Quote of the Day

Ellie Simone's Mommy: Hurry up, Turtle.

Ellie Simone: I am not a turtle. I am your daughter.

Oh, the Humanity...

My friend Ed is a fan of American League baseball. I know what you're thinking, but he's actually a nice guy. He just really doesn't understand baseball.

Ed's argument is that in an NL game, the pitcher can pitch around the 7 and 8 hitters to get to the pitcher to strike him out. What he doesn't seem to be considering is that there are pitchers who can hit. There should be more of them. The flip-side to Ed's argument is that AL managers don't have to worry about potentially difficult coaching decisions, should the pitcher's spot be due up the next inning.

What bothers me about the change in the AL game is that it's a sacrifice in the subtlety of the game in the name of increased offense. Why stop at pitchers? There are certainly shortstops who can field with a mile-wide range, but don't hit particularly well. Why not maintain separate rosters of hitters and fielders? As a matter of fact, some hitters don't run very well, either. Why not avoid having to take them out of the game to put in a pinch-runner. Let's fill the roster with sprinters and create a Runner's Box just outside the Hitter's Box.

Back in the day, most football players played both sides of the ball. I'm not saying the games were any greater then, but they certainly weren't any worse. If you got burned on defense, you could always return the favor once the ball changed hands. But, bit-by-bit, the specialization began. Now, there are running backs who only line up in the backfield on third down and defensive players who only come in for specific formations.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that part of what I love about the game is that some pitchers can hit (Babe Ruth, anyone?) and some can't. Some catchers can run, and some can't. Some managers make good double-switches, and some don't. Sports are at their best when it's played person against person, not role agains role. Nobody ever buys a jersey that just says, Designated Hitter (although, I might now that I see it in writing), it's the personalities that make the game great.

Crazy Norwegians

We here at bigSoda have obtained a transcript of President Obama being notified that he had won the Nobel Peace Prize:

Rahm Emmanuel: "Mr. President, it's Rahm. I was just calling to tell you that you've won the Nobel Peace Prize."

President Obama: "Oh, shit."