click here for part one.

I don't know if any of you knew this - but there's a sports bar where Red Sox fans gather to watch and root for their team. And it's not up in the 617, it's in lower Manhattan! It's called the Riviera Cafe, and it's located on 4 Street near 7 Avenue, according to the article in am-New York. For those of you outside the metro area – am-New York is a free newspaper handed out during the morning rush to people coming in and out of the subway on their way to work - mainly in Manhattan. This one comment really made my blood boil:

"The anti-Red Sox hatred in New York demands a response," said Matt Sullivan, a longtime Boston fan."

Oh, but the anti-Yankee hatred in New England is ok? This is beyond obscene! You see what has happened to this city ever since Michael Bloomberg became mayor? It's bad enough the son-of-a-whore raised our taxes, now he allows the enemy fan to invade our town! Can you imagine if Yankee fans had their own bar up in Boston? The newspapers down there would criticize the city leaders for not doing something about it, and a drunken mob would burn the place down - with Yankee fans inside, which is every Red Sox fan's fantasy! Yet we have to be nice and cater to people who hate us! This makes me sick beyond words! All I hope is that the Angels, or the Yankees or Twins send them home this October! All right, that's all I have to say about that - now let's talk about something else.

I want to now talk about what happened this weekend with the big pennant races. Let's begin with the AL West - oh those poor Oakland Athletics! They had the division all to themselves - but they blew it! They must have done something wrong to have the baseball gods punish them again! The Angels went in there - won the first to games and sent the A's packing. I didn't want to see the Angels win, only because if the Bombers had to play either of those two in the Division Series, I'd rather have Oakland. But in hindsight - I'm glad the Angels are in and playing the Red Sox. Good luck Sox fans - with that sick offense the Halos have, you'll need it big time! Better you than us! I cannot wait to see how Pedro and the gang handle that loud ballpark with the sea of red thunder sticks.

Then we have the NL West and Wild Card - I'll begin with the latter. I feel bad for the Cubbies and their fans - another team that had the wild card in their grasp, yet they blew it! Well that's what happens when you don't take the Mets seriously! They went into Shea a week ago and decided to get laid back - well the Mets have nothing to play for - that makes them more dangerous! You have to understand this - some teams will enjoy playing the role of spoiler - they're like kamikaze fighters - nothing to lose and everything to gain! The San Francisco Giants had it all in their grasp - yet they blew the Saturday game in LA, while the Astros were beating the holy hell out of the Colorado Rockies. So now Houston is in, the Dodgers are the West champions, the Cubs and Giants are out, and the Braves and Cardinals now know who they host in round one. After seeing both Oakland and San Francisco lose to Anaheim and LA respectively - you wonder if this fuels the hatred between the bay area and the Los Angeles metro area? Well, we'll have to wait until next season to find out. But those will be some good match-ups in the NL - the Braves and Astros - the latter of which has never won a playoff series. The Braves are playing like champions right now - so they could easily win the NL pennant! Then you have a rematch of the 1985 NLCS with the Dodgers and Cardinals. The Cards easily have a superior team on paper - especially since Paul DePodesta and Peter O'Malley decided to trade Paul Lo Duca and Guillermo Mota. That series is a no-contest - Cardinals could easily sweep. And now I want finish up with the Yankees and Twins.

Now let's preview our series with the boys from the North Star State. Last season the Bombers beat Minnesota in four to face Boston in the ALCS. It is not going to be as easy this time around. The Twins are a much better team than they were last season - they have great starting pitching, a pretty good offense and a great closer. Johan Santana is baseball's version of Johann Sebastian Bach - he gives you masterpieces every time! That was lame but what can you do? He's been unbeatable, especially since the All-Star Break. If it wasn't for his five-inning limit last Wednesday - the Yankees would have probably lost that first game of the doubleheader. Now I did notice he was hit pretty hard in the first inning - so that could be a good strategy - get Santana in the first! Mike Mussina is going to have to pitch some zeros himself - otherwise the game is over.

Now I'm not exactly too confident about the rotation - El Duque and Javy Vazquez would start the two games played at the Metrodome. If El Duque's shoulders don't heal quick enough and if Javy Vazquez can't stop giving up the homeruns, we could be in big trouble. Vazquez is going to start a hypothetical game four against Santana! Last season Ron Gardenhire gave Santana the start in game four with three days rest, and he had to take him out due to an injury. Is history going to repeat itself? Who knows. Now I am happy with Jon Lieber getting the start in game two - he is much better at Yankee Stadium than he is on the road. Now I don't understand why Kevin Brown isn't getting a start. Brown pitched beautifully his last game, and he has been a big game pitcher in the postseason (1997 & '98). He's got a 4-1 record in the first two rounds of the postseason, in fact, his ERA in 3 Division Series starts is 0.83 - yet he's not there? If Vazquez and El Duque get bombed in their starts - Joe Torre better hide from George Steinbrenner!

The offense I have no problem with - with the exception of Jason Giambi. But I think you have to leave Giambi on the playoff roster - if you don't, you could hurt his psyche for next season. Michael Kay made a great point yesterday - if you're going to carry eleven pitchers and leave Giambi off - you're in trouble anyway. Now speaking of which - let me tell you what I'd do with the bullpen. I'd let the starter go six innings, then I'd bring in Tanyon Sturtze for the seventh, Flash Gordon for the eighth, and gee I wonder who for the ninth! Gee I wonder who is the best postseason closer ever! Brian Cashman made a major mistake when he couldn't acquire another lefty for the bullpen. Did anybody really believe that C.J. Nitkowski was the answer? Felix Heredia has been pitching a bit better - but come on, do you really have confidence in him? He would sometimes come in and throw all over the place or get hit harder than Ricardo Mayorga. The rest of the pen is only going to be there to pitch a lost cause-type game - guys like Proctor, Karsay and even Loaiza and Quantrill.

Now the pitching does scare me a bit, especially when compared to Minnesota's staff. Santana and Brad Radke are a one-two punch that can close out a short series easily. The Yankees, and I hate to agree with the national pundits, but even the devil deserves his due sometimes, but the Yankees lack a power pitcher. They had that in Roger Clemens the last few years - but they never replaced him with somebody reliable. I love these people who called us selfish for wanting Randy Johnson. If anything, the Yankees needed Randy Johnson! The Big Unit would have practically made the Yankees favorites to at least get to the World Series. Now they might not even make it past round one - and I place all the blame on Cashman. If the Yankees do beat the Twins, don't expect a quick or easy victory - this is going to be one of those blood, sweat and tears series. If there's anything positive - you can view the Twins just like the 2000 and 2001 Oakland A's - they had far superior pitching than the Yankees, yet who won those series? The bottom line is this: if the Yankees do lose this series, do not be surprised. The Twins are much better than they were last season, and they're serious. Now better the Twins than the Angels - that would have been even tougher. The Twins offense is nowhere near as dangerous as the Angels or Red Sox. I'm glad the Red Sox get the privilege of facing that ruthless offense. ¡Te van a dar en la madre Pedro! I did say a few weeks ago this postseason would be unpredictable, and I stand by it. Hopefully the next time I see you, it'll be in preparation for the ALCS. Take care friends, see you after the Division Series.