From now on, I will act as if the Red Sox and Yankees don't exist...

[HuckleB]

At least on this board, with the only exception being the playoffs and any time they play a team I care about. (And, yeah, I do have tix to see the RSox play in Seattle on Saturday and to see the Yankees play at Safeco on Monday.)

I just think it's time to give my attention to the rest of baseball for a while, and that's hard to do around here. Anyone care to join me?

No offense intended to Red Sox and Yankees fans. Please. Keep your "hater" rants for a time when they might, theoretically, actually be appropriate.

And, no, I've got no idea how long I'll be able to keep this commitment.

----------

Is this the year of the White Sox? I dunno. I've been predicting their ultimate downfall from day one of the season. But doubts about this prediction have begun to creep into play.

Or did the Cardinals add the right pieces to the puzzle? And how far has the NL Central fallen? The Brewers are in second place, one game above .500, for Robin Yount's sake!

How good could the Dodgers be if they ever get healthy?

Has Billy Beane lost his magical touch? Was Paul DePodesta the true mastermind in Oakland?

Any other non-Red Sox and non-Yankee topics that we should cover?

Salud!

:toast:

[Moriarty]

1. As a ChiSox fan...

"Is this the year of the White Sox? I dunno. I've been predicting their ultimate downfall from day one of the season. But doubts about this prediction have begun to creep into play."

I can say that, if they have one, we'll probably still be predicting their ultimate downfall even during their ring ceremony next season. Its just what we do :)

[HuckleB]

7. Yes, yes.

That is the way it has to be, I believe.

Salud!

[JohnKleeb]

2. God youre forgetting a very important non-Yanks, non-Sox topic

The 22-11 Baltimore Orioles, yeah so why they bicker, something about the world series last year blah blah blah and something about how you have 26 championships blah blah blah blah, etc, you're gonna have to deal with a team thats not a spoiler but a legitimiate contender for division leader, and it is May 12th today and they are still in first place, and 11 games above 500, and to those who say they're just a power team, youre wrong, they win in many other ways too.

[HuckleB]

3. Oops.

I was thinking through things division by division, in my mind. And I, inexcusabley, skipped the AL East, for obvious reasons. But, yeah, the Orioles are exciting, and a must on any list of current topics in baseball.

Salud!

:hi:

[JohnKleeb]

4. Thanks man

I had to bite my nails a couple times in that twins series since their defense has been pissing me off but the way they played against Johan Santana yesterday afternoon gave me even more hope as it proved to me that they can one play great baseball against a Cy Young winner and two do that against a lefty pitcher without Sammy Sosa, lefty pitchers were their achelle heels last year along with pitching. Orioles are 5th in AL with a ERA of 3.97 but they need to work on their defense.

[joeybee12]

5. But if you talk about the O's, then you'll have to talk about

the Red Sox--you'll soon be wondering how many games the Bosox are ahead of you! ;-)

[JohnKleeb]

6. hah

they're doing great as of late but the key to being a division leader Ive noticed since they had it so we play our co-divisionists 18 instead of 12 times a year, the team who does best in their division ultimately ends up on top, Orioles are 16-6 against the East, the Jays and the Sox are only two games and a game 500 above respectfully but they Sox have been really good against the central and west.

[joeybee12]

8. Tongiht is key for both the O's and White Sox...

...we'll see if the WSox are really that good, and if the O's win, they certainly can start bragging. Maybe it will come down to the AL East again this year--with the wild card coming from there again--let's just hope the skankees don't play into the equation this year!

[JohnKleeb]

11. This whole series is key IMO

I dont want the yankees in at all, they've been in the playoffs for too damned long, the last time they werent in when was when I was in 1st grade, too damned long ago.

[joeybee12]

12. Yikes!

Didn't see the game--still, it shows they're closely matched. It's only the first game, too.

[HuckleB]

15. Nah.

Overall trends may be starting to peer through the haze of the young season, but one series in May, regardless of the opponent, isn't going to make or break anything.

[Jersey Devil]

21. You were in first grade in 1995?

Actually, we can't count that year since there was a strike, but the Yanks were not in the playoffs at all from 1982 through 1995, 14 seasons, so Yankee fans know what you have been going through with the O's.

O's are looking very good right now but it is still much too early to crown them as a playoff team or to write off the Yankees either for that matter.

Hey, this kid Wang looks like the real thing, was throwing 94 last night, didn't know he had that kind of speed, first farm starter if he sticks since Pettite.

[JohnKleeb]

22. 2nd or 3rd yeah

1994 I was in first, 1995 they played a series, remember it was the only year they won the series. Of cousre I am not writing off the Yankees, Ive been through too many good starts by the orioles to know that not everything is permanet. Funny you mention those 13 years because from 84-96, the orioles had a similar drought.

[Redneck Socialist]

13. Oops! Somebody's only a game back now...

:evilgrin:

[Bluzmann57]

9. As long as Sammy Sosa plays for the O's

they will never win the World Series, let alone the A.L. championship. His selfishness will rear its ugly head soon enough. If it sounds like I'm somewhat bitter about the whole Sosa situation, its because I am.

[JohnKleeb]

10. I hope to god you are wrong

[HuckleB]

14. I'm not sure the O's need Sammy to do much of anything.

I'm sure they're not counting on him come playoff time, if the playoffs are, indeed, in their future.

:hi:

[KitchenWitch]

16. The White Sox, though hot right now, may not be around for much

after the all star break. JMHO.

[JohnKleeb]

17. hope youre right

we did what we could btw, split a series with em.

[HuckleB]

18. Not so long ago, I thought that was a sure thing.

But, with every day, I'm suspecting that they may hang around all year.

[HuckleB]

19. As I noted in my original post, I did hit Safeco this past weekend...

saw Saturday, Sunday and Monday's games. All entertaining and competitive, believe it or not. The M's even won on Sunday!

And, while I do hate to generalize, and I will try to avoid doing so, I have to note that Yankees fans were not well represented by comparison to the RSox fans. And, while there were more Sox fans in attendance than Yankees fans, that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about how much more enjoyable the Sox fans near us were compared to the majority of nearby Yankees fans, who were angry, nasty, brutish and dumb, er I mean drunk. But so were the Sox fans. Drunk I mean. :) And while Sox fans enjoyed good natured verbal jousting with us M's folk, the majority of Yankees fans seemed to lack this necessary social skill, so valuable in increasing the enjoyment of sporting events. Sox fans won well and lost well, while the majority of Yankees fans won butt ugly after acting butt ugly the entire game. Now, I know not all Yankees fans are like this. I've been privileged to view a few games at Yankee stadium, and I've always enjoyed myself. And not all Yankees fans were of the dufus persuasion, even at lowly Safeco. (And, yeah, I know there are plenty of dufus M's fans, too.) Still, it was odd to see such a striking difference, and all I can say is that I really missed the Sox fans on Monday night.

I shall now go back to my previous, "no Sox and no Yankees" commitment. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I suppose this makes me a "hater." Blah. Blah. Blah.

:toast:

[cruadin]

20. Why you hatin' on the Yankees, man?

I'm kidding -- I'm kidding. ;)

I wish the Sox (the team) had had a better time at Safeco. From a Seattle perspective, at least the Mariners' batters had a chance to feast on some pretty weak pitching -- for the Boston series: 22 runs, 34 hits and 11 walks over the three games. Boston isn't going to stay in contention with pitching like that. }(

[HuckleB]

24. I think hate is genetic. No?

;)

Yeah, not sure what happened to Sox pitching out west. This swing definitely will not go down as a highlight of their year.

That said, I've got a new respect for Johnny Damon. I had no idea how much fun he has with the crowd, while still being able to keep his head in the game. A bloody entertainer, that one is.

[HuckleB]

23. Gotta add the Padres to the list of topics.

They've won seven straight, and now stand atop the NL West!

[KamaAina]

25. But... but.. in that case, who are the 2004 World Champions?

Help! I'm having an existential crisis over here! If the Sox don't exist, then how did this...



...come to be?

[HuckleB]

26. 'Twas all a dream.

Actually, the key word is "act." And, sure, depending on the type of theatre in question, existentialist angst may still come into play.

:hi:

[KamaAina]

27. But then how do you explain the Citgo sign in the background?

Most certainly the Citgo sign, two blocks over in Kenmore Square, has an existence independent of that of Fenway (or not-Fenway, as you postulate). How, then, did it intrude upon this putative dream?

Are you implying that Kenmore Square does not exist? Legions of BU students, not to mention all who ride the Green Line, would beg leave to disagree with you. Or, perhaps, that Citgo does not exist? PNAC and Bush**co can assure you that it does; it is owned by the left-leaning Venezuelan government of Hugo Chavez, which, despite the neocons' best efforts, is still very much in existence.

[HuckleB]

28. Hmm.

So you're saying that your mind can't dream the entire background, but only Fenway itself? Man, I'm sorry to hear that. I mean, heck, I dreamed games three and four all the way over in St. Louis myself. Enjoyed every moment of it. Indeed, I did have a heck of a dream. I only wish you could have enjoyed it in full color, as I did.

:toast: