2007 Chicago Cubs part 4 – Pitching Thoughts

Baseball preseason is winding down and the 2007 Cubs will start the season with a combination of new faces and old faces on the pitching staff. Carlos Zambrano will be the ace of the five-man starter staff, once again. How much longer he remains the ace could be a problem, as Cubs GM, Hendry, had still not worked out a long-term contract for Zambrano (one of the best pitchers in baseball) as of this writing. Zambrano is on record as wanting a new contract before the start of the season on Monday.

Listed as the number two starting pitcher on the Staff is newcomer free-agent acquisition Ted Lilly. Lilly is a soft tossing left-handed fly-ball prone pitcher who has career wise, traditionally given up a lot of walks and homeruns during the season. And he will be pitching in a division that hits a lot of homeruns and with most of the division’s ballparks designed to make homeruns easy. In my opinion, Lilly as the #2 pitcher does not bode well for this 2007 team. The Cubs face a lot of power hitting teams within their division that score a lot of runs. But the Cubs plunked down major cash to sign this guy in the off-season and he is here to stay. Still I would consider him at best a # 4 pitcher not the #2 pitcher he has been elevated to. I hope he proves me completely out of whack but I will not hold my breath waiting for that proof when he faces the Cardinals, Reds and Astros.

New manager, Lou Piniella (I am not going to start bitching this early about what I think of his signing), wanting to keep right-left-right-left starting pitcher rotation has penned another off-season free agent pickup Jason Marquis as the #3 pitcher. I am trying to understand this move. Marquis is a St. Louis Cardinal castoff. In my observations over the seasons the Cardinals have often been very good at evaluating pitchers. And the Cardinals traditionally score a lot of runs thus a pitchers propensity to give up scores of runs is not as worrisome for them as it is for most teams. Last season the Cardinals cut him from the playoff squad for poor performance. And during the off-season they were not gangbusters about resigning him. That makes his real value a reason to be a concern in my view.  Marquis is going to give up a lot of runs over the course of a year. But in baseball theory, he is an innings eater. He will go out, give up runs yet usually keep you in the ballgame for six or seven innings. That is something the Cubs have had problems with since the Kerry Wood and Mark Prior injuries reduced the innings consumption of the starting staff the last few years. No one has ever stepped forward other than Zambrano as a consistent quality innings eater. The only reasons I can seem him elevated to a #3 pitcher in the rotation is the right-left rotation theory (which I think is a load of bull puckey) or the worry they may need a sacrificial lamb in the middle of the rotation; that can eat up a lot of innings to save the bullpen strength, by him pitching in the #3 position and hoping the bats will carry him to victory. 

The #4 pitcher, Rich Hill, might be better than the guys pitching #2 & #3. He has been a potential star pitcher for the Cubs that has spent a long time in the minor leagues. Like Lilly, he is another soft tossing lefty who cannot afford to give up walks or hits at the start of an inning. That has been his destruction for several years. He has a tremendous curveball that is an awesome strikeout pitch. He has dominated minor league hitters for years with his knee buckling curveball. But every time he has been called up to the major he struggles and gets in trouble when his curveball is not working. One of his biggest problems is that his fastball is not good enough to get him out of trouble with the good hitters he has had to face at the major league level. His control and pitches “have to be working” and in the strikezone enough to force hitters to chase his curveball, which is his best outpitch and that often falls out of the strikezone towards the end of its arc. Last year he was called up when the Cubs pitching woes turned into an all out disaster and performed very well. If the Rich Hill that pitched the last half of the 2006 season shows up on the baseball field instead of the old Rich Hill, I would guess by the end of the season he will have been moved up possibly as high as the #2 slot in the rotation.

There was stiff competition for the final and #5 spot on the starters rotation. In the end former Astro pitching star Wade Miller won the position. The Cubs signed him after he injured himself and they have been nursing him back to health the last couple of years. That seems to be a Hendry specialty, to pick up injured pitchers and rebuild and reclaim their service for a much smaller fee than a typical free agent. Sometimes it looks good other times it does not seem to work out. I am hoping that he pitches well enough to pick up the slack I feel Marquis will create with his outings. (As you can probably tell I am not a Marquis fan or excited about him on this Cubs team.)

 I am not going to go in depth about my thoughts on the bullpen. I thought it was the strongpoint of the 2006 team especially when you consider how overworked it was. Left-handed Scott Eyre and right-handed Bobby Howry will return as the hold guys attempting to get the game into the hands of closer Ryan Dempster. Eyre and Howry were studs when called into the games last year and I hope for a repeat performance. Dempster like all the Cubs’ pitchers last year struggled with control issues and got into trouble a lot. Supposedly Piniella has been pushing throwing strikes with the whole pitching staff; let us hope we see a change for the better. Dempster has the stuff and the attitude but he needs to execute well. Also returning will be veteran pitchers RH Michael Wuertz and LH Will Ohman who will also see considerable time as short relievers. Both have good stuff and have previously proven they can pitch well but those are often mixed in with a considerable amount of lackluster performances. The newcomers in the pen are RH Angel Guzman and LH Neal Cotts. They will be used in long relief. Guzman has been on the most highly praised Cubs’ starting pitcher prospects for the last several years. But, like Rich Hill, he has never been able to make the final jump to the big league level when given the chance. This will be his best chance to prove he belongs. Cotts is a veteran the team traded for from the cross-town rivals, the Black Sox .  I am not sold on this acquisition either. Cotts has spent four years on the Black Sux  (Another recurring intentional misnomer, could it be pangs of WS jealousy?) team and has one good year, 2005. The rest are not that great. I think the team gave away a future pitching stud in David Aardsama to get this guy. He better perform or I am going to whine like there is no tomorrow. (Not that Cubs’ ownership would even give ten cents to know about my whining!)

The biggest wildcards in the pack will be often injured superstars Mark Prior and Kerry Wood. Prior will once again start the season rehabbing this time in AAA Des Moines. It has been said that genetic body design plays a part in both his pitching success and often-injured status. He will probably have some tough decisions to make about his future in baseball. If he comes through and gets his act together someone in the starting rotation becomes expendable or Prior becomes trade bait. It will be hard to determine which until the season is well under way. Wood is experiencing muscle fatigue from his rehabbing and will start out on the DL; but once back he will be moved to the bullpen and could make a strong bullpen look even tougher. He has previously pitched in relief and when his shoulder is not bothering him he has the right-stuff to overpower any hitter in the league. Also waiting for a chance is Roberto Novoa who has been up and down between the majors and AAA. His fastball tops out near a hundred mph but he has control issues. (Can you say Kyle Farnsworth clone.) Also another kid who looked good in spring training was unheralded Rocky Cherry. (Got to love that name!)  They do have pitching options if needed. However I have noticed that for some strange reason pitchers that can never seem to make it to the Cubs major league level often go elsewhere and have success. Bad management can be the only real answer for that.

In summary the bullpen should offer another strong performance this year. But the judge and jury are still out on the pitching staff starting rotation. A lot of “ifs” are in the pitching mix. They are going to need every run on offense they can manufacture unless the starting staff (especially Lilly, Marquis and Hill) really steps up and scuffs the shine off the old baseball. Perhaps it is time for the staff to be taught that George Frazier Sneaky-Slurpy-Super-Slider. (Hopefully with better results than his.)

Opening day: Mon., April 2, 1:10 p.m. CT

TV: WGN, ESPN2 / Radio: WGN- AM  720

 part 1     part 2     part 3

Illinois House of Reps. Votes to Enable Criminal Activities

Mainstream USA has pretty much adopted a “run them all out of the country at any cost” philosophy in dealing with illegal immigration. But I am not Mainstream when it comes to immigration. I am in favor of immigration. I think it is healthy and a way to introduce new blood into a country, as long as it is done in a legal and orderly fashion. But that does not mean you surrender the country and states to mass migrations at will. Nor do you reward criminal behavior by granting those breaking the law, special privileges. In a 3/29/07 article on QCOnline they talked how the Illinois House of Reps. has just passed a law allowing illegal immigrants to legally get drivers certificates and car insurance. Huh, this is a very bad idea! In basic terms the Illinois has run up the white flag of surrender in dealing with illegal immigration and became enablers of criminal activity. Which part of “illegal immigrant” are they failing to understand? A drivers license is not a right – it is a privilege, I am told so every time I reapply. An illegal alien driving is breaking three laws. They are driving without a license, driving without insurance and are here in this country illegally. That makes them a criminal three times over. You do not reward people for breaking laws; you punish them. Plus a drivers license not only rewards their past and current illegal activity it allows them an easier way to hide and run from immigration services. This can only spur an increase in illegal immigration activity plus it will create more negativity and hardship for those trying to immigrate legally. This is the wrong message to send to the already hostile over bad immigration policy citizenry and those people in this country illegally. No good can come from it. The people who sponsored and voted for this bill should have their names saved and posted on the Internet and come election time they should be voted out of office. It should not be allowed to be swept under the carpet or be forgotten. It should be stamped on their political record for all to see and to act as a reminder come election time of how our state representatives have failed us.

2007 Cubs Shortstop/Second-base

I started talking about the 2007 Cubs baseball team a few weeks ago on the blog. I have since been waiting to see just how the preseason was going before I decided to post on the rest of the team. I will pick up where I left off on my last post.
One of the worst weaknesses of the 2006 Cubs team was its defense. That was very evident in the center of the infield. The 2006 team opened that season with veteran player T. Walker (quality hitter/average defense) at second base and almost-rookie R. Cedano playing Shortstop. Walker’s offense was decent but not spectacular, his defense was barely adequate. Cedano looked like he was going to have a repeat of his very good rookie season but the pitchers in the league found his weakness for chasing pitches out of the strike zone and his hitting became a problem in the offense. And like many players his problems hitting started to follow him on the field when he was playing defense and he then started to struggle at shortstop by creating errors and giving offensive breaks for the opposing teams. By around mid-season the Cubs had traded Walker, moved Cedano to second-base, brought up R. Theriot from the minor leagues to split time at second with Cedano and traded for C. Izturis (top-quality defense/ average hitter) to play shortstop. That basically started a revolving door that the infield defense never recovered from. Theriot looked good at the plate and on defense whenever and wherever they played him. Cedano was still struggling on defense and offense. To make things worse Izturis, who has a history of injuries – got hurt again. So Cedano, who had been struggling to learn second-base and regain his hitting form, was once again moved back to shortstop. The results could have been expected, his struggles continued. The way the team was bouncing him around did not give him much of a chance to succeed. Theriot looked good at the plate and playing second-base and occasional shortstop defensively. During the off-season the Cubs pursued a one year wonder second-baseman in M. DeRosa and paid him with a hefty contract. He was then basically handed the second-base job for the 2007. I personally felt they should have stayed with Theriot, who looked good last year in his only season, and used the money to improve the team elsewhere. Izturis has healed and he has reclaimed the shortstop position by rights of his proven defensive capabilities for 2007. With DeRosa and Izturis now securing the center of the infield, the Cubs defense should be vastly improved from last year. The weakness they bring is on offense. In his career Izturis has been a constant average to below average hitter. Until last year the same could be said of DeRosa. If the rest of the team’s 2007 offense can carry and produce, as they should for this team, any offense these two provided will be “sauce for the goose”. If the offense struggles then the merry-go-round that was the downfall of the infield last season could return as they tinker with different players at second-base and shortstop. During preseason DeRosa started out struggling to get hits at the plate but as of late his numbers have improved to become very respectable. The trick will be if he can carry it into the regular season. If not Theriot will be chomping at the bit to take the job. DeRosa as well as Theriot can play second-base, shortstop, third-base and the outfield. That makes both of them very valuable members of the 2007 team, and should offer both a lot of playing time as long as they perform offensively and defensively. This probably played a huge part of the decision to send top outfield Felix Pie down to the AAA minor league team, thus allowing him more time to mature. It is said Pie has a tendency to chase bad pitches at the plate and could use more minor league experience. Izturis started out like a barn burning offensively in preseason but has cooled down some as of late. Still as a veteran his numbers have always been consistent and it is more than likely his bat will not be counted on as much as his glove. Backing him up at shortstop will be Cedano and probably Theriot. By mid-season I would not be surprised for the team to be looking to trade away Theriot, Cedano or Izturis. They are all excellent trade bait and could land the team a good player or prospect. And with E. Patterson hitting up a storm in the preseason, if he continues his tear in the minor leagues, the Cubs could soon have a log jam at second-base. (A luxury that they have not had in it seems forever.) Pattersons defense still needs work and he does have a tendency to chase bad balls when batting – so he is not ready, but his presence in the minors could wind up putting pressure on the rest of the middle infielders to perform well to hold on to their jobs.
All the second-base and shortstop contenders have looked very good in preseason. There is little doubt that the addition of DeRosa added to (a healthy) Izturis will give the teams pitchers a luxury that lacked last year, a consistently solid defensive effort up the middle. This will be a huge help. The questions will be, can the team afford their offense if it is not above average and what changes will they make, if things go sour again.

part 1          part 2          part 4          Preseason Stats

Natural Disasters (updated)

Living in the Midwest we learn to take some natural disasters for granted. We live near the Mississippi River and there are several smaller rivers that are near so we expect a certain amount of flooding every year. We can take some precautions and most of realize it is just a part of life we have to prepare for, as it is just a familiar happening that we either witness or hear about. Those of us living in the flood plains generally know what to expect and how to prepare during flood season.
We also know that during tornado season we need to keep a close weather watch as tornados spring up so fast there is often very little time to find cover. They are a strange bird to see up-close-and-personal and those of us whom have actually been in or close to where they hit – afterwards have probably said a dozen or so “thank you lord” for missing me. Then you go and change your underwear. (As Bill Cosby would say: During an accident, first you say it, then you do it”. ) I have had several friends and relatives that lived in trailers over the years and for them tornados are even more scary. Anyone whom has looked at the aftereffects of even a near miss tornado on a trailer will probably make assertions that God is evidently not fond of trailers. Trailers that experience tornado wrath are an ugly site, if there is even anything left of the building. But it is something people living in our region are aware of, as tornados are also something of a common experience that we hear about even  if an individual never actually witnesses one.
But a recent AP article printed on QCOnline talks of an experience many of us have had, but not to the extent we think of it as a potential danger. Our homes are included in the New Madrid earthquake region. The quake line is active but for the most part the tremors are minor and we rarely feel the earthquakes when they happen. The ones I have experienced were similar to a train speeding by your house. We nearly always think California when someone mentions dangerous earthquakes, because the San Andreas Fault is where most of the major and life threatening tremors happen in the continental USA. But as the article reminds us, the worst series of quakes that ever occurred in the continental USA happened with the New Madrid Fault back when this region was not really very settled. It is said that the Mississippi River ran backwards in spots due to the magnitude of those earthquakes. That is a frightening concept to consider when you consider the water volume and fast current of the Mississippi River. Even though there are some who feel that there is little danger to fear of another major earthquake happening in the area soon, if at all, it gives a person reason to wonder about the consequences another major earthquake could have on our region. I feel it is safe to say that most of our houses and buildings are not earthquake proof and would not withstand much of the effects of a serious earthquake. It is just something we never consider due to their infrequency and our lack of similar threatening experiences of which to judge  from. Nor is it something we can control. If it happens – it will come to pass and then we will have to pick up the pieces afterwards. Yet an experience such as this would be devastating to our lives and the community infrastructures we are so used to relying on. It is a thought-provoking and sobering consideration. No individual or even any local emergency services could be properly prepared or expected to function as would be needed in such a crisis. And the consequences of such a disaster would be unfathomable before or after. Even things like basic food/potable water supplies, health care and sanitation would be a long-term problem. Still, I wonder if we and our regional emergency services are even prepared for a lesser disaster, such as those experienced in San Francisco the last few decades. It is something to ponder. And then again- it could be just another reason for us to party harder on our days off right now. What do you think?

Breaking Sunday Morning Unnatural Disaster Update:

And for those of us that follow the less dangerous perennial disaster known as Chicago Cubs Baseball, they are broadcasting preseason games on Sunday 03/25/07 @ 3:05 pm on WGN; Monday 03/26/07 @ 3:05 pm on CSN Chicago (both against LAA). Also Thursday 03/29/07 @2:05 pm on CSN Chicago (against AZD). And on Friday 03/30/07 @ 9:15 pm on WGN and again Saturday 03/31/07 @ 3:05 pm on CSN Chicago (both games against Seattle).  All games and times are subject to change at the whim and/or bad judgment of the Chicago Cubs and MLB or benevolent acts of God. No stated time or broadcast should be interpreted as an actual guaranteed commitment by Chicago Cubs ownership or MLB or representation of how major league baseball should be performed.

Upcoming Preseason Schedule

The Democrat Sponsored Alberto Gonzales Side-Show

New time – New faces – Same place – Same tired old Gridlocked Government two-party tactics putting political ambitions and dreams of absolute power ahead of the Country. Spinmasters spew sheep speechifying sustenance supplying saliva silage supporting Salinger-Syndrome scenarios for the Political Pied-Piper Pavlovian Precipice-jumpers (can you say lemmings). The Executive and Congressional Nero’s play their distractive fiddles and the country’s infrastructure burn and degrade from neglect. And the silage drunken lemmings play follow the leader behind their power and money hungry maestros kissing their Rolex Watches -screaming Hallelujahs to their Political Gods Platforms- previous to the lust consumed Politicos pushing the lemmings over the edge, in a sacrificial ceremony exhibiting their Political Power controlling the existence of their Neitzchian sheep followers.

Ramblings of The Scoundrel

Sorry folks but I really have been lax with my blog as of late. Family interests along with along with a break for the better in weather has kept my attention diverted elsewhere. (My attention is so locked in on other issues that I have only visited the dozen or so different Chicago Cubs’ websites and blogs, that I link to, a couple of times over the last several days. My normal visitation to Cub sites/blogs, depending on where I am and whether or not I have access to a computer, is around 2-3 times each on a daily basis. Yeah I know it is insane and pathetic but it is one of my few vices!) Still I wanted to take time to send accolades to the following:

First I would like to recommend to the next person that goes to Manny’s Pizza in Savannah, Illinois to tell them to enter into the twenty-first business century and get a website. Every since SCHQC mentioned how good the pizza was at Manny’s on my Pizza-Pizza-Pizza Post I have been averaging over one hit a day on that older post, evidently looking for a website for the Pizza joint. I have never eaten there but I trust SCHQC’s insight must be correct from the constant hits I get searching for the place. It sounds to me like they are missing out on a business opportunity to me. Somebody should educate them!

Second, I wish to send out hearty disingenuous accolades to all the online gambling, prescription drug and porn Spammers. For in a time period of just a little over a week – they have pushed my Akismet Spam totals from 88 to over five hundred Spam posts. It is good to have friends like that, especially the one location that sent me a whole page full of prescription drug links. As the Macho Man would say, Ohhh yeahhhhhhhh! (I deeply apologize to the readers that I cannot get my voice as reasonably deep as Leaping Lanny Poffo’s brother, the “Macho Man” Randy Savage.

And last but not least I wish to send out even more disingenuous praise to Lt. Gen. ALIYU MOHAMMED, National Security Adviser to President Olusegun Obasanjo Federal Republic of Nigeria for his continuing deep concerns about my $10 million dollars contract package. (Sure wish I had ten million dollars, or maybe not, large amounts of personal wealth tend to corrupt your character. But I would be willing to see if it did corrupt me if I ever win that ###### Illinois lotto.) I know just how concerned he is because he keeps sending me the following letter requesting my personal information to enable him to make the transaction final:

GET BACK TO ME AT YOUR EARLIEST CONVINIENCE

Dear, (Sadly he doesn’t even know my name I am just a blank spot in a letter greeting!)

I am Lt. Gen.ALIYU MOHAMMED, National Security Adviser to
President Olusegun Obasanjo Federal Republic of Nigeria. I
decided to contact you because of the prevailing security
report reaching my office and the intense nature of policy
in Nigeria. This is to inform you about our plan to send
your fund to you via cash delivery. This system will be
easier for you and for us. We are going to send your
contract part payment of US$10. Million to you via
diplomatic courier service. I have secured every needed
document to cover the money.Note: The money is coming on 2 security proof boxes. The
boxes are sealed with synthetic nylon seal and padded with
machine. This fund was brought to us from America; it was
meant for our Local AFEM market. But since the money was
not used, I will use my position as the National Security
Adviser to the President to send this fund to you. Please
you don’t have to worry for any thing I will finance the
transaction.The boxes are coming with a Diplomatic agent who will
accompany the boxes to your house address. All you need to
do now is to send to me your full house address and your
identity such as, international passport or driver license
including your contact phone numbers, The Diplomatic
attached will travel with it. He will call you immediately
he arrives your country’s airport. I hope you understand
me.Note: The diplomatic does not know the original contents
of the boxes. What l declared to them as the contents is
Sensitive Photographic Film Material. I did not declare
money to them please. If they call you and ask you the
contents please tell them the same thing Ok,i will let you
know how far I have gone with the arrangement. I will
secure the Diplomatic immunity clearance certificate that
will be tagged on the boxes to make it stand as a
diplomatic consignment.This clearance will make it pass every custom checkpoint
all over the world without hitch. Confirm the receipt of
this message and send the requirements to me immediately
you receive this message. If you need more information
about this, i will give you the contact of the diplomatic
agents for more information on how to carry out the plan.
Please I need urgent reply because the boxes are schedule
to leave as Soon as we hear from you.Best Regards,
Lt. Gen. ALIYU MOHAMMED
National Security Adviser to the President
Federal Republic of Nigeria

I was especially grateful and appreciative for his assurance that it would pass through postal and customs agencies without any annoyance from those pesky federal officials and tax agents. Those ratfink lottery officials make no such guarantee when I buy one of their lottery tickets from the Illinois Lottery games that Uncle Roddy wants to sell off. It is so nice to have good guys like the “Lt. General” looking out after my financial welfare. Ohhhh Yeahhhhhh!

p.s. One thing brought to my attention that I keep forgetting to mention is that if the readers are having trouble accessing my links is that they may need to hold down the Ctrl key when clicking the link, as I usually have all my links open in another window. The problem may arise because pop-up blockers can prevent the link access without using the Ctrl key to override the blocker mechanism. Sorry I knew that, but I never really thought about it being a problem for anyone.

A Progressive Sex Education Class?

I have been following a story on the Internet the last few days that has really got me beating my head against the wall when I read about the cover-up an Indiana Middle School has been engaging in since November.  Fortunately I have a thick enough skull that the wall is the only object damaged so far. The story screams teacher and school administration ineptitude and job protection.  Though all the particulars are not clear with the “cone of silence” the school has erected (maybe a bad choice of words by me) around the scandal; it seems that two sixth graders had sex during class with other students onlooking – while the teacher was kept busy by another student, back in November. None of the news stories I have read indicate that the teacher was deaf, dumb and blind nor have they offered up any other plausible reason this could have went unseen in a classroom. In fact the teacher and school have went no comment. Plus evidently the school did not notify the parents of the other students whom were exposed to the activity. The teacher was not disciplined nor does the school system seem to want to take any responsibility for allowing the exposure  of any students witness to the activity. The only real comments are coming through the schools lawyer. One site printed the following comment attributed to the school’s lawyer attempt to justify not contacting parents:

“All right, so they may have witnessed this. While this is an activity you certainly don’t see in a school and it’s something that would be certainly unusual, I don’t feel – I don’t know where it posed any immediate danger to those children who saw it,”

I am sure the good citizens of Indiana appreciate the way that this school system is watching over their children after that statement. Another person on one of the blogs stated (of course anything like that said on a blog – I always say take it with a grain of salt) that they were driving their daughter to school because she reported to them their was oral sex taking place on the school bus. Yikes! What is happening with our school systems? Where are all the adults that are supposed to be chaperoning them?And why does the school think that they should be able to go on business as usual without contacting parents whose children were exposed to the action? These school administrators could make a politician look honest and compassionate, and we all know better than that! Excuse me while I now go pound my head into the wall some more.

Link to the story. 

A Fix for Political Junkies (and a good laugh for others)

Political races are so full of hot air, bluster and phony promises I tend to tune them out after awhile. Well I must have slept through too much of the 2004 POTUS election as there were some interesting characters running I was unaware of. Of course just because they were interesting does not mean I would have voted for them. Still for all you political junkies out there who just cannot get enough political poisons injected into your blood streams I offer up some political links. The following people were all in the running or formerly in the running as candidates.

The 2004 Personal Choice Party VP candidate – why it was the former Ivory Soap Baby and future porn star Marilynn Chambers. (Does anyone even care who their president candidate was?)

2004Personal Choice Party link.

Hey and trying to replace George Bush on the Republican Party: why one of several was Mr. Tom “Billy Jack” Laughlin. He previously ran as a Democrat but switched to the Republican Party for this run.  (He is down towards the bottom of the list.)

One Tin Soldier Link.

And not to not outdone the Democrats had their own interesting cast of candidates. Perhaps the most interesting character of all was Albert “Al” Hamburg, Wyoming, who had lost 14 previous times in his run for the presidency. He does not give up easy. But hey that is not what is the most interesting about this guy. In the eighties he sued a woman for breach of contract over a car he sold her. It seemed the deal included having sex with him fifty times but she quit after episode 33. Looking at his picture – once was clearly too much. (He is towards the bottom of the list also.)

The Al Hamburg should have run on the Fred Garvin Party Link.

And the rest of the POTUS wannabes! The Superstars Link.

For those of you who live and want to relive political advertisements:

The Living Room Candidate Link.

Maybe you are longing for those past political heydays. Maybe you are yearning to see that Kennedy campaign button or that bumper sticker one more time that you traded in on that ’60 Chevy. Or maybe you feel a desire to have some Bob Dole for President (sans Britney Spears) computer wallpaper background. Fear not, the following links will help calm yout jitters.

Political Junkie Fix Link 1.

Political Junkie Fix Link 2.

Vice President who???

The second in command link.

Or maybe you are chomping at the bit for a look at that 2008 political punchout.

Those power hungry 2008 Potus candidates link.

Enjoy them and I hope in some small way I have been able to stave off some of those political shakes for those in need of a political fix.

Here’s the Beef!

The big news in Quad City restaurants seems to be the coming addition of Sonics. I have never eaten at one, so I am unsure what to expect. I went to their website and looked up the information but it just did not excite me. But that is not new, regional and national chains often do not excite me. Many chains are fast food joints. And most all of the big chain companies’ foods are prefab items and the food routinely lacks personality local or otherwise. Chains often substitute grease, salt and sugar for cooking skill, quality ingredients and bodacious flavor in order to fabricate a product that is featureless but easily marketable and recognizable as consumable to the foragers grazing in their plastic pastures. The web explanation kind of reminded me of the former “A&W” & early “Steak and Shake” chains that were around the town when I was a kid. They were the few local survivors of the old 50’s and 60’s carhop drive-in fad. I suppose I will have to wait until they open and try the place to see if they impress me. I wish them success and hope it helps with the growth of the QC tourist destination plans. But….

Personally I would like to see the QC also work on promoting the independent restaurants that they have. Unlike local chains and independents: National and Regional Chains come with a ready made cast of promotions and advertising gimmicks that often make them into turnkey operations. But they are also the same wherever you go. Non-Local Chains do not help give the QC a unique identity. Local chains and independent restaurants are what create an identity that says you are special. Part of that problem is that local people habitually walk past independents and frequent Regional/National chains because chains are a safe bet ordering from and where they are familiar with the type of nutrition and taste injected prefab foods they offer. The media and the local blogs have been discussing the uniqueness of the QC for sometime and ways to promote the region. I propose that the QC leadership needs to reintroduce and reeducate the local citizens to just how unique this area is. We have a lot of individuality and culture to offer and not just to tourists but to our own citizens as well. They could start by reintroducing our citizens to the local restaurant scene. One way to educate locals and visitors to our food cultures would be for them to organize rotating neighborhood food crawls with the various restaurants (maybe presale tickets) offering up sampler platter events that are specifically designed to attract new and unfamiliar people to leave their comfort zones for new experiences. There are far too many people who think that a restaurant is a fast food/chain location. Fast food and Chains have their place in the restaurant industry and the QC region. But the truth is – a fast food place is just a subcategory of restaurants. And the QC has a plethora of local chains and independent restaurants that will help give them a special identity. Our fearless leaders just need find ways to start introducing the locals and visitors to our local hospitality and cuisines. Leadership and education creates increased self-awareness and enhances personal growth and success.

Gold-Digging Anna Nicole Smith Death Circus Continues

Even in death, the Anna Nicole Smith gold-diggers are trying to make as many last-second dollars off her fleeting fame as possible. The father of her son has filed a lawsuit attempting to have his son’s buried body moved from the Bahamas. This suspiciously concurs during the same time period where Smith’s mother filed a last ditch effort to prevent the burial of Smith in the Bahamas. And in perhaps the most ghoulish occurrence to date, in a series of questionable events surrounding Smith’s death, Howard Stern – The man whom was identified in the preceding court trial as the individual that directed and taped a bizarre incident where he suggested on tape that it would be profitable and in which Smith was stoned out on “mushrooms” not long before she gave birth to her daughter – has reportedly pre-sold a video that is to be made of the Anna Nicole Smith funeral today. Entertainment Tonight has been reported as one of the possibilities to haven purchased the video. I have heard other rumors that state the value of the video to have been anywhere from one to four million dollars. Stern is claiming he will not see much profit from the video. Sure I believe that, Not! I believe that almost as much as I believe that the whole series of lawsuits is really about who has the best interests of Smith’s daughter in mind; with Stern, ZERO concern about the kid’s best interest is what I believe! I believe that it is all about the multi-millions the kid will eventually inherit, assuming the final chosen guardian and all the potential guardians do not waste it away on trials and lawyers’ fees. How can there be any question as to how unfit Stern is to become the guardian and father figure to Smith’s daughter after this newest exposé of Stern’s latest gold-digging episode. From the moment of death, the eventual participants of this funeral ceremony have turned what should have been an occasion for mourning and a celebration of her life into an ever-expanding circus of shame.

Live Fast Die Young and Have a Good Looking Corpse Link