That seventh inning last night? Baseball’s version of bungee jumping off the Empire State Building. . .. 

After last night’s Game 5 of the ALCS, I am convinced it IS easier to play in these games than it is to watch them.

I mean, these were nine innings of torture that put fans’ nerves in a vise. The emotional investment was way beyond even a federal bailout. Especially during a brutal ninth when Brian Fuentes repeatedly poked the fork into the outlet.

We’re dying out here. And what is the guy in the middle of it all thinking?

“It’s not like my life flashes before my eyes,” Fuentes said after the game, “and I’m thinking, ‘This is the ultimate moment.'”

You mean, there’s more? Oh, God. … 

Not saying this baseball postseason is too long — can’t have too much baseball — but talk about clash of the seasons: A World Series Game 7 would come during Week 11 of the college football season. … 

How’s this for potential bookends for Baseball 2009? Say the Yankees keep their World Series date with the Phillies. Say that Series goes the distance. Say both teams adjust their rotations so lefty aces CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee face off in such a Game 7 in Yankee Stadium.

The point? Lee, then with the Indians, and Sabathia faced each other in the very first New Yankee Stadium opener on April 16 (Lee and Cleveland were 10-2 winners). …