Sabathia is supposed to be part of the solution - last night, though, he was part of the problem.

Josh Beckett continues to do what Alex Rodriguez and the New York Yankees could not: bring a great 2007 season into the playoffs. The Red Sox trounced the Cleveland Indians 10-3 in game one of the American League Championship Series. Ace C.C. Sabathia looked decidedly mortal and truthfully he didn’t look much better in his win over the Yankees. The difference being the Red Sox did not choke with runners in scoring position as the Yankees did. But Tribe fans have every reason to stay confident in their boys because their number two starter is well on his way to becoming the best lefty starter in the league and he is blisteringly hot. Fausto Carmona has exactly what it takes to even this series.

The Red Sox batted a pathetic .167 (4-for-24) when facing Carmona during the regular season and failed to record even a single extra base hit against him. Carmona is a groundball machine but is also capable of getting the big strikeout an ability that separates him from many groundball specialists. The Red Sox will need to be at their very best to avoid falling behind in every count as they did in almost every at-bat in May.

This isn’t your typical Red Sox team that usually comes complete with ace and a homer heavy lineup. No, this Red Sox team might even be a little light on homerun hitters. This Red Sox team steals bases and does it at a high rate of success. This squad has quality defenders and a gold glove or two in its future. But Fausto Carmona is going to be tough in a way that Curt Schilling just isn’t capable of any longer. Shutting down an Angels team decimated by injuries may have filled him with confidence but this Indians lineup won’t be nearly so easy.

Kenny Lofton and Travis Hafner have both enjoyed smacking Schilling’s split-fingered fastball around the park. The two veteran hitters are batting .500 against Schilling this season. Schilling did have some success early this season against the Tribe but this is not the same team. More than half the lineup that Schilling faced in May has been improved on. Asdrubal Cabrera is a much different player than Josh Barfield. Jason Michaels and Andy Marte won’t be there to pad Schilling’s K-totals.

The Red Sox and Indians will probably battle for seven games to decide the American League pennant winner. Both teams have great lineups and two aces in their rotations. Paul Byrd, Jake Westbrook, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Tim Wakefield, and Jon Lester will ultimately decide this series. Place your bets accordingly.

Rockies Development

The Colorado Rockies won their 19th game of their last 20 last night to take a 2-0 lead back to Coors Field in Denver. These have not been easy victories. The Rockies have had to fight to win most of them and last night was no exception. They survived 11 innings of great pitching by the Arizona Diamondbacks to ultimately win 3-2.

Matt Holliday, a favorite candidate for the National League MVP who most of the country is only now discovering for the first time, is just one of the players responsible for the Rockies being this hot. Former Japanese star Kazuo Matsui was so disappointing for the Mets but he has been a post-season hero for the Rockies. Todd Helton is one of the best hitters in game even without what may have been steroid-aided power.  Then there is Willy Taveras, the speedy center fielder and leadoff hitter who drew the bases loaded walk to drive in the winning run. In addition, there is Troy Tulowitzki, the rookie shortstop for the Rockies whose bat and defense have some believing he should take home the National League Rookie-of-the-Year award over the defensively challenged Ryan Braun. Let’s not forget Brad Hawpe, who drew a key walk in the 11th to help the Rockies to their second extra-innings victory in the 19-1 run. Further, the Rockies have a great bullpen led by Manny Corpas who blew just his second save since being promoted to the closer role and a largely unknown but very solid young rotation that includes Jeff Francis, Aaron Cook, Josh Fogg, Franklin Morales and Ubaldo Jiménez.

The Rockies are just two more victories from their first National League Pennant. The Diamondbacks will fight hard every inch of the way but it doesn’t look as if anything can stop the locomotive momentum of the Colorado Rockies especially as they return to their home park for the next three games.

You can write Jon at JonWilliams@SportsGrumblings.com and you can bet he’ll respond with something witty and indicative of the genius he is in his own mind…