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Every once in a while life hangs a curve ball and you get to drive it over the fence. The Professor got a good swing, and planted it in the bleachers. Now it is Whitey's turn to get some chalk on his spikes.

I have two nieces and four nephews. One of my nephews became deaf at the age of two. He had a cochlea implant and has done very well. He is going to have the second implant put in in a month or so, and I have moved to Tobacco Road for the time being. Yes, I'm down here in ACC territory.

I started the process of moving thinking mostly of my sister and nephew however, the best was yet to come. Just a stones throw from the house is the TEAM USA training facility, N.C. State is a driver and a wedge from the house, and the Tar Heels are playing at the USA facility this season. There is baseball everywhere.

The best story I've heard about my nephew was from my sister. Micah went to his first baseball game two summers ago. Being from Norfolk, just down the road from the Durham Bulls, my sister loves baseball. That said, the game they attended was a pitcher's duel - not much action. After the 7th inning my sister said it was time to go. Micah asked if the game was over, to which she replied no. He wanted to watch every pitch, every play. There was no way he was getting up from this - through the 9th and into the 12th inning.

By this time my sister was assured that he would be ready to go. Not so fast my friend. And as if it was just a made up story....it had a classic ending with a walk-off home run by the Bulls, complete with fireworks. After the game on the ride home my sister asked Micah how he liked the game, and his response could bring you to tears. He said it was the first time he could understand a game. All because the umpire called balls, strikes, and outs. He didn't need to hear - he watched.

He loves baseball so I'm sure we'll see more than a few games. UNC is actually hosting Gardner -Webb this season, so the whole family will be at that game. With the second implant, Micah will be able to triangulate sound and background noise will be minimized. It's quite interesting. If you would like to read more on Micah, please check out my brother in law 's live journal the Noetic Toe. I look forward to seeing alot of baseball...and I'll have a couple of nephews in tow. I can't wait.

Reality TV?

I was sitting in history class on the morning of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. The teacher had cut on the TV and we were witnesses to history. It was unbelievable then, but thinking of the physics of the whole thing it's not out of the question. Space travel is very dangerous and I applaud the men and women that put their lives on the line who know all too well the danger.

The crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia knew the risk and paid the ultimate price. I watched that on the television also. I watched Discovery's night launch yesterday evening from my dock in Florida. It was like there was a small sun lighting the entire night sky, light reflecting off the water that was smooth as glass. I remember thinking how neat it was when John Glenn became the oldest person at 77 to space travel in 1998. This wasn't the first time he had gone into space, he was the first - 1962, sorry I missed that one. I hadn't been born, but I've seen it on film.

Growing up near NASA, space has always been something interesting to me. It was an annual school trip through the tunnel to Langley for the tour. I'm by no means an authority on the reasons for strapping yourself into a seat attached to a rocket. Go up and down, and risk your life with full knowledge that you could explode at anytime. Glenn returned to earth with a parachute and landed in the ocean. That's staring death in the face and grinning.

Today there is a good chance that the Rocket named Roger will explode, right on the screen, in front of all of us. The U. S. Senate is having hearings today surrounding the Mitchell Report. The reality TV is here and now. Roger Clemens has attorneys advising him, and I know that he is aware of the danger he faces. Will he invoke the Fifth? If he doesn't, he will either be telling the truth or lying. If he stays with his story, he may be in for a Federal investigation for perjury. He knows the stakes, his chips are on the table, insert your own cliche here.

Most people love a train wreck, and if your one of them, tune in today and watch one. I for one am not a rubber-necker, but for this, even I have to watch.

Pedro and The Cocks

If only we had camera phones in Babe Ruth's day...

Pedro Martinez was caught on tape last week at a cock fight in the Dominican Republic which, according to Pedro, he was invited to by Juan Marichal. There appears to have been a video circulating of the two at some event (Pedro claims the video shows an evening of fun from two years ago), but the video has been removed from every site I have visited. Oh well.

Regardless, the question seems to concern the amount of ire Pedro should draw from this episode. I believe he had a legitimate reason for attending, but have no sympathy for him concerning the wrath he has brought upon himself.

The interesting aspect of this story involves the parallels drawn in certain circles between cock fighting and dog fighting - and thus the Michael Vick fiasco. Here's a quick rundown of some pertinent points:

1. It's part of the culture. This argument is a good one, except for the fact that cock fighting is legal in the Dominican. Thus, the Dominican Republic can be viewed as giving cock fighting a stamp of legitimacy, something dog fighting most definitely does not have here in the U.S. Notice I did not say that cock fighting is right, or morally sound, or any other term of approval. I would harbor a guess that Pedro would not attend a cock fight in say, Long Island. Michael Vick knew what he was doing was illegal. And from what I have gathered Juan Marichal is treated like a minor deity in the D.R. To refuse an invite of one of your idols to attend an event that has been approved by the country in which you were born and raised may be a bit, I don't know, strange.
2. Quote from Pedro: "I was invited by my idol Juan Marichal to attend the event as a spectator, not as a participant." Well, this statement has a good side and a bad side. Michael Vick wasn't technically "a participant." Or was he? He trained the dogs, bet on the dogs, funded a battle-ground for the dogs, and (purportedly) actively participated in killing more than a few dogs. I'd assume Pedro shows up at these cock fights in the off season on a lark. I doubt he returns home to breed pugilistic fowl.
3. What do you eat? Curiously (or sadly) this will probably save Pedro any serious backlash over this issue, although I'll bet you he sees chickens in every ballpark from now on. Here in the U.S. dogs have a status afforded no other animal save cats, and maybe horses to some degree. We eat chickens. We eat alot of chickens. We have entire restaurant chains dedicated to serving chicken. The fact that some other country allows the common folk to engage roosters in mortal combat is not going to compel us to close the Embassy. (Side note: The Chinese government has told restaurants in Beijing to stop serving or advertising dog in any way during the upcoming Olympic games.) I'd venture a guess that the cocks fighting in the Dominican are better cared for than 95% of their counterparts in the U.S. At least they are given a fighting chance...{Don't believe me? Read this.}
   

The argument to culture is an important one - and a dicey one. Should we impose our cultural norms upon others? Barbie dolls are illegal in Saudi Arabia. Ridiculous? Maybe. Cock fighting is a part of Dominican culture. And legal. Dog fighting is not legal in the U.S. Claiming an argument to cultural norms requires one to examine the norm. If an illegal activity can be considered the norm, such as drinking might have been during prohibition, then a society's laws more often than not change to reflect public sentiment. Often such laws are ignored and slowly no one continues to enforce them. Otherwise these actions are considered subversive and abnormal - and illegal.

Should Pedro have attended a cock fight? Probably not. Is it going to ruin his public image? Doubtful. He's Dominican. Dominicans approve of that stuff. Michael Vick is an American, and he has had to deal with American culture. Name an endorsement Pedro stands to lose. Will you refuse to go to games in which he pitches?



If you want to get really mad, check THIS OUT. This magazine, Grit and Steel, is published out of South Carolina by someone insane. The website mentions "The Pit Master," which is reassuring. It also has a reference to a Bible verse, John 13:34-35, which, of course, I looked up:

34 A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

I had to cross check that one twice. I'm speechless.

Whitey and Reggie Sanders

Whitey's comments in a previous post concerning Reggie Sanders and his Hall of Fame credentials deserve more than the parting shot I gave them in the article. Most Reds fans remember Reggie best in a pose similar to the one on the left - on the bench.

While Sanders has some nice stats (Whitey mentioned his 300/300 HR/SB), I remember his memorable performance in the 1995 playoffs: 29 at-bats, 19 strikeouts. He eventually put up some decent post-season numbers for Arizona, San Francisco, and St. Louis - playing in the World Series for all those teams - but his overall post-season stats are less than impressive. In 14 post-season series, Reggie batted a stellar .195 in 221 at-bats. He managed 43 hits, striking out 79 times.

"Ah, but what about the regular season?" you say. Sanders' lifetime batting average is .267. He has 1666 lifetime hits - and 1614 strikeouts. His strikeout total is good enough to rank him 21st on the all-time list. #1? Reggie Jackson, with 2597 K's which is 13 more than his total hits. But which Reggie would you rather have standing at the plate in October...

Pigeons

The FedEx ad featuring pigeons (which aired during the Super Bowl and can be seen HERE) piqued my interest in, well, pigeons. Growing up in Cincinnati, I had the opportunity to visit the Cincinnati Zoo on many occasions. One of the most striking exhibits is actually a memorial to the last known passenger pigeon, Martha.


Now, the ad explicitly states that the enterprising young office worker has employed carrier pigeons not passenger pigeons. Unbeknownst to me they are two different pigeons:

Passenger Pigeons are native, wild North American Pigeons while Carrier Pigeons (more appropriately known as Homing Pigeons) are domestic pigeons that were trained and used in WWII to carry messages. They are totally different birds! Homing Pigeons are still popular used today in the sport of Racing Pigeons and seldom used to carry messages today. [SOURCE]

Learn something new everyday. And in an effort to learn y'all something as well, I present the demise of two birds (from a list of eight in the book), from The New Book of Lists:

4. Passenger Pigeon, September 1, 1914
These brownish grey pigeons were once so numerous that a passing flock could darken the sky for days. As recently as 1810, an estimated 2,230,272,000 pigeons were sighted in one flock. But massive hunting by settlers and a century of forest destruction eliminated the passenger and its native forest habitat. In 1869, 7,500,000 pigeons were captured in a single nesting raid. In 1909, a $1,500 reward was offered for a live nesting pair, but none could be found. Martha, the last of the passenger pigeons, died of old age, September 1, 1914, in the Cincinnati Zoo.

5. Carolina Parakeet, February 21, 1918
The striking green and yellow Carolina parakeet was once common in the forests of the eastern and southern United States, but because of the widespread crop destruction it caused, farmers hunted the bird to extinction. The last Carolina parakeet, an old male, named Incas, died in the Cincinnati Zoo February 21, 1918. The zoo's general manager believed it died of grief over the loss of Lady Jane, its mate of 30 years, the previous summer.

This isn't meant to be an ad for the conservation efforts of the Cincinnati Zoo, but if you're ever in Cincinnati I highly advise you check the place out. My favorite is the Insect House. And since this post is apparently meandering out of my control, it ends here.

Professor's Note?

I agree with the Professor on the Hall. You ARE or ARE NOT a Hall of Famer. Nobody gets a stat after retirement, so what is it that changes the voters' minds?

I do so enjoy tweaking the Professor with statements that are idiotic. I attempt to get under his skin every once in a while, just to get a rant.

You should see the looks he gives me - priceless!

Bonds Decline?

Spring Training is not too far off and there are a few FREE AGENTS still on the market. One flying under the radar is Barry Bonds. He is ranked as the 4th best free agent of 2008. There are only 10 free agents in the Top 50 left unsigned. Six of the unsigned are pitchers, four position players.

Ranked 24th is Shannon Stewart (33), who played left field for the A's last season for a one year, 1 million dollar contract. He played in 142 games, but after a shoulder injury he is considered a defensive liability. In 12 years of play he has 114 Home Runs, so I don't see him as a good DH.

At 25th, we have Kenny Lofton (40 years young). This guy just gets it done. 17 years, 11 teams, three times in Cleveland and still hitting at a .300 clip. You may see him in the playoffs - maybe even the League Championship.

Last, but not 50th, coming in at 46th is Reggie Sanders (40 years old). He missed the 2007 season after surgery. He is one of six guys in the 300 - 300 Club - 300 home runs and 300 stolen bases, with the likes of Willie Mays, Andre Dawson, Bobby Bonds, Steve Finley, and the guy at #4. We will have to see what camp he shows up in, but there is a good chance Reggie is done. Great career, and should get into Hall of Fame, but not on the first ballot.



[Professor's Note] This ridiculous claim by Whitey - that Reggie Sanders should be in The Hall - cannot go unnoted. I feel that not only is it absurd to mention Sanders and the Hall in the same sentence, it is asinine to claim he should get in "...but not on the first ballot." This rationale has existed, in much higher circles than here, for quite some time. The argument goes pretty much how Whitey put it, that some players aren't 'First Ballot' Hall of Famers.

I believe either you are a Hall of Famer or you are not. None of this first ballot bull. Again, this crap has been floated out there for years by the writers who vote. If a player is a Hall of Famer, then he's a f%$^&in' Hall of Famer. Don't wait for the year when no one automatic is up for election and you have to "vote for someone..." Screw that. Don't belittle our great game by electing mediocre players in off years. Back to Whitey...

Barry Bonds (43 years?) is the All Time Home Run King and can't get a gig. He is a liability in the field, and the clubhouse, but in the box he is as good as it gets. Chances are he is going to jail for perjury. If so the price of Bonds will drop - like a stone!