It Makes a Difference to the Sheep

HUBRIS, THY NAME IS PEDRO. Who can blame him? Pedro Martinez is widely regarded as one of the best pitchers in baseball today. While Roger Clemens was pulled early and left the field in disgrace, Martinez had pitched a near-perfect game into the bottom of the 8th inning. But when Grady Little strolled to the mound with Boston ahead 5-2, one out in the bottom of the eighth, and no Yankees on base, the proper response is: "I'll let the bullpen (which had done surprisingly well in the postseason (especially once BK Kim disappeared) take it from here." Instead, Pedro wanted to be the hero and end the 8th on his own. The result: disaster and ultimately a Yankees 6-5 win in extra innings. So instead of a series for the ages, in which one storied but cursed team would finally see their long drought ended, we have the evil empire (again) squaring off against the Florida Marlins, a team that actually won it all not all that long ago but probably has few if any of the World Series champions left on their roster. Yawn.

UPDATE: Now here's an idea I can heartily support.