Mike Aviles on Family Medical Emergency List
July 12, 2015C-Cap Recap: Tough Luck Illustrated
July 13, 2015
Ed’s Note: Scott Sargent is on vacation, so Jessica Forrester is filling in this morning.
When Scott asked me to pinch-hit for him on todayâs While Weâre Waiting, he said âthe only rule is that there are no rules.â
Thatâs really great, because Iâd like to spend the next few minutes talking to you about this season of “The Bachelorette.”
Alright, no. Iâm kidding. (But seriously, the love triangle between Kaitlyn, Nick and Shawn B. is giving me a lot of feelings. If anyone wants to talk about it, hit me up on Twitter.)
Speaking of things that give me feelings…
The frustrating mess that is the MLB All-Star Game
Iâm just going to go ahead and say it: I hate that a fan vote determines the starting lineup of the MLB All-Star Game. I hate it almost as much as I hate that the league that wins the ASG gets home-field advantage in the World Series. Let me clarify: I donât necessarily hate those two things individually, but I hate them together. (Are you counting how many times Iâve already said âhateâ in this post? Itâs adding up quickly. I promise this entire thing wonât be full of rage.)
Letting the fans choose the starting lineup says, to me, that the outcome of the ASG doesnât necessarily matter, because itâs an exhibition game thatâs all for fun. As it should be. But, having the game decide something as important as home-field advantage in the World Series … says the exact opposite. Right? Now, itâs a game that counts. When you add in the fact that a player vote and manager selection rounds out each All-Star team, and the MLB-instituted rule that every team must have at least one player on its leagueâs roster, youâve got a complicated mess on your hands.
The MLB needs to decide something very important: Does the All-Star Game count? Plain and simple. If itâs an exhibition game thatâs just for fun, let the fans vote. Hell, let the fans take over and play an inning. If, however, the outcome of this game is going to continue to determine who hosts Games 1, 2, 6, and 7 of the World Series, the building of the rostersâand the playing of the game itselfâneed to be taken more seriously.
Grabbing a coffee… and maybe a new friend.
Recently, the Starbucks in Hudson, Ohio was the first in the country to roll out a new… friend-finding service? I donât really know what to call it, so let me just explain:
After youâve picked up your drink from the counter (grande skinny vanilla latte, please), you can request a small sign from the barista that you then hang via Velcro off the front of your table. Like a beacon of social curiosity and open-mindedness, that sign lets other patrons know that youâre open to having a stranger join you at your table. No seriously… Itâs that simple. If someone spots the sign and is feeling adventurous, theyâre welcome to pull up a chair and join you.
I think this is equal parts awesome and creepy. On one hand, weâre all so digitally connected these days, it feels like interpersonal, ârealâ connections between people are waning. I love the simplicity of this idea, and the spirit behind wanting to encourage people to reach out and be friendly to someone newâand actually in person. No screens to stare at. No swiping left or right.
On the other hand, you never know what youâre going to get with something like this. Are you going to meet the love of your life? Find a new best friend? Maybe, but probably not. Are you going to feel kind of awkward and uncomfortable and just end up pounding your coffee so you can bolt out of there as soon as possible? Probably a bit more likely.
A (very) little bit about me.
Because Iâm the newest addition to the Waiting for Next Year team, Scott also suggested I use this as an opportunity to introduce myself, which Iâm only telling you because I hate talking about myself. (Thereâs another âhate,â for those of you that are counting.)
Anyways, I joined the team here at WFNY about a month ago, and I can honestly say that Iâm loving every minute of it. I write for a living, but itâs in advertising, marketing and PR. Being able to shift gears and write about Cleveland sports has been awesome. And, Iâm thrilledâand slightly humbledâto be WFNYâs first female staff writer.
I live in Downtown Cleveland and, although itâs been three years, I still canât believe all three stadiums are within walking distance of my front door. I still call it The Jake, and I was raised on the ’90s Indians and the sound of Tom Hamiltonâs voice. Iâm obsessed with my alma mater, Ohio University, and Iâm fueled almost exclusively by coffee and red wine (but not mixed together, you guys).
Ok, enough from me. Itâs Monday morning and youâve probably got work to do. Get out there and punch today in the face, Cleveland. Have a great week!
27 Comments
From one OU alum to another: welcome to WFNY, Jessica. Scripps J-School?
red wine and cold black coffee is strangely ok…just don’t mix red wine and tequila…bad things man…bad things
The All Star Game — another Selig ClusterBud.
I believe the All-Star game deciding home field advantage is just a conflated coin flip. It is an exhibition game that doesn’t matter and is just utilized as a coin flip. Nothing more.
Now, if the fans of a dominating AL team decided to rock the NL vote and put in the absolute worst NL roster feasible to help their team potentially gain home field advantage, well then that would be fantastically awesome and fun.
Oh, and would probably end up having the NL win in a landslide. Because Baseball.
Any word on Cupcake?
Has he cashed his winning lottery ticket, or is he still looking his gift horse in the mouth?
Should home field be determined by a coin-flip or should the respective records of the clubs determine it?
The team with the best record should get homefield advantage just like basketball and hockey.
Welcome, Jessica!
1) Re All-Star Game, I’ve always been pro fan voting, even when the Cal Ripkin who starts is the one with knee replacements. This exhibition was designed for fans to see their favorites, not the favorites of players or managers. So every year the whining of players tells me they’re conflating the game’s purpose, thinking (surprise!) that it’s about them. But you’re right: as soon as Selig decided to goose interest by giving an exhibition impact on the playoffs he confused everything, leading people to talk past each other when discussing who should play and for how long.
2) That Starbucks thing makes my skin crawl. Exactly the type of wrongheaded promotion that can turn a place with a pleasant vibe into a creeper magnet.
I bring my own sign to Starbucks.
https://img1.etsystatic.com/044/0/7557042/il_340x270.582643319_7aym.jpg
One of my personal favorites:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/413sfAl52aL._SX300_.jpg
That sounds strangely similar to the fear my students raise, without fail, every time we discuss an open primary: what if democrats (theoretically republicans could just as easily, but among my students that rarely comes up) decide to choose the worst republican/opposing candidate, thereby making a victory in the general election more likely? I suppose the Chicago-style “vote early and often” approach, coupled with the ease of online voting, COULD make such an effort more feasible in MLB all-star voting, but as I tell the students: how realistic is that scenario, really? The time, effort, and coordination required. The millions upon millions of votes involved. The existence of oversight to monitor the process (In the case of MLB, they actually stepped in and disqualified some votes this year). Basically, it’s certainly not impossible, but it’s also incredibly unlikely. And yes, in our imagined all-star scenario, the underdog NL scrubs would somehow scrap their way to the upset as the AL pulls a 2015 Tribe and fails to give its pitchers any run support.
In political elections, I’ve always thought that there should be “No” vote.
That way, if you dislike both candidates, you can cast a negative vote for the candidate you dislike the most. It allows you to participate, without showing actual support for the other candidate.
đ
I used to get quite worked up about ASG voting, because THESE HONORS MEAN SOMETHING, DAMMIT! The travesty of years of the AL squad essentially being the Yankees drove me crazy. But age has brought the perspective you offered here: it’s an exhibition, it’s about what the fans (not just one of us) want. All in good fun. Which is why using the game to decide home field continues to be one of the most ridiculous things happening in any major sport. I get not wanting to go the way of the Pro Bowl and becoming completely and utterly irrelevant, but this simply is not the way.
Also, people are aware that you can make coffee at home, right? And that travel mugs exist? You can even buy the same coffee Starbucks makes! Why anyone chooses to willingly subject themselves to the Starbucks experience short of an emergency caffeine situation is beyond me (WiFi maybe?). If you simply must go to one, find one with a drive thru and avoid the creeper situation entirely.
I could throw my support behind this system. But what if you dislike all candidates equally?
coin flip or alternating years IMO.
unbalanced records within leagues are bad enough, but factor in overall and it’s out there.
the 4 worst records and 6 of the 7 worst records in MLB right now are in the NL. so, the top NL teams have an easier road to their higher victory totals.
I do make coffee at home. And I have more later in the shop. Because I need more, their’s is better even with the same beans and, weirdly, people are more attractive/likeable when I’m standing in line waiting for caffeine jones alleviation. The smell of roasted beans, the self-consciously eclectic music mix – my world is better for a few moments. But signalling random needy people to sit down with me? That’s a better promotion for the elderly at McDonalds.
Team with better record gets home field done. Easy.
http://i.ebayimg.com/images/i/201279428186-0-1/s-l1000.jpg
My MLB fix: every team gets at least one representative, right? Let the fan voting decide on that one rep. You’re the Royal with the most vote? You’re on the roster (not a starter). That means fans get to choose 15 of the 33 men on the roster (vs. 8/9 now). Then let players or managers decide on the rest.
It still allows fans input, but doesn’t totally make a mockery of things. And hey, if the Royals fans want to stuff the ballot box and put one of the worst catchers in the league on the roster? It’s their rep so good for them.
Thank you! And yes… Magazine Writing major at Scripps.
In my experience, mixing tequila with anything is bad news…
Cupcake’s tear-filled exit absolutely shattered my heart. Hope he’s doing ok! Right?
Thank you! And totally agree with you. I’m all for fan voting if they’d take home-field advantage out of the equation. And yeah, I think the Starbucks thing leans toward creepy… I know they have good intentions, but yikes.
lol Cupcake = TT.
Excellent. Scripps PR, ’98 grad myself. Was Drusilla the Grammarian still there when you attended?
Haha she was… I had her for Coms Law, actually. Hardest class I took in four years there!
not sure if its the Tequila or the fact that I was already in a state where drinking Tequila sounded like a good idea…its a chicken/egg problem