*Comparing Brad Lidge to Byung-Hyun Kim is unfair, patently. At least, until Lidge surrenders a second game-losing home run in the current World Series, before going forth to post a followup season of 36 saves or more, while leading the league in the so-called tough saves, and being treated regardless as though he were a mere pitch away from landing on the lists of the nation's 10 most-wanted arsonists. Even so, it would be unfair to compare Lidge to Kim until he then goes forth to overwork himself in search of a cure, but discovering instead that he may have overworked himself into career endangerment.
* Any man who averages 8 home runs per 162 games can hit a game-winning home run, in the World Series or otherwise, so long as the pitch is hittable, and the wind blows at the proper volume toward right field on a rainy night in Chicago south.
* There's no further reason for anyone to insist that baseball requires a salary cap on behalf of competitive balance, the better to bring baseball to parity with the National Football League and the National Basketball Association. Eighteen different teams have won the 29 World Series since the advent of free agency. Thirteen NFL teams have won the last 30 Super Bowls, 10 NBA teams have won the last 30 NBA championships, both those leagues have salary caps, but it is baseball that lacks competitive balance.
* When last I looked, the Chicago White Sox have a franchise history that includes five pennants, two World Series championships, seven playoff appearances, and, sorry, but one thrown World Series. The Chicago Cubs, by comparison, have 10 pennants, two World Series championships, and 14 playoff appearances. It's more than premature for the White Sox to assert any historic superiority over the Cubs, whatever superiority they have in this year's picture.
* The Houston Astros now leave only one of the major leagues' original expansion class lacking even a World Series appearance. Should the Astros revive to win this year's Series, they would also leave only one of the major leagues' original expansion class lacking a World Series ring.
* A great movie could be made about the life of Casey Stengel, but the only man in America who might be qualified to portray him is Sparky Anderson. And he can't act. Concurrently, Ozzie Guillen is the first man in baseball since Casey Stengel to speak in a language entirely his own. But Guillen can't play Stengel in a movie, either. If you tend to believe Stengel was born in his 60s, Guillen simply isn't old enough.
* Speak if you must about a player or a team choking. But the next time you do, you might give a thought to the idea that to accuse one player or team of choking is to accuse the opposing player or team, concurrently, of not being good enough to win.
* Whether the news at this writing, that Larry Bowa "is set to become the third base coach of the New York Yankees," translates into Larry Bowa "is being groomed to become the next manager of the New York Yankees," remains to be seen. What does not remain to be seen is what seems to be the obvious. The blustery Bowa, and we use "blustery" politely, has the kind of personality that George Steinbrenner may only think is the personality of a winner. When all is said and enough is done, Steinbrenner may never have surrendered his thought that winners turn clubhouses into high tension acts, maybe even compromise if not wreck a career or two. He has certainly not surrendered his ignorance of how many division titles, pennants, or World Series Bowa has won. Bowa has won one less title than Joe Torre had ever won before Torre came to the Yankees — to win eight division titles, six pennants, and four World Series rings.
* Only one reason makes sense as to why Orel Hershiser would even consider managing the Los Angeles Dodgers. Here is a hint: consider Hershiser a disciple of Tommy Lasorda, from the same class as his former catcher Mike Scioscia; and, consider that Hershiser will suffer neither a fool or a statistical martinet gladly, when said martinet thinks chemistry doesn’t count and the manager knows less of baseball than John McCain and Russ Feingold know of the First Amendment. Then, the prospective deal would seem to be Hershiser to the Dodgers in exchange for Paul DePodesta to the unemployment office. Presumably, that's where DePodesta might bump into someone willing to explain how statistical measurement plus chemical balance equaled the 2004 Red Sox. He already knows the sum of statistical measurements plus chemical imbalance.
* The ironies abound in the Harriet Miers hoopla. Some of her supporters proclaim that you don't need to be a Constitutional lawyer to construe the Constitution. They attack some of her critics a) for pointing out that she has never addressed issues of serious Constitutional import, during her long and competent legal career; and, b) if they are not themselves Constitutional lawyers. They also attack some of her critics for criticizing the President's nominating her to the Supreme Court, but they defend a President whose construction of the Constitution inspired him to violate his Constitutional oath of office by signing a bill, written and passed by Congress, that abridges freedom of speech, or of the press.
Some of Ms. Miers's supporters also proclaim themselves from the lunch box class, denouncing some of their adversaries as from the attaché-case elite, on behalf of a woman who has been a lifelong, case-carrying member of the bar. Whether the lunch box or the attaché case represents "legitimate" work is a question eclipsed only by the point that the lunch box carries food and the attaché case food for thought. The flavor of the former dissipates within the hour, but the flavor of the latter lingers for years.
All of which are points that probably escape the comprehension of people who think professional baseball does not require work to play well.
* If you loved him or remember him for nothing else, the late Oakland Athletics radio announcer Bill King should be remembered at least for the following observation: "Once again, in this stadium, as in all of life, idle minds succumb to the wave." That was almost as valuable as the time the best Jose Canseco could do was a pitiful, offline, looping blooper. And, the time Jascha Heifetz never played a violin with more dexterity than Ken Stabler played the Minnesota Vikings in the Rose Bowl. All of which is enough to make a non-Oaklander wonder what King had to say for the idle minds that made idle hands succumb to beach balls in the grandstands.
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