Changes, Part 1

I still don't know what I was waiting for
And my time was running wild
A million dead-end streets
Every time I thought I'd got it made
It seemed the taste was not so sweet
So I turned myself to face me
But I've never caught a glimpse
Of how the others must see the faker
I'm much too fast to take that test
Changes - David Bowie

Grady Little was put out of his misery today, as the Red Sox finally announced that his contract would not be renewed. He chose to go out in a blaze of pettiness, blaming everyone but himself for the reputation he is now forever saddled with. My guess is that his search for another major league job will lead to nothing, a million deadend streets. You have to wonder, in the privacy of his own home, if Grady has recognized his fatal error, but it seems more like he thinks he should have it made, recognized as a competent leader for managing one of the top four baseball teams in the world. Alas, the taste is not so sweet. The pinnacle of Little's baseball career has come to an end.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox will begin an off-season of changes with a managerial hunt. My choice? I like Mike Hargrove. He brought the Indians within a Jose Mesa of winning a World Series. He had the Indians in first place five straight years, so he never lost control of his team. He was known for his patience at the plate, finishing his career with a .396 OBP, good for 72nd all time. He did a good job of pulling together a young Orioles staff, and Manny likes him. Also, I have a hard time seeing the Sox replacing Grady with another manager without big league experience. For a complete list of possible candidates, check out this article by Gordon Edes (who I usually bash), Name of Game:Making A List Of Sox Candidates.

You may have noticed some changes around here as well. One is the addition of pictures. I have Ryan from the Texas A&M site to thank for that, as he was the first person to explain it in such a way that it could penetrate my thick skull. I plugged him when he erroneously picked the Aggies this past weekend, so I'll do it again now for the favor, and for this amazing piece of personal trivia - he once hit a double off of Josh Beckett!

The great thing about pictures is that it allows me another creative outlet, even if I have absolutely no skill in that area. The only thing that I could draw for you would be stick figures, but I can pick any kind of picture to go on here, and it doesn't have to be related to anything else in any way, but it still reveals something about me, and maybe even makes a connection to you. Like this:

This is the New Orleans artist Frenchy with his portrait of P-Funk. Now, I don't know how many of you care about P-Funk, or purchase art, or would purchase this if you did purchase art, but someone out there will come to this site and think "COOL!", and that's good enough for me. At least, it's good enough for me if I'm not driving away the rest of our little crowd in droves.

You may have also noticed the polls (Or maybe not. The Theo/Grady photo has pushed it all of the way to the bottom of the blog). First of all, let me just say that I think most internet polls are completely stupid, and don't measure much of anything. Therefore, I promise not to poll anyone on anything that isn't deliberately completely stupid, or attempts to measure anything relevant. It's only meant to be fun, not informative, so please participate.

Well, that's enough for one day, isn't it? See you tomorrow.

Frenchy Live

Texas A&M and Baseball In No Particular Order

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