When Do Pitchers and Catchers Report?

This may have been one of the worst weekends of my life.

Beyond getting sick (I've had a lingering cold since Thursday and have finished off about 1 1/2 boxes of Puffs Plus...I don't think a horny 18 year old has reached that level in a year's worth of work), I got to witness NY(A) fall apart on the national stage.

I am thankful to all of my friends......Yes, I've gotten emails, text messages, phone calls checking to see how I am doing 1) "Are you on suicide watch?" (which I'm not), 2) YANKEES SUCK!!!! (Thanks!), 3) "Uh bye bye Yankees!" (Preciate it!)....and I'll stop there.....

Before I get on with the rest of the blog....you may have questions about the picture. Well, I typed in "Tigers Yankees" on a google search and that came up. Nothing wrong with a little Jessica Alba on the top of the page.

My take on the entire series. You watch these Yankees play and notice a huge difference between this team and the other teams that have won it or at least come close. They don't get those fortunate calls or place the ball perfectly on the foul line for a double....hell, they don't get many hits at all! I don't think it was the Detroit pitching as much as the Yankees slumping in the postseason. Steve Blass could have pitched against NY(A), and I think the result would have been the same. I think the Yankees would have lost to the Royals if they played them...

....and I'm talking about the Clark Little League Royals.

Plus, the Yankees don't have an elite rotation anymore. Wang is a good starter and I'll even go with Mussina (I just wish he was more consistent) but the rest of that starting staff is a joke. I don't think Torre should be fired but ARod should be sent somewhere where he'll never have another chance to see the postseason again. Maybe Tampa Bay....I just don't want to see that kid have to go through the agony he's put on himself again.

So, I have been doing some thinking lately. With no teams for which I want to cheer, Detroit winning makes a nice story but I don't feel like watching rioting on television. And to see them celebrate an ALDS victory like they just won the World Series was quite disturbing.

Frank Thomas is another nice story but does ANYONE really care about the A's? I was always a Cardinals fan as a kid, so I am leaning in that direction for now. Then again, I do feel bad for the Sandman, who has been a Mets fan for such a long time. Do I want the long suffering streak to end and see him elated and watch the Mets win a championship? Do I want Joe Pendleton to enjoy a Mets title with his young Pendletons for the first time? Do I want the boost for the local economy?

I'm not sold on that yet.

I did get a nice treat late Saturday night. While watching an episode of Saturday Night Live, they had a sketch with our friend Kuato featured prominently. I almost called Joe Pendleton to alert him but it was very late and I didn't want to risk catching him on beer #346 and get the slurred "Wha naaaaamber does Daaaarek Jeter wear? Huh Taaaad? Wha number?" question.

Although I was not able to find the SNL skit on the web, I was able to locate this.

Back I go to my bed to ponder another lost season. Hey, at least I still have Rutgers, right?

On a related note....the Scarlet Knights soccer squad beat St. John's for the first time in 6 tries. Remember when Rutgers was one of the best teams in the conference? Now they're 7th in the Big East. They're not even ranked in the top 10 of their REGION! It's been 12 years since the Final Four. With some of the best facilities in the country, is there something wrong here?

My Coke Rewards....up to 911.