The Johnny Bacardi Show

Here's what I believe will be my final word on baseball for this year.

For those morons who are actually blaming "that f*ckin' guy" for that foul ball that maybe, maybe not could have been caught by Moises Alou- that would have only been two outs, you fricking idiots! That guy was only doing what you, or I, or anyone would have done, and if he had the mental faculty to immediately size up all the ramifications of what could happen if that foul ball came at him, then perhaps he should be in the dugout, rather than Dusty Baker, who seems to be a good old boy player's manager and all that...but has a terrible blind spot when it comes to gauging how much his pitchers have left. Dusty. If this had been a game in July, sure. Leave Prior or Wood in there. Wood had nothing, and Prior was obviusly flustered after Alou's temper tantrum. But in October, with the Series and 95 years of crushed expectations on the line, you manage differently. You give Prior one more hitter (which he did, and Alex Gonzalez made an error, which seemed to me far more harmful than what happened with "that f*ckin' guy"), and you get Wood's ass out of there first runner that gets on base after you take the lead. I know, hindsight is 20/20...but I'm not the only one that feels this way. Baker has a lot to prove, and I hope he realizes the gravity of what he's allowed to happen. I seriously doubt it- he seems to be just as aw-shucks-laconic, with a goofy smile on his face as ever in post-meltdown interviews. He's been paid- what the hell does he care? He never played for the Cubbies anyway.

At least the Red Sox can narrow their debacle down to one culprit, and it's once again their not-the-sharpest-knife-in-the-drawer manager Grady Little. He, like Baker, is apparently incapable of sensing when his starter's had enough, as was the case with Pedro in the 7th the other night. At least Baker can say he didn't have faith in his inconsistent bullpen- Little's guys had been pitching very well in the series so far! It's mind-blowing that he either couldn't tell Pedro had had enough, or was afraid to go get him- either way, this is terrible managing and I would hope the Red Sox are looking around for someone with a bit more on the ball.

I couldn't care less who wins the killjoy series between the Yankees and the Marlins. I suppose I hope the Marlins win, because I just can't warm to the Yanks, despite the fact that they have a number of players (and a manager) that are actually class acts, Roger Clemens notwithstanding. Actually, I think it would be cool to have an alternate Series between the Sox and the Cubs...I wonder what the TV ratings would be like?