Pins and Needles

The baseball playoffs have begun. Arizona and St. Louis are tied 1-1, as are Cleveland and Seattle. Meanwhile Atlanta has stunned Houston by winning two games in Houston, pushing the Astros to the brink in their best-of-five series.

But the keynote series, of course, is Oakland and the New York Yankees.

As a loyal Red Sox fan, I hate the Yankees. I don't hate the players, or the manager, but I hate a franchise and the ego-bloated owner, George Steinbrenner. I hate that they can spend more money on talent and player development, and have more resources to pass around than any other team (maybe than any two teams). As a Boston fan, it's my job to root against New York teams whenever possible. (Though when the Noo Yawk baseball teams are doing badly, I at least feel sorry for the Mets. The Yorkies, I'm happy to boo even when they suck.) Sure, a lot of people have suddenly become Yankees fans in the wake of the World Trade Tower attacks, but... this is baseball, not real life. There's nothing sympathetic about this team, just their city. Heck; the Yankees have Roger Clemens, one of the more personally detestable baseball figures of recent years, and that's plenty of reason to root against them right there.

The Yankees have won four of the last five World Series, and last year beat the A's by a single error in the fifth game of the first round of the playoffs. But this year's A's team is better: Better pitching, better defense, better record (second-best in the Majors), better momentum heading into the playoffs.

And wouldn't you know it, the A's took the first two games of the five-game series.

In Noo Yawk.

Yes, the Athletics are heading home for two games with a two-game lead. One more and the Yorkies are history.

The games were both squeakers, with the pitchers cooling off the hitters, except for Terrence Long's two home runs in Game One (as unlikely a power hero as you'll find in this postseason). Mark Mulder (age 24) tamed the Yorkies through six-plus innings yesterday which the A's won 5-3, and Tim Hudson held them scoreless through eight innings today, in a 2-0 victory. The second was an absolute nail-biting win, with a classic Jason Isringhausen save, putting two men on base with no outs before getting the last three guys. (A friend says that his nickname, "Izzy", could refer to "Izzy good, or Izzy bad?") But both games were wins, and they showcased the A's true edge: They have four top-flight pitchers in their rotation.

This is a team that could dominate the American League for years to come.

And it could all start with just one more victory this week.

It should be fun.

But boy, it's tough sitting there wondering if this is the pitch when the Yankees will turn it around and charge to another World Series championship. I don't think I could stomach another Yankees title. Time for someone else to have a turn.