Al Leiter

I liked having Al Leiter in the broadcast booth last night with Thom Brennaman and Steve Lyons. He distracted me quite adequately from my dislike of Lyons, and that in and of itself is a feat.

His insight on how to tell when Beckett was tiring (hand to the side of the ball on his fastball instead of over the top) is an example of the little things he brought to the table last night.

And his nice comments toward plate umpire Jerry Crawford, who left the game ill, interested me. He said Crawford was one of the more liked umpires among the players. Which is cool, I guess.

But it made me wish somebody he hated was back there just so I could hear him say:"I hate pitching when that sumbitch is behind the plate, and I guarantee you the pitchers are breathing a sigh of relief."

But that's just me.