Baseball playoffs

The baseball playoffs are in full swing. Detroit won their series with Oakland and is waiting for the winner of the Yankee - Oriole series. Today we will know which team it will be. New York and Baltimore have been going head to head for the last 5 weeks. They have been as close as close can be. One game separated them for almost that whole time. Several days they were tied for first. It is fitting in this playoff series that each team has won two games with one left to play. In each game no more than one run separated the two teams at any one time. Two games went into extra innnigs. NY won one, Baltimore the other. Todays game may not be decided til well into Saturday! Baltimore has no superstars. In fact, their best hitter was hit on the hand by NY's best pitcher a month ago and cannot play. NY's superstar third baseman, ARod, who makes about as much as the O's starting lineup combined is struggling so badly the Yankees manager pinch hit for him in each of the past two games! Ouch, how's that for a blow to the ole pride. The Yankee's other superstar, Derek Jeter, is hobbled by a nagging ankle injury and did not play shortstop in one game and was taken out of one of the extra inning games. Last night relief pitcher, Joba Chamberlain, was hit in the pitching arm by an air born  broken bat. The father of Yankees coach, Joe Girardi, died last Saturday.  He had Alzheimer's for the past several years and Joe visited regularly. Joe credits his dad for his love of baseball and especially his love of the Yankees. Joe has had no time to grieve. If the Yankees lose today, Joe can grieve tomorrow. If the Yankees win, they will play Detroit tomorrow and his dad wouldn't have had it any other way.