A Yankee Fan's Quandry

Even though I have spent the better part of the last two weeks pretending that baseball ended when Mike Mussina recorded his twentieth win, apparently baseball has continued on without the Bronx Bombers. So with this new found awareness I must figure out who to root for?

Red Sox - No way in hell, no other explanation necessary, simply baseball's version of the anti-christ.

Devil Rays - A great story no doubt, but their success is always juxtaposed against the Yankee failure because of the salary disparity. With the teams slated for 19 games next year the last thing I want to hear ad nauseum is World Champion Devil Rays. However, they are preferable to the Dodgers or Red Sox

Dodgers - I would love to see Manny beat the Red Sox at Fenway. The ultimate F U, however, I am not willing to risk the Red Sox in the World Series. I also have no desire to see Torre and Mattingly win in a Dodger uniform. I respect everything Torre did for the Yankees but his part in the downward turn of the franchaise should not be ignored. Joe ruined the arms of many a bullpen stalwart and refused to integrate younger players until they were forced down his throat. I have no personal ill will against the man but I also could do without the hours of talk radio/espn nonsense that would follow a joe torre world series victory.

Phillies - by default are my team. However, a Phillies win solves all of my problems, a. the red sox don't win and b. its a giant f u to mets fans, which is always a big bonus. Besides how can you root against a team with players named shane, cole and chase. If they lose they could always start a boy band.

When you break it down, as a Yankee fan, there is only one option if you choose to believe that a playoffs without the Yankees really exists, and that is to root for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Filowitz's Friday Five

1) Good for you, Joe Torre. I applaud a man that leaves with both his head and middle fingers held high. This is actually a win-win situation, though. It is probably a good time for a change for the Yankees, and this, in the end, will be best for both Torre and the team, in the long run.

2) Speaking of the Yankees coverage, have you heard what the Orioles and White Sox have been doing this offseason while the playoffs are still going on? You haven’t? What about the Cardinals, or the Padres? No? Weird.

3) Right now, I’m hoping that the Red Sox force a game 7, only for them to lose in that game 7. That will be the most entertaining outcome, as who doesn’t love playoff game 7’s, and is also guaranteed to simultaneously create the most joy (Cleveland fans) and the most pain (Red Sox fans.) No word on how much sunshine and rain it’ll cause, though.

4) Amaré Stoudemire just got a tattoo on his the inside of his bicep that says “Knowing is Knowledge”. That is so tremendous, on so many levels. You need to read the FreeDarko guys talking about it, here and here.

5) I’m officially excited about the start of the NBA season. I’ve realized that for me the NBA has now surpassed baseball as my second favorite sport to follow, behind the NFL. In fact, this year, I’m going to get League Pass so I can watch more games (I need to see Kevin Durant play, and the Suns, and the Warriors, and the Bobcats, seriously, and to see more Knicks games than I would here, and so much more.) There will also be some other NBA-related projects I’ll be involved in coming soon. For those of you that fell out of love with the NBA five or six years ago, I’m telling you, come back now. Or just keep checking in here.