I’ve been a writer for, oh, about twenty minutes but in that time I’ve established a simple rule: Any time I get Keith Olbermann to change his mind and he credits me in the process – let alone rendered in capital letters – I write nearly 2,000 words about it.
Here is an excerpt from my book: “It’s pointless to construct a list of MLB’s unbearable announcers but I will add this: After listening to a number of White Sox broadcasts this year, I now understand why everyone I meet from Chicago is a Cubs fan.”
While a student at Virginia Tech in the mid-80s, I avoided the “progressive” musical tastes of the cool kids (mostly from the Virginia Beach area) and stuck with the album oriented rock music which, at the time, filled the Philadelphia-area radio station airways where I grew up. It wasn’t until I moved to the D.C.-area upon graduation that WHFS (99.1 FM) introduced, and permanently hooked me on alternative music. One of the songs WHFS more or less had in permanent rotation during the late-80s/early-90s was a song by the Nails titled 88 Lines about 44 Women. The following third-quarter review of the baseball season isn’t in verse format, and it isn’t nearly as edgy, but it’s inspired by the Nails. Here are 60 thoughts about 30 teams, National League edition.
That’s capitalism at work and, on the surface, there is nothing unfair about it. But I’d ask San Francisco Giants fans this question: What if the property in question isn’t a Manhattan condominium but instead a catcher named Buster Posey?
With 27 wins in the bank and 122 games left to play, at the quarter post of the season the Dodgers only need to play .500 ball the rest of the season to win 88 games. Given the holes apparent in each of its division foes, and given the presence of two wild card teams in each league, Los Angeles’ post-season hopes essentially hinge on this question: Do the Dodgers have enough deficiencies to play under .500 ball for the rest of the season?
Joe Peta