Terrific to see the boys rally to shoot down the BJ's again this week, putting them up by 6-3 in the season series so far.
But let's face it: this is not the team we need to worry about.
The Blue Jays put the fear of the juju gods in us early last September and pummeled the Pinstripers in 4 straight at the Stadium, outscoring us by a combined 25-8. Ouch!
That series looked like men against boys, and many of us—including me, chief calamity howler in the house—were lamenting how good and young all the Toronto Juniors looked, and how deft that organization seemed to be at discovering and developing real talent, as opposed to you-know-who.
(I mean, c'mon, Coops: you couldn't even draft the right Bichette kid?)But after that shellacking, the Birds of the North managed to go a less-than-impressive 14-9 down the stretch, dropping a return match at "home" against the Yanks and being eliminated from a playoff spot on the last day of the season.
Still, many of us thought, they are clearly the chef team of the future, with all those great young players, and once they no longer had to shuffle off to Buffalo, they would bash us around for many a year to come.
I seem to remember something about them pushing guys down the dugout in a laundry cart after home runs last year—or was that the ever-contemptible Astros?—and of course there was the "home run jacket."
(A highlight of Tuesday night's game was when second baseman Santiago Espinal had to be helped out of said jacket when the ball he hit off Hicks' glove proved to be a double—NOT a round-jacketer. Well,
haberdashery is a bitch.)
Aside from that, the Jays seem like a mostly one-dimensional team, with Sunday beer league physiques and not quite enough pitching.
Gee, who does that sound like?
That's right: pretty much every Boston pretender from 1936-2003.I'm sure they'll make a terrifying run sometime this season, and maybe I'll come to regret these words. But I doubt it.
The BJ's seem to be having much too much fun enjoying themselves to really be a threat, and unless and until that changes, I don't think they'll be a real nemesis.
Not to say that this Yankees team will run away with anything—it won't—but I do believe that the real sting will come from those crafty Rays down in Florida.
They are lunkheads.
ReplyDeleteThen again, we've been beaten and bested by "Idiots who Cowboy Up" So I see them as still dangerous.
But you're right. The Rays are the biggest threat.
I've been over there at the PSA for some time now. It used to be a pretty nice place, mix of old and young, jokes, arguments, baseball stuff. It's been taken over by the man-bunners the past few years though and it's all expected batting averages this and launch angles that and exit velocities this and that now, and Lord forbid you criticize a guy who may or may not have tourettes because he gets 1.5 hits every 10 at bats and strikes out 35% of the time. It's like baseball was invented by eraser heads and they've raised it up from its infancy.
ReplyDeleteSo I stumbled over here one day and I see all you guys, shit-shooters, ball-breakers, hard sarcasm...the good stuff, the anti-PSA stuff. Old school base stealers and occasional bunters. And I'm wondering if it's OK if I sit over here on the porch step and maybe mumble an incoherent comment every once in a while without anyone saying "who's this asshole?" and telling me to get on up the street. Is that alright?
This place is for people who hate the Yankees as much as they love them. Think if it as the Yankee id.
ReplyDeleteYou betcha, Hinkey. To me, that is the only reasonable way to root for a professional ball club.
ReplyDeleteMildred, you are more than welcome.
We mostly try to keep it polite with each other. (There are notable exceptions.) We love our founders, El Duque (Peerless Leader) and Alphonso (Dauntless Leader), and enjoy each other's folderol. Digressions into movies, music, shows, celebrities, etc., are usually welcome, though we try to stay away from politics, which can be a live wire. (Where is it not, these days?)
Loved your description of us. We are indeed, most of us, Old School...mainly because we're old. (Young people are always welcome, too, though we question this use of their time, and encourage parents to block this site.) There is a lot of institutional memory here of the Yankees in the 1960s, and even longer ago.
Feel free to comment as much or as little as you like. We are pleased to have you.
Thank you friends. Grew up east of Pittsburgh, lived through the Mazeroski swing. I'll try not to be obnoxious
ReplyDeleteWe all have trauma like that in our past, Mildred. I guess that's what brings us together. And don't worry about being obnoxious.
ReplyDeleteI love you guys already.
ReplyDeleteWelcome Mildred.
ReplyDeleteLet it rip!