Hispanics On Board with Health Care Reform

According to NYC's oldest Spanish-language newspaper, El Diario, Hispanics nationwide amply support President Obama's bid for health care reform.

[A] poll...conducted in the middle of the congressional healthcare reform debate, in the days before and after passage of the House version of health care reform (on November 7th) and before the Senate bill was introduced...found that 61% of voting Latinos support the idea that the federal government must insure universal health care, even if it requires a tax increase.

About 28% want to keep the current system and only 6% see other options. High levels of support for universal health care are found in all states, including Florida, where the Latino population has traditionally included more Republicans and conservatives, particularly among Cuban Americans.

Nevertheless, a majority of Latinos in all states support universal health care: these include 63% in California, 59% in Florida, 69% in New York and 51% in Texas.

Overall, nationwide support among this segment of the population is at 61%. Not surprised my brown folks feel that way, but I'm pleased, nonetheless. Let's hope this poll is indicative of a positive outcome for health care reform.

Quote of the Day

"...if there's one thing we know about Cheney it's that it's pretty impossible to draft him for anything."

- Blogger Xmastime on the newly established "Draft Dick Cheney for 2012" organization.

Happy 40th, Mo

Today is Mariano Rivera’s big 4-0. As I write this, the Sunday after Thanksgiving, I’m reminded of how thankful the Yankees should be of being able to count on him for all these years and how easily they could’ve lost him.

Originally a shortstop, he stepped into his future pitching role in 1989, at an amateur league game in his native Panama, offering to take over on the mound, following a poor performance by one of his teammates. Mo was on his way, but some lucky breaks and the hand of fate would make it interesting.


While a class A player in 1992, elbow surgery sidelined Rivera. His rehabilitation coincided with that year's expansion draft, which was to fill out the rosters for the newly incorporated Florida Marlins and Colorado Rockies. The Yankees did not protect him from being drafted outright yet no one chose to do so. Then, prior to the 1996 season, there were talks of trading Mariano to the Seattle Mariners for Felix Fermin, due to the Yankees perceived wavering confidence in starting rookie Derek Jeter at shortstop. The trade never came to fruition, of course. And the rest, as you know, is history.

The man who many consider the greatest closer in baseball history has a slew of MLB records under his wing, among them: lowest career ERA in the modern era (2.25), most saves in American League history (526), and most consecutive seasons with at least 25 saves (13). But it is in the postseason that Mo is heads above all: lowest career ERA (0.74), most saves (39), most consecutive scoreless innings pitched (34 1/3), and most appearances (88). And he’s done it all with one pitch. (All hail the "cutter"!)

A five-time World Champion, 10-time All-Star, sure-thing first ballot Hall of Famer—I predict he will be the highest vote getter in MLB history—and one of the greatest Yankees of any era, we will one day be able to tell the kids we saw the other great no. 42 make all that magic. This past season he was his usual spectacular self, but how he showed leadership on a team managed by a former teammate—and former battery mate—and rounded out by a host of talented newcomers that not only wanted to play for the Yankees but in fact be Yankees, says everything about this humble giant and man of deep faith.

Like many Yankee fans I am in denial about the day when Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” will no longer accompany Mo’s familiar trot to the mound and the almost assured outcome. In the meantime, I'd like to wish Mo a very happy fortieth birthday. Y gracias por todo, caballero.

[Cover photo courtesy of Sports Illustrated]

The Essence of Sarah Palin

Xmastime boils it down:

Palin could say that 2+ 2 is 5. And instead of saying "actually, that's wrong," her fans wait for someone in the elitist, left-wing media to point out she's wrong (ie "sending in the attack dogs"), and then go BANANAS about "their Sarah" being shredded by a biased, unfair media that hates working moms, babies being born and not aborted, and freedom...this is her/their rocket fuel.

It's not something to take very seriously, since her supporters will always be counted as no more than people who see in her rugged disinterest in intellectualism the heir abhorrent to Bush (oh, I'd LOVE to have a beer with her! "drink this, baby...aaaaaaaaatagirl...so sleepy...") plus the people that vote purely by who's winning the Victim Olympics.

Yeah, she's the female W. (But at least he liked brown people.)

Who the Fuck is Liz Cheney?

And why is someone with barely any political credentials to speak of given so much air time? Because she's Darth Vader's daughter? Really?
You've got to be kidding. Give me a motherfucking break!

Right-Wing Chain E-Mails: Low Grade Sci-Fi

According to the folks over at PolitiFact, there is a chain e-mail circulating out there which states that [a] data-storing microchip "would be implanted in the majority of people who opt to become covered by the public health care option."

Wow. Awesome.

Cult of Personality

The Living Colour classic should be the soundtrack to this collection of (mostly) self-admitted, clueless Sarah Palin followers gathered at the Columbus, OH stop of her recent book signing tour:



Kudos to the interviewer for asking pertinent questions and backups to most of these ignorant, brain-washed fools. Some scary shit.

And the Re-Writing of History Begins

"We did not have a terrorist attack on our country during President Bush's term."

- Former George W. Bush Press Secretary Dana Perino, on Fox's Hannity show, Nov. 24th, 2009

So, Dana who exactly was president on Sept. 11th, 2001?
Was she referring to Bush 41 or implying Dick Cheney was in charge? Un-fucking-believable.

Stewart on Crossfire: Was it Really 5 Years Ago?

Fox Business Attempts Ratings Surge

That desperate to boobs boost ratings? Nice, but still not gonna
get me to watch. [Yeah, it's obviously Photoshopped shenanigans, but...]

h/t Buzzfeed

Duh! Fox News Cheats Again

Yahoo News:

For the second time in just over a week, Fox News is coming under fire for misusing old news footage. The latest flap is leading some people to charge that the cable news network is intentionally misleading its audience, while Fox claims a "production error."

Wednesday's incident occurred when Fox News host Gregg Jarrett mentioned that a Sarah Palin appearance and book signing in Grand Rapids, Michigan had a massive turnout. As footage rolled of a smiling and waving Palin amidst a throng of fans, Jarrett noted that the former Republican vice-presidential candidate is "continuing to draw huge crowds while she's promoting her brand-new book,'' adding that the images being shown were "some of the pictures just coming in to us.... The lines earlier had formed this morning."

However, the video used in the segment was from a 2008 McCain/Palin campaign rally. In response to the minor uproar that arose after clips of Jarrett's report hit the Internet, Fox senior vice-president of news Michael Clemente issued an initial statement saying, "This was a production error in which the copy editor changed a script and didn't alert the control room to update the video."

On Thursday afternoon, Fox News issued an on-air apology delivered by host Jane Skinner:

"Yesterday we told you about Sarah Palin kicking off her book tour and then we spoke to Sean Hannity about an interview that he did with former Governor Palin. When introducing the segment we showed you footage of people lining up in Michigan for a book signing that evening. In the tease before the segment, the tease to commercial, we told you how those people were already lining up to meet Palin. The problem is we didn't show you the video we were actually referencing. Instead we mistakenly aired what's called 'file tape' of Sarah Palin. We didn't mean to mislead anybody in that tease. It was a mistake, and for that we apologize."

The current mishap comes on the heels of a controversy sparked last week when footage from a conservative rally held over the summer was played on "Hannity" during a segment on a more recent rally. During the clip, host Sean Hannity marveled over the large turnout for a Washington, DC protest. The Daily Show later pointed out that there seemed to be some inconsistencies with the video shown on Hannity's show, namely that the atmospheric conditions seemed to vary from shot to shot. Hannity later apologized on the air for what he called "an inadvertent mistake."

Barely a week into Palin’s blitz to promote “Going Rogue,” media coverage is becoming its own story. Fox News rival MSNBC caught heat last week for using altered images of Sarah Palin on the air, for which they later apologized. On Wednesday, Yahoo! News reported Newsweek’s defense of their latest controversial cover, which Palin herself blasted as “sexist.”

Just another day broadcasting disinformation, misrepresentation, and lies from the people who know how to do it better than anyone else.

And on it continues...

Change of Venue? Depends, Person of Color

In his most recent strip, cartoonist Keith Knight makes a good point about changing the venue of a court case for lack of a non-tainted jury pool in the future, using the upcoming trial of September 11th mastermind Khalil Sheikh Mohammed as an example:

If this really goes ahead in NYC, I hope I never have to hear about another trial moving out of town whenever cops shoot/beat/kill an unarmed black guy.

Makes sense. But don't hold your breath, buddy.

Thanks for Sarah Palin, John McCain

Seeing the once-obscure beauty queen-turned Alaska governor-turned GOP vice-presidential candidate, become the equivalent of an embarrassing relative that won't go away--we're starting to get a clue as to how mortified Jimmy Carter must've felt about brother Billy, as well as Bill Clinton regarding younger sibling Roger--we're reminded of the opening line of Stephen Thomas Erlewine's All Music Guide review of Kevin Federline's debut--and hopefully his last--album, Playing with Fire, which castigates K-Fed's then-wife Britney Spears and which we'd like to paraphrase here for you:

One day, either in this life or the next, John McCain will have to atone for unleashing Sarah Palin upon the world.

Word.

My Favorite Moments of the 2009 MLB Season

Well, you probably know what my top moment of the season was,
but the other 4 may surprise you. Especially, since 3 of those have to do with the team from San Francisco.

* Honorable Mentions:

- Ken Griffey, Jr. returns to Seattle
Yeah, I’m a sentimental old fart, but it was cool to see Junior go back to where it all began. A sure-fire HoFer, I’ve always admired “The Kid”—who turns 40 this week! Man, we’re getting old—and like everyone else, wonders what he could’ve done had his body held up.

- Dave Trembley channels Earl Weaver
Obviously, Orioles fans know their manager way more than I do, but the hot-tempered Baltimore skipper seems like a nice guy who just has no patience for umpires making crappy calls. And clearly does not hesitate to make his colorful displeasure be known. And with so many blown calls this season I sure enjoyed seeing Trembley letting them have it.

And now, my Top 5 favorites:

5. Randy Johnson wins his 300th game
Never liked this cat. But 300 wins is such a milestone—and arguably, one we won’t see again in our lifetimes—that I just had to watch this game. And give the 46-year old Big Unit his props.

4. Tim Lincecum throws a 15-strikeout, complete game
The Freak! My fave active non-Yankee player is a kid whose non-descript presence off the field once had him stopped by his home park’s security, not knowing who he actually was. But when he’s on the mound…well, you can just ask the NL hitters about his dominance. Especially the 15 Pirates he whiffed on July 27th.
A Cy Young winner (repeat!) and a two-time All-Star in his first 3 seasons in the big tent, the one Giants fans call “The Franchise” was once again, awesome.

3. Jonathan Sanchez pitches his first no-hitter
With Randy Johnson on the DL, Sanchez got a chance to start for the Giants and pitched a no-walk, 11-strikeout beauty, which only missed being a perfect game due to an eighth inning error by 3B Juan Uribe.
But what made it extra special was his dad, Freddy Sanchez, flying out from Puerto Rico to see his son start in the majors for the very first time. To see the old man in the stands visibly emotional and then crying like a baby when his son scored the no-no was a great moment, to say the least.

2. Mark Buehrle’s perfect game
All it took was two hours and three minutes. Oh, and yeah: a masterful performance by the White Sox ace who, aided by some solid defense—including most prominently, the stellar ninth inning, game-saving, home run-stealing catch by CF DeWayne Wise, who had been inserted for defensive purposes just moments earlier—got 27 clean, consecutive outs against the Tampa Bay Rays. That he is not one bit superstitious about these things—deep into the game, he approached 3B Gordon Beckham on the bench, inquiring as to what he thought Buehrle's chances for a no-hitter were, much to the Sox rookie's dismay—makes the whole thing even cooler.

1. Yankees win World Series championship no. 27
Yeah, but you knew that already. The icing on the cake was seeing my fave bunch of Yankees since the days of Reggie, Bucky, Willie, and Guidry—and of course, “Sweet Lou” Piniella—win it all. (Being present at the new House for one of the 15 walk-off wins, A-Rod shutting the pie holes of the naysayers during the post-season, and Johnny Damon's double steal in Game 4 of the World Series, were all pretty sweet.)


* (Technically, the debut of the MLB Network was not part of the baseball season, but it sure was insanely addictive during the months of January-March. And since I’m only a fan of one sport, MLBN drastically reducing my ESPN viewing time—except for the Dominican Winter Baseball League on ESPN Deportes—is a much appreciated service.)

The Cantor Countdown (part 2)

Here's a question for Virginia congressman and House Minority Whip, Eric Cantor:

How long after you make a pronouncement that angers the birther/teabagger/miltia folks you've been pandering to, will they start calling you a money-grubbing Jew, or some other derogatary and incredibly offensive anti-semitic slur?

I bet it can be measured with an egg timer. I mean, after all, these are the same kind of folks that yell out "Heil Hitler!" to an Israeli Jew in favor of healthcare reform, or have brought with them pictures of Dachau concentration camp corpses to a rally in which you were scheduled to speak. So if they can do that while thinking you're on their side, imagine what they would do if they felt betrayed by you.

But rest assured, you're fine. Surely that would never happen to a sell-out who explained away irresponsible and insanely deplorable use of Nazi crimes by blaming it on ire provoked by the President's measures and desire to see healthcare reform enacted. Classic.

You ought to be ashamed, sir.

The Republican Delight in Being Delusional

Gene Lyons' piece in Salon breaks it down, lest we forget that what the likes of Michelle Bachmann, Glen Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, etc. etc. etc. are peddling is even worse than these examples from our recent past:

For right-wing Republicans, the presidency of George W. Bush began as a dream come true. People calling themselves "conservatives" ran everything in Washington. Even before the GOP won both houses in 2002, Congress gave Bush everything he asked for. Republican apparatchiks controlled every agency from the Pentagon to the Treasury Department. Fox News savants expressed intermittent outrage that dissent was permitted. Rush Limbaugh's interviews of Dick Cheney sounded like a high-school girl gushing over the Jonas Brothers.

To rational minds, the resultant disaster could hardly have been more comprehensive: a lagging economy (the worst job creation since Hoover), yawning budget deficits (Bush doubled the national debt in eight years); two unfinished wars, costing thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars -- one completely unnecessary, the other so forgetfully prosecuted that Gen. Stanley McChrystal warns the United States and NATO could yet lose it.

Meanwhile, if Pakistani terrorists had done to New Orleans what Bush's hapless FEMA appointees did after Katrina, he'd have invaded Iran. Staffing regulatory agencies with See-No-Evil disciples of Ayn Rand made them feckless spectators of the banking crisis that damn near destroyed the nation's financial system, dragging the economy into the deepest recession since (again) Herbert Hoover.

• Continue Reading

By the time the make-believe cowboy retired not to Photo-Op Ranch, but to the Dallas suburbs, his approval ratings hovered in the mid-20s. That they were so high testified to GOP team spirit. But what on earth were Republicans smoking?

Courtesy of Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, Rep. Michele Bachmann, Limbaugh and a passel of pusillanimous GOP congressmen, we're definitely finding out. With the alternatives being rethink or go crazy, much of the GOP base has chosen the comforts of delusion.

Some may think that going batshit can significantly hurt the Republican Party's chances at gaining power once again by alienating moderate conservatives and independents. I say, never underestimate the Democrats' unending talent for both wimping out and snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. More importantly, Lyons frames the dilemma in a far more accurate manner:

The big question is whether indulging lunacy will do more damage to the Republican Party or the country. Nobody familiar with 20th-century history can be entirely confident that reason will prevail. In troubled times, even great nations can go stark, raving mad.

So true.

GOP Hypocrisy: Because they Can

I was going to respond to Xmastime's post "A Modest Proposal"—inspired by former GOP presidential candidate Tom Tancredo's being outed on The Ed Show by The Daily Kos' Markos Moulitsas—but as it got longer I decided to post here instead.
Here's X's post:

This is what drives me crazy about the stupidity of Congressmen et al allowing themselves to drown in their own hypocrisy. For instance, Tom Tancredo KNOWS he got a deferment for Vietnam while supporting it, and he KNOWS that in today's internet age someone might find that out in about 3 seconds. So you'd think he's be smart enough to think "maybe I shouldn't be the guy to go on tv and talk about what's good for veterans."

Meanwhile, we can't go a year without some politician getting busted for having a gay lover despite the fact that he's been at the forefront of the "Fags are gonna ruin America and they all will burn in hell!!!!" crowd. It's always the squeakiest wheel that gets the cocoa butter, isn't it? Now, can't two politicians such as these get together and "trade" their causes, therein giving the same quantity of representation to those causes, but not setting themselves up for the inevitable exposure of hypocrisy?

They should have an "Issues Fantasy League Draft" scenario. Or, better, a sort of general manager trades meeting. "Senator A has been cheating on his wife, so he'll trade his FAMILY VALUES platform to Senator B, who is a great family man but got outta Vietnam via a rich uncle, so he's swapping with Senator A, who served brilliantly in Vietnam."

I mean for chrissake guys, meet in the backroom of a Rob's Big Boy, sort this shit out and try to fool us.

It's not that they think people won't find out the truth—as in Tancredo's case—it's that GOP politicians believe they can get away it. And they do. All the time!

Look at Dick Cheney's 7 Vietnam deferments—because he had "better things to do"—and tell me if he caught shit for it. No, of course not.

Everyone and their pet caterpillar knows Oliver North should be making license plates at Leavenworth, yet this asshole gets to make judgments on either people's patriotism and respect for the laws of this country.

And what about the Republican governors that railed against the stimulus and vowed not to take a penny? They took the money, anyway, and now the scumbags have the balls to tout their accomplishments with that cash and frame it as "see how good things happen when we let the states do their thing and keep the federal govt out of it" and STILL decry the stimulus aid!

Or how about, Joe—“You Lie!”—Wilson who blames the president for the availability of swine flu vaccine that Wilson himself VOTED AGAINST SPENDING MONEY ON. (Oh, wait—now he cares because his wife is sick. Before he could give 2 shits. Another example of a Classic Republican: I don’t give fuck about [fill in the blank] until it’s one of my own that’s afflicted.)

Un-fucking-believable.

So many of these assholes get away with shit, that the likes of Tancredo figure they'll succeed at it, too. And they will, because the press is afraid of asking those questions, otherwise they'll get tagged as part of "the liberal media". And the ones that do, get smeared by hypocritical clowns like Bill O'Reilly and Bernie Goldberg, who never waste an opportunity to feed more red meat to their base.

But let's not leave out the wilful ignorance of the Republican voters in all of this. For instance, how an honorable, decorated soldier could respect someone who belittles his work—what else does "having better things to do" imply?—baffles the mind. Or how a bunch of hard-hit, working and middle class folks can support a party that, above all, is neglecting them, while constantly looking to give breaks to the rich? That's what fuels these politicians' impetus to do stupid shit like what Tancredo tried to pull off—the base will eat it up, regardless.

In the end—and pardon the hyperbole—I'm more afraid of these nutty Sarah Palin-lovin' folks than I am of Al-Qaeda. Why? Both are trying to fuck this country up but at least somebody's trying to stop the latter. There's always been scores of birther/teabagger/lunatic-types. But now, they feel more emboldened than ever before. Scary.

The Cantor Countdown

Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Eric Cantor, the second-ranking Republican in the U.S. House, said his party needs to be inclusive and criticized some comments by talk-show host Rush Limbaugh as inappropriate.

Here comes the pain...

Fort Hood

Our sincerest condolences to the families of those killed and a full and speedy recovery to those injured in this horrible tragedy.

Here's hoping we don't rush to judgement before all the facts are in.

27

My favorite Yankees since the ‘77-‘78 lineups have made it to the promised land. And I couldn’t be any happier. Congratulations, guys. And thanks.

Much respect to the Philadelphia Phillies, National League champs,
a monster team, and a more than worthy adversary that made the Bombers sweat throughout the Series.

Oh, and happy birthday Johnny Damon! What a present you got this year, huh? Hope to see you and number 55--arigato, Matsui-san--in pinstripes in 2010.

Winning the Battle but not the War

After internal GOP squabbles--and endorsements from the likes of Sarah Palin and Dick Armey--pushed third-party favorite Doug Hoffman to the forefront and ousted the allegedly too liberal Republican candidate Dede Scozzafava from the race for New York's 23rd congressional district, Democrat Bill Owens--a lawyer and retired Air Force captain--ended up winning Tuesday's special election by a 49 percent to 45 percent margin. The significance?

The New York 23 has had a GOP representative in Congress for about, oh, 125 years, more or less. D'oh! Great work, guys! Genius move!

(Then again, the seat became vacant after President Obama named the district's congressman, John McHugh, to a Pentagon post. So did Obama shrewdly play out this move in advance? Hmm...)

As for the present day meaning of the election, Salon's Alex Koppelman:

The thing to watch for now is the reaction of the GOP and its base. A Hoffman victory might have given the most conservative wing of the party even more clout, if not a virtual veto over 2010 candidates deemed too liberal. This result--the right winning the intra-party battle, but not the war--might give the Republican establishment more room to push back.

Oh, and yeah: Mike Bloomberg won a third term as NYC mayor. Fuck.

Why, Joe? (musing on World Series Game 5)

It's generally agreed upon that Yankees no.2 pitcher AJ Burnett is erratic even on full-rest. So, with that in mind—and having already pitched a stellar game in this World Series, making it a bit unlikely to do it back-to-back—why would he be effective on 3 days rest? Because he did it last year but not since? Not good enough a reason to make him your starter for Game 5, Joe.

With the Yankees up 3-1 in the Series, I was hoping no.4 pitcher Chad Gaudin would get the start and then have the bullpen get some work when he ran out of gas. No! Can’t count on Gaudin! He’ll get lit up! Well, that’s what happened anyway, except it was AJ who couldn’t get out of the third inning, and consequently now they have Andy Pettite—who is due to pitch Game 6—on 3 days rest instead of a rested Burnett for Game 6. (And let's not forget: the Yankees' ace, CC Sabathia, if needed for Game 7, will also pitch on 3 days rest.)

Since the decision to pitch AJ Monday night was dumbfounding—especially vs Phillies ace Cliff Lee and with the Yankees' Monday night lineup resembling the Tigers more than the Bombers due to the practically non-existent hitting of the bottom 5 hitters, AJ had to be lights-out dominant—I was hoping Joe G had something up his sleeve. I mean, not one analyst, announcer, former player, sports talk show host or fan I came across agreed w/Joe’s decision—they all predicted tonight’s sorry outcome and the subsequent 3 day-rest situation—so maybe Joe knew something no one else did.

Um, nope.

So, what was it, then? A complete and utter lack of faith in Gaudin, even in a game you could afford to lose in order to give your no.2 pitcher an extra day, so he could get full rest? Blind faith in Burnett? Whatever it was, it backfired. Big time.

It’s plain to see Gaudin was never in Joe G's plans. But aside from his inconsistency, AJ is not great on the road. Pettite, meanwhile has not gone on 3 days rest in years. And was, supposedly, lit up when he did. (This was w/the Astros.) He's also, as we know, 37 years old. Is Joe G counting on Pettite's experience and tough competitive spirit to get him thru Game 6? Probably. Let's hope he's right.

Regarding the offense: despite AJ blowing it, Yankees reliever Phil Coke really put the Bombers in a hole by giving up the 2 solo HRs which were ultimately the proverbial nails in the coffin. The offense made a valiant effort late in the game and got within 2 runs, making it an 8-6 ballgame. But if there was ever an example of 2 hitters in different mindsets it was Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira, respectively, in the 9th: Johnny battled, extended his 2 out, 0-2 at bat to get a hit; Tex struggled mightily and swung at repeated bad pitches, ending the game with a win for the Phillies.

Sure, those guys—mainly Tex and Robinson Canó—are pressing.
They know their team has the lead in the Series despite their lack of production. Last night, with the lineup Joe G put out there, only no.s 1, 2, and 4 were of concern to the Phillies. I mean, why would you pitch to the super-clutch Alex Rodriguez knowing full well there was NO PROTECTION whatsoever for him, with the next 5 hitters a non-factor. (Until catcher Jorge Posada was finally brought in to pinch hit and the pitcher's turn came up, as well.)

As a matter of fact, if the Phillies had lost last night, I firmly believe Phillies manager Charlie Manuel would've been the goat for letting Lee pitch to A-Rod in the 8th and giving up a 2-run double.
The Yankees got very far in that game, considering the circumstances. Which is reason for hope Wednesday night. I have a feeling a big, offensive Game 6 is in the cards. Let's hope the Bombers are on the winning side of it.

Oh, and before I forget: taking 2 out of 3 in Philly was awesome.

Wednesday in The Bronx, it is, then...

Polling Mets Fans on 2009 World Series

Since the Yankees and Phillies are two teams especially loathed by many if not most Mets fans, I was curious as to how the Mets fans of my acquaintance felt about the current World Series. So I simply asked some of these folks who they were rooting for–or if they were avoiding the Fall Classic all together. Obviously this survey was quite informal and highly unscientific, in addition to the sample size being tiny, but here are the results, anyway [drum roll please]:

Yankees - 67%
Phillies – 22%
neither – 11%

The reasons behind their decisions were varied and interesting, if not surprising: A few mentioned wanting to see Alex Rodriguez redeem himself and come thru in the Series; although one respondent was hoping A-Rod would succeed only because he feels the third baseman is “the player most Yankee fans hate.” (Actually, he’s the player most despised by Yankee haters. He’s not doing too badly in The Bronx these days, in case you haven't heard.)

One young lady bluntly stated, “I hate the Phillies, Eagles, Sixers, and Flyers, more than I could ever hate the Yankees.” For some, the NL East rivalry was not enough to stop them from cheering on the Phillies, or disrupt years of an antagonistic tradition when it comes to the cross-town team. And there were those who chose not to take sides one way or the other.

But the strongest response of all was undoubtedly this one:

“Met fans who are rooting for the Yankees are stupid. Any ‘Met fan’ who isn't rooting for the Phillies is not a Met fan. And if I have to explain that to them or anybody else, then it ain't worth explaining.”

Yikes! I’m not getting in the middle of that one.

Well, except to say…I disagree.

I’m fine with the cross-town rivalry or even indifference. Cool. Fine by me. But, hate? I could never hate the Mets, for instance. I mean, yeah, I’m still pissed at the organization—and a couple of the players—for the handling of the Willie Randolph fiasco, but Tom Seaver, Dwight Gooden, and Darryl Strawberry are some of my fave all-time players; I’m also a HUGE fan of the ‘86 Mets. (And not just because they beat the Red Sox. But it doesn’t hurt. heh heh) As a New Yorker, for me to hate the cross-town team is to loathe a cousin of mine just because. But I digress. (This ain’t about me, after all.)

Anyway, it was fun doing this little survey. Thanks to all who participated.