MLB

Artie Lange cares about one thing more than NY sports -- keeping it real when NY sports teams blow ... and the diehard Big Apple fan tells TMZ Sports his beloved Yankees are SCREWED ... especially with Alex Rodriguez coming back.

Lange was out in NY when we asked him the question on every Yankees fan's mind ... now that "Number 2" is out to pasture -- and he's showing the Bombers ZERO fanboy love.

Watch the clip -- Artie blasts everyone ... from A-Rod to Eli Manning. Yeah, he's that down on the state of Empire State sports.

The wife of Boston Red Sox star Clay Buchholz says she's the latest victim in the nude photo hacking scandal -- and tells TMZ Sports the racy photos were ONLY meant to be seen by her husband.

We spoke with Lindsay Clubine -- a former "Deal or No Deal" briefcase model -- who tells us she was devastated when she found out someone had hacked into her husband's phone.

"This is a terrible crime," Clubine said ... "I have my attorneys removing the pictures. This is very upsetting to my family and I."

Clubine says she doesn't blame her husband at all for keeping the pics on his phone ... saying, "Clay and I are good. I send him pictures on the road."

However, Clubine says she IS upset that she's been wrongly identified in some of the more hardcore pics that were hacked from her husband's phone.

"There are pics on his phone that [a teammate] sent some of the guys that are NOT me."

He once signed a $126 MILLION contract ... but former MLB pitcher Barry Zito could still use a few extra bucks -- which is why he's trying to rent out his S.F. mansion for $25k per month.

The ex-San Francisco Giants hurler has listed his 2-acre estate in Marin County, CA to rent or buy ... the latter will run you about $9 million.

The place is pretty sweet -- 4 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, a wine cellar, pool, outside fire-place with seating area, a guest house ... and privacy, privacy, PRIVACY!!!

The former Cy Young winner bought the place in 2007 for $8.8 mil ... but clearly, he's over it.

Zito's also selling another mansion he owns in the Hollywood Hills.

Another reason to love Magic Johnson: He's not forcing his kids to watch baseball -- even though he OWNS the Dodgers ... so says Magic's daughter Elisa.

The 19-year-old was out at a birthday party in Beverly Hills when we asked how her father was doing after the Blue Crew was bounced from the MLB playoffs earlier this month.

That's when Elisa hit us with a refreshing dose of honesty -- "My dad is probably doing really well ... I don't really watch baseball."

The St. Louis Cardinals tell TMZ Sports they have a "heightened awareness" of the explosive situation in the streets of St. Louis and will take extensive security measures to keep fans safe at this weekend's playoff games.

All hell is breaking loose in The Lou ... with angry protesters clashing with police over the recent shooting deaths of Michael Brown and Vonderrit Myers Jr. -- who were both killed by police gunfire.

With the Cardinals hosting the NLCS on Saturday and Sunday, a rep for the team tells us, "Our people have been coordinating with the St. Louis Police Department and Major League Baseball security" in an effort to protect the fans.

Bravo's Andy Cohen is a HUUUUGE St. Louis Cardinals fan ... he even named his dog after a player ... and he's got some great advice for the team before their next playoff game -- GET LAID!!!

Andy was out in NYC Wednesday when we asked how he felt about pre-game sex ... since so many World Cup teams BANNED their players from banging during the tourney.

But Andy is all about it ... telling us, "They should burn it out, let the poison out!"

Cardinals are red ...
Dodgers are blue ...
But be careful where you rock those colors ...
Or it could mean THE END of you.

At least, that's what The Game told us out in L.A. the other day -- when he warned Cardinals fans that sporting RED in certain parts of town could be bad for your health.

Game is clearly referring to the Bloods (red) vs. Crips (blue) rivalry ... telling us:

"It depends on where you out out here ... because the Cardinals are red ... you get caught slippin' in the wrong hood, it might not be about baseball. It might be about baseball bats."

Derek Jeter ain't getting married at Oheka Castle in NY today ... despite serious buzz.

We know various high end vendors had been contacted to work a "Derek Jeter event" at the historic location this weekend ... but it turns out, it's just not true.

There IS a wedding going down at the Castle tonight -- but the groom is not a future Hall of Famer ... he's the owner of a Crunch gym franchise in Florida ... which is still pretty baller ... but it's not Jeter.

Everybody LOVES some good old fashioned smack talk ... even politicians ... just ask the Mayor of Kansas City -- who's rippin' into the Mayor of Los Angeles over the MLB playoffs.

Of course, the Royals are taking on the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim -- and K.C. Mayor Sly James is stickin' it to L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti.

We spoke with Mayor James before the Royals beat the Angels last night -- here's how the conversation went ...

Mayor James: "I'll be reaching out to the Mayor of Los Angeles and making a bet with him."

TMZ Sports: Who will you bet on Mr. Mayor?
Mayor James: "I'm always gonna bet on Kansas City ... and I'm gonna encourage him to do the same if he actually wants to win the bet."

TMZ Sports: What will you bet?
Mayor James: "We'll bet some BBQ versus whatever he wants to put up."

TMZ Sports: Any final thoughts?
Mayor James: "If he wants to be on the winning side of the bet, he ought to bet on the Royals. Save himself some trouble and heartache."

Los Angeles should brace itself ... 'cause if the Dodgers win the World Series, "this town might burn down" ... so says Dodgers superstar Andre Ethier.

The outfielder was out at Madeo last night -- takin' a bunch of people out for a pre-playoff game dinner -- when we asked how he was going to celebrate if when the Dodgers win the Series.

"This town might burn down, eh? But we'll address that when that happens," Ethier joked.

Sure, he was kidding ... but let's get serious -- it's a legit concern ... especially after the Lakers NBA Championship riots of 2000 ... and 2009 ... and 2010.

But it won't happen a 4th time ... will it?

Derek Jeter will be front and center at a MASSIVE secret party at a historic castle on Long Island this weekend, TMZ Sports has learned ... and now we're hearing buzz it could be a wedding.

Here's what we know ... the party is set to go down at the famous Oheka Castle -- which was used for the exterior shots of Charles Kane's mansion in the 1941 Hollywood flick "Citizen Kane."

Multiple sources tell us ... several high-end party vendors have been called in for a very important "Derek Jeter event."

Now here's where things get tricky -- we've spoken with multiple sources who tell us the event in question is a retirement party for #2 ... and other sources who SWEAR it's a wedding.

Of course, 40-year-old Derek has been dating 24-year-old supermodel Hannah Davis for the past couple of years ... but if they got engaged, they've done a helluva job keeping it a secret.

We reached out to Derek's people for comment -- so far, no word back.

The Kansas City Royals could be the key to stopping crime in Kansas City ... because criminal activity was actually DOWN in K.C. during last night's big playoff game ... cops tell TMZ Sports.

We spoke with Sgt. Darin Snapp of the Kansas City Police Dept. who says the unbelievable 12 inning battle between the Royals and the Oakland A's may have actually deterred the bad guys for a night.

"We ran the last 4 Tuesdays and last night was the slowest night as far as calls to service," Sgt. Snapp says ... adding, "Everybody was happy and getting along and watching the game."

The cops were especially thrilled with the situation ... considering the KCPD had tweeted out to the city earlier, "We really need everyone to not commit crimes and drive safely right now. We'd like to hear the @Royals clinch this."

Hannah Davis has a heart of gold -- she gave some out-of-work guy the time of day and a cup of joe today in NYC.

The S.I. swimsuit hottie walked out of a coffee shop in the West Village with the guy ... who was dressed in ratty jeans and a t-shirt. She even allowed the idle dude to chat her up for a while.

Clearly, he has nothing to do with his time.

Hannah was also flaunting a ring on her left hand. It doesn't appear to be an engagement ring, but she probably just wants the guy to think she's taken.

It might be the most special of all the Derek Jeter tributes -- TMZ Sports has learned the legendary Carnegie Deli in NYC will now offer a $28 sandwich to honor the Yankees captain.

So, what does one get for $28?

A rep for the deli tells us ... the "Derek Jeter Triple Club Sandwich" comes piled high with 2 classic meats (because he's #2) -- turkey and bacon.

Plus, several slices of American cheese -- with tomato and lettuce ... served on toasted white bread.

Mmmmmmmm.

The deli rep adds, "We chose American Cheese because nothing is more American than baseball."

Former NBA star Doug Christie was SO PISSED when his wife leaked a topless photo to the Internet earlier this year, he almost ended the marriage ... so says Jackie Christie.

The "Basketball Wives: LA" star was out in Hollywood this weekend when she admitted to TMZ Sports that she was the person responsible for the topless getting onto the web back in June ... but swears it was an accident.

Still, Jackie says Doug was so mad about the debacle, that "[he] almost left me."

Check out the clip ... Jackie blames the whole thing on an Instagram screw-up -- but her story seems a bit fishy.