I was on the phone today with Squawker Jon, when I asked him if he had heard the news about Pedro Beato. “What, is he injured again?” Jon groaned. Then Jon corrected me on the pronunciation of the Mets’ pitcher’s name (I was saying it as Beat-o!)
Anyhow, I told Jon the news: Beato is causing a hubbub today over him telling Bergen Record writer Steve Popper that he hates the Yankees. Here’s the direct quote:
“I hate the Yankees,” said reliever Pedro Beato, speaking as a native New Yorker, not out of any actual animosity for the crosstown rivals. “My family – I can tell there are no Yankees fans.
“I think I know more than those guys, not the older guys obviously because they’ve been in this situation. I’ve been to games. I know how crazy the fans can be. As a player you shouldn’t let that get to you. I know it doesn’t get to me. I’d rather play in these situations than play in a game where there’s not that many fans. That’s the whole excitement of the game, how the fans get into the game, how they cheer their team, the loudness and craziness of the crowd.”
I just looked to see if Beato took this back, saying how much he respects the Yankees, blah blah blah, and that he was quoted out of context, but it looks like he’s sticking with what he said. And even though I don’t agree with the sentiment, good for him. It gives people something to talk — or squawk — about besides griping about how the Subway Series doesn’t mean as much as it used to. And he kind of had a backhanded slap at Mets fans, talking about playing in games where there aren’t many fans. You know, kind of like what happens at Citi Field every night!
But guess what? The Mets are not quite as pathetic this year as we Yankee fans seem to think they are. The Yankees’ record is 23-19, and they are one game out of first place. The Mets are 21-22, and five games out of first. If the Mets swept the Yankees this weekend, they would actually have better record than the Bombers. Imagine that!
But I don’t think that will happen — I say the Yankees will win two out of three. I am not sure who will win which game, though! Don’t want to jinx any of the games!
Jon and I were talking about which members of the other team we like. Jon says his favorite Yankees are Mariano Rivera and Pedro Feliciano (I’m appreciative of the first one, and snickereing about the second one!) As for myself, I like Ike (Davis), R.A. Dickey, and Carlos Beltran — I think Beltran gets a bum rap, the way A-Rod did. But it’s a little bittersweet this year, with me having to cope with the loss of Luis Castillo, who had the best play ever in a Subway Series! Fortunately, Mike Vaccaro wrote a great article today recapping the Castillo game. Check it out!
Who is your favorite or least favorite Met or Yankee? Tell us about it!
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