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| Evan Longoria went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in Friday's 2-0 loss to the Red Sox in Game 1 of the ALCS at Tropicana Field. He left a team-high five men on base. |
Our View: The rookie fared very well in the regular season with 27 homers and 85 RBI, but was a grave disappointment in his first ALCS outing tonight.
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| James Shields only allowed two earned runs on six hits over 7.1 innings in Friday's 2-0 loss to Boston in Game 1 of the ALCS at Tropicana Field, with two walks and six strikeouts. |
Our View: Shields pitched well, but the Rays' hitters could not muster a single run against Boston's pitchers, led by Daisuke Matsuzaka.
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| Kevin Youkilis went 3-for-4 with an RBI in Friday's 2-0 win over the Rays in Game 1 of the ALCS at Tropicana Field. |
Our View: Youkilis should remain a key contributor for Boston in their bid to win a third World Series this decade.
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| Daisuke Matsuzaka hurled seven scoreless innings, with only four hits allowed, in Friday's 2-0 win over the Rays in Game 1 of the ALCS at Tropicana Field, with four walks and nine strikeouts. |
Our View: Dice-K proved why he is the "ace" among a strong Boston pitching staff in tonight's dominant win. Josh Beckett will take the hill next in Game 2 as the Red Sox chase their third World Series in five years.
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| Manny Ramirez went 1-for-4 with a three-run homer in Friday's 8-5 loss in Game 2 of the NLCS against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. |
Our View: He is hitting .375 with four RBI in the series, but the Dodgers still trail 2-0. The series will move to Dodger Stadium for Game 3 on Sunday night.
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| Chad Billingsley was rocked for seven earned runs on eight hits over a mere 2.1 innings of work in Friday's 8-5 loss to the Phillies in Game 2 of the NLCS at Citizens Bank Park, with three walks and five strikeouts. The Dodgers now trail 2-0 in the series. |
Our View: Billingsley nailed down 16 wins for the Dodgers in the regular season, and fared well in a winning effort in the NLDS against the Cubs, but was unable to help the Dodgers climb back into the series tonight.
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| Brad Lidge earned his second save of the NLCS in Friday's 8-5 win over the Dodgers, as he fired three strikeouts, with no hits and two walks issued, in the ninth inning. |
Our View: Lidge continues to dominate in the playoffs after nailing down 41 saves in the regular season, with a 1.23 WHIP.
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| Shane Victorino led the Phillies in Friday's 8-5 win in Game 2 of the NLCS against the Dodgers, as he went 2-for-5 with four RBI. He hit a single and a triple. The Phillies now lead the series 2-0. |
Our View: He bounced back nicely from Game 1, in which he went 0-for-4.
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| Brett Myers allowed five earned runs on six hits over five innings in Friday's 8-5 win over the Dodgers in Game 2 of the NLCS at Citizens Bank Park, with four walks and six strikeouts. As a hitter, he impressively went 3-for-3 in the game with three RBI. Philadelphia now leads the series 2-0. |
Our View: Myers had a tough outing, but the Phillies' hitters rallied around him with plenty of run support for him to claim a win. Myers is now 2-0 in the postseason, as he also won Game 2 of the NLDS against Milwaukee.
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| The Padres have claimed Travis Denker off waivers from the Giants, according to the AP. |
Our View: The 23-year-old made his Major League debut with San Francisco on May 21 and hit .243 with four doubles and a homer over 24 contests.
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| Michael Barrett has cleared outright waivers with the Padres and has elected to become a free agent, according to the AP. |
Our View: The 31-year-old only hit .202 over 94 at-bats with the Padres this season, and will not be highly regarded among free agent catchers.
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| Yankees minor leaguer and former first-round pick Andrew Brackman is throwing in the Hawaii Winter League and has been impressive thus far, according to Jason Grey of ESPN.com. |
Our View: Brackman is throwing 95 mph gas with a changeup about 10 mph slower than that. He is 6-foot-10 and coming off Tommy John surgery, but clearly has a bright future.
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| Tigers pitcher Freddy Garcia left his last start of the season due to shoulder stiffness, but he will attempt to get things worked out and pitch in winter ball in Venezuela in anticipation of next season, according to Tigers.com. |
Our View: Garcia will gradually work up his pitch count in order to be fully ready for spring training. He will be a free agent next year unless the Tigers sign him before the end of the World Series - which is not going to happen.
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| The mother of Phillies manager Charlie Manuel passed away this morning, according to the L.A. Daily News. |
Our View: Despite this, Manuel is still expected to manage the team in Game 2 of the NLCS.
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| The New York Mets will be willing to listen to offers for center fielder Carlos Beltran, according to MetsBlog.com. |
Our View: Take that for what it is worth. General managers likely take calls on pretty much everybody, just for due diligence, but they rarely lead to anything.
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| The Milwaukee Brewers have yet to decide whether or not they will pick up the option on center fielder Mike Cameron's contract, and will wait until they decide what to do with GM Doug Melvin, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com. |
Our View: The Brewers have five days following the World Series to make up their minds. The option is for one year at $10 million, which is a bit pricey for a guy who hit .243 and struck out 142 times in just 444 at-bats, which is nearly once every three ABs.
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| Marlins catcher Matt Treanor had successful surgery to repair his hip, and would like to be back with the Florida Marlins next year, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "If the Marlins do keep me, I feel I would definitely be a positive in the clubhouse, but things happen," he said. |
Our View: Treanor is scheduled to be headed for salary arbitration if the Marlins choose to keep him. He has no fantasy value as a .238 hitter, and is more useful to Florida for his experience on a young team.
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| Phillies reliever Tom Gordon will have surgery on his right elbow, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. |
Our View: Gordon has not pitched since July because of the injury. There was some speculation that he could return to the team if they made a postseason push, but that is obviously not going to happen.
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| Soon-to-be free agent pitcher A.J. Burnett's primary concern is not necessarily money, but the length of the contract, and he may want a five-year deal, according to the Toronto Star. |
Our View: Burnett still must decide to opt out of his current contract in Toronto, but that is a virtual certainty. Considering his injury problems, it sounds insane that any team would give him a five-year deal, but with pitching so sparse, it would not be shocking to see that happen.
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| What was expected is now official: the Tampa Bay Rays have put hurler Edwin Jackson on their ALCS roster and left outfielder Eric Hinske off, according to the Tampa Tribune. |
Our View: This leaves the Rays with 11 pitchers on their roster. Jackson had a decent year, but will likely only be used as a long man out of the bullpen.
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| Derek Jeter and co. will have some comfortable new surroundings when they move into the clubhouse of the new Yankee Stadium, according to the Orange County Register. Robert Kuwada reports that they will have underground parking with elevators to the clubhouse, which will be 25,000 square feet. |
Our View: It will also have a giant weight room, a kitchen with a staff and computers at every locker.
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| Dodgers center fielder Andruw Jones is not with the team as they make their run to the postseason, and will not stand for being a part-time player next year, according to the L.A. Times. "I'm an everyday guy or I need to move out," Jones remarked. |
Our View: We're not sure if that's an ultimatum, but it's awfully arrogant of a guy who, in his last two seasons, has hit a combined .205 while striking out 214 times in 781 at-bats with Atlanta and the Dodgers.
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| The Baltimore Orioles are going to enter into discussions with outfielder Nick Markakis on a contract extension this winter, according to the Baltimore Sun. |
Our View: Markakis is one of the top young outfielders in baseball, hitting .306 with 20 home runs, 87 RBI and 10 stolen bases. Those numbers should only increase, so locking Markakis into a contract now would be a wise move for the Orioles.
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| The Baltimore Orioles will be in contact with the agent for free agent first baseman Mark Teixeira, according to the Baltimore Sun. |
Our View: A lot of teams will likely be trying to contact Teixeira's agent, Scott Boras. Most believe the Yankees, especially, will be in heavy pursuit of the first baseman.
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