11/24/24
November 07, 2009
17 Congressmen Vote Against Yankees Resolution: In the good-natured spirit of recent debate here on SportsFilter, in which our members are sharply divided over whether the New York Yankees won because of their massive payroll or the other teams lost because of their tiny payroll, we bring you Congressman William Delahunt (D.-Mass.). When a resolution was proposed in the House to congratulate the Yankees on their 27th World Series win, he joined 16 others in voting no. "He told me that as a lifelong member of Red Sox Nation, he couldn't bring himself to vote for it," his spokesman explained.
What could possibly be more important than preventing the nation from further infection by the Evil Empire?
posted by cixelsyd at 10:43 PM on November 07, 2009
I'm sure Congress deliberated for days upon days on the proper wording of the resolution to congratulate the Yankees at the expense of all other legislation. Oh and it usually takes weeks to gather and count all the votes anyways.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 01:01 AM on November 08, 2009
"Being from New York, I have always considered myself to be a winner," King told The Hill. "So it is very difficult for me to understand the 'begrudgery' and thought process of those who come from unimportant cities and states."
That's hilarious. It also seems to sum up the sense of entitled worship that the masses should bestow upon the Yankees. I live in an unimportant city and state. Woe is me.
posted by tselson at 01:09 AM on November 08, 2009
What? Every minute Congress deals with stupidity a poor person dies?
No, I think Ceiling Cat kills somebody masturbating. Or something.
posted by NoMich at 01:18 AM on November 08, 2009
The poor Red Sox. They've been trying to compete with so little finances throughout the years, it's criminal. I can't wait until baseball does more to allow teams like the Sox to compete fairly. Never mind that the Phillies, Sox, Cardinals, White Sox, Marlins, Angels, and Diamondbacks have won championships this decade, and the Rays, Rockies, Tigers, Astros, and Giants have been in the World Series in the past few years too. It's those damn Yankees that are ruining baseball! Baseball has a huge problem on it's hands because the Yankees are winning the World Series every year. Wait, no, that's not quite right. I mean the Yankees are at least IN the World Series every year. Oh, no, that's not right either.
All this arguing about how the Yankees are dominating baseball in an unfair manner, and the fact remains they haven't even been in the World Series in nine years. Major League Baseball in making a lot of money, and quite a few different teams are winning championships the past several years. This is the reason Major League Baseball isn't going to change the way it operates.
posted by dyams at 01:19 AM on November 08, 2009
I remain wedded to Matt Taibbi's argument that if sporting and political hacks swapped jobs for a week, America would be much better off.
"Being from New York, I have always considered myself to be a winner," King told The Hill.
He was so much more amusing when he was supporting the IRA. Oh, no, that's not true at all.
posted by etagloh at 01:29 AM on November 08, 2009
"Being from New York, I have always considered myself to be a winner," King told The Hill. "So it is very difficult for me to understand the 'begrudgery' and thought process of those who come from unimportant cities and states."
I know that's suppose to be funny, and I've loved NYC every time I've visited, but that quote isn't surprising. In the piece linked yesterday about how much NY needed this WS win because of their suffering, it wasn't good enough to say that they've suffered like most of the U.S.
No, New York had to suffer MORE than the rest of the U.S. It gets tedious.
Wait, no, that's not quite right. I mean the Yankees are at least IN the World Series every year. Oh, no, that's not right either.
The faults with your reasoning are so blatantly obvious and have been discussed and linked to so many times here that I have trouble believing you're serious.
posted by justgary at 02:08 AM on November 08, 2009
All this arguing about how the Yankees are dominating baseball in an unfair manner, and the fact remains they haven't even been in the World Series in nine years.
Ahem, the Reds haven't been in the World Series for nineteen. The Rangers...never? Brewers? Playoffs? Nope, haven't been able to enjoy the home team in those for almost two decades. I just love it when Yankee fans try to convince fans of other teams that they shouldn't be so petty, by saying that it took a longer time for the Yankees to win their 27th than it should have.
I've raised children who don't know what playoff baseball is all about, let alone appearing in the World Series. Yes, I am a fan of a bottom feeding NL team. I live in an unimportant part of the country. I thought I was a winner but then I realized I wasn't from New York. Forgive me for not wanting to praise their wonderful achievement. I'm too simple to understand that the Yankees have a harder time competing than other teams.
posted by tselson at 02:21 AM on November 08, 2009
The Yankees won the series?
posted by irunfromclones at 02:59 AM on November 08, 2009
As a lifelong Red Sox fans, let me extend my congratulations to the Yankees.
posted by Joey Michaels at 06:44 AM on November 08, 2009
As someone who recently learned the dangers of qualified praise, I vote yes on the resolution to congratulate the Yankees. They are a worthy champion.
posted by rcade at 08:23 AM on November 08, 2009
The faults with your reasoning are so blatantly obvious and have been discussed and linked to so many times here that I have trouble believing you're serious.
I'm not really serious, just sick of the ridiculous ways people from all walks of life, Congress included, get involved with this same, tired Yankee-bashing shit. It's old and the fact baseball doesn't want to do anything about it makes me say all the more, "Get over it."
Ahem, the Reds haven't been in the World Series for nineteen. The Rangers...never? Brewers? Playoffs? Nope
Maybe the organizations of the above-mentioned teams are poor at putting together their teams. My point is that many teams, the Rays being the best example, recognize talent and build contending teams on limited money. Same with Florida. They build up a team, tear it apart (by choice), then, a few years later, rise back to the top. They dump veterans but get talent in return. Like the way they do things or not, they generally meet with decent success. Pirates fans know they can't compete economically with the top grossing teams, but their fans know their management doesn't recognize young talent.
I understand the concerns when it comes to the money thing, believe me. My only real issue is when people want to use that as the one and only reason specific teams never contend or improve. And money is also no guarantee teams that have the resources will win it all either.
posted by dyams at 09:58 AM on November 08, 2009
I don't regard this Congressman's "no" vote as "Yankee-bashing shit." It's friendly jocularity, like when mayors taunt each other before their cities play in the Super Bowl.
posted by rcade at 10:16 AM on November 08, 2009
Yeah, I can't believe people are rending their garments over this. "Being from New York, I have always considered myself to be a winner," seemed clearly tongue in cheek to me, but I guess I hadn't considered how important this issue is. No more joking about this Serious Business.
posted by yerfatma at 10:31 AM on November 08, 2009
Ahem, the Reds haven't been in the World Series for nineteen. The Rangers...never? Brewers? Playoffs? Nope,
Well, that's just because they suck. The Yankees have quality throughout the organization. Not just the players. From the coaches to the scouts to the GM- they have smarter people than you do. You can't buy that.
Face it, you haters: The Yankees are first-rate organization and yours is not.
You are all babies, because it's impossible for you to admit that the Yankees simply do things better than your team does. And they don't dismantle a team after they win a championship, either.
Don't blame your team's problems on the Yankees. It's pathetic.
posted by JButton at 11:53 AM on November 08, 2009
From the coaches to the scouts to the GM- they have smarter people than you do. You can't buy that.
You can't buy front-office talent? Are you serious? In corporate baseball, you buy everything; the best on-field and off-field talent you can.
They Yankees exist in an environment where spending hundreds of millions of dollars (and more on a new stadium) are sustainable; that's not sustainable in every market. There is nowhere near the same amount of corporate money available in, say, Cincinnati, nor are there the funds to float them millions of dollars of tax-friendly loans. New York is the most resource-friendly market in North America; is it no wonder its sports teams (pre-2005 Rangers, Yankees, Mets) are consistently among the top spenders in the league.
These are simple market realities, not sour grapes, and it's disingenuous to believe that good people in the front office can't be bought the same way that players can. The Yankees are the best team in the league because they've had the resources to staff all-stars from front office to the outfield, year in, year out.
posted by dfleming at 12:10 PM on November 08, 2009
Congress included, get involved with this same, tired Yankee-bashing shit.
Come on now. This was a complete joke. You did read what those in the Yankee corner said, right?
My only real issue is when people want to use that as the one and only reason specific teams never contend or improve.
It's not the only reason, but it's a huge reason. It's entirely possible for a small market team to hit gold one year, especially if the yankees and other big market teams don't spend wisely. But those teams don't have the resources to keep those teams together. So Becket goes to Boston, and CC goes to New York.
The Yankees are't guaranteed to win a WS every year. They are guaranteed to be in contention every year. That's a huge advantage. The get to buy more lottery tickets than any other team. It's only because of the nature of baseball and bad decisions by the front office that the Yankee's payroll isn't even more of an advantage.
I know it's frustrating to feel like all you read here when it comes to the Yankees is payroll. But for most fans they don't see much difference between the Yankees and Red Sox. I've heard 'the Red Sox are now just like the Yankees' more times than I can count; far different than when other fans wanted the Red Sox to win. I gotta tell you, it's feels better to root for a winning team. Yeah, it sucks to hear that the Red Sox bought their way out of the 'curse', but I'll gladly take those barbs to have seen 2 WS championships. You root for a team with 27 WS victories. That should be a pretty big pillow to rest your head on when discussion starts getting you down.
And as for resenting Yankee success and reveling in their misery, remember, the first response in the Red Sox elimination thread was yours. I believe it was "beautiful".
The Yankees have quality throughout the organization. Not just the players. From the coaches to the scouts to the GM- they have smarter people than you do.
Well,
Since 2001, the yankees have outspent the marlins by 1.2 billion dollars and won the same number of championships as the marlins did during that time.(2001-2009 yankees: 1,578,299,197; 2001-2009 marlins: 332,995,293.
I guess they turned smart over night, huh?
JButton, I wouldn't be surprised if you're on the Yankee payroll. You do a good job of PR. But how about a little less calling people haters and babies. It doesn't help the discussion.
posted by justgary at 12:52 PM on November 08, 2009
Does Congress pass a resolution for every team that wins the World Series?
posted by irunfromclones at 04:03 PM on November 08, 2009
Does Congress pass a resolution for every team that wins the World Series?
They pass resolutions for just about every kind of championship. You can do a search here.
posted by goddam at 05:24 PM on November 08, 2009
Face it, you haters: The Yankees are first-rate organization and yours is not. You are all babies, because it's impossible for you to admit that the Yankees simply do things better than your team does.
This isn't a homer site where fans go on and on about how my team rocks and your team sucks.
posted by rcade at 06:29 PM on November 08, 2009
As a fan of the Seattle professional sporting clubs and a long-time sufferer of their complete ineptitude, plus the fact the the basketball team has moved to Oklahomaferchrissakes, I have to say that I congratulate the Yankees on their World Series win. But with my tongue in cheek I must also tell them to fuck-off. It's the right thing to do and keeps the universe in balance.
JButton, does it get drafty under that bridge with those billy goats?
posted by THX-1138 at 08:10 PM on November 08, 2009
From the coaches to the scouts to the GM- they have smarter people than you do.
It does take some serious brains to sign Carl Pavano, Jaret Wright and Kei Igawa for a combined amount of more than $114million, and get 521IP of 5.28 ERA. That's some smart spending right there.
No, wait. What's the opposite of smart?
It doesn't matter, because the enormous payroll advantage allowed them to eat those three disastrous contracts and still sign A.J. Burnett, C.C. Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez (for a raise), Johnny Damon, Mike Mussina, Hideki Matsui, Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield in the past 7 seasons.
That also doesn't include picking up high-priced stars like Randy Johnson, Bobby Abreu and Kevin Brown from other teams looking for salary dumps.
Or resigning their own players for above market value to keep them.
Yes, they've done some good things with the money, and they've done some good things with drafting and developing players. But the last 8 seasons has been more about throwing a whole lot of money around and hoping it works. In 2009, the money landed in the right pockets and things worked out for them, and they were able to absorb the damage when the money went in the wrong pockets.
posted by grum@work at 10:30 PM on November 08, 2009
Being a Phillies fan and living just 15 miles from NY, I would vote "no" even though my district runs to the Hudson River.
posted by jjzucal at 10:30 PM on November 08, 2009
Regardless of money or not at the end the Yankees won.The money has nothing to do with it.The Marlins won 2 WS and had less of a payroll.It has to do with the players playing well and together as a well oiled machine.The Yankees did it better than anybody else and that is it.That most people do not like it changes nothing.New York is a great city with great fans and a city government that supports its teams.What don't other cities do it too?.Hey,Boston,Dallas,Philly,etc get with the flow and do what New York do for its teams instead of criticizing?.
posted by ogomezmontes at 12:58 AM on November 09, 2009
What don't other cities do it too?
New York City Operating Budget, 2005: 46.9 Billion Dallas City Operating Budget, 2009: 1.09 Billion Boston City Operating Budget, 2009 2.39 Billion
That's a good reason.
posted by dfleming at 07:40 AM on November 09, 2009
I think this is funny because a NY representative, Serrano, is the one who asked for the Roll Call vote. These normally pass by voice vote, so there is not an official vote recorded. So, we have no idea if NY reps vote against the Red Sox resolutions.
posted by bperk at 07:59 AM on November 09, 2009
Doesn't congress have anything better to do than give red sox fans another forum in which to whine and snivel?
posted by tbonanno at 08:30 AM on November 09, 2009
When a resolution was proposed in the House to congratulate the Yankees on their 27th World Series win, he joined 16 others in voting no. "He told me that as a lifelong member of Red Sox Nation, he couldn't bring himself to vote for it," his spokesman explained.
Doesn't that in itself tell you that this man's opinion is baised? I'm a huge Mets fan thru & thru but I still felt compelled to congratulate the Yanks on winning it all this season just as I did for the Phillies last year even though I despise the Phils.
posted by BornIcon at 09:30 AM on November 09, 2009
I think it would be hilarious if in the next election cycle there are attack adds against people for voting for or against this resolution, as appropriate for their locality.
posted by bender at 01:01 PM on November 09, 2009
Doesn't that in itself tell you that this man's opinion is baised?
I'm having a hard time believing people are taking this seriously, but since they apparently are, the bill was introduced by a member of congress from NY. I have a hard time believing he would have done the same if the Phillies had won. So if you're going to throw the word biased around...
Doesn't congress have anything better to do than give red sox fans another forum in which to whine and snivel?
posted by tbonanno
Dude, your first comment in 3 years on this forum is to whine about Red Sox fans, despite that most of the opinions in this thread are from non Red Sox fans. Mmm, irony.
posted by justgary at 02:59 PM on November 09, 2009
Doesn't Congress have anything better to do?