• On Sunday in Baltimore, Mariano Rivera clinched the Yankees' victory by striking out Nick Markakis with a fastball that must have been four or five inches outside. I didn't tune in 'til the ninth inning, but apparently plate umpire Ed Rapuano had been calling them like that all day. Before that third strike, Jim Palmer said, "And if you're Nick Markakis, you cannot afford -- because of the strike zone today -- to take a close pitch." Afterward he said of that strike zone, "Well, it's jus ...

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