June 2010 – Page 3

Shorebird of the Week – June 17, 2010

Kenny Moreland winds and deals during a start against Lakewood on May 31. It turned out to be his lone poor start thus far for Delmarva.

In the past, I’ve mentioned that players who are demoted from a higher level tend to fall into one of two categories: they continue to slouch and exhibit the bad habits which got them sent down in the first place, or they make it a mission to prove the naysayers wrong.

Tossing aside a poor outing in his second start May 31, Kenny Moreland has provided a spark to the Shorebirds’ starting rotation. His last outing on Monday was a stellar 7-inning, 3-hit shutout performance against Kannapolis that lowered his ERA as a Shorebird to 3.70, his WHIP to an outstanding 0.99, and evened his overall record here at 2-2.

While Moreland was struggling a little bit at Frederick before his demotion (2-2, 5.22 in 10 games/7 starts covering 39 2/3 innings) he wasn’t allowing a lot of runners on base – there his WHIP was 1.29, which is about average. What was hurting Kenny was the longball as he’d allowed 6 home runs in that span.

Unlike many pitchers at this level, Moreland is not a high strikeout pitcher and tends to pitch to contact, counting on movement to keep a batter from squaring up on the pitch and driving the ball. When it works he does well – last year between Aberdeen and Frederick Kenny allowed only 75 hits in 98 2/3 innings, going 10-3 with a 2.74 ERA. If not, he runs into problems like his May 31 start here when he allowed 9 hits (2 of them home runs) and 6 runs in 5 innings against Lakewood.

Kenny, a Virginia native, comes to the Orioles out of Division III Christopher Newport College – a team which often plays against Salisbury University so he should have some familiarity with his surroundings. The Orioles signed Moreland after he was passed over in the 2008 draft and have bumped the 24-year-old around quite a bit between Bluefield, Aberdeen, and Frederick (where he’s played at least part of each of the last three seasons.) His Delmarva debut came on May 25.

If Kenny can learn to be a location pitcher in the mold of a right-handed Tom Glavine he can succeed at this and higher levels. Winning a strikeout title isn’t everything, but advancing to the Show is.

Next week look for my annual recap of how my previous Shorebirds of the Week are doing and an extra-special edition of SotW next Thursday.

P2k

It was almost exactly two years ago that I wrote my 1,000th post, and in it I predicted I would write my 2,000th in May 2010. Hey, I was only off by 17 days and that’s pretty good considering the twists and turns my life has taken since that day in June of 2008. Indeed, this is post number 2,000 for monoblogue.

To many, that may not seem such a big deal since other local sites may post over 1,000 times a month as they copy-and-paste their way onto the internet. But most of monoblogue is hand-crafted by me at my laptop or PC, depending on the post – generally I do my Shorebird of the Week posts on my PC since the pictures I use are on that computer. For this and many other posts I prefer the laptop.

It takes a lot to create the content for a website and stick with it for 4 1/2 years as I have. But since I did that 1,000th post I’ve added other sites which demand content, gotten the opportunity to become a syndicated columnist, and worked on a book (more specifically, the draft is done and I only need to figure out how to get it polished and published.) Plus I’ve had the opportunity to speak with a lot of interesting people and became a regular guest on a area radio show (including tonight.)

As proof that it takes a lot to continue doing a website day after day, week upon week, and year to year, I went to the internet “Wayback Machine” to look at screen shots of my site over the last several years just to see which sites I’ve linked to. Usually I drop site links if there’s an extended period of inactivity, and here are just a sampling of those I’ve outlasted. Some I miss more than others. and they are roughly in chronological order.

Transchoptankia Gazette/Duvafiles

Justice for All?

Fertilizer for our Bay

Crabbin’

Westside Wisdom

What I See And Hear

Integrity Matters Only Sometimes

Robinson on the Radio/Blogs

A Woman’s Point of View

The History of Delmarva

ShoreIndie

Talbot Today

Go Shorebirds!

GayBury

Camden Neighborhood Blog

Shore and More

Stamping Out Stupidity

Mainstream Shore

The Byrd’s Nest

Crisfield Crab Review

Veggieland

Off The Cuff

Pro-Maryland Gazette

Totmom

Liberty Is Not Free!

The Wicbury Crapper

When I did the research last week (knowing the milestone would come up) I thought I’d be adding Right Coast Girl and Views of a Salisbury Grinch to the list as well, but both have returned. The same goes for Two Sentz as of about a month ago. And if some of the above are still active, well, I apologize for not knowing they were off hiatus. Point is, there are millions of dead blogs out there yet I continue to bring you “news and views from Maryland’s Eastern Shore.”

Unlike last time, though, I really don’t want to predict when blog post number 3,000 would occur. If the pace continued it would be in two years but I’ve sped up and slowed down my writing pace a few times in the last two years enough to know it’s a fool’s errand to make a guess. Quite honestly it’s more a question of available time rather than enjoyment because I still like to sit and write these posts.

Finally, since most observers would consider me an important part of the local blogosphere (and I’m fairly familiar with the players) I think I will give you an assessment of the whole Joe Albero v. Julie Brewington brouhaha – the “stalker” comment.

Of the pair, I’ve known Joe the longest because we’ve both been blogging for several years. Obviously he’s best known for having a camera wherever he goes and attempting to be a “news” source (although more and more his “news” is simply regurgitating whatever press releases and e-mails he gets verbatim without a lot of fact checking.) Regardless, he probably has hundreds of pictures of anyone who is someone in this area (including me) and if you’re on his bad side he’ll find the one which puts you in the most unflattering light – ask Barrie Tilghman.

To that end, it’s become a private joke between Kim and I as to where Joe might pop up to take a picture of us – if he can get a picture of us eating and enjoying some ribs at Pork in the Park you have to wonder where else he’ll find us. If you’re on his bad side – and on balance I’d say I probably am now and definitely have been – it seems to me that begrudged person will become somewhat of an obsession with him and Joe will come pretty close to the borderline between news gathering and stalking. (After all, is “caption this photo” really news or a simple attempt at character assassination?)

Before last year I didn’t know Julie Brewington – she was truly a face in the crowd to me. Stepping into the limelight as she chose to does have its pitfalls and yes, she has become somewhat of a public figure.

Saying that she is a public figure, however, doesn’t mean that we should disrespect her when we disagree. Perhaps her biggest mistake was agreeing to be Joe’s contributor for a time – many have come to regret that decision and I’m glad I turned down the chance when it was offered to me way back when (about the same time G.A. Harrison got on board.) I value my independence and what I’ve built on my own – it may not be much but I’m proud of it just the same.

Our local blog world will likely always have some sort of turmoil and drama because turmoil and drama brings attention to it. But I’d definitely prefer that it bring respectability as well and the actions of one player in particular prevent that from happening.

Cleaning up politically

It goes without saying that thousands of people who depend on Gulf tourism or aquaculture have suffered an economic impact in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. They may suffer for months or years due to the loss of income during this period when these industries would normally be producing.

But there is another group which has been thrown out of work at a time when they, too, would normally be producing – those who ply their trade in helping to provide America’s energy needs. As the group Freedom Action notes:

Freedom Action calls on President Obama to immediately lift the damaging, counterproductive ban on offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. The six-month ban, which has closed down dozens of safe, productive operations, is doing nothing to help clean up the spill…but is keeping thousands of oil and gas workers from making a living and having a far larger economic impact throughout the region.

“In a knee-jerk move with perverse consequences, the President’s total ban on drilling in the Gulf has created further hardship for communities already reeling from the impact of the BP spill,” said Myron Ebell, Director of Freedom Action. “Now in addition to the tourism and fishing sectors – which together account for about 5% of Louisiana’s economy – the oil and gas sector – which accounts for 16% – is also being knocked down at exactly a time when its high-paying jobs could be helping to support families in the region.”

Louisiana’s Gov. Bobby Jindal and Sen. Mary Landrieu have already spoken out strongly against the White House’s blanket ban, urging the President to allow offshore platforms to re-open and begin providing energy again to the American people. Sen. Landrieu has even proposed a list of several possible alternatives to the ban, including increased safety inspections, while at the same time pointing out that continuing with the current policy could cost as many as 38,000 jobs.

“The empathy and concern from around the country for the affected residents of the Gulf Coast has been tremendous, and it is understandable that Americans would want to see a policy that protects the area from further harm,” said Ebell. “But keeping locals from making a living and sabotaging their economic recovery so that a handful of environmentalists and Washington politicians can congratulate each other on their concern for wildlife is an arrogant and immoral policy. President Obama needs to remove the drilling ban now.”

Allow me to restate one factoid mentioned in the Freedom Action release for you. We see the pictures and interviews of shrimpers idled by the oil spill, and yes they do contribute to the economy of the state of Louisiana. But the energy industry contributes over three times as much and, as I have pointed out, had a long unblemished safety record even through some of the nastiest Mother Nature could throw at them – including Hurricane Katrina.

Even thousands of miles away, our Governor O’Malley and Senator Cardin smirk and gladly dismiss the prospect of offshore oil drilling off Maryland’s coast, regardless of the number of jobs which could be created. To be honest, it’s only a guess to this point whether there’s enough oil and natural gas offshore this far north to be commercially viable for collection, and it would take exploratory wells just to find out.

Instead, O’Malley believes that offshore wind power is the way to go despite the effects that could have on marine life and ocean currents, not to mention the precious ocean view off Ocean City.

To me, it’s shortsighted to dismiss out of hand energy sources proven to be successful at powering our nation’s prosperity. The Gulf shores will eventually be cleaned up just as Alaska’s Prince William Sound has been after the Exxon Valdez accident, hopefully without completely bankrupting British Petroleum (a company which obviously has capping the well as its best interest too since otherwise millions of dollars’ worth of oil gushes forth on a daily basis.)

The answer is not in banning deepwater offshore drilling, but encouraging energy production in shallower waters and in areas where reserves are proven to be but overzealous environmentalism prohibits production. We have plenty of oil within our borders – what we need are the stones (and the courts) to tell the environmentalist wackos to go pound sand.

By the way, I’ve caught wind of a local effort to help out with the cleanup – a number of area musicians are putting together plans for a benefit concert to raise funds for the cleanup. Obviously I’ll see what I can find out and pass it along.

Election Calendar update

Two items to update the Election Calendar:

As I noted Sunday the Democratic Club of Wicomico County meets tomorrow with the speaker being District 38B Delegate Norm Conway.

For the other one (I know, what a tease) you need to follow along to the Examiner.com page.

Because the event in question occurs this Saturday I opted to create an update to the calendar to keep my readers in the know.

Brewington enters County Council race

This afternoon the field for at-large County Council on the Democratic side will be filled with a second aspirant. But Mike Brewington, who revealed to me he’s making his first run for elective office, is not your typical Democrat.

For the remainder of the story, see my Examiner.com page.

I also have an exclusive audio interview with Brewington here.

I’ll have another new development in Wicomico County politics later today. (Nope, later this week.)

A challenge to Hoyer

With a spirited battle brewing between Republican contenders Charles Lollar and 2008 candidate Collins Bailey for their party’s nomination, little notice has come to a challenger on Hoyer’s Democratic side.

Andrew Gall, should he be victorious over Hoyer in the primary and dispatch the survivor of the Lollar-Collins election, would become the youngest member of Congress. At 27, Gall’s entire life has been spent with Hoyer being in Congress representing Maryland’s Fifth Congressional District.

(continued on my Examiner.com page…)

A case of ‘told you so’

Last week the state of Maryland, on less than 24 hours’ notice, approved a contract to purchase around 1,000 slot machines for a casino presently under construction in Cecil County. The contract works out to over $46,000 per machine, a figure one industry analyst considered 4 times too high according to a Baltimore Sun article by Annie Linskey.

By participating in an “incredible windfall” for the industry (in the words of Comptroller Peter Franchot) the state has put itself in the business better considered by companies which actually make their fortunes in the gaming industry.

The problems I had with the issue of slots when it came up on the ballot two years ago were many.

It didn’t need to be a constitutional amendment because doing things that way made adjustments difficult. Prior to the vote, the General Assembly considered slots several years in a row but could never pass the issue the normal way – had they done so we could’ve adapted to the market.
By restricting the state to video slots and taking such a long time to get them to market, we’ve allowed neighboring states to leapfrog into additional casinos close to the border, adoption of table games, and limited sports betting. To adopt table games would presumably require yet another vote of the people in two years and by that time it will be established in at least Delaware and West Virginia.
Since the state’s take is higher than in many other locales, the interest in opening slot casinos in a recession is not great. Out of five approved locations for casinos we only have slots on the drawing board for two – the Cecil County location and Ocean Downs. A location on the western fringe of Maryland drew no interest, which obviously will cut revenue further short of projections.

Another casualty of the failure of slots may be the repeal of the 2008 sales tax increase. When I spoke to Bob Ehrlich regarding how he would make up for the decrease in revenue, part of his answer concerned slots:

Bob explained… the increased economic activity lowering the tax would create would fill in part of the gap (also a good presumption.) In addition, with slots coming online that revenue will enable the state to lower our tax burden in that manner.

Those slots, which already need to create $50 million in revenue to the state just to pay for themselves, have a lot of people counting on them to be productive and create the cash to help solve the state’s problems. It’s a burden bound to create disappointment in Annapolis as the best laid plans of the General Assembly and Governor O’Malley fail once again.

Media, part 3: old media and new media

While some GOP aspirants in the First District Congressional and U.S. Senate races continue to trust old media with some of their advertising, most key contenders are still focusing on free media.

Eric Wargotz is back on the radio with the fourth in his series of 60-second spots, this entitled, “Jobs, Jobs, Jobs.” In the commercial, he notes, “I know first hand the detrimental affect (sic) that over regulation and an oppressive tax bourdon (sic) have on job creation,” based on his experience in private medical practice.

(continued on my Examiner.com page…)

Election calendar: June 14-27, 2010

This is a new feature of the Wicomico County Elections 2010 Examiner: a look at political events coming up in and around Wicomico County.

These either feature political candidates whose district or jurisdiction lies in Wicomico County or regional/statewide candidates who schedule events in Wicomico County. For the first few weeks it will also highlight those who have newly filed for county or state office during the last week.

(continued on my Examiner.com page…)

The pursuit of perfection

On a pleasant June night last week 17,738 Detroit Tiger fans filed into Comerica Park to see a game against the Cleveland Indians. Little did they know they’d witness what could be a pivotal moment in baseball history less than two hours later.

Even casual baseball fans now know the details: with two outs in the ninth inning Tiger pitcher Armando Galarraga induced Cleveland batter Jason Donald to hit a grounder to first baseman Miguel Cabrera. As he’d practiced hundreds of times, Galarraga raced over to cover the first base bag and the defensive play was executed perfectly – or so he thought. Umpire Jim Joyce called Donald safe but replays clearly showed the toss from Cabrera beat the runner. “I just cost that kid a perfect game,” moaned Joyce afterward.

Despite the fact that two perfect games have been thrown this season, the feat is harder than one may think – in major league baseball history just 20 pitchers have faced 27 batters in a game and retired all of them in a row. What makes this example different and perhaps more substantial in baseball history is the aspect of instant replay and the obvious blown call which cost the 28-year-old Venezuelan his chance at baseball immortality.

For sports fans, grousing about referees is as old as the game itself. Few home team fans will complain if a call goes their way, but if the situation is reversed officials never hear the end of it from the fans in the stands. Even the famous poem ‘Casey at the Bat’ features a fan who shouts, “Kill the ump!”

While it’s obviously against the law to physically harm an umpire who has a bad day in the eyes of the faithful, some feel that the force of law should be used to correct the call; in fact, one legislator from Michigan is seeking Congressional intervention to correct the error. Rep. John Dingell plans to introduce a resolution calling on MLB Commissioner Bud Selig to reverse the call, citing Major League Baseball’s reversal in the famous 1983 “pine tar” game where Kansas City batter George Brett had a home run nullified and later restored in a game against the New York Yankees.

The 1983 incident changed the result of the game from a Yankees win to a Royals victory but ultimately made little difference in the overall standings. In Galarraga’s case, he retired the next batter and the Tigers maintained the 3-0 win.

A more lasting impact comes from the idea of Congress interceding into the affairs of a sport simply because an incorrect judgment call was made. Too often we as Americans get the tendency of seeing a wrong such as this and demanding government correct it instead of not sweating the small stuff. More often than not during a game, one of the players will be charged with an error for a fielding miscue and once in awhile, as in the Galarraga incident, we’ll see the umpire blow an obvious call. That human element is one which lends charm to baseball and makes it the most traditional of our major professional sports.

Sure, having grown up as a Tigers fan myself it would have been nice to see Galarraga pitch the first perfect game in their 110 year history, and he may yet achieve the feat in a future game. The more lasting damage to the game wouldn’t be from letting an incorrect call stand but from allowing Congress to stick its nose into yet another arena where it doesn’t belong.

Michael Swartz used to practice architecture but now is a Maryland-based freelance writer and blogger whose work can be found in a number of outlets, including Liberty Features Syndicate. This cleared LFS on June 8th, and yes I’m still a Tigers fan.

Dropping Delaware

It was a tough decision, but today I decided for space reasons to drop the links to Delaware political races.

Not counting party offices, in Wicomico County we are affected by four statewide races (governor, comptroller, attorney general, and U.S. Senator), two State Senate races, four races for Delegate, and contests for seven County Council seats, County Executive, Sheriff, State’s Attorney, Register of Wills, Clerk of the Courts, and three Orphan’s Court posts. It’s over 20 races for which to post candidates and links so something had to give.

Perhaps a blogger across the line like Chris Slavens or Elbert Collins can take up my slack and try to keep my Delaware readers informed. (Lord knows Salisbury blogger Joe Albero – who actually lives in Delaware – won’t do so.) Similarly, there should be a blogger or two in each county who aggregates the links for their home county and tries to keep readers informed about the political races. It could even be a job for the local hometown newspaper given the power of the internet and their presence there.

I don’t know how many local politicians read my site (my guess is most GOP officeholders do – Democrats, not so much) but if you have an event for my upcoming Political Calendar I’d appreciate a shout out – e-mail me or leave a message on my Facebook page. The better my calendar is the more readers, and the more readers there are the more people know about the event. And I won’t bury it among press releases, old jokes, and stories which are disproved by Snopes.com. Hey, I’ll even take advertising from the right people.

So again, I apologize for disappointing my First State readers for needing to be more Maryland-centric but this is the year to change Maryland’s policies. Your chance comes in two years.

Looking for a wedge

While the title might lead one to conclude this will be a critique of President Obama’s frequent golf outings, it is more apt to describe the state of the Democratic Party as they look at November’s midterm elections. With Republicans energized by opposition to Barack Obama’s agenda and buoyed by millions of activists gathered under the auspices of the Tea Party banner, desperate Democrats may be tempted to try anything within their power to maintain their grip on control in Washington, D.C. and state capitals.

One such example comes from Michigan, a state which went overwhelmingly for Barack Obama while suffering from the hamhanded policies of outgoing Gov. Jennifer Granholm to a point where the state is charitably described as an “economic basket case” and continues to lead the other 49 states in the dubious category of highest unemployment rate.

There paid petition circulators are combing the state to gather signatures to put the “Tea Party” on the ballot. While this may sound legitimate, the allegation of ties to the state Democratic Party and lack of knowledge about the drive from state Tea Party organizers make the petition drive sound like a dirty trick to split off a percentage of the conservative vote and preserve the status quo for another term. A similar effort in Nevada put an ersatz candidate on the November ballot to oppose embattled Sen. Harry Reid and GOP primary victor Sharron Angle, again without the backing of actual Tea Party organizers.

But that tactic can only work in certain states where ballot access is relatively easy. In other states Democrats have to use different methods to dilute the strength of newly-engaged citizen activists.

In Kentucky, the Senate race between Rand Paul and Democrat Jack Conway received national attention thanks to Paul’s broadcast remarks about decades-old civil rights legislation. While there’s little chance any such legislation will be revisited soon and more important issues are on the table in the Senate battle, the digression provided a chance for Kentucky (and national) Democrats to put Paul and the Republicans on the defensive, blunting the momentum of a successful campaign.

Meanwhile, Democrats received a boost from Mark Critz winning a special election in Pennsylvania’s 12th District to replace the late Rep. John Murtha. What escaped the media spin on Critz’s win was his platform – the Democrat claimed to be, “Pro Life, a supporter of our 2nd Amendment rights, a fervent believer in a strong national defense and a supporter of creating an atmosphere in which small business can flourish.” Those stances would hardly qualify him to be a favorite among the Beltway cocktail party crowd, but what matters will be how he actually votes on upcoming legislation. Critz repeated a tactic used by Democrats in conservative-leaning districts to win Congressional seats in 2006 and 2008 by running right-of-center on certain issues.

Perhaps the largest schism among Tea Party activists is one Democrats could exploit by bringing up social issues. While libertarians and conservatives typically agree on the fiscal side of the government equation, they often differ on social issues – for example, a social conservative who favors a Constitutional ban on abortion would be accused of legislating morality by a libertarian. By making social issues a part of the equation, cagey Democrats could discourage turnout and soften support from the Tea Party base.

Democrats seeking to blunt the momentum of conservatives coming into November’s election are going to need every tactic to succeed. It’s the job of the discerning voter to separate the hype Democrats offer from the record they represent.

Michael Swartz used to practice architecture but now is a Maryland-based freelance writer and blogger whose work can be found in a number of outlets, including Liberty Features Syndicate. This piece cleared LFS back on June 3rd and I updated it to reflect the Nevada primary result for publication here.