Retire #21

Roberto Clemente Walker

Pittsburg Pirates

Aug. 18th, 1934 - Dec. 31st, 1972

A friend put a thought into my head, and it truly got me thinking. The number 42 is retired and is not to be used in professional baseball. He asked about retiring the number of Roberto Clemente, #21.

He is right, Clemente's number should be retired from professional baseball. He is a Hall of Famer, that also broke racial barriers, like Jackie Robinson, being the first Latino inducted into the Hall of Fame. His career statistics are great, with a .317 batting average, 3,000 hits, 240 home runs, and 1,305 runs batted in, playing his entire career of 18 years with the same team, winning two World Series, a MVP, a World series MVP, 15 All-Star nods, 12 Golden Gloves, and 4 NL Batting titles. Clemente's career was cut short and these numbers would probably have been much larger, along with the awards.

I know that everyone has been hagiographic over Jeter and how he has earned so much respect, but Clemente laid a lot of the foundation and set the example for players like Jeter. Clemente's off the field life is what makes him much more respectable then Jeter could ever be. Clement played the game right, both on the field and off, early in his career, Clemente even spent his off season in the military as a Marine Reservist, and of course his charity work.

Clemente's philanthropy and his work established the Roberto Clemente Award, which is awarded to a player each each with great skill and involved in community work, this award has been given out since 1973 (back dated to 1971). A wide range of players have been awarded this prestigious honor, from Willie Mays, Pete Rose, Cal Ripken Jr., Kirby Puckett, Tony Gwynn, to David Ortiz and Clayton Kershaw. Even Derek Jeter was honored in 2009.

I support the movement to honor one of the greatest individuals to play the sport of baseball by retiring his number 21. So I have included the link www.retire21.org Go to the website and sign the petition to move this forward.

American League MVP

As the season wraps up today, many will start to think about year end awards. One of those awards being the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. I think that Mike Trout of the Angels will most likely get it, but is he the most valuable player in the league?

I say, with jaundiced eye, that Robinson Cano is the MVP for the American League. Cano left New York and headed to the Northwest to take a team that was 71-91 (.482 winning percentage) in 2013 to  86-75 (.534) in 2014, with one game left and a possible playoff spot. Seattle didn't change much else with the exception of bringing in the second baseman, and have gained a 15 game  (and counting) swing in the team record column. That has added a lot of value and should be recognized.

I understand that Mike Trout had another outstanding season, with a .288 batting average (BA), 35 home runs (HR), 111 runs batted in (RBI), and 115 runs scored (RS), which are outstanding numbers. A field percentage of .992 with three errors

Cano has .316 BA, 14 HR, 82 RBI, and 77 RS. He has a fielding percentage of .987 and 9 errors.

Looking at the numbers, it is easy to pick Trout.

Of course we could give it Derek Jeter, as he has never won a MVP for the league, after all he is batting .256, with 4 HR, 49 RBI, and 47 RS,  a .973 fielding percentage and 11 errors, it would make a excellent farewell gift for him.

Derek Jeter

So this is Derek Jeter's last weekend of professional baseball as a player. He may be back as a manager, coach, or commentator, but he is ending his career as a professional player. Very sad, especially for NYY fans. Of course we will get to hear the Yankee fans regale us with the many Jeter tales of glory days gone by, which is typical, as they can never shut up about the "tradition."

I had a Yankee fan state the other day that #2 of the Yankees was the most respected player of all time, he quickly corrected himself, and restated he was the most respected player of the last 20 years. Really? Someone needs to take off their Yankee tinted glasses and look around baseball.

Did Jeter play the game right? Yes, he was a class act surrounded by Yankees. Was he fun to watch? Yes, again. He did a lot of things that should be done more often in professional sports like, spending entire career with one team, playing for the love of the game, being an ambassador of the game. But we as fans of the game, can all probably come up with a long list of players that have similar qualities.

I believe that part of Jeter's idolization and placement upon a pedestal is where he played. So let's play the "what if" game.

• What if Jeter played his entire career with another team? Maybe a small market team like the KC Royals? 
• Would he be the same player?
• Would he have even stayed with the team his entire career?
• Would he have had the same career stats?
• Would he have had the same All-Star appearances? The championships? The ladies?

Did Jeter make the Yankees? Or did the Yankees make Jeter? The Yankees had a lot of success with Jeter and he helped in that success, there is no denying that. But he was not a one man show playing on Broadway.

Now let us all take off those Yankee tinted glasses and look at who I think are some of the most respected players in the last 20 years of baseball, and you can develop your own ranking. These are mine in no particular order...well I am going to list my leading candidate first. Ken Griffey, Jr., and then the rest, Greg Maddox, Tom Glavine, Chipper Jones, Tony Gwynn, Paul Molitor, Edgar Martinez, Kirby Puckett, and Bernie Williams. Lets look at just shortstops that played during this time, with Cal Ripken, Ozzie Smith, and Omar Vizquel. And then there is Jeter's other teammate, Mariano Rivera.

So there you have it, respect, but not the most respected in the last 20 years. Is he on the list? Sure why not. Is he #1or #2? (Yes, I know he wears #2) Probably not.

[See, I did not even bring up the fact, that I think he did steroids, and the evidence that his late career injuries are indicative of athletes that have used steroids and growth hormones, and just happened to occur after his teammate was outed for use. Nope I am not going there.]

Good v. Evil

Watching the news lately and reading many friends' FaceBook post, I see the start of the political/religious attacks on Muslims, Christmas (or christians), and nonbelievers. I happen to partially fall into the last group, not that I am a nonbeliever (I believe in many things- see Crash Davis speech in Bull Durham), and being a man of science and because of my teachings, I have yet to see, read, or hear any credible proof of a higher order being outside of natural world. I do understand that there is an energy force that runs through everything and if people simply need to place a name on it, they can call it god, allah, buddha, zeus, odin or whatever.

So here are the question themes that are asked and implied in everyone's day to day lately.

Are Christians better than Muslims or Jews, or any combination of this equation? Are Muslims and/or Christians evil? Do nonbelievers have no ethics or moral base? If you pay attention to any of the talking heads on the heavily biased "news" shows, you can answer yes to any and all of these questions.

So are there good Christians? Yes. Probably a lot of people I know personally, who follow a christian based church and lead a mundane non threatening life and give to charity and do what they can to not harm others could be considered good Christians. I also know Jews, Hindus, Muslims, and others, including nonbelievers that live that same maudlin lifestyle and are very good people. A lot of Christian individuals have done some recognizable good work, like Martin Luther King Jr., Bishop Tutu, the current Pope, Bono, just to name a few. There is also a list of Muslims that have done good work in the world, I know most live a sheltered existence here in the US and believe that all Muslims are secret Jihadists living amongst us in sleeper cells, but that is just stupid to think and believe that. Malala Yousafzai, Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, and Ahmed Zewail as a some that have displayed positive doings. Nonbelievers that have accomplished good ethical deeds, Bill Gates, Stephen Hawking, Clarence Darrow, David Suzuki, Douglas Adams, Katherine Hepburn, Brad Pitt, and Bob Geldof come to mind for me.

So now are there evil Christians? Yes. Many that claim they are religious, but demean others for being of a different race, culture, or have different sexual preferences. One of the biggest offenders in christianity is the Westboro Church. The history of "the church" with the inquisition, Jim Jones, Marshall Applewhite, Pat Robertson, Davis Koresh, all committed evil in the name of christianity. The same could be said for Muslims, with Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden, ISIL leaders, etc... I am sure nonbelievers that have committed sinister acts. While naming famous nonbelievers is a bit more difficult and I can only come up with one and that being Garvilo Princip. I am sure many will try and tie some despots on to this list like Pol Pot, Ho Chi Minh, Hitler, and/or Milosevic, but they would be wrong as all of these people have had been members of a religious sect.

As some one who is skeptical, does it bother me when someone wishes me a Merry Christmas, or Happy Holidays, Seasons Greetings or whatever? Absolutely not. Am I offended when I sneeze and someone say god bless you? Nope. It is not worth getting twisted about it. Do I offer similar salutations to others? Yes. Do I worry about offending them? No. My gesture is simply being cordial and polite. Once again, not worth getting twisted in a knot about.

So as we approach the high holidays and the winding down of the year, relax and enjoy life and sweat the little things and turn off the media and don't believe the hype.

Sometimes it is boring...

I spent a fair amount of time working with children of all ages, but most time with middle schoolers lately. I have been with one system for three years and the students know me well, I have very little issues of any kind in the classrooms. This makes the work easy and even boring sometimes.

Today was one of those days. I was working with a couple of groups of very high functioning students, I handed out the assignment and they worked diligently for double blocks (120 minutes). They needed no help from me, and there was no discipline issues or off-task students, and early finishers sat and read quietly. This makes for a looonnnggg boring day for me. Of course it didn't help that I forgot my glasses, making my own quiet reading difficult. So time seemed to ooze by slowly, what seemed like an hour was actually only four minutes. I did get to help a few with a couple of "hard" words like stenographic, verbatim, and pedagogical.

The good news is, I get to do it all over again on Monday with the same group, I hope I remember my glasses and a good book.

The NFL

It seems that everyone has an opinion with what seems to be an epidemic with players in pro sports, particularly the National Football League. So here is my two cents worth...

Players are being arrested for domestic violence, child abuse, and/or drug and alcohol violations, yet if you murder someone, that is OK. Ray Rice-suspended for spousal abuse, Adrian Peterson- suspended, then not suspended, for whipping a child with a stick, 31 players in 2014 so far for drug/alcohol violations including Wes Welker and Josh Gordon (league standouts). Yet Aaron Hernandez can gun down several people and sit waiting for trial and not be suspended from the NFL. If all charges were dropped against Hernandez today, he could be playing next weekend. Jovan Belcher killed his girlfriend and then turned the gun on himself, I guess saving the NFL from levying sanctions against him (if any).

Lesson and message is...it is ok to kill, just don't abuse.

Now I am against domestic violence, really against child abuse, and think there should be consequences for some drug and alcohol violations. I am also against murder. But should the NFL have its own court and laws for this? Is this not double jeopardy? Are these players being tried and punished twice for the same crime? Shouldn't the NFL wait until courts make a decision before placing their own judgement on the players?

Michael Vick is a good example. He was arrested for abusing animals and did time and paid his debt to society. Many do not like the fact that afterwards he was allowed to return to the league. But as with any criminal, he met his punishment and was deemed rehabilitated, so he should be allowed to return to society as a member. Now once again I do not like what Vick did, and I am against it, but understand that he served his penance, so should be allowed to work, his job and career just happened to be professional football.

Remember that this is the same organization that has ignored head injuries and establishing any kind of protocol for dealing with the long term effects of concussions. This past year they finally passed a poor program offering just financial compensation for former players that have had documented head injuries. May be they need to start looking and supporting research how head injuries effect the cognitive function of players current playing the game and decision making.

Mental illness, both psychological and physically caused, are some of the most under studied and non-addressed health issues facing our society. We witness the mass shootings, the road rage, the suicides, and more, yet we still are afraid to talk about it. We will engage in our own inane way the "Ice Bucket Challenges" to try and cure a genetic disease that affects a very small amount of people, but do nothing about something that is much more treatable and much more widespread. Warped values in my eyes.

Books I Want to Write, but......

...I don't have the discipline, the completed plot, and/or the skills.

I have always thought I wanted to write a book. The problem with this, is I don't know where to start, how to start, how to end, and most importantly, have all that goes into the middle. I have several friends that have written or are writing books. I am so envious of their endeavor(s). I have trouble coming up with enough to write several paragraphs for a blog that no one follows, so I can't imagine coming up with enough to fill a book that no one would read. Book tour would at least be short as no one would show up.

I have ideas on the theme or story line for several books. Some based on the style of my writing influences (except I don't live that la vita loca) and others based on my beliefs or view of what I think the world should be like. A political thriller, if it must be placed into a genre. I would share the simplistic plot, but I don't want someone else taking it and constructing a master piece.

I am one who does not write with a lot of detail, going verbose and consuming page after page of  painstakingly oriented, minute, in depth descriptions of the setting, characters, or situations. I am much too direct. It sets me up to be more of a technical writer. So maybe a manual or a how-to book...the only problem with that is I am not sure if I know enough about any one thing to write a complete book. So maybe pamphlet writing.....

An autobiography maybe, but that would be pretty boring. A brief paper on fifty years of failings and oh so close....it would turn into a how-not-to book.

A book filled with romance...not really the romantic type, probably would be more of Rom-com in a very dark, very cynical satirical voice. Would make anything by Woody Allen look bright and cheery.

Syfy- once again, my technical knowledge is just enough to get in the way of writing anything of fantasy and vision. I would be stuck in the reality of known scientific theory and could not break the rules like most that is out there today. I would name some that do this, but don't want to burst any one's space bubble.

Fantasy- see above comment about details, setting, characters, and situations.

I would also feel sorry for the editor and proofreaders that had to suffer through my mutterings on the pages, along with trying to find continuity in the storyline. Not enough Advil in the world for them.

Reading.

Reading is an import part of society, and being a part of society. If you can read you can succeed (may be should be part of an ad campaign).

Many people read for pleasure, to entertain themselves, they will read maybe a Stephen King book, or something by JD Robb, or JK Rowling. Oh and that Grey Shades book.... Me, I read Hiaason, Twain, and Thompson, my writing inspirations, also James Rollins, David Morell, and Tom Clancy. All for pleasure, but not very often and probably not enough.

Most of the time I read for information, something to answer a question, a need, or a curiosity. The books can range from cookbooks, manuals or how-to, rule books, to politics and economics, and everything in between. I am one of those people that reads the car manual cover to cover. I have a thirst for knowledge. I like to do my research. I want to have a basis to grow my opinions, and I have a lot of opinions. I like Daniel Yergin,  Chris Mooney, or Matt Taibbi in this department. I also read sports pages to keep current with what is going in that realm.

Having a young reader in the house, it is always good to set an example of being a reader. Both my children have seen their parents read a lot, the older one is a ferocious reader and reads for pleasure. The younger one reads, but is more like me and wants to read for information, and needs to be prodded to read for pleasure. But she still reads which is important.

Reading will also benefit you for advancing in your job, keeping up with changes, trends, and innovations within your industry. Nothing more impressive then knowing what is going on and being current. Also being willing to research and read will maintain a healthy career.

Well thanks for reading this, and feel free to post below, what you enjoy reading and why.

Telephobia

Telephobia is the reluctance or fear of making or taking telephone calls, literally, "fear of the telephone". Telephone phobia is also considered to be a type of social phobia or social anxiety problem. Is it an offshoot of glossophobia (fear of public speaking)?

I bring this up, because there are many in my family who have varying degrees of this (Is there a spectrum?), especially when it comes to making phone calls. They simple will not make or return phone calls. Some will also sit and watch (or listen) to the phone ring and make no attempt to answer it.

This may be because of where technology has taken us, with texting, tweeting, etc., and with the invent of caller ID (some of us just choose to ignore the incoming call when we see who it is). It may also be complicated with the over use of robocalls and getting stuck in the never ending automated answering gauntlets prevalent in today's business world.

This phobia gets in the way of scheduling events, or appointments, returning phone calls and following up on what is needed. This leads to a denying, not receiving, and/or getting important useful services.

I know people that have cellphone break downs of their usages, and it will have 6 or 7 minutes of talk time and 5,000-6,000 texts per month. For a society that has become collectively obsessed with our cellphones and social media, this is just weird in my opinion. Yet there are those that join social media sites and then fret over their privacy settings, just a different kind of social anxiety I guess.

If you have any questions call me.

My one fear...what me, worry?

My last post was about my surgery for kidney stones (see My Surgery: By the Numbers), while considered "major" and invasive, I was not worried about all the complications and possible outcomes. I just needed to stay positive. I trusted the people involved at all levels. Also I am not one to panic in situations that I have no control over and cause most other people stress. Not my monkeys, not my circus.

But I did have one small concern going through this procedure. The protection, care and upkeep of the HBM. I have developed a liking for my facial hair and take pride in being able to grow and groom a well coifed lip cover. Every where I go, I receive complements for my 'stache. It is nice to get kudos on my looks, something I have not gotten much in my life.

My fret was that at some point during the operation they would need to shave it off. I would wake up with a clean upper lip and have to start over. I know it is facial hair and like most it hair grows back. Over the last 8+ months I have nurtured the 'stache and developed it nicely, having to start over at this point would be disheartening, at least to me.

The HBM survived as did I, and things are returning to normal, whatever that is?

My Surgery: By the Numbers

So the following is a breakdown of my kidney stone removal surgery by the numbers (not prices) as best as I can remember (was there the entire time, but not awake for all of it)...

Doctors (10)

• 1 Referring Urologist
• 3 Urology Specialists (all surgeons) -1 consulting, 2 in operating room (1- regular attending/professor, 1 5y in program).
• 1 Primary Care
• 2 Anesthesiologists (1 attending/professor, 1 2y student)
• 1 Cardiologist (see note below)
• 1 Hospitalist
• 1 Intern (4y in program)

Nurses (13)

• 1 Office Visit Nurse
• 2 Pre-op Nurses 
• 2 OR Nurses
• 3 Post-op Nurses (see note below)
• 3 Floor Nurses (my night shift nurse was outstanding, even remembered me from my baseball officiating days)
• 2 Nursing Assistants

Other Medical Personal (8)

• 4 Phlebotomists (1- lab, 1- Pre-op, 1 Recovery (see note below), 1- on floor)
• 2 CAT Scan Techs
• 1 OR Tech
• 1 Pharmacist

Drugs (7)

• General Anesthesia
• 8 bags of saline solution
• 7 doses of Fentanyl (people this is the stuff, it is a synthetic opioid 50-100 times more powerful then morphine, works in seconds when pushed through an IV)
• Oxycodone
• Lopressor
• Laxative
• Lexvaquin

Equipment

• Robotic Surgery Unit (with Nephroscope, dilators, laser, camera and suction attachments)
• Cat Scan
• Fluoroscope
• Foley Catheter
• Nephrostomy Tube
• Lymphadema pump

Miscellaneous

• 3 different beds
• 3 lousy meals
• 5 hospital gowns ( I liked the one with the built in heating ducts)
• 4 linen changes
• numerous dressing change

Cause

• 1- 2.6cm by 1cm kidney stone

(NOTE: About the cardiologist, extra post op nurse and phlebotomist...while in recovery I was asked how I was doing, I said pain was minimal, but stated that I had a tightness in my chest, within minutes I felt like an episode of some medical drama on TV. I had an EKG attached, blood drawn, oxygen attached, and a statin administered. Turns out to have been muscle soreness from spending 4 hours face down on the operating table strapped to hard rubber supports for the surgery. My heart is still good and strong.)