Disasters

Isn't it amazing how much force natural disasters can pack?  Right now I'm thinking of Hurricane Matthew.  The wind.  The water.  And we can do nothing to stop it.  Boy, wouldn't it be great if some day we learn how to harness all that power?

I read through the Detroit newspaper's grades of the Detroit Tigers for the '16 season.  Despite the failure to make the playoffs, a number of players received grades of A.  Verlander, yep!  Imagine his season, his best in several years.  Take away the one or two early disastrous outings and he might well have a Cy Young season on his hands.  Lots of strikeouts.  Very low ERA.  I think he ended up with 15 or 16 wins, even with several games the relievers blew for him and a couple he lost with zero run support.  Another was Kinsler.  He is really fun to watch.  I think he has an odd swing, almost sweeping at the ball.  But the man can hit!  And he is very, very good defensively, runs bases well, and is a good guy in the clubhouse.  Several others, including the two Martinezes, had good grades and deserved them.  Iglesias was also highly graded, again deservedly.  I like the kid third baseman, Castellanos, too.  It was a good move, I think, to bring back the manager, Ausmus.  Last night, there was a guy bemoaning that, really upset by it.  I asked why.  "Well, he leaves his pitchers in too long!"  Hmmm......  I told him, "If I was a hitter, I'd much rather see someone come in from the Tiger bullpen, anyone from the Tiger bullpen, than face Verlander, even a tired Verlander."  There was no answer to that.  I might be wrong, but......

But more than anything, I liked the A give to Cabrera.  As the grader said, "He's the greatest.  What else is there to know?"  In what seemed like a relatively quiet season, he only hit about .315 or .316, with about 110 RBIs (for how many consecutive seasons?), and almost 40 HRs.  And, as was noted in the article, he struggled through the season with several nagging injuries, that really never completely healed.  I hope Tiger fans know how lucky they are to have witnessed this guy hit a baseball.

The Lord Jeffs saw their 20-game winning streak end today at Middlebury--on a blocked extra point attempt.  That's quite a streak, esp for college players who actually have to go to class, do the work, etc.  I traveled to Middlebury only once in my four years up there and forgot how beautiful it is there.  The hills/mountains in the background, with the beginnings of the change of leaves, were really something.

I am sitting on several books others have sent to me, sent with strong recommendations.  I hope to get to them this week, at least one of them.  I am wrapping up the last of my review books, but still have some essays/papers to grade, too.

Yesterday, just before dinner, it was 82 degrees here, with some humididity [sic].  It took quite a while for me to stop "schweating" after cleaning up.  But, this AM, at 6:00, it was 45 degrees outside.  With highs expected in the upper 50s, maybe 60, the next couple days, Wed is supposed to push 80 degrees again.  Go figure......