It could be something to do with my sleeping arrangements. I haven't slept on the bed. Instead of doing so, I bring my own mattress and put it down [on the floor and sleep on it]. So maybe dust and other things could have contributed a little bit, too. I didn't want to do so but I thought that would be better for my back than sleeping on the hotel bed. ... It is different from Japan. People [here] keep their shoes on and that is how it is.Silverman: "Matsuzaka told reporters he may have come up with a solution for the next road trip. He did not wish to share it, Japanese reporters said, because he preferred not to have people wondering or imagining how he looked while he slept."
Kevin Youkilis: "We don't need Papi. Save him for the playoffs. Save him for the ninth innings, when we need a big hit or a walk-off." Ortiz has not hit a home run in his last 15 games (52 AB). "I'm becoming Ichiro." ... Nothing to worry about, though. Flo had 29 doubles last season; he already has 20 this season. He's hitting for power (.586 slugging, 5th in the AL), but the ball is staying in the park. For now.
Mike Lowell has hit safely in 21 straight home games. ... Steven Krasner reports that Beckett threw 18 curveballs in his 91-pitch outing. In the fourth inning, six of 13 pitches were curves. ... Jon Lester pitched five scoreless innings (79 pitches) for Pawtucket on Tuesday night, allowing four hits and two walks while striking out six.
Brendan Donnelly:
I've been on some teams where we have always been talking about needing something else. We need a starter, we need a hitter, we need something. We don't need anything, and that's rare. ... [W]hat's even more rare is we get along and have fun. It's a good combination.We need you -- 11 hits and 6 runs allowed in your last six appearances (5.1 innings) -- to pitch better.
Pic O The Day:
Line O The Day: George King, Post: " ... a band of Yankee hitters who can't hit sand if they fell off a camel."
I lived in Japan for three years. One of the rather annoying things one's exposed to are these weird explanations as to why the uniqueness of Japanese culture (or customs, or weather, or physique) creates incompatibility with other countries, especially Western countries. Sometimes there is some truth to the explanations, but more often it's an expression of Japan's exaggerated sense of itself as a cultural singularity.
ReplyDeleteFor example, foreign ski makers have always had a difficult time getting their products into the Japanese market. This is commonly explained along these lines: "Japanese snow is different from snow in other countries. Their skis aren't made for our snow and don't work as well on it." (Buuuull-shit!)
Another one: Japanese people don't need sunglasses as much as white people do because their dark irises absorb the light better so not so much light goes into the pupil. (This one I grudingly accept.)
Anti-bacterial products are another thing you hear a lot about in Japan, so this awareness about germs is pretty pronounced. At any rate, who knows why Dice-K got the 'flu, but this explanation has a rather familiar ring to it.
Zen, that's interesting. Japanese tourists often wear gloves in foreign countries out of germ fear.
ReplyDeleteDifferent snow?! Yeesh.
I was thinking --
It is different from Japan. People [here] keep their shoes on and that is how it is.
-- that he should come to Canada.