Seventeen Years in the Waiting

You know how long it's been since the Sox last swept the Yanks at Fenway? In that series, they started Chuck Cary, Andy Hawkins, and Mike Witt. Who would probably match up pretty well against Pettitte, Karstens, and Chase Wright, but anyway. The Sox hit .363 in the series.

It was a great series, and not just because the Sox swept. Friday and Sunday were classic Yankee-Red Sox games, and after a rocky beginning, Josh Beckett looked like guy we saw in '03.

Matsuzaka and Schilling struggled, and I wasn't expecting that. I certainly wasn't expecting the Yankee bullpen to perform as badly as they did. Rivera's performance reminded me of 2001, with Coco Crisp's triple bringing echoes of Tony Womack. On this blog last year, I predicted that Crisp would be better than Damon, so you know damn well I'm rooting for that to be a turning point. And Proctor did not make a good case for being Rivera's successor, giving up a 3-run homer to Mike Lowell. I love how Lowell was a salary-dump throw-in in the Beckett deal last year, but has come a long way since his abysmal '05 campaign.

And I don't wanna hear the Yankees bellyache about injuries. You still have the highest payroll in the game. Get a little depth. Josh Phelps is your big bat off the bench? The Yanks have fallen mightily since their bench had Glenallen Hill, Jose Canseco, and a bunch of needles on the floor.

- So I'll enjoy this sweep. At least till this coming weekend.

After Mariano

No, no, no. I'm not saying he's done yet. I'd be a fool to say that. Yes, his location was horrendous Friday night, but it's only April. The same way I'm downplaying A-Rod's heroics by saying it's only April, I'm downplaying Rivera's struggles. I'm being consistent. So this is a speculative piece.

What I'm wondering is, who will step into the closer role after Rivera? At 37, it's hard to imagine him pitching for much longer. I'd give him until '09, maybe. Then again, Trevor Hoffman (not to be confused with Travis Hoffman) looks ageless out there. But who will attempt to fill Rivera's shoes?

My pick? Scott Proctor will be the next Yankee closer. Joe Snorre loves hard throwers, and Proctor has proven he can handle New York. He's nowhere nearly as good as Rivera, but he's gotten out of a few big spots over the last year or two.

I don't see the Yankees attempting to get an established lights-out guy like Joe Nathan or K-Rod from the free agent market. First off, with more parity in the game, and in Nathan's case, a new ballpark coming soon for the Twins, more young guns are getting locked up long-term early in their careers.

Also, the closer position is probably the highest-pressure position in the game. Not just in New York, but in any market. Look at what's happened to the once-dominant Byung-Hyun Kim and Brad Lidge. Seeing the way those guys have been traumatized from giving up big hits makes me respect Rivera for surviving Sandy Alomar, Gonzo, and '04. Additionally, the fact that Rivera has stayed cool in the pressure-cooker of New York makes his legacy all the more impressive. So I think the Yanks will have a very hard time finding something they can be sure will be an effective closer in New York, a guy who can face the media and the boos after blowing a 6-3 lead.

But the day will come when Rivera and his abilities will go the way of Bernie Williams. Maybe that day has come. And it'll be very, very interesting to see who Ca$hman and Snorre decide to use instead. And I'd be surprised if that new closer will be a big-name free agent.

- I've got a lot to say about the Yankees-Red Sox series, but I'm going to hold off until after tonight's game. Let's see if Chase Wright can prove John Sterling isn't totally nuts.

A Walk Year to Remember

A-Rod is looking like Babe Ruth right about now. More home runs than 8 teams? Unbelievable.

Maybe in years past, A-Rod's home run binge would've driven me crazy. But not this year.

First off, it's only April. For Yankee fans, baseball season might as well be one month long - October. After all, the Yankees' track record in April-September from 2001-2006 has been excellent -they're the only team to win a division title annually in that span. But the month following has been a failure. And the month following is why Yankee fans are hungry.

A-Rod will never get the love he wants from Yankee fans until he hits in October. Jeter has the Jeffrey Maier homer, the Jeremy Giambi play, and other big moments going for him. A-Rod, on the other hand, has a record of futility in the big spots. Even after this torrid stretch, I'm sure 9 of 10 Yankee fans want Jeter, not A-Rod, at the plate in a World Series with the game on the line.

The better A-Rod plays, the more money he can command next year. In a way, I'm rooting for A-Rod to have a sizzling regular season. And his usual lousy postseason. Like this, he'll want out of New York, but will command such a high price that the Yankees won't re-sign him (especially with Ca$hman cracking down on the budget). Now, some may argue that his postseason record of futility will drive down his price. I don't think so. I can see the Angels, Cubs, and other say that out of the New York spotlight, A-Rod will be able to come up huge in a big spot.

So let the Yankee fans enjoy A-Rod's run. Because it might be his last hurrah in Yankee pinstripes.

- Before the season began, I thought the Indians would be this year's version of the '06 Tigers and '05 White Sox: a team with talent coming off a mediocre year, and then putting it all together. But they looked as awful as the Phillies this past series.

- This is the first year in a while where I'm much more interested in Yankees-Mets than Yankees-Red Sox. Maybe I still have negative associations from last August's disaster. But I'm looking forward to Josh Beckett's outing (.159 BAA in three starts this year). Saturday's start will be his biggest test so far in '07. If he can regain his '03 form, then the Red Sox have to be the favorite in the AL.

Slow Down, Sterling

I was listening to the game for a short while last night, and Sterling and Waldman couldn't shut up about how good Chase Wright was. The kicker was when Sterling said "it looks like he will factor into the Yankees plans for years to come."

I've long since learned not to take Sterling seriously, but this is ridculous. Anyone remember Sam Militello? In 1992, he made his debut for the Yankees, and gave up one hit in 7 innings against Boston. They were raving about him. He ended up winning just 4 games in the big leagues.

Besides, I didn't think Wright's start was anything special. Granted, he got the win, but he gave up 3 runs, 5 hits, 3 walks, and had a Leiter-esque 104 pitches after 5 innings. A good debut, but nothing to go crazy about.

For all I know, Chase Wright might turn out to be a solid pitcher, and have a great career. But let's wait until we have a larger sample size before making that determination.

- Kei Igawa goes tonight, facing Jeremy Sowers.

Still Sweet

Why have I not posted in months? I'll 'fess up. I liked the direction the Yankees were going in, and didn't like where Boston was headed. I thought Cashman was smart in trading Sheffield, Jaret Wright (on the DL again), and Randy Johnson for young pitchers. And I hated the J.D. Drew deal, and wasn't so sure about Dice-K. I also didn't like the fact that the payroll gap between the Yanks and the Sox shrunk from $80 million to about $20 million. It's hard to argue that the Yankees are ruining baseball; aside from the Nationals, Royals, Orioles, Devil Rays, and Pirates, it looks like every team has a shot at the playoffs. And even if you argue that they're still messing up the game, the Red Sox aren't much better anymore.

But when Mariano gave up that walk-off homer to ex-Met Marco Scutaro, I felt that feeling again. That pleasure in seeing the Yankees lose, especially in such dramatic fashion. Once you're a Yankee-hater, you're always a Yankee-hater. I used to think Mariano was a rare classy Yankee, but he acted like a jerk this spring. Hey Mo, keep giving up homers to .050 hitters and maybe the Devil Rays will come calling next winter.

- The Yanks are in trouble, and they're lucky that Toronto just got hammered by injuries. I'm not surprised by the injuries to the Yankees' pitching staff. With Pavano, you knew it was only a matter of time. And Mussina, too. The guy is 38 and has had a few DL stints over the past couple of years. The Wang injury was arguably more unexpected, but remember that the guy missed a few months in '05 and a year-plus in the minors to injury.

- And one stupid move by Ca$hman was signing Igawa. Everyone knows that was just a dumb reactionary move to counter the Dice-K acquisition. At least Dice-K probably has the stuff to be an ace. Igawa has the ability to be the Yankees' version of Gil Meche.

- Even though many of the names have changed, these are still the Yankees of A-Shmuck, J-E-ter, Johnny "Traitor" Damon, Juice-on Giambi, Joe Snorre, John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman. Still pretty hateable, I must say.

Ca$hman Insults Bernie

The whole way the Junkees have handled the Bernie Williams situation is a disgrace. They're offering him a minor league deal, an invitation to Spring Training.... WTF?

If you want the guy, give him a contract and make him either the backup first baseman or the fourth outfielder. If you don't want the guy, then tell him listen pal, it was a great run, we appreciate all that you've done, but frankly, we have no use for you anymore, so good bye and good luck.

Instead, they create this assinine situation. So Ca$hman looks bad for leaving the guy hanging all this time, and Bernie looks bad because he hasn't ruled out playing, but he hasn't showed up either. Hey Williams, s--- or get off the pot! And now he leaves on bad terms, proving once again, that Jerome from Manhattan was right - Brian Ca$hman is a buffoon.

Yankees Will Sign Zito

It makes too much sense. They could always use another starter, and perhaps they're keeping things quiet so that other teams don't drive up the price. Nobody expected them to sign Johnny Damon last year, so maybe this is their new approach.

No MVP for Captain Intangibles; Yankee Fans Cry Foul

Are the Yankee fans' favorite football teams doing that badly that they have to keep bellyaching over the MVP award going to Justin Morneau? Your guy A-Rod won last year. Do the Yankees have to win the MVP every year, the same way they buy the AL East pennant every year?

And on a $200 million team, you have to really stand out to win the MVP. The Yanks still had Damon, Posada, and Giambi putting up excellent numbers this year. So let's say Jeter was injured. The Yanks still had enough to beat the Devil Rays and Orioles. And the way the Red Sox nosedived, they had enough to beat them, too.

And besides, as I've mentioned earlier, the key to the Yankees' 2006 was getting Bobby Abreu. After they traded for him, they got hot, the Red Sox fell apart, and the Yanks had an easy trip to the top of the division.

And I know that Morneau also had a pretty good supporting cast, with Mauer and Johan Santana. But take Morneau out of that lineup, and there's a big difference. Aside from Mauer, nobody really scares you. Torii Hunter and Michael Cuddyer did pretty well, but again, you have to factor Morneau's presence in the lineup. If he gets on base, they get pitched to differently. Maybe Mauer's average would've been lower without Morneau behind him.

I guess when you can't buy a series win in October, you have to harp on the MVP voting.

Sheff and Wright: Gone!

The Yanks have done some housecleaning over the past few days, trading away Sheffield and Jaret Wright.

I don't know much about the guys they got in return (although Chris Britton will probably work 95 games this year, knowing Joe Snorre), but I've got to give New York credit for getting rid of those clowns.

Both Sheffield and Wright were disappointments. Sheff never came through in a big spot in October, and Wright's lousy performance was overshadowed by the utter disaster named Carl Pavano.

Knowing the Yankees, though, I don't see this as a shift in approach, or as an attempt to infuse the organization with some youth. This just gives the Yanks a chance to sign more big-name players.

Crapshoot Crap

In today's New York Post, Joel Sherman tells Mets fans not to be as down as the Yankee fans, because the postseason is about luck. And you'll hear Yankee fans make the same excuse. Detroit got hot, Anaheim got hot, Florida got hot, it's the same thing every year.

I thought Joel Sherman took a turn for the worse when he thought Texas would trade A-Rod for Jeromy Burnitz, but he's beat that with today's stupidity. Surprisingly, Rob Neyer has good piece about how it took more than luck for the Cardinals to win it all.

Well, it's the same thing every year, Sherman, but there's a pattern. Let's start from this year, and work backwards.

One benchmark for a good playoff team is how they hit with runners in scoring position. You won't get as many opportunities against a playoff team than you will against the Royals; the key is utilizing every opportunity (and Mets fans will tell you just how good the Cardinals were at doing that).

So here are some Yankees batting averages for RISP in the postseason:

2006- Cano: 0-7, .000
Matsui, 0-4, .000
A-Rod, 0-2, .000
Yankees team RISP: .179; Detroit: .323

2005 - Sheff 2-11, .182
Matsui 1-7, .143
A-Rod 0-3
Yanks team RISP: .222; Angels: .366

2004, ALCS G4-7
I couldn't get the RISP splits for these games only, but I got this:
A-Rod and Sheff combined for THREE hits those four games. Pathetic.

2003
Posada 5-23, .217
Giambi 2-16, .125
Aaron Boone 2-11, .182 (Hey, he still has more big hits as a Yankee than his successor, A-Rod)
Yankees team: .228

2002
The Angels batted .396 with RISP - enough said.

2001 - WS
I'm not gonna bother with the RISP splits here. This was about the Yanks hitting .183 overall, led by Jeter (.148), Knoblauch (.056), and Justice (.167). Good job by RJ and Schill.

Aside from 2002, the Yanks have lost because they cannot get the big hit. They've lost because their big players haven't come through in the clutch. Or in some cases (like in '04), they haven't come through at all. This is no crapshoot, Sherman. This is a pattern that's been pretty consistent the past few years.

Ultimately, the Yanks need guys like Sojo, Spiezio, Brosius, and Mark Lemke. Guys that aren't sexy names, but guys that get the big hits in October. Because Sheffield isn't getting the job done, Shemp has failed, Posada's been inconsistent, and we've all heard about A-Rod.

But I don't care. Let the Yankee fans think it's luck. And let's watch them get "unlucky" every ALDS for years to come.

More Of The Same? Bring It On

Seems like every year after the Yanks get knocked out of the playoffs early, we hear about George's "big changes" coming. But those changes never come. As Fred Hickman would say, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

After 2001, George thought the hitting sucked. Okay, bring in a big star, HGH-man Giambi. After '02, George needed pitching. Another big name, Jose Contreras. And Shemp Matsui to boot. After '03, the Yanks needed more offense. Call in Sheff and A-Rod. After Vazquez and Brown and everyone else choked, it was time for pitching, and big money for Wright, Pavano, and the Unit. And after the Yanks got shut down by Ervin Santana, it was time for Damon. And later, Abreu.

The fantasy team gone wrong is in full bloom. Maybe there's a Wang and a Cano to break up the monotony, with a little Phillips or Cabrera occasionally in there too. And Craig Wilson getting a start every three weeks. But this is the superstar team. The team that beats the crap out of the Devil Rays and Orioles, and does nothing in October. The team that can beat the NL All-Star team, but can't make it to the NL team in the World Series.

You would think George would try to build a team that worked, a team with guys like Brosius, Sojo, and the others that made the dynasty possible. I think this is why Jeter doesn't like A-Rod; the guy knows what types were needed to win in New York, and he knows A-Rod doesn't have it. And neither does most of the team, for that matter. When Jeter says you can't compare these Yankees to the old ones, those are his true feelings coming through.

But instead, it looks like A-Rod and Sheff are here to stay. Will A-Rod continue to be miserable in NY? Will Sheff continue to play first and make Mike Piazza look good? Will Snorre continue to be a lousy motivator in October?

So far, yes, yes, and yes. Bring on '07!

Let The Complaining Begin

It didn't take long, and I knew it wouldn't. I know Yankee fans all too well. After the controversy erputed over the substance in Kenny Rogers' hand, the Yankee fans are complaning. "It's not fair, Rogers was cheating when he beat us, we would've won the series otherwise."

First off, why is Rogers' win any less legit than Jason Giambi's homers? But anyway. We don't know if it was dirt or pine tar. And we don't know if it was steroids, HGH, or something else.

Also, many pitchers use the stuff. That's one of the reasons that LaRussa didn't make a big deal over the issue; he didn't want any of his guys doing it. And, a little speculation here: maybe a substance like this has something to do with the break on Mussina's knuckle-curve? If Rogers was guilty, he did a lousy job hiding his evidence. I'm sure many other players have done the same thing as Rogers, just less conspicuously. Even Todd Jones admitted to using pine tar.

And surprisingly, Joe Snorre didn't cry foul over Rogers' possible cheating. I've got to give Snorre credit here; one of the few times he's said something sensible (see the NY Post article here):

Asked if his hitters commented about Rogers doing something funky, Joe Torre said they didn't. "He would need something more than something on his hand to pitch the way he is pitching," Torre told The Post. "He is pitching his tail off. I don't know what he is doing. I certainly think his ability to get people out far surpasses anything else. But nobody came back and said anything to me about the ball cutting. To me, the difference in Kenny is that he is throwing strikes."

So at the end of the day, Snorre is right. The Yanks lost fair and square. And Johnson's performance certainly didn't help the cause, by the way.

Update

So Clueless Joe is sticking around, huh? Excellent. Hopefully they'll keep A-Rod around too, and build another great regular-season team.

Still Clueless After All These Years

Joe Snorre’s finest moment as Yankee manager came a long, long time ago. A decade ago, in fact. It was in the World Series, after Torre’s team got killed in the first two games, and looked all too much like those other teams the Yanks would later face, looking like the '98 Padres, the ’03 Marlins, and the ’06 Tigers. Teams that were happy just to be playing in October, and not minding how things would turn out. Teams that were heavy, heavy underdogs. Joe Snorre’s Yankees needed to be tinkered with, they needed a change. So it was Tino out, Fielder in. Boggs out, Hayes in. And the two did pretty well the next few games, as the Yanks won four in a row against a team featuring Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz in their prime. We all sat and laughed at the Daily News headline from November ’95, “Clueless Joe.” Wow, they were way off with that one!

After a small bump in ’97, it was smooth sailing for Snorre in ’98. He didn’t need to make a move; just fill out the lineup card and everything turned to gold. In ’99, he heroically battled cancer, and his team coasted to another Series. Same for 2000. For those few years, anyone could’ve managed the team. Bobby Valentine, Dallas Green, even Buck Showalter. The team was coasting.

You look at some of the great teams of the past few years, and you can see how a manager can change the way a club plays. Jack McKeon in ’03 turned a listless Marlins team into World Champions. There were no major trades that year. Just a new manager who got much more from his players than Jeff Torborg. You look at what Ozzie Guillen did last year. And look at what Jim Leyland has done with a franchise that had turned into perennial losers. After 1996, what did Snorre do? Did his presence really make a difference? The guy had competitors in the clubhouse, guys like O'Neill, Pettitte, and Brosius, who wanted to win.

And after the third championship in 2000, the wheels came off. Once Nelson left, Torre couldn’t run a bullpen. He would have his one trusted arm work tons of innings, and then be shot come October. Whether it was Karsay, Gordon, Quantrill, Sturtze, or Ron Villone (and perhaps Rivera in 2001), Torre was about as good as Art Howe (who had a big Dave Weathers fetish) when it came to running a pen. And Snorre became an arrogant crybaby, complaining about every umpire that had a small strike zone or any opposing player that slid hard into one of his infielders.

And Snorre’s ineptitude, later highlighted by Rob Neyer, came to a head in the 2003 World Series, when he used Jeff Weaver in an extra-inning game. While Rivera sat on the bench, Weaver gave up a homer to the mighty Alex Gonzalez. (By the way, how cool was it to see Yankee castoffs Weaver and Kenny Rogers pitch great games in the Division Series this year?)

And all the intangibles of praise heaped upon Snorre, all that “calming influence,” didn’t help a whole lot in the 2004 ALCS. Even the presence of Joe Snorre couldn’t prevent the biggest collapse in sports history.

Maybe Snorre deserves credit for turning the nosediving 2005 team back into contenders. Perhaps it was more Brian Cashman, who got lucky with Chacon and Small, who had career years in ’05. Whatever it was, Joe Snorre could not wake up his sleeping bats against an Angels team whose ace went down in Game 5 of the ALDS.

And this year, Snorre again has outdone himself. Sheff was right on about this one. What the hell was Snorre thinking putting A-Schmuck in the 8th spot? A-Schmuck is no Reggie Jackson. He doesn’t need a swift kick in the butt. For a guy like Snorre, a guy whose modus operandi has been grace under pressure, putting A-Rod in the 8th spot screamed out “Panic!” And using Jaret Wright screamed out “we’re done!”

And so the team with the highest payroll in the game by $80 million, a team with about as big a payroll as the other AL playoff teams combined, has not been the #1 team on the field since 2000.

So I hope the Yanks keep Snorre. He’s great for PR, great for an interview, great for the “Mike and the Mad Dog” spot. But he doesn’t help his team win championships. At least not for the past decade.

Who Saw This One Coming?

I still cannot believe it. I haven't been this shocked since those magical days two Octobers ago.

After my last post and the events of the past few days, I keep comparing this year to last year's Yankee debacle, and this year's is so much better. Last year, even though New York was the favorite, you had a feeling the Angels would beat the Yankees. They still had so many pieces of the '02 team that had manhandled the Yanks: Erstad, Molina, K-Rod (the first one), Garret Anderson, that you had a feeling they could once again prevail. And of course, in '05, they had Vlad Guerrero, too.

But this year, the Tigers have so thus far done a great '05 White Sox imitation. They limped into the postseason, and look shellshocked in game one. Then, the tables turned, and their pitching turned it on. And turn it on they did. Against the 2006 Murderer's Row. Against the team with an all-star at every position. Against the team with the .342 #9 hitter.

I was reminiscing with someone last week about how everyone was so horny over the '98 Yankees lineup, saying that even the #9 hitter, Scott Brosius, had batted .300 with 90 RBI. And Cano put the guy to shame this year.

And with a lineup like that, you had to figure the Yanks' pitching, behind Wang, Mussina, and Rivera, could pitch well enough to win.

Didn't happen.

- Another thing that makes this year stand out - the Mets' success. The Yanks came roaring into the postseason, and the Mets looked shot, especially once Pedro and Duque got hit with injuries. Unlike the Yanks, however, the Mets' bats have shown up, and perhaps those bats can carry Maine, Glavine, and Wagner to the promised land. Not to mention that Minaya has done a much better job at building a bullpen that Cashman. And more importantly, Randolph is much smarter when it comes to using him pen. For simply blowing out Quantrill, Sturtze, and Villone, Joe Snorre should get the axe. And I'm sure Scott Proctor will be all too grateful to George.

Randy Johnson Deja Vu

Where have we seen this before? The Yankees come into the ALDS as favorites, win game 1, and then struggle in Game 2. The team keeps failing in the clutch. They get bested by a superior bullpen. A-Rod can't buy a hit. And starting game 3 is Randy Johnson.

It's just like 2005, except this time Aaron Small is working at Wal-Mart.

Of course, those Angels didn't have Kenny Rogers.

Whatever it is, this is the first time since before the second Boston Massacre that, as a Yankee-hater, I'm excited. The Yanks are gonna keep getting hits, make no mistake. The key is to keep the runners stranded. Easier said than done, and a guy like Johnny Damon will occasionally jack one out of the park. But with a little help from A-Rod and Cano, the Tigers should be okay.

And I'll be rooting for some deja vu all over again.

Any Way You Look At It You Lose

I was kinda frustrated that the Yanks are playing the Tigers in the first round. I thought the Twins, with Santana for two games, had what it takes to upset the Yanks in a short series. But the Tigers have been struggling over the past month, and their pitchers look spent. I think the Yanks take Detroit (or as Fred Hickman would say, the Bengals) down in 3.

And let's say the Yanks win it all. Will Yankee fans even be happy? Chances are, they'll just be relieved. When your expectation year in and year out is to in the World Series, and you meet those expectations, what's the big deal? Think about the Tigers fans. Their team exceeded expectations. That's something to get excited about. That's what makes it worth being a fan, what makes it worth rooting for a medicore team through thick and thin. But meeting expectations? It makes you satisfied, but there's no thrill there.

And when you're a $210 million behemoth with an all-star at every position, how enjoyable is winning it all? When what turned your season around was getting Bobby Abreu and his $16 million contract for nothing? Is there any good feeling there? Any excitement? Why should there be any - when your payroll is $80 million more than the next team, you should be whipping everyone's butt on a nightly basis!

And if the Yanks don't win it all, there will be a sense of big, big disappointment. We've seen that sentiment for every year since 2000, much to my delight.

For me, the thrill of someone else upsetting the Yankees never gets old. The thrill of a Josh Beckett, an Ervin Santana beating the Yankees never gets old. The thrill of seeing Dave Roberts and Luis Gonzalez ruin the Yankees season never gets old. Better yet, seeing A-Rod ruin the Yankees season. Let's hope we get that thrill once again.

The Playoff Possibilities

So much for a Yankee-free October. Haven't seen that since Buck Showalter was wearing pinstripes and the Yanks only had two or three all-stars on the whole team. But which team can be the 2005 Angels of this season? Let's find out:

TIGERS - The big surprise team, making the playoffs for the first time since the juiced-ball year of 1987.
PROS: Good offensive players in Carlos Guillen and Magglio Ordonez. Excellent pitching staff; their top four starters (Rogers, Verlander, Robertson and Bonderman) all have ERAs under 4.00. And that bullpen: Zumaya and Rodney are huge, and Todd Jones reeled off 37 saves this year. Leyland's been a big x-factor.
CONS: Kenny Rogers. Also, Verlander has been shaky of late; is the workload catching up to him? Finally, none of the hitters really scare you. Does seeing Curtis Granderson up in a big spot rank up there in the "oh shoot" factor? Not at all. And the Moneyball-heads hate the fact that the Tigers don't walk a lot.
OVERALL: Yanks can easily beat these guys. Rogers will get his butt kicked, Verlander will get worn out from throwing all those pitches at a patient Yankee lineup, and the Detriot bats can easily get cooled off by Wang and Mussina. If Detroit can keep the games low-scoring and close, like 3-2 or something, they'll have a shot.

A's - Moneyball rules again.
PROS: Zito and Haren are solid starters, though not anything close to the 2001 version of this team. Harden and Loaiza have been hot lately. Frank Thomas (38 HR) and Nick Swisher (34 HR) give this team their best home run threats since Giambi and Tejada of that year. The Yanks would not want to see the Big Hurt in a big spot. Bullpen is pretty good, with Calero, Duscherer, and Huston Street at the end.
CONS: Since the Beane era began, the A's have never won a playoff series. Like a true Moneyball team, the A's don't run; their catcher, Jason Kendall, leads the team with 11 steals. Don't hold your breath waiting for any Dave Roberts moments.
OVERALL: I think the A's can turn an ALDS series into a 5-gamer, but will they finally have what it takes to put them over the top?

TWINS -So many of us counted them out early on, but what a run they've mounted.
PROS: Minny had the best team average in the AL (.288), with some help from Mauer (.349) and Morneau (.322). With Morneau's 34 HR and Hunter's 30, there's more power here than in years past. Santana is probably the best pitcher in the AL, and is huge for a short series. Neshek, Juan Rincon, and Joe Nathan provide for a very good pen. And historically, the Twinkies have always had a big home-field advantage.
CONS: Rotation is questionable after Santana; Radke is pitching with heart now, and not much else. Losing Liriano was a big, big hit. Offense can be spotty. Haven't been able to beat Yanks in past ALDS.
OVERALL: It wouldn't surprise me if they beat the Yankees. It wouldn't either surprise me if they win one Santana game and don't stand a chance the rest of the series.

More and More

What a bad year to be a Red Sox fan. On top of everything else, ex-farmhand Anibal Sanchez throws a no-hitter. I'd imagine it would be ten times worse for a Met fan if Scott Kazmir threw a no-no, but considering Josh Beckett has pitched like Victor Zambrano this year, it was painful to watch.

No Manny, No Ortiz, No Playoffs, No Interest

Someone asked, why no updates. What's there to say already? What an August it was for Boston. My good friend Floyd (yes, the one who coined the nickname "Junkees) has been a Mets fan for years. For a while, he stopped following baseball in August. Floyd would move on to football (he's a huge Giants fan) and pursue his other interests. Why? Because the Mets literally made him sick, the way they would collapse every summer. He couldn't watch them, and that was that.

The saving grace of the '06 baseball season for me has been the success of my fantasy teams. And seeing the Tigers and Mets do so well. But as a Red Sox fan, this is just another year you file away and forget about. And for the past month, my interest in the team has waned considerably. What's there to say already? The injuries and a bunch of mistakes by Theo have killed the team. And the turning point for the Yankees was them getting Abreu and Lidle for nothing. Abreu is no Raul Mondesi. They've been red-hot since then, and they're gonna be in the playoffs once again.

And on top of everything else, hearing the news about Lester (and coming after Papi's health woes) was simply depressing. And something like that really takes your mind away from the game. Get well soon.

-- Everyone making a big deal about A-Rod's recent success ought to shut up. The Yankees have unofficially clinched the division. For the millionth time, when there's no pressure, A-Schmuck is an MVP caliber player. When the Yanks were struggling in the wild card race a few months ago, A-Rod was nowhere to be found. Now that they're 8 and 1/2 up, he's Reggie Jackson.

Let's wait and see how A-Rod does in the ALDS. That'll show us whether A-Rod has gotten used to New York, or whether he's still another Mr. May.