Postseason thoughts, Day 4

Yesterday's games:
Red Sox 8, Angels 6, 10 innings
Yankees 8, Twins 3

Red Sox win series, 3-0
Done and done. Good job. The Sox rolled over the Angels, and it appeared to energize John Kerry, who rolled over George Bush in the debate. Yet I digress. While listening to the Sox game on the radio as I drove home from work, Buck Martinez mentioned, twice, that Bronson Arroyo struck out 11 consecutive Mariners earlier in the season. It's a little inaccurate, which I think Martinez had right one of the times. He had 11 straight outs by strikeout, but there was a walk that made it 11 strikeouts over 12 batters. I figured I would've remembered if someone had broken Tom Seaver's record of striking out 10 consecutive batters. What a dramatic way to go on a three day rest. It's just what the Sox need. They shouldn't have to worry about losing any momentum or rhythm, because if they play the Yankees, as they most likely will, they'll be jazzed. And rested. And have Curt Schilling going in Games 1, 4, and potentially 7. If they need that many.

Yankees lead series 2-1
Ninth inning, Yankees leading 8-1. No outs. Corey Koskie is hit by the pitch. Then Lew Ford is plunked. And yet -- the Twins fans are booing Felix Heredia?? Um, hello: You're down seven runs in the ninth. A loss means you're down 2-1 in a best-of-five series. You need runs to win. You need baserunners to get that win. HBPs are GOOD. FOR. YOU. This is the problem with baseball today. It's not the Twins fans' fault; it's not just them. MLB as an organization has ingrained the thought in casual fans' heads that throwing inside to gain an advantage as a pitcher is not part of the game if you can't do it without hitting a batter. The game has become so soft because umpires are too quick to warn benches and the commissioner's office is wrong to issue directives insisting that they do so. Of course, Bud Selig isn't going to do anything to hurt The Great Bonds and his supplement-fueled, body-armored climb through the record book. On those two hit-by-pitches, the Metrodome should've been rocking like it was when Dan Gladden slid home with the winning run in '91. Johan Santana might be able to bring the series back to New York, but it's going to be a tough task for Minnesota to advance. They missed their golden opportunity in blowing Wednesday's game.

I'm off on vacation until Monday, so I'll be missing some of the weekend's action, as will this blog. So the two of you can discuss amongst yourselves until I return.