Plum Crazy

``The Cubs were America's favorite. I think we're the darlings of the baseball world now,'' Marlins manager Jack McKeon said

Had McKeon waited until this morning to utter those words, he'd probably have been right. But he said it after the Marlins beat the Cubs in Game 7 of the NLCS. At that point, the Marlins probably came close to being as hated as the Yankees. Everyone, except the 10 Marlins fans, wanted the Cubs to win. Nobody liked the Marlins for beating them.

Had the Red Sox beaten the Yankees last night, the Marlins still wouldn't be the darlings of the baseball world. Because everybody, except the 10 Marlins fans and hundreds of thousand of Yankees fans, would want the Red Sox to win.

Today, though, the Marlins probably are the darlings of the baseball world. Because everybody, but the hundreds of thousands of Yankees fans, want the Yankees to lose. And the Marlins are their only hope.

Sadly, Jack, you're not loved today on your own merits. Face it. Nobody really cares about the Marlins. You're only loved today because of the Yankees (de)merits. As a Yankees fan, that just makes me laugh.