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.

The Fan was driving home from work today and the radio, set to an oldies station blared the BTO song: "Taking Care of Business." When I arrived home and saw the score and then read about how it happened, I saw that the Red Sox must have been singing the same song.

With the Red Sox 9-6 win to even their series with the Yankees at three games apiece, the Sox now have a 50/50 chance of winning the series with Pedro on the mound Thursday night. The game could go a million different directions as you are dealing with a 41 year old legend trying for one last hurrah and a fading superstar who will look to have just enough to play the ace he has been for so long. It's almost too intriguing to watch.

I will report here one more time that Joe Torre made the wrong move by taking Pettitte out after the fifth inning. I'll take a roughed up Pettitte over anyone in the Yankee bullpen and that bullpen allowed five runs in three innings and cost the Yankees the win and maybe the series.

Speaking of watching...the Cubs game has been almost too sad to watch. First, they answered a quick three runs from the Marlins with a Kerry Wood homerun. Then Moises Alou put the Cubs ahead by two and Wood looked terrific. But as with last night, the tantalizing hope was excruciating when the walls fell in.

The walls fell in during the fifth inning when Kerry Wood got out of rhythm and walked two batters. That is a fatal mistake and two innings later the Marlins have the lead 7-5.

I have loved the story of both the Marlins and the Cubs this year. The two teams made for terrific drama during the magical regular season. And then their dramatic wins in the division series cemented the fascination. But the Cubbies have had so much history of bad and their fans are so faithful and long-standing. It became impossible to root against them. My heart goes out to those fans and I feel their pain.

But you have to give it to the Marlins. They never quit. They battled. They took the pitches they needed to take. Pudge Rodriguez has been incredible. Miguel Cabrera plays like the next coming of Alex Rodriguez no matter where on the field you put him. And after the Marlins stayed close on the lollipop offerings of Mike Redmon, the Marlins had nothing but fireballers to finish the game. The game isn't over yet, but Cubs' fans already know in their hearts that it is.

It will be settled tomorrow night and then it will be the World Series.

Is there any more agony in American sports than to be a fan of the Cubs and the Red Sox? Tonight was a microcosm of everything those fans have endured for decades of their faithful patronage. And you could see the pain and the doubt in both sets of fans as they filed out of Fenway and Wrigley. Heartbreak snatched from the hands of victory.

The Cubs, up three games to two and needing only one win to get to the World Series, had their best pitcher on the mound and five outs to go with a 3-0 game lead. Pierre doubles. No problem. Prior has been in total control all night. Luis Castillo then hits foul pop to the left field line. Moises Alou is primed to jump and catch the ball. He jumps and one of his own fans reaches out and knocks the ball away. The announcers state that the fan did not reach over. My view is that the fan did reach over. No matter, the result is that the second out is now just a strike.

Castillo then walks. And then Gonzalez boots another out and all hell breaks loose. Eight runs later and the Cubs fans are stunned, demoralized and fighting long held demons. It doesn't matter that Kerry Wood is pitching tomorrow--their second best pitcher. What matters is that these tired fans fear and dread the worst. And who can blame them.


The Red Sox game was far less dramatic. The Yankees simply beat them with sound fundamentals, great pitching from old warrior, David Wells, and cold, cold hitters in the middle of the Red Sox lineup.

As reported here yesterday, Torre made a mistake by not pitching David Wells in his normal turn. Wells has won so many big post-season games for the Yankees and if he had pitched yesterday, the Yankees could have entered today's game up 3-1 instead of tied at 2-2. But Wells did pitch today and he was fantastic. The man simply knows how to pitch. No longer overpowering, Wells changes speeds and eye levels better than most pitchers in baseball.

Now the Yankees go back home with a 3-2 lead and Pettitte pitching tonight and Clemens in reserve for the seventh game if needed. The equally fractured fans of the Red Sox would be down by the state of the series, but more so since it is against the Yankees. These tired fans also fear and dread the worst. And who can blame them.

They still have to play the games and anything can happens but...a Cubs/Red Sox World Series would have been a celebration and it was a pleasant dream while it lasted.

Three things seemed spectacularly clear from watching the Red Sox tie their series with the Yankees at two games a piece. The first is that the Yankees have a terrible plan or no plan when it comes to facing Tim Wakefield. Knuckleballs are very difficult to hit, but if you wait back long enough and react to the ball at the last moment depending on which side of the plate the pitch goes to, you should be able to adjust.

The Yankees only want to swing from their heels against Wakefield and pull every pitch no matter if the pitch is outside or in. Since the pitch is so slow, you have plenty of time to react at the last moment and drive the ball to the opposite field or up the middle. If the pitch is inside, it's slow enough to move the hips out of the way and jack the ball. But the Yankees could have batted for thirty innings against Wakefield and not figured out how to get the job done. In fact, they are half way there as Wakefield has now pitched 15 innings and allowed only a run. A big swing must be started early and you cannot start early against a knuckleball.

The second thing that is clear is that Mussina cannot or does not rise to the occasion on big games. He has now lost three games in the post-season...all the games the Yankees have lost. Sure, he only gave up three runs. But in the playoffs, you have to step it up and hold the other team scoreless. Mussina continually kept the ball up and he is very hittable when he does that.

I totally disagreed with the decision to start Mussina. The Yankees have had a consistent rotation since the beginning of the season and it was David Wells' turn to pitch. Wells would have been a good start because even if he lost, you have Mussina, Pettitte and Clemens for the last three games. Not only that, but Wells always comes up big in big games.

The last glaring truth is that if I were an opposing pitcher, I would never throw anything to Alfonso Soriano other than a slider low and outside (off the plate). Soriano simply cannot lay off that pitch and at least one hundred of his strikeouts this season. And I would throw that pitch every at bat until he has clearly proven that he can lay off of it.


The Red Sox have one more game at Fenway and if they win the next one, it will be nearly impossible for the Yankees to come back. I would feel that statement was more possible if Garciaparra would only get a hit.

For at least one game, the Florida Marlins showed why they made it all the way to the National League Championship Series. Twenty-three year old Josh Beckett threw the best game of this year's playoffs. Mike Lowell, only twenty-nine years old himself, hit a two run homer, his second of the series and his second game winning hit. Twenty year old Miguel Cabrera went one for two and is batting .353 for the series. He also played right field flawlessly. And veterans, Jeff Conine and team leader, Ivan Rodriguez, hit solo homers.

The Florida win staves off elimination and sends the series back to Chicago. Watching the Marlins today, one hopes that Marlin ownership can keep this team together as they will be a good team for years to come. Signing Rodriguez will be critical.

There was only one negative to the Marlin win and that was Beckett's post game reaction to Sammy Sosa's irritation at being pitched up high and inside. Beckett was quoted as saying: "He over reacted a lot. I don't know if he was trying to pull a Boston Red Sox-Yankee thing...It was pretty ignorant. I'm not trying to hit him.''

The comment was insensitive to the fact that Sammy Sosa, one of the greatest sluggers of all time, has been beaned twice this year. Sosa may have over reacted, but Beckett shouldn't have been so disrespectful.

The game was a wonderful showcase for the Florida Marlins and a tribute to their season and their future. The win also postponed elimination. But any hopes the Marlins have for coming all the way back for this series to continue are undone by two words: "Prior" and "Wood".

Whew! What a day. What a fiasco. The boxscore says that the Yankees beat the Red Sox 4-3 and that Clemens got the win and Martinez got the loss. Too bad the facts aren't that simple.

In what became an embarrassment for baseball, the game became surreal as a beanball by Martinez set the stage for one of the ugliest baseball games in history. My respect level for Martinez plummeted as it seemed that he blew his cool when confronted with the fact that he could not dominate a game. His days of domination are over as he can no longer throw 94 MPH to go along with his pitching skill and guile.

The loss of Pedro's fastball has to gnaw away at him. And when the Yankees jump on him for four runs in a critical game that the world still expects him to dominate, his reaction was to throw at someone's ear. Very uncool.

In year's past, Pedro was an absolute. There was no doubt that he would bury you with a combination of Greg Maddux-like pitching skill combined with a power fastball that ranged from 94 to 98 MPH. He still has the pitching skill which is why his record during the regular season was 14-4. He also kept his ERA down. The difference shows up in the big games.

Against Oakland in the division series, Pedro didn't dominate. Today he was pushed around by the Yankees. His answer was to head hunt. A stunt you'd expect from lesser mortals.

This incident came a month after hurting Soriano and Jeter in what was known as a deliberate act in the Yankees last Boston series of the regular season. Don Zimmer, the little pepper-pot who has adopted Jeter and Soriano, took exception and during the bench clearing after the stupid, childish reaction of Manny Ramirez to a high pitch (but not inside) and went at Pedro. Pedro in what appears to be a defensive move grabbed Zimmer by the head and threw him to the ground. Zimmer is way beyond the age of being able to hurt anyone. So though I understand Pedro's defensive reaction, a cooler head would have just fended Zimmer off until security or another player separated the two.

Harold Reynolds of ESPN really did a good job at putting into perspective how Pedro's beanball hurt his own offense and it clearly showed with how Ramirez was buckling every time Clemens pitched. So it was no surprise that a high pitch that wasn't even close to being inside (a fact verified by Manny's own manager) set Ramirez into such a defensive posture that he then did a foolish act to cause the bench clearing incident. When players perform acts out of fear, they are on new ground and that ground is not very pretty.

And as if that wasn't embarrassing enough for baseball, an incident happened in the Yankee dugout in the eighth inning where a Boston grounds keeper somehow got in an altercation with Yankee pitchers in the bullpen. Somehow Karim Garcia, the man Pedro plunked, ran back to assist the bullpen and became part of that melee. Who knows what an investigation of that incident will bring.

But the boxscore does tell the final story. Clemens adds a win to his impressive career statistics and wins his last game at Fenway. Pedro loses. Rivera, the best reliever in history got the two inning save and the Yankees go up 2-1 in the series. I just wish the facts were that simple. Ugh!


I had to feel terrible for wildness that Dontrelle Willis had tonight in his game with the Cubs. It's such a shame that a great rookie year will be marred by the memory everyone will have for his last outing of the year in which he gave up six earned runs that included five walks in two plus innings. It was very sad to watch.

Don't get me wrong, I would be happy with either the Cubs or the Marlins in the World Series as both were remarkable stories this year and both became the Cinderella teams that lit up this season as the best one ever. But you'd like to see both Cinderellas play well in the series and the Marlins have not played well. It looks like the Cubs are going to the World Series.

The Yankees had their money men on the field tonight and the money men did what is expected: Win the big game.

The Yankees would have been in serious trouble if they had lost tonight's game after losing last night to Wakefield and the Red Sox. Going back to Boston for three games starting with Pedro and being down 2-0 in the series would have been a real hole. But the money men came through.

Money men could speak of the millions that Pettitte, Williams, Jeter, Giambi, Contreras and Rivera are making. But money men in this context means the horses that give you a win when a win is critical. Pettitte has always been especially miraculous when the Yankees are behind the eight ball. That distinction goes all the way back to the Braves series of 1996 when the Yankees were down three games to one and Pettitte beat the Braves' ace to prolong the series that the Yankees eventually won.

Tonight, Pettitte gutted out the first two innings when he only gave up one run on six hits. Once through those innings, and thanks to a Nick Johnson homer, Pettitte got into a grove and coasted to the seventh.

Money men also includes Bernie Williams who always seems to get a big RBI when the Yankees need one. His single to drive in Jeter gave the Yankees a 3-1 lead which was psychologically much more comfortable than a 2-1 lead. Williams and Jeter always find a way to get it done.

Money men meant Jose Contreras who pitched the Yankees out of a jam in the seventh by inducing Nomar Garciaparra to pop up with runners in scoring position. Contreras knows what it is to pitch in big games as he brought Cuba victory all those years in amateur baseball. He was nearly unhittable tonight and really for the second night in a row.

And of course, money men is personified in Mariano Rivera, who does indeed look like he is back in the late 90's and unhittable. His rediscovery of the strikeout high in the zone after getting ahead of batters resulted in two strikeouts in the last inning.


So now the series goes back to Boston. No matter how much a Fan I am of Roger Clemens, the advantage goes to Pedro Martinez in their head to head matchup. The Red Sox will need to get Roger to throw strikes and elevate his pitch count to get Clemens in trouble by the fifth or sixth inning.

Boston hits Clemens well, especially Trot Nixon, who has nailed Clemens on a couple of occasions, most notably in the famous Clemens-Pedro matchup a couple of years ago when the two pitched nine scoreless innings each only to see Trot Nixon hit the game winning homer in the top of the tenth off of Roger.

The Cubs jumped all over Brad (bad) Penny, Nate Bump (and runs) and Rick Helling tonight to score twelve runs and Mark Prior pitched well enough on an empty tank to even the NLCS at one game a piece. The series is now a five game series with three of those games featuring Mark Prior and Kerry Wood. The Marlins are in good shape and bad shape all at the same time.

An extended series works in the favor of the Cubs who have home field advantage and two dominant pitchers. The Diamondbacks showed two years ago how two dominant pitchers can win you a series. The Marlins have to have that cold chill when considering the situation. Yet, at the same time, every road team hopes to split the games in the other team's ballpark.

Another concern for the Marlins is the sudden offensive juggernaut of the Cubs offense. The Cubs only averaged four runs a game all year. The first two games featured twenty runs scored for the Cubbies. A Florida pitcher has to plug the dyke and give the Florida pitching staff some confidence.

And one more concern for the Marlins--as if I haven't pointed out enough already--is that Sammy Sosa has awoken from his slumber and has hit two homers in two days. His 495 shot to centerfield tonight sealed the game and electrified the fans and his teammates. Sosa will feed off of that and should stay hot the rest of the series.


Meanwhile, the Red Sox took it to the Yankees tonight in the first game of their series. Wakefield danced through six innings and the Yankees managed only three hits the whole night. Their offensive effort was reminiscent of their first game against the Twins. The offense seemed okay after that, but time will tell in this series.

To have someone other than Martinez or Lowe win a game had to be a big lift to the Bosox. They also got a lift by some great relief pitching.

On the other side of the field, the Yankees have to be concerned about Mussina's second bad performance in the post season. Mussina's post season ERA is 4.97. Not good.

Today inched forward the hopes of all who dreamed about a Cubs/Red Sox World Series.

Mike Lowell is a pretty good insurance policy sitting on your bench. Having the Marlins leading homerun hitter available for extra inning pinch hitting duty is like trumping an ace with your Rook card. His homer in the top of the eleventh has put the Marlins on top of what has been an extremely good game.

Sammy Sosa put the game into extra innings with a monster, two-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth. But neither team could score until the eleventh when Lowell came up against Antonio Alfonseca. The Marlins may not be done as they have runners on first and second with one out.

The Marlins had to feel good to see Antonio Alfonseca on the mound. After all, Alfonseca gave up 117 baserunners in 66.1 innings of pitching this year. You would almost need all six of his fingers on one of his hands to represent his ERA. In other words, running Antonio Alfonseca out there is like throwing up the white flag. Now it's bases loaded with one out. Ugh! He's awful. A line drive...caught! Double-play! Cubs fans are thankful for atom balls.


While I wait for the bottom of the eleventh, I'll tackle the Red Sox/Yankee series:
In the Yankee's favor:
- More rested.
- Their starters are in place and not overworked.
- Relief pitching is rested.
- They have had very timely hitting and look like they are brimming with quiet confidence.

In the Red Sox' favor:
- More of an emotional team that is tight as a unit.
- Two great pitchers that can win at least three games in the series.
- The best hitting in baseball with no fear of the Yankee starters.

I really don't know how this series will play out. I do know the fans in both parks will be rocking the house.

The Florida Marlins have won game one. This is going to be a great series.

Oh man! The Fan is near hyperventilation. Those Red Sox never do it the easy way. First they are down to the A's 1-0 and Zito looks absolutely unhittable. Then Varitek hits a homer to tie the game. Manny Ramirez then hits a three run homer for his first RBI of the series. The Red Sox squander several more rallies and the A's close it to 4-3. Now it's the last of the ninth and the Red Sox Nation have to deal with Scott Williamson closing the game. Scott Williamson??

Williamson hadn't saved a game for the Red Sox all year. Williamson has only 54 saves in his career. Williamson's ERA for the Red Sox was 6.20. And he's closing the game? So the Red Sox Nation starts sweating. Williamson's first three pitches aren't close--all high. After a strike, he walks the first batter of the inning. "Okay," says the Nation, "Here we go."

Williamson then looks worse on the second batter and now it's first and second and no outs. Grady Little then does the smartest thing he's done all year. He brought in Derek Lowe. Three years ago, Lowe saved over forty games for the Sox. Since then, Lowe's won 38 starts in his two years as a starter. "Okay," says the Nation, "That's better." Was it ever!

But it wasn't easy. Lowe's first batter bunted and got the runners over. Now it's second and third with one out. Yeesh. Do you walk the next guy? Nope. Pitch to him with the infield in. Oh no! Thoughts of Luis Gonzalez come to mind with the Yankee infield drawn in. Bloop. Series over. "Okay," says Red Sox Nation, "Here comes the heartbreak."

But the heartbreak didn't come for the Red Sox. On a 2-2 count, Lowe threw a Greg Maddux type fastball that crashed into the inside corner. Two outs. But it still doesn't come easy as Lowe walked the next batter. Bases loaded, two out. "Okay," says Red Sox Nation, "I'm still hoping but I know I'm going to get crushed again."

Lowe didn't fool around with Terrence Long. First pitch strike. Second pitch ball down low. Third pitch fouled off. Fourth pitch...another Maddux-like inside corner job and the game is over. "Okay," says Red Sox Nation, "It really happened."

You can't take away from the Red Sox what they accomplished. To be two games down and facing elimination for three straight games, and then to win three is remarkable. But just as remarkable is the Oakland streak of the last four post seasons. This loss was their ninth straight loss when trying to close out a post season series. The Red Sox Nation can no longer feel the most abused. Neither can the Cubs fans. The Oakland fans have to be the most disheartened of them all.

So now the Red Sox will travel to New York for the series everyone wanted. The Red Sox against the Yankees. And it doesn't matter what happens. The Red Sox have an a fairy tale season and have been more fun to watch than any team of them all.

"Okay," says the Red Sox Nation, "I bet we lose to the Yankees."

With the exception of the Yankees' workman-like dissection of the Twins, the division playoff series has been as exciting and unpredictable as the regular season. As stated many times before, unless you are a Braves, Giants or Twins fan, this has been the best season ever.

What a day! It started with an exciting come from behind win from the Red Sox to tie their series with Oakland after being down two games to none. The A's were five outs from moving on to the next series. But first David Ortiz, who was oh for the series, got his latest big hit of the season to put the Sox ahead. Scott Williamson held the lead and now they head back to Oakland and the pressure is all on the A's.

The series will boil down to Barry Zito against Pedro Martinez. You can't get a better pitching matchup than that.

Following the Red Sox win was the final board on the Twins' coffin as they had no chance against David Wells and the Yankees. A year ago, the Yankee starters had an ERA over ten in a disastrous series against eventual Series winner, Anaheim Angels. This year, Mussina was fine with a 3-1 loss. Pettitte was remarkable in the second game. Clemens was not to be denied in game three and Wells gave up only one run in the clincher.

If the Yankees continue to pitch like that, there is no chance for any of their opponents--especially when you add in four unhittable innings from Mariano Rivera. I continue to believe that the Yankees match up better against Boston than they do Oakland. But Boston has proved that good pitching will stop Oakland and now that Hudson is hurt to go along with Mulder, Oakland's situation gets grimmer.

And then tonight, in one of the most remarkable achievements of the year, the Chicago Cubs beat the dominant Braves to again send the Braves home early in the post-season. It's unthinkable to believe that this has happened. A year ago, the Cubs lost 95 games. They had not won a post season series since 1908. And here they go out and beat the highly favored Atlanta Braves. Amazing.

Mark Prior and Kerry Wood have arrived as the most dominant duo in baseball. It's almost guaranteed that they will win two games in every series the Cubs play for the rest of the year. Wood was unhittable on only three days rest to win his second game of the series.

The Cubs won! Can you believe it!? A Cubs/Marlins NLCS! You can't beat that for fun to think about.

It really is a shame that the unbelievable run of the Braves will always be remembered for their post-season failures. This has been a team for the ages but they just couldn't seem to get it done in the playoffs. There will always be two statements concerning the team: "They won their division twelve years in a row." And: "They only won the World Championship once." I predict that this was their last hurrah and they don't even make the playoffs next year.

And now we wait for the Red Sox and Oakland Athletics to see who will complete the winning foursome that continues on to the quest for the World Championship.

I distinctly remember when Ivan Rodriguez signed with the Florida Marlins. His signing seemed odd at the time and my feeling was that it was strange that Rodriguez didn't sign for a contender. Perhaps Rodriguez was more prophetic than any of us were.

Today, Rodriguez drove in all four runs of an eleven inning marathon that featured a comeback rally from a run down after the Giants scored a run in the top of the eleventh. Rodriguez base hit was even more clutch than normal.

The Marlins had loaded the bases with one out and Luis Castillo at the plate. Castillo is one of the best hitters in baseball at putting the ball in play and there was a great chance that he could drive in at least a run with a fly ball to tie the game. True to form, Castillo sent a bullet on the ground right up the middle. Tim Worrell had fallen off to the third base side of the mound but made an unbelievable leap back to stab the ball and get Conine at the plate.

A play like that could deflate a lot of teams and a lot of batter. But not Rodriguez. He lined a single to right and just like that, the Marlins have the Giants on the ropes and need only to win one more game to go on to the NLCS.


One observation made before this series was that, except for Bonds, this Giant club was not a good hitting club. That observation proved true today as the Giants could not plate a run for six straight innings that they had a runner in scoring position. Their total of eighteen runners left on base in the game set a new record.


It is inconcievable that Jose Cruz dropped a routine fly ball to start the Marlins rally. His drop gave fodder to all little league coaches in the world to insist that all pop ups be caught with two hands. Cruz is a very good fielder and for that to happen in such a big game is mystifying.

Yesterday, the Fan questioned Dusty Baker's choices that delivered the game to the Braves. Last night, Grady Little, who has faced over-managing charges here before, made a major mistake of lifting Byung-Hyun Kim with two out in the ninth inning with the Red Sox holding on to a slim one run lead. The decision to bring in Alan Embree led to a single to tie the game and ultimately to an extra inning loss. So instead of the series heading back to Boston with the Red Sox tied in the series 1-1, they go back with down in a bad hole 2-0.

Granted, Kim, as he is prone to do, inexplicably hit a batter and then walked the next batter. What matchup would you rather have: Kim, you're closer with two outs or journeyman, Alan Embree, with his 4.55 ERA? Kim is erratic, especially with left-handed batters. But I would have rather taken my chances with him than Embree.

In either case, whether you make Embree the goat, the manager or Kim, the Red Sox lost a major opportunity to set the tone for the series. Instead, they need a miracle. And it's really too bad as the Red Sox are the feel good team of the year and really had a shot at beating this team. Well...miracles have happened before.


It seemed early in the second game of the Yankees/Twins series that the Yankees were playing extremely tight. The faces of Nick Johnson and Aaron Boone. But leave it to Alfonso Soriano, who doesn't have a tight bone in his body to put the Yankees on top for good with a big hit. Several weird happenings later, the Yankees were up 4-1 and went on to tie the series one game a piece.

Clearly, the post game experience of Andy Pettitte came through tonight as he had a tremendous game and Mariano Rivera looked like the post-season Rivera of old and was unhittable. The win was huge for the Yankees to stay in the series. But the now travel to the dangerous baggy dome for two games and the Yankees must win one game there thanks to their opening loss to the Twins Tuesday night.

Clemens finished the season very strong and will go for another post-season win at the dome. The Twins play with a lot of confidence there and have a great chance to take the series if they get two good pitching performances.


For the record, the Fan is not a favor of the opening playoff series being only five games. Five games gives a great team like the Red Sox only one game to play with when they are down two games to none. A longer series allows more time for each team to show their true character, their strengths and weaknesses. A five game series means that one team can win on a fluke.

There is much to be said for a short series if it stays close and goes back and forth. That is the case for three out of the four series. It is the series when one team takes the first two that makes it nearly impossible to for the team that is down to get anything accomplished. A team like the Oakland A's, with three former Cy Young award winners are not going to lose three games in a row.

I still don't believe that either the Twins or the Yankees can beat the A's. Only Boston had the kind of team to do it. But miracles don't happen that often.

It's amazing how many times good managers over-manage in tight games. The Fan has pointed out several times during the season when Joe Torre cost the Yankees a game with poor choices. Tonight was Dusty Baker's turn to lose the game for the Cubs who had a solid opportunity to put the Braves on the ropes.

Baker's first mistake was to bring in one of his least effective relievers (Veres) into a tie game. Veres got old man, Julio Franco to ground out and then got to 0-2 on Castillo. Veres did not trust his stuff and went from 0-2 to walking Castillo. That brought Smoltz up and he was able to get the sacrifice bunt down with two strikes. Here is where Baker made his second mistake.

Rafael Furcal was the batter and Baker decided to walk Furcal to get to Mark DeRosa. Why would you put an extra runner on base in a tie game? I can see it if Sheffield was up, but not Furcal. After making the mistake of pitching Veres in the first place, Baker elected to walk Furcal instead of the obvious move of bringing in a lefty to pitch to Furcal.

Sure, Furcal is a switch hitter, but he is much less effective batting right handed. Pitch to Furcal and you have a good chance of getting him out with Remlinger. And then unbelievably, Baker left Veres in the game to pitch to DeRosa. DeRosa is not a good hitter and you are better off bringing in someone with good stuff and not the junk of Veres which gives a poor hitter plenty of time to get the hit. Of course, he got the hit and the game is over.

If you can get out of that inning still tied, then Smoltz is only going to pitch one more inning and then you can get into the soft side of the Atlanta bullpen. Bad managing loses ball games.

And how many times do you see a walk lead to a run. Hey, if you are beat by a strike, tip your cap. But if you are beat by not even having a chance to get the guy out, bend over, because it's going to kick you in the cabuckus.


But how about those Marlins! They were down in their game 4-1 and facing a 2-0 series deficit against the previous National League champs. But the Marlins came back and pulled away for a 9-5 victory.

Now the series goes back to Florida with Redmon pitching and it's the Giants who are in trouble. Jack McKean is a brilliant game manager. I've watched him all year and he manages a game better than anyone in baseball.


The Red Sox have a 1-0 lead early against Oakland. Pedro is pitching for the Red Sox. Game over? Could be.

It's amazing how much more tension is involved in a playoff game. The Fan has watched thousands of baseball games over the course of forty years, but there is something about a playoff game that makes the stomach tight and breathing shallow. Right now the Braves are threatening with the bases loaded and the Cubs up 4-1. Oops...make that 4-2 as the Braves scored on a ground out where the umpire blew the call at first base, costing the Cubs a run.

Now there is no surprise there. Bruce Froeming, umpiring behind home plate, has called at least 15 pitches off the plate by inches as strikes. It's so disheartening that we can't even get good umpiring in the playoffs.

It's been a tense day as this is the third playoff game today. The Giants won a nail-biter against the Marlins who couldn't get close to a run against the Giants' ace.

Earlier, the Twins beat the Yankees 3-1 as the Yankees couldn't score off of three Twins pitchers.

It's going to be a wild ride, baseball fans. So hold on to your seats.

Ack! Bases loaded for the Braves again. Looks like they will probably pull it out. We'll know in a minute...

The regular season just ended and that usually means a rash of managers get fired. The first two casualties happened today. The Chicago White Sox and the Baltimore Orioles fired their managers. The Fan expected one of those decisions but not the other.

There was an obvious flaw in the makeup of the Chicago White Sox. Their sub-standard play early and the way the team tanked at the end showed a fundamental lack of character. Ultimately, Jerry Manual was the fall guy for that lack of character. It's difficult to say if that blame is placed in the correct pigeon hole. The manager is ultimately responsible for the outcome and the White Sox had some of the best talent in the league and couldn't get it done.

The question remains if anyone could have motivated that team and unless the makeup of the team is changed, the same problems may exist next year as well. The easy finger to point is toward Frank Thomas. David Wells caught a lot of flack two years ago when he pointed fingers at Thomas when it was later determined that Thomas had a serious injury.

Let's concede that Wells opens his mouth far too often. But the man has been on championship teams. Wells might have picked the wrong time to point fingers at Thomas, but his overall assessment may have been correct too. And what Wells said has been rumored before. There is no way to definitively say that Thomas is the problem in Chicago, but he may be one. He is certainly not the only one.

Bertolo Colon has the best stuff of any starting pitcher in the American League. Yet he only 15-13 this year with an ERA of 3.87. While I cringe at pointing this out, the pitcher is definitely overweight and seems to be able to turn it on or off at will. Colon has Roger Clemens stuff but not Clemens' heart.

Any regular reader here will already know the Fan's opinion of Carl Everett so we won't bother to tread that water again, but what is the true story behind Roberto Alomar? For nine out of ten years between 1992 and 2001, Alomar batted over .300. He batted .266 for the Mets last year and started at .262 this year for the Mets and finished at .253 for the White Sox.

But his batting isn't the only story. Playing second base, Alomar always had over 425 assists a year. Last year he had 349 and this year, 342 so he clearly isn't getting to as many balls. Has Alomar's skills eroded that much at 35 years of age, or has the fire gone out of his baseball heart?

These facts indicate that whomever succeeds Manual will inherit the same kinds of problems that Manual faced himself. Good luck!


What is more surprising is the firing of Mike Hargrove. The manager who was known as the "human rain delay" when he was a player seemed a good fit in Baltimore. The Orioles were at rock bottom when Hargrove started and the entire organization needed to be rebuilt. That is happening now but how can you blame the results of a bad organization on the manager who had to endure the results?

And what is sad is that the Orioles seemed to make strides this year. Usually when a manager gets the axe, his coaching staff will too and the batting methods instituted in Baltimore have made great strides. It's a shame that those strides may be sacrificed in what is probably a cost cutting move.

I agree with Hargrove when he said today: "There's no doubt in my mind the job we did this year was a good job,'' Hargrove said. "I think we were able to lay a foundation of winning players with winning attitudes.'' http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-orioles-hargrovefired&prov=ap&type=lgns

The Orioles finished tenth in the majors in batting and eighth in base hits. If Mora and Surhoff hadn't been hurt and Conine traded, this would have continued to be a pesky and difficult team to play. Hargrove did a good job with this club.


So who will replace these managers? Cito Gaston should be considered for one of the positions. How could a man who won back to back World Series still be unemployed?


The Red Sox match up better against the Oakland A's than any team in the American League because their strong right-hand batters offset the A's lefty starters. Every other team has strong lefty batters that can be negated by the A's big lefties. The Red Sox have a good shot at beating Oakland whose team batting is still very suspect. Red Sox take the series 3-1. Nomar Garciaparra wins MVP.

I don't see the Yankees losing to the Twins. The Yankees have always hit Radke well and I'll take Messina, Clemens and Pettitte against the Twins starting three. The Yankees play small ball as well as the Twins so the crazy turf won't be as much an advantage as it would have been against the White Sox. The Yankees in a sweep 3-0. Mariano Rivera wins MVP.

The Florida Marlins have a decent shot at defeating the Giants. The Giants do not have much hitting besides Bonds and the Marlins have the arms to shut the Giants down in a short series. I pick the Marlins in an upset 3-2. Miguel Cabrera wins MVP.

It's too bad the Cubs drew the Braves in the first series. Of all the teams in the NL playoffs, the Cubs probably match up worse than the others against the Braves. However, if the Cubs fireballers can get and stay hot, they can carry the series, but that's a big if. The Braves' pitching isn't what it once was, but they should still win the series, 3 games to 1. Giles will be the MVP.

Let us share a quiet moment as we put to rest one of the most exciting regular seasons in MLB history. We had great pennant races. We had record breaking performances. We had milestones reached. And we had it all available to us on television, internet and highlight shows. It was a great ride but it's not over yet. Now we look forward to what hopefully will be memory-making post season games that eventually lead to the big show itself. It's been fun MLB. Thanks for a labor free season. Now find a home for the Expos and give us umpiring befitting professional baseball and we'll be good.

The Fan wants to take a final look at his favorite boxscore players and what kind of seasons they put together:
- Nick Johnson. Johnson is the most important cog in the Yankee lineup. The Yankees were hot early, cooled off when he was injured, and then revived when he returned. He ended the season 0 for 13 and finished the season at his lowest season average of .284. But that isn't the story. The story is his 70 walks in only 95 games to give him an OBP of .422. Because of that, he scored sixty runs in those 95 games. When you have someone who can get on base like that from the second spot in the lineup, it makes all the other hitters better. His 14 homers and 47 RBI helped too.

- Rocco Baldelli. Baldelli finished the season with a .308 average his last seven games. His final season average of .289 was remarkably consistent. He had 185 hits of which 51 were for extra bases. Baldelli scored 89 runs and drove in 78. He also had 27 stolen bases. Baldelli will only get better as he learns to hit for more power and to be more selective at the plate. If he can improve on his paltry 30 walks, he will be as superstar. I rate him third in rookie of the year standings behind Matsui and Teixeira.

- Coco Crisp. Coco wilted at the end of the year as he went hitless in seven of his last ten games. But his first year in the majors showed enough promise to see what will happen. Crisp managed 414 at bats in just 98 games and batted .264. He scored 55 runs while only making one error in the outfield all season. It will be interesting to see where Crisp fits in the Indians' plans next year. You have to love the name.

- Hank Blalock. Blalock also faded at the end but still ended his second season (first as a starter) with a solid .300 average. His OBP was .350 and his slugging percentage was .522. All good numbers. Blalock had 65 extra base hits including 29 homers and drove in 90 runs. Blalock is going to be a star for a long time. He needs to cut down on his strikeouts and find a permanent slot in the lineup. I love his manager, but the man makes too many lineup changes.

- Mark Teixeira. Teixeira finished strong and in many ways, found more favorable lineup spots at the end of the season than Blalock. The Fan's Rookie of the Year finished with 26 homers and 84 RBI. He only batted .259 but his OBP was .331. This is going to be a star for years to come.

- Michael Young. The Texas Rangers' leadoff batter had a very good year. With 204 hits and 106 runs scored to go along with his 56 extra base hits and 72 RBI, Young really arrived as a player. He also had a great year in the field, making only 10 errors. Young will also be a superstar if he gets more patient at the plate and improves his 36 walks in 700 plate appearances. He can be a batting champion if he can do so.

The previous three boxscore players will form a great nucleus for the Rangers along with A-Rod and I believe this team will be a contender. My only question is why you would let Rafael Palmeiro go? He got his homers and drove in over 100 runs again. Why would you let him walk? Okay, let's continue:

- Miguel Cabrera. The twenty year old had a big impact in his first major league season as 36 of his 84 hits were for extra bases. His 62 RBI in 86 games were huge for the Marlins in their playoff run. He also had a great first year in the field as he made only three errors in left field, a foreign position for him and only one error in 32 games at third base. This kid is going to be a big star.

- Jose Reyes. Reyes unfortunately got hurt in his debut season, but the other twenty year old in the majors finished with a .307 average with 13 stolen bases. Reyes scored 47 runs in his 69 games and drove in 32. His fielding was acceptable and this is another future star.

- Pat Burrell. Oh well. Burrell never did put it together although his last twenty games were passable. At least he ended above the dreaded Mendoza Line. His final average of .209 is embarrassing. He did walk quite a bit and at least his OBP was over .300. The other positive is that 56 of his 109 hits were for extra bases. Hopefully Bowa will be fired and Burrell can get a coach that can figure out how to put him back on the star track he was on last year.

- Scott Podsednik. Podsednik became a late season favorite and became only the fourth rookie in MLB history to hit .300 (.314), steal 40 bases (43) and score a hundred runs (100 even). He also had a very respectable .379 OBP as a leadoff batter. This is another future star who has already arrived. My man, Dontrelle Willis and even Brandon Webb had great seasons, but Podsednik has to be the Rookie of the Year.

- Sean Burroughs. Burroughs had a solid, if unspectacular second season. He batted .286 with a .352 OBP. He has to improve his pop as his percentage of hits to extra base hits is not impressive. But you just get the feeling that he will get better and better.

They were fun to watch and there were many others like Sosa, Jeter, Sexson, Bonds, and many, many others who make following the boxscores such a joy. It was a great season and this post-season will be terrific too. The Fan's post-season analysis will be featured in tomorrow's post. See you then.

It was as good a day in MLB as a day can get in the regular season. Of course, Astros fans will disagree and who can blame them. But the Cubs won the pennant and Roger Clemens pitched his last regular season game and won his 310th game of his historic career. There is one more day in the regular season, but everything is settled now so let's reflect on the Cubs and Roger Clemens.

Let's start with the Cubs. The Cubs lost a lot of ballgames last year. If they didn't lose a hundred, they came close to it. And this year, they were in a dead heat with the Astros with three games to play. But the Cubs couldn't play the first of those three because of a rain out (boy, weren't the Cub fans happy about that!). If you have followed baseball as long as I have, you would know how hard it is to win two games of a double-header. But that's just what the Cubs did.

The Astros didn't have their best pitchers available for the games that were on the line (that's hard to figure) and lost two games to the pesky Brewers and it's over. The Cubs win the pennant. Somewhere, Harry Carey and Leo Durocher are smiling.

Sammy Sosa hit his fortieth homer in the second game. That gives both him and A-Rod six straight forty homer seasons. Of course, Sammy's included three years in the sixties! Sosa has played fourteen years now and has 1450 RBI. The 103 per season would be impressive enough, but Sammy has packed that into ten years as he wasn't a starter in four of his first five seasons. Consider Sosa's run of RBI from 1998 to 2001: 158, 141, 138 and 160. And now he's off to the playoffs. Good luck Cubs!


Roger Clemens pitched his last regular season game today and pitched six strong innings with only a run given up. The win gave the 41 year old 17 for the season (!) and 310 as his final career tally. The reaction he got from Yankee Stadium upon leaving the game was very touching and in a class act, Mike Hargrove and the entire Orioles bench were standing and clapping too.

I have tried in the past to put Clemens' career in perspective and here are some more numbers that may help. In MLB, a quality start is considered six or more innings and three or less runs. Clemens CAREER was a quality start as he averaged 7.01 innings per game and three runs a game.

Roger Clemens pitched thirteen seasons with more than 200 innings. Only eight of those seasons featured Clemens giving up more than 200 hits. In 18 years, Clemens never gave up more than a hundred earned runs in a season. In 18 seasons, Clemens only needed to intentionally walk 52 batters. Think about that one for a while.

Roger Clemens struck out more than three times as many batters as he walked in his career. And he averaged 8.6 strikeouts per nine innings lifetime. He had fifteen seasons where his winning percentage was over .600 and five where it was over .700 (two over .800!).

Roger Clemens was one of the best pitchers of all time. He isn't quite done yet. He has to win some playoff games before he quits.


Javy Lopez, the catcher for the Braves set a new Major League record for homers by a catcher when he hit is forty-second of the year today. He broke the record set by Randy Hundley. Forty-two homers for a catcher is unbelievable. What a great season.


Here are the Fan's post-season awards for the 2003 season:
- AL Cy Young - easy. Roy Halliday. Estaban Loiza had a terrific year, but he lost four in a row down the stretch when the White Sox needed the wins for the pennant drive. Andy Pettitte had a nice year but his ERA is too high for the award.

- NL Cy Young - also easy. Eric Gagne. I don't like the award to go to relief pitchers, but the man has been totally amazing.

- AL MVP - I have to go with David Ortiz. A-Rod and Delgado were the players of the year, but Ortiz win a lot of big games for the Red Sox and I can't see them where they are without him.

- NL MVP - Javy Lopez. His game calling and bat made a so-so Braves team special.

- AL Rookie of the Year - Mark Teixeira. Teixeira started slow but had a great second half with a lot of homers and RBI.

- NL Rookie of the Year - Mark Podsednik. The Brewers leadoff man stole the award from others (Webb, Willis).

- AL Manager of the Year - Everyone will say Tony Pena. But the Royals didn't get there. The Twins did and Rod Gardenshire gets my vote.

- NL Manager of the Year - Jack McKean. The Marlins were flipping in shallow water until McKean came along and finally got that "potential" word off of the young pitchers heads.

Before we get to the important stuff, the Fan has to get something off his chest. I have watched a ton of games this year and even more highlights. The lack of basic fundamentals in MLB is alarming. The players are the most talented, strongest, best conditioned athletes in the games history. Just don't ask one of them to bunt.

The latest manifestation of the degradation (two long words in one sentence!) of fundamentals (three) occurred in the second game of a Yankee double-header. I know that the Yankees have already clinched the division, but there is still the matter of home field advantage for having the best record. Here is what happened:

After winning the first game by a wide margin, giving Andy Pettitte his twenty-first win, the Yankees were in a nail-biter in the second game. Rookie pitcher, Jorge De Paula pitched no-hit ball for the first six innings of his first major league start. A single in the seventh off De Paula's glove cost him the no-hitter in the seventh. The suddenly lost Jeff Nelson then cost him the win with shoddy relief. The Yankees found themselves tied 2-2 as they batted in the bottom of the ninth.

Bernie Williams began the inning with a double. Rookie, Fernando Seguignol, then hit a little dribbler that couldn't be handled and it was first and second with no outs. All Karim Garcia had to do was move the runners to second and third and a fly ball would win the game. Garcia got the bunt sign and looked so foolish on his first two attempts that he had to swing away and did so for strike three. The Yankees were done in the inning and would lose the game in the tenth.

How can a twenty-eight year old Garcia grow up playing baseball his whole life and not know how to bunt? Phil Rizzuto had it right when he said there is to a bunt is to catch the ball with your bat. It's not a difficult thing to do. After all, every pitcher in the National League can do it. Heck, I can do it. But Garcia is not alone in the inability to lay the ball down.

And bunting isn't the only example of poor fundamentals. The Astros tonight had a golden opportunity to put pressure on the rained out Cubs. Instead they had a starting pitcher who couldn't throw strikes (only seven of his eighteen pitches were strikes) and the Astros made four errors and lost the game. Four errors!!

How many highlights to you see where outfielders are vaulting themselves in the air to throw the ball home in an attempt to prevent the run from scoring. That is terrible fundamentals. Where is Dwight Evans when we need him? To make a good throw from the outfield, you get behind the ball, take a step to plant and rifle the ball overhand on a low line drive. But instead, the current MLB outfielders end up on their bellies throwing up the lines or over everyone's head. Ugh!

How many players do you see rounding third to go home so wide that they are in danger of falling into the dugout? The Red Sox lost a big game the other day because their starting pitcher didn't cover first in time.

Obviously, MLB needs to start buying the instructional video you see on TV all the time about learning the fundamentals to the game. Perhaps with the emphasis on so many sports in youth, it is difficult to teach the fundamentals. Perhaps most youngsters see the long ball and focus on offense without learning the things we learned as kids on how to play the game.

But baseball isn't the only sport where sloppiness is rampant. Travel is a regular occurrence in the NBA as is palming. The fact that it's never called indicates just how rampant it is. And the NFL is no better. It seems that every play incurs a penalty. All this clumsy play is the reason why someone like Derek Jeter is extolled for his great fundamental base running and play. Twenty years ago, what Jeter does was the norm, not the exception.

I guess will talk tomorrow about the playoffs and the year Richie Sexson is having, or Bonds being two behind Mays or how the Phillies quit the season and how it showed tonight against the Braves. The flagrant rant of this Fan went longer than expected.

Oh no! The Fan had all his ducks in a row. The Red Sox won the wildcard. The Marlins swept the Phillies (a team I also love, but I can't stand Larry Bowa and he should be fired). The Yankees clinched. All the Fan needed was the Cubs. But they lost 9-6 to a team they had shut out two games in a row AND despite two homers by Sammy Sosa.

And of course the dratted Astros won (there is a lot of heart on that team) to force the NL Central Division into a tie with three games left. The loss gives the Fan a sinking feeling. The Cubs aren't going to make it. There will be no Cubs/Red Sox World Series. I'm a glass-half-empty kind of guy and I bet a lot of Cubs fans are too.


And to top even the playoff chase, Carlos Delgado hit four homeruns tonight in four consecutive at bats. The four homers in a game has only been accomplished fifteen times in the entire history of MLB. The feat is as rare as a pitching perfect game. Delgado now has 41 homers and (staggeringly enough) 141 RBI.


Congratulations to the Marlins and Red Sox for coming through when they were supposed to.

The Marlins! The Florida MARLINS! What an exciting development to see this young team--that has played all year to empty stands--come to the wire and, by force of will, take on the Phillies with the wildcard on the line and take two out of two. The Marlins are now three games up with four games to play. The MARLINS!

I discovered south Florida seven years ago and have returned for a couple of weeks every summer since then. That first year (1996), I went to a Marlins game with a friend. It was the first time that I had seen a MLB game in a park other than Yankee Stadium or Fenway. I remember the ballpark being cozy and friendly. The parking lot was very accessible right off the highway.

I kept score that day and taught a new friend how to do so as well. The Marlins were a decent team in the middle of the pack in their division with a .500 record. The team was a diversion for the locals as the area's hockey team made a run to the Stanley Cup that year and of course, the Dolphins were number one. After the day was over, the Marlins had another fan: After all, the game was on my birthday.

The Marlins beat the Cubs that day and the hero was a man named Jeff Conine, who hit the game winning homer. After asking around down there, I found out that Conine was a local hero who did a lot for the community and was loved by all. I became his fan as well.

Seven years later, the same Conine, after a side trip to Baltimore (where he was a good player), has killed the Phillies with great defense and timely homers. The Marlins...the last team anyone expected...are a game closer to the playoffs.


The only close race is the Cubs/Astros for the NL Central pennant. Both teams won today in impressive fashion. The Astros' Billy Wagner smoked a 100 MPH fastball past Barry Bonds to clinch the game. The Cubs got a big performance from Shawn Estes who enjoyed the Cubs six-run third inning to cruise to a victory. All the Cubs have to do is keep winning and their one game lead will hold up. I still dream of a Cubs/Red Sox World Series with one of those two teams having to break their eighty year droughts.

Sammy Sosa hit his 37th homer and knocked in his 98th run which are both amazing numbers considering where he was at the start of July. Sammy also got beaned tonight for the second time this season. Scary!

In past posts, the Fan has labeled Kerry Wood a .500 pitcher. And the claim wasn't incorrect. Despite the stuff, despite the hype, Wood was only a game over .500 last year and has hovered around .500 most of this year. But pennant races have a way of defining careers and Wood has defined himself as special.

Tonight, with the season on the line, with the Cubs in a dead heat with the Astros, Wood pitched lights out--seven innings, one hit and twelve strikeouts. The performance capped a spectacular September after a mediocre August. In the month of September, Wood's line looks like this:

36 innings, 22 hits, 5 runs, 9 walks and 47 strikeouts. That's a 1.25 ERA.

When the Cubs needed big performances coming down the stretch, Wood and Prior have been huge. The Cubbies are now a game up with five to play.

Dontrelle Willis pitched tonight for the Marlins against the Phillies as the Marlins tried to hold on to their slim one game wildcard lead. The highlights stated that he didn't have his best stuff. Indeed, when he left the game in the seventh inning, he was down 3-0 and compared to Kerry Wood, you could say that Willis didn't come through. But the key is that he held the Phillies to the three early runs and kept it there.

All you can ask of a pitcher is to keep your team in a big game and in this case, the Marlins asked a rookie to do so. And that's what Dontrelle Willis did. By doing so, he allowed Jeff Conine (welcome home, Jeff!) to come up with a big three run homer off of Phillies ace, Kevin Millwood and then Juan Pierre and Luis Castillo to dink the Phillies to their possible death. The Marlins are now two games up with five to play.


And in the league's most exciting finish, the never-say-die Boston Red Sox came back from the dead (a three run deficit with two outs in the ninth) as oft-maligned, Todd Walker, hit a two out, three run homer to tie the game. Team MVP, David Ortiz, then hit the game winner in the bottom of the tenth to ice the game.

The Red Sox are the most fun team to watch in baseball. I've never seen a team play harder together, root harder for each other and celebrate so exuberantly. These Sox deserve to win and if they make it to the World Series over my favorite Yankees, then I'll still smile and cheer them on. The Fan has been won over by this wonderful team.


And speaking of my favorite team, the Yankees put a five spot on the board in the top of the ninth that should clinch the game (it's currently a 7-0 game as Jose Contreras pitched another great game--or the White Sox rolled over - you make the call). The game was a tight one until Jason Giambi broke it open with a grand slam. Nick Johnson and Juan Rivera also homered in the game and Hideki Matsui drove in his 106th run. A win will clinch the division win for the Yankees.


We are one game closer to the resolution of the regular season and things couldn't be more exciting. The finish of the season has not disappointed what has been the most exciting season in this fan's lifetime.

The Florida Marlins and Boston Red Sox did what they had to do tonight. They both won their must win games tonight. The Marlins beat the Braves 6-3 behind Mark Redman. The Red Sox beat the Orioles behind a strong performance by Jeff Suppon. The Red Sox are in full control of the AL Wildcard Race while the Marlins head to their big series with the Phillies with a positive frame of mind after splitting their four game series with the Braves.

Mark Redman should be a serious candidate as the Marlins most valuable player. He has won big games all year including three wins over the Braves, three over the Phillies and two over Arizona. Add a win against the Expos, and Redman has won nine of his thirteen wins against the Marlins' direct competitors.

Derrek Lee and Miguel Cabrera had the big hits tonight as Lee drove in four and Cabrera, two. Cabrera now has 59 RBI in only 80 games. Double that amount in a full season and Cabrera would have 42 doubles, 24 homers and 114 RBI!

Jeff Suppon pitched six innings tonight and only gave up one run. He has gotten better and better with each Boston start and seems to be settling in now that he has exorcised his early Red Sox career memories.

Manny Ramirez, Todd Walker and David Ortiz were the Sox hitting stars. Walker seems to be back from a terrible slump and is hitting well lately. Ortiz should get MVP consideration as his 28 homers and 96 RBI in just 428 at bats. There is no way the Red Sox would be where they are without him.


How good must it have been for the Cubs tonight as they watched what was going on during their day off. The Astros just lost to the Giants and the Dodgers are losing big to San Diego. The Cubs are now a half a game behind the Astros without having to do anything but watch.

The Fan has been on record of not being a member of the Greg Maddux Fan Club. I have never liked him as he has always seemed like an arrogant SOB. But...I really am a fan of Roger Clemens...who is an arrogant SOB. I have scoffed and scorned when Maddux has given the home plate umpire an evil eye or worse. But...I have seen Clemens do the same thing. But like Clemens, Maddux is at the top of the heap of pitchers of this generation and possibly for all generations.

Compare the string of wins for the two pitchers:

Maddux - 18, 19, 15, 15, 20, 20, 16, 19, 15, 19, 18, 19, 19, 17, 16 and 15
Clemens - 24, 20, 18, 17, 21, 18, 18, 11, 9, 10, 10, 21, 20, 14, 13, 20, 13 and 16

Clemens has had more spectacular years while Maddux has been more consistent. Maddux didn't have to reinvent himself as many times as Clemens has since Maddux wasn't a power pitcher. Clemens put the ball in the zone and relied on his arm to win the battle. Maddux out-thought his opponents and lived on the corners.

Another big difference in their approach has been that Clemens is an emotional pitcher. His emotions fueled his will and sometimes got him into trouble. But it's always easier to identify with the emotional than it is to the tactical, stoic way Maddux has always gone about his business.

No, the Fan has never liked Greg Maddux, but he's been a helluva pitcher--one of the two best I've ever seen.

A week ago, several races in MLB were too close to call. Like political coverage, this news station reserved calling the "election" until all the precincts were closed. A week later, several of those races are all but decided and only two real races remain: The NL Wildcard and the NL Central Division. And the Cubs are in the thick of both of those races.

Remember Spahn and Sain and then pray for rain? With the Cubs it's: "Wood and Prior and then pray with the friar." When Prior and Wood pitch, there is a good chance the Cubs will do something positive in the race. When Zambrano pitches, there are good times and bad. When Clement pitches, there are too many bad for what is a great talent and arm.

But even with this mixture, the Cubs have inched closer to the leaders in both the wildcard and division. As the Phillies and Marlins spin around and lose big games, the Cubs have climbed up to a game within the Astros (who will not give in and win and win) and a game and a half behind in the wildcard.

The other races are all but over. The White Sox stunning and sudden collapse along with the Twins inspired play has insured the Twins a division title and will be a scary team for any playoff contender to play. The White Sox collapse has been so sudden that it is morbid. The game is over for them this season.

With six games to play, the valiant but out powered Mariners will not overtake the Red Sox as the wildcard team. Between Joel Pineiro's sudden struggles and Ichiro down to mortal earth, the Mariners will be out of the playoffs as the wildcard is out of reach and so is the division.

The Yankees kept it close for a while, but now will not let Boston even come close. I have to find the schedule for the playoffs depending on who the final teams are. The only known is that the Yankees can't play the Red Sox in the opening round of the playoffs. Who they play will depend on some final tie breaker type things.


And finally, three of MLB's best pitchers were on the mound tonight. Greg Maddux pitched only five innings, giving up only one hit, but that five inning stint earned him his fifteenth win. That is sixteen consecutive seasons that Maddux has done that, passing a record long held by Cy Young.

Pedro Martinez handcuffed the Indians for seven innings in a clutch performance that all but buries the Mariners. Martinez is now 14-4 for the year and has looked very strong in his last two outings and is setting up nicely for the playoff run.

And once again, hat's off Roger Clemens as he won his 309th game. Can he get to 310? Time will tell.

The Florida Marlins came back strong tonight after last nights drubbing at the hand of wildcard rivals, the Philadelphia Phillies. There was a log of commentary after last night's game on how that was such a devastating loss for the Marlins. The truth seems much different.

A come from behind win in the bottom of the ninth is a much harder pill to swallow than a blowout drubbing. After all, blowouts are common and it was one of those nights. Any player can forget those kinds of games. The bigger struggle was not the loss, but the wildcard lead shrinking from a game and a half to a game.

The Marlins answered that concern in a big way and in a way that they have answered every challenge so far this season. The team that turned around as soon as Jack McKean became the manager, came back and beat the Phillies 11-4. The game wasn't as much of a blowout as it seemed.

Early in the game, both starting pitchers were shaky and the game was close. The difference was the relief pitching. Mike Redman gave up four runs in five innings but was good enough to keep the Marlins in the game. Chad Fox, who was run out of Boston, pitched two critical scoreless innings. Urbina, another Red Sox castoff, pitched a scoreless inning and then the Marlins scored four in the top of the ninth to break the game open. Neal Bump finished up, giving the Marlins four scoreless innings of relief.

Fox was the focal point of the Red Sox experiment with a bullpen by committee. After several bad blown saves and cascades of boos, the Red Sox reworked their entire bullpen. Fox landed in South Florida and has pitched in fourteen games for the Marlins and has a 2-0 record with 21 strikeouts in 17 plus innings. His ERA with Florida is 2.55 and his base runners per inning is a very good 1.17. With the Red Sox, that figure was 2.00.

Urbina has been spectacular with two wins against no losses. He also has two saves and his ERA with Florida is 1.15! Put Urbina together with Fox and you have two pitchers who are performing better than any Boston reliever.

The Marlins are a wonderful story. But so are the Cubs. The Cubs lost 95 games last year. After a big performance by Mark Prior last night, Kerry Wood had his own dominating performance. If the Rockies hold on to their 5-3 lead against the Astros, the Cubs could be only down a half a game.

On the other end is the Kansas City Royals. The Royals lost to the Indians, 9-1. With that loss, it's time to count the Royals out. If the two teams ahead of the Royals finish the last twelve games at 6-6, the Royals would have to win 10 of their last 12 just to tie. The Royals were a great story all year. But they ran out of steam and the fat lady is getting ready to sing.

What a great season!

Twelve games left. Twelve games to decide two division champions and two wildcard teams. As the most exciting season in recent baseball history winds down, we are no closer to knowing what is going to happen than we were a month ago.

The Cubs are starting to come on and have a great schedule down the stretch. Prior was amazing tonight. The only trouble is that the Astros are playing just as well and won big against the Rockies. Down a game and a half, the Cubs finish with the Mets, Pirates and Reds--all teams they should beat.

The Astros have one more series at St. Louis, a series with the Giants and finish the series with Milwaukee. That schedule seems to favor the Cubs. But if things stay as they are, the best team in the division (the Cubs) might not win the division.

Meanwhile, the Phillies and Marlins have a big series with the wildcard on the line. The Marlins had a game and a half lead but were blown up by the Phillies today, 14-4. The Marlins and Phillies play each other six times between now and the end and each team has to play a series against Atlanta.

That kind of schedule for the two teams means that the Dodgers still have a chance though they play the Diamondbacks and Giants in the stretch. They are losing so far tonight to those Diamondbacks and may not gain any ground.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox beat off a scrappy Devil Rays team as they barely held on to win, 3-2. Pedro went all the way for the win. The question remains if Pedro has to work this hard down the stretch, will he have anything left for the playoffs?

The Mariners are fading at a bad time and it's hard to believe that Ichiro is only batting .309. His average has gone down for the third straight year and his OBP is thirty-eight points behind last year. A telling statistic is that he has batted over six hundred times and only has 33 walks. There is much speculation as to whether he wears down over a MLB season that is much longer than the Japanese leagues.

The Twins have the best record in baseball since the AllStar break and the White Sox are right behind them. The Twins won their head to head battle tonight and leaped frogged to the top of the division. The Royals started winning again to stay three and a half back but it is unrealistic for them to catch not just one top team, but two.

And finally, you know the Fan has to finish this post by giving it up to Roger Clemens as he won his fifteenth game tonight. The win was the 308th of his career. The Yankees are peaking at the right time which seems to coincide with the re-emergence of Soriano at the top of the lineup.

For the first time in quite a while, most of the contenders are not playing in series against other contenders. And with that the case, all of them have won tonight or are winning...except one.

The Red Sox had a big game offensively (no surprise there) and a terrific pitching performance by Derek Lowe to go two and a half games up on the Seattle Mariners for the wildcard as the Mariners lost to the Texas Rangers. The Red Sox now have four players over ninety RBI and are closing in on the all time extra base hit record.

The Rangers featured a homer by Rafael Palmeiro (his 35th to go with 105 RBI) and a homer, double and four RBI from rookie, Mark Teixera. Francisco Cordero came in for the Rangers in the ninth and struck out the side (now THAT'S impressive) for his fourteen save.

Despite the good performance by Texas, these are games the Mariners have to win. Two and a half games out with only thirteen to play is a tough way to go.

The Cubs and Cardinals both won tonight to pick up a half a game each on the idle Astros. Of course, at five games out, with thirteen to play, the Cardinals have to face the fact that they are out of it.

Kansas City and Minnesota both picked up a half game on the White Sox, who were idle tonight. The Twins put up an eight spot in their game tonight to come from behind to win that game. Good relief pitching then took over as (the Ancient), Orosco, Rincon and Pulido kept the Twins in the game so that they could come back.

The Yankees clobbered the falling Orioles 13-1 as the Yankees got a four for five performance from Soriano including two homers. If this is a sign that Soriano is going to break out of his funk, then the sign is loud and clear.

The Yankees also had some milestones as Hideki Matsui reached 100 RBI tonight as did Jason Giambi. Posada had several RBI tonight to bring his RBI total to 95.

Thirteen games left...

On a day where the Cubs lost to fall two behind the Astros (Ugh!) and the Red Sox lost to the White Sox (Ugh!). And also on the same day, the Marlins lose a game of their National League wildcard lead (Ugh!), the Fan needs a night off.

Before I go, I have to take one more opportunity to stress how badly the MLB umpires are acting in this baseball season. As far as I can see, they are out of control. Today was just one more example as Barry Bonds, the World's best baseball player, and the reason forty-thousand fans turned out and paid thirty dollars a ticket, got thrown out of the game in the first inning without uttering one swear word.

If the man who just tied Babe Ruth in career walks doesn't know the strike zone, who does? If the same man questions the umpire about that same strike zone without swearing or showing the umpire up, then there is no reason to ever get thrown out of the game.

The umpires are out of control and I've seen at least five games in the last two weeks where contending teams lost one of their best players to an over-zealous, out of control umpire. The situation is ridiculous and baseball is suffering the consequences.