Will It Ever End?

Couple quick side notes:

1. New Warriors! Someone needs to get Stephen Jackson a reality show.
2. That Mayweather/De La Hoya show on HBO... just about the best thing I have ever seen.

That being said, nothing makes me chuckle like when Yankee nation freaks out.

In case you haven't noticed, people in the Bronx and the Upper East Side are doing just that.

The last place Yankees just lost another series to the 1st place Red Sox and are now 6.5 games back of their top nemesis from Beantown. The Yankees being this bad should be enough to make any bitter Yankee hater happy. But for me, I need substance. And it is everything that is transpiring in the Bronx that really has me smiling.

1. A-Rod

This guy finally comes out and asserts himself as baseball's best player. He does this for baseball's most historic and winning franchise on a team that wins its division every single year.

So what can be better than A-Rod's success coinciding with Yankee failures? It is too easy and funny but it is just perfect.

2. Joe Torre getting the can?

Talks have already come up. I see it on espn.com. They write about it in the Post and the Times. But you guys know how I feel about Joe Torre. I think he is crap. I think he receives way too much credit. So, for obvious reasons I enjoy it when he gets the hammer brought down on him. He's deserved it for the last five years.

3. Kei Igawa

This one couldn't have been more obvious. The Yankees panick when the Sox get Dice K and find themselves splashless in a busy offseason for baseball. They make an impulse purchase of a projected 4-5 starter and pay over $50 million dollars for his services.

The guy couldn't make it out of April without losing his rotation spot.

Yeah, he looked good on Saturday, but who cares. Igawa has four more seasons after this one to earn his pinstripes and watching him on the mound will always remind us of this tremendous Yankee blunder.

What is always nice to remember is that other teams can't afford to make $50 million dollar mistakes. Only the Yankees can.

4. The End of Mariano?

I'll be the first to admit, Mariano Rivera may be the best pitcher we will ever see. For 10 years he was unhittable. When he would come in the game, the game was basically over.

I was so amazed by Rivera. He only had one pitch. Hitters knew it was coming and they just couldn't do anything with it. It was baseball at its best.

Is it now all coming to an end? As I said with the Yankees, I'll believe it when I see it. But he has looked terrible in April. His one pitch isn't going as fast or moving as much.

This one kind of saddens me. I've never had a problem with Rivera. It's been nothing but envy and admiration.

But the Yankees are not the Yankees when this guy isn't the best. And right now, he may be the worst closer in his division.

5. The Rise of the Red Sox

I have always liked the Red Sox. It's a product of hating the Yankees and loving Fenway Park. I have always loved the Yanks/Sox rivalry and would attend a few games every year just because I think it is when baseball is at its best.

Right now, the Sox are the best team in baseball... by a long shot.

They have no holes.

They used to lack speed. They added Julio Lugo.

They used to lack protection for Ortiz and Manny. Now they have J.D. Drew.

They used to have one dominant starting pitcher, Curt Schilling. Josh Beckett is proving that he can be that guy as well. The difference between this year and last with him is night and day. Last year he threw. This year he's pitched. And I'm not going to even mention Dice K yet. But this guy has certainly shown some flashes. And he is 2-0 against the Yankees.

This team is complete and dominant. I can't see this changing any time soon.

The Yankees just look like a different team. They look older and slower. They don't exude the Yankeeness that they have for more than a decade.

My dad asked me if I think they are going to come back. I will still say yes.

But with every day and every loss my skepticism grows. And that makes me very happy.

Vaya con dios,

Sip

(Pics courtesy of msnbc.com, bronxpride.com, siouxcityjournal.com)