As a fan of Major League Baseball, I enjoy a good rivalry. The Yankees and Red Sox are a good example: two strong teams, in the same division, with a long history of antipathy and upsets. Such contests are made more entertaining when a "stud" player leaves Team A to go play for Team B. In the case of the Yanks and Sox, the Babe Ruth trade is infamous to those who follow baseball. And just this year Johnny Damon did the same thing, leaving Red Sox fans bitter. Bitter. They boo when Damon bats. They cheer if he happens to strike out. And they bring all sorts of signs to convey their feelings. Yeah, they're bitter. Excellent fodder for nourishing a rivalry.
In recent years, the MLB has attempted to increase interest in the games by introducing (reintroducing?) "interleague" play. For a couple of weeks each season, teams in the National League and the American League play one another (something that typically does not occur until the World Series). For folks like me, it is fun. They create regional rivalries: the Houston Astros play the Texas Rangers. The New York Yankees play the New York Mets. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim play the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ditto the Chicago Cubs and White Sox. And the Toronto Blue Jays play the Montreal Expos. Well, they did. Back before the Montreal franchise moved to Washington DC.
The former Expos are now the Washington Nationals, located less than an hour from Camden Yards, home of the Baltimore Orioles. And so, those couple of weeks each year when the Os and Nats play one another, the media has dubbed the rivalry the Battle of the Beltways. (See, there's the 695 loop around Baltimore called the Beltway, and the 495 loop around DC also called the Beltway. It's sorta like the "Bay Series" between San Francisco and Oakland, or the "Subway Series" between the Yankees and Mets. Battle of the Beltways. Get it? Good.)
Now like I said, I'm all for a good rivalry. I do enjoy when the Os and Nats play each other because I know all of the players. And it's efficient television-viewing, as I'll see both of "my" teams play in the span of about three hours - without channel-hopping. My problem is this. Going into this weekend's Battle, the season record for the two teams was:
Nats: 32-42
Os: 33-41
That's right. Both well below .500. Both within two losses of being at the bottom of their division.
I guess "Meeting of the Mediocre" or "Discord of the Deficient" don't carry the same media appeal.
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8 comments:
One thing such a series reminds me is that while I really want to embrace the Nats as our local team, my heart remains with the Orioles even though they are big losers and regularly break my heart.
Kinda like the Cubs and White Sox-except the Sox have been doing well. Of late, the *cross-town classics* have been more embarrassing than entertaining (if it's baseball you enjoy when watching a baseball game.)
"I guess "Meeting of the Mediocre" or "Discord of the Deficient" don't carry the same media appeal."
Ha! For me, media appeal would be so much the better for your new-and-improved rivalry names.
I think we should properly call the LA rivalry ("The Freeway Series" in these parts) the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers of Los Angeles just to highlight the ridiculousness of the Angels' name change. Having grown up 10 minutes from Disneyland, I know how very OC and how very not LA the Angels really are! (And I'm a bit of a fan—with pre–World Series jerseys to prove it!)
I know nothing about how OC rather than LA the Angels might be, but I know the name is absurd.
You know, there's a whole theme here if we consider the NFL. The Washington Redskins of Maryland or the New York Giants of New Jersey (distinguished from the New York Jets of East Rutherford, of course.) Hey, maybe the NFL should consider such. Then the general masses would know the Kansas City Chiefs of Missouri have nothing to do with the State of Kansas.
interleague play when both team are below 500 = the chance to relax during a game, beause it's doesn't matter anyhow!
Silver lining, to my way of thinking.
I miss the Orioles. We don't live close enough to the Angels to go often and the Dodgers do nothing for me.
Two things I miss about my Orioles experiences are that little thrill I got when my car was still there in some random lot near Memeorial Stadium and the orange mesh cop hats the ushers wore.
What's not to like about that great Hosuton-Detroit rivalry that plays out in dynamic form tonight. (Actually, that should be a good game).
Is there a stitch and pitch game we can go to?
www.stitchandpitch.com
eb, even the Nats could take the Braves, the way they've been playing of late.
I've never heard of "stitch and pitch", and would never have thought to associate the two... but if it works for Bluebonnet, it can't be all bad.
You "miss" the Os, Sporks? Do tell, you non-native Californian.
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