2011 World Series Outlook

COACHING:

STL - Tony La Russa, Dave Duncan, Mark McGwire

TEX- Ron Washington, Mike Maddux, Scott Coolbaugh

La Russa has been pushing the right buttons all season long.  People forget St. Louis hasn't had their ace right-hander Adam Wainwright too.  What he and his coaching staff have done throughout this postseason is truly magical.

Advantage: St. Louis Cardinals

STARTING PITCHING:

STL - Chris Carpenter, Edwin Jackson, Kyle Loshe, Jaime Garcia

TEX - C.J. Wilson, Derek Holland, Colby Lewis, Matt Harrison














Poor starting pitching from Texas has been survived by the best offense in baseball.  The Cardinals have been without the aforementioned Wainwright but the leader of their staff, Chris Carpenter has been tough as nails.  The Rangers rely on their bullpen, while the Cardinals try to get goose eggs any way they can.  Pujols and Holliday will be anxious to hit against the Rangers lefty dominant staff.  I like the Cardinals' front men over the struggling Rangers rotation.

Advantage: St. Louis Cardinals

BULLPEN:

STL - Jason Motte, Fernando Salas, Octavio Dotel, Arthur Rhodes

TEX - Neftali Feliz, Alexi Ogando, Mike Adams, Darren Oliver

Texas has the best bullpen in baseball.  Mike Adams, statistically the best reliever over the past few years doesn't even take the mound unless the game goes to extra innings.  Feliz and Ogando are untouchable with some of the most electric stuff in the game.  St. Louis has a makeshift bullpen that doesn't come close to matching up with their counterparts.

Advantage: Texas Rangers

OFFENSE:

STL - Rafael Furcal, Allen Craig, Jon Jay, Albert Pujols, Lance Berkman, Matt Holliday, David Freese, Yadier Molina

TEX - Ian Kinsler, Elvis Andrus, Josh Hamilton, Michael Young, Adrian Beltre, Mike Napoli, Nelson Cruz, David Murphy

Both teams have strong bats in the middle of the order.  Texas' depth from one to nine though is hard to beat.  This series is definitely loaded with offense and should make for some exciting baseball.

Advantage: Texas Rangers

DEFENSE: Push

FINAL PREDICTION - WINNER & MVP:

Texas can out-slug any team in baseball with their power and depth.  Not to mention, they play 7 innings, rather than the conventional 9 because they have two dominant power arms lurking in the bullpen. If Texas has a lead and they can get the ball to Ogando and Feliz for the 8th and 9th, it's over folks.  Texas' only weakness this postseason has been their starting pitching, specifically their ace, C.J. Wilson.  I think Texas is the overall better team playing with some added motivation after last year's World Series loss to San Francisco.  If they can win on the road and get some quality innings from their starting rotation this series could be over quickly.

St. Louis has been playing elimination games since September and have definitely proven their worth.  They've had to go through it all, facing dominant pitching in the Phillies and dealing with a high-powered offense in the Brewers.  St. Louis is surely the underdog but are definitely no slouch.  They have a potent offense of their own with Pujols, Holliday, Berkman, and Freese in the middle.  The Cardinals also have ol' Mo and the all important home field advantage on their side.  They are playing with a chip on their shoulder going into what is going to be an exciting World Series.

When it's all said it done, I don't think St. Louis will have a "happy flight;" they won't need a flight.  They'll win Game 6 at home in Busch Stadium with Joe Buck making the proud call for his hometown redbirds.

"It's not about the best players, it's about the right ones."

2011 WORLD SERIES CHAMPION: 

St. Louis Cardinals

1 STL, 2 TEX, 3 STL, 4 STL, 5 TEX, 6 STL

 

MVP: Albert Pujols

Kill the Death Penalty

"Kill, kill, kill."  Turns out, the NFL and capital punishment have a similar war-cry.

In the NFL, teams frequently use the term "kill, kill, kill" to audible different plays on the field as a means of strategy.  In the U.S. government, however, "kill, kill, kill" has been the bread-and-butter play call 1,268 times, every single time resulting in a "perfect" execution.

The Sept. 21 execution of Troy Davis has sparked all kinds of controversy, most of them questions concerning whether Davis was guilty and deserving of receiving the death penalty.  The fact that the man is now dead and there were prior questions regarding his guilt immediately grabbed my attention.

I did some general research on the death penalty itself and came across some alarming facts, mostly all of them opposing the death penalty, much like myself.

The society we live in today is surrounded by death; whether it be from cancer, suicide, heart failure, murder, natural causes, or serving our hypocritical country, death is everywhere.  And what better way to "kill" this enormity of death than to continue with the use of capital punishment.

There are various issues with capital punishment, to say the least.  All of them, to me, are complete BS and give no legitimate reason to why the death penalty is installed in our legal system.

The first issue, to me, is baffling.  With the economic crisis we are struggling with, it would seem to me our government would be, let's say, economically sensitive.  According to the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, "the cost from start to finish in a single death penalty case can be as high as $7 million, while it's only estimated to be around $500,000 in cases resulting in life imprisonment."

More importantly, "the millions of dollars spent on capital punishment cuts into resources for other community interests, such as schools, hospitals, public safety, and jobs."  Well, it doesn't surprise me that tax dollars are feeding our bloodthirsty bodies rather than building better schools or funding medical care.

The next issue addresses the notion that capital punishment restores social order and peace of mind within the community.  Well, according to the NCADP, "many countries are able to preserve social order and maintain public confidence without using the death penalty, such as Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Poland, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Also, these countries generally have lower murder rates than does the United States."

In addition, "many American states do not have the death penalty, including Alaska, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.  Also these states generally have lower murder rates than do states with the death penalty."  Out of all those countries listed it would seem that us Americans, us proud, honorable, brave Americans would take a stand to end capital punishment.

Thirdly, like the case with Troy Davis, are these people truly guilty?  And even if they are guilty, are they receiving a fair sentence?  Kathleen Parker of the Washington Post seems to believe that the government is a little quick to pull the plug.  "Our barbaric practice of capital punishment, premeditated and coldblooded, is, since we're in a biblical mood, an abomination. That we grant the state the power to end a citizen's life is a harrowing-enough thought. That we do so even when we know with certainty that sometimes innocents are killed is beyond comprehension."  The NCADP adds that, "at least 138 people have been exonerated from death row since 1973, including 23 from Florida alone."  So much for "life," liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

With all of these oppositions to the death penalty, it must be noted that losing a family member or friend is not something to be overlooked.  Our innate human response to death is anger, frustration, and sadness.  However, as difficult as it may seem, there has to be a better alternative.  The instant gratification or release of pain by avenging the death of a loved one is temporary.  The want to take someone's life, even if proven guilty, is everlasting and ongoing.

As the late Mohandas Gandhi said, "an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." 

There is nothing positive that comes from capital punishment, unless you own a cemetery. Continual death undermines our existence on earth and our freedom to live out a positive life.  It is so hypocritical for our nation, a nation that believes in freedom, second chances, and happiness to continuously carry out the death penalty.  Yes, they're guilty, we get it, but put them in prison, don't put them in hell.  All we do by killing these people is add to our already aggressive and violent nature.

I understand that there are varying degrees of criminals in our world, and some crimes would, on paper, warrant someone to be killed. However, killing someone is unnatural, it's inhuman, and it's not our purpose, nor should it be.  Without life, there is nothing, plain and simple.

Death is, and never should be the answer, especially in regards to our very own species.

"Live, live, live."

Fullerton Cops on Paid Leave

Nothing says "punishment" like being rewarded with paid leave after beating a man to his death.

According to the Orange County Register, "two Fullerton police officers facing criminal charges for the beating death of a mentally ill homeless man will continue to collect their full paychecks while the city does its own internal investigation." 

Despite favoring the way Orange County district attorney Tony Rackauckas has handled the majority of this case, I believe these officers should not be receiving full pay and benefits throughout this investigation process.  I believe some sort of deduction or complete hold on their salaries should be in order, especially for the two most-involved officers, Manuel Ramos and Cpl. Jay Cicinelli.

The Los Angeles Times reports that, "Ramos, charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter, pleaded not guilty Monday (Sept. 26). He remains jailed and the judge declined to lower his $1-million bail. Cicinelli pleaded not guilty last week to charges of involuntary manslaughter and excessive use of force and was released on $25,000 bail."

While the case carries on, these men, along with four other officers on administrative leave are cashing in.  I just don't understand how these men, particularly the two charged officers, can continue to be paid when, "officer Manuel Ramos is charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter and if convicted, faces up to 15 years to life in prison.  Cicinelli is charged with involuntary manslaughter and use of excessive force. Those charges carry a maximum sentence of four years in prison,"  this according to Lisa Wilson, an Orange County lawyer.

According to the Los Angeles Times, "defense attorneys for the two Fullerton police officers charged in the death of Kelly Thomas on Monday, Sept. 26 described the homeless man as a violent and dangerous criminal who was combative with officers and provoked them to use force."

Well, I was not actually there, so I will never know every little detail.  That said, what I do know is that Kelly Thomas was 135-pounds, homeless by choice, mentally ill, and approached on suspicion of auto burglary.  And in my opinion, he was bullied, battered, and bruised when other measures - safer and more civilized measures - could have, and should have, been taken.

In regards to Thomas being 135-pounds; why does it take six police officers to subdue him?  Why, instead of handcuffing him and putting him a patrol car, was he tasered and beaten multiple times, eventually to his death five days later in the hospital?

In regards to Thomas being homeless; according to his father, Kelly was homeless by choice.  This may be a stretch, but leads me to believe that any business he had looking through car windows is harmless.

In regards to Thomas being mentally ill; even if he wasn't complying, why does it suddenly become a pride of lions preying on a lowly deer?  According to the Huffington Post, "Officer Manuel Ramos donned the gloves and made two fists in front of him (Thomas). Prosecutors say Ramos then said: 'Now see my fists? They are getting ready to F you up.'"

According to Ramos' lawyer, "it was an attempt by the officer to use words not force to get the suspect to do what he's supposed to do.  He sought to avoid physical confrontation with word and there was no compliance by Mr. Thomas."
Unfortunately for Ramos, Rackauckas didn't buy it. "This declaration was a turning point - a defining moment. We simply cannot accept that in our community it is within a police officer's right to place gloves on his hands, show his fists to a detainee and threaten that he will `eff' him up - that is not protecting and serving."
I could not agree more with Rackauckas.  However, I am still puzzled, and quite frankly irritated as to why these men have been getting paid throughout these investigations. Their duty as a police officer is on hold, why isn't their salary?

Fullerton police Sgt. Andrew Goodrich stated, "I realize that, to the public, that appears wrong, but we have to make sure that we are making lawful decisions when it comes to employment status."
According to the same article in the Orange County Register, "legal experts who have defended police officers in the past said Fullerton would likely face legal challenges if it fired the officers without doing its own investigation and showing that they were guilty of misconduct."
Unfortunately, perception is sometimes reality, and in this case these officers are being rewarded for their acts of brutal violence.  The last thing the Thomas family or anyone aware of this case wants is for these police officers to be rewarded for their crime, even in the slightest bit.

The only payment these men should be receiving should come from the public's tax dollars that give prisoners three meals a day.