As I've said before, it's tough to be a Yankees fan in the midwest even under the best of circumstances. You get branded as some sort of effete east coast snob, or an idiot, or a traitor (This is Iowa, son...You have to be a Cubs fan. Or the Cardinals. Okay, maybe the Reds. But not the Royals, because who the hell would be dumb enough to care about the Royals?), or, most devastatingly, a right-winger. (George Steinbrenner is, of course, a major contributor to the Republicans.)
This, I stress, under the best of circumstances, when the Yankees are cruising to an easy spot in the World Series, as if by Divine Right--or, at least, are playing with some level of competence. This season, I know the pain felt by Indians fans.
It started with the usual bright promise, with Andy Pettitte's awsome pitching and A-Rod finally earning that outrageous salary with an amazing run of homers. True, Derek Jeter seemed to make a lot of unforgivable errors, but he'd correct that, right? And the team would come together and everything would be as God mandated.
Then Pettitte hit a slump, then Rodriguez, at which point it became obvious: The team lacked anybody to take over their jobs. Pettitte aside, their pitching roster is frankly embarrassing, and they've been losing what should have been easy wins. Their losses to the much-reviled Red Sox infuriated loyal fans, and their recent string of losses on the road has been pathetic.
Now they're in New York, and one game down to the Mets. The Mets, for God's sake! The Yankees are on the verge of being the number two team in New York! How can such a thing happen?
My first instinct is to blame Giuliani. No real reason, but everything I hate about New York these days can mostly be traced to his tenure, and as mayor, he was a notorious Yankees suck-up. Last week's New York Times seemed to pin at least partial blame on turmoil in upper management, as Steinbrenner finally ceded power to his two previously disinterested sons. The Times found this scenario worthy of an overwrought comparison to The Godfather, but missed out on the most obvious point: If the Yankees are the Corleones, the guy in charge, improbably, seems to be Fredo.
