Perfect Pitch Communications: The Nub

��<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"> <head> <meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=unicode"> <meta name=ProgId content=Word.Document> <meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 12"> <meta name=Originator content="Microsoft Word 12"> </head> <body> (Posted: 5/27/10)<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <big>Anti-Incumbent Fervor Felt on Political Field as in Baseball<o:p></o:p></big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>The sharply hit message of a New Yorker cartoon made an impact this week on both political and baseball fields: A spouse, leaving with bags packed, says to her husband: “There’s nothing wrong with you, Steve – it’s just you’re the incumbent.”  <st1:state w:st="on">Utah</st1:state>’s Bob Bennett and <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Pennsylvania</st1:place></st1:state>’s Arlen Specter are two sitting senators – one a Republican, the other a Democrat – already rejected by team members.  Persistent reports from Florida say that Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria wants to say goodbye to fourth-year manager Fredi Gonzalez so he can bring change for the better, change embodied by Bobby Valentine.  (And we know the tenure of three-year incumbent Dave Trembley in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Baltimore</st1:place></st1:city> is day-to-day.)</big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>What’s stopping Loria is similar to what’s causing Arkansas Dems to hesitate before giving incumbent Senator Blanche Lincoln her outright release (which could happen in a June 8 playoff with lefty Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter): the Marlins are above-.500 and very much in the hunt in NL East; as for Lincoln, the state’s Dems know that, although she hits too much to right, she swings up-the-middle enough to appeal to a broad section of voters.</big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>Loria, who has allowed the Marlins’ payroll to more than double since 2008 – from $21 to $57 million (40 percent of which is paid to shortstop Hanley Ramirez and pitcher Josh Johnson – says he expects the team to make the playoffs this year.  Until they completed a four-game sweep of the Mets a week-and-a-half ago, the Marlins had been, for the most part, a sub-.500 team.  Gonzalez, vulnerable only because Valentine is available, could still be shown the dugout door if <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Florida</st1:place></st1:state> falls too far behind the Phillies.</big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>On the political field, a recent National Journal poll found that more than 80 percent of those questioned gave Congress either poor or “only fair” marks.  The negative hits went to both – Dem and GOP – sides of the diamond.  Journal columnist Ronald Brownstein says incumbents out of touch with unhappy constituents is just one aspect of what is happening:</big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>“The common longer-term development is the enhanced ability of insurgents to harvest that discontent.  Party leaders once controlled a disproportionate share of money and resources, but the Internet now makes it easier than ever for compelling challengers to construct a powerful, even nationwide, network of supporters. (Paul, for instance, raised more than three-fourths of his money outside <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Kentucky</st1:place></st1:state>.) Equally important, the base in both parties -- reinforced by activist groups like the liberal MoveOn.org and the conservative Club for Growth -- appears to have grown increasingly intolerant of defection and insistent on lockstep loyalty, especially on big issues.”    <o:p></o:p></big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>Which team is more vulnerable as November approaches?  The one beginning with “D” that numerically has more to lose.  </big> <big>                               -     -     -<o:p></o:p></big> <big>May is the month it all came together for the Red Sox.  They were 15-9 for May and won seven of eight going into last night’s game with the Rays.  Superb starting pitching and timely hitting spurred by revitalized David Ortiz get much of the credit.  But Marco Scutaro was singled out on MLB-TV the other night for helping to keep the team loose.  Prior to game-time, the camera caught him saying something that had several players in stitches. “Fans can’t imagine how important stuff like that is,” said one of the panel that included former players Dan Plesac and Sean Casey.  Incidentally, the AL East, with the Rays, Yanks and Jays ahead of the Sox, are the only division with four above-.500 teams.</big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>With the Memorial Day weekend milestone approaching, it may be time to take the low-budget Padres seriously. They’ve stayed around, or in first place (as they are now) in the NL West for virtually the entire first quarter of the season.</big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>Larry Dierker pitched for 14 years, managed the Houston Astros for five (making the playoffs in four of them).  He then wrote one of the best baseball books extant, “It Ain’t Brain Surgery,” about his career.  In an article the other day, Dierker mused about how hard it must be for Trevor Hoffman and Ken Griffey, Jr. to be close to the end of their careers:</big> <big>“No one will tell you when to quit. Yet, some demigod will have to tell even the most exalted players to clear out their lockers. Hoffman and Griffey may be incapable of making that decision. Their mindsets as players, indeed the essence of their greatness, does not allow the thought of quitting…The only ones who told me it was time to hang them up were the hitters. They spoke so loud and clear that I could not ignore them.”<o:p></o:p></big> <big>                                   - o -</big><o:p></o:p> (The  Nub is a team effort skippered by Dick Starkey.  Comments to <a href="mailto:dickstar@aol.com">dickstar@aol.com</a> are welcome, as are subscription requests.  Previous Nubs can be found by scrolling below.) <o:p> </o:p> The Nub will be away on a holiday road trip, returning next Thursday. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <big> </big> <big> </big> <big> </big> <big> </big> <big> (Posted: 5/25/10)<o:p></o:p></big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>About Ellsbury, Braun, Kinsler, Youklis…Netanyahu<o:p></o:p></big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>Add the Red Sox’s reactivated Jacoby Ellsbury to the list of prominent Jewish players in daily lineups, a list that includes Ryan Braun of the Brewers, the Rangers’ Ian Kinsler, the Mets’ Ike Davis and Ellsbury’s teammate Kevin Youklis.   All, with the exception of Youklis, are under 30, and, thanks to Ellsbury, offer a new composite of speed as well as power.</big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>The play of American Jews on the political field is changing, too.  In going to bat for <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> against Islamic teams, many first-stringers are now opting for small ball rather than the power game.  One former pro-Israel hard-hitter, CUNY Prof Peter Beinart, altered his stance, appealing to other players to follow his lead.  Beinart explained why he thought the new offensive strategy makes sense in the latest edition of the NY Review of Books:</big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>“Yes, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> faces threats from Hezbollah and Hamas. Yes, Israelis understandably worry about a nuclear <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iran</st1:place></st1:country-region>.  But the dilemmas you face when you possess dozens or hundreds of nuclear weapons, and your adversary, however despicable, may acquire one, are not the dilemmas of the <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Warsaw</st1:place></st1:city> Ghetto.,. <st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region>'s <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Independence</st1:city></st1:place> Proclamation…promised that the Jewish state "will be based on the precepts of liberty, justice and peace taught by the Hebrew prophets."… The best way to memorialize the history of Jewish suffering is through the ethical use of Jewish power.” <o:p></o:p></big> <big>How has the belligerent use of such power by Team Netanyahu affected Beinart’s <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> teammates?  “You might think (it) would occasion substantial public concern,” he says, “among the leaders of organized Jewry.  You would be wrong.  In <st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region> itself, voices from the left and even center, warn in increasingly urgent tones about the threats to Israeli democracy…But in the <st1:country-region w:st="on">United States</st1:country-region>, groups like AIPAC (American <st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region> Public Affairs Committee)…patrol public discourse, scolding people who contradict their vision of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> as a state in which all leaders cherish democracy and yearn for peace.”<o:p></o:p></big> <big>Of course, a similar charge can be leveled against most of the expanded roster of Team <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">USA</st1:place></st1:country-region>, that is, most of us.  While imagining ourselves to be peace-loving and justice-seeking, too many Americans have countenanced aggression in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Afghanistan</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iraq</st1:place></st1:country-region>.  The baseline goal of that bloodshed was revealingly described by George Bush: defending “our way of life.”<o:p></o:p></big> <big>                          -     -     -<o:p></o:p></big> <big>The <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Oakland</st1:place></st1:city> A’s had a spectacular inter-league weekend, yielding a single run in their three-game sweep of the Giants.  The A’s were the only team to sweep.  The Red Sox didn’t do badly, taking two of three from the Phils, beating Roy Halladay and riding a one-hitter from Daisuke Matsuzaka in the process.  According to MLB-TV, the Phillies are a remarkable 4-17 against <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">AL</st1:state></st1:place> opponents in their home park.  Which league dominated over the weekend?  Neither: final W-L tally, 21-21. <o:p></o:p></big> <big>Latest Mets stunner:  “If (Jerry) Manuel goes, the blood letting will be massive, says one industry source, who indicated the coaching staff will be dismissed, as well. The only possible exception would be hitting instructor Howard Johnson, whose ties to David Wright have, until now, granted him immunity from front office scrutiny.”  - Bob Klapisch, The Record of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">New Jersey</st1:state></st1:place><o:p></o:p></big> <big>Wright has struck out 38 percent of the time this season (60 Ks for 157 ABs).  He is second in NL in that dubious category; Mark Reynolds of the D-backs is first (62 for 156).<o:p></o:p></big> <big>Here is what a Red Sox non-player told the Globe’s Nick Cafardo about the team’s take on Hanley Ramirez (whom the Sox traded to the Marlins in the Josh Beckett/Mike Lowell deal) :  “We had to get on him all the time about that (loafing)…Unfortunately, what happened here in Boston is that Manny Ramirez took the kid under his wing, and while Manny helped him as a hitter, he also took up some of Manny’s more unflattering aspects, like not hustling at times.  Hanley is a terrific player who will have a long career and be very successful.  We always felt immaturity was an issue that he would eventually grow out of.  But maybe it hasn’t quite taken hold yet.’’<o:p></o:p></big> <big>                            - o -</big>  (The  Nub is a team effort skippered by Dick Starkey.  Comments to <a href="mailto:dickstar@aol.com">dickstar@aol.com</a> are welcome, as are subscription requests.  Previous Nubs can be found by scrolling below.)  <o:p></o:p> (Posted: 5/22/10)<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <big>An Imperfect Press Tracks Player Errors in Both Fields<o:p></o:p></big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>Here’s an easy one: What do Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez and Connecticut AG Richard Blumenthal have in common?  Yes, they both committed on-field blunders – Ramirez by loafing after a ball he kicked into the outfield, Blumenthal by exaggerating in speeches the military service he did during the Vietnam War.  But those mistakes were minor compared to the follow-up error both made: In refusing to apologize - in effect, saying what they did was not worthy of attention, they triggered an anti-stonewalling frenzy.  Few miscues spur media relentlessness more than when a prominent player caught screwing up says “I don’t know what the fuss is about.”  </big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>The Marlins finally prevailed upon Ramirez to do the expected thing – say he was sorry to each of his teammates.  And Blumenthal took responsibility, if not apologizing, for misspeaking.  Both players have been tarnished: Super-star Ramirez is already being called the “non-Jeter;” Blumenthal, running for the U.S. Senate, has given his Republican opponent enough campaign ammunition to turn a sure thing into a neck-and-neck race. </big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>Baseball and politics can be unforgiving games, as is journalism.  Media in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Florida</st1:state></st1:place> area and the NY Times made bobbles of their own in covering the two stories.  Ramirez was said to have “lost respect” for manager Freddi Gonzales after Gonzales yanked him from the game for not hustling.  In fact, it was a reporter who asked if Ramirez had “lost respect” for his manager.  “A bit,” the player replied.  </big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>The Times keyed its expose last Tuesday to a speech Blumenthal gave in March 2008.  The story quoted him as saying “We have learned something important since the days that I served in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Vietnam</st1:place></st1:country-region>.”  It failed to note that, earlier in the speech, the AG said he “served in the military during the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Vietnam</st1:place></st1:country-region> era.”  Asked about that by Greg Sargent, who blogs for the Washington Post, a Times spokesperson was unresponsive.  She did say the paper stood by its story based on “reporting (that) uncovered Mr. Blumenthal’s…pattern of misleading his constituents.”</big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>But the campaign of Blumenthal’s Republican opponent Linda McMahon originally claimed to have fed the story to The Times.  And, despite a retraction, there’s little reason to doubt that was so; it’s the way the campaign game is played.  All of this suggests that, at the very least, The Times - currently touting its investigative reporting in advertisements - has done some misrepresenting itself.   </big> <big>                           </big> <big>Here is a follow-up to Perfect Pitch partner Bob Sullivan’s dismissal of the Rasmussen polls in the previous Nub.  It’s from the UK Guardian blog posted by Michael Tomasky:  “Look at … Rasmussen's results on the generic Dem-Rep ballot question vs. everyone else.  You'll see two things: 1. The majority of other polls show a Dem advantage, while every single Ras poll for the last 10 months has shown a GOP edge. 2. Ras has polled almost as often itself as all other pollsters combined.  In other words, Ras leans Republican, and - this is the crucial point - since it goes in the field so much more often, it pushes the aggregate numbers in the GOP direction.”    <o:p></o:p></big> <big>                         -     -     -</big> <big>The two big stories at the start of inter-league play: the Dodgers and the Rays.  LA has won 10 of 11, playing much of the time without its best hitter Andre Ethier.  The Rays demonstrated to the Yankees this week that their best-by-far MLB record is no fluke.  Meanwhile, back in the NL, the Reds have established themselves as a genuine wild card threat – that’s if they don’t outrun St.Louis in their division.  What else?  Don’t look now, but the AL West is fast becoming a two-team race between the Rangers and Angels.</big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>Managerial Plank:  The consensus on the East Coast is that either Dave Trembley or Jerry Manuel will be the first casualty of 2010.  Since there were higher hopes in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Baltimore</st1:place></st1:city> than in Mets-land, Trembley, whose team has the worst record in the majors, should have to walk before Manuel.  Out West, it would seem <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Arizona</st1:place></st1:state>’s languishing in last in its NL division would make A.J. Hinch vulnerable.  But the fact that he is operating without injured ace Brandon Webb has surely earned him some slack.</big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>The two managers who took over new teams in 2010 – Brad Mills in <st1:city w:st="on">Houston</st1:city> and Manny Acta in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cleveland</st1:place></st1:city> – have had a tough time.  The Astros own the worst record in the NL, and <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cleveland</st1:place></st1:city> was last in the AL Central entering the weekend.  The <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Chicago</st1:city></st1:place> media, meanwhile, have given up on the White Sox, assigning most of the blame to GM Kenny Williams and not Ozzie Guillen.</big> <big>How bad are things with the Astros?  Here is the take of the Houston Chronicle’s Richard Justice:  “It’s time to see the Astros for what they are. That is, they’re going to lose 100 games and be remembered as one of the worst teams in franchise history.”<o:p></o:p></big> <big>  Correction:  Charlie Rangel’s campaign fund-raiser at Citi Field is scheduled for tomorrow, Sunday, not yesterday, as reported here earlier in the week.  The spate of the Congressman’s supporters should help boost attendance figures, something the hurting Mets will certainly welcome. </big> <big>                        - o -</big> (The  Nub is a team effort skippered by Dick Starkey.  Comments to <a href="mailto:dickstar@aol.com">dickstar@aol.com</a> are welcome, as are subscription requests.  Previous Nubs can be found by scrolling below.)  <o:p></o:p> (Posted: 5/20/10)<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> W<big>hose Side Are the National Pastimes On?<o:p></o:p></big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>Just as fans are showing with their feet that they don’t feel baseball cares enough about keeping them happy, so signs - including some key election returns Tuesday - say that plain citizens have no sense government is on their side.   </big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>The fans see that, although the baseball season is still young, those in charge of underachieving teams are impatient.  Lou Piniella says his high-priced Cubbies aren’t producing; there is talk of White Sox stars being traded away, and similar rumbling has started in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Milwaukee</st1:city></st1:place>.  We know that soon low-budget teams falling out of contention – the Pirates? Astros? - will exchange pricey name players – Zach Duke? Roy Oswalt? - for unexciting (for the most part) prospects.   </big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>In the world beyond baseball, the excitement has been far from fan-pleasing: The mine safety failure linked to the deaths of 25 in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">West Virginia</st1:place></st1:state> and the lack of enforcement that led to the cataclysmic oil spill in the Gulf are two recent examples of government neglect of the people’s interests.  Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard professor who is umpiring the Congressional financial reform game, hopes to see the end to a series of shoddy plays permitted by government.  Among the blunders: a regulatory system favoring the “very rich and powerful”; a tax code that ignores the fact that “99 percent” of the nation’s enterprises are small businesses (with 10 or fewer employees); the “tricks and traps” that lie in wait for credit-card users; the calculated “complexity” of banking contracts designed to inflate profits.  </big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>Warren is cautiously optimistic - she told the BBC - that Congress will be able to overcome the din on its playing field caused by the “noise” of  powerful lobbyists’ - the “talk, talk, talk” that makes it difficult for legislators to hear what the public is saying.  It is up to Team Obama - especially the skipper - to clear away the noise, permitting the people to recognize in government its traditional role as friend.  So that when the question arises “Whose side is it on?” the answer will no longer be in doubt.</big> <big>                        -     -     -</big> <big>It took a long while for Alex Rodriguez to win over NY fans.  But after his game-tying two-run homer against the Red Sox Monday night, the doubts about him have disappeared.  Joe Girardi gave a good reason afterward why that’s the case:</big> <big>“He’s a weapon.  Every time he steps up to the plate, everyone is in scoring position.’’ <o:p></o:p></big> <big> A team that wins almost half (10 of 23) of its games in the last at-bat has to be taken seriously.  That’s the Cincinnati Reds, touted in pre-season on MLB-TV as a team to watch.  The other night on the same channel, Dan Plesac said he considers <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Toronto</st1:place></st1:city>, not the Red Sox, part of a three-team – Rays, Yanks, Jays – pecking order in the AL East.</big> <big> Word Play: If words betray attitude, as they often do, ESPN’s Adam Rubin doesn’t care much for Mets COO Jeff Wilpon (from whom he sought advice about a job in baseball last year).  The basis for that surmise?  A single word in the following account by Rubin of Wilpon’s surprise visit to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Atlanta</st1:place></st1:city> Monday: "’I didn't come here to fire anybody guys…,’ Wilpon said while draped over a dugout railing and speaking with the media.”  “Draped over?” That’s slouchy, the way the Mets are being run.  By whom? By Jeff, the boss’s son.  </big> <big> Jerry Manuel apparently shares doubts expressed here about Howard Johnson’s effectiveness as Mets hitting coach.  SI’s Jon Heyman says he heard that Manuel wanted to bring back the team’s ex- hitting coach Rick Down, but was turned down, at least in part because HoHo is “entrenched” in Down’s former job.  A problem, almost surely, but not as big for the Mets as that of ownership entrenchment.</big> <big>                           - o -                                                                                                         </big> (The  Nub is a team effort skippered by Dick Starkey.  Comments to <a href="mailto:dickstar@aol.com">dickstar@aol.com</a> are welcome, as are subscription requests.  Previous Nubs can be found by scrolling below.) (Posted: 5/18/10)<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <big>The Ollie Perez Factor in the Political Field<o:p></o:p></big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>The most credible poll available - attendance figures - has confirmed what we all know: the Mets don’t have what it takes to draw fans.  After 22 home games, the team registered the largest attendance decline in the majors.</big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>More conventional polls – done by mainly by telephone - show political fans to be unhappy with Team Obama.  Where floundering $36 million pitcher Ollie Perez is the poster boy of the Mets’ poor organizational judgment, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and the skipper’s economic coach Larry Summers epitomize what the public dislikes about the O-Team.  Poll participants identify the “economy” as the main reason they may well vote Republican this November.  But underlying that view is the broad resentment of bank-bailout architects Geithner and Summers.   Most striking about the resentment is its expression by fans in both left and right fields.    </big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>The Mets have finally removed Perez from their rotation.  But it may be too late for fans forced to endure the team’s fruitlessly sticking with him since the start of last season.   Geithner and Summers will eventually leave Team Obama, but the skipper has indicated he will let it be on their terms.  Newsweek’s Jonathan Alter says in his new book “The Promise” that had Barack been more managerial with the pair and insisted they attach strings to the bailout, “he might have pre-empted a brewing populist revolt.” </big> <big>                        </big> <big>Follow-up to previous Nub on polling and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Arizona</st1:state></st1:place> – from Perfect Pitch pollster Bob Sullivan:  “Certain pollsters…make their poll results serve a point of view. The key method is to slant their questionnaire.  The sequencing of questions, the wording…and the stacking of choices all can induce a…desired result.  These are subtle influences not easily detected by outsiders which include the press as well as the public.  With this kind of manipulation a sample does not have to be dishonest but you will get skewed results anyway.  You only have to shade the results by a few percentages to get what you want. Rasmussen is one of the polls I never pay attention to.  <o:p></o:p></big> <big>”Nevertheless, this does not mean that the results in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Arizona</st1:place></st1:state> are wrong.  It may well be that this community (and many others) will tend to put what it considers its security before the civil rights of others. The size (70%) of the majority (for the anti-immigration law) does look suspect; perhaps the majority is only 60% or 55%, but the moral lesson is not changed.”<o:p></o:p></big> <big><o:p>                                 -     -     - </o:p></big> <big>                         </big> <big>Lots of batting averages soared over the weekend.  But the prize for the biggest gain among regulars goes to Jorge Posada. Counting Thursday’s game against the Twins, Posada went eight-for-11, lifting his BA 44 points from .282 to .326.  Detroit's Magglio Ordonez didn’t do badly, either, going 10-for-17, including Thursday.  That amounted to a 37-point gain, from .276 to .313. </big> <big> On MLB-TV the other night, the subject was the rigors of travel as a major leaguer.  Barry Larkin and Harold Reynolds were two of the former players who agreed <st1:city w:st="on">Seattle</st1:city> was the worst place to play if you didn’t like time on the road: “two-and-half hours by air to the nearest away location, <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Oakland</st1:place></st1:city>.”  Still, the schedule this season gives the LA Angels the most traveling distance, 50,000 miles.</big> <big>Congressman Charlie Rangel is holding a re-election campaign fund-raiser at Citi Field Friday night.  When his office notified us, we suggested he try somehow to distance himself from the Mets, who have let their fans down. </big> <big><o:p>                            - o - </o:p></big> <big></big>(The  Nub is a team effort skippered by Dick Starkey.  Comments to <a href="mailto:dickstar@aol.com">dickstar@aol.com</a> are welcome, as are subscription requests.  Previous Nubs can be found by scrolling below.)  <o:p></o:p> (Posted: 5/15/10)<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <big>Politics and Baseball Mixing It Up in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Arizona</st1:place></st1:state><o:p></o:p></big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>How much political clout does baseball have with the public-at-large?  To judge by what has happened in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Arizona</st1:state></st1:place> after passage of the anti-immigration law, very little.  We know that late last month Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick came out against the law and the players union did the same.  A poll of state residents taken some days after the joint announcement showed how influential it was: 70 percent of Arizonans said they were fans of the law.</big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>Possibly emboldened by the poll results, Bud Selig announced, in effect, Thursday that baseball has no plans to move the 2011 All-Star game scheduled for <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Phoenix</st1:place></st1:city> a year from July.  Selig did not address the question directly; he talked of baseball’s pride in its “diversity” and indicated the MLB had no need to involve itself in state matters.  </big> <big> The corporate media and polling firms are an effective double-play combination: in <st1:state w:st="on">Arizona</st1:state>, at the same time baseball took its stance, the state’s most influential newspaper the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Arizona</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Republic</st1:placetype></st1:place> blamed the federal government for forcing the state into its position.  The fallout from such a blast feeds into polling results.  Then the results trigger further negative public reactions.  Some years ago, the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">U.</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Maryland</st1:placename></st1:place>’s Program on International Policy tracked factually mistaken replies of poll participants and found this connection: “The frequency of these misperceptions varies significantly according to individuals' primary source of news.  Those who primarily watch Fox News are significantly more likely to have misperceptions, while those who primarily listen to NPR or watch PBS are significantly less likely.”<o:p></o:p></big> <big> The skewing caused by the misperceptions slips into poll results published daily. Those results amplified in press reports nationally will make it difficult for non-corporate baseball – the players and fans – to make a difference in the anti-immigration rhubarb.  There is a slim hope of effective baseball-based action, however.  Embodied in San Diego Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, it rests on the possibility that Latino All-Star players like Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, Mariano Rivera, Felix Hernandez, etc. will follow his lead and boycott the game in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Phoenix</st1:place></st1:city> next year.  The boycott threat might just move the MLB to join with other economically important interests to persuade <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Arizona</st1:place></st1:state> to push the replay button on its anti-immigration hit.  If it happens – a big if – it will be a rare instance of baseball’s involvement on the left side of the political field.<o:p></o:p></big> <big> By the numbers: The nationality breakdown of the 27 percent of Latino players in the majors, as reported by MLB: <st1:country-region w:st="on">Dominican Republic</st1:country-region> 86; <st1:country-region w:st="on">Venezuela</st1:country-region> 58; Puerto Rico 21; <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mexico</st1:place></st1:country-region> 12.<o:p></o:p></big> <big>                                                 -    -    -        <o:p></o:p></big> <big>Ahead 4-3 in the seventh inning of the Twins-Yankees game last night, Ron Gardenhire elected to walk Mark Teixeira to load the bases with one out.  He chose to have reliever Mark Guerrier pitch Alex Rodriguez.  “Has Gardenhire checked the match-ups?” asked YES’s Michael Kay.  “A-Rod has gone for four-for-six against Guerrier, including two home runs.” Moments later, A-Rod hit a grand slam to set up the Yanks’ 8-4 victory.<o:p></o:p></big> <big>Ollie Perez only walked three men in his latest outing, but it lasted only 3.1 innings.  The rest of his line: seven runs, nine hits, four home runs.  Omar Minaya has not wanted Jerry Manuel to give up on his embarrassing $36 million investment.  But after Ollie’s  performance in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Florida</st1:state></st1:place> last night, the entire Mets brain trust should agree on one word connected with Perez: Enough.<o:p></o:p></big> <big> Tough loss for the Reds who could have jumped ahead of the Cardinals in the NL Central last night.  St.Louis had a 4-0 lead after five innings, but come-from-behind <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cincinnati</st1:place></st1:city> almost pulled even, falling short by a run, 4-3. The Cards’ lead is now a game-and-a-half. <o:p></o:p></big> <big>SI’s Joe Posnanski on the mistake <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Kansas City</st1:city></st1:place> made in hiring Trey Hillman, who had no big league experience of any kind, to be its manager (Hillman was fired Thursday): “Things that seem like good ideas from the outside often are terrible ideas on the inside. Hillman did not understand the politics of a big league clubhouse. He did not understand that his success in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Japan</st1:place></st1:country-region> did not impress Major League baseball players. He did not understand that nobody was going to just give him respect.  Sparky <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Anderson</st1:city></st1:place>, was known by his players as a “Minor League(r)”…and he came to earn respect with his intensity and his loyalty and by being right an awful lot.”<o:p></o:p></big> <big> On WCBS Radio, John Sterling quoted Rangers GM Jon Daniels on the Angels’ slow start in the AL West:  “Mike Scioscia is playing rope-a-dope with us.”</big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>                                                - o -</big>  (The  Nub is a team effort skippered by Dick Starkey.  Comments to <a href="mailto:dickstar@aol.com">dickstar@aol.com</a> are welcome, as are subscription requests.  Previous Nubs can be found by scrolling below.) <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> (Posted: 5/13/10)<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <big>The Scotus and Baseball Scouting Game<o:p></o:p></big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>USA Today asked veteran Florida Marlins scout Mickey White how the job of birddog has changed between the time he started out decades ago and now.  His answer:  “We are completely inundated with information (without) the ability to discern between good information and disinformation.”<o:p></o:p></big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>White watched in the late ‘80’s and early ‘90’s as the scouting process changed from sight-based evaluation to sabermetrics; that is, from recommending a player for what eyeballing him says he can become, to a review of his stats which tell what he has done. As the evolving technology helped statistical records expand, the info available on young players multiplied.  So, amid myriad positive and negative reports, it’s become more challenging for baseball people to get a clear picture of a prospect’s potential.  </big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>Scouts in the political game face a similar challenge in sizing up Supreme Court prospect Elena Kagan.  Skipper Obama decided he wanted to add her to the court lineup after watching her play at the <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Chicago</st1:placename> and on his team in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Washington</st1:place></st1:state>.  But aside from that, the record book on Kagan is a mixed bag of information.  Alternet’s Scotus scout Byard Duncan compiled this report:</big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>“Kagan is… an accommodator.  Like Obama, she is a consensus builder, not a hard-line activist: She’s pro-abortion rights but also pro-death penalty; she hates DADT (‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’), but has expressed support for the Defense of Marriage Act…”<o:p></o:p></big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>That is the stance of a switch-hitter who prefers to bat from the left side of the plate.  Kagan doesn’t inside-out or pull the ball but likes to hit straight away.  Her tendency is to choke up on the handle rather than swing for the fences. Kagan’s practice of playing a careful game frustrates many observers, but it should hinder opponents from calling her out when she takes her turn under the Senate dome.  Ron Klain, assistant to the skipper’s top coach Joe Biden, confirmed that she’d be watching her step: "You will see before the committee that she walks that line in a very appropriate way.  She will be forthcoming with the committee. It will be a robust and engaging conversation about the law, but she will obviously also respect the conventions about how far a nominee should or shouldn’t go in answering about specific legal questions."</big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>Opponents are expected to try to drive her off the plate because she’s never had the challenge of judicial playing experience.  She’ll hang in and get a hit, say supporters, and come around to score.</big> <big>                             -     -     -</big> <big>ESPN’s Buster Olney notes that David Wright is on a pace to strike out well over 200 times this season, compared to 140 last year.  Here is what he says is what happened:  “It's as if all National League teams now are working from the same book when pitching to David Wright.  Early in a game, or early in a count, pitchers are busting him inside with fastballs to knock him off the plate, to make him uncomfortable. And then they spin breaking balls away, or come back inside with fastballs.<o:p></o:p></big> <big> “Clearly, he is not comfortable at the plate; scouts are noticing that he is flinching at breaking pitches, a tendency that they believe started after Wright was beaned last summer in a game against the Giants.”<o:p></o:p></big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>MLB apparently feels there’s enough substance to complaints the Phillies bullpen coach is stealing signs that they have put umpires on “full alert” to watch for it happening.  The <st1:place w:st="on">Rockies</st1:place> filed the complaint after the first game of their series with the Phils this week.  The evidence MLB found in an investigation was “inconclusive”, a spokesman said.</big> <big>  </big>                               - o - (The  Nub is a team effort skippered by Dick Starkey.  Comments to <a href="mailto:dickstar@aol.com">dickstar@aol.com</a> are welcome, as are subscription requests.  Previous Nubs can be found by scrolling below.)   (Posted: 5/11/10)<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <big>Eco-Ball Reality: It’s Better to be an Angel Than a Greek <o:p></o:p></big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>Snap quiz: What do the LA Angels and the state of <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:state> have in common?</big> <big>MLB-TV’s Bob Costas and the Times’ Paul Krugman unknowingly set up the connection late last week. </big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>While doing play-by-play of an Angels-Red Sox game, Costas mused about the plight of the two teams.  The Angels were doing much worse than the .500-playing Red Sox, he noted, having lost six straight and falling six games under .500.  But of the two you knew, he said, that the Angels would get back into the pennant race.  The Sox’s future was problematic. The differing outlook resulted from where the two teams were playing in the baseball universe: <st1:city w:st="on">Boston</st1:city> had <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Tampa</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Bay</st1:placetype></st1:place> and the Yankees to deal with in the tough AL East.  The Angels were in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">AL</st1:state></st1:place>’s comparatively weak four-team division out West.</big> <big> </big> <big>In his column, Krugman pointed out that <st1:state w:st="on">California</st1:state>, part of an international economic league, had a plight of its own along with a struggling member of the circuit’s European division, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Greece</st1:country-region></st1:place>.  Both have experienced disastrous fiscal losing streaks.  But <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Greece</st1:place></st1:country-region>, like the Red Sox, is in the more challenging situation of the two.  Lacking a divisional commissioner’s office – that is, a central government - from whom it can seek help, <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Athens</st1:place></st1:city> has a grim fight on its hands.</big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>Although many Californians may consider themselves anti-government, their state will ride out the bad stretch thanks to aid from what they perceive as the enemy.  Krugman elaborates: “Much of the money spent in <st1:state w:st="on">California</st1:state> comes from <st1:state w:st="on">Washington</st1:state>, not <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Sacramento</st1:place></st1:city>.  State funding may be slashed, but Medicare reimbursements, Social Security checks, and payments to defense contractors will keep coming.<o:p></o:p></big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>“What this means…is that California’s budget woes won’t keep the state from sharing in a broader U.S. economic recovery…If Greece had its own currency, it could try to engineer such a recovery by devaluing that currency, increasing its export competitiveness.  But <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Greece</st1:country-region></st1:place> is on the euro.”   </big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>A worrisome caveat: Unless or until European Union nations make good their promise of hundreds of billions in aid, the danger persists that <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Greece</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s debt problem, now going global, can cut down the recovery rally here.  </big> <big>                             -     -     -                    </big> <big>ESPN’s Orel Hersheiser noted Sunday night that the Yankees could weather a rash of injuries better than most teams “because they can afford to have major leaguers on the bench…Randy Winn could be playing regularly almost anywhere.”</big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>Stat city: After the weekend, three teams – the Tigers, Yankees and Twins – </big> <big>accounted for the top six places in the <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">AL</st1:place></st1:state> batting race with two each on the list. </big> <big><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Detroit</st1:city></st1:place>’s Austin Jackson and Miguel Cabrera were one and two, the Yanks’ Robinson Cano and Bret Gardner three and four, and the Twins’ Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau five and six. </big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>Someone had to take the fall for the performance of the last-place (in the AL West) Mariners.  Just before the team broke an eight-game losing streak Sunday, it fired hitting coach Alan Cockrell. </big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>In that context, one hates to point fingers, but…After Mets hitters struck out a total of 23 times over Saturday and Sunday – that is, the Ks amounted to more than a third of their 60 outs – we were reminded of the record of the team’s batting coach: Howard Johnson fanned well over 20 percent of the time during his 14 years in the bigs.  We considered the memorably wild-swinging HoJo an odd choice for the job of teaching people like David Wright how to cut down on his swings and misses.  It seems odder than ever these days. </big> <big>                          - o -</big> (The  Nub is a team effort skippered by Dick Starkey.  Comments to <a href="mailto:dickstar@aol.com">dickstar@aol.com</a> are welcome, as are subscription requests.  Previous Nubs can be found by scrolling below.)  <o:p></o:p> (Posted: 5/8/10) <o:p> </o:p> <big>Barack and the Other Black Center Fielders<o:p></o:p></big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>When the names of young African-American center fielders are reeled off – Michael Bourn, Dexter Fowler, Curtis Granderson, Austin Jackson, Matt Kemp, Cameron Maybin, Andrew McCutchen, Denard Span. – there’s an obvious political-field equivalent: the heavily scouted skipper Barack Obama.</big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>Center fielders, we know, have to range to their left and right as well as cover the broad swath in the middle of the outfield.  The reliability of their performance is taken for granted; they wouldn’t be there if they weren’t adroit.  On the rare occasions when we hear about them they’ve screwed up.</big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>Unlike Carlos Beltran, say, who had to cover expanses of left and right field when Daniel Murphy and Fernando Tatis were stationed there with him last season, Obama does well to steer clear of drifting from his regular position.  He has disappointed liberals and intensified the hostility of conservatives when swinging far in either opposite direction.  (He managed to move both ways on health care reform and coastal drilling, antagonizing left and right.)</big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>We know from the skipper’s record book that in center is where he has always wanted to be.  He’s beleaguered even there now because of the laid-back game he plays faced with political long balls: oil pollution, curbs on Wall Street, domestic terrorism, etc.  His cautious approach in fielding the barrage has brought forth boos from the press box.  Discussing David Remnick’s “The Bridge” in the NY Review of Books, Joseph Lelyfeld notes how the skipper set himself up for ever-broader opposition:</big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>“The very qualities of thoughtfulness and patience that made Obama’s election seem such a hopeful harbinger now make him vulnerable to charges of weakness from both flanks of the political divide…And in the short term at least, it doesn’t play conspicuously well in the media echo chamber, which is always spoiling for a fight, doesn’t reward prudence, and has no time for ambiguity.”<o:p></o:p></big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>The good center fielders know how to adjust to new challenges.  Democrats know the urgency of the answer to this question: Is the skipper, so at home in his position, up to making the adjustment?  </big> <big>                      -     -     -</big> <big>Stat city: It’s been no contest so far between the Yanks and Red Sox in the AL Leaders category.  Going into Friday night, Robinson Cano was third in hitting with a .362 and tied for third in HRs with nine.  A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte and C.C. Sabathia were fifth, sixth and 11th among the top 20 in the league’s ERA category.  The lone Red Sox player on either list:  Clay Buchholz, 14th in ERA. </big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>The Giants, backed by the division’s best starting threesome, are asserting themselves early in the NL West.  As the weekend opened, SF had won nine of 12 and inched into first ahead of the Padres.  The Giants’ 17-10 record put them on a 102-60 pace.  The three-game series with the Mets will be their only regular-season appearance in NY.  Tim Lincecum pitches Sunday.  The Mets will be spared having to face Barry Zito and Matt Cain.</big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>One reason SF’s cross-bay rival <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Oakland</st1:place></st1:city> is fighting for top spot in the AL West: closer Andrew Bailey.  Counting carryover from 2009, Bailey has saved 26 games in 26 tries and logged 20-and-two-thirds scoreless innings.  </big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>From the e-mailbag:  “I'm tired of all of this grousing about the Yankee payroll.  For almost 50 years the Mets have had access to the same fan base as the Yankees.  By extension they have had access to the same financing from that fan base. In fact, their payroll has been in the top five of all major league teams for much of the last ten years. Yet, what do they have to show for it?” – Gary M, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Princeton</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">NJ</st1:state></st1:place></big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>“I don't remember your being so critical when the Yanks were not doing too well even given they had the same leadership (Cashman & the Steinbrenners) and lots of money.”  - Earl R, <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Manhattan</st1:place></st1:city></big> <big>                       - o -</big> (The  Nub is a team effort skippered by Dick Starkey.  Comments to <a href="mailto:dickstar@aol.com">dickstar@aol.com</a> are welcome, as are subscription requests.  Previous Nubs can be found by scrolling below.)   <big> </big> <big> </big> (Posted: 5/6/10)<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <big>Targeting the Wall Street of Baseball, the Yankees of Finance<o:p></o:p></big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>Why is it that, in the field of financial reform, the status of the Yankees comes to a baseball fan’s mind?   It might be because the Yanks are the Wall Street of the sport.  Or that both the mayor of NYC and the NY governor could have been speaking of the NYYs when they recently defended Wall Street.  Said Mayor Bloomberg: Wall Street accounts for “40 percent” of the city’s tax proceeds.  Said Governor David Paterson: Wall Street accounts for “22 percent” of state revenue.</big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>Banks and investment firms around the country exert similar financial clout in their bailiwicks.  We know the Yanks, meanwhile, are the only team extant to pay a luxury tax to help other franchises; and, furthermore, they contribute the most to baseball’s separate revenue-sharing arrangement.  Under the circumstances, why shouldn’t we be happy to let the Yankees and Wall Street alone?  </big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>There is the question of fairness, some people say.  But we know how far-fetched it is to think a fair financial playing field will ever be laid out in baseball.   It may be more likely to happen on Wall Street.  Newsweek columnist Ezra Klein explains why:</big> <big> “The market's rules are these: you make as much money as you can without actually going to jail. This is a world in which people are applauded for ‘blowing up the customer’—that is to say, offloading a crap product on a dim investor.  But it's not the world the rest of us live in.  And if Wall Street doesn't realize that quick,  financial regulation might turn out very badly for them…<o:p></o:p></big> <big> “This brings us to a word that's very important to most people but not very important to Wall Street: fairness… The (bank) bailout might have been necessary to save our economy, but all of it is deeply unfair.  Americans were punished for Wall Street's sins and they want reform that will bring this industry more into line with their values…As partial owners and continual backstoppers, they want to remake the business into something they feel comfortable insuring.  Fair's fair. “ <o:p></o:p></big> <big>The skipper is shifting his feet as he stands at the plate now on this very issue.  Gestures aside, no one knows for sure what his final stance will be.<o:p></o:p></big> <big>               -     -     -</big> <big>Fair-Guess Future Divisional Winners (after first month of season):  AL East: Yanks and Rays (one gets wild card); AL Central: ?  AL West: ?   NL East: Phillies; NL Central: Cardinals; NL West: ?  NL Wild Card: ?</big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>Is it premature to presume that four of eight playoff spots will be filled by teams thus tabbed?  We think not.  (Sorry about that, Red Sox fans.)</big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>The Sox are said to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">miss</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Jason</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Bay</st1:placename></st1:place> in their lineup.  But Bay has misplaced his power stroke (1 HR) with the Mets and looks lost at the plate, as he did yesterday – two Ks in an 0-for-4 day - in the loss to the Reds.  His BA is a dreary .238.  On the faintly brighter side, Bay has surprised local fans by running well and always hustling on the basepaths.</big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>More on Johnny Damon: In 16 years in the bigs, he has been on the DL a grand total of once.  (Per MLB-TV)</big> <big>                        </big> <big>Stat city:  Two off-the-radar names in the eastern half of the country are among league leaders in separate categories.  <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Houston</st1:place></st1:city> center fielder Michael Bourn has the most outfield assists - five - in either league.  And the Mariners’ Doug Fister leads the <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">AL</st1:place></st1:state> in ERA with a 1.29 over 35 innings</big>.                         - o - (The  Nub is a team effort skippered by Dick Starkey.  Comments to <a href="mailto:dickstar@aol.com">dickstar@aol.com</a> are welcome, as are subscription requests.  Previous Nubs can be found by scrolling below.) (Posted: 5/4/10)<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <big>On Baseball Going to Bat Against <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Arizona</st1:place></st1:state>’s Anti-Latino Law <o:p></o:p></big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>What are the chances of baseball intervening in the rhubarb over <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Arizona</st1:place></st1:state>’s new immigration law?  Based on the record of the sport’s attitude toward the little guy, the answer should be no chance.  We know the history of owners trying to keep players under their financial thumbs.  In the early ‘50s Branch Rickey summed up the attitude when he accused the would-be players union of having “avowed communist tendencies.”  And still today, reports from the region say poor young campesinos, recruited to try out for our pro teams in <st1:place w:st="on">Latin America</st1:place>, are introduced to a better life, then sent back to poverty when they fail to measure up.  </big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>So, we should be able to dismiss talk of shifting next year’s All-Star game away from <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Arizona</st1:place></st1:state>, or of teams refusing to use spring training sites in the state.  Or even of the players union taking aggressive action in support of the Latino players representing 27 percent of major-league rosters.  (Prosperous athletes, the union can reason, are unlikely to be affected by the new law.)  </big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>But, if the Arizona Diamondbacks take a hit because people stay away from their games, both at home and away - that is, if one of the brotherhood of owners is winged economically – then baseball may well go to bat against the law.  Straight-talking White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen gave Bud Selig and co. a populist rationale for such a move:  “This country could not survive without…the Latinos.  They cannot live without us.   A lot of (Americans)…( a)re very lazy.  They want to be on the computer and sending e-mail, and we do the hard work…to make this country better.”<o:p></o:p></big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>You’d find little argument with that in our major cities.  But people in smaller communities seem to feel differently, according to polls.</big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>Team Obama has the clout to chase the law from the field, but it needs both major political clubs to come together to use its power.  Team GOP is playing a hard-nosed game, which National Journal’s Ronald Brownstein says is putting it and everyone at risk:  </big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>“The hardening…position could expose the GOP to long-term political danger.  Although Hispanics are now one-sixth of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region></st1:place> population, they constitute one-fifth of all 10-year-olds and one-fourth of 1-year-olds.  The larger threat is to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s social cohesion.  Democrats, with their own divisions, can't reform the immigration system alone.  Either both parties will accept that responsibility or the nation will likely suffer through years of sharpening social division symbolized by the escalating battle over <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Arizona</st1:place></st1:state>.”<o:p></o:p></big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>               -     -     -</big> <big>Re: The Night the Magic Stopped:  For Mets fans, the final game of the first series with the Phillies, so freighted with significance, started so well and ended so badly.  But the outcome had this benefit: it should have disabused the fans of even thinking their team could compete with the defending NL champions.  They can relax now, and, if they are wise, resist dreaming another impossible dream: winning the wild card.   </big> <big> </big> <big>The Globe’s Nick Cafardo noted the other day the three-team, multi-player deal in which the Tigers sent Curtis Granderson to the Yankees for Austin Jackson has worked out well for Detroit.  <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Jackson</st1:place></st1:city> has “outperformed” Granderson (now on the DL); that was the word used.  It doesn’t do justice to the BA disparity between the two.  After going three-for-five last night (including a double and triple), <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Jackson</st1:place></st1:city> was batting .377 after 26 games compared to Granderson’s .225 after 23.  Granderson has hit two home runs to <st1:city w:st="on">Jackson</st1:city>’s one; <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Jackson</st1:place></st1:city> leads in stolen bases 5-4 and RBIs 8-7. </big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>A month into the season, only one of six divisions has daylight between its first-and second-place teams: it’s the NL Central, with the Cardinals five games ahead of the runner-up Cubs, after last night’s victory over <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Philadelphia</st1:place></st1:city>.</big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big>                         - o - (The  Nub is a team effort skippered by Dick Starkey.  Comments to <a href="mailto:dickstar@aol.com">dickstar@aol.com</a> are welcome, as are subscription requests.  Previous Nubs can be found by scrolling below.)  <o:p></o:p> (Posted: 5/1/10)<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <big>Pitching Populism in Politics and at the Yankees<o:p></o:p></big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>“Everybody hates the Yankees,” Skipper Obama said (in so many words) at the White House the other day. (After a sassy Yankee exec told him that, as a White Sox fan, he was as close to the World Series trophy as he could hope to get.) </big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>The skipper was responding to an expression of arrogance that non-pinstripe fans associate with the Bombers.  It was, in effect, a populist response to the privileged status the Yanks have attained owing, in large part, to money.  Attentive fans know, for example, that the Yankees can outbid any other team seeking the services of Carl Crawford after his <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Tampa</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Bay</st1:placetype></st1:place> contract runs out this season.</big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>Progressives wonder why Obama doesn’t pitch the same populist fireballs at Team GOP for its Yankees-like traits: a fan base that is well-off, a policy of preventing the opposition from taking positive action.  In the health care reform game, we’ve seen the GOP-ers stop enactment of a public option, just as in the financial regs contest they may well succeed in keeping a consumer protection initiative off the field.</big> <big><o:p> </o:p></big> <big>The skipper has made warm-up tosses aimed at calling attention to the elitism Team GOP represents.  But American Prospect’s Bob Kuttner says Barack can score with the public if he emulates Harry Truman, who was in the same pickle more than half-a-century ago:</big> <big> “Populism turned out to be winning politics for Truman, not because it was cheap demagoguery but because there were real differences between the parties and major public issues at stake whose resolution one way or the other would benefit different classes of voters.  Billionaire Warren Buffett once quipped that there is class warfare in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>, ‘but it's my class, the rich class, that's making war, and we're winning.’  It is astonishing how the commentators who cluck about the perils of mentioning class routinely ignore endemic class warfare from the top…<o:p></o:p></big> <big> “To be a conservative Republican is to believe that markets function just fine, people mostly get what they deserve, and government typically screws things up.  To be a liberal Democrat is to believe that market forces are often cruel and inefficient; that the powerful take advantage of the powerless; and that there are whole areas of economic life, from health care to employment, where we need activist government.  Obama needs to be more ideological, in the best sense of the word.”      </big> <big>                       </big> <big> A familiar argument, yes; but Dems are waiting to see if the follow-through will be another half-swing by the skipper?                       </big> <big>                             -     -     -</big> <big>ERA Leaders:  Let’s see, there’s the Mets’ Mike Pelfrey (0.69), <st1:place w:st="on">Rockies</st1:place>’ Ubaldo Jimenez (0.79) and Wade LeBlanc.  Who?  LeBlanc is a 26-year-old lefthander with the San Diego Padres.  He has given up only a single earned run in three starts.  His ERA: 0.82.  Livan Hernandez is next with 0.87.  Then comes Nelson Liriano, the top <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">AL</st1:state></st1:place> pitcher in the list, with 0.93.  </big> <big> The Red Sox have recalled 40-year-old Alan Embree from Triple-A Pawtucket.  Embree hadn’t been in the minors in almost 20 years.  He told the Globe’s Amalie Benjamin that the experience “invigorated” him, but it wasn’t easy: “Pitching in the cold, pitching with different baseballs, flat mounds — not the best situation to pitch in. You find out how spoiled you are up here. <o:p></o:p></big> <big> “You do learn a new appreciation… The facilities aren’t quite as nice, training room’s not quite as nice, food’s not quite as nice. You can go down the list. The travel.  I was probably the only guy in that (International) league this year that will have used a heating pad on a bus.’’  <o:p></o:p></big> <big>                              - o -</big> (The  Nub is a team effort skippered by Dick Starkey.  Comments to <a href="mailto:dickstar@aol.com">dickstar@aol.com</a> are welcome, as are subscription requests.  Previous Nubs can be found by scrolling below.)  <o:p></o:p> <big> </big> </body> </html>

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