MINNEAPOLIS -- Phil Cuzzi, the umpire who missed a call down the left-field line that helped cost the Twins their game Friday night at Yankee Stadium, was fired as a minor league umpire in 1993.
According to a June 1999 story by The Associated Press, Cuzzi was working at a hotel bar in July 1999 when he approached National League president Len Coleman and asked for a chance to get back into umpiring.
Coleman allowed Cuzzi to work his way back from the low minors, and Cuzzi was one of 25 new umpires hired in 1999 as a response to mass resignations that were part of a failed labor ploy.
Crew chief Tim Tschida admitted that left field umpire Phil Cuzzi blew a key call in the 11th inning of the Twins' Game 2 loss to the Yankees.
In the half-inning before New York's Mark Teixeira scraped his walk-off home run over the left-field wall, Twins catcher Joe Mauer sent a bloop down the line that deflected off of left fielder Melky Cabrera's glove and then bounced in fair territory. Either way, the ball was fair. Only Cuzzi ruled that it wasn't, stripping a leadoff double from the Twins' MVP candidate.
"[He] saw the ball as foul, called what he saw," Tschida said. "Afterwards, like any close play, we went in and we looked at it and it's a clear indication that an incorrect decision was rendered."
NEW YORK -- It was bound to happen, probably sooner before later. The Minnesota Twins couldn't keep flying high on adrenaline and spunk, could they? This was a mismatch of gargantuan proportions, the mighty uber-rich Yankees against a sweet little team from the Midwest that barely squeaked into the playoffs at the very last second. The Twins couldn't possibly continue to rock and shock the baseball world, could they?
Not on this night, no. Not with CC Sabathia, the Yankees ace, rested and frothing at the chance to prove he can indeed carry the sport's wealthiest, most stacked club all the way to the finish line. Not with Derek Jeter, Captain America, eager to prove last season's postseason absence was an embarrassing, once-in-his-lifetime fluke.
In Advanced Scouting, MLB FanHouse's professional talent evaluator breaks down each of the playoff teams from a scouting perspective.
When you are faced with a team like the Twins, much of what makes them so difficult to match up against is that they leave you wondering just exactly why they are so good at winning ballgames. Their pitching does not match up with the league's elite clubs and their offense is not explosive, especially after losing Justin Morneau. But, somehow a combination of the little things adds up to one very tough team.
The Twins are an offense built on little ball, moving runners and using their home turf to their advantage, so an important factor to slowing them down will be attacking them aggressively and forcing them to beat you.
"I can't give you all that information," Gardenhire, the Twins manager, said of his No. 3 hitter. "You'll write it and then other people might figure it out."
So you know, Ron, how to get him out?
"Hell, no, I don't! That's why I don't want to say anything.
Joe Mauer insists he wasn't tipping pitches on Tuesday.
But if he could have, he would have.
"As baseball players, you try to get edges any way you can," Mauer said Thursday. "At that point in time it was more of a coincidence thing than anything. I wasn't relaying any signs at that time or anything like that. Obviously, if you can see something, you're going to try to take advantage.
"If I knew what they were throwing, I'd try to let my guy know. There's a lot of teams out there that do that"
Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
The Phillies weren't expecting much when they signed Pedro Martinez right around mid-season. Well, let me rephrase and say the Phillies weren't expecting this much.
On Sunday, Martinez pitched eight scoreless innings and struck out seven while walking two. But those aren't his most amazing numbers. When Martinez pitches the Phillies are a perfect 7-0. Think about that. Every time Pedro runs out there to take the mound the Phillies win.
Ahhh, the National League -- where pitchers can play out their golden years without a care in the world.
Think of the NL as baseball's rest home.
Just in the past few weeks, Brad Penny and John Smoltz have reached the legendary fountain of youth that Ponce de Sabathia discovered last year in the wilds of Wisconsin.
"In reality, it's a little tougher to pitch in the American League than it is the National League," said Cubs manager Lou Piniella, who formerly managed in Seattle and Tampa Bay.
MINNEAPOLIS -- Phil Cuzzi, the umpire who missed a call down the left-field line that helped cost the Twins their game Friday night at Yankee Stadium, was fired as a minor league umpire in 1993.
NEW YORK -- It was bound to happen, probably sooner before later. The 
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