Still No Word On Torre....Sox Lose Again...And a Few Other Things

We are still waiting to hear about the fate of Joe Torre. Some say that is a good sign, others a bad. I tend to think it is good because at least it means that they are actually having a debate about this and not making one of George's hot headed, rage fueled decisions. At the same time it is almost criminal to make Joe wait so long for a decision. Here is a guy who has given you 4 rings, countless wins, and a trip to the post season every season he's been in charge. If you are going to can him just do it, but don't make the poor guy wait much longer, he deserves better than that.

Of course the big story of the day is that Cleveland is a win away from the World Series. Now don't get me wrong, nothing will make me happier than the Indians putting the nail in Boston's season. But as my buddy Matt pointed out, even though no one really thought Cleveland would do this well, they are not the Cinderella story that Colorado is. They have been good all year and have some of the best pitchers in the league. They are getting a lot of attention in the postseason because they faced the Yankees and now the Sox, but they deserve some credit for their regular season accomplishments too.

This is a little off topic, but part of being a Yankees fan, or even a Red Sox fan for that matter, is knowing who is on the other team. Earlier in the season I wrote a post about my predictions for Dice-K. I predicted that he wouldn't be worth the paper his $50 million negotiation fee was printed on. Well, I wasn't spot on with that prediction but I wasn't that far off either. Sure, he won 15 games but who would have thought that he would run into so many problems late in the year and especially in the postseason. Let me qualify that by saying he hasn't pitched poorly, he just isn't effective without more rest than a bear gets in the winter. Because of that he is not the type of pitcher that you can rely on in the playoffs when you may be called on to pitch with minimal rest at best. Beckett is the Sox only true post season pitcher at this point when you consider that Schilling also needs a lot of rest and Wakefield is unpredictable. With Beckett taking the mound on Thursday the Sox will be relying on him more than ever. If he fails to give them six innings they will be in for a whole world of trouble should the series goes any further, or should they advance.

Again, off topic but a quick word of the Nats if I may. My brother hates the Nationals, primarily because when we were kids we would often go to Montreal to watch the Expos. Sure, I liked the Expos, but I was always a Yankees fan first. When MLB was looking to relocate the team he was steadfastly against Washington. His only real argument being that DC has lost teams in the past and Montreal has a rich history of baseball (minor league yes, major league no). I think that is horse sh**. Granted, I lived in DC at the time and I may have been a little biased as to where they should relocate, but one thing was for sure MLB was not working in Montreal and the team needed to go somewhere else. The first few seasons of have been pretty decent for the Nats, but with the new stadium opening for next season baseball in DC is going to be great. The pictures I have seen of the park, and the surrounding areas will help solidify the teams presence in the city and help to revitalize that area in much the way the Verizon center did for Chinatown. There is talk of water taxis from the Anacostia waterfront to Georgetown, sports bars and memorabilia shops around the stadium (something that is desperately lacking around RFK), and new housing developments that will utilize the forgotten views of the river. It's also exciting to see young players like Zimmerman and hear about all of the prospects that are working their way through the farm system. Anyone who thinks that baseball isn't here to stay in DC is delusional.

Rockies Advance, Boston Comes Unglued

Can you believe it? The Colorado Rockies are on their way to their first World Series in franchise history. What a story they have been this year. It is hard not to want them to win it all, but as I said in a comment yesterday I think that the city of Cleveland is due a bit more than Denver for a World Series ring. This will be Colorado's first dance in the October classic, but the Indians haven't won it all since 1948 despite coming close a number of times in the 1990's.

Which brings me to last nights other game.

My apologies, but after a week of receiving unflattering pictures and emails from sox fans about the Yankees I need to quickly become one of those fans for a minute.

Did you see it? Did you see the way that Dice-K fell apart faster than a Jenga tower? Did you see Big Papi almost lose his manhood courtesy of Manny Ramierez? Did you hear Manny booed every time he came to the plate? Oh how wonderful it was. It wasn't the Yankees clobbering the Red Sox, in fact it wasn't a clobbering at all, but for Cleveland to hold on to a two run lead against the Red Sox offense it was just spectacular. Clearly Dice-K hasn't found his grove in the post season, in fact he was terrible all through September. There is a lot of speculation that he just isn't used to the longer season. He needs at least five days of rest just to be quasi effective and at least six to be on the top of his game....but sorry son, that just doesn't happen in October.

Assuming that it doesn't rain in Cleveland tonight Wakefield will take the mound for Boston. If I was cheering for the sox I would be nervous. Wakefield is their box of chocolates, they never know what they are going to get. Not the position you want to be in when you are down 2-1 in the ALCS. Assuming it does rain and the game is postponed Beckett will take the hill. That works out in favor for the Sox, at least for game 4. But pitching on three days rest and then potentially pitching again in game 7 will certainly have an effect on his stuff, especially if they should advance to the Series. Again, not a good position to be in when your only guaranteed pitcher is so over used his arm hurts just from scratching his head.

What a postseason so far (aside from the Yankees obviously). Who would have thought that Cleveland would be up on the Sox, who would have thought the Diamondbacks and the Rockies would have faced each other in the NLCS, and who in their right mind would have thought that Colorado would win their first seven postseason games in a row to advance to the World Series. Man I love this game.

They Got Hosed Tommy, They Got Hosed...But Oh What a Season

Whatever you call them, referees, line judges, or umpires they all have one thing in common....they can drastically effect the outcome of a game with one mistake. Usually it only goes as far as creating outrage on PTI or Mike and Mike in the Morning, but when a missed call ends a teams season and keeps them out of the playoffs, well that is another thing all together. In short, San Diego got hosed last night.

Aside from the short falls of the officials, what a season we had this year. The game saw so many milestones. Glavine won his 300th, Biggio hit 3,000, and A-Rod became the youngest player to join the 500 club. Something else happened in San Francisco, but it is the policy of this page not to comment on ongoing investigations. (ahem 756*)

I don't watch the National league very often unless I am going to a Nat's game, but in the words of the immortal Hary Caray, HOLY COW!!! What a way to finish up, right down to the wire. The Mets choked, the Phillies won, and the Cubs and Rockies worked their way in too.

The American league didn't disappoint either. Detroit should have been in the post season, but similar to the Mets (although not as dramatic) they fell apart late in the season. Meanwhile after threatening for weeks on end Seattle just disappeared all together. Toronto looks as though they will be a promising club in the near future, but their feathered cousins the Orioles have a lot that they need to figure out. It pains me but the Sox managed to lead from wire to wire and ended up with the division, barely. But of course there is no question that the story of the year is the Yankees miraculous comeback from 14.5 games out to capture the AL wild card.

All of the teams have proved that they deserve the right to play in October. After a season like this I just can't see the playoffs disappointing....that is unless the Sox win it all.