new dog old trick

Day game at the old ballyard

The wife has been out of town since Tuesday morning and I've been doing nothing but working, so I went online yesterday evening and bought a ticket to this afternoon's Angel's game. I hadn't been to see the Angels live for three years. I spent most of the past two summers either sick, in the hospital getting ready for or recovering from surgery, or at home recovering from one surgery or another plus dealing with chemotherapy side-effects. I did get to watch a lot of baseball on television those two years - lots more than I'd seen for years. I think I saw every one of the Angel's playoff and World Series games two years ago.

It is great to be at the ballpark on a bright sunny afternoon. I lived in Chicago for a number of years, back before they started playing even a few night games at Wrigley Field. Plus when I was a kid back in Ohio we always went to Cleveland to see the Indians on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. And my little league and high school baseball games were never under the lights. So while I've seen lots of night baseball on television or listened on radio, and I've certainly been to night games live, what resonates with me is baseball in the afternoon.

On top of the pure pleasure of just going out to the stadium for a 1:05 pm first pitch, the Angels have been playing great baseball. They started today one game out of first in the West and had won nine games in a row. So hopes were high as I headed out to the game.

Pete Rose reinstatement?

ESPN.com - Gammons: Rethinking my vote for Rose

Peter Gammons posts a blistering column on Pete Rose where he reverses his old position that he would vote for Rose's induction into the Hall of Fame as a player if Rose is reinstated by baseball. I heard Gammons reiterate his old position as recently as yesterday on SportsCenter but he has clearly rethought things. Wow.

Gammons knows a lot more about this issue and about Rose than I ever will. But I can remember what excitement Rose brought to the game as a player - and what excellence. My view is a little different than Gammons. I'd reinstate him only to allow his entry to the Hall of Fame as a player - let's face it, keeping him out is a joke. He was undoubtedly one of the handful of great players of all time. But I'd essentially put him on life-time probation and never let him hold any sort of official position in organized baseball again. I'd certainly never allow him to hold a managerial or coaching position.

Let him in the hall for his undoubted achievements as a player - but that's all. Because while he is now admitting that he gambled on baseball and that it was a mistake, he is still not accepting responsibility for his actions. At least that's my read of some of the things he has said in the past few days. In particular, this line of reasoning bothers me:

"I should have had the opportunity to get help," he writes, "but baseball had no fancy rehab for gamblers like they do for drug addicts."

What utter b.s. Blaming his gambling problem on the lack of an official rehab program in baseball? Come on. The man had all the money in the world. If he wanted rehab, he could afford to check himself into any program he wanted. Come on Pete, go all the way. Take full responsibility. Until you do, there's no way you've licked the problem and no way anyone should trust you to stay away from gambling on baseball.