7 posts from April 2008

Yes, the Boston Celtics are fucked.  Pure and simple.  I think that I am not in the minority when I say that I did not expect what happened to the Celtics in games 3 and 4 in Atlanta.  Now, I figured that the Hawks would manage to win one game after being humiliated in Boston in games 1 and 2, but the events that unfolded in Atlanta for games 3 and 4 have changed the series completely.

After watching game 4, I am pretty sure the Celtics are in trouble and I think that they just lost the series.  There's losing two games on the road to the opponent (we've seen the Bulls of the 1990s, the Pistons and Spurs of the 2000s deal with those type of runs by the opposing team), but how the Celtics lost should be causing Boston fans to get worried.  Really worried.  It was not that the Hawks got hot from the field and just had "one of those nights" where they can't miss the bucket at all; they bullied the Celtics.  From Zaza Pachulia getting into Kevin Garnett's face (who the hell is Zaza Pachulia?  Huh?) after an elbow to the chest after he [Garnett] pulled down a rebound to Paul Pierce getting hit pretty hard on a drive and then his bad miss after losing control of the ball on a drive late in the fourth, the Celtics looked like they were the number 8 seed with only 37 wins. 

What should be concerning Boston fans as well is that Doc Rivers did not make an adjustment at all when Joe Johnson ate up Ray Allen late in the fourth on what was four or five series where he held onto the ball, the Hawks running an isolation for him on the wing and then trying to peel off Allen on a pick and roll play...and on each of those possessions, he abused Allen and scored a big bucket after big bucket.  The Celtics would respond but the Hawks realized that Allen couldn't handle Joe Johnson and they continued the run that isolation play until Rivers realized that Allen couldn't handle Johnson and by that time, it was 1:45 or so left in the game and they didn't start trying to trap him on the baseline away from the basket until it was too late too. 

And don't forget that Al Horford is dominating in the low post.

I'm sure people will say that the Celtics will get things done at home, but I don't see anyone on the Celtics pulling the team on their back and winning a game; the closest would be Sam Cassell, but he's 158 years old (38 years old in reality) and I don't think that's the one person you want to trust your season on consistently.  The other would be Rajon Rondo; he's the one who can drive and create his own shot, but it is his first playoffs although he has outplayed Mike Bibby. 

If the Celtics get past the Hawks, right now, I do not see them getting past LeBron James and the Cavs--he has already proven against the Wizards who are playing much more physical than I can see the Celtics playing that he win the game one way or the other.  He can trust his teammates with big shots as was the case in his dime to Delonte West that won Game 4 for the Cavs and have the Wizards on the brink of elimination.  He is a force to be reckoned with and its looking like the team is starting to gel now nonwithstanding the blowout in Game 3. 

As for the Pistons, even though it appears that they took control of the series with their huge second half against the 76ers, the thing that killed the 76ers was that they couldn't hit any shots and the Pistons got some timely baskets from guys who were struggling (Billups and Wallace); I still think Delambert and Andre Miller will continue to give the Pistons problems and eventually Iguodala will break out.  The second half of game 4 was the only coherent basketball the Pistons had played since their win in Game 2, and again, it was on the shoulders of 6 good shots by Wallace and Billups and the always dependable play of Tayshaun Prince.  The Pistons will have problems putting away the 76ers and they need to win Game 5.  I don't see the Pistons being able to win Game 6 on the road to stay alive.  But, the Pistons stand a better chance of advancing as compared to the Celtics who are screwed.  Seriously screwed.

The Celtics are screwed because they gave a very athletically talented team the confidence that they can not only beat the Celtics but push the mighty Celtics around on the court.  I dont see a player on the Celtics who will pull out a statement game to slap reality back into the Hawks to remind them that they were a 37 win team that has no chance of winning this series; Larry Bird, Magic, Moses Malone, MJ, Shaq, Hakeem, Tim Duncan would have a major statement game where they would not allow their team to lose.  The Celtics don't have that player who can plunge that dagger into the Hawks' chest and crush their confidence. 

I could be wrong and KG could have a 30-20 game in Game 5 as the Celtics cruise to a 20 point lead, but right now, I think the Hawks young players, especially Joe Johnson, Al Horford and the rest will not be swayed by the Garden or the crowd right now.  It looks like that the Celtics are in trouble.  Just like the Mavs against the Warriors last year.

Looking forward to seeing if LBJ and the Cavs can close out against the Wiz. 

Can the Suns push the series to a Game 6?  They have a better chance than the Mavs to continue to extend their series.  The Mavs are finished. 

25 村田　修一鍛えたそのパワー　かっとばせ　勝利をさぁ目指せ　ホームラン (Courtesy of http://www.seiha-net.com/)

Last night I managed to stay up until 11:30 or so watching Family Guy before passing out (I cant wait for season six to come out on DVD), and I was pretty tired all day since I had stayed up late last night and woke up early on Saturday as well so waking up at 5:34 or so this morning did not help at all.  I have no clue as to why I woke up so early either.  It was a Sunday morning, I had no real reason to wake up so early and normally, I wake up at 8 or 9 am.  I had toyed with the idea of waking up early to go swimming, but I know that my laziness on the weekends always overcomes any ideas of heading back to base to go swim or lift; that and my dislike of going on base, its not as if its a disgusting base, I just prefer to stay away from anything that reminds me of work. 

Unless my mind subconsciously knew that the NFL draft was unfolding in New York City this morning in Japan and I am instinctively programmed to sit around and watch the NFL draft on NFL draft weekend; one of the major holidays of American football.  The NBA draft is not as exciting or interesting and no one knows when the NHL or MLB draft occurs at all, its as if those two professional drafts are at best a rumor that appears on the back of a Topps baseball card.  I missed the first few picks, but I was watch on NFL.com the draft coverage by the NFL network, which was awesome, so people who are NFL fans can watch outside of the United States; I don't know why more games etc are available online, I'm sure they are worried that people are going to simply watch everything online, but I dont know any true fans who spend money on a huge TV that would prefer the not as good quality picture that you get from a webcast of a game.  The NBA charges nearly $100 USD to see NBA games, but I don't think it is worth it; at least the MLB webcasts have a cheaper option of around $25 USD to watch games.  I don't know, but it is something that the NCAA football types should look into next bowl season as CBS had March Madness on demand for free online and I was able to watch a lot of games which was awesome.  And yes, the NBA game is superior to the college game and for that matter, all I could think of when watching Michael Beasley vanish in the second half against Wisconsin; as much as I love my Badgers, they are not exactly an NBA level team, all I could think of...how can any team think about investing millions on this guy who should be killing the Badgers on the inside right now since I know the Badger front court players cant even match this guy at all.  I really did see all of those Derrick Coleman comparisons there.  On the other hand Derrick Rose was ridiculously good as was Chris Douglas-Roberts in the tournament.

Bottom line, the NFL draft is the best non-sporting sporting event on television.  Its the one moment of hope for a team to be either sustained by a draft that is perceived as a strong or a crushing recurring nightmare of a team that cannot do anything correctly on or off the field.  That was the Chicago Bears from 1996 to...well, on and off presently.  By the way, this is all I have to say about Lance Briggs and Brian Urlacher.  Two words to be exact.  Fuck and You.  Lance Briggs replaced Roosevelt Colvin who I thought was a huge loss in 2002, but Briggs filled in his spot and actually played better, but how much money can you make?  I didnt see him make any spectacular plays in the Super Bowl...actually, I think I saw him get punked down by a blocker in the game or was that Addai or Rhodes running his ass over towards a Super Bowl title.  I know that they are limited by the schemes that are set up, but I still cant get over the fact that Urlacher wants to be percieved as a big time MLB in Chicago, but when he cannot take on a blocker and still make the play; this reminds me of watching a day game of Urlacher getting punked by a OG and then by a fullback and then on the primetime game, I saw Ray Lewis fight off the blocker and then hit the back and forced a turnover. 

Now Urlacher is complaining about a long term deal that pays him millions, not to mention the millions he makes in endorsements and royalties from name.  I can see some parallels between Urlacher and the end of Butkis's career, except Butkis played with no cartilage in his knees for two seasons and was a victim of a butcher of a surgeon.  Briggs?  I dont know, but I would have traded him after that Lamborghini incident.  Gone.  Maybe package him and Cedric Benson as well.  I always find it stupid when people say, hey look that guy who got cut from X team in X city after playing so many years is now having a career year in Y city; all I can think is: "so why couldn't that putz have the same fire and desire to play when he was in Chicago?"  Case in point, Frank Thomas.  After the 1994 strike, he could not hit a ball. He was a .330 or so hitter, but from 1995-1997 he could not hit a basketball if it was thrown over the plate, and yet, Chicago kept him around and all Sox fans hoped that he could find his groove again and become the Frank Thomas that earned the nickname, "The Big Hurt."  Things came around for him and just in time for a new contract where he demanded all sorts of money and all I could think of was...uh, so with the exception of this past season, you have not done a thing, and now you want all of this as if you were an All Star for the past few years?  His sulking was pathetic.  In a way, it was good for the Sox that he went down in 2005, and become a new example for Bill Simmons's "Ewing Theory."  The Sox let him go, after he sulked about not getting a big contract from the Chicago front office and then had a big season with the Oakland A's, which he parlayed into a big contract with the Toronto Bluejays, but I wondered why he didn't produce like that in Chicago when we needed him to when he was the cornerstone of the franchise.  It all has come full circle as the Jays cut him when he couldn't get anything going early in the season. 

I still wonder what would have happened if the 1994 strike never happened...

And speaking of baseball, today I went to the Yokohama Baystars X Hiroshima Toyo Carp game in Yokohama for my second game of the season.  Previously, the Baystars lost a heartbreaker to the Chunichi Dragons who look pretty good to defend their Japan Series championship.  The Baystars, who I thought had a good chance to at least finish in the same spot and maybe even challenge for that last Climax Series berth for the Central League have stumbled to a 4-17-1 start, and although it is a long season, its never good to start off 11 games out of first place.  The pitching is not bad, Daisuke Mirua looked good in the one outing I've seen, Kudoh will come on later in the year, Terahara is a pretty good pitcher and after today, it looks like they have a few good young pitchers on the team. What is killing them is the complete lack of offense (main culprits are Nishi, Saeki, whichever left fielder they have out there (Bigbie was doing alright, but he got injured yesterday) and Yoshimura's early struggles this season.), bad defense and questionable managing.

The best example was last week against the Giants where Terahara was pitching a gem against the Giants, who have a line up that's liable to explode for a bunch of runs at once, but Terahara was doing a good job of keeping the ball on the ground for easy outs or for fly outs during the game.  It was a pretty good pitching duel between him and the Giants pitcher, but the Baystars drew blood first, getting 2 runs, but as the 7th inning came up, Terahara was having issues getting his pitches where he wanted to; his pitches to the outside were way, way outside and his pitches to the inside beaned Gonzales...his control was shaky and it looked like he was getting tired.  At this point he already had nearly 90 pitches and with the lead, Ohya should have gone to his bullpen to get through the 7th and 8th and then close it out in the 9th.

Oh no, instead he leaves Terahara when he is visibly exhausted, you could see it in his eyes that he was realizing that he couldn't get good movement on the ball at all, and he ended up giving up a big single that ended up putting the tying run on base.  Then Ohya finally pulls into his bullpen...to bring out Kizuka.  I dont know why he is still with this franchise; he has this habit of giving up the big hit or home run when you need him to hold down the fort. He comes out and bam, just like clockwork, he gives up a big single that ties the game.  Then with his sidearm delivery, his pitch floats right into the center of the strike zone and Sakamoto hits the ball...right into the same gap between 2nd and 3rd base the prior big single shot through earlier.  Finally Ohya realizes that Kizuka is not going to get those outs.  He reaches in and pulls out Matt White, another guy who only warms up after giving up a big hit to the other team during inopportune moments of the game.  Which he does, as Takahashi takes his pitch deep, deeper than Kinjoh anticipated as he sprinted back and almost made the grab, almost, as in short by four inches as he tried to reach across his body and out for the ball.  Not quite.  Matt White gets the last out, but the damage is done, the Baystars are down 5-2 and the game is over.  They couldn't get a hit earlier and really needed to capitalize on what little offense they were able to produce in the 6th inning.  And Marc Kroon shut the door on them again.  Mother fuckers.

Today, the rookie Kobayashi was pitching pretty well, working the inside and outside, getting his feel for the game and would have made it through the first inning without giving up a run it it was not for Uchikawa's inability to field; he lost a game for the Baystars last season against the Swallows trying to make a circus catch that was pointless instead of just working to make a simple play, and right in front of the right gaiya, this time, he lost a fly ball for us that he should not have tried to make a play on as Yoshimura had a better angle on the ball than he did.  Yeah, it dropped fair and the Carp scored.  After that though, Kobayashi pitched a good game and the Baystars played great defense.  Nishi snared a sure single and made the throw to first that had me getting on my feet.  Later in the game, Murata made a diving catch for the out that got everyone excited.  Sadly, the Baystars could not help out Kobayashi by scoring any runs in the game until the sixth inning.

At the bottom frame of the sixth, the Baystars managed to get a guy on base, but nothing else.  Kinjoh got a nice single into center field in the gap.  Great hit.  Up comes Murata and I instinctively reach down to put my bay on my seat to avoid and beer pouring down the stands from the huge hit that I knew was coming.  On the first pitch, Murata actually swung, when he normally is looking at the first pitch, which is normally a strike.  Strange.  Takes a ball, and then the next pitch, he connects, and I watch the ball up and I know its gone (I lost it in the clouds since it was an overcast day) and the guys and I go for the railing to watch it go into the left gaiya (bleachers) as we go nuts.  There was so much energy in the crowd waiting to be released and that huge hit did it; I don't know if it is a turning point in the season for the Baystars as they finally capitalized (well, that I've seen) on a great pitching and defensive effort.  2-1 Yokohama. 

The Baystars add an insurance run in the 8th courtesy of a big Uchikawa double bringing in Takuro for a 3-1 lead.  There was one more surprise from the Baystars as they trotted out Terahara out in the 9th to close out the game.  I dont know if it was to help build up his confidence after the disaster in the Tokyo Dome last week, but he takes down the first two, gives up a single, causing Ohya to send his bench coach out there, why, I dont know.  Just let the guy pitch.  He takes down the last guy and the Baystars win. 

Is this a turning point for their season?  This is the first series they have won all season (2-1 in the weekend set against the Carp) and while it can be dismissed as a pillow fight between two of the worst teams in baseball, the Baystars have the pitching staff and the lineup when finally on track that can cause some damage this season.  They need to keep up the defensive effort since that is always their undoing in games, giving up base hits that should be outs and forcing the pitchers to increase thier pitch count, bringing on fatigue earlier; and its a big factor here since they pitch nearly 100 pitches before games here...more of a big deal here than in the US.  They need to make sure that they don't shatter their young pitcher's confidence either.  Terahara is doing really well, and he makes a good rotation with Miura and Kudoh (as long as Kudoh gets good run support at times since he can give up a big hit at times).

We'll see.  They travel down to Nagoya for three against the Dragons and then down to Hiroshima for three against the Carp.  they need to at least come out .500 on this short roadie, and better if they come out 4-2.  The Giants are heating up and the Dragons are maintaining, but can the Tigers maintain their pace (even after raping the Carp of young talented players)?  Can the Baystars even play .500 ball right now?  Dunno.

But that Murata home run was sweet. 

修一鍛えたそのパワー　かっとばせ　勝利をさぁ目指せ　ホームラン!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sitting around watching BS-i; tonight the Chunichi Dragons, the defending Japan Series and Konami Cup Champions are up against the evil Yomuri Giants and their bloated payroll.  No way this telecast is skewed in favor of one team over the other; 'Beat the Dragons' is the undertone of the telecast.  All the propaganda in the world wont change the fact that the Dragons are leading 3-1 now or the fact that the Giant's starting pitching is...outside of Utsumi-san is so-so; I'm sure Yokohama fans are upset that Marc Kroon and his 161 kph fast ball now reside in the Yomuri bullpen, but I think the Baystars organization saw the same thing I did: although Kroon did get his saves, he had a bad habit of allowing teams to make a run and would run up his pitch count big time because other than his curve ball and heater, he has no other pitches.  (Well...that may explain why he is playing in Japan...but I wont go there)

In other news, Murata Shuichi had a 2 run jack against the Swallows tonight.

I don't think that the Dragons are going to miss Fukodome too much this season seeing that they won a large majority of their games last season and ran through the Tigers and beat top seeded Yomuri in the Climax Series last year without him; and then defeated the defending Japan Series champs, the Nippon Ham Fighters.  It does help to have good ol' Tyrone Woods and his 30 or so jacks a year backing up their offense as well.  The Giants probably pursued Alex Ramirez in the offseason for that same reason.

I really should be studying for the LSAT, but I'm a lazy sonufabitch. 

Well, I guess Utsumi isnt doing all too well...he's been rocked for two runs in the 6th inning and just got yanked for Nishimura.  I haven't seen many games outside of the medicore Baystars this season, so I dont know all too much about the pitching staff of the Yomuri Giants.  I just enjoy watching them lose.  More than watching the Red Sox and Yankees lose; though I enjoy watching the Red Sox lose because I'm so tired of this "Red Sox Nation" crap; it really pissed me off when Joe Buck tried created a "White Sox Nation" and the curse of the Sox during the 2005 playoffs.  In all the years I've watched the Sox on WGN or WFLD or hearing thier games on AM 1000 in Chicago, I don't recall hearing about a "White Sox Nation" or some curse. And Nishimura gave up a run on a little blooper that was just over the second baseman's arm.  Man, if he was a gaihin...hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah.

And the Baystars are laying the full sized beat down on the Swallows now, 11-0.  Well, good thing that our offense finally decided to come to life while the pitching staff has not been whiped out yet.

I really want to watch this "Rookies" show...ah...overdramatization of high school baseball...I wonder how many groupies the guys have in this series.  Its funny, if anyone reads Gotta Have Wa, there's a very interesting chapter about the Koshien (Japanese high school national championships) where someone makes a snide remark about the "pure" ballplayers not being all too pure with ass being thrown at them at all directions.  Yeesh...its worse than UW Madison football groupies!  Hah hah hah.

And the beating is continuing at Jingu stadium, 12-0.  Do they have an "uncle" rule?

Gotta love the BS-i mouse with the blonde afro in the little inter-commerical breaks between the telecast and the drama commericals.  Including the fan friendly "To love る"....this of course led Dyran and I to ask Princess Sachiyo if that really leads to Japanese men being disapointed in the end...but, that's assuming that they haven't already wanted the bronde f**k beforehand. 

ブロンド　フック

I bet the Giants wish they had one of those right now...

The pain just ended for the Swallows, a 9 run fifth inning.  It was almost as enjoyable as the huge inning the White Sox had at the expense of the Detroit Tigers earlier this week.

Bobby Valentine is very animated when congratulating his players after a win, more than your typical NPB managers, and its not that he's an American, I don't see Brown (manager of the Hiroshima Carp) do the same after a Carp win; but that's dependent on the Carp winning games, which does not happen a whole lot for that franchise in the past few years.  What's odd is that Minnesota Twins fans can probably sympathize with Hiroshima Carp fans since both teams get fleeced by the better known franchises (the Twins by the Yankees and Red Sox and the Carp by the Hanshin Tigers (Osaka) and the Yomiuri Giants (Tokyo)) for their young talented ball players.  Its not as if anyone can really compete against the Giants since they are the most popular team in Japan--and unless you're very loyal to your local team or if you're from the Kansai plain and area big Osaka fan, there's not much of a chance competing against the Giants for your talented ball players.  Its a same, its actually worse than it is with the Yankees and Red Sox in the US.

Well, the pain is continuing for the Swallows, Murata had another homer, a 2 run jack to left field.  15-4.

Gotta love how 1) my blog is completely incoherent, 2) how cool われわれsounds in dialouge and 3) how overemotional characters are in Japanese anime and lastly 4) how much cooler ドラゴンボールZ is in 日本語。

Eh, looks like the Baystars are going to wrap up a beatdown on the Swallows and I finished my Sapporo tall boy so there's no real reason to stay up since I know I'm not going to study for my LSAT.  Hah hah hah.

Blah blah blah.

Mediocre.

One of the words that no one wants to hear linked in a sentence when refering to one's performance in anything.  In work, in 'making out skills' (my girlfriend's phrase not mine), in anything for that matter. 

But for some reason, it tends to be a common trait in my favorite sports teams; I know that I have nothing to do with what they do on the field, even if I wear that one lucky jersey-that-I-wore-in-that-big-playoff-game-that-helped-them-win-that-one-playoff-game-they-won-in-the-past-twenty-years.  If the team loses a game, several games, finishes twenty five games out of first place and with a 100 run score difference, life goes on, though it sucks in the ephemeral moment after defeat.  This was one of the things I learned in college and later this summer again; if you cant get over a professional team playing a game, then you have some serious issues you need to look into; unless you are one of those guys on the team getting paid to win games.

Growing up as a Chicago fan was not the most fun as a fan.  While born in the 1980s, I don't remember the 1985-86 Chicago Bears; I dont remember the game at all, unlike 100% of Chicago Bears fans my age.  I dont remember the Super Bowl ShuffleI...actually, that's a positive; I dont remember Walter Payton getting unintentionally snubbed by Mike Ditka by allowing 'Da Fridge' to score a touchdown on the goalline.  I dont remember any of that.  What I do remember was the "Wanny Era."

With the exception of the 1994, 2001, 2005 and 2006 seasons, there was not much to look forward to during the football season for the Bears other than possibly how high in the draft our pick would reside.  There was really nothing to watch either, no exciting young player or anything to give hope to the masses at all.  The only reason to watch was that either WFLD only carried the Chicago games and the other games were blacked out so you could watch the aftergame shows that no one really cared about to rehash another onfield disaster.  Yet, the post Ditka era until Lovie Smith of 1993-2004 were not as bad as the 1966-1977 era in Chicago history where the Bears were unbearably terrible although they had some of the best players of thier generation on the team: Gayle Sayers and Dick Butkis (and a pretty good player in Doug Buffone as well).  Almost the same can be said now with Urlacher and now Devon Hester, although with the exception of the 2007 disaster have had relevant seasons during their time in Chicago. 

The White Sox were on the verge of being a dynamic team after the 1993 ALCS, but the 1994 Strike cut them down before they could go anywhere.  Afterwards, we had the 1997 White Flag season (which produced players that brought a divisional title in 2001 and a WS in 2005) and worst, Frank Thomas losing his ability to hit the ball.  Yet, this is nothing in comparison to the Cubs, but I'm a Sox fan, so what happens to the Northsiders really does not affect me at all.  Only such as sad franchise can blame a kid in the stands trying to catch a foul ball on why they didnt make it to the 2003 WS; instead of focusing on the bad pitching and defense that allowed the Marlins to even get to a 7th and deciding game that Kerry Wood let slip away.  There are the two things that I will always remember about Kerry Wood, other than the bad luck with injuries: his 20K game and dropping Game 7 of the 2003 NLCS.

The Blackhawks after some sucess early in the 1990s fell off after being dominated by the Colorado Avs in 1997.  I dont know if anyone realized there was a hockey team in Chicago until recently.  Yeah, they made the playoffs in 2002, but no one I knew expected anything but an early bow out in the playoffs.  More often than not, the Blackhawks have been less than spectacular than anything else.  I haven't watched a Blackhawks game, that is, those that were not blacked out on television since 2000 when they got rocked by the Red Wings.  It was a shame to compare the two franchises as both started to become relevant in the early 1990s, except that Bill Wirtz refused to pay any of the major components of the 1992 Western Conference champions, the last component leaving in 1997 in the form of Jeremy Roenick.  Apathy made dealing with this mediocre team a bit more bearable.

Everyone who became a Bulls fan in the 1990s...or realized what professional basketball as in the 1990s in the Chicagoland area can whine and moan about the collapse of the Phil-MJ-Pippen dynasty after 1998, but in reality, they really should not have, since it could have ended worse than it did.  Case in point, the Bulls were unbeaten as the defending champions with Jordan in the lineup.  The key phrase is: with Jordan in the lineup in lieu of the 1994 loss to the Knicks in the playoffs.  If the Bulls had managed to get past the Knicks, there is a good chance that it would have been Pippen in the huge spotlight that Jordan had filled the season prior.  This might be discounting the Pacers who upset the Magic and the Atlanta Hawks, but it was not likely that the Bulls would have lost to the Pacers, especially having home court advantage in that series.  But they did not and at that point, everyone was probably considering what was going to happen to Chicago now that the dynasty was truly over. 

Now, I'm going in a completely different direction...

With the loss of Grant and probably the pending loss or trade of Pippen after the 1995 season, the Bulls were facing rebuilding in the face.  Phil would have left Chicago in the offesason of 1995 and where would he have gone?  LA?  The Knicks with Pat Riley leaving for Miami?  Where would have Pippen gone?  Would the Pacers have become a dominant force in the East?  Without a Jordan led Bulls dominating the Magic in 1996, furthering the disaster of the 1995 Finals, does Shaq stay in Orlando with Penny?  Or does he still opt for LA?  What happens with the Mourning-Hardaway Heat without the Bulls to crush them when they started to peak in 1997?  Do the SuperSonics dominate the West with GP hitting his prime and Shawn Kemp not opting out to Cleveland to gain 60 lbs?  Do they even sell out to Cash Clay with the prospect of the franchise leaving Seattle?  What about the Ewing Knicks?  What about the Jazz?  Do Karl Malone and John Stockton go out as champions?  Do they dominate the NBA before retiring gracefully? 

The whole dynamics of the leauge changed with just two words, "I'm back."  It took Jordan to get humiliated, getting his pocket picked by Nick Anderson who he would normally just crush (and later did) before his retirement to motivate him to come back and dominate the game.  It was probably the most devestating steal in the history of the NBA.  It precipitated the collapse of the Shaq-Penny Magic, continued to deny the Ewing Knicks, stopped the Mourning-Hardaway Heat, denied the Miller Pacers until they ran into the next dynasty of Shaq-Kobe, denied the Super Sonics, stopped the Jazz and countless other teams down the stretch.  If the Bulls are mediocre, do they get a chance to draft Farragut High's Kevin Garnett?  What about Kobe Bryant, do the Bulls take a chance on him with a high draft pick in 1997?  I know countless Boston fans wonder about the "what ifs" if Len Bias had not overdosed on cocaine about the Celtics dynasty as much as Bulls fans do not ponder a permanent Jordan retirement in 1993. 

While everyone enjoyed the return of Jordan and the second three-peat, it did adversely affect the rebuilding of the Bulls after 1998.  Jerry Krause, I'm sure felt some unjustified pressure to win again after "breaking" up the Bulls in 1998.  What seems to be forgotten was that it was probably a foregone conclusion after the 1998 season.  Pippen was ready to leave Chicago, Jordan was slowing down and having problems dealing with bigger guards (remarkedly so after his 2001 return as well), Jackson was ready to retire regardless and Rodman was not going to return at all.  The bench was virtually non-existent in 1998, with Jordan carrying the team until Pippen came back late in the season--case in point was Game 6 of the 1998 Finals were Pippen was nullified by a back injury and outside of Jordan only Toni Kukoc was the only other Bull to score in double figures.  There were some serious doubts about the Bulls, except that its very difficult to beat Jordan in a seven game series, regardless of the lack of support from his bench. 

But that pressure he felt dealing with the percieved role that he was the reason why the Bulls broke up--one cannot forget that he pulled the 1987 draft day coup of getting Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant--did not help much in the league view of the Chicago franchise amongst the players as well.  If Jordan did not return and say the Bulls were forced to rebuild without the stigma of the front office breaking up a dynasty (Pippen probably leaving Chicago for more money) after 1995, is it a different story when the Bulls try to woo a big name free agent?

Yokohama Baystars vs Yomuri Giants 4/8/2008

Last night Ohya blew the game late.  We'll see how they do today.

1st Inning:

Missed the Giants up.

 Bottom of the 1st:

Ishii Takuro flied out to right field.  2 outs.  Missed Toshisa's out.

Kinjoh.
He's been hitting .324 so far this year, doing better than last season.  He does a pretty good job of sitting through pitch counts and running up the count.  Ground out on a hopper.

2nd Inning.

Top of the 2nd:
There's aways a threat that the Giants can go off and score a ton of runs with the likes of Ramirez, Abe and Lee in the lineup.  Abe and Lee killed the Baystars last season (not to say that the rest of the Giants did not give the Baystars pitchers a miserable time last summer).  Yesterday, Abe and Lee did not cause too much damage, but Lee managed to get on base. 

Abe flied out to left field.

Sakamoto is up to bat.  Last night he has that big home run that put the Giants up 3-1.  Sakamoto flied out to center, dependable Kinjoh with the out. 

Kimura up.  He had a dent game last night, but he looks like the typical grizzled old Japanese cat you see in the Samurai dramas on TBS.  Grounded out.

Bottom of the 2nd:
Murata Shuichii is up.  The reigning Central Leauge home run champion.  He has not knockd many balls out of the park recently.  He has been sitting on the first pitch each time, but he's much more patient at the plate than he was two summers ago.  A infield blooper that was mishandled by Sakamoto.  Single for Murata. 

Saeki-san.  He played left field last year and now they've moved him to 1st base to probably save his legs--he's an effective hitter and I dont kow why Ohya is now trying to small ball with a guy who is pretty dependable at the plate.  Now they're letting him hit, a ball on the far, far, far outside of the plate and a strike.  Barely in the strike zone.  Good thing there isn't a Vlad in NPB who can crush those types of pitches.  Strikeout.

Yoshimura Yuki.  Last night he has a huge home run and had a big hit late that was squandered by Ohya.  Bad swing on his first strike and was caught looking on a sinker on the outside of the plate.  So far Yuki -san is tied for first in the CL for homers...4.  A nice single in the gap.  He has a really nice swing.  Very fluid.

JJ Bigbie.  Yep, from Hobart IN.  Two strikes way on the inside of the plate.  Utsumi is trying to get him to bite on the outside and he's probably going to bring it inside of do a changeup.  Changeup.  Bigbie struck out.  Makes me sick that a guy who shows up on the Mitchell report has old Ta

Aikawa Roji.  Hit into the infield and snapped up by Sakamoto for the force out at 2nd. 

0-0 after two.  Last night BS1 had problems with running commercials during at bats for both the Baystars and Giants.  Missed Aikawa's solo jack in the 5th yesterday.

3rd Inning:

Top of the 3rd:
The Giants starting picher, Tsumi struck out.

Takahashi up to bat.  Second stirke on the outside of the plate, just looking.  Nasumo is doing pretty well so far.  He's working the outside of the plate now.  He's probably going to come up with a change-up.  Looked off speed, Takahashi did not get a whole lot of contact and he's out.

Two outs.  Nasumo is doing a good job of keeping the hits on the ground.  35.  foul tip and its 1 and 2.  2 outs.;  Nasumo is starting to work the inside of the plate and his next pitch was to the outside and he gave him one down the center of the plate and he flied out to left field.

Bottom of the 3rd:
Nasumo up to bat.  For those not familiar with NPB, the CL is much like the NL in MLB, where there is no designated hitter while the PL (Pacific League) is more like the AL in MLB in that they have the designated hitter.  Nasumo watched himself strike out. 

Uchigawa.  His fielding was a bit suspect as the season went on last year, pretty disappointing when he lost a game against the Swallows late in the season.  He took the second pitch deep into left for a double; the pitch was right down the plate and he got good contact.

Ishii Takuro.  The face of the Baystars...until the emergence of Murata Shuichi and Yoshimura Yuki last season.  He took the third pitch way inside for a strike.  The next pitch was in the dirt, Uchigawa steals third.  Abe didn't get that ball down.  2-2 with a runner on third.  Ishii flied out to shallow left. 

Kinjoh's up with two down and a runner on third.  First pitch high and to the outside.  1-0.  Down the pipe for a strike.  1-1.  Low and outside for ball 2.  Inside for strike two.  Outside for ball 3, though it looked like a strike.  I'm not going to complain.  Utsumi walked Kinjoh with a ptich way to the outside.

Now he's in some trouble with Murata with 2 on.  These are the moments when Murata comes up huge.  We'll see.  Inside for ball one.  He cant walk Murata because Saeki is after him...its pick your poision.  Outside for ball two.  Abe's giving Utsumi a talk--Murata needs to be patient, he's ahead in the count and can work the pitches now.  He's going to try...and down the center for a strike with Murata watching.  Outside and high for ball 3.  Big pitch for Utsumi now coming up.  And Murata singled into the third out.

The Baystars need to score runs since they are anemic on offense at best.

4th Inning.

Top of the 4th:
Osagawa is up.  Last night he was neutralized, but last season he gouged the Baystars for several big hits. 

Lee.  Swung at a high pitch for one strike.  High and to the inside for ball two.  Waited on an outside ptich for ball three and swung away on a ball edging to the outside.  Full Count.  Blooper for the third out.  Again, BS1 managed to miss the first two batters for the Giants.  For a nation that is as baseball crazy as the Japanese, television except for the sports channels do not seem to understand the flow of games. 

Bottom of the 4th.
Saeki up to bat; he's one of the more dependable hitter for the Baystars, probably the reason why he and not Suzuki is a every-day player.  Saeki was hitting about .432 late in the season.  And we missed Saeki's at bat...but he's out number one.  BS1 sucks at baseball telecasts.

Yoshimura is sitting on a 2-2 count.  Fouled the next pitch outside the third base line.  Took a ball low and to the outside, sitting on a full count.  Fouled the ball off his left foot, looks like it hurt even with the shin guard.  Walked with a pitch low and to the outside. 

Jay Jay fouled to the first line bleachers, 0-1.  Flied out to left field. 

Aikawa.  Dependable catcher, though he wasnt able to gun down a guy stealing second yesterday, he was able to gun down Suzuki pinch running for Lee late in the game at third.  1-1.  Outside for strike two.  Struck out on  a checked swing.

5th Inning.

Top of the 5th:
I really love the Japanese version of the Table-Mate II commerical...so many lazy Americans.  Only 5900 Yen.  Whoo whoo.  I bet the Giants probably bought a ton to eat thier bento while watching game tape of the Baystars.  Then there';s the old Japanese rocker who looks like a bad extra in a 1980s hair band video. 

Abe sitting on a 3-1 count.  And walked on a pitch high and to the inside.

Sakamoto.  High for ball one.  He's such a tall and lanky player and he's probably able to get those pitches to the outside that most guys would not try.  Fouled for strike one.  1-1, one on.  Flied out to right field, Yoshimura on point. 

Kimura.  Down the gut for strike one.  Low and inside for ball one.  Hopefully Nasumo can keep the ball on the ground to get the double play...  High for ball 2.  65 pitches in 4 and 1/3 innings.  Not bad so far.  Flied out to right field.  Yoshimura getting a good amount of work this inning.

Utsumi up to bat.  Nasumo working the outside for strike one.  Utsumi getting contact but Murata was able to relay to second for force the third out.

Bottom of the 5th:
Missed Nasumo's out.  Uchigawa managed to drop a hit in center field for a single.

Ishii Takuro, 0-2 for tonight.  Ohya is working the small ball having Takuro bunt.  1-0.  Fouled down the third base line.  1-1, one down and Uchigawa on first.  2-1.  (Chiba is rocking the Seibu Lions 8-0)  and Takuro with a nice hit into right field for a single, Uchigawa to second. 

Kinjoh.....Tatsuko!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ( I can hear Katoh-san right now)  Low and inside for ball one.  Upstairs for strike one, 1-1.  Fouled off the top of his bat into the press box behind the plate for strike two, 1-2.  Fouled into the first base line bleachers.  1-2.  Fouled off the top of his bat into the third base line bleachers.  1-2.  The last three pitches were to the outside.  2-2.  Murata on deck.  Flied out.  Two down.

Murata Shuichi; already doing so so tonight, getting contact, but with not real effect in the game.  Watched the ball go by for strike one.  0-1.  Chest high and outside for strike two.  Looks like he's geting out...you can see it in his eyes.  Fouled to the first line bleachers.  0-2.  Struck out on a low pitch.  Bad swing.  He's reaching for the hits now.  He just lets that first pitch go by without taking swing. 

6th Inning.

Top of the 6th:
Here's that crazy rock band guy with the permed hair and lime green suit.  My eyes are really hurting.

Seeing the replays of Murata's strike out jsut show he really, really, really should not have swung...he really reached on that last pitch.  Big time.

Takahashi up to bat.  Top of the 6th.  Nasumo upstairs for strike one with Takahashi swinging away.  He must have a man changeup to get him.  Takahashi popped out to Aikawa. 

Base hit for the Giants.  Yay.  Jay Jay missed that grounder barely. 

Ogasawara up.  Ball one to the outside.  Ramirez on deck.  Swung away upstairs for strike one.  1-1.  Fouled to third base bleachers, 1-2.  Struck out on a high pitch swinging away. 

Ramirez up...a dangerous hitter.  Played for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows last season, where he played for the past four seasons.  He's been a fixture in NPB for some time.  Fouled for strike one.  0-1.  Need to stay ahead of the count with Ramirez.  Outside and high for ball 1.  1-1.  And Ramirez took it deep to left for a 2 run jack.  Yep, the Baystars really needed to score runs earlier when they had men in scoring position.  Doesn't help Murata is in a bit of slump right now and they can't get past second base.

2-0 Giants.

Only down two runs which isn't a lot since the Baystars are capable of scoring runs in bunches. 

Lee swung on a pitch to the outside for strike one.  And Lee flied out to center. 

Bottom of the 6th:
Man on the replay, Nasumo just threw a nice meatball to him down the plate.  Ugh.  Bad pitch for a contact hitter like Ramirez.

Saeki took the first pitch for a strike.  Second in the dirt for ball one.  1-1.  Low and outside for strike two. 1-2.  And hit right to the 1st baseman.  First out.

Yoshimura up to bat; at this point the Baystars need to get some contact and get on base.  Yuki-san took the first one inside for strike one.  Upstairs for ball one.  1-1.  Swung upstairs for strike two.  1-2.  They cant get contact on the ball at all and Yoshimura took it inside (not over the plate by the way) for strike three.

Nothing.  Nothing at all for the Baystars.  They cant get a hit let alone put men in scoring position.  Jay Jay up to bat.  Pretty sure we'll be rolling into the 7th inning down 0-2.  And he struck out on a pitch down the pipe. 

7th Inning.

Top of the 7th:
Why do I torture myself watching the Baystars.  My first summer they were a comedic 35 game out of first place.  Last year they would get to second or third and then would completely collapse; as they did before the interleague series, but were able to rebound feasting on PL teams while the rest of the CL leaders struggled big time with the PL teams.  Then they fell apart in the heat of August, when their offense completely vanished. 

New pitcher in.  1-1 for Abe.  Abe fouled down the first base line for strike two, 1-2.  Outside for ball two.  2-2.  Kuwahara  is doing...okay.  Abe popped out to Murata...spoke too soon...he bumbled that one away.  its Baystars baseball again.  Making bad mistakes.  Lazy fielding.  Now his hitting is going to continue to struggle.

Sakamoto bunting, the Giants looking to small ball with no outs.  Strike.  1-1.  Sakamoto swung, but Aikawa could not gun down get Abe at second--Takuro could not handle the ball.  Bad fielding is killing us...again.  Terrible defense.  And Sakamoto was able to advance Abe to third.  Its not Kuwahara's fault that Takuro could not handle the ball.  Now Nishi is out there...or was it Nishi that missed that throw?  Not sure.  Looks liek the Giants will be up 3-0 soon.

Kimura up.  Fouled for strike one.  Last night Kuwahara worked a good inning.  And Abe scored on a Kimura single that Kuwahara cold not field.  No one was behind him to get it.  Great job.  Terrible defense by the Baystars.  This is why they are 2-7-1.  Why the Giants are 2-7-1 is strange.  Pinch running for Kimura.

Small balling again with Utsumi to move up Wakita the pinch runner, not a bad idea since he is the pitcher.  Nishi lost the ball on a easy play.  Are you fucking serious?!  Wow.  Bad throw though.  Really bad throw though since Nishi is short.  What happened to Saeki?  What the fuck are they doing out there?  Of course Ohya is going to blame this on his pitchers when his guys cant field at all.  All the good will from last year's improved season is all for nothing. 

Takahashi.  Strike one swinging away at a ball down the plate.  Outside for ball one.  This is pathetic.  I'm glad I didnt waste my money going to this game.  Strike two on a check swing.  1-2.  Fouled down the first base line.  1-2.  Takahashi brough in a run, 4-0 Giants. 

This game is over.  I'm pretty confident that the Baystars wont find any offense in the next three innings at bat...and this is if they dont give up more runs either. 

2-0.  Kuwahara is falling in love with the outside of the plate though the Giant player is all over the plate right now.  Ridiculous.  Ridiculous.  He should have given him some chin music to get him off the plate.  3-1.    Yuki-san with the only decent fielding in this inning.

Bottom of the 7th:
Why watch the rest of the game?  Well, other than being a hopeless fan of this band of losers, there's always a faint glimmer of hope for the Baystars, they've had huge innings before and all they need is to score a run or two to keep it close and knock some confidence in the Baystars hitters, which looks like Utsumi has done a good job of befuddling the Baystars hitters. 

Utsumi is still out there doig a helluva job with controlling the Yokohama lineup.  Aikawa is out and here we are with Nishi, an anemic hitter at best.  Why they kept this guy, I dont know other than to continue to legitimize or highlight the stupidity of trading Tamura the offseason before last season.  Two outs and the Baystars cant hit the ball.

I doubt Uchigawa will do any better.  Strike down the middle.  2-1.  And Uchigawa flied out to center.

8th Inning. 
What the hell?  Does the Yokohama organization even have talent scouts?  Do they even scout the other team?  Utsumi has that "I own these guys" look on his face as he's pitching.  The Baystars have not even threatened him at all in this game.  Not at all.  No one has made it past second and thy have not pushed Utsumi all that much at the plate.  There is so much talent in the world that could play at this level in Japan but they bring a bunch of non-MLB talent white guys over here who cant get the job done.  No one can field the ball at all, including Takuro and even Nishi i cant field.  They'll be 2-8-1 after tonight and they might as well get rid of the old guys who are jsut dragging down the team and let the younger players play.

Sato is pitching.  Took Ogasawara high for strike one.  Outside for ball one.  Ogasawara flied out to left field, Uchigawa didn't drop the ball this time.  He's probably better suited for playing in left field too since he's a righty. 

Ramirez up.  Upstairs for strike one.  He's 2-3 tonight.  Fouled off the tip of his bat for strike two.  0-2.  Murata fielded his gounder for the second out.

Lee up.  Lee's struggling this year hitting .167 so far.  1-0.  Fouled for strike one.  1-1.  Satoh is pitching pretty well so far.  Outside for ball two.  2-1. Fouled for strike two.  2-2.  Struck him out looking.

Bottom of the 8th:
The Baystars need to get some offense going in the 8th, because I'm pretty sure the Giants are going to bring out Marc Kroon and he's pretty unhittable early in the season and does pretty well with a lead especially if the other team isnt hitting too well (but, he also has a tendancy to get rocked if he does not quickly get through the inning...since he only has a blazing fast ball and not much else...that's why he's in Japan).

Takuro singled into an out.

Kinjoh is on a 3-0 count.  The Baystars need to get guys on base.  A pitch way on the inside that was a strike.  Wow.  Bullshit.  Solo jack by Kinjoh.  We could have used that earlier in the game.  Yomuri would be smart to bring in a reliever now that Utsumi has put in 7 1/3 innings. 

Murata.  Fouled deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep into the stands.  He's looking and got strike two.  0-2.  All of his bats have been with him behind the count.  Rough night for him.  Low and to the outside for ball one.  1-2.  Wow.  Inside pitch, way, way, way inside for strike three.  An Oh-fer night for Murata.

Saeki.  Strike one looking.  Fouled deep in left, 0-2.  Flied out to end the inning. 

There is no offense.  This is terrible.  Terrible. 

Japanese television does air the highlights from MLB, but focusing only on the Japanese players--on the only four important players, Ichiro, Matsuzaka, Matsui and Iwamura. 

9th Inning.

Top of the 9th:
New pitcher, Kobayashi.  Took Abe for strike one.  Outside for ball one.  1-1.  Inside and Abe flies out to Saeki for the first out. 

Sakamoto up to bat.  Having a...so-so night.  Inside for strike one.  0-1.  Sinker with a lot of movement for strike two.  0-2.  Waaaay on the outside for ball one.  Sakamoto hit into some amazingly competent fielding for the second out.  Amazing they were able to do that. 

Kobayashi is keeping the balls o nthe ground.  Low for ball one.  Wakiya swung on a low pitch for strike one.  1-1.  Outside for ball two.  2-1.  Fouled off the tip of his bat for strike two.  2-2.  On the outside corner for ball three.  Wakiya swung away on a low pitch for strike three.

Bottom of the 9th:
Kroon looking to slam the door on the Baystars., his team for the past four seasons before the Giants signed him to big money.  The fans are giving Kroon the thumbs down, but I guess they forget the saves he's blown during the past four years as well; but you can say signing with the Giants is akin to a Red Sox player signing with the Yankees. 

Key is the get in a deep count with Kroon when he cant overpower you with his 161kph fastball. 

Took Yoshimura upstairs for strike one.  Low slider for ball one.  Keep him throwing and you can get him frustrated if he cant get the quick out.  Yuki fouled for strike two.  1-2.  Yuki swung on a HIGH ball...

Taknori Suzuki is up.  This game is over.  They are not forcing Kroon to pitch.  He cant maintain a 161 kph fastball forever.  Suzuki legged the hell out of that single.  Hustle baby, hustle. 

Ozeki is up.  Hopefully he can get Kroon in a deeper pitch count.  Keep Kroon pitching and wear him down and force him to move away from his fastball...which is his only effective pitch at times.  Fouled for strike two.  0-2.  In the dirt for ball one.  1-2.  Keep him pitching and he'll give you a nice good hittable ball.  And Ozeki got a good hit...error on Yomuri.  Two on. 

Kroon has lost games before and blown leads before, so no better time than now.

Toshisa....uh oh.  And he hit into the double play.  Yep.  Figures.  The weakest hitter on the team. 

There are some positives that came out of this game:
1.  Nasumo with the exception of the two run homer that Ramirez nailed pitched a rather good game.  If Murata did not finger fuck that pop up, there is a good chance they would have faced a 0-2 deficit.
2.  The Baystars bullpen is pretty capable of pitching well.  With the exception of terrible fielding on the part of the position players, they look like they can carry the team.  The bad defense will end up taxing the bullpen later in the season.

Lots of bad though:
1.  There is again, no offense for the Baystars.  It's very disturbing that they cannot get hits when they really need them and can't advance runners.  Putting Murata up with 2 outs for him to come out with a run is asking a lot.  He really struggled in the past two games. 
2.  They cannot field.  This is really, really, really disturbing.  Offense comes and goes in cycles, but if you have good defense you can grind out wins here and there, but if you have no defense at all, there's no chance for your team and right now the Baystars are mediocre on defense. 

If they cannot remedy at least the defense issue, the offense will come, Murata is too good to fall off completely when he has Kinjoh, Saeki and Yoshimura in the same lineup, but if they cannot make the routine plays on defense, they are going to get slaughtered this season no matter how strong the bullpen looked in the past two games.  Eventually with the way Ohya uses his bullpen, he'll wear them out and they'll end up being ineffective. 

They're now 2-8-1 and I don't see anything getting better for the Baystars anytime soon.

Depressing when I had a lot of home for the team.

Why the hell are they having interviews with the Giants players after the game at the stadium that's played over the stadium's PA system; they don't do that for any other NPB team...again, another reason why I hate the Yomuri Giants--while people in the States can hate the Yankees, the Giants have a history of having the rules bent for them so they can win, they always have an unfair advantage.  You have to obliterate them completely (aka Sahdaru Oh, the former Giants great used to get four strikes at the plate....) in order to win.  But that's okay, Hanshin may end up beating them for the CL title to play in the Japan Series...which would be hilarious (that's if the Giants get to the Climax Series before the Japan Series). 

Looks like another long summer.

Kansas pushed off, elbowed and fouled their way to a national title, while Memphis missed crucial free throws down the stretch.  Does it matter?  North Carolina rode Sean May's mugging in the low post to a national championship in 2005 and nothing has changed.  I can't say I have ever cheered for Kansas since the days of Greg Ostertag in the 1990s (one of the main reasons I took great joy in Jordan and the Bulls beating the Jazz in the '97 and '98 Finals).  I pulled for Syracuse to win in 2003, then again, there was no way that Carmelo Anthony and that freshman class at the 'Cuse should have lost that game.

The protests over the 2008 Olympics and specifically those supporters of Tibet are pretty serious; well, the French went so far as to provide heavy security for the Olympic Torch in light of the reaction in London.  I did not pay much attention to the noise made earlier by the supporters of Tibet in light of the Chinese reaction to Tibetian unrest, simply chalked it up as the noise made by a small minority.  Even with the vocal and physical protests along the street that the Olympic torch is following, they still make up a minority since the cities the torch has passed through were not clogged to the point that it would cause serious concerns for the local authorities.

Yet, caught in the middle of this are athletes who have trained countless hours for this event that occurs every four years; in a way, these protesters in their current methods to publicize the plight of Tibet have in a sense made regular police and the athletes carrying the torch appear as cronies of a the same government they are railing against in Beijing.  

The sad reality is that China's domination of Tibet is nothing new; this reaches to the defunct imperial dynasties of Chinese history.  No one in the West protested against the Manchus domination of Tibet, if there was any complaints, it was that the Chinese would not allow Western traders to sell opium in China. 

Another interesting point is that the Chinese, in a sense, do have a right to respond to these slights to national prestige; the past unequal treaties, humiliation and partitioning of China amongst the Western Powers (e.g. European nations and the United States) in the 19th century are not forgotten.  What right do westerners have to say when they themselves were the worst violators of human rights for a century or so in Eastern Asia?--this is perhaps on the mind of the propagandists in light of their reaction in popular press. 

It's just point-counter point over and over again.  While protesters in Europe have disturbed the peace (blocking the peaceful passage of the Olympic torch which normally is a sign of international solidarity), the Dahli Lama himself stated that he would step aside from his current role of head of the exiled government of Tibet, leaving a vast divergence in approach in face of the actions of China in Tibet.  They wish to free Tibet, to bring it out of the sphere of Chinese influence and yet they are ignorant of history; the history of Tibet that makes the Chinese wary of an independent Tibet, the same region that gave birth to nomadic steppe warriors that constantly threatened the security of the citizens of China; and the same history of non-violent protests of Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr. that lead to actual progress. 

What would be the reaction of the United States put down a huge violent and illegal uprising (what is the true definition of illegal in this case) in the former Confederacy (the South)?  Or if the British put down the same in Wales or Scotland?  Or France in Alsace and Lorraine?  Or Poland in Silesia?  Or the Czech Republic in the Sudetenland?

Just food for thought.

Running up a hill's gradual incline and the increasingly acrid sting of breathing.

The downhill, happiness.

Streams pour down the hill, over mossy rocks, down cracked pavements and meanders between the rubble embedded in the black asphalt under the canopy of the rising hill and trees jutting into the sky.

A mountain stream, its pace quick, gurgles below in the valley of green; except for an area where old trash was dumped some time ago, the rusting cans betray thier age.

Across and up winding roads, the patterned rythmn of running shoes on pavement, breathing on a parallel rythmn echoing off the walls of homes, a side of a hill or across the face of a bamboo forest.

Small talk with a black cat.  He walks back home.