Well after Sunday, watching the Yankees gain their 40th. Pennant, it got me thinking about the two teams playing. I have been a fan of the Yankees as soon as I was introduced to the sport by my parents. I loved watching Donnie baseball, and thanks to may dad Dimaggio, Munson, Mercer, Gerhig (I know before my time) until 96 when Derek Jeter came on the scene.
I love the way the man played and my dad would always point out how he never takes a play off. He is always trying. Now growing up in the latter part of my youth in Hampton Roads area there was not much baseball other than high school or the Triple A team the Norfolk Tides who at the time were affiliates of the New York Mets. But even though being exposed to Mets players I never wavered from my love from the Yanks. But now living in NYC this is my first time experiencing the Yanks in the Big Show while living hear and there is one group in particular that despise this World Series...New York Mets fans. It hurts them to the heart to see their division rivals and their home city rivals playing each other.
New York Mets fans have a lot of reason to dislike the Yanks. I mean they are the team that you come in second to in everything. You aren't even the favorite team in your own city. You make a new stadium and the yanks have to make a grander one and have a grander opening then you do. You then try and bring in high priced talent having the 2nd highest payroll for the 2009 season (2nd again to the Yankees) and all the injuries cause you to come in dead last of your division. Your paying players to nurse their injuries instead of helping yall win a division. Plus the last time you made it to the big show, you lost to the Yanks.
Now yall may strongly dislike and have ring envy for the Yanks but what you feel for the Phillies is pure hatred. The Phillies have been a thorn in yalls side for years. They are in your division and have also war of words the past few years to go with being the reason yall are shut out of the playoffs. But the difference between you and Phillies is that the Phillies have backed their words on the field and have a ring to show for it and a few division titles to add. Let's take one player on the Mets that I do halfway like- David Wright. A Hampton Roads born and breed boy. Well his mouth recently has written a check that it can't cash. He posed the question about Rollins in '07, "What has Jimmy Rollins ever won?"
Well Mr. Wright since your statement he has since won an MVP, and a championship ring to compliment that and now going for a 2nd ring. And since your Mets have had the biggest chokefest in '07, that the Phillies and Jimmy Rollins benefited from in the end. And now Mets fans get to watch Howard and Rollins mature while yall are still hoping for Wright and Reyes to.
But on Wednesday when the series opens up, gotta make a decision who to root for? But let's hope it’s for the hometown team going for #27 and think there is always next year but until then...
I grew up mainly in Virginia due to where my dad was stationed. Growing up a New York Yankee fan in Virginia is very hard to watch the teams that were airing daily during the summer. One of my best friends was an Orioles fan I believe mainly because at the time the Nationals were non-existent and even then who would really admit to being a Washington Nationals fan? So in the mid to late 90’s he was an Orioles fan and I was the Yankee fan. He had Cal Ripken to root for and I had Don Mattingly. The only games I would watch of the orioles even though sometimes they were the only sport on to watch were games when they played the New York Yankees and when a young kid who came from Stanford University by the name of Mike Mussina. He debuted for the Orioles in 1992 and I had always been a fan of watching him pitch. He was a thinking pitcher and was meticulous in what he threw because he was a small kid and not over powering like Roger Clemens. He was always known as a finesse pitcher with an arsenal of 5 pitches. I loved watching him pitch. Unfortunately despite his great career with the Orioles he always strived to reach the World Series which he was never able to do in Baltimore. 
So after watching the Yankees win the World Series in 2000, he decided to make a team change to help him get to the ultimate show. And most players who want to accomplish this feat went to the New York Yankees. So after 10 years with the Orioles he became a New York Yankee. He actually made it to the World Series twice as a Yankee back in 2001 and in 2003 but never actually winning the ring. Sadly he went twice also to the College World series without a championship as well. He never won a Cy Young although he was a 7 time nominee. Was a 5 time all-star and 7 time gold glover. He spent 18 years in the league with a record of 270-153. He is 33rd all time in wins and 19th in strikeouts with 2813. Since joining the Yankees in 2001 he had at the time of his retirement in 2008 the most wins of any other AL pitcher. He is the 1st pitcher to ever win 10 or more games for 15 straight seasons. Now you can see why this pitcher was one of my favorites of all time. He was a complete and consistent pitcher. And 2 months then after attaining his first 20 win season, the oldest ever to complete that feat but watching the Yankees miss the playoffs for the first time in 13 years he announced his retirement. An as a Yankee fan I cant help now after watching the Yankees win their 27th championship that there was one man who was not on that podium, Mike Mussina. Who became a Yankee one year too late to win in 2000 and retired one year too early to win in 2009. But I will take this time to say thank you to Moose for being a class act and for all the years you have giving to the AL East. You should be a Hall of Famer! 
