Hilarious. Read the Article and think of the 7-1 beating Kansas City gave to resident asshole Kurt Schilling and the Sox.

"Opening Day fever: As anticipation bubbles near and far, Sox set to bow in."

By Dan Shaughnessy, Globe Staff  |  April 2, 2007

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Red Sox are the baseball Beatles. They are Elvis. They are American Idols. Also Dominican Idols and Japanese Idols.

They are national cover boys and top draws of ESPN and Fox. At this hour they have more star power than any American sports team (yes, even more than the Yankees), and they are gaining on Club Steinbrenner with the second-highest payroll in all of baseball, a whopping $145.7 million.

Sometimes it's hard to remember the Red Sox finished in third place last season, failing to make the playoffs for the first time since 2002.

Read on here: http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2007/04/02/opening_day_fever/

In a good natured bet on the air with a gay wrestler on Howard Stern's wrap-up show on Friday Artie Lange made a bet that if the Mets advanced further than the Yankees he would have to make out with Blue Iris a 60 something year old woman who does old lady porn.  

Poor Artie, you'd think the Yanks would have done something more to help a big fan out.

Well, I can tell you from watching the A's beat the pitiful Red Sox tonight (4-0 so far) that Boston is about as sorry right now as I can ever remember seeing them.  Ortiz was out, Manny was sitting on the bench joking around (with negative medical tests), and many more either are hurt or just flat out suck.  I know the Yanks played a bit shitty on the West Coast, but theres nothing more satisfying than watching the Red Sox struggle more and more.  

What a wonderful feeling.  I've noticed a lot less Red Sox hats and shirts being worn around...good riddence bandwagon jumpers!!! HAHA.

So, by 1:30am the Yanks should be up 7 games in the East.  

Now, bring on the Tigers.

There have been rumblings that the A's are trying to trade Zito before he becomes a free agent, since there is no way they are going to sign him.  Supposively, the Yanks and Mets are the favorites to sign him if he becomes a free agent.

I would sign him without blinking... ditch Wright and pick up the closest thing to Andy Pettite (minus a few years) that there is.  He hasn't been consistent lately, but he's a great pitcher...

This is one thing the Yankees need, a second lefty, with experience who isn't 43 years old.  May have to wait till next season though...

This is a really dumb topic, but did anyone hear about Billy Wagner coming out to save the Mets game yesterday to Metallica's "Enter Sandman"?

...pretty pathetic on the Mets and Wagner's part.

Mike and the Mad Dog were talking about it yesterday...saying that Wagner is a huge Metallica fan, he had a bad childhood, etc...wah, wah (as Artie Lange would say).

Can't he and the Mets pick another song?  That's pretty gay, are they going to start playing "New York, New York" after their games (or do they already do that?)?

Can't wait till tonight, hopefully Moose can pitch 6 to 7 decent innings and the Bombers can tee off against Harden who they hit pretty well last year.

But, doesn't that suck that every other team played at normal times on opening day...most early yesterday but the Yankees fans had to wait until 10pm till first pitch.  Good scheduling Bud, ESPN...at least they aren't opening at 5am in Japan this year - that was retarded.

In a good move, at least in my eyes, Cashman pulled Sheff aside today and told him not to worry about the Yanks passing on his $13 Million option for next year.

See yankees.com for the article.

Sheffield may be getting older, and a little crankier, but he is still one of the most dangerous hitters I have ever seen.  He plays harder than most rookies do.  Lets face it, he is extremely valuable to the Yankees.  He has had some injuries and pain that have affected his fielding a bit, but this is not a guy you want to let go.  I'm happy about what Cashman did today.

I know some of you would want Sheff gone for a younger player.  But, at least give him this year and next year...he has earned it, and unless injuries keep him from performing you guys won't be sorry about this move.

LOWELL, Mass. -- (AP) A minor league baseball team in Massachusetts has launched a campaign to eliminate the Yankees.

Well, at least in youth baseball leagues across New England.

The Lowell Spinners say if Little League and other youth leagues agree to change the name of their Yankees teams to the Spinners, they'll pay for the new uniforms.

The Spinners are a Class A affiliate of the Red Sox, archrival of the Yankees.

Spinners' general manager Tim Bawmann says children in New England are often devastated when they are assigned to be on a team called the Yankees.
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This is hilarious!  How insecure are people in Massachusetts?  They have to try to eliminate Yankee teams from little leagues....hahahaha.  Pathetic.  Who's raising these kids?  

If its a joke, its funny, but I think these guys are for real, which is even funnier.

.....article is from espn.com
I have a suggestion, why don't they just donate uniforms or money for uniforms to a certain number of little leagues, that way they could be spending productively in the community - not just to out a Yankee team in each league.

I know we've been talking about this year's team for months now, espcially after Cashman's moves with the bullpen and Johnny Damon.

But just look at the Yankees.com assessment for the starting lineup, pitching rotation and key bullpen arms.

The biggest difference; Cano at second base and Damon in center.  And lets not forget Giambi is BACK.  That makes 3 huge additions to the lineup for opening day this year.

There are really only two players who batted less than .291 in the lineup and those players are Posada and Bernie.

Also enough cannot be said about Chacon and Wang.

Maybe I'm just itching for the season to start and looking optomistic but this team is a head above the 2005 Yankees, who were picked to win the Series before spring training.

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060131&content_id=1304098&v key=spt2006news&fext=.jsp&c_id=nyy

John Harper of the Daily News says the Red Sox are the American League East favorite, for now.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/story/373280p-317340c.html

What the hell is he thinking?  First of all the Red Sox don't even know who any of the thier four starting infielders are.  

Thier pitching staff is questionable, who knows what Clement or Shilling can do.  Wells is gone. Beckett is not an ace, he's decent but not a 20 or even a 15 game in the bag winner.  Who's going to be thier 5 starters?

Manny is, for the most part gone, whoever they replace him with won't be half the hitter he is (no protection for Ortiz...walk his fat ass).  Johnny Damon might be gone as well to the Yanks, as the Red Sox are notoriously thrifty, but if they want him maybe the Yankees can at least drive his price up before he resigns with the douche bags.

They also let Mike Meyers go...to the Yanks.  Keith Foulk and Mike Timlin have not been great as of late.....

How can anyone predict the Red Sox to win the East right now?  Just because they made a few trades and got Josh Beckett?  Comeon man....wake-up.

On the other side...the Yankees know what they have apart from center field and maybe one or two more middle relivers, and what they have now is pretty damn good.  Without Manny in Boston, the Yankees have, with no question the most dangerous and powerful lineup in the Amercian League and maybe the Majors.  

The Yankess have a plethora of starting pitching with the additions on Wang and Chacon.  Aaron Small is a good option for long and middle relief.  Myers and Farnsworth pitched exceptionally well last year.....etc.  And the Yanks have Mo, probably the greatest closer ever coming off his best season.

Am I the only one who finds this article complete shit?

Kelly Stinnet who was backup catcher on the Diamondbacks with Randy Johnson in 1999-2000 was signed for $650k for one year.

Will he catch Randy?  Who knows....I hope the Yanks don't sit Posada that certain number of times just so they don't have to pay him more (some bonus in his contract for this year)...that would be really cheesey and cheap...something the Red Sox or Marlins would do.

"I congratulate the Angels and their manager on the great job they've done. Our team played hard, but we let our fans down. Our fans are the greatest in the world and I want to thank them for their amazing support throughout the season. We will do better."

I don't know if you guys like George or not, but no other owner takes winning and losing as personally as he does.  I like him and would not want any other person running the Yankees.  I know he is hard on Joe and Mel, but they are big boys and they can take his pressure.  Mel is leaving, Torre isn't going anywhere.

We'll see if Cashman stays or goes to Philadelphia.  I hope he stays, his moves with Cano, Small, and Chacon alone have shown again he knows what he is doing, even if all of the moves (he doesn't make all of them, Tampa has more to do with the Yanks moves than most know and the result is that Cahsman bears the brunt of cricism for bad moves) don't bear success.

The Yankees need a few things:

1. Trade for Torii Hunter who is in the last year of his contract with Minn. (Juan Pierre is ok, but not a stud like Hunter)  Or sign Johnny Damon, if the Red Sox mess around and try to low ball him.
   
2. Resign Matsui and Gordon. (and Bernie to DH and come off the bench)
   
3. Fill up the bullpen with real talent around Rivera...B.J. Ryan will most likely be in pinstripes next year, Billy Wagner will most likely sign with the Phillies, but we'll see.  One of these guys will probably be taking Mo's spot after he retires.
   
4. Keep Wang, Chacon, and Small.  These guys have done better than most of the entire rotation from earlier in the year.  Wang and Chacon are 25 and 27 respectively they will be around for a long time....Small is 32 or 33 but pitching the best of his career, he will be valuable next year.

Pavano and Wright may be able to contribute, but we'll see.  Go get 'em George

Is it me, or does no one give the Yankees any credit?  It seems as though every "expert" is choosing the Angels over the Yankees, abeit in 5 games.  I'm not saying the Yankees are going to win, but doesn't the best record in baseball after the 1st 30 games mean anything?  Doesn't the Yankees lineup warrant something?  Boston may have scored more runs, but the Bombers lineup is much deeper and more dangerous.  

Jeter, A-Rod, Giambi, Sheffield, Matsui and Cano are some of the best hitters in baseball right now.

Posada has been fairly hot lately, Bernie has been hitting very well lately and in the post season.  

The Angels don't have too much offense this year besides Vlad's power and Figgins' speed.  Garet Anderson is hurting, Troy Gluas is gone, laying in a swimming pool somewhere in Arizona. Cabrera is decent, but he played above his head in Boston last year.  Finley, Erstad, and both Molinas aren't bad but are not great...(although these guys have hit some homers against the Yanks this year that I can remember).

Colon is a Cy Young candidate, and has been pitching well.  But, he is a fastball pitcher that throws hard.  Sheffield is especially dangerous when anyone throws hard, unless Colon can establish a good offspeed approach to Sheff, which still usually doesn't stop him.  Anyone remember a certain Yankee hitting 3 homeruns and 10 RBIs in 3 at bats in one game off of Colon this year?  I do.  So, Colon has his work cut out for him in the two games he will face the Bombers.  

The other Angels starters are decent (Washburn, Lackey, etc.) but there are no other aces, the Yankees lineup should be able to hit these guys.

The Angels bullpen is pretty good especially with the addition of Kelvim Escobar.  But the Yankees had beaten closer Francisco Rodriguez a few times late in close games this year...he is no Mo.

The Yankees bullpen is fine as long as the starters can go at least 7 innings.  Gordon has been pretty good and Mo has been awesome.  Leiter and Embree are a little scary but Leiter is fine as long as he doesn't nibble, and Embree well I have no idea what he has to do except to get better location (i.e. don't throw the ball in the middle of the plate).  Look for them to come in to face one or two lefties at a time and nothing more, hopefully.

The Yankees will win if they can get decent starts from Mussina.  Wang, Johnson, and Chacon should be fine....Mussina is the only questionable starter in my eyes.  Torre and Mel must have some reason for their confidence as he would have pitched Sunday if he had to audition for the playoffs.

I predict the Yankees in 4, they will split in Anaheim (not LA, dumbass Angels owner) and win 2 in the Bronx.

This team is more hungry than than in previous years, scratching and clawing thier way back into first place in the final week of the season.  The team should have more satisfaction on winning the division because of everything they overcame and realized that it is not a given to finish in First just becuase you're the Yankees.  Now, they simply have to do what they have been doing for the past three weeks....win, win, and win....11 times that is.

There's nothing like getting ready to watch a Yankees v. Red Sox regular season game with so much on the line.  Oh, wait, I can't 'cause FOX bought the rights to the game and they are not showing it...why? In the Philadelphia market.  The Phillies don't play till 4pm.  Who knows..its bullshit.  I have MLB.TV and MLB Extra Innings and the game is on National Blackout...just f'ing great.  This is the kind of crap that Bud Selig needs to address, but nothing will be done.  But, I had to bitch about it...there's no excuse for this.

Has anyone heard the rumors about the Yankees possibly getting Jr.? There was an article today from Cincinatti that scouts from over 17 teams were eying up anything and everything the Reds have since they stink and thier owner seems to have given up for a human firesale.  Griffey said he would waive his no trade clause if he were going to a contender, since he wants a World Series ring, and that he is tired of seeing his father's 3 rings.  

The Red would have to eat part of his contract but the rest would be left to the team he goes to.  Now, the Yankees seem like the only team who could afford to do a deal like this...plus George loves proven veterans, the only trouble here is that Griffey gets hurt more than any other player, besides perhaps Kevin Brown.

So, I guess we'll see.  Although he is prone to injury, he would not be a bad fill-in to the gaping hole in the outfield, not to mention add one of the best hitters in the past 15 years to an already ridiculously powerful lineup (but with Sierra's injury Griffey might have an even better chance to come to the Bronx).

How about Giambi hitting his 3rd homer in two games (writing in the 2nd inning).  I didn't realize this but he hit over .300 in June.  Hopefully he can keep it up and get his average up to something like .290, he's at about .260 now.  The Yanks could really use his support and maybe just maybe they can keep it going this time instead of riding the 2005 roller coaster.

The Post has speculated about a possible trade between the Yanks and Mets including Sheffield for Mike Cameron and others.  I don't know about how well I feel about that but if Sheffield is the one to be traded, they better get something on par with the MVP value that Sheff has.  I would be sorry to see Sheffield go, not only is he one of the Yanks who never seems to dissapoint but he plays harder than almost any baseball player I have ever seen.  He  made himself a true Yankee in less than one season last year and I'm sure many would like to see him play out the rest of his years in pinstripes.

Mike Cameron is a good outfielder who would fit nicely into center with the Yanks, but I can't see that as a fair trade (unless you count age, but it doesn't seem like Sheff will be using a walker anytime soon) especially since the Mets don't have much pitching to give up.  On the other hand, say for instance if somehow Barry Zito and Mark Kotsay could be dealt for Sheff and some prospects (not Cano or Wang maybe Duncan), it would make his departure a little easier.

Oh, and the Post also mentioned that Posada and Gordon could be available to trade...no comment.

With the media and many fans so bitterly pessimistic about Randy Johnson and how he was not performing like the pitcher that the Yanks thought they were getting, got a shot of reality yesterday in a dominant performance on national television on Saturday.  Remember, Randy has been pitching in a dome and then the desert for much of his career, I don't think his arm is used to pitching in cold weather but now its getting warmer at night and if Randy can continue to bring even a portion of what he brought to the mound Saturday he should be just fine.

Stop being so down people, he is still Randy Johnson.

This is the kind of performance the inconsistent Yankees need form thier pitching staff and hopefully Torre's toungue lashing on Friday will motivate others to follow.

4 losses in a row.  I'm sorry that is in-excuseable.  Especially 2 in a row against the Royals.  The Yanks better pick it up...or else.  Can't they score more runs than that?  Come on, play like you guys have something to prove like the three weeks before (16 wins 2 losses).  The team is really good but, what the hell does it take to motivate them?  Should they get strippers in the clubhouse after every win?  I don't know...the Yanks need to regain the fire that they had last year, and many previous seasons....

I know I'm not alone with the bad taste in my mouth when I think of Clemens retiring, the Yanks giving him a great send off....Clemens assuring that if he was  going to continue it would be in pinstripes...then, what?  He's pitching for Houston?  Thats great for him, but I still feel like he turned his back on the Yanks...

Anyone else agree?

Well, It wasn't against the Red Sox...but who cares.    I have no complaints about A-Rod right now.  He is the player everybody expects (but, thats just my opinion).  

With the Yanks down 2-3 A-Rod hit the piss out of the ball into left-center for a two-run, go ahead homer...helping the Yanks sweep the Tigers and go ahead of the Red Sox into 2nd place after the Sox played another crappy game.

Lets hope the Yanks can take 2 out of 3 this weekend, and with Johnson, Pavano, and Mussina on the mound for the series, it looks good.

Kevin Brown, AKA the man with the glass hand gave another strong performance that wasn't great but good enough with the Yanks clutch hitting and new confidence from the last two-plus weeks.

Ok, Pavano did not pitch good today...but, A-Rod cost him at least 5 runs with his errors.  The muffed double play (which was followed by a strikeout) in the first led to a Sexton 3 run homerun.  His misplay later on led to a 2 run homerun.  But, it doesn't matter..they won again.

Tino seems to really have felt bad about his errors against Oakland last friday that pretty much lost the last game before the winnign streak started, since he has homered in five straight games...I forgive him.

I heard Torre joke that he was going to send Tino to a minor league game tomorrow on the travel day so he could stay hot and get some swings.

I know this is obvious, but has anyone commented recently on how good Sheffield is as a hitter this year.  I can see improvement in his swings and at-bats in general now with a healthy shoulder, even after his runnner-up MVP 2004 season.  No one hits the ball that hard, no one...has any pitcher or scouting report ever said "DO NOT THROW FASTBALLS TO SHEFFIELD" or is everyone as dumb as I think they are?  

The Yankees actually have a winning streak going, which is somewhat refreshing since this is the first time thay had won more than two games in a row.  The team has not looked great in the last four games, but they have at least looked like the "Yankees."  They seem to have gathered some confidence on the mound and at the plate...which is something they completely lacked after the first Boston series.  Even the rookies contributed today, Wang pitched a great game and Cano had two hits and two RBIs.  Cano looks like he is actually a very good fielder despite the bad throw on a double play last week in that dreadful Tampa Bay series, and it appears as though he has some power at the plate.

Also, how much can you say about Tino (forget the errors in the loss to Oakland) he has hit 6 homers in 7 starts (in one week...thats more than A-Rod had last week).  Its great to see him playing well, even though Giambi is lost in space.......

Seven good innings from K.B. was nice to see, especially after that horrible Tampa Bay start.  It looks like he'll be around a little while longer, and if he can pitch like that, get out of jams, decent control, and contained emotions he might be ok.  Lets all hope.

Rich Hardon is a tough pitcher, nice to get a win off of a quality starter like this.  Maybe "the worms are turning" as Jim Katt was syaing.  

Lets see if the Big Unit can get some run support tomorrow and actually get a three game winning streak going.  Go Yanks.

The Yankees looked like the team we all know and hope still exist today...excellent starting pitching, great defense, good productive at bats, smart baserunning, and hitting with runners in scoring position.  That's how they have to play, and start winning series, there is no need for a 15 game winning streak (although it would be nice).  We'll see if they can win the series against Oakland tomorrow if Kevin Brown wants to keep his job at least for another week.

I'm not giving the Yanks an excuse for playing so lousy but the way the ball bounces and rockets off of TB's turf is ridiculous...I've seen many games on crappy turf especially Philly's old park...but this surface is crazy...the ball even hops up really high on the dirt...am I alone in this thinking?

I cannot remember the Yankees playing this bad in a long, long time...(at least since Don Mattingly retired).  I agree that Joe needs to go...there's nothing there...they are dead on the field.  Its really depressing to see the Devil Rays beat the Yanks like this (writing in the 4th inning).  I am still rooting and watching every game waiting...for the team to wake up....

Kevin Brown actually pitches half decent (not good but ok) and the Bombers hit like Pedro Cerrano in Major League 2, "He's left a small village on base tonight..."  Any team should win when you get that many baserunners on as they did tonight...I see seeds of last year...except this year there has not yet been any fire under their asses to comeback in a game (they had over 60 comeback wins last year which made up for shitty pitching) but I have not seen that yet at all...it seems as though they can win when they get ahead first but if they fall behind by more than 2 runs...they fold...lets hope they can turn it around.

Well, at least RJ pitches tomorrow...although it won't matter if the offense can't score more than one run.

Its funny how 12 games has everybody worrying about the Bombers.  Last night was an example of how no one can predict what is going to happen in a baseball game...13 runs in one inning. "A-Rod is slumping"...."Hes not a Yankee"...in one game he doubled his homeruns and RBIs going 5 for 6 raising his average 60 points to .300.  Listen, I know the pitching hasn't been great.  But, they will be fine, they are going to win over 100 games, they are going to win the East, the American League Pennant, and hopefully the World Series.....