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September 27, 2005

a new look

True to form, Drew has provided inspiration where before none existed. Well, maybe not inspiration. More like talking points. Nevertheless, I shall attempt to address his questions over the next few days, as time permits. I really don't know how time wouldn't permit. Time permits me to do most things these days. Anyways...

The Cubs. I haven't written about them because nothing much has changed in their standing, personnel, or performance since, well, March. The highlight of the season: Ryan Dempster. He established himself as a quality closer. As Peter Gammons said when the Cubs moved him to the pen, he's crazy enough that he just might be great at this. If the Cubs have any sense at all, they'll sign Demp for at least a couple of years. He can anchor a bullpen that otherwise could use a good gutting. Next year they'll have Scott Williamson, but he is yet to regain form on his slider, which was his bread and butter when he had some success in Boston and Cincinnati. Ohman is becoming a somewhat reliable lefty specialist, but they need another lefty big time. Ultimately, they need two reliable veterans in the pen that can help them get to Dempster. If Williamson regains his form, I think he and Dempster could be very effective as an eighth-and-ninth inning combination. But you gotta make it to the eighth. If Kerry Wood can actually pitch 200 innings next season, they'll be alright. That would give them Wood, Prior, Zambrano, and Maddux as their top four. Jerome Williams has made a strong case for the fifth spot in next year's rotation, but they really could use a lefty that can eat up some innings. I think Glendon Rusch is terrible. When he wins, it seems like it's because he's lucky. Maybe he'd be okay as a long-man and a third lefty out of the pen, but that's all. If this year has shown us anything, it's that bullpens help good teams win close games. Just look at the Yankees. Without the Gordon-Rivera combination, they'd be battling to stay about .500 instead of fighting for the AL East title. Same goes for the Indians, Cardinals, and recently the Angels.

As far as their starting lineup is concerned, writers here in Chicago have been talking up the possibility of Garciaparra resigning with the Cubs to play to left field, which would allow blossoming prospect Ronny Cedeno to take the starting shortstop job. I like it for two reasons. Left field is a clear weakness, not to mention the rest of the Cubs' outfield. Nomar's playing time at third base this season has proved that he's got some versatility. He ain't just a shortstop any more. In case of injury, he'd be a great guy to pull in from left field to play short or third. I don't really think the Cubs have room for him in the infield unless Cedeno moves to second, but it appears the Cubs want to exercise their option on Todd Walker, otherwise they would've traded him before September 1. I think Nomar would be a great left fielder if only because defense is secondary in that position. He's got a good arm, and he's been hitting really well. An incentive-laden deal based on games played or at-bats would be a great idea. I like Matt Murton, but I don't think he's quite ready to take over left field for 160 games. Elsewhere, the infield is pretty set. Barrett-Blanco makes for a good catching combo, and the corners are solid with Lee and Ramirez hitting the hell out of the ball. The outfield is up for grabs. I think it'd be great if the Cubs made a strong run at Johnny Damon. He'd fill in the center field and lead-off voids. Burnitz must go. I don't know who's available, but his bat just doesn't cut it for right field. Who plays right should depend on who's available this winter. Right field may be a hole when we're approaching the non-waiver trade deadline next July, and that's probably okay if there's nothing cost-effective on the market. Overall, they should work on putting together a team that is a little faster and much, much healthier.

So, you see, when I think about the Cubs, I think about the future. And I hope that nobody gets injured, cause that's what has killed them the past two years.

I'm not sure quite yet what to say about the Bears. Two weeks ago, they dismantled what appeared to be a decent Detroit Lions team. But in Week 1 and last week, they looked like the Bears I've become used to over the past few years. Make no mistake -- their defense is fantastic. But the offense is sort of a mess. Justin Gage needs to step up and take some pressure off of both Muhsin Muhammad and Kyle Orton. Orton's a rookie, and should be forgiven mistakes -- to a point. Five interceptions in one game is terrible. Though it's far more terrible for Daunte Culpepper (who performed that feat in week one, I believe) than it is for Kyle Orton, who didn't even play with the first-stringers until the end of training camp. Regardless, the defense is and will be their bread and butter. If the offense can stay on the field long enough to rest the defense, the Bears will be at least competitive in most games, and should have a chance to win quite a few of them, at least until the fourth quarter.

In my opinion, the lessons of this season will be these:

1. A veteran back-up quarterback is a necessity, not a luxury; and
2. Teams with one excellent receiver need a second receiver that is at least above average in order to succeed. The St. Louis Rams have been winning off of the Holt-Bruce combination for years. Keyshawn Johnson couldn't carry Tampa Bay. Nor could Randy Moss complete that feat in Minnesota, even with Culpepper throwing to him.

Topics left to address: Law and Order, Madden 2006, and auto repair (though this one doesn't appear on Drew's talking points).

Posted by ben at 4:06 PM | Comments (1)


September 24, 2005

they're selling fast

I'm thrilled to announce that Pete and J's new CD has been released and is officially available on CDBaby through their website: www.peteandj.com. Happily yet inconveniently, CDBaby appears to have sold out their entire stock, but more are coming soon. Hop over to their website for more info.

It turns out that when I have less to do, I write to this thing much less. Which makes sense. When I'm not doing anything, what am I to write about? As Ferrario put it, I don't wanna be that guy that writes about daily activities or other non-news-worthy-types of mumbo jumbo. And thus, due to my general lack of activity, responsibility, etc. for the past month, my entries have been sparse.

In what I consider to be quite exciting news, Christina's sister, for reasons passing understanding, bought an XBox a few years ago and, not surprisingly, never uses it. Kindly, she has offered it to me. Now, it should be noted that the spare time created by my recent XBox void was filled primarily by Law and Order, which, frankly, has me hooked. As winter approaches, it is clear that I am going to be in desperate need of something to do other than watch fictional murder investigations and trials. So, if all goes well, I will be with XBox again in plenty of time to conquer Madden 2006, which I hear is excellent.

See, I told you I have nothing to write about.

Posted by ben at 4:48 PM | Comments (2)


September 8, 2005

worse than teased hair and hot pants

Katrina is everywhere, and it's making me a little batty. I do not intend to downplay the extremity of the situation or discount the need for discussion of how our federal government has failed those effected. It's just that plenty of people are doing that already. More seems to be overkill. Accordingly, I would like to declare that this site will henceforth be entirely Katrina-free in content. Moving along...

A new fad is sweeping the country. During my gallivanting around the country over the past few weeks, I became acutely aware of the omnipresent nature and still-growing prevalence of magnetic ribbons on cars. I tell you, I can't stand the things. It seems as though one out of three cars has either a yellow Support Our Troops ribbon or a flag-colored God Bless America one. I find both of these to be absurd and unnecessary. I feel as thought the implication of the flag-ish one is that if you don't have this ribbon prominently displayed on your car's ass, then you couldn't really care less about this country and you'd much rather that the terrorists were permitted to ravage the earth unburdened and unimpeded.

The Yellow Ribbon, I have to say, are much worse. I don't know exactly when the Yellow Ribbon was first used, but I do know its original intent. The Yellow Ribbon was originally tied it around a tree in their front yard, not postered on bumpers. A house with a Yellow Ribbonned tree was one in while a member of the family was in the military and was currently missing in action. I still have a vivid picture in my mind of walking past one such house every morning on my way to grade school (also during Gulf War, Part I). I didn't know then what it meant. I think this is a respectable and decent thing to do. Since then, they're message has been bastardized. When analogies between the Gulf War, Part II and Vietnam began to circulate, a lot of folks got pretty nervous. Following World War I, a theory surfaced among defeated Germans called the stab-in-the-back theory. As may be deciphered from its title, the theory claimed that the Germans lost that war because its citizens withdrew their support for the war effort. After the Vietnam War, the Pentagon wiped the dust off the theory and reemployed it, claiming that American failure to, well, take over Vietnam was due to the lack of support for American troops abroad. In other words, dissenting Americans caused their army to lose the Pentagon's war on the other side of the world. Really takes passing the buck to a new level, doesn't it? Anyways, that's the stab-in-the-back theory. Many people still believe it. And when analogies between Vietnam and Iraq started, some crony in the Pentagon got real nervous and decided to try to prevent that before it starts. They took a symbol of acknowledgement and mourning -- the Yellow Ribbon -- wrote Support Our Troops on it, made one side sticky (or magnetic), and said, "If you are a true American and you want to defeat the terrorists, put this thing on your car." And people listened. And thus the Yellow Ribbon was bastardized.

While I find these two Ribbons irritating, the barrage of others that have followed are even more ridiculous. See for yourself. There are magnetic ribbons for everything from patriotism to autism awareness. I should note here that I take absolutely no issue with cancer-oriented awareness ribbons. Same goes for the AIDS ribbon. Isn't it interesting that the red AIDS ribbon was one of the first ribbons to be commonly worn but that I have not seem a single car displaying one in magnetic form? How did they miss out? Anyways, cancer and aids ribbons are phenomenal and I mean in no way to undermine their legitimacy. Awareness of these issues can save lives. And they are not a fad. But the other magnetic ribbons are a fad. I find their attempt to permeate the realm of ribbon-worthiness offensive to ribbons that deserve such standing. So, I decided to fight back. I have recently purchased a greenish-grey magnetic ribbon that says Support Magnetic Ribbons across it. Yes, I know that what I have done could be viewed as giving in to the magnetic ribbon craze. But parody is necessary in this instance. And parody should never be mistaken for participation.

Posted by ben at 1:56 PM | Comments (4)


September 7, 2005

home again

With 12 days remaining in which I lack any significant responsibility, I have completed my month-long tour of seven states. Whew. I'm very much a homebody at heart, so while the past month has been extraordinarily fun, it's also been pretty draining. It's good to be home. Boy oh boy is the cat pissed. She doesn't particularly like it when we leave her alone. She usually gets over it though.

In what can only be considered a major deviation from my current behavioral patterns, I am in possession of several pictures from my varied travels. It should be noted that while I have these pictures on my computer, I did not think to take them. That was Christina. Or my parents. But still, pictures exist. And that is good. Hopefully I'll put them up in our online photo gallery in the next few days. Anyways...

I took my little sister to college recently. She's a freshman, which I find the be incomprehensible on one level and overdue on another. I don't know if I can think of another event that's more exciting than starting college. The excitement of living independently, meeting new people, and learning about life and, perhaps, academics. Of all the things I learned in college, I think maybe 20% was of an academic nature. I'm excited for her. From what I've heard thus far (meaning over the past week) it appears as though she's having a blast.

Wal-Marts are huge. Huge doesn't really capture the epic size of the average Wal-Mart. Gynormous might. Over the weekend, I went to one of those mega-stores. I see now why they're so successful, though I don't know that I would ever go to one myself. I'm happy to take advantage of the absurd cheapness. And thus, because of people like me, an immoral, ruthless corporation thrives. I mean, these stores have everything. Food, appliances, music, movies. Even gas. It's incomprehensible.

In other family news, my brother Pete and his friend J have moved to Brooklyn and have begun their quest for success in the music business. They've just launched a new web site, which is linked at the right. It's good stuff. You can read about them, buy music, get on the mailing list for gigs, and some other stuff too, I think. Check it out.

Posted by ben at 5:37 PM | Comments (0)


September 6, 2005

history appears to repeat itself

Once again, I apologize for my extended absence from the world of internet journaling. Once again, travels have interfered with my posting regularity. As of now, I'm officially back and I'm not planning to go anywhere for a little while -- a little while meaning the foreseeable future.

I have just this evening returned from Arkansas, meaning Christina and I have just completed a 12-hour driving day. Since my cognitive capabilities are moderately-to-severely impaired by all the sitting and staring, I will not attempt to write anything coherent at this time. However, I would like to make an exciting announcement: a med student/freelance writer friend of mine has started his own blog. As I have learned since starting this thing myself, reading other blogs is far more interesting than writing to one. The link is under "cerebellion" on the right of the page.

More to come.

Posted by ben at 9:35 PM | Comments (0)