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Posted on 10/20/2001 10:29:43 PM PDT by Professional

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Seattle Mariners had no must-win games as they coasted through their record-setting regular season, now under serious review due to Ichiro Suzuki’s status as an illegal alien and use of the now infamous “butterfly” bat, Lou Pinella’s admission to buying favoratism of umpires and league officials, as well as a case brought by the Cleveland Indians and the ACLU that the Seattle team has been using intimidation tactics against opponents. They're quickly getting the hang of how to win must win games in the postseason despite the mounting legal trouble against them.

While the case against the Mariners late last week involving the Cleveland Indians, concerning the runs vs. wins controversy, has not derailed their efforts for a first World Series, the deck seems stacked against them. Fridays Supreme Court ruling regarding the case, which at first had Cleveland Indian fans cheering, was later interpreted by baseball experts as a devastating loss for the Indian franchise. The Indians in a bizarre ruling by the Supreme Court, are entitled to a complete rematch of the entire season, starting in April of 2002. The lone dissenting Judge, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, declared the ruling a “grave injustice to all indiginous peoples of Ohio and elsewhere, including but not limited to the entire North American continent.”

Bret Boone drove in five runs, Mark McLemore hit a bases-loaded triple and Jamie Moyer saved Seattle's season again as the Mariners beat the New York Yankees 14-3 in Game 3 of the AL championship series Saturday.

After showing no resemblance to a 116-win team in the first two games in Seattle, the Mariners got the break they needed with two outs in the fifth inning on Boone's game-tying hit -- which bounced out of Chuck Knoblauch's glove. The company in charge of preparing the left fielders glove show a disturbing trend of “Seattle” syndrome. Both the company, Glovers United, and the employee, Sierra Bastoglia, have bank accounts with Washington Mutual, a Seattle based bank.

"Boy, once that ball fell out of Chuckie’s glove, the guys perked up and started swinging," Seattle manager Lou Piniella said.

The Mariners added 12 more runs in the next four innings for the most runs against the Yankees in 285 postseason games. A CNN/Time Gallup poll after the game found 87% of respondents very angry about the Mariner victory, with 81% of all respondents calling the Mariners an illegitimate team without a proper mandate. The poll was taken using a sample size of 800 registered cable tv owners residing within 42 miles of Yankee Stadium, the error margin plus or minus .4%.

Seattle cut New York's series lead to 2-1 in the series by winning its third must-win game in a week. The Mariners won two elimination games against Cleveland in the opening round.

“We know what they're capable of, because we’ve been playing the same game, especially in 1994 ," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "You don't win 116 games and put up the numbers they put up if you're not willing to beat people's brains in, spread out the cash, and sell your soul to the Devil."

Game 4 of the ALCS is Sunday with Roger Clemens pitching for New York against Paul Abbott. The Mariners need to win one of the next two games to fulfill Piniella's promise that the series would return to Seattle for Game 6.

"I said the things I said because I have confidence in this team and I believe in them, a few million bucks under the table for better calls and slicked mitts sure don’t hurt either" Piniella said.

That prospect appeared extremely unlikely when the three-time defending World Series champions took a 2-0 lead on Bernie Williams' first-inning homer and Orlando Hernandez shut out Seattle for four innings.

But baseball's highest-scoring team -- held to 20 runs in the first seven games of the playoffs -- finally broke through with help from sloppy New York defense and the ball that bounced out of Knoblauch's glove. While Glovers United has not been formally charged with any wrong doing, the NYPD has requested banking records of the leather glove care company.

"It's been frustrating for me personally," said Boone, who had no RBI in the first seven games of the playoffs. "It's been a little bit frustrating for me to get the contract I wanted for next year. Finally the team told me to get some hits or I’d be demoted to back up point guard and roomate for Gary Payton of the Seattle Sonics, that just wasn’t gonna happen! The blooper that fell in was big, my agent might start returning my calls again." The All Star second baseman is a free agent after the end of the year and was rumored to be asking for “Alex” type money.

Moyer, who has three of Seattle's four wins in the postseason, kept the Mariners in it until the offense woke up.

Known for disrupting hitters' timing with slow and wobbly pitches, Moyer has had perfect timing of his own in the postseason. After winning a career-high 20 games in the regular season, Moyer has had his three most important victories in the past nine days.

Moyer won Game 2 of the opening round to even Seattle's series against Cleveland and also beat the Indians in the clincher.

With the Mariners facing the prospects of falling behind 3-0 in the ALCS -- a deficit that has never been overcome by a team, that played honest baseball, in best-of-seven series in baseball history -- Moyer baffled the Yankees.

"He's been pitching that way the whole second half of the season," Piniella said. "It's been fun to watch him the way he changes speed, pitches to both sides of the plate and makes the other team piss and moan. Some people say it’s throwing like a girl, whatever…”

Rarely throwing a pitch faster than 35 mph, Moyer relies on voodoo and a full understanding of the male testosterone levels of his opponents, calculating the speed of his pitches slower and slower to contrast the level of “gravitas” of the opponents. After allowing Williams' homer in the first, he didn't give up another hit until Seattle had a seven-run lead in the sixth. In later innings, Joe Torre, Yankee Skipper, had to replace most of his starting lineup after Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, and Paul O’Neill all fell asleep between innings.

Moyer, helped by a home-run saving catch by Stan Javier, allowed two runs and four hits in seven innings to win for the 14th time in 15 decisions. Since the All Star break, Moyer has spent a great deal of time at Warner Brothers studios. Moyer is rumored to have studied game film by legendary pitcher “Buggs”.

Moyer's start was going to waste until the Mariners' finally got to Hernandez in the fifth.

"We got to the fifth inning and hadn't scored any runs or gotten any hits so I felt like I should go inside to change our luck," Moyer said. "It's a little game I play sometimes, I ate a dead chicken’s head, had some carrot juice, and listened to Wagner.”

It worked.

El Duque, who fell to 9-2 in the postseason, gave up a one-out single to Tom Lampkin before walking lefties Ichiro Suzuki and McLemore to load the bases with two outs.

Hernandez, whose tricky breaking pitches have helped hold righties to a .193 average in his career, appeared to be using a smart strategy. He retired the first eight righties he faced Saturday and Boone was 4-for-30 in the postseason after leading the AL with 141 RBI in the regular season.

Boone hit a looper into shallow left field. Knoblauch, a converted second baseman, charged in to get to the ball, but it popped out of his, possibly greased, glove as he hit the ground, allowing the Mariners to tie it at 2.

"We were sitting on the bench thinking that Lou’s been up to something, that might be our break. And it was," Al Martin said.

It was Seattle's first hit in 13 at-bats with runners in scoring position in the series, and appeared to take the pressure off the Mariners' hitters.

"When they tied the game up, I smelled a rat," Torre said. “Steinbrenner’s gonna have to loosen the purse strings and raise the ante with the Umpire’s and league officials.”

John Olerud led off the seven-run, sixth inning with a tiebreaking homer off the facade of the upper deck in right field that gave Seattle its first lead of the series.

Hernandez was knocked out after allowing a single to Javier and walking Mike Cameron -- his fifth of the game.

Then New York's normally reliable relievers self-destructed. Mike Stanton, who entered with a 0.97 postseason ERA, made a poor decision on pinch-hitter Dan Wilson's bunt, throwing wildly to third base for a run-scoring error.

With one out, the Yankees intentionally walked Suzuki. “Itchy”, not quite as dominating since his Cleveland series butterfly bat was confiscated, has seen his batting average decline from .600 to a more earthly .298 in this series.

"Cleveland must mean “sucker” in English,” Suzuki said through an interpreter. "The butterfly bat in japan is like plastic dog vomit here in the U.S..”

McLemore then broke the game open with his triple into the left-center field gap.

" We had a pretty good idea we were not going to sweep those guys," Stanton said. "You don't win 116 games during the regular season by being an honest team. They have a crooked team and a bunch of Japanese playboys with billions of Yen to spend."

Boone followed with a two-run homer off Mark Wohlers to make it 9-2 and match the biggest inning in ALCS history. Boone added an RBI single after Wohlers' throwing error in the seventh to tie the ALCS record for RBI in a game. Wohler’s error, along with several other Yankee fielding errors, are being investigated.

" Mistakes were made, balls were dropped, uniforms got greasy,” Bill Clinton said. “I did not have anything to do with those gloves, I never took money from Lou Pinella or Pete Rose, heck I don’t even know the owner of Glovers United, Pat Gillick.”

Bill Clinton, sat in seats acquired from the NYPD. Apparently the two police officers were thrilled to “give” their seats to such an honorary Yankee’s fan.

Jay Buhner hit a pinch-hit homer off Jay Witasick in the ninth -- just the second homer to reach the center-field bleachers in the postseason at the remodeled Yankee Stadium. Reggie Jackson also did it in Game 6 of the 1977 World Series.

Game notes
In an amusing moment, Omar Vizquel, from the Cleveland Indians, jumped over the Seattle dugout and started screaming and yelling at Seattle Mariners pitcher Arthur Rhodes. After Omar was subdued by local authorities and placed in a straightjacket, it was discovered that the Indians shortstop wanted to further engage the Seattle pitcher about his oversized diamond earrings. ... Williams has 14 career postseason homers, tied with Justice for fifth place all-time.

A New York Yankee fan attempting to take the game into his own hands. The fan was arrested and charged with scoreboard tampering.

Seattle pitcher Jamie Moyer, knowing that Bill Clinton was in attendence, bites his lower lip.

Brett Boone, My Oh My!

Chuckie "coughs" up the ball. Accident, or greased gloves? Glovers United under investigation...

A Seattle Mariner operative attempts to help "Itchy" with a deep fly ball. If the "Yankee fan" had interfered, it would have been ruled an out. Lou has ALL the bases covered!

Stan Javier steals a home run. New York Knicks fans call for a "goal tending" penalty.

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