What's the Real Problem?

Bob Nightingale is writing that the Mets will not make Verlander or Scherzer available at the deadline, nor will Alonso be available. They will instead try to trade Pham, Canha, Carlos Carrasco, and relievers Robertson and Brooks Raley. Cardinals DFA Carlos Mercado an outfielder. Mercado is hitting .290 in very limited action. In the vein of perhaps we got rid of him too soon, Kimbrel was named the NL reliever of the month. In other news, the Lakers are making a ton of moves.

Is it just me, or did it look like Max didn’t swing as hard on that home run.?

Damn. I’ve been in repentance for being so critical of Mark in my last post. It was just so easy. I’ve got another ten pages of negative notes about him that I’ve collected over the past few months that I’m going to have to discard. Ah, such guilt. And since we all love the dodgers (a tribal bond of blue unites us) I’ve decided to write about some of his positive characteristics. I promise not to mention his generally sour demeanor and assumption of male privilege; or the lack of vitality in his writing that resembles the fat and fluff posture of Yoda; or his fawning daisies and buttercups promotion of dodger brass and his militant glee at stepping on the neck of lower profile people. Or that his closet religion appears to be a pugnacious form Social Darwinism; or that he thinks “the sun never sets” on the Dodger Empire and that the “other” teams are really the “Other” and simply colonies and outposts for the Dodgers ultimate benefit. Or that the persona of his rhetoric is stained with Bad Faith, in the Sartrean sense. Or that he keeps a tinted photograph of King Leopoldo of Belgium in his wallet and claims they’re related. (OK, i think my barber made that one up). I absolutely refuse to bring those subjects up. This is a day for healing…and in the spirit of praising Mark Timmons here’s what I have to say: …. …

…. … …

Duke, thanks for the salute. Keep up with your objective and original insights into this year’s rather disappointing edition of the Dodgers. I enjoy reading your commentary; especially the veiled subtexts clever innuendoes.

Where is Badger? Did Little Leopold run him off?

Rather pompous.

Follow up…Duke, I wonder if Mark has actually read “Catcher in Rye” or “Lord of the Flies.” Although they were required reading about the time he was in high school he seems have little interest in aesthetics or the humanities, perhaps considering them efffete compared to becoming a rabid capitalist. He may have passed on college too because the first day lecture in English 101 tells you to avoid cliches. All college professors tell you not to use cliches. They are a sign laziness and unoriginality and immediately identify the user as a weak writer. Or, to transfer TimmonsSpeak to academia, only “morons” use cliches. But Mark seems proud of his use of cliches and boldly states he will continue to use them. He’s pretty tone deaf and may not be capable of reflection or have the desire for improvement. He’s a little burned out and writing everyday is probably a burden, especially for a non serious writer like himself. The pictures from Alaska were a delight and depicted a more human side of Mark—having a good time in a beautiful setting. I’m thinking he could retire in Bali, or perhaps Bangkok, start to meditate and practice unconditional love. Yoga might help his back. *

I’m kidding of course. Those locations don’t have “open carry.”

Pompous and pathetic

I did not read Catcher in the Rye, wasn’t required reading when I went to school. I was made to suffer through Two Years Before the Mast though. I read a lot. Usually books dealing with history, or historical novels. I like a really good mystery too. If the subject matter is not something I would enjoy, I just do not read that book. We all have different triggers. I know I have mine. If I think something has no chance of happening, I believe it won’t. Baseball is the one real enjoyment I have along with music. But I can’t play music every day since there just are no that many venues for live music anymore. So, I write for Jeff’s and Mark’s blogs, spend a lot of time on research, and then later on, sit down to enjoy the game. Lately the games have not been all that enjoyable. They did pull off a win tonight and Max got two hits, one of them a homer. As for open carry, only a couple states have that. I wish I lived in one of them. But I do live in a state where getting my concealed carry permit is relatively easy. Two days of class, One in a classroom and the other on the range. I think a vast majority of the posters who do contribute here genuinely love the game and the team and most are well informed and make very logical suggestions. We all have our opinions and that is all they are. I have zero inside information, any knowledge of the game I have has come from observing the team and the game for close to 70 years. I no longer have favorite players. Free agency killed that for me. Loyalty is something that is very foreign to baseball anymore. The game has changed so very much since I first picked up a ball and threw it. The rules have changed drastically. Hitting philosophy has changed. When I played, taking a third strike looking and not protecting the plate was a huge no no. They teach launch angle now. Get the ball in the air with power. I was a line drive hitter when I played. Softball, baseball, did not matter. All I wanted to do was hit the ball hard.

In case anyone wondered, Phillip Raven has identified as an Ass Hole We wondered. Now we know. And to top it off, you are a pompadour dumbass.

Additionally, he spends so much time thinking about me that it is really sinister. Stalker?

Phillip Raven, I wish I could buy you for what you are worth and sell you for what you think you are worth. I’d be right up there with Gates and Musk. You evidently think the overuse of words somehow makes you appear smarter. Perhaps you are compensating for something, but all I know is that I control you. How does that feel?

You are my puppet!