shoestring catch

Smoking is a major no-no in the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, a revered old showplace just a few watering holes away from the sprawling campus of Indiana University. John Mellencamp, however, doesn’t really care about the old joint’s clean-air policy. Not when he’s rehearsing for a live national telecast and feedback is ruining an otherwise rocking version of “Small Town.”

Light ‘em up and let ‘er rip: The 53-year-old Mellencamp puffs where he wants, and says whatever he darn well pleases. Really, who’s got the guts to tell this guy otherwise? He didn’t earn the self-administered nickname “Little Bastard,” which is also the producer credit he takes on his albums, by hiding his bad habits and holding his tongue. Just about everyone — band mates, loved ones, U.S. presidents (oh, and he’ll lay into those presidents soon enough) — is due for a tongue-lashing if the bard of the heartland has a bone to pick.

In the absence of blind faith in mainstream outlets, we gather our information from the handful of independent sources we can trust. The media’s been de-centralized not because of some big, scary tornado of technology that’s swept up the masses and rendered newspapermen obsolete. But because technology’s provided increased access to opinions all across the globe, and the more we see, the more we realize that, you know what, EVERYONE, in one way or another, is kind of full of crap.

And that’s what makes the internet worth it. If people are full of crap, we eventually find out. Beyond all the drawbacks mentioned above, it forces even the biggest conglomerates to be transparent about the way they operate. Celebrities, politicians, athletes, and even the writers themselves, charged with covering everything—if you operate with some double life and move illicitly in the shadows, before long it’ll come to light. There’s just too many eyes these days, and too many voices out there, to miss the truth. Nobody gets a free pass. Except Tiger Woods, it seems.

“The point is, that sometimes you have to take team “prospects” — who may never pan out to what you hope they will — to win now. Trading Vitters and Jay Jackson — or even Vitters, Jackson and Cashner — may provide dividends to the Detroit Tigers two or three years down the road. But acquiring Curtis Granderson, who, in addition to his talent on the field, is also, from all reports, a good clubhouse guy who spends a lot of time giving back to the community (and is a native Chicagoan), would go a long way to helping the 2010 Cubs return to the playoffs and give them a chance to win it all.”

Granderson will be 29 before the start of the next season.  Vitters is one year, one month and seventeen days younger than me.  In my opinion, this kind of mentality is entirely what has been wrong with the Cubs organization in the past, oh, decade… spend the big money now, get production and results now… the problem is, it’s a rather inverse relationship.  What did spending $136 million on Alfonso Soriano (in ‘07) get them in 2009?  $48 million on Kosuke Fukudome?  I won’t even get into Milton Bradley.

Develop.  The.  Prospects.  So much pressure has been put on breaking the “curse” and winning a title… but why not try and solidify that foundation first?

EDIT- Okay, so I wouldn’t be upset with Granderson in CF.  But, still.  Mo’ money, mo’ problems (yeah, sorry for that).