the only thing more irritating than having to listen to morgan-miller senilely babble on about the proper nomenclature for pretend grass is the wowee zowee tone they take regarding underdog teams, in this case, the twins. blue collar, working class, small market, small ball, scrappy, speedy et cetera ad nauseum. i love hyperbole as much as the next girl, but don't pretend it's something it's not. as karen pointed out, the minorest of minor league boys playing on that team is making the league minimum, which, last i checked, hovered around $300,000. yes, the yankees head that other list there, the payroll one. yes, it's because they're in the biggest media market in the universe, and because they have a turtlenecked megalomaniac fan for an owner, although the fact that yankees more often than not continue to win in spite of his overbearing ways and not because of them might not be readily apparent to haters. still, i would rather have steinbrenner's deep pockets coupled with his desire to win on my side, rather than, say, oh... legendary gabillionaire and cheapskate carl pohlad. imagine if steinbrenner had been successful in his bid to buy the indians? minny might be in a much unhappier place than they are right now.

and don't give me your tired, your poor, your boring good vs evil david vs goliath frank capra this is america speeches either. you want to play that game? channeling joel stein:

People come to America for the same reason that A-Rod wanted to join the Yankees: both are well-run organizations with long histories of success. "I felt the allure of the tradition and the opportunity to win," said Rodriguez. People confuse pity with morality, but, as America has been arguing explicitly for several decades, there is nothing amoral about strength if it is used properly. The Yankees have good players, and the Romans made awesome aqueducts. Do you really think it makes you a better person to wish success upon a team with bad management, poor decision making and lesser talent?

... Every team has its creation myth: the Cubs teach the value of loyalty through suffering; the Red Sox, that every day is a new opportunity; the Expos, that for Canada, World's Fairs are exciting as it gets. The Yankees are the only team that teaches the true story of our country — that might mixed with class, talent and hard work often breeds success. Also, that pinstripes have a slimming effect. Except on David Wells.

Labels: yanquis