John Elway Autograph

Back at my desk, back in New York after spending a great five days in Chicago, visiting my college buddies. I attended a Chicago White Sox game in the new-and-improved Comiskey Park and I have to say that it’s one of the best stadiums I’ve ever been to. That’s about the only nice thing I can say about the White Sox, however. Onto baseball...

1. Yanks v. Red Sox. So, obviously, everyone knows the Yankees swept the Red Sox at Fenway Park. This series had several historic footnotes, most notably the fact that the Yankees sweep of the Red Sox represented the first time in American League history that a first place team swept a second place team in a five-game series. It is only the second such sweep, with the 1923 Giants sweeping the Reds in similar fashion.

From a Yankee fan’s perspective, I am both incredibly excited at what the Yankees were able to accomplish but still leery of the possibility of the Red Sox coming back. There is precedent â€" the 2004 ALCS has permanently scarred every Yankee fan â€" however unlikely it may be. Case in point, the 2003 Yankees had a 10.5 game lead over the Red Sox in mid-August and, by September 10th, only led the Red Sox by 2.5 games. Considering the fact that the Yankees and Red Sox play four more times in a few weeks, it’s altogether likely that the Yankees will have to win at least two of those games (if not more) in order to have a chance at their ninth consecutive AL East division title. The one advantage the Yankees do have is that while they can play .500 baseball for the remainder of the season, Boston will have to play at a .698 clip in order to move into first.

2. Manny Being Manny. This phrase irritates me. It’s become a catch-all for excusing the bad behavior of a selfish man-child by simply accepting his Hall of Fame talent and overlooking his pathetic behavior. Why is there no one saying “Barry being Barry� about Bonds? Is he not as selfish, self-aggrandizing, and self-involved? Does he not have the same remarkable talent? When I read things like this, I can’t help but wonder how guys like ARod, who play hard and play hurt, who never complain, get such a raw deal. Manny should be called out at every turn. Honestly, that he’s not booed in every stadium for admiring his homeruns, for flipping his bat, for not running out his ground-outs...when did baseball fans get so desensitized to lazy fatsos making $20M?

3. NL MVP. Without the benefit of statistical analysis or anything other than my gut reaction, I think Carlos Beltran should be the 2006 NL MVP. I reserve the right to change my mind after doing a more in-depth analysis but simply eyeballing his stats and watching him up close here in New York, he’s having an incredibly impressive season. If Beltran wins it, he will be the first MVP in New York Mets history. Imagine, 44 years for a franchise to wait for its first league MVP. The Mets have had their share of Cy Young awards â€" four of them (Seaver ‘69, ‘73, ’75; Gooden ’85) â€" so I guess it all evens out eventually.

4. David Justice Redux. The last time the Yankees traded for as polished and professional a hitter as Bobby Abreu was in July 2000 when they acquired David Justice from the Cleveland Indians. In his 78 games with the 2000 Yankees, Justice put up an AVG/OBP/SLG of .305/.391/.585 (OPS .976). So far through 22 games, Abreu’s been even better, putting up .388/.495/.553 (OPS 1.048). I’ve never seen a player fit in to his new team as well as Justice did in 2000 until now. Abreu has been a difference-maker for the Yanks this year and I’m so glad he’s here.

That’s it for the baseball, now for some football:

ESPN is reporting that the Redskins, Broncos, and Falcons finalized a three-team trade that will send third and fourth round draft picks from Washington to Denver, WR Ashley Lelie from Denver to Atlanta, and RB TJ Duckett from Atlanta to Washington.

Honestly, I’m not sure I understand this deal from Atlanta’s point of view. Lelie has shown talent but has never been able to fully realize his potential. Furthermore, he has voiced displeasure over his role as a secondary receiver. So now he goes to Atlanta as the likely third receiver on a team that has a QB whose passing abilities are in doubt. This trade is an odd one by the Falcons, if you ask me. Denver is happy to be rid of Lelie and gets a couple of draft picks, not a bad ransom for the mild bust that was Lelie. And Washington, with star RB Clinton Portis’ health in question, gets a very productive backup who can handle the load. Further, as a big back, Duckett might fit in well with Joe Gibbs’ power trap running philosophy. If Portis comes back healthy, the Redskins will now have a great 1-2 punch.