NEW YORK (WCBS 880) -- Has the whole world gone crazy?
~ Walter Sobchak
Gentle Reader:
Imagine my surprise when I picked up The New York Post today and saw Rudy Giuliani in fresh Red Sox regalia. He was donning a Red Sox jersey, hat, beaded necklace and holding a sign that said “Go Sox.”
Blasphemy! This aggression will not stand. We are not talking about Hillary Clinton here, who once said that if the Cubs and Yankees were in the World Series she would change her allegiance on alternating games. We all know that Hillary could not care less about baseball—which is fine—so no one could possibly takes her foolishness seriously.
In Rudy we have a supposed life-long Yankee fan who has built an identity around his Pinstripe Pride. He even has a sign on his desk that says “Yankee Fan In-Chief” or some such nonsense. We’ve seen him in all the clips and photo ops surrounding the great Yankee teams from 1996-2001. He sat next to the dugout, he took part in the locker room celebrations. He was so synonymous with the Yanks that he refused to stay neutral in the 2000 Subway series, as most politicians would have done.
Let it be known that he has thrown that all away for cheap political pandering. Not only has he alienated Yankee fans by his betrayal, his cheap political trick will also backfire in New Hampshire. No Red Sox fan will respect him for the flip-flop. They will see right though him.
I know if I were a Red Sox fan and I saw such obvious political buffoonery, it would make me not trust the guy to be a man of his own convictions. Can you imagine Stephen King running for office as a Yankee fan? Or Ted Kenney for that matter? (Yes, I l know Ted has his own problems; that’s not the point.)
Rudy’s lack of decency and decorum here is shocking. And before you write to me, this has nothing to do with his political views. Republicans and Democrats alike that I have canvassed this morning see this as a loss of backbone and an indication of cowardice. It’s shameful. Whether I’m a Hillary or a Fred Thompson guy is irrelevant. This is about Rudy’s personal treachery.
Speaking of politics, Joe Torre is doing a masterful job with the press this week. In his Press Conference and in his HBO interview with Bob Costas, he is playing the role of the lonely little child who was not invited to the stickball game.
John Heyman’s article in SportsIllustrated.com reminds us all that Torre was very receptive to an offer in Spring Training that would have granted him a one-year extension at less base money ($4.5 million) than the Yanks ended up offering him after the season. The deal didn’t go down because the negotiator, Steve Swindal, fell from grace and was banished from the family. If it weren’t for Swindal’s DUI and his affair, Torre might have been locked up for another year.
The bottom line is that if the Yankee brass truly did not want Torre back, they wouldn’t risk making an offer. It’s too risky. Yes, they could have handled this much better, and Hank and Randy Levine really need to keep quiet, but Torre had his chance to lead the Yanks to another title. He turned it down.
I am finding Torre’s “Pity me Tour” to be manipulative and somewhat indecent. He’s got a lot in common with Rudy these days.
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