What I'll Remember About Yankee Stadium

I've never been to that hallowed piece of ground in the Bronx that they call the House that Ruth Built.

I never got a chance to go see monument park or here the loud speakers blast "New York, New York" after a Yankees win.

I've never been to Yankees Stadium, but there is one moment that I'll remember for the rest of my life.

I was 12. People told me that the 1998 Yankees were a team of destiny. There's no way that my San Diego Padres, which have never won a World Series, was going to beat the greatest team in the history of baseball.

But there I was, watching Game 1 as a wide-eyed kid in a city that had gone bonkers for its baseball team (I had braces at the time and that entire season, the colors of the rubber bands on my teeth with Padres blue and orange).

And before my eyes I saw Kevin Brown pitch with efficiency. I saw Greg Vaughn hit two home runs. I saw Mr. Padre himself, Tony Gwynn, blast one over the right field wall and into the upper deck. I saw what many thought was unbelievable--the Padres had a 5-2 lead over this so-called team of destiny.

But the magic for the Padres was killed short thereafter. Tied 5-5, with the bases loaded, the count 2-2, Mark Langston on the mound, with Tino Martinez at the plate in the bottom of the 7th, with two outs, Langston threw what Padres pitching coach Dave Stewart has since said was a "pretty good pitch."

The pitch was covered the plate, it came by Martinez right at the knees, but Rich Garcia called it a ball. The count now was 3-2 and the next pitch Martinez blasts it for a grand slam. The Yankees never looked back in the series, sweeping my Padres.

I'll never forget that moment. I'll never forget screaming at the television, feeling let down by the system and this American League umpire screwing San Diego. I'll never forget how I felt after that game. It was as if we all knew that the Padres' one and only chance of stealing this series went by as fast as Martinez's ball left the park. We all knew San Diego wasn't going to win the World Series after one game. Because it was the Yankees and only shit like that happens to a team like that--a "team of destiny."

I know I wasn't the only one who felt like that or still feels like that.

So, I say good riddance Yankee Stadium. I never met you, but I never wanted to know you--especially after that game.

By the way, here's a YouTube clip of that very moment:

Hell Freezes Over in Tampa

For years the Tampa-St. Petersburg area has seen some awful sports. The Buccaneers sucked for years. Some people didn't even know that the Lightning existed. And the Devil Rays (now Rays) had been overshadowed by their fellow expansion team in Arizona.

Not...anymore.

Since the turn of the century, Tampa Bay sports have been the top of their respective leagues with the Bucs and Lightning brining home championships.

The Rays now have their chance and it seems that the whole Tampa area finally now believes in this team.

Trust me, it is kind of hard to believe. I really didn't fault the fans for not coming early in the season, when the Rays were hot and surprised everyone by snatching first place early. The team was the worst team in the majors last year, and now they're in the playoffs.

But how amazing that is, what's more unbelievable is that the New York Yankees are officially done. I think it's safe to say that the dynasty is over (it was probably over a long time ago), and we don't have to deal with all of their bullshit this postseason.

It's kind of fitting that they're about to implode the Old Yankee Stadium. The Yankees players of the past, considering the talent that this current New York squad, should be rolling around in their grave. This team doesn't deserve to play in the house the Ruth built.

Pop the champagne, the empire is over.

Like the band of Ewoks that toppled the Empire in Star Wars, the Rays finally ended the Yankees evil clutch on the baseball's playoffs.

Thank you Rays. Thank you.

A World Without the Yankees or Red Sox

To the headline I say, "If only. We can dream. We can hope. Yes we can, just one month left."

With the calendar turning from August to September and as we enter the final month of baseball, there is a huge possibility that the two mightiest of evils may be left out of October for the first time in a very long time.

As I write this post, Boston trails Tampa Bay by 5.5 games with 26 games left for the Red Sox (including tonight's tilt with Baltimore). New York is 12 games back of the Rays, with 25 games left to play in the season.

Boston, however, does own the wild card right now, leading Minnesota by 2.5 games.

So, there is that possibility and oh how I and many others are rejoicing the fact that the Sox and the Yanks may not see the postseason in 2008.

Many may say that I'm just jealous. And, yes, I am, because these have been two of the most successful franchises in all of professional sport in the last 15 years (and maybe all time). But so is the rest of the country, especially people out here on the west coast.

We're tired of the New York/Boston-bias (let's get this straight. When we say "east coast bias," we really mean the bias the national media puts on the New York and New England sports teams).

We're tired of getting Yanks/Sox shoved down our throats. We're tired of having to watch the Yankees and Red Sox on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball everytime New York and Boston has a series ending on a Sunday.

We're tired of the 15-minute segments devoted to the Yankees and the 15-minute segments devoted to the Red Sox on SportsCenter.

We're tired of Jeter, Posada, A-Rod and Mariano. We're tired of Varitek, Big Papi, Beckett and Schilling.

We're tired of 26 World Series championships. We're tired of 86 years. We don't care about a fucking bloody sock.

We're just tired of the Yankees and Red Sox.

It will be refreshing to see a playoffs without one of the two and a little weird. So much attention has been put on these two teams once October 1 comes around, and yes, I'll admit it, if both teams don't make it, it will feel like something is missing.

But baseball has survived before. And baseball will continue to thrive, even without the Yanks and Sox. And I argue that it's healthy for baseball--to get away from the Yankees and Red Sox. There's plenty of drama out there besides these two spotlight-stealing, headline-whoring ball clubs.

So, I'm wishing for every Red Sox loss and Yankees defeat. I'm wishing for a postseason free of the corporatized Boston and New York markets.

Let's hope for an un-adulterated postseason.

Everyone's been talking about change lately. Let's also see some change in the world of baseball.