For those of you fans that listen to Marty on a regular basis you are aware that Marty often tells
his listeners that when you come out to the park you never know what you will see. Tonight’s game between the Red Sox and Yankees certainly filled
that admonition. First of all,Curt Schilling pitched
seven strong innings on a very sore ankle. He gave up 4 hits and one run. Bernie Williams hit a rocket shot to close the gap to 4 to 1 at that time.
Prior to that in the 4th inning Mark Bellhorn hit a
pitch to left field that clearly was a home run. It
hit a fan and bounced back onto the field. The umpire called it a double but after a short conference ruled that it was a home run and put the Sox up 4 to nothing. The 8th inning was one for the books.Miguel Cairo doubled and scored on a Jeter single to make the score 4-2. Bronson Arroyo
now faced Alex Rodriguez and A-Rod hit a dribbler down the 1st base line. Arroyo and Mintkiewicz
converged and Arroyo reached out with his glove hand to tag A-Rod. A-Rod then slapped Arroyo’s arm knocking the ball loose and it appeared that he was safe and that Jeter had scored. Terry Francona rushed out to the home plate umpire and
argued that there was interference and that the batter should be called out. The 1st base umpire’s
view was blocked and again after a conference the batter was ruled out and Jeter had to return to 1st base. The Sox got out of the jam and the 9th inning started with police in riot gear protecting the players and umpires from the fans. I know its New York but ,come on, it’s only a game.

Anyway, the Yanks come to bat in the bottom of the 9th and the Sox bring in their closer,Keith Foulke,the former A’s closer. He proceeds to violate the cardinal rule in baseball. DON’T WALK
THE LEADOFF HITTER. He gets Bernie Williams on a stikeout. Gets Jorge Posada on a popout to Bill Mueller then walks Ruben Sierra. The Yanks have
the tying runs on at 1st and second and the winning run comes to the plate. Tony Clark,the former Tiger and Red Sox player, is filling in for John Olerud has a low batting average but can do damage with his bat. The Red Sox need this out . They are trying to force game 7 after being down 3 games to none. And, they are on the road in a hostile and loud environment. Foulke gets the Sox fans running to the cupboard for their Pepcid,Mylanta,High blood pressure medication
as the count goes to 3 and 2 on Clark. The runners
on 1st and second take off as a hit will tie the game but Foulke gets Clark to strike out to end the game. New York is a very nervous city. Will the Sox pull it off and make the comeback or will they break their fans hearts one more time. This series
is a thriller,folks. Stay tuned. The final installment
of this saga is Wednesday in New York City. Be there.

Jerry Feitelberg
[Read more →]

The last two Red Sox-Yankee games were a fan’s
delight. On Sunday night the 2 teams battled to
the 12th inning in a 4-4 tie. The fans in Boston could be seen praying for a miracle. David Ortiz,Boston’s MVP, came through with a game winning homerun and kept the sox hopes alive for 1 more game. Tonight in a taut game the Yanks surged ahead to 4 to2 lead until the 8th when Mr Ortiz hit yet another crucial homerun to bring them to within a run. The Sox scored another run and tied the game at 4 apiece. Extra innings again. Every pitch, every swing, every ground ball could turn the game. The Sox got robbed when Ortiz was caught stealing. Hs hand was in ahead of the tag but he was called out. Wakefield’s knuckleball was all over the place and there were 3 passed balls in one inning and yet the sox survived.I can’t remember if it was the 13th or 14rh inning but
Damon reached 1st and was moved to second
when Ramirez walked. I think it was Ramirez and that set the stage for David Ortiz once again. Estaban Loiza had pitched well and Ortiz fought off
several pitches and then hit a soft liner off his hands
into centerfield to end the game. The Sox live for
another day as the ALCS goes back to New York and Curt Schilling will be pitching against Jon Lieber.
The drama in the last 2 games is the stuff that makes baseball such a great game.It was riveting baseball.

Over in the National League. The Astros and Cardinals were locked in a scoreless game. Carlos Beltran made a catch will be on the highlight reels all winter. Bakke pitched a tremendous game as
did Woody Williams Brad Lidge finished the Cards off in the 9th and that man,Carlos Beltran
singled to right. Beltran stole second easily and Tony LaRussa had an open base and walked the hitter to set up the double play with Jeff Kent coming up. Kent is a guy that hits into a lot of double plays but not tonight. On the 1st pitch ,
he hit the ball a ton and it gave Houston a 3 to nothing win and a 3 games to 2 lead in the NLCS.

These games are heart pounding,thrilling baseball.
I just can’t get enough. It almost makes the World
series anti-climatic after these great struggles.

Jerry Feitelberg [Read more →]

The situation inside Cuba’s
baseball is becoming intolerable
as more and more players
are defecting. These six
are the most recent
defectors.They didn’t
want to wait until
they were going to
play outside the island
to ask for Political Asylum
in the USA but they left
directly from Cuba on
their own.

By Amaury Pi-González [Read more →]

The A’s and Giants both face significant off season challenges this year.

Neither should try to put together a club with question marks at key positions.

Here’s why:

The competition is only going to get better.

Anaheim will spend and then spend some more to bring in top of the line players. The Angels knew what they were doing when they tried to pry Randy Johnson away from Arizona. The lack of a top of the rotation starter was missing from the mix in 2004. It’s clear that Bartolo Colon and Kelvim Escobar are not number one starters. Expect to see one of the premier free agent pitchers in Anaheim next year. Pedro Martinez is a likely choice, if the Angels can’t get Johnson.

Click below for more!

[Read more →]

Yankee fans bring signs to
The Stadium at the Bronx
that read simply “1918”.
But what happens if
the Red Sox win the
American League
and then the
World Series ?

Amaury Pi-González [Read more →]

When you get this far into the playoffs small mistakes can be made. You don’t have the pressure of the five game series which requires tough baseball 24/7.

The pitching staff is the key and I mean the whole staff. To win a seven gamer you need three or four in the bull pen plus at least two horses on the mound.

Boston has the two horses and I think a surprisingly decent bull pen anchored by Keith Foulke. The key for Boston is not having to go to Foulke for more than one inning and not back to back to back days.

That’s why I like the Sox I think they can hit with the Yankees and not have to use the best guys in the pen every day.

Click below for more! [Read more →]

After last night’s game between the Dodgers and the Cardinals, I saw something that I had never seen occur
in baseball. I had seen it in hockey when after a hard
fought playoff series , the two teams would line up and
shake hands and congratulate each other. It is an
admirable show of sportsmanship. However, in baseball, one team usually jumps up and down and the
losers walk glum-faced back to to the clubhouse with
their heads down. Last night, the Dodgers came on the field and congratulated the Cardinals. Shook hands
and hugs for the players and managers. I know the object is winning but when teams show their appreciation to each other for the hard work and effort to get to the playoffs and each team plays as hard as they can, there are really no losers. Yes the Cardinals will advance and the Dodgers will go home
but baseball now is better off for what those two teams did after the game. Let’s hope they have started a new tradition in baseball.

Jerry Feitelberg [Read more →]

So far the 2004 playoffs have been less than spectacular.

When you have an overmatched Dodger team and an underachieving Angels team leading the way, it’s tough to get excited.

The Red Sox have the bats cooking. If Curt Schilling and Pedro Martinez continue to throw the way they did in their opening starts, perhaps Boston fans will have something to cheer about.

The Yankees and the Twins have each other, a bumbling matchup with the Yanks doing everything in their power to give the series to Minnesota.

One word of advice to the Twins: Don’t let NY up, just when you think you have them, they are back in the game and beat you.

[Read more →]

Ron Gardenhire should worry less about what music Ruben Sierra listens to when he comes up to bat and watch the pitches his pitchers throw more carefully.

Who’s Gardenhire’s bench coach anyway?
Grady Little?

Joe Nathan was gassed, it was obvious he had nothing left on the ball when he threw four wide ones, the culmination of eight in a row out of the strike zone, to Derek Jeter.

A Rod who has enough power in this park to do some real damage even though he is often fooled by the pitch, ended the night with a mediocre fly ball double to tie the score and effectively end the Twins night.

Jasse Crain next in for Minnesota is a rookie, but he has a live arm and pitched well down the srtetch.

Why let the game get away?

Only Grady Little and Ron Gardenhire can explain last night’s brain lock.

Click below for more! [Read more →]

It was not vintage Johan Santana last night at the Stadium in the Bronx, but the young lefty got the job done as the Twins beat the Bombers 2-0.

The Twins play defense especially in the outfield. Torri Hunter is the best center fielder in the game today. He runs down everything, throws with the best, and displays an enthusiasm for the game which lifts his team.

The Yankees miss Jason Giambi’s bat in the middle of the line up. What a waste of time having A Rod bat second. Ted Sizemore batted second, Junior Gilliam, Tommy Herr, Kevin Seitzer, Rennie Stennett, they all hit second, you get the idea, the set up hitters in the lineup.

If this is the spot A Rod feels comfortable hitting in NY, because he again disappeared in the clutch this season, it could be a short postseason for the New Yorkers.

I’d move him to fourth right now and put Bernie Williams second.

Click below for more! [Read more →]