A Few Things

Too much goin on in the sports world right now to focus on one topic..

• First of all I want to say I agree with Katzo in that the Red Sox are now the team to beat in the AL East. With that being said, can we relax with all this talk of the Red Sox dynasty and how they are the ideal franchise in baseball. When you boil it down, this team won for three reasons. They have one of the most fearsome 3-4 combinations in the history of baseball, a dominating closer and an all-time great clutch starting pitcher. I know Lowell, Schilling and others contributed, but those are the reasons the Sox were a step ahead of the rest. Beofre we annoint Theo and the Sox front office as geniuses lests remember a couple things...They have tried to trade (or give away) Manny Ramirez each of the past four seasons. They signed Julio Lugo and JD Drew to contracts combined over $110 million. They paid $51.1 million just to talk to a pitcher how has a 4.40 ERA and did close to nothing in the postseason. If Red Sox fans want to think of their organization as the most well run in baseball, then they must agree that the Yankees were the most well run over the past 10 years. The Red Sox have taken the baton as a team that has so many resources, to the point where they can screw up on players time and time, again but still can cover those up by spending more money. It's not a bad thing, but before we annoint them as Gods, lets be honest about how they got here. Lastly, I am not going to go crazy about Lester or Burgholtz because they have not shown me enough yet. As far as position players, they look good, but more on say the Melky Cabrera level. Not that thats bad, but its not cornerstone type guys.
• I think Joe Torre is a great fit in LA. They have a ton of talent, money and chemistry problems. He will win that division next year and will be playing the Mets in the NLCS in what will shape up to be a great thing for baseball (and the media). A lot will depend on the health of their starting pitching, but they have the bullpen and the line-up already has talent from top to bottom.
• I can't assess the Yankee offseason until we know the Pettitte, Posada and Rivera situations. I am not a huge Joe Girardi fan. I know he was covetted all over baseball, but I will be very interested to see how he handles the young pitching of the Yanks and the media. Remmeber all those great young pitchers he had in Florida came back the next year with major arm problems. Just a thought..
• Giants are the one team in the NFC that can beat the Pats. Two reasons...pass rushing and running the football. My big thing to watch the second half of the season will be how Eli performs, especially the next game against Dallas. Last season in the same situation (6-2) the Giants came home to a huge game against Chicago and Eli played horribly. We know how the season went from there.
• Not much space for NBA talk....My sleeper from each conference are the Grizzlies and the Bucks. I got it right with the Raptors last year, so lets see if I can make this a habit. I admit though that it will be tough for the Grizzlies to make the playoffs in that brutal conference. They will be a tough team to play though. They got a ton of length and potantially very exciting point guard play, plus a long range assassin in Mike Miller. The Bucks have a lot of talent up front and a strong starting backcourt. The East is always up for grabs. They will make the playoffs there.
• Lastly, my Knicks. All I will say is this. Two thing you need to win in this league are defense and an unselfish offense. You need to pass the ball and be able to get stops in big spots. I do not see them able to do either of those two things. Add in the fact that the fanbase is ready to explode, the owner is slowly (hopefully) getting more and more embarrassed, plus Eddy Curry and Zack Randolph might not be able to fit on the team bus together and they team will have problems. At least we got some good sound bytes to expect out of Stephon. For me though, if Isiah is gone by the end of the year this season was a success and we can turn the page towards a hopefully birght future.

STKAFI

Changing of the Guard

Some said it would never happen. They were wrong.

1978? Wrong. 1986? Wrong.

Some thought 1999 was the year. They were wrong.

Some believed it would be in the year 2003. Aaron Boone will be the first to tell you, they were wrong.

Some knew it was one minute after midnight on October 21st, 2004. And then again, after it was finally won after 86 years on October 27th, 2004. Contrary to popular belief, they were wrong.

It wasn't until Sunday, October 28th, 2007 at 12:06 EST that the impossible finally occurred. The Boston Red Sox, NOT the New York Yankees became the team to beat, in the AL East, and in all of baseball.

There are a few reasons, the baton has finally been passed at this very moment in time, and not before. For decades upon decades the Yankees were considered the evil empire, they would constantly win, and continually spend more money to be better than everyone else. It worked, it worked well. Eventually, teams like the Red Sox and the Mets starting spending like the Yankees because they could, to make it a more level playing field, but did so unsuccessfully. For obvious reasons, no one, particularly the Red Sox had taken over the Yankees as the team to beat through 2003. No one could really beat them. Sure they lost to the Diamondbacks and the Marlins in 2001, and 2003, respectively, those were two different teams, and the Yankees couldn't win the World Series EVERY year. Plus, the Yankees were still continuously getting there.

In 2004, the Red Sox finally beat the Yankees in the ALCS (in record setting fashion no less, coming back from being behind 3-0 in the series). The Red Sox also won the World Series that year, but still, the Red Sox weren't the team to beat. The Yankees had still won the division that year, as well as 2005 (via tie-breaker) and 2006 (where the Red Sox didn't even make the playoffs).

But what makes this time around different is the fact that the Red Sox won the World Series in convincing fashion, starting the season as potential favorites to win it all, and ending the season hoisting the trophy. What makes this year different then any other year, and particularly 2004, is that the Red Sox have most if not all of there pieces coming back, and are only going to be better, whereas, the Yankees finally seem be in a little too much turmoil even with all that money to dig them out.

Let's analyze both teams heading into the offseason. The Red Sox have two key free agents to sign, World Series MVP third basemen Mike Lowell, and Curt Schilling. They need to sign Lowell, no doubt about it. A gold glover and RBI machine protecting Manny and Papi, they wouldn't have made it as far without him. I'm posting this under the assumption they will sign Lowell, if they don't, this whole rant might be considered irrelevant. Schilling is a different story. The Red Sox have always been good about letting their stars go when they feel like they are over the hill, even the beloved ones, i.e. Nomar, Pedro, Damon. They will offer Schilling a decent 1 or 2 year deal, and he will probably turn it down, move on, and accept more money somewhere else. But this leads me to the most important reason for why the teams are finally trading places in baseball, the Red Sox don't need Curt Schilling. Not only will they have almost every single key veteran back from this season, their rookies and younger players will all have another year under their belt and will only be getting better. I anticipate Theo Epstein to shop Coco Crisp for a power arm in the bullpen, and have Ellsbury start as the everyday center fielder next year. They bring back Pedroia, Ellsbury, Youkoulis, Papi (after recovering from whatever knee problems he's been having this year), Manny, Lowell, Drew, Varitek, and Lugo, everyone. In addition, they keep Beckett, Dice-K, and get back healthy Lester, and a MLB ready Bucholz, and of course Papelbon and Okajima whatever changes or not made to the bullpen in the offseason and you have your 2008 World Series favorites.

On the other side of the coin you have the Yankees. After any other season, I would not be so fast as to say the Red Sox had taken over, but when you look at what has happened so far this offseason with the Yanks, its hard to say they will be as competitive the next year and the years to come. First comes the bogus offer to Joe Torre and running him out of town. Then Arod opts out of his contract (that's a whole other post in itself) but I don't care what sort of discomfort he brought to the clubhouse, it will be impossible to replace his defense at third, not to mention the 54 home runs and 156 RBI. And finally the hiring of Joe Girardi and Donny Baseball bouncing (I actually think Girardi is the best man for the job in the short-term, but again, another post, another time). In addition, the looming negotiations with Rivera, Posada, Mientkiewicz, and Vizcaino all of which are not guaranteed to stay, and you have a totally different ball club from last year. Again, normally this wouldn't be such a bad thing, especially with the likes of Robbie Cano, Melky Cabrera, Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy and of course Joba beginning to come into their own, but for at least the next 2 or 3 years, and can confidently say, the Yankees are no longer at the crest of the baseball world.

Yep...I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit...

• The Braves traded Edgar Renteria to the Tigers yesterday for young prospects, Jair Jurrjens, a 21-year old hard throwing right hander, and Gorkys Hernandez, a 19-year old speedy center fielder, with a terrific name. Good deal for both sides.
• Oh, and in case you've been living under a rock, the Huskies of UConn are now ranked #13 in the latest BCS poll, as well as receiving their first ranking in the AP and USA Today Coaches poll in their history just 5 years and 10 weeks after becoming a D-1A (or Bowl Subdivision as they are now calling it) football program, the second fastest program to do so behind Marshall. They play host to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights this Saturday, primetime at 7:15pm. Red Sky NYC (the UConn Huskies bar) is the recommended establishment to enjoy the game this weekend.

QB Generation

Random Topic. I was listening to Mike and Mike this morning and the mentioned the topic below. The pretty much piss poor level of quarterbacking in the NFL today. Think about this...


1992: Dan Marino, John Elway, Steve Young, Jim Kelly, Troy Aikman, Brett Favre (first good year), Joe Montana (second to last year)

2007: Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Brett Favre (near the end)

That is a pretty considerable difference. In 1992 we had five hall of fame quarterbacks at or near the top of their game who each would play in a Super Bowl before their career was over, plus a rising star and a legend at the end. Now we have only two, with one legend and no clear rising star (sorry Carson Palmer, but you have not looked good this year). Going into this season we thought Drew Brees and/or Carson Palmer could be at that level but they both have disappointed greatly. Why is this? I really don't know, but here are a few aspects of the argument.

• Maybe 1992 was just a golden age for quarterbacks in a way. We were spoiled.


• Nowadays offenses are throwing the ball more than ever. The West Coast offense was popularized in the 1980's by the 49ers, but now every team incorporates some aspects of that offense. There are more screen passes (WR and RB), more three step drops, etc. One would think QBs would be better as a result of offenses being geared more around them.


• Possibly the QBs have become so accustomed to the short passes/quick release that many struggle with the aspect of sitting in the pocket longer and waiting for plays to develop or finding secondary receivers if the primary route is covered. Who knows?


• One thing is for sure and that is the feeling of 1999-2002 that you can win a Super Bowl with an average QB is pretty much a thing of the past. When Trent Dilfer and Brad Johnson were winning Super Bowls a lot of GMs felt that there was no need to waste high draft picks/big money on QBs. Well in recent years you have Phil Rivers, Ben Rothleisburger, Eli Manning, Kyle Boller, David Carr, Carson Palmer, Alex Smith, Brady Quinn, Jamarcus Russell, etc. There are more QBs being taken high in the draft than ever, but there are also more QB busts than ever.
• Some may say the QBs are being thrown into the fire too soon. The playbooks are so complex, and the QBs don't have enough time to learn them. As a result they play poorly, their confidence drops, and so on.
• These are all just random thoughts on why this could be the case. Like I said, maybe it is just random. Maybe I will look back in 15 years and see that Carson Palmer went on to win two Super Bowls, as well as Eli and Roethlisburger and this will be looked at as incorrect. One thing is true though and that is in 1992 you knew you had a solid group of very good QBs. Now, not so much. Just think about fantasy football. You could have gotten the same production from drafting Romo or Eli in the 6th round as people have gotten from brees and Palmer by drafting them in the 2nd round. All four have had turnover problems. Meanwhile, you have other QBs like Garcia and Garrard who aren't turning the ball over, but can not carry a team like a Romo or a Brees can.
• The QB pool in October of 2007 does not look deep. A lot depends on winning, so we shall see how these other QBs develop over the next six to 18 months. Right now though it is Brady/Manning and then a bunch of above average QBs. Which one will make the leap to join them the way Young, Aikman and Favre joined Elway, Marino and Kelly?

I am rooting for and feel that the Rockies will win. I am a National League guy and unless an arch enemy was in the series I would have to root for the NL. The Rockies line-up is deeper than the Indians and their defense is tighter. Their pitching does not look as good on paper, but when you consider how poorly Sabathia and Carmona pitched against Boston they look pretty similar. I think Boston wins game one and then losses four in a row.

That Boston line-up looks much worse without Papi or Lowell or Youk in that NL park. Plus if you have watched the postseason, the numbers could be deceiving. Beckett has been unreal, but Schilling has looked very hittable. We all know how shaky Dice-K has looked as well. I see a lot of hitting in this series, with the Rockies doing more of it. They are a confident team who thinks they have a higher power on their side (cooocooo, but true).

STKAFI

Dire Calamity

Normally, this would be the perfect spot for a World Series preview, today being the day before game one and all, but I decided to go a different direction this week (although I will have my WS prediction at the end of the post).

I wanted to share with everyone why it sucks to be me as a sports fan right now.

The obvious example right off the bat is being a Dolphins fan. What has happen to this storied franchise? It's like the football gods are pouring it all on at once. It all started with the hiring of Nick Saban (who, at the time, even I thought was a great hire). Then came the choice of Daunte Culpepper over Drew Brees. The disastrous season last season, the Saban bail, the hiring of Cam Cameron, the passing of Brady Quinn, and so on and so forth. Coming into this season I had 0 expectations. Zero! But I couldn't even see this coming. Trent Green out of the year, Chris Chambers traded, Ronnie Brown out for the year, most of the secondary out for the year. And now, here they are, standing at 0-7 and no game in the near future looking all that winnable. The Dolphins do play the Jets and the Bills one more time, and those two games are the only games I would think they could possibly have a chance to win. But with names at the skill positions like Cleo Lemon, Jesse Chatman, and Marty Booker, things are the bleakest they have been in the history of the Miami Dolphins. There is a chance for them to be the first team in history to go 0-16, and what makes it even worse is that one of their long time rivals, the Patriots, look unstoppable and could go 16-0. 0-16 and 16-0 in the same season, and the Dolphins being the team to go 0-16, you can't make this stuff up. They do have some intriguing young players, but I don't even want to get into that, I just want the season to be over and head to the draft with the top 1 or 2 pick, or do I? In an amazing stat pointed out by Peter King yesterday, in the six drafts between 1998 and 2003, the Dolphins had a total of 59 picks, 46 were drafter, and the other 13 were used to trade for 10 other players. Of those 59 picks from 1998-2003, how many players are on the active 53-man roster today? ZERO! That is insane, I almost pooped my pants when I saw that. Maybe someday they will be competitive again, but that day will probably around the time my kids have kids. Pathetic.

Let's move on to some still sad, but not quite as dismal teams. The Atlanta Braves GM John Schuerholz stepped down earlier this month. When I first heard this I thought it was much worse then what actually transpired. Schuerholz is staying on the payroll as President and will be across the hall from his protege Frank Wren. I have the sense any major decisions will be run by, if not decided by Schuerholz himself. That being said, the Braves need to win, and they need to win now. Andruw Jones is gone. Chipper and Smoltz getting old. Teixeira could only be there for another year. If they don't win next year, they Braves will be in the same mode as the Dolphins. Starting over. Granted the Braves organization is 1,000,000,000 times better than the Dolphins, but at the same time, they will be reloading with no real legitimate shot at a championship for a few years.

I do not have a NBA team because the NBA sucks. But the Celtics and Suns could be fun to watch this year.

I used to be a much bigger hockey fan, but the strike put a little bit of a damper on that. The New York team I do heavily root for and have since I was little are the Rangers. I love their fan base and love the MSG atmosphere during a Rangers game. I also used to root for the Colorado Avalanche when they had Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Chris Drury, and Patrick Roy because they were fun to watch, and I hated the Red Wings. But back to the main point of this post. Even the Rangers, one of the favorites to win the Stanley Cup this year have been a disappointment so far. It is still early in the year, and they have one of the best teams on paper. But seeing them play the Islanders in the preseason, flying all over the ice and scoring in many different ways, I have not seen that at all this year. They need to stop playing tight and open things up. This can be a very dangerous squad, but again, because I root for them, have been nothing but a disappointment and are currenlty in last place in the Atlantic Division.

This brings us to the college game. UConn, a traditional basketball powerhouse, did not even make the NIT last year? Are you serious? Embarrassing. This year, every player has had a year under their belt and they should compete, but they used all their scholarships on their players last year and had none to use this year so have no decent recruits. The could be very competitive in a year or two, but in all honesty, the players they have right now, do not look like championship material.

The one bright spot in my sports life lately has been the Huskies football team. They have had a surprisingly nice beginning of their season. New QB Tyler Lorenzen, and the RB tandem of Donald Brown and Andre Dixon have carried them to a 6-1 start, a win at home over Louisville last week and a #23 ranking in the BCS for the first time in history, (they have only been a D-I A team since 2003). Fairly impressive. However, they easily could have been 7-0 losing in Virginia in a sloppy game that they should have won, and their win against Louisville could have gone the other way (the infamous fair-catch signal). On top of that, this team has no shot of playing for a BCS championship (maybe a BCS bowl), but play host to USF and Rutgers in back to back weeks, and I actually expect them to lose both games fairly handily.

All in all, I have very little to root for in sports in the upcoming years. And it sucks.

This brings us to the World Series pick. Everything in my gut, and everything I had said before points to the Red Sox in 4, 5, or 6 games. Since I have made my predictions all year and from the beginning of the playoffs, I have said the Red Sox will win it all. That being said...

There's only one Rocktober!

Rockies in 7!

On to the Series

Last night the Red Sox clinched the American league pennant for the 2 time in 4 or so years. I was in attendance at one of the most electric sporting events in my life. The atmosphere was amazing, the entire crowd stood and screamed at an average of 5 times an inning. When at the plate, any 3-0. 3-1. 3-2 count got us up and if there was a guy in scoring position, forget about it. With Dice-K on the mound, every 0-2 pitch, despite logic that said he would waste a pitch, everyone was on there feet. It got to the point very early when the elderly people in the area were complaining because they simply could not manage the ridiculous amount of sitting and standing. Fenway was overly loud. The feelings and thoughts of the crowd could be felt en masse when Lugo dropped that ball, it took something out of the Red Sox faithful. When Indians 3rd base coach, Joel Skinner, inexplicably held Lofton, preventing the tying run from occuring; I still felt a little uneasy, the Red Sox still needed a break. We all know the rest. Double Play to Mike "Gold Glove" Lowell and the Pedro-ia and Papelbon shut the door. The emotions were up and down last night but incredible 8th that shut the door was probably the most celebratory inning of any game that I have ever attended.

My first game seven, my first Red Sox clinching game. Needless to say, well worth the price of admission.

Quick Thoughts:

1. Jonathan Papelbon comes out of the bullpen to Wild Thing, this we know. What I didn't realize is that every time once he reaches the mound and the announcer says "Jonathan Papelbon", without missing a beat, Fenway chimes in with the song from the Departed (which has somehow been claimed as the theme of Red Sox nation this playoff run, i think i heard it ten times last night) Needless to say, it is ridiculously bad ass and it gets the crowd going over the top crazy. It is almost unfair how much that song gets you pumped up.

2. Sadly Da Bocker has retired from the Blog. Apparently for the large mass of people (the Da Bocker following) that miss the ever valuable red dot picks; he does have an email chain going around that you can request an invite to. It is called the jordan/sonny nfl pick love fest email chain and if you want to make sure that you are banned from it forever, we can arrange that too.

3. I think the fact that Beckett went back to the bullpen intimidated the Indians into not hitting well early. This way, they made sure they would not have to face him.

4. Very interesting decision to bring Okijima out there for a potential 3rd inning. Paging Eric Gagne, you are terrible, Eric Gagne . . . terrible

5. Close call win for the Saints. 2-4, someone is stirring in a stagnant / ridiculously horrible division.

6. Anyone else laugh hysterically everytime Brady airs it out to Moss? If you had been listening closely you could almost here KatzoRelaxo's spirit breaking. At least Ronnie Brown has been a bright spot (ooooo, was that too soon? my bad)

7. I do believe the Red Sox will beat the Rockies but its going to be tough to deal with the fact that they forgot how to spell the word "lose".

8. Why was Betancourt left out there for so long. Sure, he had been their best reliever but wasn't it clear early that he did not have it last night. And why not at least try Borowski? Is there no faith in him? Obviously not, I would have none in him. But isn't the point to have your best reliever close for you? If you are going to designate him "closer" then how are you not going to bring him in for the 8th before Rafael broke down?

9. Beckett deserved the MVP and I hope he takes home the CY

10. Why are some Red Sox fans chanting MVP every time Mike Lowell comes up? He is good, I get that but its' been going on for the entire postseason and I need an explanation. MVP of the team? of the defense? of hispanic players at 3rd base? goatees of america? of 5 hole hitters? It is confusing. Red Sox nation . . . quit it. Otherwise my MVP for JDD chants just don't hold water.

11. Another Pet peeve of mine, the "Yankees Suck" chants are old. Quit that too. Stick to the Hey Hey Hey Goodbye chant, Cleveland Sucks, and Warm up the Bus, ok? is that to much to ask. We aren't playing the Yanks, we didn't beat the yanks so give it a rest.

12. Red Sox in 6 against the Rockies.

go saints. go sox. go c's

Parity. Is it for College Football?

1. Ohio State (7-0)
2. South Florida (6-0)
3. Boston College (7-0)
4. LSU (6-1)
5. Oklahoma (6-1)
6. South Carolina (6-1)
7. Kentucky (6-1)
8. Arizona State (7-0)
9. West Virginia (5-1)
10 Oregon (5-1)

The above list of top 10 teams, is the first release of the 2007 BCS Standings in college football. Yes, that list. The same list which features the likes of South Florida at #2, Boston College at #3, and South Carolina, Kentucky, and Arizona State at #6-8, respectively. No USC, no Florida, no Virginia Tech, no Michigan, no Texas. Besides Ohio State, LSU, and Oklahoma there are no true college football powerhouses in the top 10 this year...so far.

But the question remains, is parity (at least THIS much parity) good for college football? At first glance, parody is almost always good for sports. However, in this case, with so many of the "better" college football programs losing, and some of the rising programs continuing to go undefeated and even upseting some of the more well known teams, with an arguably softer schedule, the end result might, just might not be for the best.

Let's take a very, very hypothetical approach here and say Ohio State loses somewhere along the line, USF and BC win out, and the computers don't think there is a one-loss team that deserves to jump ahead of either one. Does the general public really want to see a USF/BC national championship game? I don't know. Do people, and college football experts really believe that BC could beat LSU on a neutral field, or that USF would beat Oklahoma, or USC, or Florida? Maybe.

The bottom line is all of this is looking very far into the future of a long college football season. No one knows exactly how it will work out, and there is always second guessing when it comes to the BCS system, but as I see it now, this is the most wacky and unusual college football season to date.

Oh it is most definitely a VAN DAMME FRIDAY!

http://www.planetdan.net/pics/misc/dammedance.gif



OH YEAH!

Road Warriors

Good news... I got my swagger back. After an early trouncing in the Pick 'Em and Fantasy Football season... i have come back with vengeance. With 18 correct picks in the past two weeks and a 3-0 fantasy football week... I present to you my Week 6 picks. 10 of the 13 road teams will cover. Home team in CAPS

Free Money!

BEARS -5.5 over Vikings
Besides myself the entity with the second greatest return of swagger may be the Chicago Bears. I think Griese is going to reach serviceable status which is all these Bears really need from their QB. Benson finally found the endzone, they got their highly touted Greg Olsen back. I know the D is banged up, but look at the other side of the field. Unless All Day goes off in a way only he can do I can't see how these Vikings are going to find the endzone.

Titans +2.5 over BUCS
All Vince Young does is win football games. Problem is All Jeff Garcia does is be a mini Vince Young and win football games. The Bucs have zero running game right now, and I think I heard the stat that Jeff Fisher has been the best road record in football since he's taken over. That could be wrong, but I think I heard that. With a spread of 2.5, I could see this being a field goal game, with Young doing just enough for the win.... per usual

Dolphins +4.5 over BROWNS
These Browns are weird. They put up points, then they don't. They seem to be playing the Pats tough, then they can't cover a +16.5. I dunno, I don't see any NFL team going winless. This might be the game where the Dolphins break through. Ronnie Brown is running great and there is no reason to think that will stop this week.. Lewis for hurt for the Browns, I'm not sure what his status is... but I wouldn't be shocked to see the Dolphins win outright.

Rams +9,5 over RAVENS
Fellow blogger called it his upset special, I simply call it a free money cover. Ravens hit 3 field goals against the 49ers. Rams put up 31 pts against Arizona. I can see Ferrotte doing his best Griese impression. For the Ravens to beat a team by double digits they will need one of their vintage Ed Reed defensive/special teams touchdowns. And that's not something Im willing to bet on.

Texans +6.5 over JAGUARS
Jaguars will probably make the playoffs. Jaguars do not let up a lot of points (I believe 10.5 a game). Garrard has not thrown an INT this season (4th rated QB). However, they also don't seem to blow out teams. I also have faith in Schaub. Texans are coming off an amazing win, and although ugly it could be just the type of game they need to play against the Jags. Take your field goals, and play defense. Jones-Drew finally showed signs of life, but I see this being a 4th quarter game.

Redskins +3.5 over PACKERS
Redskins are coming off one of their most dominant defensive efforts in franchise history. I know Green Bay is a tough place to play but I think this Packers team may be one of those teams hyped up early on that fall off a bit. Yes Favre is playing well, but don't sleep on Campbell who is the real deal. Portis is healthy and the Packers still have no running game. This was one of the tougher picks for me, but did you see that Sellers youtube clip courtesy of one Ev Boyle?!?!

Eagles -2.5 over JETS
This one breaks my heart to pick and it is also one of the most difficult. I think some of the magic of Chad Pennington has been lost. Yes he is still fiery, yes I think he is still one of the smartest QB's in the league, but he has ZERO arm power. No this is not new news, but his 5 picks in the past 2 games, along with a home crowd you know will be cheering to put in Clemens at the sign of any trouble. Also I think the Eagles believe they can get back into the NFC playoff race. McNabb has only thrown one INT all year and I'm not sure if Westbrook is back or not, but if he is, I see the Eagles pulling this one out.

Bengals -3.5 over CHIEFS
Chiefs are a terrible terrible football team. When we look back to the 2007 season, one of the biggest shockers of all will be how the Chiefs went into San Diego and got a win. Bengals have a history of exploding after their bye week and this Chiefs team provides the perfect opposition for that.

CARDINALS -3.5 over Panthers
The Panthers and Cards are two teams I have the most difficult times assessing. Warner is now the unchallenged started in Arizona and for the Panthers, Carr or Moore who cares? Unless the Cards secondary sends hate mail to Steve Smith's home this week, one would think the Cards can pull this one out at home. Larry Fitz woke up last week in a big way and the status for Boldin is still unknown. Losing Whine-art might have been a blessing in disguise for this year's Cards.

CHARGERS -9.5 over Raiders
It's a lot of points, but they put up 41 pts last week. LT didnt even get in the end zone last week but the cancer in the clubhouse V-Jax did. If Culpepper can account for 5 TD's, on less then 100 yards of offense again like he did 2 weeks ago then this game will obviously be close. I'm still not sold on Rivers, but I think the D makes a few plays this week and we have ourselves a blowout.

Pats -4.5 over COWBOYS
I hate Romo, I love when Romo accounts for 6 turnovers. I hate the Patriots. I hate this matchup, but man I can't wait to watch this game. Many are saying if Romo threw 5 picks against the Bills what will he do against the Pats. However, anyone who knows anything knows football does not work this way. It's a week to week game. Pats look like a team for the ages, and I can't pick against them until any weakness at all is exposed. Is this a battle for the game's best receiver??? I dont think anyone is in Randy's class, but I would bet To wouldn't say the same. Romo wants to be considered elite in anyone's book besides John Madden and Joe Buck then he needs to prove it in this game.

Saints +6.5 over SEAHAWKS
Why on earth would I pick the Saints in this game. They can't catch the ball, they can't throw the ball and they can't run the ball. I don't know, but there is something boring and missing about this Seattle team. They barely had the ball in the second half in Pittsburgh and Alexander is a shell of his former self. Saints have to wake up at some point. I am having a hard time defending this pick, but I'm sticking with it.

Giants -4.5 over FALCONS
Doesn't matter to me Harrington or Leftwich. Giants should roll through hapless Atlanta. I can't think of one exciting thing going on for Atlanta. Their biggest splashes are in court where they keep winning money back from Vick. Giants are kind of stuck right now between playoff contender/pretender. Going two games over .500 with a win will point them in the right direction.

Don't Do It

I always felt that the best way to assess my team is to seek the opinion of other people. Not people who also like that same team, but people that don't. People that actually hate that team. People that pay just as much attention as I do, but are hoping for the exact opposite things that I am. With that in mind I have this to say to Yankeeland....DO NOT FIRE JOE TORRE.

Actually do fire Joe Torre! He only got the Yankees to the playoffs 12 straight years. This season for all intents and purposes was a rebuilding year. Not your typical rebuilding year, considering the payroll was $200 million. But think about the influx of young pitching. Also think about the fact that within the past couple of seasons Torre has gradually worked young guys like Melky Cabrera and Robbie Cano into the starting line-up. The bottom line is there are a lot of guys in Torre's position that would not want to deal with the risks that are involved with young pitching and players. Torre has been a perfect organizational soldier in that regard. He swallowed his pride and adhered to the Joba Rules. He gave chances to guys like Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes while pushing aside veterans like Mike Mussina for the good for the team and organization as a whole.

The most important thing though is the comfort level of the team. I mean, it is clear that Torre has not lost this locker room one bit. Every big name veteran is dedicated to Torre. They all seem to be eager to speak up for him. In addition, there is no one better in sports at dealing with the media. I think that will be more clear when Torre is out as Yankee manager and we see what his replacement is like under that day to day insane grind.

Look, I don't think Torre is like the best manager in baseball or something. I just think that he is still the best person for this job. As a Yankee hater I would love to see him go and watch the chaos in Yankeeland ensue. Tony Larussa? Wow. He has won a lot, but he has problems with the media in St. Louis! That's like having trouble catching up to a 90 mile per hour fastball, while New York is a Joba Chamberlain heater. Mattingly? Could be great, but no managerial experience. Girardi? His tenure in Florida ended a little messy and that is not the best sign going into this very unique Yankee situation. Showalter? Been there, done that. Valentine? Can definitely handle the media, but the clubhouse may be a different story.

Bottom line is Torre can still do this job better than anyone. If he had more than two good relievers and if Wang had a pair of cahones the Yanks might have just won this series. Torre has the respect of the veterans and is eager to develop the youngsters (which he is doing a pretty good job of so far). He has been the rock of this Yankee run. I hope the Yankees fire him, because I am eager to watch baseball in October without any games in the Bronx. Anyway, sometimes the best moves are the ones not made. This is one of them. The guy deserves it, the fans deserve it, and so do the players. The media? They prolly deserve a guy like Larussa. Met fans? We deserve Torre to be gone and to watch the Yankee fish bowl explode.

STKAFI

LCS Preview

Because my division series preview was a complete disaster, added to the fact that I'm super busy today, I will keep this short and to the point.

NLCS

Colorado Rockies vs. Arizona Diamondbacks

As much as I want to take the Rockies in this series, especially considering they have won 17 of 18 games (reminiscent of the 2001 Staples high school baseball team, which won 20 of its last 21 games), I just don't think I can bring myself to do it. Although Colorado clearly has the hitting and defensive advantage in this series, Arizona has an overwhelming advantage in starting pitching as well as their bullpen. If there's one thing that this postseason, and many others have taught us, is that good pitching will always conquer good hitting.

Colorado will be sent packing but not with their heads down, watch out for this team for many years to come.

Brandon Webb & Co. will make another World Series appearance, and their first since 2001 when they beat the Yankees in 7 games.

Arizona in 6

Interesting tid-bit: You think this Arizona team has young players? How about their GM Josh Byrnes, at 37 is one of the new young breeds of general managers in the MLB, and certainly seems to know his stuff.

ALCS

Cleveland Indians vs. Boston Red Sox

The one series I got right on the button was the Red Sox continued dominance over the Angles. I don't see the Red Sox losing any steam against the Indians, or their World Series opponent either. Such a dangerous team all around, they can shut a team down with their pitching, or outscore a team with their pesky on-base percentage guys getting on, and the dangerous core of Ortiz, Rameriez, and Lowell to knock them in. Despite Cleveland's fantastic one-two punch of Sabathia and Carmona, this team just does not quite of the fire power and all around game Boston does.

Sabathia and Carmona will be well, but not well enough and their hot 2-out hitting will start to fizzle. But another young squad will only be getting better in the future.

The Red Sox will win a couple pitchers duels, and outscore the Indians in a couple wild ones, even winning one or two of the four games Sabathia and Carmona would pitch. A chance to win their second World Series in 4 years will be on the horizon.

Boston in 6

Interesting tid-bit: The last time the Red Sox and Indians faced off in the playoffs was in the 1999 ALDS, in which the Indians won the first two at home, and the Red Sox pulled out 3 straight, including game 5 in Cleveland to meet none other than the Yankees in the ALCS.

Quick notes:

• Even though Steinbrenner should have kept his comments to himself until after the season was over, Joe Torre's contract is up and whether or not they won this series, or won it all, it seems like it might just be time for him and the Yankees to part ways. Great run, Joe.
• Arod, who knows? Probably should stay if he really wants a ring, but only time will tell. Yankee fans will not be forgiving if he runs for the money.
• Dolphins, Rams and Saints battle for the #1 pick in next years draft. My guess is it will come down to week 15 or so between Miami and St. Louis.
• Anyone else think about the irony of a Cowboys/Pats Superbowl if Drew Bledsoe hadn't retired, Romo gets hurt halfway through the season (perhaps week 12, Thu. Nov. 22nd, against the Jets) and Bledsoe leads the Cowboys into the playoffs and defeats the Pats in the Superbowl, then runs off the field giving everyone on the Pats sideline the finger while eating a burger? No? Just me?

The 'Aints are for real.

Is it the coaching? Is it the Quarterback? The defense that was always bad but for some reason regressed in the off season? What can a sports fan do when their team is probably one of the worst in the NFL? These are the questions that plagued me for just about 10 of the last 12 years. Now during my early days as a football fan, I was not as knowledgable as I am now(not that I know alot now, but I have an idea of what is going on). However, the added knowledge just adds to the pain, you can see certain packages that are not working, recognize patterns that the coach's playcalling is falling into, relying on things that last year worked better and refusing to abandon a floundering game plan.

Yesterday, I did not get to watch the Saints game in full, in fact, due to circumstances and corresponding Red Sox playoff games; it has been futile to try a sports bar to watch a New Orleans team. From the highlights and articles that I have read, it appears that the problem lies with the offensive passing game. It was this portion of the Saints attack that allowed them to strike quickly for first downs, move the chains and draw out longer drives while in doing so, keeping the weak defense off of the field. While watching the game on gamecast, I blamed Drew Brees for the incomplete after incomplete that popped up on the system. However, it appears that it is in fact the WR of the team constantly dropping the ball that has lead to the demise of the 2007 New Orleans Saints. The only thing, I can think when I hear this is that I am really glad that we got rid of Joe Horn. Seriously, what a great move. This is terrible, it isn't turning around any time soon. Robert Meachum needs to get on the field and prove that he was a first round pick.

On the brighter side, the Red Sox won last night, easily dominating the Angels and solidifying their status as the favorite to win to Series this year. Schilling looked great. Manny was amazing the whole series and appears to be fresh after the month or so off he took in late August. They are playing well and it showed in the sweep.

Upset of the week for next week?

St. Louis over Baltimore

Will it sting when A Rod is the World Series MVP for the Cubs next year after the Yanks get spanked in one of the next two rounds? I think it will.

Also, in related news, Manny's Home run from Friday night just passed over the Big Ben clock tower in London about 30 minutes ago. If it continues its' current trajectory it should reach earth's orbit in about 2 more weeks.

On the brighter side

Go Yankees

Really tough act to follow this time. I don't know how I'll pull this off.

I've been having this argument with a couple of fellow Red Sox fans. Its an odd feeling that I haven't really experienced before.

Currently, I am rooting for the Yankees.

Not overtly. I'm not hanging out in a bar cheering loudly and pissing off all of the Boston fans. I am not rooting actively in any way, however, I want them to beat the Yankees. Is this sacreligous? Maybe. And fellow BoSox fans have called me insane, crazy and ridiculous but I do not care. For my money(not that I pay for my seats) there is no better game in the MLB than a playoff game between the Red Sox and Yankees. The atmosphere, just everything about the games just seems special and I want this to happen. I want another chapter to the storied history, it is just that good. Who doesn't want to see Arod in Fenway in October to see what he can manage? Who doesn't want to see Beckett stare down the Yankees again in October? Or Clemens one more time at Fenway? How about Wang vs Dice-K, if asian people are your thing?

There are so many story lines, so much history, every year that we don't get a 7 game series seems like a missed oppurtunity.

Wrapping things up. 8 things

1. If you had told me I would be starring at Rockies vs D-Backs in the NLCS in April, I would have been surprised but I would have yawned first. I'm gonna need the Cubs to pull it out in order to take the NL seriously
2. The SAINTS are coming! The SAINTS are coming!
3. Upset Special : Chicago over Green Bay
4. I wouldn't be so sure to take the Pats on a spread pick this week. I think they might be looking to future weeks and the browns offense isnt as bad as we all thought.
5. SELVIN YOUNG has officially replaced Vincent Jackson as the guy I look for wearing pads.
6. Watching the NL and the AL is there any doubt that the World Series looks like it'll be a sweep?
7. Hey Bears way to stick with Grossman while Leftwich was on the market. Great decision, really it was.
8. Joe Torre made a mistake bringing in the young guns in a winnable game. But i guess bullpen management has never been his thing.

I'll try and post more later

Kansas City Chiefs	+2.5	Jacksonville Jaguars
Washington Redskins	-3.5	Detroit Lions
New England Patriots	-15.5	Cleveland Browns
New Orleans Saints	-2.5	Carolina Panthers
New York Giants	-3.5	New York Jets
St. Louis Rams	+3.5	Arizona Cardinals
Pittsburgh Steelers	-6.5	Seattle Seahawks
Tennessee Titans	-8.5	Atlanta Falcons
Houston Texans	-5.5	Miami Dolphins
Indianapolis Colts	-10.5	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
San Francisco 49ers	+3.5	Baltimore Ravens
Denver Broncos	-1.5	San Diego Chargers
Green Bay Packers	-3.5	Chicago Bears
Buffalo Bills	+10.5	Dallas Cowboys

Home teams on left of course.

MLB Playoff Preview

I know what you all are thinking right now, "how can he not be writing about the UEFA Champions League, including the devastating knee injury to Owen Hargreaves and the implications it might have on Manchester United? I mean, everyone who reads this blog (yes, all five of us) follow soccer very closely everyday and don't care about the mainstream ESPN coverage of the MLB playoffs!"

Well, I'm doing it for a couple reasons, one, I'm not a flaming douche, and two, baseball happens to be my favorite sport and is entering its most entertaining time of the year, so obviously I'm going to post my thoughts and opinions which tend to be correct (see my NL East preview at the beginning of the season). So you all will have to suck it up. Oh, no one wanted me to write about that? Just Carey? Okay cool.

Just for the record, I honestly have NO idea how these playoffs are going to play out, I'm literally just guessing as to what is going to happen.

NLDS

Chicago Cubs vs. Arizona Diamondbacks

Arizona finished the season with the best record in the NL, they also happen to be the fourth team in history to make the playoffs while being outscored in the regular season. 2 of the past 3 teams got swept in the first round, with the exception of the '87 Twins, who actually won it all. Arizona had been playing .500 ball for the last month, but so had the rest of the NL West. The D-Backs have one, very good consistent weapon in Brandon Webb, but that's about it, and he can only pitch twice. The line-up is extremely young with a lack of power. Bullpen is solid, but besides Webb, who can get to them?

Chicago has been playing well as of late and held off a late charge by the Brewers, who ended up fizzling. The Cubs have a formidable line-up with Soriano, Ramirez, and Lee leading the way. Starting pitching is decent, not great, and the bullpen is something to be desired. Chicago should have a pretty decent home field advantage playing at Wrigley with the whole city behind them.

I see Arizona bringing Webb back on three days rest and winning twice, but Chicago winning the series with too much offense firepower.

Cubs in 5

Colorado Rockies vs. New Y...err Philadelphia Phillies

Sorry Icecold, couldn't resist.

Two of the feel good, historical stories of the year, everyone expects to see a great 5 game series. I don't see it quite as close unfortunately.

Colorado has had a tremendous running going 14-1 over there last 15 games including an extra inning, walk-off win in the one game playoff against the Padres. I do think one thing people are missing is how exhausting this kind of run can be, not only physically, but mentally. Some members of the Rockies may just be happy its over and they are playing in October. Outstanding on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball, this team will never give up. But who will step up and pitch a game for them when they need it?

Philadelphia on the other hand had quite a run of their own, with the help of one of the biggest choke jobs in major sports history. You can't just blame it all on the Mets though as you have to give the Phillies just as much credit for playing well. Another team strong on offense with questions in the pitching department. But they do have an ace in Cole Hamels to win a game they must win.

I just think the Phillies little bit of extra rest and the offensive fire power to keep up with the Rockies will put them over the top. Look for a Phillies blow out in game one with Hamels on the hill and the Rockies physically and mentally tired.

Phillies in 4

ALDS

The American league playoffs are the varsity of the postseason. You could make a case (and it is probably so) that all four teams in the AL would win a 7 game series against any team in the NL.

Los Angeles Angles of Anaheim vs. Boston Red Sox

Another series that many think will be close and I happen to disagree.

L.A.A. has some health issues and has not been playing great ball coming into the playoffs. They are a scrappy bunch on offense with not much power, yet a ton of speed, which is underrated in the postseason. Very formidable starting rotation, but in Fenway, Lackey and Escobar could struggle. The Angles normally lights out bullpen has looked vulnerable lately as well.

Boston has the best record in the best league, but also haven't been playing their best ball either as of late and still have some questions. We all know the potential of their line-up, but will Manny be healthy enough to really contribute (I think he will be). Beckett will shine, but will anyone else in their rotation? Like the Angles, their bullpen is normally excellent, but have seen their share of struggles recently.

Boston will overcome their problems more easily than the Angles and although Francona set a questionable rotation, starting Dice-K in Game 2 instead of Game 3, I believe the Red Sox will take care of the Halos fairly easily.

Boston in 3

New York Yankees vs. Cleveland Indians

This is the one series that I really think is a coin flip and have no clue how it will pan out. The other series I'm fairly confident in the winners (the numbers of games it will take them to win is a crap shoot), not this one.

New York has been playing there best ball coming into October which is typically a positive. Arod seems to be coming out of his recent little slump and this lineup can put up 10 runs any night. Always questions surrounding the Yankee pitching staff, but the bullpen should be solid, with the Joba rules now out the door, and if their starters can get them there, they should be able to pull those games out.

The Indians have the best one-two punch pitching staff of the teams left in the playoffs in Sabathia and Carmona (slightly ahead of Lackey and Escobar). Their offense looks great on paper, but are actually overshadowed by the Yankees. Their bullpen has great middle relief and set up guys but I don't trust Borowski to close out a tight playoff game any further than I can throw him.

The Yanks offense will surge through the Indians starters in a high scoring series.

New York in 5

A more detailed Championship Series preview next week, but here are my quick hit thoughts:

NLCS

The Phillies pitching weakness will finally be exposed and Chicago will prevail.

Cubs in 6

ALCS

New York's offense will stall at the wrong time, while their pitching can't keep up with Boston's.

Boston in 6

World Series

We will get the series everyone wanted in 2003 when both cursed franchises felt their curses at their worst again in the Championship Series - Steve Bartman the Cubs/Aaron 'Bleepin' Boone for the Red Sox.

In this series, Boston just has too much fire power for Chicago and will have there second championship in 4 years, after going 86 without one. The Cubs meanwhile will have to wait until their 100th anniversary of their last championship to fight for one again.

Boston in 5

What to do, What to do

Since Sunday, everyone has been passing me condolences on the Mets season. To be honest it has gradually started to hit me, but not fully. The last couple of weeks were very difficult to sit through. The last game was brutal as well, but there was a part of me that was more angry than sad so I did not feel the finality of the season. Then Gary Cohen ended the coverage on channel 11 by saying "Our next broadcast will be from Port St. Lucie in March". All of the sudden I felt something. On the way to work I could not escape the front AND back pages of the local newspapers. The front page of ESPN, CNNSI, Deadspin, etc, etc. Then I get home and for the first time in six months I did not have a baseball game to look forward to. It's over. The only way I know how to treat this is to ask, what now?


Before that I want to address one thing about the weekend. I really could care less about the Mets actions on Saturday afternoon and the fact that the Mets did not "let sleeping dogs lie". This is professional sports. I do not care if the teams don't like each other. The entire National league hated the 1986 Mets and that did not stop them. If the Mets were deserving then would have won anyway. I would love for my team to win with class, but I understand the world we live in. That usually does not happen. So the Mets pissed the Marlins off. Who cares? The Mets were doing the same dancing and celebrating nonsense last year, but no one made a big deal because they were able to win anyway.


So now the Mets have decisions to make. First and foremost the Mets need to figure out this leadership situation. For the past two years there has been a weird atmosphere around this team. It's not like this just appeared in September. I mean, last season a mystery teammate taped a note to the locker of Lastings Milledge telling to basically stop acting like a clown and grow up. You had Lodcua calling out his Latin teammates early in this season about how he and a couple other guys are the only ones who seem to stand up to the media after tough losses. Now we have these rumors of front office personnel constantly hanging around the locker room and in a way undermining Willie. Unnamed sources are questioning Willie. Bottom line is this has to stop. They all need to understand that they are on the same side and there should be no backstabbing. Omar needs to step up and respect the manager and bring some order to this house. He created this, now he needs to stop this. Plus it looks like a couple of the more vocal veterans may be gone after the season (Loduca, Glavine). It will be interesting to see how the leadership roles are defined on this team once some of the veteran guys are gone (which I hope they are). Here are a couple things I want to happen.



1. Get rid of Ricky Henderson, Tom Glavine, Paul Loduca.

2. Retool the bullpen by getting rid of Mota and Sosa at least. The only guy that has to come back is Wagner because of his contract situation. Schoenwiess prolly has to as well, and Heilman unless he is dealt for a bigger name player. After that though, I do not all bets should be off.

3. Make a strong play for a front line pitcher (Dan Haren, Johan Santana, etc). The Mets have a few pieces to make a deal. If you can have a top four of the rotation of Pedro, Maine, Perez, and another front line guy then all of the sudden you are in really good shape.

4. Get younger in the line-up. Catcher, 2B, 1B, and the corner outfield spots can all be younger. I am not saying attack all those positions, but a couple. Maybe try to start Milledge next year in right and bring back Alou in left (have Gomez ready for when Alou gets hurt). Delgado may have to come back, but you can try to see if Gotay can play 2B full-time, or being someone else in. Find a younger catcher. I do not want Pudge in here.

5. Last and most important find out what is bugging Reyes and fix it. he is the key to the entire team and in order for the Mets to be good he has to be good.



In the end this might be good for this team. They were way to confident and ahead of themselves considering they had only won a division title. They acted as if they were the Queens Yankees. The fans did not feel comfortable with that, but enjoyed finally having a team that felt they were the best and a team that assumed they would win. I think the fans will be more comfortable rooting for next years squad which is sure to be hungrier and more focused. This has always been a blue collar franchise with blue collar fans. Plus guys like Reyes and Wright finally tasted what it is like to be booed and really ripped on in New York. They are both still under 26 and have many years ahead of them to regain any confidence or affection they once had. We will see what moves are made, but there is no reason in my mind why this team will not come back hungrier and on a mission to blow the NL out of the water. The NL East has a lot of talent, so it will be interesting, but one thing is for sure. The Mets will not look down on the other teams and expect them to roll over like they did this year. They will be focused to do it right. And if that is not the case then Willie will have to go and the problem will be much deeper in this organization.



Yanks

At the beginning of the season I said that the Yankees would make the playoffs once again, but that their problems would continue on October. Am I going to back off of those now? No way. Although they much have been listening to me because they have addressed the concerns I voiced. Number one is defense. They seem committed to putting their best defensive team they can on the field these days, with Melky in center, Meintkeich at first, and sometimes even Damon in Left. Seconly, I said their older bats slowed down at the end of the season when facing young hard throwers. Well, Melky and Cano are young enough that they should not be worn down and many of the veterans have been platooned so they should be fresher than in recent years.

In addition, the Yankees now have he 8th inning guy they have been craving. Joba is the perfect 8th inning bridge to Mariano in the 9th. The funny thing is though, when you look at this run since 2001 in which the Yankees have not been able to win a title, has the bullpen really been the culprit? I mean think about it. How many of these games that the Yankees lost did they have a lead late in a game and the pen blew it before getting it to Mo. Feel free to share, but I can't think of one off the top of my head. I am not saying that won't happen this year, but that is an interesting point considering all the talk over the past few years about the Yankees pen and Joe's over usage of it, etc.

I guess my point is that this series will come down to the starting pitching. The Indians have to be pretty confident with their top two. The Yankees say they are, but I have my doubts. Wang's ERA was 4.90 on the road this year. As for Pettitte, all Yankee fans want to talk about is how much of a big game pitcher he is. Well, go to the record books. He buried you in game 6 of the 2001 World Series and he couldn't make it through four innings in game 5 of the 2000 NLDS. I think he will pitch well, but I get the feeling that Yankee fans put him in the category with a Smoltz or a Schilling as far as postseason greatness goes and that is just wrong. Does Clemens pitch, does Mussina pitch, does Hughes pitch? I don't know. If the Yankee starting pitching can keep a lead up until the 7th though it will be very tough to come back on them.

One last thing is the Joe Torre issue. Even with all he has done this year, there is a very good chance that he will be gone if they do not make it out of the division series this year. I am not saying it is right, but it is a fact. He needs to show the patience he lacked last year (batting AROD 8th, benching Sheff, etc). If the Yanks lose game one with Giambi on the bench or DHing I do not want to see him at first in game two. Defense is so key in the postseason. Stuff like that will be important to watch if they Yankees fall behind in this first series.

How did I not mention AROD in all of this? Well, what else is there to say about him? It's put up or shut up time. He knows this is where the media and fans will forever judge him. We are just going to have to wait and see on this one. If there was ever a time for him to break out though you would think that it would be after this unbelievable season.

Indians in 4

STKAFI