Amusements of a sort...

The Tribe made two moves today... the big one, for Martin... well, the general consensus seems to be...meh?  Ok, it is an improvement -- he will be here for next year, he is a plus CF, and he can sort of hit, at least more than Allen can (and Rajai can platoon/rest).  We also got a minor league starter for... spare parts?  I mean, that is the best part of the deal, not much was lost... they are high on the OF they picked up from the Cards, to which we say...maybe?  Sure? I still think a new medical team would be a slightly better investment, but...

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/31/gop-senate-majority-gains-2018-749759

Maybe if Lisa Murkowski would, you know, do something Republican once in a while, we wouldn't have this problem...though, let's face it, calling her a GOPer in the first place... well, I guess if we can find a place for Donald Trump...

Baseball!

Jon Paul Morosi reported that the Tribe is talking to Nats about Harper.... I can imagine that the conversation was between "No" and Hell No!," but... well, a boy can dream.  Much as I love Adam Jones, I suspect the Tribe will get Billy Hamilton.  He can field, of course, but he really can't hit, which to me is a problem, given the lack of offense and the general trend of OF defense not minding as much.  Of course, no one knows how long Naquin will be out (long) and Rajai prolly should not be out there every day.  Oi.

This was actually pretty good:
https://www.pbs.org/video/ted-williams-2xjdi2/
Though it did seem to stress...well, the human side?  I don't know, I guess I would have loved more about the numbers (though the stressing of how his advice works well now was cool) and...well, let's just say that I think the thing underestimates his... contentious relationship with the fans, if you get my drift.  It did mention his role in putting Negro Leaguers into the HOF, which, I think, should be mentioned more.

https://sports.yahoo.com/10-degrees-underachieving-nationals-reached-point-trading-bryce-harper-make-sense-164438671.html

This could be me, but I would think that every underachieving team has a shitty clubhouse; I mean, look at Boston the year they let Francona go, when Dan Johnson hit that HR to tie the game and the Rays ended up in the playoffs.. (it worked out so well for them).  

Pain

Well, the crack Tribe medical staff is at it again, with now Naquin to the DL for a hip issue.  One of my coworkers texted me yesterday that to play  both Rajai and Melky in the OF at the same time is criminal/stupid both, and I told that while I agreed... 1) Rajai is the only one on the roster who can play center and 2) Melky has the veteran cred Francona likes; mind you, I am not sure the man can hit anymore -- I mean, his callup last time wasn't all that bad, and he had a knack for getting runs in, which is not unimportant -- but I suspect there will little improvement off that if you get my drift.

Mind you, I liked the move for Hand and Cimber -- help now and insurance if/when Allen and Miller leave -- and for whatever reason, Mejia wasn't exactly wowing them, so it was a fair price to pay.  But, the OF is still a hot mess...

Up to 673 on the film list, watched "Four Little Girls" last nite, which was about the 16th Street Church bombing in Birmingham in 1963.  Very interesting; Spike Lee can make films, even if the inclusion of Bill Cosby was an interesting surprise...

Final day of OC managing duty today, and it was quite pleasant... lots of volunteers, no major issues, and actually really helped some people.  It will never always be this simple, but...

Caught up

As many of you are now aware, I took a mini-vacation for the year and went to Chicago -- meeting Favorite Niece there -- to see the last (for now!) Vans Warped Tour... I was at the first, so... anyways, it was a lot of fun.... saw ten bands, hung out, good music... I did get kicked in the head by a crowdsurfer, knocking off my glasses -- they were quickly saved -- but they are still not right.  Other than that... I rented a car, a little Kia -- it could easily hit 80, use a lot less gas... it took four hours to get home, maybe a little more, and there was still some to spare.  So wise choice on my part...

https://slate.com/human-interest/2018/07/james-gunn-dan-harmon-mike-cernovich-the-far-rights-pedophilia-smear-campaign-is-working.html

https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/7/24/17599132/james-gunn-fired-gamergate-guardians-of-the-galaxy

Oh, I don't know... this could be me, but if liberals set the standard of "Any offensive tweet is calls for the axe (rightly or wrongly, I think we all know my free speech feelings) and ASAP" this will only encourage conservatives to go out and find offensive tweets and texts, because... well, it is YOUR petard.  Much as MLBers should be deleting offensive shit, so too should people on the left...  I think we are all better off if people can say what they like and let the market chips fall where they may, but... 

https://sports.yahoo.com/jaelene-hinkle-blackballed-uswnt-religious-beliefs-054747436.html

As a feminist, I am shocked, shocked, by this blatant attempt to silence a woman for her beliefs.  May she persist!

In more serious news, watched "The Bargain" last night to get to 672 on the film list.  I liked it -- silent 1914 film highlighting William S. Hart, but the action scenes were well done, nice scenery, and a basic but interesting plot...I think we tend to forget that the West was shaped by dime novels and such before any roll of firm was shot, and even then, people had to adapt the movies to meet the "reality" of the audience...

Respite

I give the President credit; the man can take a shitshow and make it into a bigger one.  Most impressive.  :)  Hell, he even lost Fox News today, which frankly takes a lot of work.  To me... this would be the sort of thing you don't muck with; I mean, for all of the other stuff her does, even the most quotidian of "Putin is a bad guy, and they mucked with the election" would, for better or worse, solve... well, not all, but some, of his issues.  Oi.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/he-preyed-on-men-who-wanted-to-be-priests-then-he-became-a-cardinal/ar-AAA8Syh?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=U506DHP

I am shocked, shocked, that a Son of Erin would engage in this sort of thing...

One thing I have noticed is that I am just not sleeping as much as I should, with the result being I am feeling everything more... to be sure, some of it is the fall out of bed, but I am just... tired, and I can tell, being somewhat irritable and the workouts are not quite as intense... I have a couple of minor things to handle today and then it is off to bed....

Oi

So... I fell out of bed again.  The same... charley horse, and while trying to stop it... well, I am not sure how THIS happened, but I didn't fall on my face this time.  I landed on the back of my head or neck.  It hurts, more sore than anything, and to top it off...when I woke up there was blood on my pillow...  At least my charley horse doesn't hurt.  :)  It was ok, sort of... had OC duty yesterday, and that was ok... we were a little short of volunteers, the computers were running a little slow, and we had to really hustle to get everyone out the door. Oi.  I didn't get a lot of sleep last nite -- family fest -- so that didn't help, but I dozed off a bit before... I can see how this aging thing is simply no fun.

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/07/14/never-trumpers-will-want-to-read-this-history-lesson-219006

This amuses me, mainly because does anyone really think that the Dems -- especially the lefties pushing the party now -- would want to go and concede some of their party platforms to get more people in?  I mean, for one, they think they can win without it... and two, they're established and in the party, so giving up to usurpers won't help. Also... this could be me, but I would the GOP's never Trump wing has more power in the party (where a lot of people who have the beliefs are still around)...

https://khn.org/news/unwieldy-health-costs-often-stand-between-teachers-and-fatter-paychecks/
This could be me, but...
1) Obamacare has caused health care costs for everyone to rise;
2) Teachers' unions supported Obamacare;
3) These people caused their own health care costs to rise and are now bitching about it, so...
4)  Maybe these aren't the people we should have teaching our children...

Randoms

http://www.slate.com/articles/podcasts/trumpcast/2018/07/the_aclu_s_shifting_mission.html

The ACLU has values?  Imagine that.  )

This could be me, but everyone seems to think the Yankees/Tribe series will be a bloodbath; even with the Tribe's pen issues...well, Kluber can't pitch every night, and the Yankees can put them on the board in bunches.  I think Corey pitched, at least well enough...but it could be a long weekend in Cleveland.

Finished the 5th book in the Philo Vance series - clever but not terribly so, a little contrived on the plot, but still interesting... started the Harry Jaffa book Abraham Lincoln and the Coming of the Civil War which is 500 pages of single-spaced theory, and I like it already. Not that I have a lot of time to do so, but... we will squeeze it in as best as we can. 

I do believe the ships have sailed on some of my latest...ventures, so I of course embarked on a new round of them.  *Sigh*  We survive, but it is not exactly a fun fest of morale...

Went to Our Lady of Mount Carmel (today's meeting was canceled) with a friend... sort of carmageddon with Edgewater Live, the Tribe game, and the usual morass of traffic; I ended up parking on West Clifton and hoofing it, which was sort of long, but not terribly so, given that it beats sitting in traffic, and it would behoove me to NOT be a fatass...

Hmmmm...

I will give the Tribe this... it's smarter to say "I called the wrong guy up" than "I thought Otero was the better choice."  At least tonight they had time to work out the new nomenclature...In the meantime, our President -- friend of Russia, mind you -- was hectoring NATO to spend more on defense (i.e., meet their obligations) and telling the Germans not to give sweetheart gas deals to...Russia.

https://deadspin.com/a-college-basketball-insider-is-uniting-mid-majors-to-b-1826990796

This might work, and I give them props for trying, but there is nothing to stop a power conference from pulling this, either, especially if these guys start losing bids to teams from mid-majors.  That said, it would create some exciting games for these guys, and maybe, just maybe, force some TV coverage...

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/09/opinion/brett-kavanaugh-conservative-republicans.html

I think this is largely correct... funny, I was talking to one of the coworkers, and I was like... (I have made this point before)  Even if Roe is overturned, does anyone really think we will be a country without abortion?  Blue enclaves will keep it going, deep red ones will not, and elsewhere...well, again, I can Ohio having something where it is legal to a certain point in the pregnancy (with a few exceptions) and then kaput.  I think most GOPers would be fine with this... or, more to the point, if the voters in AL say -- by a 65/35 margin that abortion is illegal, and the voters of CA -- by a similar margin -- say the reverse... who is wrong?  I think my answer is no one (technically), and the best way to see who is right is to see what happens...

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/06/a-history-of-evangelical-fear/563558/
I always get a kick out of these articles, because anyone who writes seems to forget the parts about hating the sin and loving the sinner... I mean, you have to hate and remove the sin from the sinner to bring them into eternal communion with Christ.  I realize everyone views that last point to suit their own needs and consciences, but.... some people are going to decide that this removal process will be....offensive.

Three things...

So, it's Kavanaugh... I would have preferred Barrett, so I could have called all my progressive friends both anti-Catholic and anti-woman, but I think he will be fine.  No one wants to be Soutered, of course...and you never know. This could be me -- and I know the Donald will never win elocution awards -- but I do wonder if the guy gets the full import of what he is reading off the cards.

Was it me, or did you also think that Francona's handling of the 9th was curious?  I mean, bringing Josh Tomlin out for the third straight day (and it's not like he has been glorious lately) for the HR-happy Reds lineup?  I mean, it was curious on its own, but the fact they scored 4 in the bottom of the frame.  I guess I would sent out Cody for some work and seen what would have happened...

The Jim Jordan... I don't know, but... when I was a kid, there were certainly -- from friend groups and whatnot -- kids who knew that, say, Father was a little hinky around the altar boys (making them change out of their clothes into gym clothes before Mass and such)... but of course, we didn't know; it was all hearsay and repeated 100s of times, it was still just that.  We believed it to be true, and all tried to act accordingly, but... there wasn't any evidence (of course, the kids would tell their parents and would be accused of bullshitting).  I have a sense that Jim Jordan is getting THAT kind of treatment... not saying he shouldn't have done more, or tried to figure it out, but you really cannot crucify someone for...rumors.  I guess this is why -- say, the Weinstein and the Spacey allegations -- I tend to say that they are probably true but it is quite difficult for me to say we trees and rope for the Meryl Streeps and Robin Wrights of the world....

Fun city

Watching yet another thrilling Tribe game...  I thought yesterday's 8th inning was managed most curiously.  Neil Ramirez had a bad day at the office, fine... maybe you get him earlier, though I doubt it, but after the bottom started... you have Gonzalez bat for Kipnis (fine, since E-Gon is having a better year), but once he gets the bunts NOT down, you then pull Alonso for Rajai...telegraphing the steal, and he is then thrown out.  Oi.  I mean, if you were going ti PR, do it right away, and then... well, as Lucroy really can't throw anymore (an 0-2 FB outside is the only time he has a chance), I guess I would have taken the bunt off and Rajai do his magic...

OC duty yesterday, and it was... a little chaotic.  We have to do our annual re-registration of the clients, so that took time, and the GCFB requires some more stuff, which added to the time, as we had to check the boxes... also, we decided (not quite my idea) to start handing out reusable cloth bags, and, to ensure that they come back, we will have a monthly drawing to give away a Dave's gift card... so that took a little time, too.  I was directly some of the new stuff and ended up registering people just to get the crowd down, so it was a late rush in the back... everyone responded nicely, but it was touch and go for a while...

Links and Notes

I was more than a little surprised that Scott Pruitt resigned; I mean, now?  I guess my wonder if the other 28 things he's done didn't prick the conscience of the President... just saying.  I suspect that yes, his successor can do the job with the scandal, but albeit with the lightning rod, and that just might be good enough.

Watched "Michael Collins" today... I think put it on the Netflix queue when I had gotten some books on the Irish Civil War (months ago) and lo and behold... anyways, I did like it, didn't realize it had an all-star cast, and... well, I think the liner notes at the end had it right -- no one will even know if de Valera ordered the hit or not (picking Alan Rickman to play him made him the heavy); I mean, my impression is that he has been dumped for every other thing of ill-repute in Irish history (while running the place for fifty years or so), but... well, I just wonder if in this case... as well all know from modern Irish history, splintering and violence is part of their way....

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/whats-the-most-rewatchable-movie-of-all-time/

Hmm...these movies (some of them) seem to be on a lot, which might explain why...

https://www.vox.com/2018/6/27/17511048/mitch-mcconnell-supreme-court-anthony-kennedy-retirement
This could be me, but I've always felt Garland was a casualty of the Borking; GOPers waited a long time to get vengeance, and putting the two together in Mitch McConnell's hands is simply a dream come true.  I would some other GOP senator would go and suggest that between the two -- like the atom bomb -- we now have a weapon too terrible to use, and we just go and put it back in the box, referred to only as a horrible example. Especially because...
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/4/14/15295474/anthony-kennedy-retirement-replacement-nomination-supreme-court

I don't quite buy this; to me, the better solution is NOT to let the courts have so much power in the first place... nowadays we use the judiciary as yet another front in culture/legal/political wars which is fine but it simply of course puts some decisions beyond the pale of reversal and that is always unacceptable to the losing side.  If the judiciary would punt (i.e., staffed with the right judges) you would have a truce, as the fight would shift to fields where it is more fluid...

Three in the water...

Well, that was an interesting Tribe game... at least Cody didn't blow this one.  :) I wonder...Tyler Olsen is going to make a rehab start, but as he has options, and they just invested in Rzepcynski, they may decide to leave him there, which may also serve as a powerful lesson on the need to NOT not-report injuries.  As for Guyer...it would be a shame if he has to go on the DL, but, aside from a few games, most of the time I wonder if maybe Melky Cabrera wouldn't be the better answer (let's hope he is around somewhere).

I was dicking around on Youtube and discovered Jordan Belson's "Allures" was now available, so I watched it... 671.  Rah.  It was nice, and interesting, but as with a bunch of flicks on there, I am not sure why it was added, save to say "this guy did interesting things and we should remember him," which is sort of fine... I think I may have to start going through the list again and checking youtube more often.

I went to the gym today and for the first time in three weeks (almost) I did arms work... I think the chest muscle is slightly sore, still, but I really didn't cut back on weights and intensity, and I am largely fine (for now).  I suspect lots of proper sleep and nutrition would be ideal, but as with so many other things, we all know that's not happening anytime soon.

Two things....

This could be me, but it sure seems like the Tribe's crack medical staff is having yet another banner week (to be sure, keeping Michael Brantley healthy and playing well is a minor medical miracle in and of itself)... first Lonnie Chisenhall can't play with yet another calf injury, and now Danny Salazar is out for the year after his surgery. I realize sports medicine is as much art as science, but... you'd have thought someone would have suggested surgery sooner rather than later for Danny, and, well, if a guy keeps having hamstring/muscle issues... maybe you do something else?

Up to 670 on the film list... watched "The Sinking of the Lusitania," a 12-minute animated short from 1918... a mix of war propaganda and an incredibly complex (yet even today pretty good) animated cartoon.  Pretty neat stuff.  I also watched -- on behalf of a coworker -- "Call Her Savage," a 1932 pre-Code piece starring Clara Bow.  I liked it -- some of it is a bit dated, if you get my drift -- but there was, of course, quite a bit... of, well, smut, especially for the era.  I of course loved the oblique reference to syphilis, but who wouldn't?

Catching up

So, after spending a late afternoon with some friends (in the sun, sort of) my ardor for going was cooled, and I ended up watching "Under Western Stars," getting me to 669 on the list... it is a Roy Rogers vehicle, which is why I think it was chosen...not that I didn't like it or anything of the sort, but... nothing wowed me on it.

The Tribe pitching machinations continue; Plutko is down and Rzepcynski is up (and back).  It is good to have two lefties around, and Plutko showed himself to be Josh Tomlin light while he was around (though I think he will be back).  I did get a kick out of the Tribe announcers discussing how well Tomlin has pitched, albeit in white-flag territory... then he goes out and gets shelled (in pitcher-friendly Oakland).  It does suck, but his stuff was never exactly overpowerling, and being extremely borderline now... well, this will happen more often than not.

One thing I was able to do yesterday was empty the email folder and erase all the links of articles that needed to be read...   may not seem like much but when you are busy but want to stay informed... and the bookmarks bar looks neater, a nice touch...