Author: hankkalet

So, when exactly does Goose Gossage get in the Hall of Fame? Really, Goose (pictured in AP photo from MLB.com) was the dominant closer, helping to create the position, winning two rings in the process. Mariano Rivera, the best of all time, has four rings — so let the big guy in, already. (And this is from a confirmed Yankee hater.)

Gossage logged his first save in 1972 and No. 310 in 1994. In the 22 intervening seasons — he was out of the game in 1990 — he excelled as a workhorse closer for three franchises — the White Sox, Yankees and Padres.

Gossage also had shorter stints with six other teams later in his career, and this vagabond exit may have weakened his Hall of Fame stature in the eyes of some voters.

However, his platform includes an extra dimension that separates him from the glut of closers who have faced an apparent electorate bias, just as did two relievers elected recently. Dennis Eckersley (2004) had re-invention going for him, having been a successful starting pitcher before embarking on a second career as a closer. Bruce Sutter (2006) and his split-fingered fastball pioneered the modern role of closers.

Gossage was the last of a breed, a fireman whose hose was ready any time and for any length and for whom saves were an incidental reward, not the sole objective. He mixed his saves with 114 relief wins, a total out of the reach of today’s ninth-inning specialists.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

I missed yesterday’s running post because I was focused on pulling together contest entries for the NJPA contest. Here is the latest:

Monday: Four miles in about 37 minutes
Tuesday: Three miles in about 28 minutes.

Again, this is not about pace, but about getting some consistency.

At least, my calf has healed.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

You know you’re getting old when all your favorite bands are going into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame (read this). I’m not talking Beatles, Dylan, Stones or even The Boss. I’m talking about R.E.M., my first real adult favorite. I’m talking about Patti Smith, the punk-poet priestess. And the first great hip-hop act, the Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.

R.E.M. is on the short list of my favorite bands, has been since I first heard Murmur, with its lo-fi jangle and Michael Stipe’s mysterious mumble buried deep in the mix. There was a freshness, something that would come to be called Indie rock, something that existed apart from the New Wave that was fast growing stale.

I finally got to see the band in 1987, on my 25th birthday on its Document tour at the height of the band’s recorded powers. I’ve seen them twice since then — in 2003 and 2004 (pictured) — and have stayed with them through some less-than-stellar albums (Up, for instance, which has some good material on it but not enough).

My argument with those who have been what I think is overly critical of the later material is that the band is being judged against its peak; that’s an impossible standard and is not entirely fair to the music it makes now and has made beginning with Monster, much of it being pretty good. (If Around the Sun had been made by another band, it would have been rated far more highly than it was by the critics — sort of like that Borges story.)

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

We are considering doing something we haven’t done before in the South Brunswick Post and something we haven’t done in a long time: endorse in the 14th District Legislative races and South Brunswick school board. We’re hoping for the readers to help us decide. Any thoughts?

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

Common Dreams News Center picked up my death penalty column, which ran Thursday in the Post and today in the Press.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick