I know I’m not a Yankee fan anymore...

I was a big, big fan of the Yankees through ’95, something like 12 or 13 years. I’d go to a bunch of games each year, take friends. I even had my own little rituals going to games (like getting a box of Popeye’s chicken to bring in with me from the chicken place on the corner of 161st St and River Avenue). The Yankees sucked big time in the early nineties (when Stump Merrill, Dallas Green and Bucky Dent were managers) but, going to the Stadium was actually fun because the only people who would turn out would be the true baseball fans. It was sad that as the team got better, there would be more and more groups of rowdy, loud, expletive mouthing drunks in the stands.

My sister’s boyfriend was a batboy for the Yankees when I was a kid (and didn’t like baseball altogether that much) and I never appreciated getting those autographed programs with Roy White, Bobby Murcer, Thurman Munson and other Yankee greats on it. We would go to the games and it was a bit of an imposition.

Now, I watch the games and I root for the Yankees to lose. I’ve just gotten sick of listening to their fans over the last few years.

Well, we’re one step closer to my dream World Series this year which would be Red Sox versus the Cubs. I looked back at my picks for the first round and I did okay. I picked the Red Sox and the Cubs (I even got the number of games right with the Cubbies). The Yankees just walloped the Twins at home (which surprised me a bit) and the Marlins pulled off some magic (becoming the Cinderella story of the post season). I wasn’t sure the Marlins could do it but, I did think it would make a great story if they did and it has.

So, what are my picks for the next round?

The Cubbies and the Marlins are even at this point but, I’m still figuring the Cubbies will grab it in six games. The Red Sox won tonight (with Wakefield pitching of all things!) but, the Twins won the first game to and that didn’t stop the Yankees. I’m going to go out on a limb here and pick Boston in six as well.

Either way, I know I spent most of the weekend watching the games on TV. There was just some flat out great baseball to watch. The Marlins/Giants series was tough and the A’s/Red Sox series was just packed with excitement. Kerry Wood, Pedro Martinez, Mark Prior, Roger Clemens, Andy Petite, David Wells, Derek Lowe, Mike Timlin, Barry Zito - there’s just been tons of great pitching to watch. It’s turning into a decent post season even though the Mets sucked a big one this year.