As Barry pointed out last week, Taco Bell -- my favorite arm of the Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) empire -- introduced a "Steal a Base, Steal a Taco" gimmick wherein free crunchy beef tacos (one per customer) would be handed out if a base was stolen in the 2007 World Series. Thanks to a speedy move from Boston Red Sox rookie center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury, free tacos are on the table.

There are, of course, some catches. The offer must be redeemed between 2:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. local time tomorrow, October 30. And the deal is valid at participating locations only.

The site advertising the Free-Tacos deal, however, could use some updating. It closes with "Watch the 2007 MLB World Series Live on FOX." As fans of the national pastime already know, the Red Sox again nabbed the World Series trophy in a four-game sweep of their opponents. (They committed the same offense against the St. Louis Cardinals in 2004). Colorado Rockies fans should be entitled to two tacos as a consolation prize, but the bitter taste of defeat might have a negative effect.

Meanwhile, at YUM, regular tacos currently run somewhere around 89 cents to 99 cents a pop, depending on the market. That's a lot of free ground beef, cheese, and red sauce, even for a 3-hour window. I'm assuming YUM officials are counting on most free-taco bandits also ordering other menu items, or a drink.

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

Baseball is heating up big-time, and the biggest story of the year, if not the decade, is the success of the streaking Colorado Rockies. A month ago -- a month ago! -- this team was in fourth place in its six-team division. They were given up for dead and out of the playoff hunt.

The Rockies went on to win 14 of their last 15 regular season games, and a one-game playoff versus the San Diego Padres to claim the National League wild-card in the playoffs. They beat San Diego to advance to the divisional series, and went on to sweep the Philadelphia Phillies in three games; then they swept the Arizona Diamondbacks, four games to none in the National League Championship series. They will face the winner of the Cleveland Indians-Boston Red Sox American League Championship series (Go Indians -- up 3 games to one!! My hometown team!!) in the World Series. The Rockies have won an unbelievable 21 of their last 22 games. But their greatest gesture was done with class and quietness.

Back on July 22, coach Mike Coolbaugh of the Rockies' Double AA minor league team, the Tulsa Drillers, was killed by a line drive to the head. It was a totally freak accident, as he was hit on exactly the right spot that could cause death. Its never happened in baseball before. Mike Coolbaugh was coaching first base when the tragic accident happened. Coolbaugh, only 32 years old, left behind a widow and two young sons. A revered coach with a passion for the game and its players was so senselessly lost.

News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch is probably too busy plotting world domination to spend much time worrying about something trivial like baseball -- until now.

America's pastime is about to start post-season play, most of which will be televised on the company's Fox television network. Already, there was one huge surprise as the Philadelphia Phillies overtook the New York Mets to win the National League East. But this isn't the type of surprise that the media mogul probably likes because a team from a smaller media market beat one from a larger one.

Remember that last year's series between the St. Louis Cardinals and Detroit Tigers had record-low television ratings. Advertisers pay a premium price for television spots on the World Series because of the huge audience it attracts. Fox probably has guaranteed that the commercials will be seen by a set amount of viewers and must refund money to advertisers if these targets aren't hit.