NOTEBOOK World Series

Mitchell denies leaking information: Baseball investigator George Mitchell, also a director for the AL champion Boston Red Sox, denied Monday providing information for a story that Cleveland Indians pitcher Paul Byrd used human growth hormone. Before Game 7 Sunday, Byrd acknowledged using HGH after the San Francisco Chronicle reported he spent nearly $25,000 on the drug and syringes from 2002-05 — before HGH was banned by Major League Baseball. Mitchell has spent 11⁄2 years investigating the use of performance-enhancing drugs like HGH in baseball and is expected to issue a report on his findings in November or December. Byrd claims he has been working with Major League Baseball, a fact he said “shows I haven’t tried to do anything behind anybody’s back.” Baseball officials said they were unaware of Byrd’s use of HGH. Byrd would need a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) to use any drug on baseball’s banned list. However, MLB spokesman Pat Courtney said Sunday night in Boston that no player has ever been granted an exemption for HGH.

ALCS draws high ratings: Sunday night’s Game 7 between the Indians and Red Sox drew an 11.7 rating, which was 8 percent better than the 10.8 earned by last year’s NLCS Game 7 between the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets. It was the highest-rated LCS game since 2004. The series attracted an average 7.4 rating, a 37 percent increase over the 5.4 for the four-game sweep by the Detroit Tigers of the Oakland A’s in last year’s ALCS. It was the highest-rated ALCS not involving a Red Sox-Yankees matchup since 2001 (Yankees-Mariners). The Rockies’ NLCS sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks on TBS drew an average 2.8 rating for all households and a 3.3 for homes with the cable network.

Red Sox 2-1 favorite: The Red Sox are 2-1 favorites to win the World Series. “Colorado is a real Cinderella story,” said Jay Kornegay, director of the sports book at the Las Vegas Hilton. “We’re just not sure when it’s going to strike midnight.” Las Vegas oddsmakers put the Red Sox at minus-$2, meaning every $2 bet will win $1 if Boston wins. Colorado is plus $1.70, meaning every $1 wins $1.70 if the Rockies take the series.

Associated Press