What do you think?

Personally, as a baseball fan, that would be a dream come true. Can you imagine 38 games a season between your team and either the Sox, Yankees or Phillies? Intense, playoff-atmosphere games which are nerve-wracking and just fun to watch.

As a Sox fan, that’s unfair. If those three teams are in the same division, then realistically one of them will win the division, and the second place team will win the wild card. However, the third place team, which still may have better records than other division winners, will not have a spot in the playoffs.

Nevertheless, Selig has a decision to make: Sacrifice a little fairness for more exciting baseball?

Laugh with me.

Red Sox and Yankees are a disgrace to baseball? OK. So the two best teams in the league are what’s disgracing it?

What many people don’t know is that West is a major contributor in these admittedly lengthy games. He made CC Sabathia change shoes in the second inning because they weren’t the Yankee blue, instead matching the gray of his uniform.

Similarly, Marcus Thames had to change the wrist on his tape for the same reason.

In the past, Joe West has had a history of making small problems become major. At one point in 1995, the Mets third base coach Bobby Wine brought out the lineup card two minutes too late, and West was angry at him.

Initially, the bench coach thought he was joking, but got upset when he realized that Joe was angry at him, eventually getting ejected.

Next, the Mets manager Dallas Green, standing up for his third base coach, got tossed. Joe West turned a two-three minute delay into one lasting 22 minutes.

Well, enough about Joe West’s problems with lengthening games. The Sox and Yankee players may not agree a lot, but they were certainly able to come together on this one.

I don’t know if he got fined or whatever, but if we ever called an umpire pathetic and embarrassing, it would be the end of the world. We’d get fined and we’d deserve it. ~Kevin Youkilis

Does somebody have dinner reservations? We’re playing baseball. It’s not a timed game. There’s not a shot clock. … If those guys have an issue with that, it might be time to pick a new profession or talk to the umpires’ association about not working any more Yankees-Red Sox games. ~Dustin Pedroia

It’s incredible. If he has places to go, let him do something else. What does he want us to do, swing at balls? … He has a job to do. He should do his job. ~Mariano Rivera

You can’t control the time. You can’t do one thing because every game is different. … If it’s 20 minutes shorter, it’s not pathetic or embarrassing? At what point is it not embarrassing? You’d have to ask him. If you go over 3:12, it’s embarrassing? ~Derek Jeter

We’re not going to ask our hitters to change their approach to speed the game up. … We’re trying to win games, not trying to see how quick we can play. ~Joe Girardi

“Have you ever gone to watch a movie and thought, ‘Man, this movie is so good I wish it would have never ended.’ That’s like a Red Sox-Yankees game. Why would you want it to end? If you don’t want to be there, don’t be there. Go home. Why are you complaining. I’m not going to sit somewhere I don’t want to be. If you go to a movie or any entertainment event and you like it, you’re going to stay and watch and you’re not going to want it to end. If you don’t, then you won’t. Why is it such a big deal?” ~Jonathan Papelbon

Not only was Joe West out of line in his comments, he was also blaming the wrong thing. As Jacoby Ellsbury and even Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire put it:

The biggest thing is the TV. [Nationally televised games require 2:25 for commercial breaks every half inning, roughly 30 seconds longer than a NESN or YES game, which adds about 10 minutes to every game.] I’ll go up for an at-bat, and I’ll have to wait a minute and a half. … Leading off a game, I don’t know how many times I’ve had to wait. The pitcher is ready, I’m ready. ~Ellsbury

Over three hours is pretty much normal in baseball. You want to cut it out? Cut out the 2:25 between innings for TV. See if that’s going to happen. Ain’t going to happen, right? That’s where they make their money. ~Gardenhire

Not only do people enjoy watching these tight, intense games, but calling the two best teams in baseball a disgrace? It’s frustrating that West can’t get fined for this.

To be completely honest, there was one thing that was pathetic and embarrassing, as well as a disgrace to baseball, during the series.

The balls and strikes calls were atrocious.

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At this point, I really cannot tell you how frustrating it is to be a Red Sox fan. I see the Sox, and I see an exceptional team which has the second highest payroll in the majors. Well, with the second highest payroll, we should definitely have made more of a splash in the postseason, as opposed to being swept out like a small dust particle by the Angels’ broom stick.

I mean, having the second highest payroll is great, except that you keep coming in SECOND place in terms of signing the great players, like Mark Teixeira or A.J. Burnett or even C.C. Sabathia.

Sure, the Sox had a strong farm system, producing the likes of Ellsbury and Lester, but the Red Sox had too many inconsistencies both pitching and hitting-wise. During the off season, we’ll see what the Sox do to address their needs.

But, congratulations Joe Girardi. It takes a lot to manage three All-Star caliber pitchers and a lineup that could very well be the American League All-Star team. It seems coincidental that the moment that hell freezes over, the Yanks take home the World Series trophy.

It’s just a whole lot of frustration. My most hated team in all of professional sports outdid the Sox. It took them nine years, but they did it. Maybe the Sox can play up to expectations next season, as in Jon Lester and Josh Beckett coming out strong, Daisuke remembering what a baseball is, at the lineup is at full strength with Vmart and hopefully Jason Bay.

Sox fans, imagine the fire burning your insides, as your stomachs roller coaster through the emotions involved with the last out against those damn Yankees.

Yankees fans, imagine the pain you felt when Ortiz scorched your team in the 2004 ALCS, imagine yourself praying that Papi could not, and would not do it again.

Now stop. Imagine neither Ortiz nor Sabathia was playing. It’s a really empty memory, isn’t it?

If it weren’t for Jackie Robinson’s brave, heroic efforts, that’s what it would be.

Jackie Robinson, a gifted baseball, football and tennis player as well as a top-notch swimmer, opened doors for African-American and Hispanic ball players. He allowed modern day baseball to be what it is today.

In 1945, Robinson played his only career in the Negro Leagues. He put up a stellar batting average, as he hit .387.

The team formerly known as the Brooklyn Dodgers decided that skin color was no way to determine eligibility to play in America’s favorite sport. They felt that if a guy had talent, he should be allowed to compete in the big leagues.

As a result, Brooklyn took a shot with Robinson, and in 1946 signed him to a Major League Contract, all the while knowing that they were gambling. If Robinson didn’t work out, Brooklyn fans would be calling for not only the Dodger’s throat, but Jackie’s too.

Robinson played through the immense pressure, not only was he the first ever black player in the Major Leagues, but he was also under the scrutiny of one of the most passionate fans in the game. The Dodger fans were those who watched the team drop easy fly balls, as they started to “Expect lapses.”

Jackie hit .311 in his career, with 137 home runs and 197 steals. In other words, the Dodgers’ gamble paid off, as they went all in and came out with a Royal Flush.

Jackie Robinson was so good, he “Walked into a white man’s world… and he did a thing mightier than play baseball, he put his name in the history books.” Unfortunately, on some occasions Jackie was not even able to walk into a “white man’s world,” as restaurant and hotel owners refused to allow a black man into their buildings. Despite the daily attacks and death threats that were directed towards him, Robinson continued to compete.

Robinson not only desegregated baseball, but he also gave African-Americans around the nation hope. In other words, he allowed regular, every day African-Americans and Hispanics to keep working hard with their heads held high. A baseball player inspired the entire country.

For the first time, minorities were able to connect with the formerly Caucasian game of baseball.

One fan said, “To see Jackie Robinson in the Brooklyn lineup gave us hope.” He reminded people to keep their dreams in mind, and never give up hope.

He truly embodied the statement, “Never give up.”

Now, I want you to think about the legendary hug Pee Wee Reese shared with his teammate Jackie Robinson. It was a symbol of hope for whites and blacks alike, a symbol that someday, Hispanics and African-Americans would be accepted into American society.

That single hug illustrated the American Dream, as a man who fought through adversity, a man who always looked forward but lived in the now, was able to reach success.

Do I think Mariano Rivera is a great pitcher? Yes, I absolutely do, but when it comes to facing Boston, he just cannot seem to make the big pitch. Thanks to him, the Sox have won game one of the season series between us and the Yanks.

Really, the East is between the Sox, Yankees and Rays. and the AL Wild Card will probably go to one of those teams, whom I thhink will be the Sox. Yes Tampa had a great run last year, but I just don’t think that they can keep up with the Yankees, or the Redsox when healthy. So, just like it should be, the AL East will be between the Yanks and Sox.

I love my team, the Sox, but I really don’t know how they will match up against Chen Ming Wang, A.J. Burnett and C.C. Sabathia. Also, other than Jon Lester and Josh Beckett, our pitching staff is quite inconsistent, meaning that Mark Teixeira, A-Roid, Jeter and Posada will eat our pitching alive. Still, I think the Sox are better than any other AL team, and will be the American League wildcard team.

However, in the postseason the Sox will beat the Yankees if given the chance. C.C. and Rodriguez suck in the clutch, and A.J. Burnett has almost no big game experience. Every Redsox’ player, from Jed Lowrie to David Ortiz to Josh Beckett, has proven himself under pressure, whether it be in extra innings with two outs during the regular season, or facing elimination to your rivals in the post season.

If I were to guess the AL postseason matchups, I would say Sox vs. Angels in the first round, while the Yankees would face the Indians (who I think will be back to their ’07 form). Of course, the Sox would beat Anaheim again, while the Yankees would make it through Cleveland (which lost Sabathia). What does that mean? You got it! Redsox – Yankees, ALCS! As a series prediction, I think Sox take it in 6, because Beckett, Lester and Matsuzaka all come through.

So, the Sox would not only benefit because Varitek could mentor younger catchers, but also because he is a valuable asset to the pitchers.