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It has been a long and winding road, this 2008 MLB season.  Who would have thought that today, the day the Red Sox clinched a berth in the 2008 playoffs, we would be seeing Manny being Manny in the Pacific Time Zone and the Red Sox not be on a West Coast swing at the same time?   Who would have thought that the American League MVP race would be all but sewn up by a true ballplayer, gritty and determined, in Dustin Pedroia?  Who would have thought that the Sox would be in a battle for tops in the American League East, and that battle would be observed nonchalantly from the sidelines by the New York Yankees, who fail to make the playoffs for the first time in 13 years?  And for that matter, who would have thought that the once-lowly Tampa Bay Rays (insert “Devil” as you see fit) would not only challenge for the wild card, but the division as well…and be successful?

It has truly been an interesting journey through the ups and downs of the 2008 season.  But that was the 2008 season…we now enter the 2008 postseason, which, for all intensive purposes, truly is a new season altogether.

Well Red Sox fans, savor this moment for just that…the moment.  The season within a season begins now.  Boston should and most likely will concede the division to the Rays, which is still at arm’s reach.  It now is more important to get the team healthy for what hopes to be a long postseason run.  Starters will certainly savor a few days off in the coming days.  J.D. Drew, Mike Lowell, and the rest of the roster have pained through bumps, bruises, sprains, strains and champagne-burned eyes…it’s time to kick it into that extra gear for what will surely be a battle against the best in the American League.

The Boston Red Sox are back in the postseason for the fifth time in six years…congratulations Boston.  I hope this will help to mend the wounds of what may soon prove to be a dismal football campaign.  But that’s a different story for a different day.

And who thinks that the retirement of Johnny Pesky’s number is well-deserved for such an integral part of the organization for over half a century?  I certainly do.  Congrats Johnny!

Congratulations to the Fresno State Bulldogs, your 2008 College World Series Champions.  They become the lowest-ranked seed in any college sport to win a championship…IN HISTORY!  Pretty amazing, maybe Fresno State will now be known for something other than Jerry Tarkanian’s other coaching job.

The 2008 College World Series will culminate in a battle matching Bulldogs with…Bulldogs as Fresno State continues its improbable run in the tournament as they meet Georgia for the national title.  Earlier today, Fresno State knocked of No. 2 seed North Carolina 6-1 to win their best-of-three series and will move on to the finals to face a Georgia team that bounced back from a losing season last year to make the finals…they are the first to ever accomplish this feat.  In comparison, Fresno State is the first No. 4 regional seed to make the CWS as well.  It’s Bulldogs vs. Bulldogs starting Monday…someone please make sure Michael Vick doesn’t find out about this matchup.

and Bernie Mikalaz is crying about it in the St Louis Post-Dispatch.  Boo Whoo!!!!

Read the article here

As expected the NY Mets have fired manager Willie Randolph, pitching coach Rick Peterson, and first base coach Tom Nieto.  Bench coach and former Manager of the Year Jerry Manuel takes over as the interim manager.

What do you think?  Is Willie the problem?  Will this light the spark to finally get the Mets rolling?  Why not fire HoJo as well?

Mets.com has the story.

According to MetsBlog.com, the New York Mets have acquired old friend Trot Nixon from the Arizona Diamondbacks.  Nixon was hitting 309 with 10 homers and 31 rbi’s down in Triple A.  He’s expected to help shore up NY’s injury rattled OF, probably sliding into RF to take the place of oft-injured Moises Alou, who just went on the DL…..again.

Why did Jon Lester get suspended for 5 games and why did he accept?  I know he wont miss a start.  But he was never tossed out of the game, so why the punishment?

The 2008 MLB Draft!!!!!!!

Oh and i think there’s a basketball game on tonight too.

Yahoo! Sports has compiled the list of the top 40 sports figures of 2007.  Its not based on who had the greatest year, its by who made the most headlines and who got us talking the most.  Read it here and tell us what you think.

So now that 80 or so current and former mjor league players have been named whats next?  Will anything come out of this?

Perhaps MLB and the MLBPA will get together and work out a fair testing policy.  It’s obvious the one in place now needs to be reworked.  What about punishment?  I know Senator Mitchell stressed that nobody should be punished for past infractions, but will Bud listen?  This all falls on Selig and his ineffectiveness as commissioner.  Baseball was hurting after the last strike, and the great Sosa-McGwire HR battle of 1998 brought the fans back in droves.  After that everyone seemed to be hitting home-runs, regardless if you eve had any power before.  Because revenue was up, Selig decided to ignore this fact.  Now he’s “concerned” steroids are ruining the game.

Also, this is obviously just the tip of the iceberg.  Jason Giambi was the only player to meet with Mitchell.  The Senator asked to speak with many players, but was turned down every time.  On top of that, most of the names he received were courtesy of a former Mets clubhouse attendant.  We all know there are many, many more players that have used or are using performance-enhancing drugs, now is it a matter of time before their names are leaked?

This topic is not going to go away.  It will be with us all off-season, examined in every trade and free agent signing.  It will follow us into spring training, through the 2008 season, and beyond.  My question is, will it do any good?