Gear Up

It's only Monday. It's gonna be a long week. The Indians/Yankees series doesn't start until Thursday. I want to start this thing now! That wouldn't work because we need C.C. Sabathia to be on regular rest. So it's the hated Yankees that the Tribe must chop down. My crack staff (the staff that's on crack, that is) has been hard at work to find an edge. The Yankees of course are the hottest team in baseball and thanks to the MLB rule that you cannot face a team from your own division in the ALDS, we get New York rather than the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. As the great Ric Flair once said: "To be the man, you've gotta beat the man. wooooo." Right now the Yankees are "the man."

They are a supremly confident bunch. Take game one starter Chien-Ming Wang. When asked about facing the tribe in round one, he said: "They're a good team, but the Yankees are better." We'll see how good Wang is when facing off with C.C. on Thursday at a raukous Jacobs Field. More issues for the Bronx Bombers is the bulky knee of outfielder Hideki Matsui. On Friday, he had to have the knee drained of the fluid floating around causing the discomfort. "It's nothing serious," Manager Joe Torre said of Matsui having fluid removed from the hinge that has been a problem for most of the season. "It won't affect his status." Yet, it has affected his status. Over the last month, Matsui's numbers were way down. He hit a paltry .185 in 81 At-bats, with 2 home runs and 12 RBI. The injury also forces Torre's hand to have to use Matsui as his DH, which puts Indian Killer Jason Giambi on the bench. Torre has been goinmg with defensive wizard Doug Mientkiewitz at first base. Johnny Damon is hot in left-field and must be kept in the lineup, but his porous defense cannot be put back in CF, where Melky Cabrera now roams. Yet Cabrera ended the season in a 2-20 slump. The Yankees have a ton of options.

Each day I will give you a little more. FYI - TBS is carrying all five games in the series with the annoucing team of "Cheesy Cheerleader" Chip Carey, Bob Brenly, and Tony Gwynn in a three-man booth. Bottom line, I will have it all covered for you and have complete analysis of each game. I'll be at Game One. I cannot wait. Just got back from a long business outing here in Grand Rapids. The Colorado/San Diego game has moved to the 13th inning, tied at 6-6. So while we are talking nationally, the TBS guys gave their playoff picks as well as their end of the season awards. Here is what they all picked. I'll see you tomorrow.

Chip Caray (play-by-play)
AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez - Yankees
NL MVP: Jimmy Rollins - Phillies

AL CY YOUNG: C.C. Sabathia - Indians
NL CY YOUNG: Jake Peavy - Padres

AL MANAGER: Eric Wedge - Indians
NL MANAGER: Charlie Manuel - Phillies

AL ROOKIE: Delmon Young - Devil Rays
NL ROOKIE: Ryan Braun - Brewers

AL CHAMPION: Angels
NL CHAMPION: Cubs

WORLD SERIES CHAMPION: Angels

Tony Gwynn (analyst)
AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez - Yankees
NL MVP: Prince Fielder - Brewers

AL CY YOUNG: Josh Beckett - Red Sox
NL CY YOUNG: Jake Peavy - Padres

AL MANAGER: Eric Wedge - Indians
NL MANAGER: Bob Melvin - D'backs

AL ROOKIE: Dustin Pedroia - Red Sox
NL ROOKIE: Ryan Braun - Brewers & Troy Tulowitzki – Rockies (tie)

AL CHAMPION: Yankees
NL CHAMPION: Phillies

WORLD SERIES CHAMPION: Yankees

Bob Brenly (analyst)
AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez - Yankees
NL MVP: Matt Holliday - Rockies

AL CY YOUNG: C.C. Sabathia - Indians
NL CY YOUNG: Jake Peavy - Padres

AL MANAGER: Mike Scioscia - Angels
NL MANAGER: Bob Melvin - D'Backs

AL ROOKIE: Dustin Pedroia - Red Sox
NL ROOKIE: Ryan Braun - Brewers

AL CHAMPION: Red Sox
NL CHAMPION: Cubs

WORLD SERIES CHAMPION: Red Sox

Dick Stockton (play-by-play)

AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez - Yankees
NL MVP: Matt Holliday - Rockies

AL CY YOUNG: Josh Beckett - Red Sox
NL CY YOUNG: Jake Peavy - Padres

AL MANAGER: Eric Wedge - Indians
NL MANAGER: Bob Melvin - D'Backs

AL ROOKIE: Dustin Pedroia - Red Sox
NL ROOKIE: Troy Tulowitzki - Rockies

AL CHAMPION: Red Sox
NL CHAMPION: Phillies

WORLD SERIES CHAMPION: Red Sox

Ted Robinson (play-by-play)

AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez - Yankees
NL MVP: Jimmy Rollins - Phillies

AL CY YOUNG: Josh Beckett - Red Sox
NL CY YOUNG: Jake Peavy - Padres

AL MANAGER: Joe Torre - Yankees
NL MANAGER: Bob Melvin - D'backs

AL ROOKIE: Dustin Pedroia - Red Sox
NL ROOKIE: Troy Tulowitzki - Rockies

AL CHAMPION: Yankees
NL CHAMPION: Cubs

WORLD SERIES CHAMPION: Yankees

Steve Stone (analyst)
AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez - Yankees
NL MVP: Matt Holliday - Rockies

AL CY YOUNG: Josh Beckett - Red Sox
NL CY YOUNG: Jake Peavy - Padres

AL MANAGER: Eric Wedge - Indians
NL MANAGER: Bob Melvin - D'backs

AL ROOKIE: Dustin Pedroia - Red Sox
NL ROOKIE: Ryan Braun - Brewers

AL CHAMPION: Indians
NL CHAMPION: Cubs

WORLD SERIES CHAMPION: Indians

Don Orsillo (play-by-play)
AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez - Yankees
NL MVP: Prince Fielder - Brewers

AL CY YOUNG: C.C. Sabathia - Indians
NL CY YOUNG: Jake Peavy - Padres

AL MANAGER: Eric Wedge - Indians
NL MANAGER: Bud Black - Padres

AL ROOKIE: Dustin Pedroia - Red Sox
NL ROOKIE: Ryan Braun - Brewers

AL CHAMPION: Red Sox
NL CHAMPION: Padres

WORLD SERIES CHAMPION: Red Sox

Joe Simpson (analyst)
AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez - Yankees
NL MVP: Prince Fielder - Brewers

AL CY YOUNG: Josh Beckett - Red Sox
NL CY YOUNG: Jake Peavy - Padres

AL MANAGER: Eric Wedge - Indians
NL MANAGER: Clint Hurdle - Rockies

AL ROOKIE: Delmon Young - Devil Rays
NL ROOKIE: Ryan Braun - Brewers

AL CHAMPION: Angels
NL CHAMPION: Padres

WORLD SERIES CHAMPION: Angels

Ernie Johnson (studio host)
AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez - Yankees
NL MVP: Chase Utley & Jimmy Rollins – Phillies (tie)

AL CY YOUNG: Josh Beckett - Red Sox
NL CY YOUNG: Jake Peavy - Padres

AL MANAGER: Eric Wedge - Indians
NL MANAGER: Bob Melvin - D'Backs

AL ROOKIE: Dustin Pedroia - Red Sox
NL ROOKIE: Ryan Braun - Brewers

AL CHAMPION: Indians
NL CHAMPION: D'backs

WORLD SERIES CHAMPION: Indians

Cal Ripken (studio analyst)
AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez - Yankees
NL MVP: Jimmy Rollins - Phillies

AL CY YOUNG: Josh Beckett - Red Sox
NL CY YOUNG: Jake Peavy - Padres

AL ROOKIE: Dustin Pedroia - Red Sox
NL ROOKIE: Troy Tulowitzki - Rockies

AL CHAMPION: Red Sox
NL CHAMPION: Padres

WORLD CHAMPION: Red Sox

Craig Sager (reporter)
AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez - Yankees
NL MVP: Prince Fielder - Brewers

AL CY YOUNG: Josh Beckett - Red Sox
NL CY YOUNG: Jake Peavy - Padres

AL MANAGER: Joe Torre - Yankees
NL MANAGER: Lou Pinella - Cubs

AL ROOKIE: Delmon Young - Devil Rays
NL ROOKIE: Ryan Braun - Brewers

AL CHAMPION: Yankees
NL CHAMPION: Cubs

WORLD SERIES CHAMPION: Cubs

Jose Mota (reporter)
AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez - Yankees
NL MVP: Prince Fielder - Brewers

AL CY YOUNG: Josh Beckett - Red Sox
NL CY YOUNG: Jake Peavy - Padres

AL MANAGER: Eric Wedge - Indians
NL MANAGER: Bob Melvin - D'Backs

AL ROOKIE: Delmon Young - Devil Rays
NL ROOKIE: Ryan Braun - Brewers

AL CHAMPION: Angels
NL CHAMPION: Cubs

WORLD SERIES CHAMPION: Angels

Marc Fein (reporter)
AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez - Yankees
NL MVP: Alfonso Soriano - Cubs

AL CY YOUNG: Fausto Carmona - Indians
NL CY YOUNG: Jake Peavy - Padres

AL MANAGER: Joe Torre - Yankees
NL MANAGER: Bob Melvin - D'backs

AL ROOKIE: Dustin Pedroia - Red Sox
NL ROOKIE: Ryan Braun - Brewers

AL CHAMPION: Indians
NL CHAMPION: Cubs

WORLD SERIES CHAMPION: Indians

David Aldridge (reporter)
AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez - Yankees
NL MVP: Jimmy Rollins - Phillies

AL CY YOUNG: Josh Beckett - Red Sox
NL CY YOUNG: Jake Peavy - Padres

AL MANAGER: Mike Scioscia - Angels
NL MANAGER: Bob Melvin - D'backs

AL ROOKIE: Dustin Pedroia - Red Sox
NL ROOKIE: Ryan Braun - Brewers

AL CHAMPION: Angels
NL CHAMPION: Padres

WORLD CHAMPION: Angels