The Audacity of Yankees Fans

First, a disclaimer: one of my roommates is a Yankees fan, and barring extenuating circumstances, she's very reasonable (she even defended me at Yankee Stadium while I was decked out in Sox gear).

However, not all fans can be so logical... There's this one young man who I've somehow had a class with every semester I've been at school, and he's a Yankees fan. Spring of last year, he asked me if I owned any shirts that weren't Sox shirts (for the record, I do). However, this morning he took it past joking:


(Him): Did you tie-dye that school shirt?




(Me): Umm... Yes. I worked at a camp this summer, so I in fact got paid to tie-dye this shirt.


: Oh. Well, it's better than a Red Sox shirt.



: *Rude hand gesture*


We then went on to argue about the supremacy of our respective teams. I diplomatically said, "We'll see in the playoffs." And he pulled out "twenty-six." So I of course asked when the last time it was the Yankees had seen the World Series. I ended up conceding that the MFY were the superior team for some time in the last century, but clarified that it was only because the owners were, to put it delicately, racist. He tried to say the Yankees were clearly the superior team, then and now... And before I could leap to my feet and challenge him to a lightsaber duel on the quad to defend the Sox' honor, the Professor came in, and I had to take notes about President William Howard Taft.

However, though I know he doesn't read this blog, I need to settle this, at least in my own mind, so I went to baseball-reference.com for some answers. Right now, the MFY have a 94-53 record, and ours is a respectable 86-59. Advantage: New York. However, the remaining schedule pans out like this: New York has three games left against us, four against the Angels (in Anaheim), three at Tampa Bay, and three against the Royals. We have three in Baltimore, four in Kansas City, three at New York, three against Toronto, and four against Cleveland. Advantage: us. Season series: 8-6 BOSTON. Team ERA: Boston: 422; New York: 4.38 (Plus, no idiotic "Joba Rules" for us). Advantage: Boston. Their offensive statistics are slightly better than ours, but I take comfort in the well-known adage: good pitching beats good hitting.

Also, looking ahead to the playoffs, they have some serious question marks in key places: A*Rod, and his perennial choking; CC Sabathia, and his 7.92 lifetime ERA in the postseason (12.45 against Boston); AJ Burnett's general incompetence; Joba's innings limit; Andy Pettitte's age... and the list goes on.

All in all, I like our chances, both against the "Boo-hoo the umpires are VICTIMIZING me" Angels, and the MFY. But, like I told Mr. Yankee in class today: we'll see in the playoffs.