Wicked Pleasures.
The New York Yankees are in last place. I am in no way displeased to read of this. After the unadulterated joy of watching them tank away there 3-0 ALCS lead to the BoSox last fall, I'm getting a rare entree-dessert of Yankee failure.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., May 5 - Derek Jeter remembers the glory days, an era in Yankees history that seems to be gone forever. The Yankees of that generation hardly resemble this team, a collection of faded stars who have crash-landed in the basement of the American League East.
How do I hate them? Let me count the ways: they're from the most obnoxious city in the country; they buy their success based on an uneven playing field that no one else in the AL can match; they are owned by a mercurial bastard whose hands-on interference is only offset by his ludicrous checkbook; they own a 200 game lifetime head-to-head edge against the Indians; they drive up league payrolls by spending huge sums on suspect and mediocre free agents...I could go on, but really there's no need.
In any case, 11-18 is merely a slow start for the rest of baseball, and a typical April in Cleveland of late, but this is big-time panic stuff to spoiled New Yorkers who believe the AL East crown to be granted them annually by celestial fiat. It's nice to see a little panic in the Bronx for reasons other than the DEA guys with the battering ram and dogs at the door.
The last time the Yankees were in last place this late in a season, it was June 20, 1995, and [Derrick] Jeter was playing for Class AAA Columbus after a brief trial in the majors. That team recovered to win the wild card and start a 10-year playoff run, but the streak may be in jeopardy.
My heart is breaking. Can one hear these things online? Following a sweep at Tampa Bay, the Yanks are sorting some things out, like who to fill in for the perpetually-injured Jaret Wright. (More about the free-agency bit in a moment.)
It was too much for [Chien-Ming] Wang, who had made an impressive debut last weekend. He worked six innings, allowing five runs on eight hits and two walks, striking out three.
A replacement for the injured Jaret Wright, Wang was an unlikely option to stop a losing streak, and he could not do it.
When Bad things Happen to Bad People.
Jaret Wright started his career as a 21-year-old rookie phenom pitching game seven of the 1997 World Series for the Indians. His career disintegrated into six of the next seven seasons spent on the DL. He had one good season for Atlanta last year, which prompted the Yankees to pay him a multiyear gig at seven mil annually. So, by the laws of the baseball market, now any putty-elbowed journeyman coming off one good season is worth the same amount, which means--you guessed it--only teams in New York, Boston, and LA can afford to take those kinds of risks. Let's hope they all have the same luck.
There may be no saving the Yankees, unless the stars align and summon their past heroics. Their next chance will be Friday at Yankee Stadium, where the fans who bought some of the 3 million tickets sold before opening day will be restless.
I would be inclined from a philosophical perspective to argue that one is morally debased by taking pleasure in the misfortune of his enemies. Ah well. You'll have that some days. Consider me morally debased. This couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of guys.
Go Tribe.
posted by JPS at 5/07/2005 02:19:00 AM
10 Comments:
I agree, I agree, I agree! (I no, not terribly interesting, is it?) Except for the part about New York being the most obnoxious city in the country. LA is far, far worse, in so many ways. The traffic, the snobbiness (at least New Yorkers have something to be arrogant about, unlike Los Angeleans) the tans, the chronic anorexia, and the PHONINESS. I hate LA. I hate the Yankees, but love NY.
schadenfreude: enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others
One of my favorite words - makes me want to learn German. It is so nice to watch them suffer.
And I'm with Little Sister: NY is a brilliant place, but I still hate the Yankees.
I hate NY, and the Yankees. As a Red Sox fan, I can't complain much about insane salaries. After all, the past couple years Boston has been second in payroll to the NYY. That said, I can't tell you how much I dislike the Yankees, as well as the Dallas Cowboys. Steve Howe. Michael Irvin. Darryl Strawberry. Should I stop there? I will. I just hope the Yankees don't make the playoffs, but they will make a run at some point in the season.
Yeah Hamel,
There was some stat last year about how the Red Sox, while not outspending the Yankees, still had a higher patroll than anyone ever to win the World Series. And you guys bribed Manny Ramirez away from us, but again, you came back from 0-3 to beat the Yanks last year, so all is forgiven.
I've never been to LA. As far as the tanned and thin women, I'm sure I could struggle past that. I understand the smog and the transportation would make it a bit much for me. I hate dirty air and being stuck in traffic more than perhaps any two other things besides perhaps the Ingigo Girls and internal bleeding, so I might not care for the place. I think the rents are about equally obscene, if Rentnet gave me an accurate description. I've flirted with the idea of PHD work in LA, but I'm just not sure I can handle 45-minute, 1 1/2 mile commutes or choking on the air on hot days. I could barely tolerate the air quality and London, and that's nowhere near as bad.
But New Yorkers are hardly soft-spoken and humble. Personality-wise, I can't see them comparing favorably to many people besides Los Angeleans, and maybe Parisians. The city is pretty amazing, and far and away the most European of American cities, but it has so many negatives that it's the kind of place I love to visit but would never, ever, choose to live.
Schadenfreude. I'll have to remember that. It fits.
Regarding LA. The women are overrated. I remember when I went out to LA and spent a weekend with my college roommate, who lives there now. I told him I couldn't wait to see all the beautiful women. He said not to get too excited. He was right. Thinking you're attractive and being attractive are two entirely different things. The thing I hate about NYers is that they say their city is the best in the world. That's arrogance.
And I loved the Yankees chokejob last year. No team ever choked as much as the Yanks.
I generally dislike both internal bleeding and female singers, leaning towards no internal bleeding and 80's metal and hard rock. That said, the new Indigo Girls CD is brilliant. Period. Not a throway track on it. I dislike their earlier stuff, too. Maybe not as much as internal bleeding, but as much as, say, scabies, tapeworm, or a severe case of athletes foot or jock itch.
Forgive the typo, Nigela. As I try to cover all of these blogs daily, I've more or less given up on the "preview" function. The last Indigo Girls album I heard was probably "Swamp Ophelia" (a shockingly bad and pretentious title to begin with--pop bands should not cite Shakespeare) back in 94ishness. I thought the lyrics were like overwrought college sophomore dorm poetry, their vocal talents astoundingly average, their songwriting no better than any folk band in a bar, and utterly inferior to Crosby, Stills, and Nash, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Jeff Buckley or newer artists like Anni DiFranco. I've heard guitar playing as good from hippies in church choirs. In short--internal bleeding.
That was a long time ago, though, and bands mature. Perhaps I'll drop by iTunes and see if any of their newer stuff is more to my liking.
In the end, though, even if I don't, don't take it personally. Matters of taste are, by nature, not really debatable. Human predilection is so broad and poorly understood that it cannot be assigned value or quantity. I can't tell you why I like things that you don't, or vice versa. These things just are.
No argument on Barry Manilow. Just cuz' I like a lot of old stuff doesn't mean old stuff is reflexively good.
Should I shut my mouth, or admit that I think Barry Manilow has a darn fine voice? Think he'll tour with Judas Priest any time soon? or Poison? LA Guns? Hmmm.
Sara,
That may be the most uplifting thing I've heard in weeks.
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