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For those who did not have the pleasure of watching Game Two of the ALDS between the Yankees and Twins, one of the biggest story lines was a controversial call in the seventh inning. With one out, two strikes, and Jorge Posada on first base, Carl Pavano threw a tailing fastball on the inside of the plate for what "should have" been strike three.

The play Yankees manager Joe Girardi is discussing is Greg Golson‘s catch in the ninth inning of Game One of the ALDS that should have ended the game, but instead was ruled a trap.

Via ESPN:

The Yankees beat the Twins 5-2 last night and the play that everyone seems to be talking about is the Lance Berkman at-bat in the the seventh that ended up being an RBI double.

It’s become an infamous play because it looked like Carl Pavano had him struck out just the pitch before. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire was ejected following the double.

Let’s take a look at the Pitch Fx graph via Brooks Baseball:

The Seattle Mariners enter the 2010-2011 Major League Baseball offseason in dire need of some runs. The team did not merely take up the rear in American League run scoring: They finished with 100 fewer runs than the Baltimore Orioles, who finished second-to-last. The Mariners pitching staff had a 3.95 ERA, good for the fifth-best in the AL, but because of the dreadful, anemic, monumentally inept offense they put on the field, Seattle won just 61 games.

For the first time in three years, the Los Angeles Angels will not represent the AL West in the postseason. 

Despite returning six starters on offense, the Angels stumbled to an 80-82 record in 2010 as they ended up in third place in the West behind both the Rangers and A's, marking the team's worst finish since 2003.

Trevor Cahill enjoyed a breakout season in 2010, his second full season in the Major Leagues.  At the surface the numbers are certainly impressive, but there certainly are reasons to be concerned.

Before we get to the reservations, let’s take a look at his statistics:

18 Wins
196.2 Innings
2.97 ERA
1.11 WHIP
118 Strikeouts (5.4 K/9)
63 Walks (2.9 BB/9)
.238 BABIP

The Yankees entered Game 2 on Thursday looking to continue their momentum from defeating the Twins in Game 1 the night before.

On the mound for New York was Andy Pettitte, looking to brush aside the rust and any side effects of a groin injury that kept him on the disabled list for two months. For the Twins, it was Carl Pavano, pitching against his former team and looking to try and split the series going back to New York.

The Philadelphia Phillies finished the regular season with a 97-65 record, which was the best in Major League Baseball this season. 

The Phillies are favored to win the World Series for the second time in three years.  With one of the best offenses in baseball and a starting rotation compared to the Braves power pitchers in the 1990s, the Phillies are on the verge of creating a dynasty. 

Even if the Phillies win a world championship, how can this team improve for 2011 and beyond?  

This is not what the Rays envisioned in the second season.

They did not anticipate striking out a lot. They did not anticipate leaving many men on base. They did not think their ace would fail when it mattered. They did not think they would be in danger of being eliminated by the Rangers.

This is exactly what happened. This fine season has gone ugly in the span of two days.

The Rays will be heading to Arlington down by two games, and they will be lucky if this series goes back to Tropicana Field.

Two games into both American League Division Series match-ups and it seems that the Yankees made the right decision by winning the Wild Card.