Cool Link:

By geographic area, the location of every single minor league baseball team with major league affiliation.

Japanese Ambassador turns Commissioner...

In this morning's Washington Post, sports columnist Thomas Boswell writes a fascinating piece on the commissioner to be of the Japanese Major Leagues, Ryozo Kato.  

Highlights:

"A lot of people in Japan have been green with envy. They want to know what I did to become commissioner," said Kato, who, after a 60-year affair with the game, may have no rival anywhere in grasping the sport in both its Eastern and Western forms. Binding encyclopedic knowledge with decades of firsthand connections in the United States, Kato is unique. Not that he'd say it.

***

What Japan gets in Kato may be an amalgam of Bud Selig's sense of history, Bart Giamatti's literary temperament (and inexperience), Peter Ueberroth's international business acumen, plus Fay Vincent's aspiration (usually thwarted) to be more than an owners' man. Also, like Bowie Kuhn, who worked the Griffith Stadium scoreboard, Kato seems charmed and incredulous that he will soon run the sport that he played as a boy.

***

"We have mixed feelings. We are very proud to see our heroes do well in America because, in baseball, the U.S. is number one," said Kato, not mentioning that Japan -- rather than the U.S. team of MLB stars -- won the first World Baseball Classic in 2006. "But we also have a kind of sadness at seeing our stars go -- like a 'brain drain.' "

Perhaps this can be used on guys who don't run ground balls out...

Hit them with a ladle!

Quotes...

"If there was a major league player who tells me he's not selfish, he's lying. Everyone is selfish about numbers, because that's the only thing people cannot lie about," said Cabrera, who won a Gold Glove in 2001 and last season. "That's it. It's not a big deal. I don't know who's trying to make this a big deal. Maybe it's the media, maybe it's the manager. And nobody is complaining about that stuff. Nobody cares about that."

I think that Orlando Cabrera is full of crap. The best part of this story (linked above) is that Kenny Williams and Ozzie Guillen both agree that one of the skipper's major flaws is standing up too much for his players. And if Ozzie, a former shortstop, doesn't think that errors made by a .246 hitting shortstop are important, well, I think he's a lot smarter than Jay Marriotti thinks.

"Too many babies here," Guillen stormed while seated in front of his locker and spicing his language with obscenity. "They don't know how to play the game and win the game right, the way it's supposed to be played. And that's the problem here. Now I know why this organization's been losing for a while. Now I know."

But, gee whiz, Jose, seems like you're actually making sense. Add to the above quote a rousing defense of Skipper Trey Hillman and quite frankly, I'm impressed.

The Voice of God

Great interview on the spirituality site BustedHalo.com with the one, the only, Bob Shepphard.  The PA announcer at Yankee Stadium.  Bob is fighting a prolonged illness, but darnit, Bob, we need you back!  His voice is second only to the great Vince Scully, in terms of great baseball voices that we hope never go silent.

Tell me you can listen to this and not get the chills:

Love the Hardball Times...

Gotta love them taking a shot at New York Sports, Yankee-mania and the cult of personality following Mr. Jeter.

The Slow Burn...

Two news stories that are giving me heartburn ... both of which were from over the weekend, but I've only recently gotten reconnected to the Internet and calmed down enough to attempt to write rationally about them:

There is a promotion that will be taking place at the All-Star which might possibly mimic a historically fictional event in a stadium where the purported event did not take place.  Huh? Exactly.  There is some foolish contest during the All-Star Game Home Run Derby during which David Ortiz will attempt to hit a home run in the location to which some lucky fan points.  If Ortiz completes the "Ruthian" task, wonderful prizes belong to the fan (An SUV hybrid, oh hurrah!)  And well, Randy Levine as the designated foreign minister of Yankee Empire thinks that a Red Sock performing such a task would be, well, as inappropriate as the Yankees losing in Game 7 of a World Series.  

A few points: 1) Ruth never called his shot.  It's fiction.  It's great fiction, I know, but it just never happened.  2) The Home Run Derby is the biggest bastardization of baseball I know, and yet it's going to get more coverage because of this asinine exercise.  And 3) karma says that Ortiz must hit a sch-nide for tempting the baseball gods such as this.  To mimic a fictional event in which the greatest player in baseball history participated ... why do ye tempt the gods such?

Oh yeah, and one more point: Shouldn't the Yankees be more worried about, I don't know, getting beaten to a pulp by the Baltimore Orioles? Shouldn't MLB have contacted the Yankees beforehand and gotten an okay on this? I mean, the all-star game is taking place in the second holiest place in the major leagues right now! (Wrigley is one, Yankee Stadium 2, Fenway and Chavez Ravine are tied at three.) Shouldn't the Red Sox be concerned about karma biting them?

And ... did I forget to mention ... the called shot ... never happened?!  Which means the event/contest is just plain dumb.  'Nuf said.

And for the second story that is just beyond me.  Studies show that barbecuing may increase your risk of cancer.  Especially processed meats such as brats, dogs and other fine sausages.  Grilling meats to the point of charring also increases your risk.  The research says to grill vegetables instead of red meat.  Ignoring all those fine, safe chemicals that are used to get your zucchini to grow, of course.  I don't mean to make light of cancer research.  But, with a mother who is a survivor of cancer who falls into the large cohort who can say, "I got cancer for no reason," along with other survivors in my family, I truly take umbrage with statements made like these.  I don't know of many things that humans consume which don't carry some type of health risk.  Hell, I've had water from a Jersey Reservoir for most of my life - that can't be safe!  And to publish statements such as these only serves to scare people into making lifestyle changes that may not be in their best interest.  Cut out red meat, add vegetables, but not those vegetables, and only wash them in this way ... and on and on and on and on and on.  As my mother (the lover of grilled foods and cancer survivor) always says, "Moderation is the key."

Morning Links

►I didn’t plan on posting anything this early today, but reading Tom Friedman makes me want to literally jump from my desk and get out there and start saving the world. I can’t, because I have a lunch to go to at 11:45 and I don’t think I can save the world and be back in time to leave for lunch, so instead I will just link to his article, as usual. It scares me a little how riled I get by reading him; I’m afraid that he could convince me of anything. His writing is so clear and thinking so logical. I’m glad that Tom and I disagree on global warming, or else I’d truly be worried that I am not just agreeing with him because we think similarly but because I am unable to disagree with him.

►These guys also disagree with global warming as they are promoting Carbon Belch Day to “help Americans break free from the 'carbon footprint guilt' being imposed by Climate Alarmists.”

►Friedman quotes a Memorial Day essay by Tom Shriver of the Washington Post, which you can find here. I will pass along the same quote for you to read if you decide you don’t have time to read any of the articles in their entirety:

This weekend only, you can buy a new Dodge and the company will subsidize your gas costs for 3 years. So Dodge wants to sell you a car you don’t really want to buy, that is not fuel efficient, will further damage our environment, and will further subsidize oil states, some of which are on the other side of the wars we’re currently fighting. And on top of it, Dodge is willing to subsidize your purchase with borrowed dollars since the company is currently drowning in debt.

Imagine that happening during the Civil War. Imagine that happening during World War I or II. Imagine celebrating Memorial Day in those days with such limited attention to honoring the dead that companies would get away with ignoring the fundamental struggle in which they’re giving their lives. The planet be damned, the troops be forgotten, the economy be ignored: buy a Dodge. Imagine.

More later, time permitting.

Late Afternoon Links

One of these days I'll actually write something original as opposed to just throwing up links, I swear.

►Bruce Bartlett has an interesting article about the potential relevance of the Libertarians this time around. I may consider voting Libertarian myself, especially since I'll be registered in either MA (if I'm lazy) or DC (if I'm not), two places virtually guaranteed to be spending their electoral votes on the Democrats' nominee, against whom I will most likely be voting. (This is a perfect example of why the electoral college makes no sense! It's outdated! It misrepresents the people! My vote doesn't count!) (Just kidding.) Anyway, it depends on the candidate of course, but for the sake of the statistics, and hopefully, maybe, sending a small message to the GOP, casting a meaningless popular vote for the Libertarian in a place that won't hurt McCain has a chance of not being so meaningless after all.

►Steve Chapman says that Iran is not a threat to attack. I like that he makes some points that are conveniently glossed over by hawks, most notably the logic that may be behind Iran's leadership's approach to international relations. However, I can't help but laugh at his insistence that there is no reason to believe, should Iran acquire or create its own atomic bombs, that they would use them on Israel. He explains this by quoting a Middle East scholar who says that Ahmadinejad is being mistranslated when (as happens every week or so) the press claims that he vows to "wipe Israel off the map," or something equally sinister. Specific mistranslation or not, Ahmadinejad is on record (in multiple languages) as condemning Israel and its existence and has directly and indirectly promised that he would help destroy Israel if he gets the chance. Whether the very real prospect of being turned into a parking lot (one of my favorite expressions) by the United States deters him or not is an entirely separate issue. The point is, his desire is there, and I think that's difficult to dispute.

Links Links

A real grab bag today:

►George Will doesn’t buy that the polar bears are threatened, and he offers some more thought on the global warming fad.

►Lorne Gunter challenges the idea that the fad is a “settled science”.

►I haven’t been able to decide if Gene Wojciechowski of ESPN is a good columnist. I’m pretty sure he isn’t, but the verdict is still out. Anyway, here he apparently wishes there were more global warming as he bitches and moans about the recent decision to play the 2012 Super Bowl in “cold” Indianapolis. I have zero sympathy for sports writers who complain about the location of Super Bowls. His argument is that locations like Indianapolis, Detroit, and Minneapolis are no fun because they’re cold, and no one likes the cold, and the NFL is punishing not only the players but the fans (Oh, sports writers! Always thinking of the fans! How valiant.) by choosing these awful locations. “Playing in a Super Bowl is supposed to be a reward, not a reason to visit your local North Face outlet. And attending a Super Bowl as a fan is supposed to be the experience of a lifetime, a chance to break out multiple bottles of SPF 30.” First of all, isn’t going to the Super Bowl enough? It’s the freaking Super Bowl! As a player, that should be your ultimate goal, no matter where it is! Does Gene really think that players can’t afford to take their own vacations to exotic locales in the offseason? Not to mention, the NFL does offer this reward for good players, known as the Pro Bowl; which, incidentally, many players turn down invitations to! I guess tropical destinations aren't as important to players as Gene thinks they are. As a fan, seeing my team win the Super Bowl would be enough of a reward. Plus, if the point of the trip was to go to the beach, I’d go to the beach. On top of it all, whiny sports writers like Gene need to remember that they’re being paid to go to the Super Bowl and write crappy, unoriginal columns, so shut it.

►Speaking of football, I thought TMQ was gone until the fall, but he made a special appearance and wrote about why Bill Belichick should be suspended over Spygate. As usual, I have trouble disagreeing.

►Tom Friedman is terrific once again. He mentions Fareed Zakaria’s new book, which I think is great because in my senior seminar class at Mason, which was about globalization, one of the possibilities for a project was to come up with a TV show that would encourage dialogue between the West and the Islamic countries, and my choices for dream team hosts of this show were Friedman and Zakaria. Look for Zakaria’s book, “The Post-American World”.

►Finally, Ed Koch thinks that in the end (whenever that is), George W. will be seen in a similar light as Harry Truman: a President who leaves office with superbly low ratings, only to be reviewed later as justified in their fear (or realization) of a foreign aggression (the Soviets for Truman, extremist Islam for Bush). Koch also thinks that W’s Hitler comments were reasonable, and offers up the best explanation I have hear yet.

►In the mean time, the Yankees continue to free fall, although they pounded the Orioles yesterday. The Yankees have begun to stretch out Joba’s appearances in preparation to move him to the rotation. I am excited.

►Jon Lester’s no hitter was a great story and I am happy for him and his family. My challenge has been to try my hardest to not quickly hate the story, as SportsCenter had Lance Armstrong on the phone congratulating Lester and telling him what a fan he is, and various news outlets that Ted Kennedy watched Lester pitch and how significant that was. Guess what, people: it’s not significant. I take that back. It’s significant, but none more so than any other person in the world who has cancer watching Lester pitch. And the Armstrong call was just another example of how contrived and exploited everything becomes. If Armstrong had really wanted to call so badly, he would have done it in private. Do you really think that Lance Armstrong can’t get Jon Lester’s phone number, that he needed ESPN to hook them up?

►Exploiting loved ones is bad; exploiting loved ones who have asked specifically not to be exploited is worse; exploited loved ones who have asked specifically not to be exploited who are risking their lives in Iraq is even worse. I heard the story last week or whenever it was about the soldier whose phone accidentally called his parents’ house while he was in the middle of a fire fight and getting shot at. The parents weren’t home so a minutes-long message was left on their machine, so they had the displeasure of listening to their son call for backup, that he was out of ammo, that he was in trouble, and that an RPG was on its way right when the message cut off. They immediately called his post and got in touch with him some hours after the initial call; thank heavens that he and everyone he was with was reportedly fine. In that conversation, he asked his parents to “don’t tell Gramma”, he didn’t want anyone to be upset. And then the parents ran to the news station. Okay, to be fair I don’t know that they ran to the news station. But I do know that they are so dumb as to not see the irony in telling a news reporter that their son asked to not let his grandmother know what happened. Oh I get it. Maybe they knew Gramma was going to be at bingo when the news was going to be on so she’s miss it. That must have been it.

The Other Shoe....

.... needs to drop soon.

Either Willie Randolph and the Mets will show themselves to be something more than a .500 team or the Wilpons will act decisively to save a season that started with great promise. 

The specter of the Mets playing .500 baseball and falling in the National League's second division must worry the image-conscious ownership which has established a new sports network and must be looking for serious momentum with the imminent opening of Citi Field.

Willie managed to play the race card, insult the owners of his team as well as the Mets' faithful.  

The options for ownership are not at all appealing.  Firing Randolph and looking to move high priced veterans would be a disastrous pre-Memorial Day white flag.  Moreover, the chips the Mets possess are less than stellar.  An overpriced, overmatched Carlos Delgado, a brittle Moises Alou ... a enigmatic Aaron Heilman ... what else is there?

Staying the course with Willie, however, might be equally as disastrous.  Think about it.  An angry, brooding Randolph content to go down with the ship as any good skipper might make for great Daily News fodder or Post headlines, but could do immeasurable damage to the collective psyche of Mets Nation.  

A somber Jose Reyes or a oft-questioned David Wright is not something that any member of the organization could stand.  Moreover, is Johann Santana willing to put aside his seeming prickly nature to answer the growing questions about his inability to keep the ball in cavernous Shea Stadium?

Dark days at Shea approach.

Phillies @ Nats

Section 208, Row J, Seat 6

Man Bites Dog

Umpire Bob Davidson admitted that he blew Carlos Delgado's home run that wasn't ... my isn't that refreshing.

2nd Avenue Deli

Foreground: corned beef and pastrami.
Middleground: pickles, potato knish and slaw.
Background: the "Instant Heart Attack": turkey between thick potato
pancakes.
Not pictured: heavenly mustard and Russian dressing, fried onions and
chicken skin, shots of chocolate soda, cheesecake, arteries crying out
in agony.

Billy Wagner

He is apparently a player-manager. He's in the press making critical comments more often than Willie, about whom I never hear anything. If this continues, what does it do to the Mets clubhouse down the stretch? Get them in gear, divide the team, nothing at all?

In the meantime, the Yankees are in last place; yet, they're only a game and a half behind the Mets in the Baseball Universe (of America) standings. Should be a super series this weekend! Hooray for interleague play!

Edit: As irony would have it, I did read an article about Willie this morning after I initially posted, but it wasn't so much about his team as about interleague play.

"I think interleague play has worn out its welcome for me," Randolph said. "I think we should get back to playing in our division and playing in our league. But it's a nice change. It's six games, and it gets a little bit chaotic when it happens. But I think it's good for the fans.

"You do want to get through it so you can get back to some so-called normalcy. The hype is a little overplayed sometimes. But once the game starts, it's where you want to be because it's exciting and you can feel the buzz and the energy in the stands. It's nice to be able to compete in a different kind of game where it's like the only game in town."

The Mets have gone 25-35 against their interborough rivals since the start of interleague play in 1997, including 10-20 in the Bronx.

"Now playing center field for the New York Yankees, Mariano Rivera": I thought this was a cool little story. Apparently to keep his legs fresh, Rivera likes to go after fly balls during BP, and Peter Abraham watched him steal a hit from A-Rod with a nifty catch.

Bob Barr and the Mets

Saw Bob Barr on Glen Beck last night. I think he might just be stark raving mad. And I think there are enough stark raving mad people in this great land of ours to give him the ability to really screw things up.

Speaking of screwing things up - the Mets losing three of four to the Nationals at home with the Yankees next in the schedule = impending disaster. Then again, the Mets might raise their game, win two of three from their crosstown rivals and get everyone excited again. So it goes with a team playing .500 baseball.

Tidbits

That’s Nasty: I love the pitching highlights segment on Baseball Tonight. It nearly perfected the show. “Web Gems” is terrific, “Touch ‘Em All” is fun to watch, and the newly incorporated (as of last year, I believe – I can’t really remember) “That’s Nasty” is a reel of the best pitches of the night. Last night one of the pitches they showed was a 61 MPH changeup from Mike “I’m Still Relevant” Mussina. Sixty-one! Then they had Joba throwing 98, followed by the killer slider. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but the pitching (particularly the bullpen?!) has exceeded expectations; if only the offense were supporting them. The other day, Peter Abraham reported from the clubhouse that the pitchers are, understandably, growing impatient with the hitters and the lack of any sort of steady run support. (I feel misleading talking about the pitching without mentioning the downfall of Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, although Kennedy had a superb Triple A outing and will get the start today against the Rays, so we’ll see about him.)

Speak of the Devil (Rays): Yesterday Buster Olney outlined the 12 great moves that the Rays have made over the past couple years that laid the foundation for this year’s success so far (lifted shamelessly and directly, word for word, from Olney’s blog on ESPN.com):

But in the last year, Rays general manager Andrew Friedman and the Tampa Bay baseball operations staff has pitched the front office version of a perfect game, in keeping with a long-range plan that was begun long before that. Virtually every transaction that the Rays have made, going back to last year's June draft, has worked out, and contributed to Tampa Bay's strong start and ascension, for the first time, into the ranks of contenders.

The Rays are 22-16 and have racked up five consecutive victories -- against the Blue Jays, Angels and Yankees -- and as we sit here today, on May 13, they are fielding arguably the best defense in the AL; the fifth-lowest bullpen ERA in the game, with a relief ERA that is three runs lower than last year -- three runs.

Perhaps most impressively, the Rays have escaped the thick pessimism in which the team had been embedded for the last decade, and Friedman's changes have been instrumental in making this happen, brick by brick.

Example No. 1: On July 28, 2007, the Devil Rays were 38-65. Tampa Bay shipped infielder Ty Wigginton to the Astros for Dan Wheeler, a solid veteran reliever -- and at the time, the expectation was that this would allow Friedman to trade then-closer Al Reyes. But Friedman hung onto Wheeler, signed him to a multi-year deal, to help build the kind of relief depth the Rays had never had; Tampa Bay had always seemed to rely on too many overmatched youngster in their bullpen.

No. 2: Delmon Young racked up 186 hits and 93 RBIs in his rookie season with Tampa Bay in 2007, and yet the Rays traded him in the winter in a deal for pitcher Matt Garza and shortstop Jason Bartlett -- an extremely bold move, because Young was seen as a rising star, and because there had been so much early discussion about how Young is destined to be a Hall of Famer, with his spectacular eye-hand coordination and ability to hit the ball with the fat part of the bat.

But it is evident that in their internal evaluations of Young, the Rays also looked at other factors: Young's willingness and ability to make adjustments; his uncomfortable and sometimes stifling clubhouse presence, borne out by his threats to walk out at the end of the 2007 season; and the frustration he engendered in other teammates. "He just doesn't work very hard," said one Ray.

There has been little doubt about Young's talent, and even the possibility that he will go on and have a career of many hits and RBIs. But the Rays seem to have made a very sound judgment that he would not reach his full potential with them, a savvy decision that takes courage.

So Tampa Bay swapped Young for Garza, at a time when it is very difficult to get pitchers with electric arms, and Garza has done well.

The Rays also landed Bartlett to play shortstop, to give their infield the kind of stability it hasn't had in the past, and Bartlett has done nicely in this, rival advance scouts believe.

No. 3: The Rays convinced Troy Percival to come back and be their closer, but more importantly, to help change the culture of their clubhouse, and Percival has done excellent work in both roles.

No. 4: Tampa Bay dumped the talented Elijah Dukes, another high-ceiling talent with an oppressive clubhouse presence.

No. 5: J.P. Howell, who had floundered as a starter in the big leagues, was converted to relief and has thrived; I remember standing on the field in St. Petersburg in March and listening to Rays manager Joe Maddon talk about how intrigued he was by what he was seeing in Howell this spring.

No. 6: Edwin Jackson's results had been awful for most of his career, but rather than bury him -- which must have been tempting after another of his many brutal outings early in 2007 -- Tampa Bay has been patient with him, nurtured him, and lo and behold, he has made slow but steady progress. He has become an asset.

No. 7: The Rays targeted Akinori Iwamura as a free agent partly because they liked his athleticism and versatility, and this spring, as Evan Longoria has climbed to the big leagues, Iwamura has made a seamless transition to second base.

No. 8: After benefiting from the unexpected emergence of first baseman Carlos Pena in 2007, Tampa Bay signed him to a fair-and-balanced three-year, $24 million deal, holding the line in negotiations.

No. 9: The Rays talked to many free agents, fishing around before convincing Eric Hinske to sign an $800,000 deal, and Hinske has fit them perfectly: as a left-handed hitter, as an experienced veteran, as a patient hitter who has helped the Rays develop the kind of patient water-torture lineup that is pervasive among the better AL offenses.

No. 10: The Rays signed Cliff Floyd for his ability to hit and for his positive influence, and now that he's back from the disabled list, he's adding hits along with his experience.

No. 11: They signed James Shields and Longoria -- foundation pieces -- to long-term deals, and now Crawford has made it clear he wants to stay, too.

And No. 12: The Rays have never once deviated from their overriding blueprint of drafting and acquiring and developing young pitching talent. Within two years, the best of that group -- Wade Davis and Jake McGee, who are in Double-A, and former No. 1 pick David Price -- will join the likes of Shields and Scott Kazmir in the big leagues.

"They've obviously done an excellent job at evaluating their own talent," said a rival executive. "And they haven't panicked, haven't rushed. They've stuck to their plan, and it's working."

Yankees Ticket Prices: Getting crazy. Arkansas Megan and I are going to be in New York this weekend, and I was scoping out tickets to the Yankees-Mets game. I know it’s the Mets so the prices are going to be inflated more than usual, and I’ve ready many an article about the super over-inflation this year because of the Last Season, but I hadn’t actually looked for tickets until now. Not sure if we’re going to make it.

Links

An article by a thoughtful Australian that might make you feel good about being an American (assuming you are one; I know we have a broad, international readership and I don’t want to offend).

John Stossel continues to pump out short, interesting articles such as this one.

Clay Buchholz is on the DL with a broken nail.

Jerry Crasnick expands on one of the ideas behind Jersey Matt’s post on “the Yankee Way”, which is how baseball players are “supposed” to behave.

Another Winner on Hardballtimes.com

Should I be very offended by this?

Hello, what?

What is the "Yankee Way"?

The Goose (Gossage) doesn't like Joba Chamberlin fist-pumping, shouting, greenie-popping antics. Oh, did I say greenie? I meant ... oh nevermind.

But anyway. The Goose brings up some valid points about the idea of being "old-school" and other such forms of baseball that the ESPN generation has rendered obselete. (And I weep about that fortnightly or everytime I watch Terry Francona yank Mike Timlin with two out and no one on base to bring in a Lopez to face a lefty - whichever comes first.)

But this entire notion of the "Yankee Way" confuses me a bit. What exactly is the Yankee Way? The stiff upper lip, the 23 World Championships, the House that Ruth Built? Does the Yankee Way include a drunk Mickey Mantle getting his knee run over be an equally inebriated Billy Martin? Does it include the Yankee Wife Swap? Is the Yankee Way the excuse for being the second to last team in the Major League's to integrate?

Listen, I'm a Yankee Hater, I will admit. But I absolutely acknowledge the preeminence of the Yankees in baseball, and all the kudos that go with it. I recognize that over the last 12 years they have had an extraordinary run of success. All that being said, I think that the "Yankee Way" is more responsible for the absolutely unrealistic expectations placed on the team every year and the near apoplectic reaction from fans and the owner(s) when the team loses more than two games in a row.

[correction: 26 world championships]

It's a Facebook World

I was at first only going to link this article because it mentions Mason in the introduction, but there is more to be said.

I didn’t know that our generation has a new name. I’ve heard us referred to as Generation Y, Generation M, Generation Einstein, the Google Generation, (Tom Friendman’s label) Generation Q…according to this article, we are Millennials. For the record, that’s the worst name of the lot.

The article, while not claiming explicitly that a membership in an Obama Facebook group translates into an Obama vote, begins to suggest such a notion. I’m a member of a Facebook group that is collectively excited for a zombie apocalypse; another that claims that Natalie Portman is my girlfriend. Facebook groups are not meant to be taken seriously; sorry, not even political ones. Also, joining a Facebook group is a lot different than going to a polling place or, worse, painstakingly filling out an absentee ballot, god forbid! The media playing up the presence of Facebook is fine, but let’s not get unrealistic here. If that’s possible.

Overall the article paints a pretty picture of the current coming-of-age generation and projects a sunny future for our level of political involvement. It’s a nice idea, but they use statistics that I’m afraid, as usual, are little more than extrapolations of small sample sizes. Basically, the message is bordering on making me hopeful, which worries me.

It also paints most of “us” as being liberal even though it makes a politically correct point of saying that we are unable to be typecast, as a generation. As a friend recently related to me: he was liberal too, once; and then he grew up.

Speaking of political correctness, I hope that that is a fad that our generation casts by the wayside. I hope our generation has a sense of humor when we grow up: that will solve or at least clear the path to solve many problems, in the political realm and the media, and, in turn, their effects on one another, which at the moment are largely detrimental. And that’s something I think we can all agree upon, regardless of political personal views.

Good news: In a few months, SportsCenter will go live in the mornings. This is good news because I watch the 6 and 7 am editions and, often, the 11 pm or midnight ones as well and I’d like to not see repeats in the mornings.

Tasty: Watch LeBron James eat NBA Defensive Player of the Year Kevin Garnett for lunch at the end of this clip.

Items

You’ve Probably Seen This Already: Asdrubal Cabrera’s unassisted triple play is here.

Sign of the Times: Last night Andy Pettitte lost in Tampa for the first time since September 16, 1998.

Sign of the Times, Part 2 (Possibly): The Rays have won 5 straight and 14 of their last 19. For all their injuries and their playing below potential, the Yankees are only 4 out. It’s still early, but maybe the East won’t be a two team division this year.

Pet Peeve of the Day: If you have spent any time talking with me, you should know that I absolutely hate when people use the word “literally” to describe something that is inherently not literally whatever is being described. Example: “I am literally starving.” I assure you, someone who is just bitching to go downstairs to go to Subway is not literally starving. That being said, the latest Vehix.com commercial begins with a woman saying that on their website “you can literally take a test drive.” No, you can’t! The action then cuts away to several other people talking about how great the website is, then the woman is back: “You are practically behind the wheel.” Literally and practically are not the same thing; in fact, they are somewhat opposing, especially in this context! This infuriates me. More on the devolution of the language at a later date.

I Would Never Wish Ill Unto Others: The New England Patriots marched into Super Bowl XLII with a League-best 18-0 record and an army “experts” picking them to win, only to be upset by the New York Giants. The Boston Celtics marched into the NBA playoffs with an Association-best 66-16 record and an army of “experts” picking them to win, and they are currently 0-5 on the road in the playoffs and tied two games to two games with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the conference semifinals. The Boston Red Sox entered this MLB season as a popular pick to win the World Series. My question is: can one city/metropolitan area blow such high expectations in so many sports in a matter of months? Lest we not forget that the Bruins lost in the NHL playoffs just some weeks ago, nor that the New England Revolution of MLS irrelevance have lost the last 3 MLS cups, and 4 since 2002.

Transaction Alert...

Former (failed) Mets unite!

Armando Benitez called up by the Blue Jays.
Jason Tyner's contract purchased from Triple-A by the Injuns.

Mets...

The Mets might just be turning a corner, as May begins. My greatest fear is the same fear that I've had for the Giants (through this past Super Bowl): they would be simply good enough to keep the manager/head coach in place, but not good enough to win anything. Clearly, the Gints proved me wrong, and perhaps the Mets will too.

Interesting decisions will need to be made on the Mets roster in the next several days/weeks. They include:

1. Send down the effective Joe Smith or place the inimitable Jorge Sosa on waivers to active Matt Wise (!!!) from the disable list. Matt who?!
2. Keep Carlos #2 (Delgado) in the lineup, or make a move to acquire a first base immortal such as Scott Hatteberg.
3. Decide on whom to demote from the starting rotation if/when Petey or The Duke come back.

Meanwhile, can the Marlins possibly continue playing .640 baseball? With a payroll of $22 million and a poor run differential, our sabermetric spidey sense tells us it can't continue. Or then again, could it? What type of moves could the Marlins make to shore up their overachieving roster?

Just plain can't wait for the post-Memorial Day blitz.

Oh and by the way, details/itinerary for the roadtrip coming soon.

Ash v. Maple

Informative article on ash and maple bats. Worth investing the time to read, no doubt.

Has anyone else become bored with the presidential race? And it's only May.
Ugh.

Where are the candidates who will excite the collective American consciousness? Is Barack Obama really it? Even he, of the "Yes We Can" has been overprocessed, vetted and strained.
Ugh.

And meanwhile, we're no closer to being presented with any solutions by anyone with either an R or a D after his or her name.
Ugh.

The saga of Robbie Cano...

On Hardball Times, there is an excellent article on Cano's struggles this year. Though I'm generally made uncomfortable by sabermetrics (ignorance on my part), the diagrams and accompanying analysis provide a good insight into his mysterious troubles this year.

It appears to be this simple: pitch selection.

Then again, to paraphrase "The American President": you don't charts and graphs to figure that out!

Sign of the Apocolypse...

I agree with Stephen A. Smith. It might be the sign of the end times.

In an article for ESPN the Magazine, Smith takes to task those who suggest that the NBA is interested in recruiting European (White) players to balance out the "Black" presence in the NBA. Smith dismisses these suggestions as malarky -- as well anyone should.

Through anecdotal evidence and hard statistics, Smith recognizes the power that the original Dream Team had upon the international game as well as the extreme influence of the almight dollar.

Intelligent commentary from "SAS." The rapture approaches...

Horsefeathers

From an article on Hillary's appearance on "This Week":

An Obama supporter picked from the audience by Stephanopoulos to ask a question in the town hall meeting format of the show said she makes less than $25,000 a year, so the price of gas is not an academic issue for her.

“I really do feel pain at the pump,” said Kara Glennon. “However, I do feel pandered to when you talk about suspending the gas tax. I don’t think that it’s really a reasonable plan. Call me crazy, but I actually listen to economists because I think they know what they’ve studied.”

Glennon asked Clinton how the proposal squared with her concerns about energy independence and global warming as lowering the gas tax would not encourage people to save energy and drive less.

Clinton said that while suspending the gas tax would offer short-term relief, she’s also advocating long-term solutions to gas prices and energy independence, including making vehicles more fuel efficient and having the United States be a world leader on addressing global warming.

At a rally in Indianapolis Saturday night, Clinton used the gas tax issue as “just one more indication” that Obama is “not understanding what’s going on in so many people’s lives.”

She is more or less admitting to using the gas tax suspension as a means to getting to voters! She is acknowledging that the proposal is not a long-term solution and is in fact counterproductive! She should not be allowed to tout herself as a global warming fighter while this is happening! How do people get away with this? McCain too, for that matter! And not just the politicians; where is the responsibility of the journalists? I know Stephanopoulos is a former Clintonian, but why even fake it at this point? This is ludicrous. And that quote about Obama just makes me want to punch her in the face.

Things I don't understand...

There are several sport things I don't understand:

lacrosse, the rules of field hockey, why Willie Randolph never double switches especially when it'd be particularly beneficial for his team... and horse racing.

After reading this artcle by Chad Forde from espn.com, I'm even more confused. I mean, if you did this to other animals, you'd be pilloried. Can you imagine a goat or monkey race? I'm also confused by the use of specifically "human" adjectives to describe horses.

Morning Quickie

Jersey Matt was wrong. His link to Scoop Jackson’s article did not ruin my morning; it threatened to ruin both my night last night and my morning. As such, I refuse to even click on the link until after I’ve had my coffee.

The directions on my 3 minute rice noodle soup bowl say to “Just add boiling water or microwave” without explaining how, exactly, adding a microwave to the noodles will help ready them for consumption. And people say syntax doesn’t matter.

Even though it’s probably about a week old, I heard a funny quote this morning. Apparently when he heard that he is getting sued for $10 million by Eliot Spitzer’s call girl, Girls Gone Wild founder/owner/creator Joe Francis quipped something along the lines of “She had sex with Spitzer for $2,000. It doesn’t seem right that she’s suing me for $10 million just for showing her breasts.” I think this Francis guy is a bit of a moron, but he has an amusing point. (Quick tangent: the lawsuit, of course, is that the girl, 17 at the time of the breast filming, had to sign a release after she was done being filmed, which constitutes entering into a contract. 17 year olds, by law, are not of “mature mind” (paraphrasing) to enter into a legal contract. I’m not saying that filming underage girls, corrupting youth, ruining the world, etc., as Francis apparently does for a living, is alright. But that girl knew exactly what she was doing. Also, suppose it had happened the day before her 18th birthday; you’re telling me that the next day she would suddenly be much better (100%, in fact) suited to enter into a contract? I know, you have to draw the line somewhere, but I don’t think it should be so cut and dry. Hopefully the judge agrees and throws this out. My furthest reaching goal with thoughts like this, you understand, is trying to unclog the overloaded court system, particularly of stupid tort claims. Tangent over.)

Last night the estimable Darrell Rasner (who is the only Rasner in major league history, by the way) went 6, giving up 5 hits and 2 ER, for the win. Jeter, Abreu, and Matsui are the only (relatively healthy) Yankees hitting over .300 (.313, .306, and .324, respectively). Red Sox at Tigers tonight, Indians at Yankees on Wednesday – there’s a running diary in there somewhere.

Review of the Cavaliers ending the Wizards’ season and my thoughts on Jeremiah Wright to come.

I don't like William Kristol ... but this possibility made me giddy...

Bobby Freakin' Jindal! as a possible running mate for Senator McCain.

This post will ruin VA Matt's morning...

Scoop Jackson raps on the Jay-Z, Soulja Boy, DeShawn, LeBron controversy!  

Hooray Scoop Jackson!

Come'on VA Matt, let's hear some anti-Scoop vitriol!

Cavs @ Wizards, it's all over

Barely enough fans left to throw those t-shirts to...maybe as they're
filing out.

Cavs @ Wizards, Game 6

Tipoff.

Cavs @ Wizards, Game 6

Section 410, row K, seat 15 Ridiculous pregame player introductions.
Yes, that's fire.

From the Department of Redundancy Department

Something I saw on a newspaper on the way back from lunch inspired me to formally create this list, which previously had had only two static ingredients. The list is a collection of things that people say that are inherently redundant. I do not understand why they say them. The first two, and original, members:

“It’s raining outside.” Oh. Yeah? Where else would it be raining, exactly? In your living room? Maybe in your desk drawer. No, the answer is outside, probably underneath the rainclouds. You don’t need to specify.

“I was just thinking to myself.” I may be behind the curve on this one. Telepathy may actually be quite widespread and I didn’t get the telepathic memo. If this is not the case, however, then you can’t quite be thinking to someone else, can you? You can think aloud, but…that’s what you’re doing as you’re telling me about thinking to yourself. I think by virtue of you saying it, you thought it. (I take that back. Some people do not think before they speak. I stand corrected.)

And finally, the one (a headline!) in a paper that declared that a person had “committed suicide by hanging self.” I’d like to see someone commit suicide by hanging someone else. Maybe by hanging some curtains, or a pronoun. I think we’re all pretty aware of the whole suicide idea and how it is something someone does to one’s self. But thanks for clarifying.

Dear Uncle Sam...

Dear Federal Government: 

Thanks so much for giving me $600 back.  Heaven knows you should not have taken it from me in the first place, but better late than never.  In the meantime, could you please get to work? There are some heavy duty problems around here that really need solving.

Love,

Jersey Matt

PS - Because you suggested I get my stimulus direct deposited, I'm getting screwed out of a great deal on a washer machine at Sears.

Via Email

From: Jersey Matt
To: Virginia Matt

OK Yankee fan, are you worried yet?



From: Virginia Matt
To: Jersey Matt

Again, yes and no. It would be easy to be worried given the abysmal team performance with RISP and the pitching. But you have to remember what happened last year. I'm not saying that having a poor April and May isn't going to hurt you, of course it is. However, we were worse last year at this point and came back, and that was after a hotter Boston start and no real significant Boston collapse (which is always a possibility). The other thing is the injuries. There are more this year, and more significant ones. This is also a "yes and no" event. Injuries are bad because they could be long term or linger (everyone is a year older, after all), but they also may be a legitimate reason for the early futility that may get turned around when (if) everyone gets healthy. So in short, yes I'm worried but no I'm not hopeless yet.

Also, I honestly have no problem with this turning into a true rebuilding year, which it in a small way already is. Kennedy and Hughes have obviously been taking their lumps, which is really hurting the team. But you know, thinking long term, that's what it takes. I hope they don't panic and go out and make some ridiculous signing, but instead stick to the plan. I'd be up for a veteran-for-veteran trade though (Giambi).

Last night at the Nats game someone (drunk) was yelling at Felipe Lopez for making an error on a true routine play. "FELIPE! I am PERSONALLY DISAPPOINTED IN YOU! HOW COULD YOU FLUB SUCH AN EASY BALL!" to which some guy in my row replied "Hey! He can't speak English!"



From: Jersey Matt
To: Virginia Matt

Can that entire email be posted?

Pirates @ Nats

Half smoke, all the way. (chili, onions, mustard)

Pirates @ Nats

Section 226

I've Been Called Out!

Virginia Matt called me out in an earlier posting about Jeremiah Wright.  Well I accept his challenge to explain myself.

I don't particularly agree with Rev. Wright's theological opinions.  His sermons, at least in my humble opinion, show a lack of nuance in interpreting and expounding upon Scripture.  Moreover, lots of things he say smack of the "soft racism of low expectations" which so many folks talk about and yet do nothing about.

However, there are a few points in his defense:

1. He knows his audience.  And members of his congregation at the United Church of Christ in Chicago certainly liked him.  Listen to the cheering in the background of his sermons.  A lot of folks listening to him not only listened, but actively agreed with him.  So, he must be really tapping into something.  We should take note that a lot of people agree with him, despite whatever our own personal misgivings might be.
2. If you strip away the rhetoric, he does raise some really good points.  What exactly does make a patriot?  Why haven't we actually apologized officially for slavery?  How come he gets national treatment from the media, but these fools at Bob Jones University get nearly free passes?  How many media folks who criticized his sermons actually listened to them in their entirety?  
3. Doesn't he have the Wright (a ha ha ha!) to say what he wants?  And isn't it the media's fault that he's getting so much face time.  I think most of America fails to understand the importance that historically "black" churches have within the inner city.  People complain about there being no community centers where young people of color can go instead of being on the streets all the time.  From that need, mega-churches such as the UCC grow.  It's an organic process.  After these congregations/churches/organizations pop up, folks not in them get upset at what they preach and how they preach it.  It's the same reality that the US foreign policy has reaped.  Hey rest of the world, here's democracy!  But no, don't vote for him.  He doesn't like the good old U S of A!  In this sense, the "chickens have come home to roost."
4. As for the comments regarding 9/11, at first glance they are disgusting.  But, in all reality, isn't there a small bit of truth which we have collectively chosen to ignore?  There is a reason these people hate us.  It has a lot to do with our culture and a lot to do with our foreign policy.  Can we really deny that we provided weapons to Sadaam?  Can we honestly state that we didn't arm the Afghanis against the Ruskies and then drop them as soon as they had served their purpose to us?

In sum, I don't particularly like Rev. Jeremiah Wright.  In fact, I wouldn't even refer to him as a reverend.  Men of God are supposed to preach the message of God.  And yet, I can't help but see him as a tragic example of many of the racial divides that still split the nation.  In other words, because of many failures of both Democrats and Republicans in the past 70 years, we are now reaping Jeremiah Wright, which we have so unfortunately sown through the rise of the welfare state, institutionalized racism and a series of foolish, and half-hearted attempts to fix these two large mistakes.

Time to Panic?

Is it time to panic?  Not about the Mets losing 13-2 to the Pirates, necessarily, but rather the listlessness that has continued into this early season.  The Phillies continue to struggle, all indicators are that the Marlins can't continue at their blistering pace, the Braves are 0-9 in one run games and the Nats are a quadruple-A ball club.  And yet, and yet, the Mets have failed to gain any type of momentum in the month of April.  When there's pitching, the bats have fallen flat more often than not and vice versa.  Which, I should add, is a mark of a mediocre team.  Mediocre teams do not have payrolls within the top five of baseball, nor do they stay mediocre teams long.  Either something is done to raise them up from mediocrity, or those middling players drop off to such a degree that the team ends up in the second division.  

Meanwhile, the Yankees are playing even more poorly than the Mets, and yet I'm don't think I'm as happy as they should be.  It seems as if the Yankees (during the regular season at least) always find a way to make things happen.  Then again, maybe that is the magic of Joe Torre.  And without Brian Bruney ... what will the mighty Highlanders do?

Morning Links

"I recognize that the media is going to play this up again tomorrow, as they do every single year."

You're darn tootin' they will. Usually I'm against the media getting lazy/ier and drudging up old stories, especially when it feels like they're doing it just to be annoying, as they are with this story. However, I post the link because I had never heard the alternative explanation by the White House about the banner, and found it interesting. Regardless of whether the alternative explanation is accurate, it was still a horrible decision by whoever makes those decisions and someone should have said something. To create a loose analogy, someone said on a podcast I was listening to, about a movie's bad sound editing: "Even if you're the wardrobe director, not the sound editor, and you're watching the movie, and you notice that when the guy knocks on the door you don't hear the knock sound until he's done knocking, wouldn't you say something?" Was there no one who saw that banner and thought "Hmm, maybe this is a bad idea"?


It is great to see that we finally have some national unity on energy policy. Unfortunately, the unifying idea is so ridiculous, so unworthy of the people aspiring to lead our nation, it takes your breath away.

Again, an article that is written so crystal clearly and concisely that I feel like describing it too much would ruin it. Please read it. It's Friedman on the current state and possible near future of our national energy policy. I'm so glad he's off his book-writing sabbatical; that means he's writing articles again and, more importantly, the book is probably done.


From the "Throwing Jersey Matt Under the Bus" Department: Jersey Matt has some bold thoughts on Reverend Jeremiah Wright, and this is a formal, public request for him to put them to paper (or whatever) here, to which I will attempt to write a coherent response.