Vote Rays in '08

Let's go Rays.

Yes, you read that correctly: Let's go Rays. I understand they are in the same division as the Yankees, but who cares? This team has been a wonderful story all year, starting with them taking on the big, bad Yankees in spring training and riding that momentum all the way to an improbable first-place finish in the AL East.

The Tampa Bay Rays will begin their division series matchup with the Chicago White Sox today at 2:37 (exactly) p.m. this afternoon, with James Shields starting Game 1 against ex-Yankee Javier Vazquez.

Imagine, for a second, they get all the way to the World Series and have to face the Cubs? The Cubs looked horrible last night, but they haven't reached the World Series since 1945, let alone win it since 1908. What drama that would be: The up-start Rays against the lovable losers! It doesn't get much better than that, save for the Yankees being in the World Series.

In this baseball-starved city, we don't have our Yankees to root for this October. Let us have a little fun and root for the Rays. Hopefully they'll beat Boston in the ALCS.

White Sox rookie hazing

An exercise in citizen journalism:

Last night, I decided to hang around Yankee Stadium as long as possible to cherish every moment of it. After staying in the building for 20 minutes after the game ended, I ventured to the player's exit. I saw some recognizable faces: John Sterling, Jason Giambi, Robinson Cano, Al Leiter, Joba and Harlan Chamberlain, Javier Vazquez, Mark Buerhle, etc.

After a while, more White Sox players started coming out, dressed in suits for their plane ride. All of a sudden players dressed in various costumes came out. I immediately realized it was rookie hazing, similar to last year's Wizard of Oz costume party.

Anyway, this is Lance Broadway, a right-handed pitcher who pitched 1 2/3 innings last night:

The only other rookie whom I was able to recognize was Alexei Ramirez. He was dressed like a U.S. Track & Field athlete. As he was putting his luggage under the coach bus, he clocked his head on the door. If he's out of the lineup tonight, you now know why.

Other rookies were dressed as Tinky Winky from the Teletubbies and Raggedy Anne.

Photo by Andrew Fletcher

Add Wallace Matthews to the list of morons

Yesterday in Newsday, former ESPN Radio host Wallace Matthews wrote a diatribe about how Alex Rodriguez is bad for the Yankees and that him opting out of his contract should essentially be cause for celebration.

He says that the Yankees didn't have any sluggers from 1996-2001 and that they barely got production from third base (source).

In 1996, the Yankees got four home runs, 54 RBIs and a .308 batting average out of Charlie Boggs, the two-headed monster that held down third base that year.

In 1998, the third baseman's name was Scott Brosius and the numbers were 19, 98 and .300. In 1999, Brosius again: 17, 71, .247. In 2000: 16, 64, .230.

The Yankees won the World Series in every one of those years and in fact, won 14 World Series games in a row, stretching from Game 3 against the Braves in 1996 through Game 2 against the Mets in 2000.

During the previous three seasons, the Yankees' third baseman has averaged 40 home runs and 119 RBIs and batted just about .300. Two seasons back, he won the AL MVP, and this season he has a great chance to put up the best numbers of a career that already is a first-ballot ticket to Cooperstown.

And with him, the Yankees have won precisely nothing.

That's a very obtuse argument. He obviously doesn't like Rodriguez, and is using oranges to compare apples.

Rodriguez isn't the reason the Yankees haven't gone to the World Series since 2003. Awful starting pitching is. I suppose Rodriguez traded for Kevin Brown, Randy Johnson and Javier Vazquez, and signed Jaret Wright.

Matthews says the Yankees need relief pitching. This is true. However, he also says that allowing Rodriguez to leave would free up money. There will be enough money next year to go around and sign for middle relievers with Rodriguez being on the team.

The Rodriguez criticisms are ridiculous. I don't understand all of the hatred people have for him.