Here is a post from my buddy Dylan. I’m sure that you’ll like it. Please comment and let him know what you think. Hopefully, he’ll write for us again soon.

“Here’s a profile, so hard to sum up me in such a short paragraph, but here we go.

Dylan is a simple man. He enjoys firefighting, running his mouth at Yankee fans, running in general, the Red Sox, the 2004 postseason, pretending he’s on the Red Sox while playing in his slow pitch softball league, college football, family, friends, and life in general.”

“We’re in a world where people have a lot of opinions,” Rodriguez said, “and what makes the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox such a great rivalry is that so many people have their own opinions.”

This is the weekend of all weekends. This is Zimmer vs. Martinez all over again. I love games when the hype meets up with even more energy during the game. Sox vs. Yanks, both in the hunt. New York, in a new position, looking up from second place, and Boston, playing their hearts out, as if no one told them it’s ok to cruise. Celebrating like it’s game 7 after a walk-off home run against the Devil Rays. Some say it’s desperate, it’s just the D-Rays, and I say it’s a team willing to put it all on the line, every game.

These past few weeks of baseball, and especially this weekend, have begun to bring up a question that hasn’t graced the presence of my baseball blog mind for a couple of years now, but it’s back. Could A-Rod work out in Boston? Could the best player in the league, possibly one of all time, the almost poster boy of the Yankees organization ditch the pinstripes and become a Bean Town guy? Would it work out? Could it work out?

I think A-Rod is more ready for the switch from the dark side than the Red Sox fans are, and it’s time for the Red Sox loyal to come around on this idea. The beauty of a blog is the meandering opinions, in a stream-of-consciousness format that gets put out onto the internet for all to read. I am in no way a sports analyst, possibly not even intelligent, but certainly passionate about Fenway Franks and Boston Baseball. I am simply a Red Sox fan who is ready to see the greatest move in baseball history take place since, well, let’s get to it.

• Mike Lowell- Yes, Lowell is the Sox MVP for the year. He’s consistent, he’s clutch, he’s reliable, and he’s old. He deserves to be paid for the way he plays, and I do hope for greener pastures for Mr. Lowell, but can he truly be counted on to perform the way he is now for the next however many years? I’ll cheer for him whenever he’s back at Fenway, but it’s time to move on and bring in the best 3rd-base-playing shortstop in the game.
• Jacoby Ellsbury and Manny Ramirez (This reason may be voided being that it may be next to impossible to find a team that wants to deal with Manny being Manny.) - Ellsbury is the future. We let go of some great players at a young age, and it still breaks my heart. Ellsbury will be a stud for years to come if raised in the right system, i.e. the Red Sox. Manny is old and overpaid, and Manny being Manny is getting annoying. For the record, it wasn’t that funny when he went and took a leak in the green monster during that pitching change. Freeing ourselves of Manny opens up money for A-Rod and gives Ellsbury a spot in left, not in center, because…
• Coco Crisp - If we keep Manny, it doesn’t look like we’d afford A-Rod. I haven’t researched this in-depth, so correct me if I’m wrong, but by letting go of Manny, as stated before, more money for A-Rod, Ellsbury takes over in left, and we get to keep Coco in Center. Center field in Fenway looks like the inside of the fun house at the Topsfield Fair. An inexperienced guy in center would possibly give up runs at home while learning to play the zigzagged wall we so love. Crisp is a defensive madman who does not appear to be slowing down. Bring on A-Rod, lose Manny, keep Crisp in center, it’s that simple.
• Wanted to take a pay cut to come here. A-Rod was willing to take a pay cut, granted it was from one of the biggest contracts in sports history, but it’s a cut nonetheless. He wants to be in Boston.
• Steriods. Barry Bonds is the home run king of all time *******Barry Bonds******* Mr. Asterisk Barry Bonds. The only person seemingly with a shot at taking down Bonds would be A-Rod. That wall in left looks mighty nice to a guy like A-Rod.
• Jeter - No matter how long A-Rod’s in New York, no matter the numbers, this is Jeter’s team in Jeter’s town. It’s almost laughable to me the season A-Rod is putting up, and still I get the feeling he plays second fiddle to Jeter. A-Rod needs to get out of the shadow cast over from shortstop and prove to New York that he’s a World Series guy. He can get titles. A-Rod has something to prove. He can and will get that done in Boston.
• Garnett, Moss, c’mon, everyone in Bean Town is going for acquisitions, lets get in on it…
• The curse of the great Bambino - There is most certainly a fate to the Red Sox. It’s unexplainable. No other sports franchise can match it. The ongoing saga of the ups and downs, the ways that the downs almost always seemed to happen in unthinkable ways. The Red Sox are fate. Fate is not always fun or enjoyable, but it’s fate nonetheless. There was a curse on the Sox in all those 86 years. Skeptics didn’t want to believe, I don’t want to believe, but there was. No franchise suffers like that. Then, to lift the curse off of us in the most unthinkable way, to come back on the Yankees of all teams, down 3-0, you know the story. You can feel the momentum switching now. The Curse of the Bambino involves the Yankees as much as the Red Sox. It’s the Red Sox time. It’s our time to push our weight around. This October has so much say in the future of the rivalry that is Sox/Yankees. If the Sox do what we all hope they will this weekend, and this October, and so forth; then we now have the upper hand. The momentum is switching. We acquire A-Rod, become a destiny, and thus another page in the saga, The Yankees curse of A-Rod will begin…

These are my opinions on A-Rod. I may be wrong on a few of these, and I may not. Who knows? I do know we have not heard the last of the A-Rod and Red Sox talks, and I predict Theo will be looking at this all over again this off-season. When these talks and rumors do resurface, I hope the Dirt Dogs of the world will take my points into consideration. Alex has stated numerous times he likes the city, and again, was even ready to take a pay cut to come over to us. Maybe it’s time for the A-Rod years at Fenway to begin. I know after that one Ruth guy, Boggs, Clemens, etc., it’s time the Sox start pushing their weight around too.

I wonder how the Yankees will react to second place??

This weekend had such potential. Unfortunately, one bad inning on Friday and Schilling pitching to one batter too many on Sunday led to the Evil Empire taking 2 out of 3 at Fenway. The Yankees didn’t show me much. They have Jeter and A-Rod. Everyone else is just there.

The Red Sox gave these games up. They hit the ball hard last night but right at Yankee players. They had really good starting pitching all three games. Lowell, Ortiz, Ellsbury and Pedroia are all looking good.

This is just a bump in the road. I hope the Sox aren’t going to dwell on these losses too much. There is still too much baseball left to be played, and the Sox are too good to have this bring them down.

I will say this. Manny Ramirez should be left off the playoff roster. I’m glad that he can screw around in the dugout with the Pillsbury Doughboy’s hat on while his team is busting their asses. Do you think Manny’s bat could have helped in a one run game? Of course it could. But Manny is all about Manny. I’m going with Ellsbury, Crisp and Drew in the outfield for the remainder of the season. And I hope Ramirez gets shipped out in the offseason.

It has been over a year since David Ortiz has hit a walk off home run, but there may have been no better time than last night to start again.

Ortiz provided all the offense for the Sox last night, with two home runs and all five RBIs. Last night’s win was huge for the Red Sox. They are now positioned five games ahead of the Yankees, with the three biggest games of the season coming up this weekend.

Big Papi has been hurting all year, suffering from both knee and shoulder injuries. Unlike Manny, Ortiz will play hurt and has been contributing all season. Although his home runs are way down from last year, his batting average is the highest of his career. Over the last few games, it appears that the David Ortiz of old is back.

Ortiz has been on a tear lately, with three home runs against the Devil Rays, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Manny is coming back, J.D. Drew is starting to produce, and the Yankees are in town Friday. This is where the Sox go for the jugular and put an end to the AL East race.

It’s not going to help his injured knee, but it’s time for Big Papi to carry this team.

There are a few things you can count on during September in New England. The Red Sox will be battling for a playoff spot. Jerry Remy will have pimped “The Remy Report” on NESN for the 1 billionth time. And Manny Ramirez will suffer a “devastating” injury.

Who can forget last year when Manny missed 23 games during the playoff push with sore knees. How he hurt his knees without ever running out a ground ball or hustling in the outfield is beyond me. This year, Manny quit against the Yankees with a strained oblique muscle. Now I’m not sure what or where an oblique muscle is, but if you can’t work through your “injury” against your most hated rival who can you get excited for. If I’m paying Manny Ramirez $22 million a year he had better come up with something more credible.

Manny’s contract is up after the 2008 season, and I am counting the days. I would even prefer paying more per season for Alex Rodriguez. I can’t stand A-Rod, but I could learn to like him in a Boston uniform. This guy consistently hits well at Fenway, and his numbers for 81 home games in Boston would destroy Manny’s. The Sox might even be in the market for a third baseman this off-season. You can say a lot about A-Rod, but the word quitter is never mentioned. What does it say about Manny, one of the greatest hitters of all time, when the Red Sox have tried to trade him for the past 3 off-seasons and haven’t found any takers?

The word on Manny is out. He’s getting older, his skills are declining, and he quits on his teammates. I’m tired of Manny being Manny.

This season Manny, I’m quitting on you.

Everyone relax. There is nothing to be concerned about.

So what if the Red Sox were just swept by their most feared rivals? They’re still up 5 games in the AL East.

Who cares that the three best Red Sox pitchers just turned in their least-clutch performances of the year? They were due for a bad game.

Big deal that Manny Ramirez, arguably the greatest right handed hitter of all time, is out indefinitely with a strained oblique. This is precisely the reason we signed J.D. Drew. (ugh)

No problem that the Red Sox had 13 measly hits during the three game sweep. They’ll hit when it matters.

Who’s having doubts now that the Yankees are back in the wild card lead, setting up a potential first round match-up against Boston?

Um… I am.