Pictures of tonight's games

Yankees win, Yankees win

Sabathia pitched great as the Yankees live to see another day.  Texas now leads the series 3-2

Buster Posey played like a veteran and had 4 hits, and Juan Uribe had a game-winning sacrifice fly as the Giants take a commanding 3-1 series lead.

Photos to prove it:

 

Scary moment for A-Rod

A fan, who tried confronted Alex Rodriguez last night over his relationship with Cameron Diaz, was mulled by police.

It was all caught on you tube, and makes for a scary situation.

The fan, apparently had a picture of A-Rod with his face scratched out in his pocket, jumped onto the playing field during the game.

The Yankees went on to lose the game, 10-3, Mark Teixeira, for the season, and possibly the series, what a night!

Nick Swisher speaks!

We have all come to terms with how crazy Nick Swisher is, and can be, but here he is in a different light.  Well, sort of

NLCS Recap

In what was supposed to be a low-scoring affair, with Tim Lincecum and Roy Halladay on the mound, the Giants new August acquisition, Cody Ross had other ideas.

Ross hit a solo home run in the third off Roy Halladay and another one in the fifth, to kick start the Giants offence and help San Fran take home Game 1 in the NLCS.

Lincecum wasn't as effective as his prior postseason start, but Halladay wasn't either, and Lincecum overcame a Jayson Werth, 2-run home run in the sixth, and shut down the Phillies after that.

Halladay looked to be rattled a few times with the home plate umpire, on calls that would have resulted in strike three being called.

In his career, Halladay tends to become rattled a bit when the calls start going the other way.

Oh, remember this?



Game 2 goes Sunday, with the Giants sending Jonathan Sanchez to the mound against the veteran Roy Oswalt.

Look for the gritty Phillies to rebound, like the Rangers did, and win Game 2.

Predicition: Phillies 6 Giants 1

Oswalt: 6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K / Sanchez: 4 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 2 K

Rollins: 2-4, HR, 2 RBI / Ross 2-4, HR (continues to stay hot)

Quick Hits

The Braves quickly hired Fredi Gonzalez to be their new manager, and he quickly hired Carlos Tosca to be his bench coach, well, the Pirates asked permission to interview Tosca for their vacant managerial position, which took place almost as he was being named the Braves bench coach.

The Mariners interview former Blue Jays manager John Gibbons, with a decision coming soon for both clubs.

The Marlins chose Bobby Valentine to be their next skipper, only to find out that he didn't really want the position.

The ALCS starts tonight with C.J. Wilson on the mound for the Rangers against the Yankees CC Sabathia.  Weather won't be a concern as they are calling for a beautiful night. (22C) Expect a low scoring game, with the Yankees coming out with a 3-1 victory.

The NLCS starts Saturday with the best pitching matchup of the season.  Tim Lincecum will face Roy Halladay in what should be a 1-0 final for either club.  A can't miss event for sure.  Forget hockey or college football for night and enjoy this game.

Video: Cuba loves Baseball

Branded, a score.com feature, looks at the love affair with baseball and Cuba.

Video: Lost Arts in Baseball

Cabbie from the score.com, looks at the lost arts in baseball.

Look for the extrabasehit.com predictions, coming Thursday.

Braves to name Fredi Gonzalez new manager

Well that was fast, Bobby Cox and the Braves were just eliminated from the playoffs by the San Francisco Giants on Monday, and already they are set to name the new manager.

Fredi Gonzalez, who had a 276-279 record with the Marlins, until he was dismissed with a 34-36 record this past season, will be named the next Braves manager later today.

Gonzalez is no stranger to the Braves, where he was the 2003-06 third base coach and spent time with the team in a minor-league role in 2002.

Bobby Cox with the Braves won 14 consecutive division titles (1991-2005), 5 NL pennants and the 1995 World Series.

It's early, but who will be a free agent soon?

I know it playoff time, but if you wanted to jump the gun a bit, November is just around the corner. 

Before we know it, we will be discussing free agents and the rumours that go with them.

Here is just a sneak peak of a few key free agents:

Catchers:
John Buck, Jose Molina, Bengie Molina, Victor Martinez, A.J. Pierzynski, Jason Varitek and Rod Barajas.

First Base:
Lance Berkman, Adam Dunn, Lyle Overbay, Paul Konerko, Adam LaRoche, Carlos Pena.

Second Base:
Mark Ellis, Orlando Hudson, Nick Punto, David Eckstein

Third Base:
Adrian Beltre, Jorge Cantu, Brandon Inge, Juan Uribe

Shortstops:
Orlando Cabrera, Derek Jeter, Miguel Tejada, Alex Gonzalez

OutFielders:
Jose Guillen, Jayson Werth, Magglio Ordonez, Jason Kubel, Pat Burrell, Hideki Matsui

DH
Jim Thome, David Ortiz (option involved)

Pitchers:
Bronson Arroyo, Jeremy Bonderman, Dave Bush, Doug Davis, Rich Harden, Aaron Harang, Ted Lilly, Cliff Lee, Kevin Millwood, Andy Pettitte, Chris Young, Jake Westbrook,  Javier Vazquez, Brian Fuentes, Kerry Wood, Scott Downs, Kevin Gregg, Jason Frasor, Frank Francisco and Trevor Hoffman, to name a few.

It should be interesting to see how the activity heats up this off-season, with more trades then signings expected in the early going.

The winter meetings in Florida are in December, so most of the bigger names (Cliff Lee) mat wait to sign, but the others, like Orlando Hudson, just have learned a lesson from the Giants Jeremy Affeldt, who signed a 2-year / $4M deal on the first day of free agency in 2009.  Take the first offer and run!