I'm off to Florida on Monday for spring training.
Richardson endorsed Obama. Obama's speech was pretty good I thought, but this controversy won't go away and could hurt him. None of the candidates are looking too good right now, with this Obama controversy, Hillary struggling, and McCain making some gaffes. At least his bracket's not doing too badly, although he has lost a Final Four team (UConn).
Red Sox start the season on Tuesday in Japan.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Friday, March 14, 2008
Playing to Win the Game?
Recently there's been a fair bit of controversy in the baseball world about the Yankees-Rays feud. If you don't know what happened, one of the Rays players barreled into the catcher, and the catcher, a minor league prospect, broke his wrist. The Yanks' manager, Joe Girardi, got mad at the hard, but clean, play, as it was after all an exhibition. Joe Maddon, the Rays manager defended his player. When they played again, Shelley Duncan slid into second hard with his spikes up. A brawl ensued, and 3 players have been suspended, and Girardi fined.
Both sides have decent arguments, but I have to side with the Rays on this one. Playing to win the game is never a bad thing, even if it's just a spring training game. The play was within the rules, the injury was unfortunate, but those things happen in baseball. If Girardi wanted to get back at them, he should have thrown at one of the players. He gets hit, then it's done. But spiking a fielder is a dirty play.
Was it classless? No, but I don't think the Yanks, or any team, should play that way. That said it does make the AL East more interesting.
Both sides have decent arguments, but I have to side with the Rays on this one. Playing to win the game is never a bad thing, even if it's just a spring training game. The play was within the rules, the injury was unfortunate, but those things happen in baseball. If Girardi wanted to get back at them, he should have thrown at one of the players. He gets hit, then it's done. But spiking a fielder is a dirty play.
Was it classless? No, but I don't think the Yanks, or any team, should play that way. That said it does make the AL East more interesting.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Flip-Flopping Fluidity
I was talking to my cousin about Hillary last night, and she brought up the Iraq issue, and about how Hillary voted for it. We then started talking about 'flip-flopping,' with differing ideas.
I think that a President, and someone running for president, ought to be able to change their stances without taking heat. The President needs to be able to respond to the demands of the people. Let's say you're the President, and you're in favor of a particular tax bill. But if 80% of the public are against it, should you still try to get it passed? Are you still serving the nation's best interests if you're going against the people? The President needs to be fluid with his or her ideas. On social issues, such as abortion, he or she can be faithful to whatever side they believe in. But on broader policy, war, the economy, the President should respond to the people. If that means changing your opinion from what you said or voted for in the past, then so be it. A President who does not listen to the will of the people will be neither popular nor successful.
Looking to the primaries on Tuesday, if Hillary doesn't do well she should pull out. McCain is starting to coalesce his support (with some failures) and attack the Democrats, and if Hillary stays in the race and diverts resources from Obama and from the Dems, it will only weaken their chances in November. If, on the other hand, she wins Ohio and Texas, Obama's nomination will be far from certain.
---
On a different subject, I watched the Sox-Twins game last night. It was pretty exciting to see the players in action after a long winter of no baseball. I'm really excited to see what happens in both leagues. The AL is wide open. The Yanks and the Sox will contend for the East, with the Jays only a few games back, if they can stay healthy. The Rays should be pretty good this year too. They have a strong lineup, with Crawford, Pena, Upton, Baldelli, and, eventually, Longoria, and a couple of really good starters in Kazmir and Shields. They might approach 80 wins. The central has two really good teams as well, with the Tigers and Indians. The Tigers have the best lineup in the league, and if their pitching is at least decent they should win the division. The Indians are coming off an ALCS in which they were up 3 games to 1, and should be able to build on that confidence. The Angels have been overlooked in the media so far, but they're still pretty good. It will be interesting to see how the Mariners do, especially after those big trades.
The NL looks to be the Mets' to win. Still, the Phillies and Braves have good teams. Luke's Marlins are rebuilding (again), but who knows, maybe this is one of the years where they surprise people. The Cubs and Brewers will fight for the Central, and out west the Dodgers, Rockies, and Padres are all in contention. My pick for that division, however, is the Diamondbacks. If their rotation can stay healthy, they can dominate. Webb, Haren, and the Big Unit may be the best threesome in all of baseball.
My World Series prediction: Red Sox over Diamondbacks
Players to watch:
Manny Ramirez (.315, 30, 110)
Ian Kennedy (12 Ws, 3.75 ERA)
Miguel Cabrera (.330, 40, 140)
Francisco Liriano (10 Ws, 3.00 ERA, 160 Ks)
Johan Santana (21 Ws, 2.10 ERA, 230 Ks)
Greg Maddux (25 Ws, 1.40 ERA, 275 Ks)
Just kidding about Mad Dog. He'll still have his dependable 12-15 wins, ERA around 4.50, and a nasty two-seamer.
Go Red Sox!
I think that a President, and someone running for president, ought to be able to change their stances without taking heat. The President needs to be able to respond to the demands of the people. Let's say you're the President, and you're in favor of a particular tax bill. But if 80% of the public are against it, should you still try to get it passed? Are you still serving the nation's best interests if you're going against the people? The President needs to be fluid with his or her ideas. On social issues, such as abortion, he or she can be faithful to whatever side they believe in. But on broader policy, war, the economy, the President should respond to the people. If that means changing your opinion from what you said or voted for in the past, then so be it. A President who does not listen to the will of the people will be neither popular nor successful.
Looking to the primaries on Tuesday, if Hillary doesn't do well she should pull out. McCain is starting to coalesce his support (with some failures) and attack the Democrats, and if Hillary stays in the race and diverts resources from Obama and from the Dems, it will only weaken their chances in November. If, on the other hand, she wins Ohio and Texas, Obama's nomination will be far from certain.
---
On a different subject, I watched the Sox-Twins game last night. It was pretty exciting to see the players in action after a long winter of no baseball. I'm really excited to see what happens in both leagues. The AL is wide open. The Yanks and the Sox will contend for the East, with the Jays only a few games back, if they can stay healthy. The Rays should be pretty good this year too. They have a strong lineup, with Crawford, Pena, Upton, Baldelli, and, eventually, Longoria, and a couple of really good starters in Kazmir and Shields. They might approach 80 wins. The central has two really good teams as well, with the Tigers and Indians. The Tigers have the best lineup in the league, and if their pitching is at least decent they should win the division. The Indians are coming off an ALCS in which they were up 3 games to 1, and should be able to build on that confidence. The Angels have been overlooked in the media so far, but they're still pretty good. It will be interesting to see how the Mariners do, especially after those big trades.
The NL looks to be the Mets' to win. Still, the Phillies and Braves have good teams. Luke's Marlins are rebuilding (again), but who knows, maybe this is one of the years where they surprise people. The Cubs and Brewers will fight for the Central, and out west the Dodgers, Rockies, and Padres are all in contention. My pick for that division, however, is the Diamondbacks. If their rotation can stay healthy, they can dominate. Webb, Haren, and the Big Unit may be the best threesome in all of baseball.
My World Series prediction: Red Sox over Diamondbacks
Players to watch:
Manny Ramirez (.315, 30, 110)
Ian Kennedy (12 Ws, 3.75 ERA)
Miguel Cabrera (.330, 40, 140)
Francisco Liriano (10 Ws, 3.00 ERA, 160 Ks)
Johan Santana (21 Ws, 2.10 ERA, 230 Ks)
Greg Maddux (25 Ws, 1.40 ERA, 275 Ks)
Just kidding about Mad Dog. He'll still have his dependable 12-15 wins, ERA around 4.50, and a nasty two-seamer.
Go Red Sox!
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