Annual rant against Yankee-haters time!
Those who do not appreciate the commitment to excellence of the New York Yankees, in addition to those who do not know squat about reality, are constantly accusing the Yankees of "buying" championships, and of finishing in first year after year simply because of a large payroll.
The payroll helps, no doubt. Yet so does commitment.
Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada, Derek Jeter, and Mariano Rivera have 45 years of service to the Yankees between them. Not only that, but those four have never played for another team, in the majors or minors. Throw in C.M. Wang, Robinson Cano, and Melky Cabrerra, and you have seven players (five position player starters) that are home grown. Of the 25 men on the post-season roster, 11 came up through the Yankee farm system.
The Mets? Two young home-grown stars in Wright and Reyes, but the rest of the starters are free agent signings- Delgado, Beltran, Pedro, Floyd, etc. The Twins? Good, young home-grown pitching, and some home grown players like Hunter and Morneau, but none of their stars have been eligible for free agency, so it is impossible to tell how loyal they are. The Tigers? Same as the Twins when it comes to pitching, but their offensive leaders are Pudge and Ordonez, who were very high priced free agents. The Dogers? Their ace is Brad Penny and their offensive leader is Nomar. Neither came up through the fabeled Dodgers farm system. Other offensive leaders are Drew, Frucal and Lofton. Free agent, free agent, free agent.
Now lets open up the field to all teams. How many teams have four players who are home grown, with more than ten years of service each? If you can find one, please let me know.
Oh, and just a small reminder- the Yankees will be wearing their "throwback" jerseys in October, like they wore in the 1920s. White with blue pinstripes at home, grey with "New York" in navy across the chest on the road. Navy blue cap, interlocking "NY," at all times.
50 days to go...to 50-50!
I have not studied the House races carefully, but here are my predictions for the Senate:
Dems pick up RI, MT, PA, OH, MO, TN
GOP picks up NJ, hangs on in VA.
50-50 in the Senate. Ought to be a fun 2 years.
You go, girl!!!
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
"In light of the rantings that went on for 30 minutes by two colleagues from the other side, I’d like to state for the record that America is not tired of fighting terrorism; America is tired of the wrongheaded and boneheaded leadership of the Republican party that has sent six and a half billion a month to
Iraq while the front line was Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia.
That led this country to attack Saddam Hussein, when we were attacked by Osama bin Laden. Who captured a man who did not attack the country and let loose a man that did. Americans are tired of boneheaded Republican leadership that alienates our allies when we need them the most. Americans are most certainly tired of leadership that despite documenting mistake after mistake after mistake, even of their own party admitting mistakes, never admit they do anything wrong. That’s the kind of leadership Americans are tired of."
She concluded,
"I’m not going to sit here as a Democrat and let the Republican leadership come to the floor and talk about Democrats not making us safe. They’re the ones in charge and Osama bin Laden is still at loose."
Since it would be fruitless to try and construct an original memorial to 9/11 that matches what has already been said by others more gifted with the language, I will borrow from what has been said by others, in a near close-to-perfect manner:
I give you the poetry of Bruce Springsteen:
My City of RuinsThis is a prayer for our fallen brothers and sisters.
There is a blood red circleon the cold dark groundand the rain is falling down
The church door's blown openI can hear the organ's song,but the congregation's gone
My city of ruins My city of ruins
Now the sweet bells of mercydrift through the evening trees,
young men on the cornerlike scattered leaves,
the boarded up windows,the empty streets
While my brother's down on his knees
My city of ruins My city of ruins
Come on, rise up!Come on, rise up!Come on, rise up!Come on, rise up!Come on, rise up!Come on, rise up!
Now's there's tears on the pillow,darlin' where we sleptand you took my heart when you left
Without your sweet kissmy soul is lost, my friend
Tell me how do I begin again?My city's in ruins
My city's in ruins
Now with these hands,with these hands,with these hands,I pray lord
With these hands,with these hands,I pray for the strength, Lord
With these hands,with these hands,I pray for the faith, Lord
We pray for your love, LordWe pray for the lost, Lord
We pray for this world, LordWe pray for the strength, Lord
We pray for the strength, Lord
Come on Come on Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Into the FireThe sky was falling and streaked with blood
I heard you calling me, then you disappeared into the dust
Up the stairs, into the fireUp the stairs, into the fire
I need your kiss, but love and duty called you someplace higher
Somewhere up the stairs, into the fire
May your strength give us strength
May your faith give us faith
May your hope give us hope
May your love give us love
May your strength give us strength
May your faith give us faith
May your hope give us hope
May your love bring us love
You gave your love to see, in fields of red and autumn brown
You gave your love to me and lay your young body down
Up the stairs, into the fire Up the stairs, into the fire
I need you near, but love and duty called you someplace higher
Somewhere up the stairs, into the fire
May your strength give us strength
May your faith give us faith
May your hope give us hope
May your love give us love
May your strength give us strength
May your faith give us faith
May your hope give us hope
May your love bring us love
May your strength give us strength
May your faith give us faith
May your hope give us hope
May your love bring us love
It was dark, too dark to see, you held me in the light you gave
You lay your hand on me
Then walked into the darkness of your smoky grave
Up the stairs, into the fireUp the stairs, into the fire
I need your kiss, but love and duty called you someplace higher
Somewhere up the stairs, into the fire
May your strength give us strength
May your faith give us faith
May your hope give us hope
May your love bring us love...
May your love bring us love
She did it again!
The blond conservative columnist I hate (I won't even write her name for fear that it will make my blog explode) has entitled this week's column "They Shot the Wrong Lincoln," suggesting that Lincoln Chaffee should be shot (metaphorically, of course!)
I'm seeing a pattern here, one which is quite disturbing- whenever a certain columnist with dyed blond hair and an annorexic-like physique has issues with a public or political figure, all she can recommend is violence or death. Poison Justice Stevens' coffee. Shoot Lincoln Chafee. Don't discuss, reason, debate, or even insult. It's all kill, kill, kill with her. And then laugh it off. Ha Ha! Just kidding! Let's not forget her "jokes" about blowing up the New York Times building. Joking about death is funny! Joking about murder is funny! HA HA HA HA!
Some people admire the troglodyte. They admire her for her directness. Take 'em out and string 'em up!
That is not the American way. That is a lynch mob mentality stuck inside the body of a broom stick with a Barbie wig.
I'm not godless, I'm not treasonous, and it's real easy to talk to me, if you must. Only problem is, people like her don't want to talk, do they?
Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!
