Monday, May 31, 2021

Quantitative Analysis


I was drinking "sidecars" during the game, in honor of the end of the first world war ( one story is that the drink was named in Paris, after the sidecar component of the WWI motorcycles...the sidecar being a shot glass of booze left over from making the original drink).

It is easy to raise a glass and honor the sacrifice and heroism of those who gave their lives, limbs and sanity in the battles of that war. 

 But it is not so easy to think well of any of the leaders of the involved nations, nor of their commanding officers.  Ordering troops to run into machine gun fire just doesn't make sense to me.  Not an inch of ground was gained, and family after family was torn apart. For year after year.

The core reasons behind the war made no sense to me either. 

And,  as history has shown, the "peace" that was finally achieved by the "suits and royalty" at Versailles, soon degenerated into WWII.  At the cost of more millions of lives.  Warriors and civilians. Young and old. 

Today, those nations who murdered each other..... in and out of the trenches of WWI.....not to mention during the unspeakable destruction and horror of WWII... are all playing soccer together. 

So what was the fucking point?  Does anyone " in charge" ever think?

As for my quantitative contribution to baseball, I started doing some " sidecar"  math:  

Giancarlo Stanton is touted as the " exit velocity" king of MLB...due to his mammoth ( though rare ) home runs.   However, if you factor in the exit velocity of his strike outs ( estimated at zero mph ), he is no longer King but Pawn....an impoverished fucking pawn.

That's something to think about.

Have a sidecar everyone!


9 comments:

Rufus T. Firefly said...

Whenever I hear "sidecar", I think of Salt Lake City, pre-Olympics. Almost impossible to get a drink, and when you got it, you thought it looks like it's already time for a refill. The only way you could get close to a real drink was to order something on the rocks, with a sidecar of the same -- which for some reason was permitted.

It was easier getting a real drink in Dubai during Ramadan.

TheWinWarblist said...

I gonna drink up, no worries about that.

Publius said...

Cashman would have fit in nicely on the German General Staff or French High Command. A bloodless mediocrity, incapable of understanding that his application of "cutting edge" techniques is already obsolete.

HoraceClarke66 said...

I agree with that, Alphonso.

WW I was, in some ways, the most horrifying of wars. The antagonists were the richest nations in the world, they controlled most of the world, they had nothing to gain, and they had nothing really against each other.

And as you say, the tactics were even more senseless. Running infantry into massed fire—a tactic that had been thoroughly discredited 50 years earlier, in our Civil War, with exponentially less deadly weapons at that time...But they went on and on with it. And at the end, came another war.

JM said...

WWI was the first mechanized major war, and the generals didn't know how to cope. Plus, yes, it was unnecessary. The combination made it, in the context of its time, the most horrible war ever.

For me, the best films about war are the WWI films. I just rewatched "Ace of Aces" yesterday with Richard Dix, and while the ending was lame, the opening was terrific. Dix gives an impassioned speech about why he wasn't going to enlist, resisting all the patriotic propaganda and madness around him. You don't see that in WWII movies, at least that I recall.

As for Salt Lake City, Rufus, my wife and I got stuck there overnight when the weather prevented the second leg of our flight back from Californy. It was a Sunday, yet, so we didn't hold out a lot of hope for a decent dinner and any drinks at all. But there was a restaurant that was open that had a nice atmosphere, good food, and--glory of glories--a full and accommodating bar. What a nice surprise.

But the streets are holdovers from cattle drive days, wider than any I've experienced in other parts of the U.S. You better have the light when you cross, even if the traffic is light. Otherwise, you'll never make it.

JM said...

P.S. I imagine you don't see those impassioned peacenik speeches in WWII movies because it was the only U.S. war in the 20th century that made sense. There was no other way to stop the fucking fascists. So, there's that.

Rufus T. Firefly said...

JM, don't forget WWII movies made during the war were made by the US government, so unlikely to have dissenting voices on any subject.

And SLC got a *lot* better during/after the Olympics. Beautiful views though.

Isiyku Abdulahi said...


I really want the world to know about this great man who brought back happiness into my life again after my husband left me and the kids 3 years ago for another women online when i contacted Dr Believe he cast a love spell for me within 48 hours my ex husband start calling me and begging for forgiveness for everything that have happened between us. I was so happy to have my family back together with love again here is the email of Dr Believe via believelovespelltemple@gmail.com a man with the great powers you can also call him or add him on Whats-app: +2348156148821
God bless you
I am very grateful for your help in my marriage.

Nitish Kumar said...


LOTTO, lottery,jackpot.
Hello all my viewers, I am very happy for sharing this great testimonies,The best thing that has ever happened in my life is how I win the lottery euro million mega jackpot. I am a Woman who believe that one day I will win the lottery. finally my dreams came through when I email believelovespelltemple@gmail.com and tell him I need the lottery numbers. I have spend so much money on ticket just to make sure I win. But I never know that winning was so easy until the day I meant the spell caster online which so many people has talked about that he is very great in casting lottery spell, . so I decide to give it a try.I contacted this great Dr Believe and he did a spell and he gave me the winning lottery numbers. But believe me when the draws were out I was among winners. I win 30,000 million Dollar. Dr Believe truly you are the best, all thanks to you forever