Hamilton Hits 4 Home Runs

Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton became the first major league player in nearly a decade to hit four home runs in a game. Hamilton slugged four dingers and drove in eight runs en route to a 10-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards. Hamilton leads the majors with 14 home runs and 36 RBI and as of this writing is tied with Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers with a Ted Williams like .406 batting average.


To read the rest of this post, please check out The Spectacle Blog.

Romney Prefers the L Word to the S Word

I read Jim Antle's observations about Mitt Romney's use of the word "liberal". Methinks Romney prefers the L word to the S word. During an interview with Bill O'Reilly back in December 2011, O'Reilly asked Romney if he thought President Obama was a socialist. To which Romney replied, "I consider him a big government liberal Democrat."


To read the rest of this post, please check out The Spectacle Blog.

A Brief Reminder The War on Terror Isn't Over

Last week, as President Obama was dancing over Osama bin Laden's watery grave, I wrote a piece arguing the War on Terror isn't over. Here is the concluding paragraph:

I am well aware that we are a country weary from more than a decade of war in Afghanistan and Iraq. But the uncomfortable truth is that there are still jihadists who wish to kill Americans here and abroad and have the means to carry out their evil intentions. We are only a box cutter away from a painful reminder that the War on Terror isn't over.

Or that might be a pair of briefs as word came late yesterday of the CIA foiling another underwear bomb plot via al Qaeda in Yemen. Fortunately, in this case, our intelligence remained one step ahead of the enemy. But new plots are being hatched and, heaven forbid, but next time we might not be so lucky. In the meantime, President Obama would be wise to stop gloating. However, as the election campaign unfolds, it will be plain to see that he is not in possession of such wisdom.

Maurice Sendak, 1928-2012. R.I.P.

Maurice Sendak, the author and illustrator best known for the 1963 classic children's book Where the Wild Things Are, died today of complications of a stroke. He was 83.

I certainly remember Where the Wild Things Are as amongst the very first books I ever gazed my eyes upon and its images remain with me to this very day. That's about the best tribute I can give. Now I must bid adieu. A hot supper awaits me.

Netanyahu to Lead Unity Government; No Early Election After All

It has been widely expected for some time that Israelis would be going to the polls this September. Yesterday morning, Prime Minister Netanyahu put forth a proposal to dissolve the Knesset. But less than 24 hours later, Netanyahu forged an agreement with Shaul Mofaz, the new leader of the official opposition Kadima Party to form a national unity government.


To read the rest of this post, please check out The Spectacle Blog.

Harper Steals Home

Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper continues to impress me.


To read the rest of this post, please check out The Spectacle Blog.

Red Sox Fall to Orioles in 17 Innings (Or Poor Darnell McDonald)

It was a crazy day at Yawkey Way.


To read the rest of this post, please check out The Spectacle Blog.

Pujols Finally Hits First HR

Well, it appears a day off was just was the doctor ordered. Last night, Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia kept the struggling Albert Pujols out of the lineup against the Toronto Blue Jays. Entering today's action, Pujols was hitting .194 without a homerun and had only 5 RBI.


To read the rest of this post, please check out The Spectacle Blog.

UN Food Monitor to Investigate Hunger...in Canada?

Check out this article in the National Post written by Hillel Neuer, the Executive Director of UN Watch which is a NGO based in Geneva.


Despite the fact there is a food and water shortage in Syria, Olivier de Schutter, the UN Special Rapporteur on Food, will be turning his attention to Canada. Beginning tomorrow, de Schutter will be north of the border for 11 days to promote the right to food for all Canadians. You know the UN has its priorities backwards if it's more concerned about access to food in Halifax than in Hama.

Is Harvard Covering for Warren?

Yesterday, The Boston Herald reported that Harvard University acknowledged they have one Native American professor in their faculty but would not say if that faculty member is Democratic Senate hopeful Elizabeth Warren. (H/T Michael Warren of The Weekly Standard - obviously no relation).


To read the rest of this post, please check out The Spectacle Blog.

Adam Yauch, 1964-2012. R.I.P.

Adam Yauch (a.k.a. MCA), a founding member of The Beastie Boys, died today battling cancer for the past several years. He was 47.

Yauch directed many of The Beastie Boys videos as well as several documentaries. He was also a practicing Buddhist and was outspoken in his support for an independent Tibet. Here's a transcript of an interview Yauch did with the PBS program Frontline about Tibet in the 1990s.

I must admit I'm not a huge Beasties fan or hip-hop in general. But "Fight for Your Right" brings back fond memories of the ninth grade. I hadn't heard it since about 1987 which is perhaps fitting since the Beasties haven't performed it in concert since 1987.

The Beastie Boys have come a long way from throwing pies and last month were inducted into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame.

Does Julia Have a Winston in Her Life?

Over at NRO, Michael Walsh comments on the much mocked "Life of Julia" slideshow rolled out yesterday by the Obama 2012 campaign. He writes:

"Julia" appears to have no males in her life -- certainly not a husband when, at 31, she "decides to have a child" after disporting herself sexually, consequence-free in previous years, thanks to the wonders of Obamacare. (Where did "Zachary" come from - a test tube?)

Indeed, one must wonder if Julia has a Winston in her life. But then again that's so 1984. Julia is the proverbial fish who has no need for a bike. Although I'm sure Julia has had her daily dose of the two minutes hate shouting at some guy named Goldstein only to find herself at peace upon seeing President Obama as he calms Oceania.

Mariano Rivera Tears ACL

New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera tore the ACL in his right knee yesterday while trying to catch a fly ball during practice in Kansas City prior to last night's game against the Royals. Rivera could be out for the rest of the season, possibly a career ending injury.

Let's just say right off the bat that this is the biggest challenge the Yankees have faced in more than 15 years. Rivera has been the Yankees closer since 1997. The Yankees have missed one post-season in his entire big league career. Rivera has 608 career saves, the most in MLB history. The 42-year old Panamanian has been his usual self. At the time of the injury, he was 1-1 with a 2.16 ERA and five saves.

Needless to say, who will the Yankees put out there in the ninth? Rafael Soriano did save 45 games for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2010. Soriano struggled in 2011 and although he has pitched better in 2012 his walk totals are a little scary (six walks in nine innings). Being the closer might be shot in the arm he needs.

David Robertson has pitched well as an eighth inning set up man but is untested as a closer. Then again Rivera pitched well as an eighth inning set up man but was untested as a closer after John Wetteland went to Texas after the 1996 season. Robertson hasn't given up a run in 11 innings pitched this season and has 18 strikeouts to boot. But eighth inning success doesn't always translate into the ninth and Robertson is an unknown quantity in the ninth as is Phil Hughes who has struggled to regain his form of 2010 when he won 18 games. Hughes has had success in the bullpen as an eighth inning set up man during the Yankees World Series championship season of 2009.

The dark horse in all of this is Joba Chamberlain who dislocated his right ankle while jumping on a trampoline late in spring training. He just got put on the 60-Day Disabled List but could be back late in the season. If Soriano, Robertson and Hughes don't pan out and they don't trade for a closer then Chamberlain is an option.

In the grand scheme of things, losing Mariano Rivera is bad for baseball. He is a class act on and off the field and even Red Sox fans cheer for him. That would never happen with Jeter or A-Rod. Mariano Rivera is in a league of his own and it would be shame if this was the way his storied career ended.

UPDATE: Rivera, who had been pondering retirement after this season, vows to return in 2013.

Occupy Chicago May Day march pics you won't see in the establishment media

Marathon Pundit has compiled some of the most revealing photos from the Occupy May Day event, which the lamestream media won't print because they don't want to reveal how radical the protesters really are. Brilliant commentary accompany the photos. Click here for the post.

Workforce Participation at a 30-Year Low

Although the national unemployment rate fell to 8.1% for the month of April, the decline is due not to job growth but declining participation in the labor market. Simply put a critical mass of people have given up looking for work. Consequently, labor market participation is now at its lowest level in more than thirty years with only 63.6% of the adults in the workforce.

Some stimulus plan.

It's no wonder that President Obama is dancing on Osama's watery grave and telling people Romney wouldn't have called the tune. He is a song and dance man. But song and dance men know how to use smoke and mirrors. It's up to Mitt Romney to make sure this smoke doesn't get into the eyes of the electorate and find a clear way to tell people that Obama hasn't done the job he was elected to do.

Jered Weaver No-Hits Twins

Last night, Los Angeles Angels pitcher Jered Weaver threw a no-hitter against the Minnesota Twins en route to a 9-0 victory.

Weaver's no-no comes less than two weeks after Chicago White Sox pitcher Philip Humber tossed a perfect game against the Seattle Mariners. The 29-year old righty was very nearly perfect. Only two batters reached base against Weaver. After striking out, Chris Parmelee reached first base on a passed ball by Angels catcher Chris Iannetta in the second inning. The only other base runner was Josh Willingham who walked in the seventh. Otherwise, Weaver was dominant striking out nine.

This no-hitter is the tenth in Angels' history and comes almost exactly fifty years after the late Bo Belinsky (better known for spending his nights with the likes of Mamie Van Doren) spun the first in franchise history against the Baltimore Orioles. Nolan Ryan threw four of the Angels no-hitters while Mike Witt tossed a perfect game against the Texas Rangers on the last day of the 1984 season. Witt would also get credit for pitching the last two innings of Mark Langston's no-no against the Seattle Mariners early in the 1990 season although those no-hitters would no longer count if they were thrown today. Prior to Weaver's gem, the most recent Angels no-hitter came last season when Ervin Santana tossed one against the Cleveland Indians.

The Twins have seen better days. They have not scored a run in 19 innings. On Tuesday, the Twins were shutout by journeyman pitcher Jerome Williams. It was Williams' first big league shutout since 2003. The Twins own the worst record in MLB. The Angels, of course, have had a rough start as well in 2012. But thanks to the Twins they have won three in a row for the first time this season.

As it turns out, Weaver's next start will also be against Minnesota on Monday when the Angels visit the Twin Cities. Could Weaver be the second coming of Johnny Vander Meer?

Even if Weaver doesn't throw back to back no-hitters, he has nearly half of the Angels' 10 wins this season. He is 4-0 and leads the AL in both ERA (1.61) and strikeouts (45). Weaver was the runner up to Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers in the AL Cy Young Award balloting in 2011. I picked Weaver to win the 2012 AL Cy Young Award. We'll see where Weaver is at in September but he's making a good case for himself so far.

Junior Seau, 1969-2012. R.I.P.

Former NFL linebacker Junior Seau died today of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at his home in Oceanside, California. He was 43.

After playing with distinction at USC, the San Diego Chargers made him their top pick in the 1990 NFL Draft. He was the fifth overall pick in the nation (quarterback Jeff George was the number one pick by the Indianapolis Colts that year). Seau played twenty seasons in the NFL with the Chargers as well as with the Miami Dolphins and the New England Patriots. He was a 12 time Pro Bowler and went to the Super Bowl with the Chargers in 1995 and with the Pats when they went 16-0 in 2008 but did not earn a ring. Seau retired after the 2009 season at the age of 40.

Following his retirement, Seau starred in a short-lived reality series called Sports Jobs with Junior Seau which aired on Versus. Seau did things such as working as a caddy for an LPGA golfer, on a pit crew for an Indycar driver and as a bat boy for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In October 2010, Seau made headlines when he drove off a cliff and survived a fall of more than 100 feet. The incident happened only hours after he had been arrested on a domestic violence charge. Seau told authorities that he had fallen asleep behind the wheel but in light of today's events one cannot be so sure.

Early on in his playing career, Seau established the Junior Seau Foundation which has disseminated nearly $4 million in funds to organizations helping children and young adults. Under the circumstances, one can only hope this work will carry on.

UPDATE: As it turns out, Seau is the eighth member of the 1994 Chargers AFC Championship team to have passed away and the third member to have died in the past two years. When Natron Means learned of Seau's death he said, "Not again." What else could be said?

There's No "I" in Team Six

John Guardiano took the words right out of my mouth with his headline, "Obama's Latest Campaign Stop: Kabul, Afghanistan".

President Obama's address to the troops would have been fine on its own. But the fact that it comes while his campaign is asserting that Mitt Romney would not have authorized the raid which resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden cheapens both the occasion and the office of the presidency. Our troops deserve better than to be used as political props by President Obama.

As former Attorney General Michael Mukasey noted in The Wall Street Journal, we would have never seen this sort of behavior from Dwight Eisenhower or Abraham Lincoln, whom Obama is fond of quoting and, for that matter, George W. Bush, whom Obama is not fond of quoting.

Mukasey also notes that if the operation had failed the buck would not have stopped with President Obama. There would have been a fall guy. In this case, it would have been left to Admiral William McRaven, Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, to fall on his sword:

A recently disclosed memorandum from then-CIA Director Leon Panetta shows that the president's celebrated derring-do in authorizing the operation included a responsibility-escape clause: "The timing, operational decision making and control are in Admiral McRaven's hands. The approval is provided on the risk profile presented to the President. Any additional risks are to be brought back to the President for his consideration. The direction is to go in and get bin Laden and if he is not there, to get out."

Which is to say, if the mission went wrong, the fault would be Adm. McRaven's, not the president's.

So much for that "new era of responsibility" President Obama spoke about when he was inaugurated. It seems to me that President Obama has a different understanding of what responsibility means than most of us. For Obama, when things go wrong he takes none of the blame and when things go right he takes all of the credit. It is the sort of thing you can expect of someone who thinks the world around him.

President Obama simply does not grasp that there's no I in Team Six.

Christian School Propagandizes On Behalf Of Trayvon Martin

At Clinton Christian school in the Maryland suburbs outside of Washington, DC, students gathered in hoodies at a makeshift prayer vigil in support of Trayvon Martin.

Does the school intend to hold a rally in support of George Zimmerman as well if it turns out Martin instigated the physical aspect of the confrontation?

More importantly, does the school intend to hold a rally in support of the elderly couple that fled their home following death threats after Spike Lee posted the incorrect address for what the racially obsessed film producer thought was the alleged gunman's father?

It must also be asked, with the way things are done in Christian schools in order to coerce mass conformity, what threats were leveled against students not wanting to participate in such blatant activism?

It was been reported that Mr. Martin vandalized his school with graffiti and may have possessed on school premises a bag containing marijuana residue.

Back in my day where I attended Christian school, the ENTIRE student body would be denied the “privilege” of expelling concentrated metabolic and digestive wastes at the preferred time of one’s own body over less.

Though it is regrettable that Trayvon Martin perished in an altercation he may have instigated, it is rather ironic that a Christian school would elevate as worthy of adoration and emulation a figure that in all likelihood would have been expelled for his behavior.

Devoted Christian parents spend good money to protect their offspring from the manipulative debasement of American culture taking place in the public schools.

Any private school that allows such one-sided grandstanding to take place before all the facts have been established has betrayed not only this financial trust but also the sacred aide parents plead for in assisting them to raise their offspring in light of values honoring to both God and country.

by Frederick Meekins

Bryce Harper Takes Some Swings at Environmentalists

What's a 19-year old single male with a mohawk to do in Washington, D.C. on a Monday night? Why look for a baseball game of course. Failing that crashing a softball game between the World Wildlife Fund and the Alliance to Save Energy would have to do. Well, that's if you're Washington Nationals rookie outfielder Bryce Harper. It isn't quite Willie Mays playing stickball in Harlem but it's still pretty cool. 

Harper, of course, made his MLB debut with the Nats on Saturday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Chavez Ravine to heavy jeering. Despite not getting the red carpet treatment, in his first two big league games, Harper has gone 2 for 6 with an RBI double along with a spectacular catch and a perfect throw to home plate. Needless to say, there will be a much friendlier reception for Harper when he makes his debut at Nationals Park tonight against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Would Lesley Stahl Like to Offer KSM Milk & Cookies?

With today being the anniversary of the death of Osama bin Laden, I have a piece up today on the mainpage concerning how Obama and company tout how Mitt Romney wouldn't have given the order to raid bin Laden's compound while at the same time negotiating with the Taliban and declaring the War on Terror to be over.

Prior to writing the article, I had seen Lesley Stahl's 60 Minutes interview with Jose Rodriguez, the former CIA Director of Clandestine Operations. I wanted to work it into my piece but I just didn't have the room. Nevertheless, the interview is worth commenting upon in its own right. Consider this question Stahl asked about the treatment 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed received at the hand of CIA interrogators:

Stahl: Did you make him wear diapers?

Rodriguez: Diapers? I don't recall specifically. But diapers is something that is approved.

Stahl: It's so humiliating.

Rodriguez: It's standard. Standard. Yeah.

When Stahl admonishes Rodriguez for humiliating KSM it's as if she's taking a teacher to task for being too hard on a third grader. Her grandmotherly tone made me think she wanted offer KSM milk and cookies to make him feel better.

For his part, Rodriguez wisely reminded Stahl that this was the man who killed Daniel Pearl:

He slit his throat in front of a camera. I don't know what type of man it takes to cut the throat of someone in front of you like that, but I can tell you that this is an individual who probably didn't rive a rat's ass about having water poured on his face.

As Rodriguez was saying this, a look of sadness came over Stahl's face. She closed her eyes and tightened her jaw. I don't know if she knew Daniel Pearl personally but it was only at that moment that she seemed to comprehend the vicious nature of KSM. Aside from that moment however, Stahl was full of the sort of sanctimony that has come to exemplify 60 Minutes and the mainstream media at large.

What is so troubling about Stahl's sanctimony is that if she were to offer KSM milk and cookies he would thank her by doing to her what he did to Daniel Pearl.

Kemp vs. Pujols: A Tale of Two LAs

Well, April is in the books for MLB. The most striking story to come out of MLB in the first month of the season took place in Los Angeles. Specifically, I refer to the contrast in performance between the sluggers from the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Los Angeles Angels and consequently the teams.

Dodgers centerfielder Matt Kemp had a banner month. Kemp, who signed an eight year contract extension with the Dodgers worth $160 million in the off season, hit .417 with 12 homeruns and 25 RBI. His OBP is .490. That means he effectively reaches base in half of his plate appearances. Even so, I am surprised he's only walked 13 times and hasn't been issued an intentional walk yet this season. Kemp will surely be named NL Player of the Month.

However, if one were to drive south in I-5 to Anaheim, the same cannot be said for Albert Pujols. April is a month Pujols and the Angels would just as soon forget. Like Kemp, Pujols had exactly 98 plate apperances in April. Unfortunately, Pujols hit exactly 200 points below Kemp. That's right. For the month of April, Pujols hit .217 with no homeruns and drove in only 4 RBI. The Angels, of course, signed Pujols to a 10-year deal worth $254 million.

It's probably no surprise that the Dodgers and Angels are going in opposite directions. What is a surprise is the respective directions in which they are going. The Dodgers, fresh off years of ownership turmoil, own the best record the NL going 16-7 in April. They currently have a 3½ game lead over the San Francisco Giants in the NL West. Conversely, the Angels despite signing Pujols and former Texas Rangers starter C.J. Wilson are in last place in the AL West with an 8-15 record in April. They are currently 9 games back of the two time AL champion Rangers.

But baseball is a funny game and there is much more to come. Fortunes can change fast over six months. So it would not come as a surprise to me in the least if Pujols finished the 2012 season with more homeruns than Kemp and if the Angels did better than the Dodgers at season's end.

McCarverisms

I had not heard about Tim McCarver's riff on global warming causing an increased number of homeruns. There's a reason for that. As much as I love baseball, I try to avoid watching games covered by the dynamic duo of McCarver and Joe Buck. Indeed, when the Red Sox have been in the post-season I turn the sound down and listen to Joe Castiglione on WEEI instead.

This isn't to say that weather doesn't play a role in how many homeruns get hit or don't get hit. The wind can all the difference between a three run homerun and a third out of the inning. Indeed, the air in Denver is so thin that over the past few seasons baseballs are placed in a humidor to reduce the number of homeruns that were hit at Coors Field.

But in recent years, homeruns have been declining. In 2009, 5,042 homeruns were hit in MLB. That figure fell to 4,613 in 2010 and fell again to 4,552 last season. So from 2009 to 2011, homeruns have declined by more than 10%.

So I think Larry Thornberry is being overly generous when he says, "He usually doesn't prattle too badly on air." Indeed, his prattlings are known as McCarverisms. Here are but a sample:

"That pitch wasn't down and in, that pitch was down and up."

"Watch Darren Daulton use his mitt like a glove."

"Yankee pitchers have had great success this year against Cabrera when they get him out."

The thing about McCarver that stands out for me was something he said during the pre-game show of the 2003 All-Star Game at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago. He said that in order to have success at the All-Star Game you needed to have experience. Well, the hero of the 2003 All-Star Game was first time Texas Rangers third baseman Hank Blalock, a first time All-Star, who hit a two run homerun off Los Angeles Dodgers closer Eric Gagne in the bottom of the 8th to give the American League a 7-6 victory. It was Gagne's only blown save that season and he would go on to win the 2003 NL Cy Young Award. As for Blalock, it was his first full season in the bigs. So much for needing experience to succeed in the All-Star Game.

Harper Shines in MLB Debut But Kemp Hits Walk Off HR

On Saturday, 19-year old Bryce Harper made his MLB debut with the Washington Nationals. He was called up as a result of Ryan Zimmerman being put on the 15-Day DL after injuring his shoulder.

Harper was the first round pick in the 2010 MLB Draft. It was fitting that Harper should make his MLB debut with Stephen Strasburg pitching for the Nats. Strasburg was the number one pick in the 2009 MLB Draft.

After bouncing out to the pitcher in the top of the second and flying out to left field in the top of the fifth, Harper got his first big league hit in the top of the seventh when he hit a long double over Dodger outfielder Matt Kemp's head. Harper ran hard to second base. He's got a little Pete Rose in him.

In the bottom of the seventh, Harper flashed his arm. After A.J. Ellis singled, Harper fired a strike from left field to home plate but Jerry Hairston, Jr. knocked the ball out of Wilson Ramos' glove and tied the game 1-1. Harper's gun is almost as good as Rick Ankiel's. Of course, when Mike Morse returns to the lineup it could be Ankiel who is the odd man out.

Harper then drove in his first big league run on a sacrifice fly in the 9th giving the Nats a 2-1 lead. The Nats added a run on a single by Ramos.

Unfortunately, the Nats bullpen couldn't hold the lead. The Dodgers tied it in the bottom of the 9th on a wild pitch by Henry Rodriguez.

The Dodgers won the game in the bottom of the 10th on a walk off homerun by (who else?) Matt Kemp. It was Kemp's 11th homerun of the season. As Kemp rounded the bases, Dodgers fans were chanting, "MVP!!! MVP!!!"

Well, it's still April. But I have a feeling we'll be hearing a lot more from both Matt Kemp and Bryce Harper before the season is done.

I also have a feeling the 19-year old Harper will be facing 49-year old Jamie Moyer. When that happens the generation gap will be but sixty feet, six inches apart.

Bill "Moose" Skowron, 1930-2012. R.I.P.

Former big league first baseman Bill "Moose" Skowron died today of congestive heart failure following a long battle with lung cancer. He was 81.

Skowron spent 14 seasons in the bigs, nine of them with the New York Yankees. He also spent time with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Washington Senators, Chicago White Sox and California Angels. Between 1955 and 1963, Skowron played in every World Series except for one (1959). He earned four World Series rings with the Bronx Bombers (1956, 1958, 1961 and 1962) and one with Dodgers in 1963 when they swept the Yankees in four. Skowron was also named to six American League All-Star teams. He was selected in five consecutive years for the Yankees from 1957 to 1961 and once with the Chisox in 1965. Skowron finished his career with 1,566 hits, a respectable .281 lifetime batting average, 211 homeruns and 888 RBI.

In recent years, Skowron worked for the White Sox in community relations. Here is Skowron letting his hair down in an interview at a golf tournament organized by former White Sox slugger Ron Kittle a few years back.