TORONTO -- I had just warmed up a plate for of tacos when that dreaded little envelope popped up in the lower right-hand corner of my computer screen last night. So, my food returned to room temperature as I glanced over the e-mail that included the list of 57 free agents who had filed for free agency at the first possible moment.

Sure enough, Matt Stairs and Joe Kennedy were included on the list. The Jays have shown a desire to bring Stairs back, but they didn't give a real good indication of where Kennedy stood at the end of the year. Kennedy made $2.8 million last year, and my guess is that if the Jays did decided to bring him back as a situational lefty, that could mean Brian Tallet is non-tendered. We'll see. Tallet would be the cheaper option through arbitration.

As for Stairs, if the Jays can figure out a way to provide him with 300 or so at-bats, he'd probably re-sign. The last thing he probably wants is to have a healthy starting nine -- has that happened before? -- keep him sitting on the bench all year. Stairs has shown he's worth more than $850K and that he can still pick it at first, roam the outfield, fill in at DH, come off the bench in a pinch, and at the end of the year he said he could even play third, if needed (Word is that TroY Glaus met with MLB about the ol' steroid report last month).

I'm sure Stairs would love a two-year offer from Toronto, but can you really give a two-year deal to someone who will be 40 years old? Oh, wait. Frank Thomas will be 40 and he's going to be around for two more seasons. I guess there's precedent there. I think a one-year deal would be the wiser move, but Stairs might find other suitors after the season he just turned in.

With Stairs in mind, what do you loyal members of Blue Jays Nation think should be done in left field? Is Reed Johnson worth the risk of signing at $3 million or so after an injury-plagued, subpar season? Should the Jays explore another option via free agency (Shannon Stewart's out there)? Is it Adam Lind time? Maybe a Johnson/Catalanotto-esque platoon is out there somewhere? Sound off...

And, man, did my fantasty football team ever blow it this weekend. I'm sick of these guys not showing up. I was 4-1 and in first place three weeks ago. Now? I'm 4-4. Peyton Manning can't do it alone! I'm afraid some guys might be packing up their lockers today.

TORONTO -- I have officially entered my offseason. Much like Costanza's "Summer of George!" on Seinfeld, this is the Winter of Jordan. It's time to take time off. After the grind of 162 games, I'm going to enjoy hours of lounging around in sweatpants and catching up on the reruns of Law & Order that I've missed over the past seven months.

I haven't blogged on here since I left Boston because, well, to paraphrase the great comedy Officespace, I've been doing absolutely nothing, and it's everything I thought it could be. But, seeing J.D. Drew's mug on my blog was getting a little old, so I figured I should toss something up here to hold down the fort.

Over the past few days, I've purchased the new Radiohead album "In Rainbows" which is pretty sweet. It's nice to hear them return some to their earlier sound -- not that I didn't enjoy the likes of Amnesiac or Hail to the Thief, because those were killer albums, too. I also went and saw the movie "Into the Wild," which I thought was pretty good. Eddie Vedder did the music, which was enough for me.

I have managed to watch some baseball. It's actually been nice to sit and take in the World Series from my living room, not having to worry about writing stories for a change. Not that I'm complaining, but you sure to enjoy just sitting back and taking in a game after working so many. I'm looking forward to seeing how the Red Sox's revamped lineup fares in Colorado. I don't think the Rox are going to go down easy in Denver. I think the series will head back to Beantown for at least one game. We'll see.

Also, I know there's been some talk about the rumor that's going around about Jays prez and CEO Paul Godfrey stepping down from his position. According to Rogers, the rumor was simply mindless banter by one of the local radio personalities. According to one report, there was no basis to the rumor.

That's all for now. I've got a whole lot of nothing to get back to doing.

BOSTON -- One and done. Someone's going home after tonight -- and I don't mean just Boston or Cleveland. I'm leaving on a jet plane, heading back to Toronto tomorrow morning.

The only good thing that came out of last night, besides the fact that a couple teams decided to turn one of these matchups into a good series this postseason, was the fact that I finally got some clarity about my schedule. After three straight weeks on the road, I was finally able to figure out when my part in all this was going to come to an end.

First, though, the Red Sox and Indians have to duke it out in this seventh game. I'm interested to see how Dice-K Matsuzaka rebounds after a couple of bad starts. Even if he struggles, I like Boston's chances with Josh Beckett, Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon following in relief. That's a pretty wicked set up.

And who saw that grand slam coming off the bat of J.D. Bleepin' Drew? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? I sure didn't I think I was just as stunned as everyone else in Fenway Park. With two outs, Fausto Carmona on the mound, and two outs in the books with Drew at the dish, I thought the inning was over. Talk about an unlikely hero.

Talk about bad timing. A report came out today that Cleveland pitcher Paul Byrd used HGH a few years back. Not exactly the most opportune time for news like that to hit the wire. Anyway, first pitch is about to happen and I have to get to work. By the way, I hear it's snowing in Colorado.

ALCS Game 7 Lineups

Cleveland (3-3) at Boston (3-3)
at 8:21 p.m. ET at Fenway Park

INDIANS
Grady Sizemore, CF
Asdrubal Cabrera, 2B
Travis Hafner, DH
Victor Martinez, C
Ryan Garko, 1B
Jhonny Peralta, SS
Kenny Lofton, LF
Franklin Gutierrez, RF
Casey Blake, 3B

PITCHING: RHP Jake Westbrook

RED SOX
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Kevin Youkilis, 1B
David Ortiz, DH
Manny Ramirez, LF
Mike Lowell, 3B
J.D. Drew, RF
Jason Varitek, C
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Julio Lugo, SS

PITCHING: RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka

Go Bears...Man, I should've started Brian Griese today.

BOSTON -- Welp, I'm back in Boston. Had an interesting time getting here yesterday, too. I had to fly from Cleveland to Baltimore and then connect to Boston from there. My first flight was fine, got to Baltimore early even, but the second flight was not so good.

I feel asleep before we took off and woke up about an hour later, flipped open the window shade, only to see that we were still parked on the ground. Finally, a lady comes up the plane and announces that there are too many people on the flight -- that the plane was overweight. She asked for volunteers to come off the jet, but no one did.

So, she played her version of Russian roulette with us, literally looking up and down a list of our names and randomly picking two people to kick off the plane. Luckily, I wasn't one of the chosen ones. Talk about a raw deal, though. But, I got to Boston and now it's nearly time for Game 6 here at Fenway.

The reason I have a picture of our friend Manny Ramirez up there is I'm just about sick of hearing about his recent comments about "not caring" whether or not the Red Sox won this series. Get over it people. What Manny said was not that big of a deal. Here's what he said after Boston dropped Game 4:

"It doesn't matter how things go for you. We're not going to give up. We're just going to go and play the game, like I've said, and move on. If it doesn't happen, so who cares? There's always next year. It's not like the end of the world or something. Why should we panic?"

All Manny said was it wasn't the end of the world, life goes on. Can you argue with that? He didn't say he didn't care -- and his numbers should be ample evidence to the point that the dude does care. Manny's teammates also didn't see what the big deal was about what he said. Here's Mike Lowell on Thursday night:

"We know him. He talks to us more than he talks to you guys. We know Manny the person better than you do. I really don't have a problem with what he said. When we take it in a baseball sense, that it's not the end of the world, everyone is up in arms, because it sounds like he doesn't care about the game. But, the way you see him play, you know he cares about the game. I think he was trying to convey that maybe there's other things in the world that may be more important than baseball. You can't fault him for that."

No, you can't. But, there's no question that the media will jump all over a quote like Manny's, especially when it's coming from such a character. There was another fantastic Manny moment after Boston's Game 5 win. Manny, once again, was entertaining a pack of media, lounging on a couch and fielding a barrage of questions.

While he talked, David Ortiz pushed through the crowd and asked for a microphone, grabbing one from an NBC reporter. Ramirez, wearing a suit with a bright purple tie, looked up and Ortiz asked: "Hey, everybody wants to know, where's the funeral?" Everyone busted up and Manny responded with: "Hey, I'm going to try to take this tie to Colorado." Classic.

Anyone watch Joe Torre's press conference yesterday? I caught some of it after I finally got to my hotel here in Beantown. I've got to say that he handled it with class and I was happy to see he didn't hold back in calling New York's offer an insult. Once again, good for you, Joe.

ALCS Game 6 Lineups

Cleveland (3-2) at Boston (2-3)
at 8:21 p.m. ET at Fenway Park

INDIANS
Grady Sizemore, CF
Asdrubal Cabrera, 2B
Travis Hafner, DH
Victor Martinez, C
Ryan Garko, 1B
Jhonny Peralta, SS
Kenny Lofton, LF
Trot Nixon, RF
Casey Blake, 3B

PITCHING: RHP Fausto Carmona

RED SOX
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Kevin Youkilis, 1B
David Ortiz, DH
Manny Ramirez, LF
Mike Lowell, 3B
J.D. Drew, RF
Jason Varitek, C
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Julio Lugo, SS

PITCHING: RHP Curt Schilling

Go Green...

CLEVELAND -- Good for you, Joe. After having George Steinbrenner issue another ultimatum in yet another trip to the playoffs for the Yankees, Joe Torre decided enough was enough.

New York offered Torre a one-year deal worth $5 million, which had incentives that could've boosted it to $8 million, that included a vesting option for '09 if the Bombers made the World Series. On Thursday, it was announced that Torre said no thank you, ending what's been a comical stakeout by the media in Tampa.

Part of me was surprised to hear that Torre turned down the offer, but the other part of me can completely understand how he might be fed up with dealing with the stress of New York and The Boss, especially at age 67. Torre's done way too much to have Steinbrenner threaten to fire him if the Yanks didn't make it passed the first round.

Shortly after hearing the news, which spread like wildfire here in the Jacobs Field pressbox, I gave a quick call to Blue Jays manager John Gibbons. After jokingly razzing me some for phoning him -- "Jordan, don't you know I'm in hiding this time of year?" -- Gibby gave pretty much the same reaction I had to the news.

"That doesn't really surprise me. It's hard to say, I'm sure he was frustrated with the whole thing, when it came out where Steinbrenner said 'Win this game or he's gone.' He's accomplished too much and he's too distinguished a guy to put up with that.

"He's not some first-timer rookie out there. Who knows what all went into it. Who knows what he was looking for as opposed to what they offered. He's accomplished way too much. If he doesn't feel good about it, then he did the right thing."

Exactly. Good for Joe.

ALCS Game 5 Lineups

Boston (1-3) at Cleveland (3-1)
at 8:21 p.m. ET at Jacobs Field

RED SOX
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Kevin Youkilis, 1B
David Ortiz, DH
Manny Ramirez, LF
Mike Lowell, 3B
Bobby Kielty, RF
Jason Varitek, C
Coco Crisp, CF
Julio Lugo, SS

PITCHING: RHP Josh Beckett

INDIANS
Grady Sizemore, CF
Asdrubal Cabrera, 2B
Travis Hafner, DH
Victor Martinez, C
Ryan Garko, 1B
Jhonny Peralta, SS
Kenny Lofton, LF
Franklin Gutierrez, RF
Casey Blake, 3B

PITCHING: LHP C.C. Sabathia

CLEVELAND -- Mike Lowell summed it up on Tuesday night. Boston's third baseman was asked about the three straight home runs the Sox belted in the sixth inning, and a smirk crept across Lowell's face.

"I've got to ask him -- the hands up, 7-2 -- I don't really understand that one, but that's him. I just like that he hit the ball hard and over the wall."

Yeah, it didn't make much sense. Boston was down by five runs and Manny Ramirez launches a solo homer, throws his hands in the air and stands and admires his work. If this is anyone but Ramirez, he'd get a fastball between his numbers the next time up. But he's got that whole "Manny being Manny" get-out-of-jail free card.

I remember earlier this season when the Blue Jays were in Boston. In the first inning, Ramirez made a sliding catch at Fenway and ended up laying on his back. To the amusement of everyone, he started moving his arms and legs like he was making a snow angel. Again, anyone else, and he might get plunked next time up. But it's Manny, and after the game the Jays players were cracking up when they replayed the catch on Sportscenter.

Rare are the moments when Ramirez actually speaks to reporters, too. But here today, he plopped in his chair in front of his locker and fielded questions for nearly 15 minutes -- first in Spanish and then in English. Naturally, the question finally came up about his antics after hitting the homer. Ramirez just smiled and shook his head.

"Man, I'm just happy to do something special like that," he said. "I'm not trying to show up anybody out there. I'm just trying to go have fun. If somebody strikes me out and shows me up, that's part of the game. I love it. I like that. I like to compete and when people strike me out or whatever and they show me up, it's all good. There's no hard feelings."

Ramirez was also hit with plenty of questions about how being down 3-1 to the Indians right now is similar to being down to the Yankees in 2004, when Boston staged their famous comeback. It's a must-win on Thursday for the Sox, but Ramirez -- staying with his typical laid back manner -- didn't seem express much care either way about Boston's fate in the next contest.

"If we go play hard and the thing doesn't come like it's supposed to come, we'll move on. We'll come next year. Why should we panic? We've got a great team. If it doesn't happen, good. We'll come next year and try to do it again.

"We're confident every day. It doesn't matter how things go for you. We're not going to give up. We're just going to go and play the game, like I've said, and move on. If it doesn't happen, so who cares? There's always next year. It's not like the end of the world or something."

No, it's not the end of the world -- that's for sure.

MOMENT OF THE DAY: Man, talk about a flashback. I walked in the visitor's clubhouse this afternoon and sitting on the couch were Eric Hinske and Dustin Pedroia. There was a crowd of people blocking the TV, but I heard some familiar music and sound effects.

Sure enough, they were playing Tecmobowl on Nintendo! Classic. I was more of a Blades of Steel guy myself back in the day, or Megaman, but Tecmobowl was definitely a staple of my childhood. Well done, BoSox.

CLEVELAND -- It's officially Rocktober. Congrats to the Rockies, especially for making me look smart for picking them as the National League champ when the playoffs began. Now, if the Tribe can follow suit to make my World Series picks hold up, that'd be quality.

I actually lived in Colorado for two years -- about 50 minutes south of Denver in Colorado Springs -- during my last two years in high school. Whenever I had some spare time, I'd hop in my Ford Exploder (may it rest in peace) and haul up to Coors Field and take in some Rox games. I saw the one and only Mike Lansing hit for the cylce on one occasion.

I wasn't a big Rockies fan, but it was the only baseball team around, so I enjoyed heading to Denver to watch some ball. So, part of me is happy to see Colorado advance to the Fall Classic. Besides that, the run they've been on has been nothing short of amazing. They were in fourth place in the NL West when their run began, and now they have a pennant. Incredible.

As for the Red Sox here in Boston, they were simply manhandled by Jake Westbrook -- 14 groundball outs through six innings. Daisuke Matsuzaka didn't pitch terribly, but the Tribe forced him to throw a ton of pitches and the few mistakes he made were enough in light of Westbrook's performance.

After the game, Matsuzaka was not in a good mood. We spent more than an hour standing and waiting to see if Dice-K would talk to the media, which he is usually good about. He sat at his locker staring ahead, let out some sighs, leaned back in his chair, took a minute to eat some dinner, went back to sitting alone at his locker, and finally -- for just the second time this year -- he only offered a short statement, opting not to take questions.

While Dice-K sat in one corner of the clubhouse, David Ortiz and Josh Beckett were lounging on some couches in the middle of the room, throwing down some cold ones while watching the D-backs/Rockies game. If there was ever a moment that made Ortiz seem like the Dominican Babe Ruth, this was it. He was all smiles, joking with reporters, shaking off a report that said his knee injury might've kept him out of the ALCS, and throwing his arm around one TV guy during an interview.

At one point, shortstop Julio Lugo walked over and said, "Papi, what, you don't have no family? Why don't you go home?"

To which Ortiz flashed his wide smile and replied, "If I went back to my hotel, I'd be doing the same, but without the beer. So, I stay here and get beer for free."

During a later conversation, Beckett offered this beauty of a line: "You can't buy love, but you can buy so much affection that you can't tell the difference."

With that gem, here's tonight's lineups:

Boston (1-2) at Cleveland (2-1)
at 8:21 p.m. ET at Jacobs Field

RED SOX
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Kevin Youkilis, 1B
David Ortiz, DH
Manny Ramirez, LF
Mike Lowell, 3B
J.D. Drew, RF
Coco Crisp, CF
Doug Mirabelli, C
Julio Lugo, SS

PITCHING: RHP Tim Wakefield

INDIANS
Grady Sizemore, CF
Asdrubal Cabrera, 2B
Travis Hafner, DH
Victor Martinez, 1B
Jhonny Peralta, SS
Kenny Lofton, LF
Casey Blake, 3B
Franklin Gutierrez, RF
Kelly Shoppach, C

PITCHING: RHP Paul Byrd

CLEVELAND -- During one of my trips to Cleveland during the regular season, I made a point of heading over to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I could've spent the whole visit poring over the display case for the Grunge Era. They also had a special exhibit on The Clash at the time, which was pretty sweet.

Right now, the special exhibit on display is on The Doors, which I may go take a look at some time this week -- possibly tomorrow. I wrote in this week's Jays mailbag, track 10 on the Doors' 1970 album "Morrison Hotel" is the song "Indian summer." Fitting, considering I'm here at the Jake to cover the Indians prolonged summer.

I didn't blog yesterday due to my utter lack of sleep and energy. Along with most of the other writers, I was at Fenway Park on Saturday night well beyong 3 am and I had an early flight to catch to Cleveland. An hour of sleep and it was off to the airport and then to the ballpark to get right back to work. I nearly didn't get here either.

My flight was going through Laguardia in New York -- all the directs were sold out -- and when I got there, they told me I didn't have a seat. Nice. Shortly before they started boarding, though, I was able to get on. Crisis averted. Both in Boston and in New York, the gates directly next to the one I was at had flights going back to Toronto. God certainly has a sense of humor.

Here are tonight's lineups:

Boston (1-1) at Cleveland (1-1)
at 7:10 p.m. ET at Jacobs Field

RED SOX
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Kevin Youkilis, 1B
David Ortiz, DH
Manny Ramirez, LF
Mike Lowell, 3B
J.D. Drew, RF
Jason Varitek, C
Coco Crisp, CF
Julio Lugo, SS

PITCHING: RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka

INDIANS
Grady Sizemore, CF
Asdrubal Cabrera, 2B
Travis Hafner, DH
Victor Martinez, C
Ryan Garko, 1B
Jhonny Peralta, SS
Kenny Lofton, LF
Trot Nixon, RF
Casey Blake, 3B

PITCHING: RHP Jake Westbrook

BUGS: None in sight, yet.

QUOTE: "Hey, Canada's here." -- Red Sox manager Terry Francona, upon seeing Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star during Monday's press conference

BOSTON -- I was heading out of the Fenway Park pressbox last night and walking in was broadcaster Rick Sutcliffe. Naturally, I held the door for the man and he responded with a simple, "Thanks." No, Sut. Thank, you. Thank you for helping the Cubs to the 1984 division title. The least I could do was hold the door for the man.

Talk about an offensive explosion in that Game 1, huh? Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz continued to put up their ridiculous postseason numbers. Even if I played as the Red Sox on my gamecube -- yeah, I'm the one guy in the world who still is rockin' the 'cube -- I don't think I could match the stats their putting up. It's been flat-out sick. I know C.C. Sabathia struggled somewhat in Game 1 of the ALDS against the Yanks, but I didn't think he'd labor as much as he did last night. Indians need a big game from Fausto tonight. The last thing the Tribe wants to do is head back home down, 2-0.

As things stand right now, we'll be taking in a Rox-Sox World Series. What a boneheaded play by Stephen Drew last night in the bottom of the ninth. The ump calls him safe at second after Rox SS Troy Tulowitski's foot came off the bag, and Drew starts jogging back toward the dugout. OK, fine, you didn't realize you were called safe, but you don't see the shortstop arguing with the ump? That turned out to be quite costly, considering the D-Backs wound up losing in 11.

Anyway, I just got here to the Fens to prep for Game 2. For all of you dying to know who's taking the field tonight in Beantown, here are tonight's lineups:

Cleveland (0-1) at Boston (1-0)
at 8:21 p.m. ET at Fenway Park

Today's lineups:

INDIANS
Grady Sizemore, CF
Asdrubal Cabrera, 2B
Travis Hafner, DH
Victor Martinez, C
Ryan Garko, 1B
Jhonny Peralta, SS
Kenny Lofton, LF
Franklin Gutierrez, RF
Casey Blake, 3B

PITCHING: RHP Fausto Carmona

RED SOX
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Kevin Youkilis, 1B
David Ortiz, DH
Manny Ramirez, LF
Mike Lowell, 3B
J.D. Drew, RF
Jason Varitek, C
Coco Crisp, CF
Julio Lugo, SS

PITCHING: RHP Curt Schilling

Cleveland (0-0) at Boston (0-0)
at 7:10 p.m. ET at Fenway Park

Today's lineups:

INDIANS
Grady Sizemore, CF
Asdrubal Cabrera, 2B
Travis Hafner, DH
Victor Martinez, C
Ryan Garko, 1B
Jhonny Peralta, SS
Kenny Lofton, LF
Franklin Gutierrez, RF
Casey Blake, 3B

PITCHING: LHP C.C. Sabathia

RED SOX
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Kevin Youkilis, 1B
David Ortiz, DH
Manny Ramirez, LF
Mike Lowell, 3B
Bobby Kielty, RF
Jason Varitek, C
Coco Crisp, CF
Julio Lugo, SS

PITCHING: RHP Josh Beckett

BOSTON -- On the way from my hotel to Fenway Park, you go right passed this fine little establishment, the Hotel Buckminster.

As a Chicagoan, I should've known the sigificance of this place (beyond the Pizzeria Uno located at the bottom, which is fitting, as it turns out), but it took Rangers beat writer T.R. Sullivan to remind me of its history. This is where, in 1919, the White Sox met and decided to throw the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds.

Down Huntington Ave., which isn't too far away from the Buckminster, is the spot where the first World Series was played in 1903. Now, though, a building stands on the spot with just a plaque to honor the site. One hundred and four years later, the World Series just might be back in Boston again.

I don't see this Indians-Red Sox series ending in a sweep like three of the four first-round matchups. I think this ALCS is going to go at least six games, and seven doesn't seem unlikely. Both clubs have solid lineups and good pitching staffs, led by Cy Young contenders. I like Cleveland's rotation over Boston's, but I like the BoSox bullpen better than the Tribe's.

It's a toss up, but since I originally posted somewhere on here that I think it's going to be a Cleveland-Colorado World Series, I'll stick to my guns. So, I pick the Indians to win in six. I think the Rox will win in five. We'll see what happens.

Another fun little tidbit for you guys, this past week while in New York, Laz Diaz and some of the ALDS umps made their way to Foley's irish pub in New York. If you ever are in the Apple, head to 33rd street at the base of the Empire State Building and check out Foley's. It houses a ton of sports memorabilia, including a wall of baseballs signed by players, actors, and even sportswriters. Even I have a baseball on the wall.

Anyway, Diaz and some of the umps went in there and the Foley's owner presented them with a can of bug spray, honoring the Bug Game aka Game 2 of the ALDS in Cleveland. The umps autographed the can and it will be displayed in Foley's for good. That's quality.

BOSTON -- I get done with a nice, relaxing train ride from the Big Apple to Beantown, swapping ball stories with Al from Philadelphia, who is in his 70s and was telling me about watching Ted Williams' smooth stroke in games back in the day at old Shibe Park, and I step into my hotel room and imediately get a phone call.

The search is over. Your Toronto Blue Jays have hired the one and only Gary Denbo to replace the self-proclaimed goat, Mickey Brantley, as the club's new hitting coach. Denbo comes to the Jays after serving as the Yankees' roving hitting instructor and he's now been given the task of righting the offensive ship that sunk and flat-out stunk during this past season for Toronto.

Denbo never played in the Majors and barely cracked the Mendoza line over four Minor League seasons in the Reds system back in the '80s, but he's maintained various coaching/managing/front office/scouting jobs with the Reds, Yankees, Indians, and even those pesky Ham Fighters over in Japan.

Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi said the club had a list of names that they had interest in for the job, but the Jays only ended up interviewing Denbo and Toronto's own roving hitting guy, Dwayne Murphy. Ricciardi received permission to talk to Denbo from Yanks GM Brian Cashman, received glowing remarks from the likes of Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada, and added that Denbo blew them away in the interview.

Ricciardi went on to say that the Blue Jays need to find their identity as an offensive club, much like the Yankees and Red Sox have done. Toronto likes the way Denbo focusses on preparation, and Ricciardi said his new hitting coach is big on breaking down video. Toronto's GM also indicated that hiring Denbo was more his call rather than Gibbons, who was "on board" with the decision. Brantley was Gibbons' pick at the time he was hired.

NEW YORK -- The Rocket may have launched for the last time. Not surprisingly, the Yankees announced today that Roger Clemens is being removed from their postseason roster. That could put the finishing touch on Clemens' storied career.

With Clemens out of the picture for now -- he's not eligible until the World Series, should New York get that far -- the Bombers added lefty Ron Villone to their bullpen. That helps New York, which had no lefties in the 'pen in Games 1-3.

I'm not sure what to think of the Indians going with Paul Byrd here in Game 4 over C.C. Sabathia on short rest. Byrd may have won 15 games this year, but he also surrendered nearly 240 hits in 190 innings or so. That gives me the feeling that I may very well be heading back to Cleveland tomorrow morning. Also, starting Byrd puts Kelly Shoppach, his personal catcher, behind the plate, taking some pop out of the offense. We'll see how it all shakes out tonight.

Also, yours truly will be bringing more playoff insight during the American League Championship Series. So, whether or not the Yankees stun the Indians here over the next few days, I'll be heading to Boston to help cover the next round. I'll have to pop some champagne later.

Today's lineups:

INDIANS
Grady Sizemore, CF
Asdrubal Cabrera, 2B
Travis Hafner, DH
Victor Martinez, 1B
Jhonny Peralta, SS
Kenny Lofton, LF
Franklin Gutierrez, RF
Casey Blake, 3B
Kelly Shoppach, C

PITCHING: RHP Paul Byrd

YANKEES
Johnny Damon, LF
Derek Jeter, SS
Bobby Abreu, RF
Alex Rodriguez, 3B
Jorge Posada, C
Hideki Matsui, DH
Robinson Cano, 2B
Melky Cabrera, CF
Doug Mientkiewicz, 1B

PITCHING: RHP Chien-Ming Wang

I believe someone asked me to link to stories I've written in the playoffs, so here goes:

Oct. 7: Hughes unlikely hero with relief gem
Oct. 7: Wang gets chance to show true ability
Oct. 7: Yankees short hops: Game 3
Oct. 6: Needing a win, Yankees go with Clemens
Oct. 5: Yankees spoil Pettitte's gutsy effort
Oct. 5: Yankees short hops: Game 2
Oct. 4: Unfinished rallies costly for Yankees
Oct. 4: Yankees short hops: Game 1
Oct. 4: Pettitte assumes familiar Game 2 role
Oct. 3: Wang given critical test

As a bonus to the Lebowski fans out there, here's the script from the movie. We've been killing time here reading it and annoying everyone in the work room with our laughter. You're entering a world of pain. --JB

NEW YORK -- You never know who you might run into while making your way around the Big Apple. Last night, a few of us dotcomers realized we were parked a few bar stools away from the one and only Steve Lemme, of Super Troopers and Beerfest fame.

The man was actually nice enough to buy a few rounds for us, too. Quality. Prior to making it down to Chelsea to hang with a B actor, I was at a different spot with Anthony Castrovince of indians.com. Who woulda guessed we'd run into a local high school spanish teacher who has Yankees closer Mariano Rivera's son as a student. Small world.

Today, it's back to the ol' ballpark, where the Empire is trying to stave off elimination in the first round for the third straight season. Earlier today, the Boss -- Yanks owner George Steinbrenner -- said in one publication that manager Joe Torre's job status after this year hinged on winning the ALDS. I don't know if I agree with judgin' Joe on this series. The fact that New York made the playoffs after being 14 1/2 back at one point should be enough to bring Torre back, in my book.

If the Bombers do indeed lose today, the fallout will definitely be interesting. Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte will mull retirement again, Jorge Posada and Rivera are free agents, and A-Rod may opt out. Speaking of which, I'm sick of these nicknames like "A-Rod", or "V-Dub" for Vernon Wells in Toronto. I suggest we start getting a little more creative with our monikers. For Rodriguez, I'll throw this one out there and see if it sticks: The Brinks Bomber. Any takers?

Today's lineups:

INDIANS
Grady Sizemore, CF
Asdrubal Cabrera, 2B
Travis Hafner, DH
Victor Martinez, C
Ryan Garko, 1B
Jhonny Peralta, SS
Kenny Lofton, LF
Trot Nixon, RF
Casey Blake, 3B

PITCHING: RHP Jake Westbrook

YANKEES
Johnny Damon, LF
Derek Jeter, SS
Bobby Abreu, RF
Alex Rodriguez, 3B
Jorge Posada, C
Jason Giambi, 1B
Hideki Matsui, DH
Robinson Cano, 2B
Melky Cabrera, CF

PITCHING: RHP Roger Clemens

NEW YORK -- At least the Attack of the Midges didn't make its way up to the Jacobs Field pressbox on Friday night. What an unreal scene in Cleveland last night. One minute there are no insects in sight, and the next they are swarming around the mound and sticking to Joba Chamberlain's neck at the game's most integral moment.

The bugs that Yankees fans will surely blame for this postseason collapse (that is, if the Indians close the deal) made their first appearance in the top of the eighth inning, when New York first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz was at bat. He kept stepping out of the batter's box and shooing the pesty buggers away before grounding out.

"I got a lot of phone calls, people thought I was senile at bat in the eighth," Mientkiewicz joked in a press conference at Yankee Stadium on Saturday. "The joke around the guys was that we all had Derek Jeter's 'Driven' on, and all the bugs were attacking us."

Jeter's signature cologne aside (I made that same joke in the ballpark last night, but Mientkiewicz will get all the credit now for saying on camera. Way to steal my thunder, dude), the bugs were reeking some major havok when Chamberlain took the mound for the Yankees in the bottom of the eighth, leading by one run.

Chamberlain didn't give up a single hit, but he threw two wild pitches, hit one batter and walked two to allow the tying run to score -- all while trying to stop the bugs from flying in his mouth and after being sprayed with bug repellant.

"Just when you think you've seen it all," Jeter said. "I guess that's home-field advantage for them -- just let the bugs out. It worked. It was annoying. They were all flying around and I think it was worse on the pitcher's mound. I haven't experienced that anywhere. There's been times when there's been a group of bees that have come, but not that. I've never seen that before."

Twice this spring, the Yankees met up with some annoying bees -- once in Lakeland and once in Sarasota. On Saturday, the gnats attack had Mientkiewicz citing the 1998 movie "Bees," tagline: "They outnumber us 100 million to one. If they wanted to, they could destroy the Earth. Bee afraid..."

"Joba looked like the movie 'Bees,'" Mientkiewicz said. "He had them all over his neck and his back. But, then again, so did their guys. We don't want to make excuses."

That was the exact point that Cleveland's Ryan Garko made on his MLBlog, where he wrote: "...the other guys on the Yankees were acting like there were bullets flying around their heads, not gnats. I mean… this is the big leagues."

"The only chance we had was to get some bug spray out there," Chamberlain said. "That helped a little, but I came in and there was a million. That's just a part of it and everybody else had to deal with it, too. I wasn't the only person that had to deal with it. Obviously, they did fine."

One of our writers actually received an e-mail from a college professor who said that the type of bugs that were pestering the Yanks were attracted to moisture, and NOT steered away by the bug spray. Whoops. They also weren't Canadian Soldiers, as reported by TBS, which tried to blame Canada.

In his press conference on Saturday, Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens said that things might have gone differently if he had any control over the situation:

"I would have probably pulled us off the field," Clemens said.

CLEVELAND -- Not a whole heckuva lot going on right now minus waiting for the first pitch here at Jacobs Field. Word has it that Queen Latifah is in the house -- maybe she'll don a Yanks' cap like LeBron did here last night.

The most entertaining thing that's happened here pregame was myself and a couple other writers spending about 15 minutes quoting the Big Lebowski -- the single greatest comedy of all time. If you're not down with the Dude, well then, obviously, you're not a golfer. In honor of the Big Lewbowski, a few of us might actually go bowling tonight.

Of course, maybe the highlight was actually last night after Game 1, when Bryan Hoch -- our Yankees' writer -- busted out quite an impressive impression of Anchorman's Ron Burgandy (You know I don't speak spanish). Hoch was also quick to bring up a picture on his phone, showing him dressed as San Diego's favorite anchorman for Halloween. Quality.

When we're not quoting our favorite flicks, we do actually run around and do some work, though. On the Yanks' side, Hideki Matsui is still in the lineup, despite a recent slump and some right knee issues. New York manager Joe Torre said Matsui was fine to play, and he didn't want to make a decision to bench him based on one game. For the Tribe, Kenny Lofton (3-for-4 with four RBIs on Thursday) started in left field against lefty Andy Pettitte, sending Franklin Gutierrez to the bench.

Here's today's lineups:

YANKEES
Johnny Damon, LF
Derek Jeter, SS
Bobby Abreu, RF
Alex Rodriguez, 3B
Hideki Matsui, DH
Jorge Posada, C
Robinson Cano, 2B
Melky Cabrera, CF
Doug Mientkiewicz, 1B

PITCHING: LHP Andy Pettitte

INDIANS
Grady Sizemore, CF
Asdrubal Cabrera, 2B
Travis Hafner, DH
Victor Martinez, C
Ryan Garko, 1B
Jhonny Peralta, SS
Kenny Lofton, LF
Jason Michaels, RF
Casey Blake, 3B

PITCHING: RHP Fausto Carmona

CLEVELAND -- It was a pretty embarrassing scenario for that camera man to suddenly be thrust into the spotlight by tripping and falling on Doug Mientkiewicz, injuring the first baseman's left ankle. That doesn't mean Mientkiewicz was happy to hear the guy got fired for it.

"Did he really?," Mientkiewicz said after New York's 12-3 loss. "I didn't want that, by any means. Accidents happen. I hope they come back and -- that's kind of harsh, isn't it?"

At that point, one of the reporters in the crowd surrounding Mientkiewicz's locker pointed out that the camera man was just a freelancer -- not a full-timer for his network.

"Still, that doesn't matter," Mientkiewicz said. "Trust me, there's a lot better players he could've sabotaged than me. That shouldn't happen. It was a mistake and people make mistakes. I feel bad. He doesn't deserve that. He deserves better than that."

Mientkiewicz was pulled from the game early, but Yankees manager Joe Torre said that had nothing to do with the sore ankle. Although, torre did say it appeared as though Mientkiewicz was hobbling some during the game. The first baseman didn't agree.

"I play when I'm told to play," he said with a shrug. "If I looked like I was hobbling around, I didn't feel like I was hobbling around. I was totally fine."

Maybe he wasn't hobbling, but the Yankees as a whole sure went limp against the Indians. They drove C.C. Sabathia's pitch count up early and chased him from the game, but New York couldn't turn one of Sabathia's six walks into a run and Cleveland's bullpen overpowered the Yanks in the final four innings.

On the Blue Jays' front, here's the 2008 home schedule:

April
4-6 Red Sox
8-10 Athletics
16-17 Rangers
18-21 Tigers

May
2-5 White Sox
6-8 Devil Rays
20-22 Angels
23-26 Royals

June
6-8 Orioles
9-11 Mariners
13-15 Cubs
24-26 Reds
27-29 Braves

July
8-10 Orioles
11-13 Yankees
25-27 Mariners
28-30 Devil Rays

August
4-7 Athletics
8-10 Indians
19-21 Yankees
22-24 Indians

September
2-4 Twins
5-7 Devil Rays
16-18 Orioles
19-21 Red Sox
23-25 Yankees

CLEVELAND -- There's always something with the Yankees. When the Bombers arrived at Jacobs Field this afternoon, first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz had quite the run-in with a camera man. The photog was filming and walking with his back to Mientkiewicz, when he tripped and fell, landing on top of the first baseman's left ankle. Mientkiewicz rolled his ankle -- which has been troublesome in the past -- but he said he still plans on starting for the Yankees. Welcome to the postseason.

AMERICAN LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES
at 6:37 p.m. ET at Jacobs Field

Game 1 lineups:

YANKEES
Johnny Damon, LF
Derek Jeter, SS
Bobby Abreu, RF
Alex Rodriguez, 3B
Jorge Posada, C
Hideki Matsui, DH
Robinson Cano, 2B
Melky Cabrera, CF
Doug Mientkiewicz, 1B

PITCHING: RHP Chien-Ming Wang

INDIANS
Grady Sizemore, CF
Asdrubal Cabrera, 2B
Travis Hafner, DH
Victor Martinez, C
Ryan Garko, 1B
Jhonny Peralta, SS
Kenny Lofton, LF
Franklin Gutierrez, RF
Casey Blake, 3B

PITCHING: LHP C.C. Sabathia

CLEVELAND -- What better way to spend a day than standing around at Jacobs Field, watching professional athletes stretch and take batting practice with hundreds of media types huddled along the base lines. Minus the surplus of scribes, this is normally called pregame, though usually there's a game afterward.

The highlight of my day actually came at lunch, when I grabbed some grub at the Fourth Street Bar and Grill with Toronto Sun's Mike Rutsey. We walked into the restaurant and were led to our table in what appeared to be a normal little joint. Turns out, when you round the corner, there's a bowling alley in the place! I mean, it's one thing to have a bar in a bowling alley, but to have lanes in a bar? That's quality.

Nothing out of the ordinary happened during the workout today at The Jake. Yankees manager Joe Torre revealed his roster, which includes exactly zero left-handers in his bullpen for the ALDS. Torre also opted to stick with his typically lineup, instead of tweaking it to account for facing tough left-hander C.C. Sabathia.

I was assigned to do a piece on New York's Chien-Ming Wang (a headline writer's worst nightmare), who is starting in Game 1 for the Bombers. Wang is basically the Yankees' Roy Halladay -- a groundball pitcher who tries to induce early contact. Interestingly enough, Cleveland grounded into the fewest double plays in baseball this year, while Wang created the most. That should make it an interesting pairing.

I'm going to get back to taking in the final frames of this D-backs vs. Cubbies contest. Tomorrow, I'll be at the ballpark here around 1:30 and will have a few stories I'll be working on. Before this series is over, I plan on asking Travis Hafner how he plans on fixing John McDonald's swing this winter. Talk about an odd pair to be workout partners in the offseason. Then again, maybe working out with Mac is what led to Pronk's dimished stats this year...food for thought.

CLEVELAND -- Greetings from Ohio, where I'm staying just a few blocks from The Jake. Out my hotel window, I can see a giant "Go Tribe!" sign plastered across a store front. The Indians worked out today and I'll be heading over to the ballpark for Yankees coverage tomorrow. Yep, yours truly drew the GA tag for the New York beat during the ALDS.

Before I head down the street for a cool brew at an Irish Pub tonight, I figured I'd toss up my year-end picks for this season's awards. My No. 1 choices probably won't stray too far from who you'd expect me to say, but I'll put my top three choices in each category to stir some debate. In the "Apologies to" category, the names are listed in no particular order.

Bastian's 2007 MLB Award Winners:

AMERICAN LEAGUE

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
1. Alex Rodriguez, NYY -- .314 AVG, 54 HR, 156 RBIs, 143 R, 1.067 OPS
2. Magglio Ordonez, DET -- .363 AVG, 28 HR, 139 RBIs, 54 2B, 1.029 OPS
3. David Ortiz, BOS -- .332 AVG, 35 HR, 117 RBIs, 52 2B, 111 BB, 116 R, 1.066 OPS

APOLOGIES TO: Vladimir Guerrero, LAA; Carlos Pena, TB; Curtis Granderson, DET; Victor Martinez, CLE; Jorge Posada, NYY

COMMENT: Having A-Rod and Maggs finish one and two for this accolade seems pretty straight forward. As much as people may loath Rodriguez, he had a season of historic proportions. In another season, Ordonez might've netted the MVP. You could make an argument for a number of guys for the three spot, but Ortiz still put up a monster season while battling a leg injury.

CY YOUNG AWARD
1. C.C. Sabathia, CLE -- 19-7, 3.21 ERA, 209 K, 37 BB, 241 IP, 4 CG
2. Josh Beckett, BOS -- 20-7, 3.27 ERA, 194 K, 40 BB, 200.2 IP, CG
3. Fausto Carmona, CLE -- 19-8, 3.06 ERA, 137 K, 61 BB, 215 IP, 2 CG

APOLOGIES TO: Roy Halladay, TOR; John Lackey, LAA; Kelvim Escobar, LAA; Chien-Ming Wang, NYY; Justin Verlander, DET

COMMENT: This should be a very tight race between Sabathia and Beckett. I give the edge to C.C. based on complete games, innings, and having fewer walks with 40 more IP to his credit. Having watched Halladay (16-7, 7 CG) all season, I'd love to list him third. The season he had despite missing three weeks was amazing. But, even Roy said there were more deserving guys. That said, you've got to like the year Carmona had for Cleveland.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
1. Dustin Pedroia, BOS -- .317 AVG, 8 HR, 50 RBIs, 39 2B, .380 OBP, .442 SLG
2. Delmon Young, TB -- .288 AVG, 13 HR, 93 RBIs, 38 2B, .316 OBP, .408 SLG
3. Hideki Okajima, BOS -- 3-2, 2.22 ERA, 63 K, 17 BB, 69 IP, 66 G, 27 HLD

APOLOGIES TO: Daisuke Matsuzaka, BOS; Reggie Willits, LAA; Jeremy Guthrie, BAL; Brian Bannister, KAN; Billy Butler, KAN; Alex Gordon, KAN

COMMENT: Young could easily win this award, and the Rays have certainly been pumping him up. When they were in Toronto, the Rays handed out a release detailing Young's season, trying to perhaps sway the writers. BUT, Pedroia has been phenomenol this season, and as a second baseman, he has a better OBP and SLG than Delmon -- not to mention Pedroia's strong D. You could argue Dice-K could rank third here, or even Willits for that matter, but I was more impressed with Okajima this season.

MANAGER OF THE YEAR
1. Joe Torre, NYY (94-68)
2. Eric Wedge, CLE (96-66)
3. Terry Francona, BOS (96-66)

APOLOGIES TO: Mike Scioscia, LAA (94-68)

COMMENT: There was a point earlier this season when it seemed ludicrous that the Yankees would make the playoffs. Still, New York climbed back into the race after being 14 1/2 back of the Red Sox at one juncture and the Bombers gave Red Sox Nation quite a scare in September. Then again, you could easily give this award to Wedge for leading the Indians to the Central title or to Francona for helping Boston finally dethrone the Yankees in the East.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
1. Matt Holliday, COL -- .340 AVG, 36 HR, 137 RBIs, 50 2B, 216 H, 120 R, 1.012 OPS
2. Prince Fielder, MIL -- .288 AVG, 50 HR, 119 RBIs, 109 R, 1.013 OPS
3. Hanley Ramirez, FLA -- .332 AVG, 29 HR, 81 RBIs, 52 SB, 125 R, 212 H, .948 OPS

APOLOGIES TO: Jimmy Rollins, PHI; Chase Utley, PHI; Ryan Howard, PHI; Chipper Jones, ATL; David Wright, NYM; Albert Pujols, STL

COMMENT: No, I am not hopping on the Jimmy Rollins bandwagon, and I'll tell you why. A) I'm not convinced he's the best shortstop in the league. If Hanley Ramirez weren't on the Marlins, I think everyone would be talking about him right now instead of Rollins -- and, yes, I know Rollins became the first player ever to have 30 HR, 20 3B, 20 2B, 20 SB. B) I'm not convinced Rollins is the most valuable player on his own team. You could easily make arguments for Howard and Utley. So, I split the votes between the three and Ramirez gets the nod for the three spot in my book. In fact, Ramirez is arguably the top shortstop in all of baseball. I think Holliday deserves the MVP, especially after the way the Rox stormed into the playoffs, and Fielder was the youngest ever to hit 50 bombs -- Nuff said.

CY YOUNG AWARD
1. Jake Peavy, SD -- 19-6, 2.54 ERA, 240 K, 68 BB, 223.1 IP
2. Brandon Webb, ARI -- 18-10, 3.01 ERA, 194 K, 72 BB, 236.1 IP, 4 CG
3. Brad Penny, LAD -- 16-4, 3.03 ERA, 135 K, 73 BB, 208 IP

APOLOGIES TO: Jeff Francis, COL; Carlos Zambrano, CHC; Aaron Harang, CIN; Cole Hamels, PHI; Ted Lilly, CHC (Did I just type Ted Lilly's name into a Cy Young Award list? That's strange)

COMMENT: Throw out that meltdown Peavy had against Colorado on Monday. He simply had a dominant year and finished with pitcher's Triple Crown (first in wins, strikeouts and ERA) in the NL. Webb finishes second for me based on his high innings total and logging 4 complete efforts in the NL, where CGs are rare nowadays. If Penny had more offense, he might've had 20 wins this season. His stats are pretty impressive, giving him the edge over the rest of the pack.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
1. Troy Tulowitzki, COL -- .291 AVG, 24 HR, 99 RBIs, 33 2B, 104 R, .987 FP
2. Ryan Braun, MIL -- .324 AVG, 34 HR, 97 RBIs, 26 2B, 15 SB, 91 R, 1.004 OPS
3. Hunter Pence, HOU -- .322 AVG, 17 HR, 69 RBIs, 30 2B, .899 OPS

APOLOGIES TO: Chris Young, ARI; Tim Lincecum, SF; Kevin Kouzmanoff, SD; Peter Moylan, ATL

COMMENT: Why even include more than two names in this race? The award is going to come down to Tulowitzki and Braun, and Braun may just get the edge in the actually voting. Braun's season didn't start until May and he still put up a season's worth of bloated numbers. I lean toward Tulowitzki, though, and it's because of his defense. Tulo's .987 fielding percentage at shortstop was the best mark in all of baseball. Braun was a liability at times in the field. One rook that stood out to me, too, is Moylan. He appeared in 80 games and posted a 1.80 ERA over 90 innings for the Bravos.

MANAGER OF THE YEAR
1. Bob Melvin, ARI (90-72)
2. Clint Hurdle, COL (90-73)
3. Charlie Manuel, PHI (89-73)

APOLOGIES TO: Lou Piniella, CHC (85-77); Ned Yost, MIL (83-79)

COMMENT: Early in the year, Yost looked like the frontrunner for this award, but the Brewers sure faded in the second half. You could also lobby for Sweet Lou, who led the Cubbies from worst to first in his first year at the helm on the North Side. I like Melvin, who defied mathematics in leading the D-Backs to the best record in the NL. The Snakes hit .250 as a team and gave up more runs (732) than they scored (712). How does that net 90 wins? Hurdle will also get votes for the Rockies' late push and Manuel may get the nod in the actual voting for exploiting the Metro's collapse.

Well, there you have it. Let the discussion begin. Feel free to tell me just how wrong I really am. -- JB

The 2007 season is moving forward without the Toronto Blue Jays. I'm looking forward to watching the Rockies attempt to complete the late-season push toward the playoffs tonight in the sudden-death tilt with the Padres. Given that this year will include a 163rd contest, I'm going to hold off on my year-end award picks until tomorrow.

For now, I'll take a look back at Toronto's season and dish out this season's BA's -- the Bastian Awards.

BLUE JAYS

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Alex Rios

You could make quite a case for second baseman Aaron Hill, but Rios enjoyed a breakout season with the Jays this year. The right fielder hit .297 with 24 homers, 43 doubles and 85 RBIs. Rios might've driven in more had he not spent so much time in the leadoff spot early in the year. Now, Toronto manager John Gibbons will wrestle with whether or not Rios or Vernon Wells should be the club's No. 3 hitter in 2008.

PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Roy Halladay

Once upon a time, Babe Ruth swatted more homers on his own than some teams had as a whole. Well, nowadays, Halladay is logging more complete games as an individual than many teams have combined. Halladay's Major League-leading seven complete games were more than 26 clubs had as a whole, and three teams didn't notch a singled CG this season. Even after missing three weeks with an appendectomy, Halladay was near the league lead in innings and he was within striking distance of 20 wins.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Jesse Litsch

Apologies to Adam Lind (11 homers in 89 games) and Brian Wolfe (2.98 EA in 38 games). The 22-year-old Litsch made the jump from Double-A to Toronto's rotation and he made it look easy at times. Relying on control and a nice changeup, Litsch finished 7-9 with a 3.81 ERA in 20 starts. Litsch had some of the worst run support on the staff, though, so he could've easily been a 10-game winner in his first tour of the bigs. Now, Litsch appears to be the leading candidate for Toronto's fifth spot next year.

RELIEVER OF THE YEAR: Jeremy Accardo

Apologies to left-hander Scott Downs (2.17 ERA in 81 games) and right-hander Casey Janssen (2.35 ERA in 70 games). Accardo was on the bubble in Spring Training and he eventually became a solid replacement for injured closer B.J. Ryan. Accardo notched 30 saves and finished with a 2.14 ERA. Using a nasty splitter, Accardo locked down the ninth inning in Ryan's absence, and the young righty will likely slip into the setup job when the Jays' closer returns from the disabled list next year.

BIGGEST SURPRISE: Shaun Marcum

Apologies to Dustin McGowan and Matt Stairs. After posting a 6.06 ERA in 13 relief outings, who would've predicted that Marcum would emerge as one of Toronto's top starters after being moved to the rotation this year? Marcum joined the starting staff and went 11-4 with a 3.91 ERA the rest of the way. McGowan (12-10) likely projects to be the Jays' No. 3 starter for next season, but Marcum was a true blessing to the pitching staff this year. Those two, combined with Litsch, Halladay and A.J. Burnett give Toronto an intimidating rotation for 2008.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: Vernon Wells

The Blue Jays expected more from their center fielder after he enjoyed a huge offensive year in 2006 and subesequently penned his name on a seven-year extension worth $126 million. In '07, though, Wells hit .245 with 16 homers and 80 RBIs before being shut down with a left shoulder injury. If the Jays have any prayer of seeing their offense return to its 2006 form, the club needs a strong return from Wells, who was signed to be one of the focal points of the lineup.

PLAY OF THE YEAR: Aaron Hill steals home on May 29

Apologies to at least a dozen defensive gems turned in by shortstop John McDonald. On May 29, Hill bolted from third base against the Yankees and successfully recorded a straight steal on New York left-hander Andy Pettitte in a 3-2 Jays win. Prior to the game, third-base coach Brian Butterfield told Hill and the Jays that such a situation might arise against Pettitte. It's little details like that that might have helped convince Toronto to promote Butterfield to the bench coach job next year.

On to other matters...

Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi -- booed by the Rogers Centre faithful during the season finale -- sat down with the press on Sunday night to discuss the state of the club.

Here are a few goals he indicated the club has for the offseason:

• Explore potential long-term deals for Rios and Hill
• Look to acquire a veteran backup catcher with a good arm
• Look to acquire a super utility man, possibly via trade
• Maybe add some pitching depth through "reclamation projects"
• Explore whether or not to stick with LF Reed Johnson
• Attempt to re-sign veteran Matt Stairs
• Hire a hitting coach to replace Mickey Brantley
• Work within a payroll of roughly $90 million

Here are some goals Ricciardi said the Blue Jays have for next season:

• Show improvement with patience and situational hitting on offense
• Utilize Wells' and Rios' speed more often

Ricciardi said that Adam Lind would likely be more of a "regular" player in 2009, which means he could be back at Triple-A to start next season. Toronto's GM also added that catcher Curtis Thigpen would probably be back in Triple-A with C Robinzon Diaz, who is "really close" to making it to the bigs.

It doesn't appear that INF Russ Adams has convinced the Jays that he can be their primary utility man. Ricciardi also said that he told right-hander Brandon League that, "'If you want to be on this team next year you have to make this team.'" Minor League pitcher Brett Cecil is one prospect who Ricciardi said is "on the fast track."

Janssen will be stretched out over the winter, but that doesn't necessarily mean he'll be converted to a starter. Toronto did the same thing with Janssen last year, just in case he'd emerge as a potential rotation guy. When League and Ryan went down, Janssen moved to the bullpen. It will likely be a similar scenario this coming spring. If Ryan isn't ready by Opening Day, Janssen will more than likely be a reliever.

Welp, that's it from me today. I have to gear up for my trip to Cleveland tomorrow. I'll be blogging throughout the playoffs, so stay tuned. Anyone out there pulling for the Rox tonight?