They should have named the Hurricane A-Rod.  Then it wouldn’t have hit anything.  ~ “Hurricane Sandy” joke making the rounds on Twitter yesterday.

Sandy Alomar, by the way, batted .273 during his 19 years in the major leagues. (Alex Rodriguez – A-Rod – of the Yankees is at .295 for his career, despite his icy-cold bat, and benching, this post-season.)

I’d hate to be a New York Yankee. No one likes you. Not even your own fans. I’ve never heard fans so quick to boo, heckle, and denounce their own players. They heckle better than anyone. And, they do it without throwing garbage and beer bottles out into the field (hear that, Atlanta?).

Did you know that the Yankees tagline is “Heroes Remembered. Legends Born”?

Yankees fans are sort of funny about their team. When they win, they’re still not happy; it should have been bigger, it should have been better. Their record 27 World Series victories? Too few.

When they lose (and they do lose from time to time), it’s as though they rival the Cubs in futility. It’s as though they will never win again. Every loss is a hollow cry of despair.

And, really, they have no idea.  NO idea.

When the Orioles lost Game #5 of the American League Division Series in early October, it was well past midnight before they got back to Baltimore. They were met at the stadium by hundreds – hundreds – of loyal fans (layered up against unseasonably cold weather) who showed up to say “Thanks” “Good Job” and “We love you.”

It’s a wonderful moment. You can watch it here.

I wonder if the Yankees came back after losing the pennant to Detroit to find their cars torched, their apartments ransacked, and their supermodel girlfriends gone?

OK, sure, Alex Rodriguez makes a lot of money … $29 million this season alone.  That’s a boatload even by baseball standards.  So perhaps a bit more is expected of him.

OK, yeh, he was hitting on girls in the stands after being benched.  During the game.  Classy.

(Reporters enjoyed pointing out that he finally stopped flirting when Derek Jeter came out of the game with a fractured ankle.)

But, still.

Detroit’s Prince Fielder made $23 million this season and he had a lousy post-season, too. Still, I think Detroit fans were kinder to him. And, I’m guessing Detroit fans can be pretty tough.

Prince Fielder’s post-season: .173.  A-Rod’s: .120

If the rest of baseball is going to pick on the Yankees, it would be nice if their own fans would step out of the way once in awhile to let us.

I probably would rather pick on the Red Sox, but I sort of feel bad about the season they had. And, oh, yes, there is that Curse of the Andino thing. For my non-Red Sox fan readers, that’s when Orioles 2B Robert Andino knocked the Red Sox out of the post-season during the very last hour of the 2011 regular season.

Oh, I could watch this over and over.  (Actually, I do. I have it on my DVR. Why won’t I upgrade to HD-TV? They’ll replace our current DVR, and I’ll lose this moment.) Here it is: The Curse Of The Andino

Oh, sorry … where was I? … oh yes, back to today’s post …

In 1988, the Orioles started their season 0-22. It was partway through that horrible losing stretch that I decided, “Hey this team needs me.” I hadn’t really thought much about baseball for years. But, at that moment I decided that I would become a loyal Orioles fan. They won soon after my decision. Coincidence? I think not.

I don’t boo MY team. MY guys. Ever.

But, it is fun to pick on the Yankees. Just a little.

So many have been affected this week by Hurricane Sandy – there are Orioles fans, Nats fans, Phillies & Pirates fans, Yankees & Mets fans, Red Sox fans, even Indian, White Sox & Cubs fans out in the Midwest dealing with a terrible aftermath today. We’re all in this together.

And, I hope things are better soon for everyone, so we can get back to counting down the days until spring training.

In the meantime … can I tell just one more Yankees joke?

Ok, ok, here’s one that I found online:

What do the New York Yankees and possums have in common?  Both play dead at home and get killed on the road!

All right, last one … (it’s ok, the power is still out in New York, they’ll never know):

A Red Sox fan liked to scare Yankees fans he saw on the street. If he saw someone in a Yankees jersey or cap, we would swerve his car, as if to hit them, then swerve back just missing them.

One day while driving along, he saw a priest. He thought he would do a good deed, so he pulled over and asked the priest, “Where are you going, Father?”

“I’m going to give Mass, about two miles down the road,” replied the priest.

“Climb in, Father. I’ll give you a lift.” The priest climbed into the passenger seat, and they continued down the road.

Suddenly, the driver saw a fan in a Yankees cap walking down the road, and he instinctively swerved as if to hit him. But, as usual, he swerved back onto the road just in time.

Even though he was certain that he had missed the guy, he still heard a loud THUD.

He said to his passenger, “Sorry Father, I almost hit that Yankees fan.”  “That’s OK,” replied the priest “I got him with the door.”

Here’s hoping the power comes back on … for everyone (including A-Rod).