Watching the Red Sox sink to new lows is really hard to watch. How can I watch them when I don’t have MLB Extra Innings, you ask? Because all three games against the Yankees are being broadcast on the MLB Network. Unfortunately, I have to listen to the pathetic Yankee ass-kissers on the MLB Network. Sure, it’s not NESN, but it is the Red Sox, no matter how crappy they look.

The one thing about watching Yankee broadcasts on the YES Network is that you just have to accept the following:

1. Unending shots of Derek Jeter showing his emotions (or lack thereof) after every out or hit. Don’t get me wrong – I love Derek, but I get it, OK – he’s the Yankee captain and every other shot has to have the Yankee captain in it.

2. Daily references to Yankee greats of the past, like Phil Rizzuto, Joe DiMaggio, or Joe Gordon worked into every break in the action, with gratitutous shots at the Red Sox of days past. Last night it was an ongoing discussion about how Ted Williams finished second in the MVP voting to Yankees three times; whoever the idiot announcers were, the bottom line was that Joe DiMaggion married cuter (i.e., Marilyn Monroe) than Ted did. Yuk yuk.

3. No matter how crappy Alex Rodriguez or Mark Texiera look, they’re always just “rounding into shape” – even when they leave 347 runners on base in the course of a combined twelve at bats.

4. The home run call of “See ya!” Pathetic, obnoxious, and oh-so New York.

It would be awful enough on its surface, but it’s made worse by a Red Sox team that, with the exception of Dustin Pedroia, seems to be going through the motions. They don’t take pitches, they don’t execute fundamentals, they always seem surprised when the opposing team makes an aggressive play of some kind. Bobby Valentine is the Barack Obama of Red Sox managers – obnoxious, narcissitic, self-serving, and, above all, incompetent. You can argue that there’s a lack of raw talent on the Sox roster as it is presently comprised, but as long as there’s passion and hustle and a desire to get dirty and play the game the way it is supposed to be played I’m more than happy to watch. Unfortunately, this so-called manager is a pathetic excuse for a baseball man, and the Red Sox players obviously have no respect for him or the game as it is supposed to be played, and that’s the depressing part.

One can only hope that Bobby V’s days are numbered, and we can look forward to the hiring of a new manager who knows his ass from his elbow and someone who not only can hire a good coaching staff, but, with the help of the front office, bring in some new players who will instill a sense of passion and desire to play good baseball come April of next year.

Tomorrow I’ll be watching Dice K’s final start as a Red Sox. It oughta be precious. Such a far cry from five years ago.