Streak

I was reading the article about the "botched" execution in Oklahoma, and, well, the SOB died, didn't he?  And I bet it was a hell of a lot more humanely than that of his victims...not that anyone remembers them.

So, I realize the Tribe has lost four in a row before, and will again, and the season is early...but, man, it is painful to watch.  The worst -- so far -- is becoming Francona's slow hook...on everything.  Leaving Masterson in too long.  Leaving Santana in the four hole (one 3-R HR does NOT a slump break).  Now, the latest revelation, about Carrasco to the 'pen...it's not awful, and it should have been done in spring training...but I do wonder how much of the damage was caused by leaving him out there when it was obvious he had lost it.  More snarkily, I am glad the Ivy League types in the front office finally figured this out.  At least we don't have Donald Sterling as an owner, but the slow paean of incompetence isn't really any better, is it now?

Caught up

My health is better, if nominally so...some of the "pox" has receded, but a couple of others have taken their place, which I find annoying.  I am also dealing with full sinuses.  A nite of nearly full sleep may help, provided I can get seven in a row, not.

So, went to the parish Chili cookoff last nite...It was nice; you got chili, salad, and cake for $5; they got you on the bar, of course, and there were sideboards and the raffles and such.  They had about 100 people, give or take, so I can see how they could make $1K, give or take.  Most of the chili was just ok...I only tasted a couple that impressed me. 

I don't want to say it, but my predictions of a mediocre Tribe year are spot-on....the inability of Santana to hit worries me, as well as the fact that Francona keeps running him out there in the cleanup role.  The pitching is mediocre, especially the starters; the bullpen hasn't been that bad.  The hitting, though, is what this team will need, because they can't win many games 3-1....

troubles

This must be the week of petty health problems.  My face continues to improve, and my mouth feels less crappy; in the meantime, my left pinky is all swelled... I think I picked the nail too close, and if it is not ingrown (prolly not), something is in the side of the nail.  I was able to open a hole in the skin between the nail and have been able to get some blood and pus out of it, and it feels a little better, but....I may have to break down and get the thing lanced professionally.  Ugh.

Boy, is it me, or has Danny Salazar sucked a big one this year?  I mean, the stuff has been there, but the location has been inconsistent and he has been hit, and coupled with the craptastic pitching of Carrasco....it does not bode well for anyone, least of all the Tribe fans.  One would think he would able to figure it out; again, the stuff is there, but...the Tribe expected him to be the #2 or 3 starter this year, and now you are lucky to get 5 IP out of him.

Mission

So...I have a fungal/viral infection (prolly caused by a combo of working out too much, not enough washing, and some ass-to-mouth action) and I have cold sores, a painful mouth, and a generally feeling of crappines.  Ugh.  I am on meds, and I am still exercising, but to look like crap for Easter, and to feel like crap for Easter, and to face food issues...well, miserable.

In the meantime, I am reading Render Unto Rome, a book about the finances of the Church; one-third of it discusses our Diocese, and the first part discusses Boston, so we get a double-helping of Bishop Lennon.  It's pretty damning; even if the author relies too much on the FutureChurch and Fr. Begin types, it's pretty obvious the Church needs reform in the financial sense...I more and more tend to believe the issue should be a divorce of the theological side and the temporal side; much like the Protestants, lay people should play a much greater role in the finances/buildings/management, and the rest should be left to the men in black.  (More so if you have the men in brown.)

One thing I do find a little odd, of course, is the running contention in the book that the Church faces a crisis as it retreats from the urban cores...well, its population base has retreated, and in many cases, so is the Church.  The counter is that the old urban parishes -- and this is true -- are the fulcrum of neighborhoods, and that closing the place down shuts down all the social services the place provides.  (There is an irony here, in that most of the FutureChurch are lefty bleeding hearts, so you would think that they would be pleased that the state would have to handle the load.)  However, the problem is -- and if I am sounding like Mitt Romney here, he wasn't wrong -- is that all of these people USE the Church, but they never really give back; it takes money to run soup kitchens, provide places for AA, run ESL programs, operate Catholic schools, etc.; yet the people who use them really don't give back.  No one puts in the collection plate, no one volunteers to handle crap jobs at parish events, no one takes over the janitor gig to save a salary.  Yes, the mission of the Church is one thing, but on the other, the Church -- especially at the parish level -- is a business, and a place that spends more than it takes in has to increase revenues, change its practices, or close.

weight

I weighed myself Sunday and was 179 pounds, so in consequence it has been three days of small meals and intensive workouts.  The problem was Saturday...I kept having low blood sugar all day, and kept eating.  I finally had a Quarter Pounder, and then Sunday I was high...then low...then high.  Monday, same.  Argh.  I know this sometimes happens with diabetes, but...it is MOST annoying.  To say nothing of the fatness, just the diabetes control.  I worked out hard -- hard -- today, just to get control of the thing.  Also, I need to get into shape, moreso, if you will, if and WHEN I start a dedicated (think Paul Ryan) exercise program.

On baseballprospectus there was a note about Jason Knapp, one of the key parts of the Lee trade...he is back in uniform, throwing again, in the minors...may have a shot, as he found his old coach, worked on some things...the trade looks worse and worse, and all the guys who made still have their jobs, which is ridiculous...but you'd think the Tribe would have thought of this and kept him around. 

Honesty

OC duty today, and there was some funny shit...I had these two tricycles that someone gave me, so I took them down.  As I was pulling them out, one of our clients -- a loud type, if you get my drift -- asked me for them so she could give them to her twins.  I was like, sure, just don't let everyone else know, and of course, she began yelling across the parking lot to whoever else she was with.  Anyways, a little while later, we had the garage open to unload some stuff, so of course it was open city, and one other client asked to use the bathroom, and pulled me aside...here, of course, the Mother of Twins had given the trikes to her friend, who walked them down to the scrap yard, and peddled them for $3.  Of course, client number #2 mention that client #1 was, um, African-American (but didn't phrase it like that), and of course, added some other choice bits.  I told the guy that we didn't know it for sure, and we couldn't judge them, and I added (for good measure) that white people were just as dishonest.  I really didn't want to tell the guy the trikes looked crappy, and the thought did cross my mind that the scrapyard was where I should take them (our petty cash is low, and our cleaning fits have taken a toll on the budget), but decided against it. 

The main thing here is that this is the sort of thing that really pisses off volunteers -- and then they go back and tell everyone, and people then start not donating, and it snowballs -- which is bad for everyone.  I realize our clients have to hustle, but...well, let's just say that when people are accused of turning their backs on the poor, I have to say "I don't blame them."

The Tribe is really playing like crap, but all I can say is, I don't think we will hearing about the ace-sized contract for Justin Masterson for a while.

Field Trip

http://www.forbes.com/sites/maggiemcgrath/2014/04/10/family-dollar-closing-370-stores-and-lowering-prices-after-revenue-falls-6/

This really doesn't bode well if Family Dollar, for Christ's sake, is in the shitter.

So, today I attended the St. Casimir's fish fry; it is sort of our sister parish, I wanted to check it out, and hell, what do I care.  It's actually not far off the MLK/Cultural Gardens fest -- you can see the place off the main road -- but I really thought, when I got off MLK, I had wandered on to the set of "The Hurt Locker;" there were shells of houses and trash everywhere, and very few people.  At least the parking was convenient.  Ok, there were no people; no one in the neighborhood, anything.  Anyways, I found the place -- it occupies a wide campus -- and went in.  The food wasn't bad -- fried fish, fries, hush puppies, pierogi, dessert -- and the price was ok.  Not a lot of people there... not the crowd of other places, but everything was quick and hot.  I didn't see the church -- not open -- so that was a shame.  It wasn't bad, but I can also see how people wouldn't go there, either.

The Tribe has really sucked a big one lately; the starting pitching has been unpleasant, and the back end of the pen even worse.  The White Sox are not a bad team -- they can hit, and hit bad pitching, I think -- but it is going to be a long year if the Tribe cannot hold people to four runs or better most nites.

arisen

Does anyone really believe that Calipari would go to the NBA?  I mean, unless this is an Izzo ploy to get a raise, I can't imagine how this even remotely passes the smell test.  In the meantime, I suspect that for all the hype about the women's game tonite...it won't be close. 

The March OC stats:  492 visits, 1331 people:  218 seniors, 667 adults, 446 kids.  Rah.

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/inflation-may-hit-the-poor-hardest/

I do like the site, but when they publish stuff like this...oi.  Good Lord. 
http://www.cleveland.com/solon/index.ssf/2014/04/chagrin_falls_school_board_pre.html#incart_m-rpt-1

You'd think after the Strongsville fiasco, people would be smarter about this, but then again, these are people so maybe not.  I don't know; I suspect the argument that the teachers are responsible--  in an overwhelming white and upper class district --for all of the success there is a little hollow, and given that people can look up salaries online and see who makes what...well, I think that is going to cause some angst.  I don't exactly blame the Board for doing this -- and I think they are -- to get concessions; times are tough, and people -- even in Chagrin Falls -- cannot afford to pay.  At least, not much more.

Notes

First things first...Team XI won PQ again.  Two  months in a row; the payouts are declining -- a bad sign -- but a win is a win.  And all is well.

http://highschoolsports.cleveland.com/news/article/-4556340951457305835/glen-potter-finds-himself-at-dicks-sporting-goods-the-afternoon-before-their-first-game-first-year-baseball-coach-qa/

This article caught my attention, mainly because...well, I read it and was like, the Diocese really can't be all that hard for money, can it?  (Remember, CCC is owned by the Diocese, unlike the other high schools, run by orders.)  I mean, it is a voucher school, so a good hunk of its revenues are of other people's money.  Next, I went to my copy of the diocesan financial statement.  In FY 2013, the Diocese had net revenues of $13.5 million.  Yes, $10.8 million of that is restricted, but that leaves...well, I would think there is enough cash floating around the Diocese to ensure that the Ironmen of the diamond don't have to pay for cleats, wouldn't you?

Three-fourths of the way through BP2K14; this is good, because I keep taking books out of the library, so I need to start polishing them off as well.  I think three or four days of uninterrupted time should suffice...for a lot of other reasons, as well.