It's weird

I can't get into the Sox-Yankees series this week. Maybe it's too early in the season. Maybe it's the fact that the Yankees didn't make the playoff and the Red Sox lost in the playoffs to the Devil Rays, who were expected to permanently trade last plash finishes in the American League East with the Orioles.

But I think as much as anything else, it's that the Yankees have as mercenary and new a lineup as I can recall. CC Sabbathia, AJ Burnett, Mark Teixiera (if you want to remember how to spell it, think "Old MacDonald had a farm, ei, ei, o."). Even the manager, Girardi, while a one time Yankee player and coach, seems like the kind of guy they hired because he was the hot young manager. The "right" guy.

Gone is Torre. Pettite isn't the same. Rivera doesn't seem important since the Yankees alway seem to either win or lose by a score something like 9-5. Even the Stadium is gone, replaced by something that looks more like a resort community than a ballpark.

Is the Yankee franchise more of a fantasy league creation than ever? Could be. But I'm not all that fired up about this week's series right now. Let's see what happens once it gets underway. Or later in the season.