My All Time Raley Baseball Team

Baseball goes back a long time in my family. My mother and father honeymooned at Sportsmen's Park in the forties. Cardinal fans, all of them. I remember days and nights pent on the farm, holding on to the AM radio, providing an antenna to pick up KMOX. One of my favorite memories is taking a road trip with my uncle Dick and discussing the finer points of baseball while looking at my 1967 Cardinal yearbook when I was about 13. Since the entries of this blog have been a bit maudlin lately, I thought I would put together my top five baseball guys.

Number one Bob Gibson

The baddest mofo to take the pitcher's mound. I always wanted to do radio like he pitched. No prisoners and if you diss me, I will knock you down. I wonder how many times he would have plunked guys like Barry Bonds. No question that this guy is my all time favorite and I don't imagine a scenario where he wouldn't be. I drove from the Quad Cities to Busch Stadium in 1975 because it was "Bob Gibson" day. They gave him an RV. I couldn't belive there were seats left.

Number twoRoberto Clemente

To me, Roberto Clemente was a man's man. He was tough as nails on the diamond and no one ran faster than he did going from first to third. Charlie Hustle before Pete Rose copped the nick name. He died in a plane crash delivering medical supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua on New Years eve. He had just gotten his 3,000th hit. If I go to heaven, he's the first guy I want to meet (after Jesus, of course).

Number threeGeorge Brett

The greatest hitter I have ever seen. I remember in 1984 when my sister and her family came to KC, we were all at the game and I said to her "wouldn't it be great if he hit one out?" 20 seconds later he did just that. I remember being at the game in 1980 where he stood on second base arms pumped becasue he had just sent his average over the .400 mark in September. I drove to Cooperstown in New York to see George Brett inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame. He is Royals baseball.

Number FourNolan Ryan

Robert DeNiro, and Al Pacino all rolled into one baseball player. This is my favorite picture of him. He hit Robin Ventura with a pitch and Robin charged the mound. Oops. Big mistake. Nolan grabbed him in a headlock and procede to punch the hell out of him. 7 no hitters. All time strikeout leader. First player to make a million bucks in a year. Bad ass dude. He was inducted in the HOF the same year as George Brett. Excellent speech.

Number fiveOrlando Cepeda

"Cha-Cha". The 1967 Cardinals are still my favorite team. I still can recite the starting lineup by position and wnere they batted. This guy was the catalyst and the man. He arrived that year from the Giants and he just made baseball sound and look (the once a month the games were televised)fun. He called them "El Birdos" and this young punk kid was such a fan. He was inducted the year I went to Cooperstown also, so you can see why I drove from here to Cooperstwon and back for 6 hours of intense heat.

Honorable mention Willie McGee, Ozzie Smith, Bud Black, Robin Yount, Willie McCovey, Frank White and Albert Pujols.

Religions...this is so true

The kindergarten teacher asked the students in her class to
bring something related to their families' religions to
class the next day.

She asked for volunteers to show what they had brought to
the rest of the class. One boy came forward and said, "I am
Muslim, and this is my prayer rug."

Another child came forward and said, "I am Jewish, and this
is my Star of David."

Another came forward and said, "I am Catholic, and this is
my Rosary."

The last little boy came forward and said, "I am Southern
Baptist, and this is my Covered Dish."

The Five Comedians Who Had it Then Lost It...

And let me add a sixth...

George Carlin. In his day, there was no one funnier with words or observations, but now, he seems just pissed off and angry. I guess losing your wife will do that for you but, when I look back at the people who influenced me more than most, George and his recollections (baseball/football) and his performances ("Wonderful wino") will be the ones that stay with me, not the angry, bitter, mean crap that he is spewing out now.

Anyway, here's the list:

Thanks for asking...

The surgery went well. I have staples in my throat now and apparently, they will stay in for ever. I should be fun at airports. What I had was a "diverticulum flap" that can be cancerous. Hopefully, mine is not. Morphine is fun, isn't it? I don't even remember much of yesterday or last night and that is probably good. I know that at 3:30am, I am not sleeping because of all of the crap plugged in to me and the IV drip keeps buzzing. So, I am listening to my Ipod, flipping through the channels. Weird. Thanks to all who have asked.

It's Just The Way It Is

Last week, I sent a follow up email for a job I was really interested in. You guys think I am making it up how shitty it can be out here, here is the exchange of emails only the names have been changed to protect the innocent (or guilty).

Mr. XXXX,
I was just checking in, it has been a while. I know that you all are taking you time to fill your XX position, but I just wanted to keep my name fresh in your mind. I would drop what I am doing here in St. Louis for an opportunity to "come home" and be the next head guy in XXXXXXX. I have a fresh audition if you need it and I am available to come down and see you in person, if you so desire. Just wanted to refresh your memory (I am sure you have been swamped), I am a former consultant, programmer in Kansas City, Operations Manager in Lincoln Nebraska and I grew up in XXX. Thanks for your time, sir and I hope to hear from you soon.
All my best,
Randy Raley
314-XXXXXXXX


and then he sends me this.....


Randy,
Thank you for your note, hwever, you are not in consideration for the position.
Sorry.
RXXX

This shit is getting to be too funny.

Did I Hear Correctly?

While watching Monday Night Football last night, I have come to grips with the fact that the NFL has become the National Thug League. You can't just make a tackle anymore, you have to stand and preen, kick dirt or do some dance after tackling someone who just ran for a fifteen yard gain. Now, after having surgery yesterday, I was pretty doped up listening and watching to the three clowns on ESPN. And I thought they said that the Chargers were sending a message to their brother Steve Foley and that they were hoping and praying for him. Here's the story on Steve Foley....


Steve Foley, an outside linebacker for the San Diego Chargers, was shot over the weekend by an off-duty police officer. Steve Foley's agent, David Levine, said Foley was shot three times and had surgery for wounds to his leg, arm and chest.
Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer said Foley's injuries were not life-threatening. Schottenheimer said he did not know whether Foley would miss any time on the playing field as a result.
“The only thing we're thinking about is to make sure he is well,” Schottenheimer said. “Beyond that, it's not appropriate in my view to comment.”
AP reports that Sheriff's officials said the early-morning shooting occurred after the off-duty Coronado police officer followed a suspected drunken driver weaving in and out of freeway traffic at speeds up to 90 mph.
The wire service details a bizarre incident where Foley stopped three times, sheriff's officials said.
During one of the stops, Lisa Gaut, a passenger in the vehicle, yelled at the officer, authorities said. The shooting occurred after Foley got out of the vehicle near his home and began walking toward the officer, sheriff's officials said. Gaut got behind the wheel and drove next to Foley in the direction of the officer, the officials said.
The officer identified himself, authorities said, and warned Foley he was armed. They said he fired a warning shot, at which point Gaut steered the car at the officer.
"The officer fired two rounds at the vehicle," sheriff's Lt. Dennis Brugos said. "The male then came at the officer and put his right hand by his waistband and the officer fired at him."
It is unknown whether any charges will be filed against Foley.
His female companion, Lisa Maree Gaut, 25, was booked into Las Colinas jail yesterday afternoon on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, according to the Sheriff's Department, reports the San Diego Union Tribune,
After several incidents in Cincinnati in 1999 and 2000, where he played for the Bengals, Foley was enrolled in an NFL alcohol program.
Foley was also arrested April 21 after police said he scuffled with officers. The district attorney's office is not pursuing charges against Foley in that incident.

Now, there is an honorable guy, huh? Yeah. And they did a dance for him after making a tackle. How nice. Steve Foley seems to be a persecuted guy, alright. He just can't seem to keep his hands off cops or quit driving drunk. I used to really like watching football, but if I see one more guy dance and prance over his fallen opponent, I am going to puke. The worst part of this story is that there may not be any charges filed. If this guy was me, I 'd be dead.