Tuesday night's epic Game 3 comeback in the Bronx was such a rich tapestry of moments, storylines and celebrations that it was easy to forget there was a layer of umpiring malfeasance that threatened to undermine the Yankees at any moment.
Aaron Boone and the Yanks found themselves without a challenge for the final six innings of a potential elimination game, the kind of flub that usually falls on the manager's shoulders. In this case, it was hard to blame anyone other than the umpiring crew and replay review center — but don't tell that to John Smoltz, who invented his own interpretations of the rulebook to defend the umps and cast doubt on the Yankees' intelligence.