The Bronx Zoo is back...

So the Red Sox won their 2nd World Series in 4 years. Doom and gloom has set in, and last night was one of those times where I reflected to myself and said:

I'm lucky. My family is healthy; my friends are healthy. And if I could change things around so that the Yanks could win the World Series, I wouldn't do it. That being said, it still sucks that the Red Sox won it again.

There are 3 players on the Red Sox who I really don't like and wish failure on more than the other players. Kevin Youkilis strikes me as a complainer as if there is a conspiracy against him when a call doesn't go his way. Maybe he is just annoyed at himself as opposed to the umpiring, but then again he should just be thankful that he gets to play a game for a living. Dustin Pedroia was someone who I initially liked until he said that an opposing picture "stinks" which doesn't really buy you much in terms of good sportsmanship points. I don't care if he almost got hit by a ball. I would rather you charge the mound and not knock someone else's ability - Pedroia had a dismal start to this season and a lot of people could have given up on him, but they didn't. Maybe some humility is in order.

And of course, one of the mainstays from both teams - Curt Schilling - is a hypocrite who boasted that lots of players took steroids and then backed down when he was asked about it under oath in front of Congress. And as if he didn't learn from his performance in Congress in 2005, he made more dumb a** comments on the topic again. If you're going to speak up about people cheating, back it up or shut up.

Now before you start laughing at me criticizing every Red Sox, there are a number of Red Sox players whom I respect - A LOT. Jonathan Papelbon is clearly someone who competes hard and will have a great future if his arm is managed properly like it was this year. I was stunned when the Red Sox were going to make him into a starter. Jason Varitek may be on the decline offensively but he is up there with Jorge Posada in terms of the value that he provides to the team in terms of managing the pitching staff. David Ortiz seems like a good guy and plays hard - I get amazed at how fast he tries to run around those bases given his size. Jon Lester has had a life-threatening illness and overcame it this past year. And Josh Beckett is the Mr. October of pitching. Mike Lowell, the WS MVP, to the Yankees? He has also rebounded from cancer.

Now as for my Yanks - I am ambivalent about A-Rod opting out. I'm not hurt, not amazed, not jubilant. It's always been about the money with him and I guess he doesn't have enough. Yes, he will break more records and will be in the Hall of Fame, but he'll never be revered like a Varitek or Ortiz, regardless if those two get in the Hall of Fame. It's kind of one of those things where I think he is full of crap about his reasons for leaving. I was joking with a friend earlier that I have never encountered someone so politically unsavvy in terms of how to reading people.

The fact that they made this announcement during the World Series is disrespectful to the two teams playing (yes, even to the Red Sox) and to the game. It wouldn't have mattered for them to wait a day or two to kick off negotiations. Whatever. A-Rod had a chance of an amazing legacy in New York, so now he will be remembered for his performance in October. When I see him play again, I'll boo him if he is playing my team but I do that to everyone anyway. I hope he goes to an AL team like the Tigers or Angels because Marc is right - they'll get cursed.

Joe Girardi as been offered the job of managing the New York Yankees. Next year is going to be a transition (not re-building because you can't really claim that with a $150+ MM annual payroll) year, but I like how Girardi plays small ball and believes in hustling. Don Mattingly would have been more of the same in terms of Joe Torre, so I am pleased with this choice. We'll see how it all shakes out with the free-agent signings.

More to come in this space..... and I need to figure out how I am paying up Nat and Ric.

Oh - I wonder if Rudy Guiliani is going to go to the Red Sox victory parade in Boston. He should go read about Benedict Arnold since he is such an avid reader of history (for those of you who don't know, during 9/11 Rudy reflected a lot on Winston Churchill and how he led during the London bombings in WWII).