Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I'm not a fan of Michigan football but I would consider buying a Wolverine #48 jersey with the name FORD on the back to honor the 38th President of the US... Awesome video of osprey catching fish... When people talk about all-time historically bad trades they always seem to leave out the 1972 trade that sent Steve Carlton from the Cardinals to the Phillies for Rick Wise. Carlton would win his first of many Cy Young Awards the next year while Rick Wise continued to be Rick Wise... I don't know how, but it will... Inventions that didn't quite make it - Spray-on Condoms. Although Spray-on Condoms would be a good name for a fantasy football team or a band... Speaking of good names for a band - Motorcycle lobster!... I have to hand it to President Obama - at least he isn't talking about "Winning the future" anymore... The only words I can think of for these photos is "awe inspiring"... Just heard a woman on a commercial claiming to be "beyond ecstatic". Is that even possible?... I think a good casino prop bet would be "Who takes more snaps from center this year in the NFL - Peyton Manning or Tim Tebow." I think the casino could get a lot of action on that...

Top 5 - Baseball Players from Florida

Here are who I consider the top 5 baseball players born in Florida.

1. Steve Carlton - Hall of Fame pitcher - 329 career wins and 4 Cy Young Awards
2. Andre Dawson - should be in the Hall of Fame -as Ryne Sandberg said "he played the game the right way"
3. Fred McGriff - another guy who should be in the Hall of Fame - lead both the AL and NL in HR in separate years
4. Chipper Jones - will be in the Hall of Fame - not a ton of HR but top 25 all-time in OPS
5. (tie) Tim Raines - 5th all-time in stolen bases (tie) Gary Sheffield - closing in on 500 HR

I was surprised that there was only one Hall of Famer from Florida. You would think that a state that is always in the top 3 (with California and Texas) in producing athletes would have more than one. Florida does have a number of players who either should be in the Hall of Fame or are the most borderline of cases. You could actually arrange the last four players on my list in any order and I would not argue with it.

I was also surprised to learn that Wade Boggs was not born in Florida but instead was born in Omaha, Nebraska.

Florida is also home to the player who perhaps blew the most talent in the history of MLB - Doc Gooden. Conversely it is also home to the player who has probably maximized his God given gifts more than any other in Tim Wakefield.