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Thursday, August 17, 2017

The Writer's Life 8/17 - Shifts

There were two rarities last night in MLB. When a pair of infielders were unable to play due to injury, Mets manager Terry Collins earned his pay, maneuvering constantly in the team's 5-3 loss to the Skanks. Catcher Travis d'Arnaud played third base when a left-handed batter was up, and second for righties, the idea being to decrease the percentages of balls being hit to him. He was shifted 22 times with infielder Asdrubal Cabrera. The strategy worked. d'Arnaud needed only to field a routine pop up at second, while Cabrera handled five chances flawlessly... In San Diego, first baseman Wil Myers became the 51st player in big league history to steal second, third and home in the same inning, although purists might argue it wasn't genuine, as the steal of home occurred after the runner at first was picked off and involved in a rundown. I don't watch baseball anymore, but I'm still enjoy reading about the unusual stuff that occurs during a season in which 30 teams play 162 games each.

I know I'm in a minority, but I liked that President Trump went rogue and refused to back down at the now infamous press conference. Was he pandering to a part of the disgruntled white voters who helped get him elected? Maybe, but what's wrong with denouncing those who show up at demonstrations in helmets, vests, shoulder and knee pads, and carrying billy clubs and engaging in violence? Are we to believe that a Christian who did not prevent any of his three children from marrying a Jew - whose grandkids are Jews - is a racist? What am I missing here? Am I completely blinded by my support for the President's agenda as to not see egregious faults? Recently, a fine young man I had the privilege of coaching at the high school football level called Republicans racist in a Facebook post. I started to type a reply, then stopped, as I didn't want to add to the partisan nuttiness going on in social media. A Republican president ended slavery. Lynchings were carried out almost exclusively by Democrats. A greater percentage of Republicans than Democrats voted for the Voting Rights Act. I'm disgusted with Republicans, but I doubt many are racists. Many are part of the swamp Trump is trying to drain. Bill Clinton's mentor, Senator William Fulbright, was accused of racism. Hillary's, Senator Robert Byrd, was a Grand Wizard Klansman. The selective outrage is so discouraging, more so because it is practiced by both sides. Where will this statue/monument craze end? On his show this morning radio host Mark Simone mentioned that the big apple was named for the Duke of York - who was a slave trader. By the logic of those in favor of tearing things down and renaming them, New York will have to be renamed. How about Schumerville or Cuomoburg? Will the left blame Trump for today's terrorist attack in Barcelona? It wouldn't be surprising. Geez, I hate writing about politics.

My thanks to the kind folks who bought and donated books today. Most of the transactions were of works in Russian.
Vic's Sixth novel: http://tinyurl.com/zpuhucj 
Vic's Short Works: http://tinyurl.com/jy55pzc

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