5-3. Soooooooo close. Worse than close considering that the Yankees had so many chances in this game. Hey, at least they went down fighting (even the Big Unit) – with the possible exception of A-Rod.

Hey, it’s Game 5 of a best-of-five, the 9th inning, and you bring the tying run to the plate with no outs – that’s being in it, to me. Of course, then that potential tying run hits into a DP and kills the chance for a comeback – that was clearly possible, as the singles by the next two batters showed. (Was there any doubt that A-Rod would K, or worse, in that 9th inning – based on his ALDS performance this year, to date?)

Again, man, just two lousy runs short. What a tough loss. Basically, the loss tonight was because:

1. After the Yankees catch a break with the Angels Ace, Colon, pulling a David Wells of 2003, they do next to nothing against a 22-year-old rookie with an ERA of 4.65. They allowed this kid to bend but not break for the span of the 2nd inning through the 6th inning. In fact, the Yankees, if they were to win this game (and the series) should have pounded this kid out of the game by the 4th inning – at the worst. This is unacceptable.

2. So much for the Mussina plan. Maybe he should have stayed with the team this week? Actually, the 3rd inning mess didn’t bother me that much – the Angels were Wee Willie Keelering Moose to death that inning. What can you do? But, the 2nd inning – that was vintage Princess and the Pea Mussina. He sat for a long time in the top of the 2nd. And, I’m sure he allowed that to throw him off for the bottom of the 2nd. Again, for a game like this, allowing your guard to drop after a long half-inning is unacceptable.

3. The Yankees bats lost this game in the 5th and 7th innings. In the 5th, New York had runners on 1st and 2nd, with no outs and their 4-5-6 hitters coming up! What happened? No runs. Unacceptable – yet again. Further, in the 7th, New York had a runner on 2nd with one out and their clean-up hitter (Sheffield) and 5th batter (Matsui) due up. What happened? Two straight pop-ups and the end of the inning.

4. Defense. Like just about every game this series, the Angels turn hits into outs while the Yankees turn outs into base runners. That Crosby-Sheffield crash reminded me of Blair-Reggie collision back on May 12,1978 (when A.O. went inside the park). Sad part is, even without the crash, I don’t think Sheffield makes the grab there.

I noticed something tonight. Anytime that a ball his hit to Giambi, and he has to throw it, I scream out “Oh, no!” as an unconscious reflex (because I know what is going to happen). And, anytime a ball is hit to Erstad on the Angels, I scream “Oh, no!” because he’s making a play to get an out. That’s the difference in these teams. (And, is it just me, or, does Erstad remind you of Trot Nixon enough to make you want to hate him?)

Anyway, instead of spending Tuesday AM thinking about the match-up of the Yankees with the White Sox, now, I’ll spend a portion of the day thinking about why this Yankees team needs to be broken up and rebuilt – because it is obvious that this Yankees team, circa 2002-2005, is not built to win in the post-season.

And, maybe a clue to what the problem is can be found when we’re watching El Duque, Pettitte, Contreras and Clemens battle in the World Series?

Then again, maybe the Angels will win it all? I picked them to win last year and was shocked when Boston knocked them out. And, every team, since 2001, who has beaten the Yankees in the post-season has gone on to take the ring.

Actually, the Angels are going to be around for a while. They have at least 20 hotshot prospects in the minors – really, that many. The Yankees better start thinking up ways to beat them, if they want to get back into the World Series.

OK, in the end, think of it this way – it’s not a tsunami, hurricane, or earthquake. There are people in the world now dealing with that stuff. How can anyone allow a baseball team to get them down for too long when there are other things out there that could happen – and that are potential life-and-death matters?

This is just a fun pastime. Hang in there. Soon enough, there will more Yankees events to get our minds off the ALDS of 2005 and allow it to become a fun pastime again.

In every one of these times, Moose has provided a solid effort in his second start of the series.

Therefore, I’m predicting at least 6 innings from Mussina tonight – with 3 earned runs allowed – at the most – and maybe less.

That shot of Brian Cashman in the 9th, when Vlad was batting, pretty much sums up the way I felt during much of this game.

This is not going to be the prettiest game entry ever. There’s so much to say – so, I’m going to let it just fly and flow.

I too was thinking that Shawn Chacón tonight was pulling an El Duque from the 1998 ALCS – which, by the way, was seven years ago tomorrow. But, I wanted to kill Torre when he said that as well on FOX during the game. Why whammy the guy? And, sure enough, then the Angels score some runs.

Actually, if Giambi catches that SAC bunt from Finley on the fly, it’s a DP and perhaps the Angels score none in that inning – and Chacón’s wonderful night looks even better.

Side thought: Does Chone Figgins look a little like Seth Green? Also, now that Giambi’s hair is getting a little longer, around the 4th inning of a game, when the sweat is really coming, is Jason starting to look a little like Richard Lewis?

Second side thought: Just what happened to second “T” in “Scot” Shields? (Yes, I know that his full name is Robert Scot Shields. Still, it’s strange.) And, if the Halo’s bullpen is so great, just how the heck did Sheilds lose 11 games this season?

By the way, the last two WasWatching.com entries have now mentioned Shields and Yarnall. Is my mind trying to tell me to shut up?

I wanted to kill Torre when he lifted Chacón in the 7th, with one out and a slooooooow runner on 1st (Molina) to bring in Leiter to face Erstad. I think that Joe got lucky there.

I also wanted to kill Torre when he had Bernie come out to play CF after Womack pinch ran for Sierra who pinch hit for Crosby. (Yeah, not a lot of love for Joe’s moves tonight.) At this stage of the thing, with a one-run game, I’d rather have Womack’s speed in CF than Bernie. I think Joe got lucky there too.

Some funky slide there by Posada in the 7th. That’s two for him now. In Game 5 of the 2000 World Series, he was the one sliding into home (and Piazza) when the ball hit him and allowed the runners to advance. Magic things for Jorgie when he’s heading home. Or, maybe he’s just lucky?

Speaking of luck, I thought for sure that after the Yankees left the bases loaded in the 7th – with the Giambi whiff and Sheffield pop – that would come back to haunt them, with the score remaining 3-2. But, they got lucky.

Almost forgot – pretty big pinch-hit there for Big Rube. Lucky? Hey, I’d rather be lucky than good.

Face it – really, face it. If I posted a picture here of the performance of the Yankees “big hitters” (Jeter, A-Rod, Giambi, Sheffield, etc.) during this game, and the ALDS as a whole, it would be so flat that you’d never be able to see it. The fact that this series is 2-2 is pretty lucky – for New York.

These guys are going to have to hit in Game 5 to allow Mussina, Wang, and whoever, to do their thing and have a chance to win this series. Basically, it’s simple – Strike early, strike big, take the crowd out, and then tack on. Do not allow K-Rod to pitch in this game with a lead.

The first pitch is in about 20 hours from now. It’s going to seem like 200 hours.

Mike Mussina can only wait, watch and hope.

Bad weather is expected Saturday in New York, and if a rainout pushes Game 4 of the AL division series to Sunday, the Los Angeles Angels will consider bringing back Game 1 starter Bartolo Colon to pitch on four days’ rest.

But the Yankees don’t plan to do the same with Mussina. They didn’t even bring him back to New York.

Mussina stayed in Los Angeles when the series moved East. He was the winning pitcher in Game 1 and would be scheduled to start a deciding Game 5 in Anaheim — if the Yankees can force one. They trail 2-1 in the best-of-five series.

So even if the weather forces a game in New York on Sunday, Mussina isn’t expected to be there.

Whoever had this brilliant idea should be fired. I hate this for two reasons.

First, it sent a terrible message to the team. “Yes, were 1-1 in the series with two games to come in our own park. But, we’re so convinced that we cannot win two games in a row, that we’re leaving Moose behind because we know before we even play the next two games that there will be a Game 5 back in L.A.”

Second, and especially now that Game 4 is pushed back a day, what if the Yankees needed Mussina in Game 4? Face it, if the Yankees lose Game 4, there’s no Game 5. It’s all hands on deck – including Mussina. If it’s the kind of game were you need everyone to win it, you do it, and worry about tomorrow’s starter when tomorrow comes.

I have no issue with sending a guy out the day before – in fact, I recommend it. But, this move with Mussina is not that type of situation (for the reasons stated above).

When the Yankees lose this ALDS because of a spot in Game 4 where Mussina could have saved them, it will be another chapter in the legacy of Mike Mussina’s Days In Pinstripes. I’m starting to think that it’s no coincidence that they have zero rings since he showed up.

Why anyone on this team felt there was a need to leave Moose out west this weekend is beyond me.

Would FOX make the Yankees and Angels play a 1 pm CT game (4 pm EST) on 10/10 – after the teams have a night game in NYC the day before? Or, does FOX go for a 8 pm CT game on 10/10 – and make the NY market stay up all night with the 11 pm EST start?

FOX is probably hoping that their 8 pm EST game on 10/10 (HOU/ATL) is not needed – then they could use that slot.

It’s gong to be an interesting call. I just hope that it’s needed.

I’d rather see Wang following Chacón or Mussina in a game at this point than seeing the usual suspects.

Start rain dancing Yankees fans.

What was up with Randy Johnson? Just the LDS blues, or, was the mini-corset sighting a clue to be followed? Oh, well, maybe, if there’s a Game 5, he can help out there?

Gordon. Why am I not surprised?

Gotta say, it was risky of Torre to have Posada come in the game in the 4th. If something happened to him, ladies and gentlemen, now catching for the Yankees, number 26, Mark Bellhorn, number 26. Whew.

This may sound crazy, but, after Bernie had the SF in the 5th to give the Yankees the lead, I would have taken him out for Crosby – to get the “D” in there with the slim lead. And, wouldn’t you know it, in the next inning Figgins hits a ball to CF to put the Angels in the driver’s seat for this game. And, it was a ball that Bernie could not reach and we’ll never know if Bubba Crosby would have made the play.

As Jon Miller mentioned on ESPN’s coverage, this game was a lot like the one the Yankees played on September 27th. What happened the next night? Shawn Chacón came through with a good effort.

I hope he can do it again in what is now later today. Look at the bright side, if he cannot, maybe there’s a commercial in it for the Yankees?

Hey, we just lost the ALDS. But, there’s good news. We just saved a bunch of money on not having to pay for airfare and hotel for another day in L.A. Think A-Rod knows how to do the robot?

What a mess this is going to be for Games 3 and 4 of the Yanks-Angels ALCS. I know in the past, for April games where snow was expected, the Yankees would sometimes borrow a tarp from (if I recall correctly) Giants Stadium to help keep the OF dry during the night. That’s not going to happen now. At some point in one of these games, some outfielder is going to think he’s on a Slip’n Slide.

And, of course, there’s the poor fans at the Stadium who are going to have to sit in and through all this. That’s not fun.

How will this rain help/hurt the Yankees? The only way that it will possibly help is that a wet rack might slow down the Angels running game. But, that’s minor.

Where it’s going to kill the Yankees is the bullpen – in the sense that their roster weakness will be exposed. If there’s a long rain delay, and the Yankees starting pitcher has to come out of the game, and it’s before the 7th inning, here comes the Leiters, Proctors, and Embrees of the world. On the flip side, the Angels have more quality arms in their pen to cover for the early loss of a starting pitcher.

Just think, if the Yankees had won home field for this LDS, it wouldn’t matter if it was going to rain here tomorrow and Saturday, would it?

I didn’t miss much in terms of time, maybe just 15 minutes or so, but I sure missed a lot in terms of the breakdown for the Yankees.

I actually started to get a bad feeling about this game before all this, and the Juan (Where’s that golf cart when you need it?) Rivera HR, and the costly A-Rod error in the 6th. It happened in the top of the 5th – when Jeter made like his idol Winnie and threw his bat into the stands.

My first thought then was “Uh-oh. What’s Torre going to hold on to now for good luck when the team is on defense?” And, if I may say it now, look at the A-Rod and Wang errors that followed in the 6th and 7th. Hmmm.

In any event, the Yankees are not going to win many games in this ALDS if they average 3.5 runs scored per game. They need to score 5-6 runs instead of 3-4 runs.

And, to get that done going forward, I’m calling on Gary Sheffield to step up. The Angels have shown that they’re going to walk A-Rod as much as possible. Therefore, Sheff needs to make them pay for that – and, to date, that’s not happening.

So, now, it’s a best two out of three series – with the Yankees having the home field. Still, I will offer this – the Yankees need to win on Friday to have a chance to take the series. They cannot get into the position where they need to win (to stay alive) on Saturday – and then have to fly all the way out west again to play a winner take all game.

It’s a big spot for Randy Johnson. I saw the clip of Unit throwing today to get his work in. He was wearing a mini-corset. That’s disconcerting. What is also somewhat alarming is the weather forecast for Friday. It’s calling for PM showers at this moment. It would be terrible for the Yankees if Johnson threw three innings in Game 3 and then had to come out of the contest because of an hour rain delay.

I hope Mystique and Aura remember to bring their umbrellas on Friday. And, that the Yankees remember to bring their bats and gloves too.

….I see a little bit of a Napoleon Dynamite smile there. In any event, I was surprised to hear Giambi talk about Lackey after the game last night. Jason said that he expects Lackey to win a Cy Young Award in the near future. Wow. Is this guy that good?

Since the All-Star break this year, he has been that good. In fact, only Johan Santana and Kevin Millwood were better starters in the AL since the break.

The Yankees have their hands full tonight with this guy.