Opinion

I want to take you on a stroll down memory lane to remember a time when being a Red Sox fan was a curse. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

The best being that you could buy a ticket for a game at Fenway an hour before the game started, and the worst was that Boston would probably lose the game, which made for a long ride home on the Green Line.

The 2008 Seattle Mariners had the second-worst record in baseball (61-101); it was a campaign of no power and no pitching.

They paid a Carlos Silva $12 million over the season to lose 16 games—almost $1 million per loss.

They gave up five promising prospects for an ace—Erik Bedard—who pitched just 81 innings. GM Bill Bavasi probably thought he was buying job security when he swung the deal, but he was actually ringing up his own ticket out of town.

"Flamethrowers" is our Monday topic at thesportspa.blogspot.com during the MLB season. In these articles, we attempt to showcase the hot pitchers, as well as the not-so-hot pitchers.

These pitchers, in no particular order, are Hot/Not in my eyes.

HOT:

1) Zack Greinke- Royals

Greinke, the story of the year so far in 2009, stayed hot by throwing his second complete game in a row. He gave up an unearned run in the fifth inning, which snapped his 38-inning scoreless streak that went back to last season.

There are your players, your stars, your superstars, and then there are the icons.  Performers who change everything for a team. By necessity, there are only a few icons, and the Dodgers have one of these now in Manny Ramirez.

It goes beyond what he is able to produce in the lineup or on the field. It becomes part of the mindset of a team and its fan base. It puts some style in the swagger, swinging the hips and bringing a dance step to the feet.

The New York Yankees have struggled to a .500 record after three weeks of the young baseball season.

It seems as though matters are worse than their record would indicate.

In three of the games, the Yankees have truly been embarrassed.

In Tampa, the Yankees were beaten 15-5 by the Rays.

At home against Cleveland, starter Chien Ming-Wang was abused for the three straight start and the Indians clobbered New York 22-4.

This past weekend was an extremely bad one for Yankees fans.  Many fans are now suffering from sweepitis, a debilitating disease brought on by getting owned by the Red Sox for three straight games.

Symptoms include

• Wanting Joba to go back to the bullpen.
• Continuously seeing images of Jacoby Ellsbury stealing home.
• Wanting to shave Kevin Youkilis' beard.
• Wondering why CC and AJ are getting paid so much.
• Wondering who Angel Berroa is.
• Actually missing A-Rod.

Brett Gardner was chosen to start in centerfield for the New York Yankees coming out of Spring Training.

The team now has 18 games under its belt and the record is 9-9. That record coming off an embarrassing sweep by their arch rivals, the Boston Red Sox, in Fenway over the weekend.

There are many problems with the New York team right now.

The biggest problem has been pitching. It has been very, very bad.

Having Alex Rodriquez on the disabled list has created problems on offense and defense.

Enter Sandman by Metallica starts blasting through the Yankee Stadium loud speakers at the top of the ninth inning. If there ever was a song opposing players of any team wished they would never have to listen to, this would be their choice.

The crowd gets up and roars its approval as the inevitable is about to happen. The Yankees have the lead and are about to give the ball to their 39 year old one pitch closer. Just so happens, Mariano Rivera is as dominating as ever.

(Author's note: This article was originally posted here at www.aarontorres-sports.com)

Growing up in central Connecticut, the start of baseball season was as exciting as any time of year. 

I like to think of myself as a realistic Mets fan.

This offseason, while many of my fellow Mets fans were picking the Amazins to finally overtake the Phillies and win the division, I was quietly optimistic while still taking a wait-and-see approach.

I even picked the Phillies to win the division in my National League East season preview article on Bleacher Report.

With that even-keel mentality in mind, I think it may be a long season for us Mets fans.