Well, the NH primary was discouraging. Clinton won and Guiliani wasn't buried by Ron Paul so the dread Clinton-Guiliani race is still a possibility.
If that occurs we need an independent ticket and I have a better idea than Mike Bloomberg.
The 2008 Dream Team
President - Colin Powell, VP - Bill Bradley
They announce the following choices for their cabinet.
Secretary of Defense - John McCain
Secretary of State - Al Gore
Secretary of Treasury - Mike Bloomfield
Attorney General - John Edwards
Head of Homeland Security - Mitt Romney
Head of EPA - Ralph Nadar
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
We Didn't Start the Fire
Goose Gossage into the Hall of Fame, finally.
Boys and girls back before the days of the closer, back before Lee Smith, Dennis Eckersley, Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman; baseball teams had relief pitchers who were Fireman. They came into the game - not in the beginning of the 9th inning, no on, no out, with their team ahead. They came into the game in the 7th, 8th or 9th with men on base and good hitters up and their job was to prevent not merely the batter at the plate from scoring, their job was to prevent the runners at 2nd and 3rd from scoring. They were call Firemen. They doused opposition rallies.
In this role no one was better than Goose Gossage.
In the beginning, pitchers pitched the entire game. Babe Ruth pitched 107 complete gamesi in 5+ seasons; Greg Maddux has completed 109 games in 22 seasons. Relievers were not that important before the 1960's.
There were a couple of successful relievers for a season or two but the first star reliever was Hoyt Wilhelm. He changed the game. He was a knuckleball pitcher and a relief specialist. He set the example for relief specialists who had one or two dominant pitches. In the 1960's the firemen role was established by guys like Roy Face, Ron Perranoski and Dick "the Monster" Radatz. This was the role that Gossage assumed in the 70's and 80's.
He came to the Yankees in 1978. In the previous year, 1977, Sparky Lyle was the Yankee fireman and won the Cy Young award. But everyone knew that Gossage was much, much better. Craig Nettles offered a famous and brilliant line that Lyle went from Cy Young to Syanora when the Yankees signed Goose.
He was that good. And, certainly better than Bruce Sutter who was elected into the Hall of Fame last year.
Boys and girls back before the days of the closer, back before Lee Smith, Dennis Eckersley, Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman; baseball teams had relief pitchers who were Fireman. They came into the game - not in the beginning of the 9th inning, no on, no out, with their team ahead. They came into the game in the 7th, 8th or 9th with men on base and good hitters up and their job was to prevent not merely the batter at the plate from scoring, their job was to prevent the runners at 2nd and 3rd from scoring. They were call Firemen. They doused opposition rallies.
In this role no one was better than Goose Gossage.
In the beginning, pitchers pitched the entire game. Babe Ruth pitched 107 complete gamesi in 5+ seasons; Greg Maddux has completed 109 games in 22 seasons. Relievers were not that important before the 1960's.
There were a couple of successful relievers for a season or two but the first star reliever was Hoyt Wilhelm. He changed the game. He was a knuckleball pitcher and a relief specialist. He set the example for relief specialists who had one or two dominant pitches. In the 1960's the firemen role was established by guys like Roy Face, Ron Perranoski and Dick "the Monster" Radatz. This was the role that Gossage assumed in the 70's and 80's.
He came to the Yankees in 1978. In the previous year, 1977, Sparky Lyle was the Yankee fireman and won the Cy Young award. But everyone knew that Gossage was much, much better. Craig Nettles offered a famous and brilliant line that Lyle went from Cy Young to Syanora when the Yankees signed Goose.
He was that good. And, certainly better than Bruce Sutter who was elected into the Hall of Fame last year.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Rocket Man
So what do we make of Mike Wallace's interview of Roger Clemens?
Not much I think.
First, I do not trust anything I see on 60 Minutes. The interviews are edited. It seems to me that the story lines are always one-sided. It is not journalism, it is a TV entertainment show.
Putting that aside, at least Clemens directly and vehemently denied the allegations. So it really comes down to who is lying? Brian McNamee or Roger Clemens? I don't think we will ever a final answer to this unless one of these two change their stories, or this is a third party with corroborating evidence - one way or another.
NcNamee's claim is bolstered by the Mitchell report which states that McNamee made the following deal with that prosecutors.
"No truthful statements can be used against McNamee in any federal
prosecution by that Office; if, however, he should be untruthful in any statements made pursuant to that agreement, he may be charged with criminal violations, including making false statements, which is a felony."
This suggests, and apparently Mitchell believed this, that McNamee had no reason to lie and a very good reason to tell the truth. Additionally McNamee's story about Andy Pettitte was confirmed by Pettitte.
On the other hand, McNamee claimed he started giving Clemens steroids during the summer of 1998 and Clemens showed immediate improvement. My understanding is that steroids does not work this way. It only works over time.
Clemen's version is bolstered by (a) his agreement to testify before Congress, (b) his slander suit, and (c) most importantly, his performance and his body.
Unlike Bonds, Clemens did not get better after 1998. True, his performance at that stage of his career was historic. He won two Cy Young Awards after 1998 but neither year matched his early years with the Red Sox. He stopped pitching complete games after 1998. His last good year was 2005 at age 43. His ability to sustain his performance is similar to Nolan Ryan who also pitched effectively into his mid-40's.
So bottom line, Clemens is innocent till proven guilty. Assuming that his performance was not improved by PED, then you have to say that he is easily the greatest pitcher since WWII. Walter Johnson, Lefty Grove and Clemens are the three best pitchers in history.
Not much I think.
First, I do not trust anything I see on 60 Minutes. The interviews are edited. It seems to me that the story lines are always one-sided. It is not journalism, it is a TV entertainment show.
Putting that aside, at least Clemens directly and vehemently denied the allegations. So it really comes down to who is lying? Brian McNamee or Roger Clemens? I don't think we will ever a final answer to this unless one of these two change their stories, or this is a third party with corroborating evidence - one way or another.
NcNamee's claim is bolstered by the Mitchell report which states that McNamee made the following deal with that prosecutors.
"No truthful statements can be used against McNamee in any federal
prosecution by that Office; if, however, he should be untruthful in any statements made pursuant to that agreement, he may be charged with criminal violations, including making false statements, which is a felony."
This suggests, and apparently Mitchell believed this, that McNamee had no reason to lie and a very good reason to tell the truth. Additionally McNamee's story about Andy Pettitte was confirmed by Pettitte.
On the other hand, McNamee claimed he started giving Clemens steroids during the summer of 1998 and Clemens showed immediate improvement. My understanding is that steroids does not work this way. It only works over time.
Clemen's version is bolstered by (a) his agreement to testify before Congress, (b) his slander suit, and (c) most importantly, his performance and his body.
Unlike Bonds, Clemens did not get better after 1998. True, his performance at that stage of his career was historic. He won two Cy Young Awards after 1998 but neither year matched his early years with the Red Sox. He stopped pitching complete games after 1998. His last good year was 2005 at age 43. His ability to sustain his performance is similar to Nolan Ryan who also pitched effectively into his mid-40's.
So bottom line, Clemens is innocent till proven guilty. Assuming that his performance was not improved by PED, then you have to say that he is easily the greatest pitcher since WWII. Walter Johnson, Lefty Grove and Clemens are the three best pitchers in history.
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