From: nss3@kimbark.uchicago.edu (Noel Steere)
Subject: Re: Mets and Yankees
Reply-To: nss3@midway.uchicago.edu
Organization: University of Chicago Computing Organizations
Date: Wed, 15 Apr 1992 05:49:12 GMT

In article <1992Apr14.205134.28458@porthos.cc.bellcore.com> dick1@hera.uucp (25436-vaughn) writes:
>In article <1992Apr14.181908.13819@midway.uchicago.edu>, nss3@kimbark.uchicago.edu (Noel Steere) writes:
>>In article <1992Apr14.160713.5307@usenet.ins.cwru.edu> jjd3@po.CWRU.Edu (James J. Dibenedetto) writes:
>>>
>>>One thing that struck me last season, in July, and is even more clear now,
>>>is that the Mets of today have turned into the Yankees of the early 1980's.
>>The parallels are frightening.  NY team overloaded with talent lets
>>future HOF rf walk via free agency (to California team, though I don't
>>really think that has anything to do with it :-) and sign
>>speedster/sparkplug outfielder to take his place (remember Dave Collins?).  
>
>Invalid parallel.  
>Yankees let Reggie go because they thought he was through.  
>Mets let Darryl go because they couldn't stand him any longer.

I didn't say the *reasons* were the same! :-)

>Yankees signed Dave Collins because he was good and he was available
>(their only criteria at the time).  Mets signed Coleman because they
>desperately needed a leadoff hitter.

Which was because they traded away Lenny "yes I *can* get on base and
still hit for power" Dykstra, which I now think marked the beginning
of the end for the Mets dominance.

As for Collins, I seem to remember Steinbrenner talking about how
Collins was going to bring "excitement" to Yankee Stadium, etc.  Of
course, I could be wrong about that since I was only 11 at the time.
:-)

>
>>            Also, management of said team now proscribes to "hustling"
>>style of play that "gets the little things done".  
>
>Again, invalid parallel.
>Yankees changed style because George wanted to. (Why?  Who knows?)
>Mets finally axe Cashen, Harazin brings in Torborg to straighten out their
>biggest problem: attitude and approach.

But forget to take care of the *really* big problem: only 4 out of the
8 regulars can hit and get on base.

Also, I was referring more to Bud Harrelson than Jeff Torborg, though
any manager that routinely plays Bill Pecota over Dave Magadan does
not sit favorably with me.

>> I don't get it.  Why do most fans of one NY team feel they have to
>> *hate* the other one?  
>
>That's an easy one.  
>A statistically anomalous percentage of Yankee fans have a
>'Yankees-are-the-only-team-that-matters' attitude.  
>Consequently, Yankee fans hate the Mets purely for the fact that 
>they dare to exist in the same town, and Mets' fans hate the Yankees 
>precisely because of this fascist attitude on the part of their fans.
>(Unlike Chicago, etc., neighborhood has nothing to do with it;
>it breaks down along personality lines.  But that's another [huge] thread.

I think he just called me a schizoprenic!  No, he didn't!  He did!
You don't know what you're talking about, now calm down.  Who just
told me to calm down?  You did -- I mean, I did!

:-) :-) :-)

Actually, that explanation sounds pretty reasonable.  It would explain
why I didn't feel any animosity toward one team or the other, since I
was born in 1971 and my family didn't care one way or the other about
which team I rooted for (my mom was a Brooklyn Dodgers fan when she
was growing up and was busy being a *real* metropolitan during the
sixties).

>Dick V.

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