Red Sox faithful, because you have my empathy, I will give you fair warning:  Here is your last chance to look away before your hearts find themselves in the soles of your shoes.

The Yankees have done it again, I say.  With the acquisition of Johnny Damon, they have struck yet another blow in the endless pummeling that is their "rivalry" with the Boston Red Sox.  If you listen closely, you can already hear the sound of Manny Ramirez whining. 

The stats that flash across the TV screen tell it all.  With Damon in the lineup, the Yankees will improve their batting average at the leadoff spot from .289 to .312 and their RBIs from 146 to 166, while dropping the number of double play grounders from 35 to 12.  Never mind the drop in home run production from 39 to 30.  With names like Jeter, A-Rod, Sheffield, Giambi, and Matsui batting behind him, the Yanks will take the not-so-bad with the more-than-good.

Upon hearing the news, I reacted in quiet awe with a smile and a shake of the head.  It is little wonder why the Pinstripes are so widely reviled- possibly more so than they are loved.  They are good, they have always been good, and they will always be good.  It's just not fair!  And now, they have gone and made themselves better, and it doesn't appear that Boston will be able to keep pace.

Yes, the unthinkable has happened.  With a stroke of King George's mighty pen, the balance of power in the AL East has shifted...or so it would seem...

The truth of the matter is, Yankee power had never really shifted away in the first place.  A squandered 3-0 AL series lead appears to be nothing more than an aberration in the natural order of the cosmos.  Like Halley's Comet, these things are bound to happen every 86 years or so. The erstwhile Yankee killer is going to the Bronx, and the Bambino's spell remains as strong as ever.

Hence, we are left with the frustration of the Non-yankee nation.  It hurts because they buy any and all players of value from any and all teams.  It hurts because they use them against those teams to trounce their way into the playoffs.  It hurts because they take veterans in their primes, play them into the ground, and then shun them for new ones a few years later.  And most of all, it hurts because you can't fault them for it.

If you are a Red Sox Fan who has managed to read this far, I have one question for you: Is this not the very behavior a fan should want his or her organization to exhibit? 

All the Yankees do year in and year out is what every every organization should want to do for its' fans- assemble a winner. The Yanks always put a quality product on the field and so long as a Steinbrenner is in charge (Junior is on the way), that's all they will continue to do.

It is no secret that New York has more money to throw at prospective players than Paris Hilton has boyfriends, but that is the way Major League Baseball likes it.  It makes things more interesting in a controversial BCS kind of way (but we'll save that blog for later).

            When the Yankees are good, the only things more massive than big Stein's ego are TV ratings and MLB profits.  And that is why, as Yogi might say, "the status quo is the status quo".

            So take heart, baseball fans.  After all, it has been a few years since the Yankees have won it all, and if the Sox of Red and White are any indicator, every dog can have its' day. 

But remember this one thing- only in New York can a fan keep a straight face and say, "There's always next year".

Copyright 2005, Aidan Acuff, "The Sports Intellectual"