Congratulations Cardinals

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

I guess I don't subscribe to Yankee-fan rationale.

Silly me.

[stevejrogers]

Well except for 1999 you can say the same about the Mets for every postseason they've been in, either winning or losing to the eventual champion in one way or another.

Not many teams can actually say that, even in the old 2 teams in each league format

[Guest holychicken]

GOOO Cardinals! I am sick of all those AL fans who act like the NL is AAAA and that it is a foregone conclusion that whoever was to win the AL this year would also be WS champs. That and the DH sucks.

[metsmarathon]

good point! a root for the tigers is a root for the DH! boo, DH!

[Elster88]

SteveJRogers wrote: ="Yancy Street Gang"]I never subscribed to root for the team that beats you. A Cardinal victory won't reflect any glory on the Mets. And I have no allegience to the National League. In fact, except for in the years that the Yankees won the pennant, I think I've rooted for the AL team in every year since 1995. I'm for the Tigers this time around. But I don't think I'll be watching, except for perhaps a stray inning or two. (I'm not going to do my duty, Judy.) Apparantly you don't subscribe to the MFY fans and media rationale that glorified the fact that execpt for last season, every World Champion was either the Yankees or had to go through the Yanks to get to the championship since 1998 (and the 97 Indians even beat the Yanks on their way TO the series) All mocking of MFY hubris aside, that is a pretty neat bit of trivita though I've been an NL fan all my life, and actually have rooted for the NL pennant winner every year, even 1985 and 1988 (begrudgingly in 88)

Just stop talking about the Yankees. Just don't do it.

[stevejrogers]

Elster88 wrote: ="SteveJRogers"] All mocking of MFY hubris aside, that is a pretty neat bit of trivita though Just stop talking about the Yankees. Just don't do it.

Okay, but its still is a feather for the cap though. "Hey, we got beat by the World Champs."

Would it be better if I used the Knicks of 1984 who gave the champion Celtics their toughest fight before the finals against the Lakers, or the Golden Years Knick era (69-74)who did win or bow out to the eventual champs 5 out of 6 years?

The point shouldn't be that I brought up the recent run by the AL New York baseball team, its the whole "We got beat by the eventual champs or we WERE the champs X out of X years" notion that at least says you got a shot at the brass ring and either got it or lost to the guys that would eventually get it. And if that is done on a consistant basis through a good time span, then I'd say that qualifies as a successfull run.

[stevejrogers]

Give you another example, from College Hoops, don't you think that if your team gave a team all they could handle before bowing out, especially in the first round, that you would continue to root for that team in the tourny?

That was me in 1997, nearly upsetting #1 UNC as the #16 seed, be nice for Fairfield to say "Hey, we lost to the National Champs." No shame in that.

Didn't happen that way, but I did root for the Tar Heels the rest of that tourny.

Course maybe thats because we're not even a mid-major in the MACC rather than a powerhouse like the Big East, but still

[Guest Iubitul]

SteveJRogers wrote: ="Elster88"] SteveJRogers wrote: All mocking of MFY hubris aside, that is a pretty neat bit of trivita though Just stop talking about the Yankees. Just don't do it. Okay, but its still is a feather for the cap though. "Hey, we got beat by the World Champs."

The last time I looked, style points are like crying when it comes to baseball

[Elster88]

All your babbling is for nothing Steve. No one cares about crap like that except Yankee fans and, apparently, yourself.

[stevejrogers]

So to sum up we would not want to be like the Buffalo Bills and get to 4 Super Bowls and lose all four, or the Boys of Summer Dodgers and only win the 1 out of 6 Series apperances from 47-56 or the Braves of recent vintage with 1 World Series out of 14 straight trips to the postseason.

No, Hey we got to the Fucking postseason huh?

BTW Elster, you are going down in Hartford on the 18th!

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

If the Mets lose the next four World Series, it would still be a better stretch than the last four years have been.

Having said that, I have no idea what Steve's talking about.

[stevejrogers]

Yancy Street Gang wrote: If the Mets lose the next four World Series, it would still be a better stretch than the last four years have been. Having said that, I have no idea what Steve's talking about.

Trying to explain the rationale about how its a good thing to lose to the eventual champion than not, especially if you do so in a hard fought series

[stevejrogers]

The rationale it seems from you and Elster is that it makes no difference how the season ends. We could have lost to the Dodgers and watched THEM get smoked by the Cardinals, or we could have lost down the stretch of the season and the Philles (or whomever) could have been smoked in the first round. Or we could be beat by the eventual Champs, and there is no difference.

In other words it didn't make a difference that the Bills made it to those Super Bowls or got bounced out by their first round opponent, wheither that team was the eventual SB or AFC champion.

But there IS a difference! Its the difference between Marv Levy and Jim Kelly wearing those Yellow Jackets or just being honored by the Bills organization.

Its the difference between the Bobby Cox Braves winning or losing to the eventual NL Champion 9 out of 14 times or just being an also ran like the Astros, or even the Cardinals of recent vintage.

Its something that really should make you sit back and say "Boy if only..." instead of "Ah we wouldn't have beaten team X anyway, you see how they got creamed by them?"

Hell for a player it has to be something to latch on to for the next year. Sure no one plays to be second best, but that is something tangible to build upon.

Now clearly I'm not saying the Padres should be feeling "Hey we could have been..." but then again, why wouldn't they. A few good starts by Wells, maybe Piazza's bat comes alive, you never know.

Its something to build on, as a fan and as a player, that the championship went through you, and that is the rationale for rooting for the Cardinals to win the World Series.

[Guest cooby]

Go Tigers.

[stevejrogers]

Besides wouldn't you rather NOT hear "Hey, Da Championship still hadda go through Da Bronx this year!" type statements all winter ala 2001-2004?

[metirish]

] Besides wouldn't you rather NOT hear "Hey, Da Championship still hadda go through Da Bronx this year!" type statements all winter ala 2001-2004?

I don't know if people will be saying that Steve, if the tigers win or lose one of the great memories I will have of this postseason is of Rogers brilliant outing against the yankees,to these eyes it was one of the great pitching performences I ever saw,maybe the best...full of emotion and knowing what that had to mean to Kenny and all that.

[Elster88]

SteveJRogers wrote: Besides wouldn't you rather NOT hear "Hey, Da Championship still hadda go through Da Bronx this year!" type statements all winter ala 2001-2004?

I don't think anyone cares.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

I wanted the Mets to go as deep into the postseason as they could. They made it 7 games into the NLCS. I would have preferred a World Championshp, but I'm glad the Mets didn't have the kind of postseason the Yankees or Dodgers did, with a quick exit.

SteveJRogers wrote: The rationale it seems from you and Elster is that it makes no difference how the season ends. We could have lost to the Dodgers and watched THEM get smoked by the Cardinals, or we could have lost down the stretch of the season and the Philles (or whomever) could have been smoked in the first round. Or we could be beat by the eventual Champs, and there is no difference.

So what you're saying doesn't make a drop of sense.

[stevejrogers]

Elster88 wrote: ="SteveJRogers"]Besides wouldn't you rather NOT hear "Hey, Da Championship still hadda go through Da Bronx this year!" type statements all winter ala 2001-2004? I don't think anyone cares.

We're still beating you on the 18th. And when we do, (or if we play a very tight game and lose at the end) and if you win the National Championship (you went to UCONN right?) wouldn't it stand to reason Fairfield fans across the...ummm North East... will take some comfort in being able to compete with the eventual National Champs? Course thats regular season and all, and not the tourny

But say you lost to Duke in the Final Four round in a close, tight game, and Duke won the National Championship, wouldn't you have a sense of "Yeah, we gave the Champs all they could handle, the title had to go through US! Damn, if only this, this and this happened, we could be the National Champs." And if Duke got creamed in the Championship game the feeling would be "Ah we'd probably get beat anyway, wasn't our year."