Breaking down A.J. Pierzynski's steal of first

Who says you can't steal first base? No one anymore after watching White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski swipe the bag on a bizarre play that led to a much needed Chicago win in the bottom of the 9th in game 2 of the ALCS. Now I'm gonna get this outta the way before anyone has a chance to bring it up - there should absolutely not be instant replay in baseball. Human error is part of the game (see AJ actually swinging at that pitch which woulda been ball 4; and also Kelvim Escobar's hanging slider to Joe Crede which Crede crushed for the game winning hit) and there is absolutely no room for replay in baseball. And now I'm watching Woody Paige and Skip Bayless argue for instant replay - thats absurd. According to an article by Mark Kriedler (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=kreidler_mark&id=2189974) baseball umpires get 90% of the call right. And as Kriedler also points out, that success rate is in a sport where players get to the Hall of Fame if they mess up 7 of 10 times. I really don't wanna harp on the replay part though and I have complete faith in Bud Selig that he won't allow replay into baseball. Moving on it was an great heads up play by Pierzynski who apparently learned from a similar play that happened to him behind the plate last year. Now as far as I'm concerned, its lookin like the ball did not hit the ground from the head on angle, but from the back left angle (over Pierzynski's shoulder if you will) it looked like the ball may have skimmed the dirt as it went into Josh Paul's glove. Either way, ump Doug Eddings gave his strike 3 call - he didn't call him out (unless he did verbally which catcher Josh Paul hasn't claimed; and AJ said he ran exactly for that reason - because he didn't hear Eddings call him out). Looking back at replays throughout the game the straight arm followed by the closed fist is Eddings' strike 3 call - it doesn't mean he called him out. So the argument that he signaled out and then safe has is baseless. And judging from what seemed like a very uncomfortable postgame press conference - the umps are standing by their call. Now moving on to Angels' catcher Josh Paul, former White Sox catcher, all he had to do was tag out Pierzynski. From my experience playing baseball (through highschool), the umps never really yelled out "he dropped the ball" , they just didn't call the batter out until he was tagged or after the throw to first and putout. Plain and simple, Paul should've tagged Pierzynski just to make sure. Now this is a good a point as any in our story to point out that Angels skipper Mike Scioscia was classy on the wrong side of bizarre call. He said that it shouldn't have come down to a tough break on a call for them to win - and he's right. There's no getting around that it was a tough break, but that call itself didn't lose the game for the Angels and Scioscia was smart enough to realize that. So despite whatever Frank Robinson and Jose Guillen might say about him, I've got a lot of respect for Scioscia. This brings us to the man on the mound Kelvim Escobar. After a shaky first inning of relief, Escobar had pitched great to this point. And even though he allowed pinch runner Pablo Ozuna to steal 2nd he got up 0-2 on Joe Crede. This is where Crede took advantage of the break the White Sox got (and has been overlooked the whole time - without that hit the game goes to extras anyway) and smoked a hanging slider off the left field wall just inches short of a home run. With the speedy Ozuna on second there wasn't anything close to a play at the plate and the ChiSox picked up a much needed win to even the series at 1-1 before they head to Anaheim. I have to imagine this is going to give a much needed boost to a Chicago team that has looked like nothing short of zombies these first two games. Little side note they're talking about this play on Rome is burning and maybe its me but Todd Zeile looks like he's on the tail end of a 3 day bender. But thats neither here nor there. Bottom line heading into game 3 of the ALCS - the Angels needed to take 1 of 2 in Chicago and they did, the White Sox needed a huge break to get going and they got it. Game 3 is next with John Lackey pitching his 3rd game in the postseason and Jon Garland about to make his first start of the postseason. Stay tuned.

ALDS recap and Angels v Chisox

One thing is clear after two exciting ALDS matchups - the better teams won. The Red Sox looked like a two man team (Manny and Ortiz of course) and the Yankees proved once again that money can't always buy a championship. Exhibit A - A-Rod the $252 million man : 2-15 in the series, no home runs, no rbis, and a rally-killing double play in the top of the 9th in game 5. And of course the postgame quote : "I had a great year, something I'm very proud of," A-Rod said. "I left my guts on the field, I left my heart out there. I'm not going to hang my head. I'm going to learn from it and become a better Yankee." He also went on to say how proud he was "of the guys." Maybe I missed something but why does Rodriguez get to be proud of the guys? He let them down as much as anyone - 4-32 in his last 8 playoff games and he's proud of the guys? Well keep on being a better Yankee - he's got the ego and the paycheck for it. And yea ok he did have a good season - afterall he should be the AL MVP but he's not doing anything to do away with the notion that for all his talent, he is the furthest thing from clutch. Now the Bombers staved off elimination a little longer than their AL East companions, but in the end they will be watching the ALCS from home all the same. The Sawx relied on Manny and Ortiz as always - both of whom didn't really break out til game 3 and by then it was too late. Who thought that the pitching heavy White Sox would outscore one of the best offensive teams in baseball 24-9. Those age old adages of pitching beating hitting and defense winning championships are looking pretty true right now. In the battle of the Sox, Tony Graffanino made a huge error on a routine ground ball which eventually led to Tad Iguchi hitting a game-winning 3-run home run off David Wells. Meanwhile the White Sox made plenty of plays behind their strong pitching staff and bullpen. And in the Yanks - Angels how bout Chone Figgins - ok he made a bad throw in game four but made a game-saving stop on a Hideki Matsui shot in game 2 at 3rd base and a run saving diving catch in centerfield in game 3. Throw in Darin Erstad's series-winning dive at 1st base, and counter it with Jason Giambi's less than stellar play at first base and a costly collision in right center field between Bubba Crosby and Gary Sheffield and you have the series. Bottom line: White Sox and Angels made the plays and were the better all around teams, while the Sawx and Yanks didn't. But don't tell Sean McAdam and Gene Wojciechowski - they're probably still writing somwhere that the Red Sox have a chance to comeback. On to the ALCS....

For their efforts, the LA Angels are presently aboard a flight to Chicago where they will land and play the White Sox tomorrow night. Meanwhile the ChiSox have been off since Friday waiting for the Yanks and Angels to battle it out and have the winner limp into US Cellular, exhausted from a coast to coast series which has been extremely taxing on both teams. Now the Angels survived that battle of attrition but the one that stands before them is even tougher. They play a well rested Chicago team that has a fully rested pitching staff, bullpen, lineup and bat boy. The Halos have to face Jose Contreras who shut down Boston in game 1 ( 7 2/3 inn 2 runs) and has lost only twice since July. So who will LA run out to the mound? Paul Byrd? I'm going to go out on a limb and give game 1 to the White Sox. Now anything can happen in baseball but Chicago is fully rested and the Angels are on fumes. These are two very similar teams but the rally monkey's pitching staff is in shambles. Bartolo Colon left game 5 of the ALDS with a shoulder injury, John Lackey pitched twice on 3 days rest in the DS, Ervin Santana filled in for Colon in game 5 and the bullpen hasn't been spared either. Kelvim Escobar, Frankie Rodriguez, Brendan Donnelly and Scott Shields have all been fully utilized but the good news for the Angels is that Donnelly and Shields got the night off in game 5. Both teams play small ball - Chone Figgins and Scott Podsednik to set the table, both manufacture runs, and both have some bats in the middle of the lineup. Bengie Molina hit just under .500 in the division series but Vlad Guerrero was hardly heard from (no HR, no RBI). The White Sox on the other hand had clutch home runs from Iguchi and Paul Konerko. Jermaine Dye and Joe Crede were relatively quiet against Boston considering they both finished the season red hot. These two teams are very similar and matchup very well...during the season the Angels won the season series 6-4. But I'm going with the White Sox in 6 just a few summary points as to why....1. El duque - after that amazing game 3 performance Duque proved he's still a gamer when it comes to the postseason 2. Chicago's rested bullpen - Jenks as an emerging and confident closer, Marte and Cotts as power lefties, Hermanson and Politte- now both these pen's are very good but we saw what happened to the Angels (Escobar, K-rod, Shields, Donnelly) in August when their bullpen got overworked and tired - they stumbled a bit and the A's got right back to the top of the division before the Angels pulled away for good. This time the Angels don't have a couple weeks to rest up, recover and get it back together. 3. A balanced Chicago lineup - homers from Podsednik, Iguchi, Konerko, Pierzynski, Uribe. 4. The rally monkey needs a serious dose of caffenine pills/adderol/no dose - the little guy isn't gona be up for game 1 and it may be games 3 and 4 before the Angels get caught up rest-wise - by then they might be able to make the series somewhat competitive, but it'll be too late to make a serious comeback to win the series. ChiSox win in 6 and make their first postseason appearence since 1959.

Its Playoff Time

So there were something like 16 scenarios that could have happened with a playoff coming into this weekend - and that was just in the AL. And of course there is no playoff drama past the regular 162 games - not to say it wasn't exciting for those Philly and Cleveland fans. But back to the teams that took care of business and got into the October dance. Starting first with the defending champs and the battle of the SOX. Boston clearly has a more potent offense and its going to again be a classic offense v. pitching battle. I'm not sure yet if the short series helps or hurts the White Sox: on the one hand Chicago is overloaded with good pitching - some of which it can obviously put in the bullpen in the short series (El Duque and rookie phenom Brandon McCarthy) and the ChiSox throw a red hot Jose Contreras in game 1 and Mark Buerhle and Jon Garland in games 2 and 3 - both the former Cy Young candidates looked like they were in postseason form against Cleveland this weekend - and oh yea, Freddy Garcia in game 4. You won't find a better pitching lineup in the AL contenders (I'd say in the Majors but Houston is pretty tough.) But there is a downside for Chicago in this 5 game set - they won't get an extended crack at Boston's pathetic excuse for a bullpen. The Red Sox may very well escape without having to go too deep into the pen - only having to win 3 games. Manager Terry Francona has said that game 1 starter Matt Clement will be on a tight leash so the key could be for red hot Jermaine Dye and the rest of the White Sox to jump all over Clement in game 1 force Francona's hand into the bullpen right off the bat and make them play catch-up the rest of the series. Also the White Sox hurlers will have to make limit Johnny Damon and Edgar Renteria getting on base. Damon is gona get on here and there - Renteria there's really no excuse especially for walking him. If Ortiz and Manny get up with minimal men on, the Pale Hose can control the damage: Pitching : Big Edge Chicago Lineup : Big Edge Boston Bullpen : Big Edge Chicago - Boston's bullpen is a pitching coaches nightmare. And if Chicago uses Duque and McCarthy outa the pen, they could be very tough to beat. Closer : slight edge Chicago - its different in the postseason, but Bobby Jenks and Damaso Marte are looking like a good setup, close combo. Boston I guess Mike Timlin is closing who knows not exactly what you're looking for in a closer. Miscellaneous: Obviously Boston - they're the defending champs. The last time the South Siders made the playoffs - in 2000 - the made a short and sweet 3 game exit against Seattle- as good as Chicago was for most of this season, they've proven nothing when it really comes down to it.

Prediction : Chicago wins in 5. Boston won the season set 4-3, but the White Sox after holding off Cleveland in what was an almost historic collapse, the ChiSox have won 5 in a row including 3 over the Tribe as an exclamation point to end the season. Boston took two of three to tie the Yanks but with no Cleveland the Yanks took the season series and division tiebreaker and Red Sox got the Wild Card. Bottom Line : The Sawx can flat out hit the ball, but last year the World Series champs had Pedro Martinez, a healthy Curt Schilling, and a healthy Keith Foulke to close out games. As Yogi once said: Baseball is 90% mental, the other half is pitching. Edge ChiSox.

Angels v Yankees
In a rematch of the 2002 ALCS the rally monkey is nowhere to be seen. Whether in hiding or just retirement, no ones really sure the whereabouts of the most annoying/inexplicable mascot in recent sports history. I mean let's face it, before the 2002 Angels the rally monkey was the face of the Ebola Virus in the movie Outbreak. Who came up with this idea...."Hey remember that monkey that killed everyone before Dustin Hoffman and Cuba Gooding Jr. saved the day - let's use him as a mascot" 3 years later I'm still not seeing the connection. Anyway the Yanks are out for some payback against an Angels team that killed their World Series hopes in that fateful '02 ALCS. Maybe the rally monkey and the thundersticks will resurface with Bartolo Colon on the hill against Mike Mussina much to the chagrin of the Bronx Bombers. But onto the actual matchup at hand, Mussina is a wild card. His track record speaks for itself, but he didn't last through the 2nd inning in his last start. Is he healthy? It appears so but after last week's performance I have my doubts. The Yankee starters need to get the game to the 7th inning within reach. Tanyon Sturtze, Tom Gordon and Mariano Rivera are a decent 7,8,9 combo with Rivera obviously being lights out. Anything before Sturtze is a crap shoot for the Yanks. Al Leiter or Allen Embree as your lefty? Scary. Aaron Small it looks like will also head to the pen and he and Jaret Wright if on the postseason roster should boost a bare bones bullpen. But the Angels clearly have the edge in the later stage of the game. Brendan Donnelly, Scott Shields and Frankie Rodriguez, make up one of the best bullpens in baseball. Obviously no one compares to Rivera but if you gave me K-Rod to close out a game instead, I wouldn't exactly panic. Starters: Mussina, Chacon, Johnson... Colon, Lackey, Washburn. The starters are a wash. Johnson didn't exactly look stellar against Boston although he has been looking more like the Randy Johnson of old over the last month. Chacon, you gotta give the kid credit but again he's proven nothing in the playoffs. And again Mussina is a wild card. Colon is the probable Cy Young although he did get roughed up earlier this year against the Yanks and A-rod went on to record 10 RBIS in that game. Lackey and Washburn don't do much for me, but again neither do the Yankee starters. Get the ball to the bullpen with a lead and the Halos are in good shape. Lineup : Yanks Big Edge. The Angels have Vlad, Figgons, and Garrett Anderson. The Yanks have an All-star hitting team from 1-5. 6-9 aint too bad either.
Bullpen : Angels - Donnelly, Shields K-rod. ?? Rivera.
Closer : Yanks - Rivera nuff said.
Miscellaneous : Push. Yanks have been to 10 straight postseasons and have won 7 of 9 ALDS. But Angels have had the Yanks number since '02 including a 6-4 mark this year. Better individuals or better team...I'm going with the better team and let's face it - in Outbreak the rally monkey took out a whole town with the Ebola virus. Edge: rally monkey. Prediction: Angels in 5.


Cardinals v. Padres
As a reward for getting to the playoffs barely over .500 the Padres get to play the Cardinals (who finished 38 games over .500 and the best record in baseball) at 10 am San Diego time. Fitting enough. So the Cards took game 1 8-5 but not before the Padres scored 3 runs and brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the 9th. I gave San Diego and outside shot at best to beat the St. Louis - maybe Jake Peavy and Adam Eaton could squeak out 3 wins in the short series. But its looking less and less like thats going to happen. Peavy got shelled yesterday and now is done for the rest of the year with two cracked ribs. I'm not buying the Cardinals to get it done this year either, but I think they'll get passed the Pads. I really would have loved to see a Philly - St. Louis NLDS with the Phils coming into the postseason red hot and playing well against the Cards during the season....but thats neither here nor there. Cards in 4.

Astros v. Braves
14 straight division titles for Atlanta and just one world series ring to show for it. The Bravos begin their quest for their second championship with half the team hardly old enough to drink the celebratory champagne - Jeff Franceour, Ryan Langerhans, Adam LaRoche...the rookie list goes on... But their toughest test could again be getting out of the first round. Atlanta runs into a Houston team who for the second year in a row ride a hot second half into the wild spot and a postseason berth. But this year's Astros team doesn't have Carlos Beltran putting up career numbers - instead its lefty Andy Pettitte - the best pitcher during the second half of the season (and a steal fantasy team pick-up in June) 11-2 with a 1.69 ERA since the All-Star break. And Pettitte is just the tip of the iceberg - Roger Clemens and Roy Oswalt are a killer 3 for any team to face in a seven game series, not to mention a 5 game set. And of course the 'Stros have Brad Lidge to close things out. The Braves meanwhile - all but assured of not playing in front of a sold out home crowd unless they make it to the World Series which is really ridiculous - how can fans be bored with a team making the playoffs every year. Anyway Atlanta scratched John Smoltz sends Hudson to the mound in game one due to soreness in Smoltz' shoulder. So Hudson whose postseason record was less than stellar with Oakland has to go up against a guy who has been practically unhittable in the 2nd half....edge Astros. Smoltz is the winningest pitcher in posteseason history 14-4 with a 2.70 ERA and on top of that the power righty is 6-0 career division series starts. But it'll be no easy task facing Roger Clemens in game 2. Roy Oswalt and Jorge Sosa will go in game 3. The Braves filled a huge hole trading for Kyle Farnsworth - the kid has always had electric stuff, touching 100 on the radar gun - but never knew how to use it. Enter Leo Mazzone - problem solved and the Braves finally have a closer. This goes against the pitching matchups but Atlanta's offense is more potent than Houston's and I'm betting they get to a less than 100% Clemens (hamstring) and a far from untouchable Roy Oswalt. Braves in 4.