Monday, April 27, 2009

Monday's musings

So there are now 73 confirmed cases of swine flu in North America.
Suggestion: this is why it's hardly crazy to be concerned about illegal immigration in America.
Many suspect the flu epidemic originated in Mexico. Health officials in the U.S. are so concerned about the epidemic coming to the U.S. from travelers coming from Mexico, that they are washing down buses, etc. Then surely this disease can be carried by illegal immigrants coming to this country from Mexico, too. Only one thing: we can monitor and check those coming here legally very easily.

Illegal immigrants, however, we can't.
Janet Napolitano, meanwhile, says:
"If people are sick and if you believe you have the flu ... we're asking people don't go to school, don't go to work, don't go to a place where you can infect other people."

Somehow I don't think illegal immigrants will comply with that request.



BASEBALL DIARY: so, the Tigers did well over the weekend, taking two of three from the Kansas City Royals, including yesterday's taut 3-2 win. Keys for the Tigers: they're getting decent starting pitching, from starters like Armando Galarraga and Zach Miner; Brandon Inge is hitting well; the Tigers' bullpen is holding up; and the speed of recent acquisition Josh Anderson is coming in handy (he's hitting .364, stealing bases, etc.) But now comes a challenge--a 3-game series at home with the Yankees.
The Texas Rangers won two of three over the weekend but...lost a very winnable game yesterday to Baltimore, 8-5. Key: the Rangers had a 5-1 lead but starter Brandon McCarthy couldn't shut the Orioles down, and then the bullpen coughed up the rest of the lead. The Rangers still need pitching...
And the Cubs broke a 4-game losing streak by beating St. Louis, 10-3. It was good to see the Cubs hit some...but even more important was the pitching of Rich Harden, who had another solid game. The hitting will come...but it's the pitching you really watch (and need).

FAVORITE TEAMS UPDATE: meanwhile, there's a lot of criticism of the Detroit Lions' draft selections. Who knows, maybe the criticism will be deserved--but we don't know yet. For example--no, Matthew Stafford probably isn't ready to come in and start this year for the Lions. So what? Few QBs are. But if Stafford in 2 or 3 or 4 years develops into a good, even a pro bowl caliber, QB for the Lions, isn't the drafting of him a good decision?