Goodbye, Yankees

November 21, 2012 11:36 AM

Who to root for now? As a result of FOX/News Corp. going into business with the New York Yankees through by acquiring a 49% stake in the Yankees's regional sports network, Craig Robinson disavows his Yankees fandom, and goes in search of a new baseball team to which to swear his allegiance and passion.
posted by dry white toast (93 comments total)

As if I needed a reason to dislike either one of them even more than I already do.
posted by codacorolla at 11:39 AM on November 21, 2012 [19 favorites]

Is this Craig Robinson the actor (Darryl from The Office) or the basketball coach (also the First Brother-in-Law) or someone else?
posted by I am the Walrus at 11:39 AM on November 21, 2012

Curses, left in an extra word after preview! Any way to delete 'through' in the FPP mods?
posted by dry white toast at 11:40 AM on November 21, 2012

Also, your first link isn't working for me. It looks like the site is currently down, since I tried to get to it through a web search and it's still 404ing.
posted by codacorolla at 11:41 AM on November 21, 2012

I'm happy because now I can combine my separate hatreds of Fox News and the Yankees into one convenient white-hot lump.
posted by Faint of Butt at 11:41 AM on November 21, 2012 [36 favorites]

I love that not only does this post have a yankeessuck tag, it's not the first time the tag's been used.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 11:42 AM on November 21, 2012 [5 favorites]

Is this Craig Robinson the actor (Darryl from The Office) or the basketball coach (also the First Brother-in-Law) or someone else?

Neither, he's an English guy with a pretty neat baseball infographics blog.
posted by Copronymus at 11:42 AM on November 21, 2012 [3 favorites]

Yeah, but...The Mariners?
posted by Thorzdad at 11:42 AM on November 21, 2012

*grinning broadly*

Craig! Bubbeleh! You ever consider the Red Sox?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:44 AM on November 21, 2012 [7 favorites]

He's already a liberal, why not slide all the way to "loveable loser" and come on over and join us at the Cubs Fan table?!?
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 11:47 AM on November 21, 2012 [4 favorites]

How can he so offhandedly dis the Tigers like that? That is a fine organization with fun players, a great stadium and awesome fans!!
posted by zzazazz at 11:49 AM on November 21, 2012

As a Mets fan, I wouldn't wish Mets fandom on anybody, but, really, NL ball is just better, so clearly he chose the wrong finalist.
posted by uncleozzy at 11:50 AM on November 21, 2012 [4 favorites]

Why post an entire article as a graphic? Ugh.
posted by MegoSteve at 11:51 AM on November 21, 2012 [1 favorite]

He's already a liberal, why not slide all the way to "loveable loser" and come on over and join us at the Cubs Fan table?!?

George Will tells a story in Ken Burns' Baseball about growing up in Southern Illinois. He joked that all his friends became Cardinals fans, and grew up happy and liberal, while he decided to root for the Cubs, making him embittered and conservative.
posted by dry white toast at 11:51 AM on November 21, 2012 [5 favorites]

> He's already a liberal, why not slide all the way to "loveable loser" and come on over and join us at the Cubs Fan table?!?

My mental image of what switching your allegiance from the Yankees to the Cubs would be like: what Dan Aykroyd's character experiences in the first half of Trading Places.
posted by The Card Cheat at 11:52 AM on November 21, 2012 [7 favorites]

What's with the entire post being an image? Is this another example of people creating content that can easily be reposted to social networks, or was it done this way because someone didn't want to bother properly formatting the piece?
posted by RonButNotStupid at 11:52 AM on November 21, 2012

10th Regiment: true, but consider that joining Red Sox Nation would be an even better "fuck you" to the Yankees.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:52 AM on November 21, 2012 [3 favorites]

I've been wondering what it would be like to enter a period of post-fandom, and just enjoy baseball for what it is, not for how a specific team does.

Dude. DUDE.

Following the theft of my beloved Expos, I did that for six years. I can tell you that it sucks. It really, really, REALLY sucks. There's simply no motivation, nothing to care about, no investment. Simply enjoying 'the game' doesn't work on a long term basis, unlike, say, happening upon some Sunday afternoon game in the local park.

Even following my new team, Pittsburgh, is a VAST improvement over following no-one in particular, even as mightily as the Pirates suck.

Granted, a period of mourning is appropriate. Try to keep it short -- Opening Day is sooner than you think!

Good luck -- I've been there.
posted by Capt. Renault at 11:52 AM on November 21, 2012 [7 favorites]

There's simply no motivation, nothing to care about, no investment.

This is actually just like being a Mets fan.
posted by uncleozzy at 11:54 AM on November 21, 2012 [15 favorites]

Yeah, but...The Mariners?

Look at that final four, though. The only team in that group that's won a pennant in the last 30 years has been in a self-destructive freefall since at least 2007. The Pirates haven't even had a winning season since 1993. And the Cubs? Ugh.
posted by Copronymus at 11:54 AM on November 21, 2012

RonButNotStupid: What's with the entire post being an image?

He's an illustrator. He makes infographics. It's what he knows how to do.
posted by Rock Steady at 11:54 AM on November 21, 2012 [1 favorite]

If you pick the Mariners as an adult you have no one to blame but yourself. Welcome aboard, dude.
posted by The Hamms Bear at 11:54 AM on November 21, 2012 [8 favorites]

And now that I've read the article - Craig, bubbeleh, you're leaving the Yankees for a spiteful reason. The Red Sox being a spiteful choice is precisely why you should go for them.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:55 AM on November 21, 2012 [4 favorites]

consider that joining Red Sox Nation would be an even better "fuck you" to the Yankees.

Very true, (and I say this as a Nth-generation Cubs fan) becoming a Cubs fan would only be a big "fuck you" to yourself.
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 11:57 AM on November 21, 2012 [14 favorites]

Following the theft of my beloved Expos

My office is a block from Nationals Stadium. I would say that--particularly on days we are hosting a game against the Red Sox or (ugh, what is the deal with their fans?) the Phillies--DC did you a huge favor. You are welcome to take them back and I will gladly help you arrange any such caper.
posted by psoas at 11:58 AM on November 21, 2012 [1 favorite]

So you were a Yankees fan, but then they offended your standards? You poor thing.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 11:58 AM on November 21, 2012 [10 favorites]

The whole thing kinda falls apart though once you realize that FOX, or their regional sports networks, broadcasts the games for a goodly chunk of MLB teams, including...you guessed it...the Mariners. Not much logical consistency to disowning the Yankees because they buy half of YES if you're watching games on FOX. That should have been his first cut...or second after dropping the Indians and Braves for being racist as all get out.
posted by dry white toast at 11:58 AM on November 21, 2012 [1 favorite]

I grew up a Mets fan, back when they were new and quite frankly awful. My family, all from Brooklyn, just couldn't switch allegiance to the Yankees when the Dodgers departed for LA.
posted by tommasz at 11:59 AM on November 21, 2012 [2 favorites]

My dear friend once said to me, "I don't think I really be content until the Mets start doing well." To which, I say, and said, duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuude therapy now
posted by angrycat at 12:00 PM on November 21, 2012

This is silly. News Corp replaces Goldman Sachs. I mean, suddenly you're against giant, corporate evil? You're a Yankees fan, for Christ's sake. That's what we do. It's like suddenly being against the Emperor because you're concerned about Alderaan.

Though I expect a lot of "Is Jeter slumping because he's worried about the job-killing taxes under Obama???" stories.
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 12:01 PM on November 21, 2012 [8 favorites]

The Mariners. I did not see that coming.

First of all, the existence of the DH should abolish all AL teams from the list immediately. And I'm a long-suffering Cubs fan here, so I know I'm biased, but they seem like a perfect fit. He pointed out all the pros about them—the stadium, the city, the uniforms—and his one con, that they are a miserably bad baseball team is, in his circumstances, a pro. The Cubbies are in full-on rebuild mode and they are going to suck for another two years at least. But after that, if Theo Epstein is the mad genius we've been promised, they will be perennial playoff contenders. Get in now, before the bandwagon snaps its axles in a few years!

But then, he admits to liking the Marlins uniforms, so everything else he has to say is garbage anyway.
posted by Terminal Verbosity at 12:01 PM on November 21, 2012 [3 favorites]

Yeah, but...The Mariners?

It could lead to a new slogan!

"Seattle Mariners: Because it's too hip to root for the Giants"
posted by Talez at 12:01 PM on November 21, 2012 [1 favorite]

You are welcome to take them back and I will gladly help you arrange any such caper.

I know someone you can call.
posted by uncleozzy at 12:01 PM on November 21, 2012

ugh, what is the deal with their fans?

Phillies fans, we're not all dicks, but for the record I:
a) Am only a fair-weather Phillies fan
b) I'm kind of a dick.
posted by angrycat at 12:02 PM on November 21, 2012 [4 favorites]

a) Am only a fair-weather Phillies fan
b) I'm kind of a dick.

Does that mean you refrain from throwing batteries?
posted by thirtyeightdown at 12:08 PM on November 21, 2012

The whole thing kinda falls apart though once you realize that FOX, or their regional sports networks, broadcasts the games for a goodly chunk of MLB teams, including...you guessed it...the Mariners.

Yeah, he actually tried to take regional FSN channels into account (he eliminated three teams for that reason). The Mariners appear to be broadcast by Root Sports Northwest, which is owned by DirecTV. But it is still part of FSN which gives it access to college sports. I'm not sure if Root's FSN-affiliation has anything to do with its Mariners rights.
posted by mullacc at 12:09 PM on November 21, 2012

the existence of the DH should abolish all AL teams from the list immediately

I've never understood the antipathy to the DH. How does having essentially an automatic out every time through the line up make the game more exciting exactly? And the thing about it requiring more strategy for the manager is totally wrong. A manager once said that lack of a DH makes his life easier, because the decision about when to go to his bullpen is essentially made for him. When the pitcher doesn't have to bat, he has to make his own judgement about whether the starting pitcher is done.
posted by dry white toast at 12:09 PM on November 21, 2012 [3 favorites]

mullacc, I missed that. But its not just the Rays, Royals, and Twins that are broadcast on FSN.
posted by dry white toast at 12:12 PM on November 21, 2012

We went to a Phillies-Mets game in Philadelphia on a Sunday afternoon as part of a friend's bachelor party a few years ago. The guy driving was a Yankees fan, so of course he parked in the lot furthest from the stadium.

As we walked past lot after lot full of drunk Phillies fans, we endured not only verbal abuse--which is fine and expected--but more than one young woman swinging an aluminum bat at the cyclone fence separating us, on the sidewalk, from them, shrieking that she would kill us. One I could understand as an aberration. But there were at least two who, as far as I could tell, weren't together.

It was like walking through a prison.
posted by uncleozzy at 12:14 PM on November 21, 2012 [1 favorite]

Pick the Seattle Mariners.

Then he can visit, and if he plans his vacation correctly, he can attend the game on a 'double header' day. This is when the Mariners and the Sounders (our MLS soccer team) have their games on the same day, with a break in between. And the stadiums are right next to each other, which makes for an easy commute.

Double Header days are fun days.
posted by spinifex23 at 12:19 PM on November 21, 2012 [2 favorites]

Baseball isn't supposed to have specialists. If you field, you bat. If you bat, you field. You might as well have a basketball player who substitutes out every time the defense grabs a rebound.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 12:19 PM on November 21, 2012 [6 favorites]

How about those Blue Jays
posted by Damienmce at 12:22 PM on November 21, 2012 [4 favorites]

There's also the fact that, for the non-network-owning teams (just the Yanks and Sawks, right?) the rights to their games could be bought by FSN or Fox at any time. You may end up switching again soon. I'm kind of surprised he did not consolidate his fandom under the Fenway Sports Group umbrella (now the owners of Liverpool FC). You get a NASCAR team thrown into the bargain, which is nice if you are in the Southern US.
posted by Rock Steady at 12:22 PM on November 21, 2012

As usual, the A's are forgotten about and then willfully ignored...
posted by clorox at 12:24 PM on November 21, 2012 [1 favorite]

How does having essentially an automatic out every time through the line up make the game more exciting exactly?

The fact that it's not an automatic out makes it exciting.

A manager once said that lack of a DH makes his life easier, because the decision about when to go to his bullpen is essentially made for him.

Except when he has to decide to double-switch. Also, with the pitcher batting, your choice of lead-off hitter suddenly becomes a whole lot more important, as does having an 8 hitter who can avoid making the third out.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 12:26 PM on November 21, 2012

You might as well have a basketball player who substitutes out every time the defense grabs a rebound.

Or be able to substitute the punter with a linebacker once the kick's in the air.

And the thing about it requiring more strategy for the manager is totally wrong. A manager once said that lack of a DH makes his life easier, because the decision about when to go to his bullpen is essentially made for him. When the pitcher doesn't have to bat, he has to make his own judgement about whether the starting pitcher is done.

The flip side of that is when the pitcher's starting to wind down with only one out but, his spot in the batting order is up the next time you're up to bat. Do you leave the pitcher in there and hope he's able to get through a rough patch, or do you bring in a reliever now knowing that he'll only be in the game for an out or two and you'll essentially be using up two players instead of one? This happens with quite some regularity in NL games.
posted by LionIndex at 12:27 PM on November 21, 2012

clorox: As usual, the A's are forgotten about and then willfully ignored...

Yeah, if I was a baseball agnostic, the A's would be a pretty appealing choice. Not sure why he was so dismissive.
posted by Rock Steady at 12:27 PM on November 21, 2012

Baseball isn't supposed to have specialists.

What? It seems like a game designed to encourage specialization. Maybe the DH is a step too far but it's not surprising the game would evolve that way.
posted by mullacc at 12:27 PM on November 21, 2012 [1 favorite]

Baseball isn't supposed to have specialists.

Really?

By the same logic, the catcher shouldn't be allowed to wear special equipment.
posted by dry white toast at 12:31 PM on November 21, 2012 [4 favorites]

As an Astros fan I was expecting a much, much harsher reason for their impending cut than "I have a friend who likes the Astros".
posted by DynamiteToast at 12:31 PM on November 21, 2012 [2 favorites]

One benefit of being a Mariners fan: you get to know a good percentage of future Yankees stars before other people.
posted by skyscraper at 12:34 PM on November 21, 2012 [11 favorites]

(ugh, what is the deal with their fans?) the Phillies

I always see this as a "squeaky wheel" question – most Phillies fans are fine and I work with several people who have partial season tickets. But when Philly fans are crazy they tend to be crazy in a special way.
posted by graymouser at 12:37 PM on November 21, 2012

And the thing about it requiring more strategy for the manager is totally wrong. A manager once said that lack of a DH makes his life easier, because the decision about when to go to his bullpen is essentially made for him.

Which manager was this? Again, as a Cubs fan, I've seen a lot of mismanagment of the pitching staff, i.e. starters stretched out just one more inning...in which they give up a three-run shot.
posted by Terminal Verbosity at 12:40 PM on November 21, 2012

Aw. I'm disappointed the Jays got the boot simply because, if I'm reading this right, they play against the Yankees a lot. Um, hello, what's the point of deciding to hate a team if you can't root against it as often as possible?

Plus, there's a lot of buzz about the Jays possibly not being completely terrible next season.
posted by Sys Rq at 12:41 PM on November 21, 2012 [1 favorite]

Because George Steinbrenner just wasn't quite evil enough for him to disavow the Yankees?
posted by gyc at 12:43 PM on November 21, 2012

As a lifelong Dodger fan who is just beginning to see a glimmer of hope again, I wouldn't dismiss so casually the sense of well-being that comes from having a well-funded team.
posted by bluejayway at 12:45 PM on November 21, 2012

You shouldn't become a fan of something by process of elimination. Something about this strikes me as wrong. Fandom should be emotional, not scientific.
posted by rjc3000 at 12:46 PM on November 21, 2012 [2 favorites]

Baseball does have specialists — they're called pitchers. Time and experience has shown that it is far more valuable to a team for pitchers to specialize in their pitching to the detriment of their batting — a near-automatic out once through the lineup is worth it if your pitcher can get mofos out when he's on the mound. For me this reveals a fundamental flaw in the balance of the game, a flaw that the DH corrects for nicely.
posted by wemayfreeze at 12:47 PM on November 21, 2012 [2 favorites]

UGH! The Mets lose out by one AGAIN!!!
posted by Rarebit Fiend at 12:53 PM on November 21, 2012 [4 favorites]

Heh yeah I love that the Mets can't convert this.
posted by Mister_A at 12:57 PM on November 21, 2012 [1 favorite]

For me this reveals a fundamental flaw in the balance of the game, a flaw that the DH corrects for nicely.

Heh. For me, it introduces a fundamental element of balance to the game, for which the DH is a cop-out. It probably depends on what you grew up watching, and I'm in an NL city.
posted by LionIndex at 1:03 PM on November 21, 2012 [3 favorites]

He's already a liberal, why not slide all the way to "loveable loser" and come on over and join us at the Cubs Fan table?!?

He's a baseball fan, not a masochist.

Me, I'm only a Cubs fan because Captain Cold was one.
posted by MartinWisse at 1:04 PM on November 21, 2012

I think now's the time to link to this flowchart again.

As a white sox fan, it always seemed legit to me.
posted by dinty_moore at 1:16 PM on November 21, 2012 [4 favorites]

Man really thought he'd end up an A's fan, that seems to be where everyone else who thinks the Giants are too hip goes.

Plus, they tend to do some pretty epic things with that payroll, its an easy time to get behind.
posted by bitdamaged at 1:23 PM on November 21, 2012

He also mentions that he does not like the playoff system. I am in complete agreement on that one. First, get rid of interleague play. At the very least this would restore something of the illusion that the two leagues are independent entities and that the World Series was this mysterious thing that pitted league against league and not just team against team.

Next, restore the pennant. All the way back. Whichever team has the best record in each league is the league champion. There's a 162 game season, make it really mean something.

And now the World Series becomes quite an event. So much so that I say expand it! We've eliminated the playoff system so we do have some extra time. Make the WS into like 11 or 13 or what the heck 15 games long! It becomes a mini-season and all the kinds of decisions managers have to make during the regular season become part of the WS. It becomes an epic showdown. You can have a losing streak but still come out on top. You have to have a strong roster of starting pitchers as you'll need to use all of them. Make it a real battle. No, make it a war.

And since I'm fixing one sport I might as well fix the NFL. Double, at least, the length of each game. One of the appeals of football is its metaphorical connection to a military battle what with all the strategy and so on. By making each game so much longer tactics and strategy become even more important. You have to rest starters. You have to study film and come up with in-game tactical decisions. The game becomes more a chess match than what its fans like to think it is now. Attrition becomes a very obvious thing. This also helps eliminate some of the lucky bounces that have too much power in determining a winner.

Don't worry, I know how to fix all the other sports as well.
posted by bfootdav at 1:30 PM on November 21, 2012 [4 favorites]

And since I'm fixing one sport I might as well fix the NFL. Double, at least, the length of each game.

What's two times infinity?
posted by Sys Rq at 1:32 PM on November 21, 2012 [4 favorites]

Am I the only one who roots against teams? All I care about is the Red Sox and Phils losing. I root for any team who on that particular day can best frustrate their rabid fans.

I will go so far--AACCKKKK-- as to root for the Yankees if they are playing the Red Sox.

But I will unashamedly root for anyone playing the Phils.

If the Phils and Red Sox play each other in inter league competition I root for both teams to have a bag of steroids fall out of their pockets on the field of play.
posted by notreally at 1:37 PM on November 21, 2012 [2 favorites]

I enjoyed that a lot, and was astonished the Mets made it to the final two. When they lost out at the end, I was momentarily hurt, but as a Mets fan I instantly absorbed the pain and converted it into "Wait'll next time he has to choose a team!"

> Again, as a Cubs fan, I've seen a lot of mismanagement of the pitching staff, i.e. starters stretched out just one more inning...in which they give up a three-run shot.

The worst single moment of my long and mostly painful life as a Mets fan was late in the evening of Sunday, October 9, 1988, when three friends and I were at Shea (I had, unbelievably, scored four tickets in one of those spend-hours-redialing-till-you-give-up phone lotteries) for Game 4 of the NLCS. Gooden had pitched beautifully (of course), and the Mets had a 4–2 lead going into the ninth (and Doc had given up only one hit). Mind you, the Mets had beaten the Dodgers ten of eleven times during the season, and there was no doubt in anybody's mind that if they won this and were ahead three games to one, they were going to the Series. Top of the ninth, Gooden comes out to pitch, making everyone very nervous. The Mets had the best closer in the business; let him close it! Gooden walks the first batter, and now we're yelling "Take him out! He's done!" But Davey couldn't bring himself to take out his star pitcher, and sure enough, the next batter, Scioscia, hit a two-run homer and tied the game, which dragged on another three innings until fucking Kirk Gibson hit a two-out homer off McDowell and Hershiser closed out the Mets in the bottom of the twelfth. That may be the most depressed I've ever been in a ballpark; the N train was like a funeral procession on the way home from the game. And of course the Dodgers went on to win two more and proceeded to beat the A's in the Series (which I swore I wasn't going to watch, but I was in a bar and heard a roar and it turned out to be fucking gimpy Kirk Gibson pinch-hitting a walk-off home run against Eckersley in Game 1, and fuck me, who could ignore that?).

tl;dr: If you have a choice, don't be a Mets fan.
posted by languagehat at 1:49 PM on November 21, 2012 [5 favorites]

Am I the only one who roots against teams?

Hell no. That's the only way I engage in half the sports I watch. I managed to maintain a passing interest in the NFL for several years on the sole premise that the Dallas Cowboys were the embodiment of all that is evil in the world. (they still are, of course. That just ceased being sufficient reason to care about the NFL.)
posted by dry white toast at 1:54 PM on November 21, 2012

As a White Sox fan, I can't argue too much with his reasoning for skipping us. Dammit.
posted by sldownard at 2:03 PM on November 21, 2012

the Dallas Cowboys were the embodiment of all that is evil in the world

LOL. I spend the fall rooting against the cowgirls and the patsies.
posted by notreally at 2:03 PM on November 21, 2012

I don't root against the Egirls cause they are so inept they don't need any help from me to make them lose.
posted by notreally at 2:04 PM on November 21, 2012

It's silly how much I was hoping it would be the Pirates.

Sigh. This year...THIS YEAR will be our year....
posted by Chrysostom at 2:12 PM on November 21, 2012 [1 favorite]

The DH's existence in the American League doesn't really bother me, it's the bitching about what a sham it that Delmon Young be required to do anything but lick the bottom of a Crisco container and swing a bat as hard as he can until he's out, or the ball goes over the fence.
posted by clearly at 2:30 PM on November 21, 2012

The problem with rooting for the Athletics is any player you start liking and following will be traded away by Billy Beane in his usual magic bullshit routine. I've got a ton of admiration for him but it makes the team hard to follow. Also I'm an evil asshole so the Yankees were a natural fit.
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 2:55 PM on November 21, 2012

Again, as a Cubs fan, I've seen a lot of mismanagement of the pitching staff, i.e. starters stretched out just one more inning...in which they give up a three-run shot.

They have to keep the pitcher to get that far. I've lamented many times over how many times my beloved Cubs have basically thrown away great pitchers : Jenkins, Eckersley, Maddux, Smith ...

It's enough to make me cry in my Old Style.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 2:56 PM on November 21, 2012

And the thing about it requiring more strategy for the manager is totally wrong.

I play Dynasty Baseball, which is one of these games where you have a giant stack of cards and roll dice to see what happens. Last year was my first year playing, and it was an NL league. This year, it's AL. The game is suddenly an order of magnitude easier and the thing that has changed is the presence of the DH. Certainly handling your pitching isn't exactly like 'real' baseball--a card can't have a bad game, after all. A bunch of bad rolls makes you want to pull the pitcher, but that's illogical. Pitchers do get tired and there are some fairly stringent rest requirements, so you never have enough pitching. I suspect the pressure on your pitching is greater than it is in real baseball. But the rest requirements for relievers are such that you never pull your starter if you think you can get another inning out of him, even if the pitcher's spot is due up. You do a double-switch when you're pulling the pitcher in any case. This requires actual planning. The great quandary in the AL league so far is whether Vladimir Guerrero, whose card does not allow him to field ever, is worth a roster spot. Which, uh, given the guys on my bench is not a very interesting question.
posted by hoyland at 3:06 PM on November 21, 2012

... starters stretched out just one more inning...in which they give up a three-run shot.

This is not dependent on a lack of DH. It happens all over baseball.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:08 PM on November 21, 2012

I have been a Yankees fan since my dad put me in my first pinstriped onesie 44 years ago. I've put up with a lot of shit because of it.

But News Corp?

Deal-breaker.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 3:27 PM on November 21, 2012 [3 favorites]

I gotta say, if it's the politics he's concerned about, I think he should have stuck with the Orioles, a team that defied the US embargo to play in Cuba against the national team, and whose owner, Peter Angelos, is a long-time labor lawyer who later made his fortune suing companies for exposing their workers to asbestos, and who in the 2012 election gave $1.2m to Democratic-leaning superPACs.

Also, of course, Baltimore just enjoyed a thrilling miracle season, and has a ton of exciting young players who are fun to watch even when they lose.

And the fans really, really, really hate the Yankees.
posted by escabeche at 4:09 PM on November 21, 2012 [5 favorites]

I would say he should become a Phillies fan.

But we don't want ex-Yankees fans. Screw brotherly love, we're talking about the Yankees here.
posted by DoubleLune at 4:54 PM on November 21, 2012 [3 favorites]

And [Baltimore] fans really, really, really hate the Yankees.

1903 NEVAR FORGET
posted by kurumi at 5:02 PM on November 21, 2012 [3 favorites]

Sad to see the Brewers couldn't make it past the uniform cut.
posted by drezdn at 5:09 PM on November 21, 2012

The asteroid. You root for the asteroid.
posted by the painkiller at 5:21 PM on November 21, 2012 [1 favorite]

With my luck this year, the asteroid would have a Mets logo on it.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 6:56 PM on November 21, 2012 [2 favorites]

Gonna be an interesting year of 73 wins for him. Time for a change I guess.
posted by xmutex at 10:26 PM on November 21, 2012

Baseball is a game for louts.
posted by Pudhoho at 2:48 AM on November 22, 2012

I agree with this guy about Fox, about the Sun and Liverpool, but a few things give him away as not a native baseball fan. The Tigers should be a perfectly acceptable alternative. The Mets probably shouldn't. Whoever said the A's should have had a longer look is dead on.

It is ok to have a NL team and a AL team, but you can't change divisions on your birth team, you have to go out-of-town on the alternate league. And expansion teams should probably come after older franchises in the priority list.

Also, he wants to watch live games in Europe, but chose a west coast team playing largely night games over a midwest team playing largely day games. Which means Cubs day games start at a civilised gin & tonic/dinner time over in London.

Also, George Will is full of shit about tying the Cubs to conservative impulses. Fugg him. And god bless Old Style.
posted by C.A.S. at 3:26 AM on November 22, 2012

This is silly. News Corp replaces Goldman Sachs. I mean, suddenly you're against giant, corporate evil?

With Murdoch you don't need the corporate.
posted by fullerine at 4:23 AM on November 22, 2012

Also, he wants to watch live games in Europe, but chose a west coast team playing largely night games over a midwest team playing largely day games. Which means Cubs day games start at a civilised gin & tonic/dinner time over in London.

While the point about the West Coast is a fair one, the Cubs do not play 'largely day games' and haven't for quite some time. The agreement currently allows for 30 home night games total, which means 27 scheduled with room for 3 to move for television. There's talk of it going to 30+3. Last season, the Cubs played 73 day games (plus three listed as TBD on the PDF schedule--presumably these were the 3 flexible-for-TV games), give or take a few counting mishaps on my part. So many of the away games are at night that they're pretty much always going to play more night games. (Interestingly, there were fewer 9.05 starts on west coast road trips than I remember. Of course, I think there are objectively fewer west coast road trips than I remember from 15 years ago.) The 1.20 start time is certainly favourable in GMT (well, it's BST in summer), but I kind of suspect, given that he's presumably paying Bud Selig for the pleasure of online access anyway, that he's watching/listening to games at his leisure.
posted by hoyland at 6:03 AM on November 22, 2012

> "Simply enjoying 'the game' doesn't work on a long term basis ..."

As a nonfan of sports other than "pretty to watch" ones (rhythmic gymnastics, figure skating, etc.), I have to say it explains A LOT that I have been wondering about if some unknown percentage of the fans of other sports don't really care much about the game itself, but mostly only about who wins and who loses.

Now I just have to figure out why they care who wins and who loses.
posted by kyrademon at 6:14 AM on November 22, 2012

Hoyland, if you read his post he says he suggests he wants to watch live games when he can

Even 73 Cubs day games is his best bet for some live games by far. I'm sure he's a MLB.tv subscriber now, so it doesn't really matter but it is nice to watch some day games live rather than archived. Its a real treat to see Wrigley in the sunshine while mixing up a post-work G&T.

The Cubs day games expansion is going to be fought hard in the neighbourhood, and more than any other baseball issue I hope that a line in the sand gets drawn sometime on this one.
posted by C.A.S. at 9:16 AM on November 22, 2012

Also, he wants to watch live games in Europe, but chose a west coast team playing largely night games over a midwest team playing largely day games. Which means Cubs day games start at a civilised gin & tonic/dinner time over in London.

Pretty sure he said that would have been a consideration but now he lives in Mexico City so west coast teams are fair game.

When I read the setup I thought 'Duh, The Giants', but I guess he's right to eliminate them for being too obvious after another World Series win. I was very surprised at how casually he dismissed the A's though, especially after the plain old fun season they just had!
posted by TwoWordReview at 2:18 AM on November 23, 2012