The Astros announced a deal yesterday to pick up utility infielder, Mike Lamb. As usual, the Chronicle article portrays the deal as another key move by Astros’ general manager Gerry Hunsicker to bring in a strong left-handed hitter that will shore up the depth of the team. On the other hand, the incomparable Baseball Prospectus 2004 has this to say about the newly-acquired Mr. Lamb:
Mike Lamb 3b/1B Bats:L Throws: R Born: 09-Aug-75 Age 28
[statistics deleted]
The organization (the Texas Rangers) continued to sour on Lamb in 2003. You’ve heard the story hundreds of times before: A pretty good hitter who can’t quite stay far enough right on the defensive spectrum to justify a major league spot. Players like this are drawn by force of nature to the Sacramento River Cats.
Royal/Dutch Shell finally was able to enjoy some good news yesterday with this announcement of a breakthrough deal with Libya’s state oil company to explore for oil and natural gas that could give Shell access to as much as $1 billion worth of oil and gas in North Africa. The deal establishes guidelines for oil and gas exploration projects, including onshore exploration and the export of liquefied natural gas. It was the first time in 30 years that Shell had been invited to operate in Libya.
Libya, which is a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, has production capacity of about 1.6 million barrels a day. However, Libya’s reserve potential is far larger. Those reserves have been largely untapped because Libya’s infrastructure suffered from a chronic lack of investment over the past decade after economic sanctions were imposed in 1992 as a result of the Libya’s role in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.
One of Houston’s elite group of doctors who were integral to the development of the Texas Medical Center as one of the world’s finest medical institutions has died.
Dr. William Fields, a long-time professor of neurology at both Baylor Medical School and the University of Texas Medical School in the Medical Center, died Sunday at his Houston home at the age of 90. Dr. Fields was a pioneer in medical research and testing of the role of aspirin in the treatment and prevention of strokes. In the late 1970’s, Dr. Fields directed a major research project at 10 medical centers that established that aspirin may reduce minor stroke symptoms and also the likelihood of catastrophic strokes. Dr. Fields also was the first to assess the clinical value of carotid endarterectomy, which is the surgical removal of the lining of diseased or blocked arteries.
Dr. Fields was a colleague and dear friend of my late father, Dr. Walter Kirkendall, with whom he collaborated on many research projects. Through this friendship with my father, I had the privilege of knowing Dr. Fields, who was a wonderful and engaging man. Dr. Fields and my father were members of a generation of American doctors who revolutionized the purpose of medicine and health care in our society, and we all should pause and contemplate the magnificent contributions that this generation of doctors has given to each of us.