Thursday, November 30, 2006

Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc

Governor Rendell obviously is an FCB reader. Just a day after this appeared, the Governor ixnayed a move to allow table games in the casinos being established in Pennsylvania.

Worry not -- I will wield this power responsibly.

Department of Get a Life

Here's someone with too much time and too few problems. She says the guacamole didn't taste "avocadoey." Next time, read the packagey.

Beating the Rush

It's never too soon for some Cubs' fans (Hat tip: Deadspin).

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

90 is the Loneliest Number

The Phillies haven't won 90 games since their NL championship season in 1993, and nothing Pat Gillick has done thus far in the off-season puts them any closer to the number of wins that might get them to the post-season. Still no one to protect Ryan Howard, so expect the 2006 MVP to make a serious run at 200 walks next year. That will do wonders for his OBP, but not much else. And Adam Eaton? A three-year deal for a guy with this history? Puh-leeze. Let's hope Pat has something else going on.

Train of Thought

I spent several hours Monday on a train. Which led me to think, not surprisingly, about train travel. Which led me to choo choos. Which led me here. But not here.

More McGwire

Here's another view on Mark McGwire and the Hall of Fame. I get it, but I still don't agree. And I am particularly unmoved by the argument that McGwire should get in because Harmon Killebrew got in. First, Killebrew gets extra points for having a great name. Second, I just don't believe that McGwire's 583 home runs are worth more than -- or even as much as -- Killebrew's 573 home runs given the times in which each of them played. As I argued yesterday, don't keep McGwire out because of steroids, but don't pretend that performance-enhancing drugs don't matter. The total package, at least for me, just is not there.

Floodgates

Gee, who saw this coming? I do not oppose casino gambling, but ending this kind of serial legislating -- get something passed by downplaying its impact (slots only) and then quickly start with the add-ons, such as the bill that passed earlier this month allowing free drinks, and now apparently amendments to allow other games -- should be part of the reforms many are now seeking in light of last year's pay-raise fiasco.

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Minute Rice

I really thought these crazy kids were going to make it.

O, Brother, Who Paid Thou?

I have no idea whether Milton Street is guilty of the crimes he was charged with today. Here are two things you can be sure of though: 1) Milton will make sure he gets a free lawyer; and 2) his trial will not get bogged down by a parade of character witnesses.

John Street, who could not become ex-Mayor fast enough for me, could have put a stop to all his brother's shenanigans with a single announcement once he learned companies were paying his brother -- tens of thousands of dollars a month, if what the feds are saying is true -- to "consult," or whatever they are calling services rendered by political relatives these days. Mayor Street could have made clear that his brother's involvement with anyone seeking city contracts would be a conflict of interest for him and his administration and thus disqualify that entity from city business. Maybe Milton or one of the companies might have sued him, but so what? The city gets sued all the time. The message would have been sent. Instead, the Mayor even today was trotting out his usual "my brother is just like any other citizen entitled to try for city business" baloney. And so it goes.

The Cat's Meow

This is FCB Cat, guest-blogging for a few minutes (I think he's in the bathroom). Here's how the other half lives. Sigh.

The Past Is Prologue

Here's an interesting piece from Sunday's Inquirer from Claire Smith about Mark McGwire's Hall of Fame chances. A number of voters offer their opinions about McGwire, who is the first of the superstar alleged steroid users to appear on the HOF ballot. Everyone agrees he won't get anywhere near the 75 percent needed for induction. He will be lucky to get 25 percent.

I am amused by the moral outrage expressed by so many of these writers regarding McGwire and steroid use. Although it was apparent that he and many (probably a majority) of his peers used performance-enhancing drugs, very few of these writers said anything until Barry Bonds' head got so big that it flew next to Underdog in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. So spare me the sermons.

I would not vote for McGwire, but not because of the steroids issue. I agree with those who argue that McGwire was a one-dimensional player, and I would put him in the category of those who were very good but just not good enough for the HOF. Except for his 70-homer season in 1998, when he finished second to Sammy Sosa, he never was a serious MVP candidate. And while I would not vote against him because of the steroids thing, I do think you have to view his home run total in context. So, even his main qualification has to be inflation-adjusted, a type of bracket creep whose next victims are likely to be Sosa and Rafael Palmiero.

The most interesting decision of all is at least six years away, which is when Bonds may be first considered. I heard Buster Olney say on ESPN today that he does not think any of the superstars linked to steroids -- including Bonds -- will get in. My prediction is that Bonds will get in, although it may take a while. And what an induction speech that will be.

Holiday Leftovers

  • I spent the holiday weekend in New York, where it is always fun to read the purple prose provided by the New York Post and New York Daily News (I wish I had a dollar every time I saw the word "perv"). It's especially fun when one of their heroes has been wronged, at least when that is how those papers see it. "JEETED" screamed the Post headline (get it?) last week on the day after Derek Jeter lost the American League MVP award to the Twins' Justin Morneau. Please. The question is not whether Jeter deserved to win. Of course he did, at least if you accept that "deserved" means that it would not have been an outrage if he had won. But, c'mon, Morneau had a monster season: .321 BA/34 HR/130 RBI/.934 OPS for a division-winning team that had the best record in the majors after June 1. A vote for him was hardly jeeting.
  • Wait 'till next year might by an old baseball expression, but it sure doesn't apply to general managers this off-season. The strike-less new labor agreement demonstrates that there is lots of money for everyone in baseball right now. What I don't get is why GMs think they have to spend it all this off-season on a seriously mediocre crop of free agents. I won't change my view that Soriano signing is the worst of the group, if only because it will cost the most money. But why would the Dodgers give Juan Pierre 5 years and $44 million? He's a leadoff guy whose OBP has not cracked .330 in two years and is only .350 for his career. The Gary Matthews, Jr. deal is even worse. He had a "career" 2006 season in his walk year -- and still managed only .313 BA/19 HR/79 RBI. Basically, his best season ever is what Albert Pujols manages to do by the All-Star break. No matter. Matthews got 5 years and $50 million from the Angels (memo to Juan Pierre: fire your agent). The Angels will be begging teams to take that contract off their hands within two years.

Monday, November 20, 2006

Dumb Dumb Dumb

Allow me to join the long, long line of those trying to decide whether the Cubs' eight-year, $136 million deal with Alfonso Soriano is the worst contract decision of all time or merely one of the five worst. Here's an interesting take that I think is spot on. Who knew that Soriano is Pat Burrell with speed?

Soriano will be pushing 40 when the contract ends, a time when almost no one -- especially now that drug-testing is here to stay --produces anywhere near enough to justify $17 million a year. Sure, he has hit for some power (46 home runs in 2006), but who cares that he's a "40-40 guy" since most steals are irrelevant anyway. I guess the Cubs also don't care that his career OPS is just okay, he strikes out more often than Mel Gibson on J-Date, and he is at best a very average left-fielder. There has actually been some talk today that he will play centerfield for the Cubs. Yikes! Keep the women and children away!!

What is amazing is that the Cubs have spent more than $200 million on Soriano and Aramis Ramirez (five years, $75 million, but at least is is only 28) but done nothing to address their pitching problems, other than to -- inexplicably -- re-sign Kerry Wood. The Cubs could have saved a lot of time and trouble by simply taking the $1.75 million they will pay Wood in 2007 and depositing all that cash at the bottom of Lake Michigan.

Have fun, Lou.

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Voice of Experience

Although President Bush gives no evidence of listening to anyone, he might want to listen to Henry Kissinger, given his first-hand experience with the human and financial costs of pointless wars.

What Becomes a Building Most?

Here's a lovely picture taken by someone who appears to live about two blocks from FCB World Headquarters. For those of you who are checking in from outside the Philadelphia area, the building on the left is the 30th Street train station. The building on the right is the new Cira Center, whose interesting architectural and lighting elements this picture does not quite capture.

I usually call the Cira Center the "No Tax Tower" because of its most interesting, if non-architectural, feature: As part of the deal to get it built, the area where the building stands was declared a "Keystone Opportunity Zone," and income from partnerships was exempted from both state and city taxes for 15 years. Many law firms are partnerships, and the management of Dechert and Woodcock Washburn, two large and very profitable City-based firms, quickly realized that some opportunity zones present more attractive opportunities than others. So they agreed to move a few blocks to the new building and -- poof -- now some of Philadelphia's highest-paid people (note that the tax break applies to partners, but not to the significantly lesser paid staff or even associates) won't be paying those pesky state and City taxes, which total a little more than seven percent, for another decade or so.

My application to make my dining room table a Keystone Opportunity Zone remains pending.

Painting By Big Numbers

Emotional reactions are by their nature neither easily explainable to or understandable by those who do not share the same emotions. Perhaps that is why I do not get all the wailing and gnashing of teeth over the imminent sale by Thomas Jefferson University of the Thomas Eakins' painting "The Gross Clinic."

Even accepting that the work is a masterpiece, Eakins' finest effort, and an artistic icon deeply rooted in Philadelphia's cultural history, I cannot criticize Jefferson for getting $68 million for an asset that was generating no income and that does nothing to advance the University's mission. No student is not going to matriculate, no prospective faculty member is going to accept another offer, and no patient care will be negatively impacted because this painting is leaving town. Life goes on.

Sunday, November 12, 2006

One Candle

This blog turns one year old on Tuesday. When it began, I said I would give this blogging thing a try and see what happens. So, what has happened?

Although FCB has not tipped any elections, ended any wars, restored any civil liberties, prevented the escalation of gun violence in Philadelphia, or made the loathsome less loathsome, it has achieved its primary purpose: giving me a corner of the Internets to say whatever I want whenever I want, thus reducing for many of my relatives and friends the social awkwardness fleeing a room so often brings.

Although I have done a little more than 200 posts of various lengths, complexity, and gravity, I wish it could have been more. But, as I have said before, life intrudes. I am confident that Year Two of the FCB Era will see more posts, in large part due to the birthday present I am giving myself: a notebook computer that will allow me to, among other things, post from the road and when Mrs. FCB is using the desktop to handle less important tasks, such as paying for food, shelter, and utilities.

Many thanks to those who have taken the time to read what I have had to say, especially to the folks who have submitted comments. A special thanks to Mrs. FCB, who has always been encouraging and supportive, remains inexplicably tolerant of my, uh, quirks, and doesn't seem to mind being referred to as "Mrs. FCB."

Thank you all.

Saturday, November 11, 2006

We'll Always Have Boca Raton

I guess Rummy will be staying close to home for a while. Talk about your bad weeks. First, the President throws you under the bus, and then you are accused of war crimes by the Germans.

Distant Replay

I have written before about my ambivalence with instant replay. Here's another reason why college football should just dump the whole thing. If you can't even get it right in the biggest game of the year -- a game you had weeks to prepare for -- you might as well forget it. Maybe they keep it because watching the referee standing off the field using headphones while million-dollar coaches and dozens of full-scholarship athletes do nothing makes for such riveting television.

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Ich Bin Ein a Dope

Whatever happened to "Jimmy, Jimmy, he's our man..."?

Day 1 of the 08 Race

I'm no political expert, but one race that hasn't gotten the attention it deserves is the result in the Ohio gubernatorial election. Any Democrat running for President in 2008 has to find one or two states that went for President Bush in 2000 and 2004 to flip. The electoral vote math doesn't work otherwise. With the big wins by by Ted Strickland and Sherrod Brown yesterday, Ohio's political infrastrucure is now controlled primarily by Democrats, which strikes me as quite significant given how close the last two Presidential races have been there. Just a thought.

The Bad News

The dreadful Lieberman wins. Did you hear his speech last night crowing about how the voters have sent a clear message for change? The very message he ignored when sent by his party's own voters. Now that's chutzpah.

The So-So News

Casey wins. Nothing could tell you more about how much people disliked Rick Santorum.

You can come out from under your desk now, Bob. Your father's desk, no doubt.

The Good News

Santorum loses. And the best part is he didn't just lose, he was crushed by 18 points, the type of personal smackdown all holier-than-thou hypocrites deserve but all too rarely get. May we never hear his name again.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Stay the Course

In other news, General George A. Custer announced today that he believes things are starting to turn around at Little Bighorn...

What's the French Word for "Doofus"?

It takes a special type of political ineptitude to have volunteered for military service during war time, gotten shot, and won medals, yet still be made to look like someone who most Americans would not want to be responsible for the security of a tool shed. Please, Senator Kerry, it's over. It has been over since November 2004. Just go wind-surf some place far, far away.