Marty's birthday shave

I have followed the Cincinatti Reds on and off since 1975.  Which means for around thirty-five years, I have been around the dulcet tones of one Marty Brennaman, baseball announcer extrordinaire and father of announcer jack-of-all-trades Thom Brennaman.  I listened to Marty and his late partner, "the old Lefthander" Joe Nuxhall about a million times.

So it was amusing to me when we learned last week that Marty had really walked into it.  Early in the season, he told Reds coach Chris Spier that if the team won ten Games in a row, he'd shave his head.  Well, the Reds accomplished that earlier this week.

Marty promised to do it last night.  He even promised to go out on the field and have it done after Friday's game- IF they raised $20,000 for the Reds Community Fund, used to help the many homeless in their area.
The fans raised $20,000 +.
Corporate sponsors kicked in another $30,000.

And so, after the Reds finished off the second-place Pirates last night, the crowd was treated to video of some of Marty's greatest calls as things were set up.  Present baskets from the sponsors were brought out, as well as an honest to goodness barber chair.

An enormous cake with one candle in the shape of a "70" was wheeled out, and Happy Birthday was sung.

The birthday boy came out.  a truck awaited to tale up the soon to be discarded locks for a charity auction.

He was wearing a button-down jersey with "Brennaman 70" on the back.  Jim Day teased him through the opening.  And then, it was Marty and the Chiar.

At one point early on, Day teases the crowd with, "Should we stop there?" The answer was a resounding "No Way!"

A big deal had been made over that Nuxhall used to call him a "poofy haired fancy boy".  Marty has always taken a great deal of pride in his coiffure.  At one point, Day siad, "I'm surprised to say this, but you're head looks really good."  Marty mumbled, "Bullshit," under his breath, just loud enough to be heard, to which Day muttered something about a "G-rated, family show."

I was already a little teary when Day mentioned something about Joe looking down on this and laughing.  But the big moment came when the shaving was done.  Marty took off his jersey to reveal a t-shirt that read, "I'm still me," and brought out three little kids with similar shirts.  They were cancer patients, being helped through an organization called the Dragonfly Foundation.  Marty explained that when the kids had heard about the head shaving, one of them had said, "Now Marty will look like us."  Marty was so moved when he heard, he brought them out and talked about the great work the Foundation does for them.  Then he gave them a group hug and told them, "I'm PROUD to be in your club!"

Not a dry eye in the place, then or now.

I told Laurie, "I would have never believed that 35 years of listening to this man would lead me to this moment. " It was a fun moment- and a beautiful moment.  Jim Day had said, when the shaving was done, "No more poofy hair, now you're just a fancy boy."  But he, and we, knew that Marty is anything but "just" a fancy boy.  God bless you, Marty, and happy birthday! 

There is something weird at the end of this post...

...but I've got a few things to talk about before I get there.  No peaking!

#1, I have been tangnetally involved in a discussion over at Pastor Jeff's Ramblings that wandered into a discussion with a "faithful" (you'll get the joke in a minute) follower of his who argued that even proof of Jesus' rising from the dead would not constitute proof of His Divinity.  You see, he is an atheist (I hope the description fits, he's rather sensitive about these things) and will accept nothing other than first-hand proof that God exists.  Unfortunately, as with most atheists, the evidence of faith is excluded to the point of derision.  I don't want to get into the whole battle here, just two small parts of it.

One of those involves that in the interests of merely pointing out that his mindset is covered in the Bible without trying to start a whole thing, I posted the verse from Luke at the endof the Lazarus and the Rich Man parable- when Abraham tells the rich man that, if they don't believe Moses and the prophets, they would not believe even if one should rise from the dead.  Somehow, this verse made him state that I was terming him a liar.  After scratching my head, I asked him how that was.  He said that if he saw a miracle, he'd believe.  I responded that, out of respect for his already based opinions, I have know way of knowing that's true unless we watch a miracle together.

You see, this gentleman had got sensitive with Pastor Jeff over Jeff trying to extrapolate what he believes in order to carry on the conversation, and then the dude tells Jeff that the problem with most Christians is "They try to tell me what I think."  Even when trying to be respectful of the guy, he was antagonistic.

For my part, I explained to him we had two different belief sets, accepting different kinds of evidence.  The element of faith is accepted evidence in mine, while it is not in his.  At which point, he said that he thought we were at a dead end, and I agreed.  On the Pastors end, he mentioned that their were certain concepts that people like this fellow were afraid of, faith being one of them.  He replied (naturally) we was not afraid of the concept of faith, but he refused to deal with it in a spiritual connotation because of the "religious baggage" it carried.

In other words, unless you cut the heart out of the word, he wouldn't recognize it.  Because accepting spiritual faith as a concept meant that he wasn't looking at all options; by deleting it, his worldview still held sound.  Which at last brings me to my two points.

I do not believe that a miracle would convince this man.  For the simple fact that miracles happen all the time in this world.  Call them coincidence, etc., they are out there.  What he probably meant to say is that he would believe IF the miracle happened right before his eyes, and IF it was a miracl of the sort that would prove Christ's divinity. Two problems with that will probably keep it from ever occuring.

The first is that Jesus is the Bread of Life.  Spiritual food.  Even when He was on earth, miracles were performed solely for the HUNGRY- those that had FAITH enough to believe He could do as He said.  Though I cannot speak for Jesus, I'd say the evidence is pretty clear that Jesus isn't going to grant a miracle to someone who simply isn't spiritually hungry.

The second comes up when one argues, "What about Thomas?  He demanded the same kind of proof and received it!"  Very true.  However, Thomas was coming from a position of HOPE.  Thomas wasn't trying to prove his world view, nor was he daring God to do something.  He was HOPING that something he longed to believe was true.  Again, evidence suggests that Thomas would have never had the opportunity to put His hands in the Nailprints if his attitude was, "Prove that You are God."  Thus, I do not believe that a miracle would convince Pastor Jeff's follower of anything.  But the one thing that could make it happen even though all this is the reason Jesus allowed it to Thomas- He had a job for Thomas.  And that is between Jesus and this man.

________________________________

And if you've scrolled down this far looking for the weird thing, hang on because I've got one more quick story to tell.  Last night, the Detroit PD got a bomb threat at Comerica Field during the Tigers game.  As it was the third such threat this week, all false alarms thus far, they didn't evac the stadium, but searchd quietly and found no bombs.  They should have checked the bat rack in the Angels' dugout.  Mike Trout, Mark Trumbo, Alberto Callaspo, Kendrys Morales, and some guy named Pujols all hit home runs in a 13-0 rout of the Tigers.  I think the Tigers would disagree with the "no bombs" diagnosis.

________________________________________

If you are still here, here's what you've been waiting for.  Last night around 11 PM Scrappy and I took a walk.  Across from the park, a car pulled up to us.  Two men wearing gas masks were in it.  The driver asked me if I knew where ground zero was.  I laughed and said "Ground Zero?"  He said, "Yeah, we're trying to find it," and drove away.  They come out early in this neighborhood.

How to win at baseball

Yes, I've been under the radar due to: research on Time Machine (today), Deadliest Catch (last night), and exhaustion (Monday).  Rest assured, I have been reading, if the comments have been sparse.  But here's one I just have to share.

Those of you who care to know, know that my first loyalty in baseball is to the A's of Oakland.  Most of the free world know that the A's purged the pitching staff this off-season, meaning that we have to find some imaginative ways to win.  And today went twelve innings to prove the point.

The Royals had taken a 4-3 lead in the top of the 12th, and brought in former Dodger closer Jonathon Broxton.   Broxton got off to a good start, striking out Daric Barton looking at a 3-2 pitch.  Pinch-hitter Seth Smith came up next, and he reached when SS Alcides Escobar couldn't get the throw on his grounder to first for an E-6.  Jemile Weeks then walked on four pitches, and Eric Sogard walked to load the bases on a 3-2 pitch.  Coco Crisp grounded out to second, scoring Smith to tie the game with 2 outs.

And then, the A's won the game on the next 2 pitches.  The first pitch hit rookie OF Yoenis Cespedes.  The second hit former Red Jhonny Gomes.  That's right, two pitches, two hit by pitches, and the A's win 5-4.

23 pitches for Broxton, and his line reads 2/3 of an inning, no hits, 2 unearned runs, 2 walks, a strikeout, and 2 HBPs.  Blown save #1, loss, 0-1 record.  In 2 months, the Royals will send him to the A's for a player to be named- wait and see.

"YEAH!!! I can't believe we found someone who loses dumber than we do!!!"

Uhhnn… Sorry, I must have blacked out…

Sorry, this post has nothing to do with the protest against SOPA (although I was one of those who sent the letter to his congressman- and, said congressman has posted on facebook that he plans to vote against it), I just couldn’t resist the tag line.  So lat me get on with my pirating.


Former Umpire Marty Springstead died at home at the age of 74.  Marty was one of the true good guys, a well respected official (which puts him ahead of 99% of NFL refs this year).


Next, The CBS evening news led off with perhaps the stupidest thing I have EVER heard on broadcast television:
“The cruise ship captain under fire for abandoning his vessel while thousands of passengers scrambled for rescue has reportedly come up with an explanation for his flight - he accidentally tripped and fell into a lifeboat.”


COME. F’N. ON.

I tripped and fell into a lifeboat.  That’s why the commander of the coast guard spent a half-hour vainly trying to order my yellow ass back onto the ship.  So now not only is he a craven coward, but also a blatant liar.  Sorry to be unforgiving, but It will be a fine day when he adds “Convicted felon” to the accolades he won with this trip.


As of right now, Cashbox has not gotten their server back up.  Rest assured, that with a little warning and scads of extra time (yep, another early weekend due to lack of work), I will be doing… something… this Friday.  Not sure what, but I just had an idea and if I remember it long enough I might just try it.  Assuming SOPA doesn’t stop me.

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Now, I realize that I do my hockey posts for my own entertainment.  My followers include those who dislike hockey, those who don’t understand hockey, those that can’t skate (me neither), and Lord help us, Philly Flyers fans.  Never the less, I have an addendum to last night’s post, in particular the glancing blow I dealt to the Continental cup tourney.  It seems that once they got to the Sunday games, they weren’t going by goal differential amongst all four teams, but only the differential in the games between the three teams still in it.  Thus, when Yunost won, they needed a Rouen win of 2 goals or less.  Donbass needed a win, and they trailed Rouen 3-2 with less than three minutes left, which would have given the cup to Yunost.  But Rouen scored twice IN THE LAST 2 1/2 MINUTES to get their 3-goal margin and the cup!  And the game was in Rouen, can you imagine what that arena must have been like when that last goal went in?

They're calling it "Le Miracle de Rouen"!

Tune in tomorrow, when- at Average Girl’s request, I will do a post about yoga, and… what?  That got blacked out?  Pirating charges?  Oh well, maybe I’ll just raid wastebook for more bon mots instead.

Bring me the head of Dusty Baker... or not...

There is nothing worse than watching your team lose because of the cumulative stupid decisions made by the manager.  I thought I was rid of that when Oakland finally canned Bob Geren, but now Dusty Baker is picking up where he left off, only with the Cincinnati Reds.

Last night was one of the biggest cluster-f's I ever witnessed.  Rather than rant about the entire thing, let me just go to the point. In the Milwaukee fourth, they had cut the Reds' 4-0 lead to 4-2.   In the fifth, starter Mike Leake, after getting the first man out, gave up a single, a double, an RBI single, and yet another single to load the bases.  Now, a smart manager might have called in a reliever, especially with the mammoth Prince Fielder coming up.  But Dusty leaves him in, and Fielder hits a deep drive that brings in the tying run.  Leake then follows by balking a runner to third.  Somehow, he gets out of the inning, and everybody knows that Leake will be pinch hit for when his spot comes up third in the Reds 6th.

Except for Dusty, who lets him bat, and sends him out for the brewers' 6th.

Whereupon he gives up a second pitch HR to Mark Kotsay (who used to play for the A's, and we stupidly let him go, so this is even more irritating.).  So now the Reds are behind.  But wait, in the Reds seventh, Joey Votto hits a liner to Kotsay in left with a man on that Kotsay proceeds to play soccer with- result, tie game and Votto on third.  Jay Bruce then added a HR and the Reds had a gift-wrapped 7-5 lead.

In the Brewer seventh, with 2 out and nobody on, a bright manager may well have walked Fielder.  Not Dusty, though.  He pitches to the man and Prince responds with a single- but he was left on base.  Not only that, but he had brought Bill Bray in just TO pitch to fielder- and after the hit, took him out.  The last time I saw Dusty do this, Bray was the only pitcher to get an out in a game that Logan Ondrusek then came in and gave up the winning hit.  Why, Dusty, why?



In the Brewer eighth, He brought in Nick Masset.  1-2-3 inning.  Great job, Nick!

In the Brewer ninth, though, Dusty brought in the "closer" Francisco Cordero.  Now, if you watch the Reds at all, you know that the experience of watching CoCo close a game is a lot like trying to put out a campfire by slowly dribbling gasoline on it.  Sometimes he gets the save, sometimes he blows it, but every time, you will put a strain on your heart watching him try.  So, CoCo comes in and walks the first batter.  After giving us a flicker of hope with a fly out, he then gives up a triple to Nygier Morgan, the Brewers' multi-talented head case.  Game is now 7-6, and a grounder to third by Corey Hart results in Morgan being cut down at the plate.  Two outs, runner on first, and here comes Fielder.  How about we just put him on, Dusty?  But no, we pitch to him- and probably a good thing, CoCo's so wild he'd probably wild pitch in the winning run on an intentional walk.  He damn near does anyway, as he ends up walking the big man after all that.  And then comes an Infield single by Casey McGehee to load the bases. So, 2 out, 3 on, and with the rest of the bullpen so sagely wasted by Dusty in the previous three innings, it's all CoCo.

And who comes to the plate? Mark Kotsay.  I could make this up, but no one would believe me.

And of course Kotsay laces a hit that scores two  runners, and the game is over.  4-0 lead, meet 8-7 loss.  Not unfamiliar, since 2 nights ago, the Reds blew an 8-0 4th-inning lead to the damnable Cardinals only to win 9-8- in 13 innings.  Of course, I ranted and raved the rest of the night.  The reason God did not destine me for baseball ownership is that I would have fired Baker on the spot, and kicked  CoCo out with him.

And I fully intended to continue the rant this morning.  I dug into Baseball Reference to excoriate Cordero, and promote Masset to be the closer.  But, guess what?  As I looked at the stats, Coco is only middle of the road in blown saves around the league.  He's been fantastic against inherited runners.  Even the great, bearded wonder Brian Wilson has comparable stats.  (I didn't compare Mariano Rivera's stats, though.  That would be like comparing Babe Ruth to a high school squad.) Even when I tried comparing him to Masset, I found that if you counted Masset's horrible first five appearances, CoCo beat him, and if you took them out, the only difference would be that Masset's let in more inherited runners.  So pass me a nitroglycerin pill and I'll shut up and hope for the best with Cordero.

Dusty, on the other hand... I just don't know...

Memmmmm-riiiiies.... of baseball

This morning as I watched the baseball report, I heard it said of the Indians June swoon that since they hit their high-water mark a few weeks back, they've been shut out more than they've won. I could hear my pessimistic Tribe-fan son KC saying, "see, I knew it would happen."  But I can remember another classic collapse by a team that wasn't supposed to be there.

The year was 1977.  The team was the lovable Cubs.  They had taken first in the old NL East on the 28th of May, and by June 27th had pushed that lead to 8 1/2 games.  But reality began to set in on the 29th, when they began a slide that ended July 5th after losing 7 of 8.  Included in this was a 19-3 loss to the Montreal Expos in which starter Ray Burris went just 1/3 of an inning and Ellis Valentine hit 2 HRs- one of them off infielder Larry Biitner in the 9th.

They continued to cling to a lead of anywhere from 2 1/2 to 4 games until a four game set in Philadelphia.  The opener was a twi-night double-header on July 15th in which the Cubs lost the opener to cut their lead to 2 1/2 yet again, and Greg Luzinski of the Phillies hit a game tying two-run shot.  I got to listen to game two on my transistor radio from the hospital- I'd gotten my appendix out that afternoon.  You could feel the panic in the faltering Cubs.   In the sixth inning though, you felt the air go out for good when Luzinski hit the facing of the second deck off of Paul Reuschel to put the Phils up 3-1.  That game went on to become a 9-2 loss, and the home team took three of four.  Still, the Cubs continued to win just when they needed to, including a game I well remember, a 16-15 war with the Reds.  But a loss to struggling San Diego put them under water at last, and the Phillies finished them off for all practical intents with a 4-game Wrigley Field sweep that included 2 more Luzinski HRs and a collective score of 34-14.

In the meantime, "my division"- the AL West- was in the midst of the most savage battle in modern history.  The Minnesota Twins had assumed the early lead on April 30th, but never could shake the Chicago White Sox, with a biggest lead of 3 1/2 games.  The southsiders got hot in late June, and took first themselves on July 2nd, building a 5 1/2 game lead, giving Chicagoans dreams of an intra-city World Series.  But that high water point marked the start of a ten-loss-in-14-games slump.  They were still in first place, though, when the Week That Was began.

On Sunday, Aug. 12th, the Sox lost to Texas 12-9.  That put the Rangers in third, a game back of the Sox, while Minnesota held second despite a 6-5 loss to the Tigers.  Fellow contender Kansas City also lost, to expansion Toronto 6-3 to remain 1 1/2 back.  The next day, the Sox began a 2-game set with the Yankees with a 6-2 loss, which gave the Twins an opportunity.  They took it, hammering the Orioles 13-9 to retake first place by 1/2 game. First baseman Craig Kusick was the star of the show, hitting a three run HR of starter Rudy May to chase him in the fifth; he capped a 5-run 6th with another off Mike Flanagan.  Losses by Texas and Kansas City put them 1 1/2 and 2 games back, respectively.

The Twins continued to lead Tuesday despite a 6-5 loss to the O's as all the contenders lost except Texas, who routed Milwaukee 11-3.  The Sox lost the second game to the Yankees in a heart breaker; after the Yanks got a 4 run 8th to stretch their lead to 9-4, the Sox got 6 in the ninth off Ron Guidry, Sparky Lyle, and Ken Clay to take a 10-9 lead.  But in the bottom of the ninth, reliever Randy Wiles walked Thurman Munson leading off the inning, and one out later, Chris Chambliss hit a walk off 2-run shot to give the Yankees an 11-10 win.

Wednesday, the Twins took their turn at losing to an expansion team, falling to Seattle 3-2, while the Rangers were getting a walk-off RBI single from catcher Jim Sundberg to beat Toronto 6-5 in 10 innings and give the Texicans first place by 1/2 game. The Sox were idle and remained a half-game out, and KC topped the Tribe 5-3 to get back to 1 1/2 out.

Thursday, the White Sox were idle again, and everyone else won.  Texas got a 3 hitter from Dock Ellis in a 8-0 win over the Jays, while Dennis (the menace) Leonard blanked Cleveland 4-0 on a 4 hitter.  So the only change in the standings was that the Sox were now 1 game out.

Things really tightened up on Friday, and the lead changed hands again.  While Texas took its turn at getting hammered by the Yankees (8-1), Wilbur Wood knuckled down the Brewers 3-1- and the Sox were in first by percentage points.  In the meantime, Minnesota was losing to Baltimore 3-2 and KC whupped Boston 9-3, leaving them both a mere 1/2 back.

Saturday gave us the 4th different leader in a mere seven days.  Kansas City, led by the heart of their order,knocked out Luis Tiant after just 2 1/2 innings; after a single by Tom Poquette and a strikeout by Hal McCrae, the Royals got RBI hits by George Brett (single), Al Cowens (triple), and John Mayberry (single).  The Royals won 5-2 while everyone else lost- Texas 6-2 to the Yanks, Chicago 4-2 to Milwaukee, and Minnesota 6-2 to Baltimore.

Kansas City was never headed again on their way to a second straight AL West title and 3-0 pennant series loss to the Yanks.  In fact, while Texas spent the rest of the season going 26-15, the Sox 23-21, and the imploding Twins 15-23, the Royals ran off a 34-9 streak to win going away.  But for one magical week, all the world revolved about these four teams.

And the Cubs? they capped of a string of disappointing 3 game losing streaks with losing their last six to finish at 81-81- not even a winning record.

What does this mean for the 2011 Indians?  I keep telling KC that they are a talented team, if injury bit.  I think they're in it for the long haul.  Not like the poor Cubs, who every time they look good, spend all their time waiting for the other shoe to fall, just like 1977.

The best news of the entire baseball season

BOB GEREN FIRED!!!

WHADDAYA MEAN, I'M OUTTA THERE?!??!

Finally! At long last, the worst manager of the Oakland Athletics in my lifetime has been terminated, sacked, stick a fork in him!!!

Let's go to the news room for more details.

What would it take for Billy Beane to fire Bob Geren?

Well, now we know.
It took last place. It took nine straight losses. It took players, past and former, complaining publicly. It took, according to Beane, a constant focus on the manager's job status.


The A's general manager fired his close friend Thursday morning, relieving Geren of his duties and replacing him with Bob Melvin. Melvin, the former Mariner and Diamondbacks manager who had just rejoined Arizona as a special assistant, will serve as the interim manager for the rest of this season, beginning with Thursday night's game in Chicago.


"This was an opportune time for a change," Beane said on a Thursday afternoon conference call.


Bill, any moment of the last two seasons would have been opportune.  The word you're looking for is OVERDUE.


The move will stun some people who thought Beane would never fire Geren, who was the best man at his wedding. Others assumed that Beane would wait until the end of the season, if he fired Geren at all.


But the A's, who expected to contend behind a pitching staff that is one of baseball's best, have turned into a disaster that has only gotten worse. By last week, there were rumblings in the organization that Beane could be ready to make a change.






Players questioned Geren's communication skills, and rival scouts and executives derided him as the worst manager in the game.


See? It wasn't just the fans...

"They'll never win as long as he's there," one scout with Oakland ties told me last month, after the firestorm that began when Brian Fuentes and Huston Street ripped Geren in print.

People close to the team said that Geren had lost the trust of his veteran players.


"He could have said the house is on fire, and guys would have stayed, because they wouldn't have believed him," one A's person said.


Thursday, former A's catcher Rob Bowen ripped Geren on Twitter, writing: "Finally the A's have realized Geren has destroyed a dozen pitcher's careers and doesn't have a clue how to manage a big league club."

Yeah, remember what he did to Gio Gonzales in that relief stint last year?  It's a wonder Gio hasn't had his arm fall off.
Geren was 334-376 in five-plus years with the A's, and never had a winning season. The A's had been to the playoffs five times in the seven years before he took over.

(players) complained about his inconsistent lineups that kept anyone from getting going.
Those complaints helped fuel the questions about what it would take for Beane to fire Geren, and the GM said that speculation led to his decision. He refused to say whether he had talked to A's players about Geren, but it's hard to believe he hadn't.

The 49-year-old Melvin has local ties, having grown up in the Bay Area and playing one year at the University of California. He played 10 years in the big leagues, and he managed the Mariners for two years and the Diamondbacks for a little more than four years. He took Arizona to the National League Championship Series in 2007, but was fired two years later.



Any of the professional criticism of Geren in the above CBSSports article has only been an echo of what the fans have been saying for two years.  I can only hope that Melvin will be able to make progress repairing the damage that having one's best friend work for you has done to this franchise.


Thankfully, there is some hope for the unemployed Mr. Geren.  Here are some examples:

I'm sure you'll be working again in no time!



The birthday game 2011

Sunday was the annual trip to a ballgame for my birthday #3.  this year was Reds vs Tribe in Cleveland, and I took some amazingly poor photos of the fun but not particularly enjoyable trip.

Random shot of McClure, Ohio. 

Shortly after this, we passed three billboards touting Saturday's end of the world event.  Probably would have been a good thing for the Reds.

 What would a trip to Cleveland be without the windmills in Bowling Green?

And here we are in the city by the lake.

And Progressive Field, home of the Indians.

Got yer ticket? Yep.

KC and Ashley on the mean streets of Cleveland.  Thank God the homeless presence, unlike in Cincy, was minimal.

Here's Drew Stubbs about to be thrown out stealing in the first.  And had he just waited...

Jay Bruce's HR seconds later would have made it 2-0 instead of 1-0.

At this point, half the stadium was dark and forboding...

...and half was bright and sunny.  Sunny (and HOT) soon won that battle.

This, I believe, was the first of Asdrubal Cabrera's 2 HRs for the home team.

After an agonizing three inning stint in which Reds pitcher Edison Volquez not only sucked, but sucked VERRRRRRRY SLOWLY, Dusty finally takes him out of my misery.

In the fourth inning, all the clouds were gone.  Of course, by now it was 7-1.

I think this is Joey Votto scoring on his HR that made it 7-2.  Game would end up 12-4.

Afterer dinner at Fridays ( and an accidental tour of what I believe was Cleveland's north side, trying to get back to the turn off we missed), we started for home.  About that time  (@7 pm) Laurie called to let us know that we would be heading home into a line of nastiness.

When it came up, around 9:30, it came up FAST...

...but the bark was much worse than the bite, thank God.

Mitchell Page

In 1977 I learned about the wide world of baseball on AM radio. That summer my whole life was built around the 1 o'clock game, the 3:00 game, the 7 o'clock game, and the 9:30 game. Along with the concurrent heavy consumption of Pepsi, ho-hos, and chips, and pouring over of the week's Sporting News. Fortunately I enjoyed a plethora of teams, and could listen (depending on time of day) to games on WABC New York, WBZ Boston, WSB Atlanta, KMOX St. Louis, WGN and WMAQ in Chicago, WJR Detroit, WLW Cincinnati, WBAP Dallas, WTMJ Milwaukee, and the very rare glimpse of WBAL Baltimore. Fortunately, I say, because my beloved Oakland A's went that year from a hard charging team that finished just 2 1/2 games back to a team that fell one rain out behind the expansion Seattle Mariners for last place.

But it was the first time I got to really follow the team, and I loved every minute and exhorted them to fight for every run. The names that emblazoned themselves across my mind that year were hardly household names (excepting Vida Blue), and basically forgotten by even today's A's fans. Rob Picciolo. Jeff Newman. Wayne Gross. Rick Langford. Jim Tyrone.

The unquestioned star of that team, though was rookie outfielder Mitchell Page. He hit .307, easily the best on the team, and no mean feat in the Coliseum. He had 21 HRs (second on the team to the much lighter-hitting Gross) and 75 RBIs, to go with 42 stolen bases. When you needed the big hit, your choices were Page first, and then Gross. He came in second to Eddie Murray in the rookie of the year voting, a vote that I will forever claim was due to east-coast bias. (Don't bother showing me the stats or the subsequent career, I won't listen.)

It broke my heart that he never reached such heights again, with nagging injuries taking their toll, as well as substance abuse problems that were revealed when he was released as Cardinals hitting coach after the 2004 season. Perhaps if he'd been introduced to steroids he could have bounced back like Mark McGwire did, but I'm glad he didn't if that's the price.

He coached in Kansas City, St. Louis, and Washington, from whom he was on leave of absence and doing some roving scouting.

Today, as I watch my first A's spring game on MLB, the crawler announced that Page had died. Age 59, cause of death not determined.

"I saw him during the winter, at the fall league," said Cardinals first-base coach Dave McKay. "He was doing really well. He was feeling great, bought a home, went from the ballpark to working on his home. He was going to church, spending a lot of time at church and doing all the right things. I was really happy for him. He was feeling good. I thought it was great. I saw him probably about four or five times.
"He was a pretty sharp guy. Really good head. I played with him. He was into video, watching what guys were doing. It's just really sad. His life was straightened out, he was heading in the right direction, it seemed like. I was really glad that he was going to church and becoming a Christian".

Cards Manager Tony LaRussa added, "He didn't have an easy life. He was a good man, a knowledgeable man, a real good teammate. It's a shame."

It really is. I've never stopped missing those days. 98 losses never dimmed the fact that that was MY team. And now our leader, our fallen leader, is fallen for good. God bless you Mitchell. I hope yours is the last eulogy I'll type for a few months- I'm getting all too sick of death.

It's that time again...

Yep, here's our first "WHO'S DUMBER" of the year, and I have three contesting stories, many with multiple candidates for the award.

STORY #1: From Fox News:


Virginia Teen Suspended, Facing Criminal Charges for Shooting Plastic Spitballs in School
By Diane Macedo
The family of a Virginia teen suspended for the remainder of the school year for shooting plastic "spitwads" at students in the hallway is targeting the school district's zero-tolerance policy, claiming that it's "criminalizing childish behavior."
Andrew Mikel II, a freshman honor student at Spotsylvania High School who also is active in Junior ROTC, is filling an appeal to be reinstated and have his record cleared after school officials suspended him for using what appeared to be the hollow body of a pen to blow small plastic balls at three students during his lunch period last December.
The 14-year-old initially was hit with a 10-day suspension, but the Spotsylvania County School Board later voted to extend the punishment for the rest of the school year, citing the Student Code of Conduct's requirement that a student found with "any type of weapon, or object used to intimidate, threaten or harm others" be "expelled for a minimum of 365 days" unless "special circumstances exist."
The district also referred the case to the Spotsylvania Sheriff's Office, which charged him with three counts of misdemeanor assault.
As result Mikel entered a diversion program – which includes community service and substance abuse and anger management counseling – to avoid prosecution, but his father says his damaged record has shattered his hopes of attending the U.S. Naval Academy after graduation.
Capt. Liz Scott Spotsylvania Sherriff's Office says while Mikel's punishment may be controversial, "assault is assault is assault."

Anyone out there agree with THAT?

Citing the school's 'zero tolerance' policy, Assistant Principal Lisa Andruss at a December 21 disciplinary hearing said that Mikel presented a danger and that the boy's behavior was indicative of a trend because he was disciplined in seventh grade for shooting rubber bands with a ruler and suspended for three days in 8th grade for bringing a comb to school that resembled a pocket knife, his father said.
As a result, the guidance department said Andrew, who had hoped to attend the U.S. Naval Academy after graduation, can no longer be considered as an applicant, his father said.
"I'm scratching my head at the whole thing," Andrew Mikel Sr. told FoxNews.com. "One thing is he must attend substance abuse counseling – he's never had a substance abuse issue in his life."
The older Mikel, a 39-year-old former Navy Seabee and Marine officer, said he was shocked that his son's future could be so heavily affected over "a spitwad."
"Right from the get go the Assistant Principal Lisa Andruss said, 'Come pick up your son, he's being suspended for 10 days, we're recommending expulsion, and we're going to push this to the fullest extent of the law," he told FoxNews.com. "When I arrived she showed me what amounts to a pee shooter: a plastic pen casing about four inches long and these little plastic balls that he'd had from a toy guy that he had years ago and found in his closet recently. This thing is harmless."
His father says he tried to talk Andruss into giving his son a more lenient punishment, but Mikel said she had already had his son interrogated by police and her mind was made up.
"I tried to talk to her and say, 'We understand this is wrong, but doesn't this seem a little excessive?' And she was just dead set this was what they were going to do," the older Mikel said.
Two disciplinary hearings later, on January 18, the school board voted to suspend the teen for the rest of the year.
"What happened to Andrew Mikel is an example of how oppressive zero tolerance policies have become," said John Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute, which is representing Mikel Jr. "School officials have developed a very dangerous mindset that allows virtually no freedom for students, while at the same time criminalizing childish behavior."
Still, even school officials were divided on the issue.
Principal Russell Davis called it a "clear-cut case" for a minimum "365 day expulsion," in an email to Andruss and Spotsylvania's coordinator of school safety, John Lynn. The email was one of several documents secured by the Mikels through a Freedom of Information Act request.
"We have an obligation to protect the students in our building from others who pose a threat to the over-all safe learning environment," Davis wrote.
Lynn, on the other hand, wrote in the same string of emails that he was "not at all comfortable expelling or suspending this student for the remainder of the year," recommending instead that Mikel be allowed to return to school after his initial 10-day suspension.
Mikel says he thinks detention probably would have been more fitting.
"My son did an infraction and he deserves a just punishment but this is like cutting someone's hand off for stealing a piece of cabbage," he said. "If my son, instead of shooting a spitball, went up and punched a student right in the face he would only have gotten five days suspension and even if he'd drawn blood the school resource officer said police still wouldn't have gotten involved."
"It takes four state agencies to go after someone with a spitwad: It takes the sheriff's department, the commonwealth attorney, the school board on various levels and the department of juvenile justice … what a fine use of taxpayer resources," he added.
Whitehead says he will appeal the decision next week and hopes to have the teen's record expunged.

This is what years of (the other "L" word) theories on education and discipline have brought us to... a teacher can't even raise their voice to an unruly child without getting dressed down by the principal, and yet you can get a criminal record for shooting spitwads. I'm honestly thinking of renaming these columns who ISN'T dumber?

Story #2: a couple of articles from CBSSports, that you'll soon understand why I blended together. First, an op-ed about baseball players whose huge contracts and piddly performance got them voted by baseball executives on to the top ten untradeable contracts list. Here are some exerpts:

1. Oliver Perez, Mets, 1 year, $12 million. Other players are owed much more money, and obviously, the Mets could trade Perez by accepting a much larger bad contract in return. Perez still takes top spot on this list because, as one rival executive said, "You can't even use him." Perez was so useless that the Mets basically played with a 24-man roster for all of August,
because ownership refused to release him. There's a general assumption that Perez will be released this spring, just another reason he tops this list. "If you even wanted him, you could just wait until they release him, and then get him for nothing," another executive said. "So why trade for him?" You wouldn't. He's untradeable -- I think.

....

5. Francisco Rodriguez, Mets, 1 year, $11.5 million, with a $17.5 million vesting option. The option is the problem, even more than K-Rod's declining stuff or his legal issues. It vests with only 54 games finished, which means he has a good year and you're paying him way too much in 2012, or he has a bad year and you're paying him way too much this year. So the Mets get two of the first five spots on the list, and it could well have been more than that, since Luis Castillo (1 year, $6 million), Carlos Beltran (1 year, $18.5 million) and even Johan Santana (3 years, $72 million coming off shoulder surgery) also received votes.

Okay, so now you're saying to yourself, "How could the Mets organization be so stupid as to spend so much money on so many unperforming players (keeping in mind that with sports salaries, waste is relative)?" Well, read the other story and see if you can't figure it out:

Madoff lawsuit: Mets owners owe victims $300M.
NEW YORK -- The owners of the Mets turned a blind eye to Bernard Madoff's massive fraud, reaping $300 million in false profits and using a large chunk to run the team, according to a lawsuit unsealed Friday.

The lawsuit claims the owners were so dependent on the disgraced financier's too-good-to-be-true returns that it "faced a severe and immediate liquidity crisis" when Madoff's crimes were revealed in 2009.
The searing allegations were made by Irving Picard, the trustee appointed to recover funds for investors burned by Madoff's scheme. The suit filed by Picard in federal bankruptcy court in Manhattan names Sterling Equities, along with its partners and family members, including Met owner Fred Wilpon, team president Saul Katz and chief operating Jeff Wilpon, the owner's son.
"Given Sterling's dependency on Madoff, it comes as no surprise that the partners willfully turned a blind eye to every red flag of fraud before them," Fernando A. Bohorquez, Jr., a lawyer representing Picard, said Friday.
The complaint alleges the partnership "received approximately $300 million in fictitious profits" from hundreds of accounts opened with Madoff's firm. Of that, it says, $90 million of "other people's money" were withdrawn to cover day-to-day operations of the Mets.
Wilpon and Katz fired back Friday with a statement calling the suit "an outrageous strong-arm effort to force a settlement by threatening to ruin our reputations and businesses we built for over 50 years."
The pair called the accusations "abusive, unfair and untrue," insisting they were victims of the fraud.
"We should not be made victims twice over - the first time by Madoff and again by the trustee," they wrote.

Victims? Victims are people who trust someone (as in Madoff or the regulators who were supposedly watching him) and get took. "Damn, I hope he don't get caught" doesn't qualify. Read on.

The lawsuit said Wilpon and Katz had meetings with Madoff in his office at least once a year, a privilege few investors enjoyed, and Katz at times spoke directly with Madoff at least once a day.
The suit has cast a cloud over the Mets ownership, which has said it's exploring a partial sale of the team. (Gee I wonder why THAT is.) But Wilpon and Katz denied Friday that the operation was ever dependent on Madoff.
The lawsuit describes the Sterling Partners as "a team of sophisticated professionals who built a business empire spanning four major industries, including real estate, professional baseball and sports media, private equity and hedge funds."
It says Sterling Partners "willfully disregarded any criticisms of Madoff and simply buried their heads in the sand" during a nearly quarter-century relationship in which it supported its substantial business empire with Madoff money and reaped the benefits of bogus profits.
The firm was "simply in too deep ... to do anything but ignore the gathering clouds," the lawsuit says. "In the face of the parade of red flags, the Sterling Partners chose to do nothing."
Numerous financial industry professionals over the years warned Sterling about Madoff and speculated that he was operating a fraud, including one Sterling consultant who advised Saul Katz in 2003 that he "couldn't make Bernie's math work and something wasn't right," the court papers say.
In 1996, it says, multiple banks refused to serve as custodian of Sterling's 401K plan because of concerns about Madoff's lack of transparency and inability to provide daily account balance information.
At one point after several financial news publications raised questions about the Madoff business in May 2001, Sterling considering getting fraud insurance that would have included a Ponzi scheme but Sterling ultimately rejected the insurance because coverage limits meant most of their money was uninsurable, according to the court papers.

Now, show of hands of those still wondering how they could blow money on Oliver Perez et al.

Story #3: Could I possibly get through the first WD of the year without giving a shout-out to President Obama and his merry minions? Again, Fox News:

Ex-Ambassador Left Luxembourg Embassy in 'State of Dysfunction,' Watchdog Finds
By William Lajeunesse

Described as "aggressive, bullying, hostile, and intimidating," President Obama's ambassador to Luxembourg left the U.S. embassy there "in a state of dysfunction" and unable to carry out its duties after her recent exit, according to report released this week by the State Department Inspector General.
Cynthia Stroum, one of President Obama’s top 25 fundraisers -- a bundler who raised more than $500,000 for the his campaign -- was chosen for ambassador in 2009. (and isn't that all the qualifications any ambassador for
our country needs?) Since then, auditors say her autocratic, bossy and demanding style led to complete failure of the embassy in Luxembourg's ability to function as an arm of the U.S. government in one of the world's smallest and wealthiest nations.
"Morale among Americans and local staff is very low, and stress levels are high," said the audit. "Most employees describe the Ambassador as aggressive, bullying, hostile, and intimidating, which has resulted in an extremely difficult, unhappy and uncertain work environment."
And "the apparent nonstop requirements from the Ambassador" compromised service and cost U.S. taxpayers dearly, according to the audit. A popular website among the foreign service, Diplopundit, calls the audit "The Horror Report of the Year."
Stroum, who had no apparent qualifications for the job,(Oh, I guess I was wrong) quit last week, citing business and family obligations. Sources tell Fox News the White House gave her no option after reading the scathing IG report.
- Stroum wrongly threatened embassy staff that "her appointment letter from the President gave her the right to read any email messages" they wrote, and staff had "no expectation of privacy" in their e-mail or phone calls.
- For 6 weeks, multiple employees worked full-time to find Stroum a "suitable temporary residence." They screened 200 residences and visited 30-40 houses in Luxembourg. Stroum rejected them all, again costing taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars unnecessarily.
- Stroum rushed to spend $3,400 in Embassy funds on European wine and liquor before the end of the year, even though State Department rules say “in no case, is the post authorized to use excess year-end funds to purchase wine." Secondly, all wine is supposed to be American.
- After learning about a school in Switzerland that trained employees to work in places such as Buckingham Palace, Stroum and an assistant flew to Switzerland solely to hire a chef, billing taxpayers more than $1,200 for the trip and ignoring embassy rules to hire locally.
Since 1989, Stroum, an heir to a Seattle auto parts fortune, personally gave Democratic candidates more than $150,000, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, including President Obama and Washington Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray.

I'm sure the president thought that HIS vast experience for his job as a brief career in political activism seems to be enough to be president, it should be enough for ambassador to a small-but-rich-and-influential ally. Now, when reporters ask Obama about his "war", it won't be the one in Iraq or Afghanistan. It will be the one he started with Luxembourg. That will put him in fine company with the last three guys that started wars in Luxembourg: Louis XIV, Wilhelm the second, and, oh, that guy with the big mouth and cheesy little moustache (Sorry, can't use the "H" word, guys.)

Another round of January Junk

Item #1: If you looked in on the last round of JJ, you saw the story of my old friend's dad and his back problem- and the unwillingness of insurance to finish covering it. Turns out to be an ill-disguised blessing. His wonderful specialists had discovered an old injury and happy that they'd done their job, left it at that. As old injuries are wont to do, it was "healing nicely" and thus insurance bailed on him prior to the start of PT. So Friday he had his appointment with his regular doctor, who actually LISTENED (Yes, specialists, listening is one of the skills you were taught in Med School and promptly forgot when $ calls) when George told them that that was NOT where the pain was. His doc found that the back was, indeed an old injury- and the current one was a BROKEN PELVIS!! Needless to say, the PT would have f'ed him up worse had the insurance left him start it. Isn't wonderful how God used greedy, short-sighted people to stop the damage about to be done by greedy, short-sighted people?





Item #2: Keith Olberman was abruptly fired by MSNBC last night, and evidence leads us to believe that Olberman may not have even known himself until the very last minute. Now, I have little love for the gent; I don't generally raise my blood pressure by listening to left-leaning demagoguery, so my only real contact with him outside of the "news" stories he often found himself in was his pompous, ill-informed commentaries a couple of years back on Sunday Night Football pregame. And I thought it seemed a little fishy when he got suspended last fall for no more than making contributions to like minded butt nugget political candidates. After all, this was a liberal theology network- I found it hard to swallow that ethics were really that big a deal at MSNBC. Word is that the network head had had a jones for Olby's removal for a while, and I guess he thought giving him the bum's rush at the tail end of a slow news week might cause a little less consternation amongst his fans. To me, in my far from complete judgement on the subject, I'd have to say it is a good example of, "as you sow, so shall you also reap." Good luck on G4, Olby!



Item #3: A news report from an Australian news source, later embellished by the Huffington Post (imagine that) has pitted astronomers against chicken littles across the globe. Here we see the star Betelgeuse, the red star in Orion's left shoulder.

Astronomers have noted that Betelgeuse (pronounced Beetlejuice, like the movie) is shrinking- collapsing inward as all red giants eventually do. Someday, scientists tell us, it will go into terminal collapse, and in less than a heartbeat will explode into a supernova. It will for a while be around as bright as the full moon on earth, visible in daylight. The Aussie reporter, however, tells us that it will be like having two suns (the so-called Tatooine effect) and it will happen IN 2012. Apparently he must have consulted his Little Golden Book On Mayan Prophecy to dig this up. The HuffPost, however, insinuates they got the scoop from astronomer Dr. Brad Carter, who in the article a) does discuss the science of the event, and b) does not give a date, as no self respecting amateur astronomer would.

Not to fear, though; another astronomer, Phil Plait, takes the bull by the horns. He debunks the Tatooine effect, throws out any attempt to date something that could happen anywhere from tomorrow to ten million years from now, and assures us that we'd have to be within 25 light years to have anything bad happen to us as a result of Orion's impending rotator-cuff injury, and Betelgeuse is a full 25 times that far away. Reporter Claire Connelly must have dreams of a 2012 sequel screen play credit on her mind.

Item#4: The Angels acquire longtime Blue Jay Vernon Wells for catcher Mike Napoli and some other bum. Those of us old enough to remember when MLB wasn't the haven of sports greatest mercenaries have to look with sadness on the departure of a lifetime player from a small market team to one of the temples of MLB mammon, but at least it was a trade. Remember trades? that's how players used to move in baseball, each team taking a chance and getting SOMETHING in return. On the bright side, it WAS a trade; Napoli is a competent hitter, though not up to Angels' manager Mike Scioscia's standards behind the plate; and Wells is coming off an off-year and has a tendency to start well, get hurt, and tail off.

Another Day At Home (Sigh...)

Well, the good news is that the car is home once more. The bad news is that we still have no work, and we don't go back till Monday. Nice for vacation, bad for wallet. Looking into a possible trade up, but probably down payments will put it off for right now.
Took a walk today in that lovely light snow this morning. We took the camera in case anything both interesting and capturable came along (it didn't), although we did see the red fox again, and Scrappy had a meeting with a Scottie (which, being a male, didn't go real well).
Hearing more and more about Jim Harbaugh to Miami. Gotta make Sparano feel real good that owner Stephen Ross et al are flying to the coast with reports saying they're going to offer him approximately twice what the 49ers are. At least Rich Rodriguez got the privilege of knowing that he was going to get fired even though Michigan knew they'd never get Harbaugh. Gotta love that statement in the chancelloor's press conf when he said no, he wouldn't be forming a committee to search for a replacement because he had plenty of people giving him advice. IOW, he was quite aware of the alumni breathing down his neck, chanting, "We told you not to hire an outsider...", and was confident they would make his life a living hell unless he hired someone they approved of without having to form a committee to expedite it.
Finally, a shout out to the Baseball HOF for FINALLY putting Bert Blylevin in. Remembering Bert reminded me of the biggest trade I ever saw, in December of '77. Texas was at the heart of this 4 team deal that sent Bert to Pittsburgh, where he would have his typical year in 1978- 14-10, 3.03 ERA. He would rack up 34 wins in Pittsburgh in 3 seasons, moving on to Minnesota, Cleveland, and California to pile up 148 more. Texas also shed themselves of: Tommy Boggs, a pitcher who ended up with a 20-44 career record; Adrian Devine, a pitcher coming off an 11-6 year but only went 7-7 the next 3 seasons; Eddie Miller, an OF who played only 6 games the next year, but went on to have some small success as a pinch runner, all to Atlanta; and Tom Grieve, an outfielder who was much better known later on as Texas' GM, and a player to be named, to the Mets. For Texas' grab bag, the Braves gave up Wille Montanez to the Mets. Willie was a capable OF who gave the Mets his last good season in 1978, .256 BA with 17 HRs and 96 RBI. The player to be named the Mets got was OF Ken Henderson, who had left his best years behind him in San Fran and the south side of Chicago and lasted just 7 games in New York before inflicting his eroding talents on Cincinnati. For all of that value, the Mets sent Jon Matlack to Texas, where he had one of the best years in his 8 years in the majors- 15-13 with a 2.27 ERA; and John Milner to Pittsburgh, where he put up 6 HRs and 38 RBIs the next year and chipped in 16 HRs and 60 RBIs to the "Fam-il-ee" World Series champs of 1979. To finish things off, the Pirates received from the Rangers minor league SS Nelson Norman and 1B Al Oliver, who also became a big cog in the "Fam-il-ee", hitting over .300 in each of his 4 years in Pittsburgh and notching 117 RBI in 1980. So on balance, Texas made out like bandits and so did the Pirates, while the Mets gave up on Matlack (who had had one of his worst years in 1977) a year too soon and the Braves got no more than they could've scraped out of their own double-A team. Oliver and Blylevin are the only ones to have had any lasting success after the deal.
That's hindsight, though. I still remember my excitement when Dick Defay announced the trade on the "sports today with Dick Defay" (subbing for "the gateway to sports with Hilliard Gates"). Ah, Memories.