You've got one game...

It's an age-old debate. You're the manager in a baseball game where the losing skipper leaves town, shaves his head, and loses his mask, and you need to decide who to put on the mound. My friend Nate and I were talking about this, and it motivated me to come up with a list of the top ten guys I'd ask to pitch for me in such a dire situation. Mind you, this is not a list of the top-ten pitchers of all-time. This is a list of guys who, at their peaks, were nearly unhittable in big games and pressure-packed situations.

#10: Steve Carlton. Very few pitchers have ever been as dominant for as long as he was. He never had a reputation as a stellar big-game pitcher, but he was on pretty bad teams for a while, and when the 1980 Phillies won that year's Fall Classic, Lefty went 3-0 in the postseason with a 2.30 ERA. Add in that he struck out 17 hitters in 15 World Series innings that year, and he makes the list.

#9: Dave Stewart. Here's a guy who's gotten lost in the shuffle despite being one of the game's dominant hurlers for the Oakland A's in the early-90's. He won 20 or more games in four consecutive seasons, and his form carried over into October, where he went 10-6 in the postseason. He was never a great strikeout guy, but in 133 playoff innings, he allowed a mere 147 baserunners. That's a 1.11 WHIP right there. You bet he's in consideration.

#8: Randy Johnson. Some will say he should be higher, but I have reservations. In 2001, he was obviously brilliant in winning that year's Fall Classic. In 1995, he helped Seattle come back from a 2-0 deficit in the ALDS to beat the Yankees. However, he's had some TERRIBLE postseasons, too. At his peak, he's probably the most intimidating lefty of all-time, but the inconsistencies would bother me too much.

#7: Jim Palmer. Those Baltimore clubs he played on in the 60's, 70's, and 80's were scary good, and Palmer made the most out of the chance to pitch in the spotlight. In fifteen postseason starts, he went 8-3 with a 2.61 ERA. His control wasn't spectacular (50 walks in 124 innings), but he mixed his pitches extremely well.

#6: Whitey Ford. Historically renowned as a tremendous postseason pitcher, Ford's 2.71 ERA and 1.14 WHIP numbers are impressive. He moves down a few notches thanks to his last two WS performances not being great (combined: 0-3, 11 earned runs in 17 1/3 innings), but he's still the type of consistent pitcher you want on the hill in a big spot.

#5: Lefty Grove. My nod to the old days, Grove pitched in three straight World Series from 1929 to 1931. His marks: 4-2, 1.75 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and two saves. He won more than twenty games eight times in his career, and led the majors in strikeouts for SEVEN STRAIGHT SEASONS. Awe-inspiring numbers, and if he'd pitched a few more playoff series, I'm sure he'd be much higher on this list.

#4: Bob Gibson. The top four are so close to each other. Gibson gets the short end of the stick, though, due to his only pitching three playoff series over the years. His marks were fantastic (7-2, 92 strikeouts in 81 innings), but he was aided by some great lineups, which my top three were sometimes not.

#3: John Smoltz. In doing research for this list, it jumped out at me that the Braves REALLY skated through the NL without much of a lineup in the 1990's. Greg Maddux, a first-ballot HOF'er to be sure, went 2-3 in the World Series despite a career WHIP of 0.91. Smoltz had no such problems, which is why he makes the list and Maddux and Glavine don't. He went 15-4 over 24 playoff series, and his other numbers are sterling.

#2: Curt Schilling. Two words: Bloody. Sock. Need more proof of how good he was in big spots? 11-2, 2.23 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 133 innings, 120 strikeouts. People are debating whether or not he's a HOF'er, but I think he gets in based on these numbers.

#1: Sandy Koufax. How Koufax went 4-3 in the playoffs is a mystery until you realize that the Dodgers weren't exactly hitting covers off the balls. One two-series stretch is enough for me. In 1963 and 1965, Koufax pitched 42 innings in the World Series. He allowed 25 hits, 4 earned runs, and struck out 42 batters while going 4-1. At their peaks, nobody else has ever been better.

"Funny" People?

Saw "Funny People" today. With its all-star cast of Adam Sandler, Seth Rogan, and other Judd Apatow staples, I expected a very good movie. It came, but with a few hitches.

Adam Sandler was funny in a movie for the first time since "Anger Management." After several bombs, this was an attempt to regain relevance, and he was quite good. Rogan was bumped to a secondary role, but he handled it with grace, and his interactions with supporting actors like Jonah Hill brought belly laughs to the theater.

The main focus, though, was on Sandler's character struggling with the hand he dealt himself throughout life. There were many times where he played the role of battered douchebag well, and a few other times where we were reminded that this was the same actor whose performances in movies like "Spanglish" drew laughs for the wrong reasons. Still, for the most part, he delivered a great performance.

The main problem I had with this movie was that it was WAY too long. It clocks in at 2 hours and 16 minutes, and there's a reason most comedies don't go much longer than an hour and a half. They simply lose steam, and while there were numerous subplots that beefed up the length of "Funny People," I felt the movie could have been half an hour shorter very easily. Was it hurt by the added length? Not too much, but it surely wasn't helped.

Still, it lives up to the hype. Adam Sandler catches a second wind in his career, while Apatow and his favorite actors do their best to beef up the movie. You'll see where it drags, but there are plenty of laughs to keep you interested, for the most part. RATING: ***3/4