Random notes

Went to the Mariners game against the Rangers. The
Rangers pitchers were horrendous. Barely could crack
85 mph on the radar gun, which in itself isn't necessarily
bad, but I've never seen so many breaking balls in the
dirt. By the 5th inning it was 12-1, and one Rangers
pitcher had been hit in the shin by a ball and wheeled
out on a modified wheelchair. A-Rod plays on a bad,
bad team. Bill and I left after the sixth inning, after 2
hours and 45 minutes of mind-numbing boredom.
Cubs need to fire Don Baylor. He has proven to be a lousy
manager, unable to communicate effectively with his players
and coaches, preferring to do his talking and managing through
the press, which is horrible. He should talk to his players
face to face, like men. His players gripe about him to the
press as well. He's not a very smart tactical manager,
either. Can the guy.
Saw the Annie Leibovitz "Women" exhibit with Bean. I
didn't think it was all that. Her subjects are all grim-faced,
solemn. Silent, unhappy, and way too serious. Maybe it's
some commentary on women's treatment by media or
society or something. I'd prefer to see some of them smiling,
or defiant. Something about posed portraiture, too, just
doesn't strike me as natural. Maybe I'm just jealous that
I don't have the equipment and connections to take some
of the shots she gets.
There is actually a photographer named Weegee! I saw
this book at the Seattle Art Museum gift shop.
A quick search at Amazon.com revealed lots of other
books by him as well. Apparently, he was a famous
news photographer. What a strange coincidence. I can
barely remember who started calling me Weegee out
here anyway, though I believe it had to do with a spreadsheet
I developed called Ouija (because it worked like black
magic), and then I think Susannah tacked on the
Sweet.
Bean might join some studio and be able to develop
photos for me. That would be cool. It's all voodoo to me.
Barry Bonds is putting up Nintendo numbers this year. His
on base percentage is .512 right now. That's right, every
other time up to the plate, he gets on base. That's sick.
His slugging percentage is currently the highest of all time,
.848. Higher than Babe Ruth in 1921! His swing is not
fluid, but it's brutally effective. Short, compact, rapid
rotation. I've never seen a hitter in such a zone for such
a long period of time. Unbelievable.
Rickey Henderson set the all-time runs record yesterday
as well. He's somewhat of a pompous ass, but between
him and Bonds, I can say I'm lucky enough to have seen
two of the top 5 leftfielders of all time. And Cal Ripken,
one of the top three shortstops of all time. And Clemens
and Maddux, two of the top 10 pitchers of all time.
And A-Rod, who might someday be the greatest shortstop
of all time. He hit his 52nd home run last night to a
smattering of boos. I wonder if he's happy, playing on that
lousy team. Many fans in Seattle were taunting him or
booing him, but I had to clap. He's just too good, the
best position player of his generation.
Oh yeah, and there's Pedro, the most dominating pitcher
I've ever seen. Of course, he always gets injured. Maybe he's
just too small to be a durable pitcher, but he's great. I loved
his quote about drilling the Bambino in the ass.