Rockies Pregame report  —  A front moved into the Denver area shortly before 8 p.m. Saturday night.  —  Nearly three hours later, the storm hit Coors Field.  —  The Rockies had continued their fairy tale.  —  Jeff Baker, the seemingly forgotten man from the Opening Day roster …

Cubs show true colors in sweep defeat  —  LIKE THIS STORY?  —  A computer analysis by Baseball Prospectus gave the Diamondbacks a 7 percent chance of sweeping the Cubs.  —  The computer being a computer, it couldn't account for the human element in the Division Series:

Falling Angels need a win and a prayer  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. - I am a practical person who rarely jumps to unnecessary conclusions, but as I wind my way toward the home of the Almost Annihilated Angels of Anaheim, I can't think of one good reason to restrain myself from stating the obvious.

Yankees counting on Clemens to save season … NEW YORK — The details of the night of Oct. 17, 2003, otherwise known as Game 7 of the American League Championship Series between the Red Sox and Yankees, remain seared into baseball consciousness and do not require much recap …

Notes: Teammates in awe of Manny  —  Slugger's walk-off jack makes Sox even more dangerous  —  ANAHEIM — In the short term, Manny Ramirez delivered the Red Sox an instant postseason victory with one swing by hitting a ball so far that his teammates were literally awed.

Rockies rookie a Longoria preview  —  NEW YORK - Wondering what kind of impact rookie 3B Evan Longoria could have on the Rays next season?  Take a look at what rookie SS Troy Tulowitzki has done for the Rockies.  —  They were teammates at Long Beach State, close friends now, and considered similar in ability, attitude and approach.

Being Cards' 'lightning rod' makes Luhnow uneasy  —  Jeff Luhnow has heard the derisive nicknames before, from false, like "accountant," to funny, like "Harry Potter."  —  But the Cardinals vice president finds those jabs quaint compared to the past week, when he has been described …

One hundred friggin' years  —  It's sickening enough that someone would kill a goat, hang it on the Harry Caray statue the other night and post a video of the carcass on YouTube.  But you know what's really creepy?  It had zero impact in reversing the most futile, maddening …

Joe Torre may start Jason Giambi to spark offense  —  With the Yankees facing elimination tonight, they are looking everywhere for a spark.  Doug Mientkiewicz worked his cell phone yesterday, texting Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez, trying to get his longtime friend in the right frame of mind.

An uneasy Cy ...  One of the great things about baseball — about life, in fact — is how many bizarre leftovers we have from simpler times.  PItchers, you no doubt know, are called "pitchers" because when baseball began they were not allowed to throw the ball overhand.