Indians hammer Wang, Yankees in Game 1  —  CLEVELAND - So the Indians can beat the Yankees after all.  —  After getting kicked around in all six regular-season meetings with the Bombers, the Tribe pounded Chien-Ming Wang and belted the bullpen, handing the Yankees an embarrassing 12-3 beating on Thursday night at Jacobs Field.

Dice-K to make postseason debut  —  After roller-coaster year, righty ready to write new chapter  —  BOSTON — Daisuke Matsuzaka is in the ideal spot to find success in his postseason debut Friday night.  —  After Josh Beckett's dominating performance in Wednesday night's 4-0 Red Sox win …

Young, Arizona take 2-0 lead over Cubs  —  PHOENIX (AP) — These Arizona Diamondbacks are no desert mirage, and the Chicago Cubs are one loss from another season of despair.  —  Rookie Chris Young hit a three-run homer and Stephen Drew tripled in two more in an 8-4 victory Thursday night …

LITTWIN: Even the nuns can't believe this odyssey  —  PHILADELPHIA — The following account, I swear, is true.  Two nuns — wearing Phillies' jerseys over their regulation gear — were stalking out of Citizens Bank Park as the eighth inning ended Thursday.  —  "Can you believe this?" one of them said.

Red Sox fan assaulted in New York  —  A 25-year-old carpenter from Quincy is in serious condition after he was assaulted outside a Yonkers, N.Y. hotel last night by a group of men he said had earlier asked about his allegiance to the Red Sox.  —  Two men were arrested in the assault, authorities said.

Tracy decision 'doubtful' for today  —  Pirates' GM says he needs more time, MLB clearance for announcement  —  The Pirates could deliver their decision on manager Jim Tracy and his staff today, general manager Neal Huntington said yesterday, but two factors could foil that.

2007 Pitcher Projection Roundup  —  This is Part 2 of 2 of the projection roundup; the first piece for position players ran here on Wednesday.  The methodology is as identical to the hitter evaluations as is possible.  I use 50 IP as my cut-off point.  Pitchers are excluded from consideration …

Gary Sheffield to have shoulder surgery Monday  —  For weeks, Tigers designated hitter Gary Sheffield was optimistic that his sore right shoulder would heal without surgery.  Hard work and rehabilitation would make the pain go away, he hoped.  —  On Thursday, though, following an examination …

Torre turns to his Game 2 favorite Pettitte  —  CLEVELAND - Andy Pettitte flashed an aw-shucks grin when he was asked why, of all pitchers, he keeps getting picked to start a Game 2 of a division series, something that's happened in every division series he's ever pitched for the Yankees.

Fausto Carmona is starting right  —  CLEVELAND - In 2006, the Indians - like the Yankees of 2007 - force-fed a young power pitcher with electric stuff into a relief role to aid their flailing bullpen.  —  Suffice to say, Fausto Carmona's brief time as Cleveland's closer last season didn't work …