Oh, Those Rascally Angels!

Bats are afraid? Gloves jinxed (especially Mark Trumbo's!)? Need magic? Call Jobu, but be sure to use a live chicken! Another frighteningly bad night. These guys are about to lose their fourth series in a row and third in a row within the division. I'm calling this series against the Mariners because the Angels don't look like they are even competitive in most games. And as depressed as we must feel, the guy I feel worst for is Mike Scioscia. Just think, he has to run these guys out there every day knowing, no matter what his rah-rah BS within the clubhouse is, that he does not have the personnel to stand in there on a regular basis. Especially when things are going like this.

He also knows no help is on the way unless it's in the form of Wells and Hunter regaining their career averages. They have no one in the minors to use for trades or on the verge of being ready to bring up. Oh, sure, some team might take a couple of second rate minor leaguers (of which we have plenty) at the trade deadline in a salary dump. But the kind of player you typically find there is Yuniesky Betancourt, players with ghastly contracts and sub-par performances. Nope, we have what we have and Mike has to live with it going forward. Poor guy.

Let me beat on this dead horse again since the Angels won't be in it in a real sense in July. They must cut Bobby Abreu loose at that time. I don't care if he had two hits list night, that was his best performance in a while (.212 and 4 walks in the last 10 games.) and it very closely resembled a good Reggie Willits night. A worm burner and a blooper that the outfielder couldn't quite get to. Throw in that strike out and the brilliant game-ending GIDP and it was a great night for Reggie, ERRR!, Bobby. Without speed, power or bat speed, this guy is reduced to hoping that opposing pitchers can't hit the strike zone. That's something, like the woman I watch's Alzheimer's, that will only get worse, never better. We absolutely can NOT have the albatross of his vesting option hanging around the team next season.

Oh, and is there anybody out there who still advocates for the Angels scooping money into Weaver's bank account for an extension? Velocity down, opponent's BA up, strikeouts in the Shawn Estes range. Anybody? Bueller? I didn't think so. Pitchers are just way too volatile to throw big money at. *COUGH, John Lackey* That April was completely unsustainable. We had our time to revel in his good luck but we must now face reality.

Not Hibernating, Just Busy

OK, we didn't just die and leave this blog to stagnate forever. October 11 of last year saw my wife and myself embark on a continuous and seemingly never ending mission. We have an older friend who was on vacation in Europe with her adult daughter. The dream vacation of a lifetime for the daughter, if you will. Mediterranean cruise and then trip to Switzerland to stay for a while. That didn't work out very well. Immediately after leaving the cruise base in Greece, the woman was no longer able to hide her Alzheimer's and completely fell apart.

We were summoned to pick them up at the airport as the daughter was able to get seats on a flight as soon as the ship returned to Greece. We have been taking care of the woman ever since. I stay with her during the day and my wife stays with her at night. It has not been fun, but there you are. It's life. We promised to stay with her so she wouldn't have to be moved into a home and we're going to do just that for as long as we can. We're not professionals in the health care field and we know there will come a time when we can't care for her appropriately. Then we're gone.

A lot has happened since the intended use of this blog, which was to talk about the elections in November. The Republicans took back the house and then decided to act like they lost. They got some seats in the Senate but still have to worry, whenever there's a vote, about the Maine Girls who could vote against them at any time. Not pleasant.

The baseball season started. This is an especially important event for me. Baseball is the only sport I still follow since the NFL and NBA have degenerated to insignificance. It's a far more nuanced story, of course, but major league baseball is still "it" for me.

I used to follow the Dodgers but then the O'Malleys sold the team to Fox. I was pleasantly surprised  as they did a pretty decent job of running the team with both Dan Evans and Paul DePodesta performing far more adequately than I would have imagined. Then we got the McCourt Era. What a mess. Not only am I singularly unimpressed with Ned Colletti, McCourt has reduced attending a Dodgers game to approximately the level of going to a L.A. Raiders game. I know, I made the mistake of taking my very young son to a game there shortly after McCourt took over and swore I'd never go back. Am I surprised those guys got beat up earlier this season? No, I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner.

Anyway, I only follow the Angels locally now. I have National League teams I have enjoyed and I guess I'll be rooting for the Cardinals if/when we get moved to Missouri. In any event, I will be writing more here soon and I even hope to get some input from Sperry in the future.

Cheers!

A Visit To A Very Smart Doctor

From McGurk:

We have a family friend who is having trouble with her memory. We all suspect Alzheimer's, especially her, since this is the third generation of it in her family. Her GP (or whatever a "family doctor" is now called) made an appointment with a neurologist and I took her today. At the check-in window we found a neat stack of copies of a letter the doctors in the group wanted every patient to take. It read:

To Out Patients:

The new health care legislation passed by Congress gives the US Secretary of Health and Human Services and her appointees the power to establish care guidelines that your doctor must abide by or face penalties and fines. In making doctors answerable to the federal bureaucracy, this bill means that you and your doctor are no longer in charge of your health care decisions.

This new law, in my opinion, destroys the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship, one of the qualities that make the American health care system the best in the world.

In addition to worsening the current doctor shortage, the law will result in major cost increases in all areas of medical care, including insurance premiums, higher taxes, a decline in the development of new medical techniques, especially the development of new drugs, and establishes government panels rationing the availability of health care. Furthermore, studies show the legislation will adversely affect the elderly, the poor and rural residents.

Despite protests by doctors and overwhelming public opposition - up to 60% of Americans opposed this bill - the current party in control of Congress pushed this bill through and is determined now to resist any "repeal and replace" efforts.

Specifically, the new health care legislation will significantly impact your access to care and the manner in which you receive your care. It is estimated that by 2015, a substantial number of neurologists who work in private practice will be forced to close their practices due to increasing economic and regulatory burdens imposed by the government, including cuts in Medicare funding. More and more doctors will be forced to join large multi-specialty groups where patients like you may have limited ability to see your doctor when you need to. Your doctors will become employees, who will be subject to the organization's policies and practices and consequently may not have adequate time to spend with you to best address and manage your health care issues.

Some members of Congress and political candidates are now calling for minor modifications to the law. Once the election is over, however, we believe they will vote with their party bosses against repealing this bill. Please remember when you vote this November that unless the Democratic party receives a strong message, our health care system may never be fixed and the doctor-patient relationship may be ruined forever.

Help From An Old Hollywood Friend

From McGurk:

I have a neighbor we became very friendly with about a year ago. He was a nightclub performer, movie and TV actor, singer, did voice over work and wrote for some big TV shows. He tells me that, even in the 50's and 60's, he was quite alone as a Conservative in Hollywood. I thought I'd pass along this message from T. Howard:

The 2010 mid-term election gives the voter the easiest and clearest choice they have had in years. We all know that one extra Democrat vote gave President Obama a 60 seat majority, allowing him to give us bailouts, take-overs, "healthcare" and whatever he wished.

And so, a vote for any Democrat can give us the continuation of Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and the erratic actions of Barack Obama. If you're happy with that group you should vote Democrat.

If you want to end rule by Pelosi, Reid, and stop Obama from his devouring conquest of all-out power you vote Republican. We have seen how the Ol' Boy Democrats deal with bright young Republican women. They know they can't beat the women who will fight against higher taxes and the Democrat build-up of more debt for their children and grand-children and so, they use gutter smear tactics.

They call Christine O'Donnell of Delaware a witch. They call Sharron Angle of Nevada a looney-bird, Jerry Brown and his group call one of the brightest and most successful women in business, Meg Whitman of California, a whore. And now Sarah Palin, mother of five, is receiving death threats. But what you never hear is how Senator Barbara Boxer of California fleeced the postal service of  out of $25,000 and is a convicted felon. You only hear smears against her Republican opponent, another bright and successful business woman, Carly Fiorina, who knows how to create jobs. People forget that Jerry Brown was governor seventeen years ago and that he and Barbara Boxer were the start of California's downfall.

We also have seen President Obama show a complete disregard for the Congress of the United States, picking unconfirmed czars and nationalizing business industries by executive order. The only similar actions in this hemisphere have been carried out by communist dictators, Fidel Castro and Cesar Chavez.

It may be your vote that can save this country.