About That Cubs Pick.....

- I honestly didn't see the Cubs turning into the Same Old Cubs again. I really didn't. The second inning last night was almost unbearable to watch. If I was a Cubs fan I would have seriously considered giving up on them. There is a slight chance they can win the next three games but I really don't see how. Harden may win Game 3 but they won't beat Derek Lowe in Game 4. And if they did somehow beat Lowe in Game 4 you know something horrendous will happen to them in Game 5. What a mess.

- If you're a Red Sox fan, which I am, how do you feel seeing Manny on fire without any trace of his phantom knee injury? I'm sure most Sox fans are pissed. I personally accept it as Manny being a goof the final few weeks in Boston and finding new life in LA. I'll always like Manny and still say I would rather watch him hit than anyone else in the past 25 years. When he is hot, like is right now, there is nobody you would rather have at the plate in a big situation.

I can only imagine the talk shows in Boston are going nuts in Boston after the article Bill Simmons wrote yesterday about Manny's trade. Was it Boras' fault? I say no it wasn't because Manny is nowhere near as stupid as people make him out to be. This is all on Manny. The biggest problem was that the team wanted him gone. He just wasn't worth putting up with any longer. As for the complaint that they traded a first ballot Hall of Famer for Jason Bay, well Yeah they did but Manny is going to be 37 next year and ain't the guy he used to be.

The most you can automatically pencil in for Manny to start the season at this stage of his career is 140 games and .285-28-85, not the 150 games .315-35-115 you used to be able to get. He still might give you more than that but it is not automatic. With Bay you pencil in the exact same numbers and he is a better base runner and better defensively. I guarantee you Bay's collective numbers over the next three years will be better than Manny's. He's also six years younger and at least $10 million a year cheaper. Moving Manny was consistent with Theo's philosophy of not handing out huge contracts to guys who will be in their late 30's at the tail end of the deal. Only in this case Manny would have been in his late 30's at the start of the deal. I'll always like Manny but he had to go.

And would there be anything better than a Dodger-Red Sox World Series with Manny back in Fenway? Now that the Cubs are about to go down faster than Jenna Jameson.

- I think the Angels are going to get swept by the Sox. They just can't beat Boston in the playoffs and it is in their head now. As I said earlier this week the three best starters in this series are all on Boston but the Angels bigger problem is they can't score runs. Vlady looks completely lost in the playoffs and Garrett Anderson has almost nothing left.

- Nobody is paying any attention to the Phils but they can easily beat the Dodgers. There lineup is stacked and there pitching is just as good as the Dodgers. That should be a really good series.

- More on the Rays after Game 2 tonight.