My favorite waste of time the morning after Boston Sox have been ground to pulp is reading the Boston papers. New York dailies of course would be singing the praises of their team. And who will not applaud Derek Jeter’s sac-fly! But reading the Boston papers and seeing Sox fans suffer… well as the commercial goes, priceless. For everything else there is mastercard.
Boston Globe: Just when you thought it couldn’t get any more hideous, the Sox did it again last night. With a bad moon risin’ over the Bronx, they blew a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the 13th when the Yankees had two outs and no one on base.
Boston Herald: There were lots of opportunities, of course, from pinch hitting to defense to just about anything. Garciaparra did not play. And it remains unclear whether Francona resisted from using his shortstop or whether Garciaparra resisted his manager, particularly when Francona indicated before the game that he expected Garciaparra to be back in the lineup tonight.
Boston Herald: Curt Schilling and Scott Williamson had a verbal confrontation during the final stages of Wednesday’s Sox loss. The matter reportedly escalated when Schilling questioned Williamson’s willingness to remain in a contest the Sox led at the time, 2-0 but eventually lost, 4-2.
ESPN Sox Writer Bill SImmons: This winter, the Sox didn’t get it done and the Yankees did. That’s been the difference over the years. The Yankees go the extra mile. Of course, they can spend twice as much money as anyone else, and everyone who roots for them is headed to hell some day. But yes, they always go the extra mile. The fact remains that there were two blue-chippers available this winter — A-Rod and Javy Vasquez — and the Yankees got them both. You can’t build a team around four high-profile starting pitchers, an expensive closer and a crummy defense, paced by an explosive offense that can’t create a run from scratch to save its life. Here’s what happens: You win a bunch of games by scores like 10-3, and you lose a bunch of games by scores like 3-2. The pieces don’t fit.
I agree with you. I think a lot of people fail to understand that despite all the money they spend, the players still have to play and Jeter proved it that despite all the money, one has to play hard every day to win. Getting the win is not easy, despite the dollars. I mean look at Sox, who spent nearly $120 million but don’t seem to have the extra passion to win.
You know what I find strange about your love of the Yankees? The fact that you live in SF – where you have one of the best (and well-priced) teams in the league – the Oakland As. You even highlight articles about Moneyball – but you continue to rave about the Yankees. Now the Yankees are a great team, but it’s a bit like rooting for Microsoft. Why not support your local team – especially given that you love SF so much?
Good point, Damian. So here is the reason why I love the Yanks. When I moved to US, my introduction to baseball was through Yankees, and at the time they were a bunch of rogues who could not win. The team was in a slump but there was something about their game which made them special. I learned the game of baseball with the losing yankees. I cannot cheer anyone else. After all you can be in love with only one team. However, Oakland As are my second most favorite team. Now, SF is a place I work, NY is home!
That makes it much clearer – I grew up in Brooklyn, NY and went to two World Series with the Yankees – 78 and 80 – and as such I’m a Yankees fan for the same reasons you are….even so, I find them tougher to root for because their ever-dominate team….but Jeter’s play over the past few days (the play where he dove into the stands) just shows that the Yankees still have heart.
Yes – clearly money is not the issue. The major league is littered with owners who have tried to spend their way to a championship and gotten nowhere. I was lucky enough to hear Billy Beane speak at a conference (I’ve also read Moneyball), and his statistics are just so impressive – you only wonder how long he can continue to do it before the rest of the league finally realizes what he’s doing and starts to follow him.