Over @ Mlive.com, I write a Detroit Tigers blog where I scour the internet for Detroit Tigers news, and summarize and let people know what the local and national media is saying about our local baseball club. Sometimes, though, I come across baseball articles which don't have much to do with the Tigers, but are worth reading anyway. Mike Barnicle's recent post over at Hardblogger, the blog for MSNBC's great Hardball political show, is one such piece of writing. Barnicle takes a look at the field of candidates in the 2008 Presidential campaign and describes them in a way that every baseball fan can understand. Below is my post from MLive referencing some of Barnicle's great work:
This story has little (and by little, I mean, nothing) to do with the Detroit Tigers, but it was such a smart and funny post and it does involve baseball, so I thought best to post it. It is MSNBC political contributer Mike Barnicle's view of the upcoming Presidential race put in terms all baseball fans can understand.
March 1, MSNBC: Barack Obama: Rookie phenom who shot from A-ball to the majors in record time. Smooth fielder, capable of stealing signs from late, great pros like Jack and Bob Kennedy. A crowd-pleaser and box office draw who looks as if he can hit to all fields. Could have more stamina than aging veterans. Fans show up to watch him play out of curiosity, not out of habit. Engenders envy from others who have been on the roster longer and think they deserve to make the team on entitlement instead of effort.
Rudy Giuliani: Enormous potential. His basic difficulty? He’s a lefty trying to throw right handed in order to please nutcases in the right field grandstand. Another obstacle? Rudy wants to be the manager, fill out the line-up card, run the game and not take advice from any coaches. A one-man band playing in a park where a lot of season ticket holders don’t like the tune he is singing. Crowd appeal? He is used to clutch situations and has a track record of being unafraid when behind in the count.
Great stuff I thought. Think about it in terms of the Tigers. Hillary Clinton as Kenny Rogers (the veteran who may be willing to get dirty to win) and Andrew Miller as Barack Obama (the rookie with amazing potential but questions about his experience). Could work.
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2 comments:
I'm thinking of Hillary as more along the lines of Bobby Higginson:
An experienced, grinding left-handed hitter with good power and OBP. She's been able to leverage mediocre talent into a potentially huge payday by being shrewd and savy enough to capitalize on being the best available player on a weak team.
The rap on her is her propensity for padding her own stats by swinging for the fences, when a ground ball to the right side would have helped the team more. Also has a reputation as a clubhouse cancer.
Stay away from a long-term committment with this one and watch out for her crafty agent, who goes by the name of Slick Willy.
That's a great analogy actually. Fits really well. Although, I can't see Hillary fading from the limelight if she loses the nomination fight and/or the election like Higginson has vanished now that his baseball career is over.
-Scott
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