to drop in front of Bernie Williams before the Yankees move him out of centerfield? Any other CF would have caught Encarnacion's ball.

Penny does well, allowing just an infield hit to Soriano. Both teams are testing the catchers arms, and both have been successful so far, with Castillo and Soriano stealing bases.

The Marlins didn't hit the ball hard, but they scored on the speed of Juan Pierre. Castillo blooped one just into the outfield between 1st and 2nd, and Pierre was able to go to third, despite slowing down to see if the ball was going to be caught. He then scored on a I-Rod sac fly. Marlins lead 1-0.

Pierre bunts past Wells to start the game with a single.

Here's a good World Series preview from the perspective of a Yankees fan, Larry Mahnken.

Update: And if you want the view from Miami, check out the Book Of Mike.

Game 1 of the World Series pits righty Brad Penny of the Marlins vs. the Yankees lefty David Wells. The Marlins were 27-11 when the opposition started a lefty against them during the regular season, best in the major leagues. Some of that record was due to Pro Player Stadium. The distance to the fences is shorter down the leftfield line than in right. The Marlins were 17-6 at home when a lefty starter against them, 10-5 on the road. That's still an excellent record. It looks like the Yankees are going to be starting lefties in four games in this series; they may want to start Pettitte tomorrow so that three of those four games are at Yankee Stadium.

Penny does not walk many batters. That's good against the Yankees, since drawing walks is an important part of their game. David Wells does not walk any batters; that's less important against the Marlins because they don't draw a lot of walks. They were 13th in walks drawn in the NL this year. They also don't strike out much (14th in the NL) so they put the ball in play, something that very good to do against the porous defense of the Yankees.

Penny hasn't faced the Yankees hitters much; Aaron Boone has seen him the most, going 1 for 11 with 1 walk. Wells has faced Ivan Rodriguez and Jeff Conine quite a bit. I-Rod is 19 for 60 (regular and post-season) against Wells with four doubles and four HR. Conine is only 10 for 40 vs. Wells, but 7 of the 10 hits have been for extra bases.

Penny is probably the more rested of the two. He threw nine pitches on the 15th; Wells threw six on the 16th, but started on the 14th. Penny hasn't had a start since the 8th. All-in-all, I'd say this game favors the Marlins.

Buster Olney has points to ponder about the 2003 Worlds Series. One of them has to do with the designated hitter:

This is probably one of the few times when the designated hitter rule will work for the National League team at home and on the road. For Games 3, 4 and 5, Torre will have to choose between benching his second-highest paid player -- Giambi -- or benching Nick Johnson, who is better defensively (the guess here is that he will play Johnson, particularly with Giambi struggling somewhat, in spite of his Game 7 bombs). Then, when the Marlins play in Yankee Stadium, McKeon will not have to sit one of his better hitters -- he can play Juan Encarnacion, Conine, Lowell and Cabrera all at the same time.

My good friend Jim Storer

and I were discussing the DH the other day, and Jim is of the opinion that the DH rule really hurts the Marlins (and would have hurt the Cubs, for that matter) because Florida doesn't have a good hitter to DH. Here's a table of Offensive Win Shares per 600 plate appearances, based on the 2003 season for the players on the Marlins and Yankees:

Here's the latest on the Marlins and Yankees rotations from the AP via ESPN.com:

David Wells is ready for the Florida Marlins, even if he will be pitching with just one day of rest.

"I've been blessed with a rubber arm -- just hope that everything else falls in and I'm ready to go," he said after being picked to start against Brad Penny in Saturday night's World Series opener.

New York and Florida each used three pitchers who usually start in Game 7 of their league championship series.

Yankees manager Joe Torre had not figured out whether Andy Pettitte or Mike Mussina will pitch Game 2. Florida manager Jack McKeon picked Mark Redman for the second game Sunday and Josh Beckett for the third back in Miami on Tuesday.

I guess McKeon decided he didn't want Dontrelle pitching two games in this series. I can understand that, given the way he's pitched so far and his youth. If I were Torre, I'd go with Pettitte in game 2 (giving him two start in NY, again) and Mussina in game three so you have your best against their best if it goes to game 7.

Also, this article presents a good example of why players love Joe Torre:

Torre wasn't about to start Jeff Weaver, the target of boos at Yankee Stadium as he slumped to a 7-9 record and 5.99 ERA.

"It's not fair to him, I think, after he's been idle for so long, to all of a sudden heap all that on his shoulders right now," Torre said Friday.

See, Joe is doing this out of fairness to Weaver, not because Weaver proven he can't pitch. You have to wonder how Joe would have done as a politician. :-)

Games 1 and 2 are going to be very interesting, given the short rest on which everyone will be working. I suspect all players on both teams are very tired due to a flaw in the scheduling of the playoffs this year. The league that hosts the World Series always finishes their LCS first, giving them a couple of days to sell tickets and prepare the Stadium. This year, the All-Star Game determined home field for the World Series, switching it from NL to AL, but they didn't adjust the LCS schedule to match. So the Marlins play game seven Wednesday, and then have no idea where to go for 24 hours!

This is still tentative, but it looks like Penny will go in game 1 vs. Wells. I was not too far off in this post.

A Yankees fan has reworked a famous poem. Thanks to Lawrence Boucher for pointing this out.

Erin Judge is a standup comedian who also is a blogger. You can see her perform at the Hong Kong is Harvard Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts. In reading her blog today, I found the following, which I should have looked at yesterday:

Prophecy. Hellfire. Damnation. Baseball.

This man from Dedham has come to lead us all. CLICK HERE.

His insight makes me shudder with righteous indignation. Surely the fist of justice will be swift.

CLICK THE LINK, PEOPLE! ESPECIALLY YOU, BASEBALL MUSINGS GUY!

Now, it's your turn. :-)

Ben Jacobs offers this column on last night's game. Two things I find worth quoting:

There was no second-guessing of Little's move. It was obvious to every single person watching the game except for, it appears, Little that Martinez was out of gas. Even my girlfriend, who was watching the game despite the fact that she doesn't really like baseball in general or the Red Sox in particular, told me she was screaming at the TV for Little to take Martinez out.

I've heard this a couple of times today, that someone's girlfriend/wife knew to take Pedro out. It's looking bad for Grady when people who don't like baseball know more about the game than the manager.

And I'll be back next year, rooting just as hard for the Red Sox as ever. And the Red Sox will be back too. I guarantee that there will not be another prolonged stretch where the Red Sox don't make the playoffs or don't win in the playoffs.

How am I so sure? Hell, you might say, the fans in 1946 were probably sure that Ted Williams would get back to the World Series at least once and the fans in 1986 were probably sure that Clemens would lead Boston back to the World Series at least once. How can I be so sure, especially when the Red Sox didn't even reach the World Series this time?

Well, my faith is not in any of the players. Pedro Martinez? Nomar Gariciaparra? Manny Ramirez? You can take them all. Leave Theo Epstein in Boston, and I'll feel good about our chances. The boy wonder brought us to the brink of the World Series in his first season at the helm. Who knows what he can do from here on out? I know I'm excited to find out.

Yes, I think this is only the beginning. It may take a few years, but the Red Sox are going to be a force to be reckoned with for a long time.

Derek Prior ran into a lot of miserable Sox fans last night, and doesn't think they should be unhappy:

There was a lot that was good about this year, this series, and this game. It was a lot of fun. My heart was broken yet again but in the end it has been an autumn I will remember fondly for the rest of my life. I'll remember leaping 5 feet in the air as Trot Nixon's homerun cleared the center field wall in game three in the ALDS. I'll remember the ups and downs; how every time it seemed like the Sox were out of it, they came storming back. I'll remember the nightly debates about which bar we were going to watch the game from. And yes, I will remember where I was when Aaron "f-ing" Boone broke my heart.

Go ahead and be miserable. As for me, I enjoyed the ride.

Irina Paley appears to have enjoyed the game:

Better than money. Better than sex. Better than your favorite song. Better than ice cream. Better than 'Empire Strikes Back.' Better than the swimsuit issue. Better than the FDNY callendar. Better than the prom queen. Better than the '94 Rangers. Better than the '70 Knicks. Better than Brooklyn pizza. Better than the Beatles.

Better than Empire Strikes Back? That's pretty good.

Steinbrenner and Theo are battling in the upper deck of Yankee Stadium with light baseball bats. Steinbrenner knocks Theo's pitching hand off.

GS: Billy Beane never told you what happened to your father.

TE: He told me enough! It was you who defeated him in 1978.

GS: No. I am your father.

TE: No. No. That's not true! That's impossible!

Eric Enders comments on Rivera's MVP at Baseball Primer and notices he wasn't the best relief pitcher in the series.

Looks like the series will be decided by another nine. :-) (Thanks to Casey Abell.)

The Bloviator sums up his feelings on last night's game.

Kirk Gartside points out that the Red Sox can't fire Grady.

He's not under contract for next year, I believe they have an option. Which I pray they don't pick up!

Shawn Bernard does not agree with me.

"I know most people wanted a different ending to the script this time, but once again the Yankees are the American League champions."

Do you really think so? "Most" people? There are a HELL of a lot of Yankee fans out there, all over the world. I would guess that there are more Yankee fans than Red Sox fans. Yeah, there are a lot of people who dislike the Yankees, too, but to say that "most" people wanted a different ending, I think, is far from the truth.

That quote is a statement of opinion. It's based on two things:

1. I know lifelong Yankees fans who are tired of the Yankees winning all the time and would like to see new teams in the World Series.


2. I assume that there are more non-Yankees fans than Yankees fans, and most of those fans were rooting for the Yankees to lose.

I admit that's flimsy evidence, but I'll stand by it until proven otherwise.

Jim Caple thinks so.

The Red Sox clubhouse was mostly silence after the eventual loss, with several players choking back tears. Pedro, who showed little character after the Game 3 melee last weekend by ducking the media, showed a great deal of it Thursday night by standing as tall as his 5-10 frame allows and taking full responsibility for what happened.

"I wouldn't put Grady on the spot like that whatsoever,'' Pedro said. "I am the ace of the team. I wasn't thinking about pitch counts then. That is no time to say I'm tired. There is no reason to blame Grady. He doesn't play the game. We do. I do. If you want to blame someone, blame me. I walk out there. I'm responsible for the pitches I make in the middle of the game.

"Grady did a great job throughout the season. I don't think it's fair to blame Grady for the decision made out there.''

Yes, it is. No starting pitcher as good and as competitive as Pedro is ever going to say he is tired and isn't strong enough to continue. That's why you hire managers to make the decision for them.

I agree with that last paragraph. I was listening to a report on my local NPR station this morning. They had a reporter at the game, and she interviewed Sox fans as they came out, and the consensus was that Little should be fired.
(If the report comes on-line, I'll link to it.)

Firing someone is pretty harsh. Grady made a bad decision, but he thought he was making a good one. At some point, Theo Epstein needs to sit Grady down and go through that inning with him, get his thought processes, get his reasoning clear. Only at that point can the Red Sox really make the decision. But Little has a lot of explaining to do.

I have two distinct feelings about last night's game. One from the Red Sox view, and one from the Yankees view. Hence, the double title.

Let me deal with the Red Sox first. One of the reasons I wish I could have been blogging last night was so I could have written, as the Yankees came up in the 8th, "I'm surpised Martinez is coming out for the 8th." Pedro was pitching a great game, but except for Soriano, he wasn't really dominating. People were hitting the ball, and in the 7th they hit it hard. Pedro got out of the 7th because Soriano was clueless at the plate the entire game and struck out for the 4th time.

So the eighth comes around. Grady has people warming in the bullpen, and Pedro comes out to the mound. Fine. Grady's ready to remove him at the first sign of trouble. Johnson pops out, but Jeter doubles and Williams singles. Back to a two run game. With Williams on first, and a line of lefties coming up, Grady goes to the mound, talks to Pedro briefly, and goes back to the dugout. According to the NY Times:

"Pedro wanted to stay in there," Little said. "He wanted to get the job done just as he has many times for us."

I (and I assume many others), have one question for Grady Little, "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?" Managers don't do much to influence games directly. As much as I like to complain about batting orders, deep down I know they make only a small difference. The success of a pinch hitter in any single situation has more to do with luck than statistical analysis. But a manager has to know when his pitcher is tired and get him out of there. Grady Little failed last night, just as Dusty Baker had two night earlier. Dusty had not been prepared for Prior's downfall. Grady was prepared, but refused to take action. He let Pedro's machismo overrule the clear truth of the situation. Matsui doubled. Posada doubled. Tie game. Another curse perpetuated by the failings of a manager. I've already gotten two emails calling for Little's head. I'm sure there will be many more as the day progresses.

But, like yesterday, it's not all about the Red Sox losing. The Yankees won in grand Yankees fashion, battling back against the game's best pitcher, and winning against the guy they couldn't hit all series. It was a game of redemption for many.

While I was watching last night, I thought the turning point would be Mike Mussina's entry into the game. Clemens wasn't pitching that badly. He was throwing strikes, they just weren't moving, and the Red Sox were hammering him. Torre realized Clemens just didn't have it, and took him out with four runs in, men on 1st and 3rd, and none out in the fourth. In came the Moose. In came the post-season loser. He strikes out Varitek and gets Damon to hit into a double play. It was do or die right there, and Mussina performed splendidly. He gave them three scoreless innings on 33 pitches and rehabilitated his image.

Jason Giambi was demoted to 7th in the lineup last night. That had to be a huge slap in the face to him. But it also seemed to be just what he needed. He homered in the fifth and the seventh to show his teammates that Pedro could be hit. A second great player rising to the occasion.

Pedro and Jorge Posada had exchanged words in game 3, with Pedro allegedly threatening to bean the Yankee catcher. The game tieing double gave Posada the last laugh there.

And finally, Aaron Boone. Benched twice against Pedro for Enrique Wilson (who's error led to a run in the 2nd), a disappointment since the trade from Cincinnati, joins the ranks of unlikely Yankee heroes and becomes only the fifth player to end a playoff series with a HR. And he did it off Wakefield, the soft tosser who for two games had the Yankees in knots.

The game lived up to its billing. It was one for the ages. I know most people wanted a different ending to the script this time, but once again the Yankees are the American League champions.

I was very frustrated last night, as I was unable to blog. This was do to a denial of service attack against HostingMatters. You can see the details here. I want to apologize to everyone who came by last night looking for news. I was dying to post and could not.

Robert Decker sends this link on how to save the life of the Cubs fan who did you know what.

Jeremy Senderowicz alerts me to a couple of lineup changes:

• Johnson is batting 2nd.


• Wilson is starting at third, but batting 8th.


• Giambi is batting 7th!

Is Torre panicking? Giambi is a good player who is in a slump. Like Nomar yesterday, he may break out of it at any time.

Correction: Giambi is batting 7th, not 8th. That's what I get for blogging and eating at the same time!

Troy Carpenter writes with this observation:

I wanted to let you know another reason tonight's game is the "perfect storm of baseball", as you dub it. The weather is getting downright weird, like last night. I work near Union Square in Manhattan, and it doesnt look like rain, but the wind is whipping and howling, reminiscent of my old home chicago. We could very well see some bizarre wind-aided plays tonight.

Adventures in the Outfield, tonight on Fox.

Darren Viola writes:

Major water main break near Yankee Stadium....Cashman was just on WFAN and said that he has been calling the players to leave "very early" for game, as they are now shutting down some major arteries.

You can read about it here. Sounds like a Red Sox plot to try to get Pedro another day of rest. :-)

Mark Mandrella sends this link, about a Hollywood Studio planning to make a movie about the fan who interfered with Alou catching the foul ball in game 6. It's the same studio that made Gigli, so they know what it's like dealing with curses.

Mike Carmianti of Mike's Baseball Rants sent an e-mail wondering who will start for the Marlins in game 1, give than all five starters have pitched over the last two days. This article talks about who the likely top three starters will be, but does not discuss the order.

I think it comes down to Penny or Willis for game 1. If the Yankees win, I'd probably go with the lefty Willis. If the Red Sox win, I'd go with the righty Penny, although given the Boston-Montreal-Flordia axis of evil, I might go with Pavano on short rest, but certainly have Carl start game two there. Then I'd come back with Beckett in game 3, so he could also pitch game 7.

The Baseball Crank looks at the history of the Yankees in deciding game 7's and finds they have a losing record (5-6)! Still 5-6 is pretty reasonable when you consider if you get to the 7th game, you have two evenly matched teams. The Red Sox have never lost a game 7 in the ALCS (they beat the Angels in 1986). Of course, they've never won a deciding game 7 in the World Series (0-3).

Dr. Manhattan has his thoughts on tonight's game over at Blissful Knowledge.

Brian Gunn at Redbird Nation is also annoyed by the obsession with the Cubs losing. See his post after game 6, and after game 7, where is he too kind to Cubs fans who treated him shabbily as the Cardinals collasped.

Edward Cossette has some great quotes over at Bambino's Curse.

Alex Belth will be watching tonight with his eyes closed.

The Portland Sox fan is "ultra-confident." That's always a bad sign. :-)

If last Saturday was the game of century, tonight's contest has to be the game of the Holocene. It's the perfect storm of baseball:

• The Yankees are playing the Red Sox. That by itself would make it the game of the day.


• Some people who make money selling books believe the Red Sox are cursed because the Sox sold the greatest player who ever lived to the Yankees. Since that time, the Yankees have won 26 World Championships, the Red Sox 0.


• Tonight's game is the 7th game of a best of 7 series. Even Scarlett O'Hara would have to admit there's no tomorrow. (I doubt she would be a Yankees fan.)


• The greatest pitcher in the history of the Red Sox is facing the greatest pitcher in the history of the Red Sox.


• There's bad blood from game 3.

Clemens has one advantage over Pedro in this game; he's pitched less. This will be Pedro's fourth start in the post-season, and a busy September (in which he was unhittable) seems to have taken its toll. Pedro has a 4.29 ERA this October. He's only struck out 15 in 21 innings. That's not bad for most pitchers, but it means that Pedro is off his game.

Clemens, on the other hand, has had his starts spread out. It's only his third start of the post season, and he's been pitching like he did back in 1986; two walks and 13 K in 13 innings. He's allowed 10 hits in 47 AB against him, and only two were for extra bases.

I have no clue what will happen today. The Red Sox biggest fear is that someone like Enrique Wilson will deliver the lucky hit to win the game. The Yankees biggest fear is that the Red Sox don't have an Enrique Wilson anywhere in their lineup. I know what I want to happen. I want a one-run game in the bottom of the ninth. I want someone in scoring position, two out and Derek Jeter at the plate. Will he pop to third like Yaz, or go yard like Bucky? Whatever the outcome at that point, it will be a glorious finish.

Looking at Google News right now, I see the following headlines concerning the NLCS:

Cubs aren't pinning blame for loss on fan
Cubs Lose, Curse Wins
Cubdom left numb in end

(Cubdom looks a little too much like condom, which changes the whole meaning of the story!) Didn't the Marlins win? Aren't the Marlins the Cinderella story? Why is the big story of the day Cubs lose, not Marlins win? So here, read a celebratory article by Dan Le Batard of the Miami Herald:

That silence you still hear today? It is the sound of baseball's mouth hanging open.

The Marlins pelted the hexed, haunted Cubs, 9-6, to become the most improbable team in the World Series since the 1969 New York Mets nicknamed after a miracle. And the Marlins might be the most hated underdog in the history of sports, seeing as how nobody outside of South Florida wanted to see the Marlins advance. Nobody.

And that sound you hear is all of South Florida laughing.

While dancing.

And shouting itself hoarse.

''We're the darlings of the baseball world right now,'' Marlins Manager Jack McKeon said.

And they should be the darlings. How can you not love Josh Beckett, the young fireballer? How can you not love Pudge Rodriguez, whose combination of arm and bat are unmatched? And how can you not love the rookie, Miguel Cabrera, who plays with reckless abandon and is having the time of his life?

This was an evenly matched series, which went to the Marlins because of a managerial blunder by Dusty Baker in game six. To the Marlin's credit, they took the opening and never looked back. I can't wait to see what they do against the AL Champ.

Welcome to everyone who is finding their way here via Instapundit. Check out his link to MadPony.com, and the eight things Kristin has learned about baseball. I think number 3 is how a lot of fans feel. :-) I agree with 4, and unlike her college buddies, I actually find number 8 extremely interesting, and it's one of the reasons I love the game.

By the way, before being linked by Glenn Reynolds at 10:25 last night, I was having my best non-Instalink day in the history of my blog, prompting my lovely wife Marilyn to say, "You don't need no stinkin' Instapundit!" Oops. She was also sending the Cubs her good vibes, which coincided with the three-run second. But when she left the room to clean up the dinner dishes, the Marlins took the lead. She's very sorry. :-)

Bako flies out to left to end the game! Marlins are NL champs, and the Cubs have once again blown three match points to lose the NL pennant. What a great show by Florida however. A small market, low attendance team makes the World Series. Bud Selig must be fuming, which makes me very happy.

No Cubs-Red Sox series, but whoever the Marlins end up playing, it's going to be a lot of fun. Beckett, Pudge and Cabrera are worth the price of admission. We'll see who they are going to play tomorrow night.

Once again, this series raises questions about how much attention Dusty Baker pays to situations during the game. His lack of a warmed up reliever when Prior got in trouble yesterday cost the Cubs a lot more than a missed foul ball. Let's see if the press calls Dusty on that.

Congratulations to Jack McKeon. I'm not a big fan of his as a manager, but he turned this team around, and has them four wins away from their second World Championship. A magic year in Miami.

The Marlins fail to score in the 9th. It's the Cubs last chance to reverse their curse.

Update: Urbina on against Ramirez.

Update: The Marlins have Looper warming just in case, not making the same error Dusty did yesterday.

Update: Urbina hits Ramirez in the leg with a 3-2 pitch. Not a good way to start the inning for the Marlins.

Update: Simon strikes out on an outside pitch. A rare K for Randall.

Update: Urbina has not hit a batter in the regular season since 1997. He's hit two this post season now.

Update: Alex Gonzalez of the Cubs strikes out. The Cubs season comes down to Paul Bako.

Beckett stays in to face Grudzielanek.

Update: Another deep fly ball to center, and once again Pierre runs it down. Sosa up.

Update: Sosa caught looking. Alou will try to keep the inning alive.

Update: Alou hits the first pitch to SS for the third out.

The Cubs are in real trouble now. Their best hitters have gone by the boards without making a peep. They'll have Aramis Ramirez, Karros and Gonazlez in the bottom of the ninth. Not a trio that strikes fear into the heart of an opponent.

And what a performance by Josh Beckett. Four innings, 45 pitches, 1 hit, 0 BB and 3 K. I'll assume for a minute that Urbina will be on in the 9th to close the game.

Great diving catch by the Cubs Alex Gonzalez, robbing Juan Pierre of his third hit. Doesn't quite make up for last night's error, but it was a beauty.

Update: Borowski comes in and gets Castillo for the last out. Cubs coming up in the eighth with their 2-3-4 hitters. This is the inning for them to do some damage and get back into this game.

Troy O'Leary gets the first hit off Josh Beckett and drives the ball into the right field stands for a HR. Cubs now trail 9-6 in the 7th.

Update: Lofton flies out to end the inning. Thirty-five pitches for Beckett through three innings. Do you pull him now so he can start on Saturday if the Marlins win? Or do you let him try to finish the game and not use him until game 3?

Update: Beckett is batting for himself in the 8th. Looks like he's going to stay in.

The Marlins get consecutive singles with two out in the 7th. Veres coming in to face the Marlins' Alex Gonzalez.

Update: Gonzalez doubles in two, but gets thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple. It's 9-5 Marlins in the middle of the 7th. It's looking bad for the Cubs right now, but at least the wind is blowing out.

Beckett gets the side in order in the 6th. Two innings, 20 pitches. Just what the Marlins needed.

Just got an e-mail from STATS, Inc. that the wind is blowing out to center tonight. That's the direction that yields the most runs in Wrigley.

Juan Pierre swings at the first pitch again, but this time lines a single to right to chase Kerry Wood from the game. Marlins have runners at 1st and 3rd with two out.

Update: Castillo singles off Farnsworth's glove to drive in another run. They now lead 7-5.

Update: Farnsworth strikes out Pudge to end the inning. Cubs need two to tie.

Josh Beckett comes in with a two-run lead to protect on two days rest. We'll see what he has.

Update: Beckett retires the side in order, helped by two nice catches in right by Miguel Cabrera. Most importantly, he only needed eight pitches to end the inning; most likely, he'll be able to pitch another.

Update: Beckett is batting in the top of the 6th. Conine is on first with one out, and Beckett is trying to bunt, but Wood's wild and Beckett is ahead 2-1.

Update: Beckett strikes out on a foul bunt.

Brad Banks pinch hits for Penny leading off the 5th and draws a walk. Pierre swings at the first pitch (why?) and flies out to center. Josh Beckett will be coming on in relief when the Cubs bat in the fifth. Man on first, one out.

Update: Luis Castillo draws a walk. It makes Pierre's impatience appear all the more damaging.

Update: Pudge does it again. A one-out double plates Banks. Marlins have men on 2nd and 3rd. Wood is now over 90 pitches thrown.

Update: Cabrera grounds out to first, but Castillo scores from third. Tie game in the top of the 5th. Derrek Lee follows it up with a first-pitch single to right. It's now 6-5 Fish.

Update: Stolen base by Lee give Lowell an RBI opportunity.

Update: Lowell strikes out to end the inning. Wood has now thrown 100 pitches in the game, 67 for strikes.

Mark Redman only goes three. Brad Penny comes on in relief to get his two cents in.

Update: Penny gets the side in order in the fourth. He throws 9 pitches, 7 for strikes.

Moises Alou follows up his HR with a great diving catch to end the top of the 4th inning. Cubs still lead by 2.

Moises Alou takes one into the crowd in the street with Sosa on first. The Cubs take a 5-3 lead, and the slugfest continues.

Update: That's it for the Cubs in the 3rd. Of course, they now have a lead to blow. :-)

Wood gets the Marlins 1-2-3 in the third, including strikeouts of Rodriguez and Cabrera. To the bottom of the third, tied at 3.

Kerry Wood hits a two-run HR on a 3-2 count to tie the game! The crowd is going wild, chanting, "Kerry! Kerry!" It's the 7th HR of his career, the first in the post season.

Update: Redman strikes out Lofton to end the inning. It's tied at 3 after two innings. My wife just asked if it was going to be a slugfest. Sure looks that way.

Alex Gonzalez of the Cubs follows a one-out Karros single with a double to deep right center. Cubs have a threat with one out. Men on 2nd and 3rd.

Update: Miller grounds out to plate the Cubs first run. Kerry Wood up with two out.

Update: Wood works the count to 3-2.

Wood tries to make a play on a ball up the middel by grabbing it behind his back. It looks more like a Jai-Lai play as he flings the ball into foul territory and Conine gets a single.

Update: Wood gets out of the inning without futher harm. To the bottom of the 2nd.

The Cubs get one hit, and single by Grudzielanek, but don't score. There were a couple of deep flies to right by Sosa and Alou, but Cabrera ran them down. Redman wasn't that sharp, throwing 19 pitches, only 10 for strikes.

Fox misses the start of the game. How lame is that! Pierre leads off with a triple, as Sammy Sosa slips on the wet grass in right field. Castillo pops to short left, and Pierre has to hold at third.

Update: A great AB by I-Rod. He works the count to 3-2, fouls off a number of pitches, and draws the walk. Men on 1st and third with 1 out.

Update: Damien Miller just blocked his 2nd pitch of the night. Great job keeping the runner at third.

Update: Miguel Cabrera hits a 1-2 pitch into the stands in left center. A tremendous shot to give the Marlins a 3-0 lead in the first inning. And Wrigley field falls silent.

Update: Wood strikes out the last two batters of the inning. Cubs coming up in the bottom of the first.

A huge victory for the Red Sox, and a great offensive game. As Joe Buck pointed out, the Red Sox were able to get into the middle relief of the Yankees, and exploit that weakness. Boston pounded the NY bullpen for five runs to force a game seven.

And that's how it should be. The Curse of the Bambino being decided at Yankee Stadium between Roger Clemens and Pedro Martinez. Winner take all. Cancel any plans you have for tomorrow night; it's going to be an instant classic.

Scott Williamson on to pitch the ninth. The Yankees are hitting .143 against him in this series.

Update: Giambi starts off 0-2, but works the count full.

Update: Giambi strikes out swinging on a high fastball. Williams up.

Update: Damon gets blown over by the wind after catching Bernie Williams' popup. It's up to Jorge Posada to keep the game alive.

Bill Mueller hits a one-out double in the 9th to chase Jeff Nelson. Gabe White will face Trot Nixon.

Update: Nixon trots around the bases after launching a HR into the upper deck of Yankee Stadium. The Red Sox lead 9-6.

Update: Damon doubles down the left field line with two out. Sox are not finished yet.

Update: Walker grounds out to end the inning. The Yankees have the heart of the order up in the bottom of the ninth.

Mike Timlin starts the eighth inning for the Red Sox. He strikes out Aaron Boone for the first out.

Update: Garica bloops one to the opposite field for a one out single.

Update: Soriano breaks his bat and Garciaparra forces Garcia at 2nd. Jeter up with a chance to cement in place in Red Sox infamy.

Update: Soriano goes on the first pitch and steals 2nd to put himself in scoring position.

Update: With the closeups of Timlin, it strikes me that he looks like the actor who played the trainer in Seabiscuit.

Update: Jeter hits a shot to Mueller, who bobbles the ball, but keeps it in front of him and gets Jeter. To the ninth, Red Sox still lead by one.

Nelson on to start the eighth. Nomar hits one to Boone, who bobbles the ball, but it goes as a base hit. Nomar is 4 for 5 tonight.

Update: Ramirez hits into a double play, 4-6-3. It wasn't the smoothest double play I've ever seen, but Manny's not the fastest runner, either.

Update: Nelson strikes out Ortiz to end the inning. Ortiz tried to check his swing twice during that AB, but got rung up each time.

With one out, Matsui singles over the third baseman. Nick Johnson will try to play Babe Ruth again.

Update: Johnson grounds into a DP. Sox still lead 7-6 after seven.

Nomar drives one to the wall in left-center. It's a triple, but Matsui makes his 2nd bad defensive play of the game, and throws the ball into the stands allowing Nomar to score.

Ramriez follows with a double off the wall in straight away center. Contreras remains in the game.

Update: A splitter in the dirt gets by Posada. Tying run at third with none out.

Update: Heredia walks Damon on four pitches. Red Sox take the lead. No excuse for that. Throw a strike and let your defense help you.

Update: An intentional walk to Varitek. Heredia will try to get Damon to end the inning.
Update: A single off first base by Ortiz ties the game at six. A break for the Yankees; if that doesn't hit first, Ortiz gets at least a double out of it.

Update: Mueller gets his 2nd hit of the game. The slump seems to be over for the Red Sox lineup. Nomar, Ortiz, Millar and Mueller all have at least two hits today. Contreras is out, Heredia comes in to face Nixon with men on 1st and 2nd with 1 out.

Update: Another pitch in the dirt gets by Posada. That puts the go-ahead run at third with one out. Infield in, but Heredia K's Nixon looking.

Update: Heredia strikes out Walker, but it's one batter too late. Theo gets his batting around inning, as the Sox send nine to the plate. To the bottom of the 7th with the Red Sox leading 7-6.

Todd Jones comes in to start the 6th for the Red Sox. This is Jones' first post-season appearance. He starts it off well, striking out Karim Garcia.

Update: After a single, a passed ball and a walk, Embree comes in to face Giambi. Soriano and Jeter execute the double steal to put two runners in scoring position.

Update: Giambi strikes out for the 2nd time today. Williams up with two on.

Update: Bernie hits a shot to third base, but Mueller comes up with it to get out of the inning. The Red Sox have three innings to get two runs.

Torre makes the move. Jose Contreras comes in to start the sixth inning. I have to agree with the move. As a former starter, you would think Jose can go as many innings as needed to get to Mariano Rivera.

Update: Contreras strikes out the first two batters, but walks Damon on a 3-2 count. Walker up with a man on first.

Update: Damon steals 2nd unchallenged.

Update: Walker strikes out. No one got good wood on the ball, as Contreras get three K and issues one walk. The move looks good so far.

Jorge Posada matches his Red Sox counter part with a one-out HR to left field. Like Giambi, it's his first HR of this post season. Yankees lead 6-4 in the bottom of the 5th.

With two out, Millar singles to put runners on 1st and 2nd. Pettitte is struggling this game, having thrown 87 pitches already. It's up to Mueller.

Update: Pettitte strikes out Mueller. Andy gave up two hits and struck out two in that inning. He's up to 92 pitches. Contreras has been warming up. Does Torre make the move to the bullpen in the top of the 6th, or does he let Pettitte come back out and get in trouble? If it stays close, Torre is going to earn his pay next inning.

Pettitte walked Manny Ramirez last time up. He's behind 2-0 here. Pettitte looks like he's worried about coming inside to Manny. His two pitches have both been outside.

Update: After a visit from the pitching coach, Pettitte gets Ramirez to fly out to center.

Garciaparra gets his 2nd hit of the game leading off the 5th. A lot of the offensive woes of the Red Sox have been placed at his feet. Is he breaking out of his slump, and if so, is it too little too late?

One out singles by Posada and Matsui in the 4th set up Babe Ruth look-a-like Nick Johnson for some heroics.

Update: I'm surprised no one is warming up for the Sox.

Update: Johnson delivers a ground-rule double to drive in Posada and put runners on 2nd and 3rd with 1 out. He hit it a ton up the power alley in right.

Update: Boone grounds out to short, but drives in a run to make the score 4-3. Johnson at 2nd with two out for Garcia.

Update: Nomar makes an error on a ball up the middle. Soriano up with men on first and third with two out. Burkett makes the mistake of putting the ball over the plate, and Soriano drives it into the left center power alley. Garcia scores from first to give the Yankees a 5-4 lead. Consecutive mistakes give the Yankees the lead. One might think the Red Sox are cursed. :-)

Update: That's it for Burkett. Bronson Arroyo is on the mound in relief.

Update: Arroyo starts off by walking Jeter. Men on 1st and 2nd for Giambi.

Update: A tough AB, but Giambi strikes out to end the inning. It's a one-run game going to the top of the fifth.

Andy Pettitte gets Varitek to hit it on the ground this time, but it goes through Boone's legs. He just never got down to field it.

Update: No harm, Pettitte gets two pop ups to end the inning.

Soriano just hit one into short center. Watching Damon run after the ball, you can see the difference between him and Williams. Damon would have gotten to Millar's ball. Williams would not have gotten to Soriano's.

Jason Varitek gets one up into the wind and drives the ball into the left field stands leading off the 3rd. Red Sox tie the game at 1. This contest could come down to which team hits the most HR.

Update: Pettitte follows the HR with a walk to Damon.

Update: Walker continues his hot hitting with a single. Men on 1st and 2nd with none out for Garciaparra. Is this Pettitte's blow-up inning?

Update: Nomar hits a ball in the shortstop hole. Jeter gets it and throws to third to get the lead runner. If no one had been on, it would have been a base hit.

Update: Pettitte is still wild, he walks Ramirez. Bases loaded with 1 out. Ortiz up.

Update: Ortiz delivers on the first pitch. A line drive over a leaping Jeter plates two. Red Sox lead 3-1. This could be the bat around inning Theo Epstein was hoping for.

Update: Almost a bad play by Manny Ramirez. Millar bloops one into center, but Manny was running on the hit. If Williams had caught it, sure double play. But the ball falls in and Manny scores to make it 4-1. Mueller hits into a 5-4-3 DP to end the inning. Now we'll see if Burkett can hold the lead. I expect at the first sign of trouble, John will be out of there.

John Burkett is being very efficient so far. Only 22 pitches through 2 innings.

A rare poor defensive play by Hideki Matsui. He got fooled by the wind, and the ball went over his head. Mueller gets a double on the misplay.

Update: The double goes for naught. Nixon bounces back to Pettitte to end the inning. Pettitte is pitching well; 33 pitches, 22 for strikes and two strikeouts.

Soriano hits a ball to centerfield that just kept going back. Johnny Damon ran it down, but it shows that if you get a ball into the air with power, it's probably going out.

Update: Giambi proves that statement right. Giambi takes the first pitch from Burkett into the seats. It's his fifth career HR in 36 AB against Burkett. Yankees lead 1-0 after 1 inning.

Damon grounds out to Soriano to start the game.

Update: Nomar Garciaparra singles in the first, taking a pitch the other way to right.

Update: Manny grounds out to Soriano to end the inning. Four balls in play, but none of them (including Nomar's single) was hit hard.

Larry Mahnken notes that the Chicago Sun-Times has outed the fan who got in the way of Alou catching the ball last night. Larry is very upset with this, and does not link to the article, but links to the comments page where you can tell the Sun-Times how upset you are with them.

I won't link to the article either, but it was just a matter of time before everyone in Chicago knew who this guy was. His picture has been plastered all over the internet. People were going to recognize him and talk. It's a bit funny, however, that the article reads like one of those mad killer stories:

"He's a good kid, a wonderful son, never in any trouble," Cohen told a Sun-Times reporter.

It sounds like that SNL skit where they interviewed people who knew John David Stutts, the man who shot Buckwheat. :-)

Speaking of Jeff Maier, Ben Domenech has found a picture of him. (Hat tip to Off Wing Opinion.) Not surprisingly, Jeff (as he's now known) is an outfielder. He hit for what appears to be a pretty good average, but he doesn't walk (although he gets hit a lot). I don't think he'll be replacing Bernie Williams any time soon.

The Bloviator reworks the lyrics to a famous song. But first, you should read how he really feels about last night's fan incident.

"Needless to say, the 'Save Ferris' campaign is dead."

Scott Ott, investigative reporter for ScrappleFace, has the answer (thanks to Casey Abell for alerting me).

The Red Sox face off against the Yankees this afternoon with John Burkett opposing lefty Andy Pettitte. Here's what I wrote about Burkett before the rainout on Sunday:

John Burkett is 0-6 vs. the Yankees in the regular season, but 1-0 in the playoffs. The first time he ever faced the Yankees was in the 1996 Division Series when he was a starter for the Texas Rangers. He pitched a complete game, allowing only two runs. (It's the only post-season game the Rangers have ever won; they are 1-9 vs. the Yankees.) Interestingly, his only other good start against the Yankees was his last, on July 26th of this year. He went 5 2/3 shutout innings in that one.

Looking at the matchups vs. Burkett, it's hard to find a Yankee who doesn't hit him well. Posada is one who's had the most trouble; he's 0 for 10 with 1 walk. Giambi doesn't have much of an average against Burkett (8 for 35), but four of his hits have been home runs.

The last time Burkett pitched, he was in a similar situation, trying to turn the ultimate game of the series into the penultimate game. He was mediocre, but the Red Sox bullpen and offense bailed him out. If he pitches that way again today, I don't think the Red Sox will survive.

Boston is in a bad situation, facing a lefty on the road, two things they have not been good at this year. Red Sox fans have to hope that Pettitte has his annual "bad playoff outing" today. In every year from 1996 on, there seems to be one game during the post season in which Andy gets hammered. It happened in the Division Series last year; it happened in game 6 vs. Arizona; it happened in the last game of the Division Series against Oakland in 2000; it happend in the World Series sweep of Atlanta in 1999; it happened in the LCS vs. Cleveland in 1998; it happened in game 5 of the Division Series vs. Cleveland in 1997; and it happened in his first World Series start vs. Atlanta in 1996. Will Pettitte have his blow up today, or will he wait for the World Series?

The night cap should be lots of fun. Game 7, Wrigley field, two good pitchers on the mound. Mark Redman faces Kerry Wood in a rematch of game three. Remember, Redman pitched Wood pretty even. Both went 6 2/3, with Redman giving up one more hit and one more walk, but Wood giving up one more run. Like the Red Sox, the Cubs are weak when a lefty starts against them. It's a real toss-up. Everyone except Prior and Pavano will be in the bullpen. Will Dusty have someone up in time? Will both managers waste outs with one-run strategies? Will the wind be blowing out? Will the fans hands be kept in? And the question I'm sure all Cubs fans are asking, "What bone-headed thing will the Cubs do to lose again?"

We'll know the answers tonight. Enjoy!

That was the advice of the Cub Reporter back on October 9th. (Hat tip to the Book of Mike for the link.)

Rob Neyer tells us how this wasn't the first time the fell apart this big in the post season. Defense was the culprit that time, too.

Lain is an Englishman in France who loves the American game. And he's real excited about a game seven tonight.

Dan Le Batard writes with glee about the Marlins win last night:

The Florida Marlins, wheezing and gasping and down to their last five breaths of oxygen, were flopping and flailing around on the deck of the boat Tuesday night, prepared to expire after a valiant and bloody fight.

But, with only five outs remaining in their season, the angry Marlins spit out the hook, speared an extraordinary angler named Mark Prior in the jugular and put up such a majestic fight that the entire Cubs boat is now in tatters, leaking everywhere.

And they hope to sink it tonight.

And you have to love the attitude of the Marlins players:

On the television nearby, a local newscast kept showing replays of the play that began the avalanche. The Marlins were down, 3-0, and pitcher Prior had retired about the last 432 batters he had faced. Juan Pierre skittered a double down the left-field line with one out and then Luis Castillo fouled a 3-2 pitch toward left field. Left fielder Moises Alou leaped and reached into the crowd and appeared to have the ball near his grasp, but a Cubs fan knocked it out.

''That fan saved our season,'' Castillo said now, looking up at the television. ``Moises would have had that. We always go from backward to forward. That's how we do it. We respond. The spirit lifted us. I became more confident, more aggressive. The fan gave us a chance we shouldn't have had, and you can't give us extra chances.''

On the bench, the Marlins started saying to each other, ``Now let's make that fan famous.''

And they would. Infamous. That fan is now the least popular figure in Chicago since either Al Capone or Mrs. O'Leary's cow. Fans showered him with beer and debris as he wept, and the Marlins were genuinely worried for his safety afterward.

''I just hope that fan got out alive,'' Derrek Lee said.

Maybe Miami should offer that poor guy asylum.

As I wrote this last night:

Fox just pointed out that there is no action in the Cubs bullpen. I think that's a mistake this late in the game. You have to be ready for anything.

I got the strange feeling of Deja Vu, as if I had written this before. Well I had.

Here's a post from last year's World Series. Here's another. And here's one that summaries the whole thing and compares Baker's moves to the 1965 World Series.

Finally, to show Dusty didn't learn his lesson, this from August 24th of this year:

As I watched the Cubs-Diamondbacks game, it struck me that Dusty Baker did not do a good job of preparing for things going wrong. He brought in Kyle Farnsworth, but Farnsworth was wild. After he had gotten in trouble, Dusty started the bullpen working. But why didn't he have someone up right away? The DBacks are a good offensive team at home; in this day and age, when few teams can trust their relievers, Dusty needs to have someone ready when his pitcher is in trouble. He wasn't prepared today, but he was lucky it didn't cost him.

The whole idea behind making mistakes is to learn from them. For some reason, Dusty has not learned from his.

The Marlins get Lofton to pop out to win the game. There will be a game 7 in Chicago tomorrow night at 8. Memories of 1984 have to be flooding into the minds of the Cub faithful. The heros tonight are Carl Pavano who pitched well into the sixth, Pierre who was 3 for 5, I-Rod who got another big hit, and Mike Mordeci, who put the game out of reach. And Florida fans have to thank the Cubs fan who wanted that foul ball. Jeffery Maier in reverse.

Cubs have Bako, Ramon Martinez and Lofton scheduled.

Update: Bako strikes out. One down, two to go.

Update: Martinez flies out to right for out number 2. It's up to Lofton to keep the Cubs alive.

Urgeth Urbina comes in the start the 8th. We could be looking at a two inning preservation here.

Update: Cubs go quietly in the 8th as Urbina has a 1-2-3 inning. He only throws 9 pitches, 7 for strikes to retire the Cubs.

With one out in the 8th, Juan Pierre gets his 2nd hit of the night and the first extra-base hit for the Marlins as he doubles down the left-field line. Castillo up.

Update: Fox just pointed out that there is no action in the Cubs bullpen. I think that's a mistake this late in the game. You have to be ready for anything.

Update: Now Farnsworth gets up, with a 3-2 count on Castillo.

Update: Oops. A fan gets in the way of Alou trying to make a catch in foul territory. It was in the stands, so it wasn't interference. But then Prior walks Castillo, and ball four is wild, so there are now runners on 1st and 3rd with one out, and the dangerous Ivan Rodriguez is at the plate.

Update: I-Rod singles to left, driving in Pierre. 1st and 2nd with 1 out. Cabrera up.

Update: Grounder to short, and Gonzalez makes an error. That loads the bases with 1 out.

Derrek Lee doubles in two! Tie game!

And now Dusty is finally coming out to get Prior. He was not prepared for this. He should have had Farnsworth ready the second Prior got into trouble. Dusty has wasted a great pitching performance by his young ace.

Update: This is turning into a typical Cubs slide. It's amazing how this always happens. I don't believe in curses, but I bet a lot of Cubs fans do right now. Lowell is intentionally walked to load the bases.

Conine hits a sac fly to right to score the go-ahead run! An amazing turnaround.

Update: Backup SS Mike Mordecai, in on a double switch, hammers a double to the wall in left center. It clears the loaded bases, and the Marlins lead 7-3! If the Cubs don't get to the World Series, they game will go down in Cubs lore as one of the biggest squanders they've ever had.

Update: Mike Remlinger is in.

Update: Remlinger ends the inning. We'll see if the Cubs have anything left in this game.

Update: Sorry I missed this, but Remlinger gave up a single to Pierre to make the score 8-3.

Chad Fox comes in with a man on 2nd to face Grudzielanek, and gives up a single to make the score 3-0. Another hook in the mouth of the fish.

Update: Sosa singles to put runners at 1st and 3rd. He's having a great series, hitting .348 with a .483 OBA and a .652 slugging percentage.

Alou makes the final out of the inning. The Marlins have two innings to score three runs.

Prior retires the Marlins 1-2-3 in the 7th. He's still pitching great, and hasn't hit 100 pitches yet. It's not looking good for the Marlins right now.

Dontrelle Willis is warming up in the bullpen. I guess that means he won't be pitching game 7 if it gets that far.

Sosa and Alou single to start the sixth. Pavano may be tiring.

Update: Pavano induces a double play to short. Sosa now at 3rd with two out.

Update: That's it for Pavano. Willis comes in to relieve and face the lefty Randall Simon.

Upate: Willis strikes out the Cubs Alex Gonzalez, but the damage is done. It's still close, but Prior has only thrown 86 pitches, so he has a few more innings in him.

Update: Ball four gets by Rodriguez (looks like a wild pitch). Sosa scores, Cubs up 2-0.

Update: Willis throws his first two pitches for balls to PH Eric Karros. He looks a bit wild.

Still 1-0 after five. It would be smart for the Marlins to work the counts as much as possible. If they can keep the game within one run, they might have a chance if they can tire Prior or get to the bullpen.

A great pitching duel so far. The run manufactured by the Cubs in the first is holding up so far. Both pitchers are around 15 pitches an inning, and both are throwing strikes. Prior's walked two and only struck out three. Pavano's allowed five hits, but only Sosa's double was for extra bases.

Mark Grudzielanek rushes his throw, and the ball sails by Simon to put leadoff man Pierre on base in the third. Steve Lyon thinks Simon should have gotten the error.

Update: A passed ball by Bako puts Pierre on 2nd. Castillo pops up a bunt and Ramirez makes a great diving catch in foul territory. I hate bunting with your #2 hitter this early.

Update: Prior gets out of this jam as well. Marlins are now 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position.

Mark Prior fails to cover the bag at first. Jeff Conine reaches when his high line drive tips off the glove of a leaping Randall Simon.

Update: Prior recovers from the mental error, then in the bottom of the 2nd, strikes out while trying to bunt. Two examples of poor execution by Prior in this game.

Carl gives up a single to Lofton to start the Cubs half of the first.

Update: Baker loves the little ball. He gives away an out early to get Lofton to 2nd. Of course, if Sosa hits a HR, he'll have possibly given away a run.

Update: Sosa doubles to the opposite field to score Lofton. It's 1-0 Cubs with 1 out.

Update: Alou reaches on an infield hit to the SS hole. Alex Gonzalez of the Marlins keeps Sosa from advancing.

Update: Aramis Ramirez and Randall Simon hit hard line drives to the outfield, but both are caught, and Pavano gets out of the inning. You play for one run, you get one run.

Game six is underway. Prior jumps ahead of Pierre 0-2.

Update: Castillo gets a one-out single.

Update: Pudge Rodriguez has an excellent bat and works the walk from Prior. He's in a bit of a pickle early. Men on 1st and 2nd with 1 out.

Update: Cabrera flies out on the first pitch. I never understand why batters swing at the first pitch after a walk. Put the pressure on the pitcher and don't swing until he proves he can throw a strike.

Update: Prior strikes out Derrek Lee to end the inning. Mark throws 18 pitches, 13 for strikes.

Varitek pops one up behind 2nd, and Jeter makes a fine over the shoulder catch to end the game.

The story of the game was David Wells' pitching and the Yankee defense. Johnson, Soriano, Jeter and Boone all made fine plays in the field tonight. Wells seemed to be helped by the long rest. He only gave up four hits and two walks while striking out five.

The Yankees put themselves in the driver seat with this win. They're going back to Yankee Stadium with Pettitte going against Burkett, and the Red Sox are living up to their record of poor performances against lefties in this series. It's looking very good for the Yankees taking the pennant tomorrow.

Red Sox are down by two, Mueller will lead off.

Update: Mueller grounds out to Soriano. Nixon comes to the plate.

Update: Nixon nubs one to Boone. A good throw gets him. It's up to Varitek.

After the Yankees got an insurance run in the 8th, Todd Walker leads off the bottom of the inning with a triple against Rivera. Garciaparra drives him in with a ground out. Boston's 0 for 5 with men in scoring position.

Update: That's the first run Rivera has had charged to him in the post season since the 7th game of the 2001 World Series.

Update: Ortiz singles with two out to bring the tying run to the plate in the person of Keven Millar. Millar is 3 for 9 with a HR vs. Rivera.

Update: Millar grounds out to Jeter to end the inning. The Red Sox will have to send the bottom of their order up in the ninth. Fortunately for them, Nixon and Varitek have been a lot of the offense in this series so far.

Derek Jeter finally makes a nice play at shortstop. He dove to his left, kept his eye on the ball, made a strong but wide throw to Johnson who tagged the runner. We should see that more often from Derek.

Nice comeback by Wells. He falls behind Nixon 3-0 to start the 7th, then comes back to strike him out.

Lowe gets through the 7th inning. He's allowed three runs, five hits and three walks. He's basically in the same position Mussina was last night, having pitched well enough to win but not getting the support. He's thrown 103 pitches; we'll see if he comes out for the 8th.

If this game should end like this, I wonder what Lowe will say to the press?

The Yankees just finished batting in the 6th inning. As of this point in game five, no one in the Yankees lineup right now is batting over .250 in the series. Five of the nine are below the Mendoza line. Expect for the 2nd inning, Lowe is pitching a great game.

An error by Soriano started off the inning, but with a man on first and one out, Soriano ranges far to his right and makes a great play to force the runner at 2nd.

Update: And the play is even bigger as Walker singles to right. 1st and 2nd, two out for Nomar.

Update: Nomar walks for the 2nd time in the game! Manny up with the bases loaded.

Update: Manny Ramirez grounds out on an 1-0 pitch to end the 5th inning. A great opportunity goes by the boards for the Red Sox. They are now 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position.

Manny Ramirez takes Wells deep leading off the 4th. It's 3-1 Yankees.

Matsui and Boone reach on bad throws by Red Sox fielders. Walker had to go to his right and threw wide of the bag to miss Matsui. Mueller was deep at third on Boone, and his throw pulled Millar off the bag. Millar missed the tag on both plays. Mueller has made two poor plays at third, and they both went for hits. Walker tried to make a tough play, and was given an error. Go figure.

Update: Soriano strikes out to end the inning. It's still three nothing Yankees.

Trot Nixon did a good Don Baylor impression, turning his shoulder into a pitch to get on base. Varitek follows with a single through the SS hole to put men on 1st and 2nd with none out.

Update: Nice play by Johnson. Damon hits the ball down the first base line and Nick grabs the in-between hop to make the play at first. 2nd and 3rd with one out now.

Update: Short fly to left, Matsui comes in, avoids a collision with Jeter and makes the play. Runners hold. Matsui was in a perfect position to make the throw home. A great fundamental outfielder.

Update: Wells strikes out Nomar on a 3-2 count. Good defense (for a change) by the Yankees helps Wells out of that jam.

Both Lowe and Wells are not exactly sharp today. 19 of Lowe's 45 pitches have been called balls, and 10 of Wells 22 pitches have been called balls. If that keeps up, Wells will join Lowe in giving up runs.

Bill Mueller bobbles a tough play, loading the bases in the 2nd for the Yankees. Karim Garcia is up. Nice situation for him to get some revenge.

Update: Garcia singles up the middle to drive in two. Soriano follows with another to drive in the third run of the inning. Luck going the Yankees way today.

Update: Jeter grounds out to end the inning. I heard Epstein on the radio saying that the Red Sox were due to bat around; the Yankees sent eight men to the plate that inning, so they almost got there first.

That's a combination I didn't think I'd see. In his career, Garciaparra had walked twice against Wells in 58 AB.

Manny grounds out to shortstop to end the inning. Wells through 13 pitches, but 7 for balls. Lowe threw only 7 pitches in total in the first inning.

Johnny Damon breaks his bat, and the barrel went flying at Wells. Wells refrained from tossing it at Damon as Soriano made the play for the first out. :-)

The game is underway. Soriano flies out right on the first pitch.

Update: An easy 1-2-3 inning for Lowe. Good start for the Red Sox.

Steve Bonner writes in response to my Edward Cossette post:

David, I think your post in response to the disenchantment of Red Sox fan was very insightful. The notion of fandom, is fascinating. People tie their self actualization to the accomplishments and (ultimately as we've seen this week, shortcomings) of events they can't influence and people they don't know.

I root for the Yankees because I grew up in New York and my dad lived the first 30 years of his life in the Bronx. To me the Yankees are a part of my identity, part of my family really.I am certainly affected by the outcome of Yankee games, I do tend to (for a short time) be either a little extra happy or a little extra sad depending upon the outcome of the Yankees season. But a big part of that is that if the Yankees fail to advance, it means that while the season goes on...my rooting interest in baseball is over and that's sad. I truly enjoy following the game. The combination of art and science, strategy and athleticism and day to day drama entertains me and I would daresay enriches my life.

I root for players that I find especially talented and root harder for those who combine talent and charisma. Bernie and Jeter and Soriano seem to me like decent thoughtful and competitive people. The kind of people I'd like to work with in any endeavor. But that is such a superficial evaluation and it leads to this type of depression upon finding out your heros have feet of clay.

People tend to forget that even though Pedro Martinez has shown them his sparkling control and his electric fastball, they don't know him. He has made them happy because he has brought success to their team, their heritage maybe, their self identitiy. But it amazes me that people constantly forget that these people who "represent" them are practically anonymous. I see the big grin on Soriano's face when he gets on base and I think, 'wow, he looks like a really nice kid.' For all I know he is, but there's also the chance that he's not. I don't know Alfonso Soriano. I think fans need to disassociate their love for a game and their love for a team with the sophmoric assumption that their self worth is somehow tied up in the virtue of the players on the team.

Root for a team because of what it means to you because of how it makes you feel. But remember this those 25 guys wearing your town's name on their blouses do not speak for you. Celebrate when the team wins and shake your head when they lose but don't ever tie your own self esteem up in the behavior of human beings you do not know.

The Cubs lost their first match point on Sunday, but get to try again today Mark Prior takes on Carl Pavano of the Marlins in Chicago. Prior was the only starter in the first two games of this series to do well against the wind blowing out of Wrigley. It wasn't his most dominant outing (he only struck out 5 in seven innings) but it was just what the Cubs needed. As for Pavano, I laid out the case against him yesterday. Prior is well rested; Pavano is going to have to throw the game of his life to beat him. If I were a Cubs fan, I'd have a bottle of champange on hand, but I wouldn't tell anyone about it. :-)

The early afternoon game pits David Wells against Derek Lowe in Boston. Wells supposedly hurt himself climbing out of the dugout on Saturday. I don't know if the injury will effect Wells or not, but Andy Pettitte has had four days off. Why not start Pettitte today and Wells tomorrow? Pettitte is 6-2 at Fenway with a 2.92 ERA for his career. And Wells loves to pitch in Yankee Stadium. The injury gives Torre the excuse he needs. We'll see if he goes for it.

Derek Lowe will be working on normal rest; he was clearly fatigued in his last start. After Wakefield, the Yankees should be happy to see someone who throws the ball farily straight. :-) Lowe has an amazing home-road split this year; including the playoffs, he's 11-2 at home with a 3.01 ERA; on the road his ERA balloons to 6.17, making his 6-7 record away all the more improbable.

If Wells goes, I'll give the edge to the Red Sox in this game. If Pettitte makes a last minute start, it's still 50-50. This looks to me like it will come down to game 7 Thursday, and I doubt the Yankees fans are going to greet Martinez with open arms.

Mike Mussina is getting ripped by Mike Vaccaro of the NY Post; not for the way he pitches, but for the way he handles himself afterward:

"We always seem to do better when I'm not pitching," Mussina fumed. "I'm just going to let the other guys have at, win the series, and move on to another round."

That's what he said. This is what he meant: We always seem to score buckets of runs when the Rocket's on the mound, when Andy Pettitte's on the mound, when Boomer Wells is on the mound. And when I'm on the mound, our offense goes into hibernation.

It doesn't matter that he happens to be right. It does matter that he is supposed to be a leader on this team, a pillar around which everything is supposed to be built. Through most of his career, Mussina has come off aloof at best, arrogant at worst. Now, we know that we were well off with those assessments.

He's just selfish as hell.

With a playoff record that's just plain hell.

"We're not giving him a lot to work with," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "He's been pitching under pressure and he's done very well. We just haven't been able to pull the trigger on an inning for him."

That's what Torre said. And this is what Torre meant: Mussina, the staff ace, the man who's supposed to be a stopper, has instead developed this unsettling trait, generally associated with a No. 4 starter on a second-division team: he pitches just well enough to lose.

See, what Mussina is supposed to do is say, "I shouldn't have given up those two HR. I let my teammates down." Then Mike Vaccaro can go and write what a standup guy Mussina is and how the offense is letting him down.

And I think that's fair. Part of being on a team is taking the blame for what happens, whether it's your fault or not. Peter Gammons tells a story about Dennis Eckersley. Eck loses a game in Boston because the shortstop made an error. After the game, the press is coming after the shortstop, and Eck starts pushing the reporters away, telling them that it was he who stunk out there tonight, he who put the guys on base so the error could lead to a run. That's what people want to hear from Mussina.

As for an objective evaluation of Mussina's Yankees post-season numbers, he's had five good outings for the Yankees and three bad ones for a 2-4 record. He has a no decision in one good outing and one bad outing. His problem in the post-season with New York has been the HR; he's allowed 11 in 47 1/3 innings. If you stretch that out to 200 innings, that's over 40 HR allowed. Mussina's career high in HR allowed is 31. So Mussina does have himself to blame for some of his post-season failures.

However, the Yankees run support per 9 for Mussina is only 2.28! Even if Mussina had an ERA of 3.00 instead of 3.99, he'd still have a losing record. I understand why Mussina is upset. But taking it out on his teammates is not going to win him any friends.

Soriano strikes out to end the game. Twenty-two strikeouts total in the game, as Mussina, Wakefield and the Red Sox bullpen put on a show. Wakefield bent but he didn't break; the Yankees were 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position. Mussina made power mistakes; the Sox were 0 for 1 with runners in scoring position. A great game, and should restore the faith of some people after Saturday's fracas.

Scott Williamson is on for the save in the 9th against the bottom of the Yankees order. He's struck out Johnson, but pinch hitter Ruben Sierra hits a HR to bring the Yankees within one.

Update: Dellucci strikes out. It's up to Soriano.

Update: Two pitches outside, two swings and misses by Soriano.

Jeff Nelson is in. This should be fun. His first pitch is inside to Nomar, and Grady Little comes out, although it's not clear to me what he's talking about. May be something about Nelson's motion.

Update: They just checked Nelson's belt and glove. Little's just being an ass.

Update: Nelson induces a DP to end the inning. Grady's head game doesn't work. Last chance for the bombers.

Jason Giambi draws a walk to lead off the 8th.

Update: That will be it for Wakefield. Another great start out of him. He goes seven+ with eight strikeouts. He did walk four, and is responsible for Giambi at first. Mike Timlin is on in relief. Timlin has not allowed a run in the post season.

Update: Bernie Williams hits a shot to deep center, but Damon runs it down.

Update: Posada taps one to first, advancing Giambi. Two outs for Matsui.

Update: Matsui strikes out for the third time tonight. Sox lead 3-1 in the middle of the 9th. Timlin now has nine strikeouts in 7 1/3 post-season innings.

Matsui takes a page out of Jim Rice's playbook, and does a good decoy in left field to make Millar think he was going to catch the ball off the wall. He might have saved a run there. Sox, after an intentional walk, have the bases loaded and Varitek is pinch hitting for Mirabelli.

Update: Varitek hits a slow ball to shortstop, and the Yankees fail to turn the double play, although it was close. Then they make another baserunning blunder to end the inning. It's 3-1 Red Sox after 7. Mussina was taken out of the game after the Varitek RBI. He goes 6 2/3, gives up three earned runs and strikes out 10.

Mike is pitching very well tonight. He's struck out 9 through six innings, walked none, and 57 of his 79 pitches have been for strikes. He can easily complete the game at this pace. But someone will complain about the two HR he's allowed, how it's another example of his being near great. I'm sure the Yankees will take this kind of performance anytime.

The lower part of the Yankees order is having a really rough time with Wakefield. Posada, Matsui and Johnson have all struck out twice, and Aaron Boone looks like he's about to go down on strikes for the 2nd time.

Update: Boone goes down swinging. The 5, 6, 7 and 8 hitters for the Yankees have all struck out twice.

Trot Nixon gives the Red Sox the lead with a HR to straight-away centerfield. Sox lead 2-1 in the fifth. Looks like they don't need men in scoring position to score.

Update: 20 of the Red Sox 29 runs this post season have scored by way of the home run.

Correction: I originally had Millar. It was Nixon who hit the HR.

Derek Jeter just singled to drive in the tying run. But with a bit of luck, the hard grounder hits third base, dribbles away and Jeter gets a double out of it. If it doesn't hit the bag, Mueller probably gets the ball and the Yankees have the bases loaded instead of 2nd and 3rd with a run in.

Update: Wakefield walks Bernie Williams for the 2nd time in the game. Bases loaded with two outs for Posada, who has struck out twice.

Update: Posada flies out to left to end the inning. Yankees are 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position. Boston has not had a runner there yet.

Yankees have two solid singles in a row with one out against Wakefield. Seems to early and he has thrown two few pitches to be tiring.

Todd Walker breaks the tie with a HR into the right field stands. It's his fifth of the post-season. He's slugging .963 in the playoffs.

Wakefield has thrown 21 ball, 34 strikes for 55 pitches!

Kevin Millar makes his 2nd terrific play of the game at 1st on a hard grounder off the bat of Nick Johnson. The game is going to the bottom of the 4th tied at 0.

One thing I have to say in praise of the umpires is that they are calling the high strike, especially on Wakefield's knuckle balls. Good to see.

Mussina just painted the plate on Damon. He hit the outside corner twice, then came back to hit the inside corner to strike out Damon looking. He has five strikeouts through three innings, and 28 of his 42 pitches have been for strikes.

The Red Sox run into another DP after a strikeout. At least they didn't do it in the first inning today, but they did go at their first opportunity. Mirabelli follows with a single. Oops.

Trot Nixon gets the first hit for the Red Sox leading off the third. He singles to right.

Wakefield hits Dellucci in the elbow to start the 3rd. The benches do not empty.

Update: Three pop ups after the HBP. The knuckle ball seems to have the Yankees off balance again.

Aaron Boone just made a great play at third on Manny Ramirez. It a wonder Torre would start anyone else at the position.

Update: Mussina just let a ball roll foul that he could have fielded and gotten Ortiz at first. I think what happened was that the ball took a funny bounce, and it threw Mussina's timing off. Mussina comes back and strikes out Oritz; no harm, no foul.

Update: Mussina gets two K of his own. Six up and six down for the Sox, and Mussina looks sharp.

Wakefield seems to have found his knuckleball in the 2nd inning. He struck out the first two batters and got Boone on a fly to left to end the inning. He needed only 13 pitches to complete that inning.

Musina retires the side in order in the first. He throws 15 pitches, 11 for strikes. There were a couple of hard hit fly balls, but they stayed in the park and were caught.

The game has started with Wakefield on the mound. He walks Soriano to start the game. The knuckle ball is not sinking so far.

Update: Giambi lines into a double play after a Jeter single puts men on first and second. A bit of luck for the Red Sox. Wakefield doesn't seem to be fooling anyone tonight.

Update: Williams walks to put men on 1st and 2nd again. In game 1 Tim was throwing strikes. Today, he doesn't seem to have much control over the pitch.

Update: Wakefield strikes out Posada looking to end the inning. He threw 11 of 20 pitches for balls, and the Yankees seem perfectly willing to wait for him to come over the plate. I don't know how many times I've seen Soriano take five straight pitches. :-)

Edward Cossette at Bambino's Curse seems a little too upset about the goings on Saturday:

I walked around in a funk all day yesterday, depressed, out of sorts, empty, and had there been no rain I wouldn't have watched a pitch of the game nor peeked in to check the score. And I don't say this because I was trying to prove a point or otherwise boycott Red Sox baseball. I say it because yesterday I honestly had no interest.

But what about today, after a cleansing rain, after some time to heal, after the apologies and the tears and the fines and the gag order?

I don't know. I really don't. All day yesterday I was telling people that something "broke" inside me after Saturday's disaster at Fenway, but now I realize that is the wrong metaphor. It isn't that something inside me broke but rather that I was awakened to or otherwise forced to acknowledge how I, as a fan, as a Red Sox fan in particular, need to better scrutinize my own relationship with the game of the baseball.

And under the light of scrutiny I realize I need to drop baseball down a few notches on my priority list. It is just a game. And I don't want to fall down the slippery slope of believing "I live for this," when it's the other way around: "It lives for me." The game of baseball is supposed to be about "betterment," about, as I wrote yesterday, transcending the quotidian existence of birth, school, work, death.

What happened Saturday was pretty minor in the annals baseball brawls. It was nothing compared to the Yankees-Red Sox fights of the 70's.

Bill Lee was pitching the next time there was a brawl at home plate. To his eternal sorrow. The brawl ended with a torn ligament in Lee’s pitching shoulder. He was disabled for nearly two months, and his fastball was never quite the same again.

This one occurred during the Red Sox’s first trip to Yankee Stadium in 1976, when Lou Piniella tried to score from second on Dwight Evans’ arm and was out by 10 feet. The only thing he could do was try to knock the ball out of [Carlton] Fisk’s glove. Or kick it out.. In the tangle of arms and legs, he kicked Fisk instead.

Whereupon Fisk decided to tag him a second time just to make sure. On the head. Hard.

Out streamed the players from both benches. Bill Lee, who had been backing up the plate, was grabbed, spun around, and belted in the head from behind by Mickey Rivers. As Lee was trying to clear his head, [Graig] Nettles picked him up and threw him down on his shoulder. When Lee got up, holding his pitching arm, he realized that his season was probably over. "You sonofabitch!" he screamed at Nettles. "How could you do this to me? How could you be such an asshole?"

By way of explanation, Nettles belted him flush in the eye, knocking him down and giving him a shiner to go with his crippled arm.

Saturday's theather was nothing like that. Sure it was ugly, and everytime something like that happens people gnash their teeth and rend their clothing wondering why it happens and what can be done about it. And nothing ever is done about it.

The problem is, you have extremely competitive people in a high stakes game under the pressure of media and fans, and sometimes they snap. Let's face it, Pedro doesn't like to lose. And when he was losing Saturday to the one team Boston wants to beat more than any other, his emotions got the best of him and he threw at Garcia. So it escalated until everyone got it out of his system, and now they can go back to playing baseball. The teammates who were phycially hurt were hurt from their own stupidity. In terms of making me like or dislike the game, this was a blip on the radar screen.

I would suggest what is really bothering people like Edward is that there was a shift of virtue from the Red Sox to the Yankees Saturday. It's been going on for a while, but Saturday the fault line moved. When it was Nettles and Jackson and Rivers against Lynn and Fisk and Lee, it was easy to see the Yankees as the evil team that deserved to be vanquished by the Red Sox. But on Saturday, it was Pedro and Manny who caused the trouble. Here they were in game the Red Sox had to win, and their antics came close to having them thrown out. Up until Zimmer charged Pedro, the Yankees did nothing wrong. Someone watching a baseball game for the first time would come away from Saturday thinking the Red Sox are a bunch of evil jerks and the Yankees were just defending themselves.

And that I think is what's bothering Edward. Red Sox fans no longer have the high ground; they are no longer the nice losers who are worth rooting for. Their stars are jerks, and the team they hate is in control. People who have based the allegiance on the virtuousness of the Sox have a lot to think about today. I'm not surprised they don't want to watch the game.

Update: I should have read this first, but Irina Paley basically agrees with me.

The rainout has caused us to miss the much anticipated Wells-Burkett matchup. Both those starters will be skipped in favor of the pitchers originally scheduled for Monday, Mussina and Wakefield. These two hooked up in game 1, where Wakefield kept the Yankees off balance for six innings. Mussina was not sharp at all giving up eight hits in 5 2/3 innings. Mussina thought the extra rest hurt him, which is why he's going today. The Red Sox were simply happy to skip their weakest starter.

I don't really think this changes the dynamics of the series at all. If it goes seven, Burkett will have to pitch one game. If anything, it probably helps Wells by giving him more time to rest. If Lowe goes tomorrow, he'll be going on four days rest; he probably could have used another day.

Fenway has been good to Mussina. Among active players with 93 innings pitches at the Back Bay ballpark, Mussina has the third best ERA, 3.05 (Pedro and Lowe are 1 & 2). He has a 10-5 record there. Wakefield, on the other hand, has a 48-46 record at Fenway, with a 4.30 ERA.

I don't think Mussina will make another poor start. The question for me is, will Wakefield's knuckle ball be working? If so I expect a very low scoring game.

Enjoy!

Joan Kroc, former owner of the San Diego Padres died yesterday of brain cancer. She was the wife of Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonald's, and she inherited the team from him:

Although she admitted knowing nothing about baseball when she took over the club, she quickly learned as her team made it to the World Series in her first year as owner. When the team clinched the National League pennant, star reliever Goose Gossage celebrated by her tossing her into a swimming pool.

She sold the team in 1990 to spend more time with her family.

"I'm a few years older now, and, unlike Zsa Zsa (Gabor), I'm not ashamed to admit that I'll be 62 next August," she said in a 1989 interview. "I think it's time to prioritize."

The Marlins have decided to start Carl Pavano in tomorrow night's game against the Cubs:

''There's nothing wrong with Penny,'' McKeon said. ''It's just a decision. Pavano matches up good against the Cubs, and he's pitched extremely good against the Cubs. And we talked to the coaches and we decided this is the way we're going to go.''

Well, despite the grammer, I don't buy that Pavano matches up well against the Cubs. He made one start against them this year. It was in Wrigley, and he lost a quality start. He allowed one run over seven innings, matching Kerry Wood, but Sosa hit a two run homer off him in the eighth. He left after that, and the Marlins lost the game 5-1. For his career, combined regular and post-season, he's 1-3 against the Cubs with a 4.01 ERA.

If you look at how he matches up against the Cubs hitters, you see the sample size is very small. But Lofton and Grudzielanek get on base against Pavano, and Sammy is 5 for 11 with 2 HR vs. Carl. And that's exactly how the Cubs offense is supposed to work.

Another thing working against Pavano is his home-road split. Combined regular and post-season, he's 10-4 at Pro Player with a 3.36 ERA; he's 4-9 with a 5.40 ERA away.

I don't think Pavano matches up against the Cubs any better or worse than any other non-Beckett pitcher on the team. But Penny is shell shocked, and they need someone to start. What the Marlins really need to hope is that the wind is blowing in, and they can beat Prior in a low scoring game.

Sorry I missed this the other day. Fox has reached an agreement with Frank McCourt to sell the Dodgers. I don't know anything about McCourt (and the deal still has to be approved by the owners), but my guess is that it's a good one for the Dodgers. I've never been impressed with the record of media conglomerates owning teams.

According to his article on MLB.com, the rainout yesterday will result in the following:

Tickets for Sunday's game will be honored Tuesday afternoon at Fenway Park. Only tickets for Game 5 will be honored on Monday.

So make sure you're using the correct tickets if you are going to the game tonight.

I don't know how the Red Sox will resolve the ticket situation. But if anyone ends up with a ticket for Tuesday's game that they can't use, I will be interested. Write me.

The Yankees-Red Sox game has been rained out. They'll play tomorrow night as scheduled, and at 4:15 on Tuesday.

Joe Buck had some speculation as to who would pitch, suggesting that Burkett would be skipped and Wakefield will pitch tomorrow and Lowe on Tuesday. That has to be a positive for the Red Sox.

Meanwhile, I'm going to use the evening off to relax.

A gutsy game by Josh Beckett. A complete game 2-hit shutout. Beckett struck out 11, walked 1 and threw 80 of 115 pitches for strikes.

The Marlins still have a long way to go. They'll have to come back against the best Chicago can dish up, Prior and Wood. The Marlins have not announced an official starter for game six. Stay tuned, it should be fun.

Beckett comes out to finish the game, and gets Lofton to pop up. One out.

Update: Grudzielanek grounds out to 2nd. Sosa up.

It's the Marlins turn to power their way to runs today. Jeff Conine reaches the left field stands with a solo shot in the 8th. That's 17 total bases for the Fish today, and they lead 4-0 in the 8th.

Beckett is through the 8th, and he has 11 K. He's spread them out, striking out everyone of the starters except (not surprisingly) Randall Simon.

Ivan Rodriguez pulled the ball that time and drove a HR over the left-field wall. Even better than a triple! The Marlins lead 3-0 in the bottom of the 7th.

Fines have been handed down for the events of the fourth inning in yesterday's Yankees-Red Sox game. The bullpen fight is still being investigated.

Mike Lowell takes Carlos Zambrano deep in the 5th inning to give the Marlins a 2-0 lead. The Marlins really worked Zambrano well; he threw 112 pitches through five and is now out of the game in favor of Dave Veres.

Meanwhile, Beckett has been near perfect, allowing just a hit and a walk through six innings while striking out 8. If he can keep that up for three more innings, the Fish are going to swim upstream to Chicago.

Josh Beckett has struck out the first batter in each of the first three innings. He has four in the game already.

I thought it was interesting to see how the outfield was playing Ivan Rodriguez in the first inning. He popped a ball foul down the left field line, and Alou had no chance to reach it. The Cubs are playing Ivan to go the other way. Sure enough, he flies out of Sosa in deep right. You wonder if he should try pulling the ball down the line. Might be an easy triple.

Cubs go 1-2-3 in the first inning. According to the broadcast, it's the first time the Cubs have failed to score in the first inning in this series.

The game gets started at 4:40. Damn the NFL! Lofton strikes out swinging at an outside pitch.

Do They Still Play the Blues in Chicago is a new blog about the Cubs. Stop by and say hello.

The Cubs are advance to their first World Series since 1945 with a win today in Miami. They'll send Carlos Zambrano to face Josh Beckett in a rematch of game 1. Neither pitcher fared well in that game. Zambrano has not had a good start since Sept. 14th. In his last four starts (regular and post-season), he has an 8.02 ERA.

For Beckett, the last start was more of an anomaly. He hadn't had a bad start since 8/12, when he gave up four runs in six innings to the Dodgers. Beckett performed much better at Pro Player during the regular season, with a 7-3 record vs. 2-5 on the road, and an ERA almost a run lower.

This is the Marlins best chance for a win in the next three games. I don't expect them to pack it in; my feeling is Beckett will rebound and pitch a good game. Luckily for Zambrano, there's no pressure on him. He can just challenge hitters and see what happens. It's triple match point for the Cubs, so they can afford to be aggressive.

The pitching matchup in Boston this evening will never get the hype of yesterday's, but it's interesting nonetheless. Lefty (and Zimmer look-a-like) David Wells take the mound against the bowler, John Burkett. Unlike yesterday, we might expect this matchup to be a slugfest in terms of offense. Wells has had his problems with the Red Sox over the years, posting a 14-20 record with a 4.96 ERA. At Fenway, his record is better (10-10), but his ERA is worse (5.05). This season, he did pitch well in two starts at Fenway, posting a 2.19 ERA, but he had his worst outing in terms of control there, walking five on July 25th. Wells walked 20 batters all year, and nine of them came against the Red Sox. Watch for the Varitek-Wells matchup. Jason is hitting .302 career vs. Wells with four HR in 43 AB.

John Burkett is 0-6 vs. the Yankees in the regular season, but 1-0 in the playoffs. The first time he ever faced the Yankees was in the 1996 Division Series when he was a starter for the Texas Rangers. He pitched a complete game, allowing only two runs. (It's the only post-season game the Rangers have ever won; they are 1-9 vs. the Yankees.) Interestingly, his only other good start against the Yankees was his last, on July 26th of this year. He went 5 2/3 shutout innings in that one.

Looking at the matchups vs. Burkett, it's hard to find a Yankee who doesn't hit him well. Posada is one who's had the most trouble; he's 0 for 10 with 1 walk. Giambi doesn't have much of an average against Burkett (8 for 35), but four of his hits have been home runs.

So you have two pitchers who are historically bad against their opponent, but had some success this year. I think most of the heavy hitting will be done with the bats tonight.

Enjoy!

The Bloviator asks:

The Red Sox hitters blew more than a few chances: for the second game in a row, the Sox suffered the humiliation of a momentum-killing, first-inning, Backwards-K Strike-'em-Out/Throw-'em-Out Double Play (any SABRmatricians know when the last time a team suffered first inning strike-out/throw-out double plays in consecutive playoff games?).

Okay, I looked it up. I looked at individual series, rather than games that cross over series because it was a lot easier. As far as I can tell, it's never happend in consecutive games in a series before. In fact, it hasn't happened twice in a series before. That is, this is the first time that a team has been the victim of a K/CS DP twice in the first inning in a playoff series.

Rick Morrissey seems to be in a state of shock.

How did we get to this point? I mean that sincerely. How is it that these Chicago Cubs are on the verge of their first World Series since 1945 when less than three months ago, they were one game under .500 and 5{ games out of first place?

I don't ask for the sake of recounting the strategy that went into getting the Cubs from there to here or for the purpose of describing Dusty Baker's magical touch with this team. I don't even ask out of amazement, though there is lots of that.

I ask out of guilt.

How is it that we find ourselves with that rarest of Chicago commodities, real hope, when so many people who went before us got stuck with the College of Coaches, Brock-for-Broglio, the Lee Elia tirade and Mel Rojas? Why did we survive to see this when all the Chicagoans who have gone to their reward didn't get the chance? What exactly did we do to deserve this crazy, wonderful bedtime story?

When you least expect it, expect it.

He finishes:

All those years of futility are about to fade away. You can call that statement foolhardy and say it's insanity to count a chicken before it's hatched in Chicago, but Prior and Wood are looming like float balloons at a parade. The World Series beckons.

Here the Cubs are, flirting with more success than an 88-victory team has a right to aspire to. But all it means is that the Cubs are doing exactly what their fans have thought they would do every year since 1945, when the club lost in seven games to Detroit.

They kept thinking this was the year, and if it wasn't going to be that year, it certainly would be the year after that. Saturday night, thousands of those fans showed up, an army in blue, to witness in person the unfolding of a miracle.

I remember when blue meant "depressed."

Three teams have come back from being down 3-1 in LCS play since the format moved to best of seven. The 1985 Royals, the 1986 Red Sox, and the 1996 Braves. Three times in 21 chances. The chickens may not be counted, but they are sure breaking through the shells.

Greg Cote of the Miami Herald pens a column extremely critical of the Marlins pitching staff:

The outlook is all the more bleak because the Marlins' strength has suddenly become its weakness.

Pitching again.

The Marlins' staff is not walking the walk.

It is walking the batter.

It is walking the plank.

Edward Cossette of Bambino's Curse places yesterday's fracas squarely on the shoulders of Pedro Martinez.

It's a pretty sad day when trying to find a bright spot in the darkness that was yesterday's so-called "game," the only glimmer I can find is that, as Michael Gee concludes,

The bench-clearing brouhahas in the top and bottom of the fourth innings of the Red Sox' 4-3 loss to the Yankees in Game 3 of the ALCS were created by one man - Martinez (Gee, Herald).

And the one man appears to be an anomaly and not a sign that the whole team is slouching toward Gomorrah. As the Herald's Massarotti observes, "Interestingly, following the game, not a single Red Sox player defended Martinez' pitch to Garcia. Not one."

Update: The New York Post blames, Pedro, also.

A couple of people thought I was putting too much blame on Pedro for throwing Don Zimmer to the ground yesterday. In my first post on the subject, I write that it looked like Zim deserved it. In my second post, I said "Pedro beat up an old man." That was unfair to Pedro.

A good report on the all the incidents at the game, and people's reaction to it can be found in Tyler Kepner's NY Times article. It's very clear Zimmer was the aggressor:

David Ortiz tried to settle Ramirez, but both benches and bullpens had begun to empty. Zimmer bolted from the Yankees' dugout toward Martínez, a stationary target in foul territory in front of the Boston dugout. Martínez looked stunned and said something. Zimmer kept charging and lunged at Martínez with his fists. Then Martínez grabbed Zimmer and flung him away.

Martínez said he was "shocked" that Zimmer was trying to punch him. "He's an older man, a wiser man," Martínez said. "I respect Joe and him. I should never hit him. I was just trying to dodge him away."

As Martínez stood there, Zimmer's body landed hard on the grass, bouncing and rolling to a stop. The Yankees were predictably outraged. "You don't do that to a senior citizen, especially to Don Zimmer, a well-respected person," Garcia said. "He should have just backed away."

A more editorial view of the game comes from the Boston Globe's Jackie MacMullan. Jackie has some more quotes including this one from Derek Jeter:

"All I saw was the bald head go down," said shortstop Derek Jeter. "I wasn't sure if it was Zimm or Boomer [David Wells]. Hey, Zimm is intense. That's the only way you can stay in this game all these years."

When I saw it happen, I thought it was Wells, because, in my mind, going after Pedro was something Wells would do.

MacMullan sums up this way:

But Martinez wasn't the only loser. The game of baseball took a hit yesterday. The fourth-inning scrum may have been great theater, but it was an all-too-sad, all-too-familiar refrain for these two storied franchises.

Martinez was out of line for throwing at Garcia. Zimmer was certifiably crazy to try to be Rocky Balboa at his age. Ramirez overreacted to Clemens's pitch, and looked all the worse for it after he struck out on the same at-bat. No Red Sox employee should be waving towels in the Yankees bullpen. No New York relievers should be punching anybody for waving a towel.

It's the same old story. The Red Sox behaved badly, and lost. The Yankees behaved badly, and won.

There's a bit of moral equivalency in that last statement. Martinez and Ramirez behaved badley out of frustration. The Yankees did nothing to provoke them other than play the game well. Garica and Zimmer behaved badly because they were defending themselves and their teammates. I won't condone that, but I understand it. The groundskeeper and Nelson behaved badly because both appear to be idiots.

Let's hope they all play nice today.

The Cubs have put themselves in an excellent position to win the 2003 NLCS. It's hard to imagine them not winning one more game with Prior and Wood on the mound in games 6 and 7.

The Cubs offense really has to be commended in this series. They continue to hit for power. Including tonight's game, they have a .592 team slugging percentage. The record for an LCS series is .575 by the 1969 Mets. Their 93 total bases are 6th in LCS history; the record is 118 by the 1996 Braves. Their 33 runs scored are also 6th in LCS history; the 1996 Braves had 44.

It was the Cubs pitching that got them here, but it's their offense that is propelling them forward.

Here's some more information on the bullpen brawl during the Yankees-Red Sox game:

New York reliever Jeff Nelson fought with a Fenway Park employee in the Yankees' bullpen in the ninth inning of the AL championship series Saturday night.

With tempers already high following a bench-clearing melee earlier in the game, Nelson took exception to Paul Williams, who was waving a white flag in the bullpen in the ninth inning. The reliever told Williams he didn't like it, and the two started to fight.

"He was standing in our bullpen waving the rally flag," Nelson said following New York's 4-3 win over the Boston Red Sox in Game 3 of the AL championship series.

"I told him if you're rooting for the Red Sox, why don't you go in their bullpen," Nelson said. "He jumped in my face and tried to take a swing at me."

It seems this particular Sox employee has caused trouble in the past.

Nelson said it was the same employee who yelled at the Yankees' dugout during Game 4 of the ALCS in 1999 when a number of fans threw water bottles on the field following a controversial call.

"After a while, we started to remember that," Nelson said.

During that game, fans threw things on the field in the right-field corner after a pair of calls went against the Red Sox. Many members of the Yankees were on the top step of the dugout when that occurred.

This is a developing situation. The report by Fox during the Cubs-Marlins game indicates the employee may be pressing charges against Nelson and Garcia. Stay tuned.

Based on their play tonight, the Cubs acquisitions from the Pirates have to be some of the best transactions of the season. Aramis Ramirez has three hits, two HR and six RBI tonight. Lofton has set the table, walking twice and scoring two runs. Cubs lead 8-2 in the 7th, and it's getting very late for the Marlins.

As bad as Willis was (2 1/3 innings, six earned runs), Matt Clement has been great. He's only allowed 1 hit through three innings and has thrown only 33 pitches. With a 6-0 lead, he can afford to challenge hitters the rest of the night.

Willis is in trouble again in the 3rd. A walk and two singles makes the score 5-0.

Dontrelle Willis pitched a 1-2-3 second inning. The question is can he hold the Cubs long enough for the Marlins go come back against Clement?

Dontrelle Willis is wild in the first inning. He walked three out of the first four batters to load the bases. He got a pitch over to Aramis Ramirez, and Ramirez got the pitch over the left field fence for a grand slam. The Fish are following a tough loss last night with a tough first inning tonight.

A huge loss for the Red Sox. It's one of those games that the Yankees could afford to lose but the Red Sox could not. The Red Sox are now faced with beating the full Yankees rotation three times. It won't be easy.

Also, I think some of the luster came off that franchise today. The Yankees are seen outside NY as the evil team, but today:

• Pedro threw behind Karim Garica and hit him.


• Manny Ramirez nearly caused a brawl on a perfectly reasonable pitch by Clemens.


• Pedro beat up an old man.


• A Boston fan jumped into the bullpen and injured right-fielder Karim Garcia.

As my lovely wife Marilyn said, "They're acting like New Yorkers."

I have no doubt the Yankees are very upset right now. As I said in my previous post, you don't want to give the Yankees a reason to beat you. It hard enough to win against them when they're neutral. The Red Sox are in trouble.

Correction: It appears that it was a member of the grounds crew, not a fan, that got into the altercation in the bullpen. I 'll resevre judgement on who started what there until I get more information.

I'm back. Did I miss anything? :-)

Actually, had a good time watching the game with a bunch of partisan Red Sox fans. It seemed to me at the end of the first that Pedro wasn't right. The Yankees were making contact; all four batters put wood on the ball. Pedro did not have a strikeout. That's unusual.

It was also obvious that Roger was just overpumped in the first. He wasn't pitching badly, he was just overthrowing. He got hit, but by the time Ortiz came up he was hitting the corners, and setting Manny in motion got Roger out of the inning. He now has five strikeouts and no walks.

Meanwhile, the Yankees kept hitting Pedro. Of all people, Karim Garcia drove in the first run with a single. Jeter's HR made the fans in the monster seats turn around and look to see where it landed. And then a walk and two hits leading off the fourth gave the Yankees the 3-2 lead.

And then Pedro hit Garcia.

I think the pitch got away from Pedro, simply because it's too stupid a move to intentionally go after Karim. But it's fired the Yankees up. And Pedro beating up a senior citizen is going to fire them up even more (even though it looked like Zim deserved it). The Yankees now have a reason to really want to defeat the Sox. As an opponent, I would not want to give the Yankees a reason to want to crush me.

And by the way, I really think Manny should have been thrown out of the game for his antics. Clemens pitch was only close to Manny's head in Manny's mind. And he pushed the umpire after the ump tried to stop Ramirez from heading to the mound. I thought that was an automatic ejection. Not for a superstar, I guess.

All the action seems to have helped Pedro. He's thrown a perfect fifth and sixth, striking out the side in the sixth. Barry Bonds once said that he wanted the opposition to hate him, so they'd be thinking about the hate instead of thinking about how to get Barry out. Right now, the Yankees hate may causing them not to approach Pedro correctly.

It's 4-2 Yankees in the bottom of the sixth, one out and two on. Back to the party!

Neighbor Bill is having his big Ocktoberfest party today. I can hear the music from the band through the open back door. He's set up the TV in the back of the garage so we can all watch the game at 4. Blogging, needless to say, will be light today.

It's the game of the Century! (Of course, the century is only in its third year.) One for the ages! It's the Faceoff at Fenway! The Battle in the Back Bay! The Clash near Kenmore! The Sortie Under the Citgo Sign!

Actually, it's not like Pedro and Clemens have never faced each other before. They've faced off four times, all with Clemens as a Yankee. Pedro is 2-0 with a 0.93 ERA; Clemens is 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA. They've had two great battles, and two that fizzled early.

The first time they met was in the 1999 ALCS. It was billed as a "Heck of a Show."

Babe Ruth pitched at Fenway Park in the World Series. So did Christy Mathewson, Bob Gibson and Grover Cleveland Alexander.

And still, this might be the most fascinating matchup ever at the 87-year-old ballpark.

Roger Clemens vs. Pedro Martinez.

"I just hope it lives up to that hype," New York Yankees manager Joe Torre said Friday, a day before Game 3 of the AL Championship Series. "I have a sense it will."

It didn't. Clemens gave up five runs in two innings and was out of the game after one batter in the third. The Red Sox went on to an easy 13-1 victory, their only one of that series.

They next met on 5/28/2000, and this game did live up to the hype. In was the ESPN Sunday night game. Both went nine innings, Clemens striking out 13 and Pedro 9. But Trot Nixon hit a two-run HR in the top of the ninth to give the Red Sox a 2-0 victory.

They met again a couple of weeks later on June 14th, but the matchup fizzled when Clemens had to leave after one inning due to a groin injury. Ramiro Mendoza pitched well in relief, and Jason Grimsley picked up the win when Tim Wakefield gave up a HR to the other Martinez (Tino) in the 8th. Final, 2-1.

Their last meeting was on April 14, 2001, and this time both pitched well. Clemens last six and gave up two runs. Pedro went seven, also allowing two runs. Again, it fell to the bullpens to win or lose the game, and this time, Pete Schourek of the Red Sox gave up a ninth inning HR to Alfonso Soriano to break the tie. Yankees won 3-2.

So Pedro's pitched great four times, Roger twice fizzled. If you go by the pattern, it should be a fizzle day for Roger. :-)

Overall, the Yankees have hung tough against Pedro. Pedro's record against them is 10-8 (regular and post season), with a 2.76 ERA. A 2.76 ERA is very low for a 10-8 record. In 24 starts against the New Yorkers, Pedro has a 1.50 ERA in the 10 wins, a 4.44 ERA in his 8 losses, and a 2.86 ERA in six no-decisions. So Pedro could have won a few more of these games, had the Yankees not pitched well themselves.

The rest should help Clemens, also. Since joining the Yankees, he's 8-3 when he's had six days of rest or more.

I think this game is going to be great. It's a perfect autumn day in New England. The crowd is going to electric. This really is Clemens last game in Boston, and he's going to want to go out in style. Whoever makes the mistake loses.

The Cubs and Marlins continue their series this evening. Last night's game was good news and bad news for the Marlins; bad because they lost, but good because now they know that Kerry Wood isn't invincible. A win would have put them in a position to finish the series in Miami, with their 1-2 starters going against Chicago's 3-4 starters.

Matt Clement takes the mound today against The D-Train, Dontrelle Willis. Clement did not pitch well in his start in the division series, giving up eight hits and four walks in 4 2/3 innings. Willis didn't do much better; in his start, he last 5 1/3, giving up five hits and 2 walks and five earned runs.

Also note that Willis has the highest post-season batting average on the Marlins. He's 3 for 3 so far, and one of the hits was a triple. Bobby Brown of the Yankees was 3 for 3 in the 1947 World Series; it's the most AB in a post-season with a 1.000 batting average.

Neither pitcher finished the season that strongly, so I really don't expect a pitchers duel tonight. This is a must win game for the Marlins. They have to win the next two so they go back to Chicago only needing one win against Prior or Wood. If the Cubs beat Willis today, things will look hopeless for the Fish.

Jim Storer writes:

The Enrique Wilson thing is bugging the hell out of me.

First, he's 10-20 lifetime against Pedro, including 7-8 this year. Well that means that he was 3-12 against Pedro before this year! The sample size is so small as to be utterly meaningless, yet Joe Torre is essentially asking us to believe that in the span of one season, the futility infielder has developed from a .250 hitter (3-12) to a Cobb-like .500 hitter against one of the greatest pitchers of our generation. I submit that the career .250 average against Pedro before this year was actually more representative of Wilson's abilities than is the .500 average going into today, although both sample sizes are so small as to be virtually irrelevant to an analysis of Wilson's underlying ability to hit.

Second, notwithstanding the foregoing, he'll probably go 3-4 with 5 RBI because Torre's so damn lucky! But seriously, this is an example of the type of institutional arrogance and hubris which renders the Yankees so loathsome as an organization. They fully expect stupid moves like starting Wilson against Pedro to work, and when they somehow do work on occasion, accept this as further proof of their organizational genius, when in fact it is simply dumb luck.

It's bad enough that the Yankees are an extremely talented ballclub, but it's really frustrating that they're just so lucky, too. Torre is an excellent leader, motivator, disciplinarian and manager of men, but he is a below-average tactician who has been very lucky, and has largely been spared from the adverse consequences which should have resulted from his questionable strategic decisions.

Indeed!

Bad way to end the game. Lee hits a grounder to the third baseman Ramirez, but Aramis bobbles the ball. Lee would have been safe, but Castillo wanders too far off 2nd and gets caught in a run down to end the inning and the game. Cubs lead the series 2-1.

The Marlins really let one get away here. With a win tonight, there was a good chance that the series was not going back to Chicago. The Cubs have the home field advantage back, but the Marlins will send their two best pitchers in games four and five.

Lefty Remlinger is left in to face righty Derrek Lee with Castillo on 2nd and two out. Is it the right move?

Doug Glanville drives the ball into the outfield to score Lofton from first as Conine dives and the ball rolls by him to the wall. Cubs lead 5-4 in the 11th.

Update: Cubs just get the one run. To the bottom of the 11th.

Urbina sets the Cubs down in order again. To the bottom of the tenth.

Juan Pierre leads off the bottom of the ninth with a bunt single.

Update: Castillo lays down the fifth sacrifice bunt of the game, the third for the Marlins. Pierre on 2nd, and they are walking Ivan Rodriguez.

Update: Derrek Lee swings at the first pitch and flies out to center.

Update: Pierre steals third. Don't know why.

Update: Borowski pitches very carefully to Cabrera and walks him to load the bases. It's up to Mike Mordecai.

Update: Mordecai swings at the first pitch and flies out to center. Why, after a walk, do batters insist on swinging at the first pitch? Make the pitcher prove he can throw a strike. To the 10th inning.

Urbina gets the Cubs in order in the ninth. Marlins need a run to win.

Miguel Cabrera leads off with a single up the middle.

Update: Mordecai pinch hits and sacrifices. That's the fourth sac of the game.

Update: Conine hits it hard but right at the CF. Two outs and a man on 2nd for the Marlins Alex Gonzalez as Borowski comes in. Gonzalez is 2 for 3 with a double, a run and an RBI.

Update: Hollandsworth pinch hits and gets his 2nd hit of the series in as many AB. He drives in Cabrera to tie the game at four. Lowell flies out to end it. To the top of the 9th!

I just want to know, can I be the baseball writer?

Tom Goodwin triples to deep right center with one out.

Update: Randall Simon, in on the double switch, homers to right to take back the lead for the Cubs! It's his first post-season HR.

The Marlins Alex Gonzalez leads off with a single. Mike Lowell is up due to the double switch.

Update: Actually, it was a triple switch as Cabrera moved to right.

Update: Wood walks Lowell.

Update: Pierre lays down a perfect bunt, tying run at third with one out.

Update: Castillo, down 0-2, fights back and grounds to 2nd to tie the game. Go ahead run on third for I-Rod.

Update: I-Rod singles in Lowell. Another go-ahead RBI. He now has 12 RBI in the post season.

Update: That's it for Kerry Wood. He threw a great game; 109 pitches, 76 for strikes, 7 K in 6 2/3 innings.

Update: Farnsworth strikes out Derrek Lee to end the inning. Marlins lead 3-2 after 7.

Redman runs out of gas with two out in the 7th. Fox comes in with two on and walks the first batter to load the bases.

Update: Fox strikes out Karros to end the inning. Cubs still lead 2-1. The game has gone 9 1/2 innings without a score.

The Cubs give Redman a break in the 6th and go out on five pitches. That should give Mark at last one more inning.

With two outs, two walks and a single load the bases for Ivan Rodriguez.

Update: Pudge strikes out on three pitches. Cubs still up 2-1 after five.

Mark Redman has thrown 99 pitches through five innings. At this rate, he has about one more inning left in him.

Kerry Wood continues to be very economical in his pitches. He's thrown only 39 though three innings, 29 for strikes. He has not walked a batter and has struck out three. At this rate, he may get his third complete game of the year vs. the Marlins.

Cabrera, Conine and Gonzalez all make contact, and good things happen. Two singles are followed by a double by Florida's Alex Gonzalez, his first hit of the series. Redman bounces out to end the inning.

Mark Redman is wild. After giving up a single, he walks Gonzalez and Miller to load the bases. Seventeen of his 35 pitches have been balls.

Update: Kerry Wood sac fly makes the score 2-0. It's his 3rd RBI of the post season. He's only allowed three runs this post season.

Update: After a single by Lofton, the Cubs leave the bases loaded. Redman was lucky to get out of that inning with only one run allowed. He's thrown 46 pitches through two innings, only 25 for strikes.

Wood strikes out Pierre to start the game.

Update: Wood retires the side in order. He throws only 11 pitches, 8 for strikes. No sign of early wildness.

The game is underway. Lofton reaches on an error (or a bad bounce) by Derrek Lee. Redman looks like he hurt himself covering first. It appears Lofton hit him in the face with his shoulder. It didn't look intentional.

Update: Redman has shook it off and is staying in the game.

Update: They gave Lofton a hit on the Lee misplay. Dusty Baker has Grudzielanek bunt Lofton over to second, wasting an out. They don't walk Sosa, and he hits the left field wall with a single to drive in Lofton. It's 1-0 Cubs.

Update: Castillo ranges behind the bag to start a fantastic double play. Dusty plays for one run and that's all he gets.

My dear friend Jim Storer called this afternoon wondering what was going on in the mind of Joe Torre. He had heard that Enrique Wilson would be starting against Pedro Martinez in tomorrow's ALCS game 3. This article seems to confirm that:

The Yankees plan on using Enrique Wilson in the starting lineup on Saturday. Oddly enough, Wilson has hit Martinez well, going 10-for-20 in his career against him.

"All I can explain is it's just a freak of nature," said Little. "The best thing we could come up with it's we're going to tell Jason Varitek tell Enrique 'one pitch is coming and it's coming right down the middle' and we'll hope he'll overswing and pop the ball up."

If you count the post-season, Wilson is actually 10 for 21 against Pedro in his career. Jim's question was should Torre start a bad hitter like Wilson against a great pitcher like Pedro based on such a small sample size?

My answer was, it depends. Basically I think it's luck. But if it could be shown that hitters like Wilson do something that is effective against Pedro, I'd say go ahead.

What could that be? The theory I proposed to Jim was that Wilson is a hacker who makes contact (a bad Randall Simon was the term I used). He doesn't walk, and he doesn't strike out. Pedro is always around the strike zone, so Wilson has something to hit. And Wilson doesn't try to pull everything, because he can't.

Is there any evidence to support this theory? If you look at the top five hitters in terms of batting averge, they are Marquis Grissom, Wilson, Greg Jefferies, Luis Gonzalez and Bip Roberts. What they all have in common is that they don't strike out much. Only Gonzalez really draws a lot of walks. They are basically hackers who make contact a lot. (And the other four are much better hitters than Wilson ever was.)

I remember Pedro in 1999 had a very good year against the Yankees. He made three starts (including one in the post-season in which he struck out 11 in 7 innings, 17 in 9 innings and 12 in 7 innings. I remember the Yankees as a team were taking these big swings at what he throwing, and he made them look ridiculous. I wondered why they didn't choke up and just try to meet the ball, put it in play, because they were getting nowhere fast trying to kill his pitches. Pedro was 3-0 against them that year.

So Wilson just might be the right hitter to face Pedro. I still think it's mostly luck, and if Pedro threw his pitches in the dirt, Enrique would swing and miss. But if they are near the strike zone, Wilson will make contact, and when you do that, anything can happen.

Update: This is another example that good pitching stops good hitting, but it doesn't stop bad hitting. :-)

Alysse Minkoff does her best to lift the curses and hexes placed on the Cubs and Red Sox. Warning: non-explict bathtub pictures included! I hope Edward Cossette is paying attention.

A Phillies Phan tells why he's rooting for the Cubs.

This article had an intriguing headline:

Marlins' plan: Use speed against Wood

I saw that on Google News and thought I could write a nice post on how to use speed you have to get on base first yada, yada, yada. But then I read the article. Guess whose plan it is for the Marlins to use speed:

Chicago manager Dusty Baker said because Pro Player Stadium is bigger than Wrigley Field, the team with more speed has an advantage.

"And the Marlins have more speed than we have," Baker said. "They've got more speed than anybody in the world."

Thanks, Dusty. I would have thought it was conflict of interest to manage two teams at once. What is the Marlins plan?

First baseman Derrek Lee said the Marlins' plan for Wood is simple -- don't miss.

"He has stuff that you don't see on an everyday basis," Lee said. "He throws 95, 96 (mph), great curveball, great slider, his fastball just explodes on you. When you have that kind of stuff you're going to be good. Even on his bad days he's going to be good."

Yes! Make contact. Don't swing wildly. Be selective!

So my question is, do the people who write the headlines actually read the articles?

Steven Wine of th AP has this article on the Miami Herald web site praising Dave Dombrowski's job in building the Marlins:

Dombrowski decided against quitting. Instead, under his direction, the Marlins brought up Luis Castillo and then Alex Gonzalez from their farm system. They acquired Derrek Lee, Mike Lowell, Brad Penny and Braden Looper in trades, drafted Josh Beckett and outmaneuvered the New York Yankees to sign a 16-year-old Miguel Cabrera.

That means the Marlins can thank Dombrowski for their infield, a top reliever and their starting pitchers in Games 1 and 2 of the NLCS.

Among those traded during the breakup of the '97 team was Al Leiter, the starting pitcher in Game 7 of the World Series that year. He went to the New York Mets in a deal that yielded A.J. Burnett, a talented right-hander now recovering from elbow surgery.

"There are so many fingerprints of Dave that are still here," Leiter said as he watched the Marlins take batting practice at the NLCS. "He put together a world champion in five years. With the dismantling he could have taken it in a negative way, but five or six years later, this is the product. He put the core together."

Wine also addresses the concerns of Tiger fans:

Tigers fans can be forgiven if they view such commendations with cynicism, because they have yet to see evidence of Dombrowski's winning touch in Detroit.

"We're trying to build an organization here that will be successful, and it's a painful process," Dombrowski said. "Sometimes you have to take a step backward to go forward. The Marlins' success shows it can be done."

What we'll need to see is how Detroit's draft choices work out in the next couple of years. Being bad four or five years in a row is certainly a way to stockpile talent. The Mets team of the mid 80's and the A's team of the late '80s were both built this way. So there is hope for the Tigers.

Poor Clemens. He seems to get it from both sides. Maybe Michele and Jack should get together for tomorrow's game. :-)

District Baseball is a blog I found through Off Wing Opinion. It keeps track of what's going on in the effort to bring a team to the D.C. area. Right now, it doesn't look so good.

The focus of the day shifts back to the National League where the Cubs will send right hander Kerry Wood to the mound to face lefty Mark Redman. Don't expect to see the offensive fireworks of the the first two games tonight. The advanatages should be with the pitchers.

Kerry Wood has never lost to the Marlins. He pitched two complete games against Florida this year (he had four on the season), allowing just one run and five hits in 18 innings while striking out 20. For his career, he's 4-0 with a 1.85 ERA in five starts versus the Marlins.

Luis Castillo might be the key at the top of the order. He's four for twelve vs. Wood with three walks. It will be interesting to see if the Marlins allow Wood to be wild. Kerry will walk people if you are selective. Of course, with his great stuff, it doesn't mean you can hit him if he eventually comes over the plate, but at least you increase the odds.

Mark Redman is a lefty, and the Cubs did not do well when lefties started against them, going 18-20. Redman has made one start against the Cubs in his career, and it was this year. He pitched seven strong innings, striking out nine and allowing no runs. Mark has performed much better at Pro Player than on the road this year; his ERA is 2.88 at home, 4.27 on the road. The Marlins staff as a whole seems well suited to this ballpark. While the offense scored five more runs in home game than road games, the defense allowed over 100 fewer runs at home than on the road!

The matchup to watch is Redman against hot hitter Alex Gonzalez of the Cubs. Alex is 0 for 8 with 4 K against Redman in his career.

I don't think this is an automatic win for the Cubs. I suspect it will be a tight contest, and neither starter may be around for the final decision. Enjoy!

Nice wrap-up article on game 2 of the ALCS by Buster Olney over at ESPN.com. Things like this make me like Grady Little:

This was it, this was the moment for Boston in Game 2, and Kapler stepped to the plate. Pettitte figured he would try to bunt; the Red Sox had runners at first and second, nobody out, big hitters to follow. Little had no such thought. "We didn't get to this point where we are right now by moving runners that early in the ballgame," he said. "We're not going to start now."

Right on! Go for the big inning and bury the other team. It didn't work out that time, but it probably works out more often than not.

Sean Kirst pens as article about the oldest man in the US, who is also a Red Sox fan.

Rivera strikes out McCarty to seal the 6-2 win for the Yankees. Pettitte gets the job done again, and you wonder if starting Lowe in this game was a good idea. The Red Sox, however, should be happy with a split, and they're headed for Boston for the Clemens-Martinez show down.

Mariano Rivera is on to pitch the ninth and it's not a save situation!

Update: Varitek grounds out to Soriano.

Update: Nixon strikes out. Rivera has thrown 7 pitches, all strikes.

Update: Yankees crowd is chanting, "We want Pedro!"

Update: Todd Walker singles to left to keep the inning alive.

Jose Contreras stays in to pitch the eighth and gets the 4-5-6 hitters in order. In 2 1/3 innings in the playoffs so far, he's allowed 1 hit and struck out four. Have the Yankees found their setup man?

Derek Lowe runs out of gas with two out in the 7th. He gives up a 3-2 single to Giambi then walks Bernie Williams. Sauerbeck is on to pitch to Posada.

Lowe pitched okay. He gave up seven hits and three walks, and threw 61 of 98 pitches for strikes. Given how much he's pitched lately, it could have been a lot worse.

Update: Posada doubles from the right side to deep left-center. He drives in two to make the score 6-2, and make Lowe's line look a lot worse.

Pettite has finished the 6th inning, and he's thown 104 pitches. Rivera is ready to pitch two innings tonight. Pettitte's out for the top of the 7th, and the Yankees hope he can get through this inning.

Update: With two out, Mueller singles to right. That's it for Pettitte. The middle relief only has to get one out to get to Rivera.

Update: Contreras is in to face Garciaparra.

Update: Contreras does his job, Garciaparra pops up on the first pitch. Stretch time in the Bronx.

Jason Varitek takes Pettitte deep in the 6th to cut the Yankees lead to 4-2. He hit the HR right handed. He slugged .610 against lefty pitchers this year, .470 against righties. Ten of his twenty five HR came against LHP, in only 136 AB. Two of his three HR this post season have come against LHP.

My site counter just turned over at 300,000. It took 11 months for the first 100,000, 5 months for the 2nd, and now only 3 months to reach the 3rd 100,000. I want to thank everyone who reads this site, and I hope you'll keep coming back. Thanks for all the letters, links, compliments and criticisms. It's been a fun two seasons.

Lowe strikes out Soriano with a man on third and one out. He's 0 for 7 now with four K. He needs to choke up a little and make contact. (Or stop swining at pitches outside of the strikezone.)

Andy Pettitte strikes out Damian Jackson to end the Red Sox half of the 4th inning. It's only his 2nd K of the game, making me think he's still not quite right. Pettitte averaged 7.8 K per 9 this year. He does seem to be finding his stride, however, as he's not allowed a hit in the last two innings.

The Yankees seem to be getting the measure of Derek Lowe. Unlike last night, they are making good contact. A dribbler by Jeter is followed by solid hits by Giambi and Williams to score a run. Now Posada hits a liner to Jackson, who drops it trying to take it out of his glove too soon for a double play.

Matsui forces the runner at third. Bases loaded and two out. Yankees up 3-1.

Update: Lowe gets out of it. But the announcers noticed that he's stretching out his shoulder after each pitch, which I'll take as a bad sign. He's averaging about 16 pitches per inning so far, but no telling how long he'll last.

Nick Johnson breaks his slump with a two-run HR into the right field stands. He gets the Yankees crowd back into the game.

Derek Lowe just walked Posada leading off the 2nd. It's the 2nd walk he's allowed, and the Yankees might be smart to wait him out to see if he can consistently throw strikes.

The first two batters in the 2nd get solid hits off Pettitte. No problems with the defense this time. First and third with no one out.

Update: Damian Jackson bloops one into center to score Varitek from third. 1st and 2nd and none out.

Update: Pettitte gets Kapler to ground to Jeter for a double play. Pettitte may get out of this with minimal damage.

Update: Great play by Boone on a slow roller gets Pettitte out of the inning with just one run scored. At least someone can play defense.

Soriano strikes out to start the Yankees offense. He is now 0 for 5 in the LCS with three strikeouts.

Pettitte walks Ortiz, but gets Millar to pop up to Jeter. Once again, a double play saves Pettitte from otherwise bad defense. Pettitte wasn't that sharp, however, with 11 of his 22 pitches being called for balls. Going to the bottom of the first with no score.

First Jeter, now Soriano gets to show he can't play the middle of the infield. The official scorer gave Manny Ramirez a hit on that, but a good second baseman makes that play. The DP looms large now.

It's not the way Pettitte usually induces a double play, but the strike'm out/throw'm out DP has the same effect. The DP's and the pickoffs are one reason Pettitte can absorb a higher OBA allowed than most pitchers.

Kapler leads off with an infield single off Pettitte. It was a play in the whole that a great shortstop would have made (or at least, it would have been a close play at first). Jeter didn't get the throw off.

Nice story here on how the Red Sox drive for the pennant is bringing communities together in the Boston area. The video is better than the text.

Mike Nadel wonders if it's the Marlins pitching going cold, or Sammy Sosa getting hot. He does make one mistake in the article, however:

We're still waiting to see the fine Florida pitching we've been told about. Among the missing: "two guys who are gonna be in the same category as Prior and Wood," which is how Marlins manager Jack McKeon describes Josh Beckett and Brad Penny.

So far in the National League Championship Series, Beckett and Penny have resembled Mark Prior and Kerry Wood the same way my wife and I resemble Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck.

A good way to upset your wife is to tell the world she doesn't look like J-Lo. He should have followed that with "My wife is much prettier."

I bet this makes Marlins fans happy:

''I was shocked and dismayed to read the comments falsely attributed to me in today's media outlets about rooting for the Cubs in the NLCS,'' Huizenga said in a statement. ``I was not even in Chicago the last two days and never talked to any reporter about the Cubs-Marlins series. I don't know where those quotes originated, but they certainly did not come from me.

``I did grow up in Chicago, and always enjoyed my trips to Wrigley Field. I certainly know what a winning Cubs team means to that city. But I'm a resident of South Florida, and root for all the local teams. It's exciting to see this community rally behind the Marlins, and I hope they continue their winning ways.

Yes, especially now that he doesn't have to pay for it.

I have a reader who is a Red Sox fan, and she has a client who is a Mets fan. They are wondering if Mets fans are natural Red Sox fans because of their mutual hatred of the Yankees. Any Mets fans wish to comment? I've turned comments on.

The Cubs have already hit seven HR in this LCS. The record for a team in an LCS is 10, set by the 1992 Toronto Blue Jays and tied by the 1996 NY Yankees. The NL record is held by the 1984 Cubs. They hit nine in five games against the Padres. Cubs fans have to hope that setting a new record doesn't end in a loss this time.

He's on CNBC now.

Update: Michelle Caruso-Cabrera just mentioned Bill James! I've always liked her, and now she's just moved to the top of the heap. :-)

Update: That was an excellent interview. Michelle really knew the material and asked good questions about what the Red Sox are going to do with their free agents and how the fans might react. (Letting Manny and Nomar go to free agency.) Lewis thinks that Theo will be better able to do this if they win the World Series, cause he'll have proven he knows what he's doing.

Game 2 in the Bronx tonight. Derek Lowe faces Andy Pettitte. Lowe has been the go to guy so far in the post season for the Red Sox. He lost game 1 after walking the house, but came back with a strong start in game three and the key save in game five. But this will be the third time in nine days he's pitched on two days rest or less. If this keeps working, maybe a new position will develop; the starter-short reliever. If starters can be used for an inning in the middle of their rest, teams would no longer have to carry 11 or 12 pitchers. Lowe has pitched a lot lately, and I wonder how effective he'll be.

Lowe was 2-0 against the Yankees this year, but he did not pitch well in his starts. He gave up 32 hits in 24 1/3 innings for a 5.55 ERA. Still, Boston managed to win 3 of those four games.

Matsui hit Lowe well this year, going six for eleven against him with two doubles and six RBI. Giambi has 3 HR against Lowe in 29 AB on 8 hits and 8 walks.

Andy Pettitte has had a good career against the Red Sox. Combined regular and post-season, Pettitte is 14-5 with a 2.98 ERA against the Red Sox. Like Lowe, Pettitte had a good record against the Sox this year (3-1) despite having a high ERA (5.04). However, Pettitte's ERA comes from one bad start on 9/5 where he gave up 8 ER in 2 1/3 innings. It was his only really bad start since the middle of June.

Ramirez, Ortiz, Garciaparra and Varitek all hit Pettitte well. Manny is hitting .418 against Andy with a .716 slugging percentage (regular and post-season). We'll get a feel for how Pettitte is doing early as he goes through the heart of the Boston order the first time.

It's a must win game for the Yankees. They have to take advantage of the Red Sox weakness against lefties. They don't want to be down 2-0 facing a rested Pedro.

Jan from Wellesley sends this link to a Jack Curry article in the NY Times:

But for all of Mussina's fabulous achievements, he has also been a pitcher who has been too routine about barely missing even more greatness. Sometimes, it has not been his fault, because he received no support. Sometimes, it seems ludicrous to criticize a pitcher as consistent as Mussina. Still, he has a career nicked with too many instances when he was almost special.

...

How close has Mussina come to reaching marks of greatness? He came within one strike of throwing a perfect game against these Red Sox in 2001. He has won 18 or 19 games five times, but he has never hit 20. Mussina, who dominated the 1997 A.L.C.S. for the Orioles and still did not win a game, has a career record of 4-4 in the postseason.

A 34-year-old right-hander, Mussina has 199 victories, but he failed in two attempts to get his 200th last month. Being stuck on 199 for the winter seemingly fits the theme of his career. It is a career, by the way, that is almost worthy of the Hall of Fame.

Irina Paley asks, "What's wrong with Mussina?"

The pitching seemed to all come together in the last days of the season - each starter got that one bad game out of his system, and it was supposed to be smooth sailing. But, the post season has not been kind to Mike Mussina. He blew the first game against Minnesota, and now the first game against Boston. This was supposed to be a freebie for the Yanks - get all your wins before you have to face Pedro. Mussina was always behind in the count, and just seemed to fall apart altogether.

I don't think anything is wrong with Mussina. I don't think just missing a perfect game or just missing 20 wins a number of times or just missing 200 wins (when he's going to get there next year) really says anything negative about Mussina. He had a lousy night; he couldn't throw strikes early in the count. A lot of those pitches were close, and a less selective team than the Red Sox might have swung at them. I agree with Torre that Mussina wasn't squeezed. (I thought the ump was more generous with Wakefield, but knuckle balls move so much it's hard to tell.) If Mussina pitches the way he did against the Twins, he'll win most of those games. If he pitches like he did last night, he's going to lose most of those games. I'd be very happy to send him to the mound in 35 times a year, and as often as I can in the playoffs.

Correction: I called Mussina Wakefield in the last paragraph. I've corrected that.

Michael Lewis, author of Moneyball, will be interviewed on CNBC at 1:20 PM EDT this afternoon.

Jeff Miller of the Miami Herald describes last night's game as a nightmare.

Now, the National League Championship Series is tied 1-1, knotted up by a nightmare. That's what this game was, a cold-sweat, shivering-under-the-sheets bad, bad dream. The Marlins were buried by Cubs muscle and suffocated by the sound of Cubs love.

Isn't that what happens in nightmares? People see themselves being buried and smothered and the like? Well, that's what happened to the Marlins on Wednesday.

A nightmare? Reliever Michael Tejera threw a pitch -- his first pitch, in fact -- into the Marlins' dugout. Consider how inaccurate that is for a second. The ball, after slipping out of Tejera's hand, missed the strike zone by roughly 70 feet.

Wish I had seen that. Miller also makes a point of how this game didn't fit in with the rest of the playoffs:

Garbage time in baseball is never good. Garbage time in playoff baseball is even worse. And this game had five innings of playing-out-the-string trash. No offense or anything, but if Mike Mordecai enters one of these games, the preference here is that it would be in extra innings, prompted by a series of strategic and intriguing twists. Not because Luis Castillo's aching bones could use the rest.

These baseball playoffs already have featured more held breath than some entire postseasons. The Marlins and Giants alone ESPN-Classiced their way through the first round. But this game belongs with the rest like a penguin belongs up a palm tree.

They can't all be gems. :-)

Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune has advice for the Cubs karma police; avoid them.

After last night's win, the Cubs are in a great position to win this series. I guess if you don't expect much from your team, you won't be disappointed.

That's the title of this Mike Vaccaro column. People are starting to realize that the makeup of this team is very different.

No, this resounding 5-2 victory in Game 1 of the AL Division Series amplified everything we've believed about these Red Sox all season long, everything that Yankees fans have feared about them. It isn't just that they are resilient. It isn't just that they are relentless. It isn't even the joie de vivre they bring to the ballpark with them every day.

"I think what you saw out there was a loosey-goosey team," said reliever Mike Timlin, who completely locked down the Yankees bats in the eighth inning, before anyone could ever conjure an image of any bullpen adventures. "You can't be at your best if you're going to think about what kind of big spot you're in. You just have to play, man. That's what we've done all year long. No reason to stop now."

What these Red Sox do best of all is stand up to history, stand up to tradition, stand up to the conventional wisdom that has held so many past teams hostage. There is nothing at all conventional about them, in fact, which is a large part of their charm.

The big difference to me is that these guys like each other.

DirecTV did have a 2nd FX feed last night, they just didn't bother telling anyone.

Once again, the wind was blowing out to center at Wrigley last night. Just shows you how good Prior is that he only allowed 2 earned runs over seven innings.

I don't like to criticize baseball announcers on this site. It's a job that's tougher than it looks, and I top of it I've worked with a number of announcers. But one thing that has bothered my for a while is Joe Buck's use of the term popup. To me, a popup is a ball that is hit very high and caught on the infield or just behind. Often, I hear Buck say someone popped up the ball, only to see it caught on the warning track. To me that's a deep fly ball.

But watching the game last night, I think I now understand why Buck call hits that way. He's calling it on the swing, not on the flight of the ball. Of course, hitters are so strong today that a poor swing can send the ball a long way.

Buck's calls pointed out something very important about last night's game; the Yankees were totally off balance. They were swinging under the knuckle balls, not getting good wood on anything. Against Wakefield, they put 18 balls in play. Half of them were flies or popups. Only one ball was rated as hard hit, and that went as a single.

Wakefield pitched a great game last night. The knuckle ball was moving enough to keep the Yankees off balance, and prevent them from adjusting.

A terrific victory by the Red Sox. Wakefield gave them a great start, and the bullpen didn't blow the game. They pitched well, they hit for power, and they beat the Yankees best starter. And they now have the home field advantage. Red Sox fans are very happy tonight!

The Cubs defeat the Marlins 12-3. Alex Gonzalez of the Cubs had the biggest night, with two HR. Lofton had four hits and Simon three. Prior was good but not great, but this was a night for the offense.

I suspect we'll see fewer runs and HR when the teams play in Florida on Friday. The Marlins have to be happy with a split, but they have to be less happy at having to face Kerry Wood in the next game.

Tim Wakefield gives up only two hits, but walked Giambi and Williams to lead off the 7th. Alan Embree is in to get Posada.

Update: Posada doubles to the opposite field to drive in Giambi. It's 5-1.

Update: There was a disputed HR call earlier. The RF ump called it foul, the home plate ump overruled him. It looked to me (and my wife) that it hit the foul pole. A fan sitting there, however, claimed it hit his friend's hand in foul territory. If the Yankees fall short by a run, expect to hear a lot about this.

A Matsui sac fly makes the score 5-2.

Update: Embree gets Johnson to fly to center to end the inning. Seems like the Yankees have been getting under the ball a lot tonight. I'll have to check tomorrow, but there seem to be a lot of weak fly balls in this game.

The Cubs haves scored 12 runs through six innings, and are slugging .967 for the game.

Update: Alex Gonzalez of the Cubs hit his 2nd HR of the game and third of the series to make the score 12-2.

Joe Buck's words as Millar drives in Ramirez. How many balls get by Jeter in the hole before someone realizes he can't play there anymore? Red Sox lead 5-0 in the 7th.

Derek Lee breaks up the shut out with a solo HR. It's 11-1 in the 6th. The biggest blowout in LCS history was on 10/17/1996 as the Braves pounded the Cardinals 15-0.

Alex Gonzalez is matching Sammy Sosa in HR. He just hit his 2nd of the series to put the Cubs up 10-0. Sammy homered earlier in the game.

Top of the 6th, two base hits on infield balls to Yankee middle infielders. Soriano ranged behind 2nd base, but couldn't nip the runner. It was a tough play. But then Jeter dived at a ball to his right, and he dived by the ball. Put the ball in play against this defense, and good things will happen.

Mussina is being relieved with two out in the 6th after 104 pitches. Not his best performance.

David Ortiz got his first hit off Mussina tonight, a two run shot in the 4th. Todd Walker and Manny Ramirez added solo shots in the fifth to make it 4-0. Mussina only had one game this year where he gave up three or more HR, allowing four on June 4th.

Tim Wakefield has the Bronx Bombers off balance, allowing just two hits through five.

The Cubs are pounding the Marlins tonight. Penny did not get a batter in the third before we was lifted for Nate Bump. It's 8-0 Cubs in the top of the fifth. Mark Prior has given up some hits, but not two many in a row. He has four strikeouts through five. Not as sharp as he usually is, but he's got a big cushion.

Both the Marlins and the Yankees get two hits in the 2nd. Both are threatening.

Update: Prior gets out of his jam with two strikeouts.

Randall Simon singels with the bases loaded and two outs to give the Cubs a 2-0 lead in the first inning. He's 5 for 13 with four rbi in the playoffs now.

Mussina seems to be a bit wild tonight. I don't have a count, but he doesn't seem to be getting his first pitch over.

Update: Nixon walks on four pitches. Mussina has thrown more balls than strikes now.

Update: After falling behind Mirabelli, Mussina gets him to bounce back to the mound. He's not given up a hit, but he's walked his two for the game.

Florida works Prior a bit, getting him to throw 23 pitches, 15 for strikes. He strikes out two and walks one, and gives up a hit to Derek Lee. No run damage, however.

Tim Wakefield puts the Yankees down in order. Everyone's hitting the ball, but not hard.

The Red Sox put the ball in play, but right at someone. Mussina retires them in order.

Pierre starts this game the same way, grounding out to the 2nd baseman.

The game is underway with Walker grounding out to Soriano. I actually like this lineup without Damon a lot more than the ones they used against Oakland.

DirecTV has the Red Sox-Yankees game on FX, so I can only watch one game! ARRRRRG!

Byung-Hyun Kim and Adrian Brown have been left off the Boston roster for the ALCS in favor of Jeff Suppan and Todd Jones. They must have a lot of confidence in Damon coming back to leave Brown off.

The Sox say Kim is hurt, but I wonder how much his past troubles at Yankee stadium and giving the finger to Boston fans had to do with this.

Meanwhile, the Yankees are going with 15 batters and 10 pitchers, as they drop Chris Hammond for Erick Almonte. Since they don't plan on using anyone but the starters and Rivera, this is a good move.

Game 1 of the ALCS pits Tim Wakefield against Mike Mussina. Giambi vs. Wakefield offers a good example of the versatility of the NY offense. Wakefield shuts Giambi down in the conventional sense. Jason is 13 for 59 against Wakefield, a .220 BA. But he's selective, so he's drawn 10 walks for an okay .329 OBA. And when he has hit Wakefield, he's crushed the ball. Of his 13 hits, he has 4 doubles, a triple and 2 HR. Jeter, Posada and Williams get on well against Wakefield, and Jeter has three HR in 42 AB against him.

The Mike & Manny matchup is similar to Wakefield-Giambi, but with out the walks. Manny is 14 for 73 against Mussina (including the post-season) with seven extra base hits, including four HR. But he only has five walks, making his OBA .244. Mussina has done a good job in his career of shutting down the heart of the Red Sox order; Garciaparra is 13 for 54 against him (.241), while David Ortiz has never had a hit off Mussina in 20 AB, striking out 13 times in the process.

The Marlins try to go two up on the Cubs as they send Brad Penny to face Mark Prior. Penny did not pitch great down the stretch for the Marlins, and it carried over into his Division Series start. Starting 8/21, and including the playoffs, he's posted a 4.87 ERA, allowing 11 HR in 44 1/3 innings. Look for the Alex Gonzalez matchup, as the Cubs Gonzalez is four for nine with three doubles against Penny.

Meanwhile, Prior has been lights out since the start of August. Including the division series, he's 11-1 in his last 12 starts with a 1.47 ERA. He's struck out 102 in 91 2/3 innings in that time; and he's been efficient, averaging 15.5 pitches per inning. This is going to be a tough one for the Marlins to win.

Enjoy, and get your clicker fingers ready!

The Bloviator is upset with Mayor Bloomberg. Seems to me Bloomberg knows what's good for him. :-)

Matt Phelps, another member of the SOMBILLA, contributes this verse:

Ortiz comes alive
Johnny Damon inspires
Sox win in six games

And Jamie Bakum reponds to the pro-Sox poetry with a look at the LCS:

Boston fans lucky
Oakland plays like triple A
Or Sox out in three

Actually, I don't know why Matt Phelps isn't rooting for the Yankees this year. He's a big Shemp Howard fan, and Matsui looks like Shemp!

The 2003 ALCS presents two teams with very versatile offenses. The two teams hit for average; this means if they go up against pitchers with great control, they can still put baserunners on. The get on base; if the pitcher doesn't have good control, they're willing to take pitches and create run scoring situations through walks. They hit for power; if a pitcher is totally shutting them down, one mistake can turn the game around. You saw this last one on Monday night in Oakland with Manny's HR.

The Yankees, however, are more versatile at actually winning games. As noted before, the Red Sox have troubles on the road, going only 42-39. They also don't do well when a left starts against them, going 26-27 on the year. The Yankees, however, played .600 ball whether a lefty or right started against them (they did very well against lefties), and they had the best road record in the American League. The environment of the game matters more to the Red Sox than the Yankees.

And I believe this gives the Yankees an advantage. The Yankees rotation, for example, has Andy Pettitte starting two games in Yankee Stadium, forcing the Red Sox to go against a lefty on the road. The Yankees ability to play well on the road gave them five of the nine games played in Boston this year.

The key for the Red Sox is to put the ball in play against the starters. The porous Yankee defense will give them runs. And runs will force Torre to his suspect middle relief. However, the old men of the Yankees rotation will be very well rested, so I suspect they'll be at the top of their game, and that means lots of strikeouts and few walks. The Sox will have to look to hit the mistakes.

The Red Sox defense isn't much better, so the Yankees would be advised to try to make contact against the Sox pitchers as well. But the real key will be getting seven innings out of the starters, so they can bring in Rivera to finish off the games.

On another note, Clemens-Pedro in game 3 probably means Pedro-Clemens in game 7. I'd love to see the series go seven just for that.

It's going to be a wild one, fasten your seat belts!

Update: Stephen Kramer rightly points out that if the Yankees were 5-4 at Fenway, then the Red Sox were 5-5 at Yankee Stadium. The Red Sox were 3-2 when the Yankees started Clemens or Mussina, 2-3 when they started Pettitte or Wells.

George King of the NY Post calls it Christmas in October:

Christmas in October. How else can you describe getting the Red Sox and Yankees in the ALCS? You can't.
Starting tonight at a sold-out and raucous Yankee Stadium the top teams in the American League open a best-of-seven series and that's the way it should be. The Chokeland A's and over-matched Twins are home, leaving the bitter rivals to lift their fans to euphoric heights or break hearts.

"It's like Bird and Magic in the 80s," said Red Sox first baseman Kevin Millar.

Only better.

Dan Shaughnessy of the Globe sees a change in the attitude of Boston fans:

This is what it felt like a couple of years ago when things started going right for the New England Patriots. An obvious, game-costing mistake was magically erased in the Foxborough snow, and the tumbling dice kept coming up winners the rest of the winter. Blessed as never before in the "Tuck Rule" win over the Oakland Raiders, the Patriots' boxcar victory train rumbled through Pittsburgh all the way to the city of New Orleans and a Super Bowl championship.

It was then that New England sports fans first started to think like winners. Instead of moaning "why us?" they challenged the gods of the games and asked "why not us?"

Which brings us to the local baseball team -- ever the most important New England sports franchise -- one that for the longest time has embodied frustration, failure, even buffoonery.

The Boston Red Sox tonight begin a best-of-seven series against the New York Yankees for the right to represent the American League in the 2003 World Series, and for a change Sox fans aren't baying at the moon, blaming curses, or expecting something to go wrong. The path to the pennant thus far has been sprinkled with gold dust, the same magic ash that fell on the head and shoulders of Tom Brady and friends in January-February 2002.

"I think they are going to do it this year," says captain Carl Yastrzemski, who has taken the torch from the late Ted Williams as the greatest living Red Sox player. Yaz was around for too many of the near-misses that created the modern-day image of this ball club (Lucy's going to pull the ball away again), and he is here to tell you, "The Yankees aren't that good."

This is great! And the way things have been going this year, I suspect this will be a great series.

And I thought only Boston sports writers did this. Maybe Phil Rogers is in the wrong town:

Perhaps the most disquieting moment of the night for the Cubs came in the ninth inning. Second baseman Mark Grudzielanek lost control of the ball when he tried to tag Pierre on a potential double-play grounder by Castillo. It set up a two-run single by Rodriguez, who finished with five RBIs.

Grudzielanek's error was the Cubs' first of the postseason. You hope they and their manager haven't run out of a magic. They'll need it, even if they have Prior and Kerry Wood.

Rick Morrissey thought it started too easy. He two, seems more worried than he should be about Prior and Wood:

It's Mark Prior on Wednesday night, the sort of thing that should even out the mood swings. And yet, a draining Tuesday night isn't going away. Aside from Kyle Farnsworth, the bullpen fell apart.

"We come back with our two big horses," manager Dusty Baker said of Prior and Kerry Wood, who pitches Friday.

A sentence full of foreshadowing that you expect in a Cubs' playoff story: And it started so well.

Folks, you lost one game, and your best pitchers haven't taken the mound yet! And besides, there is a very good explanation for last night's game that has nothing to do with pitchers or managerial moves; the wind was right.

STATS, Inc. records the wind direction at the start of each game. Here's the average total runs scored for each of the wind directions in 2003:

Direction	Average Runs Per Game	Number of Games
Out to Left	4.33	3
Out to Center	12.27	11
Out to Right	9.77	13
Left to Right	8.50	4
In From Left	7.31	13
In From Center	8.23	13
In From Right	7.78	18
Right to Left	7.00	6

And guess what? Last night's game was coded as "Out to Center." The answer was blowing in the wind.

Jeff Miller of the Miami Herald pays homage to Mike Lowell as a team player, and disparages Jimmy Buffett as a traitor:

No kidding. Mr. Margaritaville, the man who wrote a song entitled Floridays, who called one of his albums A1A, who is a Heat season-ticket holder, wore a Cubs jersey while singing Take Me Out To The Ballgame during the seventh-inning stretch.

''I'm not gonna sell too many albums in Florida this week,'' Buffett joked, before explaining that he has been a long-time follower of this enemy franchise.

So, instead of being one of South Florida's most popular citizens, turns out Buffett is just another guy from South Florida who doesn't care about the Marlins.

Funny thing, though. Based on the way these guys are playing, the way they seem to be sticking all the baseball's face in it, they probably don't care much about Buffett, either.

Let him be a Cubs fans. It's his own damn fault.

The Cubs go 1-2-3 in the 11th. Not the greatest pitching performance by either team, but they sure poured on the offense. The two teams combined to slug .682. Ivan Rodriguez continues his post-season assult with two hits and five RBI.

The Marlins lead the series 1-0, which is important as they see Prior and Wood in the next two games.

Have a good night!

Lowell gets the first ball of the inning hit at him. He bobbled, but made the play with a great catch by Lee.

Update: Miller strikes out.

Mike Lowell is back from his injury with a pinch-hit HR to centerfield. Marlins lead 9-8 in the 11th.

Update: Marlins have two on with 1 out after walking Pudge.

Update: Lee walks to load the bases.

Update: Cabrera lines into a double play to end the inning. Cubs go to the bottom of the 11th.

The Marlins go 1-2-3 in the 10th. Cubs can win it with one swing of the bat. Ramirez, Simon and Gonzalez are scheduled.

Update: Cubs go in order in the 10th. We may be here awhile.

Ugueth U. Urbina is on for the Marlins in the ninth.

Update: Miller grounds out on the first pitch. Cubs need someone to get on so that Sosa can bat.

Update: Lofton doubles. Tying run will come to the plate in the person of Mark Grudzielanek.

Update: Grudz is 0 for 6 with 4 K vs. Urbina.

Update: Grudz grounds out. Sosa 1 for 11 vs. Urbina with 5 K and 1 BB.

Update: I'm a bit surprised they are not walking Sammy here.

Update: Sosa goes deep! We're tied at 8!

Update: Alou flies out to right. Extra-innings next. Ticket holders are getting their money's worth tonight. :-)

Todd Hollandsworth doubles with one out in the ninth. Pierre up with a chance to drive him in.

Update: Pierre walks. Luis Castillo facing Borowski.

Update: Oops! Grudzielanek tries to tag Pierre on a ground ball, bobbles it, and everyone is safe! Umpires are discussing it, but the replay shows the call was correct.

Update: And Pudge is up!

Update: Pudge does it again. Another hit, and another two RBI. A great free agent signing.

Update: Cubs get out of the inning, but go to the bottom of the ninth trailing by 2.

The teams have a combined .719 slugging percentage in this game. Wow.

Alou walks to start off the eighth, but Alex Gonzalez makes a great play, sliding into the hole to nab Alou at 2nd. Two great plays by the Marlins' AG.

Update: The Cubs Alex Gonzalez gets another hit, setting up 1st and 3rd for Tom Goodwin with 2 outs.

Update: Goodwin strikes out. To the ninth tied at 6.

Another scoreless inning for Kyle Farnsworth. He's been dominating out of the pen for the Cubs so far. Looks like his knee is okay.

Damian Miller doubles leading off the 7th. He came in as part of the double switch with Farnsworth. Good move by Dusty.

Update: Lofton bunts Miller to third. I disagree that it's an obvious bunt situation. Lofton is a lefty, and if you let him pull the ball he might end up with a base hit.

Update: Grudz pops out. It's up to Sammy.

Update: Alex Gonzalez makes a great play off a hard hit ball by Sammy Sosa to end the inning. To the eighth tied at 6.

Castillo gets a high hop infield single over Remlinger's head. That sets up Ivan Rodriguez for another big AB. He'll face Kyle Farnsworth. I-Rod is 1 for 3 vs. Farnsworth with a HR.

Update: I-Rod strikesout, 2-3.

Update: Farnsworth strikes out Lee, also. Kyle now has four strike outs in 3 1/3 post-season innings. He's only allowed 1 hit and 1 walk.

Beckett, after four scoreless innings, gives up a HR to Alex S. Gonzalez of the Cubs with Simon on 2nd. It's 6-6 in the 6th. Gonzalez has set a career high in HR in each of his last four seasons.

For the second time tonight Alex Gonzalez grounds out to Alex Gonzalez.

Cabrera and Encarnacion go back-to-back to give the Marlins a 5-4 lead. Ten hits, 2 doubles, four triples, four HR. Hope you all have the over.

Update: Josh Beckett break the extra-base hit parade with a single.

Ivan Rodriguez goes deep to make the score 4-3. That's 2 HR and 9 RBI in five games for Pudge. Still, all the hits are for extra bases.

Juan Pierre just tripled. It's the fourth of the game. There have been seven hits by the two teams, all for extra bases.

Update: Zambrano walks Castillo. The Marlins 1-2 hitters are now 3-4 getting on base against Zambrano.

Jeff Conine adds to the triple barrage, putting a ball into the right field corner past the slide of Sammy Sosa. With two outs, however, Alex Gonzalez of the Marlins leaves him on base. It's 4-0 Cubs in the middle of the 2nd.

You read it here first.

Beckett has given up two triples in this inning. He had only given up two triples all year.

Update: Beckett strikes out Simon, a rare feat.

Update: Alex S. Gonzalez of the Cubs gets a double to make the score 4-0. Conine misplayed the ball, so the double is a gift, but the RBI isn't.

The lefties were 0-2 with a walk and a strikeout. The righties were four for five, and all four hits were for extra bases.

Lofton and Grudzielanek combine for a walk and a triple to take a 1-0 lead. Pierre slipped going back for the ball off Grudzielanek, but I don't think it would have made a difference.

Update: Moises Alou continues his great post season with a two-run, one-out HR. He now has five RBI in six games. And the barrage continues. Aramis Ramirez hits a triple to straight away center. Pierre didn't fall on this one, but it was still over his head and against the wall.

Zambrano falls behind Pierre 2-1.

Update: After getting Pierre, Luis Castillo doubles to give Ivan Rodriguez an RBI opportunity.

Update: Cubs get out of the inning.

Michele wants to know:

Who will be the Bucky Dent of this series and who will be the Mike Torrez?

The Yankees really don't have a regular starter as bad as Bucky Dent was in 1978. He had a .286 OBA and a .317 slugging percentage. Now, it was a different era, but that still wasn't good. I don't think Luis Sojo made the post-season roster. David Dellucci is the best I can do.

As for Mike Torrez, it has long been rumored that Ramiro Mendoza was a Steinbrenner plant, but he was not on the LDS roster. Game 7 of this series right now looks like Pedro against Clemens; could Roger be the reverse Torrez? The ex-Sox that breaks the supposed curse? Would that make Damien Jackson Bucky Dent? Stay tuned.

I'm really sad to see that Fox is scheduling both games tomorrow for the same time. I know they make more money doing it this way. My real problem with this, however, is that it appears there is no way to see the other game. It would be nice, for example, to put the other game on the local Fox Sports Net channel. That way, if Chicago fans are stuck in Boston, they at least have a chance to catch their home team. And people like me can flip back and forth for the best action.

Update: Casey Abell send this link showing the the other game will be on FX. That's good. It's not perfect, but at least we can flip between games.

Peter White at Mariners Musings doesn't really want Miguel Tejada to come to Seattle, and other random thoughts.

Tejada's performance this year and in the playoffs has to be an agent's nightmare. He got off to a bad start in April, recovered but had a power outage in June, had a great 1/2 season after the break, but totally bombed in the playoffs. His value has gone down, although I think he would tremendously improve a team like the Dodgers.

The Marlins open in Chicago tonight against the Cubs, sending Josh Beckett to the mound against Carlos Zambrano. Beckett is a power pitcher. Among hurlers with 140 IP, Beckett was fifth in the majors with 9.63 K per 9. The Cubs are a very high strikeout team, and Beckett should be able to take advanatage of that.

One other strength Beckett has is that he can get lefties out. Lefties batted about 40 points lower against him, OBA was about 15 points lower, and slugging was about 70 points lower. The are likely to start only two lefties in their lineup, however, Simon and Lofton (Bako might be a third). So that strength is neutralized by the lack of lefties in the Cubs order.

No one on the Cubs has that many AB against Beckett, but Sammy Sosa is 0 for 6 against him with 3 K.

Zambrano did very well against the Marlins this year, allowing only 1 ER in 12 1/3 innings over two starts. However, he did allow 13 hits and five walks; one of the reasons they didn't lead to more runs is that only 1 of the hits was for extra bases, a double.

Zambrano has been extremely effective at keep the table setters off base this year. Opponents #1 slots have a .313 OBA against him; the #2 hitters are at .315. (.333 and .340 are the averages for the NL in 2003). That may be one reason why there have only been eight stolen base attempts against him all year, and only three of those were successful.

Zambrano, like Beckett has not faced the Marlins enough to have any meaningful matchups, but as for who should start at third base tonight, Cabrera is 1 for 4 with two walks against Carlos, while Lowell is 1 for 6 with 3 K.

Enjoy!

Scott Brodeur has a reader who sees the curse being broken in the centerfield collision last night.

Irnia Paley pens a post called The Stuyvesant Complex.

The Bronx Science perspective is such: We hate you Stuyvesant, you with your brand new building and your brand new swimming pool! The only reason that you beat us in chess/soccer/debate is because you have more money! We can still recite from memory all the categories that we topped you in - college admission... and US News rankings... and math league..... and ...

The Stuyvesant perspective is such: You hate us? You are competing with us? Really? Oh... I didn't know... Well, keep up the good work, ol' chap. (To be read with a British accent to emphasize the pompousness).

I wrote a similar piece last December, except I used colleges instead of high schools. But it applies anywhere. Pepsi uses taste tests to show it's better than Coke, but I've never heard Pepsi mentioned in a Coke ad. Apple show ads with people who are switching from Window; have you ever seen a Mac in a Microsoft or Dell ad?

"They're #1 but we're better," means they're #1. Just say, "We're #1."

While I'm apologizing, I've had some fun with the whole Billy Beane-Theo Epstein master/student metaphor. I guess I should complete it:

Darth Vader: I've been waiting for you Obi-Wan. We meet again, at last. The circle is now complete; when I left you, I was but the learner, now I am the master.
Ben "Obi-Wan" Kenobi: Only a master of evil, Darth.

And we all know what happened to Obi-Wan. Derek Lowe provided the light saber last night.

If you want a more literary view of the series, check out Bambino's Curse, who also notices Nomar's head in the game.

I would like to apologize to the ESPN Experts for doubting their wisdom when they overwhelmingly picked the Red Sox and Cubs to advance to the LCS.

In looking at the rotations for the NLCS, I find it very interesting that the top two starters on each club are not facing each other. Beckett and Willis pitch on Tuesday and Saturday; Prior and Wood pitch on Wednesday and Friday. I don't quite understand Willis starting on Saturday. You would think the Marlins would want to start him on Friday so they can bring him back for game 7 on full rest. Also, the Cubs are weak against lefties but there appears to be no way to get four starts by lefties against the Cubs. Given that, however, wouldn't you want your better lefty to start game 7? We'll see if McKeon switches Willis and Redman later in the week.

But this rotation, as set now, gives the Cubs a huge advantage. Proir and Wood look pretty unbeatable right now, so your only chance is to shut down the Cubs offense and wear down those two starters. I think you have a better chance of that with Willis and Beckett than with Redman and Penny. The current set up seems to give the Cubs four wins when Prior and Wood pitch.

Home field advantage helps the Cubs as well. The Cubs were third in the league in ERA this year, the Marlins 7th. But if you look at them on the road (no home park influence), the Cubs were 5th and the Marlins 12th. (Cubs 3.83 overall, 3.89 on the road. The Marlins were 4.04 overall, 4.97 on the road.)

The offenses are pretty even. The Marlins have better averages, but scored only about 25 more runs than Chicago. Defensively they are even with the Cubs a being a little better. I really think it comes down to the pitching rotation, with Prior and Wood easily beating Penny and Redman.

Arnie Pollinger, commissioner of the SOMBILLA, pens this prediction for the Red Sox-Yankees ALCS:

Money and fatness,
A sense of entitlement,
Yankees goin' down.

I wish I had found this before the playoffs started.

Ray Ratto's piece on ESPN.com discusses the A's defeat and invokes Monty Pyton to do it:

They lost to the Boston Red Sox, 4-3, in Game 5, and however angry they might have been about Derek Lowe's dodgy postgame gestures, or heartened by general manager Billy Beane's strident defense of the boys, they lost in miserable and lingering fashion.

They brought to mind John Cleese in the guise of a Russian soldier heading a firing squad about to execute Michael Palin, only to return Palin angrily to his cell and shout back at the riflemen, "How could you miss?!"

He goes on to discuss a theme that I meant to publish yesterday, that this is more than bad luck:

And then let's break it down by ... oh, you know what? Let's not. Let's face the facts here. The A's have had too many chances to be given the benefit of statistical breakdowns, or to be defended (as they were by Beane) as the best team not much money can buy.

0-for-4 stinks. 0-for-9 stinks a lot. Those numbers don't measure character, or family values, or social interaction, or any of the other trivial stuff that keeps us from being declared a zoo.

But they do indicate more than just "bad luck," as Beane has said. They've lost when Gil Heredia lasted a third of an inning in Game 5 of 2000. They've lost when Jeremy Giambi got Jeter-ed in 2001. They've lost when Tim Hudson, who used to own the Minnesota Twins, lost the deed twice in five days in 2002.

And now they've lost because they didn't hit, because they didn't field, because Tejada stopped running, because Eric Byrnes didn't touch home plate, because Hudson got hurt, either by the bad luck of competition or by the bad thinking of a bar fight, and because manager Ken Macha thought that Adam Melhuse had a better chance than Jermaine Dye.

This isn't just bad luck on the job. This is bad thinking on the job, too, and if (as Beane likes to say whenever you ask him) the A's are already spotting the Red Sox the Latvian GDP, they have to not only pitch and hit and field better, but they have to do all their very best thinking, all of the time.

This isn't to say that they're dim. They're not. It is, however, to say that if you can't be sure that your bodies will always carry you to glory, your heads have to be properly positioned atop your neck, rather than ... well, you're eating breakfast, so we'll stop short of finishing that thought.

If they are hell-bent on doing this the hard way, they have no margin for foolishness. They have to slide when they're supposed to, and touch the plate, and keep running, and have the right man bat, and avoid tavern debates, and beat the teams they are supposed to beat.

Which brings me to the unsung hero of the Red Sox series; Nomar Garciaparra. Nomar hit .300 in the series, but it was a quiet .300, mostly because the people around him didn't do much. He didn't have an RBI but scored two runs. However, Nomar made two plays that showed the difference between the A's and the Red Sox in this series.

When Byrnes and Varitek collided on Saturday night, Nomar realized the play had not been made, covered the plate, and yelled for Varitek to tag Byrnes. Last night, when Damon and and Jackson collided, Nomar took charge, picked up the ball, and threw out the batter trying to reach second to end the inning. Nomar's head was in the game, and it cost the A's.

My playoffs today post from yesterday didn't make it into the blog. I had it under draft instead of publish. :( I wondered why it didn't generate any e-mails. Please read it now.

Here's the latest on Johnny Damon's condition.

As the Red Sox winged their way to New York, riding the exhilaration of their Division Series victory over the A's, center fielder Johnny Damon stayed in an Oakland hospital after sustaining a concussion during Monday night's game.

Damon was knocked unconscious when he and second baseman Damian Jackson collided while chasing Jermaine Dye's seventh-inning flyball. Jackson's head crashed into the right side of Damon's face in a frightening, violent collision.

After his team completed its 4-3 win, Red Sox manager Grady Little said Damon would remain at Highland Hospital for at least five or six hours. The Red Sox said test results were normal and a neurologist will examine Damon today.

Sounds like nothing is broken. That's good news. Here's hoping for a speedy recovery for Damon.

Strike three called on Long. Same pinch as to Melhuse, but a little higher. It starts inside, and the moves back over the plate.

What a great game. It kept everyone on the edge of their seats 'til the last pitch. It's the 2nd time the Red Sox have come from 2 games down to take an LDS. It's the 2nd time the A's have lost an LDS after winning the first two.

It will be the Yankees and the Red Sox in the ALCS. Two great teams going head-to-head, one trying to break the curse, one trying to enforce it.

I feel bad for the A's. This team deserves to win something. I'm really afraid this might be it for Oakland. Teams like Boston will be executing the Beane strategy with money. The A's will do well, but in the end it will be harder and harder to compete in the post-season. I have a feeling this was the A's last chance to win a championship.

Will they win? Or will it be another Red Sox swoon? Scott Williamson is in to close it out. He's thrown 80 pitches in five innings in this series.

Update: Hatteberg walks on five pitches. Williamson was high on the first three, and Byrnes comes in to run. I wonder if Byrnes got a lecture on baserunning before he went out.

Update: Williamson starts Guillen with a ball inside. The Red Sox pitching coach is out to talk to him.

Update: Second batter in a row, Williamson falls behind 3-0.

Update: Jose Guillen walks on a 3-2 pitch. Derek Lowe is coming in to replace Williamson. His last relief outing in Oakland did not go well.

Update: Yes, you bunt here. We'll see what the A's do.

Update: Hernandez sacrifices the runners up a base. Men on 2nd and 3rd, one out. It's up to Dye to get the runner in from third.

Update: Melhuse batting for Dye.

Update: They are not walking him. Strange strategy. You'd think the Red Sox would want the force at any base.

Update: Lowe strikes out Melhuse looking!

Update: It's now up to Singleton.

Update: 2-2 Count, 1 strike away!

Update: 3-2 Count.

Update: Ball four, bases loaded!

Update: Long pinch hitting.

Update: Long should bunt here. :-)

Update: Count 1-2, again, one strike away.

After striking out Manny Ramirez, Bradford gives up singles to Ortiz and Millar. Rincon is coming in to get Mueller.

Update: Rincon does his job and gets out of the inning. The Red Sox need three outs to go to the LCS. Should be fun.

Chris Singleton gets the A's 6th hit and fourth double leading off the 8th. Pedro is up to 98 pitches.

Update: McMillon singles in Singleton. It's 4-3 and the Pedro is coming out of the game.

Update: Embree comes in and gets Durazo to pop out to third.

Update: Chavez flies to short left. Embree does his job, getting the two lefties.

Update: Timlin in to pitch to Tejada. Tejada has one hit in seven AB against Timlin, bu the one hit is a HR.

Update: Tejada grounds out to end the inning. Chavez is batting .045 for the series, Tejada .087.

A nasty collision. Damian Jackson and Johnny Damon go for a short fly to center and end up knocking heads as both try to catch it. Nomar had the good sense to pick it up and get Dye trying to advance to 2nd. Another poor running play by the A's. Meanwhile, Jackson and Damon were down for a while. Jackson's back up, but Damon was still on the ground as they went to commercial.

Update: Damon is being taken off on a stretcher, and they are keeping his head immobilized. Let's hope he's okay. It's a scary injury.

Update: Adrian Brown bats for Damon leading off the 8th and grounds out.

Update: Damian Jackson appears to be okay. He's batting for himself in the 8th.

Barry Zito has been relieved by Ted Lilly, coming back on really short rest. Looks like they want a lefty in the game to get to Bradford.

Update: Lilly pitches a great inning, retiring all three batters on 12 pitches, 10 for strikes.

Durazo hits a double with one out in the sixth. He looked like he was in pain running, but he's staying in the game.

Update: Tejada doubles to drive in Durazo with two out. That's three doubles to the opposite field for the A's.

Update: Hatteberg grounds out to end the inning. It's 4-2 Red Sox after six.

Zito makes a mistake to Varitek, and Jason takes it out of the park leading off the 6th. Best #9 hitter in baseball. His 16 HR from the nine slot during the regular season were 10 more than any other player.

Update: Zito seems to be tiring, despite the low pitch count. He was 3-2 on Varitek and gave up the HR, and he just went 3-2 on Damon and walked him.

Update: With one out, Zito hits Walker to put men on first and 2nd for Manny Ramirez.

Update: Manny Ramirez takes a 2-2 pitch into the stands for a 4-1 Red Sox lead. It looks like the A's let Zito go one batter two long.

Manny did grandstand a bit on the HR. We'll see if that makes a difference

Update: Watching the replay, Manny did more than grandstand. He stood there watching it, walked slowly to first, then pointed to his own dugout. No call for that. You hit the ball, you start running. You don't know what's going to happen.

A's lead 1-0 through five. Pedro has allowed 2 hits and a walk. Zito has allowed 2 hits and a walk. The difference is one of Pedro's hits allowed was a double with a man on after a walk. Zito's pitch count is 62; Pedro 71.

Kevin Millar singles to center, and Chris Singleton has trouble fielding the ball. It hits Singelton and bounds away, but when Millar tries to stretch it to a double, he's thrown out. The replay showed Millar was taking his time going to first until he saw the bobble, then turned on the speed. If he had been running hard the entire time, he might have made it.

Jose Guillen gets another hit off Pedro, this time a double after a Hatteberg walk. The ball got between Damon and Nixon, and for a second, neither knew who was going to pick it up. That gave Hatteberg plenty of time to score. Guillen tried to go to third, but they nailed him there, ending a potential big inning for the A's. Still the way Zito is pitching, one run may be all he needs.

Both cleanup hitters, Ramirez and Tejada have each struck out twice.

Johnny Damon hits a slow one up the middle for an infield hit and the Sox first baserunner leading off the 4th.

Update: With one out, Damon steals. He had a bad jump, but Hernandez (for some reason) didn't throw to second. Another mental error by the A's?

Update: Zito strikes out Manny on a pitch outside the strikezone to end the 4th. Ramirez is now 1 for 7 with men in scoring position in the series.

What a great game. Pedro and Zito are throwing strikes, absolutely baffling the batters.

Zito had his roughest inning so far, having to throw 10 pitches. :-) He did fall behind 2-0 to Nixon, but got him anyway. Twenty of this twenty six pitches have been for strikes.

Jose Guillen gets the first hit of the night, driving a ground ball up the middle for a single. He's now 9 for 26 vs. Pedro, post and regular season combined.

Update: Pedro hits Ramon Hernandez on the hand. Men on first and 2nd with two out.

Update: Dye grounds out to end the inning. The A's are working Pedro a bit. They've got him to throw 31 pitches through two innings. It's not a lot, but it's better than the Red Sox are doing against Zito.

Zito has retired six in a row. This has to be one of the fastest games I've ever seen. Zito has another eight pitch inning. Sixteen pitches, thirteen strikes.

Pedro also has an easy first. He retires the side in order, striking out Durazo and Chavez. Thirteen pitches, 10 for strikes.

Damon flies out to left to start the game.

Update: Easy inning for Zito. It went so fast, Hernandez didn't realize they had gotten the third out. Zito threw only eight pitches, six for strikes. That's not the way to wear out a guy going on three days rest.

WBZ in Boston reported more on this fight tonight. Jason Fournier writes:

I saw Bob Lobel report on this story tonight at 6:05 on the WBZ 6:00 news. They had an interview with a former bartender from Club Q (the guy was fired for leaking the story, which his boss said was not supposed to get out). His name was Marc Cerrone (I may have spelled it wrong, it was only up for a moment) and he said there was "a lot of physical contact". According to Lobel, there are reports that Zito's father confirmed that his son had told him there was some kind of scuffle.

I could not find the story on the WBZ web site, but I did find this link to a report by anchor Liz Walker that Zito's father confirmed an altercation. Good to see that people are coming forward.

Looks like Hudson is going to have some explaining to do to his teammates.

Update: Ken Macha speaks on the incident.

A's manager Ken Macha told ESPN's "SportsCenter" on Monday that Hudson and left-hander Barry Zito were signing autographs at the bar on the night before Game 3 of Oakland's division series against the Red Sox.

The players and Hudson's brother had to be separated from several Red Sox fans after a confrontation, but Hudson told Macha no punches were thrown. Hudson wasn't on the field before Game 5 on Monday night, and players usually aren't available to reporters before playoff games.

"I think it's a non-issue," Macha said earlier Monday. "He's sitting there, and he's amazed at what this thing has been blown out to. It's a non-issue."

There's a story going around that Tim Hudson was in a fight on Friday night that led to his injury. I want you to notice two things about this story:

1. The sources for the fight story are anonymous.


2. The person denying the story is not.

Gordon Edes says nothing about a fight in this article about Hudson's injury. There's nothing on ESPN.com about it, and if you search google news for "'Tim Hudson' bar" or "'Tim Hudson' Fight", the Susan Slusser article above is the only one you find.

At this point, I'm very skeptical of the bar room fight story. I think Ms. Slusser was fed a bogus story.

Update: Boston Dirt Dogs has an anonymous e-mail from someone who claims to be there Friday night. Dirt Dogs does not have perma-links, so you'll have to scroll to find it.

If anyone who actually saw the fight is willing to e-mail me and send me a phone number so I can talk to you, I'd appreciate it. It would be good to get to the bottom of this story, but I want a source that's not afraid to be identified.

Update: A couple of people wrote to tell me Steve Burton reported this story Sunday night on Sports Final. I can't find a transcript for the show. (Or even a web page for the show!)

This game seems like a toss-up to me. On the Athletics side, the Red Sox are not a good road team, and they are not a good team vs. lefties. On the Red Sox side, they have Pedro Martinez. Both teams are going to be tired by the flight and by the drain of the last two games. At least, with the Yankees winning, they get a few more hours rest before they go at it again. Zito is going on short rest, but Pedro is coming off his highest pitch count of the year. I suspect both will pitch well.

I was really pulling for the Oakland A's to win this series. I want to see Beane-Ball work; I want to see it produce a championship. But I'm starting to believe there is something wrong with the A's system. It's a minor thing, something that doesn't hurt over 162 games. The closest I can get to it is a lack of mental toughness.

Remember this from 2001?

Giambi drove in two runs. He also confronted Miguel Tejada, who failed to advance from first to third on Giambi's RBI single in the fifth inning.

"I was just trying to be aggressive," Giambi said of the exchange with Tejada. "I was all fired up. I told him 'It's my fault. I was just trying to make things happen.'"

In the Athletics' typically loose style, Giambi and Tejada made up in the dugout after the inning, patting each other's faces.

"Everything's cool, Tejada said. "That's the guy that's been carrying the team all year. I give him a lot of credit. He works so hard; he comes to play every day."

Is there anyone doing that today for the A's? It should be the manager's job, but if the manager is a figurehead, can he really enforce that kind of discipline? I've always wondered why Beane hasn't hired a sabermetric manager. But it also seems he needs a better motivator of people. If you could somehow cross Davey Johnson with Larry Bowa, you might get the person capable of leading this team. Ken Macha doesn't seem to be that man.

Of course, the Red Sox are a Beane-Ball team too. And for that matter, so are the Yankees. They just don't need to be cheap about it. Still, there will always be doubters unless the A's actually deliver a championship. But the sloppy play and the bone-headed base running has taken some of the luster off this group of rejects and smart acquistions. This is not a team of lovable underachivers. This is a team that doesn't have its head in the game, and there is no excuse for that.

Yes, the post-season is a crap shoot, and luck can do a lot to determine the winner. But luck didn't lose game three. And the A's can't depend on it to win game five tonight. It's been about process with the A's, but the one process it doesn't appear they have mastered is preparing the team mentally for the playoffs. We will see if it costs them another series.

One reason the Yankees were able to beat the Twins so easily is that they were able to hide one of their weaknesses; middle relief. The Twins did not put enough pressure, or take enough pitches, to tire the starters early. In every game, the starter went at least seven innings. Of the 36 innings pitched by the NY staff, only 3 1/3 were pitched by someone other than a starter or the closer. Oakland and Boston are much more selective clubs than the Twins. It will be more difficult for the Yankees to hide this weakness in the ALCS.

What happened to the Braves? More to the point, what happened to the Braves offense? This was a team that scored over 900 runs in the regular season, and could manage only 15 in five game against the Cubs. I wrote about my surprise at the strength of the Atlanta offense back in May:

This is an incredible offense turnaround, given that the team didn't make many moves. Maybe the offense finally realized they didn't have a great pitching staff to carry them? We'll see if it lasts. I have my doubts about Castilla and Furcal, but if Giles is for real that gives them four great offensive players (Jones, Jones, Sheffield and Giles), and that's usually enough to score a bunch of runs.

The problem over the last week was that their three big outfield guns didn't connect. Over the regular season, the Braves outfielders had a combined on-base + slugging (OPS) of .899, best in the majors and an outstanding number for any team. But in the division series, those outfielders had a combined OPS of .472. They hit .111 in the series, with a .250 OBA and a .222 slugging percentage. If there was going to be an offensive breakdown, I thought it would come from Furcal or Lopez or Castilla. But it was Sheffield and the Jones Boys who didn't get the job done, and Atlanta suffers another disappointing post-season.

On a side note, I realized just how boring the Braves are to watch. Of the four LDS series, Braves-Cubs was the one I most easily could do without. There didn't seem to be any intensity from the Braves, with the possible exception of Smoltz on Saturday night. And that was from pain. There didn't even seem to be any desperation in the loss last night. Terence Moore agrees:

You need those cliches, especially for one of these final and decisive games of a baseball series. You gotta have heart. You also gotta have energy, urgency, enthusiasm -- you know, cliches that have been foreign to the Braves for most Octobers since their run began in 1991.

There was Sid Bream's slide to send the Braves to a pennant after a mad rally. There was David Justice using the emotion of ripping Braves fans to slug the Braves to a world championship. Mostly, there were the Braves looking listless in the clutch.

This time, with Wood throwing and starring, and with the Cub Nation losing its mind over their heroes winning a playoff series for the first time since Roosevelt (Teddy, not Franklin) was president, the Braves went meekly.

Again.

Morris Singer of the Massachusetts Daily Collegian, the student newspaper of the University of Massachusetts Amherst reports on riots following the Red Sox victory on Saturday night.

A celebration of the Boston Red Sox's victory over the Oakland Athletics turned ugly on Saturday night as students gathered outside of the dormitories in the Southwest residential area at the University of Massachusetts, lighting fireworks and overturning two cars.

This isn't the first time this has happened. There actually was a riot when the Yankees lost to Arizona in the 2001 World Series! This type of behavior is certainly a black eye for the UMass campus.

Borowski strikes out Andruw Jones to end the game and give the Cubs their first post-season series win since 1908.

I'm amazed that both the Giants and Braves were eliminated. There were two very good clubs. But the two hot teams, the Cubs and Marlins will meet in the NLCS starting on Tuesday in Chicago. All my friends on the north side must be going crazy right now.

Another disappointing finish for the Braves. And the culprit was the offense again. They could not translate the regular season runs into post-season wins. It's been 12 years, and they only figured it out once.

Congratulations to the Cubs, Marlins and Yankees for advancing to the LCS. One game tomorrow, Red Sox at Athletics. Stay tuned.

Correction: Corrected 1998 to 1908.

The Braves come to the plate in the bottom of the ninth trailing by four. Chipper Jones will lead off.

Update: The Cubs go with Joe Borowski on the mound.

Update: Chipper Jones hits the first pitch deep, but Sammy Sosa catches it at the wall. One down.

Update: Javy Lopez strikes out swinging. Two down.

Tom Goodwin is batting for Kerry Wood in the 9th. It looks like Farnsworth will come in to try to finish off the Braves.

Update: Goodwin does his job and drives in the Cubs fifth run with a double. He just made the job of preseving this game much easier.

Kerry Wood just completed his 8th inning of work. He's allowed five hits, two walks and only one run. He's at 117 pitches, and we'll see if he comes out for the ninth. Kyle Farnsworth has been warming up in the bullpen, so the jammed knee last night was not serious. Cubs lead 4-1 in the top of the 9th.

It's nice to see Jaret Wright back in the playoffs and pitching well. He just finished another perfect inning for Atlanta. He's now gone four innings in this series, with no hits and three strikeouts. If Leo Mazzone can do for Jaret what he did for Hampton, the Braves will have another good starter next year.

Very strange play. Sheffield lines to centerfield, and Lofton appears to trap the ball. The runner from 2nd scores, but Giles, who had held up is thrown out at 2nd. But Giles was retreating to first, and Sheffield passed him, so McCarver thinks it should be a double play. Meanwhile, the replay shows that Lofton caught the ball, so I should have been a triple play! Those wild and crazy umpires. :-) Cubs get a conventional double play to end the inning. It's 4-1 Cubs going to the 7th.

Furcal leads off with a walk to start the sixth, and Giles follows with a single. The heart of the order is up, but they have not produced much in this series. It would be a good time to start.

The Book Of Mike is a new baseball blog that will cover the White Sox, Marlins and Miami Hurricanes. Good to see a new Marlins blog with them advancing to the NLCS.

Also, check out SethSpeaks.net, a new Twins blog.

Stop by and wish them good luck.

Aramis Ramirez follows an Alou infield single with a HR to centerfield. He extends the Cubs lead to 4-0 in the sixth. Things are looking grim for the Braves right now.

Wood and Hampton keep retiring the side. Kerry now has seven strikeouts through five innings. The way things are going, Hampton's early troubles look like they'll be the difference in this game.

Looks like Mike Hampton has regained his control. He now has six strikeouts through four innings. The question, of course, is can the Braves break through against Kerry Wood?

Kerry Wood continues to be strong through three innings. In 10 1/3 innings in the LDS, Kerry has only allowed three hits. He's thrown 43 pitches tonight, 27 for strikes.

Alex S. Gonzalez does his best to make it an All-Alex Gonzalez NLCS by leading off the 2nd with a HR off Hampton. Alex had 20 HR this year, and 57 extra-base hits. That's pretty good for a .228 hitter.

Kerry Wood uses only 15 pitches (10 strikes) to get the Braves in the first. He gives up a single to Sheffield, but strikes out Giles and Chipper Jones. Cubs still lead 1-0.

Mike Hampton gets through the first inning with only one run allowed, but he did not pitch well. He threw 30 pitches, and only 15 were for strikes. He won't survive many more innings like that. We'll see how sharp Kerry Wood is on full rest.

Moises Alou singles to the left field line to drive in the first run of the game. Cubs have men on 1st and 2nd with 1 out.

They're underway with a leadoff double by Kenny Lofton.

Robert Fick has been fined by the commissioner's office:

Atlanta Braves infielder Robert Fick was fined an undisclosed amount by the commissioner's office on Sunday for his actions in Game 4 of the National League Division Series.

I still think he should have been suspended, and I hope the fine is huge. The Braves should fine him also to show they don't condone that kind of play.

Update: According to the Fox broadcast, Bobby Cox did fine Fick. Good for Cox.

Guzman flies out to Bernie Williams to give the Yankees the ALDS win. They did everything right today, hitting running and pitching. This team looks much different from the group that sleep walked through the Angels series last year. They'll head back to NY and await the winner of the Boston-Oakland game tomorrow.

Twins going to the bottom of the ninth trailing 8-1.

Update: Cuddyer is struck out by White for the first out.

Update: Jones grounds out.

Update: Koskie keeps things alive with a single to left.

Derek Jeter leads off the 9th with a home run. Stewart robbed him of one earlier, but he got all of this one. It's his 5th LDS HR and 12th post-season HR. That ties him with a couple of Larry's, Yogi Berra and Chipper Jones for 8th on the all-time post-season HR list.

David Wells leaves the game with two on and two out in the bottom of the eighth and a 7-1 lead. He throws 96 pitches, 68 for strikes. Gabe White is in to finish the inning.

Update: White gets out of the inning. The Yankees starters in this series have allowed six earned runs in 28 2/3 innings for a 1.88 ERA, while striking out 27. The Twins failed to put the ball in play enough against this defense.

David Wells is pitching an excellent game against the Twins. Through six innings, he's thrown 74 pitches, 53 for strikes. He has not issued a walk and only allowed six hits and 1 run. Three innings to go, and the Yankees are holding on to their 6-1 lead. Eric Milton is pitching very well in relief, one hit through 2 1/3 innings.

It appears that Jason Schmidt's elbow was worse than previously reported.

It had been reported for much of the season that Schmidt's sore elbow was a result of tendinitis, the paper said. But head trainer Stan Conte told The Chronicle on Saturday that information was technically accurate but did not convey the extent of the injury, which was kept quiet for competitive reasons.

"Everyone thought his season was over in August based on the initial MRI that we took," Conte told the paper. "After discussions with a lot of doctors we decided there was no increased risk if he kept throwing."

This makes his Game 1 shutout even more impressive.

Twins have two on with 1 out in the bottom of the 4th, and the crowd is roaring again. Cuddyer bloops one in front of Bernie Williams to make the game 6-1.

Update: That's the only run the Twins get in the inning.

Jason Giambi and Bernie Williams deliver back-to-back 1-out doubles to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth. Bernie is hitting .500 for the series.

Update: After Posada singles, Matsui gets the third double of the inning to make the score 2-0. Yankees have four straight hits off Santana, two on and 1 out. Boone can bury the Minnesotans here.

Update: Nick Johnson gets the fourth double of the inning. Another timely first hit of the series. Nick drives in two, and the Yankees lead 4-0. That's it for Santana, and that may be it for the Twins.

Update: Soriano pops a single down the left field line, scoring two more. It's 6-0 Yankees, and the HHH Metrodome is quiet as a church.

Update: Juan Rincon does not get an out. After Soriano's single, he walks Jeter and Giambi to load the bases for Bernie Williams. Rincon is out of the game. Ex-Yankee Eric Milton gets Williams to end the inning.

Once again, Stewart gets on and the batters behind him do nothing. With two out, Stewart doubles to left. Rivas comes up and gets ahead of Wells 3-0. But David throws a strike, Rivas fouls one off, then strikes out on ball four in the dirt. No score through three innings.

Johan Santana ends the top of the third with his 2nd K of the game, both by Alfonso Soriano. He's only thrown 29 pitches pitches, 21 strikes.

Torii Hunter tagged up and went to 2nd on a fly ball to Bernie Williams in centerfield. Bernie had to relay the ball to Jeter, who almost got Hunter at 2nd. But Williams isn't strong enough to throw the ball in to 2nd on the fly. Dave Justice is being properly crticial of this during the broadcast. It's another reason Bernie should not be in centerfield anymore.

Johan Santana starts strong. He's pitched two innings, throwing only 21 pitches, 15 for strikes.

This game is underway. The only thing that has happened so far is a single by Jeter. It's 0-0 going to the top of the 2nd.

Durazo pops up to Mueller to end the game.

I wonder how many chairs Billy Beane broke in the last two days? Pedro Martinez vs. Barry Zito tomorrow afternoon. Play hooky and watch.

Williamson strikes out Byrnes to start the ninth.

Update: Ellis strikesout!

David Ortiz picks the perfect time to get his first hit of the series. A double off the wall in right gives the Red Sox a 5-4 lead. They are going to the ninth.

Keith Foulke enters the game in the eighth to go for the two inning save.

Update: Garciappara doubles off the wall with one out in the 8th.

Update: Walker flies out. Ramirez is up with two out with a man on 2nd.

Update: Manny singles, but he hit it too hard, and Nomar was not able to score. First and third with two out for the hitless Ortiz.

The Twins are putting out a very different lineup than they did against Pettitte on Thursday. 1-2-3 are the same, but Hunter moves up to 4th and Pierzynski to 5th. Cuddyer will be the DH and bat 6th.

Eric Chavez gets his first hit, a ground rule double to the triangle in center. If it hadn't bounced into the stands, he would have had a triple.

Rincon relieves Steve Sparks, who gave the A's four good innings. Todd Walker leads off with his third HR of the series and his 2nd off Rincon. A's lead 4-3 in the bottom of the 6th.

Adam Melhuse, a last minute addition to the Oakland lineup (Hernandez has a strained back), gets his third hit of the game and the first extra-base hit for Oakland. His double to right off Nixon's glove scores Hatteberg from first. Then, with Burkett over 100 pitches, Jermaine Dye smokes one over the wall to give Oakland a 4-2 lead.

Update: Wakefield comes in an gives up a single, but Ellis hits a hard line drive to first to doulbe up the runner. Oakland is now in control, however.

Scott Hatteberg reaches on a single off Burkett's leg. It's the fourth inning they've gotten the leadoff man on.

Update: Guillen hits a hard line drive to third. It seems every hard line drive turns into an out.

Chavez was up with a runner on 2nd and one out. He popped up foul to the catcher. It's at least the fourth pop up by Oakland with men in scoring position, and Chavez is now 0 for 17 in the series.

With two out, Sparks walks two in a row, and he's behind 3-1 to Mueller.

Update: Mueller grounds out to end the inning. Mueller is batting .133 in the series.

Guillen, on first after a single, tries to go to third on a single to left center. Damon makes a perfect throw to nail him. Once again, the A's fail to execute. They have Melhuse on 2nd with one out.

Update: A's fail to score. Burkett is getting hit, but they've all been singles, and the two with men in scoring position were to short to advance runners more than one base. Burkett has thrown 79 pitches through four.

It was the best of plays, it was the worst of plays.

Tejada makes a great stop on a ground ball up the middle, gets the lead runner at 2nd, then the throw by Ellis gets away from Hatteberg. Scott has no idea where the ball is, and the catcher has to run down the right field line to retrieve it. By the time he gets it back into the infield, Varitek is on third, and the ball is almost thrown away again. Luckily, Sparks was backing up third base.

Then, Damon comes up and knocks a pitch out of the park for a 2-1 Boston lead.

Update: It's Damon's first post-season HR.

Steve Sparks walks Mueller. He's allowed the leadoff man to reach in consecutive innings.

I didn't see what happened, but Hudson is out and Sparks is in. Tim must have injured something warming up. Steve Sparks did not have a good year, giving up 13 HR in 107 innings.

Update: Hudson's hip has given out. He can't land on his leg. This may be similar to what ended Mulder's season.

Update: Sparks gets through the inning allowing only a single to Manny Ramirez. Trot Nixon hit a bullet, but Hatteberg snared it in the air to prevent the Red Sox from tieing the game.

Update: ESPN is reporting that Hudson is suffering from a left oblique strain.

A walk and three consecutive singles leads to a 1-0 lead for the Athletics in the 2nd. They have the bases loaded with none out.

Update: Byrnes just missed the rightfield foul pole by a seat. The person sitting next to the pole in foul territory caught the ball.

Update: Byrnes pops up to 2nd, bases still loaded. But Byrnes saw a lot of pitches, and Burkett is up to 46 thrown.

Update: Ellis pops up in foul territory to the first baseman. It's up to Durzao with the bases loaded and two out.

Update: Durazo pops up. Burkett gets through the inning with minimum damage. However, with the A's taking so long to bat, the shadows are just reaching home plate. The Red Sox are now going to have to face Hudson in a more difficult time to see. Burkett has thrown 52 pitches through two innings.

Tim Hudson had a very easy inning. The Sox go 1-2-3, and Hudson throws 9 pitches, 7 for strikes. You'd think, with Tim pitching on short rest, the Sox would try to wear him out early.

Tejada just loves the outside pitch. He's just fouled off two in a row that would have been balls. Unlike Soriano, he seems to like the high, outside pitch.

Update: Tejada just took an inside pitch and started to first base. Unfortunately, it was ball three. Doesn't say much for his concentration. He then flys out to Nixon in right. The A's did work Burkett, getting him to throw 23 pitches in the inning.

The game is underway with John Burkett on the mound. Ellis flys out to Damon to start the game.

Last night, after the baseball game, Bobby Valentine on Baseball Tonight indicated that the umpires blew the call on Tejada. However, close reading of the rule says this (rule 7.06b):

If no play is being made on the obstructed runner, the play shall proceed until no further action is possible. The umpire shall then call "Time" and impose such penalties, if any, as in his judgment will nullify the act of obstruction. Under 7.06 (b) when the ball is not dead on obstruction and an obstructed runner advances beyond the base which, in the umpire's judgment, he would have been awarded because of being obstructed, he does so at his own peril and may be tagged out. This is a judgment call.

That's exactly what happened last night. The Oakland Tribune pulls no punches:

Shades of Walt Coleman and the Foxboro Farce. Now we have Bill Welke and the Night of Obstruction Destruction at Fenway Park.
What is it about Oakland teams playing in New England in the postseason and finding novel ways to flush out obscure rulebook passages that go against them?

Pretty maddening, eh? It should be. But before launching into your Welke kill-the-umpire tirade, you might want to do two things.

First, read the baseball rulebook and understand that by the letter of the law, the ump got it right, and the A's were the ones who blew it when Miguel Tejada inexplicably stopped running for a run Welke almost certainly would have been given to him had he not.

Second, vent a bunch more spleen about the incredibly stupid baseball the Oakland A's played Saturday night, wasting some absolutely brilliant pitching by Ted Lilly, not to mention a parade of relievers, and kissing away a sweep of the Boston Red Sox in the American League Division Series they absolutely should have bagged.

The lesson for the A's and all of baseball is, "Don't assume a play is over until you know it's over!"

Jason Diller writes in response to my previous post:

Enjoying the site as usual, but I've got to disagree with your reasoning on starting Martinez today and Wakefield tomorrow. The way I see it they have to win one game with Pedro and one without. It doesn't matter if he pitches Game 4 or 5, they still have to win both games. Burkett today or Wakefield tomorrow- either way I'm not too confident( a toss up as I see it), but at least we might as well see a rested Pedro in Game 5 rather than in Game 4 on 3 days rest after 130 pitches.

Of course, the downside to this is that they can't use him in both games (if he started in 4) too, ala Randy Johnson in Games 6 and 7 of the 2001 WS.

Regarding your comment on him pitching Sat. and Mon. Can you imagine? That could have been legendary! My respect level goes up infinitely for Pedro after hearing that.

Where I disagree in this analysis is that I think the Red Sox have a much better shot with Wakefield tomorrow than Burkett today, and that's an important part of my calculation which I didn't make clear. The two things that lead me to that conclusion are:

1. Wakefield, for the season, had an ERA that was a point better than Burkett.


2. In the stretch run, Wakefield posted a 2.01 ERA over his last five starts.

Wakefield pitched fine in game two, but both his offense and defense let him down. If he pitches that well again, the Red Sox can win if they hit. With Burkett, you run the risk of getting blown out in the first inning.

Yes, I wouldn't be thrilled with bringing Pedro back on short rest after throwning 130 pitches. But I'd rather do that than lose.

One other thing; if Pedro goes today, and the Red Sox win the series, he can start game two of the ALCS on Thursday. If he goes tomorrow, he can't start until game three on Saturday. Doesn't seem like much of a difference, but if he starts game 2, the Sox could bring him back in game five. If he starts game 3, you won't be able to use him before game six, and by then the Sox could be out of it.

I remain convinced that starting John "Denny Galehouse" Burkett is the wrong move today.

Update: Ben Jacobs of Universal Baseball Blog agress with Jason.

I read your comments on the Red Sox saving Pedro Martinez for game five and I have to say that I disagree with you. I can understand the A's going with their two starters on short rest, because their starters are Tim Hudson and Barry Zito, both excellent pitchers. No matter how the Red Sox do it, they will have Pedro and a pitcher with an ERA above 4.00.

So, no matter what the Red Sox do, they will have a good chance to not give up many runs in one game and a good chance to give up a bunch of runs in the other game. Which place would you rather take the chance of giving up a bunch of runs? For me, it's the park where the Red Sox have scored about 6.5 runs per game. Plus, there's no guarantee that Pedro can be effective on three days of rest. Sure, he says he can do it, but he never has before. Pedro's never made a start on short rest, so there's no knowing how it would affect him.

The point is that the Red Sox have to win two games. They give themselves the best shot at doing that with John Burkett and Pedro both going on full rest, rather than with Pedro and Wakefield both going on short rest.

Looks like the consensus is against me.

The Red Sox are coming off a big win. They have their backs to the wall. They are facing Tim Hudson, one of the leading candidates for the Cy Young award. Hudson is coming back on short rest, but threw only 106 pitches in game 1. Boston has to win this game to stay alive. Who do you send out to pitch? Bob Hohler says Burkett earned the start:

"Burkie is one of the [gutsiest] pitchers I've been around," Gabe Kapler said. "He wants the ball all the time, any situation, against any pitcher, against any lineup. That's what you want in these types of situations. You don't want someone tentative out there."

If experience counts, Burkett would enter Game 4 against Oakland ace Tim Hudson with an abundance of it. He has started more regular-season games (423) than all but five other active pitchers: Roger Clemens, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Randy Johnson, and Kevin Brown. And he has gone to the postseason six times with the Rangers, Braves, and Sox, logging a 2-0 record with a 2.70 ERA in three appearances in the Division Series, most recently with the Braves in 2001.

The Sox also like the way he battled back from adversity early in the season.

"He felt, and probably a lot more people felt, he had his back to the wall there," manager Grady Little said. "He had a lot on him every single start going through the rest of the season and this guy stood up to it. He handled it well, a true professional, as a veteran player would, and he's meant a lot to this team."

Notice that no one says he's good. Hohler points out that he finished the season 9-6 with a 4.58 ERA in his last 22 appearances, but in my book, 4.58 is not good.

And that's a pretty long finish. If you look at his last five apperances, there's a different story. He went 2-2 despite a 7.48 ERA. He had one good start against Cleveland on Sept. 19. He went seven shutout innings, which makes his other four appearances look all that much worse. He in no way, shape of form has a hot hand coming into the playoffs.

And as for Kapler's quote about not wanting someone tentative, who does he think the alternative is? It's Pedro Martinez! ESPN reported during the game that Pedro walked into Grady Little's office before Saturday's game and told him he felt great; he told him he could pitch Saturday's game and Monday's game! Folks, one of the most dominating pitchers in the game wants the ball. It should be noted that yesterday was the 55th anniversary of the Red Sox starting Denny Galehouse in the 1-game playoff vs. the Indians.

When two teams tie for the league lead there is a one-game playoff, with the winner moving on and the loser going home for the winter. Cleveland started rookie knuckleballer Gene Bearden, who had gone 19-7 and led the league in ERA. Most fans expected Boston manager Joe McCarthy to start young lefthander Mel Parnell, who had been the team's best pitcher down the stretch. But with four dependable starting pitchers to choose from, McCarthy selected none; he chose journeyman Denny Galehouse, pitching on fumes at the end of his career. Galehouse was shelled and the Indians went on to an 8-3 victory—and to the World Series.

If the Sox want to win this series, start Pedro today and come back with Wakefield tomorrow. The odds are still against the Sox, but at least they are more likely to play tomorrow if Pedro starts.

The Yankees go for the division win today, sending lefty David Wells against Twins #1 starter Johan Santana. Santana pitched four good innings against the Yankees in game 1 before leaving with a cramp. He only threw 59 pitches, so he should be sharp.

The Twins however, have two things going against them. The Yankees are pitching a lefty, and the Twins have a poorly constructed lineup. That was clearly demonstrated yesterday when the Twins had to pinch hit for Rivas in the fifth inning. Your number two hitter should be good enough to go the whole game. Santana has to shut down the Yankees offense to have a chance to win today.

Finally, the elimination game of the day takes place in Atlanta. Kerry Wood faces Mike Hampton. Both pitched well in their earlier starts; both had control problems, each walking five but neither team could really capitalize on them. The Braves offense has come alive, so Wood may not be able to get away with that many walks. It will be interesting to see what happens if Robert Fick comes to the plate. He might want to wear one of those full head catcher's helmets. An interesting note, despite the two HR by Chipper yesterday the Braves slugging percentage in the series (.318) is lower than their OBA (.327). At a higher level, the Cubs are in the same boat, with a .349 OBA and a .348 slugging percentage. Expect a lot of strikeouts and a low scoring game.

Enjoy!

Mike Spellman of the Daily Herald has Cubs and Braves reaction to the dirty play by Fick. Robert is unrepentant:

Fick, using a different pronunciation of his last name, dismissed the Cubs' protests.

"I don't give a (bleep) what Dusty says," Fick said as he put on his socks, his shoes and then his pants. "If he wants to call it a cheap (bleeping) play, he can call it whatever he wants.

"Whatever you guys come up with, I really don't give a (bleep). It's an elimination game, and you've got to do what you've got to do. I'm not saying I did it on purpose, but it's (bleeping) baseball."

With that attitude, he should definitely be suspended.

How big was the Marlins winning to Miami? You have to scroll way down to find anything about the Dolphins. :-) Dan Le Batard is comparing this team to the 1969 Mets.

All the Marlins need to do now is go 4-3 in their next seven games to become as stunning a World Series team as this sport has seen in more than three decades, since the 1969 Mets named after a miracle.

Ivan Rodriguez is confident:

''This is the start,'' Rodriguez said on the field as teammates bobbed around him in celebration. ``I think we can go all the way.''

This isnt any time to argue, not with him anyway. The Giants can tell you. When Saturday was being decided, as a desperate J.T. Snow thundered toward home with San Franciscos last gasp, trying to save the Giants season, Rodriguez did not merely plant himself or brace for a collision as Jeff Conines throw came on one hop from left field. No, Rodriguez moved forward, into Snow, inviting him to try to take what he would not be giving. The symbolic result: Snow, not unlike his team, was left down and out.

The Marlins are winning over a lot of people in the Miami area right now. If Loria builds on this, rather than tearing it apart a la 1997, maybe baseball can be successful in Florida.

Jack Curry in the NY Times offers a look into the head of Bernie Williams:

In many ways, Williams, who has been an instrumental part of four World Series teams, symbolizes this team. He is still a formidable player, but he has some faults. The Yankees are still a formidable team, but they have some faults. And this postseason is when Williams and the Yankees will determine just how formidable or just how flawed they are.

A big decision for the Yankees this off-season is whether Bernie continues to play in centerfield. The simplest thing would be to switch Williams and Matsui, but I can also envision scenarios where Williams is not on the team next year.

The Baseball Crank has a nice wrap-up of the Red Sox win. He also mentions Robert Fick; I discovered last night that I had written about Fick and his temper in the pre-season. It seems at that time he was trying to improve things.

Elephants in Oakland finally gives Ted Lilly some credit.

The Cub Reporter has a rant about Chipper and Fick.

Bronx Banter opines on what a great day it was to watch baseball. I agree!

The Southpaw has a link-filled wrapup of the Giants defeat, which will give you the chance to discover some new Giants weblogs. My favorite line from his post:

Peter Magowan has already spoken to the team, and says that this loss wasn't as bad as the '02 Series or 2000's loss to the Mets.

How much does it suck that we have to compare stomach-punching losses?

A lot, I'd say. :-)

Trot Nixon, pinch hitting for Gabe Kapler hits a two-run homer to centerfield to win the game and keep the Red Sox in the playoff hunt. A bad loss for Oakland; they gave away a run with errors, and baserunning cost them at least one more. The fans are still in the stands clapping. Great crowd; I don't think anyone left.

Three big games tomorrow, four teams facing elimination.

Scott Williamson continues the perfection of the Boston pen. He retires the side in the 11th in order. That's four perfect innings for the much maligned Boston bullpen.

Mike Timlin continued to dominate in the tenth. Three up and three down again, including two strikeouts. Red Sox go to the bottom of the tenth needing one run to win.

Jason Varitek leads off the 9th with a single to center. Adrian Brown comes in to pinch run. Looks like Kapler will bunt. Varitek now hitting .375 in the series.

Update: Kapler misses two bunt tries and now is down 0-2.

Update: Kapler swings away and hits into a double play.

Update: Rincon gets Todd Walker to pop out. On to the tenth.

Mike Timlin pitches two perfect innings in relief, throwing 18 pitches, 13 for strikes. Now we'll see if the Red Sox can get him the win in the bottom of the ninth.

The Clark and Addison Chronicle comments on the dirty Fick play and Chipper Jones fielding, including links to other blogger opinions.

Chad Bradford comes in. Ted Lilly will get a no decision. Nomar hits a grounder to third, Chavez tries to bear hand it and boots it. I assume it will go as a hit, but Graig Nettles would have thrown him out. :-)

Update: Nomar does get a hit, and advances to 2nd on a groundout. But Bradford strikes out Manny Ramirez, making the Red Sox 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position. Manny is now hitting .083 in the series.

Update: After walking Ortiz, Bradford gets Millar to strike out. Going to the 9th tied at 1.

Ted Lilly is the one who is likely to suffer the most from the Oakland baserunning blunders. He's pitched seven great innings, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out five. He's at 106 pitches thrown, however, so I don't know how long he can stay in the game.

The A's have loaded the bases with 1 out in the top of the 7th. Will they execute this time?

Update: McMillon hits a line drive right to the 2nd baseman. Durazo up with two out and the bases juiced.

Update: Durazo flies out, preventing the A's from making another bone-headed running play. Going to the bottom of the 7th tied at 1.

Hernandez hits a chopper, and it looked to me like Tejada got in some one's way. The third base umpire signals something, and Tejada stops running. He's then tagged out. It appears that Tejada thought he was called out on obstruction, but it could be that he wasn't. Can't wait to hear the explanation for this. The A's appear to have tied the game on the play, however.

Update: Okay, Tejada felt that Bill Mueller obstructed him, and stopped running because he thought the ump at third had called obstruction, and that would give Tejada home. That didn't happen, and Tejada was tagged out. Two bad baserunning plays where the A's assumed something was true when it wasn't. They should be up 3-1 and still batting, but they are tied at 1 in the middle of the 6th.

Correction: It was Hernandez who hit the chopper. I had Chavez hitting it originally.

Runners on first and third in the top of the 6th, Tejada hits a slow roller down teh thrid base line. Lowe fields the ball, makes an off balance throw home, Varitek blocks the plate and Byrnes misses the plate. Byrnes is in pain after the collision and doesn't realize he missed the plate, giving Varitek time to recover the ball and tag Eric out. A bonehead play by Byrnes, the ump never made a call and he should have realized he wasn't out.

The A's have made their fourth error of the night. Ramon Hernandez did not get any help on an infield pop up and dropped it, allowing Millar to reach first.

Upate: Lilly gets out of it. Sox still lead 1-0 after four.

Three errors by the A's, two by Chavez and one by Tejada lead to an unearned run in the 2nd for the Red Sox. It could have been a lot worse for the A's, but Boston has gone 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position.

Sosa falls about 10 feet short of tying the game, flying out to deep centerfield. The Braves survive and take the series back to Atlanta tomorrow night against Kerry Wood.

John Smoltz looked like he was pitching in pain against Sosa. I'll keep my eye out for news on that.

Chipper Jones is a great hitter, but he can't play defense. They moved him from third because he couldn't handle the hot corner, and now twice today he's shied away from balls near the ivy covered walls of Wrigley that he could have caught. Simon got a double on Jones' timidity, and Damien Miller hits a solid double to left to cut the lead to two. It's 6-4 Braves, with no out, and Lofton representing the tying run.

Update: Lofton strikes out for out #1. Because Sosa bats third, he'll probably have a chance to tie or win this game with one swing.

Update: Smoltz is going after Sosa with first base open. Sosa has never hit a HR off Smoltz in 41 AB, according to the broadcast.

Update: Grudzielanek pops out, it's up to Sosa.

Derek Lowe has the sinker working tonight. He's retired the first six batters, five of them on ground balls. No score in Boston in the bottom of the 2nd.

After the double by Damon and a walk to Garciaparra, Ted Lilly gets Mueller, Ramirez and Ortiz to all strike out. He threw 24 pitches, but looked strong.

Eric Karros shows no ill effects from the Robert Fick attack by hitting his 2nd HR of the game. Unlike Chipper Jones, however, Karros has not had anyone on base for his shots.

Johnny Damon gets the Red Sox crowd into it with a leadoff double in the first.

Chipper Jones hits his 2nd two-run HR of the game to give the Braves a 6-2 lead in the eighth. This is his 2nd multi-HR game in the post-season. He hit two in his first post-season game back on 10/3/1995 in Colorado.

Billy McMillon grounds out to first to start the game.

Robert Fick, in running out a ground ball, appears to have tried to knock the ball out of Karros' glove as Fick crossed the base. It looked like Karros was injured on the play, but he's staying in the game..

It's obvious from the replay that this was intentional. Fick should be suspended. There's a real difference between playing hard (see the slides into home in the Giants-Marlins game) vs. playing dirty. This was dirty and should be punished.

Kyle Fransworth slipped making the throw on the play, and he was injured and is out of the game in favor of Mark Guthrie.

With Vinny Castilla driving in the fourth run of the day, Matt Clement is done after 4 2/3 innings. He gave up eight hits and walked four while throwing 87 pitches.

Russ Ortiz has not been sharp today, either. Only 38 of his 69 pitches have been for strikes, and he's walked 3 through four innings. The Braves offense found a pitcher they could hit, but I wouldn't trust Ortiz to hold this lead for very long.

Update: Russ Oritz comes out for the sixth, but gives up a HR to Karros and a walk to Alex Gonzalez. Ray King comes in to relieve and gets a double play. Braves are leading 4-2 in the bottom of the 6th.

The Braves outfielders are 0 for 5 today (3 for 30 coming into the game) but Darren Bragg drives in a run with a groundout. The score is tied at 1 in the bottom of the fourth.

Update: Chipper Jones gets the first outfield hit of the day, a two-run HR to give the Braves a 3-1 lead. It's his 11th post-season HR.

Oh those base on balls. Sammy Sosa draws a walk with two outs, they Moises Alou launches a double to the ivy in left-center. Sammy comes all the way around to score to make the game 1-0. Alou, with a 2 for 2 today is batting .500 in the series.

Russ Ortiz singled in the third inning, and got to 2nd on a walk to Furcal. Unfortunately for him, Paul Bako caught him napping and Oritz was picked off. With Chipper Jones walking, the Braves would have the bases loaded with 1 out for Lopez without the baserunning blunder.

Update: Lopez pops out. Atlanta now 0 for 3 with runners in scoring position.

Hammonds singles, Snow tries to score but Jeff Conine the Barbarian makes a terrific throw, and Ivan Rodriguez holds onto the ball in the collision. Snow is out, and the Marlins are going to the NLCS! What a great season for the Fish, what a great series for Rodriguez, and how nice is it for one of the original Marlins, Jeff Conine to make the big defensive play.

Neifi Perez doubles leading off the ninth for the Giants. J.T. Snow follows with a single to make the score 7-6. It's been a sloppy series by the Giants, but games 1, 3 and 4 have sure been exciting.

Update: Santiago batting for Cruz with one out.

Update: Santiago flies out to right. It's up to Ray Durham to keep the Giants season alive.

Update: Durham gets hit by the pitch. The torch is passed to Hammonds. Here's the problem with batting Barry Bonds fourth. If he were batting third (where he should be), a bases loaded situation brings him up in a situation where you have to pitch to him.

Rivera pitches two perfect innings to pick up his 2nd save of the series. The Twins are down 2-1, and the Yankees can afford to send Wells to the mound tomorrow, knowing they can come back with Mussina in NY on Monday if they have to. The 2-3-4 hitters of the Twins were 1 for 12 today, and are 2 for 33 for the series.

Felix Rodriguez, after getting the first two outs in the inning, gives up a single to Ivan Rodriguez and hits Lee to put runners on first and 2nd.

Then Cabrera delivers his 4th hit of the game. There's a play at the plate on Pudge, but Torrealba, the Giants catcher couldn't hold on to the ball. The ball rolls away, no one bothers to pick it up, and Derrek Lee comes all the way around from third to score. It's 7-5 Marlins in the bottom of the 8th with Cabrera on third.

I was speaking with my good friend Jim Storer on the phone as we watched the games, and we discovered that there is about a four second delay in the picture getting to my TV using DirecTV compared to his cable system. I guess the satellite for my picture is farther away. But it's a plus for cable; it's more plausibly live. :-)

For the second game in a row, Joe Torre bypasses his setup men and brings in Mariano Rivera to get a 2-inning save. I like the move, but it's obvious Torre doesn't have a lot of confidence in the rest of his bullpen.

In the top of the 8th, the Marlins are walking Barry Bonds with 2-out and the bases empty. I don't like putting the winning run on. Pitch to him!

Update: Alfonzo grounds out. A huge risk pays off.

Gary Sheffield will not play today. He was hit by a pitch last night and will miss today's game. The way he's been hitting, the Braves might not miss him.

The Marlins load the bases in the bottom of the six. Herges on the mound.

Update: Encarnacion grounds into a double play to end the inning. To the top of the 7th with the score tied at five.

Willis coming out of the game in the 6th after giving up 3 runs in the inning. Giants not finished, and it's a 5-4 game. Alfonzo gets another hit to drive in the 4th run.

Update: Snow singles under the sliding Alex Gonzalez's glove to drive in Alfonzo. It's a new ballgame with the score tied 5-5.

Michael Ryan is batting for Luis Rivas with men on first and third and 2 out in the fifth.

Update: Clemens strikes out Ryan. Yankees still lead 3-1.

Dontrelle Willis is now three for three. He triples in the bottom of the fifth. Giants still have only one hit.

Miguel Cabrera drives in two with his third hit of the day. Bonds made a throw reminiscient of the one he made at the end of the 1992 NLCS where he failed to get the lead-footed Sid Bream. The single wasn't that deep, and a strong throw would have nailed Pierre. Instead, it's 5-1 Marlins, and the Giants are looking at flying back to San Francisco to catch their flights for winter vacations.

Dontrelle Willis leads off the fourth with a single, his 2nd hit of the game. That's one more hit than he's allowed to the Giants today.

Kyle Lohse is having an interesting game. He's striking out batters (five in four innings), but he's also giving up hits (six in four innings). That combination is causing him to throw a lot of pitches, 88 so far. The Twins will have to go to the pen early today.

A.J. Pierzynski takes Clemens deep for the first Twins hit and the first Twins run of the day. He had been 1 for 8 against Clemens in his career with 3 Ks.

Ivan Rodriguez comes through again with an RBI double in the third to drive in Luis Castillo after a leadoff walk. Three hits in two days, and all have given the Marlins the lead. Derrek Lee follows with a single to drive in Pudge, helped by a bobbled relay throw by Aurilia. Not a good day in the field for Rich.

Update: Jerome Williams is out after the first three batters in the third reach, Jim Brower is in.

Bernie Williams continues to do well against Kyle Lohse. With 2 out in the third inning, Williams singles in Rivera from 2nd. Bernie is now 6 for 11 career against Lohse with four extra-base hits.

Lohse just struck out Soriano on that pitch. Alfonso is in love with that location. If the Yankees work on anything with Soriano in spring training next year, it has to be teaching him to take that pitch.

With the Giants up 1-0, Conine hits one to short with Cabrera on first base. Aurilia was playing half way in, but bobbles the ball. With a clean pick, he could have thrown the runner out at the plate. But with no hope of that, he rushes the throw and pulls Snow off the bag. The Marlins now have men on 1st and 2nd with 2 out when they should have been out of the inning.

Update: A nice leaping catch of a line drive off Pierre's bat by Alfonzo saves two runs. It's 1-1 going to the top of the third in Miami.

Williams and Matsui put some long hits on the board. Bernie doubles, and an out later, Hideki takes Lohse deep to right for his first American post-season HR. It's 2-0 Yankees in the 2nd.

Shannon Stewart walks to open the first, but is stranded at third base. He has a .600 OBA in the LDS, but Lus Rivas and Doug Mientkiewicz have not had a hit in the series.

Dontrelle Willis pitches to Barry Bonds with a man on first and two out, and gets Barry on a foul pop to the third baseman. Bonds is not perfect; pitch to him and you'll get him out more often than he'll get a hit.

Kyle Lohse strikes out both Jeter and Giambi to finish a perfect 1st.

Ray Durhan flies out to center to start the game for the Giants. Soriano grounds out for the Yankees.

Jerome Williams, not Jason Schmidt will start for the Giants today. An even better story line, with the two youngsters going at each other.

A full slate of games today. The NL favorites, Atlanta and San Francisco face elimination. The New England favorite, the Boston Red Sox face elimination. And the Yankees face the noise of the Metrodome.

Jason Schmidt will try to replicate his start of last Tuesday and send the series back to San Francisco. He'll face rookie sensation Dontrelle Willis. Willis pitched 1/3 of an inning on Wednesday, and did not look good, allowing two hits. It's a big game for the youngster, but I believe the crowd will give him a big boost. And who would have thought the Giants would be losing with Alfonzo batting .615 behind Barry Bonds?

It's Roger Clemens vs. Kyle Lohse in Minnesota. Clemens pitched well for the Yankees down the stretch, but there are clear signs he's making the right decision to retire. His K per 9 was only 5.4 over his last five starts; Roger's strength was always his ability to strikeout batters. He's had a good rest, so I suspect he'll be strong today. None of the Twins have ever hit a HR off Clemens.

The Yankees haven't faced Lohse much, and he's 0-2 against NY. Bernie Williams, however, has hit for the cycle against Lohse, going 4 for 9 with a double, triple and HR.

The Braves face extinction in the late afternoon game at Wrigley. Russ Ortiz is coming back on three days rest to try to defeat Matt Clement. The Braves averaged 5.6 runs per game during the regular season but have scored only eight runs in the three games so far. I think it's ironic, that all those years the Braves had good pitching, the offense would let them down in the post-season. Now, with only the Red Sox being a higher scoring team, the Braves offense is still letting them down! The Braves ERA is 3.46, and all the runs are earned, so the responsibility for trailing in this series rests squarely on the shoulders of the hitters. The outfielders are a combined 3 for 30. Andrew Jones has three HR against Clement (in 21 AB) so maybe he can spark the Braves today.

And last, but certainly not least, the Red Sox host the Oakland A's. It's going to be cold and damp at Fenway as Ted Lilly faces Derek Lowe. I really like Ted Lilly, although he still hasn't met my expectations of him. The gopher ball was his problem again this year, although he seemed to solve this problem late in the year. Of the 24 HR hit off Ted, only three game after August 1. He finished the last two months of the season 6-1 with a 3.00 ERA, striking out 52 men in 54 innings and walking just 16. That's the Ted Lilly the Yankees should not have traded.

Lowe has had a very successful career against Oakland, going 8-2 with a 3.38 ERA, including 1-0 with a 1.64 ERA in two starts this season. The two A's who hit him well, however, are Tejada and Chavez. It will be up to Lowe to keep the bases clear when the left side of the infield comes to bat.

The home-road records favor Boston in this one. The Red Sox are not a great road team, but the A's are even worse. It's not going to be a good night weather wise for the hitters. The difference in this game could very well be a Manny Ramirez HR (Manny's 5 for 9 vs. Lilly with 2 HR career).

Enjoy!

Due to a mix up in registration, I won't be attending BloggerCon 2003 today. I did get to meet a number of fine bloggers at the party last night (even some famous ones!). A webcast of the conference is here.

The good news is I'll be able to watch all the games today! And I got to see the Harvard Band march through the square. (Click on image for a full size picture.)

Mark Prior pitches a complete game, 3-1 victory for the Cubs. In some ways he wasn't as sharp as he usually is; he "only" struck out 7 and walked four. But he was nearly unhittable, allowing only two safties in the outing. Cubs one game away from the NLCS.

Javy Lopez reaches on a strikeout + wild pitch. Man on 1st with 1 out instead of 2 outs. That's the sort of thing that will be remembered if this game turns around.

Kenny Lofton has 2 hits and a run scored, Randall Simon had a 2-run single in the first, and now Aramis Ramirez drives in an insurance run in the 8th to make the score 3-1. Even Moises Alou was in the Pirates system a long time ago, and he's 2 for 4 with a run scored. The Pirate deals are looking very good to the Cubs fans right tonight.

Sometimes you sign an expensive free agent and you get Dave Collins or Storm Davis. Sometimes, however, you get someone who is worth every penny. That's the way the Marlins fans must feel tonight, as Ivan Rodriguez makes his case for being "The Rod" by driving in all four Florida runs to beat the Giants 4-3 in 11 innings. He had as many RBI in this game as in all his previous LDS games combined.

Both bullpens pitched good ball; neither gave up an earned run. The Giants had plenty of opportunities to win this game; they were 2 for 16 with runners in scoring position. On a positive note, Alfonzo was four for five today, and he's batting .615 for the series. That may make the Marlins think twice about walking Bonds in the future.

Giants have the bases loaded with one out in the top of the 6th after a Santiago walk. Redman has not been fooling the San Franciscans, walking three and giving up six hits already, with only three strikeouts.

Update: Cruz grounds out to score a run. Giants are 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position.

Update: Pedro Feliz, pinch-hitting for Rueter, singles in the tieing run. He was only 4 for 24 as a pinch hitter during the regular season. He's 2 for 2 as a PH in this division series now.

It's 2-0 Marlins in the 5th. The big blow was a 2-run HR by Ivan Rodriguez. It's Ivan's first post season HR in 13 games. He's never gotten out of the Division Series, as Texas always lost to the Yankees when the Rangers were the team to beat in the AL West. He now has three RBI in this LDS, equalling his total for his first three series with Texas.

I'm in Cambridge, preparing to attend BloggerCon 2003. I'll be at the party tonight at the Hong Kong Resturant, and at the conference all day tomorrow. If you're going to be there, let me know, or be sure to say hi.

Looks like the games will be politcially split today, with lefties pitching in Florida, and the righties taking the mound in Chicago. Kirk Rueter of the Giants faces Mark Redman of the Marlins. These two teams have the best winning percentages in the majors when lefties start against them:

Team Records when Opposition Lefty Starts.
Team                          W     L      Pct.
Florida Marlins              27    11     0.711
San Francisco Giants         26    11     0.703
New York Yankees             26    11     0.703
Seattle Mariners             33    16     0.673
Atlanta Braves               24    13     0.649

No advantage there for either team.

Rueter is a good example of why pitchers need to strike out batters to be successful. His 2.51 K per 9 was the lowest in the NL and 2nd lowest in the majors (140 IP minimum). With all those balls in play, Kirk allowed 170 hits in 147 innings. To balance that, he doesn't walk many (although he walked six more than he struck out), and he doesn't give up many HR. He also induced 24 double plays, 1.47 per 9, 2nd among all pitchers with 140 IP. However, the Marlins only grounded into 114 DP, 26th in the majors.

Looking at the Marlins against Rueter, it's hard to find someone who doesn't hit him well. Mike Lowell is ready to return, but he has only 2 hits in 12 AB against Rueter. Luis Castillo has three triples against Kirk, the most hit by any player against Rueter.

Mark Redman, on the other hand, does strike out batters, and he's allowed 172 hits in 190 2/3 innings. Mark, like Rueter, walks few and allows few HR. Redman has never faced the Giants, but he's seen a few of their hitters on other teams. Grissom is 2 for 3 against him, but otherwise, no one has hit him well. I'd have to say that this afternoon's matchup favors the Marlins.

The big pitching matchup of the night, however, is in Chicago where former Cub and pitcher of the 1990's Greg Maddux faces current Cub and possible pitcher of the aughties Mark Prior. I don't have enough superlatives for this matchup. Prior with his power vs. Maddux with his guile. The old man vs. the youngster, looking for one last moment of glory.

What it really comes down to, however, is will Maddux gut it out in a close game. If he's finished seven innings with only 80 pitches, will be turn it over to the bullpen or try to finish it himself? I'm hoping for the latter, but I suspect the former will happen.

One matchup I'll be watching for is Sosa vs. Maddux. Greg has pretty much had his way with Sammy over the years. Sosa is 13 for 56 against him with three HR and 12 K. Prior hasn't seen the Braves much, so there's not much you can say about matchups. It should be one for the ages.

Enjoy!

I'm watching CNBC, and a trader at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange has the Cubs logo shaved into his head. :-)

Mariners Weblog is reporting that Billy Beane is unlikely to go to Seattle, but Paul DePodesta has both Beane's and A's owner Steve Schott's blessing to go.

The two pitchers from the Yankees system combined for the win tonight. Pettitte pitched seven brilliant innings, striking out 10, and Rivera pitched two perfect innings for the save. It's his 26th post-season save, and the 20th in which he went more than one inning.

It's Pettitte's 11th post-season win, tying him with Maddux for third all-time. It's possible that Pettitte could pass Maddux, Glavine (12) and Smoltz (13) by the time the playoffs are over.

And with Nick Johnson on 2nd after a hit by a pitch and a sacrifice bunt, it gives the Yankees a 2-1 lead. Hawkins does his job as a reliever and lets the starter's runner score.

Update: A rare poor fielding play by a Twin, as Hawkins throws the ball over the first baseman's head on a chopper from Jeter. Men on second and third for Giambi with one out.

Update: Twins pitching to Giambi with first open!

Update: Giambi breaks the slump with a solid single up the middle. Yankees lead 4-1.

Pettitte finally gets Stewart, striking him out in the 7th for his 10th K of the game.

After a single bySoriano and a walk by Jeter, Giambi strikes out to end the 5th.

Giambi looks horrible at the plate. His discipline is gone, his timing is gone. Is he thinking too much? That seems to be a property of athletes who choke.

Jeter throws away the third out in the 5th innings, bringing up Pettitte nemesis Shannon Stewart. I wonder when some announcer will say that Jeter can't play short any more?

Update: Soriano fails to get to a ball up the middle, giving Stewart another hit and putting runners at first and third. The key to beating the Yankees is putting the ball in play up the middle, and the Twins are doing that in this inning with the grounders to the middle infielders. Rivas makes the mistake of grounding to third, and Boone throws him out.

This is why Pettitte's eight strikeouts are so important. They are balls that weren't put in play so the defense couldn't botch them.

Torii Hunter leads off the fifth with a HR to tie the game at one.

Bats are breaking all over the place in Yankee Stadium tonight. Posada got a broken bat double, then Matsui made an out on a broken bat grounder. Both Jeter and Giambi had broken bat hits in the first. They're going to have to start cutting more trees down soon!

Radke and Pettitte have each thrown 30 strikes through three innings (41 pitches for Brad, 40 for Andy). We could be looking at two complete games here at this rate.

Update: There has only been one double complete game in the history of the division series, and that was in 1981 in the extra round added because of the strike. Since they instituted the LDS as a permanent fixture, there have only been 13 complete games in 262 starts, including this afternoon's Sox-A's game.

Updtae: Another thirteen pitch inning for Pettitte. He has 7 K through four innings.

After the leadoff walk, Pettitte has been strong. Through two innings, he has thrown 26 pitches, 19 for strikes. No hits, three strikeouts.

Some people are speculating that this might be Pettitte's last game in a Yankees uniform. I think those thoughts are premature.

Yankees have the bases loaded with no one out in the first. A solid single by Soriano was followed by soft but well placed hit by Jeter and Giambi. Sometimes the hits fall, and sometimes they don't. Williams flys to center to drive in Soriano. Yankees up 1-0.

Update: Radke made Posada and Matsui look bad as he strikes the two of them out to end the inning.

Do you think Billy Beane called up Theo Epstein and did his best Laurence Fishburne?

Morpheus: What are you waiting for? You're faster than this. Don't think you are, know you are. Come on! Stop trying to hit me and hit me!

The Red Sox are the A's with money. In a year or two they'll crush Oakland, but for now, the master holds sway.

The game is underway. Shannon Stewart walks to start the game.

Update: Pettitte strikes out two and gets LeCroy on a grounder. Yankees coming to bat in the bottom of the first.

One big inning did it all for the A's. Five runs in the 2nd, and a terrific outing by Barry Zito puts the Red Sox down 2-0 in the series.

I don't quite understand why Keith Foulke had to pitch the ninth. The A's were up four runs. They could have brought in someone else and used Foulke if there was trouble. He threw 51 pitches yesterday and 20 today. We'll see if he's worn out if he has to pitch in Boston.

Ramon Hernandez has the GWRBI two days in a row.

If you want to get an idea of how Red Sox fans are feeling right now, you can start with Boston Dirt Dogs. (It's not a permalink, so scroll to the headline that reads, A's up 2-0 in 20 Hours, 162 Games Down the Drain).

Todd Walker boots the ball and makes a bad throw. I thought he was planning on kicking something else in this series. :-) A's now up 5-0 after the error.

Eric Byrns doubles in two more. According to the Oakland announcers, Manny thought the ball was gone and didn't get back soon enough to catch it. A's are up 3-0.

With Guillen at 2nd, Ramon Hernandez comes through again with an RBI single. A's lead 1-0 in the bottom of the 2nd, and Hernandez is the early favorite to be MVP of the series.

I assume the pitchers were sent home last night. Wakefield allows a hit to Durazo, but strikes out two and gets Tejada on a groundout. He threw 14 pitches, 10 for strikes.

They've started the second game of the day. :-) Zito has gotten the first two batters out.

Update: Zito gets the side 1-2-3 in the first. He threw 17 pitches, 12 for strikes.

The pitching matchups favor the home teams in both games today, and for the same reasons.

In the early game (or game two of the split admission double header), Tim Wakefield takes on Barry Zito. While the Red Sox have the best record in the majors when a righty starts against them, they are only 26-27 when a lefty starts against them. Meanwhile, the A's are 70-47 against righties. Zito won his only start against the Red Sox this year, although he didn't pitch well. Wakefield had two starts against the A's, but had no decision. He gave up six earned runs in 12 innings which striking out 12.

One matchup to watch is Tejada vs. Wakefield. Tejada is only eight for 34 vs. Tim, but four of those hits are HR. If Wakefield hangs one, it's outta here. Nomar's been the best hitter on the Sox against Zito, going 6 for 16 with a double and a HR.

One negative for the A's is the Foulke won't be able to pitch tonight. He threw 51 pitches over three innings last night.

In the night cap, the Twins send Brad Radke to the mound against Andy Pettitte. The Twins were 25-29 when a efty started against them this year, while the Yankees were 75-50 when opposed by a righty starter. Radke has been hot; in his last five starts he's 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA. He's never had success against the Yankees, however, going 3-9 over his career against them.
While a number Yankees hitters have had success against Radke, two who haven't are Jeter and Giambi. If they are together in the middle of the order today, that could help the Twins. Look for the Stewart vs. Pettitte matchup as well. Stewart is 24 for 54 vs. Pettitte in his career with seven walks (all but three of the hits were singles). Stewart did a good job in game 1 of getting on base, and if this is any indication, he may do the same tonight.

Enjoy!

Joe Duellman writes:

I just finished watching the Boston/Oakland game and I was stunned to see ESPN lead off Sportscenter with a pretty long piece on the Limbaugh story. Three playoff games today, one that is nothing short of amazing, and they lead with that!?!? That is so incredibly arrogant. Is it that big of a story that one of their "analysts" on NFL Countdown is resigning? I know several friends that were waiting to see the highlights of the other games they missed while they were at class this afternoon. I understand they need time to gather highlights from the last game, but couldn't they have taken care of that while they showed highlights from the other two games? I know I'm not alone in thinking that ESPN has declined in quality over the last year or so. Anyways, just thought I'd share that with you.

Joe, football is king at ESPN. It takes something like a 7th game of the world series to push a football highlight off the lead. That purely has to do with the popularity of the sports and the ratings ESPN gets for each. And this was a story with national attention. I agree with you, I don't care about Limbaugh and I was unaware of the story until I saw the link above. When I turn on SportsCenter, I expect to see game highlights unless there's a momentous event like the death of Joe DiMaggio. Show us the games!

As for the quality declining, I really don't watch ESPN much because I'm usually watching live games. The Sunday Night Baseball games and Baseball Tonight seem to me to be the same quality I've always known. But if you and others think that's true, ESPN has a problem that needs to be addressed.

Elephants in Oakland has a post that says it all.

I was talking with my friend Jim Storer, and he remembered Gary Allenson bunting with the bases loaded and two out to win a game for the Red Sox. We had been at the game together. I found it. That tenth inning vs. the Angels on August 28th, 1982 and last night's twelfth inning are similar. Here's the 1982 game:

RED SOX 10TH: Yastrzemski struck out; Lansford singled to
Downing; Lansford stole second; Boggs was walked intentionally;
Lansford stole third and Boggs stole second; Nichols struck out;
MILLER BATTED FOR HOFFMAN; Miller was walked intentionally;
Allenson singled to DeCinces [Lansford scored, Boggs to third,
Miller to second]; 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 3 LOB. Angels 6, Red Sox 7.

Here's the account from last night:

Athletics twelfth. Durazo walked on a full count. Chavez grounded into fielder's choice, second baseman Jackson to shortstop Garciaparra, Durazo out. Tejada grounded out, third baseman Mueller to first baseman Millar, Chavez to second. Hatteberg walked on a full count. Chavez stole third. On defensive indifference, Hatteberg to second. Long was intentionally walked. Hernandez bunt single to third, Chavez scored, Hatteberg to third, Long to second.
Runs: 1, Hits: 1

Theo's probably not old enough to remember that game. Jim and I were both impressed that Allenson pulled that off. (I believe someone once called Allenson "Slow as a speeding bureaucracy.") It's a great play, one we should see more often.

I should have stayed up to watch. Here's the recap from ESPN.com:

It was the last thing anyone at the Coliseum expected: a bases-loaded, two-out bunt by slow-footed catcher Ramon Hernandez.

And it was just crazy enough to give the Oakland Athletics a marathon victory.

I saw that same play many years ago in Fenway Park. I'm going to have to look it up, but I remember a backup Boston catcher dropping a squeeze bunt to win a game, either in the 9th or extra innings. It's a perfect strategy; the third baseman is back because you're slow footed. I'm surprised you don't see it more often.

Macha immediately took himself off the hook for the small ball plays, including an Eric Chavez stolen base in the same inning:

Hernandez and Chavez both acted on their own, according to manager Ken Macha.

"What an ending. Who would have thought that? A's win with a bunt," Macha said. "Shame on anybody who missed it."

Some of us are required to be awake at work today, Ken. :-) Ken has to distance himself from little ball, otherwise Beane throws a fit.

Dan Shaughnessy of the Globe takes the opportunity to try to sell more copies of his book about some curse:

Excruciating. Any Sox fans who were still awake could only curse the October sky. Take away baseball and October certainly presents New England at its best. October brings dry air, crisp apples, and dazzling foliage. Before turning the clocks back, before Halloween, we enjoy a string of sunny, cool days while crimson and orange leaves fall and the Harvest Moon rises.

Unfortunately October has not been a friend of the local baseball team. Since the end of World War I, October has brought nothing but agita to Red Sox fans. There have been four World Series defeats, all in seventh games, plus assorted playoff flops. Today is the silver anniversary of Bucky Dent's playoff homer, for gosh sakes. Unless you are at least 90, you have no memory of the Sox winning their final postseason game in October.

The defeatist attitude of the Red Sox nation is in full force. (25 years since Dent? I'm getting old.) And the calculations of all those ESPN experts who picked the Sox have to change a bit. You know what they thought; Pedro is unbeatable, so he wins two, and then they just have to get one more from Lowe or Wakefield or whoever.

Well, Pedro's not going to win two. Pedro needed to blow the A's away last night, but instead he struggled against a poor offense. The A's worked counts, they let Pedro be a little wild, and the A's scored enough runs to keep it close and get Pedro out of the game after seven. And Pedro threw 130 pitches, his highest total of the season. One has to wonder if this is going to be detrimental to his next start or future starts in the playoffs.

I'm looking at the Oakland Tribune for a story from the winner's perspective, but it's not up yet. However, they do have this preview piece on how to beat Pedro:

The Oakland A's have tinkered with how they try to beat Pedro Martinez over the years. Hasn't everybody? But the reason they beat him a couple of months ago is that they managed to follow their standard game plan to perfection: They wore him down.
A's hitters made the 31-year old with a history of arm soreness sweat and labor his way through five innings. They fouled off good pitches and took bad ones. He broke the 100-pitch barrier by the end of the fifth inning, meaning his night was over.

The A's figure the key to beating Martinez is to make sure he isn't around long. And the key to the A's divisional series with the Red Sox could, in turn, hinge on how they work Martinez and the rest of Boston's pitchers. If the A's can get to Boston's relief corps early, the three-year drought of early playoff exits could end.

The plan is working.

YODA : Always two there are....no more...no less. A master and an apprentice.

MACE WINDU : But which one was destroyed, the master or the apprentice?

Mace, it was the apprentice. :-)

There in the 11th, and Foulke is out for his third inning. The A's will have to find another closer for tomorrow. Of course, the way things are going, this may turn into a double header. :-) I'm off to bed; this will give me a surprise to look forward to when I wake up tomorrow.

Terrence Long strikes out, then steps in front of the plate as Varitek tries to throw out Hatteberg stealing. Hatteberg is called out on interference.

Long made two mistakes in that AB. He was not lying in wait for the 2-0 pitch, and he let a fat one go by. He then caused a DP by stepping in front of the catcher. Not a good night for Terrence.

Williamson just walked Hatteberg with one out. It looked like he walked Tejada, but the umpire called the 3-1 pitch a strike, and then the same with the 3-2 pitch. Both looked questionable to me.

Kim is on in the bottom of the ninth to try for the save. He got the first out, but he walked pinch-hitter Billy McMillon, then hit Singleton. Boston fans are getting a bit nervous. :-)

Update: Kim strikes out Ellis. Little goes to Embree to get Durazo. Interestingly, lefties hit Embree better than righties, do, at least for average and power. Four of his five HR allowed have been hit by lefties.

Update: Durazo hits one to left to tie the game and put runners at first and third. Little should know that lefties hit Embree.

Update: Chavez grounds out. We're going to the 10th.

Pedro walks Durazo to load the bases in the 7th. He now has 4 BB and 3 K. He's up to 128 pitches and Little is leaving him in to face Chavez! But Pedro gets Eric to pop to Varitek to end the inning.

Macha takes Hudson out since he's given up three hits to Todd Walker. Ricardo Ricon comes in and gives up a two-run HR to Todd, his 2nd of the game. Walker has three of the four Red Sox RBI.

Both Hudson and Martinez have high pitch counts. Martinez has thrown 84 through five innings, Hudson 97 through six. This game is going to come down to which bullpen pitches better.

Update: Pedro also has thrown 97 pitches through six innings. Hudson has the edge in strikes thrown, 66 to 60.

Jason Varitek goes deep off Hudson out of the 9 slot. Two solo HRs are the only runs the Sox have gotten so far.

Jason Varitek goes deep off Hudson out of the 9 slot. Two solo HRs are the only runs the Sox have gotten so far.

A single by the aptly named Chris Singleton and a walk to Mark Ellis set up a two-run double by Eurbiel Durazo. A's are up 2-1 and still batting in the third. Hudson had pitched out of a bases loaded jam in the top of the third.

Update: Tejada drove in a third run in the inning but was thrown out trying to go to 2nd. What's worrying about Pedro's outing so far is that he has only one strikeout through three innings. The A's are putting the ball in play against Martinez, while the Red Sox have struck out five times in four innings against Hudson.

Jose Guillen, the best hitter on the A's vs. Pedro, delivers in the 2nd. He singles off Martinez, but is left there. Pedro is being very efficient, only throwing 26 pitches through two innings.

Smoltz blows the save but gets the win by a final score of 5-3. With 13 post-season wins, John Smoltz holds the all-time record. The Braves had 13 hits, all but the last one a single. Prior vs. Maddux on Friday, should be a great one. Series is tied 1-1.

Miller and Morgan pointed out that the Cubs made a number of baserunning mistakes in the game. I agree, but to me they were not obvious mistakes. I think in each case you could make an argument for what the runners did being correct.

Todd Walker shows why he should be batting third as he hits a HR down the rightfield line to give the Red Sox a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. That should be all Pedro needs. :-)

Marcus Giles' injury worked out well for the Braves tonight. Giles pinch hit and drove in a run, and now Mark DeRosa gets his 2nd hit of the night, a two-run double to give the Braves a 5-3 lead in the 8th. Smoltz may get his 13th win after all.

John Smoltz comes into the game in the 8th for the Braves. A six-out save for Smoltz? I guess we'll see how rusty John is.

Update: Smoltz blows the save, giving up hits to Karros and Simon, and then pinch-runner Glanville scored on a sac fly. It's 3-3 going to the bottom of the 8th. Maybe Smoltz wants to pick up his 13th post-season win, which would break the tie for first with Glavine.

Just looking at the starting lineup for the Red Sox, and I see Nomar is batting 2nd and Walker is batting 3rd. Grady Little is keeping his late season lineup, although I think Nomar is much more a #3 hitter than a #2 hitter, and the couple of days off is probably what he needed. Then again, this lineup is so strong, almost anyone could bat in any slot.

Marcus Giles is going to pinch hit for Hampton with two on and two out. Hampton goes six, walking five and striking out nine. Giles drives in the go ahead run, putting Hampton in line for the victory.

Update: Furcal hits the ball off Zambrano's leg. It deflects into foul territory and Furcal gets an infield hit. That's in for Zambrano, leaving with the bases loaded and two out.

The Braves middle of the order appears to have figured out Carlos Zambrano. Consecutive hits by Chipper, Javy and Andruw tie the game at 2. Fick batting with two on and 1 out in the fourth.

Hampton strikes out the side in the 2nd on fourteen pitches. Whatever problems he started the game with he seems to have solved. And if you are going to have a strikeout pitch working, the Cubs are the team to help you along.

Furcal and DeRosa start off the Braves half of the first with consecutive singles. First and third for Sheffield.

Update: Sosa pops up, Chipper grounds out to drive in a run, and Lopez strikes out. The three are now 0 for 5 with a walk with runners in scoring position. Cubs lead 2-1 after 1.

Mike Hampton, after two runs and loading the bases with no outs, strikes out Karros, Martinez and Miller an 11 pitches. The bottom of the Cubs order not showing much patience in there.

Sammy just misses a HR off the top of the centerfield wall to drive in a run with a double. And now a grounder to third, and Castilla fails to get Grudzielanek at the plate. Nothing going right for the Braves in the first.

Update: Replay seems to show Grudielanek out, but it was very close, much closer than it should have been. Ramirez singles to load the bases for Karros.

Urbina retires the side in order in the 9th. The Marlins tie the series 1-1. This series has had the duel and the slugfest. Something for everyone.

Hampton walks Lofton to start the game.

Update: Not good. Eight of Hampton's first 9 pitches have been balls, and Sosa is up with men on 1st and 2nd.

Dontrelle Willis was brought into the game in the bottom of the eightn to pitch to Bonds. I don't quite understand this. The Marlins are up four runs, so even if Bonds hits a HR, it doesn't really change things. Willis got Bonds to pop up, but then he gave up singles to Alfonzo and Soriano. Willis has not pitched in relief this year, and you have Looper and Urbina and a day off tomorrow. What if Willis got injured? Looper is in now, why couldn't he have started the inning?

To West 116th St. and read The Due Trap.

Chad Fox is showing that someone can pitch in this game. He's put up two perfect innings so far, striking out two and holding the Marlins 8-5 lead. He cut his ERA from 4.50 with Boston to 2.13 with the Marlins by cutting down on his hits allowed and walks allowed. He's being pinch hit for now.

Juan Encarnacion takes a Joe Nathan hanging pitch into the left field stands. Penny, Helling and Ponson have all pitched poorly, and now Nathan is joining the club.

Update: Three singles follow Encarnacion's HR to load the bases with one out. That's it for Nathan, who wasn't very hale today.

Upate: Christiansen comes in and gives up a deep fly ball down the RF line to Pierre. Jose Cruz slipped and the ball fell in for a two run double. Pierre is now three for four today with three RBI.

Just got home from work, and turned on the TV to see the Giants with a 5-4 lead and the bases loaded with one out. Carl Pavano came in to get Alfonzo and Santiago to pop out. Great work in relief.

Penny pitches to Bonds, and Bonds drives the ball down the line for an RBI double, scoring Durham from first. Concentration of talent. Bonds has been directly or indirectly involved with the three runs the Giants have scored. It's 1-1 going to the 2nd.

Durham answers Pierre's leadoff single with one of his own. Marlins lead 1-0 in the bottom of the first.

The Marlins break their scoreless streak with a run in the first. Ponson's wild pitch set up a Derrek Lee groundout to drive in Pierre.

Juan Pierre singles to lead off the game.

The Orioles are looking at Eddie Murray as a possible replacement for Mike Hargrove.

Shapiro thinks Murray would be an excellent big league manager after seeing him develop as a coach with the young Indians, who used 21 rookies this season and finished with 18 first-year players on their roster.

"He evolved and grew as a hitting coach," Shapiro said. "He had seven, eight and nine rookies in the lineup every day. By the end of the year, he had the majority of them making improvements."

Hard to say I agree with that last statement, but Cleveland batted 1 point higher post break, but their OBA was down 12 points. Maybe I'll look at this more carefully later.

Eddie Murray was a tremendous hitter and a good defensive first baseman to boot. He got on base and he hit for power. He played for one of the best managers of my lifetime, Earl Weaver. He seems to have been well respected by his peers. So there's a lot of positives that I can see in having Murray as a manager. But there's also a negative, as this 1995 article demonstrates:

Eddie Clarence Murray, 39, having long since wrapped himself in the thick insulation of a pathological distrust of the media, is left to convey the story of his wonderfully rich career through the expressions of his eyes. But they're not up to the job. Most of the time, they merely convey intensity in equal measure toward pitchers and reporters.

Says Jim Palmer, another of Murray's old Baltimore teammates and a former Oriole broadcaster, "He has the glare of Samuel Jackson in Pulp Fiction. They talk about [Oakland A's pitcher] Dave Stewart's glare. Nobody can glare like Eddie."

When a Baltimore writer approached him last weekend seeking comments on Ripken, Murray leaned his head back, narrowed his eyes disdainfully and declined by replying, "I don't even know you." When approached by SI, Murray provided his more typical response, saying, "No thank you, sir," with the sincerity of a child turning down a helping of lima beans. The rejection included no eye contact whatsoever.

According to Indian officials, Murray recently also blew off USA Today, The New York Times, the entire press corps from Baltimore and a Cleveland television reporter whom Murray remembered as being guilty of once, while a student at Towson (Md.) State, working two or three Oriole games for the campus TV station.

One of the jobs (and I'm sure not the most pleasent job) of a manager is talking to the press. Eddie's not very good at it because he's never practiced it. And as a manager, it's good to have the press on your side.

Eddie was a smart, intense player. His quiet intensity would contrast well with the wild intensity of Larry Bowa up the road. The fans love him. I'd like to see him get the chance to manage.

Update: Jon Weisman recounts a press incident with Murray here.

I don't think we are going to see a low scoring game in San Francisco this afternoon. Brad Penny twirls against Sidney Ponson in game two of this NLDS series. Sidney was less than impressive after his move to the Giants. His K per 9 dropped from 6.1 to 4.5. He went 3-6 with the Giants after going 14-6 with the Orioles although it must be pointed out that his run support dropped from 6.26 to 3.84. He didn't pitch badly, but one might expect a pitcher moving to the NL to have a bigger drop in his ERA.

Ponson did not pitch well at Pac Bell, either. His 5.04 ERA was one of the highest on the team, and the highest for pitchers with at least 30 innings at the park.

Penny is a solid pitcher who had a very good second half. Like the Marlins staff as a whole, his ERA goes up on the road. Penny has a 3.48 ERA at home, 4.62 on the road. Walking Bonds may not be as bad an idea for Penny, since h induced 26 double plays this year, third in the NL.

In Atlanta tonight, Carlos Zambrano tries to help the Cubs to a 2-0 lead over the Braves as he challenges Mike Hampton. Hampton's comeback has to be a big feather in the cap of Leo Mazzone and the Braves pitching program. Hampton was shaky at first, but finished strong, going 7-3 with a 2.73 ERA in August and September. His walks and high and his strikeouts are low for my taste, but he's been successful. Watch for the Sosa-Hampton matchup; Sosa is only 13 for 52 against Hampton, but six of those hits have been for HR. (The most he's hit off an individual pitcher is 7, off Jose Lima and Curt Schilling.)

Zambrano also had a great strech run from early August to mid September, but he struggled in his last two starts against Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. Not a good sign. Zambrano blamed it on a bad back:

Zambrano was 13-11 with a 3.11 ERA during the regular season. He faltered down the stretch with a pair of bad starts, but his back was acting up. Zambrano maintained Tuesday he's ready to go.

"It feels much better," he said. "I have been working with all the exercises I have to do. In Cincinnati (a 9-7 loss last week), I was feeling the same way that I felt when I won six games in a row. I don't feel tired. I don't feel anything in my arm, and yesterday, I felt good. I threw on the side, and I think I did a really good job."

We will see. He hasn't face the batters on the Braves much, so take this with a grain of salt, but no one on the current Braves roster has homered against him.

The pitching matchup of the night, however, is the late game in Oakland. Pedro Martinez and Tim Hudson finished 1-2 in ERA in the AL this year, and face off in game 1. Pedro has had great success at Network Associates Coliseum, going 4-1 with a 1.45 ERA in six starts, and striking out 53 in 37 1/3 innings. The trade for Jose Guillen might have been worth it just for this matchup; Guillen is 7 for 22 against Pedro with a HR, a walk and nine K. That's like hitting .500 against most pitchers. :-)

After being unhittable for most of the year (.210 BA allowed through August), Tim Hudson had a rough September (.303 BA allowed). Like Zambrano, injuries were blamed for the fall:

Hudson said he has fully recovered from a line drive he took off his pitching hand in August and from a ball that struck him in the leg last month. The injuries may have contributed to his subpar September, in which he went 2-3 with a 4.85 ERA. But Hudson finished the regular season strong, limiting the Rangers to two runs (one earned) on five hits over seven innings in a 5-3 victory Sept. 24.

"I don't think he had his best stuff in September until the last outing," Macha said. "The last outing was his best of the month. The ball was sinking good, he had good location, he pitched very well that day. We were very encouraged after that. I feel good he's going to go in with his good stuff."

Martinez and Hudson have faced each other three times in the regular season. Hudson is 2-1 with a 3.86 ERA, Pedro 1-2 with a 3.32 ERA. Pedro has struck out 27 and walked 3 in 19 innings head-to-head; Hudson has struck out 15 and walked 7 in 18 2/3 innings head-to-head. We've had a number of great pitching performances in the playoffs so far. Expect two more here.

Enjoy!