insent, Cindy.

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Today is Aidan's first day of school.

Sweet little boy going to school already??? Sigh... They grow up so fast.

At this point, the only thing that's keeping me from laughing hysterically at our pathetic summer, is the now seemingly permanent instinct to cry at the drop of a hat.

Cindy, I hope you feel better soon and that the world just lays the hell off for a while.

they're just cupcakes wearing muscle shirts, pretending to be healthy.

snerk

Production meeting over. Plate too full. Boss having another one of those days... I write email of everything she need TODAY, let her rank them in order, from "actually has to be done today" to "why, yes, I am cranky, taking it out on everyone else and that can wait now that I am forced to confront reality."

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Buffista babies going to school - scary! School doesn't know what's going to hit it.

why, yes, I am cranky, taking it out on everyone else and that can wait now that I am forced to confront reality

Heh.

Let's play "Pick Raq's new hair color!" Model with my coloration, if not my facial structure, and my curl; four funky color choices: [link]

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Raq, I like the last one. But I'm partial to reds.

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Surprise, surprise...I love the purple.

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Let's play "Pick Raq's new hair color!" Model with my coloration, if not my facial structure, and my curl; four funky color choices: [link]

Blue, blue blue!

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I like the second one and the red.

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Let's play "Pick Raq's new hair color!"

I think the purple, with your coloring, is the most dramatic. The orange-y last one would make your eyes pop more but it's less intense and fun IMO.

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I like the copper.

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Of course, our superstud young pitcher, Rich Harden, has been injured off and on all year.

Difference is that Harden's been nursing a back strain, while Mariners pitchers have Dr. James Andrews on speed dial.

Of course, I'd be perfectly content with him throwing 97 mph if he'd just stay in the rotation.

One thing being discussed in the sabermetrics world is how pitchers today are better but at a far greater risk of career-ending issues than pitchers of yore, despite pitchers of yore throwing 200 pitches a game every four days. The problem is that hitters today are far better than they once were, and there used to be a greater disparity between HoF players and the rest of the squad than there is today. So, Walter Johnson didn't have to throw 100 mph for every batter, only the really good ones; for everyone else he could take a lot off the pitch and still strike the #8 hitter out. Johnson started three games in the 1927 World Series and pitched the final three innings of Game 7 with no ill effects on his career.

Modern pitchers, though, complain that they are throwing as hard as they can, and they can't reach back and put any more on the ball. They're putting maximum strain on those ligaments and muscles. So, where Johnson could throw 85-88 to one guy and 100 to another, Harden has to throw 97 all the time, occasionally hitting 100.

For all the old-timers' complaints about relief pitching, the truth is that having a set-up guy and closer reduces your chances of losing your $10M arm to overwork. You can argue about the appropriate uses of relievers (e.g. whether you should use your best reliever solely as a ninth-inning guy or as a game-in-jeopardy stopper), but relievers are there to preserve your investment.

It's interesting that so far only a set-up guy and a #5 starter have been busted for 'roids, though the diminishing performances of a number of pitchers there's a lot of whispering about who was using and who wasn't. It actually makes more sense for pitchers to use performance-enhancers, especially chemicals that reduce inflammation and speed recovery time. Sadly, the media just focuses on hitters.

End of lecture. Maybe I should go back to blogging again.

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