Missing Mackenzie

Maybe this will finally get him off of his ass and add something to this site:

Your game 1 starter for your New York Yankees in the ALDS against the Detroit Tigers (we're speculating it's Detroit, we're hoping it's Detroit, and now it definitely won't be Detroit because we've jinxed the Twins) is not named Mike Mussina or Randy Johnson.

Seriously, could the Yankees have to start the playoffs on the road? Is this possible?

Turns out it is. If the Twins or Tigers have the best record, they open at home against....well, at this point, it'd have to be the A's. Shit, this last weekend could really mean something in the American League after all. Mackenzie's beloved Yankees could open Tuesday at the Metrodome with Chien-Ming Wang against Johan Santana. Then again, they could open at home and get former Bronx Bomber Kenny Rogers. All we know is the Yanks can't start out with the A's, which sucks because after missing out on all of the playoffs last year, it'd be nice to see the 2006 Dirty Laundry AL MVP, the Big Hurt, on display on the big stage (because you know all of the Yankee games will be the prime time ones). By the way, isn't it funny how all of a sudden, the Hurt's on everybody's MVP radar screen, and nobody says one WORD about how he can't win it because he's a DH only, but for some reason all you hear about the other BIG candidate, Papi, is that he falls out of favor because he's a DH. And none of this makes any sense because the media seems to fall all over Papi and has despised the Hurt for most of his career. Then again, Sammy Sosa won the NL MVP over McGwire in 1998 because the Cubs won the Wild Card, but none of this matters because both players were juicing, at least that's what Jose Canseco says.

Anyway, I'm happy for the Hurt, he's now a lock for the Hall of Fame after this season, he's making Billy Beane look even more like a genius, and I can only imagine how pissed off Ozzie Guillen is about Frank being in the playoffs this year and the White Sox can't defend their title. What sort of smirk will Beane be wearing if this winds up being the year the A's finally win a playoff series, with the guy Kenny Williams -- who came across as the fool in Beane's world in Moneyball -- didn't want back on his team.

Feel free to jump in anytime on this Mac, and I know you could give two shits about the National League, but doesn't having the Phillies, Padres, Astros and the suddenly panicked Mets around sound like a good party? Hell, I'd take the Dodgers and/or even the Cards in that mix. God I love October. Just think, by then we might actually get a Mackenzie column.

NOTE: Our most popular story was the brainchild of a drunken Mackenzie following the Nicholls State/Nebraska football game. Yes, our hall of fame moment happened exactly like this:
Mackenzie: "Damn that chick's is looking goo--oood. Hey, since they're now making a movie about Moneyball, you should write a column on who should play what role in the movie, since you're such an expert on the book and you'd like to blow Billy Beane and I'm too busy staring at this girl's hot ass."
Me: "That might work. Could even do Paul Giamati as Bill James..hmmm...."
Mackenzie: "Yeah, but who'd play Joe Morgan?"