Miguel Cabrera is on the cusp of history. Four games away from greatness. If the season ended today, he would be a triple crown winner. Something that hasn't happened since 1967. This feat, to me, is the second hardest thing that can be achieved by a Major League baseball player. The most difficult being a .400 season (last accomplished by Ted Williams in 1941). It all hinges on whether or not Josh Hamilton, with whom Cabrera is tied for home runs, hits another home run and moves ahead in the statistical category. And whether or not Joe Mauer stays behind him in the average category. I'm not going to write anymore about whether or not he will do it, I'm going to look at this situation from a different angle. Triple Crown or World Series. You only get one, so what's it going to be?
This question of which would you rather see, your team win the World Series or a player win the Triple Crown, came to my mind last week when I read a tweet (shameless plug, follow me @Litzner) that a fan would rather see their team make the playoffs instead of a player on the team winning an individual award. It was geared more towards an MVP/batting title/Cy Young type award. I think that if you polled any fan, they would want this. Everyone wants to see their team be the best. I would rather have seen the Tigers win the World Series last year instead of Justin Verlander winning the Cy Young and MVP. That's just how I am. I'm a selfish fan. That's not how it works, reality had a different plan last year. Verlander solidified his spot as the top pitcher in the game right now. He ended up with the hardware and the Tigers didn't get the ring. Any normal year, a fan would rather see World Series rings on the players' fingers and the end of the year award in another team's trophy case.
This year is different. Each year, there is a World Series winner, there is an MVP, there is a Cy Young winner, there are Gold Glovers and Silver Sluggers. In the entire history of the game, there has been a Triple Crown winner just fifteen times. This can be a once in a lifetime occurrence for fans of the game. Granted, the last one was 1967, so not that long ago, but still fifteen years before I was born. I've seen the Tigers make it to the World Series in my lifetime (win it once). This isn't the normal Triple Crown talk you hear just after the All Star game. Someone who had a great first half and only to fade afterwards. No. This is a legitimate chance. Less than a week to go. I would give anything to see this feat. I would be broken hearted if the Tigers didn't make the playoffs and a serious run at the World Series. But if they had a Triple Crown winner on the roster at the end of the year, I would be okay with that. Besides, there is always next year and they are just going to be better with the return Victor Martinez.
Would you want to see your team win it all or have a player become just the sixteenth person in the history of the game to win a Triple Crown? One's the blue pill, the other is the red pill. Which one are you swallowing?
29 September 2012
21 September 2012
Different Paths
If all roads lead back home, why continually take the same ones? If you go some place and are in no hurry, why not find an alternate road to get back home? Is it exciting and adventurous? Not really. It's just something to do.
Earlier this week, I cashed in on the thirtieth birthday present my wife got. We both did something of a grand gesture for each other because we reached that milestone in our lives. I took her away for the weekend into Minneapolis and we went and saw a play and just relaxed. The weather wasn't the best, but then again it was in January so you always take your chances. And she surprised me with a once in a lifetime opportunity for my birthday. I got to drive a tank! That is not the point of this post though, the point is that it was just an hour and a half away and there were several routes that I could take to get there and back. So why take the same highway there and back?
I had to make sure I was there on time, so I took the most direct route there. Just two highways. It wasn't all that fun. There was nothing special about the drive. Just bad drivers, gas stations, and fast food. On the way back, I took a different route which took me through the two lane highways that twist and turn through a little bit of countryside with small towns of five or six hundred people. Corn fields, trees along the road, and cattle pastures. Part of the drive for me that makes it fun is the surroundings. Going through these small towns that won't ever change. I can always envision myself living in one of these towns in a different life. But I also realize how much you can miss living in these small towns along the highway as opposed to living in a larger city or metropolitan area, so I will just stick with the big city living.
While driving through these towns, I have an urge to stop at the local diner that sits along main street. It's a picture in my head of Americana. But part of the reason I don't ever do it is because I would hate to ruin that image. I would hate to walk into one little diner and see how depressed it is because no one other than the locals eat there. I would hate to see the person who has worked there for the last twenty years because they never 'got out'.
That's the danger of an ideal image, it can be ruined in an instant.
Earlier this week, I cashed in on the thirtieth birthday present my wife got. We both did something of a grand gesture for each other because we reached that milestone in our lives. I took her away for the weekend into Minneapolis and we went and saw a play and just relaxed. The weather wasn't the best, but then again it was in January so you always take your chances. And she surprised me with a once in a lifetime opportunity for my birthday. I got to drive a tank! That is not the point of this post though, the point is that it was just an hour and a half away and there were several routes that I could take to get there and back. So why take the same highway there and back?
I had to make sure I was there on time, so I took the most direct route there. Just two highways. It wasn't all that fun. There was nothing special about the drive. Just bad drivers, gas stations, and fast food. On the way back, I took a different route which took me through the two lane highways that twist and turn through a little bit of countryside with small towns of five or six hundred people. Corn fields, trees along the road, and cattle pastures. Part of the drive for me that makes it fun is the surroundings. Going through these small towns that won't ever change. I can always envision myself living in one of these towns in a different life. But I also realize how much you can miss living in these small towns along the highway as opposed to living in a larger city or metropolitan area, so I will just stick with the big city living.
While driving through these towns, I have an urge to stop at the local diner that sits along main street. It's a picture in my head of Americana. But part of the reason I don't ever do it is because I would hate to ruin that image. I would hate to walk into one little diner and see how depressed it is because no one other than the locals eat there. I would hate to see the person who has worked there for the last twenty years because they never 'got out'.
That's the danger of an ideal image, it can be ruined in an instant.
11 September 2012
The problem with social media
Remember back in the day when sites like Facebook and MySpace were getting started and it was fun? Remember when it was just about posting your thoughts, pictures, and funny jokes? Remember when you found out about a party that a friend was setting up because of these sites? Remember when it was not about stating what companies you like or posting those stupid little pictures with witty statements on them? Remember when it wasn't about politics? I miss those days.
Back in 2004, Facebook was starting to take off. I was a senior in college. I wasn't really interested in sitting in front of a computer and looking at what everyone else was doing. I was interested in, you know, graduating college. If I had just been starting out in college, I'm sure I would have jumped on the bandwagon. As it turned out, I had to go back and check this, I started my account two years after Facebook was established. I have often thought about just up and deleting my account, but there are some good aspects to it.
Staying connected with family and friends. The main point is to stay up on the doings of those you care about. Or at least it was. Now it's about these stupid little games and sharing other peoples' photos, not your personal pictures you took on a vacation or your plans for the weekend. I would even take all the stupid personal statuses that are so vague that you know a person is fishing for comments. You know what I mean. 'I just don't know what to do anymore...' That kind of thing. Very junior high-ish. I stay on Facebook to keep up with family, not to get the most comments on statuses. I do my best to limit the amount that I share of other peoples' stuff. Unless it is relevant to me.
It use to be that there are things you shouldn't talk about at work. Politics, religion, and sex. I say 'use to be' these things because that line appears to be gone. I feel that this guideline should hold true to social media. Those topics are what drive wedges between friends and family. Unless you hold the same view, it just gets tricky. This year we have a presidential election and there are so many links and pictures and 'information' from both sides of the aisle flooding the site. It's aggravating. I find myself just rolling my eyes and scrolling to the next story. It's hard to find actual interaction between people. I know I wrote about this just a few months ago, but I feel that people just don't understand the problem with it all.
So after all that, why do I continue to use Facebook? It's easy to delete your account. Other than the reasons I have already stated, I keep it because of the past. I look back at some of the old posts and older pictures that I have been tagged in. It makes me smile when I go back and look at that stuff. There are pictures from when I worked on the Island. From past trips that I have been on. Times I have spent with friends. I keep on keeping on because at any time I can go back and remember what Facebook was originally used for. And I stay on because of this blog. I link it so family and friends can keep up on my writings. I know it is few and far between this year, but that happens.
Back in 2004, Facebook was starting to take off. I was a senior in college. I wasn't really interested in sitting in front of a computer and looking at what everyone else was doing. I was interested in, you know, graduating college. If I had just been starting out in college, I'm sure I would have jumped on the bandwagon. As it turned out, I had to go back and check this, I started my account two years after Facebook was established. I have often thought about just up and deleting my account, but there are some good aspects to it.
Staying connected with family and friends. The main point is to stay up on the doings of those you care about. Or at least it was. Now it's about these stupid little games and sharing other peoples' photos, not your personal pictures you took on a vacation or your plans for the weekend. I would even take all the stupid personal statuses that are so vague that you know a person is fishing for comments. You know what I mean. 'I just don't know what to do anymore...' That kind of thing. Very junior high-ish. I stay on Facebook to keep up with family, not to get the most comments on statuses. I do my best to limit the amount that I share of other peoples' stuff. Unless it is relevant to me.
It use to be that there are things you shouldn't talk about at work. Politics, religion, and sex. I say 'use to be' these things because that line appears to be gone. I feel that this guideline should hold true to social media. Those topics are what drive wedges between friends and family. Unless you hold the same view, it just gets tricky. This year we have a presidential election and there are so many links and pictures and 'information' from both sides of the aisle flooding the site. It's aggravating. I find myself just rolling my eyes and scrolling to the next story. It's hard to find actual interaction between people. I know I wrote about this just a few months ago, but I feel that people just don't understand the problem with it all.
So after all that, why do I continue to use Facebook? It's easy to delete your account. Other than the reasons I have already stated, I keep it because of the past. I look back at some of the old posts and older pictures that I have been tagged in. It makes me smile when I go back and look at that stuff. There are pictures from when I worked on the Island. From past trips that I have been on. Times I have spent with friends. I keep on keeping on because at any time I can go back and remember what Facebook was originally used for. And I stay on because of this blog. I link it so family and friends can keep up on my writings. I know it is few and far between this year, but that happens.
01 September 2012
Hoke Gives Them the Hook
Today is the big day! What the majority of this country has been waiting all summer for. The return on college football! It's not really the start because there have been some games played earlier this week, but most games are being played today. The game I am interested in, Michigan/Alabama, is on national television tonight. I would love to see Michigan win, but in my head I think Bama will. They won the national championship last year and also won back in 2009. They are quite the powerhouse right now.
The thing that everyone is talking about in this game is the suspension of two Michigan players. One was arrested for drunk driving and arraigned in August for it. The other is accused of breaking into a dorm room and stealing a lap top. His court date is set for later this month. One, Fitzgerald Toussaint, was the second leading rusher on last year's team. The other, Frank Clark, is a backup defensive end. Obviously the big impact is Toussaint's suspension. It's a little difficult to try and replace a one thousand yard rusher, even for just one game. Yes, you have Robinson who is the leading rusher on last year's team, but after him the next guy last year ran for just about three hundred yards.
This is a big deal because it's going to be their toughest game of the year. Forget Michigan State and Ohio State, this is THE GAME of the year for them. Time for Michigan to step up and show that they can compete with the big schools of the SEC. Everyone from the coaching staff to the random fan sitting in an apartment in Minnesota knows this, so why suspend the players for this game? Why not two weeks from now when the University of Massachusetts comes to Ann Arbor? Or next week when they play Air Force? I'm not saying that those games are going to be cake walks, but the impact of the missing players won't be felt as much as it will be against Alabama. So why not? Because it would send the wrong message. Last year, I wrote about Notre Dame and the mishandling of one of their star players. Everyone in their right mind knew that situation and suspension was a joke.
Suspending these two players for this game sends the message that no one is above the program. Just because you play football at the University of Michigan doesn't mean you can break the law. Hopefully this works. Brady Hoke has sent a clear message that if you cross the line, you pay the consequences regardless of who they are playing on Saturday. He seems to be someone that will hold true to his word, I just hope that if this situation comes up a couple of weeks before the Ohio State game he will keep to his word. I think he will, he's a true Michigan Man. I hope that it won't come down to needing to make that decision though. I hope that this message is the only one that Hoke needs to send. I hope that this can bring some true integrity back to college football.
Hope can be a dangerous thing.
The thing that everyone is talking about in this game is the suspension of two Michigan players. One was arrested for drunk driving and arraigned in August for it. The other is accused of breaking into a dorm room and stealing a lap top. His court date is set for later this month. One, Fitzgerald Toussaint, was the second leading rusher on last year's team. The other, Frank Clark, is a backup defensive end. Obviously the big impact is Toussaint's suspension. It's a little difficult to try and replace a one thousand yard rusher, even for just one game. Yes, you have Robinson who is the leading rusher on last year's team, but after him the next guy last year ran for just about three hundred yards.
This is a big deal because it's going to be their toughest game of the year. Forget Michigan State and Ohio State, this is THE GAME of the year for them. Time for Michigan to step up and show that they can compete with the big schools of the SEC. Everyone from the coaching staff to the random fan sitting in an apartment in Minnesota knows this, so why suspend the players for this game? Why not two weeks from now when the University of Massachusetts comes to Ann Arbor? Or next week when they play Air Force? I'm not saying that those games are going to be cake walks, but the impact of the missing players won't be felt as much as it will be against Alabama. So why not? Because it would send the wrong message. Last year, I wrote about Notre Dame and the mishandling of one of their star players. Everyone in their right mind knew that situation and suspension was a joke.
Suspending these two players for this game sends the message that no one is above the program. Just because you play football at the University of Michigan doesn't mean you can break the law. Hopefully this works. Brady Hoke has sent a clear message that if you cross the line, you pay the consequences regardless of who they are playing on Saturday. He seems to be someone that will hold true to his word, I just hope that if this situation comes up a couple of weeks before the Ohio State game he will keep to his word. I think he will, he's a true Michigan Man. I hope that it won't come down to needing to make that decision though. I hope that this message is the only one that Hoke needs to send. I hope that this can bring some true integrity back to college football.
Hope can be a dangerous thing.
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