All I have to say it’s about time that baseball is being played. I hate this waiting crap just as much as the players do. There’s only so much network TV a man can handle. The Red Sox announced their ALCS roster yesterday and the only change was adding Tim Wakefield and taking Kevin Cash off the roster. The rotations are set as the Red Sox will be throwing Beckett, Schilling, Matsuzaka, and Wakefield while the Indians will counter with Sabathia, Carmorna, Westbrook, and Byrd. Terry Francona also confirmed what had been rumored about Bobby Kielty starting in right field. If you’re worried about the weather in Boston today, this is what the forecast is calling for:

Friday: Rain likely, mainly before 9am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 63. West wind around 17 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 44. West wind between 10 and 18 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph.

So now that you’ve had your weather report for Boston, why not take a look at the headlines from the Boston and Cleveland area on the morning of the duel between Beckett and Sabathia. Also be sure to check out Texy’s post over at Center Field about a new book coming out entitled “A Tale of Three Papelbons“. It is written by a front office staffer for the Lowell Spinners. All proceeds of the book are going to a worthy cause.

Red Sox in a favorable position [Boston Globe]

A mature C.C. Sabathia has grown into the role of Indians pitching ace [The Plain Dealer]

Zeroes could abound [Boston Herald]

Staying calm among ALCS storm is key for Indians [Akron Beacon Journal]

Arms Can Carry Them [Hartford Courant]

Sabathia vs. Beckett is a dream match-up [Pro Jo]

The long, painful summer of David Ortiz [Boston Globe]

Aces up for Game 1 [The Plain Dealer]

Lowell: ‘I love it here’ [Boston Herald]

Wedge learns to be lenient [Akron Beacon Journal]

Kielty To Start In Game 1 [Hartford Courant]

In terms of closers, stats say Sox have the edge [Pro Jo]

For more headlines and stories, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Hartford Courant, Providence Journal, The Plain Dealer and Akron Beacon Journal websites.

Bobby Kielty gets the start in right field for the Red Sox in Game 1 of the ALCS.

Indians reliever Jensen Lewis has toiled in anonymity until this season.

Wily Taveras was back in familiar lead-off spot for the Rockies in Game 1.

Diamondbacks closer Jose Valverde lives off his emotions on the field.

Jeff Francis tossed 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball as the Rockies beat the Diamondbacks 5-1 in the first game of the NLCS.

Brandon Webb gave up one run in the second and three more in the third before settling down and facing just nine batters over the next three innings. Unfortunately for Arizona, that was all of the support Francis would need. Brad Hawpe had a two-run single for the Rockies, who won without the benefit of an extra-base hit all night. Ubaldo Jimenez and Doug Davis will start in Friday’s Game 2.

Written by Steve Hofstetter, Adam Hofstetter, Cody Marley, Ryan Murphy, Elliot Steingart, and Chris Strait 

All-time money winning horse John Henry passed away at age 32, just eight years before the Mets would have offered him a contract.

Speaking of things on their last legs, the Carolina Panthers signed 44-year-old quarterback Vinny Testaverde, and actually told people about it. Testaverde will be a great backup in case any of the coaches get injured.

Pothead Ricky Williams has applied for reinstatement after being repeatedly reminded to do so. Williams has said he’ll work for peanuts. As well as twinkies and cupcakes.

Congratulations to Lorena Ochoa for becoming the first female golfer to win $3 million in one year. That will buy a lot of flannel shirts.

Admitted steroid user and Olympic gold medalist Marion Jones will compete next year after all, batting fourth for the San Francisco Giants. Jones’ tearful admission of steroids is under review, as there’s suspicion the tears were also not real.

And after a two-year absence from the NBA, Allan Houston is attempting a comeback with the New York Knicks, because they’re not bad enough. If that doesn’t work, he can always sign with the Carolina Panthers.

For more of the Sports Minute (Or So), visit minuteorso.com

The 2007 National League Championship Series gets underway tonight at Chase Field in Phoenix, AZ at 8:30 PM when the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks square off. The NLCS will be broadcast on TBS.

The ALDS and NLDS predictions didn’t go so well for me as I was 1-3. Steve, on the other hand, was 2-2. So here are our predictions, mine in blue, Steve’s in red.

The NLCS brings us a matchup of two teams, the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks, that nobody expected to be in the playoffs, let alone in the NLCS. The Rockies come in having won 17 of their last 18 games played, including an improbable sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS. Colorado is led by MVP candidate Matt Holliday and Rookie of the Year candidate Troy Tulowitzki and the veteran Todd Helton. They have a fine unheralded young pitching staff that has helped propel them this far. Manny Corpas at the end of the bullpen has solidified the Rockies rotation. Arizona sports a lineup of a lot of youth with some veterans mixed in. Their pitching staff is anchored by Brandon Webb, Doug Davis, Livan Hernandez and Micah Owings. Owings is a guy to watch out for because he can hurt you with his bat as well as his arm. We all know what Webb can do and what Livan can do in the big games. Justin Upton and Stephen Drew are just two of the young rookies providing big bats. Chris Young has had a great rookie year and has kept his hot bat in the playoffs. Drew is hoping to be reunited with his brother in the World Series but I’m sorry to disappoint the Drew family as I see the Rockies winning this in 7 games.

A battle between two teams who are really playing well. The sexy choice is going to be Colorado because they’ve won 17 of the last 18 games but I still feel that Arizona has the better pitching staff, especially starters, with a Cy Young winner in Brandon Webb, a World Series MVP in Livan Hernandez, who by the way is a big game pitcher much like Schilling and Beckett, and then you have Doug Davis and Micah Owings with Jose Valverde at the back end.

A line up led by Chris Young, Stephen Drew, Justin Upton, Eric Byrnes and a handful of others can produce runs in a variety of ways. Arizona wins in 6 games.

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FOR THOSE COMING FROM GOOGLE OR ANOTHER SEARCH ENGINE AND ARE LOOKING FOR THE RED SOX 2008 ALCS ROSTER, CLICK HERE.

The only change from the ALDS roster that was announced is the addition of Tim Wakefield, meaning that the Red Sox will carry 11 pitchers. The casualty off the roster was catcher Kevin Cash. With Doug Mirabelli healthy, the Red Sox don’t need a third catcher. Terry Francona also stated in his press conference that Bobby Kielty will start in right field tomorrow night as Steve had heard last night. You can also check out the press conferences from today, by clicking on this link. The videos are down the bottom in the multimedia section.

Regulars:
Jason Varitek
Kevin Youkilis
Dustin Pedroia
Julio Lugo
Mike Lowell
J.D. Drew
Coco Crisp
Manny Ramirez
David Ortiz

Bench:
Eric Hinske
Alex Cora
Jacoby Ellsbury
Bobby Kielty
Doug Mirabelli

Pitchers:
Josh Beckett
Daisuke Matsuzaka
Curt Schilling
Tim Wakefield
Jon Lester
Jonathan Papelbon
Eric Gagne
Hideki Okajima
Mike Timlin
Manny Delcarmen
Javier Lopez

Congratulations to Jonathan Papelbon for the winning the DHL MLB Delivery Man of the Year Award for 2007. He ends the two-year reign of Yankees closer Mariano Rivera.

Papelbon had 37 saves in 40 chances. He also sported a nice low 1.85 ERA and struck out 84 batters in just 58_^1/3 innings.

He was also the first person in the history of the Red Sox to record back-to-back 30 saves season.

Papelbon is one of the reasons why the Red Sox are where they are in the ALCS. Using his famous “Papelglare” to intimidate batters, he throws a nasty fastball and splitter to get batters out. Plus he does a mean Irish Jig.

The Red Sox and Indians enjoyed another day off from playing games but spent Wednesday getting in some workouts. The biggest news to come out of Boston is that Bobby Kielty will probably start in right field in Game 1 instead of J.D. Drew. The reason is that Kielty has great numbers against C.C. Sabathia. He is 9 for 29 (.310) with 4 doubles, 2 home runs and 7 RBIs. Kielty is hitless in 9 postseason at-bats. No word yet on the roster for the ALCS but I am sure that will be announced today or tomorrow and when it is, I’ll be sure to pass it along. It’s been boring without baseball but at least the NLCS starts tonight. Predictions to come later. So to keep you busy while you await our picks, let’s take a look at the headlines from the Boston and Cleveland area media on this dreary Soxtober morning.

Varitek stays productive at and behind plate [Boston Globe]

Time to shine [The Plain Dealer]

A closer inspection [Boston Herald]

Wedge sticks to rotation [Akron Beacon Journal]

Manny On A Power Drive [Hartford Courant]

Dice-K ‘comfortable’ taking Jacobs Field mound [Pro Jo]

Kielty is expecting to see Sabathia [Boston Globe]

Wedge has grown [The Plain Dealer]

Mirror images [Boston Herald]

With Wakefield, It’s Working Out [Hartford Courant]

Hard to beat Pedroia as a ball player, but he’s an easy out playing cribbage [Pro Jo]

For more headlines and stories, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Hartford Courant, Providence Journal, The Plain Dealer and Akron Beacon Journal websites.

Tim Wakefield is on target to pitch Game 4 in the ALCS for the Red Sox.

Indians catcher Kelly Shoppach is surprised there’s a lot of doubters out there about Paul Byrd.

Orlando Hudson hopes to return to the Diamondbacks if they make the World Series.

Rookie SS Troy Tulowitzki is a leader on the field for the Rockies.