To quote Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly, Curt Schilling should just "shut up!"  I'm with him on the fact that Roger Clemens used steroids, but with all of this "holier than art thou" garbage, Schilling needs to pipe down. 

Why do I bring this up with Schilling?  Well for one thing he is as annoying as all get out.  Secondly, somebody (namely Schilling) needs to for once and for all tell me what Red Sox trainers shot into Schilling's leg that enabled him to go out and pitch Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS on that bum ankle.  Was it the same stuff Brett Favre uses to keep his consecutive starts streak going on every Sunday when his arm is completely numb on Thursday? 

Additionally I have to wonder did Schilling return to the Boston Red Sox for below his market value for one year because he loved Boston or was it because the Red Sox blackmailed him into coming back because George Mitchell who is on their board of directors told him if he were to come back that he would indeed cover Schilling's butt on this steroid issue.

One could also make the case that Mitchell's connection to the Red Sox made him overlook some of the more prominent recent Red Sox, including Schilling, David Ortiz, Jason Varitek and Nomar Garciapara.  In any event, come on Curt you seem to be quite the talker, so tell us all what you had injected into your leg before that October night in 2004 that allowed you to pitch on a bum ankle?  Must be a pretty difficult question to answer for a guy that just won't shut up.

The so-called "Mitchell Report" is about to explode, just like Barry Bonds' head presumably will when he rolls out of bed one day and lets out a big sneeze.  But how will you feel, how will you rationalize everything when it comes out that your favorite player or your favorite team was aided by steroids?  Or on the flipside your team was beaten in an important game and #### over by a steroid user?  In any event some will care, some will be shocked, some will disappointed, some will rationalize and make excuses and others will say oh wow and oh well and simply move on and keep watching  the sport.

My take, the media cares about this story way more than the fans do and the attendance figures over the last four years which keep rising prove it as such.  Fans were much more upset with baseball after the 1994-95 strike than they have been with this steroid epidemic.  That having been said, fans are still very protective when it comes to the integrity of records ala, Hank Aaron and Roger Maris.

I believe that this stems from the fact that like a poorly officiated game in which your team gets #### over, you're still resigned to the fact that you can't get it back.  Sure you can put your own black mark on it and the league can apologize and admit it messed up, but what happened, happened and unless there's an immediate correction then why care about it if the league doesn't care to do anything, because really you the fan can't do anything, except not show up and really when has that ever happened except for post-strike circa 1994-95?

Some fans when their favorite player comes up or an important star on their team is listed will simply say they don't care.  Now part of that stems from an attitude that says well yeah it's wrong but everybody is tainted at this point or has been at some point and it's far too ambigious to know for sure how much of an effect or advantage this has given to certain teams and players.  Additionally those same fans must realize that not caring all-together means you're cool with Barry Bonds as the all-time HR king or say for instance of speculation's sake, Roger Clemens as the best pitcher of this generation.

On one side you'll have Yankees fans screaming at Red Sox fans about what was injected by trainers into Curt Schilling's leg that allowed to let him pitch in Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS and just how did David Ortiz go from platoon player in Minnesota to overnight Fenway sensation?  Then you'll certainly have Red Sox fans countering back at Yankees fans about Jason Giambi's two HR's in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS and Roger Clemens who shut them down in Game 3 of the ALCS in 2003 as well.  How might another nation besides this one and the one in Boston, Mass. react in Japan if and when Hideki Matsui's name crops up.  You'll have Mets and Giants fans wondering if back in 1998 if they and not Sammy Sosa's Cubs should've made the playoffs as the NL Wild Card, or those agruments become quickly irrelevant when suddenly it surfaces that Barry Bonds and Mike Piazza were also implicated.

If nothing else fans finally know what's going on, even if they don't know all of what's going on.  They know it and it stinks, like a poorly umpired game where their team gets hosed and they're left with nothing but empty apologies like we're sorry you didn't like our calls and the fans gripe but proceed to move on.  Gee it's no wonder baseball doesn't want to implement instant replay, they might get caught with their pants down.  Too late for that! 

Terry Francona was initially tabbed by Michael Jordan of all people as a great manager.  That ringing endorsement alone got him his first gig managing the Philadelphia Phillies.  That in turn got him another high profile recommendation from Curt Schilling which inevetibly brough both to Boston.  Now the question comes, is Tito Cooperstown material?

Granted he's managed less than ten season's in the bigs, with only four of them coming in Beantown.  But if one looks at what he's done in that short time period and what could be coming in the near future, it's not as ridiculous of an assertion as it would've been when he first came into Red Sox Nation looking like a puppet act to follow Grady Little whose sole purpose was to bring Schilling to town.

Just consider what Francona has done in four short years in Boston.  He's yet to have a losing record, averaging 94 wins per season.  The Red Sox have made the playoffs three times in his four years there.  Francona's 2004 squad became the first ever in MLB history to overcome a 3-0 series deficit in the ALCS to win 4-3 against the Yankees.  That team also became the first Boston club to win a World Series in 86 years, sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals. 

Francona's 2007 squad became the first in 12 years to win the American League East, again swept the Angels and came back from a 3-1 ALCS deficit, going on to sweep out the Colorado Rockies in the World Series. 

The Red Sox under Francona are 8-0 in the World Series and 22-9 in the playoffs with four sweeps.  Francona became the first Boston manager since Ed Barrow to win a title for the Red Sox and the first skipper to win multiple championships for the Red Sox since Bill Carrigan. 

Consider since 1980 the only other managers to bring home multiple titles are Tommy Lasorda, Tony LaRussa, Tom Kelly, Cito Gaston and Joe Torre.  I'm not saying this Boston team is a dynasty yet, but considering what he's already accomplished and what he will likely continue to do with a solid young team in the future, there will certainly  be a case to be made for Tito's enshrinement into Cooperstown.

Remember back when Roger Clemens was making his proclamation from the owner's box at Yankee Stadium of his return to the New York Yankees?  And how after that Curt Schilling and the Boston Red Sox beamoned that they didn't really "need" the Rocket's services anyway?  Well the Yankees are now 7.5 games back of the Red Sox for first place in the American League East after just two weeks ago trailing by 14.5. 

The Yankees have won 12 of their last 14 games including the last 9 in a row, having taken the last four series in a row which included 2 of 3 at the Red Sox, 3 of 4 at the White Sox, and sweeps of the Pirates and Diamondbacks.  The Yankees are 11-2 so far in June.  In fact it only gets sweeter for the Yankees who start a series this weekend at home against the reeling New York Mets and then travel to play the Colorado Rockies, San Francisco Giants and Baltimore Orioles.  If after that trip you were to tell me with the way the Yankees are playing that they'd arrive in the Bronx for their next homestand against the Oakland A's riding a 21 game winning streak and leading the A.L. East, I might be shocked but in the same token none too suprised.

Everything about this team looks so alive.  Manager Joe Torre ever since getting ejected on that Friday night up in Boston looks rejuvinated standing on the steps of the dugout whenever the Bronx Bombers are up to the plate.  They seem to be a lot more comfortable and relaxed in their roles.  No doubt they are getting sparks from guys like Melky Cabrera and Miguel Cairo playing regularly and contributing to keep the team loose.  It's quite apparent that Cabrera and Cairo are doing for this year's club what Cabrera and Bernie Williams did for last year's team when Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield went down. 

If we're comparing this season to 1978 Cairo who was essentially forgotten for the first two months may be the 2007 version of Brian Doyle.  Doyle was the 2ndbaseman who took over after Willie Randolph got injured and batted .438 in the '78 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.  Cabrera gives the team another dimension as well, the best centerfielder this team has had since Bernie Williams in his prime, with a cannon for an arm to boot.  Cabrera's presence in center gives him more confidence as the every day guy and allows Johnny Damon to stay fresh and set the tone at the top of the batting order.  It's no suprise that having guys like Jason Giambi and Carl Pavano out of the picture has helped this club to move forward.

Of course these moves allow everything to click in the batting order.  With Damon regularly in there at the top, that allows Bobby Abreu to settle back into the 3rd spot between Derek Jeter who has been consistently solid all year and Alex Rodriguez who is putting up MVP numbers again and he is backed up now by Jorge Posada who is 2nd in the A.L. in batting and that is aided by having some pop at the bottom with Matsui, Robinson Cano looking like a batting champ again and even Cabrera lifting his offensive game.  The only thing this team may be lacking is a bopper off the bench, perhaps that will come in the person of Giambi or they make a deal for Cincinnati Reds slugger Ken Griffey Jr. who has 16 HR's and could be looking for a ring after playing for the reeling Reds could be brought in as a DH and reunited with A-Rod.

A-Rod ignoring and silencing the off the field critics with his impressive play and Abreu looking like he won't turn into the 2001 version of David Justice or the 1997 version of Cecil Fielder are by far the best news of cranking the Yankee machine.

Finally it's the pitching that will always serve as the backbone of this ballclub if they're going anywhere in October.  Bringing Clemens back has been a gigantic boost to this ballclub.  Clemens just brings that something extra to push guys harder and gives them that drive to take their games to the next level along with an added sense of excitement.  Andy Pettitte is getting run support and is still lights-out.  Mike Mussina has picked it up and doesn't look quite ready yet to turn into the 2000 version of David Cone.  Chien-Ming Wang looks like the ace who won 19 games last year and not the shell of a pitcher who was hobble by early injuries thanks to the brilliant signing of Marty Miller as strength and conditioning coach.  Most importantly they're getting length and consistency out of the starters, which keeps the offense in ballgames allowing them not to have to press so often, keeps the bullpen fresh and allows Mariano Rivera to get a normal workload.

News & Notes: Jorge Posada with his 206th homerun puts him past Hall of Fame outfielder Dave Winfield for 9th on the all-time Yankee list.  Posada is just 17 away from passing Yankee hitting coach and former 1stbaseman Don Mattingly for 8th on that list.  Posada is only 7 RBI away from passing Winfield for 15th on the all-time Yankee RBI list.  Meanwhile Derek Jeter needs just 6 more HR's to pass Tino Martinez for 13th on the list with 193.  And A-Rod with this next HR will give him 145 as a Yankee passing Mr. October Reggie Jackson for 28th on the Yankee all-time HR list. 

Speaking of A-Rod, he picked up his 67th and 68th RBI on the season in the finale against the Diamondbacks.  If you're wondering who has the record for most RBI before the all-star break, that record is held by Detroit Tigers great Hank Greenberg back in 1935 the Tigers slugger knocked in 103 RBI which is still the MLB record and get this Greenberg that year wasn't even selected to the all-star team, imagine that?

Andy Pettitte with Yankee win 153 in his career is 5 away from passing Waite Hoyt for 8th place on the all-time Yankee win list.  Mike Mussina with 95 is two away from passing Ray Caldwell for 16th on the list.  Mariano Rivera with 61 is 1 away from passing Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez and Urban Shocker into a tie for 40th on the list and is only 4 wins away from passing Catfish Hunter and David Cone. 

And of course Manager Joe Torre picks up his 2,000th win in Chicago last week, with many more to follow.

Lately there's been this notion of how Roger Clemens' package deal somehow disgraces the mystique of the New York Yankees.  To detractors such as David Wells and Phil Garner, I say go out and get your own contract negotiated in that fashion.  I don't even necessarily bash the Yankees for doing this because imagine if they hadn't accomodated him and then lost Clemens to Boston or Houston?

There's no mistake the mystique left the Yankees when the ball left the bat of Luis Gonzalez in November of 2001.  They started going after guys who were bigger than the team.  The Yankees replaced two of their classier guys in Tino Martinez and Paul O'Neill with Jason Giambi and his steroid problems and Raul Mondesi and his attitude problems.  They made a foolish trade of Ted Lilly for Jeff Weaver and gave a boatload of money to Jose Contreras solely so that Boston couldn't get him.

In 2004 they essentailly sold their heart and soul, allowing character guys in Andy Pettitte and Clemens to go, while dealing for overpaid, oft-injured, headcase, mal-content Kevin Brown.  Sure A-Rod might be the best player in baseball, but the trading for him went against the grain of the 90's Yankees who weren't about the super-star.  That season the Giambi signing, Brown trade, not signing Pettitte and Clemens and trading for Javier Vazquez instead of Curt Schilling came back to bite them in the end. 

Before 2005 they again let a clutch pitcher in El Duque walk away, the same El Duque who dominated the Red Sox in a relief apperance in the playoffs that year allowing the White Sox to sweep.  They signed Jaret Wright who had red flags all over the place and was another oft-injured headcase.  Signed and overpaid for Carl Pavano, again another oft-injured headcase, just so Boston wouldn't get him.  And traded for and overpaid the moody Randy Johnson, one year too late.  Perhaps the biggest move they didn't make was signing Carlos Beltran to be their centerfielder for the next decade.

When one looks at this season and the Clemens deal, ask yourself this: If the Yankee mystique was so important, why then did they sign Kei Igawa to $46 million?  Igawa's main problem is gripping the ball and getting a feel for the mound!  Really, don't you think that your genious scouting department would've picked up on those two things before anything else?  Anyone who doesn't believe that deal was done solely for marketing purposes to Japan and to compete with Boston's signing of their own Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka, you're fooling yourself.  That move right there, which was obviously not a baseball move, spits in the face of Yankee mystique and tradition! 

This shift from the 1990's Yankees to now reeks of sheer sellout.

Last time we saw the New York Yankees (8-6) and Boston Red Sox (9-5) playing at the Fens, Cory Lidle and David Wells were facing off in what would be the last of a five game sweep known as "Boston Massacre II."  In fact, going back to May 23, 2006, the Yanks have won seven in a row in front of Red Sox Nation.  How much of that changes, depends on the Red Sox starting pitching, which has been stellar to start off the 2007 campaign.  And how they are able to fare against a Yankees lineup led by Alex Rodriguez, which just absolutely scalpped Chief Wahoo and the Cleveland Indians in a three game sweep.

Here's the positional breakdown:

Catcher: Jorge Posada vs. Jason Varitek.  EDGE: Yankees. 

Posada continues driling the ball, hitting at a .353 clip, while Varitek can't seem to shake the decline he's been on since signing a new deal after the 2004 season, batting only .189.

1st Base: Doug Mientkiewicz vs. Kevin Youkilis.  EDGE: EVEN.

Both have gotten off to relatively slow starts at the plate, but have played stellar defense thus far.  This will be Mientkiewicz's first trip back to Boston as a member of the Yankees, so mother's lock up your daughter's and owners lock up your baseballs.

2nd Base: Robinson Cano vs. Dustin Pedroia.  EDGE: Yankees.

Cano has yet to really go off on a tear and Pedroia has yet to prove himself as an everyday player.  Even if Alex Cora plays, he's scrappy, but not what the Sox want out of an everyday 2nd baseman.

Shortstop: Derek Jeter vs. Julio Lugo.  EDGE: Yankees.

Jeter is the epitomy of consistancy, while the Red Sox have used five different starting shortstops since 2004, though Lugo will be a thorn in the Yankees side as always, dating back to his Tampa days.

3rd Base: Alex Rodriguez vs. Mike Lowell.  EDGE: Yankees.

Mike Lowell is a hard-nosed, servicable player who has a lot of balance to his game, mostly a double's hitter with some pop and a great glove.  However A-Rod is on a whole other planet right now, batting .351 with 10 HR's and 26 RBI, with most of those numbers being put up in late inning clutch spots.

Leftfield: Manny Ramirez vs. Melky Cabrera.  EDGE: Red Sox.

With all due respect to David Ortiz, no player on the Sawx invokes as much fear into a Yankee fan than Manny Ramirez.  Ramirez  just hit his 1st homer of the season in Toronto yesterday, serving as a caution flag for Yankee pitchers this weekend, as Manny usually hits 'em in bunches, even off the great Mariano.  Meanwhile Melky Cabrera has gotten off to a slow start offensively, though his defense continues to shine,  just ask Manny.  Though Melky will have to climb quite a ways to rob Manny this time around.

Centerfield: Johnny Damon vs. Coco Crisp.  EDGE: Yankees.

Johnny Damon may throw like Mary, but at least he doesn't hit like Coco Crisp.  Damon has played tough through injuries, while Crisp hasn't been able to make Sox fans forget Gabe Kapler.

Rightfield: J.D. Drew vs. Bobby Abreu.  EDGE: EVEN.

Both have gotten off to an outstanding start, both seemingly overlooked, funny seeing as how they're each hitting over a .340 clip. 

DH: David Ortiz vs. Jason Giambi.  EDGE: Red Sox.

Papi has been the Red Sox MVP thus far, hitting .288 with 5 HR's and 13 RBI, if A-Rod weren't so far ahead, we could be looking at 2005 all over again.  Giambi, traditionally a slow starter is starting to come around in the power department.

Starters:  Andy Pettitte vs. Curt Schilling.  EDGE: Yankees.  Josh Beckett vs. Jeff Karstens.  EDGE: Red Sox.  Daisuke Matsuzaka vs. Chase Wright.  EDGE: Red Sox.

Pettitte is a known Red Sox killer, while Schilling has been shaky vs. the Yankees post-bloody sock.

Again these next two starters are in need of a pivotal showing against New York this weekend to prove the Sawx staff is ready to play with the big boys.  Beckett was horrid last season against the Yanks, but has pitched brilliantly of late.  Matsuzaka will no doubt be facing his toughest challenge yet in his young MLB career against a deep Yankee lineup.  Meanwhile the Yanks countering with Karstens and Wright, will hope that offense holds up to give them breathing room against the starting pitching of Boston.

Bullpen: EDGE: EVEN.

Boston's bullpen was absolutely horrific last season and was especially depleted in the five game sweep at the hands of the Yankees.  The Yankees like the Red Sox have a much deeper bullpen this season.  Given the Yankees offense and their starting pitching, depending on which way it goes, it could be a very long series for both bullpens.

Prediction: Yanks take two out of three.