SoapBox Sports

I didn't want to follow up yesterday's column with more negativity, but this was too rich to pass up. The following is a conversation I had over instant messenger with a Yankee fan. I think it cuts right to the heart of why anyone with a soul should hate the Yankees and their fans. The screennames have been changed to protect the ignorant.

Yankee Fan: lets go yankees
Me: hahaha
Me: that's funny
Yankee Fan: isnt it
Yankee Fan: so is there 6.5 game lead over boston
Yankee Fan: and the second best record in baseball
Me: i guess after getting swept at home, you gotta focus on the positive
Yankee Fan: yeah thankfully they are able to move on from such a devastating weekend
Yankee Fan: oh wait those losses meant nothing
Yankee Fan: good point
Me: "meant nothing?" every game played means something....that's why they play them.....the only question is how much did they mean....and we'll find that out in October
Yankee Fan: NOTHING
Yankee Fan: just like the nba season
Me: uh huh
Yankee Fan: regular season means crap, they play half heartedly everyday and still win 100 games a season
Me: nothing means anything then by that illogical reasoning
Me: we'll see how far that attitude gets them in the playoffs
Yankee Fan: to the world series usually
Me: good luck
Me: it's still better to win games than to lose them usually....even if they "mean nothing"
Yankee Fan: true
Yankee Fan: i agree
Yankee Fan: thats why im happy with the 77 wins they have this season
Me: again, focus on the positive. good for you
Yankee Fan: good for them
Me: good for you, good for them, and good for the Angels, waxing the Yankee Stadium floor with them three games in a row :-)
Yankee Fan: are the angels even gonna make the playoffs?
Me: if the season ended today they would
Me: if I were a Yankee fan, I'd sure hope that they didn't
Yankee Fan: im a yankee fan
Yankee Fan: and i could give a crap if the angels make it
Yankee Fan: no one in the AL can touch them
Me: LOL
Yankee Fan: especially the scrubs on the angels
Me: If by that you mean no one in the AL can touch them for less than 6 runs per game, yeah. I'll bet you could walk outside right now and tell me it's snowing too. You're better than the Former Iraqi Information Director!
Yankee Fan: nope
Me: scrubs?
Yankee Fan: its 73 and sunny
Me: Vladimir Guerrero is a scrub?
Yankee Fan: nothing but truth coming from this side of the screen
Yankee Fan: no he's good
Me: Jose Guillen is a scrub?
Me: Garret Anderson is a scrub?
Yankee Fan: nope he's good (only because hes in my fantasy outfield)
Yankee Fan: do they have any pitchers? colon?
Me: If the "scrubs" are the ones that have a higher team batting average and better pitching stats and mop up head to head, I guess I'd rather not be the superstars
Yankee Fan: better pitching stats?
Me: look it up
Yankee Fan: which part
Yankee Fan: the yankees have a far superior pitching staff
Me: the Yankees shoddy starting pitching is the biggest reason they will not win the World Series
Yankee Fan: the angels shoddy team is the reason they wont make the playoffs
Me: tough to call them shoddy when they just embarrassed the mighty Yankees
Me: but the Yankees kind of suck right now so I guess it's not actually a great accomplishment
Yankee Fan: Vazquez, Brown, Mussina, Hernandez, Loaiza....
Yankee Fan: should I go on about how awesome there pitching staff is
Me: big names, bigger ERAs
Yankee Fan: not quite as high as the angels
Yankee Fan: Loaiza is the only weak link
Yankee Fan: and we are working on axing his ass right now
Me: 4.33 for the Angels
Me: 4.56 for the Yankees
Me: can you count?
Yankee Fan: the yankees dont have a pitcher with a losing record?
Yankee Fan: must be nice
Yankee Fan: that .2 runs doesnt mean crap if you cant win a game
Me: Angels overall pitching rank--14th
Me: Yankees--19th
Yankee Fan: rank?
Me: just below the Devil Rays, fyi
Me: statistical rankings
Me: they do that
Yankee Fan: and for some reason the yankees with there AWFUL pitching manage to be in first
Yankee Fan: thats interesting
Me: crappy division
Me: what am i saying
Me: the yanks are a good team
Me: there's no denying that
Yankee Fan: why thank you
Me: But I still believe, based on facts and games actually played, that the Angels are better
Me: right now, i don't see how you can say they're not
Me: that's like telling your girlfriend she's actually not pregnant
Me: you can say it, but it doesn't change the facts

In hindsight, I did make a false statement that I will correct now. The overall pitching rankings I thought I was looking at were actually rankings by ERA alone. However, I think my point remains valid. I compared the two teams and found that the Angels are better than the Yankees in every statistical pitching category except W-L, saves, and walks.