Monday's Missives

• The question was asked when talking about steroids in pro baseball,"What if it were Nolan Ryan we're talking about?" The point being if you thought all the users are scum.
• Interestingly, if talking about football the numbers may not be all that high in my opinion but, in baseball the holy hand wringing- especially say- 10 or more years ago is very, very naive- I guarantee you essentially 100% used steroids at some point.
• I hardly ever get naive or guarantee correct the first time.
• My patient died this morning before I got to them. It's a relief sometimes when that happens- like cutting class- I break out a movie, a book, go for ride or whatever, kind of fun- playing hooky. But, I always at some point in that day think of the family and hope they are OK even though I never met them or their loved one.
• The best nursing facility I've been in with easily the best nursing, rehab and dietary department etc. was a dump- literally a dangerous looking place in a bad neighborhood. The one which has easily the most beautiful facility I've ever been in in North Texas always has such a blase' attitude toward their patients when I go in, it very much borders on neglect.
• I gave Zac a piece of peach to take his sister when I made his this morning. After he gave it to her he smiled real big and said," Are you happy sister?"
• My sister is wanting to organize a regular family reunion- I hope she pulls it off- they can be fun and important. When we had them in the past we did them at the Wise County Posse Grounds in Decatur TX which was cool since a lot of the family has or had roots there and the counties reunion fair is there annually anyway.
• Sad, how often we think about reunions at of course- funerals and every time we say we need to get together... there are fewer and fewer people you call family to pull together. I do like though that there would be people from all sides of the families- in laws and outlaws etc. who would feel perfectly welcome to come if we can pull it off.
• Supposedly, if I laid out my political beliefs for you and you were an expert in political labeling you'd stamp me a Libertarian.
• Although I'd have to ask,"Is there a such thing as a qualified Libertarian?"
• Anybody who doesn't see a bias in the main news outlets toward a liberal political view seems dishonest to me. If I could honestly call myself liberal in my political thinking my response to the accusation would be along the lines of,"Of course it would seem that way if nothing else- we're right."
• A standout example on this subject: recently a guy defended his family against a burglar with a baseball bat- his aluminum ally I remember very well it being called because I simply could not check the news without hearing about one aspect or another of that story. The homeowner broke the burglars jaw and he was found in a storage shed nearby.
• You would have never heard a thing about it from any of those sources if it was a pistol he used- and have to know I'm right.

You Should Know A Little About

Jim Abbott

"In 1989, Abbott joined the California Angels' starting rotation as a rookie without playing a single minor league game. That season, he posted a 12-12 record with an ERA of 3.92. His 12 wins in his first professional season were the most since Mark Fidrych won 19 for the Detroit Tigers in 1976, and he finished fifth in the year's Rookie of the Year voting.

In 1991, Abbott won 18 games with the Angels while posting an ERA of 2.89, finishing third in the American League Cy Young Award voting. In 1992 season, he posted a 2.77 ERA, but his win-loss record fell to 7-15 for the sixth-place Angels. No player since 1917 started at least 20 games, had an ERA under 3.00, and had a worse winning percentage. Abbott was also won the Tony Conigliaro Award in 1992.



On September 4, 1993 while pitching for the New York Yankees, Abbott pitched a no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians.



In 1994, Abbott's Yankees led the American League East, but the 1994 Major League Baseball strike ended the season on August 12, 1994. The following year, after starting the season with the Chicago White Sox, he returned to the California Angels, who held a 11 game lead over the Seattle Mariners in August, but lost the American League West in a one-game playoff to the Mariners.


When preparing to pitch the ball, Abbott would rest a right-handed thrower's glove on the end of his right forearm. After releasing the ball, he would quickly slip his hand into the glove, usually in time to field any balls that a two-handed pitcher would be able to field. Then he would remove the glove by securing it between his right forearm and torso, slip his hand out of the glove, and remove the ball from the glove, usually in time to throw out the runner, and sometimes even starting double plays. During international play, Cuba once decided to repeatedly bunt against him, hoping that he wouldn't be able to manage, which proved to be an unsuccessful strategy."-Wikipedia





Strange habit you say? Oh, imagine my embarrassment, I forgot to mention he was born without a right hand!