Questionable decisions so far in the playoffs
1) In game 1 of the Yankees-Twins series Tuesday, the Yankees had runners on 1st and 2nd with one out against Johan Santana in the bottom of the 1st inning. With the count full and Bernie Williams at the plate, manager Joe Torre decided to send the runners. Williams was called out on strikes, and the runner on 2nd, Alex Rodriguez, was thrown out at 3rd by catcher Henry Blanco to end the inning.

I had a few problems with Torre's decision:
--Johan Santana was probably the best strikeout pitcher in the league in 2004, fanning over 10 batters per 9 innings. The chances of a batter like Bernie Williams, who whiffed 96 times in the regular season, striking out in this situation were pretty high, making a strike-em-out-throw-em-out sequence likely.
--With runners on 1st and 2nd, you already have one runner in scoring position. Risking an out here by attempting a double steal just isn't necessary.
--Throwing a runner out at 3rd is much easier than throwing a runner out at 2nd.
--Jorge Posada, another great hitter, was on deck. If Williams did strike out, you would still have one of your better hitters taking his turn at bat with two on.
--This all begs another important question: Why the hell was Bernie Williams batting clean-up ahead of Posada and Hideki Matsui, anyway?

2) In game 2 of the Yankees-Twins series Wednesday, the Twins had a runner on 3rd with two outs in the top of the 11th inning, score tied, 5-5, and catcher Pat Borders at the plate. Yes, Pat Borders -- THE Pat Borders. The same Pat Borders who has a .255 career batting average and .290 on-base percentage. Pat Borders was at the plate in a meaningful situation.

Problems:
--Pat Borders was at the plate in a meaningful situation.
--Lew Ford was on the bench, available to pinch hit. That's really all you need to know. A guy who hit .299/.381/.446 this season was left on the bench, with the game on the line, so Pat Borders could take his hacks at the plate. Un-freaking-believable.
--Finding a catcher replacement for Borders wasn't a problem. An inning before, in the 10th, manager Ron Gardenhire had used Matthew LeCroy as a pinch-hitter; he opted to keep LeCroy in the game, putting him at first base for Michael Cuddyer, who was moved to second.
LeCroy will never be confused for Pudge Rodriguez when it comes to defense behind the plate, but he started 26 games at catcher this season and could have taken Borders' spot if Ford had pinch hit.

3) After six innings of the Astros' (god-forsaken) game against the Braves on Wednesday, Roger Clemens had thrown 107 pitches. In the top half of the seventh, the Astros scored a run to increase their lead to 8-3, a comfortable lead. Rather than go to the bullpen to start the bottom of the seventh, manager Phil Garner decided to let Clemens take the mound again. Luckily for the Astros, Clemens had an easy inning, inducing two groundouts and striking out one while throwing only ten pitches. His total pitch count after seven innings was 117.

Problem:
--The Astros were going to win this game. That wasn't really a question after six innings, when Clemens had already labored through 6 walks and 107 pitches. What Garner should have done when Clemens returned to the dugout after the sixth was give him a pat on the back and tell him job well done, go hit the showers and rest up for Game 4.
The Astros need Clemens to pitch twice in this series. Their rotation comprises only two effective starters, Clemens and Roy Oswalt, and in a five-game series, that means you need to avoid the weak links of the rotation at all costs.
In a perfect world, the Astros would have jumped out to a big, early lead in game 1, allowing Clemens to throw as few pitches as possible before turning it over to the bullpen. Well, they had that perfect world handed to them on a silver platter. They were up 7-2 after five innings, 7-3 after six, 8-3 after seven and a half, yet they chose to let Clemens grind it out through 117 pitches. (96 pitches after six, 78 after five.)
It probably won't, but it might come back to haunt them. Regardless of what ends up happening, it was a dumb decision by Garner.

Other random Playoff comments
--I don't think he's really known for having a strong throwing arm, anyway, but Jacque Jones's throw to the plate in the 12th inning tonight was easily the gayest I've ever seen in a major league game. He positioned himself so poorly before he caught the ball that he had little to no momentum going toward the plate, essentially making his throw all arm. Consequently, the ball landed at least 15 feet in front of the plate and Jeter scored the winning run from third easily.

--If you've ever seen the movie "Pleasantville," and you remember that scene where a player on the Pleasantville basketball team misses a shot, causing his teammates to stop in their tracks and stare at the ball, horrified and shocked, you'll understand what it's like to be around Yankee fans after the Yankees lose.

--Vladimir Guerrero, man is this guy fun to watch. I mean he just looks like he's up there at the plate swinging a big piece of lumber....... that was my John Kruk impersonation.