Matt Taibbi on the loser Yankees

**Timshel** · 10-24-2010, 10:40 AM

Yankees fans are not baseball fans. The two are mutually exclusive and one cannot be both.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics...0/224967/83512

So you know how everyone outside Miami is rooting against Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh? And not just rooting against them, but perhaps even praying to God that they all rupture their labrums in a celebratory chest bump on opening night? That's because the Lebron-Wade-Bosh thing is a once-in-a-generation violation of sports etiquette. In street basketball games, the next five guys in line are supposed to play the next game -- and if that means you get stuck with a couple of scrubs, so be it. But every neighborhood has one group of five local bullies who are all awesome ballplayers who sort of hang around away from the court, and then don't show up in line until things are arranged so that they can play together. They won't play if they can't all play at the same time; they don't want to deal with having to guard each other. So they go on the court and they kick ass all afternoon, throwing alley-oops to each other, dunking on fat stockbrokers and other assorted losers and generally having a great time.

None of those guys ever go on to play in big schools or anything, because good players who'd rather beat up scrubs all day long than compete against each other probably have no heart (which explains the seemingly inexplicable losses these pickup Dream Teams occasionally rack up against homeless dudes and goofy white guys with headbands). And what Lebron and D-Wade and Bosh did was basically an NBA version of this phenomenon, which is why everyone is rooting against them with once-in-a-lifetime fervor as this NBA season starts.

So that's happened once in the whole history of the NBA (maybe twice, if you count the KG-Ray-Pierce trio). But in baseball, it happens every single year. Every Yankee team is that squad of pickup ball ringers. Yankee fan after a playoff loss: Unacceptable! Now we have to get Lebron! At minimum! ("Cliff Lee is a must " says "Sherwin43") . The sheer panic in the hearts of Yankee fans at the prospect of not getting more ringers to load up for another anti-competitive run at the title is, in this wake of this Rangers loss, at a level that almost brings tears to my eyes.

**Socrtease** · 10-24-2010, 04:14 PM

Bullshit! We are baseball fans. Fans for whom losing is not acceptable. I went through the entire 80's without a winning team. Granted, that is not the streak that the Red Sox or the Cubs have had, but it was a long stretch. What pisses the rest of you sometimes rans off is that we have the capacity to go out and get players like Lee. Jeter came up through the Yankees farm team as did many other players. Our farm system is what won the first championships in the 90's. The rest of you have just grown so used to the Yankees being great that the only real pleasure you get is when they lose. Most of you get more pleasure from them losing than your team winning. Don't worry, the grapes are probably sour anyway.

**Minister of Truth** · 10-25-2010, 02:21 PM

Well, you bastards just lost. Accept it.

**DamnYankee** · 10-25-2010, 05:40 PM

Who won?

**Mott the Hoople** · 10-25-2010, 09:01 PM

Originally Posted by RStringfield

Yankees fans are not baseball fans. The two are mutually exclusive and one cannot be both.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics...0/224967/83512

So you know how everyone outside Miami is rooting against Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh? And not just rooting against them, but perhaps even praying to God that they all rupture their labrums in a celebratory chest bump on opening night? That's because the Lebron-Wade-Bosh thing is a once-in-a-generation violation of sports etiquette. In street basketball games, the next five guys in line are supposed to play the next game -- and if that means you get stuck with a couple of scrubs, so be it. But every neighborhood has one group of five local bullies who are all awesome ballplayers who sort of hang around away from the court, and then don't show up in line until things are arranged so that they can play together. They won't play if they can't all play at the same time; they don't want to deal with having to guard each other. So they go on the court and they kick ass all afternoon, throwing alley-oops to each other, dunking on fat stockbrokers and other assorted losers and generally having a great time.

None of those guys ever go on to play in big schools or anything, because good players who'd rather beat up scrubs all day long than compete against each other probably have no heart (which explains the seemingly inexplicable losses these pickup Dream Teams occasionally rack up against homeless dudes and goofy white guys with headbands). And what Lebron and D-Wade and Bosh did was basically an NBA version of this phenomenon, which is why everyone is rooting against them with once-in-a-lifetime fervor as this NBA season starts.

So that's happened once in the whole history of the NBA (maybe twice, if you count the KG-Ray-Pierce trio). But in baseball, it happens every single year. Every Yankee team is that squad of pickup ball ringers. Yankee fan after a playoff loss: Unacceptable! Now we have to get Lebron! At minimum! ("Cliff Lee is a must " says "Sherwin43") . The sheer panic in the hearts of Yankee fans at the prospect of not getting more ringers to load up for another anti-competitive run at the title is, in this wake of this Rangers loss, at a level that almost brings tears to my eyes.

How can anyone in good conscience support the evil empire and call themselves "A Baseball Fan". The mind boggles!

**BRUTALITOPS** · 10-25-2010, 11:10 PM

fyi to all of you who hate the yankees just imagine what it's like being a boston fan. we hated the yankees before it was cool. johnny come latelys. once again massachusetts sets the trend for the rest of the nation.

**Socrtease** · 10-26-2010, 12:22 AM

Originally Posted by =Imperator=

fyi to all of you who hate the yankees just imagine what it's like being a boston fan. we hated the yankees before it was cool. johnny come latelys. once again massachusetts sets the trend for the rest of the nation.

At least Red Sox fans come by their hate honestly. The Yankees have caused the Red Sox, with one exception, more grief, sadness and gnashing of teeth than anyother teams has caused anyother team in MLB. First we get Ruth so that your owner can produce No No Nanette, Then the Curse hit you and while we won 26 World Series and 39 pennants from 1920 to 2003, you only won 4 pennants and lost all four world series. During that same time you finished 2nd behind the Yankees 12 times, including the 1949 season where, with 2 games to go, the Red Sox were up by one game and lost the last two. The Yankees went on to win FIVE World Series in a row. In the Modern era it has been no better. From the 1978 season, where the Red Sox were up 14 games only to be destroyed in the Boston Masacre, ending up tied and having a one game playoff where Bucky Dent hit a two out 3 run home run to take the lead 3-2 and ultimately defeat the Red Sox and go on to win ANOTHER world series to our winning two of the three ALCS from the Red Sox. Granted, you got your revenge in 2004 but in the long run you have gotten the short end of the stick for almost 100 years. You should hate us.

Everyone else, you are lucky when your team makes it to the playoffs. Both the Red Sox and the Dodgers spend SHIT TONS of money on players without much payoff, and since they don't win often enough no one whines about it. I have an idea all you Cubs, White Sox, Dodgers and Rays fans, get some vagisil, the pain won't go away but it won't itch as much.

**Socrtease** · 10-26-2010, 12:28 AM

Originally Posted by Mott the Hoople

How can anyone in good conscience support the evil empire and call themselves "A Baseball Fan". The mind boggles!

Yes because it is so much purer to worship teams that make it to the playoffs every decade or so only to choke and go home. The Philies have the fourth highest payroll, they have been to the playoffs 3 times in the last three years and the world series 2 of those 3. Why don't you whine about that? Because of envy. You wish your team, your management and your ownership would run your team like the Yankees run theirs. It is pure and simple sour grapes. The run for the 2011 World series begins now. You can bet your ass the Yankees will be in the hunt.

**Timshel** · 10-27-2010, 01:31 AM

Originally Posted by Socrtease

Bullshit! We are baseball fans. Fans for whom losing is not acceptable.

And therefore you are not baseball fans. The chance of losing is a part of any sport.

You guys place the value of your delusion, the idea that because you cheer for a team that can buy their way into the playoffs means you are a winner, over the health of baseball.

It would be one thing if the Yanks earned their success through hard work and a commitment to excellence. The Yankees simply pay for the illusion that they are such an organization.

I went through the entire 80's without a winning team. Granted, that is not the streak that the Red Sox or the Cubs have had, but it was a long stretch. What pisses the rest of you sometimes rans off is that we have the capacity to go out and get players like Lee. Jeter came up through the Yankees farm team as did many other players. Our farm system is what won the first championships in the 90's. The rest of you have just grown so used to the Yankees being great that the only real pleasure you get is when they lose. Most of you get more pleasure from them losing than your team winning. Don't worry, the grapes are probably sour anyway.

That's a bunch of bullshit. You bought Wade Boggs, David Cone, Paul O'Neill, Kenny Rogers, Ruben Sierra, John Wetteland and others for the 96 title.

The commissioner had gotten Steinbrenner out of the way long enough for some people with a little bit of sense to actually make his money work.

The Yankees and their fans are nothing but spoiled losers.