Yankees are OUT, Cleveland is IN

Really, it's kind of depressing to see the Yankees out of the playoffs again. I would rather have faced them in the ALCS than Cleveland.

Mostly, that's because I'm more familiar with them. I know who the bad guys are. I know who the talented guys are. I know the coach(es). But what that all boils down to is I know what to expect and why. And that is, I know the Yankees will come all out every game right up until the last pitch. That makes the game exciting to watch.

Cleveland, from all reports, are better than the Yankees. They proved they were, at least, when they faced them down in the first round. But as we gear up for the second round, I can't help thinking: who is Carmona and how can those yahoos on the radio say he has an edge over Schilling? I mean, Curt Schilling, the guy with the best playoff record in baseball? I know the kid went 19-8 with a 3.06 record during the season. I know he pitched very well against the Yankees. But to say a 23 (or is he 24?) year old has an edge against a veteran playoff pitcher like Schilling?

BTW, despite all the hype about the pitching match-up in game one, I expect it to be ugly. No one has played a game in a week. The hitters and pitchers are going to be rusty. The second game will probably be a lot better.

Today was Easy, Tomorrow Will Be Harder

Even as the Patriots and Red Sox celebrated their wins last night, I couldn't help think that next week will be harder. The Cowboys will be the first team to face the Patriots who will really be seen as a tough team to beat. Especially since the Boys will be at home. And whoever wins out in the Cleveland/Yankees series is bound to be tougher than the Angels turned out to be.

The Indians pitching (starting) can be scary, while the Yankees line-up makes it difficult to put them away. They will keep coming at you right up until the last out.

I do so hope it's the Yankees that win, btw. It would certainly make things a lot more interesting. It seems like a lot of people are burned out on the rivalry, but I think they will come back alive if the Yankees manage to come back to life.

However, the quick end to the Angels match-up means we have to wait until Friday for the next game. What are we supposed to do in the meantime, watch the Bruins?

Six Reasons You Should Watch The Patriots-Browns Game

Let's face it, the Patriots are romping on teams that people think are good and then stomping on the teams people think are bad this season. So, perhaps you're getting bored with all this romping and stomping and need some other inspiration for you to sit down and watch for three hours.

1. You have Moss or Brady on your fantasy team
2. Rodney Harrison will be back, which means the New England defense is about to get better
3. You want to keep in touch with how much the rest of the nation hates the Patriots
4. You want to feel better about benching all those players from the Browns you have on your fantasy team
5. Romeo could come up with some insight into the Belichick mindset, turning this into a real game
6. When the season is done, you want to look down on all those others who are 'just now jumping on the bandwagon.'

Wow. That was quite a gem from Beckett last night. A shut out to start the series is a great way to make it happen. I was listening on the radio this morning and the meatheads were in agreement that if it comes down to game 4, this series is in the bag.

It's also nice to see the swagger back in Ortiz. He delivered once again and it's so nice to see it happen.

It's interesting to note how the two biggest bargains on the team, Ortiz and Beckett, are the ones who make the biggest difference in game 1. I wouldn't be surprised to see the 'throw-in' Lowell come up big in game 2. It just goes to show you don't need the big name player (read: big money guy) to win the big games.

The Skies Are Clearing

The skies are starting to clear out as game time approaches. The shock of seeing Dice-K go in Game two while Schilling was pushed back to Game three, plus Wakefield being left off the roster for a third catcher (is Mirabelli needed if Wakefield isn't pitching?) is still being felt here in the Bay State, but the excitement is building.

The Red Sox are clearly the favorites going into the series, but not by as much as I had hoped for at the beginning of the season. I thought the pitching would be right where it's at (given that they have been relatively healthy, although I will admit Beckett has done even better than I thought he would. You should have bet me on him winning the Cy Young!) It's the hitting that has disappointed, but not as much as it seems to have bothered others. They still have one of the top offensive teams in the League.

If they win:

• If J.D. continues his .390 pace into the playoffs, all will be forgiven and forgotten.
• No one will remember how Manny took a quarter of the season off.
• Schilling will be re-signed for next year
• Papelbon will show up on Dancing with the Stars
• Dice-K will make a special appearance on the Tele-Tubbies
• Mirabelli will be given a police escort out of Massachusetts

Have the Patriots Played Any Good Teams, Yet?

At this point, it's hard to know how good this Patriots team really is. With four games down, people are already talking about going undefeated for the season and I find that ludicrous to contemplate at this point in the season. I was always irritated by it when I saw the talk about the Colts start up in the past few years, so it really isn't surprising that I'm annoyed when it comes up with the Patriots.

We just don't know what the real mettle of this team is. Oh, there's no doubt this is a good to great team, but until they face an opponent that's shown they are also a good to great team, it's hard to judge where they are at.

I know the Chargers were supposed to be good, but it turns out they really aren't.

I know the Bengals are supposed to have a good offense, but a weak defense has kept them down. The Patriots obviously dominated them, which is a good indicator that they are in the 'haves' column, while the Bengals are not.

The Jets are nowhere, and so are the Bills. The Pats finished those games up almost as soon as they started.

The other limitation is we haven't really seen how they're going to be affected by injuries. I know Seymour and Harrison have been out, but that's nothing compared to how this team will look in Week 16 and 17. We know this, and yet we still try to predict a perfect season.

Don't misunderstand me, the Pats are obviously good to great (I lean towards great, but I tend to be biased). It's obvious at this point they will wrap up the division quickly. I'd even go so far as to say they are very likely to get home field advantage. But undefeated? Ask me again after the face the Cowboys or even better after the Colts game. It will still be early in the season, but at least we'll know they faced off against some other good to great teams.