Loving the Yankee hating
By Old-timers: who did you favor in the Iran-Iraq war?
If you had a hard time picking a favorite, then you can imagine what I think of the latest upcoming Mets-Yankees subway series.
Because I have been a fan of the KC Royals since about 1970, I guess my anti-Yankee sentiments are stronger than my more general anti-NY sports views. By the way, as a Royals booster, at least I’m in good company: Bill James, Rany Jazayerli and Rob Neyer are also fans.
The Yankees are an old team, which means the players’ skills are declining and they get hurt more frequently. Mike Mussina was born in 1968, Mariano Rivera in 1969, Jorge Posada and Jason Giambi in 1971, Andy Pettitte in 1972, and Johnny Damon in 1973. The “kids” from 1974 — who turn 33 this year — include Derek Jeter, Bobby Abreu, and Hideki Matsui. Even superman Alex Rodriguez turns 32 in a couple of months.
Among the scrubs, Mike Myers was born in 1969, Ron Villone in 1970, Miguel Cairo in 1974, and Doug Mientkiewicz and Luis Vizcaino in 1974. That’s 15 of 25 players who are age 32 or above in 2007.
Again, this is a very old baseball team.
After age 32, baseball players start falling off a cliff. Age 35 is a performance “train wreck” for most players. Many of the oldest Yankees were stars, sure, but their skills are nonetheless declining steadily. Conceivably, some may have fallen off the cliff and no amount of patience will be rewarded.
Yankee haters can hope.
It is often said that rooting for the Yankees is liking rooting for General Motors, but that’s not necessarily a complement anymore. I would openly compare the Yankees to GM.
The Yankees are the Buicks of baseball. Do you like it? In championship terms, perhaps they will soon be an Oldsmobile.
The Yankees have made a host of seemingly bad decisions lately. What is the question if Doug Mientkiewicz is the answer? I cannot believe he will be the Yankee starting first baseman much longer. The Yanks paid nearly $50 million for Kei Igawa, who has tossed 30 plus bad innings for the Yankees and now pitches for a class A team.
Many Yankee fans are hoping that their season will be saved by a pitcher who turns 45 years old later this summer. Is he a miracle man — or something less appealing? Whatever the answer, the Yanks will pay him around $9000 per pitch this season. Or $4.5 million per month if you prefer that.
I, for one, hope they wasted their cash. Note that he could pitch great and the Yankees might still be in the tank. Just to be sure of their fate, I’m hoping Scott Lemieux picks up the Rocket as a free agent for his fantasy baseball team.
In contrast, the Mets are a somewhat younger and more successful team in 2007, which makes them more exciting to many fans — though youth can be a curse as well as a blessing. I won’t really be rooting for them this weekend, but I do hope the Yankees lose some agonizing games.
One approach fellow Yankee-haters could take is the one the US unofficially embraced during the Iran-Iraq conflict of the 1980s. American interests were apparently served when both sides were dragged into a prolonged death match that drained both sides of valuable human and material resources — largely keeping both parties out of other mischief.