AL East

It's safe to say that there is a lot of pressure on Alex Rodriguez going into the ALCS.

Last year, some of us got all googly-eyed at the potential of seeing a World Series where Manny Ramirez would go against the very same team that traded him just a few months prior. It had all the makings of the perfect media circus.

But then it never even happened.

With Major League Baseball down to the final four teams of the Yankees, Angels, Dodgers, and Phillies it seems the Vegas bookmakers have the most faith in the manager with the least experience. The VegasInsider.com has the New York Yankees as an even money bet to win the 2009 World Series despite the Yankees having a skipper who has never managed in the World Series. The odds for the final four teams are the following: Yankees (Even), Angels (3/1), Dodgers (3/1), and the defending champs Phillies are (5/1).

It seems like every hero gets a second chance at glory.

Rocky got another kick at the can, John McClain came out of retirement to kick some ass, and even good old Ma$e decided to return to the rap game. So why not have one of the most prolific Blue Jays return to claim his rightful throne? King Carlos, consider this your invitation back to Toronto.

In November of 2002, no one knew who Theo Epstein was. He was this 28-year-old kid who made history becoming the youngest to serve as a Major League Baseball General Manager, hired by the Boston Red Sox.

A strange thing happened to me a few weeks ago during my stay in Cambridge, Ontario. While enjoying a nice dinner out at Applebee’s, I noticed what appeared to be a Blue Jays shrine at the back of the restaurant.

Something caught my eye the other day while surfing the Internet—an interesting piece of sports gossip I had yet to come across.

This article said Boston Red Sox All-Star left fielder Jason Bay currently lives about 15 minutes from Safeco Field.

On the record, let me say that Bay is most likely staying with the Sox, who have a better record and a pair of recent titles compared to the Mariners' lack of a World Series appearance.

The cool thing about the postseason is that teams that advance to the next round can adjust their roster, for whatever reason—maybe someone gets hurt, maybe someone is better against one team than another.

With the ALDS over, the Yankees can now construct their ALCS roster.

This roster will largely remain the same—the differences come down to basically whether or not, against the Angels, you want an extra pinch runner or an extra arm out of the bullpen.

If you are a New York Yankees fan, you have to start feeling like there is a lot of late '90s magic going on with this team.

When I say magic, I am not talking the clutch hitting from Alex Rodriguez or the brilliant pitching by Andy Pettitte.

I am talking the egregious umpiring that always benefits the Yankees (Joe Mauer call in Game Two), teams and players making bonehead plays they would normally not make (Nick Punto last night), and even when the Yankees make a bad play, it somehow working out in their favor (Robinson Cano misplay leads to an out last night).