Tuesday, October 12, 2004


Yahoo! Sports - MLB - Baseball's best show
NEW YORK – Logically there can be no rivalry between the hammer and the nail.

But logic has little to do with the best rivalry in sports – the white-hot matchup between the hammerin' New York Yankees and the perpetually nailed Boston Red Sox that renews here Tuesday in the American League Championship Series.

Over the last few years, the gap between the two teams has closed. Torre called last year's Red Sox, which New York beat in the 11th inning of Game 7 of the ALCS, the best team his Yankee clubs had faced – which is telling considering they have lost playoff series during his run.

Now, with Boston having improved its starting rotation, bullpen and defense – while remaining extremely dangerous at the plate – the question is whether the Yankees can hold off Boston again.

To put it simply, both sides desperately want this one.

I hope I can stay awake to see some of it. I feel asleep last night and didn't see much of Houston's win at Atlanta. The St. Louis/Houston series should be a good one, too.

In other baseball news, wave bye-bye to "Wavin' Wendell" Kim, Cubs third base coach. Great move. They also took down Gary Matthews as hitting coach. Glad to see them making some much needed changes.