Overheard at a sports bar in Manhattan during Thursday night's Yankees-Red Sox game:

(On Alex Rodriguez, digging in for his first at-bat)
"Look at this guy. He's terrible. What's he ever done in baseball? What's he done? He's never done anything in a pressure situation his entire career. I mean until he proves to me that he can get a big hit in a big situation, I ain't sold on him."

(On Gary Sheffield, who is 0-for-4 on the night)
"What a surprise. What do you expect from a guy who's spent his entire career in the National League. Look at him. He's never seen the kinds of breaking pitches they throw here in the AL. He can't handle it. The National League is strictly a fastball league. The pitchers there are terrible. Absolutely terrible."

(More on the NL/AL discussion)
"Listen to this, and listen closely. Carlos Beltran is gonna be the greatest National League player of our generation. You saw how great he was in the American League; he's gonna be incredible in the National League."

(Responding to my question, "So what do you think about Barry Bonds then?")
"What about Barry Bonds? If he played in the American League he'd be a .240 hitter."

(After Derek Jeter makes a running catch in foul territory and falls into the stands)
"There's just no one who plays the game the way Jeter does. Look at that. That's the kind of player who wins you ballgames."

(On Manny Ramirez, when the camera pans over to him following the Yankees' game-winning run)
"He don't wanna win. Look at him. No fire. I see no fire in this guy's eyes. All he cares about is that paycheck at the end of the day."

(After the game)
"Wow, wow, WOW was that a ballgame. That might've been the best game I've ever seen."

(More after the game)
"If you don't like that, you don't like baseball."

And apparently the folks at ESPN.com agreed. Their headline for the game?

"Instant Classic: Yanks, in 13, sweep Sox."

.....

Excuse me while I ram my fist into my wall.