The above title refers to Joe Girardi’s comment following the first loss of his career as manager with the Yankees. The New York Times continues the quotation: “You come to the ballpark and prepare to win, and losing stinks.”

And lose they did, in their second outing against the Blue Jays. The score at the end of the night was 5-2. Alex Rodriguez couldn’t stop the ill-fated defeat with his two-run homer in the seventh. That could not compete with A.J. Burnett’s performance of keeping the Yankees from scoring for six innings.

Mike Mussina gave Yankee Ticket holders little to be excited about this season in a lukewarm performance on a very cold night. The Daily News explains the performance of the Yankees’ starting pitcher:

“Mussina allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits in 5-2/3 innings, although the majority of the hits were bloops and bleeders.”

The simple fact is that Mussina was totally mediocre. And that couldn’t compare with a very good Blue Jays team. It is the beginning of the season. There’s along way to fall. But the fact of the matter is that Mussina has got to step it up for the Yankees to reach their aspirations of a championship this season.

If you want to see “Mamma Mia” on the stage, all you have to do is buy some Broadway tickets. But if you don’t live anywhere near New York, you can wait for the world opening of the famous musical on July 18th in a theater near you.

The trailer is available online and shows what’s to be an all-star cast. I’m talking about Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, and Meryl Streep. Not a bad lot.

The film is also directed by famous stage director Phyllida Loyd, which I always think is a good choice for a musical. I say this not to denigrate the respected art of film directing, but I think that on the whole, a musical with a lot of dancing has got to be directed by someone with experience in these types of productions. Great stage directors typically prove to have the aptitude for film direction as well.

This famous musical features the music of Swedish pop group Abba. It tells the story of a young woman about to be married who wants to find her real father. She writes each a letter. They all show up in Greece for her wedding. Dancing and singing ensues.

With Miss Streep’s top billing and a respected director helming, it’s sure to be fun, but probably only if you like Abba.

The Marlins defeated the Mets last year in their regular season finale, a heartbreaking end to a promising season. With the Mets season opener against the same team, they were not about to let history repeat itself. The Mets beat the Marlins 7-2.

Ben Spigel of the New York Times suggests that Johan Santana’s presence was a reminder to everyone that things would be different this season. He says, “[Santana’s] off-season arrival was born of that desire to help everyone forget, to help everyone heal.” He then adds that we’ve got some better days to look forward to if Santana continues to pitch like he did on Monday.

Indeed it looked like a near perfect performance from the two time Cy Young winner. No doubt he’ll make a few mistakes in the coming months. But starting the season off with a winning performance like this tells all the fans thinking about buying Mets tickets that this is the season to watch.

It was a much needed opening win for the team. Let’s hope that this is a sign from heaven that 2008 will bode better than 2007 for a team with amazing talent. With Santana on the mound, the talent might be more than any other team can bear.

Now is the time to buy your NY Yankee tickets if you want to see a few games in the traditional stadium. We’re talking about a stadium that has housed the world’s biggest baseball franchise since 1923. And this is the last year.

The Yankees are a team that can never extricate themselves from a storied history. And they can never get away from the fact that their fans expect greatness from them. With seven seasons in a row without a championship, mediocrity is not sitting well with them.

So there’s been changes in the last few years. Former Yankee catcher and coach, Joe Girardi, is now at the helm of this franchise that would love to win a championship, this their last year in the old stadium. To dream of such things is almost too glorious to think of, but every fan must hope. And so Girardi is bringing a new commitment and focus to an experienced team. He’s conditioning them hard.

Team Captain, Derek Jeter is quoted in the daily news as saying:

“It’s going to be a special year. . . . There’s always optimism going into a new season. Obviously this year some things are different, but everyone here is excited.”

Let’s hope they give the old ball park a generous send off with a great 2008 season.