Mike Lupica is one of about 3,246 people previewing the Yankees-Sox series that begins tonight. He says something in his preview that a lot of Yankees-types are saying:
The Yankees do not need to sweep the Red Sox this weekend. And even if they take three of four, they don’t knock the Red Sox out of the race, they don’t prove they are the best team in the league, they don’t settle the score for starting out 0-8 against Boston this season. The Yankees just need to do this: Bring an old swagger to a new ballpark over the next four days . . . A good time to make it seem like old times around here. New park, old swagger.
Can someone please explain to me what this means apart from, you know, winning games? The term “swagger” really started getting thrown around in sports with those Miami Hurricanes teams of the 1980s. Back then I took it to mean arrogance or showboating or something, as a swaggering walk (say, after sacking the QB or scoring a touchdown) kind of implied. The term is used so often now that I think it has lost all meaning. Does Lupica mean that the Yankee pitchers should knock down some Sox hitters (if so, read this for a second opinion)? Does he mean that Teixeira should circle the bases with one flap down, Jeffrey Leonard style? I wish he’d explain.
Baseball is not football. There is no physical domination or really a lot of room for style like you might see in the NFL. If you execute, you win. If you don’t, you lose. I can’t imagine how “swagger” enters into it, apart from providing an empty concept about which sports writers can bleat until the actual games start.
Maybe I’m just missing the point. If so, someone please tell me exactly what “swagger” looks like in a baseball context.