Mark A. Kilmer (the weblog)

The Yankees are beating up the White Sox, 11-3, behind Moose, who I’ve been convinced should not be in the Major League lineup. He doesn’t have any options left, and neither does Farnsworth. No, Farnsworth was not traded. Cashman couldn’t give him away.

I looked at tonight, in my own, personal universe, as the start of the pennant race. I have my A-Rod and Mo autographed baseballs now in place, with Mickey and Joe, this is the first game after the trade deadline… let’s go.

The Yankees are going to doing youthful stuff with their bullpen, probably calling Joba Chamberlain up from AAA Scranton, where he’s been throwing in the high 90s. (Brian Bruney will probably be the one to drop to make room for Chamberlain.) And young Phil Hughes says he’ll be pitching against Gil Meche and the Royals on Saturday.

Boston is losing to Baltimore, which makes sense, as Bedard is a better pitcher than Beckett right now.

Aside from that, I’ve got my questions ready for a brief interview with Congressman Roy Blunt tomorrow. I’ll have that tomorrow both at RedState and here. I’m excited about this.

In unrelated news, the NAACP is asking us to keep an open mind about Mike Vick. All I’ve heard are allegations and a media pronouncement of guilt. My mind is open.

Rupert Murdoch and his NewsCorp appear set to purchase Dow Jones.

The Journal said, quoting unnamed people familiar with the situation, that Bancroft family members representing 32 percent of the company’s vote had agreed to the deal. A family spokesman declined to comment.

Murdoch’s News Corp. must still decide whether it is comfortable with that level of support in order to proceed. With some public shareholders likely to abstain, News Corp. wants a solid majority of votes committed to the deal.

Murdoch wants to win big.

Here is MSNBC’s David Sweet whining about the deal. He argues that everything Murdoch touches is ruined, asserting that the Los Angeles Dodgers were a good team until Murdoch purchased and destroyed the franchise. He wants the Wall Street Journal to stay stuck in the early 20th century, not adapting to new realities. (He explicitly says this in his piece.) Sweet’s problem, of course, is that his failing network’s failing financial network sisters, CNBC, had an exclusive deal with Dow Jones and the WSJ. Murdoch’s launching his business network in October, so it might spell the end for the dying CNBC franchise. And MSNBC might not be far behind.

C’est la vie.

Okay, it looks like the Yanks will be unloading Joe’s boy Scott Procter, one of the worst relief pitchers in the American League (hyperbole), for the Los Angeles Dodgers’ backup third baseman Wilson Betemit. He’s got Mitt in his surname, so he has that Romney thaang going, and he’s hitting in the .230s. The one good I see from him is that he has hit a home run about once every sixteen official plate appearances. The best item from this trade is that Procter will be gone.

Now, we need someone (Seattle?) to give us something for Igawa and anyone to take that smartass Farnsworth off our hands. The man is not a Yankee.

In related news, the Yankees have signed Mariano Rivera for three more years and Alex Rodriquez through 2014. Yes, I’m making that up, but I’ve purchased their autographed baseballs in hope of making such a thing so.

We can all breath a sigh of relief regarding the People’s Republic of China (PRC); to wit:

[The People’s Republic of] China on Tuesday deflected U.S. pressure for a faster rise in the yuan and bolder economic reforms by telling visiting Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson that it is still poor and poses no threat to anyone.

I am thankful for the assurance, and I appreciate their friendship. (Straight face and everything.)

Well, they’ve gone home for August, anyway. Chris Shays said on Late Edition yesterday that this is for the best, as the lawmakers won’t have to look at each other for a while.

It will be good if they come back refreshed and ready to get things done.

One of their officials promised, on LE last month, something big in September, before the deadline.

For those of us apprehensive about the loss of Tony Blair at Ten Downing Street, we’ve this from the AP, dateline: Camp David:

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown told President Bush Monday that he shares the U.S. view that there are “duties to discharge and responsibilities to keep” in Iraq.

“Our aim, like the United States is, step-by-step to move control to the Iraqi authorities,” Brown said, joining Bush at a news conference at the president’s Maryland mountaintop ranch.

Brown said that decisions about troops would only be made “on the military advice of our commanders on the ground,” echoing language often heard from Bush.

It is called sanity, and I am proud that our friends across the Atlantic still possess it.

As an aside, my Alex Rodriguez and Mariano Rivera autographed baseballs arrived earlier this afternoon, UPS, from Steiner Sports. I was not able to order a case directly with the Mariano Rivera ball, so it is now in its Rawlings box; I’ll go out to a local baseball collectibles store and buy a case for that one and for my Joe DiMaggio ball, which is in the same old thing it came with when I ordered it from QVC several ages ago.

These are my first baseballs of the digital age, as I’ve noted that the “certificates of authenticity” are actually cards with bar code.

Ths is a kewll deal, so to speak.

The Yankees beat the Orioles, 10-6, this afternoon, after the “Andrew” Dice-K and the BoSox lost to the lowly Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 5-2. That undoes the damage of yesterday, when the results of both games were different.

The Yankees now trail by 8. In their World Championship year of 2004, Boston trailed the Yankees by 7 ½ on July 29. SO. THERE.

Lefty blogger Yankees Chick has vid up of her discussing the possible trades. Right now, she thinks that Farnsworth, Proctor, and Myers might be shipped. She thinks someone will take Farnsworth. I’m thinking Farnsworth and A-Rod, with George picking up the salaries of both, for a low-A backup DH.

Farnsworth played in the major leagues today, believe it or not. The Yanks were up 10-4 when Joe brought Fransworth in to pitch the bottom of the eighth. Farnsworth immediately walked Bako and gave up a home run to Roberts.

Maybe Boston wants him.

I’ll put Yankee Chick in the blogroll soon. I promise.

Sunday, July 29, 2007

It is late July. The shows reflected this, but my hat is off to Wolf Blitzer, who started his CNN show with ominous word of the sound of gunfire in Baghdad. We were allowed to listen live as the guns popped and cracked, then Blitzer happily informed us that this was a celebration. The Iraqi national soccer team had defeated the Saudis, 1-0, to win the championship of the Asian games.

On ABC’s TW, Chuck Schumer said that they had no proof that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales did anything wrong, so they had better get a special prosecutor to find the proof they need. It’s a political stunt. Senator Orrin Hatch understood this.

On FNS, we learned that Newt was a child in France when the Fourth Republic died. He thinks the current debate format serves no real purpose, the Republicans don’t know how badly the system is broken, and the Dems are orbiting Neptune. He thinks Fred, Mitt, or Rudy will be a good nominee and will match up well against the eventual Dem ticket of Hillary/Obama.

On FNS, Russ Feingold said what Chuck said: we need a special prosecutor because we just know AGAG has done something wrong. AGAG is a “liar.” Host Chris Wallace asked him if this were just a political stunt, and Russ said that this was the worst Administration in history and he wants out of Iraq.

On MTP, Tim Russert talked to a bunch of journalists who said in unison: “Now look here. This is my opinion.”

On FTN, Pat Leahy called AGAG a liar and said he was giving AGAG one week to correct his lies, and then he’d better “contact an attorney.” Arlen Specter said that he had no idea what the domestic surveillance program was because no one had told him. He demanded to know.

First up on LE, UN Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad thinks that if Prime Minister Maliki were to demand that President Bush replace General Petraeus, the President would tell him to get lost. He promised that the UNSC was working on another resolution against Iran and their President Borat.

Next on LE, Chuck Rangel vented and fumed that “it’s all about oil, not WMD.” He thinks Republicans are looking for an excuse to ditch Bush and vote with the Dems on Iraq, thus they are eager for Maliki to demand Petraeus’s replacement. Chris Shays was dispassionate. The most remarkable thing he said was that he welcomed the Iraqi parliament’s planned August vacation, as they need a time away from each other.

National Urban League President Marc Morial and former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell talked about African Americans and the 2008 Presidential election. Only Mike Huckabee showed up at the Urban League convention in St. Louis, though Blackwell predicted that the nominee would speak at next year’s convention. Morial said that Obama was not the only choice for African Americans.

Blitzer next talked to Roy Blunt and Jane Harman. Both expressed some concern with the behavior of the Saudi government and felt the Administration should make its case for the proposed weapons sale. Blitzer mentioned the Maliki-Hates-Petraeus story, and Blunt said that he’d be surprised if it amounted to anything. Harman added said that she doubted Petraeus had any real mission. She argued that the surge has failed and Blunt retorted that it had barely begun to take effect.

Read the show-by-show review at RedState.com.

The Newsweek infotainment weekly, their web site, ran a piece last week about the Iraqi soccer team, which beat Vietnam. Newsweek sportswriter Joe Cochran has decided that Iraq and Vietnam should make common cause against the imperialists:

“Both have hosted U.S. forces, and both have suffered mightily in the aftermath.”

No, we tried to free Vietnam but our own Congress stopped it. We have freed Iraq, and we want to help them strengthen their freedom. Joe Cochran is a ditz.

As my buddy Academic Elephant reports at RedState, team Iraq is playing Saudi Arabia for the title.

My my, Iraq actually winning something, even a soccer match, seems to get them down. But maybe they’re the ones in a “no-win” situation rather than the team, so let’s pity their long, glum faces, loosen up and cheer a little.

She also points to the International Herald Tribune, which calls for the return of Saddam Hussein:

And should they win, it will release another bout of mass revelry back home and possibly more deaths on the streets of Baghdad, Basra and elsewhere.

The implication, of course, is that Saddam could have stopped this. But he’s dead.

Go team Iraq!

Kei Igawa is, right now, a bad pitcher. He was just sent packing for AAA. Phil Hughes will be ready by the next time they need a no. five starter, what with the off day on Monday. They called IF Chris Basak to take Igawa’s roster spot, which probably means that they are serious about getting IF Ty Wigginton from Tampa Bay. Word is that Scott Proctor, who still sucks, will be sent south for Wigginton, which would be good news.

Jeff Karstens is ready to come to the bullpen, so that’s something. Giambi is due back next month, which makes Damon even more useless than he already is. But his salary is awfully high to make decent trade bait.

I understand Carl Pavano is still under a Yankees contract. Fine. I’d sooner he not pitch, but that does not matter because he does not want to pitch and he does not want to be a Yankee. He likes the paycheck.

Lefty blogger Yankees Chick, who seems an intelligent sweetheart otherwise, writes this about Crazy Carl the Crab infestation:

He is currently laying in a nursing home bed in a full-body cast, being fed mashed bananas by a Red Cross volunteer.

Beautiful prose! She filed that post in a number of categories, including “pavano must die.” I’m starting to wonder the antipathy for Farnsworth exists only because we don’t have Pavano to lambaste right now. After all, Crazy Kyle the Krab infestation’s ERA in July under 3. And he can throw the ball a skillion miles an hour, though we can never be certain where.

No. Farnsworth and Pavano are individual cases of the C/Krabs, each deserving of his own emotional commitment.
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UPDATE: On the Igawa front, we have this from the Seattle Times:

Kenji Johjima and Ichiro both expressed pleasant surprise in the clubhouse after overhearing a TV report about the Mariners’ rumored trade interest in Yankees pitcher Kei Igawa, who is also Japanese.

Maybe. It depends what they could get, as second thoughts tell me that Igawa does have potential.

(HT, Was Watching.)

For Sunday, July 29, 2007

Meet the Press (NBC): Tim Russert hosts a bunch of journalists: Dan Balz of the WashPost; Ron Brownstein, the LAT columnist; John Harwood of the WSJ and CNBC; NCB News’ Andrea Mitchell, who resides in the asteroid 4 Vesta in the main belt; Eugene Robinson, a WashPost columnist; and Chuck Todd, the NBC News political director whom I assume might be related to President Lincoln’s widow.

FOX News Sunday (FNS): Host Chris Wallace interviews Newt about Newt.

Face the Nation (CBS): Host Bob Schieffer (D) chats with Pat Leahy (D) and Arlen Specter (R) probably about Week 347 of the “Firings-Gate Scandal” and about the proposed new Constitutional rules for the confirmation of Supreme Court nominees.

This Week (ABC): Host George Stephanopoulos (D) talks to Senator Schumer (D) and Hatch (R) about firings and Iraq.

Late Edition (CNN): Host Wolf Blitzer talks to UN Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, for whom Joe Biden expressed admiration on a number of occasions, Chuck Rangel (D) and Chris Shays (R), Roy Blunt (R) and Jane Harman (D), and his usual cast of thousands.
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MTP is a complete waste for our purposes this week. It will be interesting to see if Wallace can pin Newt down on this Presidential thing, as I’m starting to see a little Sybil.

Specter on FTN will get off a line or two in the President’s defense, but he’ll agree with Leahy in principle. TW promises to be lively, as Chuckie vs. Orrin are proving to be even better that Joe Biden vs. Orrin was two decades ago.

I suspect Rangel and Shays on LE will be another Leahy and Specter, and why do the producers of these shows book loosely-defined Republicans to debate unyielding Dems? I don’t know which Jane Harman will show up against Roy Blunt – the pseudo-rational Jane or the Babs Boxer Jane – but the Whip is proving to be almost brilliant in these situations.

I’ll watch them and have ‘em live for you tomorrow afternoon, over at RedState.

It seems that only John McCain and Ron Paul have agreed to do the CNN-YouTube debate for Republicans. McCain’s peeps must think he needs to do something, and Ron Paul is a little kooky. As for the rest, good for them.

Let’s learn from the Dem YouTube debate. It was a either a parody or a gimmick – or, more likely, a bit of both – with well-meaning people trying to put on a show while asking a question, either sneering or non-sequitur. Snowmen, songs, and snark.

YouTube is a new medium, too prone to the enable the fringe element or that outside part of the normal element to be a part of our official political process. Sing about being in love with Obama. Sing about being in love with Rudy. Have the girls fight.

It’s a gimmick. I cannot take it seriously. Candidates, please say no.

Yeah, Kei Igawa is a problem. (He’s Leon’s “favorite Yankee.) Farnsworth has been a problem for longer, and he’s come to symbolize a bullpen which can do little, save for Mo and sometimes Luis Vizcaino.

Here’s this:

Word is that the Yankees are so motivated to trade right-handed reliever Kyle Farnsworth that they’ve offered to pay some of his $5.5 million 2008 salary in order to get a deal done. Interested teams include the Tigers and Devil Rays, but it’s unclear how much of the money the Yankees would have to pay to get a deal done. An official with one team involved in the talks, speaking on condition of anonymity because the deals are still in the discussion stages, said the Yankees could move Farnsworth even if they weren’t getting another reliever back in a trade, since they could replace him with someone from their minor-league system.

The Yankees are looking for bullpen help, with their eye on Kansas City’s Octavio Dotel — one of the most popular players on the market and one of the most likely to move by Tuesday. … The Yankees are still quietly shopping center fielder Johnny Damon, trying to make room for Jason Giambi, who will have to be the DH when he returns. But Damon’s $13 million annual salary through 2009 likely makes any deal impossible.

Pay all of Farnsworth’s salary, George, if that’s what it takes. And pay Damon’s, too. Put Jason at first base.

PepsiCo, which sells Aquafina bottled water, announced a little surprise:

Pepsi’s Aquafina and Coca-Cola Co.’s Dasani are both made from purified water sourced from public reservoirs, as opposed to Danone’s Evian or Nestlé’s Poland Spring, shipped from locations the companies say have notably clean water.

No rustic mountain springs, no wildlife eating nearby; no, it’s tap water. It’s the same stuff which fills your commode, fergawdsakes. I do drink local spring water mostly, but between deliveries, I’m sometimes stuck with Aquafina or Dasani, but no more of that. It’s water from the public restrooms.

These bottles should bear the legend: “WARNING: THE SAME WATER THAT IS IN THE TOILET IN THE MEN’S ROOM AT THE GAS STATION.”

I don’t know how much of it is psych, but actual spring water tastes better to me than tap water. If I’d have known this stuff was also used to cart waste in old pipes in the city, I’d have thought twice about Aquafina/Dasani.

The new Washpost war correspondent in Baghdad is young Amit Paley, their former Education Department reporter who is a known and proven liar. He has had to be corrected in quite a few anti-Administration slurs, and his lies have caught the attention of even the WashPost then-ombudsperson, Deb Howell.

Erick Erickson has the story, including a list of the times Paley’s lies have had to be corrected, at RedState.com.

Paley has, in his brief career, made repeated, serious errors in his reporting. Each of his errors portrayed the Bush Administration in a very bad light, enough to garner criticism from Deborah Howell, WaPo’s own ombudsmen.

So, realizing they need to do something to get Paley off the Education beat and stop the embarrassing need to substantively correct his front page stories, WaPo has come up with a great idea. They are sending him to Iraq as a war correspondent.

He seems qualified, based on the fraudulent and/or half-assed reporting we’ve seen from the post and many other large media outfits.