Comments on: The Fault Lies Not In Our Stars…

By: Chyll Will

Chyll Will — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 17:36:50 +0000

[10] I totally agree. The Yanks abandoned their own philosophy down the stretch, perhaps due to undisclosed injuries, but for whatever reason they did not play to their stated capabilities and eventually ran into a motivated team that “manhandled” them. I doubt that our knowing about the injuries would have changed the outcome of the series; after all we’re irrationally connected because we cannot affect anything, right?

Why hide facts if our knowledge doesn’t matter? Disclosing key injuries now seems like a major cop-out…

By: monkeypants

monkeypants — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 02:24:47 +0000

10) i generally agree, though with one modification. The team played like such crap for the last third of the season…seemingly because they weren’t trying their hardest to win, whether that was the case or not….that I had somewhat lost interest by the playoffs. My expectations were centainly lowered.

By: williamnyy23

williamnyy23 — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 01:45:28 +0000

It’s an interesting question, but I think context is an important part of the answer. The Yankees were a better team than the Rangers over 162 games, so when they get outplayed by so much in a six game series, well, it’s quite reasonable to cast a doubtful eye toward the Yankees.

Also, I think we need to pause for a moment when questioning the rationality of a fan’s interaction with his team because, after all, being a fan is highly irrational. It makes no sense to spend 162 days following a game in which you have no control over the outcome, so the idea that one’s reactions to losing would be irrational is perfectly logical.

[3] I agree with [5]. What made this season a failure is not getting bounced in the ALCS, but the philosophy the team adopted down the stretch. Personally, I don’t think winning is the only thing that counts, but I do think that trying to win is.

By: hiscross

hiscross — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 00:07:24 +0000

27 World Championships and 40 American League pennants, just Think how impressive that is. Especially for a team who didn’t start winning until 1923. The Yankees define greatest, like Apple defines style. Both have their issues, but you aren’t going to see me with a Met or Red Sox cap on or use a piece of crap Dell. I define myself as Yankee (not a fan) because I work hard everyday to be better than the day before. Yes, I am unusual because I am a US federal employee and work in DC. Yes, you civilians pay my salary, but I try to give you a Jeter or Mickey Mantle time at bat. Quality, just like the Yankees. I have a Yankee cap on my dash board and have a “Who Is John Galt?” license plate frame. I’ve been to all three Yankee Stadiums and I’ve been going to game since 2001. Being a Yankee is special, Enjoy being one, because the others choices all suck.

By: Jon DeRosa

Jon DeRosa — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 00:05:59 +0000

[0] I think when your team is the favorite, when your team has better players, the tendency is to blame them for losing if that should be the outcome. Whether or not this is the case in 2010 is to some extent debatable, but when it is clearly not the case, when your team is the clear underdog, it’s easier to give credit to the opposition.

in 1996, if the upstart yanks had lost to the braves as it looked like they were going to after the first 2 games, nobody would have blamed the yankees – they would have credited the back to back champs for being in another league. no san diego fan is sitting there blaming the pads for losing the 1998 world series.

By: Emma Span

Emma Span — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 23:50:43 +0000

[5] Sure – September was a drag, and it’s not like they were a perfect team or anything. Also I’m not trying to say that they, or any team, aren’t deserving of criticism; the Yanks did make their share of mistakes. But for me, there’s still plenty to enjoy about a good team that plays well (most of the year anyway) and just falls short.

By: RIYank

RIYank — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 23:19:12 +0000

Yeah, I think that’s interesting too.
No, it’s not just NY fans. It’s ubiquitous in New England, too.
The idea is that your team is the agent, the doer, and the rest of the teams are like Nature. When you fail, of course it’s your fault — what, you’re gonna blame nature? The world is fixed and immutable, and only We have free will.

I’m sure this reveals something deep about human nature.

By: Mattpat11

Mattpat11 — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 22:49:46 +0000

[3] Honestly, I thought the last two months of the season were extremely tedious. October wasn’t their fault, there are just way, way too many off days in the playoffs.

But September, with all the rest and Gaudin and Royce Ring just wasn’t fun to watch. Had they won it all, I’d be tempted to argue that it was worth it. It really wasn’t.

I’ve always been a 1 winner, 29 losers guy. Its a very clear standard for success, and it makes it even more special when you reach it

By: Emma Span

Emma Span — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 22:37:59 +0000

[1] Nice handle. The cheese stands alone!

By: Emma Span

Emma Span — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 22:37:21 +0000

[2] See, I don’t think the Yankee season was a failure. They kept me entertained through late October and came within a couple games of the World Series. I don’t feel I can ask for much more.

By: Mattpat11

Mattpat11 — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 22:01:01 +0000

I haven’t heard the moaning over Alex’s take, but really, I find that absurd. Alex wasn’t going to tie the game in that at bat, he certainly wasn’t going to win it, frankly, best case scenario he doesn’t even make it all that close. Unless you really, truly felt the most improbable one game rally, probably in sports history coming in your bones, I have no idea why you would *care* how the last out was made.

Howard and (particularly) Beltran are a slightly different case. It has to be gut-wrenching to see your season fall apart because someone couldn’t get the bat off his shoulders in the most important at bat of the season. In Beltran’s case specifically, taking the pitch that everyone in the country knew was coming had to be galling for Mets fans. Its not like he could have possibly been caught off guard by the hook. I think a wild, mistimed swing and miss would have sit much better for many people than just watching the season end.

And the Rangers completely outplayed the Yankees, but the Yankee season was a failure. Those two ideas are not mutually exclusive.

By: omarcoming

omarcoming — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 21:53:58 +0000

Many younger fans don’t understand that the best you can hope for is to contend. Winning is not a given.
Big Stein gave us 16 straight yrs. of terrible baseball. The young fans don’t remember the failure before he got suspended
The Yanks have advantages that other teams do not have but it doesn’t guarantee playoffs or a WS win.
Get used to it. The Yanks cannot be kept alive by buying players. They must produce their own. Be patient. It may take some time.