Well, at least the game was
decided early, saving us from another late-inning disaster. Now that the season is dead, it's time to compile a list of reasons to watch the final 35 games. We'll go player by player...
- Damon - Easy, more kindling.
- Jeter - .300 batting average
- Abreu - Pad his numbers in meaningless games so we can overpay to keep him around for 3 more years. (Or get a 1st round pick when someone else signs him)
- A-Rod - Lead the league in VORP and WARP and not finish in top 10 for MVP.
- Giambi - Figure out if he's going for the porn star or state trooper look.
- Nady - Hopefully see him make the Abreu decision easy.
- Matsui - Another artist's rendition of a loved one at a press conference.
- Cano - Can he keep his OBP above .300?
- Pudge - Hopefully move from a Type B to a Type A.
- Molina - See if he becomes every pitcher's personal catcher.
- Gardner - See if Girardi institutes the "Willie Mays Hays" approach to pop ups.
- Betemit - Feel strongly enough about him to either boo or cheer.
- Moose - 20 wins, obviously.
- Pettitte - Root for Mo to save 5 more wins for him. (They're going for the record)
- Ponson - See if he'll get cut from another team who's desperate for starting pitching.
- Joba - Come back, finish strong, and show no signs of shoulder problems.
- Hughes - Get healthy, finish strong. Wherever he finishes.
- Pavano - Final trip to the DL as a Yankee with a scorching case of gonorrhea. Signs 5-year deal with Boston in the offseason.
- Rasner - Finally assumes his rightful spot on the staff as the mop-up guy.
- Britton - See if he can set the record for frequent flier miles from NY to Scranton.
- Kennedy - See if he actually starts to care that he sucks.
- Traber - Prove that no lefty is better than a bad lefty to management.
- Marte - See if Girardi can figure out that he's a situational guy, not a two-inning guy.
- Edwar - Watching guys swing and miss at the change. That never gets old.
- Veras - Use the final 5 weeks to cement his role as the 8th inning guy for 2009.
- Mo - Enter a tie game, exit with the game still a tie.
- Meacham - See if he can somehow learn to ignore his horrible instincts.
- Girardi - Hope that these are the final 35 lineup cards he'll fill out as the Yankee manager.
Player of The Game: Matsui, simply for pissing Halladay off with his bomb.
Team Record: 67-60
Damon: I have no idea, I stopped watching closely in the 2nd inning. Let me know if he broke one later on.
A big thanks to reader Alex K. for his contributions to this post.
To answer the title question: you can still root against the Mets!
Seriously though: you won't want to turn on a TV or radio if the Mets make the playoffs and the Yanks don't. So let's hope the Phils get their butts in gear -- and quickly -- so we can send Shea Stadium off with a whimper.
The Phils better pull it together. What has happened to that offense?
I'm pretty confident the Mets will choke coming down the stretch, though. I doubt there will be post season baseball in either NY stadium.