Opinion

With one at bat, one beautiful swing delivering a crushing blow to Red Sox Nation, Aaron Boone permanently cemented himself into the hearts of all Yankees fans. 

It may seem unfathomable that a man with no prior connection to the most storied franchise in sports could in one moment place himself alongside the memories of countless baseball legends.

However, Boone did just that, after putting up less than mediocre numbers for half a season at third base for the Yanks.

If you're a Dodger fan, which of the following are you thinking when you wake up these sunny Los Angeles' mornings?  After you've had your coffee and read the latest Manny Ramirez updates?

1.  Oh [expletive], Manny's hurt.

2.  Oh [expletive], Manny's already faking an injury to dog it.

3.  Oh [expletive], Manny's got an option after 2009 so we have to do this all over.

4.  Even if Manny only plays 100 games hard, we're still the favorites to win the National League West (as long as they're the right 100 games).

George Kottaras has won the backup catching job for Boston.

Bard's second stint with the Red Sox is over before it began.

In Spring Training, Bard has shown more of what got him traded the first time around: inability to catch Tim Wakefield's knuckleball.

On a side note, George Kottaras has proven to be able to catch the knuckler from Ol' Reliable.

In the past few days, the Washington Nationals have made several roster moves that, in and of themselves, don't make the team that much better.

What they do show, however, is that the new management team, led by de-facto general manager Mike Rizzo, believes the Nationals are going to be much better this year than any of us believed.

The biggest move came this morning as the Nationals released Shawn Hill, as talented as any pitcher on the Nationals' 40-man roster.

Some people consider David Wright a hero for his walk-off right-field blooper last night against Puerto Rico in the WBC. I understand why some may praise him, but am surprised that no one is critical of the pitch he decided to swing on.

What the hell are you doing swinging at a pitch down and outside when the count can go to 3-1? It was an awful decision by Wright to swing at such a poor pitch.

I recently wrote that the San Francisco Giants could possibly land Miguel Cabrera. You can read about it here. 

There would be a few obstacles to such a deal. Cabrera’s contract runs through 2015, and due to past busts on long-term deals, the Giants might be unwilling to make such a long financial commitment. 

In yesterday’s article, No Room in Yankees Pen for Joba Anyways, I wrote about the current state of the Yankees' bullpen and the depth that they have now that they didn’t a year ago.

One player I left out of the article was Steven Jackson. Jackson is a 27-year-old reliever who was left out because his upside isn’t as high as some of the other pitchers, but I should have included him because of his spot on the 40-man roster.

You can say all you want about how the World Baseball Classic is a waste of time.

You can say how only the Latin American countries and a select few others actually care who wins this thing.

You can say that it's basically exhibition matches.

Just don't tell any of that to the players on Team USA.

Roric Harrison's mark on the game of baseball is, I'm afraid, totally safe. Barring something highly unusual, that is.

Harrison was the last American League pitcher to hit a home run in a game featuring two AL teams. He did it on October 3, 1972, while playing for the Baltimore Orioles in Cleveland. The dreadful Designated Hitter Rule arrived the next year.

The Sporting News, one of the premier sports publications of our times, turned 123 today. The event passed with no fanfare, and little notice.

This day in 1886, the venerable franchise was begun, starting off as nothing more than another in a series of baseball pages. There were many others, but none of them have lasted as The Sporting News has.

There are other sports publications nowadays as well, including the well-known Sports Illustrated.