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The southpaw Ryan stays in for the O’s and promptly walks Bernie (batting from the right side) to start the 11th.

Matsui takes a healthy cut and fouls away the first pitch Ryan throws him. So much for the sacrifice bunt. The next pitch is a fastball on the outside corner for a strike and Gozilla is in the hole, 0-2. Fastball, upstairs, 1-2. The next pitch is a slider way outside, 2-2. Another heater, just outside; Matsui holds up, and the count is full. (Throw to first.) Wow. That one got my heart beating. The payoff pitch is a fastball, way outside, ball four.

With Boone coming to bat, that’s it for Ryan. Hargrove signals for a righty.

Nick Johnson worked a one-out walk against Kerry Lightenberg, and after Jeter lined out to center on the first pitch, B.J. Ryan came in and fanned Giambi to end the inning.

Chris Hammond replaced Mo, and pitched a 1-2-3 tenth.

Mariano collected saves in the first two games of this series, but he looked fatigued last night.

Luis Matos leads off for Baltimore. He fouls and inside fastball off, 0-1. The next pitch is a fastball tailing in for a ball, 1-1. (Mo continues to tap his left foot tentatively as he comes set; it looks like a cat trying to balance himself on a ledge. I don’t remember Rivera ever doing this until this season.) Matos rocks the next pitch over the left field wall and the game is tied at four. The pitch was a fastball, low and in, and straight as a string. That’s the second consecutive night that the lead-off man has homered vs. Mo.

Gibbons takes a ball high for a ball, 1-0. Fastball outside, 2-0. Fastball high and away, 3-0. (Torre is going to have to answer for the first inning mistake…) Fastball, right down the middle for a strike, 3-1. The next pitch is sliced foul down the left field line. Oh, man was that ever close to being a double. The full count pitch is lined back to Rivera. One out.

Cutter, outside for a ball to Batista. The next pitch is fouled off, 1-1. Cutter, away and out of the zone; Batista waves at it, 1-2. Cutter, in on the hands, fouled back. Another cutter, tailing way outside; Batista whiffs. (That was a good pitch.)

Fordyce looks at another nice cutter for a strike. Good movement on that one. The next pitch is in the same place and Fordyce grounds out to Soriano.

We’re going to extra innings, folks.

Sterling Hitchcock was about as good as anyone could have expected, allowing three runs over six innings. He didn’t throw many pitches and left trailing 3-2. But John Flaherty hit his second solo homer of the game to tie the score in the seventh, and Godzilla Matsui’s RBI single drove home Jason Giambi to give the Yanks the lead, 4-3 in the eighth.

Antonio Osuna worked a perfect seventh. He allowed a single with one out in the eighth, and after fouling off 4 full count pitches, D. Roberts popped out to left for the second out. Osuna is throwing relatively hard tonight. Devi Cruz is up next, and he smacks a grounder to third. Boone has to move to his left—I don’t know if leadfoot Ventura reaches this one—and goes to second for the force to end the inning.

There was an odd bit of business early in the game when Batista and Gibbons batted out of order. But the Yankee bench was slow to catch the mistake and missed their opportunity to protest the error (which would have erased a Baltimore run). Torre, Zim and company suddenly had extra incentive for the Yanks to win. The questions will sting if New York loses by a run.

David Delluci laid out and made another great catch tonight (this one was on the warning track). Bernie is still swinging a good bat, and Aaron Boone has two hits. Jorge Posada turns 32 today, and was given the night off.

Mo is getting ready for the ninth. It’s rare when the sight of Rivera makes one nervous, but since Mo’s cutter hasn’t been cutting too much lately, this one still ain’t over.

Pedro Martinez was 10-0 lifetime against the Mariners going into today’s game. When all was said and done he improved to 11-0, and the Sox rolled to a 5-1 win.

Will Carroll and Derek Zumsteg’s Pete Rose story got some big league support Thursday from Allen Barra in The Wall Street Journal. Both Marvin Miller and Bill James are quoted in the piece; Carroll delineated the origins of the scoop to Barra (if anybody needed clarification).

Bill James put it well when he told Barra:

“I hope it is true. We can’t argue forever about what Rose did or didn’t do, and it isn’t doing baseball any good to allow a perception to fester that the game has dealt unfairly with one of its greatest stars. At some point, you just have to move on.”

It’s good to have friends in high places, and Barra’s column is a credibility-boost to the Zumsteg-Carroll piece. Good for them.

The Yankees did almost everything they could to lose last night in Baltimore, but Aaron Boone got his first big hit for New York, and the Bombers toppled the O’s, 6-4. Roger Clemens started and although he never seemed totally comfortable, the Rocket bulldozed his way through seven innings and left the game with a 2-1 lead, which the bullpen promptly spoiled.

Jesse Orosco and Jeff Nelson were ineffective and the Orioles went into the ninth leading 3-2. With men on first and second and one out, Aaron Boone came to the plate. The O’s had intentionally walked Nick Johnson twice earlier in the game to face Boone, who could not take advantage of the opportunities. He wasn’t alone as the Yankees stranded two bases runners in each of the first five innings. They left another man on in the sixth, and they left the bases loaded in the eighth.

Boone hit a line drive to right field which was foul by inches. Quickly he had two strikes against him again. But he recovered and hit what looked like a three-run homer to left. But it was called foul. Boone, making his way around first, couldn’t believe it and sprinted across the infield to argue the call. The umps got together and reversed the ruling. The ball was fair and the Yanks once again had the lead. It was Boone’s first homer for the Yanks. Lil Sori added a solo shot for good measure.

After the game, Boone told the Post:

“I thought, What else could be happening here?” Boone said after the game. “There was a lot of disbelief. I thought – and I was positive – it was fair. I’m glad, to their credit, they got it right.”

Mariano came on in the ninth and immediately served up a bomb to Jack Cust. The Orioles got two more hits before Rivera got out of the inning on a couple of comebackers. So the bullpen and the lack of clutch-hitting plagued the Yanks once again; however, they were able to come away with a win, which should keep the kvetching at bay (for today at least). Bernie Williams also hit a home run, and looks as if he’s starting to get into a groove. Jorge Posada is the hottest hitter on the team right now.

Meanwhile, the Mariners were busy beating up on the Red Sox—Ichiro hit a grand slam—and the Yanks now have a four-game lead (five in the loss column). They are going to need the cushion because Sterling Hitchcock is pitching tonight. That could be an adventure. But if the bats show up, he might be all right.

Jeremy Giambi is going to have season-ending surgery on his shoulder this week. It is one of the few moves that haven’t worked out for Theo Epstein this year.

Yesterday afternoon a co-worker started a dumb ass debate with me about whether Pedro Martinez is a Hall of Famer or not. He didn’t think he was; I think he’s out of his bird. So I e-mailed Aaron Gleeman and asked for a link to some of his articles on the subject. I was in the process of forwarding them to my dim-witted pal, when the power went out.

I looked across the street and saw that the power was out in Rockerfeller Center as well. Everybody was calm, but I was tense and ready to spint if I had to. After 15 minutes of making phone calls and trying to figure out what the hell was going on, I joined the hoards of people on the streets. I work in the Time Life Building on 50th street and I live on 232nd street. Talk about a hike. But I have family on the Upper West side, so I knew I wouldn’t have to shlep all the way home.

I ended up crashing at my aunt and uncles, and didn’t make it home until just after 10:00 am Friday morning. I’m thoroughly exhausted (this must be how Will Carroll feels). Without going into the grizzly details of my particular adventure, let me say that New Yorkers were calm and under control.

Yesterday evening, your basic type A personalities took charge and stood in the middle of busy intersections and played traffic cop (where is Ned the wino when you need him?). Bascially, you saw the best and worst of human nature: some avaricious vendors were selling water for up to three bucks, while others were giving it away for free. Cars were filled with strangers, and good will generally ruled the day—just ask Mike Lupica. Also, the streets were replete with video cameras, hoping to catch something…anything sensational.

I was concerned that once it got dark, we could see a repeat of the ’77 blackout, but I don’t think that happened. (I was six during that crisis and don’t remember it at all.) It probably helped that the power went out many hours before nightfall, and I also think the 9.11 experience has altered the way we handle ourselves under duress as well.

It didn’t occur to me until this morning to find out what happened around the majors last night. I didn’t know whether there would be any papers at all. But when I saw the Daily News, I happily discovered the Yanks had actually played their game in Baltimore last night and won, 8-5. Godzilla did his best Pete Reiser impression and made a great catch late in the game as he ran into the outfield wall. Posada had another big night, and Bernie had three hits as well. Pettitte wasn’t sharp but got the win. Funny how things even out, huh?

You don’t say. The Red Sox won a dramatic game in Oakland yesterday afternoon and left town with a split. The Yanks still lead Boston by three.

It’s almost noon, and I’m going to sleep.

Rob Neyer’s latest column is about the Pete Rose affair. I think it’s a great piece; it ostensibly sums up how I feel about the whole mess. I find the Pete Rose story too enervating to write about. I just don’t care enough about it to get all worked up, one way or the other. David Pinto adds some good points about Rose as well at Baseball Musings, while Jay Jaffe does his customary due dilegence over at Futility Infielder.

Poor Jeff Weaver. He just can’t catch a break. Forget that he’s pitching for one of the best teams in the game, the world has conspired against him. After getting torched again last night, here is what Weaver offered to the press after the game:

“Everything that can go wrong now is going wrong,” Weaver said. “If I fall behind, they hit it. If I make a good pitch, they hit it. It’s tough to comprehend because I’ve made those pitches before and they’ve worked.”

…I know I know how to pitch. I know how to win.”

That’s almost as weak as the stuff he had on the mound. Joe Torre was blunt in his assessment of Weaver’s performance:

“He didn’t make good pitches,” Torre said. “He left a lot over the plate and the Royals let him know about it…It wasn’t a good night. I found no positives in the way he pitched tonight.”

Kevin Appier was effective, and KC rolled to an 11-0 shutout. Even though he was recently cut by the Angels, Appier has a lower ERA than Weaver. The Yanks lost two of three again to a good team, and they also lost a game in the standings as the Sox finally beat the A’s, 7-3.

There isn’t anything good to say about last night’s game from a Yankee perspective. The dog days have enveloped them indeed. Derek Jeter did offer a reality check of sorts:

“It’s great when you can struggle this time of year and still be in first place. A lot of teams would like to be in our position right now.”

Just ask the Twins.

Jeff Weaver started the first by giving up two singles. He then walked Raul Ibanez on a full count pitch. It looked as if Ibanez went around, and it also appeared as if the home plate ump raised his hand to signal strike three. But it was ball four. Joe Torre and Zim protested to no avail. Weaver’s old pal, Mike Sweeney smacked a fat 1-0 fastball into right for a two-run single, and Weaver and the Yanks were lucky to escape the inning down, 3-0.

Weaver has his screwed-up ‘game face’ on. I used to think it was concentration. Now I think it’s a cheap guise to cover his fear. Come on, dammit. Show some mettle Jeff, you big baby. Don’t be a sucka.

Appier looks like crap—watching him pitch is like being at the dentist without novocaine–but he’s escaped trouble through two. This is going to be ugly.

Jeff Weaver goes against the recently aquired Kevin Appier tonight in KC. Thank goodness the Yankee bullpen got a rest last night, because they’ll most likley be called on this evening. Weaver and Mike Sweeney got into it a couple of years ago. It’ll be interesting to see if anyone gets testy in the heartland. (The Yankees haven’t been in a brawl all season, and I don’t recall if they were involved in one in 2002 either.) Hopefully, Weaver won’t pitched scared and the Yankees can manage to come back east with a series win. After all, the Sox won’t continue to lose forever.

The Baseball Prospectus-Pete Rose story caused quite a stir yesterday. Both Jay Jaffe and Jon Weisman have thoughtful, and measured columns today (Jay has full complement of links as well). Lee Sinins’ take may be less objective, but it’s convincing and funny. Here is what he wrote in his latest ATM report:

MLB has strongly denied Baseball Prospectus’s report on the return of Pete Rose.

With MLB’s credibility, this statement is just as good as a confirmation of Will’s story. With their track record, MLB is on my list of at least 3 entities, of which I believe nothing from them until as the events prove the statement to be correct. Occasionally it does happen, but until it does, I don’t believe it.

Actually, my first reaction to MLB’s denial was, if Pete Rose was mentioned in their statement, then there is the possibility that Rose doesn’t even exist. But, as recently as a day or two ago, I was watching an old episode of Baseball Magazine on ESPN Classic (which, as an aside, is a show I’d like to see returned to the air) and Sparky Anderson was discussing Pete Rose’s reaction to Game 6 of the 1975 World Series. So, since independent evidence of Rose’s existence exists, at least that part of MLB’s statement is believable.

I won’t even insult Will Carroll by including any discussion of his credibility in the same sentence.

I sure would like to know what the two other entities that Lee doesn’t trust are, though the Oval Office and the MTA rank high on my list.

The Mets, Giants game was interesting last night because it marked the return of Edgardo Alfonso to Queens. But Fonzie, and even the visiting former President, Bill Clinton, took a back seat to the great Barry Bonds. (You were expecting J.T. Snow maybe?) Bonds, who has historically not hit well at Shea Stadium, was masterful. He walked on four pitches in the first. The Mets had the lead when he came up again, and promptly lined Aaron Heilman’s first pitch into the bullpen. There were smiles all around—it was hard to resist, even for Johnny Franco—and plenty of cheers for Mr. Bonds. (Hey, the fans aren’t stupid; the realize they are catching history here.) He doubled in a run in his following at bat, and was finally retired by Grant Roberts his fourth time up (he whiffed on a fastball up and out of the strike zone).

The Mets led 5-3 in the ninth. David Weathers got the first out, so he was able to pitch to Bonds. He got two quick strikes, and then threw three-straight balls. The 2-2 pitch was close, and Weathers thought he had a strike out, but it was a ball. Bonds creamed the 3-2 pitch to right for another homer, and I nearly fell off the couch I was laughing so hard. Bonds now has 650 career homers, just ten shy of Willie Mays on the all-time list. Amazing.

Weathers got the next two outs, the Mets won, and (almost) everybody went home happy.

The Yankees got just what the doctor ordered last night: a fine performance from both Mike Mussina and the offense. It was a well-balanced effort as the Yanks defeated the Royals, 6-0. Mussina pitched eight innings, allowed four hits and walked four; Mariano pitched a scoreless ninth. The Yankees’ dubious bullpen was essentially given the night off.

Jorge Posada went 4-5, and Soriano and Bernie Williams both looked impressive too. Jason Giambi, who has a bum knee which may require surgery, walked twice, added two hits, and is looking mighty locked-in right now. Hey even Aaron Boone picked up a hit, after a 0-17 streak (he is 5-41 as a Yankee).

I was talking with Christian Ruzich, The Cub Reporter, yesterday, and he had the opportunity to land a press pass in Oakland a few weeks ago when the Yankees were in town. There was a fan appreciation ceremony that day, so the players took bp in an under-ground facility. Ruz said that Giambi wasn’t as huge as he was several years back, but he did note several sizable tatoos on the sluggers’ arms. In fact, he pointed out that Giambi wears a 3/4 sleeve on his right arm to cover one of his pieces. I noticed it last night. Thanks for the fashion tip, Ruz.

David Wells, who is back in New York and will have an MRI on his ailing back today, will miss at least one start, and there is some concern that he could miss more than that. Sterling Hitchcok will likely start in his place on Saturday against the Orioles.

The Yankees gained a game on the Red Sox, who lost in Oakland last night, 5-3. The A’s scored five runs early and held off a late surge by Boston. Oakland is now one game up in the wild card race; the Yankees lead the Sox by four, five in the loss column. The Red Sox are 13-13 since the All-Star break.

Speaking of the Sox, the morbid saga of Ted Williams continues:

Hall of Famer Ted Williams’ head and body are being stored in separate containers at an Arizona cryonics lab that is still trying to collect a $111,000 bill from Williams’ son, according to a story by Tom Verducci in the latest issue of Sports Illustrated.

You can’t make this kind of creepy stuff up. Sheesh.

Last Sunday morning, I found myself walking from east to west on 125th street in Harlem. Just a few blocks away from the Apollo theater I spotted a Japanese kid with an Ichiro/Godzilla t-shirt. He was with two friends (also Japanese I presumed), so I stopped them to chat about baseball and Matsui. I asked if they were going to The Stadium that afternoon, and they said they were. They had also been to the first two games of the series and were pulling for the Mariners. The kid with the Godzilla shirt was named Hidi (I hope I got that right), and one of his friends’ name was Hideki (the third guy’s name escapes me, but he didn’t talk much anyhow). They were very amused with how much I like Hurricaine Hideki Irabu, and they assured me that he was pitching quite well in Japan this season.

The guys told me that Ichiro was slightly more popular in Japan than Godzilla, but that they are really two very different types of personalities and players. They were eager to know who I thought Kaz Matsui would sign with next year. I told them that I didn’t think the Yanks would get him, but that stranger things have happened. The guys really enjoyed the passion and excitement of Yankee Stadium, which made me feel proud to be a New Yorker. We enjoyed a nice conversation for about ten minutes when I discovered that these guys are students who live in St. Louis. So I asked them what Cardinals fans were like since I’ve never visited the midwest.

It just goes to show, you never know where you’ll meet great baseball fans.

Speaking of Godzilla, Allen Barra is clearly a fan of the stocky Japanese import, who is enjoying a fine, if not sensational rookie campaign in the majors. Barra makes a case for Godzilla as the hands-down cherce for Rookie of the Year.

Hall of Fame historian Bruce Markusen catches up with the ’73 A’s and the ’78 Yanks in his two latest Cooperstown Confidential columns. Both are well worth checking out. Here is a bit that is unrelated to the main features that caught my eye:

I have to confess that Iíve never seen his television show, but Bernie Mac has nonetheless become one of my favorite comedians. Thatís because he recently told Sports Illustrated that his idol was Roberto Clemente. Mac, by the way, is currently filming a baseball movie called Mr. 3000. Itís not about Clemente, but about a fictional character who decides to make a belated comeback when he realizes that he actually fell short of reaching the 3,000-hit club.

I have seen the Bernie Mac show and I think it’s pretty good. I don’t know how much longer than can keep it fresh, but thus far it has been able to be clever and hip, without compromising Mac’s persona. I’ve also read and seen several interviews with Bernie and I think he’s a stand-up guy. There is no pretense or B.S. with Mac, and he’s very thoughtful. The fact that he’s making a baseball flick makes me like him all the more. I’m hopeful that this movie—which co-stars the talented Angela Bassett—could in fact be decent. I’m rooting for it all the way.

Bob DuPuy, the President and Chief Operating Officer of MLB has issued a statement regarding Baseball Prospectus’ Pete Rose story:

“The story that appeared on the Baseball Prospectus website today regarding the return of Pete Rose to baseball in 2004 and the alleged written agreement that had been reached by Rose and Commissioner Selig is unsubstantiated and totally unfounded. The report is wholly inaccurate.

“As has been reported many times by the Commissioner and as recently as one week ago, Commissioner Selig and Mr. Rose have met regarding his pending application for reinstatement, which originally was filed in 1997. The Commissioner has not made a decision and no agreement with Mr. Rose has been reached or signed. When a decision is made, it will be reported through the appropriate channels. Any unnamed source to the contrary or any report suggesting otherwise is both unfortunate and journalistically irresponsible.”

As you can well imagine, this story has caused a veritable shit storm in the on-line baseball community. Check out the thread running at Baseball Primer for the gory details.

Pat Jordan was a bonus baby for the Braves in the late ’50s and early ’60s. He threw gas, but never made it to the majors; eventually, he became an accomplished journalist. His first memoir, “A False Spring” is considered a baseball classic. I think that the sequel, “A Nice Tuesday,” is a better book, even if it is more about Jordan’s personal life than it is about baseball.

Jordan still writes for The New York Times magazine, and it is always a treat to read his work, especially if it is about a pitcher. Before “A False Spring” was released in 1974, Jordan published a collection of stories he had written for Sports Illustrated called, “The Suitors of Spring.” All of the articles in this collection are about pitchers, including the likes of Tom Seaver, Bo Belinksky, Bruce Kison, Steve Dalkowski and Sudden Sam McDowell.

I buried myelf in the book last night after suffering through the Yankees game, hoping to take my mind off the pain of the here-and-now. Jordan describes McDowell and Dalkowski as young men who were possessed by their talented; Seaver, on the other hand, was a late-bloomer with less natural talent. Of course, Seaver became on the great pitchers of all time. Dalkowski never made it passed triple A and McDowell never became the great pitcher he was expected to become.

Here is a healthy excerpt from the article on Sudden Sam, “A Talent for Refusing Greatness:”

Like many extremely talented people, Sam McDowell does not judge his accomplishments by conventional standards. His challenges, and their eventual resolution, are very private affairs independent of either the approval or disapproval of anyone else.

…”The only thing I get satisfaction from,” he says, “is accomplishing something I’m not supposed to be able to do. I live for challenges, and once I overcome them I have to go on to something new.”

…It is obvious that McDowell takes great delight in watching his pitches behave even when he’s only warming up. And he admits to often concentrating so much on his individual pitches and their perfection that he loses sight of everything else. His individual pitches then become his goal rather than simply the means of attaining some larger goal–a victory, for instance.

“I try and break things down to their simplest element,” he says, “and sometimes I guess I do it to an extreme. For instance, a game to me is just a series of individual challenges–Me against Reggie Jackson or Me againt Don Mincher. If I find I can get a guy out with a fastball it takes all the challenge away, so next time I throw him all curveballs. If I don’t have a challenge I create one. It makes the game interesting.”

…”No, I wouldn’t say Sudden is the toughest pitcher I ever faced,” says Reggie Jackson. “Now, don’t get me wrong. I like Sudden and I think he’s got the greatest fastball, curveball, slider and change-up of any pitcher I ever saw. I call him ‘Instant Heat.’ But still, I don’t mind facing him. That’s not because I hit him so easy, either, because I don’t. It’s just that Sudden simplifies things out there. He makes it like it used to be when we were kids. You know he’s going to challenge you, his strength against yours, and either you beat him or he beats you. And if you do beat him with a home run or something, hell, it don’t bother him that much. He’s not greedy. He lets you have a little, too. And he won’t throw at you, either, because he’s too nice a guy. He knows that with his fastball he could kill you if he ever hit you. You see, baseball’s still a game to Sudden, the way it should be to all of us. Hell, I’d pay to see him pitch because I know he enjoys himself so much. Do you know he’s got 12 differenet moves to first base? That’s a fact! When he was going for his 1500th strikeout he was trying so hard he fell down on a pitch to me. I took it for a third strike. I loved that, though. That’s why I look forward to facing him even if I don’t hit him a helluva lot. But someday I will. Me and Sudden will be around for a long time, and one of these days I’m going to connect with one of his sudden pitches and watch out! But still, I have to say that Sam McDowell isn’t the toughest pitcher I ever faced. As a matter of fact, I think he’d be tougher if he had less ability. Sounds crazy, huh? But it’s true. Sudden’s just go too much stuff.”

I don’t think that Jeff Weaver is nearly as gifted as McDowell was, and perhaps he isn’t even as interesting a person. But I thought about Weaver after reading this article last night, because he’s a pitcher with great stuff who hasn’t been able to put it together. Of course, you can replace Jeff Weaver with your favorite talent who hasn’t lived up to expectations. The point is, all the talent in the world doesn’t mean spit if you don’t thrive as a competitor.

Anyhow, there isn’t a baseball writer I enjoy more than Pat Jordan. Next time you happen upon one of his books, pick it up and give him a try.

Will Carroll and Derek Zumsteg of Baseball Prospectus are reporting that Pete Rose will be allowed to return to baseball next year:

Pete Rose and Major League Baseball have reached an agreement that would allow him to return to baseball in 2004, and includes no admission of wrongdoing by Rose, Baseball Prospectus has learned. According to several sources, Rose signed the agreement after a series of pre-season meetings between Rose, Hall of Fame member Mike Schmidt, and at different times, high-level representatives of Major League Baseball, including Bob DuPuy, Major League Baseball’s Chief Operating Officer, and Allan H. “Bud” Selig, Commissioner of Major League Baseball.

The agreement includes removal of Rose from baseball’s permanently ineligible list. This would allow Rose to appear on ballots for baseball’s Hall of Fame, which bars such banned players from consideration. The agreement allows Rose to be employed by a team in the 2004 season, as long as that position does not involve the day to day operations. That employment restriction would be removed after a year, allowing Rose to return to managing a team as early as the 2005 season if a position is offered to him.

Wow. Nice scoop, fellas. Think this will generate a stir? Duck and cover.