For this, the 100th post on the PhilSox blog, we humbly submit to all that the recovered Ortiz jersey supposedly pulled out of the concrete at the new Yankee Stadium is purely a hoax. The fake photo-op was contrived by the Yankee front office to nip in the bud any "curse" talk.

As the photo see clearly shows, the jersey that sources claim to have pulled out of a solid concrete slab of floor at the new venue wouldn't fool a child. PhilSox Blog consulted with a local contractor who asked to remain unnamed. "Anyone who has worked with cement at any time knows that fabric, when mixed with liquid cement, absorbs the mixture. When you took it out of the floor it would never be in as good shape as [the shirt in the photo]. A shirt that was actually submerged in concrete then dug up with jackhammers would be shredded and torn as the concrete was smashed. At least you'd expect to see like chunks of concrete hanging on [the shirt]. The shirt in the photo was not buried in cement!"

Perhaps we should be giving the Yankees some credit for going all out on this. It would seem though that even the most ardent Yankee fan would have to wonder about a few details:

• After denying the story all along, they changed their minds and decided to "remove" it awfully fast.
• They knew exactly where to jackhammer, even though the person who buried it was not there to assist.
  
• The nailed the spot perfectly on the first try.
• They happened to have a photographer on hand.
• The shirt was in remarkably good shape, with bright, crisp red numbers and letters.

No one can blame the Yankees for wanting to solve this issue as quickly as it arose. Yankee fans got a ton of mileage out of "The Curse of the Bambino" for a long time. Chanting things like "1918" and such became the third most familiar line out of New Yorker's mouths, surpassed only by "I want to see a lawyer!", and "Yo, Joey, how's my hair look?" Having any possibility of a curse running the other way had to have struck fear in hearts of many a Yankee lover. I know that most of them can't wrap their minds around a concept like "karma", but they had to be worried about it, none the less.

So, as far as Hank and George and the rest of the too-thin mustached Yankee faithful are concerned, the who messy situation is over. They probably even buried one of Giambi's sweaty jocks in the whole before they filled it in, just for good measure. But as for the rest of us out here in Red Sox Nation, we know the truth.

Labels: curse, hoax, Yankers

This entry was posted on Monday, April 14, 2008 at 4/14/2008 05:56:00 PM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.