Thursday, November 01, 2007
The politics of watching World Series 2007
LOOKING AHEAD by Wally Dobelis
As a watcher of aberrant behavior (shall we call it subprime, to match the current mood) this observer finds the recent furor over Rudy Giuliani’s rooting for the Boston Red Sox in the World Series a bit over the top. A senior writer for the Daily News likens it to treason, and another reporter finds a Yankee Stadium bartender who compares it to switching to the Soviet side in the Cold War. Maybe it is typical of the current political scene of irrational outbursts. For myself I’d like to save my anger for real evildoers and murderers, and not pour it on young people from another state who have bested my favorite overpaid players in a game of skill and mood.
Not to sound superior, this household also gives up on foreign and domestic political events for the October madness, rooting for the Yankees in the divisional and AL pennant races, and in the World Series, if we luck out. If not, we watch the winners compete, often rooting for one or another, mostly Boston or Atlanta. The Red Sox, mostly, enjoying the elegant shortstop Nomar Garciaparra earlier in the century and fussing at the management when he was let go, right before the streak of successes that led to the Sox’s victory in the 2004 World Series.
It was therefore upsetting to see Rudy’s rooting for the American League winner turned into accusations of treason. I have no great liking for Giuliani, except that I will not forget the human words of compassion and confidence that this heretofore banal and callous Mayor was able to summon, in a crisis during which he was on the front line from the first moment on, while the Nation’s leadership vacillated. It is true that Giuliani has flipped his views on abortion and gun control and we can rightfully accuse him of playing for the votes of the Religious Right and such, and he is also looking for Red Sox fans in the New Hampshire primary, but, look here, most rational people can temporarily shift their allegiances when their team is shut out, and can admire superior play regardless of the source.
It was in the divisional playoffs that we first fearfully recognized good playing by foreigners, the Cleveland Indians, who left our Yankees behind at 13-3 in the first game, and won the series, three games to one. When Boston, playing them in the pennant series fell behind three to one, we really worried for our side, the East Coasters, but perked up when the Sox pulled themselves together to win four out of seven games. The big-dollar stars Matsuzaka, Lugo and J.D. Drew were good, as expected, but the homegrown and drafted youngsters like Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia were more interesting, along with pitchers Jonathan Papelbon and Hideki Okajima, trade throw-in Mile Lowell, not forgetting older players Kevin Youkillis, Jason Varitek, David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez. The hitters were amazing, when the front four failed , the back team succeeded. With two outs, the back team might still load first and second bases.
This pattern persisted in the World Series, with the Colorado Rockies unable to establish a lead long enough to matter, and the 2007 World Series was won by the Red Sox in four games. The younger Reds continued to be amazing, playing like the Yankees at their best, waiting out the pitchers and drawing walks as well as hitting singles and doubles that developed into scores. One had to feel sorry for the Rockies. Which brings me back to the Yankees, an older team with bad pitching and erratic hitting. Sorry for them? My Yankees will recover, despite bad management. Should the idiots have tried to punish Torre with a moneywise meaningless but demeaning cut in pay, after 12 winning years? The man has pride and resigned, he does not live from paycheck to paycheck.
Now Alex Rodriguez is saying goodbye to the Yankees. He claims it is because he is afraid Mariano Rivera and others will leave and the team ill fall apart, but we know it is because better pay than $30 million a year is available. Greed over loyalty, just like in the big commercial world. And he might be right, some players who stayed connected by loyalty to Torre may leave, now that a relative outsider has been chosen to lead the team instead of the homie Mattingly.
Which brings me back once more to the other homie, Giuliani. Selena Roberts, of the Paper of Record, now twits him of being stupid as a politician by declaring himself for the home league, AL, in the country of evangelicals and the Silent Majority, where a ball team begins the day with a prayer. I submit that Rudy might get more respect for being loyal to where he came from rather than claiming another new fealty with the West. Yes , he criticized Hillary about wearing a Cubs cap, but were the circumstances comparable?
Trust Rudy not to get caught anywhere near a Red Sox cap. If he does, expect the picture to be a fake.
As a watcher of aberrant behavior (shall we call it subprime, to match the current mood) this observer finds the recent furor over Rudy Giuliani’s rooting for the Boston Red Sox in the World Series a bit over the top. A senior writer for the Daily News likens it to treason, and another reporter finds a Yankee Stadium bartender who compares it to switching to the Soviet side in the Cold War. Maybe it is typical of the current political scene of irrational outbursts. For myself I’d like to save my anger for real evildoers and murderers, and not pour it on young people from another state who have bested my favorite overpaid players in a game of skill and mood.
Not to sound superior, this household also gives up on foreign and domestic political events for the October madness, rooting for the Yankees in the divisional and AL pennant races, and in the World Series, if we luck out. If not, we watch the winners compete, often rooting for one or another, mostly Boston or Atlanta. The Red Sox, mostly, enjoying the elegant shortstop Nomar Garciaparra earlier in the century and fussing at the management when he was let go, right before the streak of successes that led to the Sox’s victory in the 2004 World Series.
It was therefore upsetting to see Rudy’s rooting for the American League winner turned into accusations of treason. I have no great liking for Giuliani, except that I will not forget the human words of compassion and confidence that this heretofore banal and callous Mayor was able to summon, in a crisis during which he was on the front line from the first moment on, while the Nation’s leadership vacillated. It is true that Giuliani has flipped his views on abortion and gun control and we can rightfully accuse him of playing for the votes of the Religious Right and such, and he is also looking for Red Sox fans in the New Hampshire primary, but, look here, most rational people can temporarily shift their allegiances when their team is shut out, and can admire superior play regardless of the source.
It was in the divisional playoffs that we first fearfully recognized good playing by foreigners, the Cleveland Indians, who left our Yankees behind at 13-3 in the first game, and won the series, three games to one. When Boston, playing them in the pennant series fell behind three to one, we really worried for our side, the East Coasters, but perked up when the Sox pulled themselves together to win four out of seven games. The big-dollar stars Matsuzaka, Lugo and J.D. Drew were good, as expected, but the homegrown and drafted youngsters like Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia were more interesting, along with pitchers Jonathan Papelbon and Hideki Okajima, trade throw-in Mile Lowell, not forgetting older players Kevin Youkillis, Jason Varitek, David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez. The hitters were amazing, when the front four failed , the back team succeeded. With two outs, the back team might still load first and second bases.
This pattern persisted in the World Series, with the Colorado Rockies unable to establish a lead long enough to matter, and the 2007 World Series was won by the Red Sox in four games. The younger Reds continued to be amazing, playing like the Yankees at their best, waiting out the pitchers and drawing walks as well as hitting singles and doubles that developed into scores. One had to feel sorry for the Rockies. Which brings me back to the Yankees, an older team with bad pitching and erratic hitting. Sorry for them? My Yankees will recover, despite bad management. Should the idiots have tried to punish Torre with a moneywise meaningless but demeaning cut in pay, after 12 winning years? The man has pride and resigned, he does not live from paycheck to paycheck.
Now Alex Rodriguez is saying goodbye to the Yankees. He claims it is because he is afraid Mariano Rivera and others will leave and the team ill fall apart, but we know it is because better pay than $30 million a year is available. Greed over loyalty, just like in the big commercial world. And he might be right, some players who stayed connected by loyalty to Torre may leave, now that a relative outsider has been chosen to lead the team instead of the homie Mattingly.
Which brings me back once more to the other homie, Giuliani. Selena Roberts, of the Paper of Record, now twits him of being stupid as a politician by declaring himself for the home league, AL, in the country of evangelicals and the Silent Majority, where a ball team begins the day with a prayer. I submit that Rudy might get more respect for being loyal to where he came from rather than claiming another new fealty with the West. Yes , he criticized Hillary about wearing a Cubs cap, but were the circumstances comparable?
Trust Rudy not to get caught anywhere near a Red Sox cap. If he does, expect the picture to be a fake.
# posted by Wally Dobelis @ 7:59 AM 
