Category Archives: Baseball

When Losers Win

Red SoxTo be sure, the Red Sox absolutely, a hundred and ten percent, for sure deserved to win their first World Series in forever last night — it was probably the most well-earned championship we’ll see this decade, if you forget the inconvenient fact that they got into the post-season by virtue of the wild card. Personally, as a fan of the Yankees, it was a weird experience to see them do so well, being so accustomed to wishing ever more bad luck on them. I’ve never bought the image of the team as a gang of ‘lovable losers,’ something they’ve been cultivating with almost obsessive care. This year’s team, in fact, has struck me as having more than its fair share of assholes. Still, I was rooting for them all the way.

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Stress Testing

Presidential DebateIt’s a really, really stressful night to watch television if you follow either the Major League Baseball postseason — both leagues are in the first two games of their championship series tonight — or the race for the White House — Bush and Kerry are in the midst of their third and last debate. I keep going back and forth between these the debate and the Yankees/Red Sox game, and it’s like maddening. I can’t look away though. Anyway, as a friend of mine joked yesterday, “I hope the Yankees beat George Bush.”

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Damn Yankees

As a cynic and general non-believer in the myths of professional sports, I’m nevertheless amused and warmed by the “mystique” of the New York Yankees. Their series-tying win over the Arizona Diamondbacks last night sent a jolt through me, and in the wake of September 11th, I can see that it does mean something very real to the city, something intangible yet very palpable. It’s the kind of emotional resonance that’s hard to argue with.

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