BASEBALL DIARY:
Tigers 12, Orioles 9: so the Tigers are home again, playing some of baseball's, er, lesser teams right now (the Mariners and Orioles), and have won 3 of 4. All good. Maybe Brandon Inge is getting hot; he had 4 RBIs yesterday, and Brennan Boesch didn't have a hit but walked 4 times--that shows he's not over-anxious, has a good eye, is willing to take a walk. Only bad news is that young Tigers' starter Andy Oliver got shelled, and you want to see Tiger starters get more consistent.
Indians 9, Rangers 3: the Rangers are slumping a bit; they've lost 5 of 7, and had a young, inexperienced pitcher going last night. Meanwhile the Indians have won 7 of 9. It all added up to a Rangers loss...
POLITICS DEPT:
In California, even MSNBC.com's "First Read" agrees that Republicans have a chance in the California gubernatorial race, given the missteps of Democrat Jerry Brown's campaign:
"Although Jerry Brown (D) is slightly leading Meg Whitman (R) in the race for California governor, according to polls, state Democrats are voicing their concerns that Brown’s campaign hasn’t been active enough in defending Whitman’s TV air assault. The Los Angeles Times: “The combination of Whitman's wealth and a distinct lack of energy by Brown is making California Democrats nervous about their candidate's prospects in the fall. ‘If you're going to run for governor, you have to do what it takes. You can't tell yourself or tell everyone else there is some special way for you to do this that is completely outside the norms that apply to everyone else,’ said Democratic strategist Garry South.” It's somewhat surprising that Brown is allowing himself to get out-maneuvered on the new media front and with this new news cycle given that Brown had been notable for being an early adapter for populist campaign tactics, like, for instance 800-numbers back during his '92 campaign when that was still "quaint" and intriguing. Brown's campaign today looks like a relic and is making it easier for Whitman to paint him as someone from the past."
