Boswell: On the Nats’ Decision to Shut Down Strasburg

15 Wednesday Aug 2012

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Readers of this MillersTime/GoSox blog know that I hold Thomas Boswell in the highest esteem. For me, he’s one of the best sports writers working today. I always learn something from his columns and feel lucky that he writes in my morning newspaper.

Today Boswell looks at the Nats’ decision to shut down Stephen Strasburg before the season ends, no matter what Strasburg, his father, the fans, the know-it-alls, etc. say.  If you live in the DC area, then you know this is a controversial issue, largely because the Nats are currently headed for post season play. But without Strasburg, some argue, the Nats put their good season and playoff potential at risk.*

But Boswell’s column goes further, identifying what he believes is “one key ingredient of franchises that build wisely, behave consistently and foster loyalty.”

Read the column, Stephen Strasburg Shutdown Debate Masks the Washington Nationals’ True Story, if you’re a Nats’ fan or if you just want to learn a bit more about baseball and what Boswell thinks makes for good management.

(*I don’t know where I read it, but somewhere I saw that even if Strasburg’s ERA is subtracted from those of the other Nats’ pitchers, they still would have the lowest ERA in the NL, or maybe in the Majors.)

 

Join Me to Hear Jonathon Kozol

15 Wednesday Aug 2012

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If you know the name Jonathon Kozol, then it is likely you were teaching at one point in your life, probably in an inner city.

And it’s also likely that you read some of his writing (Death at an Early Age, Savage Inequalities, Amazing Grace, Rachel and Her Children, The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America, The Shame of the Nation, etc.) and were influenced to some degree by him.

I know I was.

Well, Kozol has a new book, Fire in the Ashes, Twenty-Five Years Among the Poorest Children in the Nation, due to be published next week, August 20, 2012.

The advanced information from the publisher states, “In this powerful and culminating work about a group of inner-city children he has known for many years, Jonathon Kozol returns to the scene of his prize-winning books Rachel and Her Children and Amazing Grace, and to the children he has vividly portrayed, to share with us their fascinating journeys and unexpected victories as they grow into adulthood.”

If you want to join me to hear Kozol speak (and probably sign books), I’ve got several extra tickets for this Politics & Prose sponsored even. The evening is Tuesday, Sept. 4 at 7 PM at Sidwell Friends Meeting House in Washington, DC on Wisconsin Ave., NW.

Email me (Samesty84@gmail.com) or call me (202-320-9501).

Update – Wed., Aug. 15, 2:45 PM – My available tickets for Kozol’s appearance have been claimed. You can get tickets through Politics & Prose Bookstore for $12 or if you buy the book ($27), you get two free tickets.

Update – Mon., Aug. 20 – For those of you smart enough not to live in the DC area, you can see/hear Kozol elsewhere as he’s on a book tour around the country.

John Michael Paveskovich (#6) Is Resting in Peace

14 Tuesday Aug 2012

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I have no doubt that Johnny Pesky is resting in peace.

After all, virtually all of his adult life (he died at 92 yesterday) was spent doing what he loved – something connected to baseball, most of the time connected to the Red Sox.

If you’re interested in baseball, you already know much about Pesky and no doubt have already read tributes to him, tho most of you know him because of the “Pesky Pole” and as a wonderfully kind, elderly mentor and cheerleader for several generations of Red Sox players.

My own brush with this little guy (he was 5’9″) goes back to my earliest connections to baseball.

For me, Pesky was one of the first Red Sox players I knew and cared about, along with Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr, Dom DiMaggio, Mel Parnell, and Jimmy Piersall.

I’ve written elsewhere on this site (I Blame You) about my wonderful grandfather’s ‘gift’ to me of the Red Sox. As I was learning about the game, getting to know the players, and going to Fenway one week a year, Pesky was a favorite of mine.

He could field brilliantly and was the part of terrific double plays along with Bobby Doerr. Even better, he could hit, at least get on base (his lifetime average was .307), and, most important, set the table from his number two spot in the line up for my biggest hero, Ted Williams.

Then suddenly he was gone. For a reason I never could understand, the Sox traded him in 1952. I couldn’t believe it. But tho I didn’t know it at the time, that was a foreshadowing of the current era where very few players stay with a team their whole career.

Pity.

Eventually, I ‘forgave’ the Sox for this perfidy (something I was to do many more times in my life) but was delighted in my adult years when he came back to the Sox, became a fixture in the Red Sox Nation, and the Sox retired his number (6) even though he never made it to the Hall of Fame.

Williams, Pesky, Doerr, DiMaggio

PS-If you haven’t read David Halberstam’s The Teammates: A Portrait of a Friendship, you’ve got a treat in store.

 

The Less You Know…The More You’ll Like This Film

14 Tuesday Aug 2012

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Searching for Sugar Man *****

The less you know about this film, the more you’ll like it.

Ever so briefly, it’s a documentary about a singer (Sixto Rodriquez) in Detroit who seemed on the verge of stardom and then seemed to disappear. Except not totally. His two records became huge hits in South Africa (as big or better than the Beatles and Elvis) and played a role in the opposition to Apartheid.

If you like music (think Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, James Taylor, Donovan), if you like fine film making, if you like a bit of mystery, and if you are curious about the ‘human condition,’ go immediately* to see Searching for Sugar Man.

Don’t seek out further info on this film.

Trust me on this one.

If I’m wrong, I’ll split the cost of your movie ticket with you.

Note: If you’ve seen this film, or when you see it, please email me: Samesty84@gmail.com or call me at 202-320-9501.

(*In DC, the only place where Search for Sugar Man is currently showing is at Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinema. It’s definitely here until Thursday but may be, hopefully, extended another few weeks.)

 
Update: Tues., 9:30 PM:
 
Just back from seeing it again, this time with my wife Ellen, who is upstairs now trying to download the music. Her reaction to the film? “Go. See. This. Film.”
 
I checked the listings for Thurs., Aug. 16 and beyond. Bad news: it’s not going to be at Bethesda Row Cinema after tomorrow, Wed., Aug. 15. Good news: it’s going to be at the West End Cinema starting Fri., Aug.17 at least until Tues., Aug. 21.

A Range of Articles on VP Pick Cong.Paul Ryan

13 Monday Aug 2012

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Well now that the ‘Sunday gasbags’ (Calvin Trillin’s wonderful phrase about the Sunday morning TV political ‘know-it-alls’) have had their say — as well as lots of others on cable, on radio and in national and local newspapers on why Ryan is a good or bad choice and what that choice means — here are about a dozen articles that will help inform you about Cong. Ryan. These were written over the last few years, by reporters who have had time to look into Ryan and who he is).

1. Paul Ryan Reading Guide: The Best Reporting on the VP Candidate, ProPublica,* Aug. 11, 2012.

In one place, these are the best I’ve found, ranging from the one I (belated) cited by The New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza (a good place to start), The New York Magazine, The American Conservative, Weekly Standard The Atlas Society, The NY Times, Foreign Policy, etc.

(*If you don’t know of ProPublica, it’s worth putting it on your radar. It calls itself “an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest.”

Disclosure: My wife Ellen is on their Journalism Advisory Board along with Jill Abramson, executive editor of the NY Times, Robert Caro, David Gergen and others.)

2. Nine Reasons Romney’s Choice of Paul Ryan for Veep Is Smarter Than You Think, by Don Hazen, Alternet, Aug. 13.

Executive Editor of the very liberal Alternet, Hazen disagrees with his colleague and others who were gleeful that Romney “played right into the Obama message on how the Romney agenda harms the middle class.”

Some Background on Paul Ryan, Republican VP Pick

11 Saturday Aug 2012

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Update – Sat. 2:30: Ignore the link to the article cited below (the dotted line) by Kalefa Sanneh. I confused Ron Paul and Paul Ryan. No wonder I’ve stayed away from ‘breaking news.

The New Yorker, however, did recently profile Cong. Paul Ryan. The correct link to the correct article is here.

Sorry for the confusion, and thanx to the alert MillersTime readers who pointed out my confusion(s).

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Sat. 10 AM: Former Gov. Mitt Romney announced today that he had picked House of Representative Paul D. Ryan from Wisconsin as his VP running mate.

To begin to get to know more about Cong. Ryan, see The New Yorker‘s 5,000+ word profile written by Kelefa Sanneh Feb. 27, 2012.

 

 

 

As I Said 15 Months Ago…

10 Friday Aug 2012

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I never did like it when I heard someone say, “I told you so,” but then wasn’t it Thoreau (or maybe Emerson) who said ‘a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds”? Or something like that.

Anyway, something in the morning news reminded me of something I posted a while back. So I went looking for it and found it: The Real Battle(s) in 2012 May Not Be the Race for the Presidency, MillersTime/The Outer Loop, May 23, 2011.

Here it is:

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Watch Live as Bears Catch Salmon in Alaska

08 Wednesday Aug 2012

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Here’s something you can do in a bit of spare time:

Wanna watch brown bears in Katmai National Park, Alaska search for and catch salmon, live?

Well you don’t have to go all the way to Alaska to do so. You can see it happening from your desktop or laptop computer, and I think also from a mobile phone.

In fact, just yesterday, from a spot in one of my comfortable chairs, I spent an hour and a half just watching one bear ‘fish’ in Brooks River, Katmai National Park. Poor teddy, he didn’t even catch one fish in that entire time.

All you have to do is go to this website where a camera has been set up by explore.com. Remember, it’s four hours earlier in this part of Alaska.

Enjoy.

 

Articles of Interest.8

07 Tuesday Aug 2012

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Here are three articles that seek to explain some of the ‘whys’ of what’s happening in our country and two articles about Israel and the Palestinians.

(8/8/12 – 2 PM: Fixed link for Leo Rennert’s response to Burg below)

1. Yes, There’s Voter Fraud by Richard L. Hansen in the NYTimes, Aug. 5, 2012.

Hansen, a professor of law and political science at the University of California, Irvine, is the author of “The Voting Wars: From Florida 2000 to the Next Election Meltdown,” writes what seems to me one of the more balanced views of this issue.

Length: Short

2. Into the Bailout Buzz Saw, by Gretchen Morgenson, NYTimes, July 21, 2012.

Times business columnist Morgenson writes about Neil Barofsky and calls his new book Bailout “a must read.” Barofsky was the man tasked with policing the $700 billion TARP bailout and writes from the inside, calling both the Bush and Obama administrations to task for abandoning Main Street while rescuing Wall Street. More important, Barofsky explains how Washington works, or doesn’t work.

Length: Short

3. An Interview with Mike Lofgren, Author of “The Party Is Over” by Leslie Thatcher in Truthout, Aug. 3, 2012.

Lofgren is the Republican staff member who after 28 years working in Congress wrote an article Goodbye to All That: Reflections of a GOP Operative Who Left the Cult (of course you remember reading this excellent article a year ago on MillersTime). He has now expanded that widely read article into a book, The Party Is Over: How the Republicans Went Crazy, the Democrats Became Useless, and the Middle Class Go Shafted. Lofgren, like Barofsky above, knows what is happening in Washington.

Length: Medium

4. Israel’s Fading Democracy by Avraham Burg, Aug. 4, 2012 in the NYTimes.

Burg, a former speaker of the Knesset, chairman of Molad, The Center for Renewal of Democracy, and author of The Holocaust Is Over: We Must Rise From It’s Ashes, writes, “Israel is in danger of becoming just another Middle East theocracy.”

Taking exception to Burg and his article is Leo Rennert who calls Burg “a self hating Israeli” in an August 7th response.

Total Length of Burg’s article & Rennert’s response: Medium

5. Occupation, Not Culture, Is Holding Palestinians Back, by Munib R. Masri in NYTimes, August 3, 2012.

Masri, a Palestinian businessman and industrialist writing from the West Bank, believes there’s no real difference between Obama and Romney, and both basically ignore what is keeping the Palestinians down – the Occupation.

Length: Short

Sox Lead the Majors!

07 Tuesday Aug 2012

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Well, I got your attention, albeit a bit disingenuously, tho I know you were not really fooled by the blog title.

According to this morning Boston Globe article, the Red Sox lead all the other 29 Major League teams in charitable giving in their community, having contributed $52 million dollars to the Boston area via their foundation over the last 10 years.

The article’s worth reading as the way they have ‘spent’ this money strikes me as smart. They don’t just throw money around but grant it wisely. And the $52 million is only what they give through the non profit foundation and doesn’t include autographed items given to nonprofits, entrance to Fenway events, appearances by present and former players, and tickets to Sox games. Nor does it include what the owners give personally, what many of the players give through their own foundations, nor what the Sox help raise for other charities.

How do the Sox compare to the other wealthiest teams in their charitable giving?

According to the Globe in 2011 they gave more than twice as much as did the Yankees ($7.6 million vs $3.6 million).

So while the Sox continue struggling to maintain a .500 record and to stay out of last place, at least they are good citizens and continue to give back to their community.

“5 Broken Cameras” & “The Attack”

05 Sunday Aug 2012

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I’ve come to believe that often the best way both to explain and to understand something is through the telling of a story, preferably a true story (tho ‘truth’ is not always clear and often there are many ‘truths’ about a particular subject).

All of that is by way of introduction to a film and a book, both about Israel, the West Bank, and primarily Arab inhabitants of the area.

Of the two, the film is by far the most powerful and the most authentic as it is the ‘truth’ as seen through the camera of one of its co-directors/authors.  The book, while engaging, has more problems than the film, but it’s also worth the time to read.

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Two Can Play This Game

02 Thursday Aug 2012

Posted by in Family and Friends

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While I await my wife Ellen’s OK to post some of her newest photographs, this time from Nova Scotia, I thought I’d post a couple of pictures I took of her ‘at work.’

From an advanced glance at some of her Nova Scotia pix, you are in for some wonderful pictures.

Be forewarned, however: her photographs may bear no resemblance to the reality of Nova Scotia. They’re even better.

My Own Fault, Mostly

02 Thursday Aug 2012

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I probably have no one to blame but myself.

Although I am tempted to blame Louise M., who helped get me into the mess in the first place.

I could also blame my wife, my daughters, and all their techie friends who spend so much time on various forms of ‘social media,’ whatever that is, and who include me in their ‘connected’ world, plus those of you who encourage me to continue with MillersTime.

Anyway, I have gotten myself to the point where I am in danger of the ‘iDisorder,’ where my ‘need’ for being ‘connected’ to the Internet, whatever that is, has gotten a bit out of control.

My most recent difficulty began innocently enough, I thought.

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