It Was "The Curse Of The Andino!"

So the collapse of the 2011 Red Sox is complete.  After all the talk at the beginning of the season and after their dominance of the Yankees all season long, they are going home and not going to the postseason. It goes down as the greatest collapse in MLB history.

How could it happen? All the so-called analysts are all over ESPN, MLB Network and other outlets, offering up explanations. I yawn when I hear them. I have heard only one explanation that I like: The Curse Of The Andino.

Michael Kay was the first person I heard utter the phrase. He said it on his radio show today and he attributed it to Nick Swisher. I doubt Nick made it up himself, because if you google it, it turns up in over a half dozen search results. In any case, it appears we have a new Red Sox Curse, and we have none other than Robert "bleeping" Andino of the Baltimore Orioles to thank for it. His clutch hitting against Boston over the last few weeks helped to seal the fate of the Red Sox.

I loved what Andino said about his accomplishments: "End of season like this, to make Boston go home sad, crying, I'll take it all day." [NESN]

So will I, Robert. So will I.

"Go Rays," Said The Yankee Fan, Part 2

As anyone who has read this blog knows, I hate the Boston Red Sox.  Nothing would be be more satisfying than to see Red Sox Nation crying their eyes out over their team not making the playoffs this year. So you can imagine how good I felt last night in the first inning of the night portion of the day-night doubleheader, when the Yankees scored 3 runs off John Lackey.

But they were able only to score 1 more run, and when all was said and done, after 14 innings, the Red Sox won the game and still retained a 1-game lead in the AL Wild Card Race. To say I was disappointed would be putting it mildly. It almost felt as if the Red Sox had swept the doubleheader.

So Boston still leads and Tampa Bay is one game behind. Boston is in Baltimore for its final three games. The Yankees, who have 97 wins, start their final regular season series tonight against the Rays. They are all saying the politically correct thing: "We want to win our games."  Come on, guys. What's more important: winning 100 games or knocking the Red Sox out of the playoffs? Don't know? Just ask Russell Martin.

Go Rays. Go Orioles.

The 2011 Yankees: Three Key Moments From The Key Three

Until last night it had been a special season for two of the three active Core Fore Yankees. Derek Jeter got his 3,000th hit in story-book fashion and Mariano Rivera notched his record-breaking 602nd save.  But, for Jorge Posada, the season was anything but special. It seemed as if he was on his way to an unceremonious career end, relegated to the bench late in the season and not expected to make the postseason roster.

Until last night, that is. As he has done so often in his career, Posada rose to the occasion and drove in the go-ahead, division-clinching runs. After the final out of the game, Kim Jones of YES interviewed Posada, and asked if this was a special personal achievement, the way Jeter's and Rivera's were earlier this year. He said, "I don't know about that," and added something to the effect of just helping the team win. Here's te interview:



Always the humble one, that Posada. Well, he may not consider it a big personal achievement along the lines of Jeter's and Rivera's, but I do. I think it's fitting that he was the one who got the game-winning hit last night, and I think it's very meaningful that the three of them, The Key Three, shined the way they did this year. They are the anchors of this great playoff run which began in 1995 and, except for a hiccup in 2008, continues each year to this day.

Congratulations to Jorge Posada, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and the entire Yankee team!

Go Yankees? Asked The Yankee Fan

Earlier this season, if anyone had said the Yankees would have a big say in who would be the AL Wild Card team this year, you would have thought they meant fighting off the Rays and Angels in order to win it, right? Well, here we are going into the last week and a half of the season, and it's the Boston Red Sox who are doing the fighting. They're desperately fighting off a Rays team who, going into today, is only 2 games behind.

Those Rays have 7 (and the Red Sox have 3) games remaining with the Yankees, whose magic number to clinch a playoff spot is 5 and 7 to win the division. That leaves me in a quandary.

In my last post I expressed my hope that the Red Sox would be knocked out of playoff contention and I was very happy that the Rays did their part this past weekend to make that happen. But, do I really want the Yankees to do their part? Do I really want the Yankees to lose to the Rays, and put their own playoff chances in jeopardy? Of course not.

So I have to root for the Yankees to win these 7 games (or, most of them). In so doing, I am indirectly rooting for the Red Sox.

Ugh. I think I'm going to be sick.



LATB POLL RESULTS:  Voter apathy was the story in the latest LATB Poll, which asked if pitchers should be ineligible to win the MVP award. Only 12 people were interested enough to vote. Of those 12, only 3 said they should be ineligible for the award.  Perhaps Justin Verlander's 24 wins have made this a non-issue.

"Go, Rays," Said The Yankee Fan

A big four-game series starts tonight and the Yankees will only be spectators. Yes, I'm talking about the Red Sox-Rays series which opens tonight at Fenway.

Just before the season began, the Boston Red Sox were proclaimed AL East Champions by just about every MLB "expert" in every media outlet in the country.  The Red Sox were going to run away with the division, they all said, and we were probably looking at a Red Sox-Phillies World Series.

Well, not so fast, guys. There appears to be a fly in the ointment, so to speak. The Red Sox have played themselves out of first place, into a four-game lead against Tampa Bay in the Wild Card standings. Boston has been playing lousy lately and Tampa Bay has gained ground. Can they gain more gound this weekend? I hope so. In fact. I'm hoping for a four-game sweep by Tampa Bay. I'm hoping Tampa Bay destroys Boston and, over the next few weeks, knocks them completely out of the playoffs.

Will my hopes turn into reality? Probably not. Boston is just too good. But, just imagine it happening. After all that was said in the off-season and during Spring Training, and after Boston's complete domination over the Yankees practically all season long, the Red Sox don't even make the playoffs. Talk about a major upset!

I'll be watching this series closely all weekend and I hope it happens. Go, Rays!


POLL UPDATE:  There are still a few days to vote in the latest LATB Poll, which asks whether pitchers should be considered for the MVP award. Go to the top of the left sidebar to cast your vote. Thank you!

LATB Poll: Should Pitchers be INELIGIBLE To Win The MVP Award?

Happy Labor Day everyone! Now that we have come to the unofficial end of Summer, the end of baseball's regular season is in sight. It won't be too long before the playoffs and, after that, the postseason awards.

With the season Detroit's Justin Verlander is having he is an absolute lock for the American League Cy Young Award. In fact, he has pitched so well this year that there is talk of him being considered for the league's MVP award. I can't watch a sports show on TV or listen to one on the radio without seeing or hearing baseball "analysts" debate this issue.

People on both sides of the debate make sense. Those against it say pitchers have their own award and they are not everyday players. Those for it argue that the Tigers are well over .500 in games Verlander pitches and only around .500 when he does not pitch. They also point out that there is nothing in the BBWAA by-laws that says pitchers are not eligible for the award.

What do you think? The latest LATB Poll asks the question: Should pitchers be INELIGIBLE to win the MVP award?  The poll is up on the top of the blog's left sidebar. You have until Sunday night, September 11th to cast your vote, but don't wait. Vote now and let your voice be heard. Also feel free to leave your comments about this debate below. Just click on "Cheers and Jeers" to get started.

UPDATE, 9/12/11: The voting period for the poll has been extended. You now have until Sunday night, September 18th to cast your vote. So, what are you waiting for?  Express your opinion now!