Ball Rolling

So here's my first real article. Excuse me for the rookie feel.

Ok just to get the ball rolling here. I'll give you 6 statements (a la sportscenter cold hard facts) and all youse people out there tell me if I'm either some sort of divine prophet or if I'm totally out of my mind.
Let the games begin:
1. George Steinbrenner's guarantee is as dramatic as Broadway Joe's. (Let the hate mail stream)
My Justification: C'mon. The guy guaranteed a World Series before the season even started. You gotta have balls. Plus, now, if the team does anything but win, Georgie's face becomes the icon for Yankee failure. In short, he has put himself out on the chopping block. Meaning that if
A. the team struggles early which we know is bound to happen,
B. We finish behind BOS, less likely, or
C. We ultimately fall short of the WS,
the press is gonna have a field day, rerunning the clip over and over again on sportscenter and having peter gammons say irrelevant things.
Granted, George might not have that much foresight, but he's definitely got balls. And sure, the Jets were 12 point underdogs or whatever. But again, c'mon. He's the boss.
2. The Carlos brothers out in Flushing will flop this season.
My Justification: Well, we've already seen it out of Beltran, who hit a whopping .266, with 16 HR's and 78 ribbies last year in his supposed breakout season. Plus, he's been a Royal, so he's cursed. The Delgado case is tougher because he's been so shockingly effecient (except 04). However, for some reason I can see him going all Mo Vaughn on the Mets. I mean hell, he's almost 35.
3. The Yankees will win 100 games this year.
My Justification: Yes, this constitutes going out on a limb, yes a lot of things of have to go right (pitching), and yes, the AL East is one of the most competetive divisions in baseball. Call it a wacky premonition, but if the Yankees can stay healthy, there is not a team in the AL (besides CHI) that can take 2 of 3 from them on a regular basis. Do you disagree? The other 2 playoff teams last year, Boston and Los Angeles, are in whoops we almost lost Epstein and then lost our center fielder recovery and too old, respectively.
4. Julio Franco is older than time itself.
My Justification: Do I really need any? (Look at this good stuff that Jack turned me on to from a quality Mets Blog called Faith and Fear in Flushing.
5. Sheff is REALLY, REALLY cool.
My Justification: I defy you to google image Gary Sheffield and find a picture that is not just undeniably cool. I DEFY YOU.
6. Poll Time:
Where were you when Luis Gonzalez hit his fluke single up the middle in '01?
A. On my couch in absolute devastation and disbelief
B. Rejoicing that the dynasty had been shattered
C. Still pondering how Tony Womack and Mark Grace got consecutive hits off the most unhittable pitcher in baseball.
D. Too caught up in the catchiest nickname of the 21st century. MR NOVEMBER SON!
E. Asleep because you didn't care.

GET BACK TO ME PEOPLE (YOU TOO JACK)

Introductions

this is jack. i've been a mets fan since even before the glory days of masato yoshii. honestly, the mets are like the greatest thing that's ever happened to civilization. although there have been dark ages and darker players (gregg jefferies), now the best thing since 2000 is back again. and this time we're not trying to reach the world series with a team that includes benny agbayani, jay payton AND timo perez.
also, chipper jones sucks. like a lot. and so do andruw, rafael, javy, greg/tom/john s./steve/john r. and i just have a particular dislike for this new francoeur kid. well, for the fourteenth time in the last fifteen years, the braves won the division. jeez. well, for the sixteenth time in the last sixteen years, their run stops here. oh-- i hate the yankees too. even met-friendly yankee bums like david weathers, shane spencer/karim garcia and (gasp) willie randolph! but then again-- what more is there to say about those chumps? the florida marlins have won more world series than the yankees in the last 5 years-- eat that, steinbrenner.
octavio dotel slamming the door on the braves in game 6 of the 1999 NLCS was a reasonably important moment in my life, kenny rogers walking andruw jones in game 7 slightly more so.
during the offseason, i have minor passion for the jets and rangers. i feel for poor curtis and chad's seemingly arthritic shoulder and i know d'brickashaw is d'man who can set d'is franchise on d'right track. also, jaromir jagr is godly.
so let's start this crazy train ride.

Gettin Started

O.K. So here we go. I'm Alex. I like the Yankees. Yes, Alex Rodriguez is the best player in the league and David Ortiz deserved nothing. Derek Jeter is a demigod and Robinson Cano is the future of our franchise. George Steinbrenner is the best owner in baseball and honestly, it's none of my concern how much money he's paying his players. Jason Giambi's OBP is off the charts. Our starting rotation is ready to be as dominant as ever and I DESPISE ROGER CLEMENS.
Yes, I hate the Red Sox, and Aaron "basketball clause" Boone's HR is up there in the top 10 moments of my life. The Yankees should win, we're in a city that expects to win, and we've got the players that will win, and I don't wanna hear no goddamn Royal fan telling me it's all about the market, because it is. Our fans love the game more, so we should win more. Oh, right, I forgot, the Mets suck.
Hate me yet?
On a lesser note, I'm also a Giants fan. Eli will be better than Peyton (who is a choke artist), and Plaxico Burress and Jeremy Shockey are totally BADASS. Tiki Barber is the best running back in the league and was MVP worthy. I don't hate the Jets, but Herman Edwards and Terry Bradway ran just about everything into the ground. Mangini and Tannenbaum (am I spelling that right?) are where it's at.

However, the primary focus of this here blog is baseball.
My good friend Jack, who happens to be a diehard Mets fan is gonna post his introductory blog after the re-run of SNL that's on right now. So to give you a little sneak preview. If you love the Bronx and you hate Flushing Meadows, or vice versa I guess, tune in. If you're tired of your friend liking the other NY sports team, tune in. And most importantly, if you hate John Rocker for whatever he's done to your team of preference, join in. Jack'll be making his first post in an hour or so. As we say here,
Big ups.