Colorado Rockies Should Be Getting Uncomfortable

Blogger's Update: 

The Rockies signed Matt Kemp four days after this post.

Does that make the situation better...or exactly as suspected?

Ian's Gone, Now What?

It's hard to "think again" on this; it's happening as I type.  Ian Desmond isn't returning, and he left with an Instagram post that merits everyone's attention.  You can see one panel of it below.  This has led me to write something I've been avoiding.  It's difficult to pinpoint.  Baseball doesn't provide some natural means of sifting by race.  Frankly, I don't want to do that.  Still, this whole situation brings up a topic I've been nervous to state in writing:

The Colorado Rockies don't seem to like black players.

I'm going to try to be factual here.  If I'm off, see the comments section.  Smarter people than me know this better.  Obviously, a simple count should be the first order of business.

The first point of evidence is the 40-man roster today.  About 8% of baseball players are black.  Mathematically, you would assume a working hypothesis of 3 (or maybe 4) black players on the roster.  The Rockies have zero as of today.  Ian was half black.

Well, how about the non-roster folks?  Nope.  Nothing.

Coaches?  Wait!  Stu Cole is here!  How is this not "I'm not a racist because I have a black friend?"

Isotopes: Michael Choice.  One.

Yard Goats?  Mylz Jones and, umm, no one.

JetHawks?  Twins:  No one and Nobody.

Tourists?  Derrik Watson

I'm not sure how far down I should go here.  Rosters change by the minute, and some teams have more listed players than allowable roster spots.  I'm just eyeballing roster pictures.  My Microsoft-Excel-Chi-Square-Analysis-Because-I'm-Classy based upon these pictures looks like this:

Group	Multiplier	Roster Size	Expected	Observed	Chi Square
Rockies	0.08	40	3.2	0.5	7.290
Isotopes	0.08	25	2	1	1.000
Yard Goats	0.08	25	2	1	1.000
JetHawks	0.08	25	2	0	4.000
Tourists	0.08	25	2	1	1.000
Coaches	0.08	10	0.8	1	0.040
Non-Roster	0.08	23	1.84	0	3.386
TOTALS		173	13.84	4.5	87.236
CRITICAL VALUE	24.322	p<.001

Short version: There is a less than 1/1000 chance that these numbers are randomly assigned to these groups.  A dispassionate look at the figures indicates a potential issue with the number of black players in the organization (& black coaches).

Second point (for Rockies fans): 

Think back to the last black player the Rockies had.  Keep in mind, Dominicans aren't the same (working question: do they speak Spanish?).  Ian Desmond is half black.  Ignore the melanin count.  And Bud Black doesn't count any more than Charlie Blackmon.  Seriously, who was the last black player that you remember playing for this team?  Do you have any Rockies heroes that are black?

Basing things on a brain-damaged memory, looking back at the last few years, my memory list is pretty short.

LaTroy Hawkins spent almost two years at Mile High.
Chris Nelson was kind of a Rockie during that period.
Dexter Fowler was there.  How did that end?

In the Colorado Rockies All-Time 25 last year, Fowler joined Ellis Burks in the outfield.  Eric Young (Sr.) was listed at second.  Three.  That exceeds the 8% figure.  Sooo...does this mean there is a commitment here--or does it signal the increased level of play needed for a black player to join this team.

Every year, MLB celebrates "Jackie Robinson Day," and to me it sounds like everyone is chanting something like, "See? I'm not racist!"  Wearing BLM jerseys--or anti-racism kneeling before English soccer games--would be nicer if it were met with real, tangible changes in our societies.  Maybe just believable plans would help.  I kept hearing how Ian Desmond was a key reason the Rockies were underperforming.  Well, does this fix anything?  Is there a believable plan for the team?  All of that stuff takes time, I know.  But during this interim, all the t-shirts in the world mean nothing if my favorite team is a racially-biased one.

The Rockies have a deep commitment to leagues in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic.  There are reasons and explanations.  I'm missing things, I imagine.  Maybe I'm seeing things that aren't there.  Nevertheless, I didn't find the issue from data--I observed the dearth for years.  Somebody must have said something at some point, yet I've never heard anyone mention this--and I listened pretty closely on Jackie Robinson Day.  Ian has had to handle that interview for a while now. 

I wonder if we'll have another player to answer those same interview questions next year...

...and I wonder if the interview is the only reason that player will be there.

Damn.

Note to the Philippines: Updating an Old Poem (Tagalog Below)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_they_came_..., Public Domain

Poetry can be timeless, even as history repeats itself.  You just have to make a few adjustments.  Please forgive my editing marks, I'm just waiting for the next thing to happen.  Obviously, we are not finished with things.  Thank you for your patience with this poem adaptation.

-------------------

Martin Niemöller Leila de Lima
was a prominent Protestant pastor is a Filipina politician
who emerged as an outspoken public foe of Adolf Hitler Rodrigo Duterte
and spent the last seven years of Nazi rule in concentration camps is currently jailed in Camp Crame.

An Adjusted Poem from the Holocaust Museum:

First they came for the Socialists the drug dealers, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a Socialist drug dealer.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists de Lima & the Liberals, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a Trade Unionist Liberal.

Then they came for the Jews the Press, and I did not speak out—

Because I didn’t read Rappler, and GMA was still on.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

-------------------------------

SA TAGALOG (pinahahalagahan ang anumang tulong sa pagsasalin)

Ang mga tula ay maaaring maging walang oras, at inuulit ng kasaysayan ang sarili nito. Kailangan mo lamang gumawa ng ilang mga pagsasaayos. Patawarin mo ang aking mga marka sa pag-edit, naghihintay lang ako sa susunod na mangyayari. Malinaw, hindi tayo tapos sa mga bagay. Salamat sa iyong pasensya sa pagbagay ng tula na ito.

Martin Niemöller Leila de Lima
ay isang kilalang Protestanteng pastor ay isang Pilipinong politiko
na lumitaw bilang isang hindi sinasabing pampublikong kaaway ni Adolf Hitler Rodrigo Duterte
at ginugol sa huling pitong taon ng pamamahala ng Nazi sa mga kampong konsentrasyon ay kasalukuyang nakakulong sa Camp Crame

Isang nababagay na tula mula sa Holocaust Museum:

Una ay dumating para sa mga sosyalista ang mga nagbebenta ng droga, at hindi ako nagsasalita—
 Dahil hindi ako sosyalista na nagbebenta ng droga.

Pagkatapos ay dumating sila para sa mga Trade Unionists de Lima at ang Liberal, at hindi ako nagsalita — Dahil hindi ako isang Trade Unionist Liberal.

Pagkatapos ay dumating sila para sa mga Hudyo ang Press, at hindi ako nagsalita — Dahil hindi ko nabasa ang Rappler, at nagpatuloy pa rin ang GMA.

Pagkatapos ay dumating sila para sa akin-at walang naiwan upang magsalita para sa akin.

My Words Ain't Nothin' to Hers

(Source: L.A. Times/Getty Images)

One of the first labor activists was a man named Joe Hill.  Prior to his death, he wrote to a friend.  His letter included Hill's most famous quote:

"Don't waste any time mourning. Organize!"

Don't mourn, organize! has been a rallying cry for unions around the world ever since.  I speak from experience.  Significantly, the cry goes out today, during this COVID-19 pandemic. Nurses, bus drivers, custodial workers--all face exposure (and sometimes outright danger).  Those in unions tend to be better protected because they get a voice in the conversation.

I'd like to turn your attention to this opinion piece from a union nurse in Minnesota (Emily Pierskalla, RN).  She writes better than I do, so I leave it to her from hereon.  Here are her admonishments:

• I want you to politicize my death. I want you to use it as fuel to demand change in this industry, to demand protection, living wages, and safe working conditions for nurses and ALL workers.
• Use my death to mobilize others.
• Use my name at the bargaining table.
• Use my name to shame those who have profited or failed to act, leaving us to clean up the mess.
• Don’t say “heaven has gained an angel.” Tell them negligence and greed has murdered a person for choosing a career dedicated to compassion and service.

Maybe it's better if you see it yourself:

https://mnnurses.org/want-my-death-make-you-angry/

Stay safe...I don't want to have to send thoughts & prayers.

With Appreciation

A student approached Zen Buddhist master, Nakagawa Sōen:

 “I am very discouraged.”

Soen Roshi replied, “Encourage others.”

January isn’t normally the time to focus on encouragement or thankfulness or appreciation.  Didn’t we just finish that season, after all?

The best time to do this stuff is when nobody expects it.

You know who doesn’t get encouraged?  I mean, other than minority candidates in the Democratic Party.  Offensive linemen: Guard. Tackle. Center. Blockers.  These linemen determine the success of a team.  I’m convinced of that.  Take the New England Patriots, for example.  New England’s Tom Brady is considered the greatest QB of all time these days.  He’s a great player, I agree.  BUT—that O-line was always fantastic for him. Consider his replacements:

• In 2008, he was injured right away and missed the entire season.  A man named Matt Cassel took over.  He led the Patriots to a 11-5 season, ranked 9th best in the NFL (just below Drew Brees). Kansas City’s team thought that showed promise.  He was a far different player without the Patriots’ offensive line.  He ranked dead last.
• When Brady got suspended in 2016, the job fell to Jimmy Garoppolo, a 24-year-old 3rd round pick from Eastern Illinois in his 3rd year.  Garoppolo was the best QB in the NFL by week 2.
• Another injury (to Garoppolo) landed Jacoby Brissett, a rookie, in the position.  He muddled through with almost no experience in the 3rd game (ranked 11th).  He was injured in week 4, and was traded to Indianapolis, where he was a back-up until this season.
• We learned that things change without a strong line this year in New England.  The QB protection was weakened from injuries.  They heard about it all year.  In fact, the Patriot O-line didn’t get anything from Tom Brady for Christmas this year.  Really. 

Stay classy, Tom.

My beloved, often-ignored, cheating, conniving, wonderful, fun-to-watch Seahawks are in the playoffs again.  As a bonus, they brought back one of the favorite Seahawks of all time: Marshawn Lynch.  They beat the Philadelphia Eagles last weekend, and suddenly it seems like things might...fly...their way.  (Ha!)  One key play appeared to define the entire game.  Here’s the play that seemed to give the Seattle Seahawks a lead & a playoff win over the Eagles.  As the announcers tell you, Marshawn Lynch (a.k.a., Beast Mode) POUNDS the ball into the endzone. 

("Bye, Philecia.")

Or did he?  There’s another guy with a part, as well.  His name is D. J. Fluker.  He plays offensive guard for the 'Hawks.  He’s an...offensive lineman.  Check his stats on ESPN, where his entire career boils down to the two tackles he made (after turnovers, I assume).  You don’t hear about O-line folks unless they get flagged for holding or false starts (or they get stuck in a “smart car”).  When you’re bad, you get named.  When you’re good, the others get named…you know, those in the “skill positions.” 

Q: Who came up with that bonehead term??

A: Same guy (a MAN, I'm sure) who coined "Mid-Major."

We never learn of linemen's backstories, either.  Wide receivers have deep, rich stories, though.  During this same playoff game, I saw a rookie wide receiver’s photo from about age 6, dressed up as Superman.   His biggest trial?  He was drafted in the second round, not the first.

Yeah, that’s why he caught that last pass:  cosplay.  

After the game, they interviewed him.  "How did it feel to blah, blah, blah after the pain of waiting to be drafted, blah, blah…?" 

Here’s a story.

D.J. Fluker was born and raised in the Lower Ninth of the Big Easy.  Hurricane Katrina displaced his family.  You know, like this:

He ended up attending three different high schools in different states. Still, he played at the University of Alabama and got drafted in the first round.  After five seasons, Fluker signed with Seattle, already his third NFL team—another journeyman.  Yet, here he is.  Making something happen and getting very little credit.  Maybe credit on some loser blog or something…

Fluker’s good, and that makes Russell Wilson (position: Quarterback), Marshawn Lynch (position: Beast Mode), and everybody else look good.  We’re all glad to have #24 (Lynch) back in uniform.  He just may be the spark that the Seahawks needed.  I get to buy big bags of Skittles again!

(This will always be my favorite photo of him.)

Doesn’t matter how much I like the guy.  Look again…you only need to see 4 seconds of it.  Freeze it, if you need.

Here.  I'll freeze it for you.  It all hinges on this quick decision by the guard (still photo):

D.J. basically grabs the ball carrier and throws him into the endzone!

How does this play end without Fluker?  Lynch gets stood up and stuffed.  The Seahawks had 19 yards on 17 carries in this game.  Beast Mode needed that help Sunday, and Fluker isn’t getting credit.  Honestly, Mr. Lynch got help throughout his career.  Beautiful.

(I still smile when I see this.)

OK...

I told you that story to get to this story.

Princeton…home of the high & mighty types…has officially noticed the staff.  The university recently exhibited etchings, drawings, and large-scale paintings of “10 workers at Princeton, including people in facilities, dining, grounds maintenance, and security.”  Just look at these!

The exhibit is titled, Lifetimes.  You can see it--an entire life of decent, hard work--in the faces.  It's just incredible to me.  Often, people just need help noticing.  I can't do much more than write a blog.  Still, we humans need to be on the lookout for ways to encourage others.  It's how we stay positive, or refreshed, or sober.

The artist is Mario Moore, who was on a Hodder painting fellowship.  He may have become famous for noticing and encouraging such work and these incredible people.  You know, I’m proud to be married to one of these workers at SFA—

• the people that make things function & work
• the ones that work late, later, and early (if necessary) and
• do those things that everybody thinks “just happen.”  

The paintings show a sense of honor toward these people.  Dr. Jay Thornton, the chair of a large department at SFA, took the time to drop a nice candle and a hand-written Thank-You to each custodial staff member who cleans his building (including Ms. Raqueline).  I still can hardly think of it without tearing up.  We should show that appreciation, too.  I should.

Now is a good time to look around.  It’s January, and early January at that.  The toughest part of the year, my friends.  My mom--who took lunch tickets at an elementary school, among other things--would have been…well…really old now.  January 6 (Epiphany, the 12th Day of Christmas) was and is her birthday.  She made things happen, rarely noticed, with little credit.  Too often, I got the credit.  I’m resolved to give others credit this winter.  Credit for jobs well-done when nobody notices.  Join me.  Call me on it when I miss, which I will. 😄

“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Pine Log Stoking Fires--Help is on the way!

This is a word cloud created from QEP survey responses.

Being overly political is something that causes me no problems.

But let me tell you what we're doing on these holy acres of Stephen F. Austin State University.

We get accredited through the Southern Association of Colleges & Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).  We are up for reaffirmation every ten years; the next reaffirmation comes in 2020.  As part of our accreditation, we are supposed to show we know at least some of our issues.  We need to show a "culture of continuous improvement."*  One part of that is the Quality Enhancement Plan, or QEP.  It needs to be BIG.  It needs to come from our data analysis.  It needs to last 5 years, with the idea that whatever we do is going to stick permanently.  Our last QEP was one-point-something million dollars.  We're still hashing out our budgets for this plan.

The process of choosing a topic was transparent and painful (transparently painful?).  It took about 6 months to determine our area of improvement.

Should we work on our students' critical thinking skills?
What about writing?  They're awful at writing.
What about targeted undergraduate research projects?
Information literacy will only get more important.  Why not that?

As things shook out and narrowed, it became clear that we needed to focus on something else to really benefit students: we need to reduce student debt for Lumberjacks.  Our debt ratio is high, and SFA folks are concerned we are sending our graduates out with a heavy burden.

Think about that: SFA put all the standard, easier choices aside to confront the greatest threat to student success.

Recently, the school newspaper reacted to a "Twitterstorm" of discussion regarding this very topic.  It started with one student sending this tweet:

As you can imagine, there were more than a few reactions.  Including the Pine Log's editorial on the issue.  When things move from online to print, you know it's pretty significant.  Yes, I know this issue would have a super-majority on one side of it.  Still, you could sense the anger, the resentment, and the pain this one little tweet uncovered.  140 characters is not enough to dig deep, but grants and debt are sources of insecurity.  These students will head into a world they can only imagine, the only thing they know is that they will start out financially behind.  That 's a tough future to face.

Perhaps the real reason we need to give more financial support comes from the Google advertisement below the article.  We can reduce the debt significantly, I think.  But our graduates' critical thinking and information literacy skills will be tested by ads like this--ads that come as they get notice that their tax refund is withheld or they don't qualify for a home loan due to their student debt.



My guess is they'll do fine.

We just need to give them a fighting chance.

















* They're wrong, really.  What they expect is a culture of continual improvement.

You Have Gas...

Now is no time for games!

It’s been just over a month in the U.S.  Raquel Henley is getting situated in the U.S.—kind of.  There is no textbook for this transition, and my guess is everybody underestimates the scope of differences.  She’s Filipina; she’s quiet.  I introduce her to people, and she remains nearly silent, only speaking to respond.  This is a hybrid of the prototypical Asian woman upbringing and her lingering fear that her English will prove inferior and humiliating.

She’s smarter than I am.  She speaks three languages.  Languages are hard…and very complex.  There are a lot of things I do (we do) that are highly complex activities.  We take them for granted throughout our lives.  If you can learn to see things from an outside perspective, well, that is helpful.  You can never completely disassociate yourself from your own experience, though.

Seeing the world through Ms. Raqueline’s perspective, I’ve come to learn how different and special this place is.  At the beginning of the month, we were in Denton at a reception.  The reception offered horderves…er, hors d’ovres, ummm…appetizers.  We started with a fruit plate.  I offered her a slice of pineapple.  She demurred.  Then she pointed to the cantaloupe and said, “…and what is this?”  She liked it.  She also liked the strawberry I added to her plate.  In fact, the entire buffet consisted of foods she did not know, let alone anything she had eaten.  I’ve never considered a life without strawberries…or BBQ…or tacos.  People live like that??  She baked her first cake (ovens are uncommon).  She uses coupons, had job interviews (scary!), and started a new job today.  Everything is new, it seems.

One key change for Raq involves automobiles.  Raq rides a motorcycle back in the Philippines.  No license required.  It makes sense, when you think about it.  You go from a bicycle to a motorcycle…and then maybe a car.  The average “salary” for a Filipino is about $2500.  An automobile purchase is akin to buying a house in the U.S.

Part of car ownership is purchasing gasoline.  This is a second-nature, almost intrinsic activity for Americans.  Not so much in the Philippines.  Over there, you pull in and tell some worker how much to put into the tank (usually a litre or two for a motorcycle).  “I want you to put the gas in the car.  I’m going to grab a Diet Coke. Here’s the card.  Our ZIP code is 79564.”

OK, I knew that wouldn’t work on its own.  I was trying to force a learning experience on this poor woman.  I’m still not sure if it worked.  When I returned, she was standing near the minivan and smiling.  No gas had left the pump.  So I helped her through this simple, easy, no-brainer process like the incredible educator I am:

1.     Insert your card.  There, in that slot.  Yes.  That’s where it goes.  No, the magnetic…er, brown stripe needs to be down and to the right, like the picture.  Like this.

2.     OK…but you have to pull it back out right away.  Let’s do that again.

3.     (Repeat Steps 1 & 2)

4.     Now you put in our ZIP Code (note to self: tell her what a ZIP Code is). 7-5-9-6-4…OK now push “Enter.”  It’s over here—the green button on the bottom right.

5.     OK…now it’s processing.  While it’s doing that, you lift the pump handle.  Yes, you lift it up.  Oh!  First, you need to open the little door over here.  Then youuuu un-screww this cap, and…bring the pump here and put it into the tank.  Just bring it over, love…OK, good.  Put it there, in that small hole inside the larger hole.  [By this point, I’m feeling sheepish.]

6.     Yeah…that’s good, but you need to choose the type of gas you want.  We always get the cheapest kind…the 87…no, you just push the yellow button.  The left side.  Closest to us.  Yeah.  That one.  Wait…the hose pushed the 93 octane expensive kind.  That’s 50 cents a gallon more.  No.  Just…No.

7.     (Repeat Steps 1-2 and 4-7, taking care to keep the hose away from all yellow buttons.)

8.     Good.  Gas is going in.  Now, if you push this little lever underneath here, you don’t have to hold it the whole time you pump.  Yeah, I guess that notch works. Good job.

9.     Five gallons.  See the bottom one.  The top one is how much; the bottom one is…well, how much…gas is going in.  The top one is the cost, I guess.  OK.  Stop.  Just squeeze the pump.  No.  You squeeze it and the little lever-thing releases…er, lets go.  (Demonstrate)

10.  Now you put the pump back in the slot where it came from.  No.  Just put it back.  It has a flap that turns off the pump.  Just…yeah.  There.

11.  Now we wait for the receipt.  Oh, and we need to put the cap back on and close this little door back.  OK.  Just pull on it.  Yank on it.  Harder.  Good.

12.  We’re done! 

Easy, right?

I'm not even going to try getting gas at Kroger yet.  That's a whole other process with the discount card.  Ugh.

It’s one thing to move from, say, England to the U.S. (or Canada…or even a place like Germany).  Pumping gas is a part of life there, too.  It’s what life is like when people can afford cars.  There are places people come from that are far different.  Pretty much the only thing we have in common is that we are both from Planet Earth (and some English).

Such a brave woman to come here.  If you haven’t met her yet, just know she starts every morning rocked back on her heels and regains her balance throughout the day.  It’s fantastic to watch.  I just need to keep my ethno-centric assumptions from ruining these discoveries she’s having—not just every day, but every hour.

The Death of the Lonely Gringo?

                                          Marina Keegan

This is and will be an eventful week.

Having my eldest daughter in Nacogdoches has been quite the blessing.  Now, when I say something to myself, I'm not alone.  I prefer these problems to my prior problems!

Miss Victoria begins her second week of classes Monday.  It's not just class.  It's class, tutorials, study sessions, work, and home stuff.  Her days are long, since she works at the local Japanese restaurant.  We don't have a Wendy's, a Home Depot, or a Target...yet we have a Japanese restaurant, a Hallmark Store, and ready access to Merle Norman Cosmetics.

Tori and I reworked the back porch.  We strung lights and cleaned it up.  Having someone else in the household keeps a person more focused on household things.  You have a second set of eyes (or third, or fourth…) to notice things that need improvement.  As of today, it looks like a nice place to hang out & discuss life.  It's more than that, though.

We’re getting the house ready for an arrival.

On Saturday, Mrs. Henley picked up her visa from the courier.  Two days later, she had the Philippines stamp her visa, allowing her to emigrate.  After all, you have to emigrate before you immigrate.  

It looks as though we are almost finished and ready to make that giant move.

She just needs one…more…stamp…

So here’s the plan. I’d call it Plan B, but that letter was gone months ago.  We may have run out of letters by now.

• On September 7 at 12:40 p.m. (Manila Time) my wife will board a plane on EVA Airlines.
• She will fly to Taipei and experience a 7-hour layover.                                
• She will board a second flight, ending in Houston, Texas at 11:50 p.m. on Friday, September 7.
• She will encounter the Port of Entry with her sealed packet from the embassy.
• She will have her visa stamped and enter the United States as a legal permanent resident.
• She will find me waiting for her.

At every point in this grueling, costly process, we have encountered issues.  Some of those have been our fault; others involve rules that don’t seem to be listed anywhere.  The POE should be a formality, but those women and men work for Customs and Border Patrol.  They’re hired and trained to be suspicious.  I know that directly, from my U.S.-Mexico travels and returns.  

As our President says, "We will see what happens." We can do the things listed above (if allowed).  The rest is up to God. I’m okay with that.

--------------

This week also marks the SECOND Labor Day I do NOT have off.  

There is no Labor Day in Hell.

Remember that (alala ba).