Despite my sorry existence as a long-suffering fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates, it must be noted that, last night, the Tampa Bay Rays clinched the American League East title with the best record in the league. Yes, they performed even better that the hated Red Sox and the stinkin’ Yankees. Two things are of note. First, the Rays accomplished this feat with a payroll 1/3 or even 1/4 that of the large market teams, with players that no one other than the most freakish sports fan would recognize.
Secondly, and this is the central part of my message today, is that the Rays discovered the ultimate secret to long-term success against these giant teams in giant markets, all thanks to the COVID virus which has emptied baseball stadiums this Summer. Whereas the Rays’ management has historically whined about having too few in attendance, in the neighborhood of 10,000 bodies average per game, worst in baseball, they have now discovered that they have had too many fans in the stands. Somehow, the Rays play better in empty stadiums. I propose that from this year forward, the Rays cease ticket sales to all home games, thus ensuring a superior quality of play. WHY NOT, WHAT THE HECK !
With little else to do today, now seven months into the pandemic, I spent a little time perusing the energy policy generated by the “alternative America party (AAP)”. Unless my reading glasses are totally fogged up, the AAP, and its leader Joe Biden, see a world in 15-20 years totally devoid of fossil fuels ( and jobs), to be replaced by a 100% clean energy economy and net-zero emissions in 30 years, managed by D.C. bureaucrats and manned by newly-trained masses performing “green jobs”. Cool, huh ? Does that mean they have to wear green overalls, or does it refer to the short time that the green money they earn remains in their clutches before massive new taxation ?
Among other small hurdles, this dream relies totally on “fantasies about the development of new technologies that don’t currently exist and in all liklihood will never exist (Manhattan Contrarian 9/9/20)”. So, the AAP cannot tell us what the magic new technologies are, what they will cost, and how they will make our everyday lives better. Some evening, among the fairy tales you might choose to end your day, read the AAP’s Plan for a Clean Energy Revolution and Climate Justice. Pure fairy dust ! WHAT THE HECK !
Commentary on day-to-day events
Despite my sorry existence as a long-suffering fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates, it must be noted that, last night, the Tampa Bay Rays clinched the American League East title with the best record in the league. Yes, they performed even better that the hated Red Sox and the stinkin’ Yankees. Two things are of note. First, the Rays accomplished this feat with a payroll 1/3 or even 1/4 that of the large market teams, with players that no one other than the most freakish sports fan would recognize.