8:20: Yankees (Mussina) at Angels (Colon) -- Series tied 2-2
We are really lucky today. There wasn't supposed to be any baseball this evening. But, thanks to rain in New York on Saturday, we have one game, and it promises to be a good one.
We already know that the Astros will be in St. Louis on Wednesday for the NLCS. That rivalry is quickly becoming the NL equivalent of the Yankees and Red Sox, if only for the frequency with which those two teams meet each other (remember last year?).
Tonight we'll find out who will meet the White Sox in the ALCS.
Tonight's game is about as good as it gets. A winner-take-all playoff game featuring the aces of both clubs. The teams may be a little jet-lagged, but the pitchers shouldn't be: Mussina stayed behind in Anaheim just in case this came to be (he wasn't in New York for Game 3 or 4); Colon headed out West a day ahead of his teammates.
The superstars (ARod.com, Vlad, etc.) have been relatively quiet in this series. Maybe that will change tonight.
If the first three "clinchers" of the playoffs are any indication, we'll get a star-worthy performance, even if it doesn't come from a superstar. In the first clincher, Orlando Hernandez came out of the White Sox bullpen to protect a one-run lead. Although the bases were loaded, he got out of the inning without giving up anything. In the second clincher, Matt Morris flirted with a no-hitter in a win over the Padres. Yesterday we saw something that hadn't happened since 1984 - Roger Clemens came on in relief. He, and the Astros, won in 18-innings. Maybe we'll see something half that good tonight.
Oh yeah - and make your picks!
| Person | NYY @ LAA | Player | AAB |
| Carolina | Angels | K-Rod | Mussina: 5 IP |
| Colombo259 | |||
| Double B | |||
| Craig | Angels | Vlad | Vlad: Bunt RBI |
| Dex | |||
| Fishfan24 | Angels | ARod.com | Leiter = L |
| Jsprt05 | Angels | Vlad | |
| Seamusfurr | |||
| StrandedX02 | |||
| Wiggins |