Worst to First to Worst

Just a few weeks ago the Pittsburgh Pirates were a win away from first place in the NL Central attempting to overtake the Cardinals.
Now they are 13.5 games out in fourth place and the Brewers have a 6.5 game advantage in the division. My, oh, my, what a difference a few weeks make. That is a tanking, my friends. It is not as noticeable in the middle of the season like this, but at the trade deadline on 7-31 they made a trade to strengthen themselves for a stretch run at the title. They lost 12.5 games in less than 3 weeks.
The Brewers did their part for sure. They won 18 out of 20 at one point and have truly pieced together a championship caliber team. They’ll be fun to watch in the playoffs provided that there isn’t another giant swing.
That’ll be unlikely with roughly 37-40 games each remaining, but it’s still possible. That is the division to watch since the Cardinals who are now in second place trail the Braves for the Wild Card slot by an even greater margin.
The World Champs are in some hot water also. While they are just 2.5 games behind the Diamondbacks in the West, they can’t hit right now. And the star player they picked up from Mets, Carlos Beltran, is on the disabled list. They have gone just 7-13 since that trade.
In the AL, the Yanks and Red Sox are cruising to the Playoffs. One or the other will certainly capture the Wild Card spot there. Currently it’s the Red Sox and they are about 9 games in front of the Angels. If everything plays out the way it should, the Yanks and Sox will end up in the ALCS doing battle in October…or is it December now? As much as I love baseball, it’s terrible to play in cold weather and I’d rather see it end by the 3^rd week of October at the latest. Yet I have heard rumors about adding more playoff teams to the mix. That would extend the season to mid-November unless the regular season gets trimmed or MLB starts going back to regular Sunday double-headers like back in the good old days when that was the only reason to have a “5^th” starter.

I was thinking about the Pirates and how that franchise sort of mirrors some of my own life. For years they were down…kicked around…poor, etc. Then suddenly there was a rise near the top…then CRASH…and back down again. It is the way that it goes and I think it’s important to experience it for oneself and to see it happen to others also, whether it happens to other individuals or even giant sports teams like the Pirates.
It’s important to see and experience to bring balance and humility into one’s life; at least that is how I see it.
There are even some big name celebrities who haven’t exactly lived life with a silver spoon in their mouths. Counting themselves amongst the homeless at some point in their lives before achieving successful careers are such people as Jim Carrey, Carmen Electra, Halle Berry, Jewel, Drew Carey, Charlie Chaplin, Kelly Clarkson, Kurt Cobain, Daniel Craig, Benjamin Franklin, Kelsey Grammer, Cary Grant, Harry Houdini, Don Imus, David Letterman, Rose McGowan, Jim Morrison, Suze Orman, George Orwell, Tyler Perry, Sally Jesse Raphael, Joan Rivers, Colonel Sanders, William Shatner (AFTER Star Trek,) Martin Sheen, Sylvester Stallone, Hillary Swank, Shania Twain, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and John Woo to name some more prominent ones.
Here are some other stats about formerly (at some point) homeless people who have “made it.”
Billionaires:  1
Nobel Prize Winners:  1
Nobel Prize Nominees:  2
Oscar Winners:  7
Oscar Nominees:  11
Emmy Award Winners:  8
Emmy Award Nominees:  11
Grammy Award Winners:  9
Grammy Award Nominees:  14
Best-Selling Authors:  9
Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients (U.S.'s highest civilian honor):  1
Knighthoods:  1

If I do a little more digging I bet that I would prove a thought that I have related to this. I would bet that there are more people who come from nothing and make it and keep it than those who had an easier start who make it and lose it. The reason is obvious; those who come from more humble beginnings appreciate it much more. Hmm…did I even need to waste my time writing that? I would think that it is as obvious as could be possible.

So that is written as a tool to help place things, careers, and lives in perspective and to help motivate those of us…especially me right now…to keep on working hard and do whatever it takes to overcome any obstacles thrown in our way.

A Future Movie Star?

I am going to read through that list a few more times today because I have to overcome some of the most insane comments I have ever heard from politicians recently. Maybe you have heard them too…to paraphrase- “Food stamps help stimulate the economy,” and unemployment insurance payments create jobs.”

You can’t tell by reading this, but I just beat my head on my desk three times after writing those quotes from people who are supposed to be leading us out of an economic mess.

Looks like I’ll have to read from the top again but remember to stop before I get too far down the page.

Done.