So...Cliff Lee is going back to Philadelphia. (and not this Cliff Lee ((Sorry, Anya, had to throw the link up))
I am of two minds about this.
The on one side, I am sad. He signed with the Phillies. Come On! People living in Philadelphia know what they signed up for and winning sports franchises is not one of the things they get. In addition, as a proud Mets fan, that is going to be an even tougher team to compete against. As my friend Mike IM'd me this morning, "Well, I guess I have no reason to watch the Mets next season." Yes, there is that feeling of dread in Queens today.
But...on the other side...
I have had the same conversation with both FAU and Teacher Dave. It consists of them talking about how sweet the mid-to-late 1990s was to be a Yankee fan because the team had been so back for so long, and they had grown up with awful teams. They both have young children, and it looks like the inevitable collapse of the Yankees is going to happen. For me, this is a good thing. If not for anything but exposing the fake Yankee fans for who they are. It takes a lot to root for a bad team (let me tell you about that) and I know a number of people who neither love the game nor the team, they just like the idea of the Yankees winning and that makes it okay.
So, Cliff Lee is in Philly. Both the Mets and the Yankees got screwed on this one, but...I am willing to live with it so long as it exposes the "typical"* Yankee fan for the ignorant blowhard that they are.
(* And by typical, I mean nothing of the sort. Most of the Yankee fans I know are smart well reasoned folks who love the game and understand the game. By calling the atypical fan the typical fan I am engaging in word play.)
In my opinion, it's a blessing for the Yankees, and I hate them. The bloated contract they offered Lee is exactly the type of contract that got them in this position in the first place. They end up with a log jam of older players, pitchers being the worst kind, that can't play anymore or who they can't move because they make too much money.
ReplyDeleteShort term it hurts, but long term it's better. Nobody likes the term "rebuilding" but it's a necessary evil that catches up to every team at some point. Unless you are the Patriots...sorry, couldn't resist.
I made the argument last week that Lee to the Yankees was going to be the return of Kevin Brown but...
ReplyDeleteWith the Phillies?!? Come on! It means that I am going to have to see him quite often. Douche.
Kevin Brown? Yikes...I wouldn't go that far. Still, I do feel sorry for you Mets fans - The Phillies rotation is just terrifying.
ReplyDeleteDid you ever see the Family Guy joke about the Mets? Its opening day and the Mets throw the first pitch and the announcers go "And their season is over...". Too cruel.
Yeah, and as obnoxious as I find Yankee fans, they have nothing on Phillies fans. It's something you Mets folk have known for years that all of us nationwide are just starting to see for ourselves.
Oh, Phillies fans are awful but they aren't as bad as the Eagles fans.
ReplyDeleteThe entire city is awful.
Cliff Lee as a Yankee would have been Kevin Brown, and I have to believe that. With the back issues alone, the analogy works.