Bizarro Pinstripes

Yanks 7, Twins 6, on a home run in the top of the 12th by... Alex Rodriguez? After Mariano Rivera blew a save opportunity for the first time all year, costing the Yanks a 6-3 lead in the bottom of the 8th?

"The third baseman," Mr. Noclutch, did his job last night... and Mariano didn't? Welcome to Bizarro Pinstripes.

Tonight's pitchers: Darrell Rasner against Kevin Slowey. "Slowey"? Not a good name for a pitcher. He's 8-8 for a good team, ERA 4.07. In the Metrodome, that's not bad, and he doesn't walk a lot of guys. Maybe that means he throws strikes. Time to get in some good hacks. And his last start against the Yanks wasn't good: He didn't get out of the 6th.

But 6 or even 7 innings from Rasner might not be enough, especially with the bullpen so worn out. This may have to be a slugfest. Hopefully not the kind the Idiots and the Strangers played last night. (Don't look at me like that: The Red Sox named themselves "The Idiots.")

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I can't believe the Red Sox blew a 10-0 lead... and then the Rangers blew a 17-16 lead? As a Devils fan, I should've known you can never trust a team called the Rangers. And, as Yankee broadcaster John Sterling is fond of saying, "You just can't predict baseball."

Randy Johnson is now 6 wins away from the 300 Club. Why couldn't he have pitched like that in the 2005 and '06 ALDS? OK, sure, the Yanks probably still would have lost the '05 ALCS -- the White Sox did have a "team of destiny" thing going on. But if the Big Choking Unit had simply pitched well in that Game 3 in Detroit in '06, the A's were the same hopeless October unit they've been since the '90 World Series, and the Cardinals had the fewest wins of any World Series winner in a season of at least 154 games. We could've won it all if Randy had been for us in that game what he's been so many times when we didn't need it.

The current A's, however, beat the Devil Rays last night. Sure, it was only 2-1, but it counts the same as if it was 19-17, right? A tough loss for Scott Kazmir, who must've felt like he was back with the Mets.

Reminder: Maximilien Robespierre led the French Revolution, and he eventually became a victim of it. Leon Trotsky was a major figure in the Russian Revolution, and he eventually became a victim of it. And those revolutions eventually produced Napoleon and Stalin. Revolution is a risky business. Even if you call it a "Ray-volution."

I almost wish there was an Internet in 1964. I'd love to read the baseball posts from then. Can you imagine what Phillies and White Sox fans would have been saying at this point? And each ended up losing the Pennant by 1 game.

Of course, we Yankee Fans, in the process of winning another Pennant, would've had to hear from Met fans about what a slum The Bronx is and how wonderful the brand-new Shea Stadium is. Then we'd have to remind them how they'd lost nearly 5 seasons worth of games in their first 3 years...

Back to the present: Taking 2 out of 3 against the Twins in the Metrodome would be terrific, but Rasner has to hold that good offense down and eat some innings.

I close with this thought: No, I do not miss Kyle Bleeping Farnsworth! I could tell him to go to hell, but if you've ever been to the City of Detroit, you know that's punishment enough.