Daily Archives: August 14, 2004

Expos pound Stros

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The Stros wasted a solid pitching performance from Carlos Hernandez as their fragile bullpen again allowed the Expos to trounce the Stros late, 8-3 in Montreal on Saturday night.
Hernandez’s performance was promising, as he yielded three runs on seven hits in six innings. His velocity is not what it was before his injury (a torn labrum), but he battled gamely and put the Stros in a position to win the game. Reliever Chad Qualls screwed the pooch, giving up 5 runs in the seventh, including a grand salami to Nick Johnson. Beyond Lidge, the Stros bullpen is falling into oblivion.
Oh, and let’s not overlook the Stros’ offense. Four hits, three runs. Bags had a two run yak and a double, but the impotency of the Stros’ offense has to be discouraging for the pitching staff members, who know they have no margin for error.
Pete Munro attempts to salvage a game in this series before the Stros take off to Cincy for a series with the reeling Reds. It will be nice to see the Stros play a club that is playing as badly as they are.

VDH on the Politics of bashing

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Victor Davis Hanson’s NRO column this week picks up on the phenomenom that Professor Ribstein noted some time ago — the almost pathological hatred of President Bush exhibited by some on the political left. The entire column is well worth reading, but Professor Hanson’s conclusion is particularly insightful and also cautionary:

In short, the Left hates George W. Bush for who he is rather than what he does. Southern conservatism, evangelical Christianity, a black-and-white worldview, and a wealthy man’s disdain for elite culture ? none by itself earns hatred, of course, but each is a force multiplier of the other and so helps explain the evolution of disagreement into pathological venom.
September 11 cooled the furor of these aristocratic critics, but Iraq re-ignited it. Not voting for George Bush is, of course understandable and millions in fact will do precisely that. But for those haters who demonize the man, their knee-jerk disgust tells us far more about their own shallow characters than it does anything about our wartime president.
And there is a great danger in all these manifestations of pure hatred. We are in a war. And in these tumultuous days, the Left’s unhinged odium will resonate with and embolden not only our enemies abroad, but also the deranged, dangerous folk here at home.

Read the entire piece.

The next big threat – EMP Blast

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This Opinion Journal piece discusses the likely outcome of an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) attack on the United States, which Department Department officials have been being discussing just below the public surface for the past few years. Not a pretty prospect.

Expos edge Stros

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The Expos came back to score two runs with two outs in the 12th to beat the Stros 6-5 for their sixth win in a row, three of which have come over the hapless Stros.
Chad Harville (does he not have any minor league options left or what?) blew his second straight save opportunity and took the loss for the Stros. After yaks by Carlos Beltran, Jeff Kent, and Morgan Ensberg had tied the game in the ninth and then given the Stros a 5-4 lead in the 12th, Harville pitched the 12th and actually got the first two outs. He then proceeded to give up a tater, two walks, and the game winning single. Why is this guy still on the major league roster?
Roger Clemens was not sharp, but he battled through six innings and kept his club in the game until the outburst in the ninth. Five other Stros relievers before Harville looked good. Again, why is this guy still on the major league roster?
Stros fans get to see former phenom Carlos Hernandez today get his first start in two years on his road back from shoulder surgery. Oh yeah, did I remember to ask why Harville is still pitching for the major league club?