This will be my last blog from the U.S.A. for awhile as my wife and I leave tomorrow for England, returning in mid-September. It has been great, visiting my daughter and husband as well as my son and his family, all in the Toledo area. As I said in my last blog, it is great to come home to Ohio this lovely time of year, although the heat is beginning to generate now.
My son-in-law yesterday took us on an auto tour of "the war zone", the area in Lake Township, Wood County, Ohio, around and in Millbury, the scene of the devastating tornado of June 5 and 6 which killed six people and damaged or destroyed at least fifty homes and businesses. It really is a war zone, out of a World War I movie: jagged and bent trees with their tops shorn off pepper the landscape. You drive into Millbury, a hamlet of 1500, and drive down the main drag and you see a lot of small but neat ranch homes, a typical midAmerica setting---and, suddenly, on the next block, homes are totally wiped out or damaged beyond repair. Blue tarps on roofs are plentiful, with boarded-up windows. The capricious nature of tornados astonishes me: on the same street, on one side, homes are unscathed or with minimal damage, while on the other side devastation reigns. Tornadoes play hop-scotch, jumping across fields, missing a farmhouse but wiping out the barn fifty feet from the house, or, as often, the opposite---erasing the house and leaving the barn.
The fact that it happened late at night made the horror story even worse. How many tales I've heard of last-second dives into cellars, just in time to save lives while the home is destroyed. One poor woman, in a wheelchair with M.S., was pulled by the legs down basement stairs by her husband with her 12-year old son right behind. Then they heard a deafening crack. The husband took a flashlight and shined it upwards and saw only blackness---and then realized it was the sky. Their home was gone with only rubble surrounding the basement stairs.
It is a very personal story for my daughter and her husband. They once lived in Millbury and now live only two miles away in Northwood, Ohio, so they have many friends in the area. Their two daughters went to Lake High School, which I noted in an earlier blog was in good part destroyed by the tornado. Many of their school friends' homes were destroyed. It is a psychological as well as a physical trauma for many.
The community and the area, including the city of Toledo, have responded magnificently and generously with all kinds of help. They have done an incredible job of cleaning up the area. Wood County. Lake Township, is rural, and the fields were filled with debris after the storm. You drive along country roads and are amazed how normal the fields look, except for the broken trees and a new supply of firewood in the yards of many homes.
It is a time to count your blessings if you have been spared such an ordeal. I am confident that the strong-willed industrious people of Lake Township, Wood County have the resiliency to rebound and come back stronger than ever from this ordeal.
Americans have shown those qualities countless times in war and peace. That same resiliency is on display in the gulf states right now, as well, although their fight is just beginning. They too shall survive and rebound.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
OHIO: A GREEN AND PLEASANT LAND
Prior to leaving for our summer in England, we visit family in the Toledo, Ohio area. I am an Ohioan by birth, and it is always enjoyable to "come home". I love Florida and our island paradise, but it is good to escape the steam bath atmosphere of southwest Florida in the summer.
I also love the lushness of Ohio in the early summer before extreme heat dies it out and dulls the green. We had dinner outside on my daughter's and son-in-law's patio on the occasion of the visit of their eldest daughter and her boyfriend to whom she will be married next year in South Carolina where they both live. It was one of those soft nights with a gentle breeze, a sunset like a Monet painting and, much to my grandaughter's amd my delight, an armada of fireflies (or lightning bugs to us midwesteners). We don't have them in South Carolina or Florida, so this was a real treat. My granddaughter reverted to her childhood and chased several lightning bugs around to capture them, and, if my old knees were better, I would have joined her!
The midwest in early summer has its own unique softness and verdancy. Rain in the spring had been heavier than usual and the result was this extra lushness. The only problem with it is that you have to mow the lawn more frequently. but it will dry out soon enough when the oppressive midwestern heat gains momentum and control.
In the meantime, it is a special time, and I'm sure the English poet, William Blake, won't mind if I use his line applied to England and apply it to Ohio; it is truly 'a green and pleasant land".
I also love the lushness of Ohio in the early summer before extreme heat dies it out and dulls the green. We had dinner outside on my daughter's and son-in-law's patio on the occasion of the visit of their eldest daughter and her boyfriend to whom she will be married next year in South Carolina where they both live. It was one of those soft nights with a gentle breeze, a sunset like a Monet painting and, much to my grandaughter's amd my delight, an armada of fireflies (or lightning bugs to us midwesteners). We don't have them in South Carolina or Florida, so this was a real treat. My granddaughter reverted to her childhood and chased several lightning bugs around to capture them, and, if my old knees were better, I would have joined her!
The midwest in early summer has its own unique softness and verdancy. Rain in the spring had been heavier than usual and the result was this extra lushness. The only problem with it is that you have to mow the lawn more frequently. but it will dry out soon enough when the oppressive midwestern heat gains momentum and control.
In the meantime, it is a special time, and I'm sure the English poet, William Blake, won't mind if I use his line applied to England and apply it to Ohio; it is truly 'a green and pleasant land".
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
DAMNED IF YOU DO OR DON'T
I see the President's speech last night on the oil crisis got mixed reviews: to his supporters, he showed he was on top of affairs; to his detractors, exactly the opposite---he is floundering.
This is totally predictable. the right wing had opinions ready to propagate even before the speech was finished---prefab hatchet jobs like Sarah Palin and a host of Neo-Cons were ready, willing and able to smear the speech. To be fair, I think some of the more liberal-minded also had their supporting commentaries ready in advance.
In this era of rabid partisanship, positions have for some time been set in concrete on almost all political subjects with no apparent willingness to talk to see if common ground can be found.
It is now Obama's war, Afghanistan. It is his recession, especially the jobs (or lack thereof) market. The financial mess is his. And it certainly is his oil crisis since it occurred on his watch.
Let's get a little perspective. The beginnings of many of these problems go back, not only to G.W. Bush but to Clinton and Reagan, as well. Go back to Reagan, the supreme capitalist who encouraged the free market and minimal controls. Clinton had a "laissez-faire" attitude: don't touch a thing while things are going so well. W. encouraged this kind of thinking in market and financial terms, plus he added the expansionary democratic imperialism where we propagate the American virtues of free enterprise and democracy at a killing cost to us, both literally and figuratively. And cronyism between government agencies and industry is far from new.
At the time many of these programs seemed to make sense, although, personally, I was against going into Iraq when we had Sadam Hussein in a box amd should have concentrated on Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and other trouble spots. I am a defender of the free market system but not uncontrolled or unregulated free market. You need safeguards and deterrents to control the unprincipled and greedy.
I've said this before: I like Obama, but sometimes he is too cool for his own good, too much the rationalist and needs to demonstrate some emotional passion. He has been trying to do that recently. but his enemies refuse to notice.
I'm off with my wife at the end of the month for our usual summer in England. (She's an American citizen but still has feelings for where she started.) It will be interesting to see America from a different perspective. I love this country, warts and all, but sometimes it is good to step away to see things here.
I wish our President Godspeed and good luck as he pursues the rekindling of the economy and tries to deal with the crisis in the gulf. We live on an island in that gulf, so, believe me, we have a vested interest in seeing it cleaned up. I'll keep watching and praying...for progress in cleaning up B.P.'s mess and hoping the job market shows dramatic improvement. Then we can all start to breathe a bit better.
This is totally predictable. the right wing had opinions ready to propagate even before the speech was finished---prefab hatchet jobs like Sarah Palin and a host of Neo-Cons were ready, willing and able to smear the speech. To be fair, I think some of the more liberal-minded also had their supporting commentaries ready in advance.
In this era of rabid partisanship, positions have for some time been set in concrete on almost all political subjects with no apparent willingness to talk to see if common ground can be found.
It is now Obama's war, Afghanistan. It is his recession, especially the jobs (or lack thereof) market. The financial mess is his. And it certainly is his oil crisis since it occurred on his watch.
Let's get a little perspective. The beginnings of many of these problems go back, not only to G.W. Bush but to Clinton and Reagan, as well. Go back to Reagan, the supreme capitalist who encouraged the free market and minimal controls. Clinton had a "laissez-faire" attitude: don't touch a thing while things are going so well. W. encouraged this kind of thinking in market and financial terms, plus he added the expansionary democratic imperialism where we propagate the American virtues of free enterprise and democracy at a killing cost to us, both literally and figuratively. And cronyism between government agencies and industry is far from new.
At the time many of these programs seemed to make sense, although, personally, I was against going into Iraq when we had Sadam Hussein in a box amd should have concentrated on Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and other trouble spots. I am a defender of the free market system but not uncontrolled or unregulated free market. You need safeguards and deterrents to control the unprincipled and greedy.
I've said this before: I like Obama, but sometimes he is too cool for his own good, too much the rationalist and needs to demonstrate some emotional passion. He has been trying to do that recently. but his enemies refuse to notice.
I'm off with my wife at the end of the month for our usual summer in England. (She's an American citizen but still has feelings for where she started.) It will be interesting to see America from a different perspective. I love this country, warts and all, but sometimes it is good to step away to see things here.
I wish our President Godspeed and good luck as he pursues the rekindling of the economy and tries to deal with the crisis in the gulf. We live on an island in that gulf, so, believe me, we have a vested interest in seeing it cleaned up. I'll keep watching and praying...for progress in cleaning up B.P.'s mess and hoping the job market shows dramatic improvement. Then we can all start to breathe a bit better.
Friday, June 11, 2010
A LETTER TO BRITAIN
Dear Brits:
As an American having been married to an English (half Scot) woman for fifty-seven years with whom, the last few years , I have spent summers in England, I am most definitely an Anglophile. Those credentials should qualify me to be a reasonable cultural bridge between the two nations of America and Britain.
Right now in U.K. great concern exists about anti-British sentiments in America and the President’s recent fiery remarks concerning BP when he said there needed to be “some asses kicked”. I know that came as a shock to Britons to hear the usually imperturbable and cool Barack Obama use such a non-Presidential perjorative. The Daily Telegraph ascribed it to political pressure and jingoism, which I think is a fair assessment. The President has been catching hell from a variety of sources, and he needed to demonstrate some emotional heat and passion to mollify his critics. I know many Brits call us Americans “O.T.T.” (over the top) on many occasions and think we are guilty of hyperbole, which, I admit, is an American characteristic on occasions. We are frequently emotional and don’t hide our feelings.
But---and it’s a big but---I suspect even the understated Brits, if subjected to the pressure of the present Gulf crisis due to the fire and destruction of the Deepwater Horizons rig and the subsequent uncontrolled pollution of a a large area of the Gulf of Mexico, threatening and despoiling the shores, so far, of Louisiana, Alabama, the panhandle area of Florida, and, I fear, a lot more to come, would be inclined to fits of pique and temper.
Put the shoe on the other foot. Let’s suppose that an oil rig was destroyed in the North Sea and was spewing millions of gallons of filth toward the English coast,. say near Great Yarmouth and then spread south, invading the English channel past Dover, Folkestone, Hastings, Eastbourne (where my wife and I live in the summer), carrying on to Portsmouth and then the resort coast of Devon and Cornwall, spreading into St. George’s Channel separating the U.K. and Ireland, etc., etc.. I think we might hear a few choice expletives from politicos in U.K. and certainly from the more rabid newspapers which I say, as an outside observer, are not noted at best of times for understatement. The yellow journalists in England are equal to the worst rags in America,
B.P. is an important corporation for the Brits and one of the mainstays of many U.K. pension funds and investments. The U.K. economy is hurting, and B.P. is a major player. 40% of its shareholders are here in the U.S,, which means it’s pretty important to us. Their P.R. during this mess has been far from perfect, and they have not added any stars to their crown, for sure. To be fair, they are really trying now to do the right thing, but they have not convinced those poor souls who earn their livings as shrimpers, fishermen, motel owners on the resort beaches or the naturalists and biologists seeing what is happening to the sea creatures and birds in the blighted areas.
I’m sure B.P. is not alone in its past philosophy of putting profits first and safety second; I suspect most of the oil companies in America would be just as guilty. What has to be done is to shore up the safety laws to prevent this ever happening again by making the punishment so harsh, including criminal charges, that they can’t afford to cheat., as well as emphasizing alternative sources of energy to minimize our dependence on oil.
It is a time in today’s climate in so many areas of harsh rhetoric. So many people are so busy talking they can’t find time to listen.. But it also a time when the worst oil disaster in American history is threatening the physical lives of so many creatures and the economic lives of so many Americans.
We’re not anti-British. I think most of us want to continue that “special relationship” existing between our two countries. Try to understand that the trials of this crisis are weighing heavily upon us. The economic news in the world as a whole is bad enough---and this oil crisis only exacerbates it.
It’s getting hot here. Let’s all try to stay cool--- but hot to trot when it comes to cleaning up this mess. I think you Brits can relate to that..
Yours Sincerely,
Fleshhpot
As an American having been married to an English (half Scot) woman for fifty-seven years with whom, the last few years , I have spent summers in England, I am most definitely an Anglophile. Those credentials should qualify me to be a reasonable cultural bridge between the two nations of America and Britain.
Right now in U.K. great concern exists about anti-British sentiments in America and the President’s recent fiery remarks concerning BP when he said there needed to be “some asses kicked”. I know that came as a shock to Britons to hear the usually imperturbable and cool Barack Obama use such a non-Presidential perjorative. The Daily Telegraph ascribed it to political pressure and jingoism, which I think is a fair assessment. The President has been catching hell from a variety of sources, and he needed to demonstrate some emotional heat and passion to mollify his critics. I know many Brits call us Americans “O.T.T.” (over the top) on many occasions and think we are guilty of hyperbole, which, I admit, is an American characteristic on occasions. We are frequently emotional and don’t hide our feelings.
But---and it’s a big but---I suspect even the understated Brits, if subjected to the pressure of the present Gulf crisis due to the fire and destruction of the Deepwater Horizons rig and the subsequent uncontrolled pollution of a a large area of the Gulf of Mexico, threatening and despoiling the shores, so far, of Louisiana, Alabama, the panhandle area of Florida, and, I fear, a lot more to come, would be inclined to fits of pique and temper.
Put the shoe on the other foot. Let’s suppose that an oil rig was destroyed in the North Sea and was spewing millions of gallons of filth toward the English coast,. say near Great Yarmouth and then spread south, invading the English channel past Dover, Folkestone, Hastings, Eastbourne (where my wife and I live in the summer), carrying on to Portsmouth and then the resort coast of Devon and Cornwall, spreading into St. George’s Channel separating the U.K. and Ireland, etc., etc.. I think we might hear a few choice expletives from politicos in U.K. and certainly from the more rabid newspapers which I say, as an outside observer, are not noted at best of times for understatement. The yellow journalists in England are equal to the worst rags in America,
B.P. is an important corporation for the Brits and one of the mainstays of many U.K. pension funds and investments. The U.K. economy is hurting, and B.P. is a major player. 40% of its shareholders are here in the U.S,, which means it’s pretty important to us. Their P.R. during this mess has been far from perfect, and they have not added any stars to their crown, for sure. To be fair, they are really trying now to do the right thing, but they have not convinced those poor souls who earn their livings as shrimpers, fishermen, motel owners on the resort beaches or the naturalists and biologists seeing what is happening to the sea creatures and birds in the blighted areas.
I’m sure B.P. is not alone in its past philosophy of putting profits first and safety second; I suspect most of the oil companies in America would be just as guilty. What has to be done is to shore up the safety laws to prevent this ever happening again by making the punishment so harsh, including criminal charges, that they can’t afford to cheat., as well as emphasizing alternative sources of energy to minimize our dependence on oil.
It is a time in today’s climate in so many areas of harsh rhetoric. So many people are so busy talking they can’t find time to listen.. But it also a time when the worst oil disaster in American history is threatening the physical lives of so many creatures and the economic lives of so many Americans.
We’re not anti-British. I think most of us want to continue that “special relationship” existing between our two countries. Try to understand that the trials of this crisis are weighing heavily upon us. The economic news in the world as a whole is bad enough---and this oil crisis only exacerbates it.
It’s getting hot here. Let’s all try to stay cool--- but hot to trot when it comes to cleaning up this mess. I think you Brits can relate to that..
Yours Sincerely,
Fleshhpot
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
MIDYEAR SPORTS REFLECTIONS
1. The Armando Galarraga/Jim Joyce saga, though sad, had about as happy an ending as could be expected due to the class of the two principals: Galarraga for his incredibly good sportsmanship and demeanor, Joyce for his prompt confession of an error and apology. I have to admit, even, under the circumstances, Commissioner Bud Selig did the right thing in not reversing the decision, which would have made a mockery of the rules and undermined the authority of umpires. He also agreed to reconsider instant replay, which is desperately needed. In this instantaneous electronic age, I can’t believe that instant replay could not be used without excessive delays to undo such mistakes. Umpires, referees and line judges are still human and prone to honest errors. There is no reason such errors should not be promptly corrected.
2. Rafa Nadal proved at the French Open and the whole clay season that he is King of the Clay and, with Federer approaching 29, old in tennis years, maybe King of Tennis. I still have concerns about his physical health and the stress he puts on his body due to the extreme torque he puts on his body and knees. He is resting more between tournaments and not practicing endless hours as he did before. What a treat to have two champions of such unparalleled talent at the same time!
3. I am impressed: the Cincinnati Reds have not yet folded. They still may, but it looks like they have the makings of a competitive team. The G.M. and owner are doing some long-term thinking, which is great.
4. I would not like to be in Stephen Strasburg’s shoes and the pressure cooker of expectations surrounding him. I hope he lives up to the hyperbolic press notices. We need some new genuine heroes! On second thought, I would like to be Stephen Strasburg and be that young with so much promise ahead of me!
5. Speaking of expectations and the pressure cooker, how about Tiger Woods? I think the stress of his private life---going through what appears to be a quiet but expensive divorce, continuing therapy for his serial sexual problems and the fact that at 34 his body is not indestructible---is taking its toll. As a result, he has not had the competitive rounds he needs to fine-tune his game. I still think, with his immense talent, he will eventually return to form. He may well keep his number one rating, but a host of young guns----not to mention that Mikkelson guy pushing 40---are lining up to take a shot at him.
6. Will they please shut up and just quietly investigate thoroughly, once and for all, the doping scandal in cycling, especially concerning Lance Armstrong. Don’t come back to us until you are satisified you have an objective true decision.
7. I’m still worn out with the N.B.A. Can we please hurry up and end this interminable season?
8. I sincerely hope Ben Roethlisberger keeps his word and reforms. Stay quiet, work hard now that you are back to practice and show that great talent is matched by a rehabilitated character.
9. “ ‘Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished”, in Hamlet’s words, for the U.S.A. to beat England in the first round of the F.I.F.A. world championship in South Africa. I don’t think that will happen, but, hey, remember the hockey team of 1980?
10. The tributes to John Wooden have been heartwarming. That good ole Indiana boy with his Midwestern work ethic and sense of values could make a significant tribute to the betterment of the sporting world---if more sportsmen would follow them. God bless him!
That’ll hold me for now!
2. Rafa Nadal proved at the French Open and the whole clay season that he is King of the Clay and, with Federer approaching 29, old in tennis years, maybe King of Tennis. I still have concerns about his physical health and the stress he puts on his body due to the extreme torque he puts on his body and knees. He is resting more between tournaments and not practicing endless hours as he did before. What a treat to have two champions of such unparalleled talent at the same time!
3. I am impressed: the Cincinnati Reds have not yet folded. They still may, but it looks like they have the makings of a competitive team. The G.M. and owner are doing some long-term thinking, which is great.
4. I would not like to be in Stephen Strasburg’s shoes and the pressure cooker of expectations surrounding him. I hope he lives up to the hyperbolic press notices. We need some new genuine heroes! On second thought, I would like to be Stephen Strasburg and be that young with so much promise ahead of me!
5. Speaking of expectations and the pressure cooker, how about Tiger Woods? I think the stress of his private life---going through what appears to be a quiet but expensive divorce, continuing therapy for his serial sexual problems and the fact that at 34 his body is not indestructible---is taking its toll. As a result, he has not had the competitive rounds he needs to fine-tune his game. I still think, with his immense talent, he will eventually return to form. He may well keep his number one rating, but a host of young guns----not to mention that Mikkelson guy pushing 40---are lining up to take a shot at him.
6. Will they please shut up and just quietly investigate thoroughly, once and for all, the doping scandal in cycling, especially concerning Lance Armstrong. Don’t come back to us until you are satisified you have an objective true decision.
7. I’m still worn out with the N.B.A. Can we please hurry up and end this interminable season?
8. I sincerely hope Ben Roethlisberger keeps his word and reforms. Stay quiet, work hard now that you are back to practice and show that great talent is matched by a rehabilitated character.
9. “ ‘Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished”, in Hamlet’s words, for the U.S.A. to beat England in the first round of the F.I.F.A. world championship in South Africa. I don’t think that will happen, but, hey, remember the hockey team of 1980?
10. The tributes to John Wooden have been heartwarming. That good ole Indiana boy with his Midwestern work ethic and sense of values could make a significant tribute to the betterment of the sporting world---if more sportsmen would follow them. God bless him!
That’ll hold me for now!
Monday, June 7, 2010
THE FRAGILE NET
My granddaughter, recently engaged and planning a marriage next year, went home to Northwood, Ohio, a suburb southeast of Toledo, to attend a wedding reception for an old school friend and to visit her parents. She called Sunday in a state of shock at the terrible tragedy of the tornado that killed five people in Millbury, Ohio.
Millbury, Ohio was the former address of this granddaughter and her family, and Northwood where they live now is only a couple of miles from Millbury. She and her sister attended Lake High School, which was heavily damaged by the storm; in fact, the gymnasium where they were planning to hold the graduation ceremony for Lake seniors on the Sunday was destroyed.
You may have read that one of the victims, Ted Kranz, was father of the valedictorian of the class. Father of two daughters and a son in a closeknit, loving, Midwestern family, Ted Kranz was one of those parents who never missed an athletic contest involving his kids. He had only recently started a computer programming business which, according to his brother, Tim Kranz, was just turning the corner toward profitabiltiy.
We are reminded when tragedy strikes close to home or close to those you love what a fragile net separates life from death, and life is like a tight rope above that fragile net. We simply hope and pray we won't fall, but sometimes we slip.
Fifty homes and businessses were destroyed in the hamlet of Millbury, and five people died. Requiescat in pace to each of those five.
Millbury, Ohio was the former address of this granddaughter and her family, and Northwood where they live now is only a couple of miles from Millbury. She and her sister attended Lake High School, which was heavily damaged by the storm; in fact, the gymnasium where they were planning to hold the graduation ceremony for Lake seniors on the Sunday was destroyed.
You may have read that one of the victims, Ted Kranz, was father of the valedictorian of the class. Father of two daughters and a son in a closeknit, loving, Midwestern family, Ted Kranz was one of those parents who never missed an athletic contest involving his kids. He had only recently started a computer programming business which, according to his brother, Tim Kranz, was just turning the corner toward profitabiltiy.
We are reminded when tragedy strikes close to home or close to those you love what a fragile net separates life from death, and life is like a tight rope above that fragile net. We simply hope and pray we won't fall, but sometimes we slip.
Fifty homes and businessses were destroyed in the hamlet of Millbury, and five people died. Requiescat in pace to each of those five.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
THE GREAT BASEBALL ROBBERY
I could not believe my eyes. I was watching my Reds play the Cardinals on ESPN last night when ESPN broke the news that Armando Galarraga of the Detroit Tigers had pitched a perfect game for seven innings against the Cleveland Indians. They kept cutting back and forth between the featured game of Cincinnati and St. Louis and the innings in Detroit when Galarraga was pitching in the eighth and ninth. My heart was pounding when he got the first two batters in the ninth, with the help of the center fielder Trevor Crowe who made a Willie Mays-like-running-full speed-over-the-shoulder catch.
Then the unthinkable happened: with two out in the ninth, the first base umpire, Jim Joyce, made an erroneous call of safe on a grounder to first fielded by first baseman Miguel Cabrera who lobbed to Galarraga covering the bag for (to me and a few thousand others) an obvious out. An instant replay showed the batter was clearly out by a full step. Galarraga was the model of decorum and took the bad decision with admirable stoicism; the rest of the Tigers went bananas, as I'm sure I would have if I were on the field.
I don't condemn the ump, Jim Joyce. He had tears in his eyes after the game when he apologized to Galarraga and candidly admitted he screwed up. He is by reputation a good and seasoned umpire with 22 years of experience. He is also human and prone to errors, as all of us are. Can you imagine how he feels today and what vituperation he will doubtless receive from the stands in future games, probably for the rest of his career?
It is time for baseball to leave the 19th century and join the modern electronic world of replays which can reverse a wrong decision. The only time it is used today in baseball is to judge whether a ball is fair or foul or subject to fan interference. I'm not a big Bud Selig fan, but he as Commissioner should, for once, show some guts and put instant, reviewable and reversible replays at the top of the agenda.
At least the Governor of Michigan did the right thing by making a proclamation that Galarraga had pitched a perfect game. Unfortunately, that won't work in Cooperstown NY in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
What a travesty and pity...Time for baseball to be part of the 21st century.
Then the unthinkable happened: with two out in the ninth, the first base umpire, Jim Joyce, made an erroneous call of safe on a grounder to first fielded by first baseman Miguel Cabrera who lobbed to Galarraga covering the bag for (to me and a few thousand others) an obvious out. An instant replay showed the batter was clearly out by a full step. Galarraga was the model of decorum and took the bad decision with admirable stoicism; the rest of the Tigers went bananas, as I'm sure I would have if I were on the field.
I don't condemn the ump, Jim Joyce. He had tears in his eyes after the game when he apologized to Galarraga and candidly admitted he screwed up. He is by reputation a good and seasoned umpire with 22 years of experience. He is also human and prone to errors, as all of us are. Can you imagine how he feels today and what vituperation he will doubtless receive from the stands in future games, probably for the rest of his career?
It is time for baseball to leave the 19th century and join the modern electronic world of replays which can reverse a wrong decision. The only time it is used today in baseball is to judge whether a ball is fair or foul or subject to fan interference. I'm not a big Bud Selig fan, but he as Commissioner should, for once, show some guts and put instant, reviewable and reversible replays at the top of the agenda.
At least the Governor of Michigan did the right thing by making a proclamation that Galarraga had pitched a perfect game. Unfortunately, that won't work in Cooperstown NY in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
What a travesty and pity...Time for baseball to be part of the 21st century.
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