It turns out that the only two eyes watching that mattered, those of home-plate umpire Mike Everitt, saw Howard's awkward and confusing slide actually touch the plate.

After Howard stole second in the bottom of the fourth inning, Pedro Feliz brought him home with a single to leftfield. At first glance, it looked as if Howard would be out by a mile. Howard, gunning it around third base, knew it would be close.

But Johnny Damon's throw bounced twice before landing in Jorge Posada's glove. Howard dove headfirst to try to separate Posada from the ball. Posada didn't get it in time and no part of Howard actually touched home plate.

Multiple replays showed Howard's right leg, which was dragging in the dirt, fly over the plate.

According to Rule 7.08 (k) in the Major League Baseball playing rules:

"In running or sliding for home base, he fails to touch home base and makes no attempt to return to the base."

Despite pleading from Shane Victorino and Jimmy Rollins on the bench, Howard never turned around to tag the plate. He played it cool and walked to the dugout, high-fiving teammates as he walked down the stairs.

It is the second part of that rule, though, that Posada and the rest of the Yankees missed.

"When a fielder holds the ball in his hand, while touching home base, and appeals to the umpire for a decision."

Posada never turned around to Everitt to question the play. The Yankees, possibly with the help of a quick TV replay and urging from the dugout, had a right to appeal the play until CC Sabathia threw the next pitch to Carlos Ruiz.

If Everitt - umpiring in his second World Series - believed that Howard never touched the plate, he would have waited for an appeal from New York or called Howard out once he left the field of play when he touched the steps of the dugout.

Everitt, usually known for his fiery and poignant strikeout calls, made it a moot point when he weakly and subtly signaled Howard safe. The tally tied the game at 2.

Home plate might not have been the only thing Howard missed last night. Aside from his strikeout in the first inning, his 10th this series, Howard had a communication mix-up with Jayson Werth and third-base coach Sam Perlozzo when he stole second in the fourth inning.

Howard motored toward second base on a 2-1 pitch to Werth, which is a logical hit-and-run situation. Werth looked at the pitch but didn't swing and Howard, who overran second base, didn't slide and looked toward the outfield to try and track the ball.

It was in Posada's glove.

Howard looked back at home in confusion, having just stolen the 11th base in his 6-year career, as the fans simultaneously erupted and shrugged their shoulders.

Still, Howard wouldn't have been in a position to steal if he didn't break his 0-for-9 slump with a hard grounder that found a hole.

Last night, Howard was able to work 3-1 and 2-1 counts in his first two at-bats against Sabathia - which enabled him to get a pitch to hit.

"They're pitching him really tough," Charlie Manuel said before the game. "They're throwing him sliders and they're on the outside of the plate. If they're not on the corner, they're real close, and the umpire is calling those balls. When you do that, and he falls behind in the count, it's hard to hit."

Although the play didn't end up seriously impacting the outcome of the game, it could be the answer to an obscure trivia question in years to come.

"I actually heard about it later," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "It's just tough for me to see. I can't tell, and I don't have replay. And I'm not sitting high above where I can see it.

"Whether he did or not, I still don't know for sure." *