Yanks acquire Big Unit; sucks to be a Sox fan right now

[Ack]

Take notes if you're going through baseball withdrawal like me:

(for those who only read about the Yanks and Sawx, skip down to the '''''''', but for the rest of you:)

The Diamondbacks have won a couple divisions in a row, the Angels have topped 90 wins a couple times in the last couple of years too, but the Marlins do get ripped apart right after successful years.

More like, it sucks to be an A's or Dodgers fan - they're also being torn down:  the A's have lost two of the best starting pitchers in the game in Mulder and Hudson, with more to come/go, while the Dodgers give up Beltre, Finley, and probably Green, only to pick up Jeff Kent and waste his defensive abilities.

Speaking of Jeff Kent, how about the Mets - the creation in the vacuum that the NY Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers left (the reason the Mets are orange and blue, anyway)?  They can't have their cake and eat it too, ever (save '86).  They had this superstar Jeff Kent when he was a no-name elsewhere, only to give him up to Giants in San Francisco, where he'd hit grand slams, several 100 RBI seasons, and play some stellar defense and 2nd (peak years, easy). After a stint with the Astros, he ends up going to play for the Los Angeles (if they had them, trolley-) Dodgers.  That's just one player; the Mets have a depressing history of giving up anything and everything, most prominently, amazing pitchers who have thrown "plenty" of highly-coveted no-hitters, just not as a Metropolitan:  Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver, Hideo Nomo, Warren Spahn, to name a few.  Mets pitchers have come within one out of doing so, but just can't seem to get it done.

"""The Red Sox probably won't have a bad year, they'll finish over .500 surely.  They made some good pickups, and had "pretty good" team chemistry last year, that says something about their chances in 2005.

The Yankees, unlike those in Queens, spend their piles of cash powerfully (if not efficiently like the A's for example) and do pick up wins with big'uns like Clemens, perhaps Johnson, and Arnie Boone (sometimes it's better being lucky than good).  They don't always throw players to the winds of current popularity: they still have Bernie, Jorge, Derek, Mariano, and just lost Andy.

The truth is that it's much rarer to find franchise players and teams with unwavering reputations nowadays.  Back when I was a kid, I though Will Clark would forever be a Giant, Mark McGuire would always be in green and gold (points for whoever can tell me why the A's have an elephant with a bat balancing on a baseball as their logo), and the National League would be the land of pitching and defense (see the Braves, Dodgers, and the 1900 Chicago Cubs - Tinkers to Evers to Chance for another double play).

Almost all of you are Red Sox or Yankees fans, and us little people put up with you because we love baseball more than (read: just as much as) the rest of you.  Who else pledges allegiances to other teams?

[atb9]

here ya go

http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/al/oakland/oaka_s.html

edit:

Here's the Recap if you don't want to click on the link-

Elephant  Logo:
In 1902 John McGraw manger of the New York Giants referred to the [Philadelphia] Athletics as the "White Elephants", implying Mack shouldn't be allowed to spend money without supervision. Mack defiantly adopted the White Elephant as the team insignia, and in 1902, the A's won the American League pennant.

[Steve M]

I'm sure you must be talking about White Sox fans, since they haven't won since 1917.  As a Red Sox fan, I just ordered 3 DVDs on their championship season.  Other than the effect on my wallet, I hardly sucks to be a Red Sox fan.  Even if they do tank next year, we were finally able to experience something I thought I might never see in my lifetime.  For so many years it was "until next year," well "next year" finally came.  Right now I don't care much about 2005.  

[Ack]

I think he also meant to refer to them as circus animals (too).

[Robb]

Way aside: John McGraw was born in Truxton, NY, about 30 miles from Ithaca (10 miles east of Cortland).  There's a monument to him in the traffic circle in town (there's also at least one stoplight!).  I have several relatives who farmed in that area.

[Jim Hyla]

[Q]Robb Wrote:

 Way aside: John McGraw was born in Truxton, NY, about 30 miles from Ithaca (10 miles east of Cortland).  There's a monument to him in the traffic circle in town (there's also at least one stoplight!).  I have several relatives who farmed in that area.[/q]Truxton, well known to those of us who ski at Labrador.:-)

[gtsully]

Let me tell you first hand... it absolutely does NOT suck to be a Red Sox fan right now.  I've been doing this for 27 years, I'm in Boston right now... it's never been better.  Take your $16 million, 41-year-old, best left-handed pitcher ever... we don't care.  We're still celebrating the championship that your team choked away... we don't have time to worry about the Yankees.

[Josh '99]

[Q]Ack Wrote:
Speaking of Jeff Kent, how about the Mets - the creation in the vacuum that the NY Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers left (the reason the Mets are orange and blue, anyway)?  They can't have their cake and eat it too, ever (save '86).  They had this superstar Jeff Kent when he was a no-name elsewhere, only to give him up to Giants in San Francisco, where he'd hit grand slams, several 100 RBI seasons, and play some stellar defense and 2nd (peak years, easy). After a stint with the Astros, he ends up going to play for the Los Angeles (if they had them, trolley-) Dodgers.  That's just one player; the Mets have a depressing history of giving up anything and everything, most prominently, amazing pitchers who have thrown "plenty" of highly-coveted no-hitters, just not as a Metropolitan:  Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver, Hideo Nomo, Warren Spahn, to name a few.  Mets pitchers have come within one out of doing so, but just can't seem to get it done.[/q]Ugh, don't remind me.

And it's not just all the no-hitters we've traded away or seen depart by free agency (Mike Scott, Dwight Gooden, 1/9th of Octavio Dotel, David Cone, AJ Burnett)  or players who pitched no-hitters before coming to the Mets (Al Leiter, Kenny Rogers, and now Pedro Martinez) or players who did both (Nomo)...

The Mets' history, through my Giants-orange-and-Dodger-blue-tinted glasses, is just FULL of has-beens who came to the Mets as big names and left as retirees or castoffs (Richie Ashburn, Duke Snider, Warren Spahn, Willie Mays, George Foster, Willie Randolph, Eddie Murray, Vince Coleman, Bret Saberhagen, Carlos Baerga (aka what we got for Jeff Kent), Rickey Henderson, Orel Hershiser, Mo Vaughn, and, now, Pedro), never-wases who came out of the draft highly regarded and never amounted to anything (Jason Tyner, Terrence Long, Jay Payton, Gregg Jeffries, Billy Beane, or the Mets' first #1 overall, Steve Chilcott, who never even made it to the bigs), or what I think is the Mets' specialty, guys who were nothing when they were with the Mets, then left and became stars (Nolan Ryan, Mike Scott, Kevin Mitchell, Jeff Kent, Jeromy Burnitz, and most recently Melvin Mora and perhaps Scott Kazmir...  there are more but I'm getting too annoyed to look at this shit).

And don't even get me started on Bobby fuckin' Bonilla.

Sorry if I sound bitter, but I'm a Mets fan.  Life is bitterness.

[jtwcornell91]

Don't forget trading Rusty Staub for Mickey Lolitch.  ::help::

[Ack]

[Q]jmh30 Wrote:

The Mets' history, through my Giants-orange-and-Dodger-blue-tinted glasses, is just FULL of has-beens who came to the Mets as big names and left as retirees or castoffs ... Billy Beane, or the Mets' first #1 overall, Steve Chilcott, who never even made it to the bigs), or what I think is the Mets' specialty, guys who were nothing when they were with the Mets, then left and became stars ...
Sorry if I sound bitter, but I'm a Mets fan.  Life is bitterness.[/q]


If the Mets hadn't picked up Billy Beane when he wasn't really ready, the A's wouldn't be winning 90+ games every year now on the lowest payroll there is.  Makes the teams with money seem like they're wasting it...until they win a world series, or something minor like that.

Cubs (listen to "A Dying Cubs Fan's Last Request" - genius) and White Sox...Chicago deserves one....

[Steve M]

Well at least you had 1969 and 1986.  Two title in a 44 year history is actually a bit better than average.  It could be worse.  You could be a Cubs fan or a White Sox fan.  Although no one is happier about baseball than we are right now.  :-)

[atb9]

Looks like the trade is now off!  It's a great time to be a Yankees fan!  :-D

We've had such a good offseason, shipping away Vazquez would kill it.

[BCrespi]

Phew.  Thank God, or the Dodgers.

[billhoward]

Peace on earth, good will toward men (and too bad about Johnson not going to New York). At least Sox fans and Yankees fans have things in common, probably respect for Joe Torre's abilities, perhaps a desire to see pictures in Esquire of whoever Derek Jeter is currently dating, and certainly the common level of esteem we have for George Steinbrenner. I really could see George Costanza working in that office and fitting right in.

[DeltaOne81]

[Q]faithful07 Wrote:

 Yanks pull off the big one...Red Sox are looking like a one-year wonder a la D'Backs, Angels, and Marlins.[/q]
Man, must suck to be wrong, AND a jackass, huh?

Marlins one year wonders? Yeah, winning a title 7 years into your existance (if that?) and then another one 6 years later. Such a horrible state of affairs, they must just hate it down there.

Man, just goes to show the absolute Yankee obliviousness to how things actually work. The Marlins are probably the second or third or fourth most successful team in the last decade or so. Winning a title and then not for a while? Guess what, that's how it *supposed* to work - when you don't have 10 times the payroll to work with. Like the billionaire in town saying "man, those upper-middle class fools, can't even afford more than one yacht! Sucks to be them!" -  yeah, he's a lovely person. Trust me, everyone else in the world who wasn't born into a multi-million dollar trust fund is pretty damn happy if they can get a single yacht.

On average, every team will win a title once every 30 years - on AVERAGE. If you win once every generation or so, you are perfectly average, not even in the lower portion of the spectrum. The 'birth right' bull is revolting.

All that said, the Unit will probably still end up with the Yankees, because they're the only team that can afford him without blinking an eye - hell, they could pay him 3 times as much as still not blink an eye - but he's 41 - and has got to be hitting his end within a few years. Considering the Yankees are now cursed, that may not be enough