Posted 6:38pm,
Sunday, December 26, 2004
Capracorn
As I watched "It's
a Wonderful Life" this year, I
wondered if any of today's kids would
give this half a chance. I know I resisted
it until I was in my teens. Now I get
choked up at least three times while
watching it.
Capra
gets a bum rap for being overly sentimental
in his films, but there's some pretty
heavy stuff in there. I mean, the whole
movie hinges on George Bailey contemplating
suicide! (Merry Christmas!)
The look
in Jimmy Stewart's eyes when his mother
slams the door on his face... the utter
desperation and despair. When his wife
runs screaming from his arms, as if
he were a rapist.
As a follow-up
to my last post regarding Barry Bonds's
alleged steroid use, a thought occurred
to me. Many seem so willing to dismiss
Barry as a steroid-taking cheat, but
think of the circumstances.
Say you're
Bonds. Here's your trainer, a guy you've
known since high school. You tell him
your joints are sore, so he gives you
a cream to apply to the muscles. Is
there any reason for Bonds to think
that this ointment might be steroids?
I mean, up until this undetectable
cream popped up, we all knew what steroids
were: something injected with a needle
into your muscles.
To put
it another way, let's say this is you.
You mention to a friend, that you have
sore joints. He knows just the thing.
He gives me you a clear cream and tells
you to use it on your sore muscles.
Would you ask your friend, "Hey,
this cream... it's not steroids is
it?" He's just a guy you've known
since high school with a tube of ointment.
There's no reason to suspect something
you apply on your skin, externally,
might be a steroid, because as far
as you know (at least until recently),
steroids were injected, not rubbed
into your muscle.
Just a
hypothetical, but not far-fetched or
a reach by any means.
I added
a couple of pictures to the Photologue.
Check 'em out.
This
is my last post for 2004. Next time
you show up, this site will look
somewhat different. Have a Happy
New Year and be safe.
::Permalink::
Posted 5:18pm,
Sunday, December 12, 2004
Bonds
For
the last few weeks we've been getting
leaks from the Feds about Barry Bonds's
alleged steroid use. I've gotten
angry e-mails from friends bitching
about Bonds, probably because I'm
a Bonds supporter.
To
be honest, I really don't care.
Barry
Bonds is our generations greatest
player, juiced or not. No angry,
bitter sports writer can change the
fact that you are witness to a perfect
hitter. No steroid improves your
eye. There are no injections that
make you more patient at the plate.
There's
no doubt his homerun production would
drop dramatically if you take the "cream" out
of the equation. I'm talking about
on-base percentage and being able
to "see" the pitches. No
one is claiming that he's super-human.
If anything, this scandal shows that
he IS human, with faults and all
the foibles and weaknesses that come
with being human.
What
astounds me is that Mark McGuire
ADMITTED to using supplements, but
no one wants to put an asterisk next
to his records. Mickey Mantle and
Babe Ruth were drunks. So what? But
Bonds is a lightning rod. Why? Because
he's an asshole OFF the field. Bottom
line: Bonds did nothing against the
rules of baseball. If you want to
argue that, you will lose.
I
will tell my grandkids that I've
seen him play. I've watched him bat.
I bring a camera to every game. Zoom
at the ready, hoping to capture a
homer on film... or byte, as the
case may be. Perhaps you've even
seen him hit one. Hopefully, you've
saved the ticket. I do. I write the
number of the homer I witnessed on
the back.
No
one's asking you to love Barry. Go
ahead, hate him. I don't care. I'm
thankful for every opening day that
Barry is on the roster. Because one
day, he won't be. And I'll miss him.
Speaking
of which, it looks like the Giants
have one kick ass team this year.
On paper, we're easily the best team
in the National League West.
Starting
pitching, last year's biggest concern
is now rock solid: Jason Schmidt,
Kirk Rueter, Brett Tomko, Jerome
Williams, Noah Lowry. Our problems
with relief, gone with the arrival
of Armando Benitez.
In
the field, we have new shortstop
Omar Vizquel. It also looks like
we'll have a new outfielder soon,
either Dave Roberts or Moises Alou.
How
the hell does Brian Sabean do it?
I
realized it was almost the end of
the year last week, which can only
mean one thing: restlessness. Which
of course leads to... a site redesign.
Well, a tweak at least. Coming January
1st.
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