Presidents' Day or......Ted Williams

Happy Presidents' Day everybody. Because I don't have a lot to say about the holiday, please enjoy this photo of Boston Red Sox great and baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams.

An excellent baseball season is unfolding

Well, if it is late July, then it is time to talk baseball. Of course, the season began back in April, but the season really kicks into gear just after the all-star game. The races in both leagues are shaping up to be memorable ones. Here are my picks to win both leagues.

American League: Boston Red Sox. In analyzing the American League, only two teams really stand out. As in many previous years, the stretch drive will likely be a bitter duel between the Red Sox and the New York Yankees. I used the word 'bitter' because baseball fans know the rivalry between these two teams is Major League Baseball's best.

I base this mostly because there are not many other teams playing well. I know there is a long time to go in the season, but other than the Angels, nobody else is doing much. Well, Tampa Bay has been turning some heads lately. Still, the rest of the league is quiet.

It was tempting to pick New York. Their new stadium is a hitter's dream. Both Alex Rodriguez and Mark Texieria should spend the summer pounding home runs. Additionally, pitcher C.C. Sabathia should continue to find his groove as the season unfolds.

The reason I did not pick them is simple: I hate them. New York is one of those teams that a person either loves or hates. I just don't like their style. The mere thought of picking them made my stomach tighten up and caused my throat to start making a spastic gurgling noise.

So, I am going with the Red Sox. Slumping David Ortiz is regaining his home run stroke, and if pitcher John Smoltz continues to improve on his way back from injury, the Sox's top notch rotation will get even better.

National League: Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers have the best record in the National League, and nobody else is close. Obviously, part of their success is because the team plays in the most erratic division in the league. However, give the Dodgers credit for knowing how to handle adversity.

When star slugger Manny Ramirez got suspended for 50 games for flunking a drug test, it looked like the team's hot start might come to a screeching halt. It didn't happen. The team's winning percentage continues to be above .600.

Orlando Hudson, Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, and James Loney lead a consistent offense. The pitching staff has an ERA well under four runs. The ingredients are there for success with or without Manny though his return should give the team a big boost.

No other team in the league looks as attractive as the Dodgers. The New York Mets are underachievers (I don't want to hear about their injuries). The Philadelphia Phillies have been up and down, but have been scorching lately. Both the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers are playing well, but I think a lot of their success is smoke and mirrors. Houston is surging and may be the team to watch in the Central Division.

World Series pick: I like the Dodgers to beat the Red Sox. Sometimes a team has the look of a champion, and this year, it looks like Los Angeles.

At least, so far.

Quote of the day

"It's kind of freaky knowing you're diving into somebody's grandpa." -- Coco Crisp, Boston Red Sox outfielder after being told earlier this year that the team had decided to stop fans from spreading cremation ashes at Fenway Park.

I pinched this quote from this week's Sport's Illustrated, which included a year-end round up of quotes from 2008.

I miss baseball.

The New York Yankees and the power of the golden thong

I am an avid baseball fan. The only thing I enjoy as much as the Atlanta Braves winning is when the New York Yankees lose.

I can't explain why, but it has always been that way. When it comes to sports, I've always been anti-establishment. And to me, the Yankees are the establishment.

This year, the Yankees are floundering and currently reside in last place of the American League Eastern Division. Help may be on the way soon as third baseman Alex Rodriguez and catcher Jorge Posada may soon return from the disabled list.

However, gold thongs could also play a role in their possible resurgence. First baseman Jason Giambi owns a gold thong that he only wears when he is in a deep slump, and he says it helps when he wears it. Teammates Johnny Damon and Derek Jeter have also worn it and say it helped them.

A few days ago, the New York media presented the entire team with gold thongs in an attempt to get the team out of a slump. Maybe it will help, maybe it won't.

They may start hitting better, but they aren't going to win the division. Their young pitching isn't panning out, and they look old and brittle at other positions.

It's going to be the Red Sox year. Bye, bye Yankees...bye, bye.

I'm counting the minutes to the next Hank Steinbrenner explosion.

Hank Steinbrenner should provide us years of quality entertainment

Let me say right up front that when it comes to baseball I am an Atlanta Braves fan, but I have always been a Boston Red Sox sympathizer because of my intense dislike for the New York Yankees.

I just don't like the Yankees style. They are one of those teams that you either love or hate.

In recent years, the Red Sox/Yankees rivalry hasn't quite been the same because owner and team patriarch George Steinbrenner has faded into the shadows because of his age and health issues. George always ran his big mouth and personified all the things I disliked about the Yankees.

Now, his sons have taken more control of the team, and his son Hank seems like a chip off the old block.

He recently had this to say about the Red Sox and their fans:

"Red Sox Nation? What a bunch of (expletive) that is...That was a creation of the Red Sox and ESPN, which is filled with Red Sox fans...Go anywhere in America and you won't see Red Sox hats and jackets, you'll see Yankee hats and jackets. This is a Yankee country. We're going to put the Yankees back on top and restore the universe to order."

I will give the Yankees credit for one thing. They were the best baseball team of the 20th century.

However, we now live in the 21st century, and the Sox have won two World Series' titles and the Yankees have won zero. The score is 2-0.

Go Sox!

The power of negative thinking

Sports analogies are definitely applicable to each of us and are often used to illustrate how we should approach life. Even the Bible compares life to a race, which means we can all learn lessons from sports.

All sports have a psychological component. The mental aspects of a game are often as important as the physical though it may not seem that way on the surface.

A person's mental outlook can be the biggest difference between success and failure.

If a team has a history of success, it becomes an important resource for them when they face adversity in competition. They can draw on their experiences and know they have the ability to come through in the clutch.

There are many examples of this because all sports have teams that are consistently good. Teams like the NFL's New England Patriots expect to win rather than hope to win, and this experience served them well in each of their three Super Bowl wins.

All three games were close and were decided by only a field goal. Knowing they could play at a high level at a time of intense pressure was likely a key ingredient in them winning those games.

Of course, the Patriots got in some hot water recently when their coach and organization received hefty fines from the NFL for breaking a league rule. However, this should not overshadow the tremendous success they have had in recent years.

The bottom line is the Patriots' organization and fans have a very positive attitude about the team, which helps them when the pressure is on.

On the other hand, consider the plight of their baseball neighbor, the Boston Red Sox.

Despite the team's success in recent years, failures of the past are so steep that their fans often cannot enjoy themselves when the Sox are experiencing a lot of success.

For years, the team was haunted by the "Curse of the Bambino." The curse was a creation of a Boston sportswriter who traced all the misfortune the Sox have had back to when they sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees on January 5, 1920.

One of Ruth’s nicknames was "the Bambino," and when this transaction took place, the paths of the two franchises went in two different directions. The Yankees became the most successful team in professional sports, winning 26 World Series' titles since then.

The Red Sox, on the other hand, went 84 years between World Series' titles and sometimes lost championships in heartbreakingly spectacular ways.

The Sox blew a 14-game lead to the Yankees in 1978 before losing the divisional title to them in a one-game playoff.

In 1986, a ground ball trickled between the legs of a Red Sox first baseman, which played a role in allowing the New York Mets to rally and snatch the World Series from them.

The list goes on, but these two examples show how the Sox not only lost titles, but lost them in ways that left deep scars on their fans.

This year, the Red Sox have played brilliantly at times and have led their division for most of the year. On Memorial Day, the Sox led the Yankees by 14-and-a-half games and many sportswriters proclaimed the race over.

However, in recent weeks, injuries and inconsistent pitching led to a slump that allowed the charging Yankees back in the race.

Despite winning the World Series in 2004 and allegedly ending the Bambino's curse, many in the Red Sox nation have reacted as they had in the past when their team started struggling.

To say there has been gnashing of teeth would be an understatement. Just a casual search on the internet will uncover articles with titles like "10 reasons why the Red Sox will collapse."

The bottom line is a culture of negativity like this can spread to the mindset of the team as well. If a team hears over and over that they are going to fail, it certainly increases the pressure on them.

Even though the Red Sox have now clinched their division, it will be interesting to see if all this negativity will hurt them in the playoffs.

Likewise, if we find ourselves in a culture of negativity, it becomes that much easier for us to give in and be negative. When we do that, it impacts our judgment and self-confidence.

Negativity is tough to break free of once a person gives in to it.

Avoid it at all costs.