Two storylines you'll hear a lot of between now and the first pitch on Wednesday night are (a) how bad it's going to be for Indians' fans to see a Cliff Lee vs. CC Sabathia matchup in Game 1 of the World Series; and (b) how bad it's going to be for Mets fans to see perhaps their two biggest rivals -- and certainly their two biggest bogeymen -- facing off in the Yankees and the Phillies.
While I'm not an Indians fan, I am an Ohioan, and I can pretty much say that the Lee-Sabathia thing is overplayed. Midwesterners tend to take things like that in stride, and it's not like Clevelanders are any strangers to bad fortune. Tribe fans feel pretty good about both Lee and Sabathia, neither of whom left Cleveland voluntarily, and each of whom provided a lot of enjoyment while they were here. Indians Nation blames Mark Shapiro and the Dolans for letting those big guys go, and second on the list of blame is baseball's whole financial structure, which most of them feel is simply broken (which it may be, though I don't think Tribe fans are first among those who have been wronged by the system). Upshot: no one is going to freak out about this too much in Cleveland.
Mets fans, however? Well, that's a different story. Mets blogger Matt Cerrone:
. . . the Phillies anger me every day, where as I only think of the Yankees during a few days in June and the occasional October.I have a hard time putting myself in the shoes of Mets fans -- they're pretty delusional shoes, after all -- but I think I can get behind that line of reasoning. The Yankees have only directly killed the Mets' dreams once. The Phillies have done it fairly often in recent years. Or, at the very least, they were closer to the scene of the crime when the Mets killed their own dreams by imploding late in the season. Either way, if I were a Mets fan, I'd have to root for the Yankees to win or, as Cerrone puts it, root for the Phillies to lose.So, for me, I can handle knowing my respectful Yankee friends and family are happy, because it means Phillies fans will be sad and disappointed, and their failure makes me happy. So, again, it's not that I am rooting for the Yankees, it's that I'm rooting for the Phillies to fail.
Actually, now that I think about it, if I were a Mets fan, I'd probably just order a full season's worth of some shows I've missed on NetFlix and pretend that the World Series was already over.
As a recovering Mets fan myself (there was no Miami area team to root for back then) - I co-owned a box just a little behind first base and a few rows back, from which vantage I watched the ball roll through Bill Buckner's legs just seconds before destroying my own larynx - I can (sort of) empathize with how Mets fans feel about the Feelies. After all, that's the team they wish they had for themselves, isn't it? What troubles me is watching my estranged bretheren consuming themselves in bile while the Feelies merely go about their business, oblivious to the psychokinetic animadversions being telecast at them by hundreds of thousands of wounded subconsciouses. Win lose or draw, that team is going to give the Borg plenty of agita for the next couple of weeks and Mets fans can digest themselves from the inside out all they want but it won't make any difference.
I would only recommend to my former fellow Mets fans that even if the indigestion the sight of the Feelies inspires in them does not seem sufficient for the kind of self-flagellation they require (especially after the way the two prior seasons ended at the hands...er...fins of my Marlins), they should avoid consuming any of those horrible Philly cheese "steaks." Self-abasement is one thing; slow suicide is something else again.
I am a proud Mets fan. That needs to be said. And I hope that never changes, even if I hope the Mets do.
And as a Mets fan, I really can't root for either team. Too much animosity towards the Phils, too much intracity rivalry to root for the Yanks.
As a baseball fan, though, I would rather see the team that got here through smart management, a strong farm system, and shrewd trades win rather than the team that went out and spent money like it was water while the rest of the economy was tanking. (For the record, I would root against the Red Sox for the same reason.) I know that the rules permit the Yanks to do what they do. But I still would rather build from within.
But as a New Yorker...well, I might not like the Yankees one bit, but they are a boost for the economy. And I know a lot of friends and neighbors who will be happy if the Yanks will, many of whom are not at all obnoxious to me. And as a New Yorker, I join with my brethren from all walks of life in hating the teams of Philly. This Sunday, in fact, offers the rare chance to sneer at Philly all day as the Giants will be there just hours before Game Four to play a team I dislike even more than the Phils (the Eagles).
So in short...my head says the Phils, my heart says the pride of my city (if not the Yankees).
And all of me can't wait to see Sabathia and Lee.
I'm a Mets fan but I wouldn't mind if the Phillies beat the Yankees. I'm tired of the Yankees continiously trying to buy a championship. I hope Pedro pitches in Game2 at Yankee Stadium. He will silence all those who shout "Who's your Daddy"
Well, Mets fans have every right to hate on the Phillies. I mean their team just sucks, or is it blows???? Not sure, but one thing I am sure of,Philly is going to cut down New York's "cream of the crop" Yankees. It's going to be glorious.... GLORIOUS!!!!!
I'm rooting for the Yankees, as a Mets fan. Sure, the Yanks bought their players, but at least the majority of them are good guys. Tex, Jeter, Pettite, C.C., Rivera, they seem like class acts. Meanwhile, Jimmy Rollins, Cole Hamels, and Shane Victorino just seem like raging douches, and I don't want to see them happy.
What exactly is a raging douche there Devon??? That's actually a funny label coming from someone with that name..... LMAO!!!! Devon... thanks for the ha ha's.
I'm on the "pretend the season is already over" bandwagon. Sadly, I've become experienced at this due to previous Yankees-Braves World Series.
No real need for the "delusional" gibe. Just seems like pettiness from a disappointed Braves fan.
And also, although I kind of agree with him here, using Matt Cerrone to gauge the pulse of all Mets fans is liking polling Republican Governors on whether global warming is caused by humans.
Maybe the Muts and their loyal should be more concerned about how to win in September rather then which team to hate more. Because until the Muts can put together a team that can stay healthy and win down the stretch the Phils will continue to be a thorn in their side. Or take an example from the Indians and learn to be a loser in stride (Sorry Indians fans, that '97 series vs. the Marlins was a heart breaker).
Old Gator - I think you been eating to many of those Subway "Philly cheese steaks" that Howard peddles during the commercial breaks.
I miss Paul O'Neill. No matter how much I hated the Yankees, I could root for him. The guys you name are decent people, but there was something about O'Neill that stood out.
I second that along with Tino Martinez. They played with heart and class.
Mets fan. A National league fan, and a Yankee hater from birth. Phillies in six.
i am so glad that the fans of the small market Mets, who have 100% inexpensive home grown talent, have thoughtfully pointed out the excess spending happening in the Bronx.
i did go to a Met game this year. Does that make me gay?
Yes plankton, PHILLIES IN SIX!!! MARK MY WORDS!!!
"Small Market Mets" get real!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Here's a team that is not all home grown. They bought Beltran, Delgado, K-Rod, Piazza, etc. , etc. And they still couldn't win.
The only player on the Mets worth his salt is David Wright.
"As a baseball fan, though, I would rather see the team that got here through smart management, a strong farm system, and shrewd trades win rather than the team that went out and spent money like it was water while the rest of the economy was tanking. (For the record, I would root against the Red Sox for the same reason.) I know that the rules permit the Yanks to do what they do. But I still would rather build from within."
I agree with the sentiment, but for the record, the Phillies have a higher payroll than the Red Sox.
"As a baseball fan, though, I would rather see the team that got here through smart management, a strong farm system, and shrewd trades win rather than the team that went out and spent money like it was water while the rest of the economy was tanking. (For the record, I would root against the Red Sox for the same reason.) I know that the rules permit the Yanks to do what they do. But I still would rather build from within."
Oh, and the RS have a much smaller payroll than the NYM.
so it looks like we need to run through this once again:
Yankee Home Grown on WS roster:
Catcher - posada, cervelli
second base - cano
shortstop - jeter
center field - gardner, cabrera
starting pitching - pettite
bullpen - chamberlain, hughes, rivera, coke, acevaes, robinson
Yankees acquired by trade:
right field-Swisher
utility - Hairston
utility - Hinske
starter - Guadin
bullpen - Marte
Free agents:
first base - Texeria
starters - Sabbathia, Burnett
Third base - A-rod
laft field- damon
so which is the shorter list?
yes, the free agents they do have were expensive (worth every penny) BUT, the heart and soul of this team is home grown.
oh and by the way, our second highest paid player is home grown...jeter. it isn't just free agents that add to the yankee payroll. we do believe in paying our own.
once again...the myth of the "purchased" team.
you all need a different angle.
For the real record the Red Sox have a higher payroll then the Phillies, nearly $8.75 million more to be exact.
This is a big reason why baseball fans across the country hate both the NY teams equally...They have by far the highest payroll's in the league. The Mets and Yanks have a combined payroll of just about $350,000,000. That is more then the Marlins, Padres, Pirates, Nationals, Athletics and the Rays combined. Oh plus half of the Twins payroll also.
So yeah the Yanks should win it every year, they pay out $50+ million a year more then any other team. But just because you paid the most for something does not always mean you get the best. And the Phils with their 88 million dollar cheaper team is going to prove it this year.
Phillies in 7 games
Who the heck cares? You have to go out of your way to run a story about the METS in the run-up to the World Series?!
Who cares what they think or feel...if they had any brains, they'd think that their team is full of choke artists and feel that they've been hoodwinked by their team once again.
Geez...again, WHO CARES!!!!!!
I'm a Mets fan leaning towards the Phils for the same reasons. I think A-Rod, Teixera, & Posada are poor sports. I normally root against Werth, Howard, & Utley, but I'd take any of them in blue & orange. Add in Pedro (who got screwed by both his body and Mets management) and I am now a Mets Phan.
Lets Go Phils?
Dude, he was being facetious...get it?
Paul O'Neill was a class act. In 1998, right after they won the World Series, I found myself at the same country club as O'Neill for Thanksgiving dinner (my grandparents were members), and being just 8 years old I couldn't reach the turkey. A man saw me reaching up and decided to help out a kid and put the turkey on my plate. When I got back to my table, my dad goes "Devon, that was Paul O'Neill." He had a bad reputation, but couldn't have been a nicer guy, and when I asked him to sign my napkin, he happily obliged. Easily my best celebrity encounter.
Yankees 103 wins...Did everybody forget that?? WAY BETTER RECORD THAN THE PHILS.....PHILLY PLAYED 2 PLAYOFF JOKES AND A SOT DIVISION...WHAT KNOWLEDGEABLE BASEBALL FAN CAN HONESTLY BELIEVE THE YANKS WILL LOSE THIS SERIES.. AS A YANKEES FAN I HOPE PHILLY CAN COMPETE IN THIS SERIES...MODEST YANKS IN 6..
Thank you bb everyone forgets that most of the Yankees current roster is home grown talent or good trades. 75% of the $200 million payroll is for their own players, retaining their own free agents and the payroll from the trades they made. Let's not forget that the bar for salaries was raised by teams like the White Sox- Albert Belle, Dodgers- Kevin Brown and The Rangers - A-Rod. Oh yeah the Diamondbacks for Jay Bell which forever reaised the bar for declining ok talent middle infield position. They raised the salaries to the point that most teams can't afford good players, not the Yankees faultthat they ivested un their team and the fans came out.
ohhhhhhhhhh mets fans- please continue to hate on the phillies, the team that continues to make you look like a bunch of fools who cant play baseball.....how many games were you behind us at the end of the season....20+, just to remind you in case you forgot. the phillies are a great team and to those yankees fans, do you not remember when we won 2 of 3 in the regular season against you? well we did, see you tomorrow night at game 1
I have been watching the World Series for the past 65 years and I must say what was that unbelevable nonsense the Yankes put on before
the second game. THAT WAS THE MOST DISGUSTING EXHIBITION i HAVE EVER SEEN.