#11 - The New York Yankees

That's right, the Yankees didn't crack the top ten. In case you don't remember from last year's post or you've never talked to me about baseball. I hate the Yankees. I hate them because they are a Goliath in the sports world whose level of success can't be compared to any other professional American franchise. To reiterate, the Yankees have won the AL Pennant 40 times in 109 tries. It's obscene. It's enough to drive any sports fan in any other city nuts. And in at least one case, I know it to be very, very true.

The Yankees are the kings of the majors. If you ask anyone in America to name a baseball team, chances are that they know the Yankees, even if they can't name the team in their own backyard. Yes, I know that my extreme dislike of the Yankees is based in envy. I want my team to have that level of success year in and year out that makes me believe we're failed if we didn't win the World Series. I want to know that my ownership is willing to spend obscene amounts of money to get players they have no business signing. I want my roster to have players that all have contact and power ratings of 85 instead of 65 in video games. It makes them so much easier to play.

But most of all, I hate Derek Jeter. I hate his smug smile. I hate his five World Championship rings. I hate the fact that he's going to be a first ballot hall of famer. I hate that he represents everything Yankee. I especially dislike the fact that he is a truly good human being who plays the game well and shows up every day with a smile. God I'm jealous of him too. Although, I am not jealous of his taco shop. It sounds terrible.

AL Division Series Preview

It's time for postseason baseball. 162 games have been played by 30 teams, and all but eight have been eliminated. The final four in each league begin play Friday night in order to cut that number in half. The American league features the perennial contender New York Yankees, as well as the reigning AL Champion Texas Rangers. Joining them are the Detroit Tigers, and the "Team of Destiny" Tampa Bay Rays.

Four solid teams go in, two will square off for the pennant. Let's look at which teams should come out on top. It's gonna be one amazing October.

Athletics Survive Road Trip

When you have an 18-35 record on the road, every single victory is sweet, so when a team returns home with a record of 2-3, you cling to it as a small victory, especially when one of those wins comes in Yankee stadium. They hadn't won in 11 tries there, so to finally get one felt pretty good.

Great play from the Yankees to get Sogard at the plate:


If you missed the MLB.com recap from yesterday:

The good news: "The A's are batting .308 as a team since the All-Star break."

The bad news: "But they went 2-3 on this road trip, with the losses resulting in a combined 22 earned runs in just 11 1/3 innings from their starters."

LINK to the recap

Trip Review, part 1.... written on Wednesday

Written on Wednesday.....

The A's won a game! Yes, the unbelieveable has occurred. After Cahill, Anderson, Gonzalez, and Outman all could not get the job done, Guellermo Moscoso was able to shut out the Angels for two innings and David DeJesus doubled his home run total to four as the A's finally snapped their 6 game losing streak.

I told you all not to panic. Remember? Apparently we were just hiding Moscoso until the time was right, because he looked like a grade A starter. But also remember, hubris is what brought us down before, and it will again unless we are careful. Hopefully we hit rock bottom, and it's upwards from here, but it can always get worse.

MLB Preview: New York Yankees

Those of you who know me know that I am not a traditionally religious person. But, I ask for one thing every year: that the Yankees do not win the American League. They've done it 40 out of 108 possible times. Almost 2/5 of Octobers have seen the New York Yankees in the World series, and they've won it 27 times. Lord, I hate the Yankees.

The Yankees have been very fortunate. They play in New York, and they use it to their advantage. Since 1920, they've fielded some of the best players to ever wear a uniform. Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, Berra, Maris, Rizzuto, Ford, Munson, Stengel. They Field an amazing all star team at almost every position. Of course, all those names were before Steinbrenner. Maybe I don't hate the Yankees. Maybe I just hate George Steinbrenner.