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All-Star promo with David Ortiz as Babe Ruth irks NY OAKLAND, Calif. - Touchy, touchy, touchy. Like a colicky baby who’s also battling diaper rash, the 2008 Yankees can’t seem to stop bawling. Besides a good burp, they also need to grow up. As if sitting in last place in the AL East were not bad enough, the Bronx Bombers discovered on Thursday that after years of planning for this summer’s All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium, they were the last to discover that a new “Call Your Shot” insurance-company promotion would feature the Red Sox [team stats]’ David Ortiz [stats]...

FORT MYERS - The Red Sox’ trip to Japan has already hit a major snag. During a players-only team meeting at City of Palms Park this morning at 8:30, the players decided unanimously, according to more than one player, that the Sox would not take the field for their scheduled 12:07 p.m. exhibition game against the Blue Jays today unless there was a resolution to MLB’s decision not to extend an appearance fee of $40,000 to all team coaches making the trip to Japan. All players are receiving the $40,000 appearance fee for the Tokyo trip. According to one player,...

Grady Sizemore led off the first inning with a homer and Victor Martinez ripped a two-run single in the fourth as the Indians roughed up Yankees starter Chien-Ming Wang early tonight in Game 4 of their best-of-five series

NY Mets do not make the post-season as the team was mauled by the Marlins 8-1. Phillies win the East...still watching Colorado to see if a playoff game will happen tomorrow against San Diego.

We've been documenting here at F.R. the now famous "Hillary Curse." For those of you new here, the "Hillary Curse" is this; no professional New York team has won a championsip in any sport since November of 2000, the date when New Yorkers saw fit to elect Hillary Clinton as their senator. The Jets and Giants of football, the Rangers, Islander and Sabers of hockey, the Knicks of basketball, and the Yankees and Mets of baseball, all have fell under the curse by being either A) terrible, or B) good teams who lose in spectacular fashion. The Yankees of 2003...

cream always rises to the top.

Roger Clemens stood up for Alex Rodriguez last week when he drilled Alex Rios in retaliation for the Blue Jays treating A-Rod like he had a target painted on his back. The Yankees paid the price for Clemens' bravado Tuesday night, as Jeff Karstens - starting in place of the suspended Rocket - was beaten and battered by the Orioles in a 12-0 rout. Karstens surrendered five runs in three innings, while the Yankees' bullpen was knocked around for another seven by the Orioles, who had 13 hits. Then again, Karstens could have pitched a gem last night and it...

It is sad, really. Even during their current seven-year championship drought, even while they were losing four straight to the Red Sox in 2004 or flopping in the first round of the playoffs to the Tigers last year, the Yankees at least were interesting. They always were dangerous, always threatening to put it all together and return to the top of the baseball world. As they made one ridiculously expensive splash after another - signing Giambi, signing Pavano, signing Damon, trading for A-Rod or Abreu - you couldn’t help but wonder: Is this it? Is this the move that finally...

According to NY Daily News and ESPN.

DETROIT - Three years ago, they lost 119 games and were a punchline. You know, the Detroit Tigers ... ha, ha, ha. Funny game, baseball. The Tigers are the ones laughing loudest now - and dancing their way to the AL championship series. And the New York Yankees? Well, they're the joke. Jeremy Bonderman was perfect for five innings and sublime for 8 1-3 in leading Detroit to an 8-3 victory in Game 4 on Saturday to win the AL playoff series and eliminate A-Rod, Jeter and the other high-priced, high-profile Yankees. Days removed from being swept by Kansas City...

TORONTO (AP) -- The New York Yankees clinched their ninth consecutive AL East title on Wednesday night when the second-place Boston Red Sox lost to the Minnesota Twins. The Yankees began the day needing one win or a Red Sox loss to wrap up the division championship -- and their 12th straight playoff berth. New York lost 3-2 in Toronto, but Boston's game went final about 30 minutes later -- setting off a champagne celebration in the New York clubhouse. "The sooner we can get it over with, the better," manager Joe Torre said after the Yankees lost but before...