Yankees done, I think not...

After watching the the Yankees vs. Red Sox game tonight, I have to say I am content with the New York juggernauts' chance of making the playoffs. People have been writing the Yankees off all year because they are not in first. Sometimes, you can't be dominating the entire year, and you have to make a run to get into the playoffs. If that's how this team has to make the playoffs, then so be it. Now that they have taken Mussina out of the starting rotation, I think they have a pretty solid staff. No offense to Moose, but his stuff has looked absolutely horrible as of late, and something needed to done. Now I understand the Yankees don't have an amazing pitching staff. In fact, I'd be the first to argue that they need to stop trading for and signing sluggers. They simply have to many. This can be seen with Giambi and Damon, who don't even start regularly anymore, but have multi-million dollar contracts. The Yankees have another series against the Red Sox, and if they play the way they have been the past 2 games, catching the Mariners, or even the Sox, should be no problem at all. I'm not saying this will be an easy task, but they Yankees always have a way of finding the postseason. I don't think the Yankees have a great future ahead of them. Their management has done a poor job in planning ahead for the future. Signing aging veterans to long contracts and trading away young pitching prospects shows a lack of intelligence on their part. They need to start thinking ahead, rather then trying to put together a new team every year to win the championship. In my opinion, they future of the Yankees doesn't look too bright, with the majority of their players coming the point in their careers were retirement is a clear choice. The Yankees might not have a chance to vie for the playoffs in years to come, but this year I think they may have just enough of that Pinstripe magic to make it to the playoffs one more time, and maybe even pull off a Championship despite all of the criticism they have been subjected too.

Sick Of Vick

After turning to ESPN all day yesterday with the hopes of seeing sports news, I was bombarded with news about Michael Vick. In the morning, afternoon, evening, Vick was on the screen all day on nearly every major sports channel in the country. I understand that this is one of the bigger stories in sports at this time, but I am starting to get tired of seeing his face more now than I did when he played in the NFL. It seems that Vick has become more popular and supported now as a criminal, than he ever was as a starting quarterback on the Atlanta Falcons. It wasn't even the fact that he was on television all day yesterday, but the fact that people are still trying to defend him after he confessed to the dog fighting allegations. ESPN analysts were trying to explain that his actions were only being spotlighted because he was an African American athlete with a sort of cocky swagger about him. Is Michael Vick worthy of all this media attention? Perhaps, but he certainly is not being focused on because of his race. He is being focused on because of his career as a professional athlete. They are counted on to be role models for children around the country, and breaking the law is not something that should go unpunished because it shows a horrible example for young people in America. If there was any other athlete accused of these things, the same emphasis would be put on them. Sure it seems that more black athletes are in trouble with the law, especially in the NFL, but that is because there is simply more of them in the NFL. It is a simply statistics and odds, not racism. Honestly, Michael Vick will end up serving less time in prison than any other Average Joe convicted of the same crimes, so people need to stop trying to say he is being persecuted for his color, and start supporting his return to the NFL as one of the most blessed athletes in the league.