Considering the recent results of the all-star games and World Series and this year's inter-league regular season play which the American League leads about 2-1, I am proposing rules changes for any and all future games between the two leagues......

     1.) The National league team gets a designated hitter and the American League does not.

     2.) When an American League player hits a foul ball with two strikes it's a strikeout.

     3.) The National League is allowed to score in the normal way. But when an American League player reaches home plate he must turn and head back to first, and circle the bases twice in order to score a run.

     4.) The National League manager gets his choice of any 2 players from the American League team he is playing to put in his line-up.  This can be handled at the start of the game when the managers are going over ground rules and line-ups with the umps. The American League would thus be at a total of a 4 man disadavantage in roster size.

      5.) No fans are allowed to cheer when the American League does something good. If they do, they will be ejected from the park by security or ushers.

      6.) Fly-outs that reach the warning track will count as a home run for the National League.

       7.) If the National League is visitors and they score in the top of the 9th to take the lead, the American League does not get to bat in the bottom of the ninth. The game is over, National League wins. If the National League team is the home team and the game is tied after 9, the National League team is declared the winner.

      8.) At some point in the game, the American League players wives and girlfriends must play. One full inning on offense and defense with just the gals on the field.

      9.) The American League players cannot take lead-offs when on base. They must remain on the base until the ball is hit.

      10.) If there are beanball incidents and such the American League players must hold one arm behind their back while fighting.

Wessie

    

 

 

    The media plays along with the fans need for exageration, to wet nurse the fans over-emphasis in their lives on sports. It's all part of the game.

    Example---last night on the ESPN television game between the Cardinals and Astros they went into the predictable mini-speeches about Pujols' greatness. "He amazing, he always comes through in these situations." This was after they announced his batting average with runners in scoring position--.462. So less than half the time is always. It's like the basketball player that always hits the big shot, or the quarterback who always leads the 4th quarter drive for the winning touchdown. Words like always or never are employed like a baby formula in the bottle.

    In fact, .462 being less than half, it would be more accurate if one is inclined to use the exagerated adjective, to say Pujols never comes through in these situations.

    And, futhermore, in the very game that they said Pujols always comes through, he did not come through with runners in scoring position--- a couple of times.

Wessie

    I had the oppurtunity to attend a little league game this past week. The 10-12 year olds. 6 inning games. One team was down 6-0 going into the fourth. Their lead off guy singled. The next guy sacrifice bunted. Not bunting for a hit even, he squared before the pitcher's wind-up. The infielders were up his butt before the pitch was thrown. It ended with a runner at second one out down 6-0. The kid trotted down to the third base coach beforehand. I don't know if he was just making sure of the signal innocently or not. It's possible even the pre-teenager was shocked----"You want me to sacrifice NOW?"

   This can't even be chalked up to the coach teaching his boys the value of team play and following instructions. The only lesson here, from that manager to those little leaguers, is that maybe someday when you grow up you can be a dumb-#### manager too.

Wessie

    It seems that the American mentality and psyche, despite it's strong similarity to beef cattle and slop hogs, will eventually burn out on sports and look for something new to try and relieve the burden of the slow realization process that their lives are a damn joke.

   Just going to ballgames sitting in the stands semi to totally intoxicated and pretending you are a know-it-all loses it's flavor after a while. Particularly when a beer is 6 bucks.

    But then again maybe not. The people in charge of trying to maintain the sports addiction are creative and enterprising. These sports video games allow the contestants to pretend they are actually athletes, rolling up stats and making the big play in the clutch to win the game. The Fantasy leagues allow the dolts to pretend they are owners or GM's pulling the strings (although in most cases the fantasy team owners whose teams are doing badly usually quit putting any effort in it so the winners are not really accomplishing much, even in the world of fantasy). And of course blogging is becoming all the rage, where any klutz-imbecile can pretend he's a sportswriter. The scary thing is that the bloggers and real sportswriters are indistinguishable from one another, other than the pros incredibly get a check for their pompous, incoherent ####.

    There's no way of telling where it may end up. Maybe some virtual-video game where you can screw the SI swimsuit models.

     In any case, the masters will not let go of the dog without a hell of a fight, and every possible option exercised.

Wessie

     Sucks.

     It looks like this year it's going to be a war of mediocrity to the bitter end.

     Since the big leagues went to the current division format the Central has not produced a World Series winner. We've had the Cubs fold in such a pathetic manner to the Marlins in the playoffs that they had to blame a fan for touching a foul pop. And the only two times a Central team did make it to the series, the Cardinals and Astros the last two years, they are a spectacular 0-8----two sweeps.

     It sucks.

Wessie

     It's kind of funny. All the sports and otherwise observances of July 4th coincide with all of our righteous indignation about North Korea testing missiles.

     The United States is the all-time leader on planet Earth for weapons manufacturing,  weapons technology, weapons testing, and weapons peddling and selling. We have splashed armaments all over the world.  The Iraqi insurgents have some too, no doubt.

     We have no business lecturing anybody.

     The two greatest terrorist regimes in world history are America and the former Soviet Union, as they each picked sides around the globe in the cold war, and armed their sides to the teeth. Both chumming up to brutal dictators as well. All of that weaponry will be around for the rest of eternity. Being used and changing hands. 3rd place isn't even in shouting distance. Bin Laden, Iran, and North Korea are mickey mouse. We are neck deep in blood.

Wessie

 

     I have written in previous blogs about the over-done and over-emotional mixture of sports and patriotism. So I won't go into great detail here, only to mention it again.

     There's nothing quite like watching these fans at the ballpark with the stupid looks on their faces as they pay tribute to a flag or a song or fireworks in some kind of ridiculous display of rah-rah America.

     It's about the only time they get to make such a public spectacle of themselves and they dive in head-first. Look how important America and the troops are to me. To show how important it all is we take a couple minutes out of the ballgame to show it. You know anything happening at the ballgame must be REAL important. Not as important as the game of course, but somewhat important. It's worth a minute or two. Where else can we puff our chest out with that blank, stupid look on our faces?

    It almost makes you root for the terrorists.

Wessie

  

     In Cincinnati over the weekend we saw something that is typical around the country. The bandwagon, #### fans. Adam Dunn hit a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth with two out to win the game 9-8. The fans had a love-fest at the park, and the post game call-in show was filled with emotional love and allegiance to the Reds. That's the kind of game that triggers a pennant run. This team sure is special. Look out everybody else, here we come.

    The Reds then lose their next 4 games, 2 of them at home,  to below .500 teams. Giving up a total of 31 runs, once taking the lead in the top of the ninth then blowing it in the bottom of the ninth at Milwaukee.

    The call-in shows were venomous the last couple days. The manager doesn't know what he's doing and the players have no heart or intensity. The bum GM better do something quick.

     One guy called in and took note of this. He said he was hearing the same voices that were on top of Mount Everest a few days ago, now ####ing and moaning. And then he was savagely attacked by the host and other callers.

    It almost makes you root for the terrorists.

Wessie

    He's our man. If he can't do it, nobody can.

Wessie

    This past week I attended a Double-A baseball game. What stood out most was the fat-#### fans. I mean pelts of blubber. And wearing tight clothing no less. I think they buy the smallest size clothing that they can possibly fit into, and that makes them think they aren't so huge. And all it does is exagerate the hugeness.

    And they are lined up at the concession stands like jersey heifers. To purchase WAY overpriced food. Then they stagger back to their seats and start hollering at the ump.

    Is this the freedom our soldiers are fighting for? It almost makes you root for the terrorists.

Wessie

    He has a commercial out now glorifying crying. Everyone remembers him laying down at midcourt crying like a brat after the NCAA tourney loss to UCLA.

    Let's get this straight now. Crying over the result of a sports game, at any level, by fan or player, is stupid. That's taking it way too far. If you have a kid that's bawling after their team loses, don't pamper him or her. Then down the road you'll just have an 18 or 20 year old crying after the game. It's an embarrassment not only to you, the parent that raised him, but an embarrassment to all of us as well, as it publicly displays the ridiculous and twisted American self-absorbtion into sports.

   Next thing you know you have television commercials glorifying the cry-baby.

   At the end of the commercial he says----And when I get to the NBA there's going to be a lot of people crying......No Adam,  no one is going to cry. Now cut it out.

   It can even get worse. Remember the Duke-Kentucky 104-103 overtime NCAA game. Laettner hit the shot at the buzzer. There were episodes of  Kentucky fans fainting in bars. 9-11 vehicles coming.

Wessie

    The current attacks on the New York Times by low-browed, cross-eyed conservatives is a photo-copy of something that is common in the sports world. Conservatives tend to possess the lowest common denominator when it comes to thought function--a sports mentality--which is nothing more that an almost brainless "root, root, root, for the home team." ......And anyone not cheering along is the bad guy--they may even be guilty of treason......They drag this outlook of life along with them everywhere they go, like the guy from Charlie Brown with his security blanket.

    This can be found in the sportsworld across America. The local newspapers are expected, by the horse-#### fans, to be nothing more than cheerleaders for the home team. There is always friction between many of the fans and the newspapers over this. The fans don't want to hear anything but positive spin about their team, and if their team happens to be losing, then that's the media's fault too. God help the newpaper that investigates wrong-doing or violations about the local college team.

    And so it is in politics. Things aren't going well for the home team, the Bush administration, and so the media makes a very convenient scapegoat for the adminstration and their supporters.

    These days there is almost no difference at all between one of the "red states" and a herd of cattle or flock of geese.

Wessie

     This is from two consecutive shows with the same host, doing his monologue before taking calls.

     First host commentary---Sure our pitching stinks, but almost everyone needs pitching. This division is not that tough. You can make the playoffs with a good enough offense

     Second host commentary---How the hell can we score 8 runs against the Royals and lose? That's ridiculous.

Wessie

     I'm awfully tired of all this pouting by the fans and media about Roger Clemens not getting any run support. This is typical. The fans and media all wrapped up in it, and the player laughing all the way to the bank.

     In his first start back they even had a guy go into the stands and interview Clemens wife Debbie about how tough the whole ordeal has been.

     Give me a break.

Wessie

 

     I've made a point to be critical of the selection of Steve Nash as the back to back NBA MVP. In this debate something has happened over and over again in terms of the method used by those trying to debate the point, or debate any point for that matter. I've written about it before and will repeat it here, so everyone can be on the look out for it themselves when morons try to argue with them.

    What happens is they say stuff like---well if Nash sucks like you say..........or.......... if Nash is soooo terrible then why.........

    I never said he sucks or is terrible. I said he isn't worthy of being back to back MVP.

    This is incredibly interpreted as saying that he is terrible, then they accuse you of saying he is terrible and that way any point they are trying to make looks like they are winning by showing it's ridiculous to call him terrible. And no one called him terrible.

    I don't think it's a literacy problem, at least not for a lot of them. It's just arguing for the sake of arguing and trying to win the argument by any means necessary.  That's the only theory that makes sense. But it's hard to make sense of the nonsensical.

    Person ####---I don't think Nash is back to back MVP. He's not that good.

    Person B----You're an ####. Nash is not terrible.

    This sort of thing occurs over and over on blog after blog. About a whole host of topics.

    It's nonsense.

Wessie