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September 14, 2009

Rays of hope, words of wisdom

The Tampa Bay Rays arrived in town in a tremendous funk. They've lost 11 straight games in a slump that has erudite manager Joe Maddon quoting Winston Churchill to put the thing in proper perspective.

"When you're going through hell,'' he said before tonight's game, "keep going."

The Rays responded by opening up with a run off David Hernandez in the first tonight, but the Orioles pinned a four-spot on Tampa starter David Price in the bottom of the inning, which had to have Maddon searching his memory bank for some other British wisdom.

How about this from 19th century British prime minister Benjamin Disraeli: "There is no education like adversity."

That would probably apply to both teams right now. The Rays quickly responded with three more runs off Hernandez in the top of the second inning and took the lead on a fourth-inning homer by B.J. Upton.

Which, for some reason, reminds me of a quote from American humorist/philosopher Mark Twain: "By trying, we can easily learn to endure adversity. Another man's, I mean."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:40 PM | | Comments (15)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Comments

LOL!!!! BASSED!

Orioles baseball right here

When rhapsodizing on adversity, please don't forget the bard (Shakespeare) ... "Sweet are the uses of adversity, which like the toad, ugly and venomous, wears yet a precious jewel in its head ... "

Against my better judgment, daring to be hopeful about the young guys, ending my TV banishment of the O's imposed after the Sherrill trade--I dared turn on the game tonight. Courtesy of the Baffling, Bumbling, Boneheaded Mr. Bass, I saw the ugliest half inning of baseball since the Red Sox and their obnoxious fans occupied Camden Yards. The TV is now off. Who can watch such pug-ugly baseball? The TV is now off. The MASNochism network has been put to bed. Orioles tragic is back. I am not


Wow Pete , qoutation from Churchill , Disraeli . Commentors qouting Shakspeare .
A few weeks ago in your buddy Kevin Ecks wrestling blog we were qouting Nietzche .
....... what does it all mean ? :)

Well said, Rockvillejake! McPhail is like P.T.Barnum. Just keep feedin' em baloney like the Wieters hoopla as a powerhitting dynamo,or the other stream of talent coming from the minors. This club is power deficient, badly coached and can't run the bases! Remember, the guts of this team is almost in place and the O's are still mired in last. I'll give you Tillman and Matusz and they are bonafide, but this is a doubles-hitting collection of AAA talent. Please don't insult us with more fairy tales from Sarasota next spring! There is no "Wait 'til next year" in Crabtown!

Watching "bad baseball" is better than having no baseball at all to watch....wise up...lucky fans...

"jongermany " - No , watching "bad football" is better than having no football at all to watch .

jongermany

Angelos loves people who think like you.

If McPhail & Angelos don't get it right this time...I'll call United Van Lines!

I cant wait for this team to move to Portland.

Isn't Disraeli also the origin of the quote about statistics that is often mis-attributed to Twain?


..............................................................................................
Pete's reply: Yes. "There are three kinds of lies...lies, damned lies and statistics."

needed here

needed here

needed here

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About Peter Schmuck
Peter Schmuck wants you to know that, contrary to popular belief, he is more than just a bon vivant, raconteur and collector of blousy flowered shirts. He is a semi-respected journalist who has covered virtually every sport -- except luge, of course – and tackled issues that transcend the mere games people play. If that isn’t enough to qualify him to provide witty, wide-ranging commentary on the sports world ... and the rest of the world, for that matter ... he is an avid reader of history, biography and the classics, as well as a charming blowhard who pops off on both sports and politics on WBAL Radio. That means you can expect a little of everything in The Schmuck Stops Here, but the major focus will be keeping you up to the minute on Baltimore’s major sports teams and themes, whether it’s throwing up the Orioles lineup the minute it’s announced or updating you on the latest sprained ankle in Owings Mills. Oh, and by the way, that’s Mr. Schmuck to you.

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