Angels show there's no hex factor in 5-0 win over Boston  —  Torii Hunter's three-run home run and John Lackey's superb outing give them a 1-0 series lead over their playoff nemesis.  —  Don't bring any talk of a “hex” by Torii Hunter's locker.  That was the center fielder's stern message …

ALDS Game 2: Twins at Yankees  —  YANKEES  —  Pitching: RHP A.J. Burnett (13-9, 4.04 ERA regular season)  —  TWINS  —  Pitching: RHP Nick Blackburn (11-11, 4.03 ERA regular season)  —  WEATHER: Mostly cloudy and cool with showers in the forecast during the evening.

Phillies name Pedro Game 3 starter  —  Veteran of Red Sox-Yankees battles goes in pivotal game  —  Pedro Martinez, Boston's warhorse in four postseasons from 1998-2004, was named by Phillies manager Charlie Manuel on Friday to be the starter in Saturday's Game 3 of the National League Division Series in Colorado.

Eastern League Top 20 Prospects  —  To be eligible for a league's list, a pitcher must have thrown 1/3 inning for each team game or have made 20 appearances (10 in short-season and rookie-level leagues).  Hitters need one plate appearance for each team game.

Why C.B. Bucknor is not a good umpire  —  How you know he's a bad ump:  —  1. Umpires that are in consistent spats with coaches, players.  —  Both coaches and players, for the most part, understand the job is hard as hell while hoping they (the umpires) know it's the height of competition, adrenalin and testosterone during a game.

Pop Quiz  —  Over the years, many Baseball Prospectus staffers have been hired away by major-league teams, which is a source of pride for us.  We've gained a reputation as being a source of bright, dedicated people whose approach to baseball can be of considerable value to front offices …

A.J. Burnett gets advice from Andy Pettitte as he prepares for first playoff start … RELATED CONTENT  —  Video: Yankees beat writer Marc Carig and columnist Steve Politi preview ALDS Game 2  —  Politi: Matsui keeps getting big hits, but are his days in Pinstripes numbered?

Ninth-inning nightmare  —  October 8, 2009 — Cardinals left fielder Matt Holliday is unable to catch a fly ball off the bat of Los Angeles' James Loney for an error in the ninth inning (Chris Lee/P-D)  —  LOS ANGELES — What couldn't happen did happen to the Cardinals Thursday afternoon.

LA finalizes Garland trade, deals Abreu  —  Infielder is player to be named in Aug. 31 pact with D-backs  —  ST. LOUIS — The Dodgers finalized the acquisition of Jon Garland on Friday, sending switch-hitting infielder Tony Abreu to Arizona as the player to be named in the Aug. 31 trade.

Phillies' Manuel keeps everyone guessing; more notes (cont.)  —  Game 2 hero Yorvit's inspiration is his son  —  Yorvit Torrealba's two-run home run off Hamels gave the Rockies a 3-0 lead in Game 2.  But no matter what happens in the NLCS, Torrealba will continue a daily tradition that began this summer.

Towers moving on after time with Padres  —  Former GM in no rush to find new job after dismissal  —  You ask Kevin Towers, the ousted general manager of the San Diego Padres, what happens now, and he has a quick, one-word answer: “Exhale.”  —  Towers says the word and you can all but sense …

Peterson confirms interest in Brewers job  —  Rick Peterson honored the code of silence imposed by Brewers general manager Doug Melvin and declined to say whether he had interviewed to be Milwaukee's next pitching coach.  But Peterson didn't hide his strong interest in the job.

White Sox talk new deal with Scott Podsednik's agent  —  Carlos Quentin healing, Dewayne Wise heads to free agency  —  NEW YORK — The White Sox and the agent for Scott Podsednik held a preliminary discussion this week with the aim being to bring the leadoff hitter back to the South Side.