Better than a snowball's chance: Rockies in 6  —  The Green Monster isn't the only thing monstrous about the modern day Boston Red Sox.  —  The American League champions are in no danger of replacing the Yankees as the unofficial Evil Empire of baseball even if they beat Colorado …

Torre's turnaround  —  Yankees had discussed $4.5M offer for Torre in spring  —  Also in this column:  —  Joe Torre spins a great story.  In fact, he's an even better public speaker and broadcaster than in-game strategist.  Torre's so persuasive, in fact, that after his emotional hour …

Pearce earns Spinks Award honors  —  Topps names Bucs slugger outstanding Minor Leaguer  —  PITTSBURGH — Steve Pearce began the 2007 season playing first base at high Class A Lynchburg, finished it playing right field at PNC Park, and had an unbelievable season in between that continues to earn him national accolades and awards.

Mailbag: Will Teixeira re-sign?  —  Braves beat reporter Mark Bowman answers fans' questions  —  What are the chances the Braves will be able to re-sign Mark Teixeira?  If they can't sign him before the Winter Meetings, should the Braves trade him immediately for a starting pitcher?

Rangers' Wakamatsu hired as A's bench coach  —  rdurrett@dallasnews.com  —  Rangers third base coach Don Wakamatsu accepted the position of bench coach with the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday.  —  Wakamatsu, 44, was the Rangers' bench coach for four seasons under former Rangers manager Buck Showalter …

actober.com winners announced  —  Filmmaking trio to be honored at Game 3 of World Series  —  Dating back to the All-Star break, we asked baseball fans to tap into their inner Steven Spielberg and capture their version of baseball's best playoff moments for the actober.com contest.

Mailbag: Will A's go after free agents?  —  Beat reporter Mychael Urban answers A's fans' questions  —  I think the A's are in a good position to make a run at the American League West next year with the current roster.  What are the chances of signing Torii Hunter or Andruw Jones?

Rockies Place Their Faith in God, and One Another  —  As a Jewish player who attended a Catholic high school and a Lutheran university, Jason Hirsh knows what being a religious minority feels like.  So last December, when he was traded to the Colorado Rockies, Hirsh wondered if what he had heard about his new organization was true.

Mitchell investigation raises questions  —  LIKE THIS STORY?  —  When I interviewed Paul Byrd about his use of human growth hormone, he had a question of his own for me.  —  "Isn't George Mitchell with the Red Sox?"  —  Yes, I replied, he is.  —  And the mere fact that Byrd raised …

Myth Of The Closer  —  The 2007 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and Colorado Rockies should lay to rest one of the great myths of modern baseball: that a dominant "closer"—a high-priced pitching ace who enters a game in the final inning to nail down a victory—is a must-have for success.