This year was the first in a long while that I bought a (tiny) share in a friend’s Red Sox season tickets. Four games, grandstand, under the overhang, first base side — nice seats. Not great (those 100+ year old pillars, you know), but not bad. The first couple of games were fun — early enough in the season to preserve some shred of hope, and the club still looked as if it enjoyed playing baseball.
The last one, though, in late August. Painful. The sons of Teddy Ballgame didn’t just lose; they seemed lost, apathetic, certain that this inning or next, didn’t matter, the wheels would fall off the bus.
I know there’s no sympathy out there for anyone supporting any Boston team. None deserved, frankly. But trust me — this has been a truly unpleasant team to watch.
All of which is prologue to why I found this video so delightfully, bizarrely sweet. [via]
<div align=”center”><iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/r-FcLpbjlcY” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
In this summer of our discontent, there’s nothing so restorative as having someone else rip a strip off the Evil Empire … in Chinese. Wierd stuff, but I couldn’t have said it better myself.
I couldn’t have said it at all.
Discuss.
? Martin
FTFY!
...now I try to be amused
“Jeter is an overhyped singles slapper.” HA!
Comrade Mary
That delighted me.
LGRooney
Henry looks like he may be able to screw up my Liverpool side just as badly. I certainly hope I am wrong but recent history hasn’t shone too brightly for us.
Or something like that.Suffern Ace
Loved it. I also like this extra Wildcard concept. I don’t care if it manufactures penant races (well Wildcard races at least). While the Yankees fade 8 could compete for those final spots until the last day
Joseph Nobles
I was already sold on Spielberg’s Lincoln, knowing Daniel Day-Lewis was the President, but I had a gander at the full cast list over on Wikipedia just now. Wow. Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln? JGL as Robert? David Straithorn as Seward, Jackie Earle Haley as Stephens… it’s a freaking embarassment of riches. I officially cannot wait.
Irony Abounds
Kiss my A$$ Tommy Boy. The Last Place Boston Red Sox just lost another one. Go Yanks!!!
Old Dan and Little Ann
Lifelong Yankee fan. They’ve been basically a .500 team this year except for one outstanding month. 19 games left in the season. They just took 2 of 3 from Boston to stay tied for 1st with the Orioles. It is going to be an exciting finish. Fuck Baltimore.
arguingwithsignposts
@Joseph Nobles: JGL?
MikeJ
I used to go to Red Sox games back in the 80s when you could walk up in the 3rd and get $3 tickets. I was a delivery boy over the summer, and nobody really knew if you slipped away for a few innings and a few beers.
Of course back then we knew that no matter how well things were going now the Sox would always, always, always let you down in the end. Something a new generation of fans need to learn.
Joseph Nobles
@arguingwithsignposts: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, jeez. ;-)
J.W. Hamner
Until this year, being an Orioles fan in Boston has been pretty awkward.
danah gaz
driftglass wins the blogosphere, the entire fucking Internet, and your mother (I corrected some typos below)
FYWP blockquote! quoted below the divider
________________________________________
With stable fusion power in the hands of an artist, you theoretically have a Philosopher’s Stone at your command, capable of using the terrible power in nuclear fusion to transform one element into another. In other words, lead into gold.
In the hand of a monster like, say, Karl Rove, the events of 9/11 were used in remarkably the same way: using the terrible power of the events of that day, the GOP brain caste took the degenerate elements of the Party of God and transmuted them into an army that truly believed that they were immune to history and causality. That no matter how many times their crackpot ideas blew up in their face, no matter how many of their hypocrisies were hung out in the public square, no how many times they lied — lied big, about really important shit — and got caught…it didn’t matter. They were special. They were chosen. They had their hands on an infinite “Do Over” credit card that would never, ever bottom out.
What you are seeing in Romney is the dead-ending of that mentality. The lying-with-giddy-“Fuck You”-abandon at the top of the ticket, and the genuine rage and bewilderment on the part of the Base that their “Do Over” credit card doesn’t work so good anymore.
The GOP used 9/11 to mutate their already-depraved Base into something new and awful. Come November we’ll see if they win or we do.
Ash Can
I’m a Cubs fan. The Red Sox are our cousins. Five outs away in 2003…
The prophet Nostradumbass
That video is hilarious. I have been enjoying watching this year’s Oakland Athletics team, they’ve been a very pleasant surprise.
ETA: Since the Red Sox are not going to the playoffs, the least they can do is help keep the Yankees out too.
Thomas F
theonion.com/articles/no-one-murdered-because-of-this-image,29553/
Once again, the Onion incisively gets to the bottom of matters. Islam is a filthy, barbaric and murderous religion in a way no other organized religion currently is. So when John Cole or Markos Moulitsas sniggers about the American Taliban, any one who is even moderately informed should call them out for being ignorant fools.
When a bunch of savages in Libya rape and murder American diplomatic officials, the moderator of this blog should not be posting about some obscure schmo that no one can even identify and his irrelevant movie. These were planned attacks by parasitic individuals who I hope are now being hunted down and summarily murdered by US Marines.
PsiFighter37
@Ash Can: Not sure you can call the Red Sox cousins…they’ve won 2 World Series since 2003 and became even more irritating than they already were after they started attracting bandwagoners.
I’m a Yankees fan…I don’t like Boston teams, and watching the Sox fall apart this season has been delightful. In the long run, the payroll dump on the Dodgers was a good idea, but to me, I loved seeing Ben Cherington & Co. wave a huge white flag. Enjoy serenading your rebuild job with ‘Sweet Caroline’, suckas!
PurpleGirl
Okay, in honor of Gilly… on the count of three: one, two, three
Fuck the fucking Yankees.
(I rather think he’d appreciate the video.)
The prophet Nostradumbass
@Thomas F: Are these people also “filthy, barbarous and murderous”?
Omnes Omnibus
@The prophet Nostradumbass: You are arguing with a silly person. You know that, right?
The prophet Nostradumbass
@Omnes Omnibus: Yes, I know, but I think that link deserves to be re-posted over and over again.
Concerned Citizen
I’m a huge Sox fan. Glad they fired the bums. I didn’t watch a game until they did it.
When I was dating my wife you could get bleachers for $7 on game day. I miss that.
I don’t want my team to be the Yankees. I want them to be the Red Sox.
Omnes Omnibus
@The prophet Nostradumbass: Cool.
Punchy
Fuck da Yanx
Dennis SGMM
@Thomas F:
I can tell from your comment that you haven’t ever done any murdering of your own. It takes its own toll, no matter how justified that it might seem.
Spaghetti Lee
Yeah, no sympathy for the Bostoners. 8 championships in 12 years with all 4 major teams. You guys can afford to sulk for a while.
Gin & Tonic
Boston still has a baseball team?
SatanicPanic
@Spaghetti Lee: My city still doesn’t have one for any sport. Oh well, at least the weather’s nice.
Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason
How ’bout dem O’s!!!!
Villago Delenda Est
@Thomas F:
I do not know what your religious faith is, or if you have none.
But I will not judge all members of your faith by your idiocy.
I have learned not to expect reciprocal treatment from you.
If you have to go to some site to look up these words to understand what I’m saying, tough shit.
Villago Delenda Est
@The prophet Nostradumbass:
The link is indeed excellent.
beltane
Speaking of New York, a new Quinnipiac poll there shows Obama beating Mittens by a 62-34 margin. Maybe if Romney does some more smirking he can finish the thing with Alan Keyes-like numbers.
Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason
@Concerned Citizen:
When I was dating my wife in ’79, we could walk to Memorial Stadium and buy an upper deck ticket for $1.50 with a student ID. Oh, and did I mention we brought in our own beer?
fbihop
I’m a Dodgers fan.
This season has not been fun lately.
Ash Can
@PsiFighter37:
Boo-fucking-hoo.
Now, though, speaking in all seriousness, I do have a soft spot for the Yankees these days because their fans are still enthusiastic despite their continual post-season appearances, and because I like Joe Girardi (a local boy of sorts). The fact still remains, though, that despite their recent success, the Red Sox are as close a mirror-image to the Cubs that you’ll find in the AL.
Apart from the White Sox. ;)
Mark S.
TPM:
I think there’s more to it. A (albeit pretty small) majority just don’t buy the shit the GOP is selling anymore. Cutting taxes on the rich and slashing government spending doesn’t just suck for the bottom 98%; it’s horrible economic policy. We might (gasp!) no longer be a center right nation.
MikeJ
@fbihop:
In any divorce it’s the kids and the baseball teams that suffer most.
SatanicPanic
@fbihop: Our Padres set you up to catch the Cards for the wild card, but let’s see if you guys can make that happen.
Steeplejack
FYWP.
Villago Delenda Est
@MikeJ:
Custody fights for kids, custody fights for season tickets.
In Augusta GA, I’m sure, there are battles in family court over Masters passes that would make your hair stand on end.
Or something like that.Suffern Ace
@Thomas F: Well you post and run, but if you think that you could publish that picture in Thailand or India and not have a bunch of angry people burning down your house with you inside, well I can’t help you.
MikeJ
@Villago Delenda Est: With the Dodgers the owners divorced. There were fights not really over ownership of the team but using it as leverage in other issues.
The prophet Nostradumbass
Here‘s an old cartoon designed to offend. I think I have a copy of it somewhere.
MikeJ
@The prophet Nostradumbass: The lawyer says to Mickey Mouse, “You say you want a divorce because your wife Minnie is insane?” “No, I said she was fuckin’ Goofy!”
Omnes Omnibus
@MikeJ: Works best when said in Mickey’s squeaky voice.
Villago Delenda Est
@MikeJ:
Oh, you mean how often the kids are used as blunt weapons when fighting over the millions in the trust fund or the portfolio?
The prophet Nostradumbass
@Omnes Omnibus: The Realist really was a great source of funny, surreal stuff in the 60’s and 70’s. I have a bunch of issues of it, Ramparts and the LA Free Press I got from my dad.
binkwithoutgolly
I for one welcome our new chinese mlb overlords.
fbihop
@SatanicPanic: This Dodgers/Cardinals game is like some sort of bizarro game where the two teams are doing their best to never get a hit with RISP.
Joel
I have fucking hated the Red Sox for the last two seasons. But thankfully the Dodgers took one of the biggest resident dickheads off their hands, so I’ll have to send them a thank you notice.
However, a Yankees collapse would make the season entirely worth it.
Joel
@Thomas F: I know you’re a troll, but what the hell: When I was at UCSD some years back, the alt-newspaper published a parody edition called “Jizzlam” featuring “Burkakes” etc. It was crude, offensive, and pretty much everything that Onion article highlights. No one was killed because of that article, either.
Nuance is hard, I know.
YellowJournalism
As a former Sims junkie, I adore these funny little flicks. As a former Western Washington resident, I say FTFY with pride. I always feel like “FTFY” should be followed with a raised glass and a gulp of something wonderfully strong and alcoholic.
Darkrose
That video was comedy gold.
I’m cautiously optimistic about the Giants chances of taking the division–though if there’s a way to screw this up, they’ll find it–but I don’t see them getting past Washington or Cincinnati.
As for my White Sox, well…yeah.
The prophet Nostradumbass
@Darkrose: Oh, I think the Giants will win it. At least it won’t be the Dodgers.
I’m an A’s fan anyway, but I think they’re the real story of this season, along with the Orioles.
yopd1
As an Maryland native who has not had a reason to root for the O’s since Ripken’s retirement, all I can say is: Fuck the Yankees and the Red Sox. Go O’s.
Tony the Wonderhorse
Yes! Yes, yes, yes.
Yes.
And thank you, I live in L.A. but I am a Boston boy. My car is a 2004 Saab, can you guess why?
Maude
There’s a team called the Red Socks? What sport do they play?
Go Jeter.
DFH no.6
@Ash Can:
Wow, are you ever wrong about that “fact”. The closest mirror-image to the Cubs in the AL are the Cleveland Indians, not the Red Sox. Bleeding obvious.
Before winning two recent World Series and becoming a mini-Evil Empire much like the near-universally despised Yanks, you would have had a point, but not anymore.
Fuck the Red Sox and (of course) the original Evil Empire.
Go Baltimore!