Ok, So I Guess I Have to Write Something About Baseball

This year's ALCS was eye-opening. It taught us a lot about the Indians, and not much of it was good. Make no mistake, Boston was the better team and we should give them credit, but the series was there for the taking for the Indians, and they blew three opportunities to take it. A few thoughts:

CC Sabathia is not a big-game pitcher

Plain and simple. I know that it is a small sample size to draw on, but he was brutal in each of his three postseason starts, including a horrible performance in game five when the Indians had a 3-1 lead, home fans behind them, and all of the momentum. Josh Beckett brought his "A" game and CC simply could not match him. Hey, maybe this is good news. Maybe the Indians now will be able to re-sign Sabathia, since his market value undoubtedly took a hit with this October's performance.

Don't be fooled into thinking that Kenny Lofton being held up at third was an important play.

It wasn't. A) The Red Sox scored seven more runs after that play happened, and B) if Casey Blake doesn't bounce into an easy double play, then it wouldn't have mattered.

Fausto Carmona needs to master a second pitch

As nasty as 95 mph sinkers are, when that is what you throw 95% of the time, Major League hitters are eventually going to be able to hit them.

I really hope that Travis Hafner is hurt

I'm saying I hope he is hurt because if he is healthy and as bad as he was in the clutch in this series, it is a really ominous sign.

The Red Sox will beat the Rockies in five

Yes, the Rockies were hot, but that was ages ago. By the time they throw the first pitch on Wednesday, Colorado will have been off for nearly two calendar weeks! That, plus the fact that National League was so horrible this year (even worse than last year if you can believe that) will be the difference. The Rockies, as hot as they were, won series against a Phillies team that barely got into the playoffs on the last day of the season, and a Diamondbacks team that was just plain awful.

Home of the brave

The Indians have been inching closer to their first World Series appearance in 10 years by disposing of the Yankees, and bringing the Red Sox to the brink. Game 5 of the ALCS will take place at Jakob's Field tonight, but the games behind the game have already begun. To sing the national anthem will be country music star, Indians fan, and Ohio native Danielle Peck; coincidentally the most current ex-girlfriend of one Joshua Beckett. The Indians of course, insist that this is pure coincidence, and although no one believes them, they applaud the lengths to get the real home field advantage.

"She's from Ohio. Her entire family are Indians fans. We did not know anything about her connections to Beckett. The next day, we find out the rest of the story," said DiBiasio of Peck. "How are we supposed to know who Josh Beckett dates?"

Let this not overshadow in actuality a game that may be as compelling as we may see this post-season, which as a side note has not been viewer friendly. On one side we have the Indians, a team in a city that hasn't seen a World Series Championship since 1948. On the other side , the newly remodeled and currently curseless Boston Red Sox (unless The Curse of the Trotino comes into fruition). This is also the rematch of a Cy Young (dud) battle that was waged in Game 1, where Boston's best player this entire season threw another gem of a ballgame; while C.C. Sabathia managed to falter once again when the bright lights are on.

If this goes the way of the Indians, it will be a huge step to usher in an era of exciting young baseball in Cleveland. This team is built for the long haul, and we'd be looking at another four-to-five year stretch like we saw in the mid 90s. But even if Cleveland doesn't pull it out tonight, conventional wisdom has to believe they're still in good shape being up 3-2 for the rest of the series; they've beaten up every pitcher the Red Sox have except for the aforementioned Josh Beckett. It leaves them with another ace (Fausto Carmona), and ALCS game 3 winner Jake Westbrook, while Boston is left with Curt Schilling and possibly Japanese import and let down Daisuke Matsuzaka. Beyond the physical evidence and into the extraordinary, Boston has the edge, once coming back from a 3-0 deficit to win a series - and that's surely still fresh in their minds.

We'll see you at 8:21. This is of course after the Indians trot out their secret weapon in Peck, but just in time to see if it'll affect Josh Beckett.

Indians say choice for Game 5 singer 'coincidence' [ESPN.com]
Photo: Knoxnews