The general managers meeting broke up with only one trade plus a faux pas from the Mets' Bill Singer. The one trade was a great one for the San Francisco Giants as they picked up the Twins' catcher, A.J. Pierzynski for Joe Nathan and two minor leaguers. At first, I was upset for Twins fans at this trade until I broke it down a bit.

Pierzynski is one of the true leaders on the Twins. He is a great defensive player with a lifetime batting average over .300. He has had clutch hits in big games and is in the same class--though he is rarely mentioned that way--with Jorge Posada and Jason Varitek. So why would the Twins trade him other than for money reasons?

First, the Twins have Matthew LeCroy who only caught twenty games last year, but between catching and at DH, LeCroy had 17 homeruns and 64 RBI in only 345 at bats. Pierzynski was great, but he wasn't a big power guy. But even more exciting for the Twins is the world's best catching prospect ready to step in: Joe Bouer. Bouer was the minor league player of the year last year and has all the tools and then some. He is considered "can't miss." That's why the Twins could expend the arbitration eligible Pierzynski.

And! The Twins received big time arm, Joe Nathan. Nathan has pitched through some injury but has a lifetime (four years) record of 24-10. This past year he had more strikeouts than innings pitched and can be downright nasty. Nathan, minor leaguers and the ability to plug in Joe Bouer makes this trade a good one for the Twins and the Giants as Pierzynski will give them a solid presence where few are available other than Bonds.


The most embarrassing moment of the general manager meetings had to be the Mets newly hired Bill Singer making stupid guttural noises to mimic oriental speech in response to meeting Kim Ng, the Dodgers assistant general manager. How childish and boorish can you be? It will be interesting to see if the Mets fire Singer for this really stupid act despite Singer's public apology.

Former players are former players and they all have had sheltered lives. Pampered, set apart and sheltered from the real world for most of their early lives, players can get away with asinine attitudes and be somewhat excused for their lack of exposure to more enlightened thought and experiences.

The trouble comes when a former player now has to act in the real world of business. Let's face it, MLB is a business and general managers are on the business end of things. Singer, a former 20 game winner, now has egg on his face as he has made a major transgression that probably would have generated guffaws in major league locker rooms.

Major League Baseball finally started down the correct path by deciding to test all players for steroids. Random testing found that five percent of players tested positive for steroid use. Though that percentage is better than expected, it is enough to cause the fan to wonder about the performance of MLB's players.

I don't believe this will go smoothly and some players will be sure to attempt legal action to stop what they will call a loss of privacy. If players knew the minds of the fans, they would know how important this issue is. I don't believe that steroids help a player any more than cork in a player's bat. But if the perception is there that the competition is unfair, then MLB needs to take this stance and this action.

Many fans of MLB point to the parity of the NFL and how the salary cap is responsible for that parity. MLB on the other hand tried to deal with the issue by issuing a luxury tax on teams that spent more than a set amount. Neither method would help the current state of team payroll levels in baseball. No team proves that point better than the Milwaukee Brewers.

Today it was announced that the board of directors of the Milwaukee Brewers recommended that the Brewers cut their payroll from $40 million to $30 million. The recommendation means that the Brewers will probably have to trade their two best players: Geoff Jenkins ($8 million) and Richie Sexson ($8 million).

The plight of the Brewers is complicated as the community put up a lot of money to build the Brewers a stadium. They have a right to expect the Brewers to be entertaining. Sexson and Jenkins play hard, play well and play exciting ball. Now with Podsednik and pitching starting to fall in place, the team had a chance to be much better. Will it be able to now?

One of the reasons given for the cut is the drop in attendance to 1.7 million. Geez, the Devil Rays would have a celebration for that kind of attendance. Even if the average ticket price was $10--and it has to be higher--that's $17 million. Add in the TV rights, MLB products and their results from the same luxury tax the Yankees are paying and you have to wonder why the team would need to cut payroll.

What's the answer? Put in a salary cap? Make the cap $80 million? The Brewers are still going to spend only $30 million. How is that going to help poorly run teams? There is no provision that the poor owners spend the luxury tax on their teams. Then what good is it? For every George Steinbrenner there will be a Carl Pohldad or Bud Selig's daughter. The Brewers story is a sad one and is a lightning rod of warning for the storm that baseball still faces.


So far, the awards seem to be going to the players that earned them. Berroa and Dontrelle Willis are the correct choices though I wouldn't have argued if Podsednik had won the award in the National League. Halladay won the AL Cy Young award. The National League will announce theirs on Thursday. If that decision follows the common sense winners to this point, Eric Gagne will win that award.

A fixture on the field at Yankee Stadium for half a decade has been hired to manage the Baltimore Orioles. Lee Mazzilli, the former outfielder for the Mets and Yankees had to be the underdog since he was competing for the job against former Orioles, Rick Dempsey and Eddie Murray as well as Grady Little and Terry Francona.

Mazzilli was a popular coach with the Yankees and he was frequently used by television crews to wear microphones during important games. He inherits what could be a very good team. The Orioles played half a season with an offense that was right up there with Boston and the Braves before injuries to Melvin Mora and others derailed their progress. Don't be surprised if they become a contender in the coming season.

In what I thought were classy moves, both Yankee owner, George Steinbrenner and manager, Joe Torre, praised Mazzilli and were excited and positive about Mazzilli's opportunity.


Speaking of underdogs, the Mexico team beat the United States team and knocked the defending country out of the Olympics in Athens. The stunning loss means that if the Olympics would have been one last way to see Roger Clemens pitch, that dream is over and his win in the World Series could be his last game ever.

Tommy Lasorda, who managed the gold medal winning American team in the last Olympics said it was a shock and a disgrace that the American team lost. That criticism won't sit very well with Hall of Famer, Frank Robinson, who managed this year's Olympic hopeful team.

Baseball news has been pretty quiet the last few days. 208 players have already filed for free agency including Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte of the Yankees. Clemens, of course, has said he is retiring. But if he changes his mind, he will have the right to talk to any team.

Andy Pettitte has said that he can't imagine pitching for any other team and who can blame him. He was drafted by the Yankees and has pitched for them since the 1995 season. His record of success is remarkable judging from his record as it's one of the best in winning percentage history. Add that to his post season success and he seems like a must sign for the Yankees.

The Mets did score a very good victory in landing Oakland A's pitching coach Rick Peterson. Peterson has developed the A's remarkable pitching story and his philosophy is used through the A's farm teams. The Mets were always famous for their development of pitching talent but that has not been the case in recent history. There hasn't been a Doc Gooden, Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman or Nolan Ryan come out of their farm system in a long time.

Peterson will upgrade the entire Mets' system and the addition of Bill Singer to the Mets front office to find the talent to develop means that the Mets are doing all the right things to rebuild that franchise. But Bobby Valentine will be in Japan. Alas!

I have to wonder what will become of the Athletic's pitching with Peterson's departure. Will their big pitchers continue to develop without him? Will they continue to keep coming up with great arms from the minor leagues. Look what Peterson did for Ted Lilly in his first full year with the team. Lilly went 12-10 in his first full season and had a perfect ERA in the playoffs (0.00).


In the "I've-got-to-see-this" category, the San Diego Padres announced that they will have new uniforms this coming season. What a victory for that team! That's even better news than having a new stadium. The Padres have consistently had the worst looking uniforms in baseball. They went from those awful brown and yellow uniforms in the 80's to equally ugly blue uniforms in the 90's.

Have you ever seen pictures of Dave Winfield in those old Padres' uniforms. Yeesh! No wonder he wanted to get out of there. Speaking of Winfield, I remember watching him while he was with the Yankees. No one consistently hit the ball harder than Winfield. Infielders used to play in the short outfield when he came up. Anyway, he had this way of wiggling his butt when he was waiting for the pitch. That used to drive the women crazy. It didn't do much for me but I can imagine what they were looking at.

There wasn't a picture in the news reports about the uniforms but they were described as a tri-color pattern of sand, navy and sky blue. Hmm...sounds like an improvement.

The first big bombshell of the off season has exploded with the Astros trade of closer Billy Wagner to the Phillies for Brandon Duckworth and two minor leaguers. Wow!

The Phillies Achilles heel all last season was the bullpen, especially with Jose Mesa closing games. Mesa had an ERA over 6.00 well into the season and never looked effective or even scary. Wagner will come in with his 100 MPH fastball and his 44 saves in 47 chances and give the Phillies a legitimate shot at making the game a seven inning game.

Brandon Duckworth is a big potential pitcher who has shown short flashes of his capabilities in two seasons with the Phillies. Yet he has a losing career record and has given up more hits than innings, which isn't a good sign for a supposed power pitcher.

Houston has a lot of arms in the bullpen but they need every one of them as their manager is a bullpen killer. Houston also has a penchant for having their top arms come up injured in a similar way to the Marlins before Jack McKeon took over. Most likely, Houston will try Dotel as a closer and if that doesn't work out, go with another of their electric bullpen arms. But you have to ask the question: What does it tell the fans and your team to trade away a sure thing in what looks like a money deal?


Two managerial decisions came down today. Both were surprising. First, the Chicago White Sox made a great decision in choosing Ozzie Guillen as their new manager. Guillen will bring fun and enthusiasm to a team in sore need of it. In much the same way that Tony Pena brought a spark to the Royals, Guillen could do the same for the White Sox.

The move is also a big day for MLB as Chicago now has a former African American in charge of the Cubs and a former Hispanic player in charge of the White Sox. We've come a long way when one of the top cities in the country can boast such an alignment. Good for Chicago and good for baseball.

The second decision is somewhat sad in that Bobby Valentine decided to sign a three year deal to go back to Japan and manage over there. He said the money was flattering and that at this point in his life, it's important to him to feel needed and wanted. It's a shame that there wasn't a spot for Valentine on the American field as he is a creative and fiery competitor and manager.

Valentine also did a super job on Baseball Tonight for ESPN and always seemed on point and dead on with his commentary and analysis. He will be missed on that show and on this continent. I hope he comes back someday.


The Yankees made an excellent move in bringing Don Mattingly in as their batting instructor. Mattingly did wonders for Tino Martinez when Tino got in slumps. It is a good sign when the first move the Yankees make after their disappointing loss to the Marlins is a classy one that will please the fans. Mattingly is one of the most popular players to ever wear the pinstripes and should have the respect of his players.

As predicted, Manny Ramirez did not inspire any MLB general managers to spend twenty million a year to grab him. There is no doubt in the Fan's mind that the Red Sox will feature Manny in their opening day lineup.

Unfortunately for Chicago White Sox fans, Frank Thomas decided to exercise his option and stay with them. In better news, the team also announced that Esteban Loiza is staying too.

Thomas did hit more than forty homers this past year for the first time since 2000 but for a man with a lifetime batting average of .310, he has hit .252 and .267 the past two years. His runs scored and walk totals were below his lifetime season average while he has posted his career high in strikeouts the past two years as well.

Thomas is hard to totally dismiss. From 1991 to 1997, the man was amazing, scoring over 100 runs, knocking in over a hundred with total numbers never seen before in the majors. Perhaps, after looking at the numbers, even I have not given him his due. After all, he has driven in 1390 runs in his thirteen year career while walking 1386 times to go with his 2018 hits and 418 homers.

There is just this feeling in baseball and in baseball fans that he has been the number one reason the White Sox have never been to where it always appears they should go. It's hard to say why and it's certainly a mystery.

Loiza came out of nowhere and won twenty-one games. That kind of year just can't be a fluke and I saw him pitch a couple of times and he just seems to know how to do it. His season reminds me of Dave Stewart who pitched for nine years with a total of 39 wins before he exploded for four straight twenty win seasons. Loiza can be that kind of pitcher.

Across town, Sammy Sosa also decided to ignore the clause in his contract that would have allowed him to walk away after this year to become a free agent. The decision means that he will be a Cub for at least two more years. The news is great news for Cub fans and for the game of baseball.

There were lots of emotional reactions today in Red Sox Nation with the news that the team put Manny Ramirez on irrevocable waivers. The move means that the Red Sox are pulling a Henny Youngman: "Take my Manny...please."

But the move doesn't mean that the Red Sox will lose Ramirez. Any team can claim Ramirez but then they would have to pay his $20 million price tag and who besides the Yankees (who don't want him) have the money to pay him?

The move was a plea from the Red Sox for anyone in baseball to make them a deal...an offer...anything or anyway for the Boston team to unload Manny's salary and his one-dimensional play.

Isn't it sad that someone as talented as Manny Ramirez will never really be wanted for very long by anyone. Can he change that? Does he want to?

In any case, the odds are good that the Red Sox lineup on opening day will feature Manny Ramirez...the best hitter in baseball nobody wants.

The MLB off season has already started to be fun to watch. Several key Braves have filed for free agency including Greg Maddux, Gary Sheffield and Javy Lopez. Most sources do not believe that Maddux will sign with the Braves as the Braves will want him for much less than the $14 plus million he made this year. Sheffield and Lopez will be interesting to watch as their big bats led the Braves to their most potent lineup in recent history.

The year Javy Lopez had would be considered a career year. It is hard to imagine that he could put together another one like it. But even if he hits thirty plus homers and drives in ninety to a hundred runs, that's better production than any catcher out there with the exception of Posada and Ivan Rodriguez.

Recent Brave history also indicates that they are downsizing their budget and it wouldn't be surprising if all three big stars move on. Will this be the year the Braves incredible run of division titles ends? It seems really hard to imagine that they wouldn't want to have Maddux go for his 300 victories as a Brave. But that just goes to show how little warmth there is in that franchise from and for its stars.

An even more intriguing deal rumored is the New York's Soriano for Kansas City's Carlos Beltran. Beltran will cost too much for the Royals and Soriano has a few more years before eligibility for free agency. I like this deal as Beltran can play center for the Yankees, moving Williams to a corner position. Beltran brings as much excitement and strength to the Yankees as Soriano does.

Beltran has hit 25 plus homers three years in a row which is great in a big park like Kansas City. He has driven in over a hundred three years in a row and scored more than a hundred in those three years as well. He has also hit over .300 in two of those years and most dramatically lowered his strikeout total from 135 in 2002 to 85 in 2003. That shows more maturity in his plate presence. And best of all, he stole over forty bases this year too.

Yes, I like this deal. Soriano seems impossible to teach and prone to prolonged stretches of ineptitude. He has a lot of upsides, but I would take Beltran over him any day. And Beltran is only twenty-six years old.

Oh yes, this is fun and there will be a lot to talk about this long, cold winter.

The Fan has had a ball this season writing this post every day. I have always wished that I had been a journalist and this outlet at least lets me act like one.

I have been writing every day since March 3, and I think I missed a total of six days during the season. I really appreciate some of you who have become loyal readers. That meant a lot to me. I would like to continue. Any baseball fan knows that the off season can be as much fun as the season. Speculating on what teams do what and reacting to moves that are made are part of the tradition and fun. I want to share that with you.

I want to thank Blogger.com for doing what they do. It's a great service for people like me who have a need to express in ways not normally available. I'm sure there are a lot of really bad blogs out there but there are many more good ones. The baseball blogs I have read have been excellent. The sites that link other baseball blogs are super and hopefully I'll soon figure out how to return the favor.


So...the post-post season begins and the first big bombshell is not from the Yankees but from Boston. The firing of Grady Little seems incredulous at first glance and maybe the second. Here is a guy that took a team that started with no bullpen, only two or three legitimate stars and brought them within five outs of the World Series. And you know what? The Red Sox could have beaten the Marlins.

But Little left Pedro Martinez in the game in the eighth inning when hindsight says he should have removed him. Let's compare this to the Marlins sixth game of the World Series. Josh Beckett has won fourteen games in his MLB career. Until the post season, he had NEVER thrown a complete game. Here he is in Game Six on three days rest and nearly every inning from the sixth inning to the eighth, the Yankees had at least one runner on base. There was no way that his manager was going to take him out of the game. If Beckett had given up a game tying or winning homer with one of those runners on base and the Yankees came back and won the series, should he have gotten fired?

Beckett's manager went with his gut and stayed with what he thought was his best pitcher. He's a hero and just signed on for next year. Little did the same thing and is fired. He is the John McNamarra of his day. Sometimes baseball isn't fair.

Little did stir the pot a little bit to his own demise. Peter Gammons reported that Little wanted guarantees for next year but he was under contract and could have come back without the guarantees but was incensed when he did not receive them (for Gammons' column, see espn.com). Bad move.

But all I can remember as a fan was watching Boston's players hugging each other before they even got to the playoffs. This was a team that came together and played together as no team I've ever watched before. You have to give some of that credit to the manager. Two years ago, during the September 11th tragedy, a much more talented Red Sox team folded quickly because they had no cohesiveness and no respect for each other or anything else. Some of that credit went to the manager and he was fired.

Grady Little deserved another season. He was a good manager who made some colorful choices. That's baseball. Do you think Mike Hargrove would have won 96 games with that team? Enough said.

Oh, and one of the candidates for Little's job is Bud Black. Have you seen a picture of him? Let me just say that he is the spitting image of Grady Little. Weird...very weird.

Sometimes you just have to tip your cap. The Florida Marlins won the World Series because they made the clutch plays, pitched the clutch pitches and hit the clutch hits. They had great pitching, great defense and a good enough offense to beat some of the best starting pitchers who have played this game.

That's not all very easy for me to say. In the course of writing here every day, I've endeavored to present a fair and unbiased view of baseball. That's not always possible but I did try. The Yankees have been my team since 1965...a year after their great years ended. I grew up with a Met fan for a dad and grand dad, but the Yankees were my team.

When the final four teams shook out and it was the Yankees, Red Sox, Marlins and Cubs, I thought, "Great! I'll be happy whichever team wins." But the truth is, I am crushed that the current Yankees didn't win it all. I turned the game off in the seventh inning the last game because I knew they were going to lose and I didn't want to watch. I had a day of mourning and life goes on.

But isn't that what makes this game so good? Such loyalties are long-standing and palpably real to the true fan of baseball. I enjoyed the Red Sox season and the Cubs charge and the Marlins. The four teams I rooted for all year made it to where I wanted them to be. But deep down, despite my words, I wanted Jeter to win another one and Roger Clemens to go out a champion and all the other players I have come to root for. But it wasn't meant to be for two reason. One is that the Yankees had too many holes despite the $180 million and two because Beckett wouldn't let them win.

Let me start with the latter. Again, you have to tip your cap to what Beckett did. It reminded me of what Jared Wright did to the Yankees in 1997 when Cleveland beat my team to go to the World Series. It was that good. What made it hard to watch was that, though Beckett pitched a game for the ages, he is my least favorite Marlin and one I have no respect for.

The kid is a punk and showed himself to be with his disrespect for Sammy Sosa and Sosa's reaction to a ball thrown at his head. If Beckett was a good person, he would have understood that Sosa is a proud man and had been beaned in the head not once but twice in the same season. But Beckett had to use the occasion to put Sosa down and his disrespect for one of the greatest players in the game's history was scornful.

And of course, any semi-lip reader could understand the filth that was pouring out of Beckett's mouth whenever something went well or poorly for him. Bad people shouldn't win, but he was good enough to do so. In fact, he was masterful. So my cap is tipped, but I will be waiting for his humbling and it will come someday.

Another reason the outcome was sad for me is that I've followed Steinbrenner too long to not know that he will dismantle this team. Like I said, the team has holes, but instead of plugging the holes, some of the good things will go to. Pettitte will be gone. Don't be surprised if Bernie Williams is gone. Zimmer is already gone. Stottlemyre might be gone. And don't be surprised if Joe Torre is gone. This won't be the same team for a long time.

So it was a last hurrah for this Yankee team. The Marlins were better. It's sad, but I tip my cap.

The Yankees of this current generation have never been in this position. The argument could be made that this is a generation away from the late 90's team that seemed invincible. The heart of the team is still in place: Jeter, Williams, Posada, Pettitte and Rivera. But that seems to be the trouble. This heart has all performed well--even spectacular. But with the exception of Matsui, the new pieces around this core have done little to help.

And so the Yankees are a game away from elimination. Second place in the World Championship doesn't count. Just ask the Braves who have only won the big show once in their incredible run. The Boss won't be happy but that matters little. What matters is that this proud core who have been champions four times can't stomach losing but probably have little choice.

The odds are strongly against the Yankees down 3-2 in the Series. Florida's pitching has been spectacular. Except for Redman, there hasn't been one falter by the Marlins' staff. The odds got tighter when McKeon tapped Beckett to start Game 6 on three days rest. To some that would seem like a risky call. But anyone who has seen Beckett pitch this post season would know the Yankees are in big trouble.

The only positive might be that Beckett won't be able to go as deep into the game and the Marlins' bullpen is less secure than the starting staff. The only other positive is Pettitte, who has rescued the Yankees on a number of occasions. Pettitte rarely has had two strong outings in a row but will need to pitch one of the best games of his life tomorrow.

The Yankee core has been let down by the new guys who haven't performed. Soriano, Giambi (though he shouldn't be faulted for being hurt), Boone, Garcia and others have played terribly. Soriano is completely lost and his struggles couldn't have come at a worse time. Right now, I wouldn't count on Soriano to hit the bench without lunging and missing it. Boone and Garcia have left countless rallies stranded on the bases.

In a way it's a shame that so much of the focus has been on the trouble of the mighty Yankees. A lot of focus should be on the Marlins who have scrapped and sweat and laughed their way to this improbable position. They have been the ones to play like champions and have come through in every instance. This just might end up being their series to the chagrin of a lot of Yankee fans. And after watching them since they started their run in August, this position the Marlins are in is no fluke. This is a damn good team.

Yup, the Yankees are in a lot of trouble. And in one ironic side note that defines how much trouble the Yankees are in, Blogger's spell check gave only one possible replacement for the supposed mispelling of "Giambi" and that word was, "gimpy."

These late night games has the Fan whipped and since this game is well in Florida's hands, it's time for bed. Tough break for the Yankees to have Wells go down with a bad back after one very good inning.

The odds are really against the Yanks going back home down 3-2.

Goodnight everyone...

What an amazing game! Tied at three going into the Marlins' half of inning number twelve. In every one of these bottom halves, the Marlins can end the game with a single run. But Contreras was lights out and Jeff Weaver, of all people, had a one, two, three eleventh. Weaver is now into his second inning and the first batter, Alex Gonzalez, hit a walk off, Mark McGuire-like laser just over the left field wall to end the game. Weaver, the permanent Yankee dog house member, continued his unfortunate year for the loss.

The game started with what the Fan thought was going to be a sad sight. Clemens gave up three runs in the first and one more hit would have finished him off. It was going to be an incredibly sad end to his storied career. But he pulled it together and pitched six brilliant innings after that and kept the Yankees in the game. He struck out five in those final six innings and walked none in his seven innings. It was a gutty and fitting final start for one of the greatest pitchers ever.

Fittingly, the Yankees didn't let him get the loss and tied the game in the ninth for a Ugeth Urbina blown save. The Yankees could have won the game right there with one more hit and couldn't come up with it. The Yankees later had Chad Fox on the ropes with the bases loaded and only one out. Looper came out of the bullpen and the Yankees couldn't push a run home. The key at bat was Aaron Boone swinging at five balls inside to strike out for the second out. With some plate discipline, he would have walked and Rivera would have finished the game up.

But that's why the games are played and the Marlins showed why they belong here. They pitched terrific from start to end with the exception of Urbina and then got the game winning hit off the pitcher they should have hit. The Yankees had their chances, but the game goes to the Marlins.

Now we're tied at 2-2 and it's a three game series for the title. What a great World Series!


The odds are very much against Bud Selig reading these comments, but we've got to get these games started at least at 7pm instead of 8 so that it isn't 12:32 Eastern Time when the game ends. For those of us who work for a living, these late games are killers. And for a sport that wants to attract young fans, most of them are in bed when these exciting games could be the spark that makes them fans or players for life.


The glaring holes in the Yankees lineup, especially in the clutch are Soriano at lead off and Giambi at cleanup. One can understand Giambi as he is playing on bad wheels. But Giambi has always been a smart hitter who doesn't miss his pitch and doesn't swing at bad pitches. After Jeter doubled with two outs to give the Yankees a chance to win the game, Giambi let a hanging slider fall harmlessly into Ivan Rodriguez' hands, he then swung at two sliders way inside by his feet. What's happened to his eye?

Soriano has simply been pathetic. There is no hope of him ever getting untracked. He can't lay off of the slider a foot outside and he can't lay off of the high fastball. He isn't aggressive on hittable pitches and he's overly aggressive on balls out of the strike zone. One at bat seemed to say it all. Ball One. Ball Two. Swing at Ball Three (now 2-1). Swing at Ball Four (now 2-2). Weak fly out to centerfield.

Soriano is raising up out of his stance and that does not allow him to drive through the swing and so he is swinging with all arms and most of the time with his hips flailing helplessly toward third base. He has been terrible...absolutely terrible.


In this space the other day, I mentioned that Mike Mussina had not won a big game in the post season. And I was correct with that assessment. But his performance last night turned that around as he was masterful and an artist and deserved the win. Rivera was just as amazing in his two innings to save the game.


So does Wells pitch tomorrow? Must be. It's a big game and he is a gamer. We'll see Brad Penny pitching for the Marlins. Those are both pitchers who could be terrific or awful. Congratulations to Alex Gonzalez and the Marlins for a big win that changes the entire series.

Game 3 of the 2003 World Series is in a rain delay with the score tied 1-1. It will be interesting to see how the starting pitchers react to the time off the field. Both starting pitchers had pitched really well with Mussina shaky early and coming on strong and Beckett strong early and then becoming shaky. The field is being prepared and time will tell.

Much has been made of the difference of these two teams. The Yankees, it is pointed out, are the world class team with 26 World Championships. The Marlins have been around for ten years and have one championship. The Yankees are the $180 million team and the Marlins are the $50 million team. But baseball still boils down to the eight position players against the other team's eight and the two opposing pitchers.

The two teams actually have some similarities. Nine of the 25 men on the Yankee roster are home grown from their own system. The number would be eleven if you could include Matsui and Contreras but I wouldn't count them that way. The Florida Marlins have eight of their 25 man roster from their own system.

The two teams have masterfully crafted their teams with creative and intelligent signings. Both teams stress pitching with a mixture of power pitchers and crafty ones. Both teams have great fielding shortstops and clutch hitting, great fielding catchers. Both teams have older managers whose demeanor and treatment of players get the most out of their clubs.

With that said, the core of the Yankee home grown players are battle tested and have played in clutch situations most of their careers. The Marlins core has not been there before and only one or two were around in 1997 when the Marlins won it all. But to their credit, they believe they can win and they have the smarts and the talent to get the job done.

With the score 1-1 and the series 1-1, either team can win this World Series. It should be exciting.

Whew! A big jam goes by the boards for the Marlins as Mussina really got out of that inning well.

As the World Series takes a breather, the Fan will do so as well. The matchups for Game 3 do not favor the Yankees and the prediction is a 4-1 Marlin win.

I'll see you tomorrow night as we find out how it will all play out.

I heard with astonishment the other day as an announcer stated that Andy Pettitte's post season record was overrated. Overrated?? The man just tied a record for most post season victories and just look what he has done this post season: Win three Game 2 contests after the Yankees had lost Game 1. Andy Pettitte has consistently given the Yankees a strong outing whenever they really needed it in the post season.

Pettitte's outing tonight did all of these things:
- Shut down the Marlins momentum by ending their four game winning streak in the post season.
- Shut down the top of the order and their running game.
- Sent the Yankees to Florida with a split instead of being down 2-0.
- Saved Mariano Rivera and the rest of the bullpen by pitching well into the ninth.
- Kept the post season's most dangerous hitter, Ivan Rodriguez, quiet.
- Made a very hot Derek Lee look silly.
- Pitched on three days rest and therefore set up the Yankees rotation for the rest of the series.

It was a huge win and Pettitte has done that time after time.

Some World Series notes:
- Brad Penny looked sharp last night but Mark Redmon appears to be throwing darts and though he had a good year, will not fool post season batters.
- It will be interesting to see if Mussina can break into the win column this post season. He is 0-3 so far.
- Soriano finally had a big hit tonight with a two run homer and seemed to lay off more bad pitches than in previous games this post season.
- Aaron Boone made two mental mistakes as he lifted his eyes twice on slow rollers and made an error on them both.
- Nick Johnson went three for four tonight and will be rewarded by sitting when the series shifts to the National League site.
- Much has been made of the Yankees losing a batter because there is no DH in the National League park, but the Marlins have the same dilemma: Cabrera's inexperience in right field or Juan Encarcion at the expense of Cabrera's bat?

The Yankees have the Florida Marlins right where they want them: In front by a game. The Yankees have lost the opening game of each series this postseason. In fact, the Yankees have lost the first game in many series in the last eight years and are the only team with a winning record after that event. And yet, this Florida Marlin team is a different opponent than any the Yankees have played in the past eight seasons.

The Marlins have great defense, pitching, relief pitching, speed and power. They are just starting to feel their strengths and it wouldn't be a stretch to see the Marlins pull off four in a row. And despite the Yankees' penchant for last minute heroics, there are glaring weaknesses in their ability to do so.

Alfonso Soriano is the worst post-season clutch hitter of all time. There hasn't been a rally yet that he has contributed to. And when he is up with men in scoring position, he has been absolutely terrible. Tonight, Soriano had a runner on second with no outs and grounded weakly to short. He reached out to an outside pitch and tried to pull the ball. That's a cardinal sin as you have to get that runner over.

Nick Johnson has been terrible in the clutch as has Giambi and Boone. The only consistent clutch hitters the Yankees have with men on base are Jeter, William and Posada.

If I were a Yankee, I'd be worried. I know this Fan is.

It was good to have a day off from baseball. The wild ride of the past week has been dizzying and baseball fans everywhere needed a day to catch our breath. Breathing brings reflection and reflection reveals that it is a shame that the focus on the past two league championship series was on the losing managers or a poor fan in the wrong place at the wrong time. Reflection shows that two very good teams with a lot of character have overcome the obstacles and face each other in the World Series.

Absolutely, the unfortunate circumstances that befell the Cubs and the Red Sox will be rehashed for a long time and that is too bad. The Cubs beat the mighty Braves in a thrilling division championship and the Red Sox dismantled an Oakland team that was the best team in baseball down the stretch. Their seasons were improbable and triumphant. The Red Sox and the Cubs just didn't make it all the way to the top.

"What ifs" will always be part of the game. The Fan will always hold John McNamara responsible for Boston's heartbreaking 86' loss to the Mets. Buckner shouldn't have been where he was and the game shouldn't have gotten to where it went and so Buckner is absolved. And remember, the Buckner error was in Game 6 of that series. Is Buckner responsible for the Red Sox losing Game 7 too?

And what of that poor fan who interfered with the foul ball that every Cub fan in the country blames for the Cubs loss in Game 6 of that series. Few would admit that it could have been anyone who went after that ball. And few recognize that Prior was gassed and should have come out of the game after Castillo reached base. But that's baseball and the Cubs lost. But again, that was Game 6. Did that fan lose the seventh game too?

Baseball is a team sport and a team loses or a team wins. Individual performances help or hinder the results but baseball players are imperfect just as we are perfect. Sometimes they are heroic and other times they fail. But those players on those teams helped get their teams as far as they got and that should be celebrated. Dusty Baker got the Cubs into a position to go to the World Series after the Cubs lost 95 games the year before. Go ahead and crucify the guy for leaving Prior in the game too long.

Should Pedro have pitched the eighth inning? Hindsight is perfect and the answer is no. But games aren't played in hindsight and Pedro pitched and he lost. Frankly, his stuff was only so-so all game and the eighth inning could have happened any inning. It took 160 plus games for the Red Sox to gel their bullpen. Despite the playoff bullpen heroics, one can forgive Little for not having full faith in a staff he had to juggle all year.

Second guessing is part of the game too and Grady Little and Dusty Baker will be victims of it for a long time. That's why they get paid well. If I screw up my job, somebody returns a $500 software program. I'm glad my picture isn't in the paper with goat horns on my head.

So let's spend a few minutes celebrating the Florida Marlins and the New York Yankees. These two teams won the games to get them to this point. And let's celebrate two players: Ivan Rodriguez and Mariano Rivera. It's a team game, but these two players rose to every occasion and never faltered. Rodriguez consistently got the big hit and Rivera pitched his longest outing in seven years and he was a towering hero of resolve and nerve. Second guess if you will. I will tip my cap at these fighters and their resilient teams.

For once, the Fan is speechless. Part of me feels joy from my boyhood team coming from behind to tie Pedro and then the homer in the eleventh inning from Aaron Boone. Another part of me feels pain for the Red Sox fans a night after pain for the Chicago Cubs fans.

But the biggest part of me just feels amazed at the quality and wonder of this season followed by this post season. It's been the greatest year of my forty plus years as a fan of Major League Baseball.

My memory of Mariano Rivera laying prone on the Yankee Stadium mound join hundreds of other images from this season and post season that will last me a lifetime.

And Red Sox fans and Cubs fans...I feel you and I understand profoundly about the loss you feel. But consider this: It was fun, wasn't it? I mean, at least you weren't a Tigers fan. It was fun all the way and it isn't quite over yet.

The World Series is going to have a tough time to not end up an anti-climax.