CC is a bear. Why he pitched in the 8th inning up 7-1 is beyond me. Girardi said he would be available for 115 pitches if necessary...this was far from necessary though. Either way, A-Rod continued his miracle run. When will him or Ryan Howard not have a RBI in a game?

Last night, to me, was the best case to date for this team's invincibility. It was the key game in the series as I think in LA, the Angels have a big advantage in game 5 with Lackey facing Burnett. They had a pitcher going on 3 days rest. On top of that, the Angels fan-base (for all my hate of the stupid rally monkey, which is incredibly stupid) is one of the best in baseball. That stadium was absolutely electric from start to finish last night. With their team down 5-1, most stadiums get a little quiet even in the post-season, but that place was electric. The bottom of the 6th inning had the place abuzz, ready to explode at the first guy crossing the plate. CC let the first two batters on and I thought for sure the rally was coming. CC brilliantly escaped the jam with a double play ball and a pop-out.

I still say the Phillies are not getting enough attention. Maybe Hamels goes out there tonight and makes a statement. On the other hand, if Hamels goes out there and throws poorly (or perhaps if the bullpen blows one) then the Yankees suddenly become big favorites again..and I do think the Yanks/Angels series is headed to a game 6 at least, so I'm not completely counting the Angels out. With that lineup and two of the next three at home with Burnett/Pettitte/CC though, that is a tall task for the Angels, unlike what Boston did to them down 3-0 when they essentially ran out of pitching.

I pointed it out in the divisional series and now it is getting more and more attention - the umpiring in baseball is terrible. It is one thing to miss some ball/strike calls..that is essentially part of the game and an incredibly difficult task. Most of the blown calls there are simply from the guy just having a "bad" strike zone. But, this bad calls on the bases - completely unacceptable. And I'm not talking about the occasional bang-bang play that we re-watch in ultra-slow motion five times before figuring out. There have been numerous calls on the base-paths that were completely obvious to the naked eye in real time, on my 13" non-HD, magnavox, 1994 tv set. It's the playoffs gentlemen, just as we expect the players to up their play the umpires are expected to do the same. Make all of the easy calls and do a decent job on the tough ones. That's all we ask...and if you can't do that, I'm quite sure technology is more than ready to replace you..so step your game up right now.