Mood Music - Synchronicity II by The Police
So here we are after being swept by the Rays this weekend, sitting on an 0-3 record on our way to face the Orioles, and I thought it'd be a good time for another Psychological Fan Study. In case you missed the last Psychological Fan Study, or PFS, these discussions are a nice way to learn how we, the posters at Pinstripe Alley, deal with certain situations mostly regarding our beloved New York Yankees. Clearly a lot of us, as fans, have put a considerable amount of emotion into this team throughout our lives in various ways, and I think it helps bring us closer together to learn how we deal with certain situations regarding the Yankees. It also helps me learn more about you and your personalities, which I've admitted before is a hobby of mine. Like I said, I'm always studying you!
The last PFS dealt with siituations regarding worrying about the team, how fans deal with playoffs losses, and mostly about the team as a whole. It got a lot of nice responses and overall I thought it was a good discussion. This PFS is going to study with how we deal with when the Yankees lose. Obviously as fans, no one ever wants to see their team lose. It's why the 1998 Yankees spoiled so many Yankees fans, because they really did not lose. However, losing games is just a part of baseball and I think a lot of fans deal with it in different ways. Why I find it so fascinating in regards to Yankees fans is because of how good this team has been for so long, so in many ways we are still spoiled by success. I'm not saying we're as spoiled as the part of the fanbase that I despise, but still I think many of us still expect so much from this organization and the quality team they put together year after year. Once again, I will post some situational questions to be answered and just like last time, I will answer my own questions to show that I am never above answering my own psychological study and showing you what kind of fan I am. Feel free to answer in any which way you like but as detailed an answer as you can give would be much appreciated.
Paging Dr. IGYAR after the jump...
Situation #1. The Yankees lose a game. Obviously a pretty standard situation, except that there are many ways to lose a baseball game. What kind of loss upsets you the most? Is it a blowout? A close pitcher's duel? A close game with lots of runners left in scoring position? Or perhaps something else entirely that I haven't thought about. What kind of Yankees loss really just grinds your gears?Situation #2. Management. As clearly seen by the threads, many of us have never really been happy with Joe Girardi's management style. How often do you blame just Girardi when it comes to the Yankees losing? In all honesty, do you think you could manage the Yankees better than Joe Girardi? Would you prefer another manager, and if so whom would you prefer? Do you think most MLB managers manage like Girardi does?
Situation #3. Yankees Organization. For all the anger we like to throw at Girardi, there are definitely fans who like to throw crap at Cashman and the Steinbrenners. "Why did they get this player to begin with?" "What were they thinking trading this guy?" When the Yankees are losing, do you think about certain moves or trades that the Yankees organization made? Do you blame Cashman for the move or focus more on how the management uses said player? Do you think another GM could do a better job? Do you think you'd make a better GM than Cashman?
Situation #4. The blame game. Along with emotional attachment to the team, a lot of people have emotional attachments to certain players, whether they really like a certain player or really dislike a certain player. Do you find yourself blaming a certain player more than another because you just don't like him? Do you find yourself letting certain players off the hook in certain situations because you like them so much? Do you just blame Girardi and his binder? Do you not blame anyone and just accept it as part of the game?
Situation #5. Superstition. This should definitely make an interesting psychological study. We know players are superstitious, but I've found that fans can be as well. Is there anything that you do that you think contributes to the Yankees losing? Do you think you going to games makes the Yankees lose? Is there any other kind of superstition you might believe contributes to the Yankees losing?
Situation #6. Coping. The last situation deals directly with you watching or listening to a game in which the Yankees are losing. Do you find that posting on PSA with other Yankees fans helps during a losing game? Or is the opposite true and PSA threads just make you even more upset? Do you do something else that helps with losing or things that just bother you during the game?
Well that's it for this PFS. I hope I get a lot of great answers again from you all, as I really do think these can be fun and enlightening for everyone. Or just me. Remember, I'm always watching you, especially now that it's the regular season!
IGYAR's Answers.
#1. I'll definitely admit that losses in which we leave a lot of RISP probably upset me more than any other. Pitcher's duels I can easily deal with because we just got shut down. Blowouts are blowouts and they don't bother me much. Even games ruined by errors are less upsetting to me just because that can happen. But man, games in which we have a lot of hits but wind up with 2 or 3 runs? Those just get to me!
#2. I'll definitely complain about moves Girardi makes, but I do think there are worse managers out there and that a lot of managers do the same thing that Girardi does at times. While I do think a change might be nice, it would really depend on who. I know what type of person I am and I would definitely not make a better manager than Girardi because I like to gamble and I'd most likely be run out of town for some questionable moves I would make. Plus I'd really sarcastically talk to the media at times and I guarantee that wouldn't fly with the Yankees.
#3. When the Yankees sign players like Mitre and they blow it, I definitely look at Cashman with anger. While I do think he's a good GM and that the Yankees are lucky to have him at times, I have never been his biggest fan and definitely question a lot of his moves. If said player does blow a game, I will look at both the fact that he's on the team and how they are used and usually get upset. I would not make a good GM because I'm not good at stats and that's extremely important when getting players, whether it works out or not.
#4. Even if I really like a player or hate them, if they did not contribute in any way or they blew the game, I'm definitely not above saying they did. However, I still pretty much will just say that it's part of the game, unless that player is so god awful that I don't think they should be on the team at all.
#5. The only thing I became really superstitious about was when the Yankees played Sunday Night ESPN games. I just always felt that we seemed to lose those games no matter what, no matter who we were playing. Now i just think it's because I dislike the ESPN broadcast team so much.
#6. I can honestly say that I love the PSA threads when we're losing just because usually the humor of some of the posters makes the losing process that much easier to deal with. Granted, you always get your whiners at times, but I can easily ignore them and focus on the laughs and good times. When things bother me during games, I do like to punch my pillow or cabinet, but it has to be something really bad in order for me to do that.