Sunday night's affair went along the same lines as the previous three games, with Colorado failing to generate any offense against Boston's starter, Jon Lester, who cruised through 5 2/3 innings without allowing a Colorado run. Lester (right) allowed three hits, walked three and struck out three in a commanding performance, similar to the other three Boston starters, Josh Beckett, Curt Schilling and Daisuke Matsuzaka, each of whom worked into at least the 6th inning and earned a win.
By the time Lester left the game, the Red Sox had established a 2-0 lead, and expanded it to 3-0 on Mike Lowell's solo homer in the 7th. Lowell, who batted .375 over the course of the four games, was named MVP of the series.
Colorado got one back in the bottom of the 7th on Brad Hawpe's solo shot to right, but Bobby Kielty homered in Boston's half of the 8th to make it 4-1.
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Mike Timlin got the last out in the seventh and the first out in the bottom of the 8th inning, but after Garrett Atkins tightened the score to 4-3 with a 2-run blast off Hideki Okajima, closer Jonathan Papelbon came on to get the final five outs and clinch the sweep and send the title back to Boston.
Papelbon was magnificent in his closer role, earning saves in games 2, 3, and 4, while allowing no earned runs and only 2 hits and no walks, while fanning 3 in 4 1/3 innings overall.
Though the Rockies didn't win a game, they came close in games 2 and 4, losing both of them by a single run, but Boston's starters were much better and their bullpen a lot more effective than Colorado's. In the hitting department it was no contest. Boston batted a cumulative 47-141 (.333) in the four games, while the Rockies managed only 29 hits in 133 at-bats for a disappointing .218 batting average. Colorado led the National League with a .280 team batting average during the regular season.
Boston's starters were the story, however, allowing just 4 earned runs in 23 1/3 innings for a combined ERA of 1.55 in their four starts.
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Series MVP Lowell (right), was the ultimate hitting star in the middle of Boston's potent lineup going 6-for-16 with 3 doubles, a home run, 4 RBI and 6 runs scored. He was the only player from either squad to score at least one run in each game.
Boston has now won 8 straight World Series games and finished 2007 by winning seven straight through the playoffs and series. Their post-season record for 2007 was 11-3, having swept the Angels in the ALDS and taking 4 of 7 from the Indians in the ALCS.
Boston outscored Colorado 29-10. In the AL Championship Series they scored 51 runs to Cleveland's 32, and outscored the Angels 19-4 in the ALDS, for a cumulative post-season score of 94-46.
Spring training begins in just over four months.
In Saturday's game, the Sox got on the board early, with 6 runs in a fateful third inning, highlighted by Daisuke Matsuzaka's (right) two-run single. Matsuzaka also kept the Rockies at bay from the mound, hurling shutout ball over 5 innings, before walking Todd Helton and Garrett Atkins with one out in the 6th.
Reliever Jose Lopez came in and immediately gave up run-scoring singles to Brad Hawpe and Yorvit Torreabla before getting out of the inning.
Lopez allowed a pair of singles in the 7th and was replaced on the mound by Hideki Okajima, who was immediately blasted by Matt Holliday's three-run homer. All of a sudden it was 6-5, but that was as close as the Rockies would get.
Boston put up 3 more in the 8th and another run in the 9th. Jonathan Papelbon came on with 2 outs in the 8th and put the Rockies to rest, but not before allowing a two-out triple by Hawpe.
middle reliever Hideki Okajima and closer Jonathan Papelbon.
The Rockies got on the board in the top of the first, on a hit batsman (Wily Taveras), Matt Holliday's first of four hits, and a groundout by Todd Helton.
That was it. Other than Holliday, the Rockies only got one more hit off Schilling, who worked 5 1/3 innings for the win on 4 hits, striking out four and walking two. Okajima came on and set down seven straight batters, turning the ball over to Papelbon with 2 out in the eighth. Lights out. Papelbon allowed just a scratch single by Holliday and struck out two of the other four batters he faced.
Every Red Sox starter had at least one hit, except Jacoby Ellsbury. David Ortiz went 3-5 with a pair of RBI. Manny Ramirez (right) was 3-4 with 3 RBI and 3 runs scored. The Sox tied a World Series record with 9 extra base hits, 8 of them doubles. Youkilis and Ortiz had two apiece, Ramirez had one. Dustin Pedroia had the only homer of the night, a solo shot on the second pitch from Francis in the first inning.
It was the worst game one beating EVER.
And by the way, could FOX cram any more commercial endorsements into the game. They even had a string of them between Ortiz and Ramirez' at-bats in the opening frame. Equally annoying is the gay-ish guy getting all excited about the series in the FOX promos. He is ANNOYING!
Game two is Thursday night at Fenway Park with Curt Schilling on the hill for the Sox against rookie starter Ubaldo Jiminez. It's put up or shut up for the Rocks. Game time is around 8:20 pm ET.
David Ortiz (right) (.332, 35 HR, 117 RBI), (.387, 3, 6)
Manny Ramirez (.296, 20, 88), (.400, 4, 14)
Kevin Youkilis (.288, 16, 83), (.425, 4, 9)
Dustin Pedroia (.318, 8, 50), (.286, 1, 6)
Top hitters for Colorado:
Player (reg. season) (playoffs)
Matt Holliday (right) (.340, 36, 137), (.286, 4, 7)
Brad Hawpe (.291, 29 116), (.304, 0, 2)
Garrett Atkins (.301, 25, 111), (.185, 0, 1)
Troy Tulowitzki (.291, 24, 99), (.179, 1, 2)
Top pitchers for Boston:
Player (reg. season) (playoffs)
Josh Beckett (right) (20-7, 3.97 ERA, 194 K), (3-0, 1.17, 26)
Curt Schilling (9-8, 3.87, 101), (2-0, 3.38, 12)
Hideki Okijima middle reliever (3-2, 2.22, 63 K), (7 IP, no dec., 0.00 ERA, 5 K)
Jonathan Papelbon closer (1-3, 1.85, 84 K, 37 S), (6.1 IP, 1 W, 1 S, 0.00, 4 K)
Top pitchers for Colorado:
Player (reg. season) (playoffs)
Jeff Francis (right) (17-9, 4.22, 165), (2-0, 2.13, 12)
Ubaldo Jiminez (4-4, 4.28, 68), (11 IP, no dec., 1.59, 11 K)
Brian Fuentes late reliever (3-5, 3.08, 56 K, 20 S), (6 IP, 1 W, 4.50, 10 K)
Manny Corpas closer (4-2, 2.08, 58 K, 19 S), (8.2 IP, 1 W, 5 S, 1.04, 6 K)
Key analysis points
In the seventh, Dustin Pedroia (right) finally got to reliever Rafael Betancourt, who had only allowed one hit and no earned runs in four previous appearances lasting 6 1/3 innings, blasting a two-run homer over the Green Monster in left field, and the rout was on.
The Sox eventually plated 7 runs off Betancourt, with Pedroia again providing the big hit, a bases-loaded double in the 8th. Pedroia, who had singled and scored in the first inning, finished the game with 3 hits in 5 at-bats, 5 RBI and 3 runs. Kevin Youkilis also singled, doubled and homered in 5 at-bats. His solo homer in the 8th was his 3rd long ball of the series.
Youkilis' numbers for the series were incredible. He hit safely in every game, going 14-28 (.500) with 7 RBI and 10 runs. Though pitcher Josh Beckett was named series MVP for his two wins, Youkilis easily qualified for the award.
In the four Red Sox wins, Boston outscored Cleveland, 40-8. Notable failures for the Indians were their two headline hitters, Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner. Leadoff man, Sizemore, was 6-for-27 (.222) and just 1-7 in the final two games.
Drew (right) had the game of his life. In addition to the grand slam, he knocked a pair of singles, scored twice and drove in a total of five runs. The Red Sox banged out 13 hits off four Indian pitchers who essentially were just mopping up Carmona's mess.
This has been a series of lopsided scores. The Sox have outscored the Indians by a combined 29-6 in their three wins. Cleveland's wins have been closer, including an 11-inning affair and a 4-2 win in game 3. Their combined wins total up to a 24-11 advantage.
eventually scoring 7 runs in the frame off Wakefield and reliever Manny Delcarmen.
Blake started the scoring and ended it as well, with a bloop single to center that plated Kenny Lofton, who singled and stole second base, making him the all-time postseason leader in steals with 34, passing Rickey Henderson.
In between Blake's RBIs, the Indians scored five more runs, highlighted by Jhonny Peralta's three-run shot to right, his second three-run homer of the series.
With the Indians ahead, 7-0, the Red Sox finally got to Cleveland starter Paul Byrd in the top of the 6th. Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz hit back-to-back homers off Byrd, sending him to the showers. Manny Ramirez greeted reliever Jensen Lewis with a blast to right center for the third Boston score, but Lewis settled down and only allowed one hit after that.
Rafael Betancourt, who has been nothing short of fantastic for the Indians, pitched two perfect innings in the 8th and 9th to seal the victory and leave Boston on the brink of elimination. The middle reliever has worked 5 1/3 innings between games 2, 3, and 4, allowing just 3 hits and no earned runs.
Westbrook (right), in his second post-season start, shut out the Red Sox over the first six innings, but eventually gave way when Jason Varitek smashed a two-run bomb to dead center field. 
Lofton (right), who has made a career of playing in the postseason for a handful of clubs is in his 11th postseason overall and sixth in the last seven years. It's his third stint with the Indians.
Game 4 is Tuesday night at 8:00 pm in Cleveland. Paul Byrd will head to the mound for Cleveland against Boston knuckleballer Tim Wakefield.
Boston manager has the option of going to Game 1 winner Josh Beckett on three days rest, though the manager has publicly stated that Wakefield will definitely start game 4.
Yorvit Torrealba (right) cracked a 3-run homer in the 6th inning off loser Livan Hernandez to break a 1-1 tie while Colorado starter, Josh Fogg, limited the Diamondbacks to one run on 7 hits over 6 innings for the win.
Colorado's pitching has been exceptional during the first three games. Arizona, not noted for their run-scoring ability to begin with, has crossed the plate only 4 times over a span of 29 innings, including the 11 inning outing in Game 2. All but one run has been scored off Colorado starters. The Rockies' bullpen has been impeccably sharp, allowing just one earned run over 11 1/3 innings.
Matt Holliday homered for the Rockies in the first inning for a 1-0 lead. Mark Reynolds answered with a solo shot in the 4th inning to tie the game for Arizona.
Victor Martinez. Martinez (left) doubled and singled twice in five at-bats, also scoring a pair.
Neither of the starting pitchers, Curt Schilling nor Fausto Carmona lasted through the 5th innings, as both teams sprayed the ball about the confines of Fenway Park. Powered by homers from Jhonny Peralta (left) and Grady Sizemore, 
Cleveland established an early 5-3 lead but the Sox leapfrogged them on back-to-back jacks by Manny Ramirez and Mike Lowell in the 5th.
But that was the last the Red Sox would score, as Cleveland relievers rose to the occasion to help earn the split and send the series back to Cleveland deadlocked, 1-1.
Starting pitchers Monday in Cleveland will be Jake Westbrook for the Indians and Daisuke Matsuzaka for Boston.
Colorado 3 Arizona 2, 11 innings - Willy Taveras (right) worked Arizona's Jose Valverde for a bases-loaded walk in the top of the 11th inning and Ryan Speier shut down the Diamondbacks in the bottom frame to give Colorado a commanding 2-0 lead in the National League Championship Series.
Taveras, who hadn't played since September 9th, has started in the leadoff spot for the Rockies in both games and has been integral to their success. In Friday night's game, he doubled and scored the Rockies' go-ahead run in the 5th inning and stayed alive at the plate against the best closer in the majors to force home the winning run.
Valverde, who entered the game to open the 10th, put down the Rockies 1-2-3 in that inning, but ran into trouble in the 11th, surrendering a leadoff single to Ryan Spilborghs, and then walked Brad Hawpe, Jamey Carroll and Taveras in one of his worst outings of the season.
they displayed not only superb starting pitching from the likes of C.C. Sabathia (who will face Josh Beckett in Game 1), Fausto Carmona (right) and Paul Byrd, but exceptional middle relief by Rafael Perez and Rafael Betancourt.
The Cleveland bullpen canceled out New York's hitters in the late innings, as they did throughout the regular season to every other team in the league. Through the second half, the Cleveland bullpen was the most dominant in the majors and that momentum has carried through to the playoffs.
Offensively, Cleveland relies on solid fundamental baseball, moving runners over, stealing the occasional base, sacrificing and keen baserunning skills than Boston's power game. Their top hitter was catcher Victor Martinez, who led the team in the three most important categories with a .301 batting average, 25 homers and 114 RBI. Martinez gets plenty of people on base in front of him, especially leadoff man Grady Sizemore, Ryan Garko and late-season addition, Kenny Lofton. DH Travis Hafner provides more power and bats in front of Martinez. Hafner knocked 24 out of the park and totaled 100 RBI during the regular season.
If Cleveland has balance, the Red Sox have one of the more powerful lineups, especially in the 3, 4 and 5 slots, as Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz (right) and Mike Lowell combined for 76 home runs and 325 RBI in the regular season, despite Ramirez, 
Hawpe (right) was 9-for-15 with 3 homers and 11 RBI against Webb in 2007.
Once the Rockies had their lead, starter Jeff Francis bore down, allowing just 2 hits from the 3rd to the 6th inning. Francis, who worked into the 7th inning, allowed only a first-inning run on an Eric Byrnes double.
In the 7th, Francis ran into trouble after giving up a leadoff double by Chris Snyder and then plunking Justin Upton, but escaped when the Rockies' infield turned its third double-play of the night. After allowing a bunt single to pinch hitter Jeff Cirillo, Francis was lifted for reliever Matt Herges, who loaded the bases with a walk to Chris Young, but got Stephen Drew to fly out, ending the threat.
The controversial 7th inning double play prompted fans to hurl objects onto the field, resulting in a stoppage of play when Rockies' manager, Clint Hurdle, pulled his players from the field. Upton upended Kaz Matsui by sliding outside the basepath, and was called out for interference, resulting in the batter - Augie Ojeda - being retired as well.
Brian Fuentes and Manny Corpas worked scoreless 8th and 9th innings for Colorado.
Webb lasted 6 innings, allowing four earned runs on seven hits. Colorado added a run in the 7th off reliever Juan Cruz on a walk to catcher Yorvit Torrealba, a wild pitch, a sacrifice and an error by Diamondbacks' first baseman Conor Jackson.
Game two of the series is Friday at 10:00 at Arizona. Ubaldo Jiminez takes the mound for the Rockies against Arizona's Doug Davis.
Francis was rocked by the Phillies on Sept. 13 for 8 runs in 3 1/3 innings, and also took the Rockies' only loss during the stretch, on Sept. 28, when Arizona - and Brandon Webb (right) - beat them, 4-2.
Webb will undeniably be favored in any start against Francis and that gives Arizona a huge edge. After that, the Diamondbacks will go with Doug Davis and Livan Hernandez in games 2 and 3, while the Rockies will depend on a pair of rookies, Ubaldo Jiminez and Franklin Morales. Depending on how the series goes, Arizona could start another rookie, Micah Owings, in game 4. Owings can beat teams with his bat as well as his arm. He had 7 RBI in a game earlier this year. Overall, Arizona gets the edge on experience.
Hitting: When it comes to hitting, though, there's no contest. Colorado batted a league-best .280 as a team during the regular season, while the D-Backs were last in the NL at .250. The Rockies scored 148 more runs than Arizona, nearly 1 per game. 
For the third consecutive season, the Yankees were knocked out in the opening round and that continuing failure may cost manager Joe Torre his job. Owner George Steinbrenner said before game 3 that he would likely fire Torre if the Yankees didn't win the series.
There was no mention of Torre's future following the loss, but in the Cleveland locker room the champagne was flowing. The Indians again had victimized Yankee starter Chien-Ming Wang, pitching on three days rest, for two runs in the first and two more in the second inning. Wang did not retire a batter in the second before being replaced by Mike Mussina, who allowed the other two runs over 4 2/3 innings, when Victor Martinez singled home a pair in the 4th.
The Yankees managed to cut into the lead with solo homers by Robinson Cano, Alex Rodriguez and Bobby Abreu, but while they nearly matched Cleveland in hits, 13-12, they could not get runners home in key situations, stranding 10 runners for the game.
For the series, the most notable flops were by Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez. Jeter was 3-17, didn't score a run and drove in just one while fanning 5 times in the series. Rodriguez went 4-15, but only drove in one run on his homer in game 4. He struck out 6 times in the four games.
The Cleveland bullpen was dominant, allowing just two earned runs - both in game 4 - on 7 hits over 13 innings of work.
The Indians will open play in the best-of-seven AL Championship Series Friday night in Boston.
NY Yankees 8 Indians 4 - New York got back to Yankee Stadium and their bats finally did some talking. Johnny Damon (right) struck the biggest blow, a three-run homer in the 5th inning off Cleveland starter Jake Westbrook, which gave the Yankees the lead for good at 5-3. In the 6th, the Yankees put the game away when Trot Nixon mishandled Robinson Cano's single, allowing three runs to scamper home.
Avoiding the sweep, the Yankees possibly saved manager Joe Torre's job for another day. 
Sports Magazines
Colorado 10 Philadelphia 5 - Colorado's bats were busy, but with sluggers galore in the middle of their lineup, it was diminutive leadoff hitter Kaz Matsui - all 5' 10" of him - who did the most damage with a grand slam in the 4th inning and a run-scoring triple in the 6th, driving in five runs as the Rockies took a 2-0 lead in the series, sweeping the Phillies on their own turf. Troy Tulowitzki (right) and Matt Holliday hit back-to-back homers in the opening inning. It was Holliday's 2nd in as many days.
The series heads to Denver on Saturday for game 3, and, if necessary, 4.
Arizona 8 Chicago Cubs 4 - The Diamondbacks will be looking for the sweep when this best-of-five series heads to Chicago on Saturday. Arizona took a 2-0 lead after their hitters lit up Chicago starter Ted Lilly for 6 runs on 7 hits over 3 1/3 innings. Lilly didn't help himself any, issuing four bases on balls and only throwing 44 of his 79 pitches for strikes.
Rookie Chris Young's (right) three-run third-inning homer in the second inning gave the Diamondbacks a 3-2 lead and Eric Byrnes tripled in Stephen Drew later in the inning. The Diamondbacks led the rest of the way, extending to an 8-2 lead by the 5th inning.
Doug Davis earned the win, allowing all 4 runs in 5 2/3 innings of work. The Arizona bullpen shut out the Cubs the rest of the way and have not allowed a run over 5 1/3 innings.
NL Cy Young - Jake Peavy - When a pitcher is so dominant throughout the course of the season that he leads the league in the three most important statistical fields - wins, ERA and strikeouts - he deserves all the awards and accolades. That's what San Diego's Jake Peavy did, leading the National League with 19 wins, a 2.54 ERA and 240 strikeouts.
While Peavy's Padres didn't make the playoffs, it was hardly his fault, as San Diego fell in extra innings to the Rockies in that one-game eliminator.
AL MVP - Alex Rodriguez - This one was the easiest pick of all. The Yankees' Alex Rodriguez started the season red-hot, setting the AL standard for home runs in April with 14 (which also tied the major league record) and falling one short of the AL record for RBI in April with 34.
A-Rod continued his excellence through the regular season, topping the majors in home runs with 54 home runs and setting a career high in RBI with 156. His 143 runs scored easily led the league. The closest to him was the player who batted in front of him for most of the season, Bobby Abreu, who totaled 123. A-Rod also batted a solid .314 for the season and led the Yankees to the wild card.
A clear second choice is Detroit's Magglio Ordonez who took the batting title with a .363 average and drove in 139 RBI with 28 home runs and also topped all AL hitters with 54 doubles.
AL Cy Young - C.C. Sabathia - This was the closest call of them all, but the Cy Young award should go to Cleveland's C.C. Sabathia as a narrow choice of Botson's Josh Beckett. Sabathia led the American League in innings pitched (241) and finished second in wins (to Beckett's 20), with a 19-7 record. His 3.21 ERA was good for 5th-best in the league as were his 209 strikeouts. Nobody in the American League had a better K-BB ratio (5.65) or walks per 9 innings (1.38), as Sabathia issued only 37 free passes. There's little doubt that the Indians would not have captured the AL Central crown without Sabathia's mastery on the mound.
It didn't take long for the Mets to implode on Sunday, though, as Tom Glavine (right) gave up 7 earned runs in the first 1/3 of an inning. Glavine's only recorded out was getting leadoff hitter Hanley Ramirez on a fielder's choice at second on Dan Uggla's grounder. After that, the Marlins recorded four straight hits, then a walk and then Glavine hit opposing pitcher Dontrelle Willis with a pitch, forcing in another run before being relieved by Jorge Sosa, who gave up a two-run double by Dan Uggla before getting out of the inning.
That took the life completely out of the team and the fans, and six Florida pitchers did the rest, allowing only a first-inning run by the Mets and just five hits for the game.
The Mets implosion began on September 12, when they held a 7-game lead in the division. From that point forward, they lost 12 of their final 17 games and six of their last seven, ending up in second place, one game behind the Phillies.
Washington 1 Philadelphia 6 - With the Mets in an early hole, the Phillies only had to glance occasionally at the scoreboard to see that they had their post-season fate in their own hands. Ryan Howard (right) drove in 3 runs with a 2-run single in the 3rd inning and his 47th home run in the 8th while starter Jamie Moyer gave up just one unearned run over 5 1/3 innings.
The Phillies went 13-4 from September 13 onward to run down the Mets and capture the NL East crown, their first in 14 years.
San Diego 6 Milwaukee 11 - The Padres knew that all they needed was a win to clinch the wild card spot, but after getting off to a hot 3-0 start in the first inning, the bats went cold and the Brewers - already eliminated from the post-season - were swinging freely against Brett Tomko and four relievers, scoring in every inning from the 4th through the 8th. San Diego was denied and hours later learned that they would have to face the Colorado Rockies in a one-game playoff, Monday at Coors Field in Denver.
Arizona 3 Colorado 4 - Hands down, the Rockies win this season's drama award. On Sunday, needing a win to force a playoff with the Padres for the wild card spot, Colorado broke a 1-1 tie with a 3-run 8th inning rally. The Diamondbacks, however, scored a pair of runs in the ninth off closer Manny Corpas, before Stephen Drew grounded back to the pitcher, who fired to first for the final out.