The Stories of DTS

DTS Update...

Whoa, it's been a long time.  Before I disappeared I was getting about 50 hits a day to this here blog where I write of everything and nothing at the same time.  I don't know if that's a lot or a little, but it seemed pretty good to me.   During baseball playoffs, I was seeing about 80 folks here a day.  Then, I vanished like a fart in the wind -- that's what the warden said when Andy Dufresne escaped from Shawshank.  Of course, my disappearance didn't involve Rita Hayworth or a sewer of crap. 

No, I disappeared because my job changed and I got really busy.  A good kind of busy.  Very rewarding.  I was working more which cut into my leisure time, which is what Stories is.  Leisure.  I'm here to fill you in on what I didn't write. 

19-0?

Before this season I never really rooted for or against the Indianapolis Colts.  They are now 11-0 and my second favorite team.  I'm not rooting for them because I like Peyton Manning or Marvin Harrison or because they're fun to watch.  I am rooting for them solely because I want them to go undefeated to shut up the '72 Dolphins, the last undefeated team.  That Dolphins' team still gets together and celebrates when the final loss-free team picks up its first loss.  I mean, move on.  Quit living in the past.  It's like Al Bundy talking up his glory days at Polk High where he once ran for four touchdowns.

Go Colts!

Tiger Football

Mizzou is bowl-bound.  The team that is 2-4 in games I've attended is headed to a bowl game.  I have trouble believing it because they aren't very good. I guess when 56 D-1 schools get invited, my favorite team might as well be one of them.  Good or not.

A few notes about the Tigers.

Unreality

You've got to love Tim Worrell's understanding of the world in which he lives.  From Rototimes:

Tim Worrell (P) ARZ isn't going to accept the Diamondbacks' offer of one-year, $1 million for 2006, according to the Arizona Republic. "I know that's a lot of money in the real world," Worrell said. "But I don't live in the real world. I live in this crazy, stupid world of baseball, where things are different, and in the end, I don't think I should have to take a pay cut of two-thirds of my salary last year."

With this, Tim moves into my list of top ten favorite baseball players.

Minute Maid Roof Update/Crazy People

I am now certain that the lawsuit against MLB for requiring the Astros to open the roof in Minute Maid for the World Series is not a hoax.  Instead, it's a publicity stunt perpetrated by a personal injury lawyer.  Lisa Sechelski is a partner at the Ogletree Abbott firm in Houston.  It's the kind of firm that solicits people who don't realize they're injured -- "have you taken XXX drug in the last 5 years?  If so, you may be entitled to a large amount of cold hard cash."  Here is the firm's take on roof lawsuit.  These firms make lawyers look like money grubbing whores, but they give the downtrodden somewhere to go when they've actually been wronged.  And, this particular firm knows an opportunity when it sees one.

Lawsuit Frivolity

This is good.  I mean, outstandingly good.  Infreakingcredible, really.  A Houston lawyer is planning to file a class action lawsuit against Major League Baseball on behalf of Houstonians because they got sick sitting out in the cold during the World Series.  From this article:

She claims some fans got sick because they weren't given adequate notice that the roof would be open and therefore, weren't prepared for temperatures in the 50's.

Never mind that the myth that cold weather causes the common cold or flu has been debunked over and over, but the game was in Houston!  It's never cold in Houston.  The temperature got down to the '50's.  No matter how you slice it, that is not cold.  It's an objective truth.  The irony is that people at Minute Maid Park during Games 1 and 2 were less likely to catch a cold or come down with the flu than had the roof been closed because they were exposed to fresh air.   

I love truly frivolous lawsuits.  On the other hand, perhaps this whole thing is a hoax -- I'll be following the story with bated breath.

The Nonissue Issue

The roof.  To be or not to be, that is the question.  Who cares?  The Astros, before Game 3 mind you, prophylactically whined because Major League baseball demanded that the roof on Minute Maid remain open for the game.  The home field advantage, the Astros bleated, is all tied up in the roof.  Don't you see?  I mean, look at the records!  What a bunch of cry babies.  Oswalt, who I used to like, was the worst.  He actually said that the White Sox had the advantage in Chicago because they play in cold and windy situations all season.  I've been to Chicago in the summer -- it's freakin' hot and muggy.  Oswalt, you've got to be kidding.  I can't believe you'd make excuses for a loss that hasn't even happened.

Astro advocates have been carting out the team's record with the roof on and off as "proof" that they gain an advantage.  I don't recall the exact numbers and I don't want to look them up because they're irrelevant, but their winning percentage is something like .650 with the roof and .530 without.  I could be wrong.  I don't care.

Now, It's OVER

Astros 5, Cardinals 1.  It sure felt like more than a four run difference.  Oswalt dominated the Cards like he was, well, like he was Roy Oswalt.  The man can pitch.  The Cards' bats laid dormant all NLCS and could not wake up against the likes of Roy.  And, that, basically was all there was to it. 

I never got upset as I'm prone to do.  No errant F-bombs, no creative string of curse words that had never before been connected and probably never will be again (I consider that one of my specialties -- makes me feel better about myself when I lose control.  No, I'm not a maniac, I'm a creative genius who just linked fornication, the Lord, pets, prostitutes, and a destitute donkey.  Who can beat that?) 

I don't know if the relative calm was residual satisfaction from Game 5 or that I had all game to get used to the idea of losing.  I was disappointed, a little surly, and I couldn't watch any Astro glee, but I kept my wits about me.  Almost like a real-life adult.

Oh My

Hollywood intervened tonight.  That's all there is to it.  Two out, 1-2 count on Eckstein against Brad Lidge.  A seeing eye grounder through the left side keeps the Cardinals alive.  Before that, I thought Minute Maid was going to explode.  Fox, as is its wont, showed the faces of 42 fans, 16 front office guys, and 10 Astro players, before that last pitch to Eck.  The game was over.  Or, so I thought.  Or did I?

Cards May Be in Trouble

Losing to Clemens isn't the worst thing in the world to fall back two games to one.  Morris hasn't pitched well since June and I didn't really expect to win today.  Still, Clemens didn't look great and Morris pitched well enough to keep the Cards in the game, so losing today hurt. 

Clearly, the Cardinals lost today because the Astros had the roof on Minute Maid.  This makes it loud, or so the announcers have told us about 100 times this postseason.  With all that noise, the Cardinals were unable to call any audibles at all and were constantly jumping offsides.  It was terrible.  Seriously, who cares how loud it is?  It's a baseball game.  Am I supposed to believe that these professional athletes get inspired by all that noise?  Does it make them try harder?  I'd think they were all giving maximum effort anyway.  They can keep the damn thing shut for all I care -- I don't think it makes a bit of difference in a baseball game.