So The Great One was on the cover of the Daily News today, saying that "only God or themselves" can keep the Yanks from winning the World Series.
Yes, those two of the usual suspects, plus any other playoff team with a real starting rotation.
Look, I appreciate Mo's sentiments. But as someone who is a religious person in his own way—no, I do NOT worship bourbon!—I have to say: Stop blaming God!
Or to quote the great Stephen Sondheim, writing presidential assassin Charlie Guiteau's argument to the jury:
"Charlie said, 'Hell!
If I am guilty then God is as well!'
But God was acquitted
And Charlie committed
Until he should hang..."
Frankly, God's done a lot for us, and must be rather weary of our supplications by this time, don't you think?
The Great One is not wrong, though. If we don't win the World Series it will be because of the Yankees, "themselves." That is, the "themself," otherwise known as Brian Cashman, who has once again put together a great, shiny beast of a team...without a starting rotation.
This is, as we've all mentioned before, like putting together the world's most jaw-droppingly beautiful car—in my humble opinion, the Lincoln Zephyr of the 1930s, but choose your own—without an ignition. Good luck getting anywhere.
That was some terrific play in the Stadium this weekend, two close, hard-fought wins...bracketed by two, starter-free, blow-out losses.
Barring a remarkable succession of injuries, flus, and maybe leprosy outbreaks downing the other 9 teams likely to be in on the postseason—that is to say, DIVINE INTERVENTION!—there is no way this Yankees team will win anything in October.
So maybe Mo is on to something after all. I just hope that he has a line open to the Big Guy (and no, I don't mean Larry Rothschild).
Ok, now I'm really confused.
ReplyDeleteMo would have to contact God to get a Yankees WS win? But he IS God! Would he need to talk to himself?
This is like a mobius strip. I don't know where to start!
I'm not ever going to trash Mo, but he should stop talking about religion, politics and sex.
ReplyDeleteBilly Martin, that's ALL HE HAS! The man is a crazy mystic monk/saint. He ought to be in a cave somewhere, oracling, but here we are.
ReplyDeleteAnd 13bit, in regard to that congresswoman who voted against declaring war on Japan: that was Jeannette Rankin, at the time one of two congressional representatives from Montana.
ReplyDeleteShe had been elected to Congress in 1916, the first woman EVER elect to federal office and voted against WW I—but then, so did 49 other representatives and 6 senators. She left Congress in 1919, and did not run again...until 1940.
A feminist and suffragist—she liked to boast that she was the only woman ever to vote to give women the vote—she was also a dedicated (even fanatical) pacifist. She refused to vote for a declaration of war against Japan because, she said, "Killing more people won't help matters," and "As a woman, I cannot go to war, and I refuse to send anyone else."
A few days later, when Germany and Japan declared war on us, she abstained.
But that vote on December 8th, 1941, was the last time a president asked Congress for a declaration of war, as stipulated by the Constitution. (Thank goodness we haven't had any wars since!) That means that Rankin could well be the last person who ever voted against a declaration of war.
Point being, though—you knew there was a point to all this, didn't you?—that 13bit's stand on our pitching is really NOT analogous to Jeannette Rankin's.
ReplyDeleteUnlike Rep. Rankin, who would rather stand on her principles than think, 13bit is RIGHT!
We don't have enough pitching, and we don't have a chance in the playoffs.
What Alphonso said. CC should be put out to pasture. Since we have no real pitching, bring up Frazier. If out best shot at winning any game is offense, load it up.
ReplyDeleteMake CC the pitching coach and send Larry to the stripper pole.
And...got a light?
ReplyDeleteI just caught up to Mike's comment, which is the same thought about CC and coaching. Somebody brought that up much earlier, too, months ago (maybe). Regardless, authorship is not important now. Metaphorically killing two fat birds with one stone is.
But, as Rufus pointed out, it makes too much sense to actually happen. Even after the season, after CC has embarrassed himself by playing one or two (or three) years too many, and Larry has done the same in the coaching slot.
Sad.
Re Mo's God stuff.
ReplyDeleteHe's always said God made him successful, God gave him that insanely good pitch, God was responsible for blown saves also--there was a reason.
This means God is responsible for the failures of all the teams the Yanks mowed down during his career, many of which contained good Christian players who prayed before each game and then got the snot beaten out of them.
God, it seems, is a funny guy.
I'm glad that Rep. Rankin took her stand. I knew about her WWI vote, as well. As I recall, she said she did not want history to record that nobody voted against war or something like that. Whatever.
ReplyDeleteI have no problem with Mo's god stuff, whether I believe in anything or not. He took a political stand recently - and I don't want to bring politics into this blog - but I wish he had kept his mouth shut. All sports figures, athletes, actors, nonentities, people who are famous for being famous, you name it, from whatever side of the political spectrum you belong to, shut the fuck up. Don't use your bully pulpit to talk about this stuff. There's already enough mud in the water. Share with us your mama's favorite rice pudding recipes, maybe. Talk about how you overcame your hernia. Tell a joke. Just shut the fuck up on the political stuff.
Bitty, I could not disagree more. Let everyone's voice be heard in the grand glossalalic babble of democracy. The "discourse" is healthy no matter how fucked up. I think? Who would silence another on this blog for example? Except for Puckered; what a douché, amirite?
ReplyDeleteI was taking to my Lovely and Delightful Partner not that long ago about how we know almost nothing about The Great Mariano. A huge NY superstar who was always out of the public eye when off the field. And then he starts talking. On the record. Why? Why? Go back to the dignified silence please!!!
Seriously.
Fuck you Hal.
I think everyone has a right to gabble. But I do hate to hear most athletes talk about politics.
ReplyDeleteThey come from a culture of "no excuses," and therefore tend to have little sympathy for people who really do need help, through no fault of their own.
They have all worked very hard...but they tend not to understand that no matter how hard you work, if you don't have a certain amount of talent you are never, ever going to be a major-league ballplayer.
13bit, as for Rankin: well, I have a certain amount of appreciation for, "Since I can't go to war as a woman, I won't send anybody else."
ReplyDeleteBut in the circumstances...it was dumb. We were being actively attacked by fascists, who were already demonstrating that they didn't mind killing any number of people to achieve their goals.
I was reading recently that the Nazis actively planned to kill 45 million people in Eastern Europe and Russia. They probably got halfway to their goal, or more. The Japanese killed tens of millions in China alone.
Contrary to what Rankin stated, killing more people—the RIGHT people—WAS the answer, and the only answer. Killing lots and lots of Nazi and Japanese soldiers and executioners (such as the SS) and even killing their adoring support systems of civilians, were the only things that could stop the slaughter.
Had Rankin recognized that, she might have been able to stay in Congress and done some real good for the issues she cared about. Instead, she preferred to spend most of her time outside of power, making quixotic protests. She got to do that about Vietnam, too, which was fine...but hey, maybe if she'd been a longtime congressperson by then, she might have helped stop that war in the first place...?
Hoss, why do you have to go to logic and rational thinking on me?
ReplyDeleteShe was just ahead of the curve in post-truthiness and image-crafting.
Of course you're correct, but damn...what a damper you're putting on my online umbrage...
And my final word on politics here will be this:
ReplyDeleteLeave that to the expert commentariat and professional punditocracy. In other words, leave that to ME. I ALONE CAN FIX THIS. ONLY I. ME. NOT YOU. DO YOU HEAR ME? ARE YOU LISTENING? AM I ON TV? DOES ANYONE TALK ABOUT THE SPECIAL AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION THAT GIVE THE POWER TO ME? I'LL BROOK NO DISCOURSE HERE. DEMOCRACY....MEH! GIVE ME STEINBRENNERISM AND CASHMANOLOGY. GIVE ME GAMMONITES OR GIVE ME DEATH! BONER AND NUTSACK FOR LIFETIME LEADERS! CALL OUT THE TANKS! BRING IN THE DANCING GIRLS!
Okay, forget everything I just said. I'm just an old Wobbly at heart. Too much coffee. not enough love. pull up a chair and let me tell you my sad story...
Off to the dentist...my other personalities will return later.
I love you all.
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