Sunday, January 31, 2010

A Rich Argument for Bad Manners

NYT's Frank Rich, theater critic turned left-wing, Republican-basher, offered up this gem of a column today. Here's the lead:
HANDS down, the State of the Union’s big moment was Barack Obama’s direct hit on the delicate sensibilities of the Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. The president was right to blast the 5-to-4 decision giving corporate interests an even greater stranglehold over a government they already regard as a partially owned onshore subsidiary. How satisfying it was to watch him provoke Alito into a “You lie!” snit. Here was a fight we could believe in.
Rich is certainly no stickler for the truth or common manners when it comes to throwing red meat to his liberal readers.

First of all, Alito didn't say, "You lie." Having just heard the President of the United States mischaracterize the substance of the court's ruling in Citizens United v. the FEC in order to encourage pro-censorship Democrats jumped to their feet to applaud his attack on the court, Alito sadly shook his head. He is said to have mouthed the words, "Not true."

That Frank Rich thinks using the theater of the SOTU to launch a partisan attack on the Supreme Court is a brilliant political move, just goes to show the kind of tin-earred arrogance the New York Times is becoming well known for. The "we" in the "fight we can believe in" are, of course, Rich and his fellow New York liberals. If they think having the president publicly berate one of the few Washington institutions that the public still has a modicum of faith in, well they should certainly have at it.

The Supreme Court is hardly above criticism. But there is a time and a place for everything. And in this case not only was the president showing a case of very bad manners, he was flat-out wrong on the substance of his assertion.

The New York Times and its writers are on record as believing that some corporations (theirs, of course) deserve to have their First Amendment rights protected and respected by politicians and the government, while others not so much.

Ain't that Rich?

Scandal Schmandal

Welcome to the world of the mini-scandal. They're bite-sized, low calorie, but plenty filling. My print column is up.

UPDATE: Meet Retracto: the Correction Alpaca. We all make mistakes. Getting asked for a correction by this polite and lovable character can take some of the sting out of them.

Pro-Choice Censors Against Life and Free Speech

Pro-Choice Abortion activists want a Pro-life, Pro-family ad pulled from the Super Bowl. The ad tells the story of Pam Tebow's difficult pregnancy and how doctors recommended she have an abortion to protect her own life. She didn't and ended up with a son named Tim who went on to win the Heisman Trophy as quarterback for the Florida Gators.

Pro-Choice advocates are claiming the ad could lead to the killing of more late-term abortion providers.

CBS is correctly refusing to pull the ad. It is being paid millions to run it. The network says it has changed its policy when it comes to advocacy ads, accepting more of them instead of refusing them.

That Pro-Abortion activists want the Tebows pro-life message censored by CBS. Instead of trying to shut the Tebows up, Kim Gandy, NARAL and the rest should pay for their own ad to promote whatever message they want to sell. As of now the message they are sending is their desire to strangle the pro-life message in its crib. Not very attractive. But then neither are late-term abortions.

More on the controversy here.

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Cell Phone Laws Don't Reduce Car Crashes

ATTENTION STATE LEGISLATORS: Don't make criminals out of us for no good reason.

E-Mail of the Week

In response to Friday's column that mentioned President Obama's attack on the Supreme Court for its decision in Citizens United v. FEC during his SOTU speech, I received an e-mail from one Pat Barker. You will find it below with my response.

Gil,

When you write an article make sure you have all the facts. Scumbag Scalia wasn't in attendance. I guess he thinks he's above listening to colored people speak.

Pat

Pat,

I stand corrected on the number of Supreme Court justices who attended the SOTU. In fact, not only was Anton Scalia absent but so were Justices Thomas and Stevens.

In the TV coverage I saw that night I was fooled by the fact that there were 9 people, dressed in black, sitting in the seats reserved for the justices. That three of them were, on closer inspection, not justices but clerks, other guests or family members, led to my erroneous assumption that all nine justices were in attendence.

Of course, none of that changes the argument I made in the column that it was "astonishing" to hear the President of the United States attack the court in front of Congress, as well as a national TV audience and misrepresent its ruling.

Still, thank you for your excellent advice about having "all the facts" before I write a column. I hope you don't mind a bit of advice in return.

Calling an accomplished justice like Anton Scalia a "scumbag" just because you disagree with his interpretation of the Constitution says more about you than it does about him. You should refrain from using such language if you want to be taken seriously as a decent person and not a name-calling partisan ideologue.

As for your suggestion that Scalia refused to attend the speech because he is a racist, are you willing to impute the same motive to Justice Thomas and Stevens?

Hillary Clinton wasn't there either. Does that make her a racist "scumbag" too? I don't think so.

UPDATE: Georgetown Law Professor Randy Barnett believes Obama owes the court an apology.

Friday, January 29, 2010

Supreme Court Finally Protects Political Speech

The Supreme Court decision rolling back government the restrictions of McCain-Feingold, is a victory for free speech.

From my print column:
For decades the Supreme Court found that the First Amendment protected everything from flag burning to nude dancing to Hustler magazine claiming in a parody ad that the Rev. Jerry Falwell had sex with his mother in an outhouse.

Last week, the court finally found it also extends to people who form corporations to say, “Don’t vote for this idiot and here’s why.”
Read the whole thing if you like.

Obama Blows It On National Security

Democrats have been saddled with another political albatross this election year; the mirandizing of the Christmas terrorist from Yemen. The Obama administration's decision to treat him like an other criminal suspect was a mistake of gigantic proportions, both politically and for national security.

Coupled with the much ballyhooed presidential promise to close Gitmo by Jan. 1 2010, a promise the president broke and never should have made in the first place, the decision shows the fecklessness of this administration when it comes to security. Then there was the decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in civilian court in New York City. Democrats have for a long time been perceived to be weaker on national security issues than Republicans. Obama has played right into this perception.

Senator-elect Scott Brown not only ran on defeating Obamacare, but against Obama's treating of captured foreign terrorists like common criminals. Polls showed that the voters who elected him were even more outraged by the Obama's coddling of terrorists than they were of his plans for a federal take-over of U.S. Healthcare.

All this is a disaster for Democrats.

More here from Chucky the K.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Blogger Template | Rustic Portrait

Rustic Portrait is a three column blogger template with two left sidebars with post section to right.The theme is designed by templatelite and converted by me to blogger.The template contains very high quality images with many built in widgets inside it.Top menu links are ready for you.Search box is ready inside your blog with rss button to its top.You can use your profile image too or any other logo of yours at sidebar top i.e left of template.Calender widget is ready inside the template,just make small date-header format settings to make it work which you will get with download link.

Other blogger templates you may like are Note Paper and Elegant.





Blogger Template | Rustic Portrait

Rustic Portrait is a three column blogger template with two left sidebars with post section to right.The theme is designed by templatelite and converted by me to blogger.The template contains very high quality images with many built in widgets inside it.Top menu links are ready for you.Search box is ready inside your blog with rss button to its top.You can use your profile image too or any other logo of yours at sidebar top i.e left of template.Calender widget is ready inside the template,just make small date-header format settings to make it work which you will get with download link.

Other blogger templates you may like are Note Paper and Elegant.





Blogger Template | Rustic Portrait

Rustic Portrait is a three column blogger template with two left sidebars with post section to right.The theme is designed by templatelite and converted by me to blogger.The template contains very high quality images with many built in widgets inside it.Top menu links are ready for you.Search box is ready inside your blog with rss button to its top.You can use your profile image too or any other logo of yours at sidebar top i.e left of template.Calender widget is ready inside the template,just make small date-header format settings to make it work which you will get with download link.

Other blogger templates you may like are Note Paper and Elegant.





Base Hits: Additions, Departures and Blogging Ethics

Miguel Tejada has indirectly ended Denis Sarfate's Oriole career as he was designated for assignement. Some quotes from his interview with Roch Kubatko:

"Right now, where I'm standing, I hope I get to pitch for another team. Obviously, my goal is to pitch in the big leagues every year. I'm not saying I couldn't make the (Orioles) out of spring training, because if I do go there, I intend to make the team, but obviously I'd be the last in line to get innings. If I get the chance to go to another team, I'd be happy and take it with open arms.



"To me, I'm kind of in shock. I wish I had known earlier and saved two days of my life and not gone to Baltimore for FanFest. I flew cross-country and left my daughter at home..."


Doesn't sound like he's going to accept the demotion...

I would have liked to see if a healthy Sarfate could've turned it around but if we're going to keep a fringy guy who has isues throwing strikes, I'd rather have Matt Albers.

*****

Nobody is surprised that Mark Hendrickson is back. According to Baseball-Reference.com, Hendrickson had a 3.44 ERA in 42 appearance as a reliever and a 2.64 K/BB ratio. He was effective in the bullpen and can make a spot start in a pinch. For $1.2 million, (less than he made last season) he's a good value.

*****

Keith Law released his top 100 prospects for 2010 andfour Orioles made the cut. For those of you without ESPN Insider, he're a few quotes:

SP Brian Matusz (#11) - "He's not the prototypical No. 1 starter with a big fastball and an easy delivery, but his ability to miss left- and right-handed bats in different ways gives him a chance to lead a staff, regardless."

SP Zach Britton (#25) - "His control remains below-average and his command of all pitches and feel for the slider need to improve, as well, but he would slot in very nicely as a No. 2 starter behind Brian Matusz, or as an outstanding No. 3 behind Matusz and Chris Tillman."

(I love that Britton is ranked so high. He's a sinkerballer who gets a ton a groundballs...a skill that works very well at OPACY.)

3B Josh Bell (#61) - "He has excellent bat speed from the left side, accelerating his wrists very quickly from the set position, although his swing is a little flat and might be more geared to doubles than home runs. "


SP Jake Arrieta (#90) - "Beyond the significant improvement in his control, he remains what he was: a four-pitch guy with no plus pitch but nothing below-average."

Keith Law's Top Ten Oriole Prospects:

1. Brian Matusz, LHP
2. Zack Britton, LHP
3. Josh Bell, 3B
4. Jake Arrieta, RHP
5. Brandon Snyder, 1B
6. Brandon Erbe, RHP
7. Caleb Joseph, C
8. Brandon Waring, 3B/1B
9. Matt Hobgood, RHP
10. Xavier Avery, OF

By the way, Law has been repeatedly asked if the O's made a mistake by "going cheap" and selecting Matt Hobgood in 2009. Law has consistently said that he would not have picked Hobgood over the college arms but does not consider the pick a "reach " or a bad pick on the face of it.

*****

I wanted to comment on the Ed Smith Stadium situation (again). TOH to Camden Chat for some of these links.

A week ago, citizen's groups that had put renovation plans for Ed Smith Stadium on hold with a lawsuit, offered to settle out of court with the main condition being a binding referendum on said renovations and bond offerings.

Yesterday, Sarasota County ruled out a referendum and instead will hold another public hearing on the issue.

While this is a bit of a mess, the fact that the plaintiff is offering to settle and the county has refused that offer and is instead manuevering to avoid any perception of violation of state law bodes well for a quick resolution. I don't think the renovations are in jeopardy.

Here are new drawings of the renovation plans for Ed Smith. A few more details than previous sketches but the same idea.

*****

Forget just talking to Hisanori Takaahashi, according to this article, there's more happening.

The Orioles have extended minor league deals with spring training invitations to former Los Angeles Dodgers Will Ohman and Japanese lefty Hisanori Takahashi. 

The more, the merrier. More arms in Spring Training is a good thing, especially if they come cheap.

*****

Speaking of Spring Training invites, the Orioles invited 6 more players to major league ST. Here they are:

SS Blake Davis - Spring Training 2008 was good to Davis as his hot bat gained him serious consideration to make the jump from AA to Baltimore. Injuries decimated his 2009 season as he posted a .235/.290/.304 line in 68 games, most with AAA Norfolk.

C Adam Donachie - A Dempey's Army favorite. Donachie is probably just here to spell the catchers who actually have a shot to make the team but one can hope.

C Luis Barnardo - 22-year-old who played in Delmarva in 2009. Seems to be a "not-hit" type.

IF Miguel Abreu and IF/OF Jonathan Tucker - light hitting utility-player types. This is the role they will serve in Sarasota too.

CF Matt Angle - All Matt Angle does is get on base and steal bases. THAT'S ALL HE DOES!!!!

*****


Without further comment, here's a link to a Camden Crazies post that addresses blogging ethics. Good work, Dan.


OK, one more comment. I am as supportive of the Oriole Blog-O-Sphere community as anyone but this situation is just one reason I will not link to fledgling bloggers until I see the work they are doing. So if you are a new blogger, don't take it personally.

Just my 2 cents.

One Size Doesn't Fit All

Dan Henninger on the State of the Presidency.
Barack Obama is 48 years old, a "young" president. But in a sense, he is an old 48-year-old. The House leadership, the committee chairmen leading his agenda, are old guys from the 1960s and '70s. The so-called progressive Democrats who make up his core base are essentially a labor movement stuck in a one-size-fits everything industrial model from the 1930s.
Read it all.

Baseball Stats in Perspective - Offensive Stats

I indulge in baseball stats. While I don't consider this a purely statistical analysis site, I do my fair share of it and reference "advanced stats" on a regular basis.

But I get annoyed by my Sabermetric brethren from time to time as they introduce new stats and pronounce them the new standard. This doesn't work for me because while they may measure a snapshot of performance or add predictive value, there is typically no frame or reference. Specifically, historical reference. I recently joined Baseball Prospectus and while I enjoy the writing, they use a ton of proprietary stats that are not available to the general public, only their subscribers. There's no frame of reference among the average baseball fan so you are just talking to yourselves.

FanGraphs.com recently unveiled a new stat call wRC+ (Runs Created based on wOBA compared to league average). Many stat guys declared this as the new stat to use and that OPS+ was now irrelevant. This irritated me as I thought to myself, "But where's the frame of reference? What was Babe Ruth's career wRC+?"

But then I realized that I use stats on my posts here that many may not understand or have a reference for. So shame on me.

With that in mind, here's a quick tutorial for stats I regularly reference on the site, as well as links to pages that offer more detail and/or historical context.

The Slash Line

I often refer to a player's "line" is my posts. Brian Roberts' line for 2009 was .283/.356/.451. The slash line here signifies Batting Average/On-base Percentage/Slugging Percentage. It's a quick way to sum up a player's offensive production.

OPS

OPS is simply On-base Percentage plus Slugging Percentage. For reference, Babe Ruth has a career 1.164 OPS. Frank Robinson had a career .926 OPS. Nick Markakis has a career .838 OPS.

Career OPS leaders are here and Single Season OPS leaders are here.

OPS+

OPS+ lets you compare offensive output across different eras. Let's face it; a guy who hit .300 with 20 home runs in 1967 is far more impressive than a guy who did the same thing in 1997. OPS+ measures a player's OPS vs. the average OPS for the league that season. It helps to compare players across different eras.

Babe Ruth's career OPS+ is 207. Frank Robinson has a 154 career OPS+. Nick Markakis' career OPS+ is 119.

A more detailed explanation of OPS+ can be found here. Career OPS+ leaders are here and Single Season OPS leaders are here.

WAR

WAR is Wins Above Replacment and is a measure of how many "wins" a player can contribute above the average "replacement level" player in his league. This was recently explained very well in this ESPN article by Matt Klaasen and Dave Cameron of FranGraphs.com.

Babe Ruth has a career WAR of 172.0. Frank Robinson's is 107.1. Nick Markakis has a carrer WAR of 15.1.

Historical WAR totals can be found here.

ISO

ISO is isolated power, a stat that I love to use. ISO measures the "raw power" of a hitter as it separates the batting average component from the slugging percentage. It is basically the slugging percentage minus the batting average but the more exact calculation is:

Total Bases - Hits/At Bats

Babe Ruth had a carrer ISO of .348. Frank Robinson comes in at .243. Nick Markakis has a career ISO of .173.

More details on ISO are available here.

Career ISO leaders can be found here.

Later, we'll cover the pitching and defense. I hope this helps.

Posers, Professors and Propaganda

A left-wing blogger's most excellent post about a top Obama administration advisor and his advocacy of government-paid covert agents to patrol political Web sites and promote the Obama party line while they pretend to be unaffiliated private citizens.

Greenwald calls Prof. Cass Sunstein's plan "spine-chilling."

It is certainly amazing that one of America's top constitutional law professors thinks that there is nothing unethical about engaging in this sort of political subterfuge.

"Ellie Light" phone the White House. Have they got a job for you.

Stick Up?

HIV-infected (maybe) armed robber is still at large.

What we need are better needle control laws.

The State of the Union is... Confused!

I, I, I, caught some but not all of the President's SOTU speech last night. I noticed he said "I" a lot. For instance:
"I campaigned on the promise of change—change we can believe in, the slogan went. And right now, I know there are many Americans who aren't sure if they still believe we can change—or at least, that I can deliver it."
The speech seemed to be more about the state of his presidency and the Democratic party than the union.

Moreover, the speech didn't soar, like the ones he gave during his campaign. It ran along the ground, quickly, like a roadrunner, never taking flight. It seemed to generate little enthusiasm, even among Democrats. It was pretty much boilerplate stuff, the typical laundry list of initiatives.

The couple of things meant to be red meat to party's left-wing base, ending the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy and the blasting of the recent Supreme Court ruling meant to end years of government supression of political speech, didn't play well with the institutional representatives of either the military or the court.

The brass and the justices sat there stone-faced as Democrats robotically clapped. Justice Sam Alito had the termerity to quietly shake his head after President misrepresented the ruling as allowing foreign corporations to contribute to candidates and affect U.S. elections.

Alito appeared to mouth the words "Not true."

Taking on the military and the Supreme Court may be tonic to his base, but not to the country as a whole.

On the whole, the speech was uninspiring and, I think, ineffective. Too many "I"s not enough "We"s. It certainly wasn't a confidence builder.

The ship of state is adrift and the captain has no idea how to right its course.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Blogger Template | Green Forest

Green forest is two column blogger template with light green background.The sidebar is to the left with post section to right.Supports al blogger features.You can change any color from inside blogger settings page as you like.Rss button is also ready at footer of the template.Its a beautiful green color design for users who think green :).Title seo has been done in it and i hope you will like this design for sure as i have taken images to create this design from rpmdesignfactory.

The similar designs you may like are green day and Elegant.





Blogger Template | Green Forest

Green forest is two column blogger template with light green background.The sidebar is to the left with post section to right.Supports al blogger features.You can change any color from inside blogger settings page as you like.Rss button is also ready at footer of the template.Its a beautiful green color design for users who think green :).Title seo has been done in it and i hope you will like this design for sure as i have taken images to create this design from rpmdesignfactory.

The similar designs you may like are green day and Elegant.





Blogger Template | Green Forest

Green forest is two column blogger template with light green background.The sidebar is to the left with post section to right.Supports al blogger features.You can change any color from inside blogger settings page as you like.Rss button is also ready at footer of the template.Its a beautiful green color design for users who think green :).Title seo has been done in it and i hope you will like this design for sure as i have taken images to create this design from rpmdesignfactory.

The similar designs you may like are green day and Elegant.





Poll: Toomey Wallops Specter

Pat Toomey now leads Sen. Arlen Specter by 14 percentage points! And the news isn't any better for Joe Sestak.

Maybe Specter can change parties again. I hear the Green Party is looking for a few good candidates.

Smerconish Punked By Obama Fan

Yesterday we blogged about Big Talker Michael Smerconish interviewing a woman who "purported" to be "Ellie Light," the energetic and deceitful letter writer, scold and Barack Obama supporter. It turns out Smerconish, just like dozens of newspapers around the country, was punked.

"Ellie Light" doesn't exist. The person purporting to be her isn't even A WOMAN.

Gawker has the story, which just gets weirder and weirder.

The" Right To Know" It All

There are two classificiations of citizens in Pennsylvania today; public employees and private employees. One group has the right NOT to have their names and home addresses released by public agencies to anyone who asks for them. The other doesn't. Guess which is which.

My print column is up.

The State of the Union

The state of our union is fearful. So says Michael Ledeen:
This fear is extremely broad-based.  It is not limited to social class nor to domestic or foreign policies.  Banks are not lending, companies are not hiring, because they are afraid of what Obama will do next.  Both are afraid of onerous taxes, including new health care burdens, and the banks fear new regulations and the consequences of the recently declared war on evil bankers by the president.  Seniors are afraid they will be deprived of medical treatment.  Juniors are afraid they are going to be forced to buy health insurance they don’t think they need.  Across the board, Americans are afraid they’re not going to find work, and won’t be able to afford a house.  And, as the Massachusetts vote showed, Americans are worried about threats from abroad, worried about Iran, afraid of terrorist attacks, and afraid the Obama Administration doesn’t take all this seriously enough.  As Scott Brown put it, most Americans think our tax dollars should go to fighting terrorists, not to pay lawyers to defend terrorists.
Sounds about right.

Is There An Adult In the House?

Tom Friedman is begging our political leaders to act like adults. Good luck with that, Tom.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Fun Dance Lessons at The Wedding Bootcamp - it's tomorrow!

Hi Everyone!

Just wanted to share with you guys this new event happening tomorrow!
It's a fun and free event for Lela New York Wedding Blog readers.
From complimentary dance lessons to yummy cupcakes it's a fun way to celebrate your engagement!

*** Don't forget to RSVP at The Wedding Salon and tell them Lela New York sent you ;)
and ENTER CODE: LRNYC for complimentary tickets***

xoxooxx


Michelle Rahn Bridal - NYC Trunk Show

Trunk show details :

The trunk show is being hosted at Gabriella New York Bridal Salon and Gabriella is offering brides a 10% gift towards the purchase of their gown during the trunk show!

Dates: Feb 5-7

Designer Michelle Gertzman will be on site with her new collection gowns and will also be offering brides the opportunity to custom design a one-of-a-kind gown with her – which has become a huge trend in both Chicago and NYC – It’s a unique service that’s truly built on Michelle’s passion for working with women that inspire her.

Michelle’s designs have found a following amongst the world’s fashion-savvy women and have graced the pages of Brides, In Style, Chicago Social, People , Martha Stewart Weddings, Elegant Brides, and Women’s Wear Daily to name a few. Each gown is made-to-order, therefore brides are able to choose fabric, beading and suggest subtle alterations to meet their preferences. Alternatively, brides with their own unique vision can collaborate directly with Gertzman in true Parisian couture style to design a one-of-a-kind creation.

To see more of Michelle Rahn Bridal visit www.michellerahn.com

David Tutera's Book Launch Pictures


From left to right: Juliet and Sierra (Poppies & Possies), Lela (me), Jackie (Merci New York)

From Left to Right: Jackie (Merci New York), Lela (me), Juliet and Sierra (Poppies & Possies), Vanessa Coley (Topaz Events), Tammy Golson (Tammy Golson Events)

From Left to Right Jackie (Merci New York), David Tutera, and Lela (me),

Had so much fun at the David Tutera's The Big White Book of Wedding launch last week!
I wanted to share picts, hope all who attended had fun too! :)

Base Hits: Oriole FanFest, Anita is No More and the Miguel Tejada Domino Effect

Oriole FanFest was this past Saturday and many in the blogosphere attended. I am jealous. Here's the links to the recaps:

BrowserMetrics - Baltimore Oriole FanFest 2010
Camden Crazies - Oriole FanFest Epilogue
Oriole Post - FanFest Reaction
Dreaming in the Dark - Oriole FanFest
Baltimore Sports Report - Audioblog: O's FanFest Reaction
Camden Chat - FanFest 2010: I'm Feeling Pumped!
Mr. Irrelevant - O's Stars Turn FanFest into FashionFest

*****

Via DCRTV.com, Anita Marks is out at "The Fan 105.7" in Baltimore.

I never found Scott (Garceau) & Anita particularly knowledgeable (if fact, I though Scott was always kind of a knee-jerk douche) but they were entertaining together and did good interviews with the Oriole players.

*****

Good news on the Sarasota front as BallparkDigest.com reports that the Sarasotan citizen's groups that have filed a lawsuit to block renovations to Ed Smith Stadium are already looking for a graceful way out of this confrontation.

Regarding the lawsuit that blocked the sale of bonds to fund the renovations:

Perhaps sensing that they overreached, Sarasota Citizens for Responsible Government and Citizens for Sunshine have offered a compromise of sorts to Sarasota County...

Such silliness. County officials are confident they'll win a lawsuit...

Given that the group is already offering to settle the suit, less than a month after it was filed, indicates the group isn't totally confident in their ability to prevail in court.

While the holdup on renovations means the Orioles could walk away from their 30-year lease, it doesn't seem like that's a likely outcome.

*****

The Wayward O presents O's Fights, Part 2! This time, Aubrey vs. Melmo.

*****

Some more Miguel Tejada speculation...

How will the roster shake out now that Tejada, a guy who has played in 158 games for each of the last two seasons, has joined the team? There is no longer any room for Ty Wigginton at third base and Garret Atkins (who made Wiggy redundant when he joined the club and now, with Tejada, doubly so) will get the bulk of the time at first base. DH is crowded with Luke Scott and (when making room for Felix Pie in left) Nolan Reimold sharing the duties. Will the Orioles want to pay Wiggy $3.5 million to be primarily a bench player? When Michael Aubrey, Ryne Hughes, Scott Moore or (eventually) Brandon Snyder would provide cheaper and possibly better options, I can't see it. Wigginton is likely to get unloaded during Spring Training for spare parts or a PTBNL.

I re-ran my WAR spreadsheet...adding Tejada get the O's from 80 wins to 80.5. He doesn't move the needle as much as you might expect.

Many O's fans are excited about Tejada's return. I'm fairly neutral given the short contract. But if you pushed me, I would lean more to the side of Stacey's point of view that she lays out nicely over at Camden Chat.

I recognize that the Orioles needed to obtain an corner infielder for 2010. But in signing two, neither of which are really a part of the Orioles future, is doing just what I said at FanFest: it's taking at-bats away from young players who, while perhaps a long shot, might be a part of that future. We don't necessarily know what those guys will bring us. Miggi and Atkins? We pretty much know.

Who is Ellie Light?

That is a question conservative bloggers and dozens of newspaper editors have been asking for several days after a pro-Obama letter appeared in 60-some newspapers across the land.

The writer signed the name Ellie Light and sent the letter out by e-mail. What attracted attention was that the letter writer claimed to be from wherever the newspaper happened to be located.

Suspicions started to rise that Ellie Light was a psuedonym used by an "astroturfing" political organization, one that pretends to be grass roots but in actuality is manufacturered by an organized advocacy group.

Big Talker Michael Smerconish may have solved the mystery of Ellie Light.

She turns out to actually be... Ellie Light, a travelling California nurse who wrote a letter and wanted to see it published in as many newspapers as possible. To that end she "misrepresented" where she lived because many newspapers only publish letters from their coverage areas and she correctly believed that if she said was from Philadelphia when submitting her letter to the Philadelphia Daily News it would have a better chance of appearing in print. The same was true for the Cleveland Plain Dealer and Cleveland and dozens of other papers and cities around the country.

It is hardly surprising that some people would lie to a newspaper to get it to publish their message, which is why newspapers, including which is why we have procedures in place to prevent this sort of thing. But a determined liar can often dupe a newspaper if he or she really wants to.

In her interview with Smerconish, the woman who purported to be Ms. Light, said that, in retrospect, she thought it was wrong to have done what she did. No one, professional journalists included, like to be lied to.

It would seem that if Ms. Light wants to continue her letter-to-editor writing career she will have to do so under an assumed name or stick to her local newspaper.

For more background on the story click here.

Blogger Template | Quietly Simple

Quietly Simple is a two column blogger template with right sidebar.Post section and sidebar are of fixed width with header and footer are auto width.It just support all the basic features of blogger platform and one feature i have added is the top menu links below header,for your convenience.The template is dark and best for you if you like dark designs and one rss button is also ready at the footer of the template.Just simple and no installation needed,just upload and start using it.Just only edit menu links to yours from blogger codes and request to keep footer credits and not remove them.

For More Blogger Templates you should check for sure Absynthe and Maalaga.





Blogger Template | Quietly Simple

Quietly Simple is a two column blogger template with right sidebar.Post section and sidebar are of fixed width with header and footer are auto width.It just support all the basic features of blogger platform and one feature i have added is the top menu links below header,for your convenience.The template is dark and best for you if you like dark designs and one rss button is also ready at the footer of the template.Just simple and no installation needed,just upload and start using it.Just only edit menu links to yours from blogger codes and request to keep footer credits and not remove them.

For More Blogger Templates you should check for sure Absynthe and Maalaga.





Blogger Template | Quietly Simple

Quietly Simple is a two column blogger template with right sidebar.Post section and sidebar are of fixed width with header and footer are auto width.It just support all the basic features of blogger platform and one feature i have added is the top menu links below header,for your convenience.The template is dark and best for you if you like dark designs and one rss button is also ready at the footer of the template.Just simple and no installation needed,just upload and start using it.Just only edit menu links to yours from blogger codes and request to keep footer credits and not remove them.

For More Blogger Templates you should check for sure Absynthe and Maalaga.





Monday, January 25, 2010

In Tribute to Conan O'Brien...


1864 baseball w/ Conan OBrien - Watch more Funny Videos

Blogger Template | My Sweet Diary

My Sweet Diary template is a two column blogger template with fixed width design.It has left sidebar and right side located post section.Search bar is ready as an sidebar widget in it with matching looks.Template has beautiful backgrounds for header and footer with an diary or notebook page look in middle as best for writing design.You can use this design most common for your personal blogs where you right about yourself as an daily writing.I hope many of you will like this design for sure.

For More Blogger Templates you should check for sure Papertagz and Cool Feelings.





Blogger Template | My Sweet Diary

My Sweet Diary template is a two column blogger template with fixed width design.It has left sidebar and right side located post section.Search bar is ready as an sidebar widget in it with matching looks.Template has beautiful backgrounds for header and footer with an diary or notebook page look in middle as best for writing design.You can use this design most common for your personal blogs where you right about yourself as an daily writing.I hope many of you will like this design for sure.

For More Blogger Templates you should check for sure Papertagz and Cool Feelings.





Blogger Template | My Sweet Diary

My Sweet Diary template is a two column blogger template with fixed width design.It has left sidebar and right side located post section.Search bar is ready as an sidebar widget in it with matching looks.Template has beautiful backgrounds for header and footer with an diary or notebook page look in middle as best for writing design.You can use this design most common for your personal blogs where you right about yourself as an daily writing.I hope many of you will like this design for sure.

For More Blogger Templates you should check for sure Papertagz and Cool Feelings.