The "Hate America" World Series, why Yank fans detest the Dodgers, and other takeaways, as the White House walls come down.

So, here we go: It's Commie Hollywood vs. the 51st State, while the rest of baseball stews and awaits 2027, when MLB's labor strife makes the current government shutdown look like a weekend at Disneyworld. At least for now, we're left with daily occasional leaked classified photos of the East Wing being razed, a metaphor you can do with what you wish. (But didn't Canadians burn down the White House in 1812?)

For better or worse, some takeaways on the current state of Yankeekind. 

1. Seems like a year since the Death Barge crapped out against Toronto. Remember...hope? The government shutdown would be solved, the Middle East would be solved, Katy Perry's quest for love would be solved, and the Jersey Giants beat the Eagles! Now? Well, Katy's still happy. Maybe Meat Loaf should have sang, "One out of four aint bad?"

2. Surely, Yank fans will root against the Dodgers. I certainly will. They are ruining baseball with their absurd spending, their cooking of the books, and their Japanese pipeline - a huge advantage over the rest of the world. But here's the rub: 

It should be the Yankees doing it. 

If any team is going to embody evil, it should be us. To watch Food Stamps Hal pull out his pockets and wave his empty purse at street urchins - we should at least be detested. The Japanese Babe Ruth should have played in New York, in the House That the Japanese Babe Ruth Built. But Hal always has a shiny 25 cent piece to bestow upon his face base, and here we are, once again ,on the outside, looking in. 

3. How 'bout them Jersey Giants! You know, for a moment, for a sliver of a time - maybe two seconds - I thought they might win their third game in a row and actually be headed in the right direction. My bad. I'm too old for this. I drank the Skattaboo tea. 

But the loss in Denver still does not beat The Fumble. 

4. I suppose everyone expects the Dodgers to win. Why wouldn't you? They had so many ace pitchers this year that they literally coasted through the regular season, just planning for October. As for Toronto, I'm sorry, but Kevin Glausman is not Madison Bumgarner. It's hard to imagine they are doing this with arguably their best player - Bo Bichette - in rehab.  

5. If there is any reason to root for Toronto, here's one: Don Mattingly. The only problem is that every time I see Mattingly in a Jays cap, it reminds me that the world is completely out of whack. Yesterday, Hoss wondered if we are in Hell? Damn straight. 

6. I see pix of the White House being bulldozed, and I'm reminded of Yankee Stadium, 18 years ago. I don't care about the disco, the steak house and the self-flushing urinals. You cannot replace history. When I hear Trump talk about the need for a ballroom, I think of how the Yankee ownership talked trash about what was still the greatest venue in sports. Remember how they demeaned it, as they sold off every chunk of concrete? I'm sorta surprised Trump isn't auctioning off the doorknobs. (I'm sure he will, soon.)  

7. One of the saddest elements of the last two weeks has been the Yankee front office congratulating itself on a winning season, and basically saying that nothing needs to change. Mike Harkey was the problem? My God, how can they not read this room? 

8. I do believe the Yankees were one player away. One more measly win, and they would have taken AL East and a first-round bye, with home field advantage. One stinking, measly victory. And it all came down to Hal's refusal to open his purse last spring when, say, an Alex Bregman was politicking for a one-year, prove-himself deal. There were free agents to be had. Hal pinched his fanny pack.  

9. Dodgers in four. 

10. Yankees in 10. Years, that is.