Afternoon Baseball

There's been a lot of complaints about the series the last few years. About how it distracts from any other event in baseball, no matter how exciting; about how it is simply the collaboration of two overpriced teams with spoiled, jerk fans; about how the rivalry is simply overrated; and about the way MLB schedules them, with too many games in April and not enough in September.

Well, ignore that for now, as the Yanks hold a 2-0 lead in the fifth, again walking everyone but not surrendering hits. Here's what's good:
1. The ambient noise. The opposing team's fans fill the other team's ballpark more and more, and the chatter is never-ending. The fans want to be there, they want to one-up the enemy and they want to pay attention. Not quite the corporate crowd that can emerge at playoff time, for instance.
2. Aces and sluggers humbled. The aces (Pettitte, Schilling, Clemens, Beckett, Wakefield, formerly Mussina and Pedro) have to bring their A-game or they will be absolutely embarrassed. There's little or no room for error. Same goes for the best hitters. They may crank a couple home runs or they may be struck out three times. Again, not much different from the mean, but everyone notices it more.
3. The psychological game plays. For decades, it was the Red Sox fan panicking innings, days, or months before it was necessary, which would look silly if the Sox didn't always justify that worry with a collapse in play. The Yanks balanced the superiority complex with a hint of "what if?" doubt.
Now, both teams and their fans try to hold on to their previous personas without a great deal of success. Yes, the track record is still of Red Sox failure and Yankee dominance. But the here-and-now is much more muddled. Since 2003, it's truly been a rivalry, which is scarier for Yankees fans but makes for more-dramatic baseball.

Labels: Baseball