MAN!

I love baseball. If you watched that one-game "playoff" (technically its the regular season) last night you would know what I mean. It was like eating a big plate full of Old Bay steamed shrimp and fresh corn on the cob, like sitting out on your back porch drinking High Life and cracking into some fresh steamed blue crabs, like hanging out with your friends and eating some fresh steamed oysters...I think you're catching the drift. I mean I was tired as a UGA tailgater after a night game because they were forced to wake up in the pre-dawn hours to stake their spot...but still - I couldn't turn away. So...some thoughts:

• Holliday didn't touch the bag - and I have no idea why home plate ump Tim McClellan didn't call him safe immediately and then just casually did after Barrett already was scrambling back to the then screaming in pain runner. Why didn't he just do it immediately? I know he's notorious for delayed calls but still...
• I have absolutely no idea whether Atkins' hit was a homerun - it seems like it caromed an awfully long way for just hitting the top of the padded fence but still - I never saw definitive proof that it was O-U-T gone. John was basing his call of no homerun on the fact that the lady next to the wheel chair was upset after the ball ricocheted back out. My answer to that is that she was simply sad that she didn't catch the ball.
• But that brings me to my next point - what was up with that lady? Was she using the wheelchair? And if so she was pretty spry in trying to catch that ball...was this just a woman who uses wheelchairs like the fat people in Kroger...you know the people that run over your foot in their Rascals and then when they really need to get their on sale Jiff get out of the chair and walk all the way down the aisle? Can someone find out what this woman's story was? Kudos to John for pointing out that on multiple occasions Joe Simpson referred to her as "that gentleman behind the wall".
• Back to baseball: Jake Peavy BLOWS when it counts - in three games (two post season, one tiebreaker) he has pitched 16 1/3 IPs and surrendered 29 Hs and 19 ERs. That ERA puts him somewhere north of 11.00 and would certainly not help those of you in a Yahoo Fantasy Baseball tiebreaker...yeah Josh - you know I'm looking at you.
• Trevor Hoffman may now only be remembered for his titanic chokes - the All-Star game and now TWO times in the last THREE games he has the opportunity to clinch for the Padres and blows it both times, once at the hands of the son of the greatest Padre ever no less. Yeah, he was probably the best closer in the NL over the past 15 years but does anyone 1) think he is anywhere CLOSE to as good as Mariano and 2) as Pasqua told me today - really think this guy is first ballot HOF material?

So there you have it - if the postseason is anywhere NEAR as exciting as last night's game I may have a coronary by the NLCS.