Angst in 5 ... 4 ... 3 ...

Opening Day for the Yankees is tomorrow. I'm watching the Braves and Nationals and Joe Morgan, who's the Paula Abdul of baseball color guys (commentators, not black), agrees. Now the season has started. Not on U.S. soil? Doesn't count.

To my point about Morgan. Lastings Milledge? Has the potential to be a great player. Hanley Ramirez? Potential to be the best player is the National League. Who else Joe? How about Rance Mulliniks? How does he stack up? Look at the form. He could have been a great one.

Anyway, my blood pressure's already rising. Yanks face Roy Halladay tomorrow, with Chien-Ming Wang on the hill for the good guys. Great, the Doc versus a very strong Wang. Ha ha ... "strong Wang." I'm hoping for good things. Really, I am.

He's a gambling man

Hideki Matsui got married Wednesday. More importantly, he used that to leverage cash from teammates Derek Jeter and Bobby Abreu. Nice job by Matsui. I always say you never make a bet unless you know you're going to win.

Legends Field was renamed. For George Steinbrenner. Whose idea was this? Probably Hank and Hal's. I'm guessing there's a a reason the field is named "Legends." Perhaps it's because the Yankees have so many notable names in their past they couldn't decide who to name it after. Mantle Park would have been nice. Or Huggins Field. But no. George M. Steinbrenner Field.

I know the Red Sox have opened the season, but it doesn't feel that way. Season's got to start on American soil, and it can't come soon enough. Just a little more than three days and we are all reborn. I'm happy steroids and drug have some what sunk to the back burner. Hopefully the garbage with Clemens and McNamee can wait until after the season to raise it's ugly head once more. The only guy happy with all of this must be Barry Bonds. Unemployed? Yes. The poster boy for the tainted era. Not so much anymore.



Scientists worry an asteroid or other space junk will destroy the Earth at some point soon. I'm worried the Earth might collide with Bonds' head.

Been a while

So, the regular season started ... in Japan. Why?! This plan killed the Yanks a few seasons ago and I'm hoping it has the same effect on the Sox. At least Manny Ramirez is in midseason "look what I can do" form. Is there another guy in MLB that deserves to get drilled in the face more than this guy? He's a complete space cadet and maybe that's why no one has ear-holed him yet.

It's hard to believe this is the last year for the true Yankee Stadium. A few years ago, I would have been worried about the ghosts getting angry and leaving, but now, not so much. I think the next generation of Steinbrenners is doing a dandy job of exorcising any magic the team may have had. What do Yankees fans have to do to get rid of these people? George we suffered through (and won because he got bounced from MLB for a few years) and now the fruit of his corrupt loins will be around for years to come, meddling, ruining the team. It's only a matter of time before they get impatient a start trading the young talent for overrated vets in an effort to "improve the team." I wonder if Brian Cashman sleeps with a gun under his pillow.

On the bright side, the urgency of getting to the Stadium a few times this season is at an all-time high and the energy should be crazy. Maybe this is what the Yankees need to jog them from dormancy. That and a pitching staff that stays healthy the entire season.

Where's Ben?!

Giuseppe Franco and Gary Busey are huge parts of the Yankees' season. That Procede commercial will run at least 2,000 times during the season on YES, and that hug between those two, oh, that hug ...

Apparently Jennifer Garner doesn't watch YES or she'd be aware of what an accomplished and equal-opportunity embracer Gary Busey is. Busey apologized today for hugging Garner during the red carpet march at the Oscars. C'mon Jen, cut the guy some slack, he's 63, he's crazy and he was probably drunk. Maybe he mistook you for a light post or a mailbox.

Anyway, the big question is: Where was Ben when this was happening? Granted, getting in Busey's face is an invitation to meet Mr. Joshua, who is impervious to pain, but you gotta defend you territory.


Do not make eye contact with Busey. It makes him angry.

Get going already

Sooooo ... the preseason continues. I'm trying, but I just can't pay much attention to it. Even with quasifights and cleats to the groin, it's just so ... boring. And it pains me to say that. I love baseball. My wife loves baseball. We love baseball. I get there has to be some preseason. The veterans need to get their work
in, rookies get a chance to make the big club.

But, does it need to be so long? Probably not.

I know Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada will hit when it counts, but guys, how about inspiring some confidence? Jeter's hitting .222 and Posada's hitting .182. They have 10 hits in 46 at-bats as of this morning. They have 8 strikeouts and 4 walks. Not pretty.

Go get 'em Phil

Young Phil Hughes takes the mound today for the Yanks. He's looked great so far. I'm hoping for big things from him. He should be a 15-game winner with no problem, provided the Yankees bullpen, I'm talking about you Kyle Farnsworth, doesn't screw up.

Has Mike Mussina been tested for performance-enhancing drugs? Probably not, he's only throwing in the mid-80s. That's good enough now, but it'll get him clobbered in the regular season.

Fight! Fight! Fight!

Billy Crystal struck out. No one’s surprised.

A-Rod asked for the ball. It’ll be sold for charity, no doubt, and some sucker will pay a stupid amount of money for it. Good for charity, bad for civilization.

You lived your dream, now go away, Billy.

This, it turns out, is the only bad decision Derek Jeter has made in his career as a Yankee. Apparently he made the Crystal thing happen. Hey Derek, next time you have an idea, keep it to yourself ... please.


More importantly, the Yankees were in a brawl. Well, a baseball brawl anyway. I'm a day behind on this because I wanted to soak it in, savor it.

The best part, of course, is Rays right fielder Jonny Gomes bouncing off Shelly Duncan after he was called out and thrown out of the game. (Yankees rookie lefty Heath Phillips got the start but was ejected after 2/3 of an inning) Gomes, who can’t even spell “Johnny” correctly, had about a 200-foot running start and that’s the best he could do? Duncan’s big, but common buddy, head up, shoulders square. You could have severed Duncan’s spine. But you what ... tripped over second base maybe? In the video, Gomes appeared to be on his way down well before he got near second base. That’s why the Rays are losers. They execute a blindside cheap shot correctly.

Nice job by Duncan by the way. If he causes fights this frequently, Yankees fans will riot if the team doesn’t keep him around.