Oh, we didn’t think it would be easy, did we? We diehard Not The Yankees and Not The Phillies fans didn’t really believe our favorite teams would put away their opposition in five fussless games, did we?
Would have been nice, though.
Yes, it would have been outstanding if Not The Yankees could have flown home to Arlington soaked in ginger ale, but they still retain a excellent chance this weekend to gLee-ful-Lee open Canada Dry and get Texas wet. And it would have been just about as equally outstanding had Not The Phillies been able to keep their hearts, bats and gloves in San Francisco until Game One of the World Series. But Not The Phillies, like Not The Yankees, still have a one-game lead in their League Championship Series, with just more win needed to clinch.
Our teams still have have pennants in their respective grasps. Grasp them, Not The Yankees and Not The Phillies. What you grasp in your hands, you keep out of their hands. That’s why we root for you.
Now we get, at minimum, two six-game series when we would have preferred five-game sets once Not The Yankees and Not The Phillies each went up 3-1. We love all the baseball we can get, but we’ve had enough of the Yankees and the Phillies for one lifetime. We want them removed from the stage ASAP. We want it not just for Not The Yankees and Not The Phillies, but we want it for us.
We all know the reigning worst-case scenario; we lived through it last year, we want no part of it this year. But on the bright side of Not The Yankees and Not The Phillies needing six games (at least) to nail down their championship series, more baseball is guaranteed to take place. Games Five, Six and Seven going into this round are always tagged with asterisks, as in *if necessary. Fifth games became necessary early in each series, and now sixth games are on the schedule, no asterisks required. That’s two extra games. Two games with Yankees and Phillies, unfortunately, but games nonetheless.
Baseball games.
Finish off the Yankees. Finish off the Phillies. But find a way to keep the baseball coming. Depending on the course the NLCS, the ALCS and the World Series take, there are as many as eleven baseball games left in 2010, as few as six. Then there will be none. I’ve managed (no thanks to Cablevision and Fox) to immerse myself in this postseason enough to have only barely and recently realized that it’s late October and that the pastime we adore so immensely won’t be here much longer, no matter who wins the last of it.
Get your series over with, Not The Yankees and Not The Phillies. Take down the Yankees in six. Take down the Phillies in six. Play crisp, play clean, don’t drag it out. But, if you’ll indulge a touch of the contradictory, please figure out a way to make the baseball last.
I’m okay with losing game 5 (X2). I like to think that the Yankees used up everything they had in the tank and will now get destroyed in Arlington. I don’t want to see Cliff Lee again until Game 1. Giants have a tougher task – going to the band box and trying to close up the series, but they can do it. Dreaming of a NTY Vs. NTP World Series!
I do get the point of rooting against the Yank & Phils.I’d love a Giants v Teax World Series. However, is it not a comment on the life of a Mets fan at the minute, that it’s being played out vicariously through the fortunes of other teams?
Yes. Yes, it is. It’s either root for those we can’t stand to lose or root for another sensational email from “Jeff Wilpon,” dissected expertly Metstradamus.
Dear Met fan,
I will be having lunch at the local diner today. There are some excellent choices on the menu and it will take some time to narrow it down to my final choice. There is the tuna platter, the salmon croquettes, the hamburger, and the macaroni and cheese. I will keep you updated as the selection process continues.
Sincerely, Jeff Wilpon
If there was a way for me to ‘like’ this comment, I would. Multiple times.
I’ve heard that the interlocking NYs have been looking into the legality of signing Cliff Lee now to pitch a game 7 for them. If it can be done…………
I’m really looking forward to a 7 game WS between the NTY and the NTP. Imagine!!! Not having that sour feeling in the stomach from the fear of the dreaded enemy winning a championship. It would be bliss.
I’ve been wearing my Cooperstown NY Giants hat (which I usually pawn off as my black Mets hat) on a daily basis in the hopes that SF will close this out. So worn down by the Yankees at this point that I won’t hold my breath until Kinsler is getting doused with bubbly.
When the Giants and Rangers failed to end their series in Games 5 I lost hope. At this point I would be stunned if either makes the WS.
especially pained by the news of halladay’s injury. i can see the phils having enough gas in the tank to finish the giants, then failing against the yanks because their ace is impaired.
Well-honed Mets fan view of the world.
Well said, Greg. Your posts this week on the mythologizing of that team from the Bronx have been therapeutic — you’ve summed up everything I’ve been thinking since 1995, when their run began. I’m fully expecting the Empire to win the next two against Texas and have it portrayed as The Greatest Comeback In The History Of The World. And then, of course, they’ll go on and beat Phila. or S.F.
One down, one to go.
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