Just a bit outside

Three great storylines so far in the ALDS:

Curtis Granderson is smacking bee bees everywhere because of one tiny adjustment. I assume Kevin Long told him to keep that top hand on the bat through the strikezone, that's the obvious change in Granderson's stroke. That and he's hitting everything on the barrel. Pretty sure being a hitting is more than "Curtis, hit the ball better."

Andy Pettitte came off the DL and had a great start. In his next two, he looked uncomfortable in his own skin. Last night, he looked like postseason Andy Pettitte. There's something tremendously comforting about him on the mound. He's not blowing guys away, he's locating pitches and setting batters up. You never expect a complete meltdown.

Lance Berkman had two hits and 2 RBIs last night. He drove in the game winning run after taking what some people, including the Twins manager, thought was a strike. Fine, that pitch may have been a strike, but no one's talking about the two pitches Berkman took for strikes one and two, which were clearly outside. Plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt's zone was 8 inches off the plate for lefties and and there was no outside edge righties.

So shut up whiners. The Yanks look as if they flipped the proverbial switch after being so terribly and completely awful in September.

Can't wait for Saturday.

Oh Yankees, was that heart I detected? Way to be Grandie ...

Fine Roy Halladay. We get it. You're good.

New season

Same old Yankees.

Here's to hoping the nightmare that was September pulls a Maverick, slams on the breaks and lets the enemy MIG fly right by.

Hmmm ... but of a stretch there.

Anyway, the Yankees had the sense to bench Burnett and go with CC, Pettitte and Phil Hughes, who apparently was granted bonus innings for the post-season run.

I'm not worried about the Twins (minus Morneau), and considering how brutal the AL has been, it's really anyone's title to take.

It'll be Yankees/Rays in the ALCS, and because I'm a homer, I have to pick the Yankees.

NLDS will by Phillies/Giants with the Phillies easily getting into the World Series.

Sadly, it looks as if the Phillies are the best team among the eight. Their offense is fine, but the pitching, oh, the pitching ...

The lesson here being the Yankees better do what they can to get Cliff Lee in pinstripes next season.

So, yeah ... the playoffs

Consider my absence me holding my breath, closing my eyes and sticking my fingers in my ears.

I haven't recovered from the Steinbrenner monument unveiling. And then to watch the Yankees stagger like drunken sailors, dropping game after winnable game, was just too awful.

I tuned in last night, after watching "The 10th Inning," Ken Burns' two-part post script, to see CC Sabathia on the mound for the 9th. No sooner did the the words "Hey, that's nice, CC's gonna get a chance to finish a game," out pops Joe Girardi to yank him and bring in Mo.

Nothing changes with this guy.

At this point, I'm in the USS Anybody But Him. Bring Dallas Green back. Bring in anyone. Put a mannequin in the dugout I don't care. Joe must go.

Camden Yards sounds like Yankee Stadium. Ouch O's. Ouch.

If you ain't cheatin' ...

I think my least favorite phrase (for the next few minutes at least) is "teachable moment."

Apparently Derek Jeter provided parents "a teachable moment."

That's for those parents not creative enough to come up with their own lesson plans.

Really? Jeter faking an umpire, getting first, and putting his team in a position to win (it didn't) is a lesson for children? How so? I remember when what Jeter did was called "gamesmanship" and it was largely applauded as the extra effort winner give to lift their teams to victory.

Jeter took the Jeffrey Mayer home run. No one criticized him.

Armando Galarraga lost a perfect game on a blown call. The base runner didn't say "No no, sir. I'm out." He took his base.

AJ Pierzynski stole first base in the 2005 ALCS and a swinging third strike the umpire said the catcher didn't catch. He did. AJ took first, was pinch run for. That guy stole second and eventually scored the winning run of the series. Was that a "teachable moment"? Or wasn't it, because Pierzynski is widely considered an a-hole.

Cheating in baseball is a funny thing. There's a stat called "stolen base." Players steal signs. Fielders try to decoy runners. What's the difference with a player decoying an umpire? He even said the ball didn't hit him. The ump said take your base. He took his base. That's baseball.

The answer is none. But it's a story. And it's a story that won't go away because it's Jeter. And it's New York. And the economy isn't tanking and the Palestinians and Israelis aren't seconds from abandoning peace talks again ...

Nah. Let's pay attention to this.