I'm finally writing a baseball blog post.

The Yankees acquired Anthony Keitis (who Jere and I call Teixeira), CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett. And to this I say: Big deal.

Teixeira is a fine player. Good numbers. Gold glove. But, lest we forget - the man plays first base. My grandmother could get a gold glove at first base (sorry if I am offending anyone here). That's where DH's go in NL parks. That's where tired short stops go. That's where they put Giambi, for heaven's sake. I actually like not having to give up Mike Lowell. I think another decent year could be squeezed out of the guy if he is healthy. Plus, I would like to see his famous hidden ball trick at long last! So, our infield stays in tact and I'm not upset about it (so long as they go with "Jed instead"). I'm also glad that Lucchino and Henry stood firm against Boras. Screw Scott Boras. I hate that guy. He is single-handily ruining baseball. Both Jere and I agree that it would have been nice to see Keitis go to Baltimore. That would have been a good lift for the birds. Plus, that's where he's from, anyway (Teixeira, not Anthony Keitis).

Truth be told, CC Sabathia is more than a little hefty. He's going to run out of steam. They've got him for 7 long years, too. They are going to have to put him on a diet. Actually, (out of the 3 newbies) he's probably the player who will make the most difference for them in terms of their chances of making the playoffs.

And A.J. Burnett doesn't scare me at all. It is very likely that he will wind up on the DL early/ often. He might be an A.J. Burden to some teams, but the Yankees can afford to sign Carl Pavanos like that.

I think we need to get a good number 4 starter (Sorry, Buchholz). And I'm not talking about getting Derek Lowe back. His sinker is nasty when he's got it. But when he doesn't, he cries on the mound. I don't want that. You don't want that. Nobody wants that. I like the guy ok. I enjoy being surprised by his height every time I see him in person, but that's about it. Also, when are we going to think about getting a back up for our number 5 starter? Wake is not going to fossilize on that mound or anything. He's going to weaken eventually and this could really be the year. We need 2 decent starters to back up Wake and Buchholz.

And I say we sign the Captain for a couple more years, then he and Wake can retire and become the new Dennis Eckersley and Louis Tiante. If Wakefield had a little kiosk on Yawkey way, what kind of food do you think he would sell? "Regular guy" cuisine. Whatever that it. Something totally non-adventurous. He could call it, "No Condiments" or something. His tag line could be: "How would you like a knuckle sandwich?"

We spent the last couple of days in Northampton, which was relaxing and fun, as always. I was disappointed to learn that they converted what I thought was a government building into an Urban Outfitters. I think I am officially done with UO now. This was the last straw. Especially since they are taking serious business away from Faces, which is an independent UO type of operation a few doors down. Not cool, UO!

The Celtics! The Celtics! The Celtics! 19 wins in a row! I am in awe. Can't wait for the Christmas match up with the Lakers. I hope Jack Nicholson cries in his eggnog. I'm sure he'll cancel whatever critical plans he has that day to be courtside for this one. What an a-hole that guy is.

Red Hot Celtics

Can you believe it? I really don't know what to say. Last night's game was riveting. And a little bittersweet. I really like Delonte West. And in Red Sox news, you have to love being on top in the division standings, and 4.5 up on the Yanks. [Boy, the Yankees are in rough shape these days. And how about that psycho Yankee fan in New Hampshire, killing a Red Sox fan with her vehicle?]

I am on vacation from my day job this week, but it's been anything but a vacation! Doctors appointments, lots of Stella Marie work, shopping, softball, real estate research ... whew!

My mom is getting accustomed to her chemotherapy. And by this, I mean that she knows now what to expect. It's her week off, so she and her husband are spending several days at a Bed and Breakfast on the Cape.

World Series | GAME ONE

I think I am still pinching myself a little. Doesn't it seem so surreal that we could do this twice in 4 years? And while we continue to enjoy this success, the Yankees organization steadily crumbles. Ironic. I had always dreamt about this big shift, but I don't know, I guess I don't care as much as I thought I would. Don't get me wrong - it was fun to watch the ship sink for a while. It just gets boring over time. I suppose when the A-Rod negotiations begin, things will get interesting. Also, Rivera's contract is still up in the air, I think. Any other big contracts I am forgetting? Has Posada's run out?

The Rockies. I've got no opinion about this team. I assume that they are very, very good. I've not done the research. We had a series with them this year and they took 2 out of 3 (at Fenway). National league teams tend to be drone-like to me. Very unexciting. This is a pretty rotten thing to say, I know. A lot of people argue that NL ball is the purest form and that AL teams are more sensational. Well, give me sensational any day. The Sox are like a gang of red hot pokers right now, waiting to inflict third degree burns on any team that dares face them. Far more focused and far more deadly than they were during June's relaxed inter-league play days. Hey, do you guys remember when the Red Sox were rumored to sign Helton?

I checked out the Red Sox site for baby merchandise. I want to get matching jumpers for my friends' twin boys, but I want to get ALCS gear, specifically. Imagine how pimped out they would be wearing that? The coolest kids in Watertown, for sure! Maybe they'll make special ones if the Sox win the WS. Stay tuned for updates.

How about those California wild fires, huh? Word on the street is, Mel Gibson had to evacuate his home in Malibu. I certainly don't feel as bad for him as I do for the single parent dad and his two kids who are now living in a stadium complex. Their apartment building burned to the ground. They had to leave their pets behind - a dog with one blue eye and a cat they found in a dumpster. I almost cried when I heard this. This is just one family's story. What a tragedy. I wish there was something I could do to help.

There is one thing we can ALL take action on, though not wild fire related. There is an online petition to snuff out the horribly offensive Cleveland Indian logo. If you are interested, please sign here.

Giddy Up, Beckett!

Yanks Choke

The axe is going to fall on Torre. The crappy thing is that he totally doesn't deserve it.

Up 2

Could this be any more scripted?

I attended my very first Red Sox playoff game last night. It was, of course, brilliant in every imaginable way.

• The weather was spectacular.
  
• The seats were sweet.
  
• The Cleveland-Yankees game was shown on the Jumbotron, at least until the Red Sox-Angels game started. And during the 5th or 6th (I think), the Indians final run was shown.
  
• The Star Spangled Banner was the best I've seen performed at a baseball game, and I don't usually rave about such things.
  
• The Red Sox have shown that they are really clicking in the post season, despite a few Dice K jams. He pitched out of them, for the most part, though.
  
• Manny. Wow.
  
• I got to use the handicapped stall in the ladies room. It's cleaner, obviously more roomy, and it has a hook for your purse/backpack/whathaveyou. I never noticed this in other stalls, but I was never really paying attention, either.
  

The only downer was the woman planted in front of us. She was non-stop talkie-talkie with a friend of hers during a playoff game. Very annoying. She was the kind of woman for whom, after getting killed during your typical body count horror movie, everyone in the theater claps.

I'm really pulling for the Phillies, but they aren't making it easy for me.

Game 2 | 9.15

Now, that's more like it.

Jere and I sat in his usual section 43 bleacher seats and I forgot my stupid binoculars. There were a group of guys from New York in back of us - really obnoxious, older type Yankee fans. They started cheering for the Yanks normal-style, initially. Then, as the Sox started heating up, their shouts became nasty. Stuff I won't repeat. You know, if I went to Yankee Stadium and started making similar remarks against the Yanks, my arms would be sliced off. And the security guards would just nod and wink at the people holding the chainsaw. They got all upset when the "Yankees Suck" chant began after Wang hit Youk. Even I joined in on that one. They thought we were a bunch of "big babies," etc. I didn't look back and say anything to them. I waited. I waited until the 3rd out was recorded and Beckett took the mound again. Jeter was up. I dared Josh to bean him - very loudly, I might add. It would have been perfect. Instead, Josh hit Giambi, my #2 pick. You can always count on Josh to retaliate. I wish it were Jeter, but I will consider it even with the fat, sweaty, steroid-infested reptile. Not to state the painfully obvious, but I hate the Yankees and I hate Yankee fans. I really wanted to bang all of their heads together ala The Three Stooges. Jerks.

The Sox played marvelously and though I was sad to see Youk leave the game, I was excited that Tito had the where-with-all to put Ellsbury in by moving Hinske (who was terrific, by the way) to 1st. Ellsbury is crazy hot right now and if I were the skipper, I would be carving out ways to play the kid every day.

Very glad that we took the momentum back. Very glad indeed. Tonight's match-up ought to be a fun one to watch. If a fight breaks out, it will happen tonight.

Game 1

Dice K pitched alright last night. The problem is that Pettitte pitched better. Damn that guy. (I noticed that he's packing a little junk in the trunk these days. Looks good on women. Not on men. I feel bad for dudes who carry butt weight. It's very jarring to see. I also found out that he's of French and Italian decent, which explains his good looks. Bad eyes, like a gypsy.) Manny's error was difficult to watch, but not as painful as Johnny Damon's home run. Oh, well. We got it out of the way. We were due for a loss, unfortunately. I would rather lose to Pettitte than to Clemens. We should be able to see most of tonight's match up, if we can hustle back home after our softball game. Speaking of which, it would be nice to win a softball game. Or at least not lose so badly. Wish us luck! (I heard last week that a team can't be mercy'd during the regular season. Ugh.)

It's pizza day, here at the office. I love it when they treat us like this. Conveniently, I used my last dollar on coffee this morning. They sometimes get pizza with breaded eggplant. It's wicked good.

BECKETT!

Important Series

Game 1: Andy Pettitte vs. Dice K

Game 2: Fatty Clemens vs. Eye of the Tiger Beckett

Game 3: Wang (Yawn) vs. Schill

It's no secret that I think Andy Pettitte is really cute. He's the only Yankee I've ever been sweet on. When he went to pitch in Houston, I thought it would have have smart to scoop him up, but now he is on a serious decline, just like the rest of them. (Did you see last night's Yankee game? Whoa.) Johnny Damon was not my type when he was a Red Sox, so he certainly isn't now. Jeter's head is way too narrow on the top for my taste. Same goes for Abreu. Bernie Williams was sort of too pretty. Cano is alright. Posada has the floppy ear thing plus a little horse face to him. Knoblauch = Rodent. Giambi = Reptile. Brosius = Doughy. Strawberry = Skinny. O'Neal = Rectangular. A-Rod = Don't Get Me Started. I thought that David Justice was really handsome, but then the whole woman beating thing surfaced. The result is: not handsome anymore. So, apart from Pettitte, I can't think of any cute Yankee players in recent times.

Game 1, as it turns out, will be the only one I will be able to watch. We've got a softball game tomorrow night and Thursday, I'll be at work. The Sox are up by 8 games, but we've still got 31 games left. Hopefully, we'll sprint to the finish. It all depends on how many nights off Francona intends to give our key players during key games. Word of advice for Tito: Once we've clinched the thing, THEN dole out the nights off. The only game I am concerned about is #3. I'm still not 100% with Schilling. I can see him losing it and getting pulled early. Or maybe he'll be all pumped and in the zone. In any event, I'm most comfortable with the Game 2 match up. Clemens is going to get rocked. You heard it here first, people.