Division Series better as best-of-five; new Nasty Boys

The Indians needed four games to dispatch of the Yankees, but they could just as easily have done it in three. Al Bello/Getty Images

World Series Coverage   Monday John Donovan: Rox, Sox built to last Albert Chen: Ellsbury an unlikely hero Joe Sheehan: Scenes, notes from clincher Red Sox celebrate World Series victory Sunday Sox clip Rockies 4-3 to win World Series John Donovan's Report Card for Game 4 Jon Heyman's 15 Greatest Mr. Octobers Lowell takes home Series MVP honors Dynasty in the making for Red Sox? Clock strikes midnight for Rockies' ride Time.com: Red Sox are the new Yankees Saturday Red Sox down Rockies 10-5, take 3-0 lead John Donovan's Report Card for Game 3 Tom Verducci: The Sox are superior John Donovan: The Coors Field factor Jon Heyman: Four keys to Game 3 Friday Melissa Segura: Corpas gets his wish John Donovan: Rockies' lumber slumber Jon Heyman: How the Sox got Beckett Joe Sheehan: Electric night at Fenway Thursday Schilling, bullpen shut down Rockies 2-1 John Donovan's Report Card for Game 2 Tom Verducci's five cuts for Thursday Albert Chen on the Red Sox's bullpen John Donovan: Rockies turn to a rookie Joe Sheehan: Postseason drama lacking Tale of the Tape: Rockies vs. Red Sox World Series Fungoes Joe Lemire on Rockies-Red Sox Schedule/Box Scores Game 1: Red Sox 13, Rockies 1 Game 2: Red Sox 2, Rockies 1 Game 3: Red Sox 10, Rockies 5 Game 4: Red Sox 4, Rockies 3

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Some observations from what was a brief Division Series round:

A best-of-five format is enough for the first round.
Only one of the four series was not a sweep, and that may have only been because of Eric Wedge's slow hook with Jake Westbrook in Game 3. Otherwise Indians-Yankees is probably a sweep too. In the past three Octobers only one Division Series went to a decisive Game 5 -- Yankees vs. Angels in 2005. Of the 12 first-round series in that span, six were sweeps. Of the 52 first-round series since 1995, 20 were sweeps, 19 ended in Game 4 and 13 went the distance.

It's easy to argue that small-sample sizes make any postseason series a crapshoot, that just because a team prevails in a short series (five or seven) it doesn't mean that it is the better ballclub. Maybe so. But we don't have all winter to play a best-of-50 for each round. The goal is to crown a champion at some point this month, or no later than Nov. 1, the scheduled date for Game 7 of the World Series.

Besides, is there anyone that thinks the best four teams didn't advance in their respective first-round matchups this year? (And last season, too.) There has only been one comeback from a 3-0 deficit in baseball history, so suffice it to say that the teams that got swept would not have been aided much by a best-of-seven format. And after watching the Yankees and Indians for four games (and the regular season, during which the Indians had the better overall record), I'm comfortable with the idea that Cleveland is the better team from top to bottom. Maybe New York could have come back from 3-1, but what chance would you have given the ace-less Yankees of toppling C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona in succession just to get to a Game 7?

Just because the NBA and NHL decided to go with best-of-sevens for their first rounds, it doesn't mean baseball needs to follow suit. Besides, a shorter series has inherently more drama right from the start. There's no time to waste getting settled in when the series can turn on a dime, and winning Game 1 is of paramount importance. It wasn't too long ago that the LCS was a best-of-five -- 1985 was the first year the league pennants were decided on a best-of-seven format. So let's keep the first round a first-to-three.

They are the Baby 'Backs no more.
One benefit of building a team with youth is that those young players often get better as the season goes along. Shortstop Stephen Drew's OPS was .759 in September, his best month of the season; back in May it was at .590, his worst month. Center fielder Chris Young's OPS improved by 119 points from the first half (.704) to the second (.823). Third baseman Mark Reynolds batted .319 with 31 RBIs from Aug. 1 through the end of the season.

The Indians relievers are the new Nasty Boys.
Rafael Perez and Rafael Betancourt, who combined to allow one earned run in eight innings against the Yankees, give the Indians a mighty lefty-righty combo to navigate the rough middle-to-late innings. Anyone who wants one of these guys to replace Average Joe Borowski as the nominal closer is missing the point: Wedge can use his two best relievers to get out of tight squeezes in the sixth, seventh or eighth innings -- the high-leverage situations -- and then let Borowski start fresh in the ninth with no one on base.

The Rockies' 'pen isn't far behind.
Deposed closer-turned-setup man Brian Fuentes, castoff LaTroy Hawkins and new closer Manny Corpas did not allow an earned run and struck out seven batters in 6 2/3 innings against the Phillies. Corpas saved all three games. It's no October fluke, either. Check out the park-adjusted ERA+ of the Colorado's top four relievers this season: Corpas 229, Fuentes 154, Hawkins 139 and Jeremy Affeldt 135. (ERA+ is basically a pitcher's ERA relative to the rest of the league; 100 is average, anything above is good, below is bad.)

Kelly Shoppach has an acting career waiting for him.
He deserves an Oscar nomination for Monday's dead-on impersonation of a batter getting hit in the hand while attempting to bunt. Best Supporting Actor nods should go to the training staff for carrying out the fake all the way through. (Did you notice the lack of any welts on Shoppach's hands when he took off his gloves and TBS zoomed in?)

Daisuke Matsuzaka is the weak link for the Red Sox.
He had six days of rest prior to his Game 2 start against the Angels and couldn't make it out of the fifth inning against that popgun attack. And this was after he posted a 7.14 ERA in his last eight starts of the regular season. Seven of the Angels' 19 hits and three of their four runs scored all series came against Dice-K. At least Boston's bullpen should be well-rested with horses Josh Beckett and Curt Schilling going in the first two ALCS games. If the series goes seven, though, it looks like Matsuzaka will be the guy.