Not sure who wrote this: Random thougth about the Bosox. People have talked about how screwed up the players are on the team (the whole not standing for GBA discussion). But from the perspective of a Yankee fan, I think the real problem si is management, specifically Dan Douquette (sp?). Jimmy Williams does a phenomenal job given injuries to his two best players. Without Pedro or Nomar they hang in there and then he fires Williams. Why? Because Williams won't accomodate that psychopath Carl Everett? The players are totally disenchanted with management.
Me: Certainly they are, and who wouldn't be if your GM was Dan Duquette? The man has the people skills of a five year old. On the other hand, let's give him some credit - the man who engineered the Pedro Martinez trade is clearly doing something very right, and I think he signed a good contract with Manny Ramirez as well. A team with Pedro (at his peak, the best pitcher ever), Nomar (second best shortstop in the majors, and second to the best shortstop _ever_), and Manny (best rightfielder in the AL) is a team with a phenomenal core. If not for the amazing run of bad luck with injuries, plus the Sox's idiotic insistence on overworking Pedro, I think they'd have done fine. They've still got a great shot next year once they've dumped dead weight like Dante Bichette. Doug: > I was lucky enough to be at the game that clinched the > wildcard for the A's. > So soon we'll be playing those Yanks in the post season > again. We almost beat them last year. And I've got tickets > for game 4. Do I hope the Bums win one so I get to go? Us Yankee fans are very worried about the A's. I am not sure that even with our pitching we can handle them. Second half of the year they have been the best team in baseball hands down. The winner of this series is going all the way in my opinion. Me: What about the Mariners, who are only putting together one of the best seasons of all time? While I have great affection for the A's - the best run team in MLB by a very large margin, in my opinion - I think that between them and the Mariners it's pick 'em. Yankee pitching is good, but it's not, statistically, as good as that of the A's or the Mariners, and the offenses aren't even close. The ball always bounces in the Yankees favor, and the umps always make mistakes on their behalf (I'm not claiming conspiracy, just a one-century run of good luck :-) but even that won't be enough when they have to beat not one, but _two_ clearly superior teams. The NL representative in the Series is probably going to be road kill, though. A 7-game series is always going to be nothing more than a flip of the coin, but I just can't see any of the NL teams beating either the Mariners or the A's, although I think Houston, the Cards, and maybe even the Diamondbacks might be able to handle the Yanks. Gautam
