New York to Giuliani: Bad move

It's possible that Rudy Giuliani picked up a few votes in Red Sox Nation, specifically the province of New Hampshire, by proclaiming Tuesday that he'll root for the Sox in the World Series.

But back home in New York, where he is perhaps the most famous Yankees fan, his declaration is doing as well as a Mariano Rivera cutter about to be launched over the Green Monster by Manny Ramirez.

"Traitor," blared the front-page headline today in the Daily News.

"Redcoat," complained the New York Post.

Giuliani, during a news conference in Boston, said he wanted to support the American League champion against the National League's Colorado Rockies. The former New York mayor is also locked in a tight battle with former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in the New Hampshire Republican primary.

But in June, Giuliani said he wouldn't make a deal with the devil -- become a Sox fan to become president.

"I'm a Yankee fan," Giuliani told a columnist for the Providence Journal. "My father made me a Yankee fan probably before I was born. I always believe it's a sign of my being straight with people, about not wanting to fool them, that I was one of the first mayors to be willing to say I was a Yankee fan. Most mayors pretended they rooted for both sides. I have great respect for Mets fans, Red Sox fans. I have great respect for people who really are fans of the team they say they are fans of. But probably that's a deal I could not make."

Democrat Chris Dodd couldn't pass up the opportunity to add his two cents this afternoon, making fun of what he called Giulian's conversion and making clear that as a lifelong Sox fan, he would never, ever cheer for the Yankees.

"Every true Red Sox fan knows that being a fan means more than just rooting for the Red Sox to win, it means also rooting for the Yankees to lose," Dodd, a Connecticut senator, said in a statement. "I am glad to see that Mayor Giuliani has seen the error of his ways and converted to Red Sox Nation, however, if the situation were reversed I would be strongly supporting the National League team over the Yankees."

"A good day is when the Red Sox win; a great day is when the Yankees lose; and a perfect day is when the Red Sox win and the Yankees lose."