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.

I’m feeling much better after the Red Sox manhandling of the Yankees yesterday. The Sox showed a lot of character in this game, especially after Friday’s nightmare. Here are some of my highlights and lowlights from yesterday’s game.

1. Josh Beckett was awesome. Anytime you can limit that offense to one run, it’s special. 7 innings of 3-hit ball, 1 earned run, 7 K’s. Also, standing up for his team and plunking Giambi was great. Yankee pitchers have taken too many liberties with Red Sox players this year. Just a tremendous game for Beckett. Whoever makes the Cy Young plaque, remember there are two T’s in Beckett.
2. In a highly touted match-up of potential Cy Young winners, Chien-Ming Wang looked bad. 5 innings pitched, 9 hits, 5 ER. He is supposed to be the Yankees’ best pitcher. Now there is talk of Wang not even starting IF New York makes the playoffs. That’s hilarious.
3. “Super Sub” Eric Hinske. This guy is the ultimate team guy. He never bitches when he sits on the bench for weeks at a time. He can play 4 positions. Hinske hit a double and a home run in yesterday’s game. Also, anyone that blows up Jorge Posada turns into my new favorite player.
4. Jacoby Ellsbury: 2 for 2, 3 RBIs 1 stolen base. All this is in only 4 innings. This kid is a freak.
5. Big Papi being Big Papi. 3 hits, 2 walks, 3 RBIs. What a perfect time of the season to get hot.
6. J.D. Drew, 2 walks and the game winning RBI. Also it was nice to see his reaction after driving in Ellsbury. Maybe the Tin Man finally found his heart.
7. When did Jason Varitek turn into Doug Mirabelli at the plate? 0 for 5, 8 runners left on base. That is one ugly line. At least he called a great game behind the plate. Varitek usually plays well against the Yankees. I look for him to make a big contribution tonight.

Tonight: Schilling vs. Clemens
Schilling has pitched well recently. Clemens is coming off a bad start and cortisone shots in his elbow. Clemens is an old bastard. Let’s hope the Sox can get to him early in the game. Nothing would please me more than to see the “Rocketman” walking off the field to a mock standing ovation in the 3rd inning after getting lit up.

Let’s Go Sox.

After watching last night’s Red Sox/Yankees game, I was not in any mood to post something today. But I thought it might be therapeutic to write some of the reasons that I hate the Yankees so much.

1. I hate Derek Jeter’s smug little cocky smile. I would like to punch him in the face. Unfortunately, he’s too busy rounding the bases against the Sox.
2. I hate the Yankee pinstripe uniforms. Why are these so acclaimed? They are the ugliest uniforms in all of baseball, and the interlocking N and Y are stupid.
3. I hate that the Yankees will have retired uniform numbers 1-10 once Jeter and Torre have retired. This bugs me. I don’t really have any legitimate reasons why.
4. I hate Yankee Stadium. It’s a giant toilet bowl filled with the most obnoxious turds on the planet.
5. Johnny Damon and Roger Clemens. These guys had the potential to be legends in Red Sox history. They could have walked into any bar and never needed to pay for a beer. Unfortunately for them, they are both money-grubbing-whore traitors.
6. I hate that Yankee fans use their 26 World Series titles to trump any argument. Here is a new argument for you: How many have been in this decade?
7. I hate that Joe Torre looks like Droopy Dog. This was one of the few cartoons I liked as a child. Now when I see it, I violently throw up.
8. I hate that Mariano Rivera enters the game to Metallica’s “Enter Sandman”. Rivera grew up in Panama. Something tells me he wasn’t rocking out to Metallica’s Black album.
9. I hate Joba Chamberlain. He is a head hunting, lard ass piece of crap. Joba, here are two words of advice: Stair Master.
10. I hate that the New York Yankees may be the best team in baseball this year.

I feel a little better now. Check back tomorrow. I like the Red Sox chances today with Josh Beckett on the mound.

If you’re a true baseball fan, then this will be the most exciting weekend of the season. It really doesn’t get much better than this. This is Rocky vs. Drago, Daniel-san vs. Cobra Kai, Hatfields vs. McCoys. Boston vs. New York.

Can you remember when a game with these two teams didn’t matter for something? Earlier this season when Boston held a 14-game lead, and the Yankees were battling the Devil Rays for last place, those games mattered. They matter because you can never count either team out. The Yankees have managed to do a complete 180 this season. They’ve improved their pitching, everyone is hitting, and A-Rod is proving himself to be the best player in baseball.

Who would have thought that the Yankees would have the second best record in baseball with 15 games to go? The Red Sox would, that’s who. Boston has kept the same approach all season: solid pitching, being selective at the plate, and playing strong team defense. Even with the best record in baseball for the entire season, Red Sox players have assumed nothing. They knew New York would be back. The Yankees have way too much talent to be mired in last place.

What concerns me as a Red Sox fan is that New York is hot right now, winning seven out of the last eight and sweeping the Red Sox just a few weeks ago. But this is a different Red Sox team than the last time they faced each other. Boston is doing the little things that make champions: drawing walks, taking the extra base, clutch hitting. They are never out of a game, which is evident with their last two wins, and the Sox bullpen is as good as it’s been all season.

This has the makings of a great series. Both teams are hungry and know the AL East title is on the line.

It’s only mid-September, but the playoffs start tonight.

Well, it’s back to reality for New York after losing 2 out of 3 games in Yankee Stadium to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. It’s sad times for Yankee fans when your season highlight is a 3-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox, dropping their lead to “only” 5 games.

Yankee fans can whine about having to “come down” after such an emotional series against Boston, but the facts remain. The Yankees caught the Red Sox at their most vulnerable. Boston was on the last leg of a 10-game road trip. Manny allegedly injured his oblique muscle, and J.D. Drew was sucking like his normal self. Anybody could have beat Boston those three days.

And how did both teams respond to such an “emotional” series? Philip Hughes, “Yankee Ace” of the future: 4 innings pitched with 4 earned runs in a loss against Tampa. Andy Pettite: 6 innings pitched for 11 hits and 5 earned runs (another loss). And the million-dollar man Roger Clemens put together another solid start today for a loss against Seattle (4 innings pitched, 8 hits, 5 earned runs). At the cost of only a million dollars, Clemens not only increased the Red Sox lead in the AL East but also helped Seattle inch closer to overtaking the wild card lead.

Meanwhile in Boston, the Sox have been playing kids against men and taking 2 out of 3 from Baltimore. I don’t know if anyone has heard about Clay Buchholz, the Red Sox rookie who threw a no hitter in only his second major league start, or Jon Lester, who has overcome cancer and is now 3-0 on the season, but the Sox are once again showing their superior pitching, farm system and front office. The reality is that this is just the first of many years to come of the Red Sox dominating the Yankees.

The Yankees can have their emotional series win. The Red Sox are going to have the title.

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.

First of all, let’s focus on the positives. The Red Sox played their two worst games of the year, and they are still 6 games ahead of the Yankees in the AL East. The Yankees beat a depleted Sox lineup – no big deal. It’s August 30th and we are in the driver’s seat.

What did bother me about last night’s game was watching Roger Clemens bean Dustin Pedroia in the first inning without any retribution from Josh Beckett. If Schilling was pitching last night, Derek Jeter would be peeing blood this morning after getting drilled in the kidney by a 90 mph fastball.

Another thing, ESPN was making a huge deal about Clemens having a no-hitter into the 6th inning. He walked 5 batters! That should equate to five singles. Clemens’ performance was the ugliest 2-hitter I have ever seen. I guess it’s hard to have command of the strike zone when you have your million-dollars-per-start check in your back pocket.

Look for Schilling to shine today at Yankee Stadium. Saving the Red Sox from a sweep will sound good in his blog tomorrow… and in mine.

Johnny Damon is the Geico caveman without the brains. I choked on my coffee this morning when I saw this quote from Damon in the New York Post. “It’s taken a number of players to replace me,” Damon said of the Red Sox. “I’m Johnny [Bleeping] Damon.”

They didn’t replace Damon. They upgraded. The last time I checked, the Red Sox didn’t have an adulterous, weak-armed, caveman lookalike deadbeat dad playing center field. They have Coco Crisp, the best defensive outfielder in the American league, at 1/3 the cost of the 13 million dollar “man.” Theo Epstein did the right thing. He knew not to waste the money on an aging, injury-prone idiot. If Johnny hadn’t played for Boston, Brian Cashman wouldn’t have even looked at him, but the prospect of playing the Red Sox 19 times a year with the opportunity for Damon to inflict damage on his former team was part of the appeal.

Once again, Damon hasn’t lived up to his own hype, and the Yankees are kicking themselves for being on the hook for another season. One home run against your former team doesn’t amount to a 40 million dollar contract. Even a [bleeping] caveman could figure that out.

I feel so unsatisfied. The Red Sox just played one of their worst games of the year, and they have no one to blame but themselves. This was the supposed to be the game to set the tone of this series, and the Sox went on cruise control.

What is it going to take to give Dice K more than 3 runs of support? This guy had another solid performance. For nothing. Dice K should be leading the AL in wins, but unfortunately he has a 13-11 record. If the Red Sox were giving Josh Beckett this type of run support, no water cooler in Boston would be safe. But Dice K keeps handling it like a professional.

J.D. Drew played like his usual self. How’s this for a game? 0 for 4, 2 strikeouts, 4 left on base, grounded into 1 double play. Enough said about him. I need to go vomit.

Another thing that pissed me off last night was David Ortiz swinging on the first pitch from Joba Chamberlain in the 8th inning. This is a guy who Ortiz has never faced before, who had just walked Kevin Youkilis. Ortiz strikes fear in every pitcher he faces, especially 21-year-old rookies. He had the advantage here and gave up the at bat. It was just bad baseball all around.

With two games to go in the series, it appears for at least one night The Empire has struck back.