Thursday, October 14, 2010

I LIKED THIS SPEECH WHEN GEORGE CUSTER GAVE IT: Apparently, there's this thing called the "American League" which also gets a playoff series now.  The New York Daily News' Filip Bondy explains:
The Rangers have retired exactly one player's jersey (aside from Jackie Robinson's) and attempted to counter George M. Steinbrenner with George W. Bush in the owner's box.

All they've ever had was Nolan Ryan, and they've ridden him like an urban cowboy on a mechanical bull.

Ryan's no-hitters aside, this ALCS represents one of sports' great historical mismatches, 40 pennants versus zero. The Yanks should win this series just by throwing their pinstriped uniforms onto the field and reading from a few pages of The Baseball Encyclopedia.

If only Bud Selig would agree to waive a few silly postseason rules, the Bombers might send their Scranton/Wilkes-Barre roster to Arlington for the first couple of games, make this a fair fight.
As far as Joe Posnanski is concerned, "The baseball playoffs start now."
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16 comments:

  1. Joseph J. Finn10:17 AM

    So we're all rooting for the Rangers, right?  I mean, I can't keep blaming them for inflicting Sammy Sosa on Chicago, right?

    (Right?)

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  2. bristlesage10:37 AM

    So conflicted!  As an A's fan, I want to root against the Rangers (I don't have that whole, "It elevates our conference/division/whatever when teams from it do well" thing going), but honestly, to root for the YANKEES?  And then I think of the whole sordid land grab thing and I'm anti-Rangers again...but still, the YANKEES. 

    This might be time for me to just throw all my lovin' behind the Giants and ignore my AL (though I, like everyone, see another damned Phillies/Yankees series coming).

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  3. tortoiseshelly10:49 AM

    Root away! I know I am.

    As for the article, Filip Bondy can suck it. He didn't grow up in Arlington watching Jim Sundberg or spend every single 4th of July at the old stadium with his family. I think we'll enjoy this series without bowing down to the storied centaur-portait loving, Mariah Carey dating Yankees, thank you very much.

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  4. isaac_spaceman11:10 AM

    Go fuck yourself, Flip Bondy of the New York Daily News.  Yes, the Yankees are going to beat Texas (because they have the luxury of outspending everybody else on top-tier free agents).  It has a lot to do with the teams actually on the field and nothing whatsoever to do with history.  Flip, we all get it.  Your daddy is rich and he bought you a really nice car.  Nobody thinks you deserve it, and everybody thinks you're a douche for bragging about it.  So congratulations on rooting for the franchise with the greatest institutional competitive advantage in the history of sports. 

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  5. Benner12:17 PM

    "The Yanks should win this series just by throwing their pinstriped uniforms onto the field and reading from a few pages of The Baseball Encyclopedia."

    How did that work for the Reds?

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  6. kd bart12:17 PM

    I guess the Jets shouldn't have beaten the Colts in Super Bowl III based on team histories.

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  7. The Pathetic Earthling12:47 PM

    There are only two circumstances where I would root for the Yankees: if they were playing the LA Dodgers, or Stanford Football.

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  8. InertiaGirl1:09 PM

    I couldn't have said it better myself, tortoiseshelly. A-men.

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  9. Adam1:30 PM

    More so than the Montreal Canadiens of the mid-1950s through mid-1970s?

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  10. isaac_spaceman1:52 PM

    I don't know what competitive advantage they had.  They may have had one, but I don't know what it was.  Anyway, everybody knows that hockey doesn't count.

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  11. kd bart1:56 PM

    Before the amateur draft started, I believe the Canadiens had territorial rights to all amateur in the Province of Quebec.  Thus, Richard, Beliveau, etc.

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  12. isaac_spaceman2:25 PM

    Who was Richard Beliveau?

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  13. lauri3:30 PM

    you meant Cal football, right?  Go Cardinal!

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  14. ChinMusic3:31 PM

    Call me crazy, but if we are predicting the outcome of this series based on team histories, I don't think I am siding with the team whose history includes blowing a three games to none lead in a playoff series.  Luckily that leaves 29 other MLB teams to choose from.

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  15. KRovinsky3:59 PM

    I just took a monster crap and it kind of looked like Filip Bondy

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  16. InertiaGirl12:46 PM

    In an interesting "it's a small world" turn, a co-worker of my husband's here in Dallas knows Filip Bondy.  She send him the following email:

    <p><span>"I see that your friendly poll doesn't much support your thoughts on the pathetic little team in Texas.  Could it be that your beloved pinstripe wearing overpaid players aren't quite the shoe in to win this series as you expected?  I sure hope us Ranger lovin' Texans will have the priviledge of seeing you at our little ballpark this weekend.  Surely you will be wearing the stripes and talking trash like only the best New Yorker can.  We'll spot you supporting Tex and A-Roid, I mean A-Rod.  Yes, please remember to say thank you to the Ranger organization for sending them your way.  </span>
    </p><p><span> </span>
    </p><p><span>I sure hope you don't have to back peddle like a politician if your Yankees can't walk away with an easy sweep.</span>
    </p><p><span> </span>
    </p><p><span>Kind Regards,</span>
    </p><p><span>A Ranger Fan (one of many!)"</span>
    </p><p><span></span>
    </p><p><span>His reply?</span>
    </p><p><span></span>
    </p><p><span>"<span>It was a lighthearted piece, not to be taken seriously. Sorry you were not amused. Of course the Yanks can lose. They have AJ Burnett starting Game 4, for goodness sake!"   </span></span>


    </p>

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