Playoff Pulse: Howard or A-Rod?

Playoff Pulse is our morning rundown of the night that was and the night that will be during the MLB postseason.

Looking Forward ...

With the World Series matchup almost a foregone conclusion, here's a question to ponder. A-Rod or Ryan Howard? Who's having the better postseason?

Rodriguez joined Howard and Lou Gehrig as the only players to drive in a run in eight straight postseason games Tuesday night, making it a perfect time to draw the comparison.

Howard is hitting .379 this postseason, Rodriguez . 407; Howard 14 RBI, Rodriguez 11; Howard has a .457 on-base percentage, Rodriguez .469; Howard has seven extra-base hits (two homers), Rodriguez six (five).

A-Rod has played one fewer game than his Phillies counterpart. He's also got a bigger body of work in the clutch so far, hammering home the idea that he has, at times, had to carry the normally potent Yankees offense to the brink of the World Series (Game 4 was obviously an exception).

So for now, give the nod to Rodriguez, but only slightly so and with the knowledge that they'll probably meet in the World Series and have a chance to settle the score once and for all.

In Their Own Words
"When I grow up I want to be Alex Rodriguez." -- Yankees right fielder Nick Swisher
By the Numbers
6 Teams that have come back from a 3-1 deficit in the LCS since it was turned into a best-of-seven series. Four of the six teams did it in the ALCS, most recently the Red Sox in 2007.
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Fletcher: A-Rod, CC Boost Rep Moore: In a New York Moment Piliere: Scouting Notebook

Looking Back ...

Once again, umpiring was a major story in Game 4 of the ALCS. There were multiple questionable calls, but none more egregious than the fifth-inning double play that wasn't.

With Jorge Posada stranded between third and home and Robinson Cano hurtling toward the hot corner, Angels catcher Mike Napoli chased Posada back up the third-base line. Posada and Cano both ended up around third base, but neither was standing on it. Napoli thought quick and tagged both, but the umpire on scene, Tim McClelland didn't rule a double play.

McClelland, one of the very best in the business, did admit he blew the call.

"I'm just out there trying to do my job and do it the best I can," he said in a post-game statement. "And unfortunately there was, by instant replay, there were two missed calls."

(The other missed call came the inning before when McClelland called Nick Swisher out for tagging up too early.)

FOXSports.com's Tracy Ringolsby did shed some light on why the umpiring might be particularly poor this October:

The quality of the umpiring has taken a hit because at least a dozen umpires, including seven crew chiefs, were left out of postseason assignments this year due to injuries.
...
While federal laws prohibits Major League Baseball from discussing injuries of employees, FOXsports.com has learned that the sidelined umpires include crew chiefs John Hirschbeck (testicular cancer), Charlie Reliford (back), Jerry Crawford (back), Tim Welke (concussion), Ed Montague (concussion and neck), Gary Darling (ankle and foot) and Rick Reed (stroke).

That's a lot of umpiring talent, but when McClelland, widely considered one of the best umpires in the game, has a bad night it just reinforces the idea that expanded instant replay should come sooner rather than later.

Scout's Eye View ...

New York's lineup is difficult enough to navigate without giving them any assistance, and assistance is exactly what Scott Kazmir gave them. If you intend to have success against them, you must establish a secondary pitch in the early innings. Especially given the issues their lineup has had against the breaking ball in the early part of the ALCS, Kazmir's ability to locate his slider was going to be crucial to his outing.

There's one thing about beating the Yankees that just can not be said enough. You stop their hitters by using their patient approach against them. They feast on pitchers that get behind in the count and can't throw anything but the fastball consistently for strikes. If you can put them in an immediate hole in the count, their approach can quickly be neutralized. Kazmir was unable to do that. Although he wasn't hammered, by the time the fourth inning rolled around he was completely worn down.

-- Frankie Piliere (Scouting Notebook)

Wednesday's Tale of the Tape ...

Dodgers (Vicente Padilla) at Phillies (Cole Hamels), 8:07 PM ET: Do the numbers even matter with Padilla at this point? The run he's been on since the Dodgers picked him up off the scrap heap is one of the best of his career. Here are the digits that matter: Padilla has allowed one earned run in two postseason starts, and since he joined the Dodgers (those two starts include) he's 5-0 with a 3.09 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 43 2/3 innings. Hamels has been shaky in two postseason starts, hardly flashing the form he showed last October when he was named World Series MVP, but his career numbers against these L.A. hitters are strong. Only two hitters -- Ronnie Belliard and Casey Blake -- have lifetime averages above .250.