The Enigma

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Sports Talk radio will kill you – it will kill everyone.  It has the power to draw a person in with the promise of entertaining moments – SHARED – in-between these meaningless contests of athletic nonsense.  When we ignore everything that is truly connected to human suffering and decency, then we have this opportunity to live in a fantasy land.  As unhealthy as that sounds, the fucked-up unreality is validated by every person in the stands, every family worshiping at the altar of their flat screen TV and every knuckledhead who roams the streets, banging pots and pans, when it all goes right.

Seen in these human terms, what Cliff Lee did for the Phillies and the phaithful in game one of the 2009 World Series, was a gift.  An entire region was transported out of the muck and filth of their mundane and existence as we were told, by no less authority than Joe Buck, how great this representative of our town was.  He was magical.  He was un-hittable.  He made defensive plays in the field that looked other-worldly, bizarre.  And we all got to bask in his reflected glory.

But the true magic of baseball is that it just goes on and on and on and on.  This is often cited as a criticism – “the games are too long, the season is too long, there’s no action, it’s so boring!”  These critics miss the point entirely.  That reflective pace, all that navel gazing, that’s what’s so special.  The invisible game that is played between a hitter and a batter IS the action – and it is all unseen.

And, while there is a full line-up of batters to address, there is only one pitcher.  Yes, of course, there are relievers and closers and long men and even janitors on mop-up-duty, but when we get to THIS moment, where the two best teams face each other, it is the starting pitcher who must rise up and perform.  Cliff Lee’s effort from Wednesday night is a perfect example.

A lot could be said about the hard-luck start that Pedro Martinez mustered last night in game two.  Sports talk radio today has been overrun with opinions about manager Charlie Manuel leaving Pedro in too long and that being the key to the Phillies undoing.  I don’t agree.  Pedro is not a Philadelphian, any more than Cliff Lee is.  The time these men have spent playing in the red pinstripes in negligible.  And Pedro is such a natural at inviting the big moment to come to him.  He will go right into the Hall of Fame and he will forever be remembered as one of the greatest to ever climb the mound.  So, when he said to his manager, “don’t take me out yet, I’m OK,” I understand why that manager, who has made so many right moves this year, decided to let Pedro bring the moment to him, perhaps for the last time.  It did not work out, but the series rolls on (and on and on…)

Cole Hamels has piercing blue eyes.  He is left handed, which gives him a natural advantage as a pitcher.  He has the raw talent to be unhittable, and showed that in his post-season performances last year.  But, for those of us who are bored and foolish enough to listen to sports talk radio (from both the Philadelphia and New York ends of the dial), the story of Hamels is that he is vulnerable, that he is not the same, and that he can be beaten silly by the Yankees lineup.

And while we wait for the game to start, that story is repeated and shared over and over again in this echo chamber of sports fandom.  What does Hamels think?  What does he know of all this nonsense?  Does he listen to the stories?  Does he hear sport talk radio?  Does it motivate him?  Is more pressure better or worse?  No one knows.

Just like no one knows why this year he was not as successful as last.  Was it because he became a huge celebrity?  Is he preoccupied with his newborn child?  Is his public profile to visible?  No one knows.

And, ultimately, it doesn’t matter.  In the same way that the joys of a baseball season are fleeting and ephemeral, the attempts to unlocks doors that won’t open are perfectly pointless.  One way or the other, Hamels will take the mound for the Phillies on Saturday night and, for that blissful few hours, sports talk radio won’t matter.  Hopefully, Hamels will just settle into the same kind of brisk rhythm that was so successful for fellow lefty Cliff Lee.  Get the ball, throw the ball.  Get the ball, throw the ball.  Gert the ball, throw the ball.  On and on and on.

John Frankenheimer – Grand Prix

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title John Frankenheimer Grand Prix DVD

How modern was the world in 1966?  I wasn’t alive and have no personal frame of reference.  But when I look at a lot of the major cultural moments of the 60’s that continue to resonate in my life, they seem to have come in the second half of the decade.  For me, the advent of counter-culture, the psychedelic drug scene, increasing American involvement in Viet Nam and the assination of Martin Luther King, Jr. mark a shift, a realization of just how imperfect  post- WWII USA was.  That move toward self-awareness is such a vital step in the post-modern moment of my mid-90’s education.  The self-referential nature of ‘Pulp Fiction’ (and all the work and commentary that goes with critical theory) would never have been possible without Chicago ’68 and Wodstock and 2001: A Space Odyssey – The Ultimate Trip.

So what was life like before that realization started to set in?  What did the world look like to an American filmmaker who, in 1965, didn’t understand that it was possible for the United States of America to lose a war?

I think the answer is:  Modern.

The assassination of President Kennedy only served to bring the country closer together in its anxiety.  There was no nuclear holocaust after that tragedy, and no rioting in the streets (at least none that was directly related to the transfer of political power).  But more inportant than what did not happen, is what did happen – Americans (and Russians) continued to explore space.

And while the superpowers were making every effort to scare each other (and eveyone else on the planet) to death, there was a higher faith that man could master technology to conquer the stars.  Despite our fears, we were living in an age of wonder.

Against this backdrop come two extraordinary movies by John Frankenheimer, both released in 1966.  In October Paramount released ‘Seconds‘ – a psychedelic, horror drama about being trapped in the wrong body.  Rock Hudson provides the performance of a lifetime, but Frankenheimer’s use of distorted sets and perverse camera angles brings a strong measure of the avant-garde to James Wong Howe’s staggering cinematography.  The movie is disturbing and claustrophobic as Hudson tears himself apart.  It is one of my favorite films of all time, and stands tall with the major works of Kubrick, Scorsese and Pekinpah, despite their more rebellious reputations.

And then in December of 1966, MGM brings us Grand Prix.  For years, I have read that this is the best racing movie of all time.  I am not a fan of racing, I am a fan of Formula 1 racing.  I don’t give a fig about Nascar, or CART, or Indy Car, or Outlaw, or Top Fuel, or soapbox racers.  I like Le Mans cars, but there is no coherent league or championship, so there is nothing to follow through a ‘season’ as there is in F1.

And this film, by one of my favorite director’s is about F1.  So what was the problem?  Two words: James Garner.  Now, that’s not really fair, because I have nothing against James Garner.  I was never a Rockford fan, and I don’t know anything about Maverick.  The real problem that I had with James Garner was that he was not Steve McQueen or Paul Newman.  How is it possible that the greatest racing movie of all time could be made in 1965 and not star one of those masters?  My feeling was that if at least one of them was NOT the star, then the movie could not be any good.

Now that I have finally watched Grand Prix, I can not begin to tell you how wrong I was.

James Garner is not the star of this movie.  Formula 1 racing is the star of this movie.  The love and care with which the sport is depicted is unparalleled.  As with any specific enthusiasm, there are those who ‘get it’ and those who do not.  Frankenheimer got it.  He makes love to the courses with his cameras.  He invented a whole new way to film cars in motion.  No one had put cameras on cars before and shot them around real race tracks at full speed.  That may be the norm in racing coverage now, but this is where it started.  No one had absolutely required all his cast to learn to drive and get out there on the track with the professionals and DO IT.  And, to Garner’s credit, he is reported as having loved it and excelled in race craft.  Apparently, professional drivers felt he could have had a proper racing career if he had started earlier – that high praise from immortals like Jack Brabham, Phil Hill and others.

Plot?  Did someone mention plot?  Well, it’s clearly not the primary concern, but it’s not altogether disastrous either.  The drivers live on the edge of fear and heroism, needing always to go faster to find some meaning in life.  The women are thinly drawn foils that help underline the absurdity of the sport, as well as it’s pure passion and beauty and grace.

But all of that is secondary to the most beautifully documented visual description of motor racing in the 60’s.  Frankenheimer had cooperation from the racers and teams and spent countless reels documenting actual races at Monte Carlo, Spa and Monza.  Those three sequences are nothing short of phenomenal.  He seamlessly wove the actual race footage (at 160+ mph) with the carefully choregraphed elements of his racing story so that there is no need to suspend disbelief.  It’s that good.

But I don’t think it needs to be limited to just racing fans, any more than 2001: A Space Odyssey needs to be limited to sci-fi fans.  The comparison with that movie is apt because of the extraordinary technological feat that the completed feature represents.  Both filmmakers achieved a look and feel that had never been seen before.  The fact that Frankenheimer’s work occurs in an earlier context is a testament to his foresight and genius.  The opening sequence of Grand Prix recalls the film Woodstock, with it’s use of split and multi-screen presentation.  That effect, seen today, makes Frenkenheimer appear quite prescient.

Formula 1, especially now, is so much about the machines.  Grand Prix’s scenes of drivers arguing with mechanics could be taken directly from the paddock of any era.  A great driver in an inferior machine would never win.  But a poor driver in a fast car would also have no chance.  Only when it all comes together, that magical interface of man and machine, can there be any hope for success.  But that is not enough.  Grand Prix shows us men pushing the envelopes, going ten tenths and beyond.  Only a few can do that and survive, but for those who live, immortal glory awaits.

With the roar of engines and the breakneck speeds of cameras on cars and helicopters, Frankeheimer went out to the limit and beyond.  This movie, shot in brilliant cinemascope and supported by Maurice Jarre’s ebullient score, brings the glory to you and takes your breath away.

Never Too Late Guitar

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Just stumbled across this guy’s blog and twitter feed.  It’s always nice to discover more intelligent guitar conversation, especially when it is of the unpretentious variety.  Apparently Mr. Never2L8 considers himself a beginner, despite his collections of beautiful 6-string electrics.  That being said, his web design, and, more importantly, his photography are tremendous.  It’s worth checking out the site just to see his aesthetic and his loving snaps of the instruments.

Baseball = love

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This is why we love the game.  This is why we put up with the frustration and the grind and the years of futility when things don’t go our way.  This is why Harry Kalas said, in his Hall of  Fame induction speech, that, “no matter how long you’ve been in [the game], you learn more about it every year, every day. Every year I see things on the field that I’ve never seen before.”  This is why generation after generation can sit in a crowded park next to tens of thousand of strangers and have the time of their life just watching men stand around and think for three hours.  This is why it’s a chess match and this is why the Phillies have the heart of a champion.

This morning, everyone is at a loss for words and we haven’t even won anything yet.  This series will go on and may even go back to Los Angeles.  But today, none of that matters.

Go read about it at The Fightins, Beerleaguer, The Phrontiersman and The Walkoff Walk.  Soak it up on Twitter and Facebook with the 700Level.  See what they’re saying at We Should Be GMs.  Last night was a special night, and whether you were watching on TV, listening to the radio or lucky enough to be in the stands, that was a Phillies game that will live on in history forever.

Today everyone will try to explain the inexplicable.  They will try with words to describe something that cannot be described.  The emotions run high and we all want to share in this in some way, because that makes something good feel so much better.  I think I know a word that describes this phenomena pretty well:

philadelphia9

Stuck in Court all day

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That’s right – I got selected for jury duty.  Oh, the irony.  I sat in the assembly room at the Criminal Justice Center from 8:30 A.M. til about 10:45 and got a lot of reading done.  My panel of 40 finally got selected from the hundreds of people in the assembly room and we got taken up to the 10th floor.  Instead of going into the courtroom, we waited, standing in line in number-order, for about thirty-minutes while another courtroom was cleared.  That was not fun.  We then filed into the courtroom and got introductory remarks from Judge Trent.  Seems like a reasonable guy, but I’ve never appeared before him in my practice.

Since we were at the Justice Center, this was not going to be a civil case, but rather a criminal matter.  That’s a bit outside my realm of expertise, but there was never any question that I would get bounced from the panel and sent home.  The only question was how long it would take.  By noon, the Judge let us go to an extended lunch.  That didn’t help my prospects for a timely release.

As much as I tried to drag out my lunch, I still got back to the Courtroom at around 1:15.  That left another 1/2 hour of doing nothing.  And I forgot to mention – this was a pretty small case of drug possession with intent to distribute.  That means the defendant had enough crack to subject him to a stiffer penalty.  Normally, these cases resolve in a plea agreement of some kind, so I was at least curious to see why this one was being tried.  Of course, I also realized that that was never going to happen.

At about 2:15 we got addressed by the Judge’s clerk and brought into the deliberation room.  Remember, the jury hasn’t been selected yet.  We were all still prospective jurors.  Part of the long lunch break was used to interview the first ten panelists.  My number was 21.  After lunch, nos. 11-30 were jammed into the deliberation room that is supposed to comfortably accommodate twelve individuals, so it was a little tight.  One by one we were called back into the courtroom to be interviewed about our ability to serve on this jury.

My number was selected after about an hour.  I fell asleep at one point and started snoring loudly enough to wake myself up – embarrassing.  Anyway, I finally made it into the room.  I had no desire to serve on this jury, especially considering the two arbitrations I have tomorrow and a very important client meeting in a shooting case.  But, having been the one selecting jurors a few times in the past, I also had no desire to try to manipulate the process.  It was simply so unlikely that I would be selected, that there was no need to pull anything.

So I took my seat sometime after 3:15 and got very excited to finally have a speaking part.  As someone who never shuts up, it was very hard for me to be quiet all day, so this was my big moment.  It went something like this

Judge:  Your questionnaire says that you or someone close to you is involved in law-enforcement or a law-enforcement related field.  Please tell me about that.

Me:  My wife works for the Public Defender.

Judge:  Would that make it difficult or impossible for you to render a fair verdict in this case?

Me:  No.

Judge:  I notice from your questionnaire that you are an attorney.  What kind of law do you practice?

Me:  Mostly civil litigation.  My boss handles a lot of criminal cases, so I come to this building from time to time, but I have never tried a case here.

Judge:  Is there anything about your work or your boss’s work that would make it difficult or impossible for you to render a fair and just verdict in this case?

Me:  No.

Judge:  Thank you.  Please go into the other room and my personal assistant will be in to speak with you in a minute.

I was alone in a small room that had a bunch of juror badges that led me to believe that, even after talking to 21 of us, these attorneys had not yet chosen more than four of their twelve jurors.  As is often the case, jury selection was going to take longer than the actual trial.

I thought for a moment that I was going to be given one of those badges, but a moment later the Judge’s assistant came in and informed that i was done with that room for the day, but that I should go back to the assembly room, where I might be selected for another panel.  That meant more waiting, but at this late hour, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t have to go to another room.

Back in the assembly room, I waited a while longer and finally got my check for $9 and went home.

I realize people don’t want to go through this process and don’t want to sit trough a boring trial.  I feel like it’s a good exercise for me to see how it feels to hurry up and wait and then be forced to stand in a hallway with no knowledge of when we’re going to be allowed to move or why we are standing there.

Jurors are so important to criminal and civil litigation.  The prospect of taking a case to a jury is the single biggest factor in getting people to agree.  We never know what a jury will do and, fearing the unknown, we will do almost anything to avoid letting the jury decide our case.  I only wish there was some way we could treat the jurors with more respect.  I think that fear of the jury (or of what an individual juror may do) is a big part of why ‘the system’ treats jurors the way it does.

iPhone vs Android

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Let me start with a disclaimer:  I have never owned an iPhone.  So, when I talk about comparing iPhone to Android, what I really mean is iPod Touch.  So I can’t give opinions about call quality or even the feel of an iPhon handset.  All I want to talk about here is the two operating systems.  I have spent a long time with the Touch and use it extensively for work and play.  I have access to wi-fi at home and in the office, so I’m able to send lots of email, browse the web, get Twitter and Facebook updates, and even work on this blog from the iPod.

For a long time, I wanted that same level of functionality on the road.  That meant getting into one of the established smartphone devices.  I had a Blackberry Pearl 8130 which was bad for so many reasons.  No proper keyboard, no html browser, no wi-fi, etc.  I knew the iPhone OS inside and out and had a great relationship with iTunes and the iTunes shop.  App development for the iPhone OS is outstanding, and many of the selections are well worth the price.  As I have previously described, BeatMaker is pretty much pro-audio and you can hear for yourself what Fretbuzzdotnet has been up to with SoundGrid.

So, why not just get an iPhone?  After all, everybody’s doing it.  I guess it was that very fact that made me suspicious.  I have also been lectured by smart friends and family members that the way Apple does business doesn’t make sense.  If Apple would license the iPhone OS to other hardware makers, the sky would be the limit, just like with the apps.  Instead, Apple locks everything up in its own hardware and its own software to keep firm control.  I hate to say this, but it is a bit fascistic.

Along comes Android, open source, digital democracy.  The first phone came out a year ago there hasn’t been much excitement during that time.  While Apple has marched on with millions of downloads and lots of updates for the OS, Android is, only now, starting to look like a contender in this market sector.  This Fall a number of Android devices are coming out on several different manufacturers’ handsets and carriers’ networks.  Meanwhile, Apple stays locked in with AT&T and one lonely device.

When the Blackberry contract came up for renewal, I knew I wasn’t getting another.  I was very comfortable with the iPhone, but curious about Android.  Many months ago, I heard of HTC’s Hero, which was going to have a specially customized version of Android called Sense, and it just looked beautiful.  The idea of an open-source OS is great for developers, but I needed something that I could work with easily out of the box, and Sense on the Hero seemed to fit the bill.  Now, all I had to do was wait for an American carrier to pick it up.

One week ago, my wait ended.  I am the proud owner of an HTC Hero on Sprint.

It’s only been a week, but I’m a pretty happy boy.  Sense is everything it was cracked up to be.  Stunning to look at and highly customizable.  The camera leaves a bit to be desired, but works well enough for a cell phone and it’s so much better than what I had on the Pearl.  The wi-fi is not nearly as speedy as on the iPod Touch, but that’s not an Android issue.  HTC has sort of overpacked the Hero with stuff that stresses out its ho-hum Qualcomm processor.  The slower processor makes sense because the battery life is already shortened by the big, bright screen.

I’m not giving up my iPod Touch.  Android Market is on its way, but free-for-all means that there’s a lot of nonsense to sift through in order to get your paws on the killer-app.  Apple’s rigid control over developer submissions means that there’s a slightly higher degree of quality and fit-n-finish to what I’m seeing at the iTunes App Store.  Also, I buy most of my apps from a computer and not a phone.  I miss being able to browse on a computer when looking at what’s in the Android Market.  Finally, I don’t know if this is true for other Android phones, but the Hero does not permit apps to be saved to the memory card.

For the moment, the apps are better on the Apple, but I am so excited to be part of the Android revolution.  It was easy to set up all three email accounts and I have instant and any-time access to Twitter, Feacebook, Flickr and any number of other services in the cloud.  The Google integration is stunning.  I update contacts in Gmail from a computer and they automatically show up on the phone.  Same with calendar entries.  The syncing is seemless.  Android’s browser needs some work, but I’m still mucking about with version 1.5.  1.6 is already available on some phones and 2.0 was recently announced.  Hopefully these newer versions will bring a better browser.  Safari for iPhone is still the best I’ve messed with.

Android’s customize-ability is it’s true genius.  The more a device can be made my own, the more likely I am to have a strong feeling about it.  With Apple, you can only change the lock screed – with the Hero, you can change everything.  As I spend more time with this thing, I’m sure to find more faults and more to be excited about, but for now, it’s a lovely OS and it’s fun to use.

UPDATE:  Verizon takes the gloves off as it gets ready to roll out its Android powered iPhone killers – OUCH!!

Hello, Brizzly. You seem to work just fine.

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Starting to mess around with Brizzly a bit.  I’ve never loved Tweetdeck, mainly because it’s a pain in the neck ti have another application to sift through on the desktop.  I had tried widgets and just depending on the actual twitter page, but the beauty of twitter is that it’s not about the page.  Indeed, the functionality of  Tweetdeck, running Adobe Air, is far beyond what can be done on the so-called twitter page.

So, he cool thing about Brizzly is that it’s not a separate application – it’s a webpage, reminiscent of a super-dumbed-down Facebook page.  Still no ads.  Very easy group management, including new group formation and simple add/remove options for all ‘friends’.

But the Twitter page stuff is here too, but enhanced.  Trends each have their own ‘why’ function – which is actually now available at your Twitter page.  But a Twitter page does not have built-in instant messaging that even allows for a Google-chat style conversation.

Brizzly has a way to go.  There is no customization of the user’s home page and you can’t access a list of your followers or who you are following.  That wouldn’t be such a problem if you could get to a Twitter page in another browser tab, but you can’t.  It seems that working in Brizzly locks you out.  That’s a big difference compared to something like Blip.fm, where you can have several windows open at once.  I realize that’s all within one web app, so maybe the issue is on Twitter’s end, but it’s no problem to have a Twitter page and Tweetdeck open at the same time.

One other early impression is that the group management system is nice and simple, but doesn’t go far enough.  I would like to be able to highlight certain groups (as I can now) but also exclude certain groups, basically a filter that lets me save values.

In following certain Blip.fm DJs on Twitter (which is highly recommended) I notice that my ‘in-box’ is almost always full.  I imagine others who follow several thousand accounts must exponentially larger problems.  The answer is to be able to make a defined group or set of groups disappear with the click of a link.  Allowing the user to see only the most important messages.

You can do this now if you think about your Twitter in-box in groups or categories whose importance is arranged from top down.  But that’s not how I classify the accounts that I follow.  There are music feeds, news feeds, personal friends and family members, people I follow from Blip and random follows that I have had interest in along the way.  It’s easier for me to group out things that I don’t want to look at.

But all this may be part of the premium service that is being offered to help convince Twitter’s high clientele that they should pay huge sums for monthly service.

So, Brizzly is nice.  I;ve only just started messing with it, but I’m impressed by the  interface.  Photos and videos are embedded right in the timeline – which is terrific to look at.  I’d like to see a built-in bt.ly resource, or something like it.  Tweetdeck’s automatic service is really nice.  But photo upload is just the same and it seems to work just as well.  And the ‘mute’ button is helpful for temporarily suppressing the tweets from a particular user.

Best thing to do is play with it for a while.  See if (maybe) more features come along.  See if (when) another interface by a competitor comes along.

Two vintage-style items

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The first of these is Phillies related and comes courtesy the superior TheFightins website.  This video shows you the power of J-Roll, that vintage look and the immortal John Facenda:

Vintage JROLL from Alexander F Newton on Vimeo.

The other item comes from io9, and is simply a collection of highly stylized sci-fi movie posters that have almost a Soviet-era design, look and feel to them.  You know all the movies, but you haven’t seen posters like this before.  the look actually reminds me of some of the amazing design items at iso50.

Click here for the ultra-coolness.

Owning Brad Lidge

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In 2005 Brad Lidge had 42 saves in the regular season, that’s one more than he had in the magical run that lead him to his first and only World Series ring last year.  In 2005, Lidge also had more strikeouts (103 vs 92) and fewer walks (23 vs. 35) compared to 2008.  By all accounts, Brad Lidge had a pretty good season in 2005.  He wasn’t perfect (4 blown saves) but he was a lot better than solid.  He was the kind of closer that gives confidence to every other member of the team.  The kind of closer that makes the other team think that, if they’re down (even by one run) in the 9th inning, they can not win.

But now, there is only one pitch for which Brad Lidge will be remembered in 2005, only one at-bat that matters.  Because on a warm October night in Houston, at the end of game 5 of the NLCS, Albert Pujols owned Brad Lidge.

That probably should have been the end of the story.  I certainly thought I would never here from Lidge again.

And then he ended up in Philadelphia.

Baseball is unrelenting.  Baseball goes on forever.  In Baseball, the ‘modern’ era includes things that happened a hundred years ago.  So first Lidge should have been done-in by Pujols’ gargantuan 3-run shot in 2005.  But that wasn’t the end.  Then I would have expected him to gently ride off into the sunset, perhaps fading to age or injury, after the electric perfection he conjured in 2008.  But that was not the end.

Like Baseball itself, the story goes on and on.

And now, in Philadelphia and Colorado, the next chapter will be written.  Lidge was not just good last year – he was perfect.  Every time he tried to get a save – he saved it.  Every time the team was leading at the end of the game and he was on the mound, his team won.  No closer has ever performed better in a single season for the Phillies.  Not.  Ever.

And what has happened in the recently completed 2009 season?  The one in which the Phillies return to the playoffs as division champs for the third year in a row?  The season when four members of the Phillies everyday lineup have thirty or more homeruns?

Brad Lidge has turned in the worst performance by any relief pitcher on any team in baseball this year.  He is, statistically, Baseball’s worst relief pitcher.

We are well beyond any worthwhile investigation into why this is the case.  The only relevant statement is that he is not injured.  Which means that the cause of his dizzying, dazzling fall from perfection is a true mystery, especially to Lidge himself.  Anyone who says they know what’s going on is wrong.  The nature of closing baseball games is such that these horrors happen.

So, really, the only question is, “What do we do now?”

In mere hours, the playoff rosters will have to be set, and while skipper Charlie Manuel is mulling some players on the bubble, one of them is not Brad Lidge.  He will be on the team, not necessarily because he has earned it with his performance this season, but because he is still better than Escalona and other truly marginal major leaguers.

And he won’t be on the roster to play shortstop.  Or even come in for the 6th or 7th inning.  There is only one thing that Lidge is here to do, arguably only one thing that he is prepared and able to do – close games.  Will he be able to flip a switch and feed off the intensity of a playoff situation?  Not likely.  Not when he’s been so off all year.

But there is no solution or alternative.  And this is not assured failure, not with home-field advantage in the first round and an offense that can produce runs in bunches.  Even if that solid fastball (thrown for a strike) and that magical, disappearing slider don’t come back in full force, Lidge will still be able to get batters out.  And he has the confidence and love of his manager – that’s a factor that may not fix the problem, but it can only help.

And we Phillies fans will bite our nails and sit on the edge of our seats and try to remember that Lidge was successful during 74% of his save attempts (I would have been happy with a 74 for some of my first-year law school classes).

But, as we get ready to go into the playoffs, this is where we live.  Because, in a very different way from Albert Pujols on that night four years ago, we all own Brad Lidge.

F1 Driver-a-go-go; ALL CHANGE!!

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2010-F1-2010

The great story of this year is not even to the final chapter, and we’re already seeing massive upheaval in the driver ranks for next year.  This is a normal occurrence, but there are even more big names on the move than usual.  The extraordinary Joe Saward has a good rundown:

The suggestion in Japan was that Renault has now done a deal with Robert Kubica; that Nico Rosberg will move to Brawn GP with Mercedes-Benz behind him. Rubens Barrichello is expected to move to Williams and if he wins the World Championship would take the champion’s number 1 with him. The team is expected to name Nico Hulkenberg as its second driver, leaving Kazuki Nakajima out of work. He will probably get a ride with Toyota, if the team survives. Toyota has released Jarno Trulli and the word is that the Italian veteran will probably end up at the new Team Lotus, as he enjoys a good relationship with the new team’s chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne. Toyota has not taken up Timo Glock’s option. . .

Plus, it’s starting to look like Kimi will go back to McLaren.  Got that?  And today, Renault has confirmed my man Kubica for next year.  I like to see him as a confirmed ‘number one’, which will help his development and chances for more success and race victories.  I do, however, worry about Renault bringing itself out of the scandal and dishonor of the Singapore ’08 fiasco.  I also hop they do not make Robert drive around in that Ronald McDonald atrocity of an automobile.

So, the F1 drama will continue.  We will see if Brawn can maintain the dominance it asserted in its maiden campaign.  We will see if Red Bull can continue to come forward with the advent of the next great German driver.  Vettel is truly amazing and still so young, but he will forever be  compared to another German who dominated this sport unlike any other athlete in the modern era of competition.

And we will see if Kubica can get into a fast car and if Lewis and Kimi can play nice at a resurgent McLaren.  But first we will race the last two races and crown a new champion.