Egads. There’s a country song to be found here somewhere.
In other news, the story of the Florida Marlins really saddens me. I mean, I’m glad and all that the Red Sox have partially solved some of their pitching problems, but to have to do it by potentially robbing the Marlins blind of Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell is crap. It just screams classic “big market-small market” bullshit that makes the business of baseball what it is today: a second-class operation. Yeah, yeah, the devil’s advocates will tell you that in recent years, teams like the Diamondbacks, Angels and yes, the Marlins, won World Series titles against teams with larger payrolls and that much is certainly true. But those three teams weren’t exactly cash-poor either. Improvements have been made, but true parity is still an ocean away in MLB and the problem won’t change until there’s forced budgets – floor and ceiling – for baseball’s owners. They’re either too cheap and won’t spend anything or too egotistical and overspend. Adopt some kind of hybrid model that takes the best of the NHL deal and the NFL. Do something.
I’m a devoted Red Sox fan, but I can’t tell you how much I miss the days when a four-game series with the Kansas City Royals was a frightening prospect. Now the Royals elicit mere laughter and it breaks my heart as a baseball fan.
I’ve been on an ITunes album-buying spree lately:
Neil Diamond – 12 Songs
Dramarama – Everybody Dies
Wilco – Kicking Television (Live)
Billy Squier – Don’t Say No [a childhood favorite!]
Healthy White Baby – (self-titled)
Recently podded:
Son Volt – “Going, Going, Gone”
The New Pornographers – “Twin Cinema”
Fairport Convention – “Who Knows Where The Time Goes”
Elton John – “Jack Rabbit”
Elliot Smith – “Between The Bars”
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – “Deja Vu”
David Bowie – “Suffragette City”
Anders Parker – “Tell It To The Dust”
Billy Squier – “I Need You”
Todd Rundgren – “Slut”
Cary Hudson – “Bend With The Wind”
The Doors – “Back Door Man”
The Clash – “I Fought The Law”
Otis Redding – “Cigarettes and Coffee”