Tag: baseball

Folks its not trite to consider the serenity prayer appropriate before I continue.

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

--Reinhold Niebuhr

In 1915, Niebuhr an ordained pastor, served at Bethel Evangelical Church in Detroit, Michigan. The congregation numbered sixty-five on his arrival and grew to nearly 700 in 1928.

Strangely, I would have been as equally satisfied with a cheer instead.

Targeted along with two other commissioners, the editorial slap came as the result of a committee of the whole vote taken by the Grand Traverse Commissioners to eliminate the operation of a baseball program from county control.  The vote to do so was 5-3. My motion to do so, was motivated by a number of reasons, not the least of which was the illegitimate removal of the program by the county from the American Legion in 2010.  The removal in 2010, precipitated by community clamoring to "DO SOMETHING!" when there was a delay in the planning for the upcoming baseball season.

The American Legion ran the program for 62 years, and shares the tradition with other Legion Baseball programs around the country.  Its a big part of their year to year community involvement.

Indeed, history has denied to most pitchers, that great opportunity to stand as a part of the few who could deal out a perfect match in the American Pastime.  But it wasn't history who denied it to Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga last night, but rather a poor call by a veteran official Jim Joyce, who found after reviewing the footage how bad the biggest call of his life went:

"I just cost the kid a perfect game," said Joyce , who personally apologized to the pitcher. "I thought he beat the throw. I was convinced he beat the throw until I was the replay. It was the biggest call of my career."

MLB might well use this moment in time to re-examine its policy on replay.

While the last thing we want to see is a constant stopping of the game to see if a foot was on the bag, a slide makes it on time or a tag is made, the fact remains that we have the technology, and the integrity of the game is paramount.  Perhaps a single challenge per game, that wouldn't change the nature of the event, but would allow such a career affecting mistake to be challenged before it becomes a weight around the neck of an otherwise decent umpire like Joyce.

Baseball is a miracle. How could Alexander Cartwright have foreseen that 90 feet is the perfect distance between the bases, that 60 feet, 6 inches is the perfect distance from the mound to the plate, and that three outs per team per inning over 9 innings is the perfect length for a game? And yet, when Mr. Cartwright, the Father of Baseball, established the rules of the modern game, he created a sport unlike any other -- a perfect blend of speed, strength, and strategy.

Watching my son's team play a doubleheader this past weekend, I reflected on the nature of baseball. The rules are the rules, and they are followed, even though there is a human element that intervenes occasionally (a moving strike zone or a bad call on the bases, for example). Successful teams ignore -- or better, overcome -- the human element and continue to play hard, within the rules, giving their maximum effort.

And the effort is a thing of beauty and grace -- nine players in the field moving as one in a coordinated response to the direct confrontation between pitcher and batter. There is always something happening, and each player must fulfill his individual responsibility while at the same time being part of a team that works together.

This is the value of team sports -- players learn teamwork and individual responsibility at the same time, while learning to play by the rules. The rules don't change in the middle of the game.

Now, if only our elected officials could learn this lesson.

Rules, though they may be unwritten, govern our society. Things like "supply and demand," "if you tax something you get less of it," and "do unto others as you would have them do unto you," make a society livable and understandable. Americans are amazingly resilient, and we will adapt to changing conditions, but we cannot change the rules in the middle of the game, and we cannot apply different rules to different people.

Our governor and our president need to remember these truths. Our governor tries to attract business by giving targeted tax breaks, but does not apply that approach to the rest of the state, preferring instead to raise taxes while refusing to rein in spending. Our president will spend hundreds of billions on the financial industry with no accountability whatsoever, but forces the auto companies to jump through impossible hoops, give away ownership, and even then to file for bankruptcy protection. He runs up incredible, unprecedented budget deficits, then decides to raise taxes in the middle of a severe recession. He has decided that he knows what cars Americans "want to buy," just as our governor has decided she knows what energy sources are best for Michigan, cancelling coal-fired plant permits a year or two into the process, dooming us to outrageous energy prices.

That's the irony of what our president and our governor are doing -- they are actually applying the law of supply and demand, but artificially manipulating the supply side of the equation, as I explained previously, and as is evident from the stated purpose of the president's "cap and trade" program (to cause electricity prices to "skyrocket").

It's impossible to play by the rules when our elected officials see rules as something to be gotten around or manipulated, not something to be followed. In baseball, the strike zone varies depending on the home plate umpire. Players understand this, and they will adjust. All they ask is that the calls be consistent and fair.

Is that too much to ask from our president and our governor?

The great BlogProf now reports that the Fifth Third Burger may be in jeopardy due to a busybody dietitian ("dietitian" is actually Latin for "buzz killer"). Quoting the Detroit News, the Prof blogged:

Susan Levin of the Washington-based Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine sent a letter to the Grand Rapids minor-league team on Tuesday. She's asking that the 4,800-calorie burger be labeled a "dietary disaster" that increases the risk of cancer and heart disease.

Now wait just a minute. This burger has FIVE hamburger patties, a CUP of chili, FIVE slices of American cheese, salsa, nacho cheese, and corn chips, along with lettuce, tomato and sour cream. It contains 4,800 CALORIES! Does it really need a warning label?

In Michigan law, there is a concept, usually applied in slip and fall cases, known as the "open and obvious doctrine." Under this doctrine, where the dangers are known or are so obvious that a person might reasonably be expected to discover them, there is no duty to protect or warn the person. Determining if a condition is open and obvious requires considering whether an average user with ordinary intelligence would have been able to discover the danger and the risk presented upon casual inspection.

Casual inspection? The dangers (and delights!) of the Fifth Third Burger are visible from the international space station! Those of us who are willing to assume the risk of consuming what may be the greatest burger ever are well aware of what those risks are and do not require assistance from the meddlesome Susan Levin or the PCRM.

As an aside, the persistence of lawyers and the questionable judgment of many of their clients result in lawsuits that end when judges make rulings like this one from the Court of Appeals:

"[W]e hold as a matter of law that, by its very nature, a snow-covered surface presents an open and obvious danger because of the high probability that it may be slippery."

Duh, really? Unfortunately, that's what our courts are reduced to deciding these days.

So, burgermeisters, take heart! We need to start training at the Shamrock Pub in Utica, Miller's Bar in Dearborn, or Nemo's in Detroit. All grills point to Fifth Third Park!

In the midst of all the dreary news emanating from the One's administration and his confederacy of dunces -- oops, I mean team of rivals -- there is good news today! According to the Associated Press:

The West Michigan Whitecaps, a minor league baseball team, will be offering up major league cholesterol, carbohydrates and calories in an enormous hamburger being added to the menu this year at the Fifth Third Ballpark. The 4-pound, $20 burger features five beef patties, five slices of cheese, nearly a cup of chili and liberal doses of salsa and corn chips, all on an 8-inch sesame-seed bun. That's a lot of dough!

This work of art weighs in at a trim 4,800 calories.

I know what you're thinking -- "Finally, I can get a 4-pound burger at a ballgame! Oh, and a Diet Coke, please!"

For you skeptics and communists out there, apparently the friendly concessionaires will provide a pizza cutter so you can share your culinary investment with your friends. (Do you have that many friends?)

I might ask them to hold the corn chips and salsa -- that seems like overkill.

See you at the ballpark -- I'll bring the drop cloth!