I know you join me in saying….
WE LOVE OUR TROOPS!!!
Baseball Quiz: 1) What Hall of Fame pitcher threw the most
Opening Day starts? [If you’re really good, you’ll know this
hurler is not the same man who ‘won’ the most Opening Game
starts…another with a plaque in Cooperstown.] 2) The
other day I had a quiz on the only two pitchers with winning
percentages of over .700 lifetime (minimum 100 wins). Name
the pitcher with the highest winning percentage who also had
over 200 victories. 3) Who was the last pitcher to no-hit the New
York Yankees? [Hint: It was 1958…yes, that’s a record
consecutive season streak without being no-no’ed.] Answers
below.
Baseball Bits
It’s Opening Day, thank God, so gather around the office coffee
machine and read what the great Ernie Harwell did for about 55
years (Harwell retired last season as the Detroit Tigers’
broadcaster), the “Song of the Turtle.”
For, lo, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone;
The flowers appear on the earth;
The time of the singing of birds is come,
And the voice of the turtle is heard in our land.
Harwell chose this to “celebrate the freshness of spring, renewed
life and opportunities…ushering in the baseball season for fans
the world over,” according to Jacqueline Repp of ESPN. I don’t
know about you, but I’m ready, and heck, all of our teams start
out in first place. [Except Anaheim, which lost on Sunday.]
–Did you know that the great Ted Williams never had a hitting
streak more than 23 games? It’s trooo, it’s wheelwee trooo.
–Brooklyn’s great lefthander Preacher Roe on how to pitch to
Stan Musial: “I throw him four wide ones, then I try to pick him
off first base.”
–In the current Sports Illustrated there is an article about how
starting pitchers are yanked once they get to 120 pitches these
days, though there is no real evidence this protects the arm.
Back in 1974, Nolan Ryan threw 235(!) pitches in a 13-inning
effort against Luis Tiant, with Tiant taking the loss himself in the
15th. Last year, I believe, I also wrote about another game, a 16-
inning affair between Juan Marichal and Warren Spahn, with
Marichal throwing 227 and Spahn 201 pitches.
Margaret Thatcher
So I have this bad habit of tossing articles and such in a corner of
one of my offices, until there is a big pile fit for a bonfire. Well,
the other day I started going through it and found a speech by
Lady Thatcher from back in November 1994, one given in the
States. In light of current events, I thought the following
passages were quite appropriate.
Thatcher:
Democracy is never mentioned in the Bible. When people are
gathered together, whether as families, communities or nations,
their purpose is not to ascertain the will of the majority, but the
will of the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless, I am an enthusiast of
democracy because it is about more than the will of the majority.
If it were only about the will of the majority, it would be the right
of the majority to oppress the minority. The American
Declaration of Independence and Constitution make it clear that
this is not the case. There are certain rights which are human
rights and which no government can displace. And when it
comes to how you Americans exercise your rights under
democracy, your hearts seem to be touched by something greater
than yourselves. Your role in democracy does not end when you
cast your vote in an election. It applies daily; the standards and
values that are the moral foundations of society are also the
foundations of your lives.
Democary is essential to preserving freedom. As Lord Acton
reminded us, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power
corrupts absolutely.” If no individual can be trusted with power
indefinitely, it is even more true that no government can be. It
has to be checked, and the best way of doing so is through the
will of the majority, bearing in mind that this will can never be a
substitute for individual human rights.
I am often asked whether I think there will be a single
international democracy, known as a “new world order.”
Though many of us may yearn for one, I do not believe it will
ever arrive. We are misleading ourselves about human nature
when we say, “Surely we’re too civilized, too reasonable, ever to
go to war again,” or, “We can rely on our governments to get
together and reconcile our differences.” Tyrants are not moved
by idealism. They are moved by naked ambition. Idealism did
not stop Hitler; it did not stop Stalin. Our best hope as sovereign
nations is to maintain strong defenses. Indeed, that has been one
of the most important moral as well as geopolitical lessons of the
20th century. Dictators are encouraged by weakness; they are
stopped by strength. By strength, of course, I do not merely
mean military might but the resolve to use that might against
evil.
The West did show sufficient resolve against Iraq during the
Persian Gulf War. But we failed bitterly in Bosnia. In this case,
instead of showing resolve, we preferred “diplomacy” and
“consensus.” As a result, a quarter of a million people were
massacred. This was a horror that I, for one, never expected to
see again in my lifetime. But it happened. Who knows what
tragedies the future holds if we do not learn from the repeated
lessons of history? The price of freedom is still, and always will
be, eternal vigilance.
Free societies demand more care and devotion than any others.
They are, moreover, the only societies with moral foundations,
and those foundations are evident in their political, economic,
legal, cultural, and, most importantly, spiritual life.
We who are living in the West today are fortunate. Freedom has
been bequeathed to us. We have not had to carve it out of
nothing; we have not had to pay for it with our lives. Others
before us have done so. But it would be a grave mistake to think
that freedom requires nothing of us. Each of us has to earn
freedom anew in order to possess it. We do so not just for our
own sake, but for the sake of our children, so that they may build
a better future that will sustain over the wider world the
responsibilities and blessings of freedom.
[Margaret Thatcher taught us well, don’t you think?]
Canada
Harry K. passed along a speech written by an 18-year-old female
Ontario student who opposes the pacifist stance taken by her
government, re: Iraq.
[Excerpts]
Mr. Speaker, at this time Canada is in desperate need, and
without an action from this House, this great country will be
destroyed. Not by guns, or terrorists, but by the Liberal
government.
Their decision to give Iraq time to disarm was diplomatic. Their
decision to believe in the United Nations was honorable. But
their decision to not act at all was cowardly.
Mr. Speaker, this Parliament’s actions in these past weeks have
transformed Canada’s reputation in the eyes of the free world,
and in the eyes of its own citizens.
In the past, Canada has fought for peace. We have stood strong
when democracy was in its darkest hour. We have shown the
world how to act diplomatically, and morally.
In the past, Canada has joined our allies, fighting hand in hand in
order to destroy certain injustices and terrorism.
In the past, Canada has taken a stand in order to provide justice
for our fellow human beings.
Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, I cannot accredit Canada to these
great virtues today.
I must tell you that Canada is delivering its own injustice by
becoming passive and recreant, with the situation in Iraq.
Our friends in democracy commissioned their allies to aid them
in the fight against the Iraqi government. Recently, this
Parliament told our friends to the south, that we did not support
them in any actions that they took that were a direct violation of
the United Nations resolutions.
We have shown the United States that we are conditional friends.
Mr. Speaker, at this time I must remind this House what
Canadian patriotism entails. A Canadian patriot is someone who
is proud of his country. It is someone who fights for his country
and for freedom and democracy. A Canadian patriot strives to
relive the oppressed in nations that they may never see. And
finally, a Canadian patriot will stop at nothing to bring these
values to the entire world….
Countries that are in desperation must know how to be proud of
their country. They must learn how to be free and to teach others
these values. This is the only way that we can spread democracy
throughout the world. This is the only way that we can ever
hope to bring peace.
It is a misconception that peace can be acquired by being
passive.
Canada must take a stand….
[Source: Nicolle Thompson / National Post]
—
Stuff
–Great golf weekend. It was last year that Dan D. in Honolulu
told me about Michelle Wie, the now 13-year-old golfing
phenom. All Wie did was finish in the top ten in her first LPGA
major championship this weekend. There seems to be little
doubt that Wie will one day be on the men’s tour. She’s already
banging it 300 yards, for cryin’ out loud. You thought that Tiger
turned the sports world upside down? This girl could break all
the conventions. [Too bad a French woman won the damn thing,
however.]
Johnny Mac reminded me he has leftovers in his fridge older
than Wie.
[By the way, New Jersey sports fans, if you want to catch Wie,
she is scheduled to tee it up at the Shop Rite LPGA event June
27-29 down near Atlantic City…Seaview Resort.]
–And if you’ve followed the PGA Tour for a number of years,
you’d probably agree with my opinion that for the first time ever,
Davis Love III seems comfortable being Davis Love. What a
terrific performance Sunday at The Players Championship.
And hats off to Wake Forest’s Jay Haas for his solid 2nd place
finish. The man is 49!
–Uh oh…I’ve been the biggest Arnold Palmer fan around, but
I’m not so sure I want to see him in the Masters, as it now
appears will be the case. Augusta is giving the old champions
another chance to tee it up, if they feel like it. Then again, if
Arnie fires an opening 69 (which, of course, I expect) we could
have a great story. [He had 85-89 last year in what was supposed
to be his last appearance.]
–Touching story the other day concerning PGA caddie Bruce
Edwards, best known for being on Tom Watson’s bag during
Watson’s huge years. Edwards has ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease.
To show you what a class act Watson is, he has vowed to cover
all of Edwards’s costs (Bruce doesn’t have insurance). For an
ALS patient, that’s over $200,000 a year.
–Did you catch Kobe Bryant’s performance on Friday night
versus Washington and Michael Jordan? 55 points…42 in the
first half, which included a streak where he scored 23
consecutive points for the Lakers.
–Back to the ladies, Michelle Kwan captured her 5th world figure
skating title, the first to hit that figure in 43 years. Carol Heiss
won 5 times and Sonja Henie won 10 in a row back in the 20s
and 30s.
–Wake Forest pitching ace Kyle Sleeth just tied a NCAA record
with his 26th consecutive victory.
–The last time Marquette was in the Final Four was 1977, when
they beat Wake Forest in the regional final to get there.
–Did I say Arizona would win it all? I meant Marquette.
–I meant Kansas.
–I meant Syracuse.
–I meant Texas.
April Fools’ Day
Supposedly, this all started in France (aaghhh!) in 1582 and
corresponded with the advent of the Gregorian calendar that
moved New Year’s Day from April 1 to January 1. But since
communications sucked back then, it took years for many to get
with the program. I imagine there were some who went to
stadiums to watch athletic events, only to learn the match
occurred 3 months earlier.
Well, since you had these non-believers, they continued to hold
New Year’s celebrations on April 1. Other folks would then
ridicule them, like Nelson from The Simpsons, “Haa…Haa.”
Alas, the foolishness evolved into prank-playing on April 1 and
by the 18th century the custom had spread around the world.
[Source: Gerald Ensley / KRT News Service…another old article
I found in the pile.]
Top 3 songs for the week of 4/3/71: #1 “Just My Imagination”
(The Temptations) #2 “Me And Bobby McGee” (Janis Joplin)
#3 “For All We Know” (Carpenters)
Baseball Quiz Answers: 1) Tom Seaver has the most Opening
Day starts, 16, but Walter Johnson has the most victories, 9 (out
of 14…Seaver had 7). 2) Whitey Ford has the highest lifetime
winning percentage for a pitcher with over 200 victories, .690.
Ford, one of the most underrated chuckers in history, went 236-
106, plus he had the 3rd lowest ERA of any pitcher with over
3,000 innings… 2.75 3) Hoyt Wilhelm was the last pitcher to
throw a no-hitter against the Yankees in 1958. The longest
streak for a club without throwing one (complete seasons) is the
Philadelphia Phillies, 1907-1963. I love who threw the no-no in
1906 for them, Johnny Lush. Now Lush was born in 1885 in
Williamsport, PA. Oh to be tossing a baseball on a sunny day there
back then. Must have been classic Americana, the editor mused.
Anyway, Lush was 66-85 in his career, but with an excellent 2.68
ERA. He also completed 105 of his 155 career starts.
Next Bar Chat, Thursday. Depending on the news events of the
next few days, I may get around to telling you what is so special
about 2003. It’s the 50th anniversary of…Playboy.
