Well, I'm back from my extremely brief Newsday hiatus -- thanks, Yankees! FIRE EVERYONE* -- and I need some help. Am I supposed to root for the Diamondbacks or the Rockies now?
I'm still holding a grudge against Arizona from '01, but there's not really anyone left now from that team, except the resentful ghost of The Big Unit. And I like Orlando Hudson, but he's injured. At the same time, the Rockies creep me out a bit with their super-Christianity (though I have to say, they've done a good job of keeping it publicly low-key this season). Todd Helton, after they won the Division Series, was interviewed on the field and actually said: "By golly, we did it." By golly!
Meanwhile, Arizona fans may not have actually sold out their playoff game, but they have mastered the art of throwing so much dangerous trash onto the field to protest an interference call that play has to be delayed. I'm not going to get on my high horse here, because New York fans have certainly been known to toss the odd object onto the diamond... I was at Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS at Yankee Stadium, and they ended up calling out the riot police for that one; Shea fans famously came close to taking out Pete Rose with a hurled whiskey bottle in '73. And it's a minor miracle that John Rocker ever made it out of that bullpen alive.
Anyway, there are dozens of choices for the Mets and Yanks to make over the next few weeks, so there'll be a lot to talk about. I once again feel compelled to say that while I realize Bobby Valentine as the next Yankees manager would be a disaster... god, what a gift it would be for bloggers. On a personal level I'd like to see Joe Torre back; intellectually I think it may be time for a change for the sake of change; professionally, I've got my fingers crossed for the current manager of the Chiba Lotte Marines. I've become fairly obsessed with his blog and more determined than ever to procure a Bobby V brand Worldwide Ballers jersey.
Coming up tomorrow (or maybe Saturday): my incomplete list of the Best Joe Torre-isms.
*Kidding. Mostly.
4 comments:
Thanks for the link, Emma. I had no idea. Reason enough for me to root against the Rockies. (But does that mean I have to root for the Diamondbacks?)
Btw, the hair in your Newsday picture was just fine. On the other hand, the picture here is a wee tad scary. It's the expression that says, "The fuck you lookin' at? (J/K, of course. I'm glad to have a face to go with the name.)
Most of all, I just discovered this and had to share it with you, knowing your love of names: Bronson Kiheimahanaomauiakeo Sardinha. It's almost worth keeping him on the team.
Oh the good ole days!!
Roger Staubach‘s Hail Mary Touchdown
On Minnesota's next possession with 14 seconds left to play, a whiskey bottle was thrown by a spectator, striking referee Armen Terzian in the head at Minnesota's own 10-yard line, creating a large forehead gash and rendering him unconscious. Terzian had to wear a bandage, later requiring 11 stitches, as he walked off the field and replaced by substitute official.
Artful Dodger
Our seats were in the second level, third base line above and behind the A's dugout. There was a delay in the game caused by unruly fans along the first base line. These fans were later ejected after one of them threw a knife at Reggie Jackson. (1974).
Bleacher Bums
My abacus crashed tallying all the batteries tossed at Cleveland's David Justice in the late 90s.
Don't let the freaky christianity thing stop you from liking the Rockies. I live in Denver, though am a lifelong NYY fan, as I grew up in Westchester. The only Rockies games I watched before their playoff run were the three in which they swept the Yanks. I wasn't a big fan of the mile-high team after that.
However, from a pure baseball fan perspective, they are a really fun team to watch. They put on defensive clinics almost every night, they have timely hits, a very good (or perhaps lucky) bullpen, and exciting young starting pitching.
Plus, its not like they are holding snakes and speaking in tongues out there, sheesh.
There's a joke here involving the Rockies doing SOMEthing to snakes -- specifically Diamondbacks -- but I wouldn't do that to you...
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