August 29, 2004: Senior Council Holds Sit Down

The BMTG Senior Council, strong supporters of the BoSox, sat down recently with a self-professed die-hard New York Yankee fan. Born and raised in the Bronx, this fan was thought to be knowledgeable and loyal to his local team. Naturally, after much historical debate, the discussion turned to who had the better team in 2004, Boston or New York? The initial challenge raised by the misguided Yankee fan was to allow the Senior Council the usage of the entire Boston Red Sox roster while he would select the minimum nine players and a pitcher from the Evil Empire and still be victorious. The BMTG Senior Council, wanting to do a realistic analysis with input from the Bronx native, decided instead to compare players at each position and assign points to each. For every position, there would be ten points available to divide based on players talent. For evenly matched players, each one would get five points.

Catcher: Jason Varitek vs. Jorge Posada
Although Varitek holds a slight edge over Posada when all things are considered, in the end it was determined to judge this position to be even, as both players provide a significant impact to their team. Varitek is the unquestioned leader of the Red Sox and handles his pitching staff as well as any player in the game. Varitek will stick up for his pitchers and plays the game the right way. Posada has been solid both behind the plate and at the bat, although he is mistaken when he thinks he can get into the head of Pedro Martinez. While the Yankee fan argued that Posada has more power, a look at the numbers shows Posada hitting .273 with 17 homers and 60 runs batted in, while Tek, coming on strong on the offensive end during the past month, is hitting .306 with 17 homers and 64 runs batted in. It should be noted that you can not spell Posada without spelling "sad".
Score: Varitek 5, Posada 5

Firstbase: Doug Mientkiewicz vs. Jason Giambi
Using their current condition, Mientkiewicz would win out easily over Giambi, but the Yankee fan insisted on considering Giambi at his best, without the worms and bum knee. Offensively they are two different players, with Giambi dominating the power numbers. Mientkiewicz holds his own at the plate, hitting doubles and walking more than striking out. Defensively, Mientkiewicz far surpasses Giambi, routinely taking away hits with his glove. Given a choice between the two, most pitchers would choose Mientkiewicz, but considering his past hitting dominance gives Giambi an overall edge in this comparison.
Score: Mientkiewicz 4, Giambi 6

Secondbase: Mark Bellhorn vs. ?
Inexplicably, the Yankee fan was unable to come up with a second baseman. Even after enlisting the help of three other serious Yankee fans, no player was offered. It should be noted that two of the consulted fans are also from the Bronx and claim to be lifelong Yanks fans. Given this comparison, Bellhorn wins it all. Bellhorn was chosen instead of Pokey Reese, but an argument can be made for either player. Bellhorn has been better at the plate with decent power and a lot of walks, while Reese provides the gold glove defense. Patrolling the infield at first (see above) and short (see below) with the golden gloves of Cabrera and Mientkiewicz, the Senior Council decided to go with Bellhorn's offense for this position.
Score: Bellhorn 10, ? 0
Modified Score: Bellhorn 6, ? 4 (This score was modified in an attempt by the Senior Council to provide some realism and make up for the Yankee fans’ ignorance.)

Thirdbase: Bill Mueller vs. Alex Rodriguez
Clearly, the advantage goes to Rodriguez, even though he has already been booed by the hometown fans in just his first season in New York. A-Rod has a bit of a feminine look about him, giving him a meterosexual vibe. It is rumered that he does a whole body wax before every home stand. Mueller was the batting champion last season, and is coming on strong after battling injuries this year. Mueller’s defense has been impressive as well. The Yankee fan only wanted to give his own beloved A-Rod 6 points, but in another effort at a more realistic score, the Senior Council upped his score to 7. A-Rod has not yet played a full season with the Yankees so to consider him as true representative of a Yankee player is somewhat dubious. While two Red Sox, Cabrera and Mientkiewicz, have less than a seasons worth of Red Sox experience, their replacements, Garciaparra and Millar, would have fared well in their respective positions as opposed to the Yankees incumbent thirdbaseman.
Score: Mueller 3, Rodriguez 7

Shortstop: Orlando Cabrera vs. Derek Jeter
Jeter is another pretty boy meterosexual type who is a bit overrated. He is a solid player offensively and defensively, but he his not as good as Bronx residents make him out to be. Cabrera is better than Jeter with the glove, while Jeter holds the advantage with the bat. Despite the god-like status the Yankee fan wanted to give Jeter, it should be noted that he, like A-Rod, has been hearing the hometown fans boo him. Jeter can be accused of living like Kurt Rambis in that, while he has played a key role in the Yankee championships, his role has been exaggerated well beyond his true value.
Score: Cabrera 4, Jeter 6

Left Field: Manny Ramirez vs. Godzilla
Based on the Yankee fan’s exhibited lack of knowledge, it is probable that the real name of the player in question is an unknown and was only referred to as Godzilla. Godzilla refers, of course, to Hideki Matsui, who is a very capable player, but is not in the same class as Man-Ram. Ramirez, an RBI machine and great hitter, is a huge impact player. Godzilla may have elite status in Japan, but here in the States, he is just another cog in the machine. It is clear that Godzilla would like to be exactly like Man-Ram when he grows up.
Score: Ramirez 8, Matsui 2

Center Field: Johnny Damon vs. Bernie Williams
Bernie Williams’ better days are behind him, while Johnny Damon is making a significant impact on his team every day. Patient and versatile, Damon has been more than solid this season. While his arm may not be the strongest, Damon has tremendous range in the field. Williams is just worn down and needs to move to the bench. Even in his prime, Damon would still hold the edge over Williams overall, but it would be closer.
Score: Damon 8, Williams 2

Right Field: Trot Nixon vs. Gary Sheffield
As far as comparing talent level, this one is a bit like comparing Ramirez and Matsui in left field. Nixon is quite capable and would probably be considered King Ghidorah in Japan, but Sheffield is just in another class, providing the same type of impact as Ramirez. The Senior Council also considered Kevin Millar and Gabe Kapler, as Nixon has been injured for almost the entire season.
Score: Nixon 2, Sheffield 8

Designated Hitter: David Ortiz vs. Paul O’Neill
The Yankee fan was insistent on having O’Neill as the DH. Given his condition if he were to play today, O’Neill would get a very low score. But in an effort to be fair, the Senior Council agreed to consider O’Neill as he was when he was still playing. Ortiz gets high marks for his power numbers, while O’Neill gets credit for being a clutch player. Since you can only be a clutch player on a winning team, O'Neill would have a less significant impact on a losing team, which hurts his value.
Score: Ortiz 7, O’Neill 3

Pitcher: Pedro Martinez vs. Andy Pettitte
Pedro’s pitching is getting stronger and stronger as the season progresses. He is a fierce competitor who will take no crap from anyone. Pettitte has long been overrated. Many of his wins as a Yank came from the benefit of high run support. It is believed that given a full season on an average offensive team, Pettitte would be less than impressive. For this comparison, the Yankee fan insisted on using Pettitte, despite the fact that he is now in Houston and has spent the majority of the season on the disabled list. It is suspected by the Senior Council that the Yankee fan did not know who any of the starting pitchers were on his favorite team. Comparing the two pitchers leaves the dominant Pedro in the lead by a wide margin.
Score: Martinez 7, Pettitte 3

Final Score: Boston 54, New York 46

Final Analysis:
It was clear that the Yankee fan, as well as his three Yankee loving advisors, did not know enough about his team to be considered a real fan. Still, considering the two teams position by position is quite revealing. One area not evaluated, but deserving to be mentioned, is the depth of the two teams. Boston has a distinct advantage when looking at backup and role players, who over a 162 game season can decide the true value of a team. The starting rotation and overall pitching also favors the BoSox. The Achilles heel of the Red Sox this season has been fielding, but over the past month, that appears to be corrected. Boston has been on a tear since A-Rod called out Varitek. Tek stood up for his pitcher and his team on the day that may, in the end, be looked on as the turning point of the season.

It is also clear that the Yankee fans rabid obsession with their team is not built with fact or reasoning. Their obsession is fueled mainly by their proximity to Yankee Stadium, with those closest to the stadium seemingly the most baseball ignorant. The Yankees long history includes reprehensible characters among their most vaulted heroes - Ruth a womanizer, Mantle a lush, DiMaggio a vinegary tempered egomaniac, Strawberry and Howe substance abusers. A team that has fostered players of low morality into heroes, coupled with the fact that they preach the Orwellian mantra that "Ignorance is Strength" among their misled fanbase, is truly a team to be feared. Feared not because of their talents or desires to win, but because of their willingness to lead the denigration of society with their immorality, free spending, and lack of sportsmanship. Rome fell and so will the Yankees. Their dark clouds will be swept away to reveal the sun and Yankee Stadium will be despised as the House of Evil. That is when the Red Sox will bring righteousness back to baseball and America restores the promise that the Yankees stole from all of us so long ago.

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