Selig-ball

What was baseball thinking?  What was Bud Selig thinking?  

Why was game 5 of the World Series even started last night?  It was raining, but not just raining. Pouring rain.  The elements were in control rather than the players.  It was a joke.  How can you have a well played game in front of a big TV audience when sure handed Jimmy Rollins looks up in the sky to catch an easy pop-up and then drops it because of wind and rain?  It's not good baseball, and not good for baseball.  Then came the top of the sixth inning.  On a field that Noah would have recognized, the Rays tied the score.  BJ Upton bravely stole second base.  His slide across the mud soaked infield dirt was a thing of beauty, if you are a duck.  The, after the Rays tied the score, Selig suspends the game.  

The problem I have is that by starting the game, and then suspending it, the Phillies lost their by far best pitcher.  Had the game not started Cole Hamels would have been available to start the game whenever the weather cleared, be it Tuesday or whenever.  Now Hamels is gone.  The only advantage for the Phillies is that they have four at bats, twelve outs, while the Rays will have three at bats, nine outs, to win the game.

The bullpens will be alive from the outset.  Hopefully Selig's brain will be alive, too.

Fox Ball and the World Series

Last night's World Series game started at 10pm Eastern time.  It ended almost four hours later.  Despite the wonderful outcome, it had me thinking about why kids don't play baseball in the inner city any more.  I was born and raised and lived my entire working adult life in Philadelphia, so I belive I qualify to pass some judgement on what is wrong with starting a World Series game at ten o'clock at night.  Kids won't watch it!  Very simple indeed.

When I was a young Phillies fan, going back to ancient history, we all watched the World Series from first pitch to last.  The reason was simple.  The games were on during the day time.  TV did not control the game of baseball the way it does today.  Watching the games on TV brought baseball into your home at a time kids could watch.  Those black and white images were magical. Don Larson pitching a perfect game; would Sandy Koufax pitch on Yom Kippur, 1960 Bill Mazeroski, Mantle and Maris, all in bright sunlight.  As kids we all wanted to be big leaguers. Inner city kids played stick ball, half ball, wall ball, wiffle ball, and hard ball.  If we didn't have enough kids we'd play on half the field.  If there weren't any kids around you'd throw a pimple ball at a box drawn on a wall.  You'd imagine Harry the Horse Anderson at bat, or Willie Puddin Head Jones, or Stosh Lopata.  You would put to memory all their stats from the back of their baseball card.  And rot your teeth from the thick slab of pink gum stuck inside every pack of cards.

Today you don't see groups of kids playing pick up games of baseball.  Even in the best of weather.  You'll see inner city kids playing basketball, or maybe even touch football.  But I can't remember the last time I saw two kids playing step ball or stick ball in the street.

The games at night are for adults.  Certainly an East Coast matchup like the Phillies and Rays will draw die hard baseball fans to watch on TV.  But the casual fans, the kids, won't be up to watch.  

And baseball suffers at the hands of Fox.  Bud Selig pretends to be the commissioner.  The real commissioner is Fox.

More of the Same

From FOX News:

"In an October 23 blog post on FoxNews.com's The Fox Forum, Fox News executive vice president John Moody wrote of the alleged violent attack against McCain campaign volunteer Ashley Todd: "It had to happen. Less than two weeks before we vote for a new president, a white woman says a black man attacked her, then scarred her face, and says there was a political motive for it."

"If the incident turns out to be a hoax, Senator [John] McCain's quest for the presidency is over, forever linked to race-baiting."

From CBS News

(CBS/AP) A John McCain campaign volunteer made up a story of being robbed, pinned to the ground and having the letter "B" scratched on her face in a politically inspired attack, police said Friday. 

Ashley Todd, 20-year-old college student from College Station, Texas, admitted Friday that the story was false, police said. 

I realize that McCain-Palin supporters will blow this off as nothing more than a crazed campaign worker and twenty minutes of fame.  It is much more than that.  It is yet another sad attempt by the McCain people to win this election no matter what it takes.  This is a sad comment on a man who holds himself up as a true America.

AT&T

Today my internet service went down.  I have DSL service from AT&T.  I called them after spending some time trying to solve the problem.  Ron answered my call.  He had a 100% American accent, I knew, and sounded slightly southern.  I figured he was in the states somewhere so I asked his location.  Philippines!  I jokingly asked him about the accent to which he replied that he was born and raised in Texas.  So an American living in the Philippines is working for AT&T on their outsourced customer service.  Who woulda thought.  I wonder how many Americans take these overseas jobs and what the cost saving is for AT&T?

BTW, we spent over one hour working on the problem and he was extremely patient and helpful.  

Wal-Mart makes a move

Wal-Mart recently held a meeting in Beijing during which they discussed plans to improve saftey at their manufacturing locations.  In addition they will insist that factories producing goods for Wal-Mart follow strict safety regulations.  The best news was that they will put into place a way for goods to be tracked back to the location where they were made.  Also, food products will be tightly regulated.  This comes at a time when Wal-Mart and other retailers, plus the Chinese factories, are worried about consumer consumption and a drop off in the global market.

$22,800 on makeup

The New York Times reported that Sarah Palin's makeup artist, Amy Strozzi, was paid $22,800 for two weeks work.  This at a time that "Joe Six-Pack" cannot meet his mortgage payments.  

This is on top of the $150,000 spent on her wardrobe.  

How many other hockey moms can make this claim.  And how can the Republican Party justify this expenditure at a time of economic crisis?

But the McCain-Palin supporters will just brush it off without realizing they are facing more of the same if these two are elected on November 4.

Heeeere's Sarah!!!

She cannot name one newspaper that she reads on a regular basis.

"All of 'em, any of 'em that have been in front of me over all these years." 

She was totally unaware of what was intended for the $700 billion bailout package.

"But ultimately what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the healthcare reform that is needed to help shore up our economy."

She believes that a woman who is raped should not be permitted an abortion.

She believes a girl who is the victim of incest should not be permitted an abortion.

"I believe that no matter what mistakes we make as a society, we cannot condone ending an innocent’s life." 

She thinks that being close to Russia is good enough as foreign policy experience.

"As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where– where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over the border."

She promoted aerial hunting of wolves.

She offered a $150 bounty for the leg of killed wolves.

She supports drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge and that it is God's will.

“God’s will has to be done in unifying people and companies to get that gas line built.”

She is suing the federal government to prevent listing the polar bear as an endangered species.

"This month, the secretary of the interior is expected to rule on whether polar bears should be listed under the Endangered Species Act. I strongly believe that adding them to the list is the wrong move at this time."

She has stated that our troops in Iraq are doing "God's work."

"Also, for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending [U.S. soldiers] out on a task that is from God."

"I'm the mayor, I can do whatever I want until the courts tell me I can't.'"

And yesterday she announced to the world that the Vice President of the United States controls the Senate.  And as VP and being in control of the Senate she would "get in there with the senators and make a lot of good policy changes that will make life better for Brandon and his family and his classroom."  This was in response to a question asked by a third grader.  You would think that someone who was elected governor of Alaska, and is a candidate for Vice President of the United States, would have some idea of what is written in the Constitution.  I'm sure she will blame Barak Hussein Obama for her stupid answer, but just in case she wants to know...

The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided.

"As for that VP talk all the time, I'll tell you, I still can't answer that question until somebody answers for me what is it exactly that the VP does every day?"