The Ross Era

I was a little surprised the Cubs went with David Ross. Like most new manager hires, no one is really sure how they'll do. Everyone in Chicago loves the guy. He had an amazing run as the Cubs catcher in 2016 during the World Series win; he won a World Series with the Red Sox as well so he is a winner. I would rather he got his experience somewhere else first. This is still a team loaded with talent.

Here is the article.

I wanted Joe Girardi. He was also a catcher with the Cubs in 1990 and again in 2000. After he quit playing he was hired by the Yankees to manage the team. He won the Series in 2009. I just think his experience is unmatched. And he is an Illinois kid too. Not that it matters a lot but he grew up in Peoria and attended Northwestern. I thought he had the best shot.

The biggest issue the Cubs are going to have is how to hold on to these players (Bryant, Baez) when their contracts are up in two years. They'll probably have to trade at least one of them or risk loosing farm talent for the next few years. They are a rich team (relatively speaking) but they need to start winning again. Big salaried teams need to justify their price and missing the playoffs for the last two years isn't good. I remember looking at the fivethirtyeight website at the start of the season. It's a stat heavy website that compiles data on everything from sports to politics. It predicted that they would  finish 3rd in their division this year. I thought it was nuts at the time, "Big data is a scam!" They led all year, won more games and had the best shot at the playoffs. The Cards couldn't keep up, the Brewers fell behind. 

Then they finished 3rd, as predicted.

I've been watching the Nationals run through the playoffs this year, ticking off victory after victory. They lead the series 2 games to 0 over a much better Astros team. Astros are better in almost every category, starting pitching, bullpen pitching, overall hitting and even total wins. But in baseball the team that gets hot in the playoffs usually wins out. It isn't over yet but I like Washington's chances. Their next 2 games are at home in DC.

Hopefully next year the Cubs with their new, very green, manager can get hot like in 2016.
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Fall Jogging

It’s getting chilly in Tulsa, the good kind of chilly; the kind we welcome after a long hot summer. But just because the first night below 40 degrees hits in mid-October, it doesn’t mean the chill is here to stay. We’ll have plenty of warm afternoons and cool mornings until December arrives. Even then we tend to move slowly into winter like an elderly man climbing steps. No matter though, the snow melts pretty quickly on average. I’m looking forward to colder weather running again. If nothing else the heat makes it difficult to get your weekly miles in. Getting up and running in the cold is no treat for the first mile, but when your extremities warm and your muscles loosen up you put in more distance for less effort. I don’t run in anything below 30 degrees though.   

This past Sunday’s weather was ideal for joggers. I was surprised to see so few of them out considering the temp of 45 degrees with full sun is almost perfect. I managed 10.25 miles and felt like I could eek out another couple of miles if I had to. I usually manage to go between 8 and 10 on Sunday (my long day) but I’m always ready to crawl to the finish when the temps are hot. My biggest mistake this time was not wearing a thicker shirt. When it gets sweaty the cool air blows through the wet fabric making it feel like I'm running through a spring storm. A little chill in the air is ideal though.

I carried a bottle this time. I’d seen others run with a contoured squirt bottle that wraps neatly around your hand. I bought one when I was in Colorado and only used on that disastrous trail run. I had yet to bring it on one of my longer runs even though it’s perfect. The idea being ‘stay hydrated and avoid frequent stops at drinking fountains dry mouthed and overheated’.

This is probably a silly concern but I was afraid I’d get irritated with the swinging motion of a heavier bottle in one hand and nothing in the other. I couldn’t exactly change my mind after a few miles and throw it away either. But it worked out great and I didn’t need to stop along the way. I didn’t even notice the swinging motion after a while. Besides, I’d rather have the water when I need it. I can’t believe I didn’t get one for those hot days in the summer. Oh well, next year.

I’m not signed up for any half marathons yet. I would do the Route 66 one in mid -November but I have a commitment I can’t get out of. I’m working during the Tulsa Run, which is only a 15K but is a popular event around here. As long as I keep my schedule of running 3 days every week I’ll never be too out of shape for a race. I don’t see doing a full marathon anytime soon though. I know the amount of work it takes to get into 26 mile shape, and I’m not interested right now.

The fall is the best time to run in Oklahoma. It’s the first time I made real strides in my overall distance and it’s the best time to make new ones.  

More Hokey Please!

That’s it, no more! I’m not making fun of the Hallmark channel anymore. I won’t poke fun at their predictably jolly Christmas stories with ‘happily ever after’ endings. I definitely won't mock the thin plot lines and sappy romance leaking through the screen like hot coffee through a paper cup.  They’ve found a niche in making low budget family movies and turned it into gold for two months out of the year. They've also tapped into a growing discontentment among viewers over dark, twisted TV shows and movies. 

 I just noticed a list for new Christmas movies this year; a cause for celebration among some, including my mom. They’ve made 40 new films, 40! That’s impressive, even for factory films shot in studios and patched up over the course of a week. They’ve gone from a family friendly station with very cheesy programming to a Christmas only network, basically. The cheese is still there in heaping portions but the holiday specials bring in a lot of viewers for the network. Their model for raking it in looks an awful lot like a retail store. Make sure the good stuff is available for November and December and churn out new product in the spring and summer.

 The actors are mostly B and C who’ve had bit parts in other movies. You’re bound to see a familiar face in at least one of the snowy town sets, “Isn’t that the one from?” or “Didn’t they play the doctor in?” Hallmark is getting wealthy though and going after bigger stars like Danny Glover and John Cusack, both of whom were in a big budget Christmas film in 2017. Candace Cameron Bure is practically an ambassador for the network.

Most of the stuff I read about Hallmark doesn’t really get at why it’s raking in money on Christmas films like a hustler on a pool table. So here is my theory. People are sick of bad news and dark, horrific subject matter in TV and films. The biggest box office movie right now is about a guy who loses his mind becomes a psychopath. OK so the title is Joker , as in DC Comics but from the reviews, it’s a very different sort of movie. Nothing against making gritty depictions of urban decay, but I like my narratives to have a redemptive arc, or at least the notion that evil gets punished. I haven’t seen it yet so maybe I’m being unfair. Some of the Netflix shows have the same issue, dark cities with unspeakably cruel villains, moral cowardice and a flawed hero. 

I’m not trashing movies with heavy themes. I love great drama and even sad stories some of the time. I even like violence and righteous killing, but TV and films overflow with them like a septic tank in a suburban yard. Is it any wonder there is an increase in light hearted movies with predictable plots and fairy tale endings?

The national news is worse because it’s real life and anxiety and depression are on the rise. A couple of the sources I looked at found that because of things like 24/7 news but also everyday issue like health, finances, relationships and safety. I’m sure constant connectivity (alerts, and status updates) from social media plays a role in anxiousness.   

 The news is basically awful all the time. Not that positive things don’t happen, but news is kind of tilted toward the bad, the negative, the reckless. Positive well-lit feature films might offer a reprieve, or at least a smidge of sunny optimism in their canned, studio way. We know the story is loose and predictable, we know the acting is lame but we don’t care. I realize I'm giving Hallmark a heavy load in assuaging America's anxiousness with a bit of hot cocoa and warm blanket, but the number of viewers to their Christmas extravaganza goes up every year. At least some of those viewers are in the 'I can't take anymore darkness' category.

Real life is messy and corny yarns give us just the right amount of relief. We don’t need to feel guilty or sad about the outcome. The director isn’t making us feel bad about the environment or driving a gas guzzler or persecuted religious groups or poor indigenous tribes or voting Republican or owning guns or eating meat. They just want you to watch and root for the guy to get the girl, the town to get a new firetruck (or courthouse) and the long lost siblings to reunite on Christmas Eve. All of this needs to happen in sweaters.

The best part is, no grisly murders or rapes, no nuclear bombs or assassinations and no face eating zombies.

 I don’t usually watch Hallmark, but maybe I’ll start.     

Crazy Rich Asians: Book Review

 I remember seeing title before and thinking “Is it ‘crazy rich’ like filthy rich, or ‘crazy’ and ‘rich’ like Tom Cruise?” Turns out it’s a little of both. I described to a friend as Downton Abby with Chinese characteristics. Obviously there is a whole lot wrong with that description but it’s a starting point. Where the British show had a 2 part aristocrats and their ‘help’ feel, Asians is about the aristocrats only.  The story is modern day and mostly takes place in Singapore where a lot of ethnic Chinese live. There is history of wealthy Chinese leaving the mainland after the Japanese invaded in 1931, but that’s a post for another day.  

I can’t tell how much of this fictional account is true to form. In other words, is the wealth really that grand, million dollar shopping trips and 2 million dollar earrings? Or is it an exaggeration to emphasize a lifestyle that almost no one reading it can relate to? 

Here is the story in a nutshell. An American woman (Rachel) goes to meet the family of her wealthy boyfriend (Nick) at the occasion of a wedding for Nick’s closest friend.  The twist is that she doesn’t know how fabulously rich his family is or how nasty they are. She gets blindsided by an all-out assault from relatives and hangers on. Nick doesn’t exactly prepare her for the world he is bringing her into. Partly because he sees himself a bit outside of it, he’s lives in New York with Rachel, and partly because he doesn’t want to freak her out.

I had a hard time buying Nick as a character. He is more endearing as an honest guy who doesn’t consider his family’s immense wealth, but it’s not plausible to me.  He’s always saying things like “I just don’t really think about that stuff” or “Well my Ah Ma is rich but I’m just a regular guy”. His Ah Ma (grandma) is basically royalty with a massive estate and a corner of Singapore all to herself. The family of characters, uncles, aunts, nephews and friends add to the colorful nature of the book. Not all of them are enemies to Rachel but there are a fair amount of ‘mean girls’ and nasty tricks. She is ABC (American Born Chinese) and therefore holds a lower tier in their social stratosphere. Also she is dating a rich guy, and likely to inherit wealth they would rather keep for themselves.   

  

I got a little lost in the labels. The author is clearly steeped in fashion. He listed off more high end chic stores and designers than I’d ever heard of. It’s was a bit much and I don’t think it enhanced the story. This is probably just my bias coming through. I imagine by telling the reader which handbag, shoe or designer is a way of mentioning the scale. “I bought a watch today” sounds a lot less impressive than “I bought a Patek Philippe watch today.” Much like writers who know about guns, they never write “John grabbed the handgun off the ground and squeezed off a short burst into the killer’s chest.” They have to write “John grabbed the Smith and Wesson 9mm off the ground and squeezed off a short burst of hollow point rounds into the killer’s chest.” Some of that adds to the story but gets old quickly if not reigned in.

 Detail is essential for mental images but works like peanut butter cups in ice cream, too many will make you sick.

What does work very well is when the characters speak with a combined English and Hokkien (Malaysian) dialect or an English and Cantonese mixed dialect. The author included a helpful footnote at the end of every chapter to explain the meaning of the dialect. Most of it doesn’t need a lot of explaining, the dialogue works even if the reader doesn’t speak the language. The expressions and exasperations are pretty much the same everywhere.

I watched the movie almost right after I read the book. The book is far less conclusive on the whole ‘will they get together despite the nutty family theme?’. In the movie...well, it’s a romantic comedy so make what you will of that.

Trail run Fail

I spent last week in Colorado Springs on vacation. Mostly I like to hike and see the city but this time I also signed up for a race. I did one half marathon before so I thought I could do one again. Now I run throughout the week so I figured I was in shape for a 13.1 mile run. The race was through trails and although I’d never done any serious trail stuff I wanted to try. The “trail” part of the run scared me enough go to the park a day early and walk the route. I downloaded a GPS app for my phone and followed the map through the woods. I got there a bit early and bumped into the race coordinator setting up cones and tying ribbons on tree branches. I let him finish before I walked the remainder.

Walking the route make me realize pretty quick that I wasn’t going to set any records on this one. Steep hills and drops, rough ground and a very zig zaggy path made for brutal course. A few people got lost on the first lap of the race. Partly due to where the cones were positioned and partly because it was downhill, they zoomed right through the trail split. I nearly followed them but remembered the route from walking earlier in the day and got back on line.  I managed the first lap by jogging most of the way and walking up the higher rises. The second lap did me in. I think I’d mentally given up after the first one and just hoped to get in one more. So I started a half marathon and completed a 10k.

Should I have finished the full distance? I’ve thought about that since. I could have gone back and walked the whole course 2 more times. It was a 3.3 mile loop that meant I had to run around it 4 times to complete a half marathon. It just seemed silly to walk it, anyone can do that. I just need more practice on trails next time. I wanted to blame the altitude or my lack of sleep or not getting enough water but really, I just wasn’t ready this time.

At least I enjoyed myself the rest of the time. I saw the US Olympic training center and finally went to Pikes Peak. The failed race was a downer on an otherwise pleasant trip.

Bits of Weird

It’s the little things in life that irritate, befuddle, confound.

 We all have quirky elements of character that regular people shake their heads at, bits of weird really.  Some of us are rule Nazis about board games. Any deviation in standard practice creates a seismic shift in gravitational pull of the earth. Some wear black socks like it’s the only color option. With athletic shorts and sandals? yup. With board shorts and tank tops? yup. With undershirts and boxers? what else. There doesn’t need to be a deeply held reason either. Some quirks just feel right.

 So here is one of my bits of weird. I need to carry everything in from the car in one heaping trip. Mostly I go to the gym or run after work so I’m usually sweaty and gross, not to mention irritable. The day is ruined however, if I can’t strategically carry all my goods safely into the house in one go. It’s not an art exactly but it must happen in the same way or precious time is wasted on an exhaustive second trip to the car to scrounge around for items not worthy to be carried the first time. Generally I throw the sweaty towel over my neck first.

Second come the keys from the ignition but I can’t pocket them. I need them for the door so they have to stay in my right hand. If it’s dark out, this is critical, I must select the door key while the light from the dashboard is still on. This can go south quickly. A fumble at the doorstep and I’ll have to set everything down and search in the dark for right key. Then I have to pick everything back up in the proper order once the door unlocks and stumble in.

After picking the right key and holding it tightly I reach for the morning’s empty coffee cup, usually tucked under the front passenger seat. I hate leaving things overnight in the car, another weird thing. Then comes the wallet from the center counsel and the frequently neglected phone in the cup holder. Both go in the front right pocked of whichever shorts I happen to be wearing.  Next I tuck the cup gently under my left arm. I’ve lost a couple of nice mugs this way so I’ve learned the right amount of pressure and movement. It’s a delicate balance. I move around the back of the car (SUV) and pop open the hatch. I sling the laptop shoulder bag and the gym duffel over my left shoulder, this way I still have a free hand in case I happen to have a bag of groceries or a watermelon. One bag is the limit though because I only have one free hand, the other one holds the all important key. If I can carefully close the door with the key hand I’m basically home free.

The last part is the approach up the steps and to the door. I don’t dare get cocky though.   The most common screw ups are trying to grab the mail from the mailbox with the key hand and subsequently dropping the key into the darkness, tripping on the steps and dropping the mug and laptop on the concrete, or trying to press the car lock bottom on the key fob and letting the house key slip down the ring and having to find it again. It’s all an exhausting bit of choreography. My angry outbursts are completely uneven to the gravity of the situation though. I’m getting better.  

What I can’t quite figure is, why do I feel the need to do it one trip? My car sits roughly 8 paces from the front door. Maybe it goes back to when I lived in an apartment and had to park 50 yards or more from the door. Maybe it’s a particular interest, I did NOT say obsession, with efficiency. Whatever the reason I get too upset about silly things in life that aren’t that important.

I’m learning to be more grateful for health, both physical and mental. Also grateful that phones and laptops and lights actually work in this country. The electricity is reliable and the gas, cable and internet come right into the house. The grocery stores don’t run out of food, unless there is a tornado on the way in which case you should’ve got there earlier. The roads are paved, the sewers run underground and the trash is collected every week. We can worship freely and say almost anything in public. A lot of us own cars and houses and toys like boats and swimming pools and motorcycles. We take vacations to places where often, the little things like electricity, gas and phones don't work as well.

Gratitude for stuff and gratitude for condition goes a long way toward easing stress over daily problems, real and imagined. Being grateful for little things in the same measure that we stress out over them is the antidote to anxiety. The quirky bits of weird are just part of who we are. We accept it and move on.

Sometimes you have to break a few coffee mugs to realize it.

Andrew Luck

Andrew Luck’s retirement is surprising in its abruptness. There is the usual exaggeration from sportswriters and TV talking heads. Being a beat writer makes for some genuine cynicism. The lies and distortions from front offices creates antagonism, fear and loathing in the reporters. The most annoying ones are the 'what-does-this-say-about-society' types that never miss a change to remind fans how immoral we all are. Some are already signaling the death of football and blaming the fans in the process. Jamele Hill at the Atlantic thinks Luck is Exhibit A in “evolving” players retiring before injuries completely ruin any chance at a normal life.

Not all fans are actually capable of seeing the humanity of the players they follow so closely. When the allure of the game is rooted in violence, and in conformity to whatever the team demands, players are treated as physical objects and nothing more.

The tone is one of finger waging. “How can you watch this sport that glorifies pain?” First of all the “allure of the game” is that most of couldn’t make a college roster at any spot, let alone an NFL team. There is an excellence most people will never know, it’s a mystique. We love football because only the toughest, most athletic and physically gifted among us can do it. Yes it is violent but the violence isn’t arbitrary or excessive, it’s a game of rules. Players aren’t treated as “physical objects and nothing more”. They couldn’t sell us life insurance or deodorant, loafers or pizza if we regarded them as mere pawns. Their value doesn’t extend beyond the team in though; we rely on their greatness as long as the team wins. That isn’t very different from the corporate world is it?

If we are seeing a move away from long careers then so be it. The salaries are extremely high because of the risky nature. Commercial fisherman, coal miners and soldiers would be fortunate to earn such a massive take. It pays well because so few can do it, also because we pay to watch. Andrew Luck made a very reasonable calculation; he’d made enough money to live comfortably. Better to get out while still relatively healthy. I think the timing was terrible and he should have done this last season, or waited until this one was over.

Some fans booed him as he headed for the tunnel. The story is that Luck retired after a short career, at least for someone with such a bright future. But a lot of sports writers and opinion talkers are making it about the booing. This from Deadspin:

“It never ceases to amaze me how some idiots can get so caught up in a fandom that they forget the players on the field are human beings.”

I think the fans can be given a break here. Booing is always ugly but their superstar quarterback quits right before the season and their supposed to sing ‘thanks for the memories’ and he strolls out of stadium in a T-shirt? They’re a little pissed off and they should be. If you hired a manager to run your business and he quit right at the beginning of the project, you’d be upset too.

 The criticism of Luck by the fans reflects the short notice of the news. It’s like “Oh by the way, your potential hall of fame quarterback is retiring today, have a great season.” If doesn’t matter what the reason, he left you dry. The anger will wane though. Give it a season and they’ll appreciate his years and effort. I don’t think anyone believes Andrew Luck wouldn’t play if he could perform reasonable well.  He won’t get a Peyton Manning type reception in Indy, but he won’t get the villain treatment forever. Colts fans will come around eventually and look to the future. 

Enough please about us fans not treating players like human beings. You can find ugliness in fans all over the league. But I won’t feel guilty about watching a game with a high probability of injuries for the athletes. It’s made a lot of people very wealthy and provided comfortable living standards for those with few other options.

There is a hard truth that comes with playing professional team sports. The team is bigger than any one player. That’s especially true in football where a bad turn or awkward hit can end a career overnight. It’s sad when injuries keep guys out, but the games go on and the only thing retiring players should feel is gratitude. Gratitude for the ability and the chance to play the toughest game around and rake in some serious money for their efforts. 

Gratitude that people thought so much of you, that they booed your decision to step away.