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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

Eddie C. Blog: Breaking Down the Breakdown ...10/04  —  Well, how about that for a Phantastic Phinish!!  Two 7 game leads since August 25 - prosperity be damned, let's just hand the division title over to the Phightin' Phils, and gift wrap it with a bow while we're at it.

Postseason wish: Please, Cubbies, don't win the Series  —  The Cubs must go down.  It must be gruesome, painful and tragic.  They must, like Icarus and his wax wings, come tantalizingly close, and then, like Wile E. Coyote and his ubiquitous anvil, plummet to the canyon floor.  —  Don't get us wrong.