This is just to blog about the best baseball team, sorry, sports franchise in history!

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Hence the saying: One may know how to conquer without being able to do it- Sun Tzu

My favorite team!

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The war against Russia will be such that it cannot be conducted in a knightly fashion. This struggle is one of ideologies and racial differences and will have to be conducted with unprecedented, unmerciful and unrelenting harshness. -Adolf Hitler

Thanks!! I needed a good laugh!

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Scott

Hmmm . . . . I am a Red Sox fan and I live in the Rays second home. I believe both of those teams are above the Yankees in the standings. I know, I know, you have gotten used to the Red Sox finishing ahead of you in the past few years, but the Rays? Come on! For what you Yankee fans pay for a day at Yankee Stadium, you could pay the salaries of the entire Rays starting line up for a day! Yet the Yankees muddle along around .500.

Go Sox!

Of course yes dg I agree, it is about time the Sox start doing SOMETHING. Yet it's not the all star break yet my friend and you know how the Yankees start playing after that.

How about Matsui's grand slam. Japan lives on in the big apple through Godzilla!!!!

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Hence the saying: One may know how to conquer without being able to do it- Sun Tzu

I'd like the Yankees, I guess, except that they are called the Yankees and that term kinda has some bad connatations for me.

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Best Regards,
JW

I once went to a match and almost fell asleep . Give me rugby instead

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Slip- I understand your emotions, my wife is from Arkansas but it just takes some time.

Skipper- it's true that rugby is a much faster paced game and requires much more attention but baseball is an American pasttime that people can watch as well as have a party during or something of the sort. I have partial season tickets to the games and let me tell you there' nothing like being at the stadium.

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Hence the saying: One may know how to conquer without being able to do it- Sun Tzu

I'd much rather play baseball than watch it. However, watch some 7 year olds play, now that is fun!

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Best Regards,
JW

I actually saw the Red soxs play in Chicago , but despite efforts, I didn't get hooked. We had a great party after the game though. my only regret is that I could have started that memorable party earlier.

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Wang is out for awhile now, man. As if we didn't have enough problems trying to find starting pitchers.

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Hence the saying: One may know how to conquer without being able to do it- Sun Tzu

Americans love sports that allow you to be fat. Thats why Baseball is Americas favorite sport. Soccer not so popular. How many fat baseball players do we see vs how many fat soccer players? (NOTE: Answer is like 100:1 ratio).

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Yankess aren't good. They buy there teams. Doing that they still can't win the WS. I'm sure if the Blue Jays increased there team salary to 200 million they'd do a lot better than the Yankees

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Facta non verba. "Deeds, not words"

Baseball and soccer are both cerebral sports. If you do not know the game, it is hard to appreciate it. Although there are some overweight baseball players, I do not agree that there are still a lot of them. Ten years ago, yes. Not so many now.

I've tried to watch soccer but I just don't get it. I think a big part of the problem is the length of each match. I know a baseball game is longer than a soccer game but I still find soccer to be interminably long.

Another poster mentioned rugby. I do wish rugby had caught on in the USA. THAT is an exciting sport. I guess it is too rough for Americans!

There is far more occuring on a baseball field than is readily visible.

Rugby is fun and rough, but have you actually played football?

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Best Regards,
JW

dg I actually agree with you on this one, rugby is awesome. I played it while living in Spain and loved it. I've played football and rugby makes it look like a sissy game.

JTF- It's funny how people always talk about the Yankees and the fact that we "buy" our victories yet have you forgotten the Chicago Cubs who not only have the payrole they do but own the newspaper, radio station, TV station and countless restaurants around the city. People don't take into account the fact that there are a few teams with that high of a salary cut and yet the Yankees are the only ones that get a bad rap for it. Also, we have been the most succesful before we had that payrole, need I mention Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle. If we "buy" our victories then by Joe I believe we've earned it with all the players who we've had now in the Hall of Fame.
There's my schpiel of the day.

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Hence the saying: One may know how to conquer without being able to do it- Sun Tzu

I'm sorry if you took it the wrong way. I basically talking about recent history and not the great teams of the "good old days" Don't get me wrong, the Yanks have had great teams in the past, with some great players. But you must admit that they have bought there players with MASSIVE contracts and have yet to win a number of WS (I think there last one was in 2003) Since then with a team salary of $ 209,081,577 (2008) they have none. I don't understand your comparision of the Cubs. I'm don't understand how owning other business as you stated the Cubs do, relates to a team "buying" players, or having a huge team salary?

The Cubs have a huge team salary, yes...but it doesn't relate to the Yankees. For 2008 the Cubs salary is $ 118,345,833 well short of the yankees. ( I know they havn't won the WS is 1 bilion years). But my point is that the Yankees should of done a lot better in recent history with a team salary as big, as theres.

The closest team in terms of salary is the Mets @ $ 137,793,376 (72 million difference)
which is absurd if you think about it. 11 teams in the MLB don't even have that for a team salary lol

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Facta non verba. "Deeds, not words"

It's true, the Yanks are definetly on top of that list by far but so many people pin that on the Yankees in saying that we buy any and all of our victories; that's where I'm coming from. I understand you're standpoint better and you're right. Why we don't win every single year is beyond me with the amount of money that we actually put into our players.

It seems that each year we can't stay consistent with pitching (since 2003 that is); from injuries to downright garbage pitchers, we can't get it down. If you look at the acquirements we've gotten, my favorite example Carl Pavano, I mean come on.

Last night just shows what we can do as a team behind a great pitcher who we have confidence in. A couple homers and a shut out.

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Hence the saying: One may know how to conquer without being able to do it- Sun Tzu

I agree regarding baseball. I love to watch it, coach it and, with limited success, to play it!

As for soccer/football, I played for several years in my youth. I do not believe that was the best experience because in the mid 1970's soccer/football was not well organized in the USA and the coaching was very poor. I did try to become a fan (with a Man U poster on my wall) but I just could not get into it.

Congrats Joba on your first win as a starter!

Attached Images

Joba.jpg (21.2 KB, 1 views)

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Hence the saying: One may know how to conquer without being able to do it- Sun Tzu

It is hard not to like Joba. He is humble and talented. The Yankees organization has done a great job of bringing him through the system. It is good to see so many young players (Joba for the Yankees, Pedroia and Ellsbury on the Red Sox, Lincecum on the Giants, etc.) who show how good they are rather than talk about it!

Yanks will be in 1st before august 1.

HA! HA! You are so wrong. The Sox will be 2 games ahead of the Yankees and the Rays on August 1. The Sox will win the next two games of their current series and the Yanks won't recover from it.

Props to the Yankees tonight, though. Joba was outstanding and Mariano is timeless. It's been a while since I have seen a pitcher's duel like that.

You know as a professional player of the sport (Double-A), baseball is a lot more difficult than one would think. Also, I fall under the overweight player category myself. However, in mine, and other cases (ie: Prince Fielder, David Ortiz, and Tony Gywnn to name a few) get our power from our size. Many don't realize that while it still helps to be fit, you don't have too. The keys to successful baseball is good mechanics, speed, and timing. Anyone here can be a good hitter. The people you see like Ortiz, Josh Hamilton, and other great hitters just have natural talent. Not because they are in better condition. But don't let it fool you. Hitting is only half the game. I find fielding more difficult than hitting. And if you've ever played the infield you know why.


With that being said, as a life long Red Sox fan, I present Joba Chamberlain (whom I have nothing against), and the entire Yankees franchise a giant middle finger.

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I, too, am a lifelong Sox fan. Indeed, I was going to take Ted Williams for my Avatar until I realized that you had him already! Until a few years ago, I would have extended the middle finger to the Yankees as well. That said, the past decade has seen a big change in the team's attitude and redeemed the franchise a bit in my eyes. I credit Joe Torre with changing the team from arrogant to professional and Hank Steinbrenner (in the short term at least) with adopting a better team philosophy (building is better than bluster).

It helps that our Sox are much better this decade than the Yankees have been. If you are also a Patriots and Celtics fan, this is the Boston decade by far. For good measure, you can throw in the BC Eagles, who have one 8 straight Bowl games. Of course, I left Boston in 2000 so I have missed all of it except on TV!

Good to know there are other Sox fans out there. I shall start another thread to see if we can get some talk going! (Or maybe we should just take over this Yankee thread . . . . it would be more fitting.

Cheers!