yankees – Page 27 – The Mets Police

February 21, 2009

Why This Mets Fan Doesn’t Wish Death Upon The Yankees

I’m a Mets fan. I want the Mets to win the World Series for the next twenty years. They tend not to.

Sometimes I’m seen at Yankee Stadium. I even have a partial ticket plan at both stadiums. Yes, I spend money in the Bronx. Horrified?

I know for a ton of Mets fans you have to wish death upon the Yankees. I don’t.

The Yankees only matter to following the Mets six times a year, and every 50 years they show up to face “us” in the World Series. My choice for the 2000 series would have been Mets in 4. It didn’t happen. My choice in every subway series game: Lets Go Mets.

There’s still 156 other games. You can hate. I root. Yeah I said root.

I live in New York. It’s more interesting and better television for me to have the Yankees be good. It makes my use of sports radio more interesting. It’s better reading in the Post. It gives me stuff to write about and things to talk with friends about. The Mets spent last week doing nothing and not signing Manny, so I followed the A-Rod & Torre stories.

Sometimes, on a random Wednesday night in August if the Mets are down 17 to nothing and SNY goes to commercial, I even change the channel. I know you don’t Mr. Die Hard Mets Fan. You sit and wait for the 18 run rally that Willie Randolph just knew was coming (otherwise why else would he chase losses and use the bullpen the way he did? – but I digress). I switch over and see what’s going on, and often come right back to listen to Keith Hernandez rip lousy baseball.

When the Yankees played in the series in 2001 I was there. Game 5 was the best baseball game I’ve ever been to. The Brosius home run gave me the same rush that Tom Seaver did when he walked in from right field on opening day 1983.

I went to the final game at the Stadium. I’m a baseball fan. It was a cool event.

My Met friends gave me a hard time back then, and I told them that they’d be the first ones reading (a madeup book I called) “The Jeter Yankees by Mike Lupica.” I got the title and author wrong, but they are all reading Torre’s book now.

So I don’t hate the Yankees. Yeah they have a lot of steroids up in the Bronx. I’m not convinced that the Mets have dodged that bullet.

The Yankees can go 156 and 6 for all I care, just make sure the six are against the Mets. Go ahead, hit the comments button, call me names. I just choose to enjoy baseball in New York.

www.metspolice.com

February 16, 2009

A-Rod to Speak To Media Tomorrow at 1:30

Oh A-Rod why won’t you ever listen to me? You should have reported to camp early. You should have shown up Friday so the steroid stuff could have been at least halfway buried in the Saturday paper.

Nope, you are showing up tomorrow to address the media at 1:30.

Great, that way you have a bored sports media with no NBA highlights to eat up time (All-Star break). This way Sportscenter can be 22 minutes of A-Rod, some college hoops and three hockey games.

A-Rod, couldn’t you have at least laid low over the weekend. Did you need to be spotted with yet another girlfriend?

Joe Girardi sounds exhausted already, “I’m really looking forward to getting beyond Tuesday.”

A-Rod tries to do the right thing but just doesn’t know how (a point brought out really well in Joe Torre’s The Yankee Years book.) He called Selena Roberts to apologize. That seems nice, but I hope he read her book that is coming out in April because he may choose to back off that apology.

You can just tell that the mainstream media can’t wait to pile on. You can tell from the pictures they use of him in articles. They never make him look good, like this one in this Newsday article.

I’m sure Jeter will be thrilled with this conference. It has been a week now, and I am still troubled by Jeter’s quote:

“Why would I worry about me being on that list?”

I don’t think Jeter was on steroids, but nowadays everyone is on the suspect list. We didn’t think Pettitte was either. I compare Jeter’s statement to Posada’s:

“Let me make myself clear. I will never be positive. I don’t take anything. I’ve never tested positive in anything and I never will.”

That’s pretty clear, but then again so was Palmeiro. Maybe I’m being unfair to The Captain and I’m asking him to defend the proverbial “When did you stop beating your wife?” question but I can’t help but wonder, why didn’t he just say “I’ve never done steroids.”

The Bronx Zoo is back in full force. It’s pretty amazing Torre kept a lid on it for most of his tenure.

www.metspolice.com

February 10, 2009

Quicky A-Rod thoughts (no Mets in the 103 right?)

The text of A-Rod’s apology reads much better than it sounded. On tv it just seemed like he needed to get in the words naive and stupid as many times as possible.

Does anyone actually use the phrase loosey-goosey when not apologizing to Peter Gammons? Is that a phrase Alex uses when clubbing in Miami.

Question to everyone: what are you mad at? Why do you care anyway? Root for the guy or don’t. Watch the games or don’t. At the end of the day it’s just television programming for the summer.

People were much less interested in steroids before a surly black man put up the biggest numbers.

Jeter’s quote still bothering me. The correct answer would have been “no.” (Read down the blog if you don’t know what I’m talking about.)

I guess Jose Canseco is less of a crazy-talker than people made him out to be.

I really look forward to getting back to Mets talk around these parts but (a) its hard story to ignore and (b) the Mets don’t do anything good or bad and I can only wax poetically about Lee Mazzilli so many times.

Of the 103 players left on the list none were Mets right? I have an idea about one but I’ll get lynched if I voice it.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

February 5, 2009

More Reasons To Hate the WBC

So here’s another reason to hate the WBC.

On March 3rd, Team USA will play the Yankees.

So say you like Jeter. Do you want them to get a hit? Strike out? Do you want your pitcher to gain confidence?

If you are the Yankees pitcher, do you dare pitch inside to either of them? What if you break Jeter’s arm? Should a Yankee take him out on a double play, or just give USA an easy out?

Jeter says, “Hopefully, I won’t see any pitches inside.”

The Mets only play Team Italy.

(Note. I cop to blowing it on the first version of this piece. I mistakenly had A-Rod on team USA. A-Rod was on team USA last time but this time he will play for the Dominican Republic. Bad job outta me. Guilty. I do think A-Rod switching teams is a good topic for a rainy day.)

January 26, 2009

Joe Torre’s New Book: For the money?

(This is a re-post from yesterday. The sense I’m getting is that people are just hearing about the book for the first time this morning).

Joe Torre, I’m not here to bury you. I’m not here to claim that I’m better than you (I’m even posting a link to your book, I too am a capitalist.). I’m here to ask why did you do it Joe?

Joe you somehow swam in shark infested waters for a decade and emerged as Saint Joe. You even left town looking classy while turning down a job that would have paid you millions. You gave one of the greatest exiting press conferences of all time. Joe Girardi & Brian Cashman helped to make you look even smarter in 2008.

Now you write a book. Why?

It can’t be the money can it? The Daily News says you make two million a year in speaking engagements. The Dodgers are paying you around four million dollars a year. It can’t be the money. Can it?

Did the Steinbrenners hurt you that much? Did making the playoffs yet again last year (while the Yankees missed) not make you feel like a million bucks?

Are you that hurt? Are you that mad at Brian Cashman for not sticking his neck out for you?

Was “A-Fraud” that horrible to you?

Why would you release the book on February 3rd and create a media stir right at the start of spring training? You were always so good at diffusing such things. Now you go and create one. It can’t be for the money can it?

Why not just continue to hold your head high, say little, ride out your days with the Dodgers and then show up at the new Stadium on the wrong side of 161st street some sunny Sunday afternoon and let them hang a #6 on the fence? Were you that hurt that they ignored you at the final game at the old new Stadium? Are you looking for a hug?

The synopsis for the book doesn’t sound like you. Are you really going to call out a grown man for crying? That’s not the Joe Torre I knew.

The high-priced ace who broke down in tears and refused to go back to the mound in the middle of a game. Constant meddling from Yankee executives, many of whom were jealous of Torreâ€™s popularity. The tension that developed between the old guard and the free agents brought in by management. The impact of revenue-sharing and new scouting techniques, which allowed other teams to challenge the Yankeesâ€™ dominance. The players who couldnâ€™t resist the after-hours temptations of the Big Apple. The joys of managing Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, and the challenges of managing Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi. Torreâ€™s last year, when constant ultimatums from the front office, devastating injuries, and a freak cloud of bugs on a warm September night in Cleveland forced him from a job he loved.

The book is out on February 3rd from Doubleday Publishing, and Tom Verducci is credited as co-author. It can’t be for the money, can it?

…

Author’s note: I don’t claim to be better than Joe Torre. Yes I am selling the book on my blog. Yes I am doing it for the money. I never claimed to be anything more than a loudmouth with a keyboard. I just thought Joe was a better man than I am. We’ll wait until the book comes out, maybe he is.