The Magic Carpet

By Matthew Storey

Remember 1998?

It was probably the greatest season in MLB history.

It was probably the greatest year the American Economy will EVER know.

Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa put on a bi-cultural HR festival and the Yankees won 125 games.

In St. Louis, Heartland types were tripping over themselves to publicly opine on the 'wholesome' quality of the slugger who took the HR record for the Redbirds and how fitting it was that Native son Roger Maris, a crew cut smalltown boy was passed by a man who could comfortably fit in with Maris's family.

You know...not one of 'them'.

Not a guy like Sammy, in a place like Chicago.

Aw shucks Mark, who'd escaped from that communist country by the San Francisco Bay.

Aw shucks Roger, who'd hated the city he set the record in, and was thrilled to be back where people still knew what matters in life.

That season was five years after the 1993 World Series, which featured an 'All-American', scrappy type who was his generation's Dustin Pedroia. Lenny Dykstra and his NY Met running mate, Wally Backman, were the toast of the sorts of fans who sneered at Mets like Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden, or his CF counterpart with that era's Yankees, Rickey Henderson.

There were people back in the '80s who would argue that Dykstra was actually a better PLAYER than Rickey, the same sorts who made Pedroia, a scrappy overachiever who was 4th in Total Chances and 2nd in OPS amongst SECOND BASEMEN, the American League's MOST Valuable Player.

That was a message from the Baseball Writers who, for some reason, are the people who select MLB award winners. A not-so-subtle message to a certain Manny Ramirez, and those people who prefer his OUT OF THIS WORLD ability. NY Daily News, lead Baseball writer, Bill Madden (who was one of those who adored Lenny and loathed Rickey) OPENLY admitted as much, while calling Manny's success in Los Angeles and legions of adoring fans 'stomach turning'.

These same writers will tell you that Alex Rodriguez, who made one more Error than Pedroia, playing a more difficult position, stole 2 fewer bases, had twice as many HR's (in 19 fewer games) and finished 24 slots (3rd) above him in OPS (On-Base Percentage + Slugging Percentage) with .965 to .869 actually HURT his team.

Sure he was. Sure he did. In the Bizzarro world these folks live in.

Think about 1998 again. As I mentioned, it was that year and the year that followed that saw the American economy and America's position in the World at their greatest point.

And how was this received by a wide swath of the American population?

Did they rally behind the brilliant young President who'd reversed the nightmare of the Reagan/Bush years, and help use America's strength to tackle her logistical needs?

No, they spent tens of millions of Taxpayer dollars to analyze every aspect of the President's SEX LIFE.

That was what mattered to them.

Not excellence. Not success. Not intellect.

What they were interested in, and outraged about, was where he chose to put his cigar.

Or his cock.

Not just on the right, there was plenty of moralizing on the left as well. The current President's wife dismissed the man's spectacular success with an allusion to the Monica affair. The progressive columnist for the NY Times, Maureen Dowd, won a Pulitzer sneering at Bill for having an affair with a younger woman and Hillary for failing to smack him down on behalf of sisterhood.

The American people, however, in their collective wisdom adored Bill and sent Hillary to the Senate twice and nearly into the White House herself. Much to the dismay of the legions of Clinton Haters on both sides of the aisle, who portrayed her support and supporters as being in some sort of deluded minority.

Perhaps where you live.

Where I and 22 Million Americans live. The Clintons are heroes and the people who dislike them are, essentially, invisible.

Which brings us to Manny Ramirez, who follows Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez in the crosshairs of those who once rooted against Rickey, Jim Rice, Darryl and Doc.

When Lenny pumped himself from 165 with those '86 Mets to 225 with those Phillies, nobody failed to understand how that was accomplished.

When Sammy, McGwire and his fellow basher, Jose burst the buttons on their uniform shirts, the 'integrity of the game' was not on the line - turnstiles were humming, dollars were flowing and books and column inches were devoted to the games new 'Golden Age'.

Heck, in Bal'more, a sideburn wearing folk hero named Brady Anderson, was sending young girl and young girl's fathers hearts equally atwitter with a combination of boy-band looks and a 50 HR season. Dear old Dad wasn't dumb, he knew Brady seemed to be an odd candidate for such exalted territory, but he was a 'respectful' kid and, after all - the sort 'I'd love to see my daughter bring home'.

But then an arrogant Black guy, who had little time for the press or interest in the approval of Small Town America, broke 'Good Guy' McGwire's HR record and began to threaten Hank Aaron's career mark.

And all of a sudden, the cry went out 'There appears to be Drug Use in Baseball!'.

Gee, ya think?

Nothing changed. No new insight was brought to the debate, no scientific breakthrough...

But Barry Bonds, like OJ or Bill Clinton, was already 'Guilty' of SOMETHING...and the pursuit was on to find a way to lynch him, regardless of the hypocrisy involved.

Sort of like the folks who demonized Rickey Williams for smoking weed, while celebrating the fair-haired QB who dumped his pregnant Girlfriend for a supermodel. You can hear them going after T.O. when the season turns, but no longer after Randy, of course, since he now catches what the fair-haired one heaves.

Not his sperm, silly - the Football!

They used to like that Mississippi QB kid who played in small town Wisconsin, but now it almost seems like the guy cares about Money! They used to like that long-haired fellow who helped slay the demonic Yankees, until he shaved his head and became their biggest supporter. And, as it turns out, HE likes Money also!

See...We told ya!

So Barry is no longer smacking HR's into the Bay, or over the wall anywhere else.

Those teeming crowds have left San Francisco, and TV viewers no longer will see that gorgeous ballpark on their screens.

And Fred Lewis is playing LF for the Giants.

Who?

Exactly.

And those who went after Barry? In the media and in their living rooms...even the Owners whose stadium and franchise SURVIVAL were a result of Barry, but were forced to actually PAY him for that sort of prowess.

They'll tell you this is GOOD for the game. They'll also tell you that those people who packed the Stadium and cheered for Barry were BAD for the game (did Peter MacGowan return a single dollar?).

Meanwhile, anyone want to guess how long it will be until a SF Giant LF matches the 28 HR a 'finished' Bonds put up in his final year, before the witch-hunt put him into an undesired (and undeserved) retirement? Or when any MLB player will match his .480 On-Base Percentage from that season?

Point being - it isn't about what you actually DO, its about who you ARE.

The moralizers feel empowered to sort out the good and bad for us, and they write the story to suit their take.

That's why Alex Rodriguez, the greatest player most of us will ever have the pleasure to watch play, is the ONLY one of 104 names on a positive test list to be revealed.

It suits their worldview. The propriety and legality involved in unsealing those documents, an offense that dwarfs the supposed 'crime'? Those rules don't matter - 'we' GOT him!!!

And Baseball fans got a great look at what 3B for the Yankees looks like without Alex in the 105 homerless at-bats his replacements contributed in his absence.

All the better, say his detractors. Like Barry, they think Alex Rodriguez, is actually BAD for the game.

Like Clinton was for the Country.

Getting this?

Steroids were cool, until they had an arrogant minority face.

Sentencing guidelines were critical, until OJ came before the court.

And Manny is a bad guy, because he dared to dislike Boston, smack his redneck teammates literally and figuratively and engineer a departure to a big city where he'd be ADORED, instead of demonized.

Because he takes the sort of Drug you take, if you find you need a little more wood in YOUR stick.

Only when YOU take it - it's 'Male Enhancement', in Manny's blood - it's 'girl stuff'.

So now, the game and its 'integrity' have been protected from Barry, in favor of Fred Lewis, the hunt is on to replace Alex with the Cody Ransom's of the World...

And, instead of Manny, delivering Hall of Fame performances, while salsa dancing with his devoted MannyWood fans - the first time LA Dodger Baseball has meant ANYTHING in a Generation - a beloved figure to the largest growing segment of American society and of MLB fandom...

Dodger fans get Juan Pierre, who will steal 2B, if he can figure out how to get to 1B.

Which is a comfort to the fastest declining segment of American society, whose voice has lost any impact in every arena, EXCEPT Sports. Remember, when Rush is on the air or FOX News, that is like speaking to like - only in Sports, can the likes of Bud Selig, Curt Schilling or Jake Peavy actually force themselves to be heard and impact upon the lives of other Americans.

And not surprisingly, like everything ELSE they touch - they make something beautiful - U-G-L-Y.

Somewhere in St. Louis, Joe Buck just popped a couple of female hormone pills and is rubbing off the resultant stiffy thinking ....'We got him!'.

Just don't try to tell anyone who can THINK that this is a 'good' thing.