Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Godless Yankees
Sometimes I really do feel like I'm rooting for the Evil Empire - it's a good thing I have memories of Thurman Munson to keep me going. (By the way, the Bronx is Burning version of Thurm is exactly how I imagined him to be when I was a kid. )Anyhow, tonight the souless one, Jason Giambi, hits a grand slam to put the Yankees up 8-2 against the hapless Blue Jays. The Blue Jays absolutely outplayed the Yankees and should have been up like 5-0 (well maybe not that bad) after two innings, but for a great diving catch by Johnny Damon, a stupid baserunning mistake, and some poor fielding on their part. Instead, the Yankees were up 3-2. Not only are they good, they're catching breaks, and then Giambi of course goes yard, and I assume it's over. In Boston, Red Sox were down 8-4 but rallying. Nonetheless, without Manny, the Red Sox are a hell of a whole lot less scary, and almost punchless, dare I say. Next weekend is showdown time in Fenway.
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2 comments:
When I was a kid, I was a huge Thurman Munson fan. I was a catcher for five years in Little League (the old Hammermill Fields) and I loved Thurman Munson. Not only was he a great catcher, he was a great hitter.
I was painting the fence at the old Red Barn Restaurant on East Lake Road when Johnny Wilson told me that Munson had died in a plane crash. I was devastated.
It was the second time the death of a ballplayer had an impact on my life: a few years before, the great Roberto Clemente was killed in a plane crash, attempting to deliver supplied to impoverished Nicaraguans.
After Munson died, I started to lose interest in the Yankees. I thought Billy Martin was asshole (was he an alcoholic?) and George Steinbrenner was a meddlesome turd.
Then, when I realized that the Pirates would never be competitive again, I lost interest in baseball altogether.
It's sad, because, as you and I have discussed before, baseball is a magical game based on the Heroic Journey (threshold guardian, tests, helpers, theft, return home).
But my Pirates haven't been competitive since 1992 and there's no relief in sight. Meanwhile, former Pirate Barry Bonds steals the home run title with the help of massive doses of steroids.
It's all pretty messed up, if you ask me. Still, I did enjoy watching Detroit win and it will be nice if the Brewers go somewhere (are they still in first place?).
DDD
It was really my son that helped me get fully back into baseball. He doesn't recognize all the politics and money that go on in the back office and just recognizes it out on the outside for the beautiful game it is. Brewers are playing alright, but ironically, they've been having all sorts of trouble with the Pirates. Detroit was good to root for 'til they signed that asshole Sheffield. But still, they're all a bunch of millionaires when it comes down to it. The Yankess are just more millionaires than the rest of them...
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