Never trust a human with a pinstriped "How may I help you?" sign...

...an important life rule that these Yankees fans wish they had followed. My heart aches for the woman who flew all the way from Oregon for the game, left the stadium after being told by a Yankee employee that the game was off, and then was unable to re-enter when the game began at 9:20. The Yankees really know how to treat their most loyal fans.

Ellsbury Steals Home - The Video

How awesome was this? Before Jacoby Ellsbury stole home last night, I would have had a short list of nominees for the most exciting play in sports -- the inside the park homerun, the penalty shot, the alley-oop and the grand slam -- but wow, this steal of home just takes the cake:

Birdbathia

Seven years, $161 million, huh...

Own a Piece of Yankees Sod (or not)

A Patch of Green: Yankees Grass Is Now a Brand

Steinbrenner: "Results are clearly not acceptable"

George Steinbrenner issued a statement today. Via MLB.com:

"The season is still very young, but up to now the results are clearly not acceptable to me or to Yankee fans. However, Brian Cashman our general manager, Joe Torre our manager and our players all believe that they will turn this around quickly. I believe in them. I am here to support them in any way to help them accomplish this turnaround. It is time to put excuses and talk away. It is time to see if people are ready to step up and accept their responsibilities. It is time for all of them to show me and the fans what they are made of. Let's get going. Let's go out and win and bring a world championship back to New York. That's what I want."

Has Steinbrenner lost his edge? There's not even one expletive in that statement. I thought for sure that heads would roll today. The only two teams in the Majors with worse records than the Yankees are the Kansas City Royals and the Washington Nationals. Yikes.

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The Rivalry: "Manufactured fan nonsense?"

In case you missed it, Bob Ryan labels our favorite rivalry "manufactured fan nonsense" in his Globe column today. Ryan argues that a rivalry is only "really good when it's from the inside out, not when it's from the outside in."

"For the players, the rivalry is about the competition. For far too many Red Sox fans, it's about some imagined grievance with both the Yankees and the city of New York. It's chic to say you hate the Yankees, even if there really is nothing to hate. Really, what has Derek Jeter ever done besides not be Nomah? And now that Nomah is gone, perhaps not be Papi?"

"What we have with the Red Sox and Yankees now is manufactured fan nonsense. Hate to tell you, but no one in uniform hates anyone in the current Yankees-Red Sox state of affairs. The players can't believe what they hear and what goes on in the stands, or on the streets. They cannot relate to any of it."

What do you think? As fans, did we just make this whole darn thing up?

I think that most fans love baseball and are smart enough to be interested in the competition between the Red Sox and Yankees. ESPN and Fox Saturday Baseball will over-hype and sensationalize the rivalry this weekend--but that is the media, not the fans. What are fans looking forward to this weekend? I am excited to watch veterans, Andy Pettitte and Curt Schilling match up tonight. I wan to see Daisuke Matsuzaka pitch against the Yankee lineup Sunday. I'm curious to know if the Red Sox league leading pitching staff can shut down Alex Rodriguez and the rest of the Yankees' league leading offense. Etcetera. Do I hate the Yankees? Yes, but there won't be "sophomoric overuse of many naughty words" in my living room this weekend. (Well...maybe...I guess it depends on the score.)
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A-Poll!

So...I just figured out that I have the ability to create polls. Woo hoo! Watch out. I plan to make up for a boat load of lost polling time (LPT).

Alex Rodriguez has carried the Yankees on his back in April with some incredibly hot hitting (10 HR .351 AVG 26 RBI) including a walk-off three run home run today against the Cleveland Indians. A screen shot of the moment immediately following this incident can be seen above. Eeew.

Anyway...Here is the poll question: Will A-Rod continue his hot hitting or will he choke (as usual) in the spotlight of the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry this weekend at Fenway?



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Project A13 Choose! Believe! Rise!

An astute Yankees fan who understands that it is counterproductive to boo the best player on his hometown team, has launched Project A13, "the Anti-Boos" movement, a grassroots effort to create a positive, supportive environment for Alex Rodriguez in New York. From the website:

"Are you tired of being against him? Are you tired of expecting him to fail, and standing up to boo when he does so? Are you tired of not feeling good about having Alex Rodriguez play third base for your favorite team? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, you are ready. Welcome to The Movement."

*Roll your eyes now if you haven't already.*

Prediction: "The Movement" will work really well until the first time A-Rod pops out to shortstop with the bases loaded. And then: "Boooooooooo."

(I wonder if members of The Movement will have an identity mark such as a badge, a pin or an A13 tattoo so that nonmembers will be easily recognized and can be properly shunned.)

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A-Rod Puts Foot in Mouth (Again)

Alex Rodriguez caused another stir in Yankeeland Tuesday with comments made in an interview on WFAN:

"It's a do or die situation," Rodriguez said. "Either New York is going to kick me out of New York this year, say 'I've had enough of this guy, get him the hell out of here,' and we have an option. Or New York is going to say, 'Hey, we won a world championship, you had a big year, you were a part of it and we want you back.'"

Bottom line: A-Rod will leave New York if the fans don't support him. What is this, American Idol? Why doesn't he just set up a phone line so that people can vote?

"A-Rod: Love me or else" [NY Daily News]

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"Anger, a spark, within all of us"

It gets my goat (as they say) when Red Sox fans are portrayed as the primary "fuel" behind the Red Sox - Yankees rivalry. For example, take a look at these comments from Joe Torre in today's NY Post:

"I thought some of the anger would subside,'' Torre said before the clubs played at City of Palms Park. "Sometimes you have to remind Red Sox fans they did win the World Series, but they still maintain that personality. I mean I love Boston, don't get me wrong, but the anger that has been built up there over the years, it's still the same. There is still a lot of resentment toward the Yankees and that's what fuels the whole rivalry.''

Patronizing? Yes. As evidence that this "anger" is far from one sided, I'd like to present this YouTube video of a Red Sox fan braving the bleachers at Yankee stadium:

Title from poem "Anger x 14" by Joe Fazio
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It's only Spring Training, but...

Photo by Flickr user DJheini

We're still twenty-one agonizing days removed from "real" baseball -- but hey -- the Red Sox and Yankees play tonight! The Sox are rolling out a potential opening day lineup (minus Schilling and Varitek). Carl Pavano will be on the mound for the Yankees, Daisuke Matsuzaka will "definitely say hello" to Hideki Matsui and we'll be drinking Red Hook Blonde Ale*. It should be fun.

Tonight: Spring Training Red Sox vs. Yankees 7:05 ET/4:05 PT, NESN

*Just tried Red Hook Blonde this weekend and it is a surprisingly delicious, "goes well with wings" style baseball-watching beer. Yumm.
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Topps doesn't print 'em like they used to

This is the Topps 2007 Derek Jeter baseball card. That's President Bush waving in the crowd and Hall of Famer, Mickey Mantle, is looking on from the dugout. Wait...what?

The "digitally enhanced" card is the result of an internal prank at Topps according to Sports Collectors Daily and there are no plans to correct it "rendering the oddity no more valuable than any other Jeter card from the recent past."

Nevertheless, we are sure that there is additional symbolism here. Is Bush's left arm missing below the elbow? Art majors, where are you?

Via Deadspin.
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A-Rod: Jeter and I don't have slumber parties anymore

It's too soon to start picking on Alex Rodriguez, right? Right? Sometimes it's just impossible to resist. It looks like A-Rod's 2007 PR strategy is to spill his guts to the media. Today, on his very first day in camp, A-Rod admitted that his "relationship with Derek Jeter has cooled." (No way!) From ESPN:

"We were best of friends about 10, 13, 14, years ago, and we still get along well. We have a good working relationship. I cheer very hard for him. He cheers hard for me. And most importantly, we're both trying to win a world championship," Rodriguez said.

What's changed? He made it sound as if they had just grown apart.

"The reality is there's been a change in the relationship over 14 years and, hopefully, we can just put it behind us," Rodriguez said. "You go from sleeping over at somebody's house five days a week, and now you don't sleep over. It's just not that big of a deal."

"Let's make a contract: You don't ask me about Derek anymore, and I promise I'll stop lying to all you guys," A-Rod told reporters.

There you have it. No more sleepovers. Step right up and place your bet on what will happen in the next episode of the Yankees 2007 soap opera. Will Derek respond?

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A-Rod's Therapy Stage 4: Envision success as a character in your own children's book

Alex Rodriguez is the proud author of the autobiographical children's book, Out of the Ballpark, which is scheduled for release Tuesday. My suspicion is that the writing of the book was a prescribed stage in self-therapy which allowed A-Rod to "envision his own success."

From the NY Daily News:

"Out of the Ballpark" follows a boy - appropriately named Alex - whose baseball team is playing in the playoffs. Alex, who is a second baseman, makes a key error in the game and begins to put extra pressure on himself. Only his play gets worse. Sound familiar?

Alex's team, the Caribes, overcomes his play to reach the championship game. Alex works harder, waking up before sunrise to practice, throwing a ball against his bedroom wall 500 times a day. Without giving away the ending, let's just say that the Yankees should hope that life imitates art come October."

Uh, let's hope not. All kidding aside, the book actually looks really cute, but if you're a Sox fan, keep your kids away!

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"A-Rod Moves to Pen" [NY Daily News]
Out of the Ballpark [Alex Rodriguez / Frank Morrison]