MLB Musings

Random thought while toggling back and forth between the Yanks-Royals game and the all-important Twins-Tigers clash:

FAVORITE THING ABOUT THE YANKEES RIGHT NOW: Phil Hughes' peach fuzz. I haven't been so happy about a Yankee mustache since Sal Fasano (sorry, Giambi).

GOOD SIGN: Nick Swisher's newfound aggressiveness. YES's John Flaherty reported the normally patient Swisher's been going after the first pitch more often, throwing off hurlers who expect him to take, take, take. In the fifth, Swisher waited one pitch before belting the 0-1 offering from Royals' starter Robinson Tejeda over the wall in right field. It was his 29th homer of the year, a remarkable season for Swisher, who began the year as a platoon player at best. Never thought losing Xavier Nady would hurt so little. (Swisher's fielding misadventures last night aside)

GOAT OF THE NIGHT: Atlanta's Matt Diaz. The Braves' right fielder was picked off third base by the catcher after a pitch in the dirt, which is bad enough. That it came with two outs in the ninth inning, bases loaded, down 5-4, in a must-win game for the Braves? That's positively Merkle-esque.

WORST PLAY OF WEDNESDAY'S GAME FOR THE YANKEES: Freddy Guzman NOT getting picked off first base. The outfielder and September callup is basically a Dave Roberts type player -- he's here so he can steal bases. Guzman has more stolen bases (two) than at bats (one) this season. But like most Herb Washington types, Guzman gets picked off far too often.

In the seventh inning, Guzman pinch ran for Robbie Cano after Cano drew a leadoff walk. Reliever Jamey Wright threw over once, and Guzman eased back. But when Wright tried a second time, Guzman was fooled and barely made it back to the bag.

Young speedsters often need to learn their limits the hard way, and getting picked off is often the quickest lesson. But Guzman got back safely, and he probably took little away from the pickoff attempt. Better he'd been nabbed now and figured it out before the postseason.

VERY GOOD SIGN: Phil Hughes and Mariano Rivera went one scoreless inning each. Good to see the pistons are firing on all cylinders.

BAD SIGN: Johnny Damon's current 2-25 stretch. Now 35, Damon has seen his average drop back to .280 after a strong second half. Can't help but wonder if he's running out of gas.

THINGS THAT MAKE YOU SHUDDER: "Mariano Rivera made an appearance this week on the new cover of Sports Illustrated"

RANDOM INTERJECTION INTO OVERBLOWN DEBATE: Joe Mauer should win the MVP award. He leads the AL in batting overage, on-base percentage, and slugging average as a catcher, and he has 28 home runs. Jeter, meanwhile, is second in hits and third in runs, average, and OBP. As good as Jeter has been, Mauer has been better.

VERY BAD SIGN: Joba Chamberlain. 3 2/3 innings, 91 pitches, seven hits, four walks, three runs. This was his last start before the postseason. The goal was seven strong. Instead, it was another start that must cause Girardi to pull out what little hair he has. At this point, even Chad Gaudin is looking like a viable alternative for a possible ALCS Game 4.

WTF: Umpires squeezing Mariano.

SCARY PLAYER ON DETROIT: Placido Polanco. The Tigers' second baseman made two under-the-radar plays that changed the course of Detroit's 7-2 win. In the third, he speared a Delmon Young line drive out of the air with a man on first and two outs to end the inning and preserve Detroit's 4-2 lead. Later, he singled to center on a hit-and-run to move Ramon Santiago to third and kick-start a three-run fifth inning that put the game away. Polanco hit .412 with three runs scored against the Yanks in the 2006 ALDS, and he continues to be a dangerous bat in the lineup.

I'D RATHER PLAY: Twins. One of the ESPN announcers wondered aloud "How on earth have they managed to win all these games?" He went on to add the Twins have no real ace, don't have a lot of power and aren't scoring a lot of runs. People aren't saying these things about Detroit. 'Nuff said.