Commenting available

Let's see - for a while - if having blog comments will be any fun. Maybe the blog will get a comment before the end of this month. If that happens - who knows? Maybe the blog will average a comment or so every week. Gettin' crazy now!

In past, had a problem with spambot comments. This time, comments require a word verification. I hope that will foil the spambots.

Commenters do not need to have a Google or a Blogger identity. Anyone can comment.

We'll see what happens. It's three weeks till the end of May.

Rangers' Ron Washington and young players

Though Ramon Vasquez has contributed solidly to Rangers victories during the last 12 days or so, he's on the bench tonight, for the second consecutive game, in favor of German Duran at 3B. This should've happened from the day Duran arrived in Arlington. Instead, Duran sat for 3 consecutive games while Vasquez played: evidence of Ron Washington's desperation to win. It was only when Duran got a bit of playing time, and impressed Washington, that Washington deigned to give Duran any semblance of consistent playing time.

One can see - from the way Washington handles Duran - what Washington's policy is with young players, and why Botts and Cruz got yanked around as they did. Washington tends to give a young player a game, or maybe two games, to show he can help the team win. If he doesn't immediately produce - or at least give some good indication he is ready to produce - the young player sits for a few days, then gets another chance: for another game, or maybe two games. If he doesn't produce, he sits again, and the cycle repeats.

This system is fine for Duran, who controls his strike zone well, and produces feisty at bats even when he fails to get on base. It's not that Duran has been extremely successful, but rather that Duran looks like he belongs, and that he does some things: bunting, drawing bases on balls, which help the team.

The system is not so good for Botts and Cruz. Both tend to strike out a lot; and to air condition ballparks and to not look good while doing so. Botts and Cruz need time to adjust via consistent at bats. Showalter gave Cruz consistent ABs at the end of 2006, but Cruz wasn't ready. Neither he nor Botts ever got consistent ABs again. Ron Washington's is not the best system for them.

Update: Duran is hitting around .200, but he had a huge double in the 8th inning tonight - knocking in the eventual winning run. It was a well-struck hit: a long line drive to left-center field.

What the internet is for

displaying a custom made 57 state lapel pin!

I pledge allegiance to the flag, and to however many states there are now.... h/t

I'm not the least bit bothered about Obama's statement. However, do note the media and cultural and political double standard. What Obama said was dumber than Dan Quayle's "potatoe", yet you will not see Obama saying "57 states" in an endless media television loop. You will not hear Leno doing "57 states" jokes from now until Election Day in November. If Bush had said it, he would be the dumbest man in the history of the world. It would've been mentioned in his obituary. If McCain had said it, he would be the most senile man in America. It might've cost McCain the Presidency.

I don't care about Obama's statement. I just want us to notice the ways we are propagandized.

O'Keeffe: Clam

Rachel Lucas, from "How About 8 Things He Hates About You?":

it’s a very fortunate thing that men have such intense sex drives and therefore are willing to put up with so much sh** just to get some, thus continuing the existence of our species.

Josh Hamilton

Photo: Josh Gibson

Both Joshes have a legendary, larger than life feel to them: like John Henry, or Paul Bunyon. See this, and scroll a bit. And both Joshes have/had their own demons, and their own substance abuse problems. Josh Gibson died young. Pray for Josh Ham.

Urban Dad:
On the day he was born, Josh Hamilton's line was: .367/.653/1.097.

Iblum:
When Hamilton is at the plate and the call is made to the bullpen, everyone is too afraid to answer.

Clark:
Every pitch thrown to Josh Hamilton is recorded as an E1.

Josh Hamilton makes Jon Daniels look like he knows what he’s doing.(Heh)


Bro64 on Hamilton:

Hamilton's future is in RF, so let's get him there. Let's walk Josh out to RF in Arlington, show him the angles of the fences, tell him we want him to become an expert on those angles because it will be his home for 10 years, and pull out a pen and a contract for 10 years and $100M. Then we should start passing out little cloth forearm sleeves with tattoos on them to all the Ranger fans sitting in right field, so they can wave at Josh. We also should post all kinds of daily affirmation signs and biblical verses around the RF wall to keep Josh focused on the right path. At the start of every inning, as Josh runs out into RF, all the fans can stand up and salute him with their tattoo sleeves, and the scoreboard will flash that inning's affirmation for the whole crowd to read out loud.

"$100M" might not be enough. It's an amazing day when your generous contract estimates might be less than market reality.

Course, the Josh love comes at an odd time, as Josh is in a batting slump. When Josh Hamilton is in a batting slump, other batters wish they had it so good. Or something like that.

This video sums up the Obama campaign

Poseur candidate. Adulating (s/b a word) media.

Does anyone think this was a candid moment?

Link

Woe

New Indiana Jones movie previewed and reviewed:

In short, this is the Indiana Movie that you were dreading.
[...]
seemed to be missing 'something'. That something was tension. During the whole of the movie, there was not a single moment that I thought our hero Mr. Jones ... was in any sort of peril or even significant inconvenience.

The web has been alive with rumors that the movie is dreadful. Sadly, woefully, those rumors appear true. Sigh.

Note: The linked review contains mild spoilers. As if it matters.

You could see this coming a mile away, i.e. at the exact moment you learned Shia LaBeouf was cast as Indy's son. No. No. No.

I knew nothing about Shia LaBeouf. Yet, one look at his photo told me: 1) he's a girly type boy, 2) he's doesn't have enough soul and grit.

I think Speilberg and Lucas are fabulous at special effects and moviemaking, yet not so good at understanding actors and soul and grit. They are good at movies; they would be horrible at theater.

What helped the original Star Wars was the "lets go fight the bad guys" spirit amongst the fresh and genuine and gritty actors. But look at how, years later in Episode 2, Lucas lost touch with this and cast Hayden Christenson as a Young Darth Vader. Disaster. Christenson didn't have soul, grit, freshness, genuineness, or believability. Young Darth Vader should've been one of the memorable roles of all time. Instead, Christenson tried his best to sink both films he was in.

What helped Raiders of the Lost Ark was the same soul and grit and spirit of the original Star Wars movie. Karen Allen embodied it. Harrison Ford had it, and and has since lost it.

What's happened to Harrison? Once he was an earthy carpenter fighting to have a film career. Now, he's infected with granola/west coast disease, as represented by his infatuation with the reed thin Ally McBeal actress. Are Ford and Speilberg and Lucas all infected with money and success and Hollywood mores? Have they been pulled into effete tone-deafness, like a Supreme Court justice who goes in as a minimalist and is soon seduced by the power of legislating from the bench? Are they pulled as Colin Powell and Condi Rice were seduced by State Dept. and Western hemisphere belief that jaw-jaw equates to act-act? It would be hard not to be pulled. From my end zone - judging by the casting of Shia LaBeouf - it looks as if they have succumbed.

Any Offensive Guard on any high school football team would've been a superior choice to Shia Labeouf. Any Fullback would've melted high school and college girls across America. What about the actor who plays the hard knocks FB in the TV series "Friday Night Lights"? THAT KID embodies the son of Indiana Jones. Instead, we get Shia LaBeouf. Shia is weak tea - and I can tell it from a photo! I'm laughing at my own presumption, here. But I'll be surprised if I'm wrong.

Look, in the photo in the post just below this, at the Dudley Dooright profile of Jason Botts. Jason Botts embodies Indy's son better than Shia LaBeouf.

O Happy Day!

Jason Botts makes it through waivers!!

GM Jon Daniels is a genius. Lou Rawls and Freda Payne are happy.

Next stop: OKC. Botts can use his major league experience and observations to further improve himself/refine his skills at OKC.

Give Botts and Cruz all of May and June in OKC. Bring them up on July 1, and - this is important: start them 5 out of 6 games through all of July, August, and Sept. This allows Botts and Cruz some breathing room, and some daily rhythm, which they were not allowed last season.

After Josh Hamilton and Milton Bradley, I expect Botts and Cruz to one day be better than any of the other OF/1B players currently in Arlington: Catalanotto, Murphy, Boggs, Byrd, Shelton, or Broussard. I would like the chances of this 2009 line-up:

1. # Kinsler 2B
2. # Young SS
3. x Hamilton CF
4. ~ Milton Bradley DH
5. x Blalock 3B
6. # Cruz RF
7. ~ Botts 1B
8. x Murphy LF
9. ~ Saltalamacchia C

Bench:
Laird (or Teagarden)
Duran
~ Boggs
x Catalanotto(or Davis, after trade deadline)

That line-up would require signing Milton Bradley to a big money contract. I am okay with that. This is a young and dangerously volatile line-up, and is thus enjoyable to watch and to root for. It has 3 RH hitters, 3 LH hitters, 3 Switch hitters. I have tried, in the style of Johnny Oates and Buck Showalter, to intersperse the RH/LH hitters throughout the line-up (thus forcing opponents to burn through situational LH relief pitchers).

Slight Detour:

The 2008 Rangers have

1. a true Lead-Off hitter: Kinsler
2. a true #2: Young
3. a true #3: Hamilton
4. a player who will not freak out b/c he's hitting Clean-Up: Bradley
5. and - once he is healthy - a true #5 hitter: Blalock.

The Texas Rangers maybe haven't had all those elements in place, ever. Excepting Kenny Lofton, they've gone since at least 1999 without having a true Lead-Off hitter. The development of Kinsler at Lead-Off, and the acquisition of the mentally tough Milton Bradley for the Clean-Up spot, will pay dividends this season, imo. Those are the toughest batting order slots to fill.

Milton Bradley is really a #2 or a #5 hitter. However, he is saavy enough and talented enough to do the job at clean up. If you had to hit Blalock at clean-up, Blalock would feel pressure to swing for the fences. It would ruin him.

Kinsler has been a little-noted revelation. Initially arriving as an aggressive pull hitter with surprising power, he is now a patient batter who hits to all fields with surprising power. He takes the lead-off role very seriously: he works his initial at bat so as to see many pitches(via patience, and via fighting off tough pitches by swatting semi-intentional foul balls). Kinsler, also, can steal bases even when the defense knows he wants to go. A good lead off hitter is critically important in Playoff and World Series games. Kinsler hits good pitching. He can do it.

Brandon Boggs might develop into a lead-off hitter. Speedy Julio Bourbon preps for 2010ish. The Rangers might have options at this important line-up spot. Good. Good. Good. The organization needs some young players to step up and be good in the lead off spot.

Obama's message

Awesomeness

R2D2 DVD Projector

"The Dork flows strongly in this one. Oh, my. It's a remote control and birth control device all rolled into one."

Conversation w/Jeff: follow up links

Skype-conversationed with famous cousin Jeff. He has relocated to Rio de Janiero for a few years. This post incorporates some follow-up emails to Jeff (to flesh out some conversational topics).

The photos were taken by Jeff's wife, Karen, along Route 66 in the Texas panhandle/western Oklahoma area. Some of Karen's Route 66 photos were selected for display in a photography show.




Polar Bears threaten America

Proponents of world government attempting to
1) gain/use threatened species status of polar bear, to
2) force climate change regulation targeted at saving the polar bear, to
3) accomplish actual goal of controlling aspects of U.S. economic policy.

Jeff observed that every large and wild mammal on Earth could be said to be threatened, b/c large and wild mammals need large spaces in which to operate, and such large spaces are shrinking.




Silent Scream of the Asparagus

At the request of the Swiss government, an ethics panel has weighed in on the "dignity" of plants and opined that the arbitrary killing of flora is morally wrong. This is no hoax. The concept of what could be called "plant rights" is being seriously debated.

Michelle Malkin:

Sure, you vegans thought yourselves so morally pure. But according to the Swiss government, your hands are stained with the chlorophyll of innocent beings.

The crescent of the moon is observed on opposite sides of the moon (right side vs. left side) in the northern and southern hemispheres.

My son, Jake, and I pulled out a basketball (Earth) and our own fists (moon). When the sun shines on the eastern crescent of the moon, we (in Texas) see the moon in the eastern and then the southern sky, and the left side of the moon is lit as we look at it. You (in Rio) see the moon in the eastern and then the northern sky, and the right side of the moon is lit as you look at it. Plus, standing in the southern hemisphere, clearly you are standing upside down - with your feet nearer the equator and your head nearer the South Pole - thus causing blood to rush to your head as you try to look up at the sky, which is clearly disorienting and therefore is a problem.

Also: in the early part of the lunar phase the moon's crescent appears lit on the eastern portion of the moon. Days later the moon is full. Days later, in the late part of the lunar phase, the crescent moon is lit on it's western portion. Therefore, the moon is lit in both an eastern and western crescent at differing portions of its lunar phase(a fact which I, in my entire unobservant and clueless life, never before paid attention to).




Does toilet water spin in opposite directions in northern and southern hemispheres(due to Corealis Effect)?

Snopes.com says the toilet water direction thing is a myth.




Mom and Dad and Jake say hello. Jake says the Simpsons got kidnapped when they went to Rio (by 8 year old children demanding a ransom of candy). After Jake's story, Mom is more worried than ever about your and Karen's safety. So, the moral is, keep a candy ransom available, and make sure Karen and Gurvis and Gary and Karen's sister know how to access it.




WTC site 9/11 Memorial Controversy - 2005 WSJ article - proposed museum has now been killed off b/c of the controversy
http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110006791

Flight 93 (Pennsylvania) Memorial Controversy
http://errortheory.blogspot.com/2005/11/redesigned-flight-93-memorial-still_30.html

"Is it possible to achieve all of this Islamic orientation without knowing it?"

We should change any 9/11 Memorial design which incorporates "crescent" in any fashion.

The argument for coincidence (which I instinctively want to make) becomes harder and harder to make:
1. Memorial is in shape of Islamic crescent.
2. Islamic star representation is properly positioned relative to crescent.
3. Memorial is properly oriented towards Mecca.
4. Islamic prayer time sundial representation is properly positioned and is the proper height(relative to the surrounding crescent).

That is too much coincidence. Maybe, somewhere in the universe, that much coincidence adds up to "not a Jihadi memorial". But, here on Earth: we're looking at a Jihadi memorial.

I don't want to make myself look like a raving lunatic. However, it is also damning that obvious Islamic details are ever so slightly off - yet, upon closer inspection, other subtle details perfectly rectify and correct the obvious details which originally appeared to be slightly off. A series of deceptions and subtle corrections simply is not coincidence. It is, rather, evidence of intent.

The only way this is not a monument to Islamic Jihad is if the damning evidence which is proffered consists of lies. That is a possibility. So far as I can ascertain, the damning evidence has the heft of legitimacy. Since I am a layperson - armed only with common sense, and not armed with engineering/architectural training - my opinion is not even close to authoritative. I am looking only from my end zone seat, and seeing only what can be seen from this angle. But, good gosh, from this angle the evidence looks like a solid mountain.

I suspect this is not taken seriously, inside Congress and the National Parks Service, b/c those raising the alarm are instinctively compared to loon conspiracy theorists. Yet, this memorial design is not a conspiracy. A conspiracy requires a plot amongst multiple conspirators.

To get this far required only one Jihadi architect + design selectors who refused to recognize evidence of bad intent + U.S. National Parks Service bigshots who refused to recognize evidence of bad intent. We are a nation of experts at refusing to recognize bad intent by jihadis. If this memorial design was generated out of bad intent, it was also no conspiracy. One architect does not comprise a conspiracy. A bunch of Americans practicing blindness as usual does not comprise a conspiracy. Alec Rawls of Error Theory:

The possibility of coincidence is vanishingly small at this point. Symbolism is what architects do. They understand the Islamic symbolism of the crescent. They know that adding a star in almost exactly the position of the star on an Islamic flag confirms the Islamic symbolism of the crescent. They understand that orientation towards Mecca is yet another Islamic symbol. They understand that if a separate wall is added, distinct from the wall of American dead, and it is centered on the crescent, that wall gains the Islamic symbolism of the crescent and the star. They understand that, when there is a translucent block for each dead American, additional translucent blocks symbolize additional deaths, and they know who else died. Is it possible to achieve all of this Islamic orientation without knowing it?

If a monkey sits at a typewriter FOREVER it might type a verse of Shakespeare, but if I see an English Ph.D. student put on a monkey suit and straight off type, “Romeo, Romeo, wherefore are thou Romeo,” I’m pretty sure it’s not a monkey.

Arizona 9/11 Memorial controversy - 2006 information - several panels have now been chiseled off and replaced.
http://michellemalkin.com/2006/09/24/the-arizona-911-memorial-disgrace/

Pfc. Monica Brown earns Silver Star

Pfc. Monica Brown, 18 year old medic from Lake Jackson, TX, becomes the second woman in the last 60 years to earn a Silver Star for action during combat: for her actions to protect wounded soldiers during an enemy ambush and firefight in Afghanistan. A moving story.

May Day: My Immigrant Vagina is Angry

What?! Is she announcing a very personal need for antibiotics? Is she protesting lack of government healthcare for (non?)citizens?


I would never enforce a border. I may be an unconscious racist, but I'm not a racist imperialist, as unconscious imperialism has not been invented (or has it[?] - as in: imperialist warmongers - uh oh).

More pictures here. Takeaway question: are May Day protests considered warm-ups for Cinco de Mayo protests?

Cowboys 4th Round Pick: RB Tashard Choice

There's a lot of me, me, me amongst NFL RBs and WRs. Then there's Tashard Choice, here displaying a little Michael Irvin style leadership before Georgia Tech vs. Clemson:

I hurted last week bro - I couldn't come out there and fight wi ch'all boys. It absolutely killed me, bro. [...] I don't got nuthin else, man. I don't got nuthin else but ch'all boys. [...] This is it, bro. There's no turnin back from this point, bro. Somebody in here, man - I know y'all boys with me. I know y'all ride with me.

Would you go out and block and sweat and grunt and bruise and bleed for Tashard Choice? HAY-ULL YEAH! All day. With pleasure.

My everythang
or nuthin!
My everythang
or nuthin!
We gonna fight
till we cain't fight no more
we gonna lie down
bleed awhile
we gonna get up
fight agin

Tashard is not that big of a back. Yet, he throws his body into defenders to such extent that NFL Scouts worry he won't be able to stay healthy. Tashard fits in with OG Leonard Davis' classic rumination on Marion Barber:

He's got that mentality. He thinks he's bigger than he really is, but I guess he bulked up.

Video link: Georgia fan interviews Tashard about his second career as a Little League baseball umpire.

Ben Broussard is THE FUTURE

I am onboard with Mike Hindman's sarcastic headline, and with his sentiments:

Ben Broussard is THE FUTURE: Jason Botts liberated.

"At some point, you've got to commit to people you believe in. The only way young players are going to develop is if you give them a chance to learn and sometimes they learn through failure, a little bit." - Jon Daniels

It's not easy being a fan of this organization.
It's never been very easy.
It's nearly impossible today.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I haven't been this frustrated since Ian Kinsler was traded for 2 months of 38 year old Larry Walker. Walker, via refusing to consent to the trade, saved the Rangers from themselves.

When Chris Young was traded, I could not understand the reasoning. I told myself that maybe Adam Eaton was a crafty and effective major league pitcher. I was slightly comforted by an anonymously quoted Rangers Management voice saying the team believed Eaton was ready to step up and be a #1 starter. THAT anonymous quote was an incredible bit of cynicism. At his very best possible level of excellence(a level, btw, which Eaton has never yet attained in his career), Eaton is a #4 starter on a championship team. He will likely never attain that level of excellence in his career. He is, in actuality, either a #5 starter on a good team, a #4 starter on a mediocre team, or a high school coach(not that there's anything wrong with that!).

When Danks was traded, I found it curious that a LH who works at 94 (and can throw harder) and has no significant control issues was traded for a RH who works at 89. I found it curious that a team with a dearth of LH pitching would trade a nice LH prospect(plus RH prospect Nick Masset). Yet, I had to admit I had only ever seen Danks throw to one hitter. I had, otoh, seen Brandon McCarthy shut down the Rangers in Arlington. Brandon McCarthy did look like a nice prospect.

In the shakeout, McCarthy turns out to be obsessively finicky: about his motion and mechanics, about the condition of the mound and the weather, about the umpire, about his pregame meals and routine, about how his uniform fits. Danks, in comparison, is a Texas-born disciple of John Wayne.

McCarthy turns out to need perfect control in order to succeed(and perfect umpiring, and perfect everything else). McCarthy often lacks lacks perfect control. Danks turns out to be the mentally tough battler (under all conditions) which he was advertised to be. Maybe Danks doesn't project as a #1. But he does project as a durable LH #2 or #3 who will battle in all conditions. Danks projects to an Andy Petitte level of major league success. McCarthy's success (due to his finicky nature and his less speedy fastball) is less of a good bet.

I'm old enough to have been aghast when the Rangers gave up Ron Darling and Walt Terrell for Lee Mazilli. And now I'm aghast over Botts(even as I retain hope that he just miiiight end up in OKC).

I could go on, but the point is made: It's hard to be a Rangers fan.