Red Sox beat blah blah blah

Game 1 prediction - Sox 6 Rockies 2, actual score Red Sox 13 Rockies 1.

The game started off pretty much as I predicted. The sox struck early, the Rockies looked rusty, and frankly Jeff Francis looked terrified. It wasn't a fun game to watch. It was almost like watching your little brother get beat up by the high school bully but there is nothing you can do about it. Even the sports commentator on cnn headline news (I have a massive crush on Robin Meade) said he shut the game off after the fifth inning. It's too bad, but no one should really be surprised at all by this. Facing a team like Boston at Fenway against the best pitcher in the majors in your first World Series appearance ever isn't exactly a routine game. It's not over until the gravitationally challenged lady sings, but if the Rockies are going to have any hope at all they are going to need to figure out a way to put the ash to the leather. Unfortunately I expect more of the same tonight.

Since the World Series is painful to watch, but even more painful to write about I am going to switch gears.

Anyone who even thinks about baseball is chiming in on who they think is the best pick to be the Yankees new manager. I've already voiced my opinion on that, but what I haven't gone into a lot of detail about is why I think that Don Mattingly SHOULDN'T be the next manager. We all know the biggest argument, that he has never managed in the majors. But there are some other factors that should be considered as well. For example his performance or rather the Yankees performance under Mattingly as a hitting coach. Lets take a look at some numbers.

Before Mattingly:
2002 - Yankees average .275
2003 -Yankees average .271

With Mattingly:
2004 - Yankees average .268
2005 - Yankees average .276
2006 - Yankees average .285

And what about this year after leaving the batting cage for the bench coach position?
2007 - Yankees average .290

These numbers are inconclusive at best. Obviously the team has changed over the past five years but you have to notice that the average drops when he takes over and then rises when he is promoted. There is a consistent climb throughout his tenure, but keep in mind that in those three years the Yankees had a massive drought of big post season hits. I'm going out on a limb here to an extent, but since he has no stats to back up his application for manager we have to look at what we have.

There is another factor at play here, his legacy. I don't need to tell anyone that Don Mattingly was the saving grace of the Yankees throughout the 80's and the first half of the 90's. From the mid 80's until Jeter's ascension he was the only player to even come close to deserving the title of captain (no offense to Paul O'Niel, but he was a bit of a cry baby). So what happens when he takes the reins of a transitional team and he fails? Does that change what he did for us as a player? No, but it does take away some of his mystique as "Donny Baseball." It also brings back awful memories of all of those years when the Yankees stunk...and I mean really stunk. Plus what happens to his employment status if the Yankees don't make the playoffs? Would the Stiennbrenners run Don Mattingly out of town? It sounds crazy, but after what happened with Torre anyone looking to fill his shoes had better be ready for some rough waters ahead. Mattingly just isn't the guy for the job right now. Oh and by the way, I was wrong about Giardi not wanting to manage NY.....Joe Girardi sees Yankees job as 'honor.'