Money Can’t Buy You Love (and it can’t buy you championships either)

With the signing of CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett and Mark Teixeira, the cries of  “the Yankees are trying to buy another championship” have reached a fevered pitch.  I have heard some form of this complaint for several years.  Here’s the thing: the last time the Yankees won the World Series was 2000.  If they have been trying to “buy” a championship for all these years, it seems to me that it doesn’t work.  So if you were a Yankee hater, wouldn’t you want the Yankees to attempt to “buy” a championship?

The “trying to buy another championship” attack is based on pure ignorance.  The team with the highest payroll does not always win the World Series.  Player development, a smart front office and manager (ones who like OBP and plate discipline), injuries (rather the lack of) and pure luck all factor into the equation.

I don’t want to get into a debate whether the Yankees spending hurts or helps the game of baseball.  All I can say is that the Yankees play within the economic rules laid down by MLB.   Teams take in more money from MLB revenue sharing than they spend on their payroll (Marlins).  A team has to cut payroll because the owner is going through a divorce (Padres).  Another team trades away (arguably) the league’s best pitcher because they won’t pay what he will ask in free agency, while the billionare owner is building a publicly funded stadium, and then miss the playoffs by one game (think the Twins could have used Johan?).  You tell me what is worse for the game.

I will never criticize a team that spends money in an attempt to win.  Isn’t any team that spends money on a free agent trying to “buy” a championship? Or is it just the Yankees?  I won’t apologize for the Yankees for trying to win.  The question is: Why isn’t your team?

A Bird of Prey Can Notta Fire When She’s Cloaked

I have no problem admitting i like nerdy/geeky things.  I like computers.  I play video games.  I watch BSG.  I read novels based on the universe created by… But recently things may have gotten a bit out of hand.

I guess it started when i decided to start reading graphic novels.  Watchmen, classic. But now i’ve moved on to The Walking Dead.  The story follows a group of people trying to survive the zombie apocalypse*.  Needless to say it is not smooth sailing.  At the end of volume 1, the (anti-?) hero’s 8 year old son shoots and kills his father’s former best friend, who had an affair with our hero’s wife while he was in a coma when the zombies came and now she is pregnant with the dead best friend’s child which the hero assumes is his.  Shit breaks down in small groups.

*I’ve often wondered how i would fare during the war against the zombies.

I am now reading the prequel novels to the Dune series that were co written by Frank Herbert’s son and Kevin J Anderson (the Star Wars novelist who isn’t as good as Tim Zahn).  Through sheer force of willpower i made it through the final three original novels (Paul becomes a giant god-emperor sand worm… give me a break).  I don’t know what made me decide to read the first prequel.  I am already mad at technology that appeared 15,000(!) years in the Dune future showing up in the prequels.  A scene blatantly rips off Star Trek 6*.  I can’t stand it.. And I’m ready for the next one.

*an invisible “no-ship” (does “no-ship” rhyme with cloaked?) positions itself under a ship,  fires on another in the hope of  starting an inter-galactic incident.  I can almost hear Christopher Plummer quoting Shakespeare in Klingon.

Thanks to my friend Patrick, i now have a modded Xbox.  This means i can now stream media from my computer to my TV.  But most importantly, i can load up the Xbox with emulators and roms and play games for: Atari 2600, Atari 800xl, Amiga, Colecovision, Intellivision, NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, Sega Master System, Game Boy, Arcade, Sega CD, N64, Apple II.  Now it means i can either sell or store all of my old games systems with a clear consience.  Truth be told most of the games suck.  You mean i actually played these as a kid and enjoyed them*.  The worst part of this is i haven’t even transferred all of the emulators and roms to the Xbox but i still have filled up its hard drive.  Next step: Installing a larger hard drive in my Xbox.

*note to howell: pixie-games?

I’ve done a few other nerdy things like setting up a completely new filling system on my computers hard drive.  But i promise all of this is an aberration.  I’ll be back to my super cool, suave, emo self soon.  In the meantime i have a graphic novel to read.