Odd Thoughts

Baseball Lookalikes

Quite a while ago, Duane let us all know who would be staring as us, if we were in a movie (I could have found it in his archives, but I didn't want to take the time, but trust me, it's there). With that in mind, I know at least three of us have a baseball twin. For instance, this guy is me. Then, of course, there's Deacon and Josh Melton. I've been trying to think of somebody for Robbie or Duane, but I haven't come up with anything. Any ideas?

The end of the year is upon us

The weather is cooler, the leaves are turning, and we know that winter is upon. The boys of summer are putting their equipment away and filing for free agency, leaving only with holidays and college football to enjoy for the coming months. But take heart, the weather will warm up, the birds will sing again, and just about the time you take your special someone out for a Valentine date, and love is once again in the air, pitchers and catchers will report for spring training. Only 17 more weeks to go.

Muppet News Flash

Dear 1950's "Memorabilia" Guy,

I don't think James Dean ever played pool with Humphrey Bogart while Marilyn Monroe looked on. I saw another "snapshot" of the 50's in which Humphry Bogart, Carmen Miranda, Marilyn Monroe, and Lucille Ball were sitting at different tables, while Grougho Marx was serving a drink to a late 70's version of John Lennon. Common, buddy, I think it's more likely that those dogs actually played poker in a smoke filled room.

Snake Bit

You can now count me among those who refer to themselves as "snake bit." Not in any sort of bad luck way; I actually got bit by a snake today. I reached down to pick up something off the ground and shadoosh! a snake bit me. It was just a king snake, and he barely broke the skin, leaving a few of his tiny teeth behind. It didn't hurt, but it sure got my attention.

What does it really mean?

Some of you may know my neo-hippy friend, Beaner from Pennsylvania. For those of you that don't, he lives in Pennsylvania and he's kind of a modern hippy. Anyway, he sent me an email yesterday, some of which I feel is worth reprinting here:

That is a far out new address that you have there. What is jam.rr.com? What is .com for that matter!? I had a small stint with Network Solutions recently, which is the verisign .com and .net registry. They taught me all about the domain names and what not, but I'm looking for a more metaphysical answer. What does it all mean in the grand scope of things?

Maybe we should figure this out.

Regarding the Cubs

Obviously, the Cubs fell short and their 58-year streak of failing to reach the World Series and their 95-year streak of failing to win it all will now become 59 and 96-year streaks. It's sad and yet still fitting. Especially since Game 6, the game in which they had the best chance to finish off the Marlins, was lost in part because of an extremely strange turn of events. Throughout the Cubs' run through the postseason we've heard about the curse of the billy goat many times. But not once have I heard about the strange event linked with the Cubs' 1908 championship season. It known as the "Merkle Bonner." If your not familiar with the story, you can find it here. If you happen to know blogging legend Ben Merkle, notice the striking resemblance.

Rickey Henderson

Perhaps this is over due, and perhaps Rickey will play five more years; it's hard to say. I haven't heard his plans one way or another, but it seems to me his career is over, and, love him or hate him, he is worthy of praise as a legendary ball player in many ways, so if you want to see why the self proclaimed "greatest" is great, check it out.

Rickey has now played in all or part of 25 seasons, spanning 4 decades, for nine different teams, most of them (14) with Oakland. Rickey annoyed a lot of baseball fans, teammates, and opponents with his flashy style and strange behavior, but his accomplishments on the diamond cannot be matched.

We all know that he is the alltime stolen base leader, with a current total of 1,406 - almost 500 more than the 2nd place Lou Brock (939). Obviously he stole more bases than anybody in the 80's (838), be he also, from age 32-41, stole more bases than anyother player in the 90's. Kenny Lofton stole 433 bases (Lofton didn't play his first full season until '92), but Rickey stole 463 in the decade. He led the AL in stolen bases 12 times, most recently in 1998 at age 39. He topped the 100 mark three times, including a modern (post 1900) record of 130 in 1982. Of his 25 season, Rickey finished in the top 10 in his league 22 times. Those numbers are in addition to 40 postseason stolen bases in 60 postseason games.

But that's not all. He's the all-time leader in walks (2,179) and runs scored (2,288). He led the league in walks 4 times and finished in the top 10 16 times. In runs, he led 5 times and was in the top 10 12 times. Though he only topped the league in on base percentage once, he ends his career with an astounding .402 mark. He has 3,040 career hits - good for 21st on the list, and 5,316 career times on base - good for 3rd. He has 297 career home runs, including some 60+ to lead off a game.

As for awards, he won his only gold glove in 1981, and an ALCS MVP in 1989. He made the All-Star team 10 times, and finished in the Top 10 in MVP voting 6 times, finishing 3rd in '85, 2nd in '81 and winning the award outright in 1990.

As a lead off man, he has no equal. As a personality, he was bizarre and yet somehow charming. His stolen base mark is likely in the category of untouchable, much like Cy Young's win total or Nolan Ryan's strikeout total. A definite first-ballot Hall of Famer, Rickey Henderson deserves all the credit he can get.

My Mariner Story

Duane posted an excellent story about how he ultimately became a Cardinal fan. I've always found these stories fascinating, especially when it's more than, "I grew up in the Bronx, so I love the Yankees." I have a bizarre story of my own, and if you want to see it, check out the extended entry.

I watched my first baseball postseason in 1986. Because the Astros won the NL West my parents watched the series, and so did I. Well, being such an impressionable child, I adopted the New York Mets, as my team since they were clearly the best, having just won the World Series.

For the next few years (87-90), I followed the Mets and the Darryl, Dwight, and HoJo show. Lately I've found it strange that I chanced to pick as my favorite players two of the most trouble-making players of the last 50 years. In fact, I liked Darryl Strawberry so much that when he signed with the Dodgers in 1991, a team I hated in 1988 NLCS, I whole-heartedly switched my alligience to LA. To this day, I have more Darryl Strawberry cards than any other player.

The Dodgers gave me some good times. Darryly had only one good season in LA, but the Dodgers gave me reason to believe. Aside from one terrible year, they looked like an up and coming team, that produced five straight Rookies of the Year, including Mike Piazza in 1993 and then there was Nomomania in 1995. They even made the postseason in 95 and 96.

By the end of the 1995 season, I still claimed the Dodgers as my favorite team, but I had moved to Moscow, ID and followed the fantastic "Refuse to Lose" season of the Seattle Mariners. I think I even skipped something important to watch the one-game playoff between the M's and the Angels. I worked at a cafe in the mall and we were allowed to have the games on the radio while we worked. During the last month of the season people would pop their heads into the cafe to get a Mariner update. It was a lot of fun, and by the end of the year, I had reconciled myself to having the Dodgers in the NL and the Mariners in the AL.

In 97 and 98, my love for the Dodgers began to fade with the loss of Tommy Lasorda, the trade of Mike Piazza, and the sale of the team by the O'Mally family to Rupert Murdoch and the FOX Corp. I still wish them the best, but since that time I have been a full-fledged Mariner fan. So here I am, in Calhoun, Louisiana, cheering for the one team that is geographically further away from me than any other major league team. But the internet, Deacon Blues, and the Texas Rangers allow me to stay in touch. So all you Yankee fans can have the Babe, Mickey, Yogi, and Joe. Our history is just beginning, and I'm fine with that. I take just as much pride in Ichiro, Buhner, Moyer, and above all Edgar. Go M's.

Farewell Deacon Blues

Ride Across the Sky . . . from our dear Deacon Blues has gone away. Deacon has decided to stop blogging. He did want you to know that his retirement had nothing to do with the fact that Doug Wilson made him stop. LOL.

Odd Thoughts on the LCS

The Playoffs have picked up right where they left off from the division series. The Cubs and Marlins have been fun to watch, and it seems the Cubs have the series wrapped up. Heading back to Chicago with a 3/2 lead and Prior and Wood as the next scheduled starters gives the Cubs overwhelming odds to make their first world series since 1945. While I like the particular make-ups of both teams, lack of bullpen depth and frequent fielding and baserunning errors concern me about the chances of either team against the Yankees or Red Sox. I'm still rooting for the Cubs top go all the way though.

The Red Sox have put themselves in a real tight spot. They absolutely have to win their next two games at home behind the likes of John Burkett and Tim Wakefield. That way they'll have their two best pitchers, Derek Lowe and Pedro Martinez, poised for game 6 and game 7 starts in Yankee stadium and only need one win. Even that situation is far from a gaurantee, but I see no way the Sox could return to the Bronx with a 3/2 deficit and expect both Lowe and Pedro to come out on top.

As for the incidents in game 3, here are my thoughts:

1. I don't think Pedro was aiming for Karim Garcia. I know the pitch was way off, and Pedro has a fearless attitude when it comes to throwing inside, but at that point in the game his control had been sub-par all day - that was why he found himself in that position. Regardless of the longstanding Boston/New York rivalry it makes no sense for Pedro to load the bases by hitting a batter.
2. I don't feel that Garcia slid extra hard into second when he was trying to break up the double play. Sliding that hard is a quite common practice. I did enjoy the jawing back and forth, especially when Pedro pointed to his head, seemingly saying, "Hey, Karim, next time it'll be your head." It sounds brutal and all, but it's just hard-nosed, rivalry baseball in an important game, and when comes down to it, it was just talk.
3. Manny Ramirez was way out line for forcing the bench-clearing situation. He should have been ejected, no questions asked. The pitch Roger Clemens threw was at head level but was still over the plate. Manny could have stood perfectly still without putting himself in danger.
4. Pedro was not out line for pushing the 72-year-old Don Zimmer to the ground. Pedro came out of the dugout and stopped away from the mob of Red Sox and Yankees, when out of no where Zimmer charges him. Pedro warded him away with a shove. Yankee fans want to make an emotional argument that appeals to the plight of a poor 72-year-old man. However, I belive that Pedro took that into consideration. In all likelihood a regular Yankee player gets a big right hook from Pedro, rather than a defensive shove. Furthermore, a man of a younger age or different stature than Zimmer probably wouldn't have even hit the ground.
5. To my knowledge, no punches were thrown and there were only two acts of aggression, Ramirez and Zimmer. Zimmer should have been tossed too.

I am eager to see more of this series. On one hand, I'd like to see good clean baseball. On the other, the fight from game 3 sure upped the tension level in an already tense series, which makes for an even more exciting series. The MLB execs have to be excited about the brawl just because it will probably lead to even bigger ratings in an already successful (ratings wise) post season.

Back By Popular Demand

Hey, you don't have to stare at her if you don't want to. This is my blog and I can show off my kid if I want. You can even call me a snobby jerk if you want.

A Post from LucyZoe

Since LucyZoe disabled her comments, I thought some of the folks out there might have lost interest in her blog. Well, that would be silly; she still has a lot to say. Here is one of her more recent posts in a format where you, the viewer, can make your comments.

It's Unofficial
Unaffiliated.
Actually, right now the NSA blogsite is a laugh-o-rama.
A parody of blogs.
A poke in the eye.
Somehow I doubt the squatter who created the site had this in mind.

If you believe blogging implies an exhalted mind, you can be sure Nate and Ben will set you straight.

Calling All Louisiana Voters

Last Saturday, Robbie and I had the pleasure of attending the victory party for gubernatorial candidate Bobby Jindal. It was at the Astor Crowne Hotel in New Orleans. We had a great time; we especially enjoyed the food. They had some jambalaya there that had no equal.

Anyway, Jindal did make the run-off election, which will be Tuesday, November, 15th. It's really nice to have a candidate in the race that is actually a good candidate, rather than a lesser-of-two-evils situation. I strongly encourage you to cast your vote for Mr. Jindal, and to encourage every other Louisiana voter you know to do the same.

In Case You Failed to Notice, In Case you Failed to See

The future is here! Some of the young faculty members(Ben Merkle and Nathan Wilson) at New St. Andrews College have joined us in the blogging world. These blogs come from the best and brightest; this is the kind of quality blogsmanship the rest of us can only dream about. If you've been searching for a snippet of postmillenial glory in HTML form, look no further.

MLB Postseason

So far, I've really enjoyed this year's playoffs, despite a distinct lack of the Mariners. If you haven't watched, you're missing a great game. We all need to tune in Monday night to see Barry Zito and Pedro Martinez face off in the deciding game 5 between the A's and Red Sox. I'm still pulling for the Sox.

Kenny Lofton totally caught that ball last night. The Cubs got a raw deal. Fortunately it didn't hurt.