…just won’t be the same now that George Steinbrenner’s New York Yankees – the Evil Empire itself – went down in flames to the Detroit Tigers today. As a die-hard Red Sox fan, I can only say that, as much fun as it would have been to see the Sox in the playoffs, it sure is an enjoyable thing to see the Yankees lose. I just love watching the obligatory cameras panning the Yankee dugout with the game lost and seeing all those usually arrogant and smug faces turned to blank stares looking out on the field. No Derek Jeter smirk. A blank A-Rod (.071 BA in the series!) smile. Randy Johnson looking like an old, washed up dinosaur. And no World Series for you this year, Johnny “Turncoat” Damon.

It don’t get much better than that, and it’ll be a joy to watch the Tigers and the Athletics go at it for the right to play in the World Series. I can hardly wait to see what Red and Denton at Surviving Grady will have to say about this one – I guarantee you’ll want to check it out, it oughta be priceless!

And, speaking of Grady Little, his and Nomar’s L.A. Dodgers got swept by the Mets. Never having been impressed with Little’s managerial abilities, he once again showed a tendency to either over-react (sending an injured Nomar up with the bases loaded and two outs when the guy couldn’t even run out of the batter’s box??) or not be decisive (Greg Maddux should have pitched last night) when the going got tough. C’est la vie.

Ah yes, autumn in New York, the Yankees are toast, and the Mets are still playing. How much better can it get than that?