Bali, Indonesia. A cliff jutting over the Indian Ocean, and the monkey and I are as about as far from the Bronx, New York as humanly possible. The Yanks are about a bazillion and one since I left Amerika (the Bahasa Indonesia spelling) and stopped watching them. It occurs to me, following the monkey's lead, that I have no control over these things. The Yanks win without my help. They have always won and lost without me. Does this mean that when I screamed at Pat Kelly all those times, he didn't hear me? It seems so.
This past weekend the Yanks and Sox played. I wasn't nervous or irritated any of those days. I did not experience the elation of a Derek Jeter double off the green monster or the low point of a Kevin Youkilis homer. They played and I didn't watch. Instead, I climbed the steps of the Buddhist monument, Borobodur, near Jogja. Was it reaching the stage of enlightenment, the total withdrawal of desire for earthly matters, that made me feel so at peace? Or was it the simple fact that I don't have the major league package yet and ESPN played the freaking Little League World Series instead of the Sox-Yanks?!!
WTF!
17 replies on “A Monkey Contemplates The Sunset”
Nick went to Indonesia and all he got us was a photograph of Jason Varitek’s career.
Wait. Maybe it is David Ortiz’.
Never can tell with these things.
That’s a great post (not to mention, photo). Hope ESPN-Jakarta picks up on October ball Nick!
I thought it was a metaphor for the Sox’s 2009 season in general.
Nick, even if the Sox and Yanks’ places in the standings were inverted, I’d still give about anything to be where you are, to see another part of the world I’d never seen. Enjoy it. You’ll be back amid the craziness before you know it. Baseball is the constant.
I thought it was a metaphor for the Sox’s 2009 season in general.
Hey, as of today we’re in the playoffs. More than you can say for the vast majority of teams out there.
Um…Nick? Maybe it was you since we have been killing it since you left? ;)
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090824&content_id=6592952&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
Cardinals think Smoltz was tipping pitches while in Boston. Not the intentional way, though!
And Smoltz’s next start is against the Nats, Ath? Man, he’s probably going to throw a no-hitter. Hell.
BTW, The Daily Show produced a follow-up segment to that video I suggested yesterday. It’s almost as funny as the original bit: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-september-28-2006/rubbing-out-crime
That article is thin, Ath. To wit:
“Additionally, tipping might explain why Smoltz’s performance got worse as he got deeper into games. Opponents fared much better in their second and third turns through the batting order than the first time around”.
You mean, like ALMOST EVERY PITCHER IN THE ENTIRE LEAGUE?
http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/split.cgi?lg=AL&year=2009&t=p#times
Also, are the Sox incapable of noticing that Smoltz was tipping? Wouldn’t that be near the top of the list of things to look for? They are probably reviewing last night’s game and Beckett’s previous start for that exact same thing.
Not that Smoltz wasn’t tipping pitches, maybe he was, but it’s one start, against a hideous team, in a spacious park. Perhaps that had something to do with it too.
Smoltz throws 5 good innings against San Diego @ Petco, and we’re supposed to believe that he’s back? Yeah, ok.
So today is the deadline to see if the Sox get Billy Wagner. Wagner wants the Sox to guarantee they won’t pick up his $8M option next year (no problem), AND guarantee they won’t offer him arb as a Type A free agent (BIG problem).
This would be a postseason move, I think. A setup man has basically zero value over the course of one month, but in a string of close-fought, high-intensity playoff games, I’d much rather see Wagner than Fernando Cabrera (or Manny Delcarmen, or Takashi Saito).
Of course Pat Kelly heard you, they have to be able to hear us or that makes my wife right and I’ll never live that down.
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I’m a little surprised to see you come down on the pro-Wagner side, Paul. The guy’s pitched one inning in the past year and his post-season is extremely thin (and there is ain’t impressive).
So why do you see him as better than our current options? His track record of past success can’t be taken as a very solid indicator of his superiority at this point, can it?
uh, to be clear, I meant his “his post-season record is extremely thin (and what there is ain’t impressive).”
Billy Wagner = Trevor Hoffman. Racks up the saves impressively but coughs up leads in big games.
To be clear, that’s purely a personal impression and I know too easy a treatment of the all-time saves leader. I haven’t checked Wagner’s stats. It just seems every time I’ve seen him (which has only been in games that were big for the Mets) he has folded. Watch him go to Boston now and be lights out. foolish comments about this.
I would take it easy on the ’09-Boston-season-bashing. They have an infinitely easier schedule than Texas in the coming 6 weeks and easier than Tampa Bay as well. And even if they didn’t they are arguably a better team than either of those. I am feeling pretty good about the Yanks’ hold on the division, but it would be crazy to rule out Boston for October. On the contrary, they’d have to be the favorite for the wc given talent, schedule, and current standings.