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October 4, 2005
sure, that makes it legal
A few things have been bothering me lately. I heard yet another substance-free Bush press conference in the car this morning. He keeps telling Americans to save gas because of the hurricanes and such. Never mentioned by anyone is the fact that he has been to Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi on day trips like seven or eight times since the hurricanes passed through. Why has he been going? To "monitor progress" and "survey damage." In plain English, this translates to, "making up for the fumbling of cronies after the first hurricane." Does this sound like gas conservation to anyone?
So I was driving home down 94 the other day. The traffic was pretty bad, as it usually is in this city, so I was sitting in the traffic, slowly making my way home. All of sudden, this guy, with his hazard lights on mind you, whizzes past me on the left shoulder. Then, he flips the hazards off and swerves into the left lane. The traffic stops again, and he flips his hazards back on and zooms back onto the shoulder and out of sight. I don't know what was going on with him. In fact, I don't even know he was a 'him'. But man, all I could think was, 'you gotta be kidding me'. True, turning on the hazards makes some parking jobs at least semi-legal if not socially permissible. But circumventing traffic on the shoulder of the highway? That's just craziness.
Now, let's talk playoff baseball. I've done some thinking, I've seen some predictions, and here's what I think. Not what I want. What I think.
The NLDS
San Diego vs. St. Louis: No way San Diego can pull this out. They're outmatched in pitching, bullpens, defense, power and contact hitting, clutch hitting, and big game players. San Diego will be lucky to pull one game out of this one.
Cardinals in 3
Houston vs. Atlanta: An interesting match-up. Houston's pitching is going to make them tough. No question about that. However, let's not forget Atlanta has some pretty damn good pitching themselves. I look to the Smoltz vs. Clemens match-up in Game 2 to determine how this series goes, especially since these two guys would probably meet up again if a fifth game i needed. The edge here goes to the Braves for one reason: bullpens. Houston has a great closer, though he's been shaky lately, but they use two guys with no game (Wheeler and Qualls) to get to him.
Braves in 5
ALDS
Boston vs. Chicago: Man, I'd love to see the White Sox win the Series. No White Sox-hating here. But this will be a tough series for them. The edge has to go to Boston if only because they have the best clutch hitter in baseball in David Ortiz. And that Ramirez guy swings pretty good too. If Chicago has a chance, it's because Boston's starting pitching has been suspect of late, with the exception of Schilling). Long story short, Chicago doesn't have the offense to keep up with Boston.
Red Sox in 4
New York vs. Anaheim: Unfortunately, beating the Yankees in the playoffs is an extraordinarily difficult feat. Randy Johnson has started to pitch like the big, ugly, guy with nasty stuff that New Yorkers expected all season. And he's a gamer. Oh yeah, and their offense is absurdly good. If Anaheim pitches well AND they get into New York's middle relief, they'll have a chance. But the Yankees will win the slugfests.
Yankees in 4
ALCS: Red Sox in 7
NLCS: Braves in 7
World Series: Braves in 6
More detail on ALCS and NLCS match-ups and the Series will come once that time approaches and the teams are known.
A quick note on the Cubs: Last week, they signed Ryan Dempster to a 3-year contract extension. At last, they have found and retained their closer.
Posted by ben at October 4, 2005 2:51 PM
Comments
Harp -- love the comment about crazy drivers. However, I have few points to make about the maniacal bastards in New Jersey.
(1) Driving on the shoulder during heavy traffic is expected. What is unexpected, is that people in the right lane will merge over, so that they are half in their lane and half in the shoulder to prevent people from passing them. I don't have my car here, so the amount of time I spend on the road is minimal, yet I've seen this display at least six times in the past year (remember, I'm driving in New Jersey probably once or twice a month).
(2) Speeding is necessary. And not like 5 or 10 miles over the limit. Before Meg moved to Hoboken I was driving her car down the turpike around 10 at night. I was doing 80 mph and some asshole was so close behind me that I couldn't see his headlights. On the turpike, eighteen wheelers will pass you if you're doing only 80.
(3) Not even the streets of Hoboken (pure residential area) are safe. A few months ago, someone was caught doing 76 in a 25. Keep in mind there are more than 40,000 people living in Hoboken (I would estimate around half or a little less own cars), which occupies only a square mile. I'll let you figure out how many pedestrians are on the streets at all times.
(4) Even my minimal driving in New Jersey has tainted me for life. When I drive in New Jersey I am among the 10% least aggressive drivers on the road. Everywhere else, I am the cruelest most relentless asshole ever.
If this doesn't deter people from moving to New Jersey, then they probably belonged here anyway.
The Red Sox look done, which is good for the South Siders -- their plight over the least century has been just as bad as anyone else's. I disagree with you about the Astros though (and not just because they won last night). The offenses are a wash (neither one is particularly scary). But, top to bottom, the Astros have a better pitching staff and no one has a better record than they do since June 1. In fact, they might be the ones to topple the Yankees, because I would take Clemens over the Unit if I needed to win one game. But Clemens is just a downright asshole, so maybe his head will explode one of these days, bringing unbridled joy to New Engladers everywhere.
Posted by: Ferrario at October 6, 2005 9:04 AM
I'm glad that you rooted for the White Sox. My Cubs fan coworker explained that he couldn't because then the Cubs would have no one to share the misery. But I figure it's better to at least root for your city if you can't root for the Cubs.
Posted by: Sarah at November 7, 2005 4:01 PM