Applying the logic of the shutdown to baseball

A disgruntled Atlanta Braves fan wrote a tongue-in-cheek (we hope) letter to his congressman, Rep. Jack Kingston, a Georgia Republican, on Oct. 8, the day after the Los Angeles Dodgers eliminated the Braves from the playoffs. 

We read his letter on Hardball Talk and figured we'd share some of it: 

Like you, I'm sure, I am profoundly disappointed that the Atlanta Braves lost the NLDS last night. And to the Dodgers -- a bunch of California liberals! 

This outrage cannot be allowed to stand. But the system has failed us. We tried to resolve this issue through traditional means: In last night's game alone, we must have sent batters to the plate at least 40 times. But just because we couldn't score enough runs, the Dodgers refuse to relinquish the title -- and worse, they won't even discuss it.  

LA's stubborn refusal to even talk to us about reversing the results of this series is unsportsmanlike and un-American. But there is an answer: If the Dodgers won't listen to the cries of average Americans like you and me, then Congress should outlaw Major League Baseball until the Dodgers cave... 

Just because the Dodgers had more hits, scored more runs, and won more games doesn't make them right. You can help them see that. And if that means the country will be deprived of its national pastime -- well, the Dodgers will have only themselves to blame. 

Read the whole thing here.

Retiring Yankee great pays homage to ordinary workers

Yankee reliever Mariano Rivera, one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history, is making a farewell tour of the working-class people who make the game what it is.

As much as you love to hate the Yankees, you've got to just love Rivera. And as much as you may love to hate the New York Times, you've got to love this story about Rivera.

David Waldstein describes how he said goodbye at Citi Field in Minneapolis:

...there was no owner in the lavish suite. Across from Rivera, in a semicircle of 15 chairs, sat a group including a security guard, a grounds crew worker, an organist, an usher and a season-ticket holder, all brought in to be in the presence of Rivera, the Yankees’ closer...

After announcing in spring training that he would retire at the end of this season, his 19th with the Yankees, the 43-year-old Rivera has embarked on an unusual tour of American League cities, meeting with ordinary, behind-the-scenes workers and some fans, who drive the machinery of baseball.

Here's why he's doing it:

...he wanted to express appreciation for the many people in baseball who were not highly paid players, and to learn more about their lives and work. 

“I just want to say thank you,” Rivera said in an interview last week. “I’ve been so blessed to be able to play this game, but we wouldn’t be able to do it without the help and support of all these people behind the scenes. They make baseball work as much as we do.” 

What a concept.

Read the whole thing here.