SB Nation User Blog: Verka Serduchka

Island Update: Soto to be pitchng coach in baseball classic, Vólquez is is signed up to play

Verka Serduchka — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 13:34:11 -0000

From the Diaro Libre last Tuesday, November 18:

SANTO DOMINGO. El comité organizador del equipo dominicano que participará en el Clásico Mundial 2009 presentó este lunes a Mario Soto como el nuevo coach de pitcheo de la novena quisqueyana en sustitución de William Castro, quien fue designado en las mismas funciones por los Cerveceros de Milwaukee en Grandes Ligas.

Hablando para los periodistas en presencia del doctor Leonardo Matos Berrido, presidente de Lidom, el gerente general Stanley Javier resaltó que tanto él como Felipe Rojas Alou se sienten muy contentos porque saben el tipo de persona que es Mario Soto.

"Tanto Felipe como yo estamos muy contentos porque conocemos a Mario y sabemos la persona que es", destacó Javier.

Aprovechó para anunciar que fueron integrados, en adición a los ya existentes, nuevos coaches entre los que cuentan Luis Pujols, Luis Silverio, Mariano Duncan, Nelson Silverio y Miguel García. Anteriormente se dieron a conocer los nombres de Alfredo Griffin y Junior Noboa.

Dijo que otros nombres aún no pueden salir a la luz pública debido a que los reglamentos del Clásico así lo impiden, aunque resaltó que jugadores como Robinson Canó, Santiago Casillas, Edinson Vólquez y Aramis Ramírez firmaron el acuerdo de participación.

El recién designado dio las gracias a todos los miembros del comité organizador y de manera especial a Felipe y Stanley, con quienes dijo tener magníficas relaciones.

SANTO DOMING. The organizing committee of the Dominican team that will participate in the 2009 World Baseball Classic announced yesterday former pitcher Mario Soto will be their team's pitching coach. Soto will replace William Castro who was recently named the pitching coach of the Milwaukee Brewers. The general manager of the Dominican team, Stanley Javier said that both he and team manager, Felipe Rojas Alou are very content with this selection because the understand the value of Soto.

"Both Felipe and I are very happy because we know Mario well and we know the kind of person he is," said Stanley. Stanley also announced the selection of other new coaches who will join the existing managers, including Luis Pujols, Luis Silverio, Mariano Duncan, Nelsion Silverio, and Miguel García. Alfredo Griffin and Junior Noboa had already been neamed as coaches on the team.

Stanley mentioned that other names of participants still have not been announced to the public due to the rules of the Classic, but he did highlight that players like Robinson Canó, Santiago Casillas Edinson Vólquez, and Aramis Ramiraz have signed up to play.

Soto thanked the organizing committee of the Dominican team, and gave special thanks to Stanley and Alou. Dating back to their years as players, Soto said he has a great relationship with both Stanley and Alou. "I give thanks a everyone who has made it possible for me to replace Castro on the team," said soto. "Everyone is involved the Classic and for that reason the Cincinnati Reds organization didn't have any problem with granting me permission to participate."

Could this be the experience/recognition that Mario Soto needs to become the next Reds' pitching coach? After his work with Vólquez and Cueto, and his general ability to teach his devastating backdoor slider ("puerta atras") shouldn't he be a pitching coach somewhere, preferably with the Reds?

How do we feel about Vólquez participating in the Classic? Weren't a lot of players, especially pitchers, kind of wiped out last time around going straight into the season after the competition?

In other Dominican news, the governement here is trying to push through a a youth emplyment act that is very similar to the law that led to so much unrest in France in 2006. It is a law that basically says that folks between 18-30 who are enterng their first formal job, should have limited rights including the right to be fired without warning or reason, and also are exempt from severence pain. The idea is to stimulate the economy by making young people more exploitable, I mean, hirable.

Here in Justicia Global we are currently working on mobilizing young folks to take action against the law which is now in the senate after gaining approval in the house. Our goal is to use this event as an entrance point for young people into the work of creating a broader, more long term movement towards more fundamental socio-economic change.

Things seem to be getting pretty bad in terms of unemployent in the States. What is the feeling like there these days?

Brandon Marshall's Attempted Political Statement

Verka Serduchka — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:02:52 -0000

Brandon Marshall's Attempted Political Statement

Anyone watch Brandon Marshall's attempted touchdown celebration get called off by his teammates last Thursday? A very interesting moment for sports in light of the 40 year anniversary of the events of the '68 Olympics.

Saber The Moment

Verka Serduchka — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:33:14 -0000

Ok, so I am started to really getting into thinking about what is the best statistical measure of offensive ability.

I realize I had a very mistaken impression of slugging. I thought walks were included, and that slugging measured the average number of bases traveled by the batter with each plate appearance. That, of course, is not slugging at all. Slugging is the average bases traveled with each AB, only taking into account hits.

Which then brought me to why I was thinking wrongly about slugging: it seems like a better measure of offensive ability would be to measure (TB + BB)/(AB + BB) . If I am thinking correctly, this stat would give you the average number of bases a batter travels with each plate appearance on a scale of 0 to 4. Not sure if it already exists with another name, but for the sake of this post, I will call it a batter's "milage."

The challenge to this all seems to me how much to value getting on base and how much to value traveling more bases on average with each plate appearance. For example, a player that hits a home run every ten PA but gets out the other 9 would have a score of .4 on the "milage" scale. Another player, who gets 3 singles and a walk every ten PA, also has a .4 score on the same scale. Which player is better? According to OPS the first player scores .500 (.100 obp + .400 slg) and the second .733 (.400 obp + .333 slg).

Part of me thinks that what matters most is averaging more bases per plate appearance, partly because we know for a fact that the first player scored a run where the second player may or may not have. On the other hand, we know for a fact that the first player only scored one run, where the second player may have scored up to four. Similarly, we know that the first player drove in one run for sure, while the second player may not have driven in anyone. The second player, however, could have driven in up to 7 runners though (3 hits with runners on second and third, and a walk with the bases loaded).

I am actually learning a lot as I write and think about this now, and am starting to see the complexity of measuring individual stats in a team game. This was Bill James' struggle too right with the RC formula?

Speaking of James and RC, I was looking at definitions of Runs Created and not quite understanding why basic RC, (H + BB)TB/(AB +BB), is calculated the way it is, and not the way that I did "milage" above. Can someone explain that or point me towards a good simple explanation of the RC stat?

This is me diving head first into this world so please excuse the obvious ignorances to the history of a lot of these things. I probably should just read that book, what's it called? Money Ball?

I also make no claims at doing math well. I studied peace in college.

Are You Watching This Soccer Match?

Verka Serduchka — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:10:01 -0000

Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool.

Golaso. Goooooooooooooooooooooool. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol.Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Gol. Goooooooooool.

Turkey 1, Germany 0.

An attempt at starting an open thread.

Island Update- Vólquez en route for Cy Young

Verka Serduchka — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 15:15:58 -0000

I have been in the Cincinnati for a few weeks now and the weather here has been incredible. I have enjoyed seeing the family, and friends, and have spent many evenings playing soccer late into the night with random folks at UC.

In other big new for me, I just had the letter I wrote to Naomi Klein published in online journal. I spoke a bit about this in one of our earlier conversations about sabremetrics and the global economy. You can find the letter here, with an introduction from the Director of the Peace Education Center at Columbia University, Betty Reardon, here.

Not to steal the Turtle's thunder about big news from the Dominican Republic, but I saw this in Hoy online this morning. We are getting to a point with Volquez , knock on madero, where this is not a stretch at all:

Vólquez en ruta para el Cy Young
El dominicano es favorito. El abridor de los Rojos de Cincinnati, Edinson Vólquez ha tenido un gran desempeño en la temporada del 2008 y es el principal candidato al premio Cy Young
Escrito por: DIONISIO SOLDEVILA
d.soldevila@hoy.com.do
Llegando ya casi a la mitad de la temporada del 2008, podría comenzarse a hablar de proyecciones.

Y no solo de lo que serían números individuales sino también para los posibles premios a repartirse en las diferentes ligas.

Y para el Cy Young de la Liga Nacional aparece el nombre de un hombre que hasta el momento ha logrado asombrar por la perfección que ha registrado en el montículo jornada tras jornada.

Ese es el derecho dominicano Edinson Vólquez, quien lanzando con los Rojos de Cincinnati ha presentado unas credenciales de un peso específico tal que ha llenado los ojos de todo el mundo del béisbol.

Y lo más grande de todo es que en la actualidad, domina dos de las tres categorías que son tomadas en consideración para la Triple Corona de pitcheo.

Con una efectividad de 1.71 carreras limpias por cada nueve entradas, Vólquez supera por casi una carrera completa (0.83) a su más cercano rival en dicho encasillado, que es Tim Lincecum, de los Gigantes de San Francisco.

Igualmente, Vólquez encabeza la Liga Nacional en hombres abanicados, con 110, también superando a Lincecum, siete ponches.

Su labor con los decepcionantes Rojos de Cincinnati ha sido uno de los pocos puntos luminosos que ha tenido la organización de la División Central en el viejo circuito del béisbol de las mayores.

De hecho, cabe señalar que de los 35 triunfos que han conseguido los Rojos este año, 10 de ellos han sido conseguidos por el lanzador que lleva el apodo de “Pequeño Pedro” por el aprecio que profesa hacia el tres veces ganador del premio Cy Young, Pedro Martínez, hoy de los Mets de Nueva York.

Y aunque tiene rivales con nombres de mucho peso como el ya ganador del Cy Young, Brandon Webb, el caso del mismo Lincecum y también del venezolano Johan Santana, Vólquez tiene buenas probabilidades de unirse a su ídolo y compatriota Martínez como los únicos quisqueyanos en toda la historia en conquistar un premio Cy Young, algo que no es nada fácil y muy valioso.

Las claves

1. Mejor efectividad

Edinson Vólquez encabeza la Liga Nacional en efectividad con un promedio de 1.71.

2. Mejor en ponches

Con 110 rivales abanicados, Vólquez encabeza el viejo circuito en esta categoría de poder.

3. Duro en victorias

Solo Brandon Webb (11) supera en triunfos en lo que va del año al dominicano Vólquez, quien tiene posibilidades de repuntar.

4. Rivales fuertes

Vólquez tiene rivales de calidad en la competencia por el premio, pero a pesar de ello sus números se imponen hasta el momento.

5. Salidas de calidad

Vólquez ha sido el abridor que más aperturas de calidad ha registrado en la temporada. De hecho, todas sus salidas lo han sido.

Brandon Webb

El abridor de los Diamondbacks es líder de triunfos, con 11.

Tim Lincecum

Segundo en efectividad (2.54) y ponches (103) en la Nacional.

Johan Santana

Tiene 7-5 y 3.04 de efectividad, pero ha sido sólido.

Ryan Dempster

Tiene 9-2 y 2.63 de efectividad y sus Cubs están en la cima.

Ben Sheets

Apenas una derrota, con ocho triunfos y 2.74 de efectividad.

Carlos Zambrano

Suma 8-3 y 3.13 con los líderes de la División Central.

Tim Hudson

Acumula 8-5 y 2.96 de efectividad en lo que va de año.

Now the English:

Vólquez en route for Cy Young

The Dominican is the favorite. The Reds’ starter, Edinson Vólquez has performed very well in the 2008 season and is the principal candidate for the Cy Young award.

Written by: Dionisio Soldevila d.soldevila@hoy.com.do

Arriving at almost the halfway point of the 2008 season, we can begin to speak about projections.

And not just about individual numbers but also about the possible awards that are given in the different leagues.

With regards to the Cy Young award in the National League, a person's name pops up whose perfection on the mound start after start has been amazing.

He is the right handed Dominican, Edinson Vólquez, who, pitching with the Cincinnati Reds, has presented credentials so weighty that he has caught the attention of the entire baseball world.

Most importantly, he currently leads two of the three categories that of the pitching Triple Crown.

With and ERA of 1.71 for every nine innings, Vólquez leads his closest rival, Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants, by almost an entire earned run (.81)

Similarly, Vólquez leads the National League in strike outs with 110, also better than Lincecum by seven.

His work with the disappointing Reds has been one of the few bright spots that this organization in the Central Division has had this major league season.

In fact, it should be a sign that of the 35 wins the Reds have this year, 10 have been made by the pitcher who goes by the name “Little Pedro” due to his admiration for the 3 time Cy Young award winner, Pedro Martínez, who now plays for the New York Mets.

And even though he has rivals with bigger names than him like the Cy Young winner, Brandon Webb, or Lincecum, or the Venezuelan Johan Santana, he has a good chance of uniting with his idol and fellow countryman, Martínez, as the only Dominicans in all of history to win a Cy Young, something not easy and very valiant.

Key Points

1. Lowest ERA

Vólquez leads the National league with an ERA of 1.71.

2. Most Strike Outs

With 110 punch outs, Vólquez leads the major leagues.

3. Strong In Games Won

Only Brandon Webb (11) is better in number of wins, but the way the year is going, Vólquez has a shot at passing him

4. Strong Competition

Vólquez is competing with quality rivals for the award, but up to now his overall numbers are better than them all.

5. Quality Starts

Vólquez has been the starter with the most quality starts this season. In fact, all of his starts have been quality starts.

Brandon Webb

The Diamondbacks starter is the leader in wins with 11.

Tim Lincecum

Second in ERA (2.54) and strikeouts (103) in the National League.

Johan Santana

7-5 with a 3.04 ERA, but has been solid.

Ryan Dempster

Is 9-2 with a 2.63 ERA and his Cubs are in first place.

Ben Sheets

Just one loss with eight victories and a 2.74 ERA.

Carlos Zambrano

8-3 record and a 3.13 ERA with the division leading cubs.

Tim Hudson

8-5 on the year with a 2.96 ERA.

Home

Verka Serduchka — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:08:17 -0000

On Wednesday I started my trek from Santo Domingo back to Cincinnati. I flew through Miami into Richmond, VA where a friend came down from DC (yup, BDuk the friend with the sweet potato butter who knows Ben Olsen) to pick me up. I had a chance to catch up with him for a day and a half and watch a little bit of the Euro 2008. Who'da thunk- Croatia and Turkey...

My family swung through DC to pick me up and we headed to Norfolk Virginia to the wedding of my sister. I say sister not in the traditional sense; this was a student of my mom's at Woodward high school who's family was still Nigeria and was not doing well living with an uncle here in Cincinnati. So one day when I wa about 13, there was another member of our family. Anyway, she got married this past weekend. It was great to be with my entire family again after 6 months apart.

So I am home in CIncinnati for a few weeks after an amazing year of learning to become a community organizer. Learning about the subtle and not so subtle differences between being an "activist," or being "pc," or being an an academic with a "critical" perspective, and being an organizer of people towards radical social change has been a challenging and highly rewarding process- a process that I have tried to share openly with this blog over the past 3 or 4 months as I also tried to give some insight into how the Dominican press was covering our team. Thanks for being open to that, whether or not we always saw eye to eye on the topic at hand.

Finally, I am heading to the game tomorrow with friends and family and was also thinking about going Thursday afternoon at 12:35. Anybody up for a gathering Thursday with Tang on the mound?

Island Update: Baker supports Encarnacion, Soto helps Cueto

Verka Serduchka — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:38:11 -0000

Today, the Listin Diario ran an article based on an interview with Edwin Encarnacion. I am translating from the paper and for some reason there is no link to the article on the net. Some notable quotes follow.

Encarnacion on his relationship with Baker:

"I have never had such good communication with a manager. Baker knows how to motivate me and I hope I can live up to his expectations."

On playing in the Dominican Winter league:

Playing in the Dominican is helpful. We arrive to spring training pretty much ready for the season already. It is a big advantage that we have in our country. I am going to continue playing in the DR because I have matured a lot as a baseball player and it will help me to establish myself in the major leagues.

On his goals for 2008:

My goal is to hit 25 or more home runs, and I know I can do it. I will be working hard not to commit more than 15 errors. These are my two biggest goals. I am very positive that I can reach them, I don't doubt it.

Cueto got some press for his win yesterday too. Nothing too special was said but it did mention that he worked with Mario Soto:

Soto ...se unió al equipo y lo ayudó a componer su cambio de velocidad y a recuperar su confianza, lo cual se mostró de inmediato.

Soto joined the team to help [Cueto] with changing speeds on his pitches and regain his confidence, which was seen immediately.

Life is different, but okay without a computer here. Post-traumatic stress is another story. Every wierd noise or shadow that moves at home gives me a rush of adrenaline. I will be fine, it just takes time.

Looking forward to Harang/Zambrano in the sports bar/gambling establishment a few blocks from my home tonight. Go reds.

Island Update: The Good, The Bad(ass), and The Ugly

Verka Serduchka — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 17:29:48 -0000

First, the ugly: My house was robbed on Sunday afternoon and my labtop was stolen. If that wasn't bad enough, I happened to be in my home when the 3 thieves entered. They held me, my partner, and my roomate at knifepoint before tying us up with phone cable and shoelaces and leaving with our computers, cell phones, and digital cameras. They were not very experienced or proffessional. Yes, you could say they lacked veteran presence and they definitely didn't play the game the right way. We quickly escaped from our make-do shackles and called the police and the rest of our organization. The police have not been so helpful; the organization has been amazingly supportive.

So, I haven't been able to post much in a few days and maybe be out of evening threads for good, at least for a while. On the upside, I am very happy to be alive.

Next, the Bad(ass): Monday's El Caribe had a full color photo of the Wagon unleashing one of his heaters. The headline read, "Van 4" (They go to four), as in Volquez has now reached the 4 win mark. I can't give a link cause the page to the El Caribe archives is not functioning, I can only translate from the newspaper itself.

Finally, the good: Monday's El Caribe also had a two page spread with 3 articles exclusively about Johnny Cueto. Here are the translations (again, no link because of the same problem above):

Cueto Tells El Caribe That He Feels Like A Veteran

     Johnny Cuetos is a young Dominican pitcher who, in his first year with the Cincinnati Reds, has made a big impression on many people with his vast baseball knowledge. This has been clearly demonstrated in his starts on the mound.

      Cueto's stint in the Domincan Winter League with the Aguilas Cibaenas, where he compiled a 4-0 record, was an example of the potential possesed by this native of San Pedro de Macoris that has made the Reds take him more seriously.

     "I feel like I have been playing for a while in the Big Leagues. I feel really good in my first year in the Majors. I haven't felt fear in my starts, which is an important factor that every young player should have when they get the opportunity to play here. Thank God that my nerves haven't gotten to me like so many other young players in their first year."

     Cueto is satisfied with his work so far, an opportunity he doesn't want to waste "even though I haven't recieved much run support from my teammates, which is normal in the Big Leagues."

     "I know that I have done a good job, but sometimes I feel bad because the team doesn't help me. I have the faith of knowing that in the games to come my teammates will have my back. This is just the start. In baseball it is not how you start it is how you finish," indicated Cueto, who was signed by Johnny Almarzar in 2004 for $35,000.

    He expressed that the confidence that Dusty Baker has in him has helped him to find success on the mound with Cincinnati, a team that shares last place in the NL central with Pittsburgh.

     "He is an excellent manager. He gives me confidence and support. He leaves me to do my work in peace, where other managers are all over their players. I feel really good with him around," revealed Cueto, who will go against St. Louis [today] for the first time in his career.

   Calm. Cueto has shown that he is a pitcher who remains calm when he takes the mound. He is a young pitcher who is not intimidated by the batters he faces. He has demonstrated this since his first Big League start this April against Arizona.

     "Thank God that I turned out this way. I didn't choose it. I am not afraid of anyone. I always remain calm. I don't let anyone intimidate me when I am on the mound."

     Johny (2-1 sic) has an era of 4.05 in 5 starts in which he has given up 16 runs, 15 earned, and 24 hits in 33 1/3 innings. He has struck out 31 and only walked 5. He has a big repertoire which includes a cureveball, a fastball , and a changeup that many have called "devastating." If you ask him which pitch he feels most comfortable throwing the righty from San Pedro will tell you it is the fastball.

     "...Eventhough my breaking ball is just as good as the other pitches I throw. Thank God I feel good with all of these pitches, and at least for the moment, they are getting the job done. I hope it stays that way and they don't let me down," he explained.

Studious From The Bench

     In Cueto's 5 starts with the Reds he has not watched video of his opponents before the game. Instead, Cueto watches his opponents from the bench the day before his start. "I don't walk around worrying about this. When I am going to pitch, the day before, I begin to think about it. I watch the opposing hitters to see how I am going to prepare when I face them," he expressed. "That's how I study them: from the dugout. I observe what each batter doesn't like- if it's a fastball, a change, high, low, or other type of pitch," he added.

     Furthermore, Cueto says that the key to success that he has found in the Majors, in spite of his 1-2 record, is having confidence in yourself.

     "This has been part of the success- having confidence in myself and realizing tha all of my pitches are effective. Sometimes I say I am going to throw a slider that starts over the plate and breaks outside, and I do it," explained Cueto, who throws up to 97 mph.

     Another part of this continuing development of a good resume with the Reds has been mental preparation. "The first thing I do, a day before I pitch, is stay positive. Sometimes I can't sleep because I am thinking about my next outing, how I am going to pitch, among other things. These are part of my preparations," said the Dominican who considers himself a pitcher of location and power- a strikeout pitcher.

A Guiding Hand

Every time a young Domincan player arrives to the Major Leagues on one of the 30 teams there is a mentor that takes him in and treats him like a son, that gives him the advice needed to cut his own path successfully. Cueto has found Francisco Cordero to be this guiding hand. "I have learned a lot from Cordero. He has told me the good and the bad of the Big Leagues, how to do things to keep growing positively and for this I am very thankful. It is like having an extra family member," the Dominican righty expressed. Part of the progress Cueto has made on the mound can be attributed to the knowledge he has gained from Cordero. "Cordero tells me certain things about opposing hitters. I hope to keep getting advice from him because it is not just beneficial to me, but to the entire team- a team I am thankful to be a part of."

Cool to hear that Cueto is feeling as confident as he looks and that Cordero has really taken him under his wing. I have said it before, but I think this group of really talented Dominicans (yet with still a lot of unmet potential), will really be supportive of each other and lead to new levels of success for the Cincinnati Reds.

Sports Blogs and Community

Verka Serduchka — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 21:54:19 -0000

In my opinion, there is something about community that makes everything better. I think that is no less true when it comes to rooting for the Reds.

Let me explain. For about two years, I was a silent reader on this blog, enjoying the easy access to plentiful amounts of information, taking sides in my head during the numerous and sometimes heated debates(/rants), and always enjoying the humor that accompanied the threads. Sometimes, though, I felt like I was a kid stuck inside on a sunny afternoon while the rest of the neighborhood was out playing ball. Needless to say (and I have said it before), the last couple months of active posting has been really fun and rewarding for me. I feel like I have joined a new community.

The purpose of this post is to share some thoughts and questions about blog communities. First, however, I am going to backtrack a bit here to place these thoughts and questions in context.

Eight months ago today I moved to the Dominican Republic to become an organizer. I joined a grass-roots organizing school called “Justicia Global,” an organization based out of Santo Domingo but with growing international connections. I won’t spend too much time here describing what we do. Instead, I will get to the heart of our vision: we believe the collective problems require collective solutions. In other words, if we organize ourselves, we can work together to solve our own problems and improve everyone’s lives.

Returning now to the theme of sports blogs and community, we can all probably agree that most communities gather for a reason. On the surface, this community, like many others, has come together around living and breathing a specific sports team. I would like to push us to think about the reasons that we are here at Red Reporter a little further. Here comes my first question: What other reasons do we blog about sports?

For me, sports has always been an escape, a distraction from the daily grind, a way to forget about what is going on with me as I drift into a world of bright lights and perfectly trimmed grass, walk off home runs and dreams of October.

Here comes question number two: What am I (and maybe you too) trying to escape from with sports and why?

Thinking of the problems in our world that affect me as an individual, and that I have seen affect my family and close friends, I can pretty quickly come up with four solid things that sports have helped me escape from:

1. The lack of opportunities to do meaningful, well paid work, that you feel happy about doing week in and week out; or the lack of opportunity to study topics in school that you passionately have an interest in.

2. The stress of debt accumulation in a consumer culture where costs of living are generally rising faster than wages.

3. The knowledge that our sisters and brothers, sons and daughters, cousins and friends are fighting a poorly planned and greatly mismanaged war for ill-defined reasons (Not to mention the knowledge of the millions of Iraqi and Afghani civilians being killed, wounded, and displaced everyday).

4. The loneliness, isolation, and sometimes violence that come with a culture organized around a “nuclear family” (This can be understood both as people who are feeling lonely and isolated within a “nuclear family,” as well as people who are lonely and isolated because they are not a part of one).

As an organizer who is now an active member of a blog community, my third and fourth questions are these: Are my reasons for escaping to sports shared by anyone else? What are some other things the Reds help us escape from?

Finally, I want to make clear that I understand that while baseball can be a means to escape from our lives, it can be- and is- a way to live as well. I want to make clear that I understand that this blog community is not just a way to avoid the world out there, but is in fact a part of that world too. Moreover, it is a fun, intelligent, creative, and informative part of this world.

And this is where hope lies for me when I think of all of the problems we face today. There are countless communities of people gathering, not just to support each other in their escape from “reality,” but also to build new realities together.

Which brings me to my fifth and final question: what would it mean to begin to use this blog space, or other community spaces we are a part of, to not only help endure the problems in our lives, but to help resolve them collectively?

Cueto's Debut Bested Only By Marichal's

Verka Serduchka — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 13:41:25 -0000

Cueto was all over the Dominican press this morning including a color photo on the top left corner of the front page of Hoy.

The headline reads "Johnny Cueto- Un debut como los grandes," which can be understood as, "Johnny Cueto- A debut like the legends." The gist of the article is that Cueto's start is the best by any Dominican pitcher since hall of famer Juan Marichal:

Ayer, en su debut en las Grandes Ligas, el derecho de apenas 22 años de edad hizo historia para la República Dominicana, con un debut tan auspicioso que solo es superado por el que tuvo el inmortal Juan Marichal al comenzar su carrera el 19 de julio de 1960.

Yesterday, in his major league debut, the 22 year old right hander made history for the Dominican Republic, with a start so auspicious that only the immortal Juan Marichal was better the day he began his career, July 19, 1960.

It continues on to compare Cueto's seven innings of one hit, one run ball with 10 strike outs to Marichal's incredible debut 48 years ago- nine innings, 12 strike outs, one hit and no runs.

It also gives a chart of other debuts of "Grandes Lanzadores" Domicanos (Legendary Dominican Pitchers):

Nombre           Fecha            rival    ip    h  cl (r)  so    BB
J. Marichal      19-7-1960        Filis   9.0    1    0     12     1
P. Martínez      24-9-2002        Rojos   2.0    2    1      1     1
J. Rijo           5-4-1984       Reales   5.1    4    1      5     2
J. Andújar        8-4-1976       Astros   0.2    1    1      0     2
M. Soto          21-7-1977      Piratas   2.0    3    2      1     0
B. Colón          4-4-1997      anaheim   5.0    6    4      4     0
F. Liriano        5-9-2005      Rangers   1.0    1    1      2     0
F. Carmona       15-4-2006       Tigres   6.0    5    1      4     2
J. Cueto          3-4-2007       Dbacks   7.0    1    1     10     0

(Pedro's debut date has to be wrong, but I think the other info is correct)

My favorite part is the last line of the article:

El debut de Cueto es para la historia.

Cueto's debut is one for history.