And then there were Four

Now that Colorado has already taken Game 1 of the NLCS, it's a bit late to make my fearless predictions with much credibility. But seriously, I had planned to pick the Rockies all along.

NLCS

The Rockies have flown way under the radar for five-plus months of the six months this season, but their relative anonymity is over now. After winning 14 of their final 15 regular season games, Colorado has continued the streak in the postseason, sweeping through the Phillies and taking Game 1 of the NLCS.

The Rockies and Diamondbacks match up pretty well. They both have a solid group of young talent, strong front ends of their rotation with some question marks at back, and both teams have battled the underdog syndrome all season long. But as we've seen in the past, it's not always the best team that fares well in the postseason, but it often is the hottest. And no one is hotter than Colorado.

After beating Arizona ace Brandon Webb, the Rockies are in the driver's seat in this series. The Diamondbacks may rebound to win Game 2 at home, but Colorado will hold serve at Coors to advance to the World Series.

Pick: Colorado wins in 5

ALCS

If the NLCS is a curiosity, the ALCS is a must-watch for baseball fans. That's not to say that the ALCS will be more entertaining, but it will be a higher quality of baseball. (And, as we've seen in the past, it's also dumb to assume that the NLCS teams are just playing for the right to lose in the World Series.)

Anyway, the ALCS features the teams with the two best records in baseball, and both of them have had plenty of rest following their respective ALDS victories. The Indians will continue to be the secondary storyline (the Yankees may still get more airtime), but in my mind, they are the team to beat. The Tribe has a pesky lineup from top to bottom, and its bullpen pitching has been lights-out in the playoffs.

Boston needs Manny Ramirez to come up big against his former team, which he did during the regular season: .417 avg., 3 HR, 7 RBI. The Sox also need a resurgence from their bullpen, which was a strong point for most of the season but faltered at the end.

In the end, I think C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona make the difference in this series. If they can come up big in Games 1 and 2, Cleveland takes the whole thing.

Pick: Cleveland wins in 6

Interview with 1998 World Series MVP, Scott Brosius

The last time the Yankees won a World Series, they did it with a third baseman whose name wasn't Alex Rodriguez. Unlike Rodriguez, that man was best known for what he did in October, not in June. That man is Scott Brosius.

These days, Brosius is head baseball coach at his alma mater, Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon.

Now that he's a few years removed from the game, I thought he'd be a perfect candidate to weigh in on what's going on with Joe Torre, A-Rod, and the Colorado Rockies (read it, you'll see what I mean).

Anyway, I asked for the interview, and he obliged. Enjoy.

What's it like being on the other side of things these days, staying on the bench instead of trotting out to third base? Do you have any plans to take your coaching career to Division I, or maybe the pros someday?

Things are certainly different being on the other side of the game. My first year coaching the thing that shocked me was how helpless I felt at times. As a player you always feel like you could play an active role in the outcome. As a coach, all you can do is prepare the players, but ultimately the result is in their hands. Right now I am very comfortable coaching here and have no plans to coach professionally.

After the Yankees lost to the Diamondbacks in the 2001 World Series, it set into motion a rebuilding phase that included your retirement, and the departure of Paul O'Neill, Luis Sojo, and Chuck Knoblauch. Now that New York has failed to win the World Series for a sixth straight season since then, do you see a similar scenario unfolding this offseason?

I think change will always be a part of any team. We started to see some of that this year with the emergence of some of the younger players. The Yankees will always try to put the best team on field as possible, and now I believe that involves some of the younger players they are rebuilding with.

Specifically, what do you see happening with Joe Torre? Is it fair to attribute the successes and failures of a team to the skipper?

I hope Joe returns next season if he wants the opportunity. Winning is not an easy thing. Ultimately, he has been the manager of a team that has gone to the post season 12 or 13 straight seasons. I think that alone speaks for itself. Because a team doesn’t win the World Series doesn’t mean he no longer knows how to manage.

Do you see Alex Rodriguez opting out and departing New York?

I have no idea what A Rod is going to do. Most clients of Boras go after the money. He has said all the right things this year and had a remarkable season, so he has a big decision on his hands.

Shifting gears... What are your thoughts about the Colorado Rockies, specifically as it relates to their being a "Christian" franchise?

To be honest with you, I don’t know much about the Rockies franchise and don’t know much about their players. I can tell you this: they are who I am pulling for right now. What they did with their playoff shares [the players voted to donate the money to the family of former minor league first base coach Mike Coolbaugh, who was killed when struck by a batted ball this season] spoke volumes to me about the character of the guys in that clubhouse.

I recall some press in the late 1990s about religious fervor coming from the Yankees' clubhouse. Were you a part of that? What role does that part of your baseball experience play in your life to this day, if any at all?

In my seasons with the Yankees we did have a very strong Christian influence. I remember my days with the A’s and going to chapel and there were just 3 or 4 of us there. In 1998, our chapels in NY would have 3 or 4 not there. There was a group of us that met on a daily basis for a devotional time before batting practice.

I think God used our team both in baseball and outside of baseball as a model for how players and teams can balance their Christian walk with the competitiveness of professional sports. Tony Dungy last year was another great example. I think there is a place in sports for the Christian athlete.

For those athletes who are Christians, how do they best live out their faith without coming under the scrutiny of the media and the fans?

Any person, whether an athlete or not, will come under scrutiny if they publicly confess to being a Christian. That just comes with the territory. Being consistent with our walk, both not just what we say, but what we do, is most important. People aren’t going to watch to see how a Christian responds in the good times, they are going to watch when adversity hits. Our actions have to match who we say we are.

I had some great experiences on the baseball field in NY, but more importantly I think I grew in my faith. God did some amazing things in the 4 years I was there. It is these experience I continue to remember and can hopefully pass on to the players that I now coach.

Ummmm... You Can't Do That

That saying that cheaters never prosper isn't exactly true; sometimes they prosper a whole lot more than the rest of us.

So when a cheater gets caught, it's an awfully good feeling.

Former Mexican presidential candidate Roberto Madrazo won the men's age-55 category in the Berlin Marathon Sept. 30, but his celebration lasted only about a week.

After a little legwork, race officials determined Madrazo had taken a shortcut during the race, at one point knocking out nine miles in 21 minutes. A 25-year-old Kenyan couldn't even run at that clip!

Thanks to electronic tracking chips all runners wear these days (I know, I ran a 5k once), race officials could pinpoint which checkpoints Madrazo missed, and from that it was easy to prove that he wasn't the legitimate winner.

Well, that and the windbreaker, hat, and running pants Madrazo wore, which made him look more like a Saturday jogger than marathoner. I hope he at least managed to break a sweat.

Mark Cuban: Great for the Cubs, Better for Baseball

George Steinbrenner aside, the typical MLB franchise owner is a rich man who makes a habit of staying out of the limelight.

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who has expressed strong interest in purchasing the Chicago Cubs, is not that man.

Sure, Cuban has the assets, estimated at $2.3 billion. For those of you scoring at home, that's a cool billion more than Texas Rangers' owner Tom Hicks, who in 2000 cracked open his piggy bank to sign Alex Rodriguez.

No, money isn't the problem. With Cuban, it's this uneasy fear that he will somehow rock the boat, that adding him to the mix might trigger some sort of tectonic activity deep below the surface of Bud Selig's office in New York City.

In short, Cuban is a mover and a shaker: precisely what the Cubs and the game of baseball needs, but exactly the type of owner that keeps Selig up at night. Cuban's mouth and antics as an NBA owner have earned him over $1.5 million in fines, and heaven only knows what he would do if given the keys to a big league team and open access to a microphone at Wrigley Field.

As it turns out, Selig may have nothing to worry about. Purchasing an MLB franchise is a long and drawn-out process, and Selig and his cohorts may well have enough power to strong-arm Cuban out of the running.

But rest assured that Cuban will fight back and press on with his campaign. Cuban has professed his desire to become a bleacher bum at the friendly confines, and once Cuban gets his mind set on something, it's hard to change it.

Torre's Clock is Ticking

If being President is the toughest job in the world, managing the Yankees must be a close runner-up.

There have been plenty of good times during Joe Torre's administration in New York -- Torre's Yankees won four championships in a five-year span, and prior to this season, they had reeled off nine straight divisional titles -- but in recent years, his job-related stress has been on the rise.

This season alone, there was a pitching rotations in shambles, more embarrassment surrounding Jason Giambi, and the daily interrogations about the life and times of Alex Rodriguez. And always -- always -- there is pressure from above and below to win it all, which New York hasn't done since the turn of the millennium.

In Yankeeland, where every season without a World Series deals a serious blow to the manager's approval rating, Torre's job may be in jeopardy very soon, and the Boss has said as much.

Now that New York has been dispatched by Cleveland, Torre should be expecting an unfavorable phone call from Mr. Steinbrenner.

After all the ups and downs Torre has endured in 12 seasons in New York -- and of late it's been mostly downs -- I'm not sure he'll mind.