This is what happens when you get too big and think you are too important; when your perspective ends at the borders of New York City, and when you forget, even for a moment, about what's really important.
The hurricane season has been a horror for the people of Florida. So you had to shake your head in amazement when the Yankees asked Major League Baseball for a forfeit because the Devil Rays did not make it to New York in time for the first game of Monday's doubleheader.
There are times and places to pick your fights. This was not one of them.
The Yankees will tell you they were wronged by baseball and were simply reacting to the way the situation was bungled. And it is true MLB handled things about as well as Bill Buckner handled Mookie Wilson's grounder.
But did we really need Yankees president Randy Levine ranting about how his team was inconvenienced while Rays players and staff, not to mention a few million people in the Tampa Bay area, breathed a sigh of relief their homes were still standing.
And did we really need Yankees manager Joe Torre saying he was late to the ballpark that day because the line at his favorite bagel shop was too long? Perhaps he made the remark without realizing its insensitivity, but that didn't lessen its sting or the feeling that, well, what is a hurricane beyond a little wind and rain.
Oh, and give me some extra cream cheese on that bagel.
To be fair, a couple of factors went into the bizarre scene that unfolded on the field at Yankee Stadium. New York is in a race with the Red Sox for the AL East title and every half-game in the standings is critical.
The Yankees also believe Major League Baseball assured them of one thing (that Tampa Bay would be in town Monday to play two) while the Rays rightfully were doing another (comforting their families during a potentially destructive hurricane).
Ultimately, Major Leaue Baseball should get the blame for the way this played out.
Can it be that no one in MLB's offices turned on a television last weekend and saw what was happening in Florida? Did anyone bother to get on the Internet to read and see what the media were reporting about the Rays' plans?
And even if Tampa Bay majority owner Vince Naimoli told MLB president Bob DuPuy the team was trying to get to New York on time, as DuPuy said, why not take the path of least resistance?
Show some leadership, some conceptual thought, and postpone the first game before the fact. Or better yet, postpone both games. That would have meant scheduling doubleheaders on two of the three days remaining to play the five-game series. Inconvenient? Yes. Desirable? No. But you know what? Suck it up. The Yankees are a great organization. With 26 World Series titles and 39 league championships, they are sports' most successful franchise and dedicated entirely to winning. And they are in New York, the self-proclaimed center of the universe. (I know, I grew up there.)
But that doesn't mean every now and then you can't take a step back, keep some perspective.
The Rays did the right thing when they let players and staff ride out Hurricane Frances with their families. The plan was no secret. General manager Chuck LaMar announced on Friday that the Rays would not fly to New York until Sunday night or Monday morning. And it's not like Tampa Bay willed Frances to slow to a crawl or to hit the area even harder late in the weekend with its back end.
But that's not how they looked at it in the Yankees offices. At least not in that moment when team officials saw a sunny day and a potentially full ballpark, and could not believe the Rays, who put family obligations ahead of a baseball game, were going to ruin it for them.
