BASEBALL DIARY:
Twins 4, Tigers 3: a tough loss. Credit the Twins for making huge plays in the 9th inning to win the game. Not a great offensive night for the Tigers--key stat: they forced Twins' starter Nick Blackburn to throw only 85 pitches through 8 innings.
A's 7, Rangers 6: another tough loss. Key stat in this one: Rangers' starter Scott Feldman still hasn't quite found it this year; he gave up 7 runs in the 7 innings he pitched, though he did retire the final 12 men he faced. Feldman won 17 games last year; the Rangers are counting on him.
And there's sad news today in baseball--Hall of Fame broadcaster, radio voice of the Detroit Tigers for 42 years, Ernie Harwell has died. He was 92. I grew up in western Michigan, one of those millions of boys who grew up in this state listening to the Tigers and therefore...to Ernie. Just thinking of him makes me think of those warm, summer nights, and how much enjoyment he gave us. This piece today in the Detroit News has it right:
"He became the foundation of baseball in Michigan. He taught the game to a million or more youngsters from Monroe to Iron Mountain, down into Ohio, and across into Ontario. Because of him, and his voice, they learned to understand baseball. They learned to love the sport. They learned to respect it."
Amen. That was certainly true for me. RIP, Ernie.
POLITICS UPDATE DEPT:
The Times Square Bomber:
Victor Davis Hanson of NRO has what is, so far, the most penetrating insight in the wake of the incident:
"...we are doing our darnedest to playact that radical Muslims who are trying to kill us are not trying to kill us; and two, we are not seeing a lot of peaceful blowback from the virtual closing of Guantanamo, the virtual trial of KSM, the reach out in the Al Arabiya interview, the "reset" rhetoric, the Cairo speech, and the apology tour — 2009 saw the most terrorism attempts since 2001."
Some on the left will undoubtedly claim that Obama hasn't yet been in office long enough to effect change. But he's been there over a year. His statements get unprecedented play not just in this country, but around the world. Extremist jihadists know exactly what Obama's about. They are not impressed. Don't say conservatives didn't warn you...
Big news today in 2010 election news: David Obey, a powerful and long-serving Democratic congressman from Wisconsin, announces today that he won't run again.
It appears Rep8blicans have an aggressive candidate in place there; could be another GOP pickup...
