Police have identified a subway mugger who has pulled off a total of 13 robberies, including ones in each of the four boroughs the trains run in. Police are hunting for Rasheen Wallace (pictured), a career criminal who has 18 prior arrests for petit larceny, trespass, possession of marijuana and served 8 years for robbery. Police describe him as "a smooth operator" who isolates his victims, sometimes targeting them in the last car and near the end of the line. Ten of the thirteen robberies in the spree that began early this year have targeted women, including one in Inwood where Wallace punched a woman the face when she refused to give up her purse. Another 27-year-old woman robbed in Washington Heights tells the News, "It was just me and another guy in the car. The next thing I know, there was a knife in my stomach...I don't feel safe. I'm thinking of taking a karate class." The Post has a map of the robbery locations and describes Wallace as wearing a Boston Red Sox cap. more ›

The Curse of the Bambino has got nothing on steroids. The New York Times has revealed two more names that appear to be on the 2003 list of 104 major leaguers who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs—David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, both of the Boston Red Sox at the time. The list is the same one that dragged A-Rod's off-season through the mud this February when he was outed as testing positive. While names on it continue to trickle out, its legal status is being fought over in the courts. The Times says multiple lawyers connected to the litigation "spoke anonymously because the testing information is under seal by a court order." There is no word on what specific drugs were tested. When Ramirez tested positive for a banned substance in May, he defended it as a fluke stemming from a recent prescription. Ramirez and Ortiz were at the heart of a Boston lineup that led the team to its first World Series victory in over eighty years in 2004, and then another in 2007. more ›

As expected, the hometown crowd at Fenway Park was ready to harass Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez, whose private life has been very public lately. Last year, after A-Rod's public appearance with a blond stripper made news, Boston fans wore blond lady masks. more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a shooting on 120th St. and 3rd Ave. in Manhattan, a stabbing on West 31st St. in Brooklyn, and a fall victim at MoMA in Manhattan.
• The New York Yankees took first place in franchise spending, with a total payroll of $218.3 million last year. The World Series-winning Boston Red Sox payroll totalled $155.4 million to finish a distant second.
• The New York Water Taxi is terminating its South Brooklyn service between Sunset Park, Red Hook, and Wall St. at the end of this month.

Rudy Giuliani better check his sports allegiances. While campaigning in Boston, a reporter asked the former mayor which team he would be cheering for in the World Series - the Colorado Rockies or the Boston Red Sox. To our surprise (and Bostonist's), he went with the Red Sox, "I'm rooting for the Red Sox. I'm an American League fan, and I go with the American League team, maybe with the exception of the Mets. Maybe that would be the one time I wouldn't because I'm loyal to New York." Last time we checked, the Yankees and Red Sox were bitter rivals. We're betting that you won't catch a Mets fan rooting for the Braves or Phillies in the World Series or a Giants fan rooting for the Cowboys or Eagles. more ›

Kudos to Boston Red Sox fans who made sure Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez's at-bats were awesome photo ops, thanks to the clever purchase of "blond babe" masks. The Post reported that local radio station WBCN wanted "everyone to know we're part of the honest wives' club" by "donning women's blond wigs" and holding "I'm with A-Rod" pole dancer silhouette posters. Brilliant and hilarious! And Mets fans, take note for the next subway series! more ›

Yankees fans can now rejoice, because Roger Clemens is returning to the New York Yankees. The 44-year old right-hander, who last pitched for the Houston Astros last season, announced his plans to the crowd during the 7th inning stretch of today's Yankees-Mariners game (audio from WCBS), "Well, they came and got me out of Texas. I can tell you, it's a privilege to be back. I'll be talking to y'all soon." How surprising was the announcement? When Clemens left his house this morning, his wife knew, but not his children. Clemens, who has come out of retirement several times, last pitched for the Yankees in 2003. While with the Yankees, Clemens won two World Series rings, in 1999 and 2000. Last season, he was 7-6 with a 2.30 ERA in 19 starts with the Astros. more ›

How do you get Boston Red Sox fans in a tizzy? Well, being a Yankee fan seems to do the trick. We have to wonder how those in Beantown feel about New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady wearing a Yankees hat. That's what Brady was caught doing yesterday in the West Village with his girlfriend, Gisele Bundchen. If we were Red Sox fans, we wouldn't get our panties in a bunch just yet. Think logically - the best way to not get attention in New York would be to wear the hat of a local team. more ›

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No Championship? No problem! Yankees fans can say they have the MVP on their team. Alex Rodriguez won the American League Most Valuable Player award yesterday over David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox yesterday in a vote that not only pitted a the Yankees against the Red Sox, but a position player against a full time designated hitter. Rodriguez received 331 total points to Ortiz's 307. The two players received 16 and 11 1st place votes respectively with Vladimir Guerrero picking up the final one. more ›

As far as their lineup goes, Joe Torre moved Jason Giambi into the fifth spot just in time. He added two more home runs in Monday's win, just a day after he hit two against Kansas City in New York. Few lineups have a more fearsome middle than the Yankees', and that includes the Boston Red Sox. The rivals are nearly mirror images of each other, setting the stage for a September race that will be decided by which milks more out of their pitching staff while letting its blistering offense do the work. more ›

Don’t look now, but the Yankees are winning again. Friday night they dispatched the Indians 5-4 and currently sit in second place, 3 1/2 games behind the disgruntled Boston Red Sox. Friday’s victory was due to solid, but not spectacular pitching from rookie, Chien-Ming Wang. Wang raised his record to 6-3 and has become an integral part of this team. With Kevin Brown, Carl Pavano and Jaret Wright all on the disabled list, the Yankees will be counting on Wang heavily in the second half of the season. more ›

The anti-walk machine that is Jose Reyes picked up his first walk of the season! It only took him 118 at bats to get it. Before Saturday, when he was hit by a pitch, his on base percentage and batting average were equal. Now he's got a whole .012 points difference between the two. Not too good for a lead-off man considering Reyes is hitting .280 on the season. With the walk in the 9th inning, Reyes also picked up an RBI> See, Jose, walks be helpful. more ›

So, CSI: NY, the runty, yet still glossy, CSI spin-off, is apparently going to incorporate more NYC stories into the show. This comes after an entire season of trademark gross but sort of indentityless shows. CSI producer Anthony Zuiker told CSIFiles.com that CSI:NY's new season would include a "murder of a Red Sox fan, a very New York story" and also "a nanny park story, where a nanny dies in a nanny park." (Nanny park? Does he mean the park which happens to have a lot of nannies with babies? Or are there specific parks only for nannies out there?) He concludes, "So we're going to establish ourselves in a New York identity by telling stories that could only be done in New York." Duh - that's the successful formula Law & Order has been riding for the past fifteen years. And, puh-lease, a Boston Red Sox fan murder is so two years ago. Plus, Law & Order already covered the death of an overzealous Yankees fan (it was the episode that was filming when Gothamist visited the set). more ›

Boggs is a superstitious player. And here are some more stats and this is a Yankees.com story about his numbers. more ›

And in the NYC related part of this story, a Staten Island couple married in Massachusetts were harassed and heckled by a drunken busboy with chants of "Yankees suck!" and threats to beat up the NYC guests. The busboy even banged on the hotel room door of a relative, scaring the relative to take refufe with the newlyweds on their honeymoon night. The groom professes confusion, because the Red Sox had beat the Yankees nights earlier and the groom wasn't even a baseball fan, and is looking for damages. The hotel denies that the incident occured. Gothamist takes this as a cautionary tale of what happens when you're not married by witches in Salem, Massachusetts. more ›

The article cites numerous occasions where the interaction between owner and GM are less than perfect. From the Boss summoning his GM down to Tampa in the off-season, to the Boss deriding Cashman for the play of the team, to Steinbrenner making moves without letting Cashman know. The question is whether or not his relationship with Steinbrenner is enough to drive Cashman away from the team with the biggest pockets in baseball. more ›

The Boston Red Sox took advantage of their mastery of Yankee pitcher Jose Contreras last night for a 9-6 win in legendary Fenway Park. The victory gave the Sox a 2-1 series win but still left them 7.5 games behind the Yankees in the standings. more ›

Pitching was the key to the Yankee win last night. After Contreras left the game, Paul Quantrill (who is on pace to pitch in every Yankee game this season) pitch 2/3 of an inning before handing over the reigns to Mariano Rivera for the final five outs. The Devil Rays were held to one run on six hits. more ›

At the Tokyo Dome, the Hanshin Tigers played the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in an exhibition game, where the fans turned out and cheered their team enthusiastically. The fans are led by "oendan", or cheerleaders, using drums, horns, whistles, and songs. Of the fans, Alex Rodriguez said, "It's like nothing I have ever seen." Unlike the United States, fans in Japan just cheer for their players, and don't boo opponents. Curry writes, "The polite fans never boo, so they turn from incredibly raucous to incredibly silent when the opponents are batting, as if transferring from a Metallica concert to a library in seconds." The Yankees face Hanshin today in another exhibition game. more ›

Lowell Massachusetts native Jack Kerouac is getting bobbleheaded - Boston Red Sox single-A affiliate Lowell Spinners will be giving out 1000 Jack Kerouac bobbleheads on August 21, as part of Jack Kerouac night. more ›