In what can only be described as a very calculated PR move, sources confirmed today that the New York Yankees have filled the vacant manager position with Joe Girardi.

The deal is rumored to be 3 years/$6 million. Clearly you can see why Joe is smilin’.

The announcement comes on the heels of the Boston Red Sox winning their seventh World Series title last night when they defeated the Colorado Rockies in 4 straight games. The New York Yankees were eliminated by the Cleveland Indians in the ALDS.

For more coverage of the New York Yankees, head over to Pinstripes Daily to get your fix.

Congratulations, Red Sox fans. You didn’t have to wait 86 years for this one. 

Instead of being the ever underdogs who always fell short in October, the Red Sox are now the juggernaut of baseball, winners of two of the last four World Series, in an era where we had seen a different world champion every year since 2000 – until now. 

2007’s World Series win came much like 2004’s – after coming from behind in the ALCS, the Sox bulldozed over their NL opponents leaving no question as to who was the dominant team. This year’s Rockies team may have pulled off an historic run to get to the playoffs and swept their way through the NLDS and NLCS, but they were no match for these Red Sox, and that was evident from Josh Beckett’s strikeout of Willy Tavares to lead off Game 1. 

So how did they do it this year? Well, besides out-pitching, out-hitting, and out-managing the Colorado Rockies, they also kept the Rockies from getting on any kind of roll, most notably in the two games in Denver. Matt Holliday hit the big three-run bomb off Hideki Okajima in Game 3 to bring the Rockies within one, but the Sox promptly tacked on three more runs the next inning. And tonight, the Rockies got on the board with a home run from Brad Hawpe, but the Sox got that run right back with a pinch hit home run by Bobby Kielty. 

They never let the Rockies get confident. Even the brief few moments the Rockies had a lead in Game 2, it was only a one-run lead and it was early. Garrett Atkins’ eighth inning home run in Game 4 also brought the Rockies within one, but Jonathan Papelbon, who had shut down the Rockies in the two games before, shut them down again. There was rarely a moment in this series in which the Sox were not in control. 

So will they do it again next year? Possibly. There was that big announcement from Ken Rosenthal in the eighth inning about Alex Rodriguez opting out of his contract with the Yankees, and of course, Joe Buck and Tim McCarver started speculating about A-Rod being in a Boston uniform come 2008. I can’t say I’ve ever seen a better 3-4-5 than David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, and A-Rod, whatever the order would be. It will certainly make for some interesting things to talk about this winter. 

But for tonight, it’s all about 2007 and the Red Sox are partying in Denver as the champs of Major League Baseball. Congrats to them and their fans!

Win or go home - that’s what the Colorado Rockies face from here on out in the World Series.

Of course, that’s what they faced for the final two weeks of the regular season, and they went on an historic run to capture the NL Wild Card. And what did they do before they went on that run, you ask? They lost three games in a row.

History is certainly not on their side, however, and the Red Sox are dominating them in every facet of the game. Last night it was Jacoby Ellsbury inflicting most of the damage. The Red Sox aren’t a team where you try not to let one guy beat you, because they can all beat you.

Trying to beat the Rockies and send Red Sox Nation into a euphoric frenzy for the second time in four years is Jon Lester, who will be making his first start this postseason in place of the injured Tim Wakefield. He’ll be opposed by another guy making his first postseason start, Aaron Cook.

Both pitchers are big question marks going into Game 4, but Cook is the bigger one. He hasn’t pitched since August 10, after he strained his oblique and landed on the DL for the rest of the season. He wasn’t even activated until the World Series. Lester, a lefty, pitched in relief against Cleveland in the ALCS but has yet to start.

The Red Sox made it clear that it doesn’t matter who sits. Yesterday we were speculating that Terry Francona made the wrong move starting David Ortiz at first base, but it didn’t matter in the end. I get the feeling they could sit Ortiz, Kevin Youkilis, and Mike Lowell and still win. Heck, as long I had had on a Red Sox uniform, I could play first base and the Sox would still win.

The plastic ready for the lockers and the champagne on ice - there’s going to be a party in the visitors clubhouse at Coors Field tonight.

The fat lady is clearing her throat.

Coors Field, the Dragon Slayer on the mound, the Sox missing Kevin Youkilis – nothing helped for the Rockies.

Game 3 was no DH, no problem for the Red Sox, as not only did David Ortiz knock in a run, score a run, and make a good pick at first base in his five innings, but Daisuke Matsuzaka even drove in a pair of runs in the big six-run third inning that knocked the Josh Fogg out of the game.

The Rockies had some good bullpen work through seven and managed to wake up their crowd for an inning after Matt Holliday crushed a three-run homer to center that put the team within one. But the Sox wouldn’t let them stay that close for long, as they tacked on a three-spot in the eighth to ensure that whatever the Rockies had left, it wouldn’t be enough.

There was definitely some second-guessing on Terry Francona’s defensive switches once Colorado came within one. Ortiz and J.D. Drew were already out of the lineup, and they had light-hitting Coco Crisp in there instead. I was thinking he jumped the gun too early on pulling guys, but in the end, it didn’t matter, as Crisp was a big part of that three-run eighth inning that helped seal the deal for the Sox.

So it could all be over in 24 hours. I seems like every time I say, “This should be a good series!” – and I’m talking about close games and long series, not rooting interests – it always ends up a sweep. This one is no exception, unless the Rockies pull off a miracle down 3-0. The Red Sox know something about teams coming back from 3-0 – but I don’t think they’re going to let anyone do it to them.

The Rockies are definitely glad to be home, but they’ve got some work to do.

Down 2-0 is certainly not what they envisioned after their magical 21-1 run through late September and early October, but after back-to-back losses at Fenway against the red-hot Red Sox, that’s where they find themselves.

The Red Sox have to be feeling good winning the games they were supposed to win and being in a position to, at worst-case scenario, head back to Fenway down 3-2. Tonight they’ll give the ball to Daisuke Matsuzaka in search of a commanding 3-0 lead.

Matsuzaka will be faced by Josh Fogg, who has come to be known as the Dragon Slayer. Apparently the journeyman and Colorado’s fifth starter has a history of beating good pitchers, one of which was Game 2’s starter, Curt Schilling, back on June 13, 2007.

This time, Fogg will get to face the Boston Red Sox minus one, as someone is going to have to sit. Terry Francona has announced that someone will be Kevin Youkilis. I don’t agree with the move, given how hot Youkilis has been an how hobbly David Ortiz has been. Plus, you’re sacrificing some defense on the infield as well. We’ll see tonight if it was the right move.

Home should be a welcome sight for Colorado as they had one of the best home records in baseball in 2007 and, after scoring two runs so far in the whole series, they need all the help they can get.

Can the Rockies make it a series, or will Boston edge one step closer to planning a parade route? And, more importantly, will there be a second taco giveaway? Game 3 tonight - 8:35 p.m. EDT!

Two games, two wins. For the Boston Red Sox, the World Series is going exactly as planned.

The Rockies were actually able to keep this game close, though not close enough. They now have a two-game losing streak for the first time since September 15.

We had a nice pitcher’s duel for the first few innings, until Ubaldo Jimenez started unraveling and issuing free passes. Fox kept showing “Sounds of the Game” clips of Bob Apodaca encouraging him to keep pounding the zone, but Jimenez apparently wasn’t listening. After mowing through the Red Sox lineup the first time around, he walked 5 of the next 13 batters he faced and didn’t get out of the fifth inning.

Curt Schilling, the guy who was pitching his first World Series game when Jimenez was nine years old (I’m really disappointed this wasn’t mentioned – unless it happened when I had the TV on mute), was the better pitcher out there – at least as far as starters were concerned. But Hideki Okajima stole the show with his stellar 4-strikeout, 2 1/3-inning performance, and Jonathan Papelbon slammed the door, with a little help from his newfound pickoff move.

Matt Holliday tried, but a 4-for-4 night doesn’t score runs when a) they’re all singles, b) none came with RISP, and c) no one else around you is doing anything. Really, only Brad Hawpe got a hit besides Holliday for the Rockies, and it came in the second inning. This may have been the save opportunity I was hoping for in a one-run game, but I never had a feeling that the Rockies were going to put anything together offensively once Boston’s bullpen was in.

In the broadcast, these are a few things that bugged me tonight:

1. Royce Clayton with another taco chat, this time with Jacoby Ellsbury. I’m beginning to think it’s staged (see interview in the stands with Taco Bell COO).
2. Joe Buck calling the Red Sox the “White Sox” during the montage about all the great New England sports teams.
3. Buck and Tim McCarver saying Willy Tavares really got things going for the Rockies in the first inning. Yes, he employed some good baserunning, but he got on by being hit by a pitch, and it barely grazed his hand.
4. Papelbon’s dancing. It actually didn’t bug me so much when they showed the clips, but that makeshift puppet that they kept showing in the stands was really annoying.
   

Friday’s a travel day, so I promise nothing will bug me. Well, maybe those articles that will certainly show up about the Rockies being rusty after the 8-day layoff. It’s called getting beat by good pitching, people!

Luckily for the Rockies, baseball is a game where every day is a new day, and the score from the night before is erased back to 0-0 when you start the next game.

After last night’s ass-whooping, they’ll send rookie starter Ubaldo Jimenez out to try to contain the Red Sox, who pounded Colorado to the tune of 17 hits and 13 runs in Game 1.

The Sox counter with Curt Schilling. Surely his experience and postseason prowess will be heavily talked about by Joe Buck and Tim McCarver. Also look for many references to the age difference between Jimenez and Schilling - “When Schilling was pitching in his first World Series, Ubaldo Jimenez was nine years old!” If you need some extra entertainment to go with your World Series viewing, I’m sure a drinking game could be devised around comments like these.

Can Jimenez stop the bleeding? Going into tonight’s game, Jimenez, like Jeff Francis before him, is having a very good postseason. He’s 2-0 and has surrendered only 8 hits and 2 runs in 11.1 innings pitched.

Can Schilling lead the Red Sox to a commanding 2-0 series lead? He’s had a good postseason as well, minus the ALCS Game 2 hiccup. He’s coming off a Game 6 win in which he gave up 2 runs in 7 innings pitched.

And then there is the matter of June 13, 2007. The Rockies pounded Schilling to the tune of 9 hits and 5 earned runs en route to a 12-2 win. Of course, the matter of June 14, 2007 wasn’t a factor yesterday.

Maybe Dane Cook is right - there’s only one OCTOBER!

First pitch for Game 2 tonight is at 8:29 p.m. EDT. Why not 8:30? Anyway… just keep it within five or six this time, guys. It’d be nice to at least have a couple innings of wondering who will win.

Watching the Red Sox in Game 1, it was hard to believe this team had been down 3-1 in the ALCS just one week ago. Instead, here they were, putting up double digits in runs for the third game in a row and wiping the floor with the team that, before tonight, was The Team That Never Loses.

Eight-day layoff? Inferior league? I think not. The Rockies didn’t look like a rusty team or a bad team – they just looked like another team getting beat by Josh Beckett and the red-hot Sox.

With his nine strikeouts and one earned run in seven innings pitched, Beckett went to 4-0 on the postseason and made an early case for himself to become the first player since Livan Hernandez in 1997 to win both the LCS and the World Series MVPs in the same postseason.

Joe Buck and Tim McCarver were wondering aloud several times why Beckett was still in the game that had turned into a blowout, and I disagree with them. I didn’t see any reason for Terry Francona to take him out when a) he went into the seventh inning having only thrown 79 pitches, so it wasn’t like he was close to needing to be taken out in a normal game situation, b) Francona knew he won’t need to pitch Beckett in desperation in Game 4, and c) since there’s no telling how Game 2 will go, there was no reason to burn some bullpen arms tonight and instead it was best to keep them fresh for the next day.

The Rockies, on the other hand, had to burn through quite a few bullpen arms after Jeff Francis was knocked out of the game, and you could see the backwards hierarchy of the Colorado bullpen as Clint Hurdle shuffled them out there inning after inning. He started with his long man, who didn’t provide much long relief, and then Ryan Speier, who walked three straight Red Sox with the bases loaded. Then came their regular middle relief guys. At least Clint Hurdle accomplished not using anyone to eat up innings who was an upcoming starter or named Brian Fuentes or Manny Corpas.

So the Red Sox took Game 1 in dominating fashion. If the Rockies don’t make some major adjustments, the Sox could be celebrating a title in Denver before the Broncos take the field for Monday Night Football.

Here’s hoping for at least a save opportunity in Game 2.

The Rox n’ Sox are ready to clash tonight in Game 1 of the Fall Classic, and at first glance, this sure looks to be Boston’s game to lose.

Ace and LCS MVP Josh Beckett on the hill? Check. At home in front of the Fenway faithful? Check. Going into the World Series with momentum that comes from winning three straight after being down 3-1? Check.

But Colorado is starting an ace of its own in Jeff Francis. Like Beckett, he hasn’t lost a game in the postseaon either. The 26-year-old lefty wasn’t supposed to beat Cole Hamels, and he did. He wasn’t supposed to beat Brandon Webb either, and he did anyway. Now he’s not supposed to beat Josh Beckett - and we know how that’s worked out in recent weeks.

Then there’s the matter of June 14, 2007. Beckett and Francis took the hill in a matchup that few would’ve believed would end up being a preview of Game 1 of the World Series. The Rockies handed Beckett his first loss of the season with six runs in five innings. Francis also went five innings and gave up zero en route to the win.

You’ve also got career numbers like these:
Todd Helton vs. Beckett - 4-for-12, 1 HR
Matt Holliday vs. Beckett - 6-for-14, 1 HR
Garrett Atkins vs. Beckett - 6-for-10, 1 HR

The Red Sox, on the other hand, have less history against Francis, aside from the June 14th game. But the team hit lefties (.285) slightly better than righties (.277) this year and definitely made life rough for another lefty ace, C.C. Sabathia, in the ALCS.

Who will set the tone in Game 1? Will Francis continue to beat guys he’s not supposed to beat, or will Beckett and the Sox continue mowing over the competition? Game 1 tonight at 8:30 p.m. EDT - it can’t start soon enough.

The Rockies had been twiddling their thumbs in snowy Denver for six days before the Red Sox finally hoisted the American League championship trophy, but now they’re on a plane to Boston and only are one day a way from their first World Series.

And the Red Sox are ready and waiting for them, hoping to squash the dreams of this year’s Cinderella team en route to a second championship in four years.

Las Vegas odds-makers have given the Red Sox a 2-1 advantage in this World Series. But will it really be that easy? Those Rockies, if you haven’t noticed, haven’t lost a game in over a month. Sure, they’ve been sitting for eight days - but they’ve still won 21 of 22. That’s not a whole lot of losing, which is what those odds-makers are predicting they’ll do four times in the next week and a half.

But the Red Sox are the Red Sox. They have postseason god Josh Beckett, the clutchest DH on the planet in David Ortiz, and Manny being Manny. They’ve also got experience on their side, with 11 rings between them, while the Rockies have… none.

So what does this all mean? Let’s take a closer look at how these two teams match up.

Starting pitching
It’s no secret that Josh Beckett has been The Man for the Red Sox this postseason, and starting him twice - or even three times - in this series should mean an automatic two wins for Boston. But the Rockies starters haven’t exactly been, well, Rockies-like. Jeff Francis has only given up three earned runs in two postseason starts, and Ubaldo Jimenez has done him one better, with two earned runs in two starts. But neither of these guys are Beckett-like, and they don’t have anybody with near the track record of Curt Schilling, Jimenez’s likely opponent in Game 2. Boston’s patient offense should also be tough for the Colorado starters. Advantage: Boston

Bullpen
You may not have noticed, but before Brian Fuentes surrendered the big three-run home run to Chris Snyder in Game 4 of the NLCS, the Rockies bullpen had a playoff ERA of 0.72 in 25 innings pitched. And these weren’t just blowouts in which they were eating up innings - they were protecting tight leads and preserving ties. Maybe Fuentes’ hanging slider was the end of it, but I doubt it. The Rockies ‘pen is extremely solid. The Red Sox, on the other hand, have some dependable guys but just haven’t looked as strong in the postseason. Even if I don’t count Eric Gagne’s ugly Game 2, I think Colorado would have a leg up in a battle of the bullpens. Advantage: Colorado

Lineup
The Rockies and Red Sox were about as dead even in team offense this year as any two teams can be. Colorado had a .280 batting average and 860 runs scored, while Boston had a .279 average and scored 867 runs. The Red Sox, however, have had the edge in the postseason, scoring more than double the number of runs as the Rockies (albeit in three more games). They also have posted a .304 team batting average, compared to the Rockies at .242. Both of these teams use their home field to their offense’s advantage, and Colorado will have an even bigger advantage in this series, as Boston will have to sit either David Ortiz or Kevin Youkilis at Coors. Still, I think Boston has the momentum and the edge offensively. Advantage: Boston

Bench
It’s often easy to pick the NL team as having the advantage here because NL style of play requires them to use their bench a lot more. But Terry Francona has some platoon situations and isn’t afraid to play the matchups. When Coco Crisp and J.D. Drew are playing, he has Jacoby Ellsbury and Bobby Kielty on the bench, and vice versa. And he’ll have Big Papi or Youkilis on the bench at Coors. Clint Hurdle’s bench features some relative unknowns who have come up with some big pinch hits in the postseason (Jeff Baker and Seth Smith) and Ryan Spillbourghs, who was good enough to start before Willy Tavares came back for the NLCS. The BoSox may have some sexier names on the bench, but the Rockies have shown their guys can be game-changers. This one is too close to call. Advantage: EVEN

Defense
This one, however, is not close. The Rockies put up the best fielding percentage in MAJOR LEAGUE HISTORY this season. Todd Helton is a Gold Glover, and Troy Tulowitzki will be. The Red Sox are no slouches with the glove, however. They were the second best fielding team in the AL this year. But you can’t argue with the best in major league history. The only thing to worry about with the Rockies’ D is how Matt Holliday plays the Green Monster at Fenway, as it’s been known to eat up many a visiting left fielder. But this category still clearly goes to Colorado. Advantage: Colorado

Intangibles
Remember a few years ago when they talked about Yankee Mystique, this phenomenon that made people shake in their boots at the sight of pinstripes? Well that’s pretty much what they Red Sox are now. They’ve broken the curse and established themselves as a monster in the baseball world. They’ve got experience and one of the sport’s most rabid fanbases on their side. The Rockies, however, are still on their magical run and have yet to lose a game in the postseaon. People thought they wouldn’t beat Philly, but they did. They weren’t expected to trounce Arizona, but they did that too. And nobody expects them to win this World Series - and that includes me. Advantage: Boston

Series Prediction: Boston in six.