• Suck It, New York. So I was a bit wrong on Paul Byrd. I convinced myself that I wanted to see Sabathia go Monday night but Byrd pitched well... 5 innings, 2 runs, 8 hits... can't ask for much more than that. Well done Paulie. Now C.C. and Carmona pitch Game 1 and 2 in Boston. That is gonna be fun. Please everyone pick Boston (oh God... the Sports Guy's team in a playoff series against a Cleveland team... I may go insane). [Random Thoughts]

• Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch Changes ... Shamefully, A-Rod is going to get most of the media coverage blame for his team's lackluster performance and it may be the final straw that drives him out of town. What should not be overlooked is the fact that True Yankees Wang, Jeter, and Posada were all downright offensive in their own right. As for the ALCS, all I can say is Go Tribe! I no longer care what happens the rest of the season as long as the Red Sox aren't the last team standing at the end of October. [Pinstripe Alley]

• Yankees Out: What Next For Torre?. I think it's a little ludicrous to think that George Steinbrenner is of sound enough mind to make this decision. I find it strange how the mainstream media has danced around the topic of Steinbrenner's declining health. Why won't someone simply utter: "Alzheimer's" (or whatever debilitating disease is turning the Boss into a shell of his former self)? [Dan Shanoff Blog]

• ALCS ... At Last Cleveland Stars. "The Cleveland Indians are a force to be reckoned with," says Frank Thomas, TBS commentator. Thanks Frank, but we knew that and so did you. As a matter of fact, now Skip Carey and his crew know it. They'll have to stop rooting for the Yankees now and put on their Sox hats and Bostonian accents. That's OK, we like the incentive you provide. That is some of the worst baseball coverage I have ever witnessed. [Indian Fever]

• End Of The Road For Joe Torre. Based on the grim look on Brian Cashman's face and the way the players and staff lined up to hug him on the way out, Torre is done. It was like a wake in the clubhouse. I would expect him to hold a press conference in the next few days and say good-bye. The Yankees should do it right but there is little chance of that. Steinbrenner or one of his minions will leak the news, there will be a frenzy and that will be that. My instincts tell me the next manager will be Don Mattingly. I find it hard to believe he would come out of retirement and work as the hitting coach for several years without knowing there was some reward at the end. [The LoHud Yankees Blog]

• Game Story: Sox Sweep Angels! Some great Red Sox celebration photos, just because. [Over The Monster]

• Rockies Celebrate ... But He Still Has Not Touched Home Plate! Matt Holliday never touched the plate and Tim McClellan knows it. He absolutely knows it. He stood back and did not make a call because he knew it. A thought process happened, and then he made the call in slow motion. They are interviewing Matt Holliday on TBS at this very moment and even he won't say he touched the plate. Quote, "The umpire said I did, so..."

What's more, I am flat out, right now accusing Tim McClellan of making a call that, if not downright influenced by a desire to punish Sandy Alderson and the Padres, was at the very least a call that ended a ball game which he had no evidence to make. A call that ended a team's season. I can't prove that it was consciously or subconsciously influenced by any bias. But I believe it. See, the non-call was already a call. It was saying he did not touch the plate. Never seen an umpire reverse a call? Guess what? You just did. [San Diego Spotlight]

• An Epic Game Of Inches. Tonight's game was the poster child for how the fate of a baseball season can rest on the smallest of margins. From Garrett Atkins' "double" that struck a suspiciously solid object behind the yellow padding to Matt Holliday's "to score or not to score?" slide, this cruel game toyed with the Rockies and Padres, leaving their fates twisting in the late October night until the dust had settled on Holliday's final dive. Ultimately, the Rox were rewarded for busting their asses all night even when the breaks weren't falling their way and it's that exact drive and determination that sets this team apart. [Up In The Rockies]

• Defeat. And then I can tell you that Hoffy came to the mound. This is where the lack of a picture makes sense. A picture can be worth a thousand words — and in this day and age, a link may well be worth a million — but I can be sure, within a zillionth of an inch, that the pain is these words will be worth far more than any image you may lay your feeble eyes upon. For when Trevor Hoffman came in, and gave up a double to Kaz Matsui ... I'm going to say this slow, just so you understand . . . K-a-z M-a-t-s-u-i . . . I knew it was over. A two-strike gapper? To Kaz Matsui? [And Here Come The Pretzels]

• Le Sigh. Not a whole lot else to say. Good luck, Colorado. Have fun in the post season. I'll save my Trevor Hoffman Needs to Retire post for another night. If you're a non-Padres fan and you're thinking about trolling, just know that the Ban Button is coming down quick and without mercy. [Gaslamp Ball]

• Matt Holliday's Face Pain Brings Joy To Colorado. Technically it was a "tiebreaker" game, and part of the regular season, and the expanded roster is still in play. Um, bullshit. Call it the "National League Wild Card semifinal." They earned the right to play an extra game, and it's played in October, broadcast on TBS, and they don't drag Cal Ripken from the sofa into the studio to talk about a regular season game, now do they? [Blogcritics.org]

• The Rockies Are God's Team. Remember that article about the Colorado Rockies that came out in USA Today last summer? "Baseball's Rockies Seek Revival On Two Levels," it was titled, and detailed their quest to bring themselves up from the NL West's gutter. But it also described an organization guided not by Moneyball, but by Christianity. [Lion In Oil]

• Meanwhile, In New York ... As The Rockies were beating the Padres, Mr. Met was attempting suicide ... and failing pathetically. Late Night With Conan O'Brien has the exclusive footage. With a cameo appearance by the Phillie Phanatic, who evidently has had a gastric bypass.

• Clemens Signs With Yankees For $28 Mil. The Yankees announced that they have signed Fat Billy from Ohio to a minor league contract. Good. I did not want to spend any of my summer evenings rooting for that asshole. I'm going on record right here: 2007 is the year FBfO goes into a serious decline. Serious. [The Joy Of Sox]

• Just Another Overpriced Brick In The Brokedown Palace. Roger Clemens going back to the Yankees? Aw, hell I never really wanted that bloated bastard back here anyway. Honest. I'll have more later. I just... I just can't talk right now... ::runs off crying:: [Surviving Grady]

• Oh Yeah, There Was A Game Today. It's amazing that nobody caught on to Clemens' return prior to the announcement. What a shocker! Oh what I would have given to have been at the stadium. Roger hopes to return by the end of the month. With any luck, it'll be the last 3 days of the month when the Yanks travel to Toronto because I'll already be there. That'd be killer. I might have to make a roadie to Scranton and see a minor league start depending on the timetable. I'm still in utter disbelief that this went down today. Somebody queue up U2's "Beautiful Day." Wow. [Baseball & The Boogie Down Bronx]

• Ex-cellent. Roger Clemens announced to all Red Sox fans that he hates us the second he went to the Yanks the first time. Were you all too fucking blind to see him literally (not figuratively, literally) kissing and rubbing the face of Babe Ruth before every game he pitched for the Yanks? Please, everyone, get on board the "hate Clemens" express. It's so fun! You get to root against that fat traitor swine. I couldn't see how it would make sense any other way. [A Red Sox Fan From Pinstripe Territory]

• The Rocket Returns. We knew George was angry, but we didn't know he was desperate yet. Fire Joe? Hmm. No. How about sign Roger for a bijillion dollars. Oh yes. He's going to pay this guy like he is the savior. And, well, he just may be. Finally, the Yankees getting Clemens means that the Red Sox don't. This was even earlier than expected too. Most believed he wouldn't pitch until June. The Yankees needed this. This is huge. [The Bleacher Teacher]

• Clemens A Yankee. I don't really have a lot to say about it... Basically the Astros offered him the same amount of money(pro-rated 28 gazillion dollars[million]) but only wanted him to pitch 3 months of the season, where Roger wanted to pitch 4 months so he chose the Yankees. Okay maybe I do have a lot to say about it. I think that's a dumb ass excuse and that's all it is, an excuse. He wanted to go back to the Yankees and that's all there is to it. [Houston Crawfish Boxes]

• Clemens Hits The Target Again. What did George Steinbrenner tell Clemens on March 7 in Tampa? Whatever it was, it made an impact. "He had some words for me which I'll keep with me forever. I might share those when this season is all said and done. I'll keep those close to my heart," Clemens said. Is Steinbrenner retiring? Selling? Sick? [The LoHud Yankees Blog]