yeti speak…

a drought that gets better and better

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Every year that I get to see pictures like this…2006_allstar_losers

…of Pay-Rod, Giambi, Jeter, and the $200 million payroll crew, with tears in their eyes and dumb-founded looks on their faces, the more I enjoy the sport of baseball.  It’s just priceless.

I started following baseball in 2001 and in those 5 beautfiul years the Yankees have NOT won a World Series.  Maybe I am the key to their demise.  I am the last great Yankee hater (of the Rebellion) who is keeping the curse intact.  Every year I get a little more nervous (this year I was quite fearful in fact) that the Yankees will bounce back and win one again.  And every year they fail to get it done–going down in flames miserably in the post-season.  I am not knocking their opponents at all by saying this.  I am merely pointing out my satisfaction in seeing the "heralded All-Stars" lose.  Every year you can feel the pressure and the tension mounting as the losses rack up.  It’s a self-propagating phenomenon.

It’s gotten so bad for the big apple boys that I almost felt a little sorry for Randy Johnson the other night when they pulled him off the mound.  And then I remembered that he was on the Yankees roster by choice and dismissed my sympathy in order to gloat his team’s collapse.

When the Mariner’s are as terrible as they are year in and year out, I primarily have on thing that I am hoping for each October: that the Yankees won’t win it all.  So far, so good.  Now I can relax and enjoy the rest of the season of baseball care-free…

8 responses to “a drought that gets better and better”

  1. pete Avatar
    pete

    Ah yes…interesting, I started following baseball only a couple of years before you, and I’ve enjoyed the same phenomenon. So maybe the Twins don’t go any farther than they did…at least I have the consolation that the Bankee$ won’t either. I gotta say, too, that I think Detroit is great–how can you not love a team with a pitcher who has to wear glasses? That’s just poetic.

  2. yeti Avatar
    yeti

    yeah, what happened to the twins, man? i thought for sure they would take it pretty far, but their pitching let them down. i think they must have run out of steam getting that division title.

    oh well. go detroit, i say! (although i guess oakland has been under-estimated a bit, too…we’ll see) i’m sure j-lo is rooting for his cards, but i just don’t have faith they can pull it off…

  3. JLo Avatar
    JLo

    This is probably one of the more exciting play offs I’ve seen. I really wanted the Twins to make it, but I am just glad they made it to the play offs. I heard they were actually considering just closing down the Minnesota franchise recently.

    Usually I believe my Cards will choke. This is what they have done in the play offs. But see, those were the years there were rather huge expectations on them because of their regular season record. And we all know, in the regular season they didn’t do so well. In years past, they also seemed so tense, too. This year I feel like they know they have nothing to lose. Nothing is really expected of them. I have more faith in them this year because they have had to fight for it the whole way. The Padres were picked to win against the Cards, but the Cards defied them. And I know they are picked to lose against the Mets, but I think they will win.

    I am really just glad the Cards made it this far. They were darn close to having one of the worst regular season collapses in baseball history.

    I usually have a rather negative attitude towards the Cards, but this year I am more optimistic. I guess it’s because I am surprised they even made it this far. So, there you go.

  4. JLo Avatar
    JLo

    Yankees fans welcome home their team.

    http://www.deadspin.com/sports/soccer/this-way-to-baggage-claim–ow-jesus-206141.php

  5. yeti Avatar
    yeti

    j-lo,
    well the Cards have been notorious chokers the past few years in the postseason. although they keep coming back to the postseason which is something “my” mariners can’t seem to accomplish.

    but this year (maybe you’re right) might be different since they are not favored to win the world series.

    if only pujols could also pitch…

    that guy is amazing!

    we’ll see. i just can’t believe the pitching rotations on most of the teams that are left.

    no pedro, no shilling, no beckett, no two-three-four starters who are dominate (i don’t think?) maybe i’m wrong? this has been a strange post-season already. if jeff weaver is one of your top-five you know it’s going to be a head-scratcher… it’s seemed like “the year of the injury” to me…

    thanks for your perspective on it and i liked the YouTube clip. nothing like fans who really “love” their team…ha.

  6. JLo Avatar
    JLo

    In a way, I really admire you Todd. You don’t have a team in the post-season, and you are probably relatively stress free for the time being. I am about ready to have a heart attack. I really didn’t know that I wanted the Cardinals to “back in” to the play offs, and then I truly never expected them to win against the Pads. And now, where does this leave me? One phone call away from calling an EMT if they advance to the World Series. It’s funny, before I got back into baseball I could have cared less about this time of the year. Now, I long for the elysian fields of baseball apathy, but not really.

    This best sums it up: I hate baseball. I love baseball. I hate the Cardinals. I love the Cardinals.

    I know, it’s just a game, but you see, it’s not. It’s not just a game. This team is also about fond memories with my father and family. This team is about Ozzie Smith backflipping in front of cheering fans. This is about Jack Clark’s famous hit. This is about the infamous call in Kansas City. I am unable to be lukewarm about my Cardinals. I must be hot or cold. Perhaps this is why the Cardinal fans are considered the best fans. Heck, we even cheer for former players on other teams.

    Anywho. I am finished ranting. Perhaps you will understand. Perhaps you won’t.

    Heck, I find myself even watching baseball commentary shows and reading statistics. What happened?

  7. yeti Avatar
    yeti

    yeah, relatively stress-free. but my tvu player mysteriously lost FOX today so i wasn’t able to watch the detroit/oakland game. i am thinking FOX will probably not be available for these games which is depressing for me. i was looking forward to watching the World Series this year!

    don’t you think it’s weird that you, pete, and i all had a baseball “renaissance” or new appreciation at relatively the same time of life?

    is this common to our generation?

    i don’t get it?

    i also know what you mean about loving/hating the sport. every time i sign up for fantasy baseball i think, “why am i doing this? i know it will obsess my life for 6 months.” and yet every year i look forward to it and miss it when it is gone.

    i do understand you, man. i do. i would be stressed if the mariner’s were even in contention. i get stressed for team that are playing the yankees.

    it must be some form of neurosis that we have…

  8. pete Avatar
    pete

    They (the Twins ownership) have threatened to close down for years, but it won’t happen–first of all, they were contractually obligated to play in the Metrodome until 2009 until the recent new stadium bill passed (which will be done before the 2007 season, I believe). Second, they threaten to close down and then do silly things that inspire loyalty, like win division titles.

    Do we need an outdoor ballpark? No. Sure, the MDome isn’t pretty (it’s like the Kingdome, only not as nice…if you can imagine that, Todd), but it makes sense here. Have you ever watched baseball in 36 degree weather with snow falling around you? Because that was the high today, and it wouldn’t be unusual to watch an October game outside. Sure, most of the summer, I’d rather be watching baseball outside. But it’s not so bad inside, either.

    Just rambling during the late hours. Todd, you and Christa must be amazing parents. I found your daughter’s comment on Taylor’s caringbridge site so sweet that I cried. What a wonderful child you have. Please tell her that we will make every effort to visit her someday so that she can meet Taylor in person.

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