Kenny Mayne is Talking in Headlines

J.D. Boo? Paul Byrd Didn't Achieve a 4.59 ERA Naturally?

J.D. Drew cranked a first-inning grand-slam home run to center field to put the Boston Red Sox up for good in game 6. They held on to win 12-2, with Curt Schilling winning his second game of the series. The Cleveland Indians' two-game lead has now been erased as game 7 approaches.

As if the outcome of games 5 and 6 weren't bad enough for the Indians, they now have a performance-enhancing issue to deal with. Paul Byrd, of all people, has admitted to receiving HGH. He says it was prescribed by a doctor (so you know it's legit).

The writers at the San Francisco Chronicle were the ones to break this story. They've kind of got a thing for the baseball drug scene.

Tonight, game 3 starters Jake Westbrook and Daisuke Matsuzaka (which I spelled "Daisasuke Matsusaka" before spell-checking) will duel for post-season glory. Westbrook got the better of the Japanese rookie in Cleveland. He went 6 2/3 giving up two earned, while Dice-K didn't survive the fifth and gave up four. The Both bullpens pitched lights-out as the Indians went on to win 4-2.

The Colorado Rockies, winners in 21 of their last 22 games, await tonight's victor. They are 7-0 this post-season, but have not had this many off days since February. They clinched the NLCS from Arizona on Oct. 15. The World Series won't begin until Oct. 24.

Ryan Maloney

Coco Crisp, Soggy at Best

Anyone else have deja vu?

Well, maybe it's a bit early and a bit too drastic, but the Boston Red Sox are well on their way to almost repeating one of the greatest- nope THE GREATEST comeback in sports history.

Now if only they could get a center fielder that knew how to play. It's easy for Coco Crisp's god-awful numbers to get lost in translation. Look at all the big names that Boston marches to the plate: David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, Jason Varitek. These are all guys that Boston fans have to love. Hard workers (an exception with Manny) who all produce in some way, shape, or form.

Not to mention, baseball fans have been treated to the dawning of a new ace in Boston with Josh Beckett proving that he is a big game pitcher through and through. So if Boston's winning again and things are looking up, why complain about Coco Crisp?

His average through 8 games is a WHOPPING .161 with 2 RBI, 2 stolen bases, 9 strikeouts. Now, during the season Crisp did a little bit to calm the masses by posting 60 RBI and batting over .250. However, the man that was to come make Boston fans forget about Johnny Damon has done everything but that.

His play in the field at times can atone for some of his sins, but it'll take several more Hail Marys for this man to really feel wanted by Boston Red Sox fans. If I was Terry Francona, I would sit him. He is about as effective as Julio Lugo right now. Young Jacoby Ellsbury is riddled with talent, electric on the base paths, has got great pop in his bat, and brings a young, energetic presence on the field.

I hate to agree with Manny, its not the end of the world if this series isn't won. Of course I don't want my overpaid right fielder telling me this, but he is right to a degree. This isn't life or death, and sticking with Coco because you don't want Jacoby to make a crucial error doesn't cut it. Your job as manager is to put out the best product, and to have Jacoby sitting on the bench watching Coco Crisp haphazardly flail a piece of pine around isn't getting the job done.

If he makes a mistake, it won't cost Boston the series. There are far more reasons for that happening. Try having Bobby Keilty in your outfield to face lefties, or having J.D. Boo on your team at all. Or how bout Eric Gagne's refusal to find the strike zone, or Dice K MatzuSUCKa's decline (faster then Vanilla ice's career). Manny being Manny again doesn't help either. Those are the reasons for the Red Sox demise, should it happen.

I'm not saying Jacoby Ellsbury is the savior, but he certainly can't do much worse the Coco Crisp. It's time to put the cereal away and play some baseball.

Chris Hill

ALDS: BoSox Sweep, Yanks Force 4

The New York Yankees saved Joe Torre's job - for now. The Bronx Bombers scored four in the fifth and three in the sixth to erase a 3-0 deficit last night. Roger Clemens didn't survive the third inning, leaving with an injured hamstring. Phil Hughes came on in relief to throw 3 2/3 shutout innings. Joba Chamberlain threw two innings to set up Mariano Rivera's perfect ninth.

Johnny Damon blasted his second home run of the series and drove in four. Alex Rodriguez broke an 0-for-18 playoff slump with two hits. He is still looking for his first post-season RBI since the 2004 ALCS, but raised his second season batting average to .275 (.235 in pinstripes).

Tonight, Chien-Ming Wang takes the hill for the Yanks. Paul Byrd opposes him. Wang was shelled in game one, allowing eight earned runs on nine hits in less that five full innings of work. He has a lifetime playoff ERA of 6.00 in three starts. Byrd is 1-4 all-time against the Yankees with a 4.44 ERA. He lost an Aug. 11 home start against New York allowing seven runs in two innings.

The Boston Red Sox will face the winner of the series. They swept the Angels 9-1 last night.

That was an Incredible Game!

The Colorado Rockies have completed the improbable by winning the NL Wildcard, in perhaps, the most exciting "regular season" game in MLB history. The Rockies won 14 of their final 15 games, and won the play-in game last night 9-8 in 13 innings over the San Diego Padres to claim the final spot in the 2007 MLB playoffs. An absolute incredible story by a team that many thought may never, ever make the postseason again. This team will now continue their unlikely run and head to Philadelphia, which is pretty much guaranteed to be a slugfest of a series.

Tonight's game was truly incredible. Even though MLB is economically flawed in many, many ways, it shows why baseball at its true core is the best sport on the planet. Every night you have a chance to see something new, and this game was definitely proof of that. A play-in game that goes 13 innings, and includes 4 ties and 4 lead changes is something special. Especially when you throw in the fact that the ultimate cinderella team completed the comeback off the all-time saves leader in the bottom of the 13th (even though Trevor Hoffman always stinks it up in the big spot). Wow! I'm anxiously awaiting ESPN Classic to air this as an Instant Classic. I never though a matchup of two NL West teams could be so much fun. Matt Holliday also locked up the NL MVP, in my opinion, with his big triple in the 13th. Even if he never actually touched homeplate on Jamey Carroll's sac-fly.

I also really enjoyed TBS's coverage of the game, and look forward to their LDS and NLCS coverage. It blows away FOX and ESPN MLB coverage by miles. The announcers were clearly into it, and knew their stuff fairly well. They aren't the Joe Buck play-by-play NFL sellouts, or analysts like Joe Morgan and Tim McCarver that think they know everything and have to speak dumb to their audience. I've also always loved Ernie Johnson, and Cal Ripken was a good in-game analyst. I'm wondering if Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley will jump out on set at some point . Turner sports is the best of the major sports carriers. Their NBA coverage has always been first rate, and now they are off and running with the MLB. Great work!

Postseason Picks:
ALDS
BOS over LAA in 5
NYY over CLE in 4
NLDS
CHC over ARI in 4
PHI over COL in 5 (Colorado has been given 8:1 odds to make world series, good bet!)
ALCS
NYY over BOS in 6
NLCS
PHI over CHC in 6
World Series
NYY over PHI in 5

Pat Morgan