As I was watching the ninth inning I was really torn between wanting to pick up a 1/2 game vs a fear that this could be the kind of late-season comeback win that inspires the Yankees the rest of the way.

But Steve, its not really fair to look at it as a “what if they didn’t allow quite as many runs” situation. The guys on the Rays broadcast were talking about Maddon wanting that pitcher to have a stress-free game to build on. Obviously had the game been closer, he wouldn’t have put in such a scrub and the Yankees probably don’t get any closer.

How about the one from the night before? It was so clutch that it finally let MLB test the new instant replay system.

Yes, A-Rod’s homer in the 9th, seemed clutch to me. But, that’s what? How many of those have happened in how many opportunities presented?

All of Yankee Universe awaits your judgment! A ruling on whether A-Rod’s ninth inning homer was “clutch!” You see, he had a ninth inning RBI, the dearth of which you’ve been harping on him for all year. Yet, it ultimately resulted in a losing cause! So, clearly, A-Rod was unclutch for not being able to hit a three-run homer with no one on base.

Unless, of course, one wanted to point out that A-Rod was 0 for 2 with two walks up to that point. But then, one would have to admit that runs in the fifth inning matter just as much as runs in the ninth inning. Which would be obviously false, right?

Oh, the conundrum…