I've been told there's a playoff series starting Tuesday in the Bronx. Oh, it's a big deal, all right. But I'm a little hesitant to view a third league-championship series in six years against the same wild-card team we've already beaten twice as an end-of-the-world event. Maybe for them. Not for us. But it would make for a nice, round number: 40 World Series appearances.
As far as I'm concerned, the biggest series the Yankees have played in my lifetime, the one with the most on the line, was the 2000 World Series against the Mets. And the reason is simple: That was the first Subway Series in the 38-year history of New York's minor-league team, and there was no guarantee of it happening soon thereafter. Lose that one and you might have to hear about it for decades. There was also that three-peat thing on the line, the unofficial marker for a true dynasty.
The situation with the Red Sox, though, is carnival-like. Boston fans are at New York's booth, flinging countless quarters onto a glass plate, trying desperately to win the big, stuffed Garfield. And even if they get one, we've already taken in 50 times more money than the thing is worth.
It's like Dave Attell asks: "Have you ever made fun of someone so much you think you should thank them for all the good times you had?"
If, in fact, this is the Red Sox' year — something I heard a lot of last year, by the way — I'd just like to say, "Thanks. It's been a blast."
And if Boston doesn't win, then we'll do our best to work on some new material.
• Who's the better 2004 deal at first base? The Yankees' Jason Giambi at $12,428,571 or the Mets' Mo Vaughn at $17,166,667. I think you could argue both ways.
• I'm a tell ya what, I think Paul McGuire broke his own Sunday night record for "I'm a tell ya what" utterances with 462. I was laughing my ass off. I'm gonna tell ya something right now: Coming soon will be The PK.com Official Sunday Night Football Drinking Game. (No one steal this idea till I get it done!)
• What a sweet gesture by Brian Billick to name Jamal Lewis captain for Sunday night's football game. I mean, when I think of attributes that embody a captain, pleading guilty in a federal drug conspiracy case and facing four months in jail after the season is right up there. And good to see Ray Lewis miked once more, because I'm definitely not tired of him yelling and screaming like a raving lunatic. All his teammates look at him like, "Whatever man, just don't knife me."
• Next week, the undefeated Jets host the winless 49ers, seven days after hosting the winless Bills, two weeks after beating the winless Dolphins. Who made this schedule, Herm Edwards?
• If it's possible for both the Astros and Braves to lose Monday's deciding Game 5 of the NLDS, I'm sure they'll figure out a way.
• When the doc says take two and call me in the morning, he's not talking steroids and cocaine. Former NL MVP Ken Caminiti is dead of a heart attack at age 41. He made $37.5 million playing baseball and basically killed himself. (career stats)
• SportsByBrooks.com posted a link that reports Alex Rodriguez has been doing some off-field swinging with his wife. Hey man, whatever works. He was electric at the plate, in the field, and on the bases in the ALDS. Also from SBB, SI.com reports that Cowboys guard Larry Allen has bench-pressed 700 pounds. That's the weight of Ted Washington and Sam Adams combined. (Also almost double the 388 pounds of marijuana found in trucks transporting Nate Newton and enough bud to get all of Jamaica high for a decade.)
• Looks like I should've bought that single Game 1 ALCS ticket for $82 when I had the chance ... if only to sell it. A pair of much crappier upper-deck seats went for $339 (including shipping) on eBay, though there's always more interest in pairs than singles. Imagine if you were a New York ticket broker holding onto 50 ALCS tickets. You could've gotten Yanks-Sox, Yanks-Angels or a refund. Can you imagine the celebrating those guys did Saturday?
• A pair of bleacher seats for the ALCS Game 4 at Fenway went for a cool $930 (including shipping). And now you know why I entered the drawing on RedSox.com for postseason-ticket-purchasing rights. Winning that lottery was like, well, winning the lottery.
• Vladimir Guerrero's grand slam altered the Red Sox's chances of winning the series from 99.9 percent to 98.9 percent, but damn if that wasn't hilarious. That was the quietest I'd ever heard Fenway Park. Quietest I'd ever heard a church. I'd imagine even Sox fans can laugh about it now, because you know they all had flashbacks. I mean, did those fans even look at each other? I bet they just looked straight ahead, with a I-won't-say-anything-if-you-don't face, and tried to think about anything but baseball.
• Twins center fielder Torii Hunter on the team that had just ripped his heart out: "The Yankees are the best team I've ever played against."
• If there isn't a bigger kiss of death in Madden 2005 than when someone calls your cell and you try talking and playing at the same time, I don't know what is. A guaranteed sack, fumble and TD return.
• If you saw the Giants get trounced at Philly in Week 1 — at the time their ninth straight loss — you knew all the signs were there that four weeks later they'd be in sole possession of the top NFC wild-card spot. You could really see it coming a mile away.
• When I was in Vegas in August, I bet $20 that the (now 3-2) Chargers would win more than 4½ games and $10 that the (now 4-1) Giants would win more than 6. How ya like me now? My need to brag overrides my embarrassment at these paltry sums, but I'd already lost $500 that weekend to assorted emotionless Asian female blackjack dealers.
• Right before the start of the playoffs, SI.com's Dan George wrote, "You heard it here first: The Twins will win the World Series." Quite the prediction, considering they were likely going to have to go through the Yankees and the Red Sox and perhaps the Cardinals, the top three teams in the Power Rankings column in which the what-the-hell-nobody-will-remember-if-I'm-wrong pick appeared.
• Michael Vick has thrown for two scores (and three picks) and rushed for none in five games this season. I like watching him as much as the next guy — ya know, love the Nike commercial and all — but man (start Paul McGuire voice) you talk about a guy who was atop everybody's fantasy football chart a season ago and you talk about a guy whose stats are just like ... no, not Randall Cunningham ... no, not Steve Young ... but legendary fantasy football team killer himself, Kordell Stewart!
yeah.. you keep telling yourself that about 2000. You're living in the past, buddy.. because you can't face your future! ;)
And I'd like to go on record as saying the Jeter and A-Rod t-shirts are stupid as are the Yankees Suck shirts. But I'm sure whatever version of the Yankees being Pedro's daddy t-shirts that appear in the Stadium tomorrow will be just as retarded.
Go Sox!
Posted by amy at October 11, 2004 10:01 AMhttp://www.taintedbill.com/archives/003101.html