Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Can't Spell C-H-A-S-S without the last three letters...
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/24/sports/baseball/24chass.html?
The above link is an article by the New York Times' esteemed baseball writer, Murray Chass. The premise of the article is the argument: "hey, sure, the Red Sox won the World Series last year, but...have they won the AL East?"
Um...
So I thought I'd pen the chap a nice email. Will keep you updated if he replies. Pasted below is the text of the missive.
-----
Mr. Chass: I just finished reading your article in today's New York Times. And it made me think about my experiences at Fenway Park this past Saturday.
I noticed several new changes to the ballpark that John Updike described as the "lyric little bandbox." There are loads of new concession stands, wider walkways, and several new advertisements on the Green Monster.
Oh, and one more thing. There's a big red flag on the center field flag pole, underneath the Stars & Stripes. It reads "2004 World Champions."
Back to your article. It poses one question: who cares if the Red Sox haven't seem to capture the American League East title?
In the past, Fenway would hang those banners celebrating being second or even third-best. Similarly, in the past, the Yankees would thump their chests as the World Champions and even in 2000, the back-to-back World Champs. The slogans have morphed each year since then, from pompous to penitant to merely pointing out the past. Whenever this argument would come up in circles, Yankee fans tirelessly pointed to two numbers: 26 (the number of world championships the team has won), 86 (the span of time, in years, between Red Sox world championships), and 19-18. Those arguments are now moot.
But aren't the most important numbers for the Yankees, at this point, 200,000,000 (the approximate payroll of the '05 Yankees) and 4 (the place, out of five, that the Yankees rank in the AL East)?
Considering that since 2001, the team that won the World Series were wild cards, maybe the way to go isn't to be a division champion. So with that in mind, maybe the only "curse" that's left is the one you get when you win the AL East.
Thanks for your time.
The above link is an article by the New York Times' esteemed baseball writer, Murray Chass. The premise of the article is the argument: "hey, sure, the Red Sox won the World Series last year, but...have they won the AL East?"
Um...
So I thought I'd pen the chap a nice email. Will keep you updated if he replies. Pasted below is the text of the missive.
-----
Mr. Chass: I just finished reading your article in today's New York Times. And it made me think about my experiences at Fenway Park this past Saturday.
I noticed several new changes to the ballpark that John Updike described as the "lyric little bandbox." There are loads of new concession stands, wider walkways, and several new advertisements on the Green Monster.
Oh, and one more thing. There's a big red flag on the center field flag pole, underneath the Stars & Stripes. It reads "2004 World Champions."
Back to your article. It poses one question: who cares if the Red Sox haven't seem to capture the American League East title?
In the past, Fenway would hang those banners celebrating being second or even third-best. Similarly, in the past, the Yankees would thump their chests as the World Champions and even in 2000, the back-to-back World Champs. The slogans have morphed each year since then, from pompous to penitant to merely pointing out the past. Whenever this argument would come up in circles, Yankee fans tirelessly pointed to two numbers: 26 (the number of world championships the team has won), 86 (the span of time, in years, between Red Sox world championships), and 19-18. Those arguments are now moot.
But aren't the most important numbers for the Yankees, at this point, 200,000,000 (the approximate payroll of the '05 Yankees) and 4 (the place, out of five, that the Yankees rank in the AL East)?
Considering that since 2001, the team that won the World Series were wild cards, maybe the way to go isn't to be a division champion. So with that in mind, maybe the only "curse" that's left is the one you get when you win the AL East.
Thanks for your time.
