Henrich laughs it up with Allie Reynolds.

Before there was “Captain Clutch” Jeter, Tommy “Old Reliable” Henrich was setting the standard for timely hitting while helping the Yankees win four titles. The AP has reported that Henrich, a five-time all star, passed away at the age of 96. Henrich played when men were men and he gave up three full seasons for service to his country in WWII. Old Reliable led the league in triples twice and amazingly hit a homerun in each of the four World Series he played. He was believed to have been the fifth oldest living Major Leaguer as well as the oldest Yankee.

He finished third in this season’s Most Valuable Player of the year award voting and he also passed Ted Williams for 68^th place on the All-time hit list, not to mention trading in the pinstripes for the stars and stripes early this spring in an exhibition game at Steinbrenner Field. Now Derek Jeter can add Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year to his list of major league accolades. Jeter joins a fraternity that includes Hit King Pete Rose as well as 1998 winners Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, just to name a few. As early as last Wednesday evening the winner of this prestigious award was a toss up. Well at least it seemed that way up until Tiger Woods decided to smash his Escalade into a fire hydrant.

i’m not going to lie, i’ve been pretty busy in the last week. after the yankees won it all, i’ve been busy with nothing and everything: a second row of midterms just snuck into my life (mainly because I don’t properly read syllabi or remember to refer to them when I should) .

last week started like any other: I was 21 years old in the prime of libe, giddy from the happiness the WS championship had brought to my life. and then it all came crashing down like a thing. first things first: Lou Dobbs just up and quit my life, taking his border policy and his baldness with him. in fairness, i was never really a fan of his (for me its between Kent Brockman and Morbo ) but then again I can’t say there are too many real news men who are that good anyway.

basically, it seems like that once baseball season ended, i had nothing to say. but there were a few little baseball tidbits I came to hear about – all involving the yankees own playboy/attention whore himself. first off, it looks like he’ll be doing a lot more this offseason than working on his defense towards second. according to this random twitter feed ( don’t worry, I’m not some compulsive twat-ter):

TV Update: 12/12 “SNL” = Jon Bon Jovi host, Bon Jovi musical guest; 12/19 = Derek Jeter host, Jay-Z, Alicia Keys & Mr. Hudson musical guests

Jeter’ll be on SNL for the second time on December 19th with Alicia Keys and Jay-Z (and someone else). I guess we all know what song will be played over and over again. jeter is also starring in a new movie with will ferrell and marky mark, where the shortstop is playing the clutchest hobo ever. the other thing is, that jeter may be getting a bridge named after him. unfortunatley it’ll be in the bronx, so i’ll probably never be on it, because i enjoying being alive.

and then I turned 22. boy was that a mistake. now i’m the weird old guy in my classes who isn’t old enough to rent a car, but old enough to have been alive under reagan’s administration (reagan – the actor? ha!). in all honesty, i’m kind of like richard alpert from LOST because people tell me I never really age (my doctor thinks i’m still in hs), and save for last year when I had really long hair, I look consistently the same. but that could just be in my head.

i also started working at a local hospital. i volunteer in the day surgery department, and today it was really slow. I finally got that chance to connect with the women on the view. elizbaeth hasselbeck would be hot if she wasn’t insane. so that’s where i’ve been, hopefully i’ll be able to update more often now that the crazy season is over for a little while longer. thanksgiving’ll be here soon enough, and i’ll be heading over to st. louis and having tofurkey (doesn’t portmanteau sound like a wine?) with my cousins who, unlike me and my morals, probably wouldn’t touch tofurkey with a steel pole.

note: i’ve finally posted a post without pictures or video. does that make my posts more boring? let me know.

High fives all around

Here’s something that might help avenge the travesty of Derek Jeter winning a Gold Glove: Aaron Hill and Adam Lind were named Silver Slugger Award winners yesterday. The awards, voted on by coaches around the league, are handed out to the players with the best “overall offensive value” at each position.

Of course, this also leaves me feeling slightly better about an otherwise horrible Jays season, though still not too optimistic about the one we’re about to embark on next April. At least we have our two mashers, though — Lind, who hit .305/.370/.562 (AVG/OBP/SLG) with 35 homers and 114 RBIs in 2009, may be in for a move to first base if Alex Anthopolous is able to move Lyle Overbay, while Hill (.286/.330/.499, 36 and 108) will keep doing his thing at second base.

Anyway, here’s the full list of Silver Sluggers:

American League: Joe Mauer (C), Mark Texeira (1B), Hill (2B), Evan Longoria (3B), Jeter (SS), Jason Bay (OF), Torii Hunter (OF), Ichiro Suzuki (OF) and Lind (DH). (Note how six of the nine were Gold Glovers, further supporting the assumed theory that the awards are given out to the best fielders that can hit. Does this mean Lind automatically becomes a Gold Glove contender?)

National League: Brian McCann (C), Albert Pujols (1B), Chase Utley (2B), Ryan Zimmerman (3B), Hanley Ramirez (SS), Ryan Braun (OF), Andre Ethier (OF), Matt Kemp (OF) and Carlos Zambrano (P).

Not a Gold Glover in my books

Here’s something that doesn’t come as a shock, mostly because we’ve come to expect garbage like it: Derek Jeter was awarded a Gold Glove yesterday, despite having about as much range as Troy Glaus. Here’s the thing with Gold Gloves, though — they’re not given to the best fielders at each position, they’re given to average-to-good fielders that can hit (such is the reason Johnny McDonald will never win the award, even if he was a starter). That, and guys that make few errors, mostly because they don’t get to many balls. Jeter falls into both those categories, so maybe he’s perfect. Anyway, ESPN baseball genius Rob Neyer echos my sentiments in his SweetSpot blog (Well, maybe I should say I’m echoing his sentiments. Either way, we both think it’s stupid.)

Anyway, here’s the full list of American League Gold Glovers: Joe Mauer (C), Mark Texiera (1B), Placido Polanco (2B), Evan Longoria (3B), Jeter (SS), Torii Hunter (OF), Ichiro Suzuki (OF), Adam Jones (OF) and Mark Buerhle (P).

The National League hands out its Gold Gloves today — expect much of the same criteria.

Is it right that since the New York Yankees won the world series that they should have more light shed on their players for awards such as the MVP award, Gold Gloves, etc. This is the flaw of the MLB awards and they need to change the system so the players are selected before the playoffs. Now that that Yankees have won Mark Teixeira and Derek Jeter are getting more attention for the MVP race and others as well. Derek was just named the 2009 AL Hank Aaron award winner. This is supposed to be awarded to the best hitter in the game that year. Jeter had a hell of a season, I am not trying to put him down in any way. He batted with a .334 avg, had 18 home runs, 66 RBIs, and had an on base percentage of .406. Anyone would take this for their season, BUT Joe Mauer of the Twins had a batting average of .365, had 28 home runs, 96 RBIs, and an on base percentage of .408. Mauer beat Jeter in every category so I am confused on what the criteria for MLB awards are anymore. Is it how many Gatorade commercials, or Gillette commercials a guy can be on? Please give me your thoughts and opinions about how the awards are given out and who you think should have won the different awards.

I have not posted for a while due to my busy schedule, but I have some time now.

This is more of a personal post on my part. As you probably all know, the New York Yankees won the World Series.

I have been a die-hard Yankees fan for years now. My dad and I have been going up to games in Cleveland since I was a little kid. We have shared this passion for a long time.

But one thing we have never gotten to see was a World Series Championship. I was only six years old when they beat the New York Mets back in 2000, too little to know what was going on. We have waited years for this moment, and it finally happened.

On Wednesday night, the Yanks won Game Six in New York, bringing home their 27th World Series Championship. Coming into the game, I was worried. With Joe Girardi going with Andy Pettitte on three days rest, there was no room for mistake. Yes, Pettitte has always been a reliable postseason pitcher. But I was still not confident. I was already clearing my Thursday night plans so I could watch Game Seven.

To my surprise, Pettitte was dominant. He was almost as dominant as Hideki Matsui’s bat. Matsui, in my opinion, racked up one of the most amazing postseason performances in the history of the game. He was well deserving of the World Series MVP.

When the Yankees entered the ninth inning with the lead, my dad and I changed our level of confidence. Mariano Rivera, easily the best postseason closer ever, was in the game. There was no way he would give up any runs. With a weak ground ball to 2nd baseman Robinson Cano, the Yankees were back on top of the world.

Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, and Derek Jeter jumped around as if it was 2000 again. Alex Rodriguez hopped up and down as if he had been in this position before. Joe Girardi embraced his bench coaches, knowing that the goal of getting New York’s 27th championship had just been completed. The Yankees celebrated on the field, while my dad and I celebrated ourselves.

I just witnessed the New York Yankees win their 27th World Series, and first since 2000. It has been a very long time that the pinstripes have been top of the baseball world, but I can’t say I’m upset or angry with their recent success.

Before the playoffs started, I predicted the Phillies to beat the Yankees in the World Series, so in a way I was rooting for them, but I am happy to see the Yanks as Champs. I figured with Lee, Martinez and Hamels on the mound they’d be fine. Hamels was not his typical self this post-season after winning the World Series MVP last year and that did cost them. Ryan Howard, who had an amazing NLDS and NLCS was cold in the finals and set a record for most strikeouts . To my surprise, the Yankees 3-man rotation worked perfectly throughout the playoffs, and the bats were just that much stronger then those of the Phils.

Growing up a Toronto Blue Jays fan, you learn to hate the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. It’s the same as being a Maple Leaf fan and growing up with a natural hatred of the Montreal Canadiens. As a teenager, I remember dreading the late 90s when the Yanks won 4 of 5 Championships. It was all the talk about New York and their spending ways, people would claim they bought the title. I had this same thought process like many other  naive  Yankee haters. Seeing Yanks lose in Game 7 to the Diamondbacks was a good feeling and the same with one of the biggest chokes in professional sports when they lost a 3-0 series lead to the Boston Red Sox in 2004. It was the first time in baseball history, that a team lost such a lead. Throughout their recent losing years I have gained an appreciation for the Yankees.

I’ve gained respect for some of the players and the team. Derek Jeter is one of the best, if not the best pure hitter in the majors. His numbers and clutch hits speak for themselves. Rivera is a closer that every team wants, never folds under pressure and is reliable to get the job done. Four members of the team developed in the farm system together in the mid 90s and are still with the team. Posada, Jeter, Rivera, and Pettite are in their 15th season as Yankees and they’ve all won a 5th title. Not many athletes can accomplish such a feat, so my hat goes off to them.

People will say they bought this title, but what’s stopping them from doing so? MLB does not have a salary cap, there are no rules in spending millions of dollars on getting the top free agents. Last off-season the Yankees added three of the top free agents (Teixeira, Sabathia and A.J Burnett) for $423.5 million. They also have Alex Rodriguez, the game’s highest-paid player. Until a cap comes into effect people shouldn’t hate a team with the financial means to win championships. You could criticize them, but ask yourself the simple question: Wouldn’t you want your favourite team to spend this much money? Have this much talent?

Congratulations to the 2009 World Series Champion New York Yankees!

Start Spreading the News.

So this morning I woke up around 4:30 AM and headed out to the Aberdeen-Matawan train station and took the PATH train (first time I’ve ever done that) and headed up to see the Yankees Ticker Tape Parade through the Canyon of Heroes. It was a really special event for Yankees fans everywhere, as we got to see our favorite players celebrate something special for the first time in what seems like an eternity. The day itself could be characterized as nice, but probably too cold for Gelato (sorry Emily), though after standing still on Broadway for about 7 hours, I could definitely used some food (I wound up getting a Falafel from a surprisingly nice street vendor) . Anyway, all that aside, I took some pretty cool pictures of what I saw, as well as some video (which I won’t really upload yet.) After the parade, there was just simply (and cliche-ily) Mayhem in Manhattan. I wandered around asking cops how to get to the WTC PATH station, and all of them told me something different. I have a pretty good sense of direction, but after all of that I was a little disoriented. One of them pointed out that I should “Go to Canal Street” because I won’t miss it. So I did, only to find out the officer sent me to the freaking post office (or Canal Street Station). Eventually, I made my way back from a really interesting day, but I was certainly happy to get home a put my feet up for a while.

In other news, I really hate posting two picture galleries in a row without providing some content, so I’ll try and make up for that. Though I can’t promise much quality, as usual.

Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi
Focal Length: 300.0mm
Exposure Time: 0.002s (1/500)
Aperture: f/8.0
ISO: 200

The New York Yankees win their 27th World Championship. The Bronx is back and bombing, baby!

The Philadelphia Phillies tried to attain the very difficult feat of becoming back-to-back World Series Champions. But this year’s Phillies team was not as good of a team as they were last year… partially because Brad Lidge went from best to worst and Cole Hamels was not the dominating force he was last year. Pedro Martinez, who had a surprisingly effective short season, was once again made a loser by the New York Yankees. The World Champion New York Yankees!

One man specifically dominated by driving in six runs and closing the door last night. Every Japanese place in the tri-state area should be offering Matsushi today. Hideki Matsui had a .615 average in the series as he made a pretty good case for the DH.

Meanwhile, the media (and by “the media”, I mean, ESPN’s Sportscenter and some other disgruntled sports writers/Yankee Haters) is completely overblowing the A-Rod story within the championship story. It all goes back to steroids, past postseason disappointments and high expectiations. The media plays with if his career is validated now, or something.

Although the attainment of a championship is much more realistic as a New York Yankee than for any other team, there are a slew of highly respected athletes who do not wear rings. A ring is not the only factor of greatness in a career. Even in the Evil Empire, Don Mattingly is without a championship, yet is well-respected. It’s not like A-Rod had to win a series to validate his career. He is a phenomenal talent and has certainly made every team he is on better.

Speaking of people who make their team better, after forty-one pitches, Mariano Rivera capped off another amazing season with another reliable lights-out performance. Many thought that “Enter Sandman” was not played last night. It was. It was just so loud in the New Yankee Stadium that it was difficult to hear Metallica’s tunes bringing in the man, the legacy… Mo.

All was good for other legacies of this Yankee generation. The quadfecta, also known as the core four: Posada, Jeter, Pettitte and Rivera made a statement: Old? Shmold! The geezers were pleasers. Late thirties is the new late twenties, as blue pinstripes are the new champions.

Years of chemistry came together for what was a magical season of come-from-behind wins, shuffled pitching situations and drama. All in a new stadium.

The New York Yankees were the best team in baseball this season and it’s kinda nice when the best team wins. It is, of course, also nice when the best team gets spoiled in the Superbowl by the underdog New York Giants… so I’m sort-of a hypocrite, lying piece of s***. But it’s cool. Hooray for sports!

Also posted on National Lampoon’s Splog and on Player Press

]]> http://hesaidandshesaid.wordpress.com/2009/11/05/he-said-alex-rodriguez-aka-a-rod/ Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:44:52 +0000 hesaidandshesaid http://hesaidandshesaid.wordpress.com/2009/11/05/he-said-alex-rodriguez-aka-a-rod/

I thought I was going to spend 6 paragraphs crapping on the Yankees for buying another World Series and for having the biggest group of Dbag fans on the planet.  But then I realized a few things: 1. The Red Sox had the 4th highest payroll in baseball for 2009 (albeit still 80 million less than the Yankees, but still..) 2. The Yankees only have the biggest group of Dbag fans because their population is bigger.  A good portion of Red Sox fans are just as lame, there are just fewer because they are being drawn from an overall smaller group.  And #3. I actually like this group of players on the Yankees team.  It is impossible not to respect guys like Jeter, Posada and Rivera.  Then there is Matsui, who once apologized to his fans for getting injured.  Sure, Joba, Swisher and Teixeeeaiiaira are all incredibly annoying, but every team has annoying players (eg – Kevin Youkilis…and you can’t accuse me of being an anti-semite).  Here’s the thing though, not every team has an A-Rod, only the Yankees do.  And while he will retire as one of the top 5 baseball players of all time, he will also retire a bigger douchebag than the likes of Ty Cobb and Pete Rose.

I mean, I honestly don’t feel as though I need to write anything more.  Don’t these two pictures speak for themselves.  For those that aren’t aware, the live action shot is of A-Rod trying to slap the ball away (which he was successful at) in an effort to cheat and get to first base.  He was called out.  This second one is an action shot of what he probably does on a nightly basis.  Except, I bet he puts his biceps up to the mirror and french kisses those.  Did anyone watch the postgame stuff last night?

I did.  Jeter, Rivera, Girarid…kudos on coming off as %100 professional.  Arod, on the other hand, had the worst performance on stage of the year (well, second to Kanye).  And the worst part is, I don’t have any proof.  It’s nothing specific he does or says…it’s simply what he exudes.  He isn’t a bad person, by any means.  Getting called out as a steroid user didn’t affect my opinion of him one way or the other, because simply put, I’m under the impression that anyone who hit over 40 homers over the past decade took steroids (with the exception of Albert Pujols).  Leaving his wife for Madonna is obviously a questionable decision, but athletes pull crap like that all the time.  Seattle fans hating him for ditching them for more money?  Well yes, that is true.  But it’s not as if he left for a few extra million; Seattle offered him 8 years for $108mil, Texas offered him 10 years for $250mil.  Big effing difference.

I really wish I had more than two pictures to support my claim.  And maybe in the long run Nifer and I will move this post to the Dbag page.  But the morning after ARod won his first World Series, there was nothing else I could write front page material on.  He is that deserved of my wrath.  Maybe I’m just angry because the Sox lost and the Yankees won, but as my many Yankee fan friends will tell you, my congrats was probably the first they received.  No, it’s really just Arod, I didn’t want him to win.  Or maybe it’s really because Nifer finally beat me at Trivial Pursuit last night.

Well, the Yankees did it again.  Won another World Series.  Their 27th World Championship to be exact.  Although my hatred for them has subsided over the years – replaced by my disdain for Boston all their recent dominance (in every major sport) – I still can’t stand New York and the Yankees.  Set aside the fact that I lost 50 bucks to our CFO of all people (the rich get richer), but I will always look at them as The Evil Empire.

I’m just so glad it wasn’t Pretty Boy A Rod or Ladies Man Jeter or even Funny Man Swisher that ended up being the World Series Hero.  It was Hideki Matsui – hands down the ugliest MVP EVER!!

Matsui Holds up the World Series MVP trophy in honor of a great performance in contributing to a 27th yankee championship

For the first time in almost ten years, the Yankees finished strong in the Bronx beating the Phillies in a thriller of a series

with lop sided momentum going from each team and shaky pitching on random nights, the Yankees were able to knuckle up and put a stamp on the world series.  All role players, Texeira, Matsui, swisher contributed to a strong batting and defensive night. the first 4 innings were slow but the Yankees strategized well in the stretch. big dogs like Derek Jeter and A-rod stepped up to the plate as leaders and lead with game-play alone… Jeter being the heart and soul has been so consistent and that’s enuff to make the whole team follow him.  Mariano Rivera Closed the game in historic fashion giving up nothing.  Will this Yankee team be the power house house we wee once used to in the 90’s????? probably not but they r damn good enuff numbers wise…..

A-Rod's man boobs are fair game in a scrum like this

Alright, the Yankees won the World Series. I’m over it. Just as long as it never, ever happens again. New York jumped on “big-gamer” Pedro Martinez early and often tonight, scoring four times in the first three innings en route to an 8-6 win, earning them their 27th title and first since 2000.

Little Andrew Pettitte didn’t have his finest line, giving up three runs on four hits and five walks in five-and-two-thirds, but it was plenty enough to grab the win behind Hideki Matsui’s three-hit, six-RBI night. For all the ragging I give Little Andy, I’ll give him this: He’s one of the best big-game pitchers of this generation (even if he is roided out). Pettitte’s win tonight gave him the clincher in all three series winners for New York this postseason.

Matsui hit a two-run homer in the second, a two-run single in the third and a drove in another pair on a double in the sixth. For the series, the vet was 8-for-13 with three homers and eight RBIs– though not enough to wrestle the MVP from Pettitte, who won two of his four playoff starts in the series. Meanwhile, Derek Jeter had three hits to finish at .407, while A-Rod had a hit, two walks, three snot rockets and scored twice.

(UPDATE: So apparently Matsui did win the MVP. I must’ve misremembered what I originally heard when watching the postgame.)

So, there you have it — the New York Yankees, your 2009 champs. They brought it this year, and as much as it makes my blood boil to admit it, the best team won. Mind you, if Charlie Manuel knew how to manage a team and Brad Lidge had an ounce of confidence (or was inactive, for that matter) it may have been a different result. Or maybe not. The Yankees were good.

And such ends another year of baseball. Is it winter meetings time yet?

27 Time World Series Champions and just an overall great season for these guys. No doubt in my mind, they are the team of the decade. (Pics from Getty Images / Daily News / various other sources).

I have to be honest, heading into Game Five I didn’t give much thought to the A.J. Burnett-Chad Gaudin debate, so I can’t second-guess Joe Girardi’s decision too much. But when I was listening to Mike Francesa’s show on WFAN and he said he thought it was a mistake to pitch Burnett prior to the game it began to dawn on me that Girardi was taking a big chance. Look at the red flags:

a)      Burnett would be pitching on three-day’s rest.

b)      Burnett would be pitching on the road, where he’s not as effective.

c)      Because Burnett and Posada refuse to kiss and make up, Molina would be doing the catching. In the NL park, the lineup is already weakened without a DH, now the light-hitting Molina’s in the mix and Gardner (in for the injured Melky) can’t hit; throw in the ice-cold Cano and Swisher and the Yankees’ lineup is essentially four players deep.

As it turned out, Francesa and the other first-guessers were right; the game was a disaster. I wasn’t too upset the Yankees lost; I was expecting it. The Phillies are great at home, it would be a tall order to beat them there three games in a row; especially with Lee pitching Game Five against a watered-down lineup.

What did upset me was the position Girardi put the Yanks in the rest of the series. If he had put Gaudin in he probably wouldn’t have been any worse than Burnett was. Then he’d have Burnett on full rest at home in Game Six and if there was a Game Seven, he’d have the choice between Pettitte on full rest or Sabathia on three-day’s rest. That’s not a bad situation. Instead, we get Andy on short rest tonight and if needed, Sabathia on short rest tomorrow. That is not an ideal situation. I hope Andy can pull a rabbit out of his hat tonight; I want no part of a Game Seven.

As for the rest of the Game Five, there’s not much else to say. Burnett was awful, which wasn’t a surprise. It wouldn’t have been a surprise if he pitched seven scoreless innings either. You just never know what you’re going to get from the guy. I get a little sad when I remember the Yanks have to deal with the rollercoaster that is Burnett for four more seasons.

I will give credit to the Yankees for making a game out of it though in the late innings. When they got back to the top of the order with first and third and no one out, I honestly thought they were going to at least tie the game. Unfortunately, Jeter hit into that DP and that was all she wrote. It’s too bad Coke gave up those tack-on homers.

So, Game Five wasn’t to be. I’m hoping the Yanks can close it out tonight, but I’m a little uneasy about it. I think it’ll be up to the offense to bring this one home. Pettitte on short rest worries me, but I feel the Yanks’ attack can get to Pedro. (At least I’m hoping they can).

Here’s to Number 27!

Joe Dyton is a marketing copywriter in Washington, DC. He is a former assistant editor for The Dealmakers real estate magazine in Hamilton, NJ and a former sports writer and copy editor for The Trentonian in Trenton, NJ. He can be reached at thedytonian@yahoo.com. Follow Joe on Twitter at http://twitter.com/dyton99.

Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez are both great players for the Yankees.  And yet, while A-Rod is detested outside of New York,  Jeter is widely respected for both his love of the game and his respect for the game.  A-Rod is often involved in dramatic plays (the slapping of the glove being one of them) and is even nicknamed “the cooler” due to his negative influence on his team’s morale.  What’s more, and I have to confess that I loved this, the guy is to clutch what Madonna is to abstinence.  That was before this fall.

A-Rod annoys me on another level though.  Like Celine Dion, who manages to be even more annoying than A-Rod, he thinks he is way cooler and infinitely hotter than he is.  Of course, this is all my perception since we have never exchanged any words and only one of us knows the other exists, but I’m still going to throw that out there.  To support my claim, his quote from SI: “When people write [bad things] about me, I don’t know if it’s [because] I’m good-looking, I’m biracial, I make the most money, I play on the most popular team.”  That’s getting a little Jessica Biel-ish (remember when she claimed her good looks where what kept her from scoring decent movie roles?), and then continuing onto arrogant and out of touch.

I liked it when the one thing I could count on was, come post-season, A-Rod would tank and if nothing else, I could consider karma working it’s magic as he struggled to make a meaningful contribution to his team’s results.  And now, now that his home runs were key to the Yankees continuing from the ALCS to the World Series and securing that win, now I feel like a bitter Red Sox fan who has a long winter of rebuilding hope to look forward to.  And while that’s nothing I’m not used to, I’ll miss being able to revel in A-Rod’s postseason collapse while I’m doing it.