ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
1. The Phillies this past week and a half completed three very important series with the front-running Atlanta Braves, the second-place Washington Nationals and the Chicago White Sox. It was a microcosm of their season – highlights and lowlights. However, they took every series and got their record to .500 at the All-Star break. It offers hope for the second half of the season and made it very difficult for Ruben Amaro to decide whether to be a buyer or a seller.
2. If you want to fill a minor league ballpark, sprinkle a major league star into the lineup every now and then. The Scranton-Wilkes Barre RailRiders sold out their stadium (10,000+) last Saturday night because Derek Jeter was in the lineup.
3. Speaking of minor league baseball, I had the pleasure of attending an Iron Pigs game last week and was a guest in the Coca-Cola box. Joe Brake of Coke is the perfect host – good food, good conversation, great seats, and exceptional fireworks. It was a truly fun night.
4. I certainly do not profess to understand world politics, but I am intrigued by the number of protesters in other parts of the world who seem to be available no matter what the cause, no matter what the day, or the time. You work, I work, my colleagues work – when would you find time to protest?
5. Aren’t the “dog days of summer” in August? To me, July has been a “dog” every day! I think the weather people just cut and paste the same picture in the paper every day and meteorologists have been offering the same forecast every day on the TV. If they are wrong, there are no ramifications. Being a weatherperson looks like a very easy job to me. Maybe, THEY would have time to protest.
