Boo Hiss

I don't want this to turn into a sports blog or a sports talk review blog or anything like that. But this is more of a social commentary.

Over the past offseason in baseball, first baseman Mark Teixeira, who was born and raised down the road from here in Anne Arundel County (inexplicably pronounced "Anne Darundel" in true Balamerese) signed a lucrative (8 years, 180 million dollars) to play baseball for the New York Yankees. Over the course of his career, he had hinted that he would someday like to come home and play for his hometown team, the Orioles. But he did not, for two reasons: the Yankees offered him more money, and they seem much more likely to play in the postseason than the Orioles will, for the next several years, at least.

No one in Baltimore will deny that this is a free country, and people unemcumbered by contracts and other binding agreements can work for whom they wish. If you're sizzling patties for Mc Donald's and the local Wendy's takes note of your advanced talent with a spatula, they might offer you more money than you're finding under the golden arches. Not quite Teixeira money, you understand, but when more money is offered, it's a basic American right to go for it, if you wish.

It's also a basic American right to go to a ballgame and express your disdain for Teixeira and his decision to sell out to the evil New Yorkers and their ill-gotten filthy lucre. That's what thousands of Baltimoreans did at the opening day game here the other day as the local boy came to play for the Bronx Bombers and went hitless, letting his team down in several vital situations. The fans reacted gleefully as the prodigal local came back and did not do so well.

But a certain Colin Cowherd, a sports radio talk show host (got to be proud) on ESPN, said that the Orioles fans were wrong and had no right to hiss and boo at Teixeira. He enumerated reasons, all logical and valid, why the burly first sacker (see? just like in the sports pages!) had no other choice but to go Yankee.

If it's come to where a baseball fan can't even go to the ballpark and boo a Yankee, then, by golly, it's time to form a committee to look into this!