Cole Hammels Pitches Phillies to World Series

The Philadelphia Phillies will be playing in their first World Series since 1993. Cole Hammels, the Phils ace pitcher, helped get them there by winning game five in Los Angeles on Wednesday.


John Kruk and Buck Showalter break down the Phillies victory.


Congratulations to the Phillies.

Watch The Red Sox try to avoid elimination to the Tampa Bay Rays tonight on TBS. The Rays are going for the knockout punch by starting Scott Kazmir tonight. The Red Sox counter by using Daisuke Mastuzaka, who was the starter of Game Five of last year's ALCS, when Boston was in the exact same spot, but came back to win the series.

My ALCS Preview

The Amazin' Rays are heading for a collision with the defending World Series Champion Boston Red Sox

The American League Championship Series features the team of destiny, the Tampa Bay Rays, against their division rival, the defending World Series Champion Boston Red Sox.

Friday Night, Game One starts. James Shields will be opposed by Daisuke Mastuzaka.

Home Field Advantage heads to The Rays. During the season, Tampa Bay won the season series against the Red Sox 10-8.

It seemed like Tampa Bay waited until late in the game to strike. I remember watching the September 10th game between these two teams on ESPN. Nobody Scored after the third inning. Eleven innings later, they were still playing baseball. Then, Carlos Pena stepped up and hit a Monster three run homerun to give the Rays a 4-1 lead. The RedSox would get a dacrafice fly in the bottom of the inning, but it wouldn't be enough, as the Red Sox won 4-2.

The Rays have this amazing ability to come back late in ballgames. They are never out of a ballgame until every out has been recorded.

Akinori Iwamura and Evan Longoria have been On Fire! Expect Boston to pitch to them carefully.

Jason Bay has been a solid replacement for Manny Ramirez, in the field and at the plate.

The Team Of Destiny versus the defending World Series Champions. This series will be awesome!

PREDICTION: RAYS IN FIVE

Watch The American League Championship Series On TBS!

Baseball's Final Four Set

Buster Olney previews the ALCS and the NLCS.


Jerry Crasnick breaks down Rays vs. Red Sox, Dodgers vs. Phillies.


I will put my analysis up tommorow.

The NLCS starts Thursday, October 9th On Fox.

The ALCS starts Friday, October 10th on TBS.

Dodgers And Cubs Talk After Game 1

If The Cubs don't win tonight, they will have to win on the road.

Carlos Zambrano MUST pitch like an ace tonight, and the offense MUST wake up!

Where was the Cubs Home Field Advantage last night? I Sure didm't hear it. After that James Loney Grand Slam, you could have heard a pin drop at Wrigley Field.

The Cubs fans need to forget about the 100 years, being five outs away in 2003, Durham, All of that. That was in the past. The Cubs want to win in the present. Their fans should cheer for the Cubs with reckless abandonment, reguardless of the score.

Playoff Wins for Red Sox, Dodgers and Phillies

The Dodgers' James Loney hit a grand slam as LA topped the Cubs 7-2; Jayson Bay belted a two-run homer as the Red Sox beat the Angels 4-1; Philadelphia got strong pitching from Cole Hamels in a 3-1 win over Milwaukee.

Ramirez Slams White Sox Into Playoff With Twins

October will start early for two American League teams. The Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins will play a one-game playoff for the A-L Central title after Chicago beat Detroit 8-2.

Alexi Ramirez's Grand Slam broke the game wide open, turning the game from a 2-2 tie to a 6-2 White Sox lead.

Tonight is the one game playoff! Watch it on TBS or listen to it on ESPN Radio!

The Arizona Diamondbacks and The Colorado Rockies will meet up in the National League Championship Series

The Diamondbacks contained The Cubs "Big Three" and outhit and outplayed The Cubs, and that's why they won this series.

Three solo home runs from Chris Young, Eric Byrnes, and Stephen Drew behind 6 innings pitched (1 run on 5 hits) from Liván Hernández, and 4 double plays turned on defense put Game Three out of reach for the Chicago Cubs who were swept out of the post-season by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

So, The Arizona Diamondbakcks and The Colorado Rockies are meeting in the National League Championship Series, which will begin on Thursday. Congratulations to the Arizona Diamondbacks. They've had a magnificent season, and they managed to sweep The Cubs in their house, Wrigley Field. Carlos Zambrano's next start will be opening day 2008, where the Same Old Chant of "Wait 'till Next Year" will be heard for the 100th time in Chicago.

Time for me for me to go off on the Cubs for a second.

Aramis Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano, and Derrek Lee. Where in the world was your plate disipline at? Did you leave it in Cincinnatti or something? My Goodness, every time you guys had runners in scoring position, you guys grounded into a double play, killing your chance to win. I'm not gonna fall for this again. If they manage to win the division next season, I'm not gonna take their season seriously until they get to the World Series. There was so much promise for their season, and now I remember something I should have remembered a long time ago: They're The Cubs. The Cubs continue to use that stupid excuse of "We're cursed by a billygoat" to explain why they have not won a World Series, and I'm sick of it. It's way too early to talk about the 2008 Baseball Season, particularly because the American League Championship Series has not been determined yet, although it may be by tonight, as Boston and Cleveland are both going for sweeps of Anaheim and New York.

Speaking of New York, Joe Torre is about to be fired as manager of the New York Yankees. He will either be fired or resign as Yankee Manager. New York is dead come game three, and even if they win tonight, they're still dead. George Steinbrenner may already be looking for a new manager of the Yankees. He just hasn't said it publicly yet.

Let's talk about their archrival, the Boston Red Sox. Congratulaions guys. You guys swept The Angels and you're about to face Cleveland in the American League Championship Series. Boston has been the best team in Baseball since day one of the 2007 Season. David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez may be about to bring home another World Series Pennant for the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox have the best rotation in Baseball, with Fireballer Josh Beckett, Wise Pitcher Curt Schilling, Japaneese Import Daisuke Mastuzaka, and knuckleballer Tim Wakefield (Wakefield had a bad back, so he was not on the Red Sox American League Divisional Series roster.)

There are my random thoughts and feelings on the Divisional Series of the Baseball Postseason so far.

My Picks for the World Series: Boston meets Arizona in the World Series and beats them in five games.

Cubs Postseason Hopes Rest Tonight on Rich Hill

Rich Hill pitches for the Cubs tonight as they try to stay alive in the National League Divisional Series.


The Red Sox 6-3 win over the Angels came off Manny Ramirez's walk-off homer in the ninth inning. That gave Boston a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-five playoff round, joining Cleveland, Arizona and Colorado, which also won the first two games of their respective series.

But there is hope for this year's teams down 0-2. One of those teams did rally in 1995 to win its series, and that was the Mariners. After losing the first two games in New York, the scene shifted to the Emerald City for games 3-4-5 (back then, that was the format instead of the 2-2-1 schedule now used).

The Mariners won Game 3, 9-4, then stunned the Yanks with a five-run eighth to win Game 4, 11-8. Game 5 turned out to be a thriller, as the Yanks scored once in the top of the 11th to take a 5-4 lead, only to see the Mariners rally for two in the bottom of the inning to advance to the American League Championship Series.


That fact hasn't escaped Red Sox manager Terry Francona, who has espoused a "one game at a time" mentality dating back to the epic 2004 ALCS, when the Red Sox took it one game at a time to rally from a 3-0 deficit to take four straight from the Yankees.


He knows how to do it, and so does Cubs manager Lou Piniella, who finds his team in a 0-2 deficit against Arizona. Piniella was manager of that Seattle team which climbed out of that hole in 1995.

Rich Hill goes for The Cubs tonight as they try to stay alive. Lou Pinella has been in this 0-2 hole before- as the manager of the Mariners in 1995. Seattle won three in a row to advance to the American League Cahmpionship Series. Could he do it again for the Cubs here in 2007?

Watch The Cubbies attempt to come back tonight on TBS. Rich Hill is on the mound for the Cubs, and Livan Hernandez is on the mound for the Diamondbacks.

MLB Postseason taking unexpected Twists and Turns

Kenny Lofton had four RBI's in the Indians victory over the Yankees.

Through the first two games of the NLDS and the opening games of the ALDS, there have been some suprises. Arizona and their youngsters are one game away from going to the National League Championship Series, as they have tamed the Cubs offense to a dull roar through the first two games. Colorado Rockies as well are one game away from eliminating their opponent, the Philladelphia Phillies. Ryan Howard's homerun wasn't enough to overcome Kaz Matsui's Grand Slam in Game Two, as Colorado beat Philly by the score of 10 to 5.

Here's my analysis of the respective series.
NLDS: Cubs vs. Diamondbacks
Wow. How about the Arizona Diamondbacks. It seems like The "Fountain Of Youth" has been found. It's is Arizona, buried underneath Chase Field. The Diamondbacks players are young, most are only about 25 years old, and they are one game away from eliminating the $300 Million ballclub that has suffered for 99 (and possibly coming up on 100) years without a World Series Ring. The only good thing for the Cubs is that their next two games are at home. The Wrigley Crowd will be rocking, trying to modivate the Cubbies to fight to win three in a row to advance to the National League Championship Series. Rich Hill gets the ball for the Cubs in the all important game three, and he will be opposed by the former Montreal Expo Livan Hernandez. I hope the Cubs fight to pull even and win this thing, but I don't think it's going to happen.

NLDS: Rockies vs Phillies
The "Fountain of Youth" has also been found in Rocky Mountain High Coors Field in Denver Colorado. Rockies Superphenom Troy Tulowitski has been on a tear offensively and defensicely. Tulowitski and Todd Helton are the two reasons the Phillies are dead in this series. It would be good October baseball for them to come back, but I don't see that happening.

ALDS: Red Sox vs. Angels
Vlad Guererro has been hurt, and the Angels production has hurt without him. The loss of gary Matthews Jr. was the big reasdon why this team was doomed coming into this series. Daisuke Mastuzaka will make his postseason debut for the Red Sox in Game Three, where the Red Sox can sweep the Angels and move on to the American League Championship Series.

ALDS: Yankees at Indians
Derek Jeter went 0-4 in the Yankees loss to the Indians, but of course, the talk will be how Alex Rodriguez went hitless in what may be his final season with The New York Yankees. Chien Mien Wang did not have his good stuff in that game. I lost count how many homeruns were hit in that game. Cleveland Sports Fans will make a huge deal about LeBron James wearing a Yankee cap in Cleveland, but Red Sox Natrion has that same thing to be said to Tom Brady, a self-professed Yankee fan.

October Baseball is in full swing and you can catch all of it on TBS.

Divisional Series Action On TBS

TBS Baseball.

There is a lot of great baseball on TBS today. Check out this Dane Cook TBS Preview. Click on the video to have it begin.


For those of you who missed the one game playoff game between the San Diego Padres and the Colorado Rockies, here is all the good parts from this long, exciting game. The video itself is about 10 minutes. Click on the video to have it begin.


Enjoy Phiilies at Rockies, Yankees at Indians, and Cubs at Diamondbacks on TBS tonight.

Chicago Cubs October Comercial

Check out this Dane Cook Actober commercial about The Cubs. Click on the video to have it begin.

The Cubs quest for a World Series Pennant starts again tonight as the Cubs take on the Arizona Diamondbacks. Carlos Zambrano goes for The Cubs, while Brandon Webb goes for the Diamondbacks.

Be sure to catch all of the Divisonal Series Games on TBS.

There's only one postseason, there's only one Fall Classic. There's only one October!

MLB Playoffs Preview!

Carlos Zambrano and Alfonso Soriano are on a mission to help deliver The Cubs a World Series Pennant.



I Live For This!
It's October, and that means that the postseason for Major League Baseball Season is about to get under way. Let's take a look at each series and the things that will have to happen for that team to go to the World Series.

NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISIONAL SERIES
Philladelphia Phillies vs. Colorado Rockies
Analysis: The Colorado Rockies had to fight to make it here, and they did, scoring three runs, including the game winner, in the bottom of the 13th inning to beat San Deigo in a thrilling 9 to 8 finish in the one game playoff to decide the winner of the National League Wild Card. The Rockies are getting here thanks to the collapse of the San Diego Padres over the last two weeks. The Philladelphia Phillies are also getting here because of a monumental collapse over the last two weeks, they sat back and watched the New York Mets blow an 8 and a half game lead with two weeks to play to get eliminated from the playoffs. Both of these teams just got in at the last minute, and this will be a good series for both teams.
Keys To Victory
PHILLIES: No doubt, Ryan Howard is the key for the Phillies. If he's swinging the bat well, Philladelphia will win the series. If he's not, it will be that much harder for Philly to pull it out.
COLORADO: Troy Tulowitski will be the key for the Rockies, with the glove and the bat. Tulowtski got an unassisted triple play for the Rockies against the Braves, and he did a good job with the bat as well, batting near .300. He's gonna be key for the Rockies.
Your Winner
PHILLIES. The Phillies just seem to have more depth, more offense, and more defense, although The fact that Denver is the highest altitude in Baseball will help the Rockies out. Expect a lot of homeruns in this series. I go with The Phillies in five. I expect it to go back and fourth with the Phillies winning.
Phillies in Five.

Chicago Cubs vs. Arizona Diamondbacks
Analysis: This is the series that I'm waiting to see. The Cubs got hot after the Florida series and won the National League Central for the first time since 2003, when they were five outs away from going to the World Series before a monumental collapse cost them their chance to Break The Curse. Watch out for this young Diamondback team, particularly when Micah Owings is pitching (and hitting.)
Keys To Victory
CUBS: No doubt, the key for the Cubs will be scoring runs. Runs will be hard to score in Game One against Brandon Webb, so one run for either side may be enough to win a couple of the games.

DIAMONDBACKS: The Diamondbacks were everyone's unexpected team this season. Arizona seemed to get hot and stay hot nearly all season. The Diamondbacks don't have much of a rotation outside of Micah Owings and Brandon Webb, so they need to depend on the arms of the bullpen to help them win ballgames.
Your Winner
I've gotta go with the Cubs. I think this Cubs team is good enough to beat the Diamondbacks and face the Phillies in the NLCS. That would be a fantastic series. Perhaps the Cubs could go further than five outs away from going to the World Series this time around.
Cubs In Four

AMERICAN LEAGUE DIVISIONAL SERIES
Los Angeles Angels Of Anaheim vs Boston Red Sox
Analysis: Game One is another marquee pitching matchup. Twenty Game winner Josh Beckett takes the mound for the Red Sox, while nineteen game winner John Lackey is on the mound for the Angels.
Keys To Victory
RED SOX: Outside of the Pitching, David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez are thr two biggest reasons why the Red Sox will be very hard to defeat. Ortiz and Manny were together in 2004 when the Red Sox won the World Series, and were in the playoffs again in 2005, when the White Sox defeated the Angels to advance to the American League Championship Series.
ANGELS: Vladamir Guererro and Garret Anderson will be tough to defeat. Andersson had 10 RBIs in an August win over the Yankees, and Vlad is the defending Home Run Derby Champion.
Red Sox in Four

New York Yankees vs. Cleveland Indians
Analysis: This will be a fantastic series as well. Chien Mien Wang will pitch Game One for the Yankees, and C.C. Sabathia will pitch for the Red Sox.
Keys To Victory
YANKEES: Alex Rodriguez will have his chance to erase his "Choke-Rod" label that comes with him every October.
INDIANS: The only Indian that has posteason experience is Trot Nixon, who was with the 2004 Boston Red Sox. Travis Hafner will be swinging for the fences. C.C. Sabathia and Paul Byrd will have to bring their A-Game to prevent a Yankee sweep.
Prediction:Yankees in Three.

My Picks.
ALCS: New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox
NLCS: Chicago Cubs vs. Philladelphia Phillies

The Major League Baseball Postseason begins tommorow! Don't miss a second of the exciting playoff action!