Sox Survive, Phils Advance

John Danks kept the White Sox season alive--again--pitching 6 2/3 gritty innings to help Chicago stave off elimination against the Tampa Bay Rays in their American League Division Series. Aided by production out of the lower part of the order, Danks handed the ball over to a steady bullpen with a 5-3 lead--and that's exactly where the game ended, forcing a Game Four today. Unheralded veteran journeyman DeWayne Wise once again was an offensive force for the Sox, doubling home two runs during a three-run fourth against Tampa starter Matt Garza to give the White Sox a 4-1 lead and breathing room for Danks. The southpaw was certainly the story once again on Sunday. After tossing eight shutout innings in Tuesday's AL Central tiebreaking win over the Twins, Danks struck out seven and snatched some momentum from the Rays, who will now face Gavin Floyd this afternoon, as the right-hander looks to send the series back to Tampa for a Game Five.

The Philadelphia Phillies, meanwhile, advanced to their first National League Championship Series since 1993 with a 6-2 Game Four victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday. The Phils jumped on veteran Jeff Suppan for five runs in three innings, and will now move on to play the surprising Los Angeles Dodgers, who stunningly swept the Cubs in the other NLDS. Mid-season pickup Joe Blanton was stellar again, allowing just one run in six innings with seven strikeouts, while Pat Burrell hit two home runs and knocked in four.

So the Phillies and Dodgers will have an extended break to rest before opeing their best-of-seven NL Championship Series on Thursday in Philadelphia. I still can't get over the fact that for the second straight postseason, the offense for the Chicago Cubs absolutely failed to show up. The Cubs came into the series with the NL's best average with runners in scoring position during the regular season. However, they batted just .179 (5-for-28) in such situations this series, while the Dodgers hit .333 (11-for-33) after struggling in this category all season long. I've said it before and I'll say it again: The Cubs will never win a postseason series with Alfonso Soriano leading off and Aramis Ramirez being looked upon as a go-to hitter. GM Jim Hendry has some serious tweaking to do to this roster in the offseason, although it'll have to be done with the impending sale of the team.

Windy City Blues As Sox, Cubs Fall

The Tampa Bay Rays opened up postseason play for the first time in franchise history in style Thursday afternoon in St. Petersburg, defeating the Chicago White Sox 6-4 in Game One of their American League Division Series. The Rays overcame a third-inning DeWayne Wise three-run homer behind two Evan Longoria blasts, a solid James Shield start and another commanding bullpen outing. The atmosphere at Tropicana Field was raucous--and the place was shockingly filled to capacity. To the fans' credit, though, they were into the game from the very first pitch to the very last celebrated Rays punchout.

Meanwhile, White Sox starter Javier Vazquez continued to show manager Ozzie Guillen that he indeed is not a big-game pitcher. Guillen questioned Vazquez's ability to deliver in big games before the start of a crucial series with the Minnesota Twins two weeks ago, and Vazquez responded with a poor start. Thursday afternoon at Tropicana, Vazquez gave up six earned runs in 4 1/3 innings, putting the Sox in must-win mode early this evening when Mark Buehrle takes the hill against Scott Kazmir in Game Two.

But unquestionably the biggest story of the day is the shocking ineptitude of the Chicago Cubs in the 2008 postseason. Already trailing in the series after an absurdly poor Game One performance by Ryan Dempster, Carlos Zambrano went from dominant in the first inning to putrid in the second as five Dodgers runs crossed the plate--aided by two head-scratching Cubs errors on potential double-play balls--stunning and silenting a raucous Wrigley Field crowd. For the second consecutive game, the Cubs' offense was nowhere to be found. But the Dodgers certainly brought their clout, as Russell Martin's three-run double highlighted the five-run second, and Manny Ramirez hit his Major League-record 26th postseason homer. Holding a 2-0 lead in the series puts L.A. in an enviable position. Teams that have held a 2-0 lead in the NLDS are unbeaten in 16 series, and have gone onto sweep 13 times.

Dodgers Slam Cubs in Game One

Wow. At some point we really do have to wonder if the multiple curses of the Chicago Cubs are for real. Pitcher Ryan Dempster had been absolutely dominant at home all season long, yet he walks seven Dodgers--including the bases loaded--before James Loney belted a grand slam to absolutely take the life out of the Wrigley Field capacity crowd. The Dodgers, who won only 84 regular season games, beat the Cubs 7-2, and the North Siders now must turn to Carlos Zambrano in Game Two tonight to even up the best-of-five series at one game apiece. Dodgers starter Derek Lowe gave up a two-run home run to Mark DeRosa--and that was it. I know postseason experience is often overrated, but the former World Series champion looked in command all night in pitching L.A. to a huge Game One win.

Zambrano's Departure Concerns Cubs

Chicago Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano left last night's game after telling pitching coach Larry Rothschild that he "wasn't feeling well," according to manager Lou Piniella. The big righty went five shaky innings while pitching on seven days of rest, and one has to wonder just how not well Zambrano is feeling considering the workhorse hates to come out of any game. The 91.5 million dollar man is scheduled to be examined by the Cubs' team orthopedist today. Certainly the Cubs can ill afford any more bad news with just 23 games remaining in what has been a magnificent season, especially with co-ace Rich Harden being pushed back in the rotation. Meanwhile, the Cubs may not go anywhere even with a healthy Zambrano so long as Bob Howry is still logging meaningful innings. The veteran right-hander allowed four earned runs without retiring a batter, increasing his ERA to 5.63. The 9-7 extra-inning loss to Houston was the Cubs' fourth straight defeat, but they still hold a 4 1/2 game lead over Milwaukee in the NL Central.

Meanwhile, on the South Side of Chicago, All-Star third baseman Joe Crede left the White Sox' loss to the Indians early with another back injury. Despite having season-ending surgery last June to correct his back issues, this marks the second time this season Crede has had a setback with the back, making it likely he won't be able to contribute down the stretch this season. It also makes it likely that Crede has played his last game in a White Sox uniform.

Meanwhile, the L.A. Dodgers climbed to within 1 1/2 games of Arizona in the NL West after Clayton Kershaw pitched the club to an 8-4 win over San Diego. The win was the Dodgers' fourth straight. Of course it is still laughable that they are a game under .500.

Finally, Clemson coach Tommy Bowden reportedly called Alabama coach Nick Saban on the telephone earlier this week to ask him what went wrong with his team in its dismantling by the Crimson Tide. At least he's admitting that he needs help. It's a start.