Do you care about basketball? If you're reading my blog, you probably like playing it, but would rather listen to me ramble on about Russian poetry than watch five minutes of NBA basketball. One of these days, you might get interested in caring about what goes on the court, but pro ball is much bigger the Rose Garden, Madison Square Garden, or any other piece of flowery hardwood. There're also dreams and desires at work. Not the players' desires, they've got it made, but the dreams of the kids watching them. Specifically, black kids coming from the wrong sides of the tracks. The borderline geniuses of Free Darko (if you don't believe me, read this) have a great post about these kids. It's probably the best thing I've ever read on any blog about any topic. Here's an excerpt:

"For so many of the kids I taught, dreams of basketball and dreams of college were mutually exclusive. For those convinced that a life of fame and wealth on the court awaited them, seeking higher education was construed at best, as irrelevant, and at worst, as an indication that they had failed in their quest to reach the league as soon as possible. I’m not sure that any amount of rational discourse might have persuaded these kids to find an alternate dream, and maybe the fact that I couldn’t bring myself to try indicated a failing on my part as well, but dreams of future success didn’t vary much in Indianola, Mississippi; almost no 7th grade boy aspires to be a young black doctor, lawyer, or entrepreneur because he’s never seen one and has been inundated with subtle and overt cues, practically from birth, that he can never become one."

The writer is in favor of the new restrictions against high schoolers jumping to the NBA without first going to college. This is a heated issue, as some people have declared to be racist. But this has more than a "human angle" to a story; this gives the issue a soul. There's so much more than incredibly small number of athletes getting to the top of the world a year early. This is about kids who are being told they can't succeed except by making it to the big leagues.

This problem isn't restricted to Mississippi. Portland may be one of the whitest cities in the world, but still I'm clueless in how I can take four class at Portland State, and have the grand total of 3 black classmates, and one of those being from Africa. At PSU black=athlete and athlete=black, so there's definately happening well before the college years.

I'm grateful for FreeDarko's post, and for David Stern's efforts to encourage kids, especially black students, to look beyond basketball and to dream about college.

Save the Internet!

Fascinating video on the issue of net neautrality, and preserving it so that we would not be forced to pay cable like prices to use sites like youtube and blogger

Tag

First time I've ever been tagged. The meme? Twenty-five things I want to do before I die.

1. Go to Russia (well, duh!)
2. Speak Russian
3. Understand Russian
4. Understand Russians, this one is a letter tougher, but it'll worth.
5. Graduate from college (heck, I'd be fine if I could finish the freshman year!)
6. Run for office. I'll do it when I'm sixty. If I run if Portland I'll sweep the Russkies.
7. Learn good grammer. English grammer.
8. Go back to Slovakia. To work in the embassy.
9. I'm unafraid of speaking my pidgin Rus to a girl, maybe I could speak in English to an American Девушка, and not get nervous.
10. Play in a band.
11. Get that band to play one non-crap show.
13. Get the fumigator movie finished.
14. Have the D.O.A. be a household name like "Jared Hess." (I thought of his name before you know, that other guy's name).
15. Not just to see the NE Patriots live in Foxboro, but to have season tickets.
16. Ditto for the Blazers.
17. Maybe get some of book published. (How to fail in 12 easy steps: Hint #1: Trip over the first step, and the rest will come.
18. I also want to go to England, and while I'm there visit Highbury and watch Arsenal play at Emirates.
19. Visit the Louvre
20. Go to Florence

A few things I want to do before I die, but other people actually have to do them for me.
21. Blazers win a title
22. And not move away
23. NHL hockey in Portland (if they could have it in Nashville...

Now back to our regularly scheduled memes
24. Go to some sort of big-shot concert...ah! here we go a tribute to Mark Heard, featuring Bob Dylan, Bono, The ghost of George Harrison, Emmylou Harris (even if they don't know who he is), Sam Phillips, The Lost Dogs, Kevin Max, Buddy Miller, Daniel Amos, Larry Norman, and Terry Scott Taylor.
25. After the concert I mentioned in #11, and have the Edge tell me that I aint all that bad.


I tag Queen's Mum (someone tell her she's been tagged).
Everyone else I know has been tagged and Лариска нет блога, so I'll tag ....
Anonymous

Do these things work with MySpacers?

Vote!

Vote, but I don't think anyone should vote Republican this year. I'm an independent, not a Democrat, when I vote along Democratic lines, it is to restore balance to this country. Balance is something that the Republican party has lost. They claim to be protecting the nation from terrorism, but they promote terrorism. Terrorism, not abroad, but is aimed at our country. I don't believe they are in it for anything less than the power. Terrorism is their only true platform: pro-life matters are irrelevant to them, "Compassionate conservatism" is too wild for them. Morality and ethics mean nothing to them. You might ask, "how do you know their hearts?" How do I know their hearts? I don't. I know their deeds, and knowing their actions is a hell of a lot more damning than any knowledge of their innermost being. I know their big promises to grant their supporters their wildest dreams: money for charity, no money for abortions, money for the troops. Nothing. 000000000.

Money. Money. Money.
What we've gotten is war in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Chairman of the RNC has said that Democrats are "cut and runners" who want Iraq to be a failure like Afghanistan. Even the Republicans say that war was a failure. Iraq, what is Iraq? I hate it. I have a friend who fought there. I care for him more than I care for another round of Balkan bloodbaths. The only reason CNN is not calling it a civil war is because Robert E. Lee hasn't ridden up on Traveller to fight for a side.

Sorry, this is just a crazy post, but can we wake up and restore balance and unity to this Nation.

Throw out the people pay to run ads for terrorists. Throw out the people who call more than half the nation "traitors."

The P is for Politics

Finally, I am here. For too long I have not said anything about politics and the shameful state of our nation. What is it when a president is worse than King John? King John, forced by the noblemen, signed Hapeas Corpus into the Magna Carta. Hapeas Corpus, meaning the police have to state why they are arresting you. This no longer exists in the United States. Bush has taken a crap on this law, and has singed into law that any person a war tribunial, or any other kind of body he appoints, can send you to prison as an "enemy combatment." At least Stalin knew how to throw a show trial.
Congratulations, you live under a dictatorship. I thought I was only going to experience this once.

I hate this.
Torture is legal, and it's applauded. Do you care?

Am I not a man, and a brother?

We string up taxi-drivers like Christmas trees, because our generals don't know the hell they walked into. This situation could become worse than the Balkans in the 90's.

Ethnic groups killing each other for the hell of it.

Communism was dead: good thing

Saddam overthrown: good thing (but the right thing?)

But hornets' nests have arisen?
What are going to do?
Shoot people?

Torture them with methods learned from Stalinists and Pol Pot?

You're killing me.

End the war already,
I do not to fall in love,
I do not want flowers,
I want the bricks
from your high towers,
I want this to be over with.

I hate myself,
I'm tired of this clueless country,
Who are going to praise today?
Who's Jesus Anyway?
Did the whore anoint him,
perfume him for a battle?

He fought,
climbed a cross,
sliced into death with pain,
Sin, a parachute, he jumped into Hell,
and died.

Three days he hung,
Three days he lay
In blood and clay,
Till
the prisoners frolicked home free,
till he untied himself
to stitch a world together

"Peace on earth, we need it now, I'm tired of all this hanging around,
Sick of sorrow sick of pain, sick of hearing again and again, that
there's

going to

be

peace
on
Earth"

"Jesus, Jesus help me, I'm alone in this world, and a f**ked up world it is too. Tell me, tell me the story the one about eternity and the way it's all gonna be..." bono

Hope you have a good day, and I'll see you in Gitmo.

(yes, the eff word is necessary. it wouldn't be honest for me not to quote it in full. if it's a really big moral problem, please tell me. but what did Tony Campolo say? millions of people are dying around the world, and you're mad because I said "Damn.")
Revision: I "bleeped" the word. This morning I realized that it is not a very wise thing to typing obscenities at one in the morning. But who reads this blog anyway?)

DC and Gettysburg pictures Part Two: Air and Space Museum

Smithsonian Castle

Spirit of St. Louis, you're looking at the underbelly of probably the most important prop plane ever.


Hook-up of Soviet and American spacecraft.


No explanation needed




A moon lander. It never made it to the moon but still there it is.

RFK's Text

Here are the texts of the two speeches from the RFK Memorial.

"It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring these ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance"

South Africa 1966 (A dangerous place and time for him to say those things, I might add.)

"Aeschylus wrote: In our sleep, pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart and in our despair. Against our will comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.

What we need in the United States is not division, what we need in the United States is not hatred, what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness, but love and wisdom and compassion toward one another and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether the be white or they be black.

"Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: To tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world. Let us dedicate ourselves to that and say a prayer for our country and our people."

Indianapolis 1968

My Trip to Washington D.C and Gettysburg: Pictures from Morning in DC and Arlington National Cemetary

Chinatown gate. That's my cousin's, Willis, head in the foreground.

Gen. Kearny. He was a one-armed Civil War general; when he led charges he held the reins by his teeth. Coinceidently, he died in such a charge.









RFK Memorial, Robert F. Kennedey, little brother of John was murdered in 1968 while running for President as a peace candidate. If he hadn't died he probably would've become President, instead Nixon was elected and America got seven more years of Vietnam and eventually, Watergate.





Amphitheater: Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Vote!

There are five seals, one of which could be the Seal of Eriol. Vote in the comments. If you want one of your own click here.

Deadline Time!

Last Saturday proud Arsenal lost to the beggers that play for Manchester City 1-0, and the transfer deadline was less than a week away with Ashley Cole pouting to join the russki bluebellies at Chelsea, and Jose-Antonio Reyes longing for the plains of Spain where it mainly rains. Well, today Cole is with all the cup-toting jerks at Chelski and Reyes is at Real Madrid. But Arsenal was not left empty handed with rain pouring off its hat brim while seeing a beloved wear blue as the Germans wear grey. No, Gooners received Willy Gallas, a Frenchman (Allez Les Bleus!) and five million pounds in exchange for Cole. In exchange for for Reyes Arsenal received Julio Baptista, a Brazilian whom I know almost nothing about, but a number of Goonerbloggers are excited about Baptista.

Myself, I'm excited about Gallas joining Arsenal; Cole and Gallas are both fine defenders, and both have to protect their sad sack sorry no good excuses of keepers from being shown to be the hucksters they are. But... Gallas is verstile player with yo-yo like ball control and superb ability to play the field.

Hopefully, Baptista will provide similar variety of skills, and both should fit in Wenger's Total Football schemes.

If anybody would like to make a correction or would like something explained, please do so in the comments.

Baseball Zombies and Other Happenings

Mariners are no longer rugged seafarers riding, conquering the high seas, currently they're a crew-- not unlike the undead of the Pirates of the Carribean movies--manning not some fearsome man'o'war, but a paddle-boat. They haven't won for two weeks and Saturday they commited the unpardonable sin of trading Jamie Moyer, a pitcher who has spent most his career with the M's, to the Phillies for two single-A pitchers. I feel helpless supporting a team that would make such a senseless--tasteless--trade like that. Mariner Housewife also is gloomy about the trade.

Premiership swung into motion on Saturday, with Arsenal finishing 1-1 against Aston Villa. Arsenal's goal came off a Theo Walcott pass to Gilberto Silva. Walcott, age 17, was on England's World Cup squad, but never saw a moment of action all the while. Now, he has shown himself in a game, and hopefully we will be able to see more action like this from him for this and upcoming seasons.

Walcott's place on the World Cup squad came at the expense of Jermain Dafoe, a star striker who was featured in Adidas ads during the cup, and Dafoe, not only is more established player than Walcott is also the star of Tottenham Hotspurs, the Gunners' arch-rival. Dafoe tore up the pitch in a recent friendly for England to show Eriksonn was an idiot for not bringing him along, and Theo showed him to be a wanker for not playing him.

Here is David Hirshery of Deadspin account of last weekend.

Golden Helmet League

The Golden Helmet League-conference?- is kinda my version of Fantasy league. Instead of building an imaginary team out of real players with those players stats, it's an imaginary league of six real teams, Army, Navy, Notre Dame, Pitt, Purdue and Vanderbilt, and I keep track of the results. To no one's suprise Notre Dame won the league, beating Navy, Pitt and Purdue. I'm afraid these teams aren't BCS eligible, and can only win an at-large berth. All these teams are East coast teams with golden helmets (no duh), Georgia Tech is applying, and UCLA and Washington are asking for exemption.

Schedule:
Notre Dame vs Purdue Sep. 30
Navy vs Notre Dame Oct. 28
Army vs Notre Dame Nov. 18
Army vs Navy Dec. 02

Vanderbilt and Pitt are not playing any in "conference" games.

Towel Throwing

It's official, I've given up on blogging the Mariners for the remainder of the season. It'll be a mercy when it's over. It has an almost halfway decent year for them, but I think they've given up, and I can't think of any reason not to join them in their dismay. The only way I'll mention them again is if they get involved in a massive brawl with the Oakland A's that involves actual punching, leaving the field strewn with Athletics. Fat Chance.

But before I quit I'd like to leave you with a boatload of links to Mariner websites, blogs and Seattle newspapers. Yeah, I should've done this a long time ago too.

Mariner Magic
Official site
USS Mariner
Sports and Bremertonians
Mariner Housewife (Best blog of the bunch, plus she's a Portland resident).
Mariner Morsels
Marinerds
Nice Guys Finish Third
Seattle Times
Seattle Post Intelligencer

But I aint done yet. College and pro football is just around the corner, the English Premier League is ready to get going. After all of this is the start of the NHL season, then a month later the NBA (home of hometown favorites Portland Trailblazers).

Tomorrow I'll try to write up a preview of the Golden Helmet League. But for now here is a link to the Deadspin preview of the New England Patriots (my favorite football team), and links to That's on Point's preview of the Premiership, parts one, two, three and four.
I'm rooting for Arsenal, a team that's probably overloved, but at least it's not Manchester United or Chelsea. Chelsea might seem to be the more logical, Russian choice for me considering that its sometimes nickname "Chelski" comes with being owned by the Russian billionare Roman Abramovich and features the talent of the Ukrainian striker Andrij Shevchenko, but they're just plain sick, with throwing money to construct a half-baked All-star team that would leave Grand Sith Lord George Steinbrenner quesy.

And oh yeah school, five weeks away.

Mariner Baseball May 30th-July 30

Wow. Look at that post title. I haven't been keeping anyone up to date on Mariner ball. Well, I don't think anyone reads this blog. If you do please post in the comments. But I should've been more consistent in my posting and more disciplined with my blogging habits.

Ok, I have to pay for it, so here I go...

May 29th to June 5th
This week they played the Texas Rangers and the Kansas City Royals. The Rangers extended the M's losing streak to 6 games, 0-2, 4-6, with the Mariners rising from the mat with a 14-5 win. Good timing. Royals were next, and the M's needed their day of the dead to look alive and remember how to swing the bat, hit thet ball, and run on dirt, so they wouldn't embarrass themselves by making the Royal's look competent. They took three games from KC, letting the Benchwarmers sneak off with a 4-9 loss.

At this point I didn't care much for events in the Mariner's season, with school only two weeks from finishing and the World Cup only days away.

Winning pitchers 5/29-5/06
F. Hernandez
J. Moyer
J. Pineiro
G. Meche
Losing Pitchers
J. Washburn (2)
G. Meche

Week in Mariner ball June 6th to June 11th
This was a good week for the M's dropping only one game to the Twins and none to the Angel's.
M's win 4-2, 10-9 but lose 3-7 in a three game series with the Twins at Safeco field. Then they traveled to someplace kinda in L.A. but kinda not to play the Angels. The Mariners make a three game sweep of this, winning 4-1, 12-6, 6-2. The World Cup had started, my Russian final was on Monday, and I forgot all I could about baseball and the Mariners. For the World Cup, I was rooting for England and USA, but once it progressed into the knockout stages my affection for Les Bleus of France was boundless. Americans think this is gross, but I could not hate Zidane, Henry, Ribery and Gallas.

Winning pitchers 6/06 to 6/11
F. Hernandez (2)
J. Mateo
J. Washburn
G. Meche

Losing pitcher
J. Pineiro

Mariner Baseball June 13th-June 18th
Mixed week, first they were swept by the Oakland A's then they swept the Giants of San Francisco as their interleague season restarted. The A's own the Mariners, as the M's have been unable to win a series against them all season. The A's renewed their Mariner tags with wins of 0-2, 2-7 and 6-9. And the American League likewise owns the National League, and when a team is mediocre in the AL (Mariners) beat-up a team that is good in the NL (that would be the Giants), then they llok a like a Ford's customer whose brand loyalty is respected but whose taste is suspect. M's win 5-4, 8-1, 5-1.

Winning pitchers 6/13-6/18
F. Hernandez
G. Meche
J. Moyer
Losing pitchers
J. Moyer
J. Pineiro
J. Wasburn

Mariner baseball June 20th-June 25th
Mariners continue to clean up in the National League, squishing the LA Dodgers and the San Diego Padres for two wins apiece, while dropping one game with each team. The M's series with the Dodgers in LA go for wins of 9-4, 8-4, and losing 2-4, then they drop their first game with the Padres 1-2, but run off with victories of 9-4, 9-5.

Winning Pitchers
J. Pineiro
J Mateo
J. Moyer
G. Sherrill

Losing Pitchers
F. Hernandez
J. Mateo

June 27th-July 2nd
Mariners take a detour from their Southern California road trip to visit the Arizona Diamondbacks. The M's turn'em upside down and empty their pockets with wins of 11-7, 10-3, 3-2. They returned to Safeco field for a three game set with the Colorado Rockies and fizzeled, losing two games 0-2, 3-4 and only one win of 8-7. The Rockies were the only NL team with a winning record against the M's in this year's edition of interleague play.

Winning pitchers
J. Woods
F. Hernandez
E. Guardado
J. Mateo

Losing pitchers
J. Moyer
J. Mateo

Mariner baseball July 3rd to July 9th
Last week of Baseball before the All-star break and the last week of the World Cup. I shoulda done all this blogging sometime then, but I was getting my head shaved and was on the lookout for Italians. But back to baseball... The M's sneak out of this week with only one win and looked terrible. First they lose the LA Angels 1-7, 6-14, 1-4. WE OWN THE ANGELS, but we lost. Why? Then we lost two straight to AL leading Detroit Tigers *choke*, losing 1-6, 1-2 before winning 3-2.

Winning pitchers
G. Meche
Losing pitchers
F. Hernandez
J. Mateo
J. Moyer
J. Pineiro
J. Washburn

July 14th-July 19th
All-star break came, France had let me down, I was depressed and I did nothing. Actually I did work, but's beside the point, if not pointless.
But the Mariners slowly revived. Well, kindof, they only won two of their next six games, but after that things would improve. First out of the break came the Toronto Blue Jays, M's took the first game 5-3 but lost the next two to the Blue Jays by scores of 6-7, 3-4. Then the New York Yankees took two games 2-4, 4-5, but the Mariners finish the week with a win of 3-2.

Winning pitchers
G. Meche
M. Lowe
Losing pitchers
E. Fruto
G. Sherrill
J. Washburn
J. Mateo

Mariner baseball July 21st-July 30th

Probably Mariners' best week and a half of baseball. Nine games and they only lost three of them, thereby winning the other six. Plus, Adam Jones gets promoted from Triple-A Tacoma to play centerfield, and Carl Everett was traded for a real DH. First, they dropped a game to the Boston Red Sox 4-9, then won 5-2, 9-8. Then they hosted the Blue Jays winning the bookends of the series 7-3, 7-4, while getting hammered in the middle game 3-12. Following this series they traveled to Cleveland to play the Indians. Chief Wahoo and purloined the first game 0-1, but the Seattle's men came back with victories of 3-1, 7-3. Now the Mariners are now playing the Baltimore Orioles. With new faces on board the Mariners are looking good, if they can win their upcoming series against Oakland, Seattle would be in position to win the AL West. Maybe.

Winning pitchers 7/21-7/30
F. Hernandez
J. Putz
J. Pineiro
J. Moyer
J. Washburn
J. Woods
Losing pitchers
J. Moyer
G. Meche
F. Hernandez

I Saw It with My Own Eyes

First things First

Drat you Boston "fans," drat you to double hockey sticks, all ye who jump on the bandwagon!

Yeah, I rooted for em' in 2004 against the Yankees, I even rooted for them against the Cardinals in the World Series, even though I wore my Card's hat every day to school. But seriously, y'all who are still on the bandwagon or even just hoping on, need to get off. Now. The Sox are really no better than the Yanks, with mercenaries looking for bounty, and waiting for a shot to play for the Yanks, do you noobs really want that, 'cause you know, Yankees Suck! Of course none of you live in Boston and care about what the franchise means for the city, after all you're bunch of mercs yourself.

And don't go tramping around the Emerald city and Safeco field as if you were soliders in a freshly occupied land, 'cause you're the ones who are occupied.

Why is it, that out here in the Northwest, we can't get loyalty to our local teams. We're eco-topians with socialistic-esque ideals, but we root like capitalists who wave our arms wildly for the lastest hot stock (kinda like how Enron used to be). This land is our land, so aren't these teams our teams. Seahawks rule football, Mariners rule baseball loyalties, while Sonics and Blazers rule their respective cities. Actually, the Sonics' new owner wants them to move to Ok. City, and according to an ESPN.com writer, people on the tv are saying this move will turn The future Ok. City Sonics into a Green Bay Packers of Basketball. That title is already taken, it's the Blazers, now buzz off.

I say this because I watched the Mariner/RedSawx contest in a sea of red. Most M's fans are probably careless enough to wear the other team's colors. If they were fans from Boston I would in awe of their devotion, but no. These fans were twerps, minor-leaguers, fair weather fanswho don't know any better than to root for the most over-hyped teams.

It seems Mariner devotion is like watching Matlock, only for the old folks, unemployed and the homeschooled. I'm actually serious about the local elderly and their devotion to the M's. For my grandpa, they're like second cousins or something, plus he sees them playing everyday. I may see him once a week if I'm lucky, since I live on the other side of town. And watching someone like the kid Felix "The King" Hernandez pitch on Saturday, he feels pride for a kid getting his shot in life, and for another great player to wear the local colors.

I just remembered, I watched a game yesterday, and a fine game it was. M's won 5-2 thanks to poor Sox fielding, luck and Japan. Ichiro was 2 for 5 with 2 RBI's, and Kenji Johjima was 0 for 4 but set into motion a crucial play when the Sox shortstop miffed a ball that allowed the M's to take the lead. Another hero I have not mentioned was DH Eduardo Perez whom I don't know much about, but with his two RBI's late in the game quietly killed the Sox.

This was my second trip to Safeco field which is gem of a park with its wonderful architecture that gives the stadium an old timey field that doesn't have a bad seat in the house. I know this as I was in the right field upperdeck with only ten or so rows until the roof. I couldn't see the right fielders (I missed you, Ichi!), but when things were still you could hear the ball hit the catcher's mit.

Gosh, really I have a lot more to type about, but that can wait for later in this week.

I'm Back! (for a little while)

I left all of y'all hanging at the beginning of June and haven't returned. This idea of blogging every week about Mariner's slippery slope year ran into a problem: it's a World Cup year. So every day between June 9th and July 9th I watched and obsessed over the Cup. I shouldn't of been so greedy, and blogged a few of my thoughts on it, but I didn't and I'm sorry. I don't look forward to blogging on this site, having to bring more tales of M woe. That shouldn't have stopped me. I won't update today, like I should've done last week, but next week this site will show some signs of life. College and pro football is coming up and so is the beginning of England's Premiership. So, I'll be updating you on the going-on's of the Golden Helmet league, the Patriots and Arsenal.

My big news is that on Saturday I'll be watching the Mariners play the Red Sox in Seattle at Safeco field, and it's gonna be great!

Mariner Baseball, May 22-May 29

Get out your barf bags people! It Mariners' Baseball!

Well... John Donovan of SI.com quotes Bob Finnagan of the Seattle Times as saying "If this keeps up, the Mariners will have to issue little white bags to fans attending their games."

It's not a real idea, however pratical it sounds. Yes, I'm a devoted M's fan, but that devotion is because of 90% accident of geography, 8% history, and 2% future. That leaves nothing to the present. Oh there are little things to love, such as when Ichiro throws baserunner out from way back in rightfield (Baseball is immune to grammar). But still what's there to love? The best pitchers are either too young or too old, Ichiro, Ibanez and Johjima, all of whom are missing puzzle pieces for contenders look worse the Yankees' utility players, as they being weighed down with the likes of Carl Everett or Adrian Beltre.

Who do we even have those guys? Safeco field is a pitcher's park with its far walls in the outfield, so why do we have these power-whiffing slugs? They're ruining the salt.

Why do I keep following these guys?

After all, I'm deeply in love with the St. Louis Cardinals and Albert Pujols. The Cards are a real team, deep with good pitching, and where starters are followed by relievers who know how to finish the game. It's filled with batters who don't look like tee-ball players who realize that their tee has been replaced live pitching. I would blog every day like the guys at deadspin, raptrously detailing the Red Birds latest attempt at greatness. No one would blame me; I wear my St. Louis hat every day, winners daily, contenders yearly, and I wouldn't have to worry about ineffectiveness of the Manager or the GM.

But still I will persist. There's still that 2% future, that maybe next year they'll great rid of their fat dinosaurs, Jamie Moyer and Felix Hernandez will be able to share their wisdom and youth, and that Mariners would play such great ball, A-rod and Griffey will be left weeping, wondering how they could have gone wrong leaving this team. That and watch Fraiser.

Pitching winners
J. Moyer
J. Washburn

Pitching losers
F. Hernandez
J. Moyer
J. Pineiro
G. Meche
E. Guardado

Batting stats (through the 22nd)
BA: 0.259
K's: 303
BB: 122
RBI: 217
HR's: 42
OBP: .314 (tied at 11th with the K.C. Royals)
SLG.: .392 (last)
OPS.: .706 (12th in the AL)


How did they reach these vaunted, vaulted heights of suckery?
After finishing a good series with the Padres they turned around and split a series with equally-sucky Orioles 8-6, 4-12, 7-4, 0-2. Then they ventured to play the crappy Twins for three game set and were swept, 1-3, 5-9, 3-4. And yesterday they lost to the Texas Rangers 0-2. Joyous. I don't really want to talk about them anymore for today. I've had enough for now, see you next week.

Week of Mariner Baseball, May 16-21

The Mariners got off to a terrible start this week, dropping three straight, 6-12, 2-7, 3-6, to the Oakland A's in Oakland. But they returned to the friendly confines of Safeco field for an interleague matchup with the San Diego Padres of the National League's Western division. They routed the Padres 7-4, 6-3, 10-8. Good news for the M's they defeated a team doing so much better than themselves.

Thsi week they're playing the Baltimore Orioles in a four game set and Minnesota Twins in three game set in the Twin Cities.


Pitching winners
R. Soriano
G. Meche
F. Hernandez


Pitching losers
F. Hernandez
J. Moyer
J. Pineiro

Batting stats (through the 22nd)
BA: 0.264
K's: 254
BB: 108
RBI: 198
HR's: 40
OBP: .319
SLG.: .405
OPS.: .724 (11th in the AL)

The M's pitchers are now pitching 4.59, which is 7th among AL pitching staffs, their lowest position since I've been keeping track of it.
The Mariners are now 3rd in the AL West and three games behind the division l,eading Rangers.

Here's a link to Sports Illustrated's John Donovan's MLB power rankings. Another link to the Oregonian's Brian Meehan and a column he wrote on how the M 's miss Mike Cameron. I was at Safeco field last summer when Cameron (who at the time was with the NY Mets) and he recieved a very warm greeting from the Mariner faithful.

Week of Mariners

Mariners started their week at home against cellar owners Tampa Bay Devil Rays. They won the first two, 6-3, 8-1 but dropped the third 0-1, after Old man Moyer balked with a man on third. Ridiculous.

Then they traveled to the City of Angels (of Anaheim) to play the Angels, which is a mediocre club that should be better than it plays. After the M's threw the first game 7-12, they proved the Angels's mediocrity with wins of 5-4, 9-4. The first victory coming in the thirteenth inning.

Pitching winners
G. Meche (2 wins)
F Hernandez
G Sherrill

Pitching losers
J. Moyer
J. Pineiro

Batting stats.
BA: 0.257
K's: 227
BB: 92
RBI: 158
HR's: 31
OBP: .313
SLG.: .391
OPS.: .704 (11th in the AL)

Mariner pitchers are throwing a collective 4.41 ERA, which is 4th in the AL.

Currently the M's are 3rd in the AL West, and 4 games behind the division leading Rangers.

Another Week of Mariner Baseball

When we last lef t the M's, they were a 2 1/2 gmes out of first in the AL West, and had come off a winning series against the O's. They were heading into a two game series with the woeful Twins.

They split that series: 8-2, 1-5, and then visited the champion ChiSox, and lost both games, 5-6, 1-4. Returning to Seattle they faced the Cleveland Indians, losing the opening and closing games, 4-9, 0-2, and winning the middle game 4-1.

Pitching Winners
J. Pineiro (2 games)

Pitching Losers
J. Washburn (2 games)
J. Woods
F. Hernandez
R. Soriano

Batting Stats through Sunday
BA: 0.254
K's: 194
BB: 84
RBI: 133
HR's: 21
OBP: .314
SLG.: .381
OPS.: .694, 11th in the AL

Mariner's ERA is 6th in the AL at 4.45

M's are 4.5 games out of first place in the AL West.
Ichiro is hitting .277, I think this is an improvement. I don't know.

Week in Mariner Baseball

Their first series of the week came against the World Series champion Chicago White Sox, so the worst could be feared. But good things happened. They won the first game 4-3, and won the third game 5-1, however, they did lose the middle game 3-13.

After this the M's journeyed to Baltimore to face the mediocre Orioles. They dropped the first game 2-5, but took games 2 and 3 by the scores of 8-6, 4-3, respectively. These last two games were the first wins of the season for Felix "Really Young" Hernandez and Jamie "Really Old" Moyer.

Pitching winners:
J. Mateo
J Washburn
F. Hernandez
J. Moyer

Pitching losers:
J. Vazquez
D. Cabrera

Team Batting Stats through Sunday:
BA: 0.219
K's: 159
BB: 72
RBI's:106
HR's: 19
OBP: .315
SLG: .365
OPS: .675

OPS (On Base Per. Plus Slugging per.) is the best stat to measure overall offensive performance, and the M's are 12th in the AL.

Meanwhile the Mariner's pitching staff is 5th in the AL with an ERA of 4.58. Obviously the pitching is playoff caliber, but the batters are still only swingers.

But the good news is they're only 2.5 games behind the AL West leading Rangers. So maybe there is some hope for us.

Mariner Games #18, 19 & 20 (Yeah A Triple-Header of Awfulness!)

Game 18

Mariners lost 2-1 one to once tepid Detroit Tigers. This season sucks.

Game 19

2-0 loss once again to the Tigers.

Game 20

Tonight they lost 6-4.
You must remember this: A kiss is still kiss, I meant to say that the Tigers have been in the AL cellar longer than a French wino. The M's are now there in their place, but they must be drinking kvass, 'cause they can't hit none of that hard stuff. Maybe they can't see 'em.

I use an awful lot of baseballese, do you faithful one readers want a crash course in this wonderful tongue? Da! Alrighty then, I'll it some other day. Oh yeah, from now on I will only be giving yall your M fix once a week, at least until they're fixed.

And in hockey info, it's playoff season, Av's up 1-0 over the wicked Dallas Stars.

And today is Easter Sunday (it's Monday now, actually) so...

ХРИТОС ВОСКРЕС!

All my Barry Bond's cards to person who can give the correct response!

Mariner Game #17

M's lost to Texas on Friday night 4-3. Lost the series to them 1-2.

Season series thus far:

Angels 2-1
A's 1-3
Indians 2-1
Red Sox 1-3
Rangers 1-2

Slipping into the celler having won only one series in the AL West. Sad.

Mariner Games #15 & #16

Game 15
On Tuesday Felix, the Phenom, Hernandez was toasted as division rival Rangers went yard all over on him.


Game 16

Wednesday's game
M's beat Rangers 9-6, and I'll try to quote my grandpa's account of the game.

"It was 6-1 in the 6th and the Mariners were losing, so I thought I would change the channel. An inning later I checked on them and the score was 6-2. They scored two runs in the 8th, so it was 6-4. The final score was 9-6; they had 28 hits."

Winning hit was a three run walk-off home-run courtesy of Carl "Twitchy-rear" Everett. (Ever seen him in the box? It looks ...ewww...).

Mariner Game #14

Marieners lose 7-6 to the Sox, and drop to 6-8. Ichiro is hitting .190 despite not appearing to be slumping anymore. The excellence of the pitching over the weekend is encouraging, but offense isn't backing it up. mariners are 7th in pitching in the AL, putting them just outside of the playoffs, but the offense is dead last in the league. While other batters have caught fire for other teams, the M's bats range from mediocre to bad. An exception is Kenji Johjima, who possess good average and power.

I would like to return to Ichiro, what's happened to him?

Mariner's Game #12 and #13

Lazy me treating M's 3-0 win over the the BoSox on Saturday, and their 3-2 loss to Boston as if they were a double-header. I'm sorry. Good pitching by both teams all weekend.

Mariner Game #11

Jamie Moyer lost to the valiant Curt Schilling 2-1. This puts the M's back in the red, but I don't mind them losing like this to a good opponent.

Good Friday: The Day After

I know I could not begin to fathom the suffering of Christ on the cross, and I know the North American church does not understand pain. Pain is often explained away in terms of trial and temptation. Pain, or rather suffering as pain is simply part of life in some way, but suffering, hyperbolic psychological, or physical hurt (torment is nearby) is an exploitation of the sensitivity pain and touch provides.

Suffering is a trial, but is that the reason for its presence? To me it seems meaningless, here it might have meaning, as a negative reflection of the ultimately meaningful.

What do you think?


Related is something I was thinking last night in church. I think Christ refused the devil's temptation of jumping from the temple, and let the angels save him before he crashed, because he was to descend from heaven and let himself be shattered on the rocks, not to rely on the 12 legions of Angels to save him. I think suffering is uncovering the core of the World. Not the Earth, but the world which we live in; the Tower of Babel reaching towards Heaven. I think this is the reason why he befriended prostitutes and drunks. They live in the lowest level of the Tower, and can't think of trying to reach the sky from where they are.

Oh well... I need to expound and expand on some of these things.

On something completely unrelated note. Today is Saturday and tomorrow is Easter, all of the Seven Day Adventists are at church now (I can see a few of them across the street), are they going to go back to church tomorrow? I'll keep an eye on them.

Mariner Game #10

They Won! 9-5 over Wahoo's Indians. Ichiro hit his first home run of the season; a two run shot, that brought the M's within a run in the 5th. Later other Mariners also contributed, thereby lifting them out of lousiness into the realm of the mediocre. What do I care? I t was a great game. However, I must strike a more melancholy note, the kid, Felix Hernandez is still throwing a hundred pitches over only 4 or so innings. He is apparently having trouble locating some of his fastballs, leaving them over the plate for the power-hungry Tribe.

You may've wondered who is Chief Yahoo, well here he is.



Obviously he's a "PC" Indian (don't offend him with "Native American"), and a mascot to show what a kind, sensitive city Cleveland is.

Tomorrow the Mariners are in Boston, and the superb Jamie Moyer will duel with the great Curt Schilling of the Red Sox, these two pitchers should make it a classic.

Mariner Game #9

Wahoo-red hot Indians lose to the M's 11-9. Hallelujah!

It's Easter week (at least in the west), I should really post something about churches.

This blog is suppossedly about me and my life, and my life is a lousy baseball team?

(Now it's time for Eucharisto to rightly comment I'm too hard on the M's)

Am I easy on anything. Tonight I thought I had finally lost it. If I ever try to run away from home I'll do it Tolstoi style, just when I'm feeling like this is going nowhere.

Dostoevskii was always running away from home with his travels. Generally he wrote his masterpieces abroad. I might have to post more about this.

Mariner Game#8

M's lost to Chief Wahoo, and the rest of the Cleveland Indians 9-5. Somebody shoot me. Ichiro is hitting .176. This sucks.

Mariner Game #7

On Sunday the Mariner's closed out their first homestand of the season by losing to the A's 6-4. This is almost encouraging. In a thank-you for not being shutout again(!) sort of way.

But still it's discouraging. Ichiro is slumping, no power, and few hits, Everett doesn't look good, and Beltre has earned for himself a B-U-S-T, and should be considering whether to try again, or make everyone else prove it.

The pitchers don't have pretty win totals, but as a staff they have a 4.57 ERA which 6th in the AL. Still the numbers will have to climb down, as the M's bats are playing limbo with their batting average.

...sigh...

Mariner Game #6

First game of the season I got to see this season, and they fell to the A's three-nil. Early in the game Richie Sexson got on third courtesy of a deep center field double and a wild pitch, but three consecutive Mariners whiffed; incapable of moving a runner from 3rd to home. What nonsense.
Mariner pitching is second in the leauge in ERA, but the high-price batters are sucking right now. Maybe they'll win tomorrow.

Mariner Game #5

M's dropped the first game of four to Oakland 5-0. Ouch.
This was to be night of twenty-year old ace Felix Hernandez, but not tonight. He was pulled in the 6th and gave up one run. One of his relievers earned the next four runs. This is a disappointment, not with Felix, but with the team, and how their inability to win this game. However the Oakland pitcher was excellent. Perhaps he's a continuation of their ability to develop a first rate pitching staff. Joe Blanton is the pitcher's name.

Mariner's Game #4

Tonight the quick start M's defeated the Oakland A's 6-2, with DH Carl Everett hitting a homer.
I have been counting the home runs, but the pitchers are probably the real reason for their success thus far. None of the starting pitchers have let the games get out of control, and three out of starters have thus far recorded wins. Moyer, the only exception to this trend did not lose the game he started, that game was lost by George Sherrill, a reliever.

Mariners Game #2 & #3

Mariners Win! (Twice! I dropped a game. Error charged to me)

Maybe now I can be easy on them.

Game Two of three in their homestead against the Angels, they won 10-8. In game three, they won 6-4.

In Game Two Richie Sexson and Johjima both homered, so Joh now has 2 for the year.

In Game 3 no M homered but the team has continued to bat quite well (except for Betancourt and Beltre. Beltre is another matter). The team's play has them in a first place tie in AL West for the time being.

So of right now

M's 2-1

Eriol E-1

Mariners Game #1

I'll to keep the royal y'all informed on the M's regress this season, game by freakin' game.

The Mariners opened their season against the LA Angels, and true to last season's form the lost the game 5--4. At least it was close. Ichiro only got a single but Johjima got a homer. Yea!

Meanwhile the Cardinals also stayed true to form by trouncing the Phillies 13-5. So this day ends evenly.

Welome!

I must be terribly bored to start a new blog. But I need a place where I can write in Russian, talk about church without apologizing to Mega Churches, write about politics without apologizing to Mega Churches and talk about sports. The official sport is baseball, but other passions include filling out the bracket for March Madness, Predator, Avalanche, and Slovak hockey, Portland Trailblazer basketball, soccer and Patriot and PSU Viking football.

The other great enthusiasim I'll touch upon is the Serenity/Firefly 'Verse.

Unlike my other blogs, this place is not designed to save the world, but to be personal (and full of personal attacks upon myself) thereby placing it among the 98% percent of blogs that no one cares about.

Please comment freely as if this place were a chatroom or if you were IM-ing, so anyone can have fun.