Pete-

I think someone needs to check the blog. First one post takes forever and doesn't post at all, then the next post is rejected for doing too many posts in a short time.

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Pete's reply: Sorry about that. We're working on the blog situation and should have it straightened out soon.

Hey, Phil Cuzzi had a great game as the left field ump. He had one call to make all night and somehow called Mauer's shot, that should have been a ground rule double, foul.

He should have been on the field for the celebration to get his pie in the face from A J Burnett.

I guess he had to cut out to hook up with Supervisor of Major League Umpires Richie Garcia for a drink in the Bronx.

the great thing about that call by the ump was how emphatic he was about the whole thing, and it was fair by 2 feet.

insane game.

17 left on and your ace closer spits the bit.

the twins missed morneau tonite .. everyone moves down a spot and gomez is hitting 8th or 9th, and there's another bat on the bench if he's there

As hopefully my sarcasm suggested, I am tired of the Yankees getting these gifts from Major League umpires in the post season.

I'm sure Phil Cuzzi will get a lot of love in his home town in New Jersey.

"Start spreading the news/ You've got to be a part of it, New York, New York"

Good job, Cuzzi. Indeed, you were a part of it.

nice job by cuzzi tonite, and bucknor last nite in the sox-angels game was atrocious

that guy should be fired on the spot

I'm an O's fan but that blown call is even worse than Jeffrey Maier. That ump should be fired and then beheaded. What a joke.

Thirteen years to the night of Jeffrey Maier.

Amazing.

I agree it was a blown call, and it might have affected the outcome. But, I'm not sure that anyone can guarantee that it changed the outcome. The twins went on to load the bases with no outs. Would that have happened otherwise? We don't know.

It would have been man on second no outs. instead Mauer winds up with a single so it was man on first no out. Would Jason Kubel have gotten that single on the next at bat if things were different? Maybe, maybe not. And Cuddyer after that?

Not to defend the ump or take up the cause for the yanks, but the Twins wound up with the best possible situation: bases loaded no outs. They had their chances and they blew it. The umps didn't help them with that.

Cuzzi deserves a line drive right where Holliday took one the other night for that call.

I wonder how many balls Cuzzi tucked away to commemorate the occasion?

Perhaps he can throw a few to Bruce Froemming and Al Clark. Did someone say it's all for charity?

I suppose he won't ask for Mauer's signature.

No, Enzo but one ump made sure the Twins knew that "You know it don't come easy."

jim 66--I'm rooting for the Angels because I believe they will beat the Yankees.

But you are right. C B Bucknor has not improved as an umpire. His calls at first base last night were ludicrous.

Why, over the years, are we seeing so many poor calls in the post season?

why is everyone surprised by Cuzzi's bonehead call. The major league umpiring has been HORRIBLE all yeaar. It's time someone holds the umpires accountable for their mistakes or extend the replay ruls to allow for a challenge or two How in the world is Buckner in the playoffs? I thought he was by far the worst umpre in the majpors and that's saying something

In response to you other "my take" article since the comment section sucks and never works.

Trembley should have got the Nobel Prize for intending to win games.Doesn't matter that he didn't.I guess Trembley has a job for life because it's not his fault he has lousy players. What a great country.

Looks like Rex Ryan doesn't have the same character standards as Harbaugh. Edwards wasn't worth the draft picks or off the field headaches.Maybe they just wanted someone who was flashy at dropping passes.

Matt Holiday is the new Billy Buckner.

I can't believe Leyland hasn't been fired for the late season collapse by the Tigers in the worst division is baseball.Maybe MCab would have been better off playing drunk. A guy in a pennant chase geting bombed shows he's an alcoholic who will only get worse before his contract is up.

T.O. wants to talk to Obama about the high taxes he's paying. Wait until next year when Bush's tax cuts expire.Thanks for the free heathcare T.O. Love yas dude.

What a shame that the professional umpires that get extra staff blew that easy of a call. The Jeffrey Maier call was a much tougher call than that one. I do not remember anytime in the playoffs when there were extra umps a fair ball was missed by that much. How does MLB handle things like that, sweep it under the carpet? I think they need to expand the replay appeal. Funny thing is no one came out to argue that call, I guess everyone assumed that from the angle of the dugout the ump was right.

Was it just me or did it look like in the bottom of the 9th that Joe Nathan did NOT want to be in that ball game? His body language kept suggesting "woe is me" and his constatnt deep breaths told me he was scared you-know-what-less. He was putrid, a bigger choke than Matt Holliday

Well, O's fans, now you can see where the Andy MacPhail rebuilding plan (using the Twins model) will get us. If the Twins were in the AL East and had to play the Yankees and Red Sox for almost a quarter of the regular season schedule, they would be a 75-80 win team. That's all the Orioles will ever be (at best) playing in that division. So don't delude yourselves into thinking the Orioles will ever compete in the postseason again unless major league baseball undergoes a major structural overhaul.

Two things on baseball:
First: Baseball needs a salary cap (I know it won't happen until the fans stop showing up and maybe not even then).
Second: Umpiring needs to be changed. More TV checks need to be done on plays like yesterday's ground rule double. Get rid of the foul line umpires--how have they worked out? Start specializing. Some guys are just lousy ball-strike guys. Let the best do all the plate work and give them premium pay. Rotate more guys through. These guys work too long and get too old. Ditch the union. This is a game not coal mining.

P.S.

Baseball should get off their duffs and pay the umps some really good money, but then the umps should be accountable for their performance.

Ray - What are you talking about?

The Twins rebuilt and now the Orioles are rebuilding, so the O's are going to end up looking exactly like the Twins?

What?

Gary -

Big league umps START at $84,000.

If that isn't really good money to work maybe five hours a night for only six months out of the year, I don't know what is.

Gary is dead on right here. A salary cap is sorely needed, there is no parity in this sport. Look at how the 200 million dollar trio is panning out in this series. Next up, they buy Mauer and Pujols and maybe they go 162-0. And instant replay is next up. The NFL has spoiled us, we sit back and know that bonehead officiating will be corrected by that blessed red flag in the coach's pocket. In MLB, they just sweep bad calls under the carpet and chalk it up to human error being "part of the game". BTW, I love the references to the poor blind LF umpire being from New Jersey, sure wouldn't surprise me one bit.

Brent -

World Series Winners, Last 20 Years:

- Phillies: 2008
- Red Sox: 2007, 2004
- Cardinals: 2006
- White Sox: 2005
- Marlins: 2003, 1997
- Angels: 2002
- Diamondbacks: 2001
- Yankees: 2000, 1999, 1998, 1996
- Braves: 1995
- Blue Jays: 1993, 1992
- Twins: 1991
- Reds: 1990
- A's: 1989
- Dodgers: 1988

So by my count, we've had 14 different World Series winners over the past 20 years.

How is there no parody?

Side Note: Here are the payroll figures in the years that the Yankees won the World Series:

1996:
1. Yankees - $61.5M
2. Orioles - $55.1M
3. Braves - $53.7M
Yankees Difference: +$6.4M

1998:
1. Orioles - $74.1M
2. Yankees - $73.9M
3. Rangers - $62.7M
Yankees Difference: -$0.2M

1999:
1. Yankees: $91.9M
2. Rangers: $80.8M
3. Braves: $79.2M
Yankees Difference: +$11.1M

2000:
1. Yankees: $113.3M
2. Braves: $95M
3. Dodgers: $94.2M
Yankees Difference: +18.3M

For a comparison, here are some Yankee payroll figures from the past four seasons:

2006:
1. Yankees: $194.6M
2. Red Sox: $120M
3. Angels: $103M

2007:
1. Yankees: $189.6M
2. Red Sox: $143M
3. Mets: $115.2M

2008:
1. Yankees: $209M
2. Tigers: $138.6M
3. Mets: $138.2M

2009:
1. Yankees: $201.4M
2. Mets: $149.3M
3. Cubs: $134.8

So when the Yanks were spending less than $20M more than everyone else, they were winning. Why? Because they had good, healthy pitching and a diva-less team.

Now, they're spending at least $50M more than everyone else every year. And what has happened? The team is full of pitchers on ridiculous long-term contracts and the clubhouse is full of divas.

In short, would a cap be helpful? Probably. But there's no chance there will EVER even be talk of a cap until one of the top spending teams wins the World Series a few years in a row.

PS - Brian Duensing started Game 1 for the Twins. The Yanks barely eeked out a win against Nick Blackburn last night. Both of those games were in Yankee Stadium. Let's see how the Yanks do next round against a team with a real pitching staff.

b - you're right that $84K is a ton of money, but it's even better than that for these guys.

They get a fat per diem for expenses on the road which they usually don't spend all of. And, their raises are insane. The guys that have been doing it for 20+ years make in excess of $300K base salary.

So, the incentives are not the problem. If I could, I would do that job for $30K a year.

b - The Twins are 0-9 against the Yankees this year. You can rebuild with a relatively modest payroll and be competitive in the AL Central. They don't have to play the Yankees and Red Sox 38 times a year! The Orioles may not end up looking exactly like the Twins but the talent level will never match what the Yankees and Red Sox can buy. My point was that, even in a best-case scenario, the Orioles' rebuilding project will result in a Twins-like team which is not going to be good enough to compete in the AL East.

PSS - I know the Yanks were one of the top spending teams in the late 90's, but the difference between the top spenders and the rest was nowhere near as big as it is now.

Ray -

The difference between the O's and the Twins is that the O's have the money to sign their Johan Santana (whether that's Brian Matusz or someone else).

The trouble with b's assessment is he proves himself wrong. The Yankees have been winning the entire time. They may not have won it all the entire time, but they won.

The Orioles? They were winning when they were spending.

Even some of the champs bear greater scrutiny. The Marlins and D-backs won, then held a fire sale. After the fire sale of players ... lose, lose, lose.

The Rays make the WS, are in the wild card hunt the next year, then trade their top P (Kazmir) and what happens? They fall apart and lose, lose, lose.

And this on heals of AJ Burnett throwing six innings (one run -- a genuine quality start) and Teixeira hitting a game-winning homer. Yeah, thank goodness the Orioles are holding back for a season to be named later.

Nice try, b. You probably fooled a few people.

Salary caps guarantee nothing.
Look at the ridiculous contract garbage they have in the NFL and NBA to get around it. And you need a capologist to figure that angle out.

Well on second thought maybe they guarantee something.The capitalistic free-market millionaire-billionaire owners like them, so it must guarantee something to them.

Let's see what the NFL players have to say about their lovely cap situation in their next CBA. For all they know, they might get locked out. And then get blamed for being greedy.
Greedy players. Those owners are so nice, they would never try to take more than their fair share, now would they?

There is no chance the MLBPA ever approves a salary cap. Ever. Marvin Miller will return from the grave before that happens.

So let's cut the salary cap crap, and let's cast a vote for managing all of the resources
at your disposal that much better.I think with the brainpower of a capologist applied to actual baseball decision-making, they can do it!

sorry, i killed off marvin miller...jeez, hope he's not reading this blog.
well if he were dead..

there's no easy way to get out of killing off a guy, even in print, before his time.

I'll call him first next time.

Red Sox down, Yankees to go.

Could it happen to a nicer guy than papelbon? and at home...and he gives up a 2 run single in the 8th to set the stage. That's a Nathan-like performance.

Though i gotta believe that nathan is a much better pitcher than what he showed the last couple of games.