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Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2009 10:59 am
by Sonic Youth
Mister Tee wrote:Sonic -- since you're the only other rational poster on this topic --
As Holly Hunter didn't say in "Broadcast News", but should have: "It is a heavy burden".
But you may not think me entirely rational. If the Yankees have to lose to anyone, I'd love to see them lose to Joe Torre, with the final game in the new Yankee Stadium where Joe can display the trophy before Steinbrenner. But it's not gonna happen that way. Assuming the Yanks do beat the Angels - in 7, if at all - they're more likely to face the Phillies.
Now, excuse me. I'm late for a very important business meeting with Rudy and The Trumpster. We're trying to devise price-fixing schemes for Dollar Stores all over America.
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Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2009 2:36 am
by Damien
There's nothing worse in the world than a Yankees-Dodgers series, which places one in the ignominious position of having to root for the Dodgers.
So let's kick ass Phillies and Angels! Do it for Jim Konstanty and Leon Wagner! Richie Ashburn and Donnie Moore!
(As a National League -- the non-DH league -- guy I always root for the National League team in the Series. Unless it's the Dodgers. But if the AL representative is the Yankees, then I'm forced to cheer for the loathsome Dodgers, who are less loathsome than the Yankees.)
One of my happiest baseball memories was being at Game 6 of the 1981 series, a 9-2 blowout which sent the Yankees off til the following spring with their tails between their legs. And they came back in 1982 with a delightful 79-83 .488 4th place finish.
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Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 9:06 pm
by Mister Tee
I'm coming to think this year's World Champion is going to be the team whose closer manages to avoid a catastrophic meltdown. Street joins Franklin, Nathan and Papelbon in letting a seemingly-sure win slip away. At least Nathan was spared the ignominy of the others in having it happen with two outs in the ninth.
And who'd have guessed, with open season on closers, Brad Lidge would still be among the standing?
A few days off from baseball; time for us all to collect our thoughts and project the next four series.
Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 12:23 pm
by Eric
Mister Tee wrote:as Joe Mauer said last night, and as I can attest from too many early departures in recent years -- when you go out quickly in the first round, you feel as if you were barely in the post-season at all.
But of course the Twins barely were in the postseason at all, any way you slice it.
I hate being put in a position where the Tigers (and their fans) are surely thinking mournfully how much more they could've done if their postseason berth hadn't been robbed of them. (Which is precisely what happened when we snatched the division championship from them in 2006 ... and then they went on to make it to the Series as a wild card.)
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Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 10:47 am
by Mister Tee
Sonic -- since you're the only other rational poster on this topic -- congratulations on the win. ARod has apparently decided it's okay for him to hit in October. It was especially gratifying last night to see so many of the long-timers contribute: Pettitte, Jorge, and the inevitable Mo at the finish.
The Angels are of course the last team the Yanks want to face, but if you want to shine in the post-season you should have to play the best.
The Division Series have turned out to be mostly a bust in recent years -- far too many sweeps, and, as far as I can recall, no decisive fifth game in several years. It's a shame, because -- as Joe Mauer said last night, and as I can attest from too many early departures in recent years -- when you go out quickly in the first round, you feel as if you were barely in the post-season at all.
So, a salute to Rockies/Phils for at least making a sport of it. Presumably now, with the others Series all wrapped up, they'll at least show in prime time. I could only stay till the 7th last night. What time did it wrap up? Before 2 Eastern?
Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 1:38 am
by Damien
Mister Tee wrote:Rather a cherry-picked list, Damien. You managed to find room for Lindsay Lohan (who I doubt even knows the rules of baseball), but somehow omitted Jack Nicholson, Denzel Washington, Keith Olbermann and Sonia Sotomayor. You don't have to like all of them, but they change the tenor of your list.
Is it some sort of statement that most of your Giant fans are dead?
I forgot to mention the humourless-ness of Yankee fans.
And I should have included Denzel Washington -- his smug arrogance is quintessentially Bronx Bomber. And by most accounts, Sonia Sotomayor is a really obnoxious person.
If I lived in the Bay Area and had greater access to Giants games on TV (I listen to them on MLB.com Internet radio), I'm sure I'd be aware of more current day Giant fans. But here are three more: Tony Bennett, Bob Weir and Sean Penn. (All pretty cool.) And Robin Williams, but that's only a slight improvement over your Billy Crystal.
As much as I love New York, I seriously have considered moving to San Francisco, just so I could live where the Giants are the home team. But my Beloved finds S.F. too provincial, and the only place we might actually leave New York for remains Paris. Which has no baseball team. 
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Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 1:31 am
by Damien
Shame more people didn't get to see the Phils/Rockies tonight. Another exciting, scrappy hard-fought contest, but damn it sure looked cold there. And Brad Lidge is one of those relievers (as was another Phillie, Mitch Williams) who gets your heart in your throat whenever they take the mound -- nerve wracking!
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Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2009 5:44 pm
by Mister Tee
...and I spoke too soon about the Red Sox. Any Sox fan who fell asleep in early '04 and just woke up today would assume the Curse was still in order. I can't say I was surprised to see Wagner strguggle, but once Papelbon was in -- with a 2-run lead, with 2 outs/nobody on/2 strikes -- I couldn't believe they blew it.
Can anyone (if you were watching) explain why the Sox intentionally walked Hunter to pitch to Guerrero? A former MVP? I swear, I thought I'd missed something and Guerrero had been lifted for a defensive replacment.
Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2009 2:49 pm
by Eric
Mister Tee wrote:There's no dome in the new stadium? (Obviously I haven't followed this closely) The Metrodome was an abomination on arrival, but the idea behind it was to protect against Minnesota weather in April and October. Shouldn't they have followed the Safeco model?
Nope, no roof at all. The understandable drive to get out of the Metrodome at any cost led to a triumvirate funding model which included sales tax money from Hennepin County. Between politicians and the unwillingness of either the Twins or Target to spring an extra $100 million for a retractable roof, we're going the winter coat route.
Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2009 1:48 pm
by Mister Tee
Eric wrote:Mister Tee wrote:The Phils/Rockies have to play a minimum two more games, and who knows when they'll play, given the weather in Denver. (Did anyone think about this possibility when they granted a franchise to the city? Shouldn't they have had a retractable dome?)
Can't wait until the Yankees and Twins face off next year at Target Field. There was snow today in the Cities.
There's no dome in the new stadium? (Obviously I haven't followed this closely) The Metrodome was an abomination on arrival, but the idea behind it was to protect against Minnesota weather in April and October. Shouldn't they have followed the Safeco model?
Speaking of weather: the Phils/Rockies situation is worsened by the fact their game tonight is scheduled for 10 PM. How much colder will it be by then? And who among Phillies fans is still going to be up around 1 when the game is winding down? Once Dodgers/Cards wrapped up yesterday, oughtn't they to have rescheduled the game for mid-afternoon?
Looks like the Red Sox are going to hold on for today, which will no doubt lead to predictions of a squelching comeback against LA. This may happen, but the fact that the deciding game is in LA is not great news for a home-field-dependent Boston team.
Posted: Sat Oct 10, 2009 9:11 pm
by Eric
Mister Tee wrote:The Phils/Rockies have to play a minimum two more games, and who knows when they'll play, given the weather in Denver. (Did anyone think about this possibility when they granted a franchise to the city? Shouldn't they have had a retractable dome?)
Can't wait until the Yankees and Twins face off next year at Target Field. There was snow today in the Cities.
Posted: Sat Oct 10, 2009 8:51 pm
by Mister Tee
Rather a cherry-picked list, Damien. You managed to find room for Lindsay Lohan (who I doubt even knows the rules of baseball), but somehow omitted Jack Nicholson, Denzel Washington, Keith Olbermann and Sonia Sotomayor. You don't have to like all of them, but they change the tenor of your list.
Is it some sort of statement that most of your Giant fans are dead?
Sad to say, my instinct about the Cards was right -- they didn't even show up tonight. At this point, you have to start seriously thinking about the Dodgers in the Series. The Phils/Rockies have to play a minimum two more games, and who knows when they'll play, given the weather in Denver. (Did anyone think about this possibility when they granted a franchise to the city? Shouldn't they have had a retractable dome?) Phillie pitching past their 1-2 punch isn't all that great to begin with; worn out by a long week they might be easy pickings for LA.
Posted: Sat Oct 10, 2009 8:28 pm
by Damien
Nothing is going right in these playoffs.
C'mon Phils, kick some Rockie ass.
Posted: Sat Oct 10, 2009 5:38 pm
by Damien
Ye Shall Be Known By The Company You Keep
The following are all Yankee fans (pretty sad when Giuliani isn't even the worst of them):
Lindsay Lohan
Rudolph Giuliani
Ari Fleischer
Adam Sandler
Donald Trump
Billy Crystal
Henry Kissinger
Britney Spears
Tom Brady
Bruce Willis
Opie & Anthony
Joe Lieberman
The Mets have much cooler fans:
Viggo Mortensen
Jerry Seinfeld
Hillary Swank
Glenn Close
Tim Robbins
And, as to be expected, the Giants have had the coolest celebrity fans of all:
Tallulah Bankhead
Danny Glover
Carlos Santana
Charles Schultz
Phil Harris
Vin Scully (growing up)
Edward G. Robinson
Groucho Marx
Similar to the New York dichotomy, in Chicago, it's again the National League team with the more desirable fans.
Cubs:
Bill Murray
Eddie Vedder
John Cusack
John Candy
John Dillinger
White Sox:
Richard Roeper
Dennis De Young
Jenny McCarthy
Jerry Springer
Some other celebrity fans:
George Clooney, Charlie Sheen and David Letterman --Reds
Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Jimmy Fallon, Dane Cook, Denis Leary and Stephen King -- Red Sox
Kurt Russell and Garth Brooks -- Padres
Tom Hanks and Drew Carey -- Indians
Joan Jett -- Orioles
Tom Selleck, Tim Allen, Jeff Daniels, Kid Rock and Alice Cooper -- Tigers
John Goodman -- Cardinals
Cary Grant, Jerry Lewis, Frank Sinatra, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Paris Hilton -- Dodgers
Posted: Sat Oct 10, 2009 2:19 pm
by Mister Tee
Jesus, the self-righteousness of Yankee haters...
If Yankee fandom is inherited, so is Yankee-hating -- and it goes back way past when you can use Steinbrenner as some kind of justification. The Yankees have been hated since at least the 40s -- maybe the 30s -- and the only reason is that they JUST WON TOO DAMN OFTEN.
Yes, the Yankees have a financial advantage over some other teams. News flash:: they're not the only ones. At minimum, the Dodgers, Mets, Orioles, Red Sox have at various times spent vast amounts of money on players -- and, in a number of cases, flopped miserably. The exception would be the Red Sox, who've won two championships going this route. And, geez, what a racket they've come up with. They build a team around imports like Pedro, Manny, Schilling; they pick up Beckett and Matsusaka; they pursue ARod and Texeira -- and Theo Epstein sells it all to his echo chamber on ESPN as Great for Baseball. Then, when ARod and Tex opt instead to go to NY, it's "Ooh, the big bad Evil Empire, buying the pennant".
If you're a fan of a true small-market team -- Pittsburgh, Kansas City -- my sympathies are with you. The system works against you, and I don't quite know how that's ever going to be fixed. But the rest of you sore losers...I'm not a gloating man (because like most I dislike being gloated at). But, in this instance, suck it.
To discuss the actual game for just a moment: around the bottom of the 8th inning, I thought to myself, If this year is truly different from the last several (which it has felt like, all summer), then they'll have to rally and win this game. That they rallied in two stages, and damn near lost it inbetween, made it an exhausting affair. As someone said on a blog, the top of the 11th took five years off my life, but the bottom added ten.
Question: if the Twins at any point from now hold a late one-run lead in the 9th, will Gardenhire confidently go to Nathan? His numbers against the Yankees are just horrible. Back in '95, Buck Showalter despaired of John Wetteland ever getting out the Mariners when it mattered, and thus put a save situation into the hands of Jack McDowell (who promptly surrendered it). Would Gardenhire be similarly spooked, or stay with his big guy?