2011 MLB Season

[JSngry]

I can't believe that the Rangers let their fans sit in the same area where Mr.Stone fell to his death w/out doing something about the railing. That's just nuts.

http://www.lonestarball.com/photos/50-41-the-rangers-just-made-magic-happen/2039470

Now, can we leave the emo shit behind and get on with things?

[Tim McG]

Why so touchy, Jim?

Edited July 10, 2011 by GoodSpeak

[JSngry]

Why so touchy, Jim?

The railing did not cause the death.

The railing meets/exceeds all current codes.

The gap between the rail and the scoreboard has been covered. Hopefully a permanent fix is in the works. Frankly, I'm amazed that the gap existed, much less that it's been this long until somebody fell into it.

People still want those seats. They were packed last night and they were packed today, and will always be packed. Fans want to sit there, for obvious reasons. Between that tarp as an immediate reminder and memory as a lasting one, any fan who now makes a big lean over that rail automatically wins a Darwin Award, irregardless of outcome.

The notion that "the Rangers" should "do something" beyond what they have done is a laugher. What's needed is a comprehensive review of all sports facilities, because I guarantee you, there's some pretty "proceed at your own risk" venues nationwide. Add alcohol and people going to the game viewing it as nothing more than a "social event", thinking that they're invincible just because, the fact that there have been so few deaths nationwide is indeed a miracle. Sitting in an elevated seat right next to a rail is not without its own unique responsibilities. And sometimes, as with Mr. Stone, shit just happens.

If Mr. Stone's death really is solely the fault of unsafe stadium design, then there is a nation full of sports venues that should be classified as death traps just waiting to happen. They should all have their front row, potentially high-risk seats blocked off until corrective actions can be taken.

Until then, a random, truly tragic accident occurred. Nothing more, and nothing less. Asking what "the Rangers" "are doing" (behind the scenes, for the Stone family, quite a bit, I'm told) strikes me as trivial, disrespectful, and more than a little clueless.

Edited July 10, 2011 by JSngry

[Chalupa]

I can't believe that the Rangers let their fans sit in the same area where Mr.Stone fell to his death w/out doing something about the railing. That's just nuts.

http://www.lonestarball.com/photos/50-41-the-rangers-just-made-magic-happen/2039470

Now, can we leave the emo shit behind and get on with things?

I stand corrected. I hadn't see anything about that in the coverage that I had read.

[JSngry]

I can't believe that the Rangers let their fans sit in the same area where Mr.Stone fell to his death w/out doing something about the railing. That's just nuts.

http://www.lonestarb...-happen/2039470

Now, can we leave the emo shit behind and get on with things?

I stand corrected. I hadn't see anything about that in the coverage that I had read.

Fair enough and all is well then.

Just know that there's a lot of things that don't get covered by the national sports press. Not that they should, necessarily, not with the natural order of things and all, but I'm just saying....

EDIT to add that Mr. Deely's self-correction has been graciously offered, and in the spirit of general (rather than team-specific) agreement that there are real issues to be addressed here, let me add that this indeed a very serious issue. Both rail heights and fan education need to seriously be addressed because both are serious issues. The Rangers, for instance, are in the process of developing as a part of their fan base people from rural areas whose main experience at sports venues is at Friday night small town high school football games. Rightly or wrongly, a lot of these people really don't have a real point of reference to deal with about large venues, to them, it's a "dream come true" just to be there, and to the credit of the Rangers' staff that's usually the case (I mean, the staff smiles genuine smiles and offers them up with "thank you for coming" on your way out, win or lose), but....professional sports venues are not without dangers, and people need to be on their toes at all times, especially people who really don't have a lot of experience at baseball games, people who think that what they see on TV is what it's like sitting in the stands.

Mr. Stone was not such a person, Mr. Stone and his son were no stranger to The Ballpark. Mr. Stone was simply the victim of some really cruel, random, horribly ugly act of "fate". But people who get hit by foul balls because they're sitting right in the line of fire and gabbing away to their neighbors or texting back home about how their seats are REALLY GOOD, OMG, I can see EVERYTHING!!!! or doing god knows what besides paying attention to the action on the field...that's something that needs to be addressed by MLB in general, that type of fan education.

That, and banning the wave.

Edited July 10, 2011 by JSngry

[Tim McG]

Why so touchy, Jim?

The railing did not cause the death.

The railing meets/exceeds all current codes.

The gap between the rail and the scoreboard has been covered. Hopefully a permanent fix is in the works. Frankly, I'm amazed that the gap existed, much less that it's been this long until somebody fell into it.

People still want those seats. They were packed last night and they were packed today, and will always be packed. Fans want to sit there, for obvious reasons. Between that tarp as an immediate reminder and memory as a lasting one, any fan who now makes a big lean over that rail automatically wins a Darwin Award, irregardless of outcome.

The notion that "the Rangers" should "do something" beyond what they have done is a laugher. What's needed is a comprehensive review of all sports facilities, because I guarantee you, there's some pretty "proceed at your own risk" venues nationwide. Add alcohol and people going to the game viewing it as nothing more than a "social event", thinking that they're invincible just because, the fact that there have been so few deaths nationwide is indeed a miracle. Sitting in an elevated seat right next to a rail is not without its own unique responsibilities. And sometimes, as with Mr. Stone, shit just happens.

If Mr. Stone's death really is solely the fault of unsafe stadium design, then there is a nation full of sports venues that should be classified as death traps just waiting to happen. They should all have their front row, potentially high-risk seats blocked off until corrective actions can be taken.

Until then, a random, truly tragic accident occurred. Nothing more, and nothing less. Asking what "the Rangers" "are doing" (behind the scenes, for the Stone family, quite a bit, I'm told) strikes me as trivial, disrespectful, and more than a little clueless.

With all due respect, I don't think anyone here is saying the Rangers or the stadium owners/builders are at fault at all.

The concern went to Cooper Stone losing a father [shannon Stone] and to the emotional health of Josh Hamilton [a former addict]. Surely you can understand the depth of feeling for those of us here regarding a 6 year-old kid who lost his Dad, can't you?

Culpability and/or tort liability never entered the equation until you brought it up.

C'mon, Man...see it for what it is: A tragedy.

Edited July 11, 2011 by GoodSpeak

[ghost of miles]

I can't believe that the Rangers let their fans sit in the same area where Mr.Stone fell to his death w/out doing something about the railing. That's just nuts.

http://www.lonestarball.com/photos/50-41-the-rangers-just-made-magic-happen/2039470

Now, can we leave the emo shit behind and get on with things?

If you really want to get "non-emo" about it, why not talk about how f'd up it is that fans fetishize having an MLB baseball so much that they'll inadvertently risk their lives to catch one? Talk about "emo"! I'm not going to go there... but if you really want to go all Brave New Hardcore-And-In-The-Moment, that's sure as hell part of the problem.

Human beings being what they are, I don't know that you'd get much in the way of results. People get attached to things, and to representations of things. Sometimes, often even, it can turn into an unhealthy thing. I don't see anything wrong with a guy wanting to catch an MLB baseball, especially if he thinks his kid will get a bang out of getting one. Accidents do indeed happen. People get upset about them in the aftermath. People need to get upset and talk about what happened in order to "move on." That's not "emo," that's part of being alive and TRULY moving towards getting on with life.

I'm sure the Rangers will address or have already started to address any railing-safety issues. As Jsngry's pointed out, any such issues are hardly confined to the Rangers' ballpark. But--and I'll say this as a longtime, passionate (yay, even "emo," I suppose!) baseball fan--there is a LOT of f'd-up stuff about sports culture and sports fandom in this country. A lot of waaaaaayyyy overplaced priorities in the grand scheme of things. And in terms of "emo," the value placed upon MLB baseballs is surely up there on the "emo" list. Take Jeter's homerun ball/hit #3000 yesterday... one report said it might have fetched as much as $250,000-400,000. That's insane! And kudos again to the guy for simply giving it back to Jeter. It surely has meaning to Jeter, and I'm sure it had meaning to the guy who caught it. But a quarter of a million dollars, that's just ridiculous.

Edited July 11, 2011 by ghost of miles

[ghost of miles]

More about fan who gave ball back to Jeter

... great guy, and someone at a young age who already seems to know the real and relative value of things in life, whatever the passion of his Yankee fandom.

Lopez news feature

Edited July 11, 2011 by ghost of miles

[JSngry]

If you really want to get "non-emo" about it, why not talk about how f'd up it is that fans fetishize having an MLB baseball so much that they'll inadvertently risk their lives to catch one? Talk about "emo"! I'm not going to go there... but if you really want to go all Brave New Hardcore-And-In-The-Moment, that's sure as hell part of the problem.

Word.

And they fetishize the object because they have mythologized the sport.

It's a great game and you have to have rare skills to excel, but when it's all over, it's men at work, period, and all that comes along with that.

[Chalupa]

I can't believe that the Rangers let their fans sit in the same area where Mr.Stone fell to his death w/out doing something about the railing. That's just nuts.

http://www.lonestarb...-happen/2039470

Now, can we leave the emo shit behind and get on with things?

I stand corrected. I hadn't see anything about that in the coverage that I had read.

Fair enough and all is well then.

Just know that there's a lot of things that don't get covered by the national sports press. Not that they should, necessarily, not with the natural order of things and all, but I'm just saying....

EDIT to add that Mr. Deely's self-correction has been graciously offered, and in the spirit of general (rather than team-specific) agreement that there are real issues to be addressed here, let me add that this is a very real issue. Both rail heights and fan education need to seriously be addressed because both are serious issues. The Rangers, for instance, are in the process of developing as a part of their fan base people from rural areas whose main experience at sports venues is at Friday night small town high school football games. Rightly or wrongly, a lot of these people really don't have a real point of reference to deal with about large venues, to them, it's a "dream come true" just to be there, and to the credit of the Rangers' staff that's usually the case (I mean, the staff smiles genuine smiles and "thank you for coming" on your way out, win or lose), but....professional sports venues are not without dangers, and people need to be on their toes at all times, especially people who really don't have a lot of experience at baseball games, people who think that what they see on TV is what it's like sitting in the stands.

Mr. Stone was not such a person, Mr. Stone and his son were no stranger to The Ballpark. Mr. Stone was simply the victim of some really cruel, random, horribly ugly act of "fate". But people who get hit by foul balls because they're sitting right in the line of fire and gabbing away to their neighbors or texting back home about how their seats are REALLY GOOD, OMG, I can see EVERYTHING!!!! or doing god knows what besides watching the game...that's something that needs to be addressed by MLB in general, that type of fan education.

That, and banning the wave.

Sorry if it seems that I had singled out the Rangers or their park for criticism. As I had posted in the other thread the Phillies definitely need to raise the railings through out the Bank. Check out this photo and this one (you might have to play w/ the scroll bars depending on the size of your monitor). That's some scary shit.

[ghost of miles]

If you really want to get "non-emo" about it, why not talk about how f'd up it is that fans fetishize having an MLB baseball so much that they'll inadvertently risk their lives to catch one? Talk about "emo"! I'm not going to go there... but if you really want to go all Brave New Hardcore-And-In-The-Moment, that's sure as hell part of the problem.

Word.

And they fetishize the object because they have mythologized the sport.

It's a great game and you have to have rare skills to excel, but when it's all over, it's men at work, period, and all that comes along with that.

You, I, and the guy driving the jackhammer down the street might qualify simply as "men at work," but we don't have 50,000 people cheering us on as we go about our duties. Sports, like it or not, is more than just people at work. It's a kind of theater. Like anything else, people can get too hung up on it, and in this culture they surely do.

Edited July 11, 2011 by ghost of miles

[Quincy]

... one report said it might have fetched as much as $250,000-400,000. That's insane! And kudos again to the guy for simply giving it back to Jeter. It surely has meaning to Jeter, and I'm sure it had meaning to the guy who caught it.

The I.R.S. could have fun with this if it chooses.

[JSngry]

No apology necessary, J.H., but for you to offer one is nevertheless noted for the record as an act of courtesy and decency.

And for my misreading of your intent, I offer one of my own to you, which I humbly hope will be accepted.

Due to a variety of circumstances, I have become, very, very sensitive to misplaced personal priorities and the wide net that the "forces" that profit as a result have cast. I am wanting to believe that what the Texas Rangers are trying to do - bring a first rate team & organization that values character and dignity in a manner beyond lip service and hype to a fan base and geographical region that has long ago been sold out in these regards by the other two (three, if you count the Stars) major sports franchises in the area is an honorable goal as well as a profitable one.

What I'm not yet sure about is whether or not the players on the field understand what it takes to realize that goal, nor am I totally convinced that the front office is going to be able to lure quality talent here or keep it here, no matter how much money they throw around. There's no "legacy" to use as a bargaining chip (other than always being losers), it's hotter than hell here, too many of the fans really don't care about baseball as anything other than an excuse to go party. So I don't know.

But for now, the effort appears to be sincere, (successful appears to be very much in doubt right now...the second half of the season will tell about the players, the next few off-seasons about the organization), so, yes, I am wishing them well, if for no other reason that of all the things and places where I actually enjoy paying really good money to watch people work, a baseball game is one of a very few. But it's an uphill climb (never underestimate the power of cultural inertia, internally and externally...), and if the project fails, so be it. No Loyal Doyle from me here. But it is too soon to tell.

All that to say that having witnessed the behavior of the Rangers organization during this tragedy has left me willing to defend them against perceived "singling out", which is why I responded as I did. Again, I misread your intent, and I sincerely apologize for doing so.

Edited July 11, 2011 by JSngry

[JSngry]

Sports, like it or not, is more than just people at work. It's a kind of theater.

Theater, too, is people at work. Very much so. Some very crazy people a lot of the time, but they be crazy and they be workin'. Definitely.

So is jazz. Jazz is all about the work. Work is what makes the other shit, good and bad, possible.

Work is good. Actually, in theory, there is nothing finer in life than to be at work. To be at work is, ideally, one of the ultimate acts of love.

We have come to devalue work in our society. We have replaced it with the love of "success" and a loss of what, if any, work goes into that. "Success" has become an end to itself, not the result of honest, hard, work.

Any common thief, whore, or other dumbass with a bit of a head-start, an easy mark or two (even if they're in the family), and/or a good lawyer can have "success".

"Success" by itself is nothing but a cheap bauble, a shiny, wiggly, phosphorescent worm on the devil's fishhook. Suckas bite, suckas get hooked, suckas go into the frying pan. The lucky ones get eaten. The unlucky ones get remade to look bigger and better and then get thrown back out on a bigger hook to catch bigger suckas.

I wish this only pertained to baseball.

[ghost of miles]

Theater, too, is people at work. Very much so. Some very crazy people a lot of the time, but they be crazy and they be workin'. Definitely.

Dude, you don't have to tell me--two of the great love affairs of my youth were with actresses, so I know!

Ironically enough, had a bit of discussion along these lines on Facebook earlier tonight, because I've spent most of my weekend--ostensibly free time--working, and I've enjoyed doing so. The next six months look pretty much to be the same way--working quite a lot past the regular 40 hours, in terms of evenings and weekends. I don't mind, because I'm very lucky to be doing something that I love (and something that I need to continually work at in order to get better, especially with new responsibilities that have now come my way). Love of work is indeed a good thing.

I wasn't suggesting that there's no "work" involved in playing baseball. There's a ton of work, even in the off-season. I wasn't suggesting that work is a bad thing. I'm simply saying that the mechanics of certain kinds of work produce results that are much more meaningful to people on an emotional/intellectual/spiritual level than simply as acts of work. Anybody can appreciate any job well done, and whatever you do, you should try to do it as well as possible, whether it's cleaning hotel rooms, driving a taxi, managing a group of clerical employees, playing baseball, or playing Stanley Kowalksi or Blanche Dubois. But people are generally more interested, pleased, or what have you, when certain kinds of work are performed in ways that don't reveal the amount of work that went into whatever act it is the audience is witnessing. Watching a movie is perhaps an even better example. A movie is certainly the outcome of a great deal of work, but people go to see it not because they want to watch people working, but because they want to see, enjoy, and/or contemplate the spectacle that was created.

As for success, I'd define that simply as doing something that you enjoy doing and doing it to the best of your ability (all the while pushing what you think of as the best of your ability to a new boundary), and hopefully making some other people's lives a little bit better in the process. And not letting the great grind of life or other people mess up the things that drive you on the inside, that make your experience in the world meaningful. Strength, character, and persistence, along with however much or however little talent you started out with. That makes great moments like Jeter's home run yesterday all the more meaningful. How often do things like that happen? What's amazing is how often the guy's shown up and put on the uniform (work!), how many days, weeks, months, years he played to get to that plateau of 3,000 hits. Hitting a home run to reach it was incredible theater, one of those seemingly magical events that lifts people out of the quotidian everyday for a little while. Did it permanently change anybody's life for the better? Almost certainly not, save maybe for the guy who caught the ball and then gave it back... I think he just cemented himself a nice, lifelong reputation as a very cool human being. But it was a nice little jolt of transcendence, which is one of the reasons why people come back to sports again and again.

Hell, I wish more people came to jazz for the same reason! And you need to find and create your own jolts of transcendence... you can't rely on Derek Jeter, Josh Hamilton, or who-have-you to produce them for you. But there's nothing wrong with appreciating such moments nonetheless, whether it's Hamilton hitting a walkoff home-run, Paul Gonsalves blowing for 27 choruses, or Jsngry writing a great and illuminating post. All such things are the result of work, but they are so much more than that as well.

Edited July 11, 2011 by ghost of miles

[ghost of miles]

On the strictly MLB front--how does everybody feel about where their teams are at as of the All-Star break? What players have exceeded your expectations, failed to meet them so far, etc.? Based on what you've seen so far, how do you anticipate the rest of the season unfolding?

[JSngry]

I am very weary of "fame", "success", and "work" all being denigrated into more or less one and the same thing. This is the way we are being steered, and we appear to be so enamored of it that attempting to stop it even a little is a task for the suicidal. The dynamic is this - you are common, we are supreme. We will select from your pool what we need in ours in order to maintain our dominance, If we do select you, you will be expected to sell us your soul. The tiny pieces of it you will be allowed to display from time to time will be tailored and provisioned by our staff and crew to deliver our message in our version of your soul. There will be no other way, Should you desire one, you will be jettisoned and replaced before you even knew it was going to happen,

This is what I see everywhere I turn. In order to "belong" you either have to be a whore or else have one to sell (and dead whores are the easiest ones of all to sell, btw). That's where the business is, in selling images and, especially images of "success". Business is the imitation of work done with no further moral imperitbe than to tun the biggest profit imaginable. Work is actually the enemy of business.

What made Hamilton's walkoff so meaningful to me was precisely the work aspect of it. The fact that he recognized what the dynamic was, both within and without., and he recognized that he had a job to do. So he found the focus to apply the sklls to realze the sequence of events in such a manner that not only did the lob get done, it got done well, and in a manner that brought pleasure and happiness to those who were watching him work. To me, that's the most praiseworthy aspect of the whole thing, the one thing you can point to your kids to and say "see, that's how it's done." "It" not being hitting a baseball or stepping up to be a hero, no, that's all stuff for the marketing people to wipe their jizz off on to. No, that's an example of going to work, of taking your job and your responsibility seriously, of having pride in who you are and what you do, of defining your place in and feelings about the life you live, and representing that love for yourself, for your life, and for all who surround you by bringing the good stuff for as long as you have it in you, maybe even a sconch longer. if there is an urgent need.

That's something you can point out to your kids that Josh Hamilton did, and that's something that your kids can notice you doing - if you are really doing it. If you really are knowing what you are doing it and why, if you are acting out of love, not manipulation, boredom, or cleverness, if you are just keeping a job or are really working. There ain't no shortages of these opportunities out there, especially if people can stop getting distracted by the illuisons of "larger than life" and "glory days" and "one of a kind" that have most people reaching into themsleves only to the point of finding their wallet.

[JSngry]

On the strictly MLB front--how does everybody feel about where their teams are at as of the All-Star break? What players have exceeded your expectations, failed to meet them so far, etc.? Based on what you've seen so far, how do you anticipate the rest of the season unfolding?

Wary & weary, a weirdly unbalanced and unpredictable mix of great individual efforts falling short because of team failure, or sometimes the other way around. No traction, until this week, but against who ' The O's & the A's. The Angels are coming on hot, and although they are predicted to not have the stamina to maintain, if the Rangers fail to develop the character to not unfold, it will be a long, painful second half. Stabilization of the bullpen must occur, and one more stable starter must be added in case Ogando blows his arm or D-Wreck Holland loses his mind. We've got Tommy Hunter back in case one of those things happens (and to pitch 1 or two innings in late relief if neither happens) but we got nobody in case both happen. C.J. Wilson has figured it out, Matt Harrison is figuring it out. Colby Lewis has it figured out (but so does his evil twin...). Ogando looks like he was born with it figured out, but...onther than C.J. (largely), they're all prone to hiccups and they'll all give you a solo homer out of the blue just as soon as they would call your house at dinnertime. If these motherfuckers could ever consistent-tize, they would be groove beyond all recognition (and I don't know how much the national sports press has noticed this, but you can take every Ranger starter and put together a pretty damn impressive streak for all of them. Same if you look at their stats outside of their "one bad inning" weirdnesses). But that ain't happening, so realistically...One piece of new cement might be all it takes, but...who, where, and for how long? And wildest wild card of all - what if they do have it in them to get it all togethre at the same time. That would be pretty freakin' fun to see and awesome to watch.

Otherwise, I get too much of a sense that last year's success is somehow to be viewed as a predictor for how this year's success will unfold, and when to begin panicking if it don't. That's just so much bullshit. Every season is different every year, every team is different, the only thing that is going to be the same between this year and last year is that every year, you gotta win more games that the other guy, which is why you need to be playing to win every game. It's only recently I've seen this lightbulb start to come on. Is it too late? Time will tell.

Definitely predicting a fight to to the wire for the West, unless the whole thing blows up. Beyond that, no real hopes and promises this year. Pitching, obviously, and some key offensive parts still not yet fully firing, or fully firing but inconsistently. I think we got enough gumption to dock the boat, but ptobably not enough to get on up the hill for supper.

Honestly, a hard-fought early exit might end up being the best thing this organization. they've now seen what it really takes to win, and what happens when you don't really do that because maybe you didn't yet fully realize just how important it really was.

One thing's for sure - I intend to stay silent in this thread for as much as possible during the second half of the year. I started out really loving the team and the organization. The organization so far is still cool, but the players...the disgustingly ugly, triflin loss of the series to the freakin' Marlins raised a red flag for me as to just how ready to be serious were these boys after all, and what is the organization's plan to check and see and do what needs to be done, if something does indeed need to be done, Consecutive (and impressive) sweeps against the Orioles & the A's all "look good", but c'mon dammit, there is still work to be done, lots and lots of work.

If that's what happens, if people go to work, hey, I'm in. But if not, fuck 'em. Let them go hustle somebody who don't know any better,

[Neal Pomea]

On the strictly MLB front--how does everybody feel about where their teams are at as of the All-Star break? What players have exceeded your expectations, failed to meet them so far, etc.? Based on what you've seen so far, how do you anticipate the rest of the season unfolding?

The Washington Nationals are slightly ahead of where I expected them to be. Werth, LaRoche, and Ankiel are the biggest disappointments in the field, Burnett in the bullpen. But Espinosa, Morse, and Nix are exceeding expectations. Just hope we haven't burned out our bullpen too much. This week will be a much needed break. I think we will end up about 4 games below .500.

[BERIGAN]

whoa, check this guy out!

[Dan Gould]

Winning ten of eleven before the break can really do wonders for your position relative to everyone else, but I still believe this is a high-water mark. Lester and Buchholz could be out til mid-August and Lackey won't be. Heaven help us if Beckett breaks down, then it will be 2010 all over again except it will be pitching injuries more than injuries to key everyday players that will kill the season. But they can't survive long without Lester or Buchholz, no matter how they've hung in since Buchholz went down. And no one knows when they will be healthy again. But neither will pitch in July and I have my doubts about a good chunk of August.

Biggest disappointments are obvious - Lackey and JD Drew. At least Drew goes away after this year but I really wish he'd go away by the end of July. Its clear Reddick can outhit him and is more than fast enough in the outfield to handle RF as the starter.

Biggest surprises that aren't that huge of a surprise: Ortiz and Beckett. I'll admit I wondered whether Papi would have another slow start but he didn't, and all credit to him for making changes at this late stage (that is, deciding to try not to pull everything particularly against lefties.) Beckett I've always thought has the ability to dominate the way he has, and he's still fairly young.

[ghost of miles]

I am very weary of "fame", "success", and "work" all being denigrated into more or less one and the same thing. This is the way we are being steered, and we appear to be so enamored of it that attempting to stop it even a little is a task for the suicidal. The dynamic is this - you are common, we are supreme. We will select from your pool what we need in ours in order to maintain our dominance, If we do select you, you will be expected to sell us your soul. The tiny pieces of it you will be allowed to display from time to time will be tailored and provisioned by our staff and crew to deliver our message in our version of your soul. There will be no other way, Should you desire one, you will be jettisoned and replaced before you even knew it was going to happen,

This is what I see everywhere I turn. In order to "belong" you either have to be a whore or else have one to sell (and dead whores are the easiest ones of all to sell, btw). That's where the business is, in selling images and, especially images of "success". Business is the imitation of work done with no further moral imperitbe than to tun the biggest profit imaginable. Work is actually the enemy of business.

What made Hamilton's walkoff so meaningful to me was precisely the work aspect of it. The fact that he recognized what the dynamic was, both within and without., and he recognized that he had a job to do. So he found the focus to apply the sklls to realze the sequence of events in such a manner that not only did the lob get done, it got done well, and in a manner that brought pleasure and happiness to those who were watching him work. To me, that's the most praiseworthy aspect of the whole thing, the one thing you can point to your kids to and say "see, that's how it's done." "It" not being hitting a baseball or stepping up to be a hero, no, that's all stuff for the marketing people to wipe their jizz off on to. No, that's an example of going to work, of taking your job and your responsibility seriously, of having pride in who you are and what you do, of defining your place in and feelings about the life you live, and representing that love for yourself, for your life, and for all who surround you by bringing the good stuff for as long as you have it in you, maybe even a sconch longer. if there is an urgent need.

That's something you can point out to your kids that Josh Hamilton did, and that's something that your kids can notice you doing - if you are really doing it. If you really are knowing what you are doing it and why, if you are acting out of love, not manipulation, boredom, or cleverness, if you are just keeping a job or are really working. There ain't no shortages of these opportunities out there, especially if people can stop getting distracted by the illuisons of "larger than life" and "glory days" and "one of a kind" that have most people reaching into themsleves only to the point of finding their wallet.

So by those lights, 70% of the time Josh Hamilton is a shameful failure who did not work, did not execute successfully, and that's not how it's done. Hell, in any other line of work Josh Hamilton would probably get canned! Even the most inept, stagnant, poorly-run businesses tend to demand a better than 30% success rate when it comes to successful completion of tasks. I know what you're saying here, but that's where that logic ultimately ends up.

I'm not trying to denigrate your standards for how you enjoy the game. You're looking at it through your own eyes and digging it in a profound and personal way that connects with how you go through the world and what you see in it. Others may have a different set of experiences and may view it differently. That doesn't make them suckas, whores, chumps, idiots, phonies, or what have you. I'll tell you what I see too much of in the world, what brings out my inner curmudgeon: cynicism, bitterness, anger, fear, out-of-whack value schemes, dearth of genuine feeling and empathy, a culture of vitriol, attack and arrogance, self-righteousness, self-pity, self-obsession, ersatz pessimism and negativity, willful blindness, hypocrisy, spiritual lassitude, souls grown fat, souls malnourished... hell, I'm just getting started. There's plenty for my inner curmudgeon to feed on, should I choose to do so. The reality we're in today is complex, it's messy and screwed-up, it's not going to be changed by any one person, any one legislative body, or any Gigantic Creator Force. All I can do is acknowledge it for what it is and yeah, *work* to put whatever good I can into my life and into the world, do my best to make up for past mistakes, omissions/failures, etc., and treat other people with as much love and respect as I can.

Edited July 11, 2011 by ghost of miles

[paul secor]

As David has remarked, in the world of baseball, a hitter who succeeds 30% of the time when he faces pitchers is very successful.

Conversely, a pitcher who is successful 70% of the time against hitters he faces is very probably a failure.

I don't know if this is unique. It's certainly unusual compared to other aspects of our world.

Edited July 11, 2011 by paul secor

[ghost of miles]

As David has remarked, in the world of baseball, a hitter who succeeds 30% of the time when he faces pitchers is very successful.

Conversely, a pitcher who is successful 70% of the time against hitters he faces is very probably a failure.

I don't know if this is unique. It's certainly unusual compared to other aspects of our world.

Yes--by the nature of the game, it's more difficult to get a hit than it is to get somebody out, partly because there are eight other players besides the pitcher to apprehend any ball that the batter makes contact with. Over the years certain statistical yardsticks have come to stand for success, though many of the stats we grew up with are now considered old-school and less meaningful (batting average and ERA, for example). I'm not as clued in to the stat geeks' New Math as I should be... it's an interesting new set of standards that some folks now swear by. And obviously certain other factors have altered what constitutes statistical success, whether it be smaller (or larger) ballparks, raised or lowered pitching mounds, steroids, etc.

Obviously Josh Hamilton is not a failure because more often than not he's not only not going to hit a walkoff home-run, he's going to make an out. Just noting the logical limits of the argument made. There's just as much merit in celebrating what Derek Jeter did on Saturday as a symbol of persistence, work, discipline, and whatever else one might care to value, including baseball's ability to occasionally produce moments that are magical.

[JSngry]

I am very weary of "fame", "success", and "work" all being denigrated into more or less one and the same thing. This is the way we are being steered, and we appear to be so enamored of it that attempting to stop it even a little is a task for the suicidal. The dynamic is this - you are common, we are supreme. We will select from your pool what we need in ours in order to maintain our dominance, If we do select you, you will be expected to sell us your soul. The tiny pieces of it you will be allowed to display from time to time will be tailored and provisioned by our staff and crew to deliver our message in our version of your soul. There will be no other way, Should you desire one, you will be jettisoned and replaced before you even knew it was going to happen,

This is what I see everywhere I turn. In order to "belong" you either have to be a whore or else have one to sell (and dead whores are the easiest ones of all to sell, btw). That's where the business is, in selling images and, especially images of "success". Business is the imitation of work done with no further moral imperitbe than to tun the biggest profit imaginable. Work is actually the enemy of business.

What made Hamilton's walkoff so meaningful to me was precisely the work aspect of it. The fact that he recognized what the dynamic was, both within and without., and he recognized that he had a job to do. So he found the focus to apply the sklls to realze the sequence of events in such a manner that not only did the lob get done, it got done well, and in a manner that brought pleasure and happiness to those who were watching him work. To me, that's the most praiseworthy aspect of the whole thing, the one thing you can point to your kids to and say "see, that's how it's done." "It" not being hitting a baseball or stepping up to be a hero, no, that's all stuff for the marketing people to wipe their jizz off on to. No, that's an example of going to work, of taking your job and your responsibility seriously, of having pride in who you are and what you do, of defining your place in and feelings about the life you live, and representing that love for yourself, for your life, and for all who surround you by bringing the good stuff for as long as you have it in you, maybe even a sconch longer. if there is an urgent need.

That's something you can point out to your kids that Josh Hamilton did, and that's something that your kids can notice you doing - if you are really doing it. If you really are knowing what you are doing it and why, if you are acting out of love, not manipulation, boredom, or cleverness, if you are just keeping a job or are really working. There ain't no shortages of these opportunities out there, especially if people can stop getting distracted by the illuisons of "larger than life" and "glory days" and "one of a kind" that have most people reaching into themsleves only to the point of finding their wallet.

So by those lights, 70% of the time Josh Hamilton is a shameful failure who did not work, did not execute successfully, and that's not how it's done. Hell, in any other line of work Josh Hamilton would probably get canned! Even the most inept, stagnant, poorly-run businesses tend to demand a better than 30% success rate when it comes to successful completion of tasks. I know what you're saying here, but that's where that logic ultimately ends up.

I'm not trying to denigrate your standards for how you enjoy the game. You're looking at it through your own eyes and digging it in a profound and personal way that connects with how you go through the world and what you see in it. Others may have a different set of experiences and may view it differently. That doesn't make them suckas, whores, chumps, idiots, phonies, or what have you. I'll tell you what I see too much of in the world, what brings out my inner curmudgeon: cynicism, bitterness, anger, fear, out-of-whack value schemes, dearth of genuine feeling and empathy, a culture of vitriol, attack and arrogance, self-righteousness, self-pity, self-obsession, ersatz pessimism and negativity, willful blindness, hypocrisy, spiritual lassitude, souls grown fat, souls malnourished... hell, I'm just getting started. There's plenty for my inner curmudgeon to feed on, should I choose to do so. The reality we're in today is complex, it's messy and screwed-up, it's not going to be changed by any one person, any one legislative body, or any Gigantic Creator Force. All I can do is acknowledge it for what it is and yeah, *work* to put whatever good I can into my life and into the world, do my best to make up for past mistakes, omissions/failures, etc., and treat other people with as much love and respect as I can.

Wow, that's really....MOIST!

And totally misunderstanding my point, which is merely this -

All jobs have their standards of success. That a major league hitter is viewed as a superior talent with a 30% success rate speaks only to the difficulty of the task at hand, not to the greater work ethic required to succeed. A janitor can have good days and bad days (I've been one, so I know). It's still work, all of it. And like all jobs, some days are better than others. When a good job has been done, it is a good thing. And when an honest effort fails (even if it's in an occupation where a 70% fail rate is acceptable), that too is a good thing, although not as much fun as when it does, obviously. A less than honest effort, though, is nothing to be rewarded, no matter what the outcome. But that is not where we are.

The fling with the bling is a toxin in our society. It has become an end unto itself. I want to see honest effort and honest results, with the rewards to follow accordingly.

Beyond that...not interested.