Nobody's Perfect

Jason Michael Barker

Listen to the media long enough, though, and you might starting thinking certainly players really are.

Orlando Hernandez, for one. He of the 7-0 record and 1.21 ERA in the post-season heading into the sixth game of the American League Championship Series was anything but against the Mariners Tuesday night, as he allowed six runs (gasp!) in seven-plus innings.

Mariano Rivera, for another. As he entered the game in the eighth inning to record the final six outs, Rivera brought with him a post-season record 33.1 consecutive scoreless innings and the lowest post-season ERA in baseball history. Doubles by John Olerud and Mark McLemore in the eighth inning changed all that, however, as Rivera's scoreless streak came to an end.

For that matter, the Yankees as a whole. OK, so maybe I should stop listening to Bob Costas.

Who came close to perfect in this series? Certainly Roger Clemens, who single-handedly won Game Four with a one-hit shutout that featured 15 strikeouts.

Alex Rodriguez, in perhaps his final six games in a Seattle uniform, did his best to carry the offense with nine hits in 22 at-bats, including two home runs. He saved his best -- a four-for-five performance which featured a homer and two doubles -- for the last game of the series, even beating out an infield single in the top of the ninth which allowed the tying run to come to the plate.

Bernie Williams, who would have gotten my vote for series MVP, had ten hits in 22 at-bats including a three-for-four night in the clincher, and seemed to be on base all night. His homer-robbing catch on Sunday might have been enough for the MVP award all by itself.

Other thoughts from Game Six of the ALCS:

? At the very least, Seattle made Orlando Hernandez work. Whereas in his first start of the series Hernandez challenged hitters with his fastball to set up his off-speed stuff, Tuesday night he seemed to throw fewer fastballs early in the count. The M's were fairly patient, drawing five walks and forcing him to throw a ton of pitches. He was at 39 after two innings, 84 through five, and 109 through six.

? From now on, NBC shall be called the "King of the Replay." Orlando Hernandez throws a pitch? Let's see that from three different angles. Tino Martinez swings through a fastball? Here come four more angles. Al Martin draws a walk? Let's see each pitch of the "pitch sequence" one more time. But then when a questionable pitch gets called a strike, we're shown every replay except the overhead view -- the one view that would have shown if the pitch caught the outside corner or not.

? Did anyone else laugh when NBC showed the text at the bottom of the screen informing all of us that the presidential debate was about to begin on NBC's cable outlet? I did at first, until I found out that some people in this country weren't even able to watch the game and were stuck with the debate instead. I could understand a first-round game during the day not being on, but this was the only game in town. Shame on the local affiliates who chose to show the debate instead of a good baseball game. It's not as if the debate wasn't on any other network...

? Congrats to Dan Wilson, who broke perhaps the worst post-season slump in baseball history. Heading into Tuesday night's game, Wilson was 1-for-26 in ALCS play, 2-for-58 in his post-season career, and mired in an 0-for-41 slump. After striking out in the first (and looking bad doing so), Wilson blooped a single into right to lead off the fifth, and the 0-for-41 was history.

? The Mariners almost added another run in the fifth, but were stymied by a smart defensive decision. After Wilson singled, Stan Javier lined a ball toward shortstop with Wilson running. Normally, with a lefty like Javier on the mound, the shortstop would cover second base on a steal attempt. Derek Jeter didn't cover, though, and was able to catch Javier's liner and double off Wilson at first.

Why did Luis Sojo go to cover second instead of Jeter? Just a guess, but with Orlando Hernandez throwing a good fastball perhaps the Yankees figured Javier would be late on the ball, and thus more likely to hit the ball to Jeter than pull it to the right side.

? How about the contrast between Tino Martinez and Paul O'Neill this post-season? Both players were, in a word, awful during the regular season, hitting at levels well below average for their respective positions. Martinez has shrugged off his poor performance to have strong post-season thus far, but O'Neill has struggled so mightily that he has both lost his spot in the batting order to Dave Justice and was even pinch-hit for twice during the ALCS.

Well, the dreaded subway series is finally upon us. I still haven't figured out why there wasn't any hype for the first "Wild Card" series that could have taken place between the Mets and Mariners, but that's for another time.

You're going to hear a great deal from bitter people who say they're going to boycott the World Series over the next week or so, and my best advice is to ignore them and not join their ranks. Even if you're not enthralled by the two teams in the World Series, keep this in mind -- even if it was the Twins and Marlins, it would still be the World Series.

And there's something to be said for that.

Sure, his beloved Mariners are playoff goners, and sure, his hero struck out to tend the inning in the bottom of the eighth, but nothing gets Jason Michael Barker down for long. Why not thank him personally for that perky attitude at jmb@strikethree.com.