Playoff baseball and TV networks are great at least for advertisers.  Or are they?  Certainly this story has been written annually, about how games go on way past anyone's bed-time let alone kids for what is ultimately supposed to be a kids game.  This year however it has gone to a new level of being completely asinine.

Of course scheduling has never been a staple of MLB.  Because not knowing where they'll be playing the World Series any time after the All-Star game would create an epic "catastrophe." 

This post-season scheduling has gotten so loony that I don't even know how the networks or advertisers could even like it and they seem to be the one's dictating the show to MLB in the first place.

This year's ALCS with both teams sweeping should've started no later than last Wednesday.  And why not, after all that's the same day the World Series will be starting on.  Instead we get the first game of the NLCS on Thursday and again during the day on Friday in sunny Los Angeles even with the threat of awful conditions in New York.

Game One of the ALCS is played Friday night in New York and knowing at least three days out that it could be a stretch to get the game in, they couldn't bother to move the start time back even a half an hour.

Memo to the networks, we've been watching all year and we don't need a silly pre-game show to hear you listen to yourselves talk for 20-30 minutes, just play the darn game already.  The reason even games that don't go extra innings seem like they go on for five hours has to do with the five minute commercial blocks.  So if you're announcing the game and want to complain about the cold or the length of the game or that there's too many conferences on the mound or the batter doesn't get into the box quickly enough, talk to your bosses about the insane amount of time devoted to commercials. 

Speaking of which how do you get anyone to see them (commercials) when people are either half asleep or have essentially tuned them out after their redundancy has lost all meaning after four to five hours on a loop?  And more importantly how does anyone benefit from having Game Three of the ALCS in Los Angeles start at 4:00PM in the nice weather once again, while Game Four of the NLCS is at night in chilly Philly?

Plus for once the West Coast viewer actually gets the shaft unless they play hooky they're lucky to see the end of ALCS Game Three and people on the East Coast are likely missing half the game as well.  So who are you in effect selling to?  Or are you banking on the 9.8% who don't have jobs to watch and not buy your products with the money they don't have to spend?

Of course this could've been averted as well if at least one of the series started earlier, because both weekend days should've had both series going.  And might I add that there was no excuse on a traditionally poor ratings night (Saturday) that Game Two of the ALCS in New York needed to start at 8:00PM.  It's not like Sunday where you'd be going up against the NFL, which if Saturday got rained out you'd be willing to do that anyhow by moving Saturday night's game to Sunday afternoon at 4:00PM.  Knowing it was going to be miserable and yet they couldn't even move the start time of the Saturday game when more people are home during the day to begin with than oh say Monday?

As Joel Sherman noted in the New York Post, typically in a baseball season each team gets 19 scheduled off days.  Last year in the playoffs the Philadelphia Phillies had 15. 

And might I also add that those of us who work for local FOX affiliates who do a newscast late after the ball-game ends, we don't need to sit around waiting anymore for a 20 minute wrap of a game that just went on for four to five hours.  I don't mind the interviews with the players or managers but seriously to hear Joe Buck and Tim McCarver or whomever prattle on for 15-20 more minutes is just un-necessary after watching and seeing everything unfold to that point after that amount of time.  But I guess one has to take solace that it's not Chip Caray.

That is unless of course you fell asleep in the sixth inning and you're seeing color bars or the sun come up.

Often athletes who just can't quite get that ring are asked the dubious question.  The awards, the accolades, the records, the money, would you trade it all for a ring?  Alex Rodriguez may have sold his soul and tarnished his legacy by admitting steroid use this spring, but in doing so and setting himself free he is starting to create a new legacy. 

Saturday night into Sunday morning if it felt like you'd read this script before, it's because you already have.  Another Game Two of solid starting pitching from A.J. Burnett, another game tying HR off the bat of A-Rod, another win for David Robertson and just another walk-off win against a team that used to throw their weight around and now just throws the ball all over the place.

Nick Swisher drew a walk off Joe Saunders in the bottom of the second.  Robinson Cano drilled an RBI triple to the right field wall plating Swisher and for the second time in as many games this ALCS the Yankees took the lead first. 

Derek Jeter came up in the third and homered off Saunders well beyond the short porch in right.  Jeter's second homer of the playoffs and 19th of his post-season career moved him past Reggie Jackson and Mickey Mantle for sole possession of third on the all-time list, putting the Yanks up 2-0.

Burnett who struck out four over 6 1/3 was rolling along until the fifth.  Maicer Izturis hit a ground rule double to right.  Erick Aybar singled to center allowing Izturis to score.  Aybar stole second, Burnett plunked Chone Figgins on the foot and followed that up by walking Torii Hunter.  That's when Burnett with two outs un-leashed a wild pitch allowing Aybar to come in and tie things at 2-2.  Burnett induced Vladimir Guerrero to ground to short but the damage was done.

Both teams had multiple opportunities from there but each team's bullpen answered the bell.

Until the top of the eleventh when Alfredo Aceves came on in relief of Mariano Rivera, who'd had his longest post-season outing since Game Seven of the 2003 ALCS where he went three innings to pick up the win and ALCS MVP honors.  Aceves inexplicably walked Gary Matthews Jr. to start the frame.  Aybar bunted him to second and Figgins picked up his first hit and RBI of the playoffs with a bloop to left.  Aceves got out of it on a 'round the horn double play, but the Yanks were down 3-2.

Then speaking of the 2003 ALCS, a day (or so) after the anniversary of Yanks third baseman Aaron Boone hitting a clutch leadoff HR in the eleventh, it was like someone dusted off that old script again.  And much like another Yanks third baseman Scott Brosius took the league's saves leader Trevor Hoffman deep in San Diego, it was A-Rod's turn to be clutch once again.  So A-Rod with the rain pouring down hit a screamer to right off Brian Fuentes to knot the contest at 3-3.  His third game-tying HR of this post-season and third overall.

Both teams battled onto the 13th when another player long awaiting his shot at October glory came to the plate.  Jerry Hairston Jr. got the Yanks going with a pinch hit single to center off Ervin Santana.  Brett Gardner moved him to second on a bunt.  The Angels then chose to intentionally walk Cano to try and setup the inning ending double play. 

However Melky Cabrera grounded one to Izturis, which Izturis promptly threw away.  Hairston rounded third and Figgins who bobbled the loose ball had no chance at throwing out Hairston and the Yankees won it 4-3.

These are Joe Girardi's scrappy, never-say-die Yankees and they are halfway home to pennant number 40 and a trip to the World Series as they now embark on a trip to California with a fresh Andy Pettitte in hand.

Derek Jeter had it right after Friday night's ALCS Game One victory over the Angels.  "The past is the past," said the Yankees captain referring to Los Angeles' prior success against CC Sabathia.  But it is that familiar sounding refrain that rings true, one Jeter first uttered after the 2002 ALDS Game Four loss to the Halos, that "this Yankee team isn't the same as that Yankee team."  As the Yankees have demonstrated thus far, this Yankee team doesn't seem to resemble any of the past five years either.

And while we're at it we can stop looking at reputations and start looking at results.  As the usually fundamentally sound Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim California looked resoundingly like the routinely fundamentally sound Minnesota Twins of the 2009 ALDS and it wasn't pretty.

If the temperatures made it feel more befitting of a Halloween night, it's no wonder that Sabathia threw like an absolute witch.  CC was hitting 96 on the gun in the eighth inning and had the type of delivery that would make W.B. Mason blush.  Sabathia made Angels hitters look absolutely silly allowing only four hits over eight while striking out seven.

In the first Derek Jeter (who else?) got the Yanks going with a patten base knock to right.  Then Johnny Damon who after his dreadful ALDS against Minnesota couldn't have been blamed for wanting to grow a playoff beard circa 2004, picked up a broken bat hit to left, moving Jeter to third and advancing to second on the throw.

Following a Mark Teixeira pop out on a 3-0 count it was Alex Rodriguez back to the plate in his first appearance at the Stadium since his game tying HR in Game Two of the ALDS against the Twins.  A-Rod got the job done with a sac fly to center bringing home Jeter, the first time the Yankees had scored first in a playoff game this October. 

Then in a play more befitting of the Metrodome roof than Yankee Stadium, Eric Aybar and Chone Figgins collaborated on the worst play this side of Luis Castillo.  With two outs and Hideki Matsui at the dish, Matsui popped up a John Lackey offering to the left side of the Angel infield.  When the ball inexplicably landed, Damon came around to score the Yankees second run in what would be a foreshadowing of things to come for the Angels "defense."

For the first time in the new Stadium's history there were no homers on the night, the closest coming when Sabathia hit his only bump of the night in the fourth when Vladimir Guerrero launched a double off the wall in left.  Kendry Morales then lifted a soft single to left-center knocking home the Angels only run and cutting the lead in half.

In the fifth the Yanks bounced back.  Damon doubled to set the table, A-Rod walked, so with two on and one out Matsui came through with another clutch RBI smash to left.  Damon scored and A-Rod was ruled out in a collision at home plate with catcher Jeff Mathis.

Moving to the bottom of the sixth the Yankees staged a two out rally.  After a walk to Melky Cabrera that vaunted Angels defense reared its ugly head once more.  Lackey threw the ball away in attempting to pick off Cabrera at first.  Following that was Jeter with a smash up the box and into center where Torii Hunter booted the ball and Cabrera came home with the Yankees fourth run, increasing the lead to 4-1.

From there out Sabathia kept rolling along and after shaking off some rust Mariano Rivera added to his MLB post-season record 36th save and the Yankees just as they did in 2002 and 2005 took game one of a playoff series against the Angels, hoping that the past is in the past.

Anything you can do I can do the next inning, I can do anything better than you.  It was that theme that signified the Yankees three game ALDS sweep of the Twins.  Just when it seemed Minnesota had a firm grasp on the action, the Yankees proved in a New York minute everything can change.  One can't blame the Twins if they didn't want to score until the bottom of the ninth just so the Yankees would have no chance of coming back to score the next inning.

Such was the case Sunday evening as Andy Pettitte and Carl Pavano were rolling along in the final game baseball game ever to be played at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.  Both starters matched goose eggs through five until Pettitte blinked in the sixth.

With two gone Pettitte allowed a single and a stolen base to Denard Span.  After yielding a walk to Orlando Cabrera, Pettitte surrendered an RBI single to left to Joe Mauer scoring Span and putting Minnesota up 1-0.  Michael Cuddyer struck out swinging to retire the side but the damage had been done.

However in the top half of the seventh, just like the Yankees had done in the previous two games they scored in the frame immediately following one where Minnesota took the lead.  And for the third time in two games Alex Rodriguez came up and tied the score for the Bombers, hitting one out just above the baggie in right.

Then with two outs in the same frame, Jorge Posada decided to pay homage to the homer dome with an opposite field blow of his own to left, obviously never wanting to be benched in a playoff game again, putting the Yanks ahead 2-1. 

Pavano was done after that inning, leaving with perhaps a bruised ego to go along with his nine strikeouts.

After picking up his seventh strikeout against Jason Kubel, Pettitte gave way to Joba Chamberlain going 6 1/3 allowing just three hits and one run.  Chamberlain pitched another scoreless frame of post-season baseball, no midges in the Land of 1,000 Lakes.

Things did get interesting in the Twins half of the eighth though with Phil Hughes on for the Yankees.  Nick Punto got it going with a double to left.  Then the Twins who looked to put the pressure on, ran themselves out of another inning.

Denard Span bounced one up the middle that was snagged by Derek Jeter.  Punto took a wide turn and Jeter alertly altered his momentum firing home to Posada.  Posada gunned the ball down to A-Rod at third nailing Punto for the first out.

So instead of potentially having runners at the corners and putting the heat on the young kid Hughes who'd surrendered a run the last game, the Twins kicked themselves once again.  Cabrera flew out with Span on first and on came Mariano Rivera to face Joe Mauer.  With two outs Rivera sent Mauer's bat to the Land of 1,000 pieces as the Twins star catcher grounded to first ending the threat.

In the top half of the ninth the Yankees tacked on some insurance.  After the Twins brought on three relievers to walk the heart of the Yankees lineup (Mark Teixeira, A-Rod, Hideki Matsui), they brought on closer Joe Nathan who probably should've started the frame to begin with.

Posada came up huge again knocking in Teixeira with a single to right.  Following Posada, Robinson Cano hit one to shallow right that bounced off Kubel and plated Rodriguez to put the Bombers up 4-1.

Rivera went back out to finish the Twins in the ninth.  After allowing a single to Cuddyer, Rivera fanned Kubel and Delmon Young.  With two down Rivera who closed down the old Yankee Stadium, brought down the curtain on the Metrodome as Brendan Harris forever became the answer to a trivia question as the last player to bat in the Homer Hankie Haven, grounding out to Jeter thus ending the ALDS.

With the win the Yankees earn the 3-0 sweep (their first in the playoffs since the 1999 World Series vs. Atlanta), finalize their 5-0 playoff record at the Metrodome and pick up victory number 106 on the season.  Joe Girardi garnered his first playoff series win and sweep as a manager in one felt swoop.  Other accolades included Andy Pettitte tying John Smoltz for most career playoff wins (15) and passing Smoltz's old Atlanta Braves teammate Tom Glavine for most career playoff starts and innings pitched.  Mariano Rivera notched his 35th career post-season save and 100th career post-season strikeout as well.  Unfortunately for A-Rod there's no ALDS MVP for his spectacular play throughout the series.

Next up for the Yankees the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in a match up of the best two records in baseball.  Each squad started the year with nine players remaining from the last time the teams met in 2005.  This will be the first ALCS contest between the two with the Halos beating the Yanks in the 2002 & 2005 ALDS. 

Luckily for the Yankees they can always consult YES analyst Al Leiter on how to beat the Angels in the playoffs, seeing as how he was the last one to do it for the Yanks at the old Stadium in '05. 

Festivities begin at the 'New House' Friday night!

We got 'em right where we want 'em.  Haha here they come!  I text a friend right after the third out of the top half of the ninth fell into Nick Swisher's glove in right.  Not that you'd want to be down 3-1 with your last ups and Joe Nathan staring you in the face, but again we've seen this movie play out before.  This happened in the Game Four of the  World Series eight years ago in similar fashion, but the Yankees and Twins only need go back to mid-May to know how this one would turn out.

Minnesota usually the team of solid fundamentals will look back at two things in this game aside from the homeruns, a base running gaffe by Carlos Gomez in the fourth when Gomez got tagged out rounding second on a hit to right by Matt Tolbert before Delmon Young could score and a blown call down the leftfield line on what should've been a ground-rule double for Joe Mauer in the eleventh.

Yet the Twins and Nick Blackburn still held the Yankees hitless through four and scored first once again in the sixth on an RBI triple to left by Brendan Harris which plated Young.  But the Twins only got to enjoy that lead about as long as they had to celebrate winning the AL Central crown.

Derek Jeter much like in game one following an inning the Twins scored got the Yankees back on track with a ground-rule double to the Yanks bullpen.  Johnny Damon drew a walk and Alex Rodriguez ripped a two-out game tying RBI single to left and Jeter came around to score.

In the eighth the Twins scrapped out two runs initiated by a two-out walk from Phil Hughes to Carlos Gomez.  Harris picked up another hit and with two on Nick Punto hit one to center scoring Gomez to put the Twins back on top.  Some may question why Mariano Rivera wasn't brought in a batter earlier, but the damage was done and Rivera gave up an RBI single to Denard Span scoring Harris and making the point moot.

So after Rivera held the Twins at bay in the ninth, that setup the dramatics for the bottom half of that frame.

With two outs Mark Teixeira ripped a single to right.  And that's when Joe Nathan who hadn't surrendered a HR with anyone on base all season gave it up to A-Rod who parked a bomb to deep center, evening the contest at 3-3.  Can you say bedlam in the Bronx?

Alfredo Aceves got out of the tenth stranding runners at the corners and getting Orlando Cabrera to fly out to right ending the threat.

In the bottom half, Jorge Posada sliced a broken bat single to center and was pinch run for by Brett Gardner.  Gardner made life hell for Nathan, stealing second on Mauer and consequently reaching third after a Nathan pick-off attempt went into centerfield with the best throw this post-season this side of Mark DeRosa.

After Jeter was walked intentionally to setup the double-play, the Twins got one of the very un-conventional variety.  With the lefty Jose Mijares on to match-up against Damon and one out, Gardner was off at the crack of the bat from Damon and got doubled off on the liner to short to retire the side.

Damaso Marte came on in the eleventh to face Mauer and Mauer sliced what looked like a ground-rule double to left.  But apparently having six umpires including two down the lines isn't enough.  Mauer did pick up a hit as did Jason Kubel who followed him and while one can play the fallacy of the pre-determined outcome as to how the Yankees would've pitched and played it in that spot, one would reason the Twins probably score at least one run in that situation.

David Robertson came on to relieve Marte and gave up a hit to Michael Cuddyer and the runners moved up station to station.  With the bases loaded and no outs, Robertson earned his pinstripes and what would eventually be his first post-season win, much like another un-heralded Yankee reliever from their farm system at the time Mariano Rivera in another ALDS Game 2 in 1995 where another # 13 hit a walkoff HR against Tim Belcher and the Seattle Mariners to put the Yankees up 2-0 in that series.

Robertson got some nice glove work from Teixeira at first on a liner by Young.  Then Gomez hit into a fielder's choice as Mauer was forced at home.  Finally Robertson got Harris to do what Rivera and A.J. Burnett and his six strikeouts could not, fly out to end the inning.

Moving on to the bottom half of the inning, where A-Rod played the part of Tino Martinez in the ninth, Mark Teixeira played the role of Derek Jeter in the eleventh much like that night where October turned to November in Game four of the 2001 World Series. 

Teixeira ripped a frozen rope down into the leftfield seats for the winner faster than John Sterling can say for the 15th time "this is one of the most dramatic games you will ever see!"  

Once again this team proved much like the Super Bowl XLII Champion New York Giants, they tend to thrive and excel when their backs are up against the wall.  Always believing that for all along they had 'em right where they want 'em.