Indians Advance

Nice Work
I have been congratulating the Indians a lot lately, and it continues. They were clearly the better team against the Yankees. Let's recap - the Tribe got excellent pitching, solid defense and hit .444 in the clutch (with men in scoring position). Game, set and match.

Thankfully, I Got It Wrong
So much for my prediction of the Yankees winning in five. I felt the Tribe didn't match up well with the Bronx Bombers, believing especially the Yankee bats would wait out the Wahoo pitching. It turned out to be the other way around. The Indians were patient at the plate the whole series, not biting at what was being offered, and they did a phenomenal job of hitting when it counted most.

He Plays Beyond His Years
We liked him early and love him even more now. A. Cabrera can play for me anytime. His two out, two strike hit last night, where he reached out and dropped a flair into left center to drive in a run, was a piece of art. He reminded me of Robby Alomar in that at bat. In fact, he has a lot of Robby in him. No, I haven't lost my mind. Cabrera is not a five-tool first ballot Hall fo Famer like Alomar, but his approach to the game and general swagger reminds me of Robby.

Tribe-Sox
For what it's worth, it might be the kiss of death, but I believe the Tribe matches up better with the Red Sox than they did with the Yankees. The two Rafaels should be able to keep Ortiz and Manny in check late in games, and as long as you have a #1 & #2 like CC and Carmona, you have a better than 50-50 chance of advancing. Therefore, we like the Tribe in seven.

These are the two best teams in baseball - record wise in '07. So why shouldn't it go the distance? And yes, I would set up my staff so the Sox have to face CC and Carmona five times. Everything Eric Wedge has done has come up roses this post-season - including pitching Byrd in game #4 last night. Although, he (Byrd) was on the edge most of the night and without that double play ball by Jeter early, we could be talking about a game #5 tonight. Again, I would make the Sox face my two horses five times if necessary in this series.

A Young Pedro
Here is another comparison for you - Who does Carmona remind you of? That's right, the guy the Indians should have picked up 10 years ago when we cried and cried about his availability - Pedro! Carmona is physically bigger than PM but has "nasty stuff" just like a young Pedro once possessed.

Cowboys - Bills
How do you get six picks, return two for touchdowns and return a kick for a score and not win? I saw bits and pieces of the Cowboys - Bills game last night, but I saw enough at the end to understand why the Bills lost - because they deserved to.

Why allow a rookie QB, making his second start, throw underneath on third down deep in Cowboy territory late in the game when you already had the lead. Either run it on third down and get 3 more points or throw a fade at the back of the endzone - the pass least likely to get intercepted.

Secondly, the coverage on Dallas' last play before kicking the game-winner was the worst I have ever seen under the circumstances. Everyone in the building and the millions watching on television knew the Cowboys wanted/needed to pick up 5-7 more yards with their only option being a quick out to stop the clock. Meanwhile, the DB in question (#24) allowed the receiver to run his route unimpeded. In fact, the DB was barely in the picture after the catch.

What were the Bills thinking? If Dick Jauron and company can't win that giftwrapped game, Bills fans don't have a lot to look forward to with this regime.

By the way, the Cowboys, and especially Tony Romo, are a media creation. They aren't that good. But in the NFC, you don't have to be to win a lot of games.