BOMBED

I got an e-mail from Ed Cossette yesterday as the Sox were getting their tits lit in Texas, and he told me, "I guess I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue." Derek Lowe continues to be inconsistent, and manager Grady Little told the Boston Globe:

''Right now,'' he said, ''the biggest thing I'm looking forward to is getting the hell out of Texas.''

Trouble is already brewing between the Sox and the Boston press, according to the Boston Globe. Pedro Martinez is not talking to reporters, and now Grady Little has issued a mandate that his players only talk to the media about baseball related issues, after a definite-type-of-situation went down earlier this week.

For what it's worth, I'm sure Ed will feel just a wee-bit better when he wakes up this morning and finds out that the Yankees finally lost a game. Andy Pettitte didn't have much of anything last night, and the Angels jumped on him for six runs; the Yankee bats for once, were unable to rally, and the Yanks are no longer the best team in baseball. The best team would be your Kansas City Royals, baby. Don't throw rocks at the throne, playa.

Not for nothing, but I caught the tail end of Mike Lupica's diatribe against the Bronx Bombers last night on ESPN's the Sports Reporters II. Ostensibly, Lupica echoed what my friend John alluded to yesterday, and that is that watching the Royals win is much sweeter than the watching U.S. Steel win. I understand his point. If you are an average fan, what's not to love about the Royals winning? It's a great story. But the Yankee fan in me says, "Speak for yourself, papi." Lupica finds the Yankees to be obnoxious and joyless, which is fair enough. But that's not going to stop me from enjoying their success, no matter how high their payroll climbs. (Do I ever feel guilty about it? Sure. But it's all part of being a Yankee fan.) If you can't find any joy in watching Soriano or Bernie hit, then it's your loss, not mine. But hell, Lupica has to sell papers, I just get to root for my team.