Daniel Cabrera.

How do you walk 6 batters in one inning? Even Kevin Brown didn’t do that! And now as second inning starts, he throws three pitches right down the pipe, and Loretta blasts it for a ground rule double. No, I will not be like a Red Sox fan and watch other team games, wishing they would lose. My team is good enough.

Forget the Red Sox for a second, I was surprised how many analysts predict the A’s to win the AL West. That’s awesome news. The last thing the Yankees need is see the Angels again in the playoffs. We just can’t beat them. They are like woodpeckers, they peck and peck and peck, and eventually an entire tree falls to the ground. They bleed you with countless singles. Whatever, the A’s have Frank Thomas and Milton Bradley, they’ll beat them. And I have confidence in the Red Sox to take the Wild Card. Please, if another Red Sox fan complains "How do you know we won’t win the AL East.." I’ll puke. You didn’t win it last year. Or the year after that. Or the year after that. Guess what? You won’t win it this year. Papelbon is your close. Let’s see how the youngster does in the postseason when the pressure mounts on his shoulders. Whatever. He’s no Rivera, he’s just a kid. So let it rain. Let the White Sox take the AL Central. Let the A’s take the AL West. We were 2-2 against the White Sox, and quite frankly, I think we can handle them. The A’s, no matter if they just defeated the Yankees 2 out of 3, we’ve beaten them before, twice. And ofcourse, the A’s GM, Billy Beane has said publically "My **** doesn’t work in the playoffs!" The whole moneyball concept doesn’t take you too far into the postseason. As evident to the A’s amazing success in the regular season, and total flunk in the postseason for the last 5 years.

Well Cabrera leaves the ball game, wow you hear the AL East is loaded, from the powerful Yankees offense, to the immense young talent the D-Rays have. I guess Baltimore is the worst team here. It looks like an easy win for Boston, so we’ll have to win a ball game today. I’m not concerned we’re one game out. Last year we were in first place for a total of 3 days, and you all know how it all ended. The Yankees MUST defeat the Angels. Must prevent them from making the playoffs anyway possible. Just a couple more hours till the Yankees game start; and so does the Lakers game. Against the suns? Expect Kobe to have another monster night.

Wow Matt Clement looks like to have the another easy win. Boy that kid is the Red Sox version of Carl Pavano. He can’t handle big games, while as Pavano just can’t handle any games. Can you say Pussycat?

It’s always hard to accept. The first L of the season. I don’t care if your team starts out 15-0. But this one had loss written all over it. I had bad feelings about this game even more the season started. For some reason, I don’t trust Mike Mussina. He has that hated ability of give up leads as soon as he gets them, and then hold off the offense until he’s out of the game. My brother just woke up, asking the outcome of the game. We lost buddy!

Here it is, my Optimist Report. I will provide these reports after every loss, so be sure to come back. I’ll tell you what’s good with the world, not what’s bad. Speaking of bad, as much as I love Joe Torre for handling all the different personalities, I know for a fact he’s no where near the best in-game manager in baseball. Torre is the best off-field manager in the game. This notion proved correct yet again today. Myers came in. Did his job, getting two batters out. Torre plugged in flamethrower Kyle Farnsworth to get Big Frank Thomas out, and Farns did what he was suppose to do. An great job of pitching and getting out the ultra dangerous Thomas.. hey the Yankees bullpen actually looked good. That satisfaction faded away as midnight drew closer and closer. The A’s threw their best, Huston Street. I knew Cano and Jeter were both 0-2 against the kid, and Damon had not faced him. Street did his job, after giving up a hit to Damon. Now, here I was, waiting for Mariano Rivera to come out for the 9th so this game could go into the overtime but who do I see? Scot Proctor. What? Yes. Okay I understand the A’s threw their closer because after 9 innings the home team can never have a save situation– okay so Rivera doesn’t come out. I guess Torre was waiting for the Yankees to get the lead. Fine with me. But what was Farnsworth doing wrong? The man pitched great, yet he was pulled out for a guy who struggled all year last year. Not to mention that, he had just joined the team after his new born daughter was "seriously ill". The man wasn’t in the right state of mind to pitch a 3-3 game in the 9th inning. Everybody remembers last year’s bullpen failed in part to Torre’s reluctance of trusting anyone other then Tom Gordon and Mariano Rivera. Anyone who gave up a run, was shelfed for weeks. With that in mind, if Torre wanted someone out there– why not put Proctor in the 7th.. or even 8th. Put Farnsworth in the 9th. Why would you go from Myers to Farnsworth ..to Proctor? I guess he’s the manager, he knows what he’s doing. Maybe he wanted to kid to have a chance. Hey, it’s a long season. Even great teams that win 100 games lose 62 of them. This game was up and down for each team.. and the Yankees just ran out of innings. Well, here’s the good and the bad on today’s loss.

The Good

I’m loving the Johnny Damon era. This guy works the counts, gets the hits, and is actually doing what he did against us all these years. Who figured? I won’t be quick enough to say I trust him like I trust Jeter on big spots.. but he certainly possess a confidence and game that has made Jeter famous all over the majors.

Kyle Farnsworth and Mike Myers. Farnsworth hit 99 MPH on the radar gun and got a HUGE out in the 8th. Myers also looks awesome. These two people should pitch in game 3 of the series, since they only faced a couple batters each.

Alex Rodriguez. Yes. Even though he left 5 people on base.. this guy is hitting and hitting and hitting some more. Even the great clutch hitters have bad days with men on base. Yesterday A-Rod’s grand slam made the score 3-0 to 7-0. The slam threw all the momentum in the Yankees favor. Opening day Grand Slam to take deter the home team’s confidence, pretty clutch if you ask me.

Small ball. Jeter bunting, Cano bunting– I really support Torre for this decision. You just cannot wait for the 5 run home run. We’ve been waiting for 6 years, it still hasn’t come.

The Bad

Proctor. I’m not going to say it again, but the guy needs to pitch tomorrow if the Yankees have a comfortable lead.. so he knows whatever happened yesterday, was yesterday. No point in sitting him around for a week so he dwells on that performance all week. But please, the 9th inning should belong to either Myers, Farnsworth, or Rivera. Proctor belongs in the 6th or 7th at best.

These 10pm starts are driving me crazy. But baseball is baseball. Glad to see no harm done with today’s loss as Boston lost big against Texas 10-4. Wakefield got bombed yet again. I’m telling you, you can only get so many miles out of one mediocre pitcher! Hanley Ramirez had 3 RBIs and looked great in his first multi-hit game. Renteria is not doing so bad as well. Tsk Tsk, bad front office moves. But hey we lost too. But remember, we’re on the road and we’re facing one of the top 4 teams of the American League. If we finish this road trip 4-2, or even 3-3 I’ll be content. We face another tough team, the Angels but I expect us to have heavy hearts in that series, and we’ll do well in Anaheim. Then we have Kansas City at home.. which should be fun. We just faced one of the best pitchers of the American League, R. Harden. Kansas City, I don’t think so.

It was pitiful. Simple as that. I for one think the World Baseball Classic is a great idea. I try to not be too American– you know how Americans can get. There are other leagues out there other then MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, etc. Team USA consisting of superstar NBA players lost to the Italians in the last Olymics, and now today the same happened in Baseball. It always perplexed me because I always suspected there are teams out there in Japan, Cuba, The Dominican Republic– that could take down an American baseball team. The World Baseball Classic proved this notion. Wake up America! So what happened? Okay let’s examine what in the world happened and whose at fault. Now what’s really hilarious in all this is that I’ve actually heard a couple individuals say "America didn’t REALLY lose in the WBC, we didn’t really play. We had a second rate team out there, the real American players can bring down any team out there any day of the week". So again, we go back to the question, whose at fault. The real players who are at fault are Roy Halliday, Mark Buehrle, Roy Oswalt, Barry Zito– need I continue? Where was Todd Helton, a career .337 hitter who has over 10 years under his belt? Why was Vernon Wells out there? No knack at the guy, but is that the best we can do? Where was Billy Wagner? Why was Al Leiter pitching? Where was Barry Bonds when you really need him? Okay nevermind Bonds, but you get the point.  Alex Rodriguez came through, and finished with a .333 average, including a game winning single. Ken Griffey looked like he wanted to hit a 5 run home-run every time he was up. Vernon Wells was a painful out more then once in this short tournament. Boo to all those players that refused to play in the classic. If you love your country, stand behind it. I guess it just goes to show you, as Dominican, Japanese, and the rest of the teams have their players standing behind them, the American players are selfish as usual. I’ve even heard "The American players were at a disadvantage because they just had 6 months off where as the Latin players just finished an entire season". If you love your country, and want your team to win– you arrive at camp a month or two early, and prepare for the WBC before hand. If you love your country, get your body ready to compete for the respect of it. We lost NOT because we have an inferior team– but because our players feel they do not need to represent our country. That, my friends, is the bigger loss. Where’s the respect of the American team? I guess it just got eliminated.

"This ball is hit high in the air to deep left center field. Going back Finley, still back.. looking up.. See Ya! A Grand Slam homerun for Alex Rodriguez. Oh what a month for Rodriguez on a Tuesday in the Bronx!"

That was last year. And the past is something that has always been glorious for the Yankees—especially center field. That sacred piece of real estate has been handed to one generation to the next, like the sports holy grail. This year though, a new occupant. A familiar face remembered painfully from battles past. But now ripped from the enemy’s desperate, hungry grasps. His is another name added to the roll call. A roster sparkling with stars at seemingly every position. Each face connected to vivid memories, all versed in the inherent pressures of the uniform with resumes punctuated with accomplishments. Still determination reigns, as the assault on another title starts right now.

The 2004 World Champs had an awesome year, bashing out 95 wins and countless nightmares to all opposing pitchers. The 2006 Red Sox look very much like the 2004. We’ll start with defense. The team will have an awesome infield, easily the best in the majors. Lowell, forget his horrible offensive year he still had an superb defensive year. It’ll be a three player race for third base Gold Glove honors between Eric Chavez, Alex Rodriguez, and Mike Lowell. Alex raised some eyebrows last year, going nearly 3 months without commiting an error but they’ll be more competition for the MVP and 05 Gold Glove Winner. The shortstop Alex Gonzalez is as good as they get. Gonzalez is great to right, and should have a good solid year at short. Expect a lot of double plays. Mike Loretta has already made a name for himself in the majors, and now will try his best to make his mark in the AL East. A lot of attention and expectations will be on him, so his addition to the team could either be another Renteria mistake or a Orlando Cabrera move. First base will be manned by youngster Kevin Youkilis, and backed up by J.T Snow in the latter innings. Snow is among the best first basemen to come along in a long while. Infact may be the best first basemen ever, as he owns the highest career 1B fielding percentage. The outfield consists of Ramirez, Crisp, and Nixon. Certainly not the best outfield in the majors, but not the worst either. The offense will be the Red Sox’s achilles heal. The 2004 Red Sox, that overcame that marvelous 3-0 deficit, defeating the great Mariano Rivera twice in one series, had a great lineup. Kevin Millar, the outspoken ex-Red Sox always had Mariano’s number. His career stats are .462, with 6 hits off 13 at-bats off the Yankees closer. The current lineup has quite a few national league hitters. David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez will provide you .300 / 44 / and 140– atleast. But Veritek is on the decline, and after him there’s a huge drop off. The 2005 Sox scored a heck of a lot of runs because Damon got on base a lot, and made things happen. He is among the smartest base runners in the game. If Crisp, and Loretta don’t start going, it’ll be a long year. Manny and Ortiz will do whatever they do, but you can’t hit a two run homerun when the bases are empty. After Veritek, the lineup drops down quite a bit. Nixon is very injury prone, and is no longer a threat with the bat. Gonzalez was a 9 hole hitter in the National League, and will be a rally killer. J.T Snow is also no magician with the bat, and should be a drop off to last year’s first base replacement John Olerud– who had a spectacular offensive and defensive year. But then again the holes; If you go back to the Yankees 2005 season, you’ll see lineup holes. Yankees had 4 homerun hitters and 1 true base runner. Jeter ran the bases, while Giambi, Sheffield and Matsui were their usual self– slow around the bases. Yanks had Bernie in the 2 hole, and even Cano for a time. Cano is young but is not speedy, which showed how badly the Yankees needed an extra base runner on top of the order. The disapearance of Tony Womack really hurt the Yanks. And those very holes hurt them in the ALDS.   But anyway, the Red Sox team will go as far as Coco Crisp, Mike Loretta, and Mike Lowell take them. Even if the starting rotation has an excellent year, <p>The 2004 World Champs had an awesome year, bashing out 95 wins, and countless nightmares to all opposing pitchers. The 2006 Red Sox look very much like the 2004. We’ll start with defense. The team will have an awesome infield, easily the best in the majors. <a onclick="window.open(this.href, ‘_blank’, ‘width=90,height=135,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0′); return false" href="http://mlblogstheboss.files.wordpress.com/2006/03/ph_1142081.jpg.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/ph_425903.jpg"><img title="Ph_425903" height="112" alt="Ph_425903" src="http://mlblogstheboss.files.wordpress.com/2006/03/ph_1142081.jpgmy_weblog/images/ph_425903.jpg" width="75" border="0" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 5px 5px" /></a> <a onclick="window.open(this.href, ‘_blank’, ‘width=90,height=135,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0′); return false" href="http://mlblogstheboss.files.wordpress.com/2006/03/ph_1142081.jpg.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/ph_122497_1.jpg"></a>Lowell,<a onclick="window.open(this.href, ‘_blank’, ‘width=90,height=135,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0′); return false" href="http://mlblogstheboss.files.wordpress.com/2006/03/ph_1142081.jpg.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/ph_136780_2.jpg"><img title="Ph_136780_2" height="112" alt="Ph_136780_2" src="http://mlblogstheboss.files.wordpress.com/2006/03/ph_1142081.jpgmy_weblog/images/ph_136780_2.jpg" width="75" border="0" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 5px 5px" /></a> <a onclick="window.open(this.href, ‘_blank’, ‘width=90,height=135,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0′); return false" href="http://mlblogstheboss.files.wordpress.com/2006/03/ph_1142081.jpg.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/ph_122497.jpg"><img title="Ph_122497" height="112" alt="Ph_122497" src="http://mlblogstheboss.files.wordpress.com/2006/03/ph_1142081.jpgmy_weblog/images/ph_122497.jpg" width="75" border="0" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 5px 5px" /></a>forget his <a onclick="window.open(this.href, ‘_blank’, ‘width=90,height=135,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0′); return false" href="http://mlblogstheboss.files.wordpress.com/2006/03/ph_1142081.jpg.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/ph_136780_2.jpg"></a><a onclick="window.open(this.href, ‘_blank’, ‘width=90,height=135,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0′); return false" href="http://mlblogstheboss.files.wordpress.com/2006/03/ph_1142081.jpg.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/ph_136780_1.jpg"></a><a onclick="window.open(this.href, ‘_blank’, ‘width=90,height=135,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar<br /> =no,status=no,left=0,top=0′); return false" href="http://mlblogstheboss.files.wordpress.com/2006/03/ph_1142081.jpg.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/ph_136780.jpg"></a>horrible offensive year he still had an superb defensive year. It’ll be a <a onclick="window.open(this.href, ‘_blank’, ‘width=90,height=135,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0′); return false" href="http://mlblogstheboss.files.wordpress.com/2006/03/ph_1142081.jpg.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/ph_122497.jpg"></a><a onclick="window.open(this.href, ‘_blank’, ‘width=90,height=135,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0′); return false" href="http://mlblogstheboss.files.wordpress.com/2006/03/ph_1142081.jpg.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/ph_122497.jpg"></a>three player race for third base Gold Glove honors between Eric Chavez, Alex Rodriguez, and Mike Lowell. Alex raised some eyebrows last year, going nearly 3 months without commiting an error but they’ll be more competition for the MVP and Eric Chavez. The shortstop Alex Gonzalez is as good as they get. Gonzalez is great to right, and should have a good solid year at short. Expect a lot of double plays. Mike Loretta has already made a name for himself in the majors, and now will try his best to make his mark in the AL East. A lot of attention and expectations will be on him, so his addition to the team could either be another Renteria mistake or a Orlando Cabrera move. First base will be manned by youngster Kevin Youkilis, and backed up by J.T Snow in the latter innings. Snow is among the best first basemen to come along in a long while. The outfield consists of Ramirez, Crisp, and Nixon. Certainly not the best outfield in the majors, but noe the worst either. The offense will be the Red Sox’s achilles heal. The 2004 Red Sox, that overcame that marvelous 3-0 deficit, defeating the great Mariano Rivera twice in one series, had a great lineup. Kevin Millar, the outspoken ex-Red Sox always had Mariano’s number. His career stats are .462, with 6 hits off 13 at-bats off the Yankees closer. The current lineup has quite a <a onclick="window.open(this.href, ‘_blank’, ‘width=90,height=135,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0′); return false" href="http://mlblogstheboss.files.wordpress.com/2006/03/ph_1142081.jpg.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/ph_120903.jpg"></a>few national league hitters. David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez <a onclick="window.open(this.href, ‘_blank’, ‘width=90,height=135,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0′); return false" href="http://mlblogstheboss.files.wordpress.com/2006/03/ph_1142081.jpg.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/ph_117928.jpg"><img title="Ph_117928" height="112" alt="Ph_117928" src="http://mlblogstheboss.files.wordpress.com/2006/03/ph_1142081.jpgmy_weblog/images/ph_117928.jpg" width="75" border="0" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 5px 5px 0px" /></a>will provide you .300 / 44 / and 140– atleast. But Veritek is <a onclick="window.open(this.href, ‘_blank’, ‘width=90,height=135,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0′); return false" href="http://mlblogstheboss.files.wordpress.com/2006/03/ph_1142081.jpg.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/ph_119811.jpg"><img title="Ph_119811" height="112" alt="Ph_119811" src="http://mlblogstheboss.files.wordpress.com/2006/03/ph_1142081.jpgmy_weblog/images/ph_119811.jpg" width="75" border="0" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 5px 5px 0px" /></a>on the <a onclick="window.open(this.href, ‘_blank’, ‘width=90,height=135,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0′); return false" href="http://mlblogstheboss.files.wordpress.com/2006/03/ph_1142081.jpg.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/ph_120903.jpg"><img title="Ph_120903" height="112" alt="Ph_120903" src="http://mlblogstheboss.files.wordpress.com/2006/03/ph_1142081.jpgmy_weblog/images/ph_120903.jpg" width="75" border="0" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 5px 5px 0px" /></a>decline, and after him there’s a huge drop off. The 2005 Sox scored a heck of a lot of runs because Damon got on base a lot, and made things happen. He is among the smartest base runners in the game. If Crisp, and Loretta don’t start going, it’ll be a long year. Manny and Ortiz will do whatever they do, but you can’t hit a two run homerun when the bases are empty. After Veritek, the lineup drops down quite a bit. <a onclick="window.open(this.href, ‘_blank’, ‘width=90,height=135,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0′); return false" href="http://mlblogstheboss.files.wordpress.com/2006/03/ph_1142081.jpg.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/ph_120074.jpg"></a> Nixon is very injury prone, and is no longer a threat with the bat. Gonzalez was a 9 hole hitter in the National League, and will be a rally killer. J.T Snow is also no magician with the bat, and should be a drop off to last year’s first base replacement John Olerud– who had a spectacular offensive and defensive year. But then again the holes; If you go back to the Yankees 2005 season, you’ll see lineup holes. Yankees had 4 homerun hitters and 1 true base runner. Jeter ran the bases, while Giambi, Sheffield and Matsui were their usual self– slow around the bases. Yanks had Bernie in the 2 hole, and even Cano for a time. Cano is young but is not speedy, which showed how badly the Yankees needed an extra base runner on top of the order. The disapearance of Tony Womack really hurt the Yanks. And those very holes hurt them in the ALDS. But <img title="Ph_123660" height="112" alt="Ph_123660" src="http://mlblogstheboss.files.wordpress.com/2006/03/ph_1142081.jpgmy_weblog/images/ph_123660.jpg" width="75" border="0" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 5px 5px" /><img title="Ph_424825" height="112" alt="Ph_424825" src="http://mlblogstheboss.files.wordpress.com/2006/03/ph_1142081.jpgmy_weblog/images/ph_424825.jpg" width="75" border="0" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 5px 5px" />anyway, the Red Sox team will go as far as Coco Crisp, <a onclick="window.open(this.href, ‘_blank’, ‘width=90,height=135,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0′); return false" href="http://mlblogstheboss.files.wordpress.com/2006/03/ph_1142081.jpg.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/ph_120074.jpg"><img title="Ph_120074" height="112" alt="Ph_120074" src="http://mlblogstheboss.files.wordpress.com/2006/03/ph_1142081.jpgmy_weblog/images/ph_120074.jpg" width="75" border="0" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 5px 5px" /></a>Mike Loretta, and Mike Lowell take them. Even if the starting rotation has an excellent year, there has to be more hitters then just Manny and Ortiz. The pitchers review coming up next. The 2006 Red Sox will either be really good, or really bad. I would’ve bet against this team to win it all, or to be left out the playoffs altogether. Time will tell.</p>there has to be more hitters then just Manny and Ortiz. The pitchers review coming up next. The 2006 Red Sox will either be really good, or really bad. I can’t say I will not bet against this team to win it all, or to be left out the playoffs altogether. Time will tell.

Once again Curt Schilling proves his mouth is completly healthy while his body remains suspect. On WEEI, Schilling predicted the Sox to win 110 games in 2006. He called the Red Sox pitching staff "Proven". Are you kidding me? Come on? No team in the AL East is winning 110 games. You don’t win 110 games unless you are the Cardinals bashing out medicore team after medicore team. The Toronto Blue Jays lost over 30 games last year with a 1 run differencial. B.J Ryan throws hard, and strikes out a ton of players. Roy Halliday is unquestionably the best pitcher in the American League. Forget Johan Santana, Randy Johnson, Roy Halliday is the toughest cookie. He’s been out of the radar the last couple of years because of injuries. The Yankees are not winning 100 games, nor are the Red Sox (since when have they ever won 100?) because Toronto will steal wins from both teams. MLB is not like the NBA where the number of wins determines the talent level of a team. No team in the American League East is winning 110.

Thats what it means to be a Yankee; to be a star amongst stars. Its just a matter of time now, and I’m almost ready. Baseball season means for me a season subscription of MLB.TV, MLB Extra Innings, and this year XM Radio as well. So I’ll be following up on more then just the Yankees this year. So what other teams? Well how about the Toronto Blue Jays? They seem serious. They just invested 110 million on two players. And in the process have just raised ticket prices. A friend of mine told me if you purchase season tickets you actually get to meet BJ Ryan himself. Lol it seems like they are going to squeeze out every penny from there investment. I attended a couple games at the Rogers Center (I refuse to say Centre) and it was hilarious how cheap seats are up there. They have $2 tickets one day of the week. All 500 level (upper deck) seats are $9 flat. The 16% sales tax kills ya but it’s a penny compared to what George Steinbrenner charges at his door. Aside from the blue birds, theres always the Orioles. Camden Park is stunning, my favorite out of town park excluding Safeco. 9 Games in Camden, I should be able to attend atleast a 3-5. But regardless of how pretty the home is, the team itself is pretty darn ugly. Tejada should have one long year ahead of him. Can Brian Roberts have another mind blowing year? But make no mistake about it, the only excitment coming out of Baltimore is who’ll finish last– the O’s or the Rays. Speaking of those Rays, I hope the Yankees rightfully take out the trash this time around. For some really odd, perplexing, absurd reason, the Rays chewed out the Yankees and disposed them in the trash all year long. You can subtract Danny Baez, who pitched quite well against the Yankees. But those Rays will run. Carl Crawford, Julio ‘Cesar’ Lugo– my God it’s like they knew exactly how to beat the Yankees. They ran their butts off, and the Yankees lost a whole lot of games. If it weren’t for the Blue Jays –especially my man (ex-Yankee) Ted Lilly, the Red Sox would’ve easily won the AL East. But the AL East always belongs the Yankees, and right prevailed wrong in 2005. It was quite funny, the Yankees spend most of the season in 2nd, 3rd or even 4th place. The lead the AL East for a total of 3 days. The Orioles lead for most of the second half, while the Red Sox taking that honor for most of the 2nd. I can’t begin to imagine how painful it must have been, to lose the AL East after you’ve lead as much as 10 games in september. But hey, you know what they say, the cream always rises to the top. I almost would’ve prefered the Yankees division champion this way, rather then running away with the AL East in August. Yet it’s quite funny how fans could STILL assume they’re team will finish on top of the AL East. If the Sox had any chance of finally overtaking the Yankees, that chance was last year. Sox are a good team but the 2006 Sox are not as good as the 2005 team. Don’t tell me Crisp will equal the production of Damon.. your own wonderboy GM said himself Coco is no Damon. But hey, like I said, the cream always rises to the top. Baseball is almost here, and when it’s officially here I’ll be in Yankee Stadium, in Camden Park, and Rogers Center rooting for my favorite team.

  I didn’t know who he was," Rodriguez said. "I thought he was going to throw about 88 [mph], and he came at me with 95." 
When Rodriguez stepped out of the cage, he walked right over to Mark Newman, the Yankees’ senior vice president of baseball operations, to find out more about the 19-year-old right-hander. 

"I immediately asked Mark Newman if he was one of our top prospects," A-Rod said, "because I was like, ‘Who the [heck] is that guy?’"

  Pics Pics Pics! Enjoy! Seize the moment Boston fans! Thats as close as you’ll see A-Rod wearing red! Theres some pics of Derek Jeter and Boston’s Josh Beckett for the latest MLB MVP game, and some random pics of A-Rod with celebs including Jay-Z, Beyonce, DJ Clue. Jeter with Alan Houston, etc. Check out the Derek Jeter SNL shots! And yes.. I know Jorge’s wife is gorgious!