Yanks and O's games were both close tonight, could have gone either way. Right around the same time, the Jays broke a 2-2 tie with a 4-run 7th against Balty, and the Rays, after having come back to tie twice, made a crucial error to give the Yanks the game. It was tied at 4, one out in the 7th, second and third, and Jeter hits a grounder right at the drawn-in second baseman. He's got Ichiro dead to rights even after his slight double-pump, but throws it nowhere near the catcher. A second run scores on the play and the Yanks win 6-4. The killer is that Nick Whiffer was on deck. That would have been the third out, jam over, but the Rays had to screw it up. (Also, Stupid Maddon could have broken the game open in the first but was busy doing two-strike safety squeezes.)

NY easily could have been swept in each of the last two series, their only wins being handed to them on a platter that I'm sure Jeter smelted with both hands tied behind his back. Instead they go 2-4. They now go to Baltimore for four games, 1 up on the O's and 2.5 on the Rays. Man it woulda looked nice with the O's up 1 and the Rays just a half-game behind the Molesters of Handicapped Children.

The Red Sox ended before 1 a.m. tonight, and Cook wasn't all that bad, but again we had trouble scoring, and lost 2-1 in Seattle. The 1-8 west coast trip mercifully comes to a close. Unnecessary shot at Valentine by Orsillo as his call after the final out was "and the Red Sox go 1-8 under Bobby Valentine on this road trip." How does it feel to try and play god from your perch, asshole? I'm done with him too. Can't announce for shit anymore anyway. (Notice, though, that I don't confuse NESN and their staff's follies with the team playing poorly--I don't sit here saying "the front office needs to stop dicking around hiring shitty directors and cameramen and announcers and start putting good clubhouse guys on the team!"

I'm so glad I haven't listened to sports radio since July. It was over the top then, I can't imagine what it must be like now.

[Great line by Drunk Uncle Piniella aka Sour-Ass Lou tonight: "Boy, Derek Jeter sure has fun playing this game. That's what makes him so good." On the ESPN game the night before, Rick Sutcliffe praised Jeter for hitting a routine grounder and running it out. These people have completely lost it.]