These fish can play: Marlins even it up. The Yankees got two runs with two out in the ninth to tie it, but the Marlins won it in the 12th on Alex Gonzalez's homer. (Yahoo!)

Joe gambles & loses with call for Weaver. John Harper: "Torre must have been feeling bulletproof. If he were playing blackjack, he'd have asked for a hit on 19." (NY Daily News)

Diary of a Madman (World Series, Game Four).

"The New Mr. October" is off to a rough start tonight. Alfonso Soriano singles to lead things off and then Jeter (who will hereby be referred to as "Jetes" and/or "Mr. Clutch") hits a weak little pop up in the infield. The ball drops, but Jeter just stands at home plate, allowing Luis Castillo and Alex Gonzalez to turn the double-play.

Tim McCarver, who I believe is in love with Jetes in the same manner little girls are in love with Justin Timberlake, has the following reaction to the double-play: "It is weird to see Jeter not running on that play."

Wow Tim, thanks. For a minute there I thought you would be afraid to criticize Mr. Clutch. Can you imagine if Manny Ramirez had done something like this during the ALCS? McCarver would have spent the entire game ripping him a new one.

Now, as if that weren't enough, McCarver is giving Mr. Clutch credit for keeping Roger Clemens under control during the whole mess during Game Four of the ALCS. I wonder sometimes if McCarver stalks Jetes during the off-season, and if Mr. Clutch has ever had to get a restraining order against him. At some point in this game I fully expect to hear McCarver say that "Derek Jeter sure is dreamy."

(Aaron's Baseball Blog)

Series shows why steals overrated. Rob Neyer: "Early during Game 3 Tuesday night, someone asked me, 'Hey Neyer, what are you going to say if the Marlins win 1-0 because Pierre went all the way to second on that blooper in the first?' I would have said, 1) 'Lucky hit, but nice running,' and 2) 'Wow, great pitching, Marlins!' It was funny, wasn't it, how the stories about Game 1 centered on Pierre's leadoff bunt single, and treated the Marlins' pitching -- which limited the Yankees' great lineup to just two runs -- as if it were just sort of ... there?" (ESPN.com)

I don't know what this has to do with baseball, but I thought I'd mention it anyway:

Blogosmear - Gregg Easterbrook and the perils of writing before you think. Since the typical discussion of movie violence contains no mention of studio executives' religious beliefs, all Easterbrook had to do was play it straight and the odds would have been in his favor. Instead, it's a gaffe! Several sentences cross the line. Result: sack. (Slate)

Disney has not only fired Easterbrook, they've also erased all of his past columns from the ESPN.com archive. But they can't erase Google's cache! As a public service, here are links to the googlecached copies of Easterbrook's ESPN.com columns (two missing):

New key to success: the Maroon Zone (10/14/03)
TV policy causes TMQ more pain (10/7/03)
Run amok: Soldier Field, Terrell's ego (9/30/03)
When in doubt, pass on second down! (9/23/03)
Cowboys' win better than ice cream (9/16/03)
Highlights, lowlights and ugly unis (9/9/03)
Most accurate NFL predictions anywhere (9/2/03)
NFC preview: Pass the potatoes (8/26/03)
AFC preview: not blacked out (8/19/03)
I am back with offseason highlights (8/12/03)
Why are you punting? (1/28/03)
The weekend the gods winced (1/21/03)
Flag day (1/14/03)
Blitz happens (1/7/03)
Affiliate follies frustrate NFL fans (12/31/02)
NFL's 88 percent solution (12/24/02)
New slogans from the TMQ Home Office (12/17/02)
NFL talking heads stuck in reverse (12/10/02)
Pass the turkeys out of Dallas, Detroit (11/26/02)
Don't say you haven't been warned (11/19/02)
Muddling along the NFL's middle (11/12/02)
Dishing out the dirt about DirecTV (11/5/02)
There's nowhere to run to, baby! (10/22/02)
Honk if you're from St. Louis (10/15/02)
Shrink-wrapped help for your teams (10/8/02)
Always read the fine print (10/1/02)
Losing is alien to Rams, Steelers (9/24/02)
Florida foibles and football fumbles (9/17/02)
Dumb, dumber ... and Dwayne Rudd (9/10/02)
Haiku me? No, haiku you! (9/3/02)
New map points to NFC treasures (8/27/02)
Previewing the fall line for the AFC (8/20/02)
Delusions of grandeur in preseason (8/13/02)
Offensive and boring (6/4/02)
Lies, Damned Lies and Hundredths (4/23/02)
A real mockery of a draft (4/16/02)

One more non-baseball note...

Aurora, Pinnacle Merge. "Aurora Foods Inc., which makes Duncan Hines cake mixes, will merge with Pinnacle Foods Corp., which sells Vlasic pickles, as part of Aurora's plan to file for bankruptcy to cut debt." Cake and pickles? Ewwwww. (Prepared Foods)