06.12.05
Mishmash of Baseball Talk
Well, it has been a couple months since Steve or I posted anything, mostly because of busy lives, I guess, not because of a lack of interest. Here are some random thoughts I have had recently:
- A few days ago, Ron Kittle accused Barry Bonds of refusing to sign autographs for charity back in 1993, telling Kittle, “I don’t sign for white people.” Bonds’ response (paraphrase): “That’s ridiculous, my kids are half-white, my ex-wife is white, etc.” I hate to do it, but I have to agree with Bonds here. It makes me a little angry that Kittle would do something to make Bonds a sympathetic figure, but like I told me wife, just because we believe him, doesn’t mean we like him. But honestly, when Barry cussed me out in the movie theater for asking for his autograph (also in 1993), he never once mentioned my race as his reason for denying my request. It just doesn’t make sense.
- Hee-Seop Choi hit three home runs today, giving him six in the last three games and 12 for the season. The day Choi hit his first of the season (and his first as a Dodger, after hitting zero in the last two months of last season), my brother told me, “If Choi hits 20 this season, I will wear your underwear for three weeks.” Chris has finally just accepted the fact that he will be wearing my underwear, because he got tired of rooting against a Dodger.
- The Yankees are struggling, and Joe Torre’s job is rumored to be in trouble. He got the vote of confidence from Steinbrenner yesterday, along with a pleasant, “Let’s see if he can do it.” Obviously, if the Yankees dump Torre, pretty much any managerial opening would be his for the taking. I would be interested to see how he did, since his previous managerial stints were less than stellar. There are a lot of people who believe that he couldn’t win without Steinbrenner’s wallet, although the mid-to-late-90s Yankees were built more on chemistry than on money. Of course, I am not completely convinced that Torre had as much to do with the chemistry as guys like Paul O’Neill, Joe Girardi, Tino Martinez, etc., did, so it would still be interesting. But, with that lineup, I think you still have to watch out for the Yankees to make the playoffs, because it may be hard to keep them down for long.
That’s all I have for now, since dinner is almost ready. I will try to post more often.