Will #Cardinals have Wainwright ready to face the Giants?

Adam Wainwright/
Baseball-Reference

The Cardinals were first worried about whether or not Adam Wainwright would be OK to pitch a possible Game 5 against the Dodgers in the Division Series.

Well, they solved that by winning in 4.

But, they're still worried about him, whether or not he'll be ready for Game 1 of the LCS against the Giants.

They do have options, though.

If they find him struggling during the game, I think the best option would be to bring Michael Wacha in for some longer relief and have Lance Lynn start Game 2 as needed, rather than have him come in for long relief.

Or, they can flip their rotation, let Lynn do Game 1 and Waino Game 2, while still having Wacha ready to come in late.

Or, they could even bring John Lackey up in the order, too, and push Waino back to Game 3. I do not like the idea of "burning" Lynn in relief, though.

Please, Mike Matheny, don't make Don Mattingly decisions even before the series starts! And, we've got three days until Game 1 anyway, so, let's not get too panicky about this yet.

(Update, Oct. 9: Matheny says he looks fine.)

Elect #GregAbbott, elect an accomplice to murder

Cameron Todd Willingham, executed by the state of Texas
in the name of junk pseudoscience, political pandering and
legal and personal arrogance. / Photo from PBS

While Rick Perry deserves the primary responsibility for the killing of Cameron Todd Willingham, as Frontline points out (with a new addendum about jailhouse snitch Johnny Webb), Greg Abbott as attorney general deserves his share of blame. That much is quite clear, with more detail here.

Both of them deserve additional blame for an obnoxious self-righteous stubbornness that refuses to ever admit they're wrong. In Abbott's case that same obnoxious self-righteous stubbornness leads him to continue to "sue Obama" over reproductive choice, the environment, and more and waste state money (while losing case after case) to continue to defend an unconstitutional, and unconscionable, school finance system as well as other school issues, and more.

How much more, and in how many ways, will that same obnoxious self-righteous stubbornness out of a Gov. Greg Abbott, continue to harm Texas? Sadly, this is one issue that's not gotten a peep of mention from the Wendy Davis campaign, even with the revelations of Webb happening in just the last few months.

That, though, doesn't really surprise me.

In her pander rightward, Davis has talked very little about criminal justice issues. Hell, she pulled punches on the legalization of pot ... more than Rick Perry.

These issues easily could have been brought up by her. The Frontline episode first ran this spring. Then came Webb's allegations this summer. And now, the repeat of the Frontline episode.

But Davis, like most Dems who pander rightward looking for conservative votes, especially likes to fish in the "tough on crime" waters. Or, at least, not to fish in the "rights of the accused" waters.

And hence, the silence over Willingham, the week knees on marijuana, the lack of discussion about private prisons, and more. All of those elements after the Willingham one would especially appeal to minority voters who traditionally were part of the Democratic base.

But, this isn't your father's, or FDR's, or LBJ's, Democratic party.

Will the #Dodgers fire Don Mattingly after losing to the #Cardinals?

At places like Hardball Talk, among fans at posts like this, and bloggers with a theme alike, that's a halfway serious question.

(Update, Oct. 14 — With a new VP for baseball operations "stolen" from Tampa, the fire Mattingly talk is heating up.)

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly, for whatever reason, benched Yasiel Puig, still arguably the team's best everyday player despite being in a slump.

And, when Matt Adams hit a 3-jack home run off Clayton Kershaw, bringing home Matt Holliday and Jhonny Peralta to propel the Cardinals to the National League Championship Series, the second-guessing caught fire.



Donnie Baseball made it worse in the top of the ninth.

The Dodgers get a one-out walk by A.J. Ellis off Trevor Rosenthal. Great place for Puig, right?

Mattingly agrees — as a pinch-runner, not a pinch hitter. Justin Turner pinch hits. And strikes out.

Dee Gordon then singles, with Puig only going to second on station-to-station pinch running. And Carl Crawford then grounds out to end the game.

Unbelievable, not only the benching itself, but not using him as a pinch-hitter.

Jonah Keri said this was Donnie B.'s second mistake. He says that, with Kershaw at 100 pitches on short rest, he would have brought in closer Kenley Jansen to face Adams. It's at least arguable.

I mean, the rest of the Dodgers' bullpen — starting with the Yankees West™ spending, willfully, $10 million in a dead-armed non-closer named Brian Wilson — is teh suck, pretty much.

I don't know if Mattingly is gone. But, when your managerial decisions make Mike Matheny look brilliant and even Ned Yost above average?

As I said on that first Hardball Talk link, Kirk Gibson's available. He's got a boatload of #grit he can teach. That said, I know at least one HUGELY "homer" Tigers fan who thinks Gibby should replace Brad Ausmus after just one season.

Finally, let's not forget that Magic Johnson is a part owner of the Dodgers. That's the Magic who, as a Lakers player, got Paul Westhead fired as head coach AFTER he'd won an NBA title, in favor of Pat Riley. And, of course, Riley turned out better. So, don't tell me Magic isn't tempted.

And, per Ken Rosenthal, the LA Dollars (stealing and saving!) will spend more money, too. (Kershaw's new mega-contract starts next year.)

#Stoicism — room for a resurgence?

Stoicism. It seems a bit like the western answer to Zen, but it's not. It's more than that, different than that, and older than that. Plus, as a guide to meditation, it's the basis of the Serenity Prayer beloved by 12-step groups and others.

By Massimo Pigliucci

Stoicism has been in the back of my mind since I was very young, initially for the obviously parochial reason that it was the prevalent philosophy among the ancient Romans, i.e., part of my broadly construed cultural heritage. (Then again it is for the same reason that Buddhism is very popular in India, Confucianism in China, and Shinto in Japan.)

Lately, however, Stoicism has slowly moved to the forefront of my cognitive field of view, for a number of reasons. To begin with, I’ve been interested in philosophical counseling [1], to the point of having taken the American Philosophical Practice Association course [2], and having set up what is turning out to be a surprisingly successful and enjoyable practice [3]. The more I see clients, the more I gravitate toward ancient Greek philosophy, and particularly Stoicism (with a sprinkling of virtue ethics and Epicureanism) as my preferred…

See this blog post for more!

#Ferguson update shows why both "sides" aren't totally right (updated)

Introductory note, also used in conclusion: Saying that neither side is totally right doesn't assign percentages of 50 percent right to each. Also, per Iranian philosopher Idries Shah, let's not assume there are just two sides.

Some people in Ferguson, Missouri, as well as, quite possibly, outside agitators driving through, complained about the curfew that Gov. Jay Nixon imposed late last week.

Complained, and more than complained.

They upped the scale on the rioting:

While protesters condemned the police, saying the move to break up the crowd was unprovoked, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said the protesters had attempted to overrun a command post in a shopping center parking lot. Police say protesters fired at least 30 gunshots and threw Molotov cocktails. … 

 Police reports note that McDonald’s employees were forced to lock themselves in a closet after being “overrun” by protesters. The demonstrators also attempted to block off a city street with cinder blocks.

And, if you think "upped" implies deliberation, so do the Missouri State Police, which took over patrolling the city late last week as well.

Here's what the local scene commander said:

According to Capt. Ron Johnson, who was put in charge of the police response to the protests on Aug. 14, this new spate of violence appeared to be “premeditated” and “coordinated,” rather than spontaneous.

Premeditated is bad enough. Coordinated is even worse.

These actions are just a more violent version of headline-grabbing last week by Anonymous. In fact, maybe some of their black bloc kin, as well as other extremists, are in on this.

It's clear, from this piece, that the majority of local residents who have concerns about Ferguson police, including some who protested earlier in the week, don't support the latest actions.  (Update: Six weeks later, they're even more tired of the vandalous-type protests.)

Was the curfew itself "to blame," as the ACLU, NAACP et al hint?

The American Civil Liberties Union, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and the N.A.A.C.P. Legal Defense Fund said in a statement that the governor’s action “suspends the constitutional right to assemble by punishing the misdeeds of the few through the theft of constitutionally protected rights of the many.”

Anyway, your wish has been granted.

Curfew's lifted; in exchange, the National Guard is in town. From my point of view, a relatively light midnight-5 a.m. curfew did not suspend the constitutional right to assemble, either. It just limited its hours of availabililty.

As for the claims of some residents that they individually were not looters, etc.? Yes, it may be true of you individually, but that doesn't prove the state police wrong.

As for claims that nobody did anything like this? If the Ferguson PD had claimed there were Molotov cocktails, etc., I might not believe it. However, Capt. Johnson seems like a straight shooter (not even close to a pun intended), and, unless people can produce evidence clearly disproving him, I'll take him at the general gist of his words, at least.

And, now, with the Guard in place instead, I'm sure that we will have even more video monitoring of events.

Because people do exploit tense situations like this for their own advantage, even if that "advantage" is nothing other than primal scream type rage. (Speaking of, while they don't "represent" protesters at all, the New Black Panthers and their ilk saying they want "Darren Wilson dead" don't help matters.)

Now, as for the shooting death of Michael Brown, which caused this? The family's privately sought autopsy is in. It exonerates police of the worst of the claims against them, namely that he was shot at very close range or in the back of the head. I'm not saying it "looks good" for the police, either. The federal autopsy that Attorney General Eric Holder announced will show more.

In the header, I said "both" before sides. There's really more than 2 sides here. Many people are protesting what they see as a wrong, yet not assaulting the highway patrol, or perhaps even the Ferguson police. I am sure that there are good white residents of the city, and white police officers, too. For that matter, there are black police officers, and black public and private sector security and prison guards, that can be thuggish, too.

==

Updates, Oct. 7: White respondents were largely wrong in a relatively small protest outside Busch Stadium last night at the start of Game 3 of the NLDS between the Cardinals and the Dodgers. Several things here.

1. It illustrates that white racism (racism is not just race-based actions against another race, it's race-based factually incorrect beliefs and attitudes) is in all of St. Louis, not just Ferguson.
2. That many protesters are peaceful

3. That even more sympathetic people are probably protest-deadened by now. That says more about ever shortening attention spans in the US than anything else.

A Saturday protest at a performance of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra was more interesting. The video shows many patrons were discomfited. That could be good, could be bad. If they heard, and absorbed, the message after being discomfited, and have an appropriate internal shift in attitudes, if needed, it's good. If not, the protest was neutral at best, wrong at worse.

Protest, overall, can only be one part of changing problematic city government and policing attitudes in Ferguson that existed before Michael Brown's shooting.

And, if Brown's shooting, while not necessarily "justified," was something far short of police murder, then Michael Brown is a horse that can only carry you so far.

==

And, as for problems with local policing, this is why liberals in general, and minorities in particular, need to remember that Washington is not the solution for everything. If you have local problems, you need to vote in local elections.

Unfortunately, some liberals, like some conservatives, prefer black-and-white narratives. It's good for ramping up social justice warrior issues. (Note to one commenter on Hardball Talk at NBC Sports: I never said I was "edgy." I have repeatedly said that I am an independent-minded skeptic. If that's "edgy," we need more of it. And, I think I have another partial answer to that; thinking Twitter is a reliable news source because it somehow bypasses the mainstream media. And, with that, it should be noted that sex/gender isn't the only area of like where we have SJW groups. Sexual orientation is another. Race is another.

And, before the liberals who like black-and-white narratives accuse me of 50-50-ism or something, uh, no!  (And, from my experiences in the "real" online world, there are people who think that, who accuse people of me of believing and even perpetuating that, and more. Short and shallow thought processes go along with short attention spans.)

Saying that neither side is totally right doesn't assign percentages of 50 percent right to each. Also, per Iranian philosopher Idries Shah, let's not assume there are just two sides.

Don't like gay marriage? Then don't marry a gay person

That's my brief and blunt reaction to the Supreme Court not hearing appellate level challenges about gay marriage in several different states.

Having a number of gay and lesbian friends, several of whom have had long-term partnerships, some of whom have wanted the legal, financial and social protections and assurances of marriage, I am glad to see this.

You know, like your partner being able to see you in the hospital. Or, when your partner dies, his or her homophobic parents being unable to break up a will. Or the right to adopt. Etc., etc.

That said, what if being gay or lesbian isn't 100 percent genetic? Or even 100 percent genetic + an uncontrollable part of "nurture," the womb environment?

What if, on average, it's 10 percent choice?

No matter.

Atheism is 100 percent choice, arguably, yet deserves the full protection of the First Amendment's "freedom of religion" clause as properly understood.

That said, there's another reason I raise the issue of "choice" on gay marriage.

What about certain elements of gay male culture that, stereotypically, at least, have an aversion to long-term partnerships? Bathhouse culture, to use a name?

Well, nobody's forcing them, or randier straight males, to get married. And gay marriage is likely to leave unchanged their non-interest in marriage.

And, let's hope it leaves unchanged our non-interest in their non-interest in gay marriage either.

The great majority of gay males aren't card-carrying members of Queer Nation, anyway. (And, that's despite PR efforts by both Queer Nation and fundamentalist Christians.)

That said, per discussion about the issue, SCOTUS' move still doesn't address the "full faith and credit" clause of the Constitution. If it's sending a signal to red states to stop the nonsense, I still would have preferred an explicit ruling sooner rather than later. Get married in California but move to Kansas? SCOTUS says "sorry, but not yet." Or, if you just live in Kansas, it's definitely "not yet." Residents of 20 states are still out in the cold.

Because, in hardcore red states like Texas, hardcore red-state politicos like Greg Abbott will keep trying to deny the rights of people they don't like. After all, he is our state's money-waster in chief. And, in a place like the south, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals WILL give SCOTUS the thumbs-down ruling that it's going to have to face anyway.

I'm also interested in who switched sides since the Court's Prop 8 and DOMA ruling. That was 5-4, after all, and it only takes 4 votes, not 5, to grant cert.