My my my... the AL East just got a bit more fun

Manny and Damon reunited?
Someone cue up Maroon 5. It is 2004 all over again.

Hey, Gabe Kapler was on the Rays last year. If they bring HIM back they will have all three outfielders who were on the field when the Sox won the World Series in St. Louis.

This off season has gotten so strange that the Rays have added more famous players than the Yankees.

Actually, even before the Rays decided to bring aboard two of the three biggest idiots, I hadn’t written off Tampa Bay.

Yeah losing Carl Crawford was bad… as was Rafael Soriano… and Carlos Pena….and Matt Garza…and Jason Bartlett…and Dan Wheeler…… and Joaquin Benoit…and Grant Balfour

But there is so much talent on that team that I can’t help but think that they might actually (dare I say it?) be better?

They still have a starting rotation of David Price, Wade Davis, James Shields and Wade Davis.

They still have Evan Longoria in the middle of their lineup and B. J. Upton who could still put it all together.

Reid Brignac could play short in Barlett’s place.
Jeremy Hellickson can start in Garza’s place.
Jake McGee is ready to take a role in the bullpen.
Desmond Jennings should be ready to play the outfield.

Some combination of Willy Aybar, Ben Zobrist and maybe even Damon could play first.

Adam Russell and Cesar Ramos both have some big league experience out of the bullpen with San Diego and will be in Tampa next year after the Bartlett trade.

Hak Ju Lee could give the Rays depth in the infield after the deal with Chicago.

Now you add a sparkplug like Johnny Damon to the top of the lineup.
And yeah, Manny is no longer Manny. But he still gets on base, has some pop and always has a little peak when he arrives with a new team.

Folks, the A.L. East is going to be fun again. People who hate to see either the Red Sox or the Yankees in the playoffs may get their wish for the fourth time in six seasons to see one of them play golf this October.

There will be LOTS of reasons to circle the Rays arrival in Fenway AND Yankee Stadium in red.

Remember Red Sox fans… it’s OK to cheer Manny and Johnny when they play the Yankees. In fact, I think it will be a nice nostalgic feeling.

Manny to the Yankees? Another Christmas gift for Red Sox Nation

Could it be?
Seriously... could the Yankees be finally saying to the world "WE ARE RUDDERLESS!"?

The Yankees are potentially thinking about bringing in Manny Ramirez?

Why not just tell Andy Pettitte to stay home?

Why not tell Derek Jeter "We think the clubhouse has been too peaceful"?

Could the Yankees be reverting back to all of their awful late 1980s, early 1990s habits of bringing in people that are recognizable instead of addressing their needs?

How can they POSSIBLY spin their interest in Manny Ramirez as anything other than "Hey! We got a player fans have heard of! And a former Red Sox player to boot! Hey! How about that? We're the Yankees and we get stars!"

The Steinbrenner Yankees have always had a mild obsession with bringing in players who have beaten them in October. From Don Gullett to Randy Johnson, the notion has always been "If you can't beat 'em, BUY em!"

And they thought that Cliff Lee was going to be the next name on the roster.
But he's gone. And so is every other potential big impact pitcher. (Unless you consider Joe Blanton to be awesome.)

The Yankees need pitching depth. BIG TIME. Yeah they can use outfield depth, but do you know what? There are never a shortage of outfielders looking for a job. Hell, Jermaine Dye has been looking for one for over a year. He's a former World Series MVP. And unlike Manny, he hasn't left a series of teams in his wake saying "It's just not worth dealing with this crap!"

But here we are. It could just be an internet rumor... but there's something about it that doesn't seem far fetched. That the need to make an off season splash to off set the Cliff Lee humiliation is there. And a move to counter act all of the "Red Sox have passed them" talk.

Bringing in Rafael Soriano would be a good solid move to upgrade their bullpen depth. But does bullpen depth put the Yankees on the back page?

Manny does.

The symbolism of taking ANOTHER 2004 Red Sox player and putting him in Pinstripes would have some allure. Alan Embree, Mark Bellhorn, Johnny Damon, Mike Myers and Doug Mientkiewicz all played with the Yankees after winning with the '04 Red Sox. (So did Ramiro Mendoza, but who are we kidding? He was a Yankee in Red Sox clothing!)

Why not Manny?
Well, first off 2004 was six years ago.
Manny was 32 then. He'll turn 39 in 2011. And the days of guys getting BETTER in their late 30s have ended. Manny has already been caught and guess what? His bat has slowed down.

I of course LOVED Manny when he was with the Red Sox, but as I wrote in my Dodgers piece for The Hardball Times, he is like a trip to Las Vegas. It is super fun at first but by the end you find yourself thinking "Oh God, this HAS to stop or else something terrible will happen."

So the Yankees will get all the headaches of Manny without his amazing bat.

And remember, Manny is a spoiled little kid who gets what he wants because his butt has been kissed. It was kissed by the Indians who wanted to develop a big star and get their team back to respectability.

It was initially kissed by the Red Sox because his signing was a counter reaction to the Yankees brining in Mike Mussina. So they had a new superstar to coddle. And later his butt was kissed because they knew they had a potential championship combo if only he stayed happy.

And the Dodgers kissed his butt because they had the first real draw to Chavez Ravine since Mike Piazza was traded.

So plop him into Jeter's clubhouse and see what happens.

You will get the symbolism of trying to erase the past while the problems of the present are left unchecked.

It's the whole bringing in Ken Phelps to a team where there is nowhere to play him all over again.

As I said before, it probably won't happen. But the fact that we have to say "probably" shows how bad the off season has been for the Yankees.

How great is this for Red Sox fans?
The idea that the Yankees could be doing essentially what Isiah Thomas did with the Knicks! Just bringing in big names for the sake of getting a headline.

OK, the Knicks are a harsh example. But what if they are the Mets? Bringing in recognizable names only to see it blow up in their face!

They won't be able to resist making a big move before spring training. And having Andy Pettitte come back isn't a big move. That's avoiding a loss.

Carl Pavano isn't coming back.

But there are no more big names left... except Manny.
No other names that would get anyone's attention... except Manny.

They may not be able to resist it.
And what a beautiful sight that would be.

It would be worth it to see if he would take a leak in Monument Park during the game. What wonderful symbolism that would be.

Something I DON'T want to hear from Giants fans

I do NOT want to hear Giant fans before this game saying crap like “I’d rather see the Giants clinch at home.”

You can’t be picky about how you want your franchise’s defining moment.

When the Red Sox were closing in on the 2004 World Series title, I had a couple of people who were RED SOX FANS say “I wouldn’t mind seeing them drop a few games and clinch in Fenway Park.”

I of course beat those people with ski poles.

We had been waiting 86 years for a World Series title after every sort of cruel near miss imaginable and these lunatics were thinking “Let’s tempt fate.”

It was the equivalent of having food air lifted into a starving country and one of the recipients saying “I’m going to wait. I hear the next airlift has better food.”

EAT THE FOOD! YOU ARE STARVING!

I heard more of this nonsense in 2007. “Oh it would be better to win it at home.”

So which games was I supposed to be rooting AGAINST the Red Sox? And remember in 2007 they had played a tough game against the Rockies in Game 2 and a back and forth Game 3… beating a team that had rattled off an incredible winning streak. Yeah, better let THEM refind their mojo so you can have your wittle party at home.

I will not have any tolerance of such insanity.

You root for your team to win.
When the Red Sox celebrated in St. Louis and in Denver… guess what? IT WAS AWESOME!

The only thing that compared to it emotionally was when the Red Sox won the 2004 ALCS and celebrated… in New York.

If the Giants win tonight, and I hope they do, you will be remembering this moment forever and reliving it in your head over and over.

And you won’t be thinking “Ah… it wasn’t that great.”

Haven’t you earned this, Giants fans?

I remember when my Red Sox won the 2004 and 2007 World Series, I got flack from a few of my Giant fan friends.

One of them, let’s call him Greg Lee… because that is his name… said “You couldn’t have been excited by those World Series. They were blow outs.”

I responded “Don’t blame the Red Sox for making those World Series boring. Blame the Cardinals and Rockies for not winning a game.”

The person we will call Greg Lee responded “Wouldn’t you rather have the games be dramatic?”

And I replied “I had enough drama as a Red Sox fan. Between 1986 and 2003 I had enough drama to last a lifetime. In 2004 I had to live through the 3-0 hole and facing elimination with Mariano Rivera on the mound. In 2007, the Sox came back from another 3-1 hole. I HAD DRAMA! I wanted a title.”

Then the hypothetical person I have dubbed Greg Lee asked “Wouldn’t you rather win the series at HOME?”

I responded “That would mean I would have to root AGAINST the Red Sox in a few games. I root for the Sox in every game. The celebration was sweet on the road.”

So now let me turn the question around.

If the Giants win big tonight… would you be excited? Wouldn’t you rather have a close series? Don’t you want the games to be dramatic? Wouldn’t you want to clinch the series at home?

Or have you earned a blow out?
Have you seen enough close calls that you just want to win it as fast as possible?

The brand of baseball the Giants have played has been called torture.

If the Giants win the next two games with ease, I have a feeling Giant fans will be quite happy… just like I was in 2004 and 2007.

10 Reasons to watch this weekend's Red Sox/Yankees Series

When the 2010 schedule was published showing the season beginning and ending with Red Sox and Yankee series, it sure felt exciting, didn't it?

Perhaps there would be a great showdown for the AL East... maybe playoff positioning?

When the Red Sox were hovering around contention the 6 head to head meetings over the final 10 games sure looked inviting.

Now...
Flop.

The Red Sox are all but done... the tragic number is 4. They are playing out the string and getting ready to play golf this October.

The Yankees are cruising to another October appearance and trying to right their pitching staff while jockeying for position with the Rays and Twins.

So why should Red Sox fans even watch this series?
There are some reasons...


1. WIN THE SERIES AND THE RED SOX HOLD OFF ELIMINATION

Yeah elimination will be inevitable... but if it can be held off until Monday, then as a point of pride we can say "We weren't eliminated until the last week of the season."

With all the injuries on the team, that's a nice (if misleading) thing to say.


2. DELAY THE YANKEE CELEBRATION

It's clear by the way Joe Girardi is managing that he is simply trying to make the post season without worrying about the Division... sure he would LIKE to win the Division but he'd RATHER have a healthy pitching staff. So the Yankees clinching a playoff spot seems to be the goal.

They'll get there, but it doesn't have to be on OUR watch.


3. JON LESTER, COMPROMISE CY YOUNG CANDIDATE?

Can Jon Lester get to 20 wins? If he does will he be a Cy Young Candidate? (Sabathia's 20 wins seem to be his only qualification over Felix Hernandez but he is talked about as the front runner.)

If Lester gets 20, his name will be in the mix. He goes for win #19 on Saturday.


4. 90 WINS IS A GOOD GOAL FOR THIS TEAM

Seriously, with all the injuries and strife on this team to finish with 90 wins would be a real accomplishment.

They need to win 6 games out of their last 10 to pull that off. That would give Francona six 90 win seasons out of seven years in Boston. Not bad.


5. MAYBE SOMEONE ELSE WILL GET HURT

The Red Sox have had 19 guys on their disabled list.
Why not 20? Seriously... a nice round number is easier to remember. And that would be the legacy of the 2010 Red Sox... 20 dudes on the DL.

That would make 90 wins even MORE impressive.






6. IT WILL TAKE YOUR MIND OFF OF THE PATRIOTS/JETS LOSS

Perhaps seeing a New England team beat a New York team will take the sting out of it.

Yeah that is petty... but so are we!



7. YOU'LL GET TO SEE THE RED SOX SEE THE SUBTLE STEINBRENNER MEMORIAL

Then again they can probably see it from Fenway Park.






8. MAYBE THEY'LL SHOW SOME CLIPS OF THE 2004 ALCS

Those are always fun to see.

Granted they will also show clips of Bucky Dent, Aaron Boone etc... but those don't hurt as much since '04 and '07.

Plus it is always interesting to see how they can spin the rivalry since the whole Bambino thing is over.




9. NO MATTER WHAT THE STANDINGS ARE, IT IS ALWAYS FUN TO SEE THE YANKEES LOSE

It isn't nice to admit that, but it is true.

Admit it Sox fans... when you saw that the Yankees were getting killed last night, you checked in... hoping to see Joba and Vazquez get slapped around. Seeing the seed of doubt creep into Yankee land, especially on the dawn of the playoffs, is a beautiful thing. Why not see the Sox contribute to that?


10. YOU WILL SEE THE BEGINNING OF THE GREATEST END OF THE SEASON COLLAPSE IN YANKEE HISTORY AND THE RED SOX STORM INTO THE PLAYOFFS

Hey... how is that any less likely than the Red Sox coming back from a 3-0 series hole, trailing in the 9th facing Mariano Rivera?

I bet you thought we were dead then too!

The come back starts NOW!



So have fun, and remember Sox fans who make the trip, you will be in THEIR home. Play nicely.

Besides, Red Sox fans and Yankee fans should be friends.

So play ball! Go Sox and make us proud in what is left of this season.
(And let's hope Joba gets an appearance or two.)

This Red Sox fan says BRING BACK JOHNNY DAMON

According to ESPN Boston, the Red Sox have claimed Johnny Damon off waivers from Detroit. Now that DOESN'T mean he is automatically going to Boston. That just means in the post Waiver Wire deadline, the Tigers can only make a deal with the Sawx.

Well why not?
Are people still bitter about how he left the Red Sox for the Yankees?
GET OVER IT! That was 5 years ago and the Red Sox have won a World Series since then.

We need to be less petty about things. And wouldn't it be nice to have a GOOD conclusion with a former Red Sox star?

Why does everyone have to be on the Ungraceful Exit Red Sox Team?

We've been starting Bill Hall in left field too often for my taste. Maybe a little bit of Damon's ability and willingness to crash into the wall can rub off on Ryan Kalish.

Who knows? Maybe Johnny can spark a big comeback for the Red Sox.

Either way, I like amicable good byes and if there is tension between me and someone else, I like to resolve it.

Maybe Dice-K can let him wear #18 for the last few months.

I say WELCOME BACK