Rudy’s New England baseball blunder, Part II
When last we saw Rudy Giuliani’s attempting to mix baseball and politics, he had managed to alienate Yankee fans by declaring his support for the Red Sox in the World Series. With the importance of New Hampshire in the presidential nomination cycle, Rudy needed to appeal to those New England voters any way he could.
Now, on the eve of the primary election in New Hampshire and with Rudy’s New Hampshire support all but gone (See Page 4 of that PDF), Rudy’s campaign is again suffering from baseball blunders. According to a story in the New York Post, Rudy’s campaign supporters in New Hampshire are wearing Yankee gear while trying to get Red Sox fans to vote for their candidate. Oops.
Kenneth Lovett of the Post had a great anonymous quote from someone in New Hampshire. “Some people really don’t think,” the source said. “You’re in the middle of Red Sox Nation wearing stuff from their enemy. It’s absolutely ridiculous. Can you image if people were running around The Bronx in Red Sox hats?”
While I have to take this anonymous Post story with a large grain of salt, I love this stuff. While some residents of New Hampshire and some residents of New York may both want Rudy in the White House, once baseball enters the picture, all bets are off.
Hat tip to Nick-YF at Yanksfan vs Soxfan.
The Yankees have a sense of humor
I can’t really criticize the Yankees for the Carl Pavano contract. In 2004, everyone wanted a piece of Pavano, and the Yanks were bidding against the Red Sox, Tigers and Orioles, to name a few of the teams involved. Who knew that Carl Pavano, who had just thrown back-to-back 200-inning seasons, would utterly break down?
This week, when the Yankees officially welcome Alex Rodriguez and Mariano Rivera back into the fold, the Carl Pavano Era will come to an ignoble end. The Yankees are going to release Pavano and sign him to a Minor League deal for the purposes of rehab and insurance.
That’s not the funny part though. Here’s the funny part, courtesy of George King:
Pavano, 31, can’t return to Arizona because his questionable work ethic ticked off fitness guru Brett Fischer last winter. Pavano is leaning toward accepting the Yankees’ minor-league offer so he can have a place to rehab his elbow. By keeping him in the system, the Yankees protect themselves from Pavano healing ahead of schedule (pigs have a better chance of flying) and pitching effectively for another team.
So basically, the Yankees are worried that Pavano, whose work ethic is so bad that a fitness expert won’t take him on as a client, may recover faster than they anticipate? And I have a bridge to sell you.
The Yanks got 19 starts and 111.1 innings from Carl Pavano for their $39.95 million. They have to keep him in the Minors to collect the insurance on his contract. But do they really have to feed us this line? I guess the Yanks really do have that sense of humor.
The End (of Pavano) is near
From George “I make up funny nicknames for players, like Kyle ‘The Mop’ Farnsworth, haha” King:
With a need for space on the 40-man roster, the Yankees are about to approach “American Idle” Carl Pavano. Their plan is to release him then invite him to spring training on a minor-league deal. Pavano had Tommy John surgery last summer. The minor-league offer may have something to do with collecting insurance money on Pavano’s four-year, $40 million contract that expires after the 2008 season.
Let’s just end this experiment already and let him walk. Maybe Dave Duncan can work his magic and revitalize Pavano’s career, but his days in pinstripes should be over.
(Hat tip to Patrick)
Tim McCarver is just plain wrong
Last night, toward the end of that painful 13-1 routing, Tim McCarver and Joe Buck turned their attention back to Game 3 of the ALCS. In that game, for those of you like me who have tried to forget 2004 even happened, the Yankees put a-hurtin’ on the Red Sox. At that point in the series, the Yanks were up 3 games to none, and this where Tim McCarver’s imagination takes over.
McCarver said last night that, following game 3 in 2004, the Red Sox players are already congratulating the Yankees and wishing them luck in the World Series against the Cardinals. I call this story complete and utter BS. In fact, I think McCarver simply just made it up to sound good.
Why? Well, following game 3 of the 2004 ALCS, neither the Yankees nor the Red Sox had any inkling of which team they could face in the World Series. Game 3 of the ALCS was on Saturday, October 16. Earlier that same day, the Astros won game 3 of the NLCS and cut the series to 2-1 in favor of St. Louis. That series would eventually go seven games as well and would end one day after the Yankees-Red Sox series wrapped up.
In other words, even after the Red Sox completed their comeback and the Yankees finished the collapse that should have gotten Joe Torre fired, they still had no idea who they would be playing in the World Series. There’s no way the players would have mentioned the Cardinals following game 3 because the Cardinals simply weren’t destined for the World Series yet.
In conclusion, don’t trust stories that come out of Tim McCarver’s mouth. Who knows what else he’s pulling out of thin air?
For another view on McCarver’s announcing, check out Breaking Balls.
Rudy Giuliani is dead to me
Remember those Octobers back in 1996, 1998, 1999, and 200, when Rudy Giuliani, then mayor of New York, could be found at every Yankees World Series game? Despite presiding over a city that houses two baseball teams, Rudy wore his colors proudly. Now, though, he’s committed what amounts to treason. Yes, Rudy Giuliani is rooting for the Red Sox in the World Series.
So why would Rudy break allegiances like this?
“I’m an American League fan, and I go with the American League team, maybe with the exception of the Mets,” he said. “Maybe that would be the one time I wouldn’t because I’m loyal to New York.”
That’s a piss-poor excuse to root for the hated Red Sox. Is there any team in baseball that would make you root for the Sawks? Not me. Not any Yankees fans I know. I’d even root for the Mets if the Series came down to those two teams.
In the grand scheme of things, it means nothing. Who is Giuliani, anyway? My answer: a braying ass, just like the rest of his political brethren. I don’t care necessarily that he’s rooting for the Sawks. He’s clearly not the type of person I’d ever willingly associate with, so he can root for whoever he wants for all I care.
My concern is for how he’s presented himself as this loyal Yankees fan, and then goes and does what no self-respecting Yankees fan would ever do.
So next season, when Rudy’s countenance appears on the scoreboard and he proclaims, “Here’s what I got to say. Let’s go Yankees!” give him the middle finger. He clearly doesn’t mean it.
Like nails on a chalkboard
If Tim McCarver and Joe Buck love Jonathan Papelbon so much, why don’t they just marry him?
Meanwhile, considering how poorly Sabathia and Carmona have pitched the last two nights, I’m starting to get the sinking suspicion that the Yanks just flat-out sucked during the ALDS. Cleveland’s pitching isn’t really that good.
Update 1:11 a.m.: Unsurprisingly, Eric Wedge’s stupid decision to pinch run for Travis Hafner with two outs in the 9th of a tie game has come back to haunt him. Trot Nixon will now bat against a lefty with two on and one out in the 11th. Do these managers never learn? Pinch-running against Papelbon with two outs is pretty useless.
Update 1:16 a.m.: Nevermind. That worked. And I sure am glad the Yanks never made that Melky-for-Gagne trade. What idiot suggested that?