Bankruptcy and Baseball

A lot of stuff has been happening since I last wrote in my little corner of the internet. Let's get to it!

Greece is bankrupt and none of the other countries are going to help her. And why should they? Greece's Socialist and corrupt system is what got them in this mess in the first place. Of course, it's the people that are suffering while the Administration is still eating lobster every night. Sure, they've got their headaches in trying to figure a way out of this mess but don't let them fool you--they're still living high on the hog.

They also probably wouldn't be in this mess if they hadn't bought into the whole one-currency-for-everyone shtick that Europe came up with. If you dig deep enough you'll find that there was talk years ago by the United Nations of one currency for the entire WORLD!

On the one hand you can say that it might force corrupt governments to change but the reality of the situation is that they would continue on doing what they always do and, when it got as bad as Greece is now, they would just dump it on the people while they continue to sit pretty.

Well, until an irate citizen with a rifle started some changing of his own! It's a good recipe for revolution. Keep an eye on Greece!

In other news, remember Mike Newdow, the Sacramento Atheist who wanted 'under God' erased from the Pledge of Allegiance in all schools? The guy who originally WON his lawsuit and then subsequent appeals overturned the original decision? Well, a Federal Appeals Court has finally ruled that the Pledge stays as is along with 'In God We Trust' on our currency.

Mr. Newdow states, "The whole argument that 'under God' wasn't placed into the pledge for religious purposes is bogus. I hope people recognize this is not against God or people who believe in God. It's about the government not treating people equally on the basis of their lawful religious views."

My question to Mr. Newdow is, how is the Government treating you differently, as an Atheist? No one is forced to recite the Pledge in school. I just think he can use his energy in a more constructive way than bitching about our Pledge of Allegiance. No wonder his wife divorced him!

There are several things that have to happen in order for my Cleveland Indians to contend in the AL Central:
1. The pitching has to come around. Fausto Carmona has to return to his 2007 form, Jake Westbrook, coming off major elbow surgery, has to contribute innings and quality, Justin Masterson has to show to Cleveland that Boston didn't make a mistake choosing him with their 2nd round pick. The problem is that, outside of Carmona, none of the other pitchers in their rotation haven't pitched close to 200 innings in years, and most of them never have! That spells trouble down the stretch.

2. Travis Hafner has to start hitting again. For the last two years we've heard all about his tired elbow and shoulder and blah, blah, blah. Cleveland is hamstrung financially because they are paying this guy a boatload of money! If he doesn't hit this year, I say buy him out, release him and spend the money on a Free Agent who WILL hit.

3. Start hot and finish hot. The Indians are notoriously slow starters. April and May have to find them, if not in first, then just a few games out. If they can stay close and then have a 19-7 or 20-6 September, like they did a few years ago, they could find themselves in the post-season.

Many 'ifs'. I can't wait to see what happens! Go Tribe!