http://www.helium.com/items/1172179-baseball-shakesp eare-romeo-and-juliet
^ Part 1:
Romeo and Juliet: Who Would They Cheer For?
Part 2
Mercutio: the Pittsburgh Pirates
Mercutio is a friend of Romeo's but he often gets on his nerves. You know the type of friend that taunts you and mocks your thoughts. Mercutio thinks that dreamers and lovers are stupid. He delivers his famous Queen Mab' tirade mocking Romeo's dream of Juliet reviving him from death with a kiss. He dies when Tybalt challenges Romeo, but Romeo backs down. Mercutio feels like Romeo is a coward and fights the fight for him. He dies when Romeo tries to break up the fight. Romeo then kills Tybalt in anger. Romeo and Juliet was due to end as a comedy (taking out the prologue) until Mercutio died.
The Pittsburgh Pirates are starting to look like a pathetic franchise. They have had their glory years with players like Roberto Clemente dominating the league. But now, they have been diminished to nothing. Shouldn't they have rebuilt already? It seems like they want to win now and not be favorite over the Steelers in Pittsburgh. They have chosen now and losing over DREAMING for the future and the LOVE of their fans. Look at them. Jason Bay is getting tired of them, and he is nearly all they have. That franchise has been turned to rubble. "A plague o'both your houses," Mercutio said before he died. Well, I would say the Pirates are already plagued; they just need a plague against the whole MLB.
The Capulet's Nurse: the Florida Marlins
The Capulet's Nurse is an old hag who raised Juliet since she was a baby. She is often found making inappropriate remarks about sex and other things. She is the only person outside of the Friar and Romeo that knows that Romeo and Juliet are married. But, the Nurse wants Juliet to marry Paris. She feels this is better because of his amazing good looks and his great bod (- Yea, that was kind of creepy). She views sex as more of pleasure and not love.
The Florida Marlins like to clean house. They have gotten rid of good players in recent years that made their ball club great. Josh Beckett, AJ Burnett, Miguel Cabrera, Dontrelle Willis, and Carlos Delgado were all very key players that they let go either by trades or free agency. They were more concerned about getting young and hot' than they were about keeping their stars. Yes, they were trying to rebuild but Miguel Cabrera was 25, Josh Beckett was 25, A.J. Burnett was 28, and Dontrelle Willis was 26 when they left the Fins. That is a core of young players who are good NOW being traded for a group of players who may never be good. They did luck out by getting Hanley Ramirez, but that's about it. The Marlins were more concerned with attractiveness (Paris) than they were with skill and popularity (Romeo).
Tybalt: the New York Mets
Tybalt is the aggressive cousin of Juliet who ultimately dies because of his temper. Tybalt always is looking for a fight with his most hated rivals, the Montagues. He always will draw his sword when he feels threatened by his opponents. He is killed by Romeo because of the slaying Romeo's companion, Mercutio.
The New York Mets have made some moves to improve their ball club greatly. They made these moves when they felt threatened and drew their sword' to get those ballplayers. In 1998, the Mets made a move toward the right direction by acquiring Armando Benitez, Bobby Bonilla, Robin Ventura, Rickey Henderson, and Roger Cedeo in trades and free agency. In 2000, they acquired some more good players. But these acquisitions may have put them down for a few more years. The Met's 2000 decision to draw the sword' is equivalent to Tybalt's idea to fight with Romeo and Mercutio. They did not have a good record until 2006. This sounds like a bad thing for the Met's but if you look more in depth at the loses, it improved the Mets greatly. They were able to call up a third baseman named David Wright and a young shortstop named Jose Reyes. They quickly became the face of a struggling franchise making a turn for the better. They also acquired Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran, Pedro Martinez, Paul Lo Duca, and closer Billy Wagner. These players were huge catalysts in the Mets' success.
Recently, feeling THREATENED after their recent collapse and the revival of the Phillies and the always good play of the Braves, they traded for Johan Santana. Johan Santana was the best pitcher in the AL and now is looking to make that same name for himself in the NL alongside Pedro and Maine (- Ex-Oriole traded for Kris Benson. What did we get from that really? Nothing since Benson is gone.) So, once again, the Mets pulled their sword when threatened just like Tybalt would have. Tybalt's life ended tragically because of his obsession with fighting. Will the Mets' flop again? Will Santana blow out a shoulder? Will Jose Reyes slip into a long lasting slump? Will they be forced to rebuild? Just like the Yankees and A-rod, we must wait and see.
Paris: the Toronto Blue Jays
Paris is basically a key innocent bystander in this play. He previously inquired about marrying Juliet to Lord Capulet. Lord Capulet said no because of the age of Juliet. He respects his wishes. But when Tybalt is killed, Lord Capulet sees sadness in Juliet and then arranges a wedding between her and Paris. In reality, Juliet is not upset over Tybalt, but over Romeo being banished from Verona. Lord Capulet does not know this because he does not know she has feelings for Romeo. Obviously, Juliet does not want to marry Paris. So, she goes to Friar Lawrence for help and the rest is history.
The Toronto Blue Jays are merely innocent bystanders in the AL East. They have the short straw sort of speak. They have a good team while spending the money to get there. But they must answer to the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees, and the up and coming Tampa Bay Devil Rays. They have players like Scott Rolen, Roy Halladay, BJ Ryan, Vernon Wells, Frank Thomas, and Alex Rios who are all great players. And in the past, they have had players like Carlos Delgado and Roger Clemens who they couldn't really do anything with. They have players like Alex Rodriguez, David Ortiz, Josh Beckett, Manny Ramirez, and Mariano Rivera all around them. They also have a short straw in another aspect, the fact that they play in an area that does not support their baseball team very much. In Toronto, it is hockey first. It is the same with all of Canada. The Blue Jays cannot do anything about this. Just like Paris couldn't do anything about Juliet's love for her Romeo.