Could this be it? Is our long nightmare about to end? It sounds like it might because there are strong indications out of Minnesota that the Twins are finally going to trade Johan Santana and the front-runners right now are the New York Mets! more ›

A Historic Collapse: The Mets held a seven-game lead with 17 to play and were caught looking ahead to the playoffs. What followed was among the worst collapses in history and one that revealed the weaknesses of the players, the manager and the general manager. Jose Reyes and his questionable -- and downright poor -- play summed up the the performance on the field. Manager Willie Randolph's mismanagement of the bullpen came to light more down the stretch. So did Omar Minaya's complete neglect of the roster's periphery. The Mets trotted out inexperienced and ineffective pitchers down the stretch, and the bullpen that Randolph had to deal with wasn't that good to begin with thanks to some questionable trades. What this means for the 2008 season remains to be seen, but it cost the Mets fans Lastings Milledge, another symbol of the collapse. He was dumped dealt to the Nationals for Ryan Church and Brian Schneider. more ›

As if baseball didn’t have enough problems Curt Schilling has decided to weigh in on the Mitchell Report. Schiling, the never-shy pitcher for the Red Sox opined that Roger Clemens should either clear his name or give up his four Cy Young awards won after 1997.

"If he doesn't do that then there aren't many options as a fan for me other than to believe his career 192 wins and three Cy Youngs he won prior to 1997 were the end. From that point on the numbers were attained through using [performance-enhancing drugs]. Just like I stated about Jose [Canseco], if that is the case with Roger, the four Cy Youngs should go to the rightful winners, and the numbers should go away if he cannot refute the accusations."

The Red Sox has permeated nearly every facet of Bostonist's lives. When they're not live-blogging the games, waxing poetic about the games, thanking Curt Schilling for his splendid work, or telling Dane Cook to watch his hair, they're watching certain presidential candidates hop on the Red Sox bandwagon (sorry, Gothamist). The Sox are so branded on the local brain that people are using the Series to spice up their sex lives. Speaking of spice, Bostonist is really sick of that taco promo. And, while they're proud of John Williams, Bostonist is still trying to figure out Williams' "Very Special Arrangement" of the "Star Spangled Banner." more ›

Sunday’s win was a flashback to the old days. Derek Jeter had the big hit, Roger Clemens had a great start and Mariano Rivera got the save. The win was huge for New York as it kept the Yankees 2-1/2 games ahead of Detroit with 13 left to play. more ›

It's our favorite July 4th tradition, this side of smiley-face fireworks: The Annual Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, held at Nathan's in Coney Island. And this year's competition is particularly tantalizing: Current champion Takeru Kobayashi has been having jaw pains, while Joey Chestnut broke the hot dog eating record, by scarfing down 59.5 at a June event. So we shall begin our liveblogging, and Jen Chung and Tien Mao will be providing other commentary during the competition from time to time. more ›

• Yankees 8, Red Sox 3: A loss would have dropped the Yankees 11 1/2 games back. Although they wouldn't have admitted it, losing two of three to Boston would have forced some early wild-card thoughts. Instead, the Yankees are within 9 1/2 games and have some life. For the second time this season, Andy Pettitte outperformed Curt Schilling, but Wednesday's game ended up better for the Yankees than did the one April 22, when the bullpen blew it. The list of teams that have come back from double-digit deficits to win divisions is short. Any talk of a righted ship for this Yankees team is premature -- they've played poorly enough that three wins in four games won't persuade anyone they're out of the funk. But this game became plenty more important in the Yankees' minds because they won. more ›

With the news that Roger Clemens is returning to the Yankees, reactions from the local media and Yankee fans are generally positive. Clemens made the announcement during the 7th inning of yesterday's 5-0 win over the Seattle Mariners. After the singing of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," Bob Sheppard directed the crowd to the owner's box for a special announcement. Only then did the public find out that Clemens would be returning to pitch for the Yankees, "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." more ›

• Who could forget the bloody sock of Curt Schilling during game 6 of the 2004 American League Championship Series? Certainly not Red Sox fans and maybe not Yankee fans. To refresh - Schilling had ankle surgery after game 1 of the ALCS to stabilize a tendon in his right ankle. He returned in game 6, winning that game. Boston won the series and went on to win its first World Series in 86 years. On Wednesday, during a Red Sox-Orioles game, Gary Thorne, a former broadcaster for the Mets who currently works for the Baltimore Orioles, said Doug Mirabelli told him the bloody sock was actually a ruse. Thorne said, "It was painted. Doug Mirabelli confessed up to it after. It was all for PR." Mirabelli denies ever talking to Thorne and Schilling also denies that the blood was fake. From Schilling's blog: "It was blood. You can choose to believe whatever you need to, but facts are facts. The 25 guys that were in that locker room, the coaches, they all know it. In the end nothing else really matters. The people that need to believe otherwise are people with their own insecurities and issues." Schilling is even willing to bet $1 million with anyone (proceeds going to charity) that the blood on the sock hanging in the Hall of Fame is real (the original sock was laundered or is missing). So...how many "blood"-covered socks will there be at Yankee Stadium tonight when the Red Sox are in town?
• First, the NFL Draft moves from The Garden after 10 years and now the Draft may move out of New York City for good. The move from The Garden in 2005 was because of a dispute with Cablevision, owners of The Garden, who sued to stop a new stadium for the Jets on the West Side. After a year in Jacob Javits, the Draft is now in its 2nd year at Radio City Music Hall, ironically a Cablevision owned property. After next year, however, the NFL may change cities entirely. Cities that have approached the league to host the draft include: San Diego, Chicago, Cleveland and Canton. How exciting! Last time we checked, New York City has one thing those other cities can't offer - an insanely high concentration of media outlets. Sure, ESPN would travel anywhere to cover the 2-day event, but last we checked, the national morning shows based in New York have a greater reach than WEWS Cleveland.

It seems like, all across the network, folks were up to no good. Maybe it was all the green beer from last weekend... more ›

As fall settles in and another calendar page gets turned, thoughts turn from bbq's and vacations to holidays and the realization that '06 is coming to an end. With all that going on, with change in the air, we wonder what is it that made that makes the -ists ponder? more ›

Every year the All-Star game seems to get dumber and dumber. When they decided that home-field advantage for the World Series would be determined by the winner, it seemed like things had reached a low, until this year. more ›

-Aberdeen 3, Brooklyn 1: At least the Cyclones' struggles have been overshadowed by their parent club's. They've lost eight of nine to start the season, including this most recent lost Thursday at home. more ›

-Ex-Yankee Grimsley set to name names: Remember Jason Grimsley? The reliever who had an effective half season with the Yankees in 1999 before reverting to mediocrity or worse? Now, his house has been raided by federal authorities in search of illegal performance-enhancing drugs. He's reportedly set to name others who he knows/suspects of taking them. Given his resume, that might prove substantial. Stay tuned. more ›

Was that a big hit? Can we think of A-Rod as a “real Yankee” now? Maybe this will spare him from being booed in the first inning of tonight’s game. Nah, it probably won’t, but let’s give A-Rod credit for hitting a big home run last night that propelled the Yankees to a 7-3 victory. more ›

Are you a fantasy baseball nut who finds your loyalties divided between your fantasy team and your real team? Are you a Mets fan who “owns” Chipper Jones, a Yankee fan with Curt Schilling on the roster? Maybe you are one of the millions who hate Duke Basketball. more ›

Thursday's win was the good news for the Yankees on a day when they received horrendous news about their starter Chien-Ming Wang. The Taiwanese rookie was placed on the 15-day disabled list, and could be out for the rest of the season. Wang has been a pleasant surprise for the Yankees' erratic starting staff. The Yankees will miss him in their staff, if only because he is one of the only Yankee pitchers who doesn't give up a home run each start. The rest of the Boston series will be dicey for the Yankees, who have Tim Redding starting Friday. The uncertainty surrounding their pitching staff made yesterday's win against the all the more important. more ›

Jaret Wright rebounded from his awful start last Friday to hold the Red Sox to two runs over five innings. Wright was far from dominant and was helped by a fine defensive play by Derek Jeter, but considering this was his Yankee debut at Fenway he passed his first big test. The Yankee bullpen also starred as they shut the Red Sox down for four innings with Mariano Rivera getting his first save against Boston in his last five chances. Rivera was actually cheered as he entered the game in the ninth, a rare occurrence on the road and a sign that the Fenway faithful no longer fear “the Sandman”. more ›

When did it become acceptable to act like a jackass and risk the safety of the players and umpires on playing field by throwing baseballs onto the field. It's one thing to express your displeasure with a call by booing or even cursing, but there was no excuse for the Yankee "fans" that threw balls onto the field in the 8th inning of last night's game. Those that threw the balls last night are no different than Giant fans who threw packed snowballs onto the field in 1995. They deserve to lose season ticket rights and be brought up on charges. The fans at Yankee stadium may not have had the benefit of instant replay, but that is no excuse. What would happen if someone in the upper deck threw a ball that landed in a field level seat? The actions of a few, ruined what was a well played baseball game, and how the real fans are perceived. To the "fan" that Fox 5 reported threw his cell phone onto the field, you're the not only a jackass, but stupid too. more ›

So much for going to bed early. Sixteen hours after the end of their last game, the Yankees and Red Sox met up again for game 5 of the AL Championship Series and for the second night in a row, it went to extra innings. Last night, however, the game ran into the 14th inning and was the longest game time-wise in postseason baseball history at 5 hours 49 minutes. more ›

Now, all Boston needs to do is win 3 more, something that doesn't appear all that likely since no team in baseball history has comeback to win a 7-game series after a 0-3 deficit. Compounding that, and some little curse thing, the Red Sox have a taxed bullpen and Curt Schilling's ankle is in bad shape. Oh, and Pedro Martinez has the Yankees as his daddy. more ›

Clearly, we were looking to work in some homonyms today. Too bad they aren't playing the Twins anymore. Anyway, last night, the Yankees defeated the Red Sox, 31 (box score). The Yankees now lead the best of seven series two games to none. While Pedro Martinez has proclaimed the Yankees are his daddies, his performance last night wasn't all that bad. He threw for six innings, giving up four hits and three runs. His counterpart on the Yankees pitched superbly. more ›

Ted Lilly pitched six and two-thirds of three hit, shutout baseball. Lilly struck out six and walked only two. Lilly was relieved by Terry Adams. Adams pitched his way out of the seventh inning. Vinny Chulk relieved Adams and Struck out three in an inning and two-thirds before giving up the home run to Ruben Sierra. Chulk took the loss to move his record to 0-2 with a 3.07 ERA. more ›

Tonight, Yankees vs. Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. Two people who would probably enjoyed some Yankee Hater couture: Lockhart Steele and Eliot Shepard. more ›

This weekend brings us the first meeting this season of the Yankees and the Red Sox, in a four game series that any baseball fan can enjoy. The two teams have not met since last October when Aaron Boone ended the ALCS with a home run and when there was an incident between Don Zimmer and Pedro Martinez. Boone and Zimmer are gone, and Martinez is not scheduled to pitch, but the rivalry has only heated up since. During the off season, the Red Sox signed Curt Schilling and tried to trade for Alex Rodriguez, who was eventually acquired by the Yankees, making him the new person to hate. more ›