Postseason love.

With the Dodgers and the Red Sox completely out of the shuffle this year, I thought I would find myself disinterested and straight on to football. To my very pleasant surprise, I have been delighted in watching postseason baseball. It's the year of the underdog. Anyone who loves sports (and is not a Yankees fan) has a soft spot somewhere for the underdog.

Detroit just defeated the Yankees in their ALDS series. The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Phillies. I am hoping for a Milwaukee Brewers win tomorrow. Texas....don't mess with Texas. I actually hate Texas. In its entirety.


As off base as this may sound, I hope for some off the wall World Series. Let's see the Detroit Tigers face the Milwaukee Brewers. Why? Because the likelihood of it ever happening again is slim to none. At least in my life time.

I am tired of watching the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs and Phillies battle it out year after year after year in the post season. I get it. You have money for excellent payroll, a longstanding history of being in the top teams in the MLB, and fans that will riot in your streets when you lose. Or worse, go hang themselves from a tree in their backyard.

I love baseball, but it's just baseball. Your team can't always win. You can't always be good. Try being a Dodgers fan. It's heartbreak after heartbreak. You get used to it. Share the wealth, the wins, and the love. It's America's game, not New York's game.

So, here's to the underdog. All of them battling it out this post season. I'm still watching.

Mr. Baseball passes on.

I'm surprised that I missed this one. Bobby Bragan, known to many as Mr. Baseball, has passed away at the ripe old age of 92. Bragan died in his Fort Worth, TX home on Thursday.

Bragan originated his MLB career with the Brooklyn Dodgers. After returning from a stint in the military, he came back and played for the damned Yankees. Bragan also managed many teams in the majors over many years, and also coached the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Definitely one of the best things to happen to baseball. But all good things must come to an end.

I forgot to say it...

...but I think my blog photo jinxed me at the world series this year. damn yankees...

Yankees defy odds. Jerks.

When high-fiving, your palms are supposed to connect. Just sayin'. Yankees...

Anyway, the damn Yankees knocked five balls out of the park to take the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night, with Jorge Posada hitting two home runs. Killer, B. I thought I would have more to say about this, but I really don't.

The win puts the Yankers 6 1/2 games in front of the Boston Red Sox. I need to call my dad on this one.

Sorry ladies...and gay men.

Rumor on the street is that New York Yanker Derek Jeter is secretly engaged to his actress girlfriend, Minka Kelly. Rumor also has that the wedding is set for late fall - post baseball season. Granted, I don't really care, I figured that some of you might.

The tissue is on the counter, girls.

Damn Yankees.

My dad always told me that he has two favorite teams - The Boston Red Sox, and anyone who beats the Yankees. He's from Boston, so, naturally, you get it. I'm not from Boston, I'm not really into the American League and their designated hitter nonsense (pussies), so I'm not a Red Sox fan.

But I still hate the Yankees.

Will someone beat them already? They're now 6 games up on the Red Sox, and they're spanking ass. Is this because they have a $347 million infield? Is this because they're all on some super form of juice that can't be detected as one of the thousands of banned substances in the MLB?

I know it's not because they said farewell to Joe Torre.

Someone tell me what it is that makes the most overpaid, sickening sense of self entitled guys in stripes that makes this work. I smell foul play. Seriously. Or I'm bitter this evening. Either way, I'm over it. Come on AL. Work it!

The most wonderful time of the year.

Honestly, screw Christmas. This is, by far, the most wonderful time of the year. NBA finals are closing in on us, and it's starting to look like we might have a repeat of last year. Kobe Bryant and his Lakers are 8 games up on the competition, with a 4-game winning streak. I'm not a huge Lakers fan, but when they're on a roll...you know. The Celtics are looking at a killer chance to up Cleveland by half a game tonight over Denver. But, at this rate, even if they manage to claw their way back into the finals, I think the end result is already apparent. We'll see what the coming weeks bring the NBA. Boston needs to sharpen up some tools a little bit. Call me crazy, I'd kind of just like to see Kobe eat it a little bit. That ego isn't going to fit in this city if we let it grow any further.

March madness is on it's way, and this is absolutely the best thing since sliced bread for me. I get two solid weeks of white knuckled distractions, lots of reasons to hit up the local brew spot with the guys, and before it's even all said and done, we get baseball. While most polls have their money on Connecticut right now, all four polls I've been keeping my eye on (AP, ESPN, RPI, and our very own Yahoo user's poll) have Oklahoma in second. UNC is taking third across the board, while Pittsburgh (ranked #1 by the Yahoo users), Louisville (go Cards! yes, I'm biased here), and Duke seem to be the three teams we'll be seeing fighting for their spot in the final four. As we know, anything goes at the beginning of this tournament. I'm thrilled to see who takes over my brackets.

With Manny Ramirez screwing with every team in the league, I'm curious to see where he ends up reporting for spring training. Although negotiations have intensified with the Los Angeles Dodgers, it's quite possible that his adamancy for a high ticket salary could leave him watching from the sidelines if he doesn't pick a dugout. Realistically, he'll end up somewhere. The question is where, and moreso, for how much.

The Boston Red Sox are weighing the strength of their team as they start training for their first full season without the powerhouse who managed to average a .396 in 187 at bats during 53 games after coming to the Dodgers mid-season through a three-way trade with Pittsburgh to give Boston left fielder Jason Bay. Although the Boston camp is talking optimisitcally, it will be interesting to see how the team fares without their wacky slugger.

(image via Yahoo! Sports)

Down in Florida, everyone is making a big deal out of a pulled hamstring. According to sources, New York Yankees short stop, Derek Jeter, was complaining about a sore right hamstring Sunday after drills. Jeter told press that "it's no big deal," and will continue training Monday. CC Sabathia, who apparently lost the right to have punctuation in his acronymic first name, also missed out on a day of training due to the flu. However, the left handed pitcher threw 40 pitches to teammates at batting practice the following day. The left-handed pitcher and batter is expected to open the Yankee season on the mound. Let's hope that $345 million infield proves to be worth all of that dough.

There will be much more said as the spring training games start rolling out, and we'll see how well these teams really work together. I'll be making some pretty happy travels out into the desert to check out some of these re-worked rosters as we make our way into the season in April.