baseball Archives - Page 9 of 14 - Ramblin' with Roger

More January Ramblin’

I should have written this yesterday, but I was in the midst of doing something (which will become evident), taped the end of the NFC championship game Sunday night, but neglected to account for it running long. The game had about two and a half minutes to go when the recording stopped I turned on ESPN’s Sports Center and saw all the important remaining plays, including those in overtime.
GO, GIANTS!! I suggested three weeks ago that the Giants playing New England tough then, when it “didn’t matter”, was a good idea, and now they have the chance to play them again, when it does. I worry, though, that the transition that NYG coach Tom Coughlin’s face will suffer going from -4F Green Bay – was he suffering frostbite? – to sunny Arizona will be a shock to his system.
***
Johnny Podres died. I got totally into that Boys of Summer storyline. The 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers, with Jackie Robinson, finally beat the hated New York Yankees, finally beat the hated Yankees, with Podres winning Game 3 and the decisive Game 7, for the only time before they moved to Los Angeles.

Allan Melvin died. He’s one of those guys who you would see on TV (I remember him from Phil Silvers, Dick van Dyke and All in the Family/Archie Bunker’s Place, plus a commercial) and you might say, “You know, THAT guy.” (By Archie Bunker’s Place, even I knew him by name. If you don’t, see what ME had to say.

Suzanne Pleshette died. That last episode of Newhart, in which she reappears as Emily Hartley, probably THE best TV ending of all time, I was watching, and yet I missed it. From IMDB
The final episode (“The Last Newhart” Episode: #8.24 – 21 May 1990) ran for 30 seconds longer than the typical episode. WRGB Channel 6 in Schenectady, NY was the only CBS affiliate to not get the message, and halfway through the concluding joke in the entire series, the control room cut to a local newscaster. As was typical at the time, he was to read teasers for that night’s 11 o’clock news but he was visibly surprised at his own face appearing on the monitor since he was watching the end of the episode as well. The station DID show it during the 11 pm news, but I didn’t watch that program, and I never saw the end until it was reprised some months later. Most of the early obits missed the fact that she had been married to Tom Poston, another Newhart cohort, until he died last year.

Richard Knerr died. Who was Richard Knerr? He was only the co-founder of Wham-O, that made the hula hoop (I had one, never that good at it), Slip ‘N Slide (I had one, loved it), and the Frisbee (STILL have one; most of the knockoffs aren’t aerodynamically as sound as the original). Part of my childhood has passed as well.

ROG

Remembering

There’s a character called Little Critter that I read to Lydia. He said, “Sometimes I remember, and sometimes I forget.”

So when I reviewed my 2007 albums, I forgot Nellie McKay’s Obligatory Visitors. I got it so early in the year, relatively, it slipped my mind. It’s much shorter than her previous two epics, and while I liked it in parts – a wonderfully vulgar 23 seconds of “Livin”, e.g. – I prefer her singing to that of the bloke who she had crooning with her.

I forgot to give my football playoff picks; trust me, I was 3-1 the first weekend (I thought Washington would beat Seattle). The second weekend, it’s more who I hope would win: Green Bay did (this has much to do with my dislike of The View’s Elizabeth Hasselbeck, who’s married to the Seattle QB, Matt); and my others won as well, except for Jacksonville, who lost to New England. (But doesn’t everyone?) So my rooting interests for the rest of the season are set: Giants, San Diego, Green Bay, in that order.

I was glad that Goose Gossage got into the baseball’s Hall of Fame, but I’m still looking for some love for Jim Rice, Lee Smith, and Andre Dawson.

On my list of TV themes, I didn’t forget Barney Miller, M&R. It was on Greg’s cusp list and on mine. Interestingly, that first season, not only was the show less good, in spite of the fine Barbara Barrie as Barney’s wife, the theme was fairly lackadaisical.
The later theme, like the second Magnum theme, was MUCH better:

The Mary Tyler Moore Show theme didn’t quite make it either, mostly because love may be all around, but Mary Richards’ love life mostly stunk. I think I preferred the “you just might make it” of the first season, which I can’t find, to “you’re gonna make it” of later seasons.

I did find this:

Oh, a question: did the That Girl theme ever have lyrics? I know it didn’t normally, but I swear I heard them at least once.

I forgot to mention that it was my friend Dan who gave me the comics-related question which I posed on Saturday that YOU can STILL answer.
I don’t want him, or especially his wife Lynne, who I’ve known even longer, ticked with me.

I was going to use this piece from a United Methodist website on one of my grumpy days, but I forgot:
Lawsuit prompts new music and video copyright developments for churches
Dean McIntyre, of the General Board of Discipleship, is warning churches of new developments in legal cases regarding the use of copyrighted music and video in worship. In an article posted on GBOD’s worship website, McIntyre writes, “In a new attempt to stop illegal copying — which may have an impact on churches — the music industry is now making a stronger claim of copyright protection not previously claimed.”

He concludes that, “If the courts continue to uphold the new music industry claim, the implication for churches is clear: it is illegal to legally purchase copyrighted music or movies, to copy and store that music or movie, even a clip, on your own computer or disk, and then use the copy in worship. Churches that want to replay copyrighted CDs or videos in worship can legally do so only by using the original purchased copy.”

ROG

Roger Answers Your Questions, Chris and Scott

Our next contestant is Chris Black from across the pond, as they say.

Hi Roger

Do you have a favourte fictional librarian or library?

What got me thinking was there’s one in a science fiction novel that I read this year (- I’ll tell you about it sometime – ) called Glasshouse by Charles Stross. The book is set several centuries into the future and the hero finds himself working in a simulation of a late 20th century American public library.

First off, I must say that I cringe every time I see It’s a Wonderful Life, and George Bailey discovers that, without him, his would-be wife is reduced to this…librarian!

Yet I enjoy, on a radio program in the United States on National Public Radio, a segment on A Prairie Home Companion called “Ruth Harrison: Reference Librarian” that takes on the stereotype in a fun way. The last segment I heard, just last Saturday, she becomes the Scrooge character in A Christmas carol and at the end becomes wildly spontaneous.

If you are interested in the topic, you might want to check out this piece.
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Scott has a number of questions:

1. What do you think the Baseball Hall of Fame should do about the steroid problems?
I think we’ve already gotten an inkling of this last year when Mark McGwire, who was NOT specifically named in the Mitchell report but who was mum before Congress on the topic a couple years back, got less than 25% of the votes. HoF voters are going to determine whether a player would have gotten in without “assistance”. They’re going to decide whether the morals clause applies. As this guy notes, Gaylord Perry got into the HoF by doctoring the ball. My own sense of things is that, assuming the allegations are true – and the Mitchell report was not really designed for that purpose – the heavy users should all get lifetime suspensions. I would make a distinction between someone who tried it once or twice (Andy Pettite, assuming he’s telling the truth) and regular users. However, I would make it possible that they could all get into the Hall – Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, McGwire, Sammy Sosa (who’s been implicated in this by a different source) – when they’re dead. Same with Shoeless Joe Jackson, who played quite well in the Black Sox series, and Pete Rose. They’ll be there in the history of the game, but they will not be able to personally profit from it.

But I’m less worried about the Hall than I am in baseball cleaning up for the future. I agree that there should be an outside lab doing unannounced testing the players, which is what happens in most sports. The players’ union would be foolish to fight this, but I suspect it will.

2. Keying off of Chris’ question, do you have a favorite fictional character (librarian or not)?
Understand that I haven’t been reading it in the last decade or so, though I’ve seen the first two movies, but it’s Spider-Man. Or that duality of Peter Parker and the webslinger. On TV, possibly Pembleton (Andre Braugher) from Homicide: Life on the Streets.

3. What is the hardest part of your job?
Boredom. “Oh, golly, not THAT question again.”

4. Do you think those of us in the US are getting too politically correct by saying “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” and worrying about the fact that Santa is too fat?
It’s a pluralistic society. “Happy Holidays” doesn’t bother me. I must admit that I was surprised, though, when I wished someone “Mery Christmas” a few years ago, and he said, “I don’t believe in Christmas.” I was in church at the time.
But slim Santa is dumb.

6. What is your favorite non-secular Christmas song? What is your favorite religious Christmas song?
I actually answered this question a couple weeks ago. But I’ll answer it again, and differently.
Secular: What Christmas Means to Me – Stevie Wonder; Christmas Wrapping – the Waitresses; Christmas All Over Again – Petty/Heartbreakers.
Religious: almost anything in a minor key (What Child Is This); anything with counterpoint (the chorus of Joy to the World); Adeste Fideles and Stille Nacht, in Latin and German, respectively.
Now let me me tell you what I hate: bad pronunciations. On Angels We Have Heard on High, it should be “glo ree ah” not the ugly “glor ee ah”. And the little town is “beth leh hem” not “beth LEE hem”; professional singers botch this often.

7. If the Patriots go the entire season undefeated, do you think people will complain more about it then about Barry Bonds breaking Aaron’s record?

Well, no. I think the Jets were going to lose that first game of the season. Yeah, there were a couple close games – Philadelphia and Baltimore, I think – that had some questionable referees’ calls. But they are a quality team, as much as I despise them.
BTW, I don’t understand the commentators’ point last weekend that the Giants should rest their best players this weekend now that they’re in the playoffs, rather than trying to stop New England from going 16-0. Bollocks! The psychological lift of NYG knocking off New England would be a tremendous for them going into the second season, especially now that’s going to be nationally simulcast on NBC and CBS.
That said, if the Patriots lose to Jacksonville (the best shot of the streak ending, I think), the Colts or an NFC team in the Super Bowl, then going 17-1 or 18-1 will be just a footnote in an ultimately disappointing season.

BTW, Scott, I saved one of your questions because it ties into some questions from Anthony that I’ll answer NEXT time.

ROG

‘Tis the Season to ASK ROGER ANYTHING

This is the part of the program where I stand on stage like Carol Burnett before the show and you pose irreverent, irrelevant, irrational and/or irritating questions, and I HAVE TO ANSWER. Not only that, I promise it’ll be the truth; it may not be the whole truth and nothing but the truth, but as Jimmy Carter once said to the American public, “I’ll never lie to you.”

You could ask if I think the National Football League is somehow fixing the games – there have been some controversial calls – so that the New England Patriots will be 15-0 going into their final game against the Giants which can only be seen on the network that the league owns, and which is not available from many cable companies, such as Time Warner.

You could ask me what my absolute favorite play of the season in the NFL was. Note, however, that I haven’t seen a whole game all season, and that I’ve likely seen the most football waiting for 60 Minutes to come on.

You could ask me what the Baseball Hall of Fame ought to do about the players in the Steroid era.

You could ask me who my hero is.

You could ask me why this sentence on the FCC website for December 18 makes me gag: “FCC Adopts Rules To Promote Diversification Of Broadcast Ownership.”

Well, you get the idea.
***
ADD is right.

ROG

Dis-Ease

Sometimes, in anticipation of a big snowstorm such as the one we got yesterday (at least 6.4″), with a worse one’s supposedly coming tomorrow night – I get this unfocused feeling of anxiety. External things going on tend to fuel this feeling. Note to dumb driver yesterday: honking at me while I’m trying to cross the street without falling down will not get me to move faster.

*ITEM: A couple folks in my organization are leaving. For one, it’s good thing, as he cuts his commute in half and gets “a few extra shekels each week.” For the other one, not so much.
*ITEM: At some point between 12 noon and 1:30 pm Wednesday, someone sprayed pink silly string all over the men’s bathroom on the office floor I work on. In addition, paper towels were put in at least some of the urinals in an apparent attempt to clog them. The bizarre things about this: 1) I was most likely in there at some point during that time period, and 2) only department heads were told about the incident until Thursday morning. The chance to catch the perpetrator would been a whole lot better had we all been given more information sooner. It’s that top down management style that’s so broken.
*ITEM: My computer at home had mysteriously stopped working. Or more specifically, it was as though the keyboard was longer responding. Removing the keyboard, reattaching and a soft boot didn’t work, but doing the same with a hard boot (no, I didn’t kick it, though I thought to) finally did the trick.
*ITEM: Roger Clemens was implicated in former U.S. Senator George Mitchell’s report on steroids. I had suspected as much, but it’s still unfortunate. If Barry Bonds’ record-breaking home-run ball literally gets an asterisk, what of Clemens’ Cy Young-laden records?
*ITEM: Peg Moore died during Wednesday night/Thursday morning. She was the wife of Stan Moore, the pastor of the first church I joined in my adulthood back in the early 1980s. She was also a fellow choir member, an alto. Before Lydia was born, I’d see Stan and Peg at Capital Rep, the Equity theater company in Albany.
*ITEM: Some high school kid jumped to his death from an interstate ramp yesterday. It was only a couple miles from my office and my house.
*ITEM: There was a fire on Madison Avenue, about a mile from my house, early Tuesday morning, and the historic building will be likely torn down by now. Someone who works in the school at which my wife teaches lost everything, including pets, in that fire. The school is taking up a collection of household items for her.
That fire affected my bus commute not only Tuesday morning, but also Tuesday and Wednesday nights in a way not unlike how a snowstorm in Chicago affects a New York to Miami airline flight.

So, it’s a bit of ennui, mixed with a taste of dread. This too shall pass.

Probably.
***
Is junk media making you sick???

Probably.
ROG