As I write this post, the New York Yankees are 2 1/2 games ahead of the Boston Redsox. The question is, how do I feel about that? Well of course I would rather be ahead, but I am NOT that concerned. The Yankees have been very hot and the Sox have gone into a hitting funk. Okay I said it. A funk. Recently the Yankees have had lots go right–like winning close ball games while the Redsox have struggled. Yes, both teams have had major injuries and both teams have had stars not contribute much, but I still feel great about the Redsox.
In fact they are STILL the best team in the American League and at the end of the season you will see that I am right.
The Redsox have the best pitching in the American League. They have given up 412 runs which is tops (Seattle is number two.) The Yankees are about to start on a difficult 20 game stretch and my prediction is that at the end of that stretch they will have seen first place for the LAST time this year!
By the way, the 20 game stretch I am referring to starts July 27, and 19 of the next 26 games are on the road–where the Yankees are slightly above 500. Yes the Redsox make the playoffs and maybe the Yankees do as well. But it will be as a wild card and they will need to come to Fenway Park for a chance to play baseball for the first time in November!
Just so I am clear — in fact crystal clear. AJ, Jennie, Jeffrey, Jon, Mark and many other Yankee fans, this Redsox fan isn’t worried one bit!
Now your turn.
- What is your prediction?
- How are you feeling about the season?
- Is it the Yankees or Redsox in the World Series?
I look forward to reading your comments.
howard burack says:
Any prediction should be tempered by the fact that if Roy Halladay winds up in New York, Boston or Philly that team will be in the World Series.
Merrill Dubrow says:
Howard,
Good point but I think he stays put. I don’t see the Blue jays trading him this year – next year for sure.
Merrill
Jeffrey Lorber says:
I will address q#2 – How I feel about the season: Win or lose, I love the Yankees. “The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat” it’s all a part of being a fan. Crap, the best teams lose nearly half the time! The best batters hit the ball 1/3 of the time. It is not a game for softies.
And yes, we will kick your ass and win the World Series in 4 games. And you can cut and paste that for next year and the year after – because that’s is always going to be my response to that question because that’s what a fan believes – it’s in the definition, and it’s what I would expect you to say to me as well. Go Yanks!!!
Merrill Dubrow says:
Jeffrey,
Love your passion and energy and BELIEVE you will be wrong again like you have been since 2001.
But good luck – it would be fun to see them play each other in October!
Merrill
Jeremy Bromberg says:
While I’ll grant you, Merrill, that the Sox are now a much stronger organization, and are *finally* qualified competition for the Bombers, telling us Yankee fans to enjoy it while it lasts is merely wishing us continued happy lives.
It’s not arrogance – it’s just the comfort that comes with a long (repeat, LONG) track record of success.
Merrill Dubrow says:
Jeremy,
You are correct they have a long history of winning. However not alot this decade and frankly success in the 20′s doesn’t mean alot to me. However I can see and somewhat understand if Yankee fans want to remember those good old days many years ago.
Good luck!
Merrill
Michael Halberstam says:
Seriously?
Merrill Dubrow says:
Michael,
Yes I am serious – although I will say that the Redsox blew a game last night they never ever should have lost!
If only one team makes the playoffs – it won’t be the team that plays in the Bronx.
Best of luck.
Merrill
Michael Halberstam says:
I guess we’re both eternal optimists when it comes to our team and eternal pessimists when is come to the other’s! THat;s the way it should be. Go Yankees!
Adam Jolley says:
Of course I’m in your corner Merrill. But much like Arod and Tex’s production, any comments I give in July won’t do anything to help me win in October.
Let’s not forget the Yanks have won a majority of these games after the break at home. If I’m the Yanks, I say forget Halladay and try to find every human that can hit a popfly 150 feet….err, I mean homerun in NEW Yankee Stadium.
Merrill Dubrow says:
Adam,
I think Roy stays put. The Yanks do play well at Yankee Stadium. If the Redsox play like they can they will go on a roll and put them away for sure. It will be fun to watch the next 60+ games and of course they play next week.
Thanks for your comments.
Merrill
Wilie Martin says:
July 27th happened to be A-Rods 34th birthday. There is no question that these two ballcluba have alot of history since 1915. I still have fond memories of 1977, 1978, 1999, 2003, 2004, and 2007.
Until the Yankees can manage a way to place the W on a Red Sox regular season game, and until Mark Teixeira and A-Rod can show me how not to be Mr. May and Mr. July i.e. pad the numbers to make themselves look good in the regular season, I am not sold on New York. Otherwise I foresee the Dave Winfield 1 for 22 factor…
C.C. and A.J. cannot do it all. The non initialites will have a tough go of it on the road. For Mr. Wang to be gone for the season is also a boon to the Yankee hopes.
It will be the Red Sox and Dodgers in the World Series, which will have a Yankee feel with Joe Torre at the helm.
Meantime I rot for the Rangers. The Rays of 2009!
Thanks Merrill!
Jim Q says:
Ten games remain between the two clubs, 7 of those in the Bronx. If the Yanks can go .500 against the Sox the remainder of the regular season, Yanks win the pennant.
Pat S. says:
OK, I have to agree on some level. I do think Boston has a better team — pitching and hitting. They also have clutch hitters, where NY (except for Jeter and Posada) is seriously lacking. CC hasn’t delivered as they thought he would, Wang is out for season (I don’t think he will pitch as a Yankee again). Hopefully NY will take the series vs. Boston next weekend at Yankee Stadium. In the end, it may come down to the 2 teams in the playoffs once more, but I think your prediction is wrong, wrong, wrong — the Yankees will prevail. (and by the way, now it’s 3.5 behind).
Merrill Dubrow says:
Pat,
Appreciate your comments. I totally agree about Wang – I think he is done. Hughes and Joba have surprised me – they have really pitched well and I didn’t think was going to happen.
The Redsox haven’t played well and Yankees are on fire. Looking forward to next week – although the Yankees may be playing the Redsox at the right time.
Good luck.
Merrill
Bob Graham says:
I asked noted Baseball expert Dean Wormer of Faber College how many times the Yankees had beaten the Red Sox in 2009. His reply was a terse: “Zero…point…zero”.
Like Merrill, I’m not worried. There’s still plenty of the season left. I think the Sox and the Yanks will continue to play each other close and both will make it into the post season, with the Sox winning the AL East and the Yanks winning the Wild Card. At the end, though, it will be the SOx and the Dodgers in the World Series and Manny will be going home without another ring.
On a side note, I went to a book signing last weekend for super-Yankee fan Artie Lange. I made sure to wear my Red Sox gear. We smiled at each other when he signed my copy of “Too Fat to Fish” and gave each other that look that Sox/Yanks fans give each other. It spoke volumes”. A lot of St Louis fans asked if I wore my Red Sox stuff on purpose. I said “Yup!”
Lovejoy says:
k, wang has only played in 12 of the 101 games we’ve played this season…not much of a loss there. somehow we’ve still managed to have the best record in the AL and road record second in the AL only to LAA. our pitching has been and will be just fine without him. the yankees are STILL playing better than the bosox. the only downside to the season so far is that we haven’t beaten the bosox…yet! that will all change next week. it’s just too bad that beckett can’t pitch every game! so, i’m happy to hear that RSN isn’t “worried.” i hope the bosox players themselves aren’t either.
world series – yanks vs. dodgers
AJ says:
As a Yankee fan, it’s constant stress. They get hot and I can’t wait to watch them each night and then they lose 3 or 4 to the White Sox and they look like a team not deserving of the playoffs. This weekend will tell a lot since they have 4 with the Red Sox. I do belive the Red Sox are better all around but it really is a toss up for the division. Go Yanks, I love this stuff!
Jon Last says:
Hadn’t been on the blog in a bit,..but I was wondering what Mr. Dubrow was thinking since his beloved Sox moved into the wild card spot. Glad you at least acknowledged that the battle lines have been drawn.
Those who know me well, realize that I am a baseball fan, first and foremost…so while I much prefer the Yankees to roll the RedSox than the alternative, I can’t wait until this weekend. Both teams are now basically queued up for the late season push, so this will be quite telling as we try to determine who is clearly better in 2009. VMart was a good pick-up for the Redsox, and there’s a long piece in the current Sporting News stating “Why the RedSox are better”. I’m not ready to buy into that, yet. But this weekend may be the first REAL early indicator. I’ll reserve my prediction for September.
Tom Mularz says:
I predict (retroactively, of course) that the Sox (White, that is) will take three of four from the Bronx Bombers.
If a certain pitcher hadn’t been distracted by our President’s phone calls, it may have been a sweep.
Look out for the SouthSiders once Peavy gets healthy.
Ed Sugar says:
First two disclaimers:
1. As many of you Yanqui & Chowd fans know, I am a Dodger fan and really have a little interest in your spats and smack-offs. The only time I will root for your teams is when they play regular season inter-league games against the Giants or any team contending with the Dodgers in the NL West. Aside from those teams, I only support the Bosox when they play the Yanks and the Angels.
2. As I have stated before on these pages, I have no issues with the use of steroids, especially since MLB has for 50+ years looked a blind eye as its players were constantly jacked up on amphetamines. I think Barry Bonds (remember I am a Dodger fan), Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens, Manny Ramirez and Sammy Sosa all deserve a spot in the Hall of Fame along with the likes of Gaylord Perry, Don Sutton, George Brett, Whitey Ford and Ty Cobb (all known rule breakers).
With that said, I would like to throw some “raw” meat on the Beantown/Bronx grill. When it was announced that the Dread-Locked One and Big Papi were among the 104 major league players listed as having tested positive for performance-enhancing substances in 2003, I was reminded of this posting Mr. Curt Schilling had on his blog on December 20th 2007 when it was leaked that Roger Clemens was on the same list:
“There aren’t many options as a fan for me other than to believe his (Clemens) career 192 wins and three Cy Youngs he won prior to 1997 were the end. From that point on the numbers were attained through using (performance-enhancing drugs). Just like I stated about Jose (Canseco), if that is the case with Roger, the four Cy Youngs should go to the rightful winners, and the numbers should go away if he cannot refute the accusations.”
So Schilling I am calling you out. It is time to stand by your words and ask the same of your former Red Sox teammates. When are you going to ask David Ortiz to return his 2004 ALCS MVP Award? What about Manny’s 2004 World Series MVP Award? Do Ortiz’s game winning hits in games 4 and game 5 of the 2004 ACLS go away if he cannot refute the accusations? If you don’t, how about a formal retraction of your above remarks and an apology to Mr. Clemens, Mr. Canseco and any other players you pointed your self-righteous finger at? Hey Montague, are you a man of principle or just another running-at-the-mouth hypocrite?
Yankee and Red Sox fan I turn this over to you and look forward to your responses. Cardinal fan if you now feel you got a raw deal in 2004, love to hear from you.
Jeremy Bromberg says:
Item 1: I consider Curt Schilling’s words as carefully as I consider Rush Limbaugh’s – not at all. Truthfully, anytime either of those names comes up I tune out / stop reading.
Item 2: I agree with you, Ed, these guys weren’t technically cheating. Owing to the power of the union and the almighty greenback, baseball wasn’t about to touch this topic until it became so hot they had to.
Item 3: I brought my wife to Yankees-Red Sox games two years ago and earlier this year. Actually, friends with unbelievable seats (first row betw home & third) brought us both times. My wife, sports-accepting but not an enthusiast, was wondering why the players this year didn’t look as hunky as she remembered from two years ago.
OK, they didn’t *all* do it, but a great, great many ballplayers used. Again, in pursuit of vast wealth, the players needed to look for any means to help them. It (at least) was the era. We now have to consider career stats against when the players played.
Yes, I admit I smiled when reading about Papi and Manny. But I don’t for a second believe my Bombers were all that clean.
Merrill Dubrow says:
Ed,
Appreciate your comments and passion for this topic. Yes you do bring up some good points especially since Big Papi and Manny were caught cheating. My answer is nothing will happen and also should happen and let me try and explain why. even though my answer isn’t a good one its the only one since we DON’T know the other 100 people who cheated, who dirtied a sport they we all love so much. Ed, lets say MLB does what you suggest and gives the World Series trophy to St Louis. Ok congrads they have it and than 3 people on that team were caught cheating and the same could be true for Clemens Cy Young trophies. yes they are tainted but baseball has a BIG problem! And from where I am sitting can’t do anything about it other than put some asterisks in the record books and th hall of fame. I truly believe that is what they will do.
I don’t know why the entire 103 person list can’t come out all at once. This will allow everyone to be judged at once as opposed to slowly (actually very slowly) trickling them out. That is way to painful and should end ASAP.
I hope others give there opinions on this topic.
Thanks Ed.
Merrill
Ed Sugar says:
The list of 103 was agreed to be sealed and confidential. The real story is who is leaking these names (mostly NY/BOS)? MLB has created a real witch hunt atomsphere.
Merrill Dubrow says:
Ed,
Totally agree on point about a witch hunt for sure….. Other Sox players like Matt Clement and Nomar will be there for sure.
I do want to know who is leaking the names – can’t be anyone at MLB? Or can it?
Merrill
howard burack says:
Let’s say we do award St. Louis the trophy from 2004. What happens if one of their players is on the list. Do we try and decide who was the best of the two losers in the LCS. Until that list is produced there will always be “yeah but…”
By the way in the time it took me to write this, Shawn Merriman passed a drug test and Marshawn Lynch passed a breathalizer but since they play football, we seem numb to their transgressions.
Ed Sugar says:
Just a point of clarification – I am no way endorsing the return of any hardware, titles or records. What I am pointing out is the hypocrisy and inconsistent comments of Mr. Schilling and other blow hards in the media
Merrill Dubrow says:
Ed,
Totally agree with you on that point!
This story will NOT go away anytime soon.
Merrill
John D. Hatch, Yankee Hater says:
Yes, Merrill. I agree that this is much too painful to carry on much longer. Baseball is only stabbing itself in the back with this thing. It continues a long history of stupidity in MLB’s dealing with it’s history. Roger Maris’ asterisk was added when he broke the 60 HR record of the Bambino. It was stupid. It hurt the people involved and it hurt the sport.
Let’s not forget that, after we lost the World Series in 1994, people did not rush back to the sport right away. Within a year or so, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro, etc. started pounding the ball out of the park. much to the joy of Bud Selig and the owners. People came back to the parks in record numbers. Whether it was because of steroids or winding the yarn in the ball tighter, as was suggested at the time, is hardly debatable any more.
So much money is involved here that when a player finds out that his main competition on any team, including his own, is juiced, he must feel the need to bulk up also. As my friend, Ed Sugar, often points out, Jim Rome’s take is “if you ain’t cheatin’, you ain’t tryin’.”
Why does baseball continue to pull a “Plaxico”, shooting itself in the foot? When Lyle Alzado died as a direct result of having taken steroids throughout his career (his words, not mine), did the NFL make a point of carrying on the debate about steroids. Heck NO! They let it drop. If you are a lineman or a mad dog linebacker in the game today are you STILL doing steroids so you can compete?
When athletes have such a narrow career window in their young lives, they must do what is necessary to compete in their chosen profession, regardless of what Lance Armstrong says. There’s too much money involved, and too many personal dreams.
Let Clemens keep his Cy Young Awards. Let ALL the high achievers Ed has named into Cooperstown. Let Pete Rose in AFTER he’s six feet under, not before. Let Schilling keep his WS ring, and for God’s sake, PLEASE let him keep his stinking, self-righteous mouth shut.
It’s time to move on.
Lovejoy says:
oh boy, this is me agreeing with dubes…write it down!
i don’t think mlb should take anything away from anyone. they obviously knew it was going on years ago and/or whenever these records were made, and they did nothing about it then. they shouldn’t do anything about it now just because they essentially got caught right along with the players. i don’t even think they should put asterisks anywhere. i’m sure they will but why bother. they have a list of 100+ players, but how likely is it that that is all of the ones that were doing it?? that’s just the ones that got caught! and this crap of leaking one or two players’ names at a time is a joke! i’m a die-hard yankees fan, but not necessarily an a-rod fan, and i think what they did to him was bs. same goes for these two, and i’m certainly not a fan of theirs. if they aren’t going to release the entire list, then shut up about it. the entire list should have been destroyed with not one name released, but here we are. killing baseball. a lot of things outside of baseball are illegal now that weren’t years ago. people do things…some get caught and some don’t. and the best part about it is, we do not hear about it every single day. doesn’t mean cheating was the right thing to do, but what’s done is done. there’s no way to right the past. they need to focus on the future or there won’t be one.
oh yeah…and let pete in!!!
Joe Baldi says:
Merrill, great topic and great responses. I’m a Yankee hater from way back, but I do have to give them their kudos for things past and also for this years performance. That being said, I think the Sox getting Martinez was a major move. He can hit, play first and catch and in my opinion he will be the difference maker.
Question is can anyone beat the Phillies in the series ? I don’t think so. As a long suffering Met fan I have to say the Phils are the team to beat.
Re the list of 104, I’m all for releasing the rest of the names and putting that discussion to bed once and for all. The media loves all this controversy and would like to see it go on forever.
In my opinion Pete Rose should never be in the HOF. he violated BB’s cardinal rule by gambling on the game. If you can keep Shoeless Joe out for 70 years for something for which he was not convicted for then I’m all for Roses ban.
By the way, I hate to say this but I would not be at all surprised if the list came out and Pujols and Piazza were on it. So Cardinal fans hold your breath.
Go SOX!!!!!!
Joe
Merrill Dubrow says:
Joe,
Good comments. Not sure I agree with the Phillies being the team to beat. The Yankees are playing amazing and in my gut have peaked way to soon. The Sox can’t hit right now and have had more injuries bite them but they should be ok and if they play the Angels in a 5 game series I will take Beckett and Lester in 3 of those game any say of the week. I hope King Albert isn’t on any list – he is an amazing player and perhaps the best of all time.
I thought your Mets were going to be ok and go to the Series – wow was I wrong.
Merrill
Bob Graham says:
Big Papi tested positive in 2003, not 2004. I’ll wait to see tests from 2004 before I even begin to consider the greatest sports moment of the 21st century tainted.
As for the WS Trophy, you can’t give that back. If this were happen, I would not be able to leave my house here in St Louis. So the trophy stays where it is, just as the 1996 Final Four banner still hangs from the rafters at the Mullins Center in Amherst, MA.
And Jennie Lovejoy and I agree on something. Is this a sign of the Apocalypse?
Randy Carson says:
As a fan of the Rays, The defending AL champs everyone seems to discount in the AL East race this year, I can honestly say I am on the fence about the Yankees and the Red Sox.
However, having to endure their fans when they come to the Trop, especially Red Sox fans, who seemingly feel a sense of entitlement since finally winning a World Series, is not a pleasant experience.
So I can only hope they beat up on each other and the Rays go on a bit of a streak. Time will tell, but I have to love the earlier post, happily proclaiming their team this year’s Rays..boy how times have changed!
Merrill Dubrow says:
Randy,
As I type your Rays are only a game behind the sox for the wild card. I never thought they would get that close and don’t believe they have enough to make the playoffs – but who knows….. I am often wrong. The sox are floundering and cant hit anything right now and have more injuries – One thing is for sure the last 50+ games will be very interesting to say the least.
Good luck to you and your Rays!
Merrill
Matt Gershner says:
I just had to come back here and mention that the Yankees just took 4 games in a row, kept the Sox scoreless for 31 innings and now lead the AL East by 6.5 games.
I think the guys from Boston couldn’t wait to get out of town last night.
Life is good.
Pat S. says:
I will be brief — I guess we will be enjoying if for awhile.
Merrill Dubrow says:
Pat,
You would be correct – it doesn’t look great right now for my Redsox. Thanks for being brief.
Merrill
Lovejoy says:
**ENJOYING IT!**
Merrill Dubrow says:
Jennie,
I KNOW, I KNOW, I KNOW, I KNOW a thousand times. This is starting to get very painful!
Merrill