BASEBALL DIARY: it's shaping up as a tough week for the Tigers--they lost again last night to the Red Sox, 10-5. And don't be fooled by the final score--the Tigers trailed 10-0, and then only got some runs largely thanks to Red Sox errors and walks. Fact is, the team isn't hitting; and pitchers such as starter Armando Galarraga and reliever Nate Robertson aren't getting the job done, either. The AL East is sure shaping up as the American League's toughest division; the Central? Not so much, with the Tigers' performance this week vs Boston being exhibit A.
But the Cubs edged the Braves, 3-2 in 11 innings. Still not much offense--but Ted Lilly pitched well and Kevin Gregg set the Braves down in order in the 11th to get the save.
And the Texas Rangers played a very solid game, beating the Yankees, 4-2. Scott Feldman again kept the ball down and got lots of ground balls; Michael Young and Elvis Andrus played very good defense behind him; and C.J. Wilson and Frankie Francisco closed the game. The Rangers had to play well in order to cool the Yankees off; it helped that Yankee starter Andy Pettite was off his game...
OBAMA MIDDLE EAST SPEECH UPDATE: you can read about the speech here.
He tries very hard to reach out to both sides of every question, to split differences...and I don't sense that he said anything very new. I am glad that he said this:
"We will, however, relentlessly confront violent extremists who pose a grave threat to our security -- because we reject the same thing that people of all faiths reject: the killing of innocent men, women and children. And it is my first duty as president to protect the American people."
But there was a lot the speech did not do, as David Gelernter on NRO points out:
"It’s easy to denounce the murder of 3,000 innocents on 9/11 — which the president did. It’s much harder to condemn the Arab crowds who danced in the streets afterward — which the president did not do. It’s easy to decry the long years of “tension” between the Muslim world and the U.S., but much harder to discuss the liaisons between Arab leaders and Nazi Germany, followed by the era of Soviet client states armed to the teeth and dedicated to the mass murder of Israelis. It’s easy to denounce President Bush’s America, but much harder to give it due credit and to uphold the honor of the United States and not just the honor of Barack Obama. “I believe that the Iraqi people are ultimately better off without the tyranny of Saddam Hussein,” said the president. Ultimately? And is this a belief, or is it a fact?
IS THE GOP DEAD? DEPT: Nope--a new poll shows the Republican candidate for governor in New Jersey, Chris Christie, with a 13 point lead over the incumbent, Jon Corzine.
