BEWARE OF A QUIET MAN

Once upon a time I was in an Irish Folk/Punk band called "the Mighty Regis". It was truly a blast playing shows, touring the States and Canada on The Warped Tour and meeting all kinds of folks.  On our 3rd little DIY record we had a song entitled “A Quiet Man”.


(Play this while you're reading this BYB post today)
The material was inspired by lesson my Dad taught me as a kid. In short, he said that if you find yourself in a situation where a fight might break out, ALWAYS keep your eye on the man not saying a word. You see it’s that person who, 9 times out of 10, is the most dangerous in the room. They don’t need to run there mouths to try and make others believe they’re tough…in fact those that feel such a need are most likely doing it to convince themselves. The louder you shout and the more you puff out your chest the more likely you are to be taken seriously right? Not so much.

This brings me to the recent stream of bluster blowing downwind from the Great State of Massachusetts. We all read the fairly sad saber rattling of the career .244 hitting machine Jonny Gomes. Somebody needs to tell Jonny that he’s missing an “H” and another 50 points to his lifetime average. The facial hair didn’t make you strong, Samson. So take it easy. You’re a journeyman that landed in a great situation with a club that played great team baseball. Good for you. Now zip it.

And then there is Boston’s version of “The Boss”…in his wildest dreams maybe. Larry Lucchino doesn’t sweat the New York Yankees…just ask him…wait…better not. He’ll proceed to chew on your ear for the better half of the off-season on how he has seen it all before. How the Yankees don’t impress him. How he doesn’t really give them any thought. Hey, Larry! Pull the other one!

Lucchino and the entire front office keep Ambien in business with all the sleep they lose over the Bronx Bombers. And the more they say they aren’t concerned with New York’s spending spree, the more you KNOW they are! You can read the distress on their faces like they were USA Today. In Boston-ese, “Yaw po cah faces ah wicked bad, boys!”

I will never fully understand the Red Sox…and I guess I’m not supposed to. Even in the good times they seems miserable and panicked that they aren’t as pretty and the other girls in school.  Sure, you can say that the Yankees are focused on Boston because they threw the checkbook at every hole on the roster. You can say that it was because they missed the playoffs and watched as their oldest rivals hoisted a World Championship trophy over their heads. I am sure the Yankees were unhappy about that…until Thanksgiving. Now it’s 2014 and the Yankees have a short memory. And that is why they’ll always have the Sox number. The Yankees think about themselves. They don’t react to what Boston does. They react to what it means to be the most successful franchise in all of Sport. Their job is to win come hell or high water. The club up in New England has done well for itself in the past decade…swell. The gentlemen in the Pinstripes have done well for themselves over the past CENTURY!

Honestly, do you ever hear many sound bites coming from the Yankee clubhouse about Boston? Think about it for a second or two. Aside from a post game interview with the Skipper after a Boston pitcher threw at Derek Jeter…again. The Yanks seem to stay above the fray. They walk the walk. If they lose they saddle up and say, “We’ll be back. See ya then.” Probably better to have a sharp August base hit against New York than a dull January jab in the Herald…but that’s what they do up there. It’s as Boston as Samuel Adams, The Charles River and Chowda.

Think about the years that New York has had a parade down the “Canyon of Heroes”. Do you ever remember a guy like Shane Spencer stepping off the float and commenting on Boston’s off-season acquisitions?

Ever heard a Yankee platoon player tough talk the Sox a month before pitchers and catchers report? Nope. Mr. Gomes…you are a platoon player at best. Here’s some Gillette shaving gel and a Mach 5 razor! It’s on me. Go clean up and have a good season.

Boston will have another good team this year. They have a solid staff and players like that kid at Second base…who isn’t saying much…we’ll need to watch that guy.

I can’t say for sure if the Yankees will benefit from all the moves they made. I can’t say if the 2014 campaign will bring #28 to the Bronx. What I can say is it looks like there will be a dust up between these two teams…and per usual the Yankees are being extremely quiet.




--Mike O'Hara, MLB Fan Cave Host, Season 1
   Twitter: @mikeyoh21
"Paulie was always my favorite player."




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