The Switch

What's up with New York Yankees Fans?
Malach has noticed a steady change in the fan base of the New York Yankees over this past decade. There has been a switch . . . Gone are the self confident, we are gonna win it all fans, here are the paranoid, and downtrodden fans that have populated Red Sox nation pre 2004.

Was it the 2004 series, the Titanic Choke job to these same Red Sox that did it? Is it the lacks of winning the big one since the beginning of this century? Is it the two championship by their arch rivals who could never seem to get over the hump in the past? Is it the deteriorating health of George?

I don't know, but I can tell you that Yankees fans, are turning more and more into the Curse of the Bambino Red Sox fans. Not only the fan base, but the team.

There was one thing we always got used to as pre-2004 Sox fans. Every year you would field a team that could bash the Hell out of the ball, but couldn't pitch, especially when you got into the late innings. So, they would go through the season, beating up on lesser talent, trading games with the Yankees, but always be one play short. We had a shoddy farm system at best, and our bet young players ended up on other teams. We were willing to over pay former superstars at the end of their career in hopes they would catch fire one more time. We would overpay to keep our current players as they came to the end of their career. There were constantly philosophy battles between baseball operations, the team manager, and ownership, on the direction of the team, who should be playing, what moves should be made, etc . . .

Does that now perfectly describe the past approximately decade of Yankees teams?

As fans, we expected the worse, expected bad things to happen, felt cheated of glory, and would do stupid thinks like chant "Yankees Suck" when they didn't. We would get into fights over or dysfunctional team. We would have eternal hope every spring and say things like: "Maybe Saberhagen can regain his form from the prime of his career". We would spend hours lamenting and ranting about this team with co-workers, talk radio, and fan forums.

Does that now describe your typical Yankees fan?

Now we spend our time not worrying about this team, feeling that everything will be fine by the end of the season, and they will go on yet another playoff run.

I really think nothing indicates this more than the 2008 All Star Game. All the Sox Players were booed, which is to be expected, but intensely booed, more that usual. And the real kicker was the JD Drew home run, the stands exploded as he hit that game tying homer, until the mostly Yankees fans realized it was Drew that hit it, then he was roundly booed before even crossing second base. This is the type of paranoid behavior you got from Red Sox fans in the past. It is kind of sad . .

And besides, their just jealous of our rain delay!

I am Malach, Blame it on the Rain

Carlos Marmol

Thanks for blowing a F I V E run lead in the 9th to waste Harden's first start for the Cubs. Ridiculous. Just fracking ridiculous. You've sucked it up the last month, and giving up F I V E runs to the GIANTS of all teams is just unacceptable. I know that we ended up winning the game, thanks to my boy Reed Johnson with a big hit in the 11th that drove in Mark DeRosa, but it shouldn't have gone into extras.
If it were up to me, Gaudin, Marshall (who cleaned up your mistake with two shutout innings), or Cotts would take your slot as the set-up man when Eyre comes back and we have to make a roster move. Hell, I'd rather have Hart than you at this point even though he isn't much beyond one inning and he isn't an MLB set-up man. I'm not knocking Hart, he's a great guy and a good team player who can contribute in certain situations, but he just hasn't shown that he's got what it takes to stay in the majors.
Carlos, I know that you're a good pitcher and you've got the tools to be great at this level, but you need a few weeks in the minors to get your head straight.
I am pulling for you even though I'm really upset at you right now.

CUBBIES!!!

With the Brewers getting Sabbathia, the Cubs had to do something. And picking up Rich Harden is HUGE! Our rotation is as follows:
1) Zambrano
2) Harden
3) Dempster
4) Lily
5) Marquis
and Sean Marshall can come in and make spot starts while giving long relief from the bullpen. He's also a lefty, which is great, and he closed a game earlier this year.
We didn't give up that much to get Harden, either. Gallagher has a lot of promise, but Harden is young and more established. Also, Marshall has just as much upside as Gallagher and has the advantage of being a lefty. We didn't have room for Patterson in the infield (Theriot, DeRosa, Cedeno, and Fontenot) and Murton wasn't getting playing time behind Fukodome, Soriano, Edmonds, and Johnson. This gives Patterson and Murton a chance to play and show that they can compete at the big league level. The Cubs also got to keep Fontenot and Hoffpauir, two lefties who are needed in the Cubs overly right-handed lineup. Pie can also stay at Triple-A and work on his hitting, we got to keep a real good CF prospect and got an ace pitcher!
We're looking pretty good to make a big playoff run this year, but I'm staying cautious as of right now. Still very excited about this, though!

Hat Trick, July 4th

1. Venus and Serena Williams have 15 major titles between them. Serena has eight. Venus has seven. Most of us never get one. On the one hand, it shuts up the critics who say they lack passion for their sport. On the other... well, there is no other hand.

2. The Boston Red Sox are poised to be this year's disappointment in Major League Baseball... but only to Red Sox Fans. Phil Collins could feel this coming in the air tonight, O Lord. This is how things go. Professional sports are designed to discourage repeat champions. That's why we celebrate when a team does repeat. With injuries, bad calls, weather, injuries, bad deals, and injuries, it is impossible for the Sox to make their trademark run... this year.

3. Nascar has officially bumped the NHL off the 4 spot, now trailing the NFL, MLB and NBA in that order. Note to David Stern: Fix your league quickly. I'm not sure it would happen, but if the NBA suffers more officiating scandals, or if 'thug ball' comes back in style, NASCAR will be the new number 3. Baseball is an untouchable number 2 and football Americana is number 1... in America.


3 seconds left:

Speaking of the rest of the world, are they ever going to dump soccer as their number 1 sport? Never. I watched Euro 2008 and even I got swept up a bit. Anytime someone beats Germany, I get a bit excited.