The Cubs and Brewers remain tied for first place, one game ahead of the Cardinals, in the National League Central pennant race. I should point out that the Cubs and Brewers are one game above .500; the Cardinals, at .500. So, yes, the NL Central pennant will go to a mediocre team this year.
Sigh.
We're looking forward to another lovely day in Chicago: 25°C, sunny, light breeze, crystal-clear skies. What more perfect day to wake up with the news that, not only are the Cubs still hanging on to first place, but also Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has finally resigned, no doubt to spend some quality time with his defense lawyers:
Mr. Gonzales, who had rebuffed calls for his resignation, submitted his to President Bush by telephone on Friday, the official said. His decision was not announced immediately announced, the official added, until after the president invited him and his wife to lunch at his ranch near here.
The official who disclosed the resignation today said that the decision was Mr. Gonzales’s and that the president accepted it grudgingly. At the same time, the official acknowledged that the turmoil over Mr. Gonzales had made his continuing as attorney general difficult.
The turmoil has made the job difficult? Kind of like someone shooting his parents and then bemoaning his lot as an orphan, isn't it?
Well, with 512 days and 3 hours (or less) remaining in the worst administration in history, the President can still do enormous harm to the country, but with Gonzales back in Houston he'll now have none of his original cronies to help.
Update, 10:25 CDT: Does anyone else find some irony in his last day being September 17th?
I almost had to pull over this afternoon when I heard about the Orioles losing 30-3 to the Rangers last night:
...[T]he Orioles were battered by a team that kept batting around. They surrendered six home runs, two of them grand slams, and a club-record 29 hits. They also gave up the most runs scored in the majors since 1900, historic indiscretions that punctuated a 30-3 loss to the Texas Rangers before a sparse but wildly entertained gathering at Camden Yards.
Wow, only one Baltimore error:
| Final |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
R |
H |
E |
| Texas « |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
9 |
0 |
10 |
6 |
30 |
29 |
1 |
| Baltimore |
1 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
9 |
1 |
In sum: Cubs still in first place, Cardinals slip farther into third, and the White Sox fall—or perhaps, saunter vaguely downwards—into last place.
What a great way to wake up. The Cubs have moved into first place. Only by half a game...but still, it's a nice way to wake up.
The Chicago Tribune on one of the worst divisional contests in recent memory:
It could be the worst divisional race in recent memory, but someone has to win the National League Central. The Brewers blew an 8 1/2-game lead, the Cardinals are coming out of their midsummer funk and the Cubs are turning into the Cubs with another mini-meltdown after two straight months of winning baseball. What's in store for the Not-So-Big Three the rest of the month that Lou Piniella said would separate the boys from the men?
It's really kind of sad, actually.
After falling 3% yesterday, followed by the Nikkei and the European indices, the Dow dropped another 1.5% within minutes of opening today.
Don't say nobody warned us: we've just started a serious economic correction, which, if history is any guide, will turn seriously ugly in October. I think once the President (529 days, 3 hours) said we had sound economic fundamentals, he might as well have written "MENE MENE TEKEL PARSIM" on the podium.
In happier news, the Cubs pulled within a half-game of the Brewers last night.
The Cubs and Brewers continue to lose games, so the Cubs remain one game back in the NL Central. The ickle Cardinals won yesterday, so they're creeping up, and are now only five games behind the Cubs. We could be looking at a real horse race this year, at least until the Cubs, Brewers, or Cardinals (or some combination thereof) choke. September will be interesting...
After attending the ALS fundraiser (i.e., Lou Gehrig Day at Wrigley Field) last night, I decided to sleep past the normal play-group time and take Parker to day camp instead. Several bits of good news in this: first, the Les Turner ALS Foundation raised butt-loads of cash; second, even though the Cubs lost, so did the Brewers, so the Cubs are still only one game out of first place; third, Parker gets to hang out all day with his friends; and fourth, said hanging-out will make Parker sleep most of tomorrow when he's back here.
The only bad part is, of course, no office puppy today. Sad.
The Cubs lost yesterday, but so did the Brewers, which keeps the Cubs in first place. Crazy.