Tuesday, October 11, 2005

The Pieces Are There...


They just don't fit together.

I love how A-Rod just can't get it done. He and his buddies, Shefanie and Hide-a-key, had three RBI between 'em in the ALDS. And then he goes and says that the team shouldn't hang their heads. I guess he didn't get the memo.

Steinbrenner already made a statement about the end of the season, and Mike & the Mad Dog thought that the Boss' congratulations of "the Angels and their manager" was a shot at Torre. So who knows what that'll turn into. But I predict more 21st-century yankee style chaos and ultimate failure.

Randy Johnson is such a joke. Before Game 3, he said his old fans in Arizona were "more animated" for his starts. That just made the booing louder for him when he came out of the game after a shitty performance. I also heard that during Game 4, they played a pre-recorded message to the fans on the scoreboard, and the fans booed that, too. Those yankee fans and Randy deserve each other.

"I don't like to use the word 'choke'. --Michael Kay, on the radio, just now.

Game 3 was key. I was listening in the car, and I heard another classic yankee rally. Dave Campbell said the yanks came back thanks to seven softly-hit balls. Just when I thought the momentum had turned, the yanks allowed the Angels to come right back. Quickly it was 11-6 Angels.

Game 4 was a killer, with the yanks getting the tying and winning runs on close plays at the plate. But I knew they were going back to Anaheim for a Game 5, so I wasn't too worried. (Funny how the yankee fans kept cheering Bernie--you know, "just in case" that would be the last time they'd see their yanks this season.)

For Game 5, I turned it on in the second inning to see someone besides Colon on the mound. But the kid did a great job. And once the Sheffield/Timo--I mean, Bubba Crosby play happened, I pretty much knew the Angels were gold. I did kind of hope that the yanks would get a runner on in the ninth, so their fans would yet again see what it's like to almost win but still lose. It's still gonna take awhile before all the "mystique" is washed out of their mouths. Or something. But it happened twice, for an extra bonus. Jeter gets on, A-Rod hits into a DP. Giambi and Shef get on (on two of the cheapest hits of all-time), and Matsui, the great Matsui, who always comes through in the clutch, ends the game. Beautiful.

I also like how they think they've got a second baseman in Cano (corn). Yeah, everything's fine there. Don't even worry about it. He's a sure-fire Hall of Famer.

As for the Sox, I still defend my decision (from the White Sox point of view) of using El Duque and not putting too much faith in Contreras. I was definitely right about the Dork, and I feel like we were getting to Contreras, but all of a sudden he had a huge lead, making it a lot easier for him. He can prove me wrong tonight, we'll see. But I feel he's not gonna do much in these big games. I guess I should root for Chicago, so that we can say "the team that beat us proved they were better than the team that beat the yanks." But, I don't really care about that. The Angels are slightly more likeable, I think. They've got Cabby and Erstad. I'll take them in seven. I think the White Sox have what it takes to go all the way, but that they just won't.

Today, I've heard two people on the radio, one host and one caller, say that this loss is harder for yankee fans than last year's was, for the reason of: They'd beaten the Red Sox for 86 years, so they were due for that...

I'd just like to say that besides the whole "trying to pretend we're not completely embarrassed about 2004" thing, it still pisses me off when people think that all those years when we finished ahead of the yanks somehow don't count. By that logic, the Red Sox "beat" the yankees this year, because we've got the most recent championship, and they didn't take it back. Like it's the Little Brown Jug or something. Terrible job, ignorant yankee fans.

Comments:
Do you realize that of your last 5 posts, 4 have been about the Yankees? You're so consumed with irrational hatred of them that you cream all over the place when they lose, but barely even acknowledge that your team (that has a monstrous budget and should not have lost either) shit the bed in three straight? I guess the magical BoSox season really is over, and now it's back to Red Sox fans being brought together by their mutual hatred for the Yankees rather than how their ballclub actually performs. If there is someone or something to vilify, who really needs to reflect on their own shortcomings?


Not that it matters to me though, it's still entertaining to read.
 
Just another person who doesn't understand this rivalry.

I already told you how much I care about people who say that kind of thing to me, so I won't repeat myself.

Yes, I talk about the yankees a lot. That's kind of the point of this blog. If the Red Sox didn't exist, I'd still be saying all this stuff about the yanks.

You have to realize that everybody who isn't a fan of your team hates them. A lot. This isn't new, and it isn't about covering up personal shortcomings.

Don't you think that if I wanted to improve my life through the fandom of a baseball team, I'd root FOR the yanks? (As you certainly have.) That way I'd immediately have 26 championships under my belt, all for doing nothing but being the same asshole I am, only with an "NY" on my hat. Well, not me, someone else.

Terrible job.
 
Oh, and having been able to actually hear yankee fans all pissy and bitter these last few years is just a bonus. Especially after last year. Knowing that behind everything you say is the knowledge that your proud, classy yankees blew a 3-0 lead to the pathetic, second-class, choking losers from Bawston and then watched as they won the World Series (again, this really did happen) is just a mega-bonus.

And for any yankee fan to make fun of any Red Sox fan now that the roles are reversed is completely hypocritical.
 
The Nile is a River. Denial is the river of Yankee "Fans", in their straightjacket of bitterness.

& "Dora"(A-ROD) is their LVP(Least Valuable Player).
 
Jere -

I made the first comment, maybe I should get a login so I can avoid posting as anon. Make no mistake, I am NOT a Yankees fan. Never have been. I have lived in Boston, however, for 5 years. This may account for my particular view of Sox fans.

You may be right, I may not "get" the rivalry. But, even if this is true, don't lump me with the people that hop on as Yanks fans to have insta-cred regarding Rings.
 
Okay. I guess I just don't understand people who aren't yankee fans but defend the yanks. (I guess I consider making fun of Sox fans as "defeending the yanks.")
 
I can't even get past the drawing to get to the post.

Amazing.

Why's the Unit Chinese, though?
 
Also, I've been thinking about this, and I shouldn't have justified anything. My team was out of it, and another team, who, even if they weren't my team's rival, is a notorious team that plays in my city, was still in it.

Even if I'd completely ignored the yanks up until the other day, of course I was going to talk about the one team still playing baseball that I had any interest in.

"and now it's back to Red Sox fans being brought together by their mutual hatred for the Yankees rather than how their ballclub actually performs."

That's what I'm talkin' about. Our team wasn't performing at all. When my team's out of it, I root against the yanks. (like, in my case, I always do.) I don't see anything wrong with that. I love having that in common with someone that I might not have anything else in common with. Like, when I give a nod to a Mets fan on the street. Thera, try joining the anti-yankee crowd. We're a good bunch, fighting injustice year-round.

If you told me that you didn't hate klansmen, and you made fun of my hatred of them, I'd kind of assume that you were, ya know, on their side. That's why I'm just having trouble understanding your position.

Also, how is my hatred of the yankees "irrational"? I say some crazy things, but the general hatred is very rational.

And in my last comment, I misspelled "defending." I didn't really mean "defeending."

And Sam, glad you like it. The Unit is not Chinese. He is white trash.
 
And another thing, Thera. I was out there, working the crops in the sun all season. And by working the crops, I mean studying that yankee squad more than most yankee fans do, telling the world how they won't go anywhere, despite hearing ignorant '98-style things like "The yanks just know how to win." And now that they've lost, I'm gonna talk about it. I'm proud of the work I've done.

All right, maybe now I'm being irrational.
 
OK, see, I was so distracted by the art, I almost missed the Little Brown Jug reference. Jere. You win so hard.
 
Jere...you're absolutely right, no need to justify yourself.

I'm quickly tiring of all the people jumping on Red Sox fans for hating the Yankees. I received an email tonight from a Yankees fan wanting to know why I had a "site" dedicated to hating the Yankees.

I actually took the time to point out that it wasn't the case and then regretted the time it took me to write because I will never get it back.

I'm still studying the artwork...great job as usual.
 
Jere, you used lined regular paper to construct your jig saw Yankee puzzle, when for pure Yankee realism, toilet paper was required. But it's OK because you, the ultimate Yankee informed-to-the-hilt basher, designed it. Keep the good stuff comin', guy.
 
This is the thing to me- if the actual physical presence of the Yankees isn't enough to bother you- and it probably should- the entire media coverage and characterization of the franchise just makes any logical, non-Yankeehead maniacal at times.

The other night, Bobby Murcer was talking about luring free agents to the Yankees, and how the team offered a player the chance to "put on the pinstripes" and "play for a championship ballclub." I know stuff like that goes in one Yankee ear and out the other, but EVERY NON-YANKEE fan finds themselves screaming at the TV on stuff like that.

Or when Jeter has a single in the 9th inning of game 5- scoring no runs, producing nothing- and we hear, "and Jeter with ANOTHER clutch postseason hit... this should surprise no one." Well, it should surprise no one who enjoys being informed about what actually happens that Derek Jeter actually made the final losing out in a higher percentage of his team's losses than any other player. AND, he's had some real stinkers in the postseason- 1998 ALDS, 1998 ALCS, 2000 ALDS, 2001 ALCS, 2001 WS, 2003 ALCS, 2004 ALCS. Has he been great in other series? Of course- but that's never enough for the media that covers this team. Every victory, every success is some perverse addition to their "reputation," and this includes crediting the team with things that aren't their doing.

The mythos that surrounds that team is completely sick. It's not about baseball anymore, it's like Greek literature to them. It sets them up as these conquering, heroic archetypes that "know how to win," and "play the game right." I could go on for days like this. It just doesn't make any sense. That's why more and more, though I despise the team and hope they lose every game- I wonder if it's just an adverse reaction in me to the way they're covered.

And while we're on the subject- sorry- Bobby Murcer is a fucking retard. Honestly. Just write down like five minutes worth of his quotes next time he talks, then go back and read it later. "This team needs to bond- I don't know, they should all hang out and have a barbecue or pool-type party somewhere, that'd help them back on the winning track..."

Forget it, my fingers now feel like they're gonna fall off. This is why I avoid this topic, I always surround the idea but never really nail it. Oh well.
 

Post a Comment

If you're "anonymous," please leave a name, even if it's a fake one, for differentiation purposes.

If you're having trouble commenting, try signing in to whatever account you're using first, then come back here once you're signed in.



<< Home

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?

My Photo
Name:
Location: Rhode Island, United States