The essential question: Does the Yankees' 15-7 record in April really mean anything?
John opened with a flat statement that, in his opinion, the record does have meaning. The Yankees have enjoyed a great month, and though the season is incredibly long, and it's just April, and you cannot predict baseball - (I mean, he noted, who predicted this?) - a 15-7 record does have meaning. And for anyone who says differently, well, in John's mind, they have it wrong.
At this point, Suzyn posed an intricate, upside-down, trick question: To all these people who would say this record means nothing, she wondered, what if the Yankees were at 7-15? What if the numbers were reversed? Would those same people then be saying the 7-15 record has no meaning? Not a chance! If the Yankees were 7-15, they would be assigning great significance to it.
Hence, she deduced, the Yankees' 15-7 record has meaning.
At this point, John - ever the diplomat - suggested that the debate need not be confined to harsh extremes. What, he asked, if the Yankees were 11 and 11, treading water around.500? Would not that too have meaning? In fact, it would. It might not have the same intense meaning as 15-7 or 7-15, but it would have a meaning of its own, nonetheless!
Everyone knows Wittgenstein's argument that all philosophical problems are rooted in language. Hence, Rene Descartes' contention that "I think, therefore I am," proved his existence only to himself - not others. Nevertheless, I believe John and Suzyn yesterday - by merging the perceptions of people from vastly different vantage points - metaphorically cracked open the shell of a fundamental truth and tasted the delicious sea animal inside. They have proven, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the Yankee 15-7 record does have meaning.
At this point, the inning began, and talk turned to the mundane matter of balls and strikes.
Sure, it's a great start. Perhaps John and Suzyn were cut off before they could get to it, but the greater concern here is Schrödinger's cat. Can the red-hot Yankees be alive and dead at the same time? It's a puzzle even great philosophical and scientific minds like the Master's can debate for decades.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the best conclusion we can draw is that life is fragile. It can unwind at any time, and we could go splat like the cat. It's difficult, but I try to push these morbid thoughts aside and enjoy this ride. We're not quite the 1984 Tigers, but a great start can let you absorb some mediocre or bad stretches later in the season.
Which, until the playoffs, leaves us theoretically in cat mode. You just can't predict baseball. Schrödinger would agree.
There is nothing like the Socratic method.
ReplyDeleteOH PLEASSSSSE.....last year we had a terrible start and as a result we didn't make the playoffs....this stuff makes broadcasts unlistenable....
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