Sledge Hammer! Mania

Posted on January 26, 2016 by admin

Sledge Hammer! was a half-hour sit-com created by Alan Spencer. It aired on ABC from September 23, 1986 until February 12, 1988– when it was cancelled by the network.

The show starred David Rasche as inspector Sledge Hammer, a Dirty Harry-meets-stand-up comic, San Francisco cop.

Hammer’s side-kick was Dori Doreau, played by the beautiful & talented Anne-Marie Martin. Their loveable quick-boil boss, Captain Trunk was brilliantly acted by Harrison Page.

Guest stars included: John Vernon, Jack Thibeau, Frank Doubleday, Janice Lynde, Dennis Fimple, Peter Marshall, Stephen Elliot, Tom Henschel, Mark Blankfield, Bill Dana, Martine Beswick, Patrick Wayne (the Duke’s son), Robin Leach, Mary Woronov, Nicholas Guest, Ray Walston, Robert Sacchi, Deborah Harmon, Bill Bixby (who also directed), Bud Cort, Richard Moll, Adam Ant, Davy Jones and James Karen.

Sledge Hammer! only ran two seasons, and was royally jerked-around by the executives at last-rated ABC. It deserves the silver screen today, but only if Alan Spencer is in charge. Spencer keeps insisting on the original cast. [1] Hollywood insists otherwise, so it will probably never happen. It’s the money that effs everything up.

Anyways, this show had its share of rabid & loyal fans, even back then– and here’s proof:

Introduction by Brian McHugh, quiz by Eric Meeker. Byline was inadvertently omitted. No one at the time answered more than six or seven correct, without cheating. Key: ACABBBECBCABABC

SHIELD staff included above, front page below:

It Happened What Night?

…………………><><><><><><><………………

Mount Dora Parking

Posted on January 25, 2016 by admin

The 429 Connector is part of a toll-highway system that is now 7/8 complete, and will eventually encircle Orlando, FL. Its builders had a few issues running the final link through the Wekiva Springs State Park (and other protected wetlands), but as you can see by the map below, they got it worked out. [1]

The 429 now connects Disney to Lake County, with an exit arrow pointing to “Mount Dora.”

Mount Dora is now recognized as a tourist destination around the world, and anyone who can afford it, can fly into Orlando International Airport and then drive to Mount Dora in about an hour.

Some people are disappointed upon arrival, as downtown Mount Dora is just three (3) blocks square, with a lot of empty (for rent) buildings within.

There is no more room for street parking in the downtown area, and the available lots were filled long ago.

Mount Dora will retain neither its ‘quaintness’ nor its events & festivals, without serious infrastructure upgrades.

So far, Mount Dora city planners have poured millions of dollars into railroads, cutting down old oak trees, and other concrete ‘improvements’– without addressing basic issues such as parking, traffic flow and pedestrian safety.

There needs to be a FREE (otherwise people won’t use it!) multi-level parking garage at 441 & Donnelly– where the Publix shopping center used to be. Alternative location: 441 & Limit.

Additionally there needs to be reliable (& reasonably-fared) shuttle service from the garage, to the downtown & back– within business hours. Segways can’t be allowed in the streets, and they must yield to pedestrians– always; otherwise it’s insanity. Sidewalks need to be installed around the downtown area, meaning ‘historic’ easements will need to be annexed for pedestrian & bicycle safety.

Some crotchy old-timers will protest, and they need to be shouted down by reason in all forums. Their class hates self-sacrifice, always insisting on the sacrifices of others.

This needs to get done ASAP, and without corruption.

If you’re able to relax, Mount Dora is indeed ‘Someplace Special.’

When it’s overrun with angry tourists & congested traffic, it becomes like everything else under capitalism– ruined.

……………><><><><><><><><><><><><><………………

San Diego Padres 2015-16 Off-Season Wrap-Up

Posted on January 15, 2016 by admin

The MLB off-season is all about the general manager (GM), and what he does to improve the organization. Last off-season, Padres GM A.J. Preller was handed a checkbook by owner Ron Fowler, and he proceeded to make splashes. In hindsight, the only deal that Preller probably regrets is the Matt Kemp trade, although nothing turned out well on-the-field for the 2015 Padres.

Let’s get the Matt Kemp situation straight, and understand what it is. In San Diego, Kemp is a 5th wheel, and he never really fit– which isn’t his fault. The Padres only paid $3.25M of his salary in 2015, with the Dodgers covering the remaining $18M. It’s flipped for the last 4 years, with the Padres owing $73M ($18.25/yr), and LA paying $14M ($3.5M/yr). Preller definitely has to eat contract to deal Kemp, but that was understood when he made the deal for him with a low cost in 2015.

The real question is when will a opportunity present itself for a deal? A high-payroll AL team, desperate to make the post-season, looks at Matt Kemp much differently than the Padres do. If a team like NYY, BOS, DET or LAA (just to throw out examples) thinks he’s the missing piece, then Preller has something they want. At that point, it just becomes a matter of negotiations, with Preller dealing from strength. He’s been doing it all off-season, so there’s no reason why he can’t eventually get it done, to the Padres benefit. It would help if Matt Kemp got off to a hot start and stayed healthy.

Updated 1-17-16

All Padres fans interested in winning agree that Matt Kemp needs to move to the AL where he can DH, because all his value is now in his bat. He can spot-start or fill-in at corner OF (and maybe 1B), but he primarily needs to DH. He’s 31 this season, with a career line of .289/.345/.489, as a CF & RF. Last year it dipped to .265/.312/.443, and much of that can be attributed to being on a bad team, and being asked to field a position he really couldn’t play anymore.

Around two thirds of the teams in the AL are faking it at DH. Only BOS (David Ortiz), KCR (Kendrys Morales), MIN (Miguel Sano!), TEX (Prince Fielder), and TOR (Edwin Encarnacion), have a legitimate DH. One could also add Alex Rodriguez (NYY, age 40) to that list, but he’s a huge regression candidate & injury risk. Notice these are (mostly) competitive teams, that often play deep into October.

As of now, the fakers at DH include: Mark Trumbo (BAL), Adam LaRoche (CWS), Victor Martinez (DET), Evan Gattis (HOU), C.J. Cron (LAA), Billy Butler (OAK), and John Jaso (TBR); with SEA & CLE are still searching.

The only legitimate OF/DH bats left on the free agent market (as of this writing) are Justin Upton & Yoenes Cespedis. After that, DH options drop off to the likes of Ryan Raburn & Jimmy Parades, which is replacement level. Rule # 1 to winning is, stay away from the replacement level.

There’s room somewhere in here to deal Matt Kemp fairly, while minimizing the damage to the Padres. Matt Kemp is a professional hitter, and a proud player who wants to earn his contract. This isn’t a “Manny being Manny” situation, which gives Preller time & room to maneuver, but this needs to get done sometime in 2016.

Wil Myers was A.J. Preller’s steal of last off-season, and if he stays healthy he will rake, and be the face of the franchise for years. That’s a big IF, as health is a skill, but also depends somewhat on luck & other factors. A player increases his value if he has the ability to stay healthy. Cal Ripken, Jr. (BAL) is a clear example of durability providing & enhancing career value. A similar player from his era is Barry Larkin (CIN), who could have been the greatest SS ever, if he had had Ripken’s knack for avoiding injury. Instead Larkin spent much of his career on the DL, and that reduced him to merely a HoFer, which only shows just how good he was when healthy.

If we take a closer look at Barry Larkin’s injuries, we find a mixture of reasons for them. He played most of his career on Riverfront Stadium’s astroturf, which leads to more wear & tear vs. playing on natural grass. That’s something a player can’t control. Larkin blew out his elbow while participating in the Relay-Throw Contest at the 1991 All-Star game, which was mostly his fault. MLB has eliminated that silly contest since that incident. Barry Larkin even had a freak injury where he was struck in the knee by a bat while waiting on-deck; and there’s nothing you can do about something like that. That’s a concise overview & understanding of injury risk.

The Padres are definitely a better team as of this writing. Their 2015 opening day starting infield was: 3B Will Middlebrooks, SS Alexi Amarista, 2B Jedd Gyorko & 1B Yonder Alonso which was probably the worst in MLB. In 2016 it’s 3B Yangervis Solarte, SS Alexei Ramirez, 2B Cory Spangenberg & 1B Wil Myers– which is a fair-to-significant upgrade at every position. Plus the Padres will start the season with an actual CF (B.J. “he needs a nickname” Upton), who is healthy (recall he started 2015 on the DL w/ turf toe in his right foot). In LF Jon Jay is not Justin Upton, but he’s left-handed, affordable, and a good candidate for a bounce-back season. What remains is C Derek Norris & RF Matt Kemp (for now).

The pitching staff is the same at the top with James Shields, Tyson Ross and Andrew Cashner– minus Ian Kennedy whom they don’t need. Preller is building the back-end of the rotation & bullpen the correct way: from within the organization, via low-level trades, and by acquiring veteran arms on the cheap. Buy low/sell high– especially with relievers.

Most Padres fans I’ve interacted with like (or at least are willing to be open-minded about) new manager Andy Green and the coaches he’s brought in. All Padres fans are ecstatic about retaining ace pitching coach Darren Balsley.

The key to the Padres off-season was (believe it or not) when Ian Kennedy refused their $15.9M qualifying offer. That allowed Preller the financial flexibility to trade 2B Jedd Gyorko for OF Jon Jay, while eating the $7M necessary to make the deal, and then sign Rameriz as a stopgap SS to top prospect Javier Guerra. The Craig Kimbrel trade and the (4!) Rule 5 picks were also huge, but if Kennedy had accepted that offer (as he could have), then Preller would have been handcuffed and this team would now look a lot different–in a worse way.

Trading a player at the 7/31 deadline vs. keeping them (and extending a QO) is a razor’s edge. A.J. Preller hung onto Justin Upton (& the rest of his assets) at the 2015 trade deadline, because 1) he didn’t like what he was being offered in return, and 2) he owed it to EVERYONE (players, fans, etc…) to stick it out. In September, when it was hopeless, many fans still tuned in, and appreciated every bomb J. Up hit. They were electrifying, and win or lose, that still has value. It all depends on what a GM can get, and if its a flooded buyer’s market (like July 2015), then it’s best to hang onto the player and take the two-months value & the QO-compensation pick.

Preller gambled his entire off-season plan on Ian Kennedy refusing the QO, because he WANTED that compensation pick. It’s a tough call & good GM’s play it close-to-the-vest; and that’s why they’re paid what they’re paid.

By avoiding stone-handed SS Ian Desmond (when many MLB ‘experts’ were clamouring for the Padres sign him), Preller sent a message to MLB that the SD Padres are not interested in being suckers in the bloated free-agent market. General managers of Padres past (Josh Byrnes, Kevin Towers, etc.) would surely have handed Ian Desmond a 5-yr/$80M deal, when he isn’t worth 2-yr/$25M. That kind of bad contract kills any chance of winning.

An efficient GM gets his arbitration players signed quickly, with fair raises because he knows they are underpaid to start. If these players under-perform, they get smaller raises; but they aren’t nickel & dimed, because they are bargains to begin with. Conversely, a saavy GM avoids handing an overly-generous multi-year contract to an arbitration eligible player who doesn’t deserve it (see Jedd Gyorko), as this hurts the organization too.

When the 2015 season ended, the Padres farm system was universally ranked 30th– dead last. With the young talent already added, along with the bevy of picks Preller has lined up for the June amateur draft, the Padres will probably jump up to a the middle-of-the-pack system by the end of the 2016 season. That’s a solid plan with measurable progress, which is just what Padres fans need. A.J. Preller had an ‘A+’ off-season, even if the Padres have a worse record in 2016– and he did it without making splashes. There is a lot more upside with this organization now, and it’s because the Padres finally have a smart general manager.

Final Note to Padres Fans 1-16-16

Before I started posting in the Padres MLB.com forum, I observed the discussions; and it was mostly blame-storming, and always towards Bud Black, Murph, this player, that pitcher, etc…

Every team in sports is operated by a GM, and they are primarily responsible for an organization’s failure or success. They are the ones who must ALWAYS answer the tough questions and solve the difficult problems which inevitably arise. Whether that organization ever wins a championship is mostly on them.

A.J. Preller is definitely running the show for the Padres, and that is a 180-degree turnaround for this franchise, because since inception it’s always been the Show running the Padres.

A fan’s responsibility is to understand as much of what’s going on as possible, and educate other fans. When fans correctly understand when (and why?) to cheer vs. when to call out a mistake, player performance improves because they know they are being watched by intelligent & fair observers. Conversely, when angry fans act out with drunken belligerence, players tend to stop caring. Fans do have an influence, and a big part of it is what YOU share with others & bring to the ballpark.

……………….><><><><><><><>><><><><…………………….

Alive Inside: The Power of Music

Posted on December 24, 2015 by admin

Alive Inside (2014) is the stirring account of Dan Cohen, founder of the non-profit organization Music & Memory, struggling against a broken healthcare system. Along with independent documentary film-maker Michael Rossato-Bennett, they demonstrate music’s ability to reverse memory loss– restoring dignity & sense of self. [all pics google]

Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) is characterized by cognitive impairment. Agitation is a symptom in 70%-90% of those afflicted with advanced stage ADRDs. This interferes with care delivery and social interaction, ultimately destroying their quality of life. It is a huge problem facing human society, and like most other issues facing humanity, it’s growing worse daily– as illustrated by the graph below:

It should come as no surprise that geriatric healthcare providers suffer some of the highest rates of career burnout. Burnout is a multi-factorial phenomenon, involving environmental, personality, and profession-related factors. Research shows risk for burnout in geriatric healthcare to be between 25-75%, depending on the study– with a likely overall average near 50%. [1]

The problem of elderly care is fundamentally capitalist. As explained in the film, “A doctor can write a prescription for a $1000/month anti-psychotic drug, and it’s no problem. But a patient getting reimbursed for a $40 iPod, as medical therapy, is next-to-impossible…nursing homes have become a shotgun marriage of poorhouses & hospitals.”

This is an accurate description and explains their motivation to over-medicate. It pays-off the big pharmaceuticals, while turning those afflicted with ADRDs into vegetated zombies. These sedated ‘living dead’ are easier for staff to manage, and easier for corporations to milk for insurance profits. Half the patients in U.S. nursing homes receive no visitors.

The WebMD tagline is “Better information. Better health.” Their recommended therapies for ADRDs are: anti-psychotics (major tranquilizers), benzodiazepines (psychoactive hypnotics) and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (anti-depressants); all of which are highly toxic, with serious side-effects. These drugs were never meant for use on geriatric patients, and yet today they are the standard-of-care for Alzheimer’s and dementia.

WebMD covers its ass with this blurb (& qualifier) at the end of its ringing pharmaceutical endorsement, “The FDA has placed a ‘black box’ warning on these drugs describing these problems. They can be helpful for many people, though.”

Such is the cruel logic of healthcare under capitalism.

Individualized music as an alternative therapy for agitation in ADRD, involves carefully selected music, based on the person’s lifetime preferences. The easiest way to do this with anyone is to determine their years in high-school. The popular music from that era will usually be their favorite, or at least an excellent starting point.

Watch what familiar music does to 94-year old “Henry” in this clip from Alive Inside:

For this therapy to be effective, it needs to be individualized music. Research shows “a significant reduction in agitation during and following individualized music, compared to classical music. This study expands science by testing and supporting a theoretically based intervention for agitation in persons with ADRD.” [2]

Why does individualized music work? Because music evokes emotions that bring back memories. Any time we remember something, we are actually recalling where we were when we learned it. When we hear a favorite song from the past, we are instantly transported back to that time & place in our minds. No other medium has that power, and PET scans prove it scientifically.

The musicality within all of us is innately human, as chimpanzees don’t have this primal need to connect with other chimps through music. Our musicality remains one of the last areas of the brain affected by ADRDs. Music is a portal to reach people who have slipped into vegetative states, who are otherwise unreachable.

Artists & songwriters understand this better than anyone. They create music for people to enjoy, because it connects them with others. Their music IS the culture, and it’s power to communicate & heal will remain as long as human society exists.

…………><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><…………..

Johns & Baller Bitches

Posted on December 22, 2015 by admin

Warning: this piece contains obscenity, along with explicit sexual discussion.

The Urban Dictionary defines a baller bitch as a vixen, not to be messed with. Included in this definition are rapper girlfriends, athlete’s wives, and other forms of gold-diggers who insist that women should always use sex as a weapon. This ultra-modern form of something that has always existed in human society can be roughly correlated with the rise in salaries for movie, television, music & sports celebrities in the 1990’s. Everyone follows the money.

I’ve slightly edited for concision, clips from the Female Baller’s Handbook (2008), an online advice piece by Ronnell Coombs– a self-acclaimed expert in the field [pictured below]. Inserted in italics are my responses, as needed.

I consider his ‘guidebook’ to be a valuable first-hand account on the subject, much more raw and to-the-point than 99+% of the feminist drivel whose purpose is to deflect, apologize and mislead its readers– by never identifying the class roots of the problem. Women are encouraged to holdout on sex, in exchange for financial security. This is meant to favor powerful men who can afford it, but in fact, it degrades the value of ALL women & men.

Ronnell Combs: The baller-bitch priority system is simple. You need a good job and a side hustle, which must have potential; for real cash. You need cash for freedom of movement, allowing a greater pick of men, opportunities, work schedule, and recreation. [p.3]

Ric Size: This is the living definition of high-maintenance working girl.

RC: You must understand the superficial nature of people. Be extra careful to control what other people see when they look at you. [p.15]

RS: This is the definition of a viper; and of course, they are trained to be suspicious of anyone else maintaining aspects of their own privacy.

RC: You have to grind your way out of the hood. The formula is clear-cut. You either need a dead-end job, and a super side-hustle, or a career in which you can climb the corporate ladder. The last option, of course is to ‘get in the mix’ and seduce a rich man. The last option is the hardest. [p.23]

RS: …but the most worthwhile.

RC: You will have male fans at the corporation. If they are of equal rank, be nice to them; but avoid fucking them. They are of equal rank; thus they can’t take you to the next level. When you surpass him in rank, you can afford to shit on him, but not now. [p.26]

RS: It’s like that with everybody in corporate.

RC: When a man of higher rank wants to get with you, you are in a tricky situation. You’ll be some form of ‘office groupie’ if you play it wrong, and a high-powered vixen if you play it right. You need to play it right. Size the guy up. Peep to see if he has real power, or just a fancy title. Find out if he’s married. Peep his movement. Smart women will mislead you in order to get ahead. Women are rotten & cut-throat when it comes to powerful men. Never forget that. Disguise this conversation as business talk. [p.26]

RS: Successful straight men are always targets for a well-laid pussy trap. It’s a refined operation on all fronts.

RC: The guy’s primary interest is getting into your panties.

RS: What’s wrong with a fling, as long as it’s safe & between consenting adults?

RC: However you are going to make him psychologically think you are his dream wife. You are thinking business first, all along. He’ll usually invite you on a bullshit date. The stage is usually set for him at this point. You have to play this shit out with a smile on your face. Be charming, pick his brain, figure out his interests, and get into his routine. Figure out where his wife and baby mama went wrong. You should be a bag of excitement one day, but let him see you are knee-deep in a business project the next day.

RS: Which is why so many men don’t date anymore– they are tired of being jerked around with this shit.

RC: When you help him with his projects, make sure he gets ALL the credit. This is something 98% of bitches won’t do. Play the game! Little does this guy know that he is going to help you get that promotion! [p.27]

RS: Men need to be pandered to, because they are weak-minded. Women don’t need any credit at work, because their primary value is fucking. Every time RC writes: “he/him/his” or “guy/man”, he really means “wallet.” This pimp knows his business.

RC: When you do have sex with this guy, you have to turn him out. You have to lick the balls, lick his ass, kiss toes, take it up the ass, drink cum, and be a fucking acrobat. This guy has to be convinced that this is the best sex he’s had in his life. When you are a great businesswoman and a perfectionist in bed, you will cloud a guy’s judgment. Get business handled. A pussy-whipped guy will do anything to control you. You have to allow him to see that power impresses you. Don’t let love or romances cloud your judgment. [p.28]

RS: I must admit the sex sounds intriguing, but that attitude is about as cold-blooded as it gets. Boys, is it really worth it? You’re looking for a good time and perhaps romance if it vibes right, while she’s a professional– playing for keeps. Note: if you don’t have money, you’re not considered to be in her league, so forget it.

RC: Baller-bitches believes that men are dogs, but they are master dog trainers. [p.32]

RS: Men believe that baller bitches are glorified prostitutes, with a stable of rich johns wrapped around their pussies. It’s impossible to believe they are actually happy, fucking these really gross guys in exchange for gobs of money.

RC: There are times when you have to smile in the faces of people you don’t like… stroke an over-inflated ego… and pressure people into helping you. Stay focused on the future. Baller-bitches made it to the top because they made business sacrifices that hood-chicks weren’t willing to make. They live in penthouses, have fleets of luxury cars, and travel the world because they are sleeping with richer, smarter, more useful men. [p.34-5]

RS: After years of living among the jet-setters, how many of these girls become burnt-out junkies? How can this be considered a good model for young women to follow?

RC: I must admit since I wrote this book, I’m not surprised with myself every time someone who read it expresses to me the impact that it had on her life. I wrote this guide to help Black/Latina women improve their wealth status. The ones who have read it are doing exactly that. I’m grateful that I was able to help all these women be better equip to navigate [sic] through the waters of life. [author note on goodreads]

RS: Helping anyone in need is noble, but if the ‘helping’ spirit is misanthropic, it becomes destructive to everyone. What RC has outlined is nothing new, except for the modernized ghetto vernacular and fresh pseudo-science, all to justify this pimping. In the end, it adds up to no love (or even orgasms) for women, who must whore themselves– always. For men, it means a lifetime of vacillating being tricked as johns, and being lonely.

RC: Female ballers have a clear understanding of the money game, and are guilty of acting as if they are better than the average woman, BECAUSE THEY ARE! A female baller is good-looking, financially secure, cunning, energetic, passionate, ruthless, well-read, well-versed, extremely manipulative, consistent, well-organized, ambitious, and will fuck a man’s head off. They are the ultimate vixens, who have mastered the art of “bitchiness.” [p.2]

RS: They are actually the ghetto feminist version of a whore. Their ’empowerment’ is that they get to be their own pimp. Ronnell Coombs, and the rest of his ilk need to be pushed into the light with his colleagues & supporters, so the rest of us can get a better look at their inhumanity, which is debasing society.

There are those of us (men & women) who refuse to play this game anymore, but we are still in the minority. The rest are caught up in this social pathology, with no avenue towards real happiness. Today in the U.S., most marriages have failed, or are failing. The dating industry/scene (match.com, etc…) is a multi-billion dollar wasteland of phoniness & hustling.

Men resist commitment because they fear being trapped. This fear is real. I speak for myself (and other real men), who firmly reject these efforts to dehumanize us. Real men are in control and recognize this hustle before it gets through the door. We are assertive & charming in business & social settings, perfectly content to take care of our own business, until the time a real woman appropriately presents herself.

The issues here are not about men/women, black/white, or gay/straight; but of social class. It is social inequality that is encouraging women from desperate upbringings into this form of prostitution. The elite class of men who can pay for these women end up feeling just as miserable, lonely and rejected as those who could never afford these luxury items.

Despite what the ‘experts’ may say, we owe it to ourselves as human beings to treat each other better than this, but that will only happen after social inequality under capitalism is abolished by a worker’s revolution. A free & equal society, that no longer tolerates misery & prostitution, can only exist under socialism.

…………..><>><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>……………..

Modern U.S. Election History

Posted on November 2, 2015 by admin

Constitutional requirements to be eligible for the U.S. presidency:

1.) Be a native-born U.S. citizen, or born abroad to at least one parent who was a U.S. citizen at the time of birth.
2.) Be at least 35 years of age.
3.) Have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years.

Starting just from this criteria, there are plenty of everyday people who are better write-in candidates than any of this flotsam pictured below :

===================================================

John F. Kennedy (D) won a narrow victory over incumbent VP Richard Nixon (R) in 1960, becoming the youngest person to be elected president. He was 43 years old when he was inaugurated.
JFK was assassinated in November 1963, most-likely by a CIA/ deep-state cabal that used Lee Harvey Oswald as a patsy. [1]
This right-wing coup directly preceded the escalation of U.S. dirty wars in Southeast Asia, along with increased FBI surveillance and police activity against its citizens at home.

Albert Thomas (D) was a congressman in Texas for 29 years, credited with bringing the Johnson Space Center to Houston.
Thomas is infamously pictured below, winking to LBJ after his Air Force One inauguration, with a grieving Jacqueline Kennedy in the foreground; lending proof to a vast military-intelligence conspiracy in the JFK assassination:

Significant political shifts by the ruling class are always to the right. Political reaction is triggered by popular reformist surges which are always perceived as a threat to ruling stability; and therefore must be beheaded, stifled, and beaten back with a vengeance.

A more-recent example of reaction in political history was in 1992, when the Democratic party was able to ride a wave of youthful discontent from 12 years of Reagan/Bush as Bill Clinton (D) handily defeated incumbent George H.W. Bush to win the Oval Office. This was followed by a Republican counter-attack in 1994, led by Southern Baptist congressman Newt Gingrich (R-Ga):

Bill Clinton was endlessly witch-hunted during both terms by hard-line Republicans, and the 42nd U.S. president was ultimately impeached by the House of Representatives on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice on December 19, 1998– for lying under oath about an extramarital affair. This first-ever impeachment of a U.S president is best understood historically as a blatant attempt by political conservatives to overturn the results of the 1992 & 1996 elections.

The theft of the 2000 U.S. presidential election was the culmination of a ruling class coup against the American people, as votes for Democratic party nominee Al Gore in Florida were ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court to remain uncounted. Many votes were unable to be counted or miscounted due to electronic voting machine errors, discrimination at the polling stations, and intentionally confusing ballots; the most infamous being the butterfly ballots from Palm Beach County, Florida– shown below:

An army of lawyers, party hacks and goon squads were quickly organized by the Republican party machinery to descend on Tallahassee, FL in order to tip the outcome to Bush:

On December 7-8, the Florida Supreme court listened to arguments from both sides and finally ruled for an immediate recount:

The U.S. Supreme Court then immediately stepped in, halting the tabulation of uncounted ballots, freezing Katherine Harris’ certification of a 537-vote margin in favor of George W. Bush.

On December 12, the U.S. Supreme court ruled in Bush v Gore that votes could no longer be counted due to a fictional constitutional technicality, thus handing Florida’s 20 electoral votes and the U.S. presidency to Bush/Cheney.

The Democratic party registered a mild protest, then vacated any defense of democratic rights, including the right to vote in Al Gore’s concession speech:

================================================

Electronic voting should be monitored by all participants, and video evidence of voting machine irregularities is a valuable document in defense of democratic rights. Watch this video below from 2012, as a voter tries to check Barack Obama (D), but the machine insists on registering a vote for Mitt Romney (R).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzNALjzvuWw

Manipulation of ballot counting now appears to be the norm in presidential politics. The 2004 Edison-Mitofsky national exits polls predicted very different results than the official presidential election results. Bush won the official results by 2.5%, while exit polls predicted a Kerry victory nationally by 3% – a whopping 5.5% difference.

State exit polls predicted a Kerry victory in four states that Bush won – Ohio, Iowa, New Mexico, and Nevada – and a virtually even race in Florida, which Bush officially won by 5%.

The difference between the exit polls and the official results were statistically significant (outside the margin of error) in Ohio and Florida. In Ohio, Kerry lost officially by 2.5%, while winning the exit poll by 4.2%– a difference of 6.7%. Winning either Ohio or Florida would have meant an electoral victory for John Kerry. [2]

==============================================

This is how political election spending has evolved since 1990:

Since 2010, Super PAC money rules the campaigns [3]. The graph below shows the popular reaction to the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission Supreme Court decision; allowing unlimited individual, corporate, and union contributions into election campaigns:

A Gallup poll conducted Oct. 3-6, 2013, revealed 60% of Americans say the Democrat/Republican parties do such a poor job of representing the American people, that a third major party is needed. Only 26% believed the two major parties adequately represent Americans. [4]

Over the decades, state lawmakers from both major parties have developed stringent ballot access requirements to discourage third-party candidates and voter participation in the electoral process. The three largest minor U.S. political parties as of April 2015 are listed below. In reality, they are all just funnels & safety valves for either the Democrats or Republicans:

Libertarian Party: Founded in 1971: conservative (Republican) policy positions including lowering corporate taxes, allowing people to “opt-out” of Social Security, abolishing welfare, etc…

Green Party: Founded sometime in the 1980-90’s, through a series of fits & spasms; this Democratic party off-shoot promotes identity politics– feminism, LGBT rights, and anti-racism; along with greenwashed-for-capitalism versions of environmentalism, non-violence and social justice.

Constitution Party: Republican branch, established in 1991 and originally called the U.S. Taxpayers’ party; they believe the United States is a Christian nation and its moral compass should be the Bible.

The extreme right-wing Tea Party movement emerged in the wake of Ron Paul’s failed 2008 presidential campaign to win the Republican nomination, which eventually went to John McCain. (R-Ariz). Ron Paul is a two-time Republican presidential candidate, and the presidential nominee of the Libertarian Party in the 1988. Paul has been characterized as a kook by his colleagues, as well as the “intellectual godfather” of the Tea Party movement. [5]

Sarah Palin (R-Alaska) remains the Tea Party’s iconic figure:

Donald Trump is whom she most identifies with politically:

According to Richard Winger— editor of Ballot Access News and an expert in the field — there are probably fewer than half a dozen minor parties that will qualify for the presidential ballot in more than five states. “It will be Democrats; Republicans; Libertarian; Green; Constitution; Party for Socialism and Liberation; Justice and Socialist Workers Party; and no others, probably. The Socialist Party has a remote chance of also getting on as many as 5 states.” [6]

Anyone planning on going to the polls on November 8, 2016, should know that due to the Electoral College, voting for president only matters in “swing” states:

The red & blue states are already decided, and/or have too few electoral votes to be of significant value. Once the primaries are over, virtually all the campaigning will be concentrated in the swing states, shown in beige above.

=============================================================

The truth is, none of the above-mentioned political parties represent the vast majority of Americans who work for a living, and are mostly struggling to make ends meet. Voting for (or lending any other form of support to) this sick farce only perpetuates the problem, which is the capitalist system itself. All these parties and their candidates represent & defend capitalism (with its program of war & austerity) to the bitter end.

Abstention from this demented charade, or writing-in your own candidate, are the only voting options that makes sense for the working masses. In the end, the workers of the U.S. (and the world) will have to form their own independent political party, finally giving a voice to their interests, as well as the greater needs of human society. This political program will have to be socialist & revolutionary in nature, in order to be successful.

Questions for U.S. Presidential Candidates

Posted on October 22, 2015 by admin

Since the spring of 2015, Democrats & Republicans have begun jockeying for the next US presidency, and there is still over a year before voting on November 8, 2016. As of yet, nothing serious has been discussed by any of these hopefuls– call it a severe case of the Emperor’s New Clothes.

Here is a list of questions that people should ask, since they won’t ever be brought up by the corporate-controlled media which manages this deranged circus. These queries are then answered with an honesty & directness that is unheard of in official political discourse.

Q: What is being done to end this bogus ‘war on terror?’

Nothing. The US military invaded Afghanistan in October of 2001, in response to 9/11; and has been ravaging & terrorizing this part of the world ever since. The latest highlighted atrocity is the willful bombing of a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan– killing 22, including 12 medical personnel. This is a war crime by any definition.

Photo above by Andrew Quilty

Q: If you are a candidate who insists on maintaining (or increasing) troop levels in the Middle East, with the continued indiscriminate use of violence on the population as a whole; how do you not consider yourself a war criminal?

It is politically incorrect to compare today’s fascists with yesterday’s Nazis. Violence abroad and attacks on democratic rights at home are two sides of the same coin. Police violence against the poor of all races is the domestic extension of this foreign policy.

Q: Why do all Dems/Reps support law enforcement when they murder innocent civilians?

The truth is, Dems/Reps support police/military violence against the American workers because it has increasingly becoming the only way to maintain the current levels of social inequality. The US social safety net has been shredded by decades of budget cuts, so the jackboot of the ruling class is now used to control mass discontent.

Q: How can a campaign that raises so much Super PAC money respond to the needs of ordinary working people who can’t afford to donate such sums?

To ask the question is to answer it. Politicians are bought & paid for, long before the voters go to the polls. The only representation that goes on in Washington is done by high-powered lobbying groups, representing big capital.

Q: What about global warming?

No capitalist candidate wants to seriously address this problem. Unplanned industrialization has led mankind into the downward spiral of climate change, with potentially disastrous consequences. Capitalists are only concerned with this quarter’s profits. This important question, which affects the future of everyone on this planet is always ignored or marginalized by mainstream politicians. They have no answer, because in fact, they represent the problem.

Q: What about the risk of nuclear war with Russia and/or China?

That’s a classified secret. All foreign policy is strictly controlled & monitored by the Pentagon & CIA, with no public input.

Q: Why does Donald Trump get so much press?

Donald Trump is a reactionary bigot. His role in this election cycle is to push all discourse to the right– and down into the muck. The corporate media has fully participated in this degraded celebration of ignorance and personal wealth.

Q: Is there a candidate who can give a fair definition of socialism?

Bernie Sanders (Democrat) is the pseudo-socialist; he supports militarism abroad and an anti-immigration policy at home– which is the polar opposite of socialism. Socialism is the revolutionary transformation of society from private ownership of wealth (capitalism), into public ownership of the means-of-production, via a worker’s revolution. The major candidates and their philistine lapdogs in the media have likely never read Karl Marx, or any other classical Marxist– including V.I. Lenin or Leon Trotsky.

Q: Will my vote count?

Probably not. Elections are manipulated by the puppet-masters who fund campaigns and control the media. The election of a U.S. president can’t be left up to the population, as they may make the ‘wrong’ choice; therefore biased media coverage and electronic voting manipulation will be decisive in determining the next presidency.

Q: So who will get the nominations and eventually the presidency?

The candidates who raise the most money. Hillary Clinton (Democrat) and Jeb Bush (Republican) have the most cash & machinery in place to win (or if necessary, steal) an election.

Q: That sounds like more of the same garbage, what other options are there for working people?

Socialism or barbarism.

================================================================

MLB General Manager 101

Posted on October 11, 2015 by admin

On top of this list are egomaniac owners, with way more money than brains:

Where you REALLY don’t want to be on this chart is near the top & out of the post-season– those team’s CEO’s & GM’s all deserve scrutiny.

MLB teams spent an average of $1,573,000 per win in 2015. In today’s free agent market, teams pay an average of $6M/win. Teams determine player value by calculating the number of wins a player will add above replacement level (WAR), using a blend of scouting and advanced metrics. A championship-level player at any position is 2-3 WAR, an all-star is 4-6 WAR, and a MVP is 8-10 WAR. Finding & signing bargains, while minimizing mistakes, is how you win as a GM.

All players need to be objectively valued, starting with the most important baseball skill– hitting. Hitting is best measured using the triple slash stats of AVG/OBP/SLG which gives a true measure of a hitter’s ability. OBP is life in baseball. It is the most important measure of a hitter’s value, carrying around three times the weight of SLG, which is second in importance. AVG is prone to severe fluctuations, even from season to season, and doesn’t measure the batter’s ability to take a walk– a critical hitting skill.

For reference, 2015 MLB triple slash averages for all players was .254/.317/.405.

Q: What is a batter is trying to do at the plate? A: Create runs. He does this by: 1) not making outs, and 2) hitting for power.

Productive outs are WAY over-rated in most situations. Sacrifice bunts give the other team an out, which is generally bad in terms of winning. Base stealing is also over-hyped, as caught stealing hurts– especially in this modern power-hitting era. Team SB% needs to be >75% to be effective towards winning.

A hitter’s value always needs to be understood in the context of the defensive position he plays. Catcher, shortstop, centerfield, and second base are critical & difficult defensive positions, which must be played competently for a pitching staff to be successful & stay healthy. Power & run production is usually expected from the less-demanding defensive positions: first base, corner outfielders, and third base. Of course, DH has always been about power in the AL, since 1973.

Pitching, as related to winning, is also about power. Pitchers with high K/9 and low BB/9 have the low ERA’s. Strikeout pitchers handle the best hitters with their stuff, and cover up for poor defense. The value of true-ace pitching in the post-season is exponentially higher than in the regular season.

Relief pitching has only the fraction of the value of starting pitching. Most organizations still overpay on closers and set-up relievers. Smart organizations stockpile power arms, then convert them to relievers if they fail as starters, in order to keep payroll costs down.

Defense was the final baseball frontier to be conquered by sabermetrics, begrudgingly earning respect from the old-timers. With the advent of digital video technology in the 2000’s, each player is now more accurately measured for their true defensive value. As recently as the 1990’s, assists, put outs, and errors were the only stats for individual defense; making Gold Glove awards (and any other opinions on defensive ability) highly subjective. Now, Zone Ratings, etc… use statistical analysis to objectify range, accuracy, arm strength, and competence at all positions.

As productive players at premium defensive positions get older, their defensive skills erode necessitating their being moved to easier spots, usually 1B or DH. Baseball history proves that it is nearly impossible to move a major-league player up the defensive spectrum, which runs C-SS-2B-CF-3B-RF-LF-1B-DH.

All this new data gives savvy GM’s (with a competitive payroll) the ability to budget their ball club, from its rebuilding to World Series champion. This is exactly how in 2015, the Houston Astros & Chicago Cubs rose from the ashes into the post-season. The St. Louis Cardinals are an example of an organization that is always competitively-funded & well-run from top to bottom.

Pennants & WS championships are won in the off-season. The deals a general manager makes through trades, free agent signings, and Rule 5 draft acquisitions shape the roster for the field manager. Most big league skippers will manage their talent equally well; and even the best, such as Joe Maddon can only add a few wins to a season’s total. The field manager’s primary value is in the post-season where game-management skills win & lose pennants. That’s why rebuilding organizations punt on experience and often give the manager job to a rookie at minimum salary– because they aren’t too worried about the post-season.

Generally, you need a good manager to win it all, and having a great one really helps. The most infamous example of an incompetent manager winning the World Series was in 2001, when Arizona Diamondbacks skipper Bob Brenly so horribly mismanaged his 2 HOF aces– Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling; along with his bullpen to the point where HOF NY Yankee closer Mariano Rivera was pitching in the bottom of the 9th of Game 7 with a one-run lead. A last-gasp rally started by Mark Grace, and aided by a Rivera throwing error, saved the Diamondbacks from eternal ridicule.

BTW, the Diamondbacks/Yankees 2001 was (IMO) the greatest World Series in the history of the game.

The most important GM questions of each off-season are: What is the payroll budget and where is this organization on the win curve? Understanding where a team is on its win curve determines spending priorities. Is this a team ready to win it all, or does it need to keep building, or rebuild? With an answer fairly determined, spending is then balanced accordingly on MLB payroll and draft/player development. Teams with no shot at winning (<75 wins projected) are well-advised to dump veteran payroll, in order to re-invest in prospects, the draft, and young international free agents.

Looking at basic team numbers can reveal much about where an organization sits on the win curve. Today with two Wild Cards, a team can virtually guarantee a playoff birth with 92-94 wins. Runs Scored (RS) & Runs Allowed (RA) objectify won/loss record, through Pythagorean projections. Intelligent GM’s can look at their roster before the season and use advanced metrics to estimate RS/RA, in order to approximate their team’s final W/L record.

Proof of this is in hindsight too. For instance, in 2015, the NY Mets were 90-72 scoring 683 runs and allowing 613, projecting to an 89-73 record. Most teams fall near their RS/RA projection, but not all. Sometimes teams can be lucky or unlucky in one-run games and/or extra innings– usually these contests are split around 50/50. This can distort a team’s final record, and reflect a false picture of their true talent.

An example of this were the 2015 Oakland A’s, who were 68-94, yet they were only outscored by 35 runs on the season (694-729). OAK’s Pythagorean projection was 77-85, but a 19-35 record in one-run games, the worst winning % in MLB, sunk their season. The good news for A’s fans is that OAK probably isn’t as bad as their 2015 record, and their Moneyball GM Billy Beane knows it.

Other GM’s don’t understand this so well, and they are usually found in organizations that perennially miss the post-season. Managers are hired and fired more often, and with more fanfare. Field managers probably receive too much of the credit & blame for winning & losing, while the GM’s off-season moves have much more impact on a team’s performance & final result.

Fans who don’t know their team’s general manger have very little clue as to why their team succeeds or not. For franchises that continually lose, this is likely the way it will continue to be, until their fans take a closer (and more serious) look at the business of baseball.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

What is The Villages?

Posted on September 23, 2015 by admin

The Villages, FL is an age-restricted retirement community controlled by several quasi-governmental Community Development Districts (CDD). These CDDs are controlled by the H. Gary Morse family, which created The Villages in the 1992.

Note: It’s considered bad form not to capitalize the ‘T’ in The Villages. Villagers take that very seriously.

Billionaire H. Gary Morse [google pics]

The Villages is located here:

Here’s a link to it’s demographics.

Thirty years ago this whole area was swamps, forests, and cow pastures; today it is the largest age-restricted retirement community in the world. No one under age 55 is allowed to own a home or live within The Villages, unless an exemption is granted. Children really aren’t welcome, as kids under 18 are only allowed to stay a maximum of 30 days/year, and this is strictly enforced within the community. Many of the strange & elitist facets of this adult playland are highlighted in Andrew Blechman’s Leisureville (2008).

An anecdote from Leisureville: Two brothers (Carl & Ben) in their twenties from Iowa, are visiting their mother who recently moved to The Villages. Carl, who is pounding tequila shots at the bar, notices the author’s notebook and asks if he’s writing a book, to which he answers with a nod. Carl replies (with his brother in agreement) “It’s a good thing, because this place is fucked up!”

The Villages isn’t a town or municipality, and everything in it, from it’s 50,000+ homes to all the businesses are controlled by the Morse family. Gary Morse, who died in 2014, made “unbelievable efforts” to ensure “these assets did not go to the community.” [1]

Morse financed much of the construction using something called a community development district (CDD), where the district levies fees on the homeowners to pay for roads and other improvements, and under state law can borrow money using tax-free bonds.

The CDD’s in the Villages paid Morse millions of dollars to buy his golf courses, guardhouses, and other amenities from him at inflated prices (reaping a nifty 500-1000% profit in many instances). The IRS has ruled since 2009 that the Villages’ CDD bonds did not deserve to be tax-exempt, because everyone who sits on the district board—like everything else in The Villages—is controlled by Morse. The Village Center CDD was organized and operated in a manner intended to perpetuate private control, and to indefinitely avoid responsibility to a public electorate. [2]

So far, the Morse family has successfully bribed Florida politicians from both parties to hold off the IRS– and the tax bill they face on $364 million worth of municipal bonds. Attorney’s for the Morse family are currently looking for a way to get the dispute out of the domain of the IRS and into tax court, where it can get a friendly judge to rule in their favor. [3]

Land-secured debt is the riskiest part of the $3.7 trillion municipal-bond market, accounting for almost half of non-payment default filings, according to industry experts. Village Center revenue bonds maturing November 2032 are now rated just above non-investment grade by Moody’s Investors Service, with an average yield of about 5 percent, or about 2 percentage points above an index of benchmark municipal bonds with similar maturities.

Needless to say, Wall Street & bond traders are paying close attention to this case. [4]

The financial house of cards that built The Villages isn’t the only thing about to collapse, as the ground underneath this massive development is literally caving in. Sinkholes are now popping up with alarming regularity, as the water table and underground aquifers become depleted due to wasteful overconsumption. [5] The Villages (within its 33 square miles) now has over 30 golf courses.

As the cost for repairing & maintaining all these amenities increases, the homeowners (who are locked into paying for all of this), increasingly won’t be able to afford it. The Villages resembles nothing so much as the boomtowns of the old West; in fact, their latest project is called Brownwood– a western-themed development.

Golf carts are ubiquitous in The Villages:

This is what a typical one costs:

$10K+

From 2005-09, physicians working in The Villages reported cases of syphilis and chlamydia increasing 71% among those 55 and older. [6]
Factors driving the rise of STD’s in this demographic include their not heeding safe-sex messages that younger generations follow; along with new medications, such as Viagra, making more sex possible for geriatrics. Villagers as a group, strongly object to any form of social or personal responsibility– ranging from paying taxes to using condoms.

Everything in The Villages is about entertaining the old folks. The level of kitsch is over-the-top, with fake façades & other pabulum passed off as real entertainment. Most Villagers don’t seem to notice the difference, or if they do– don’t care.

Est. May 2015

Fake Lake with Fake Boats

Fake Lighthouse & Historical Plaque

The media in The Villages is also controlled & operated by the Morse family, including its newspaper:

The Daily Sun’s content is exclusively banal, vague and right-wing. The scan below is an example of their “reporting.” Go to their online archive, and it comes up as a blank page. [7]

The Daily Sun and its Intentionally Vague Reporting

The Daily Sun’s intentionally vague reporting

WVLG 640 AM (a FOX news affiliate licensed in 2004) is the local radio station, endlessly playing moldy oldies between its conservative talk.

Transmitter location is actually here

If all this sounds like paradise to you, then join the zombies in The Villages; where there’s no concern for the world outside– as everything is safe, self-contained & soothing. Think of it as Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, where everybody takes a soma holiday; or better yet– don’t think at all.

Here we are now– entertain us…

I, Me, Mine

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

2015 San Diego Padres

Posted on September 15, 2015 by admin

This team was going to be a story in MLB in 2015, with all the off-season dealings and free agent signings by newly-hired GM A.J. Preller. Opening Day payroll was increased to $108 million (a record expenditure for the franchise), and everyone in the organization from owner (beer distribution magnate) Ron Fowler to CEO Mike Dee was optimistic about the Padres chances of making the post-season.

San Diego Padres CEO Mike Dee

In reality, it was all over by July or August, depending on one’s level of sobriety. The 2015 San Diego Padres will go down as one of the most ill-conceived teams in modern baseball history. As of this publication, they are 67-77, 4th in the NL West; 16 GB in their division and the wild card. Mercifully, only three weeks remain in the season, with their playoff elimination # now well into single digits.

The 2015 Padres were a tantalizingly streaky team early; one that wins five, then drops six on a whim. The Padres now rank: 28th AVG at .244; 30th (last) in OBP at .299; and 26th in SLG at .387. Despite playing half their games in an extreme pitching park, the Pads are no better than 20th in team ERA. Their pitchers are tied for 4th (w/ TB) in K’s, but they’ve allowed the 4th-most walks. Their Defensive Efficiency Rating (DER) is .687, ranking 20th. Petco Park has one of the roomiest outfields in MLB, so poor defense hurts even more there than in a bandbox.

A.J. Preller Padres GM

The entire starting rotation was right-handed, allowing opposing mangers to stack a lefty lineup, day after day. This extreme right-handedness included relief pitching– until Marc Rzepczynski was acquired at the trade deadline, as LHP reliever Frank Garces (35 IP, 5.14 ERA) doesn’t really count towards winning. Evidently, it took A.J. Preller months to realize the value of having at least one reliable left-hander in the bullpen. It’s really tough (for whomever is managing) to get outs against tough lefty hitters in crucial late-game situations, with only right-handers in the pen. This is baseball 101, not complex sabermetrics.

Bud Black– fired after a 32-33 start

Speaking of managers, the Padres haven’t had one since they fired Bud Black in mid-June. Did you hear about it? Since then it’s been interim manager Pat Murphy, who can best be described as a warm body. Black had been the second-longest tenured manager in MLB at the time of his firing, and was well-respected by the players and other mangers.

Darren Balsley– one of the best

Ace pitching coach Darren Balsley worked well with Bud Black, particularly in the development of their young starters RHP’s Tyson Ross & Andrew Cashner. Since Bud Black was fired as manager, Balsley (who is a master a spotting breakdowns in pitching mechanics while offering helpful advice) rarely makes a trip to the mound anymore.

Ross & Cashner were the most-asked-about Padres players up to the trade deadline, instead of the players they were trying to deal; including closer Craig Kimbrel, SP James Shields, and LF Justin Upton. To GM A.J. Preller’s credit, he didn’t panic and give away valuable assets at the July 31st deadline, despite shrieking hysterics from the media. It was a buyer’s market, as top talent including: SS Troy Tulowitzki, and ace LHP’s David Price and Cole Hamels outshined Shields & Upton, or anything else the Padres had available.

The off-season deals that brought in Wil Myers, Matt Kemp, Justin Upton, James Shields, Craig Kimbrel & Melvin Upton, Jr reshaped this team completely, while affecting their payroll flexibility going forward.

The most hurtful deal to the Padres organization was trading C Yasmani Grandal to the Dodgers for RF Matt Kemp. Grandal is a good defensive catcher, age 26, with a career line of .247/.356/.418; who makes $693,000 in 2015, and won’t be eligible for free agency until 2019 at the earliest.

Matt Kemp is now turning 30, and really is much older in terms of playing age. It hurts him to run; watch closely and you’ll see a once-great athlete with degenerative arthritis in his knees, hips & back. The skills still flash at times, but the body has broken down, so he can’t perform with consistency. Preller not only traded a valuable commodity in Grandal to get Kemp, but also took on too much salary. LA pays $18 million of the $21+ million he’s owed this year, after that the Padres are on the hook for $18+ million/year through 2019.

Wil Myers came over from the TB Rays in a frenzied 4-team deal. Myers was/is a RF. Joe Maddon is considered one of the best, and most creative managers in the game, and he never considered Myers in CF. The Padres started the season with the-player-formerly-known-as B.J. Upton on the DL, with turf toe in the right foot. Wil Venable was the only SD Padre capable of playing centerfield. Instead, Myers was moved to center, flanked by Justin Upton & Matt Kemp.

Predictably Myers was a disaster in center– missteps & bad jumps, taking awkward routes, diving for balls other centerfielder’s catch easily; costing his pitchers outs, runs and wins. None of this was Wil Myers’ fault, as his coaching staff & GM put him in a position to fail– and he did. His wrist problems which began in TB, were aggravated by playing an unfamiliar (and more demanding) defensive position, and Myers ended up needing wrist surgery– costing him half the 2015 season. He’s still one of their most valuable long-term assets.

Justin Upton was brought over from the Braves in a series of multi-team trades that (in hindsight) really didn’t cost the Padres much in terms of prospects. He’s paid $14.5 million in 2015, which is considered a bargain. He’s a free agent at season’s end. The Padres would love to keep him, but the problem is they have Matt Kemp too, and only enough room in the outfield for one of them.

Wil Myers (if he’s going to stay healthy & productive) has to be a corner outfielder. Unless the Padres can move Kemp, which will mean eating a huge chunk of his contract, then they can’t even entertain the thought of resigning Justin Upton. San Diego will likely make Upton a qualifying offer, and then take the draft choice when he signs a free-agent deal elsewhere.

Melvin (I’m calling him B.J.) Upton isn’t the greatest option in CF (thru 72 G: .244/.310/.417), but the Padres have him for 3 seasons at $15 million/year, so they have to play him. Like James Shields (mostly) and Carl Crawford (surely), his best years were in Tampa; and the B.J. stood for Bossman Jr., which was the best name in baseball for years.

Bossman Jr

James Shields is in his 10th MLB season, with over 2000 IP in his career. He will be 34 in December, and is probably best recognized now as a very good #3 starter on a championship-level team. In his prime, Shields was a horse #2 starter. Once again, the problem for the Padres isn’t that the player stinks, it’s that they overpay him. The $10 million this season seems fair enough, but the $21 million/year from 2016-18 limits the trade options.

Yangervis Solarte 3B

Yangervis Solarte at 3B has been a nice surprise hitting .272/.335/.430 as of this writing, while playing good defense at the hot corner. A.J. Preller’s original ‘plan’ was Will Middlebrooks at third, whose 4 MLB seasons have so far produced .231/.274/.399. Middlebrooks is a classic example of someone who is overvalued because he played on a great team (Boston Red Sox). As a comparison, he’s less valuable than NY Yankee utility IF Luis Sojo: .261/.297/.352 in 13 seasons.

Shortstop is still a mess for the Friars, as it’s been an endless carousel since the inconsistency of the Khalil Greene era, from 2003-08. Suffice it to say it’s really an important position, and you can’t be a good team without one.

The latest experiment is to try 2B Jedd Gyorko at SS. Gyorko has the hands & skills, but neither the athleticism nor the arm for shortstop. This move reeks of desperation, and highlights the inability of Padres leadership to learn from their past mistakes. More than anything, Gyorko needs to hit better as his .239/.292/.397 line is approaching replacement level. He is making $2 million this season, but is owed at least $33 million though 2019.

The Padres snagged 1B Yonder Alonso (along with Yasmani Grandal!) from the Reds in the Mat Latos deal. He’s still light on power for first base, and he can’t stay healthy (which is also a skill). His career .282/.361/.381 batting line helps, if only a little. Not all of his injuries have been his fault. This video of Justin Upton unintentionally hitting Alonso with his batting helmet, succinctly encapsulates the frustration & futility of Padres’ 2015 season.

Other SD Padres notes:

1B Adrian Gonzalez would have been a great organizational investment.

West coast bias in sports is real. One reason I chose to be a Padres fan was to test that theory.

RHP’s Brandon Morrow & Josh Johnson both spent the season on the DL, which should have surprised no one.

On 7/19/15, the Padres had their first rainout since 4/04/06. It almost never rains in San Diego. The game against the Rockies was suspended in the 5th inning, and was made up on September 10th– which COL won 4-3.

Dick Enberg does the Padres play-by-play on television, and he’s still a first-rate announcer. He was selected as the 2015 recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award, presented annually for excellence in broadcasting by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. I personally remember enjoying Enberg when he called the NFL, NCAA basketball, professional tennis, and Olympics for NBC in the 1970’s & 1980’s. He’s always been a thoughtful & pleasant conversationalist on the air, and still has a great voice.

Ted Leitner is in his 36th season behind the microphone for ‘My Padres.’ Baseball is a great game to listen to on the radio.

The Padres military programs which started in 1996, are the most successful in baseball– in terms of market penetration. San Diego is home to several of the largest military installations in the world; including the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, Naval Base Coronado, Naval Base San Diego, and US Coast Guard Station San Diego. Taped games are sent to the entire U.S. Pacific fleet for on-board viewing, via the Padres at Sea program. Every Sunday home game is Military Appreciation Day (along with Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day), as the Pads wear their camouflage jerseys, which has now been copied by other teams across MLB. I have mixed feelings about all of this.

The Padres organization has tried to reach into Mexico, as San Diego is the city closest to the border, with mixed results. Note to management: the best way to get Latin America to follow your baseball team, is by having good Latin American players in the organization & lineup.

Matt Kemp hit for the cycle on 8/14/15 , becoming the first Padre in franchise history to do so, in the club’s 7,444th game. Now only the Marlins haven’t accomplished this feat.

The Padres still haven’t thrown a no-hitter, nor won a World Series. They began play in 1969.

The Padres enshrined C Benito Santiago and SS Garry Templeton into their Hall of Fame. In 1981, the Padres traded a young Ozzie Smith to STL, for Templeton.

In conclusion, this organization is a mess, and A.J. Preller has a 5-year contract; so it’s going to be up to him to learn on-the-job and fix it, or suffer the consequences. This fan remains unconvinced after the spectacular crash of 2015. Preller often seems enamoured with his ‘rock star‘ image, to the point where it affects his better judgement.

He succeeds GM Josh Byrnes, who left due to serious disagreements with CEO Mike Dee, over where this organization is in terms of winning a championship. As a Padres fan who signed up on a one-season deal, I’d only take another one-year fan contract from this organization. One of the best parts of being a Padres fan is knowing that many of us really don’t care about winning. Baseball is paid-for entertainment, nothing more. I personally love streaming their games, listening to the drunken fans at Petco chanting “Let’s go, Padres!”– then hearing it quickly lose its rhythm & enthusiasm, completely collapsing upon itself several responses– signalling to all, that Padres fans actually know their team.

Ric Size

Songwriter, Musician, Artist

Category Archives: Economics