Monday, May 4, 2009

Game 25: Have You Ever Seen The Rain?

As of 5:29PM:
I'm sort of rooting for this one to get called off, if it would mean a Red Sox doubleheader tomorrow. Were that the case, I would most likely attend both games and do some intrepid reporting via iPhone. We'll see.

(Keep it coming, Weather Gods, I've got rain songs for weeks...)


Someone told me long ago theres a calm before the storm,
I know, it's been comin for some time.
When its over, so they say, it'll rain a sunny day,
I know, shinin' down like water.

I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain?
I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain
Comin' down on a sunny day?

Comment Of The Day

I've seen friends of the blog Jason from IIATM,S and Craig from Shysterball do this on occassion, and it is with great pleasure that I pull this comment from longtime reader mmb1980, from my earlier post about A-Rod and Swine Flu. In it, I asked you folks which of those two things you thought were more annoying. He responds:
Both.

I've had enough of A-Rod, I've had enough Selena Roberts, and I've had enough Girardi's characteristically contrived reaction to both.

I've never particularly liked A-Rod, so the fact that I'm even feeling a tinge of human sympathy for him at this point leads me to believe that Roberts and her publisher have overplayed their hand.

At this point for me, A-Rod has entered what Bill Simmons refers to as "The Tyson Zone" - you can tell me anything about him at this point, however outrageous, and I wouldn't reject it out of hand.

What does bother me amongst these newest allegations is the pitch-tipping thing. I don't care if the games were decided are not - if the allegations are true those actions are inexecusable, wholly selfish, and taken with blatant disregard for his teammates. But yet, not surprising.

Meanwhile, Selena Roberts may be well-respected in journalistic circles, but it's just as easy to believe she has her own agenda as it is to believe the charges she levies against A-Rod. Also, I think that it's been a conflict of interest having her SI colleague Tom Verducci sit on the MLBN panel both times she's appeared there for special sit downs.

There's also the issue of MLBN getting two exclusive sit downs with her on this topic, while MLB is actively investigating A-Rod.

As for the swine flu - I've had just about enough of that as well. At the risk of brining religion into the discussion, I went to mass yesterday. There was a 50-something married couple sitting in front of me. The husband reluctantly shook my hand during the rite of peace only to be immediately rebuked by his wife: "We're not shaking hands, remember!". Then she proceeded to give me a fist bump. Seriously. I was stupified. Having been sufficiently whipped by the old ball and chain, the husband sheepishly asked me "You haven't been to Mexico lately have you?"

Wow. So much taking part in a basic act of fellowship. People that concerned about it oughta just put on their hazmat suits and hole up in their plastic bubbles until the whole thing blows over.

FWIW I'm sick of hearing about the economy too. Enough rambling from me; gotta finish some work so I can drive 90 minutes to go sit in the rain at the Stadium.
Well said on the A-Rod/Selena Roberts stuff, and that story about mass is absolutley astonishing. Thanks for stopping by and good luck with the game, mmb. 

I love the fact that we've got some really smart people sharing very thoughtful opinions on a site as flippantly named as this one. It's easy to do. If you don't have a blogger account, just pick "Name/URL" where it asks you to select a profile and leave the URL blank if you don't have a site you want to link to. There is an option to comment anonymously, obviously, but if you don't want to use your real name, I would prefer if you just created a temporary nom de plume.  

Sometimes the comments on the site are extensive and well-informed like the one above, and many times they are short and funny. I get an email sent to me when one is left, so I read all of them and respond pretty frequently. Comments help make this and every site what it is and they are always appreciated. 

Deader Horse: A-Fraud Or Swine Flu?

Let me first say that neither of these stories are anywhere near as annoying as hearing about the economy every ten fucking seconds. It's one gigantic self-fulfilling prophecy that bleeds into every facet of life, including sports. The difference between that and the two things in the headline is that the economy actually affects everyone, and the coverage is not wildly out of proportion. 

Nothing that has come out about A-Rod has been remotely current nor does it alter the life course of anyone besides himself and his immediate family. We are talking about him supposedly taking steroids/HGH, banging strippers, leaving somewhat below average gratuity at Hooters and tipping pitches to opposing batters in games that were essentially already decided.

We find it upsetting or salacious or unfair or distasteful, but all at a certain distance. The same distance we use to view celebrity exploits, watch reality shows and gossip about co-workers. It's superficial bullshit that's not concretely correlated to your own life. 

Despite what every news organization on Earth would like you to think, Swine Flu isn't relevant to your life, either. There are roughly 290 confirmed cases in the U.S.  Your odds of contracting it (let alone dying from it) are something like a million to one. There's a significantly better chance you are a regular reader of this blog, for fuck's sake.

The only reason people talk about it is because, like "A-Rod", it grabs people's attention in a headline. Welcome to the internet, the home of 10 second attention spans where your stories better be eye-opening right off the bat. And a sure recipe for that is to include a disease named after something to do with animals. 

Mad Cow Disease, Monkey Pox, Bird Flu, Hoof and Mouth Disease and now the Swine Flu. Am I missing any? They haven't even found one pig with it yet. If they had been calling it the "N1H1 Flu" all along, do you honestly think the entire country would be aware of it? Attention Doctors: If you want to raise the awareness of a certain disease... just name it after an animal. A few suggestions:
  • Deer Measles
  • Canine SARS
  • Horse Herpes
  • Toad Rubella
  • Sheep AIDS
  • Spider Meningitis
  • Duck Lupus
  • Fish Trichinosis
  • Bullfrog Fever
  • Goat Gout
Pick any of those (especially Horse Herpes) and it will be a household name in two weeks. 

-----

Here is the reason Swine Flu is much more annoying to me: The result of the eventual saturation of coverage is a country who is fucking paranoid about something that is literally a one in a million shot. About 63,000 people in this country die from the regular flu every year. So far from Swine Flu? One toddler

On the other hand, now that the A-Rod firestorm is now reaching it's saturation point, people are starting get tired of it. We get it. He's phony and insecure and a cheap tipper (in more ways that one). Let's move on. It's putting things in perspective as opposed to blowing them out of proportion. 

Informal poll time! What say you, Fackers? 

A-Rod or S-Flu? Cheaters or Pigs? Clubhouse Cancers or Contagious Viruses? Character Assassination or Fear Mongering? 


[Note: I don't know that I would have the same perspective if I hadn't been reading Craig from Shysterball's takes on the Selena Roberts book. If you haven't heard his opinion on the matter, do yourself a favor and follow that link.]

The Jackson Report: 5/4/09



I'm certainly down with that OBP. Now how about a little more power?

Games: 19
AB: 72
Hits: 28
Average: .389
OBP: .464
SLG: .486
OPS: .950
Runs: 17
HR: 0
RBI: 12
Doubles: 3
Triples: 2
SO: 18
BB: 9
SB: 7
TB: 35