Realm of the Wombat

3) Unreproducible results
2) Broken Keck clip
1) Biologists editing chemistry papers

So for those of you who were asking, no, I didn’t get scooped, and I also didn’t have to raise at anyone. Except for myself, because I didn’t realize the Keck clip was broken.

Thank you to all for your concern with this matter.

Zephyr graduated from WHS in June, and Char and I know he’s going to soar like an eagle into the future!

To celebrate Independence Day, Mel and I went to a minor league baseball game and had a great time!

The Kane County Cougars had a helpful tip for what to do when the game was over!

In other news, I got a haircut (not pictured) that looks like Josie Packard from Twin Peaks!

I hope everyone is having a great summer!

5) Unreproducible results
4) Coworker uses up reagent, doesn’t reorder
3) Glassware missing; nobody admits to borrowing
2) Broken Keck clip
1) Getting scooped

Can anyone guess which two happened to me this week?

White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf recently conducted an informal survey of his team’s fans. Here’s what he has to report:

“I’ve asked a lot of White Sox fans: ‘If given the choice of both teams in the playoffs or neither team being in the playoffs, what would you pick?’ The answer is usually neither, because, ‘I can’t take the chance the Cubs might win.’ And these are from some fairly intelligent people.” [Tribune article]

I think that rationale is the antithesis of intelligent, but such are the White Sox.

#1, Little League Division:
Occasionally in non-professional games, a pitch will be thrown above or behind the batter, and the ball will incidentally hit the bat and land in foul territory. This is seen as a lucky break for the pitcher, as the pitch was destined to be called a ball, but instead goes as a strike, without the batter swinging at the pitch. However, at a recent little league game in Ohio, a pitch was thrown behind the batter that hit the bat and landed in fair territory. Most everyone at the field believed it was a foul ball. Fortunately, that population did not include the umpire who, after several seconds of silence, informed the 9-11 year old players that the ball was in play. The batter reached first, completely unintentionally obtaining a single.

#1, MLB Division:
Felix Hernandez is a 22 year old pitcher for the Seattle Mariners. He made his debut at age 19 and is expected to be one of the best pitchers of this generation. However, playing in the American League, he has few opportunities to take a turn at bat. In fact, he only has two hits in his career. (It’s also likely that he had no hits in the minor leagues.) The first came on June 10, 2007, when he reached first safely on a bunt that was presumably meant to sacrifice a runner to second base. The second hit came on Monday night, facing Johan Santana, the best pitcher in baseball over the last 5+ years, at Shea Stadium, a park that supressed home runs by 10% in the 2007 season. In the second inning, Hernandez came to the plate, with two outs and the bases loaded; there was no chance he would be bunting. Instead, the budding superstar hit a fastball, later described by Santana as out of the strike zone, over the right-center fence for a grand slam.

And that, my friends, is what happened on my last visit to Shea Stadium.

Joe Morgan is the analyst for ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. ESPN must consider him an expert to give him this job. His responsibilities include following baseball games and news and providing intelligent commentary. He does none of these things. Consider the following exchange from last Tuesday’s chat on ESPN.com:

Lee (NYC): Joe, thanks for taking my question. I am a Yankee fan but I have always been a huge Willie Randolph fan. I feel that Willie Randolph has nothing to do with the mess the Mets are in. Shouldn’t Omar Minaya take most of the blame? He put this team together.

Joe Morgan: He has to take his share of the blame for putting the team together, but the manager usually takes the blame first. If Willie is fired, the focus will go to the GM. If he stays, the focus will stay on him. But it would be that way in other cities too. The Mariners are way under .500, for instance, but no one is criticizing the GM, they’re looking at the manager.

I’m guessing that the average fan in Kansas City or Houston doesn’t know who the manager and GM of the Mariners are. But Joe Morgan, the top baseball analyst for ESPN, should know. He should also know that the Mariners’ GM, Bill Bavasi, was fired the day before this chat took place while the manager was not.