Posted on 02/19/2004 11:16:20 AM PST by playball0
Edited on 05/26/2004 5:19:37 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
February 19, 2004 -- TAMPA - Before the first pitcher popped a catcher's leather, the Red Sox and Yankees have their hands exactly where they belong: around each other's throats. With Aaron Boone's ALCS-winning extra-inning home run in October still fresh in the Red Sox Nation's memory, Boston owner John Henry yesterday started a verbal brawl and George Steinbrenner buried his former partner with a pair of vicious rebuttals in which he called Henry a "failure" and accused him of having a belly full of "sour grapes."
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
This must have been a hellova lot of fun to draft.
Spoken like somebody tired of watching their team make bad decisions and screw things up. If Steinbrenner ran the Bosox, he'd be the toast of Boston.
It's the system, and all of the owners have a chance to vote on it. If the Yanks are breaking the rules, they'll be punished.
And I'm a Phillies fan.
John Henry isn't Billy Beane, since there are exactly three homegrown players on the Red Sox, and a $120+ million payroll. Plus, the Red Sx have the highest ticket prices in baseball. George Steinbrenner is not only playing by the rules, but he also ends up funding other teams via luxury tax and revenue sharing to the tune of $60+ million a year, money which most small-market owners simply put in their pockets instead of investing in good players.
I was reading the comments on a Red Sox fan site about this deal. Believe it or not, close to half of the comments were critical of John Henry, saying that his comments were sour grapes, and made the team look bad. But some fans were suggesting that MLB allow another team to move into the New York area, to take away the Yankees' fan base. As if the Mets have done anything in the past four years to make inroads into the Yankees' fan base!
The difference between Yankees fans and Red Sox fans is that we are neither naive nor dishonest about the business of baseball. We recognize Steinbrenner for who he is, and we acknowledge it. How often do Red Sox fans need to be reminded that John Henry is at least as a big a scum bag as Steinbrenner if not worse?
*This* is what I try to explain to my dad when he (longtime, diehard Brooklyn Dodgers fan) gripes about Steinbrenner buying up all the best players from teams that can't afford to keep them. He says they've been doing that for decades, with no end in sight.
You know, some of THE worst sportswriters -- in terms of being homers -- are the vaunted NY writers (columnists and reporters).
I think it depends on the writer, and the paper. The New York Times openly wanted Boston to make it to the World Series, because they're part-owners of the team. Of course, they didn't mention the ownership tidbit in their editorial wanting this; they just claimed it would be good for baseball. That, to me, was much more offensive than New York tabloid writers who have a pro-New York bias.
Besides, a certain big name NYC tabloid columnist hates Steinbrenner, and will take any opportunity to lambast him. And pretty much all the New York sportswriters thought not re-signing Pettitte was a bad move, so it's not like they deem every Yankee move as good. Every city, not just New York, has writers who are "homers". I really don't have a problem with that -- after all, they are writing to appeal to fans of that team who read that paper. I much prefer "homer" announcers, too, even if they're for the other team, as opposed to Tim McCarver et al, who claim to have no bias.
I think it depends on the writer, and the paper. The New York Times openly wanted Boston to make it to the World Series, because they're part-owners of the team. Of course, they didn't mention the ownership tidbit in their editorial wanting this; they just claimed it would be good for baseball. That, to me, was much more offensive than New York tabloid writers who have a pro-New York bias.
Besides, a certain big name NYC tabloid columnist hates Steinbrenner, and will take any opportunity to lambast him. And pretty much all the New York sportswriters thought not re-signing Pettitte was a bad move, so it's not like they deem every Yankee move as good. Every city, not just New York, has writers who are "homers". I really don't have a problem with that -- after all, they are writing to appeal to fans of that team who read that paper. I much prefer "homer" announcers, too, even if they're for the other team, as opposed to Tim McCarver et al, who claim to have no bias.
The one good thing I can say about the Times is that the gentleman who was sports editor a few years ago was better than that. (Full disclosure: I always liked him because he used to take the time to send me personal letters, encouraging me to keep writing, how to get more experience and that he'd *then* be interested in talking to me about working there.)
Besides, a certain big name NYC tabloid columnist hates Steinbrenner, and will take any opportunity to lambast him.
Lil'Lupica? :D
And pretty much all the New York sportswriters thought not re-signing Pettitte was a bad move, so it's not like they deem every Yankee move as good.
Yeah, but many seem to overtly root for the home teams. While that's not a real problem w.r.t. columnists, it's bad when it shows up in what's supposed to be straight reporting.
Every city, not just New York, has writers who are "homers".
Yes, but we're the city whose sportswriters pride themselves on being *so* sophisticated and above it all. Then again, I could tell some stories that a former Miami Herald sportswriter told me about how they behaved during Spring Training... ;)
I really don't have a problem with that -- after all, they are writing to appeal to fans of that team who read that paper. I much prefer "homer" announcers, too, even if they're for the other team, as opposed to Tim McCarver et al, who claim to have no bias.
I prefer knowledgeable reporters and (play-by-play) announcers. If they want homers for columnists and color commentary, fine. But give me the news without a bias.
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