"People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do, I stare out the window and wait for spring." - Rogers Hornsby

:: Saturday, April 05, 2003 ::

Really Dumb Injury of the Month

Keith Sanderson, a UK factory worker, had injured his thumb slightly in a work accident.

While trying to show his manager what had happened...he decided to demonstrate with another finger, with predictable results.

Just thought I'd share that with you.

Today, I'll be drafting my baseball fantasy league team; if you're not familiar with what this is, 10 of us will pick from among all major league players, those who we feel will have the best statistical seasons in 2003. Whoever picks the best, wins! It's kind of like being the general manager of your own team.

OK, so I haven't been the greatest GM -- in 20 years, I've won only once -- but it's lots of fun, not only to draft, but to follow the players all season long.

And congratulations to Sammy Sosa on hitting his 500th career HR last night in Cincinnati.

He might not have had a chance to hit it at home Opening Day anyway. The latest forecast for Monday here in Chicago calls for "a possibility of moderate to heavy snow Sunday night and early Monday morning."

:: posted by Al at 8:34 AM [+] ::
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April Is The Cruelest Month

If only Chicago were located about 100 miles further south, we'd have had a nice warm week this week. Instead, we get this typical, rainy, stormy, drizzly, cold weather which more than likely will last till June.

I tell you this because I was considering going to the White Sox home opener today --yes, I know, the enemy -- but I am a baseball fan on top of being a Cubs fan, and a ballgame in town on my day off is always a nice thought.

But in the rain? In the cold? I'd do it for the Cubs, but not for the other guys. It appears that the game, which is now about 40 minutes away from its scheduled starting time, is either going to be long delayed or postponed, so I'll sit in the nice warm house and keep track of it on TV, and of course, wait for tonight's televised Cub game.

And yes, I'm still mad at Richie Daley.

:: posted by Al at 2:33 PM [+] ::
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Just Another Rainy Thursday

In between dealing with some of my sister's estate matters and tax returns -- yeah, I know, what fun -- I managed to watch most of the Cubs' 6-3 win over the Mets this afternoon.

We'll all be thrilled if the Cubs can win 2 of every three this year. Despite some sloppy play, the win was fairly easy. And I must admit to being a bit selfish -- I'm hoping Sammy doesn't hit his 500th HR this weekend in Cincinnati, so I (and all the other Chicago-area Cub fans) can see it at Wrigley Field during the 10-game homestand that starts on Monday.

In 40-degree, rainy weather. Oh well. Why should this year be any different weatherwise?

:: posted by Al at 5:13 PM [+] ::
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Quick Update to Night Notes

The correct procedure to subscribe to the "Out Of Left Field" list is:

Send an e-mail to Leftfield-request@baseballimmortals.net and put Subscribe in the subject line.

Fun list, well worth your time!

:: posted by Al at 9:11 AM [+] ::
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Night Notes

Wanted to give a plug to a new baseball mailing list I'm on: the "Out Of Left Field" list, which is exactly what you might imagine -- interesting and quirky notes about baseball. To subscribe, send an e-mail to leftfield-subscribe@baseballimmortals.net.

And, ironically, in this era when so many are singing his Motown hit "War (What Is It Good For?)", Edwin Starr died today in Nottingham, England at the age of 61.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, yes, I'm still very angry at Tinhorn Dictator Daley's land grab of Meigs Field on Monday. The pilot of one of the stranded planes called what Daley did a "terrorist attack". I can't disagree.

:: posted by Al at 7:43 PM [+] ::
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Movie Review: "View From The Top"

This amiable piece of fluff starring Gwyneth Paltrow as a small-town girl who wants to see the world, and so becomes a flight attendant (after a fairly funny detour working in the luggage department of a Wal-Mart-type store in her hometown), isn't the greatest movie in the history of mankind, but as an escape from reality for 90 minutes, you could do worse.

It's got a few laughs from Mike Myers as the flight-attendant instructor, though the constant viewing of the fake glass eye that they gave him, gets tiresome after a while. Christina Applegate of "Married With Children" does a nice turn as the "bad girl" counterpart to Paltrow's good-girl; they get into a lovely catfight, and Candice Bergen plays the kind of "Hall-of-Fame stewardess" from years ago, who wrote a book which provides the movie's title.

One thing I found odd is that, though the film is set in the present day, all the characters dress in clothes that evoke the early 1970's -- bright psychedelic colors, miniskirts, and hairstyles to match, and the flight-attendant uniforms also seem way out of date. That's obviously intentional, but what the director was trying to say by doing this, I'm not sure. A very funny character -- Josh Molina as an openly gay male flight attendant -- is introduced, has a few funny lines, then vanishes. That's about how the whole film is -- hit and miss; a few funny lines, then it tries to be poignant and teach us a lesson about what's really important in life, and so winds up as yet another in the line of mostly forgettable movies that Paltrow has done... sometimes I wonder about her choices, after doing such wonderful films as "Shakespeare In Love", "Sliding Doors" and "The Talented Mr. Ripley".

Still, you can't hate a film where they rip both Oprah and Dr. Phil, and you get to see Gwyneth Paltrow prance around a hotel room in her underwear, and in various other skimpy clothing.

AYRating: ** 1/2

:: posted by Al at 9:12 AM [+] ::
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More on The Battle of Meigs

Richard Roeper of the Sun-Times called Daley's pre-emptive strike "...one of the silliest and stupidest things the mayor has ever done."

The Sun-Times editorial page said it was "reckless", and "vandalism", and "an exercise of naked power". The Tribune's editorial board went a step further, likening it to "tanks rumbling down the main street of a Third World capital on their way to a pre-dawn coup."

And Tribune columnist Eric Zorn put the capper on it by calling Daley a "disgrace".

And that's what he is. A sputtering, mumbling tinhorn dictator who isn't worthy to run a student council, much less a great city like Chicago. I'm embarrassed that he's the mayor of the town where I live. I'm pleased to say I've never voted for him, nor will I ever, especially after this naked power grab. Zorn's column goes on to point out that everything this man does is like this, from the Soldier Field Toilet Bowl to Millennium Park to O'Hare (and I am actually in agreement with him on the O'Hare thing)... and the only thing that's going to change it, is for him to leave office the way his father did.

Maybe then, we'll see a real mayor in this town. Till then, we're stuck with the Dictator of Chicago.

:: posted by Al at 1:45 PM [+] ::
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The Sour Face of Emperor Richard




This sour-faced photo tells it all. I can't tell you how incensed I am at this unbridled power grab, disguised as "security". This man should be removed from office immediately.

And this on a day when I was otherwise totally thrilled with the Cubs' explosive 15-2 Opening Day win over the Mets.

:: posted by Al at 8:36 PM [+] ::
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Unbridled Arrogance

In Richard the Arrogant-Hearted's news conference this morning, he cited security concerns as the reason he ordered Meigs Field closed and bulldozed in the dead of night.

This is ridiculous. LaGuardia Airport in NY is less than 8 miles from midtown Manhattan and National Airport in Washington is less than 2 miles from the White House and Capitol; they, of course, fly commercial jets, much larger planes than went in and out of Meigs, yet you hear no call to close those. Nor do you hear calls for closing, say, City Airport in Toronto, a similar airport to Meigs on Lake Ontario near downtown Toronto.

It's pure unbridled arrogance; if "security" was the concern -- and Daley said just last week that he would not close Meigs for this reason -- why was this done in the middle of the night?

Similar no-fly zones created last week around NYC and Washington were said to be "temporary".

I cannot minimize the contempt I feel for this man who has taken over our city almost as his own personal fiefdom. And he can't put two sentences together.

On a brighter note, the Cubs have started out quickly against the Mets, leading 5-2 in the 4th inning of today's opener!

:: posted by Al at 1:42 PM [+] ::
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This Man MUST Be Stopped!

Mayor Daley, who must feel that he's King or Emperor of Chicago for life, emboldened by his nearly 80% of the vote last month, today ordered his goons to tear up the runways at Meigs Field and close the city's jewel of a lakefront airport, despite the fact that Daley and Ryan made a deal last year to keep Meigs open, in return for Ryan's agreeing to Daley's O'Hare expansion plan. In fact, at that time the Illinois legislature was given the power to prevent Meigs from being closed till at least 2006 and possibly 2026.

I seem to recall something about today's date -- March 31, 2003 -- that was in one of the original deals that Daley made with former Gov. Jim Edgar; but that should have been superseded by the Daley-Ryan agreement.

What Daley's minions did today isn't just patently illegal, it flies in the face of everything decent and right, and the fact that they did this in the dark of night tells me that they know it's illegal, and they wanted to do it before anyone noticed.

I trust that a court will order Daley and his goons to repair the damage they did today and reopen Meigs; this man must be taken aside and reminded that he is an elected official, subject to laws, and not another Saddam Hussein.

:: posted by Al at 8:52 AM [+] ::
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Those Who Are Left Behind

Today, the task began of closing up my sister's apartment and deciding how to distribute her possessions. It's an especially weird time to do something like that, with it being spring and all, new life coming on trees, and baseball about to begin again.

My sister Ann and I had a complicated relationship, and in fact in recent years we'd become somewhat distant. And going through mundane things like books, papers, furniture, etc., I didn't really feel anything.

But then I found things like: my grandmother Rose's English china, which I ate from as a kid. And Rose's paintings, which she loved to do so much in her later years. And some photos. And then... notebooks and scrapbooks from Ann's school years, before she was hit with the bipolar disorder that ravaged her adult life.

And then I realized how sad it was that someone with such potential not only didn't use it, but is now gone. I'll save all her things; it'll be part of what I hope will someday be at least the beginnings of a family archive. Many of us whose families were recent (within the last 100 years) immigrants to this country don't have that sense of history of place, of belonging, of continuity, especially when your family came from Eastern Europe and all they wanted to do when they left was to leave everything behind.

100 years from now, I hope my descendants will have something they can look back on to have that sense of place and continuity.

I can see I've gotten far too philosophical here. Bring on the 2003 baseball season!

:: posted by Al at 5:27 PM [+] ::
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