Those who fail to learn lessons from history are destined to repeat their mistakes. This old axiom was brought home to me Thanksgiving eve.
About ten or fifteen years ago on another Thanksgiving eve, I had just finished peeling squash and stuffed all the peelings down into the garbage disposal. Things were going along smoothly when the water began to back up in the sink and suddenly what I had was a bunch of dirty water swirling around in an orange colored vortex.
Although plumbing is not a specialty of mine, I managed to go through some of the steps, beginning with a plunger, and finally unscrewing the trap all to no avail. Next up was the snake which I sent through the trap and managed to find the blockage and give it a couple of good pokes. Still no luck. Now the action of last resort was to open the big cap in the cellar and try to remove it from down stairs.
As you might imagine I had more success than I intended as I dislodged the peels and they along with an abundance of garbage filled water descended down the pipe at high velocity and directly into my face and all over my head. Recounting of this story never fails to result in gales of laughter from my wife and children who were witness to the event.
Against the backdrop of this humiliation you might think I would never have repeated this mistake. Well last night I was merrily peeling squash and chatting with my better half. I was in a cheery holiday mood and blithely cleaning up the sink of peels and unconsciously pushed them into the disposal. The minute I turned it on I knew it was a mistake. Soon the spinning orange vortex appeared in the water and it got deeper and deeper.
Having now vividly recalled my previous exploits, I thought immediately of calling the plumber. This was not an option because of Murphy's Law of home disasters. That law is that something bad will always happen on the eve of a holiday, the holiday itself or on a Sunday. Plumbers and electricians are never available on those days.
So I started the regular routine which I now recalled by heart. I first looked for the plunger but for some reason it was no where to be found. Could someone have borrowed my plunger? I doubt it, but since I couldn't find it I took off down to O'Connors Hardware to buy a new one. Having used the standard rubber plunger for the last four decades I opted for a new high tech bellows type version. Of course when I got it home it was useless,I plunged and plunged to no avail.
Next up was the trap and when I found that the blockage was right at the trap I wondered to myself why I hadn't checked the trap first before I wasted money on the stupid looking accordion plunger. That was only a brief recrimination as I was quite happy to have found the problem and in no time would have things back in order.
I got my finger in the trap and found that the peels were rather tightly packed in there and I couldn't seem to get things moving. No worries I thought as I had a screw driver handy and I began to poke inside the pipe and could feel the peels yielding. Finally things got moving as water and peels began to drain out into the bucket. Unfortunately water also came gushing out of the rather large hole I had poked in the side of the pipe as a result of my aggressive screw driver work. Water was now shooting out of the trap as well as horizontally under the sink and all over everything.
Now it was getting late and O'Connor's would be closing soon so it was into the car for another trip to the store. I was picking up a replacement piece of pipe when I came to find out why plumbers are not available in these critical times. The store guy was helping me find the right size pipe when a young fellow with a little boy at his side told me it was an inch and a half pipe. The fellow told me he had a similar problem to mine at his house. The very little boy asked his daddy how come he knew what size it was and the father replied "cause plumbers know those things".
This event will now take its place amongst the many stories my family tells of my ineptitude around the home improvement scene. When they make fun of me around the dinner table they never fail to close with the now most famous event. One Christmas Day I managed to break both toilets in the house. I won't pass on any wisdom from that event however I will say this, throw squash peels in the trash.
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Manny's going no where
The latest news in the Manny Ramirez saga comes from David Ortiz who reported last night from Santo Domingo is that Manny will not be returning to Boston. According to Big Papi, Manny wants to play some where else, preferably the West Coast. "Only Manny and his family knows what he goes through" said David.
Well my heart goes out to Manny. I can't imagine what hardships he has to endure while he accepts 20 million from the ball club and soaks up fawning admiration from the fans of Red Sox Nation. What I do know however is that the Sox still have the rights to him for the next three years. Those rights include the obligation to pay him another 57 million dollars.
Now that Manny is a 10 year veteran he can block any trade to a club that he doesn't like so this obviously limits the places the Sox can deal him to. With a market restricted to clubs who can afford the balance of his contract and locations that Manny will go, it severly restricts the club's ability to move him. Restricted, meaning that it is unlikely they can get fair market value for him in return.
Without a blockbuster hitter or a frontline pitcher or two or three can't miss prosepcts it makes absolutely no sense to accomodate Ramirez. With the soon to be completed Josh Beckett trade, the club is sending a clear message to the fans and the Yankees that they have no intention of taking a year or two off to retool, lower payroll and start a youth movement. By adding Beckett and a possibly rejuvenated Mike Lowell at third base the club is at most one or two key players away from being the dominant club in the East.
There are question marks in the inifeld at second base and in the outfield primarily in center. With Johnny Damon being represented by the despicable Scott Boras it is unlikely that he will be returning here. He will be missed, however his asking price of 12 million for 5 years is almost universally laughed at by the circle of Sox fans I hang with. That money can be spent more effectively in other areas.
With the addition of Beckett, the emergence of Papelbon and DelCarmen and contributions from Craig Hansen and a return to reasonable form by Keith Foulke, the club looks pretty solid in the pitching department.
Which brings us back to Manny. The club has tried to dump him every year since he came on board. Every year since he came on board he has asked to be traded. The bottom line is that it is in neither party's interest to part ways. The team is making an effort to return to the World Series and this is an appropiate place for a player of Manny Ramirez caliber to showcase his skills.
The Duo of Ramirez/Ortiz brings up memories of such immortal pairs as Mantle/Maris, McCovey/Mays, Colavito/Cash and with a few more years of huge numbers dare we say Ruth/Gehrig. It would be inconceviable for the club to dump a 45 home run 144 RBI man without a certifiable stud in return
It is time for both parties to grin and bear it. It is a dfficult relationship for both parties but it makes no sense to for either the club or Ramirez to break up a relationship that serves both parties interest simply because of some perceived short term inconvenience.
Well my heart goes out to Manny. I can't imagine what hardships he has to endure while he accepts 20 million from the ball club and soaks up fawning admiration from the fans of Red Sox Nation. What I do know however is that the Sox still have the rights to him for the next three years. Those rights include the obligation to pay him another 57 million dollars.
Now that Manny is a 10 year veteran he can block any trade to a club that he doesn't like so this obviously limits the places the Sox can deal him to. With a market restricted to clubs who can afford the balance of his contract and locations that Manny will go, it severly restricts the club's ability to move him. Restricted, meaning that it is unlikely they can get fair market value for him in return.
Without a blockbuster hitter or a frontline pitcher or two or three can't miss prosepcts it makes absolutely no sense to accomodate Ramirez. With the soon to be completed Josh Beckett trade, the club is sending a clear message to the fans and the Yankees that they have no intention of taking a year or two off to retool, lower payroll and start a youth movement. By adding Beckett and a possibly rejuvenated Mike Lowell at third base the club is at most one or two key players away from being the dominant club in the East.
There are question marks in the inifeld at second base and in the outfield primarily in center. With Johnny Damon being represented by the despicable Scott Boras it is unlikely that he will be returning here. He will be missed, however his asking price of 12 million for 5 years is almost universally laughed at by the circle of Sox fans I hang with. That money can be spent more effectively in other areas.
With the addition of Beckett, the emergence of Papelbon and DelCarmen and contributions from Craig Hansen and a return to reasonable form by Keith Foulke, the club looks pretty solid in the pitching department.
Which brings us back to Manny. The club has tried to dump him every year since he came on board. Every year since he came on board he has asked to be traded. The bottom line is that it is in neither party's interest to part ways. The team is making an effort to return to the World Series and this is an appropiate place for a player of Manny Ramirez caliber to showcase his skills.
The Duo of Ramirez/Ortiz brings up memories of such immortal pairs as Mantle/Maris, McCovey/Mays, Colavito/Cash and with a few more years of huge numbers dare we say Ruth/Gehrig. It would be inconceviable for the club to dump a 45 home run 144 RBI man without a certifiable stud in return
It is time for both parties to grin and bear it. It is a dfficult relationship for both parties but it makes no sense to for either the club or Ramirez to break up a relationship that serves both parties interest simply because of some perceived short term inconvenience.
Saturday, November 19, 2005
Bush punched back
After weeks of personal attacks on the credibility of his decision to invade Iraq, Bush finally came off the canvass to lay a few left hooks on some of his chief critics. Most of whom by the way voted to authorize the resolution to use force against Iraq. Just in case any one forgot, Bush's policy was not created in a vacuum or pulled out of thin air. This was an extension of American policy on Iraq that began with Bush 41 and extended through the Clinton administration. It seems as though the Democrats forget that it was President Clinton who initiated the Desert Fox bombing campaign against Iraq for the very reasons that were included in the Iraq policy continued by Bush 43.
That same policy was an extension of the United Nations who time and time again had passed ferocious but toothless resolutions ordering Saddam to comply on inspections. The straw that broke the camel's back was Bush's refusal to make endless paper threats. Considering the climate at the time, what was a prudent course of action? The country had been attacked and though it can be proved conclusively now that Iraq or Saddam had no direct involvement in the 911 attack what should the leader of a shaken nation done? We had years and years of diplomatic conflict over Saddam's efforts to gain and proof that he had used WMD, would it have been better to wait to see if he would use them again?
Forget all of that for the moment and examine the situation from the Washington political angle. The mid terms are coming up and no matter which party is out of power it will seek to find any issue that might enable it to make gains against the other. To Hell with the country's best interest, it is the party's interest that matters at the moment.
The Democrat's smell a little blood in the water after months of relentless attacks on a couple of rather thin issues. Prosecutor Fitzpatrick has spent two years investigating a non crime and comes up with an indictment of Lewis Libby claiming that he lied to a grand jury. In his statement Fitzpatrick identifies Libby as the first administration official to "out" CIA paper shuffler Valerie Plame. The ink on the indictment is barely dry when two very strange things occur. General Paul E. Vallely announces to the world that long before the "Plamegate" issue surfaced, Joe Wilson himself had told the general in the green room at Fox studios that his wife was a CIA agent. Joe responded in outraged indignation, however he has not responded to General Vallely's request to sue him.
This week comes another shocker. Despite Fitzpatrick's 2 year "exhaustive" investigation he gets a call from an administration source who says that he mentioned to Bob Woodward of the Washington Post, that he had outed Plame a full month before Libby ever mentioned it. One wonders immediately why Woodward would allow Libby to be ruined in public by this accusation, put out of work and will probably be bankrupt by legal fees knowing what he knew? Why did the Post continue to hammer on the importance of alleged Libby wrong doing when they knew he didn't do it?
Apparently tiring of the Bush lied troops died mantra, Plamegate and the appearance of a steady stream of "duped" Democrats decrying his "manipulation" of intelligence, Bush fought back. Apparently these senators and others forgot that it was the exact same intelligence that they were receiving when they overwhelmingly endorsed the Iraq resolution. Unfortunately for these people their remarks both in print and on video can be immediately called up and reviewed. Chris Wallace made poor Senator Jay Rockefeller look like an idiot on the tube last week replaying his own remarks.
Bush fought back in two ways. First by his Veteran's Day speech and also by unleashing an unusually quiet Vice President Cheney on the opposition. After months of virtually unanswered attacks on him, Bush makes a few obvious comments about short memories and he is immediately attacked for questioning peoples patriotism and launching a coordinated attack against people of conscience.
The real damage done to the revisionists however came yesterday. A well respected Democrat, Rep. John Murtha had called for the immediate withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. Faced with an opportunity to put the Democrats on record as to their real intentions, Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) drafted a simple resolution calling for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq. Since a resolution is only a sense of the membership and has no practical impact in law everyone would have an opportunity to say where they stood if only symbolically.
Of course the resolution was defeated by an astounding 403 to 3. Listen to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) who said the Republicans "engaged in an act of deception that undermines any shred of dignity that might be left in this Republican Congress." She called Hunter's resolution "a political stunt" and "a disservice to our country and to our men and women in uniform". After hearing Ms. Pelosi over the past few months, these comments either ring hollow or were comedic in nature.
It is getting more and more difficult to respect any of these people.
That same policy was an extension of the United Nations who time and time again had passed ferocious but toothless resolutions ordering Saddam to comply on inspections. The straw that broke the camel's back was Bush's refusal to make endless paper threats. Considering the climate at the time, what was a prudent course of action? The country had been attacked and though it can be proved conclusively now that Iraq or Saddam had no direct involvement in the 911 attack what should the leader of a shaken nation done? We had years and years of diplomatic conflict over Saddam's efforts to gain and proof that he had used WMD, would it have been better to wait to see if he would use them again?
Forget all of that for the moment and examine the situation from the Washington political angle. The mid terms are coming up and no matter which party is out of power it will seek to find any issue that might enable it to make gains against the other. To Hell with the country's best interest, it is the party's interest that matters at the moment.
The Democrat's smell a little blood in the water after months of relentless attacks on a couple of rather thin issues. Prosecutor Fitzpatrick has spent two years investigating a non crime and comes up with an indictment of Lewis Libby claiming that he lied to a grand jury. In his statement Fitzpatrick identifies Libby as the first administration official to "out" CIA paper shuffler Valerie Plame. The ink on the indictment is barely dry when two very strange things occur. General Paul E. Vallely announces to the world that long before the "Plamegate" issue surfaced, Joe Wilson himself had told the general in the green room at Fox studios that his wife was a CIA agent. Joe responded in outraged indignation, however he has not responded to General Vallely's request to sue him.
This week comes another shocker. Despite Fitzpatrick's 2 year "exhaustive" investigation he gets a call from an administration source who says that he mentioned to Bob Woodward of the Washington Post, that he had outed Plame a full month before Libby ever mentioned it. One wonders immediately why Woodward would allow Libby to be ruined in public by this accusation, put out of work and will probably be bankrupt by legal fees knowing what he knew? Why did the Post continue to hammer on the importance of alleged Libby wrong doing when they knew he didn't do it?
Apparently tiring of the Bush lied troops died mantra, Plamegate and the appearance of a steady stream of "duped" Democrats decrying his "manipulation" of intelligence, Bush fought back. Apparently these senators and others forgot that it was the exact same intelligence that they were receiving when they overwhelmingly endorsed the Iraq resolution. Unfortunately for these people their remarks both in print and on video can be immediately called up and reviewed. Chris Wallace made poor Senator Jay Rockefeller look like an idiot on the tube last week replaying his own remarks.
Bush fought back in two ways. First by his Veteran's Day speech and also by unleashing an unusually quiet Vice President Cheney on the opposition. After months of virtually unanswered attacks on him, Bush makes a few obvious comments about short memories and he is immediately attacked for questioning peoples patriotism and launching a coordinated attack against people of conscience.
The real damage done to the revisionists however came yesterday. A well respected Democrat, Rep. John Murtha had called for the immediate withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. Faced with an opportunity to put the Democrats on record as to their real intentions, Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) drafted a simple resolution calling for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq. Since a resolution is only a sense of the membership and has no practical impact in law everyone would have an opportunity to say where they stood if only symbolically.
Of course the resolution was defeated by an astounding 403 to 3. Listen to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) who said the Republicans "engaged in an act of deception that undermines any shred of dignity that might be left in this Republican Congress." She called Hunter's resolution "a political stunt" and "a disservice to our country and to our men and women in uniform". After hearing Ms. Pelosi over the past few months, these comments either ring hollow or were comedic in nature.
It is getting more and more difficult to respect any of these people.
Sunday, November 13, 2005
A party organ
In an Op Ed piece entitled Romney's rush to reform healthcare, Joan Vennochi and the Boston Globe prove once again that Democratic Party politics are always front and center in any position the Globe takes on any issues. Party considerations will be first even with those issues that the Globe has considered to be the centerpiece of their drive for social engineering in Massachusetts.
Healthcare reform has been a major issue in Massachusetts since the Dukakis era when the then Governor of Massachusetts tried to make universal health care the center piece of his national ambitions. No one at the Globe denigrated Dukakis for his ambitions yet listen to Ms. Vennochi's take on Romney's efforts. "A one-term governor with a thin political resume, Romney needs a major accomplishment." I guess what Joan is saying is that healthcare reform is a laudable goal but not if a Republican governor is involved in the proposal.
The true purpose of the Globe's desire to see slower progress on health care reform is presented later in the article. Although ostensibly about Governor Romney, it contains primarily quotes from Attorney General Thomas Reilly. Reilly is the Globe's anointed choice to be the next governor of Massachusetts.
Even though health care reform and fully insuring the the citizens of the commonwealth has been an often stated goal for the past thirty years, Reilly and Vennochi wonder why there is such a rush to re-write legislation by January 15th. With Senator Kennedy, Senate President Robert Travaglini and House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi, all influential Democratic leaders supporting this type of legislation why not strike while the iron is hot and get a bill passed?
The answer is that Vennochi, the Globe and Reilly are all concerned that Romney will throw his hat back in the ring for Governor. Ms. Vennochi hides this concern under the thin veneer of concern over Reilly's one announced competitor in the Democratic Party, Deval Patrick. Vennochi reasons this way "Reilly may have his own political reasons for slowing down the healthcare reform train. His opponent Deval Patrick, has embraced the most ambitious healthcare package". It is interesting that in an article in which Ms. Venocchi criticizes Romney for his interest in promoting healthcare for political reasons yet she has no criticism for Reilly for trying to prevent it for the same reason.
This is a pimp piece for Reilly because there is not a chance that Deval Patrick is a serious candidate for the Democratic nomination as governor. Mr. Patrick may be a wonderful man with good ideas and a reasonable resume however he is woefully under financed and a relative unknown to voters across the state.
The real threat to Reilly and to the Globe' agenda is the incumbent governor. Vennochi and the Globe know this, hence at every opportunity they will take shots at Romney for any perceived slight to the state. The article mentions two recent events related to Romney, his attack on the Massachusetts Supreme court for it's 4 to 3 vote to legalize Gay marriage and the fact that he smiled when the speaker at the Federalist Society introduced him as someone who fought against the modern day KKK, the Kerry Kennedy Klan.
Certainly the venue was one in which it was appropriate to criticize the Massachusetts Supreme court and secondly although the KKK comment might have been of questionable taste, was Vennochi or any other liberals up in arms when Whoopi Goldberg and the Hollywood crowd had much more offensive things to say about President Bush? Seems to me that the indignance rings a little hollow.
Romney will make up his mind very soon about a run for re-election in Massachusetts. You may have seen the recent Zogby poll showing any Republican running a very distant second to Reilly in a race for governor. Don't believe it for a second. Romney is a very effective leader, a charismatic personality and he will be extremely well financed.
More importantly is the fact that the although overwhelmingly a blue state, the people of the state are reluctant to let the Democrats return to full control of all the branches of the government. The Globe knows this and like the true party organ that it is, it will make every effort to denigrate Romney whenever possible. The people at the Globe would make the old Pravda proud.
Healthcare reform has been a major issue in Massachusetts since the Dukakis era when the then Governor of Massachusetts tried to make universal health care the center piece of his national ambitions. No one at the Globe denigrated Dukakis for his ambitions yet listen to Ms. Vennochi's take on Romney's efforts. "A one-term governor with a thin political resume, Romney needs a major accomplishment." I guess what Joan is saying is that healthcare reform is a laudable goal but not if a Republican governor is involved in the proposal.
The true purpose of the Globe's desire to see slower progress on health care reform is presented later in the article. Although ostensibly about Governor Romney, it contains primarily quotes from Attorney General Thomas Reilly. Reilly is the Globe's anointed choice to be the next governor of Massachusetts.
Even though health care reform and fully insuring the the citizens of the commonwealth has been an often stated goal for the past thirty years, Reilly and Vennochi wonder why there is such a rush to re-write legislation by January 15th. With Senator Kennedy, Senate President Robert Travaglini and House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi, all influential Democratic leaders supporting this type of legislation why not strike while the iron is hot and get a bill passed?
The answer is that Vennochi, the Globe and Reilly are all concerned that Romney will throw his hat back in the ring for Governor. Ms. Vennochi hides this concern under the thin veneer of concern over Reilly's one announced competitor in the Democratic Party, Deval Patrick. Vennochi reasons this way "Reilly may have his own political reasons for slowing down the healthcare reform train. His opponent Deval Patrick, has embraced the most ambitious healthcare package". It is interesting that in an article in which Ms. Venocchi criticizes Romney for his interest in promoting healthcare for political reasons yet she has no criticism for Reilly for trying to prevent it for the same reason.
This is a pimp piece for Reilly because there is not a chance that Deval Patrick is a serious candidate for the Democratic nomination as governor. Mr. Patrick may be a wonderful man with good ideas and a reasonable resume however he is woefully under financed and a relative unknown to voters across the state.
The real threat to Reilly and to the Globe' agenda is the incumbent governor. Vennochi and the Globe know this, hence at every opportunity they will take shots at Romney for any perceived slight to the state. The article mentions two recent events related to Romney, his attack on the Massachusetts Supreme court for it's 4 to 3 vote to legalize Gay marriage and the fact that he smiled when the speaker at the Federalist Society introduced him as someone who fought against the modern day KKK, the Kerry Kennedy Klan.
Certainly the venue was one in which it was appropriate to criticize the Massachusetts Supreme court and secondly although the KKK comment might have been of questionable taste, was Vennochi or any other liberals up in arms when Whoopi Goldberg and the Hollywood crowd had much more offensive things to say about President Bush? Seems to me that the indignance rings a little hollow.
Romney will make up his mind very soon about a run for re-election in Massachusetts. You may have seen the recent Zogby poll showing any Republican running a very distant second to Reilly in a race for governor. Don't believe it for a second. Romney is a very effective leader, a charismatic personality and he will be extremely well financed.
More importantly is the fact that the although overwhelmingly a blue state, the people of the state are reluctant to let the Democrats return to full control of all the branches of the government. The Globe knows this and like the true party organ that it is, it will make every effort to denigrate Romney whenever possible. The people at the Globe would make the old Pravda proud.
Sunday, November 06, 2005
Good luck Theo
All good things eventually come to an end, to bad it had to happen so soon. Theo Epstein's rein as the resident baseball god came to an end in Boston this week under somewhat murky circumstances.
As usual, the Globe had it all wrong as the paper had announced that Theo would be re-upping for 1.5 million a year on a three year deal. Of course the next day Theo was announcing his resignation from the club because he no longer could put in his heart and soul.
As the various news conferences unveiled and the talking heads had their say it became apparent that nothing of real substance was said by any of the parties involved about the real reason for Theo's departure. Only Theo and Larry Lucchino know fully what transpired between them but as an interested observer and a fan of the club I can only say that I hope Theo has not peaked and looks back upon these past three years as his crowning achievement. What personal slight could Lucchino have committed to get Theo's nose so out of joint?
Sure he will get another baseball job but how could it be the same as being the head of a club like the Sox? At 30 years old he was substantially involved in ending a champonship drought that had lasted 86 years. He was revered in town not only for his accomplishments but also how he conducted himself in the job and in the community.
As far as Lucchino is concerned, didn't Theo owe him a little bit of slack? Forgetting all the mentor non sense, it still was a fact that Lucchino had advanced Theo at every opportunity till he finally anoninted him to one of the top jobs in all of baseball. So Lucchino low balled Theo on the first couple of contract offers, so what. After all Theo was making $300,000/yr for the last three years. An offer of first $800k then $1.2 and finally $1.5 million seemed to be a pretty good indication the club wanted him back.
Theo was no stranger to negotiations. I think he might have made a few low ball offers in his time. Certainly David Ortiz comes to mind. Did he think he should get Beane money or Cashman money after three years on the job? Speaking of Cashman, whatever Theo had to put up with in working for Henry/Lucchino couldn't possibly compare to having to answer to the old irascible Yankee, Boss Steinbrener. Hell, I thought Henry was going to cry at the news conference over the loss of his boy wonder. Steinbrener would have kicked Theo in the ass for being so childish as to be offended by any "leaks" in the organization.
In any event the Epstein era is over way to soon in Boston. The kid would have been an icon here for decades to come, as it is his name will still be on the lips of every Red Sox fan for the next century. His real work was still being done and he should have stuck around to see the fruits of his labor in the farm system graduate and excel at the major league level.
In the end result, that may be Theo's real legacy here. After all, that is really the way a general manager over the long haul is judged. Yes we won a championship but Theo's contribution was not the only thing that put us over the top. Much maligned Dan Duquette as well as the ownership should get some or as much credit as Theo for the end of the curse.
Here's hoping he does well in any endeavor he chooses and that this decision has made him happier. I hope he didn't wake up the next day and wonder what the Hell have I done?" Or that in the future doesn't look back upon this as a hastily made foolish decision in youth.
He may end up being the Dodger's general manager or the new GM in Washington but will it come with a 120 million dollar payroll? Will he end up on the scrap heap with other general managers who have failed in medicore situations? Only time will tell but one thing is for certain, the Sox will still be the Sox. They will get a new GM, they will spend a bunch on payroll and they will draw around 2 million.
As usual, the Globe had it all wrong as the paper had announced that Theo would be re-upping for 1.5 million a year on a three year deal. Of course the next day Theo was announcing his resignation from the club because he no longer could put in his heart and soul.
As the various news conferences unveiled and the talking heads had their say it became apparent that nothing of real substance was said by any of the parties involved about the real reason for Theo's departure. Only Theo and Larry Lucchino know fully what transpired between them but as an interested observer and a fan of the club I can only say that I hope Theo has not peaked and looks back upon these past three years as his crowning achievement. What personal slight could Lucchino have committed to get Theo's nose so out of joint?
Sure he will get another baseball job but how could it be the same as being the head of a club like the Sox? At 30 years old he was substantially involved in ending a champonship drought that had lasted 86 years. He was revered in town not only for his accomplishments but also how he conducted himself in the job and in the community.
As far as Lucchino is concerned, didn't Theo owe him a little bit of slack? Forgetting all the mentor non sense, it still was a fact that Lucchino had advanced Theo at every opportunity till he finally anoninted him to one of the top jobs in all of baseball. So Lucchino low balled Theo on the first couple of contract offers, so what. After all Theo was making $300,000/yr for the last three years. An offer of first $800k then $1.2 and finally $1.5 million seemed to be a pretty good indication the club wanted him back.
Theo was no stranger to negotiations. I think he might have made a few low ball offers in his time. Certainly David Ortiz comes to mind. Did he think he should get Beane money or Cashman money after three years on the job? Speaking of Cashman, whatever Theo had to put up with in working for Henry/Lucchino couldn't possibly compare to having to answer to the old irascible Yankee, Boss Steinbrener. Hell, I thought Henry was going to cry at the news conference over the loss of his boy wonder. Steinbrener would have kicked Theo in the ass for being so childish as to be offended by any "leaks" in the organization.
In any event the Epstein era is over way to soon in Boston. The kid would have been an icon here for decades to come, as it is his name will still be on the lips of every Red Sox fan for the next century. His real work was still being done and he should have stuck around to see the fruits of his labor in the farm system graduate and excel at the major league level.
In the end result, that may be Theo's real legacy here. After all, that is really the way a general manager over the long haul is judged. Yes we won a championship but Theo's contribution was not the only thing that put us over the top. Much maligned Dan Duquette as well as the ownership should get some or as much credit as Theo for the end of the curse.
Here's hoping he does well in any endeavor he chooses and that this decision has made him happier. I hope he didn't wake up the next day and wonder what the Hell have I done?" Or that in the future doesn't look back upon this as a hastily made foolish decision in youth.
He may end up being the Dodger's general manager or the new GM in Washington but will it come with a 120 million dollar payroll? Will he end up on the scrap heap with other general managers who have failed in medicore situations? Only time will tell but one thing is for certain, the Sox will still be the Sox. They will get a new GM, they will spend a bunch on payroll and they will draw around 2 million.
Friday, November 04, 2005
It still is a tax break
The Daily Times had a front page piece last week reviewing the status of the TIF or Tax Incentive Finance agreement that Sun Microsystems and the town had signed back six or seven years ago. The town has two of these arrangements and neither of them is in compliance with the terms of the original deal.
Let's state the obvious outcome to date of the Sun TIF deal. Yes we are glad to have them, yes there are 2100 new jobs on the site and yes they have put up some beautiful buildings and yes they contributed 6 million dollars to the town's school system for technology upgrades and yes the traffic improvements at Network Drive and route 62 have resulted in enormous improvements over the old situation.
In addition, they are wonderful neighbors and they do a lot in the community as an organization. All of that is true including the fact that they also were diligent in working to clean up the contamination that existed on the site as a result of manufacturing activities by previous owners of the site.
All of this is undeniably true. What is also true is that they were to have created roughly 4000 jobs in town and substantially more build out of the campus was to be completed by now. In exchange for that they were given tax reduction from the town as well as substantial investment tax credits from the state.
The current situation is that they have not met the terms of deal they signed. It is a difficult business environment but it is just as difficult a municipal tax environment if not more so. This is going to become even more difficult over the next several months when residents receive their new tax bill. The number has not been fixed as of yet but it is certain that the residential tax bill in town will be going up by double digits. Not because of over spending by town meeting but simply because of the shift in residential values.
To put it simply, the same amount of money has to be raised for this fiscal year, however where it comes from is determined by values. The residential value has increased substantially and the commercial values have declined. Therefore, more of the tax levy will come from the residential side of the ledger. Barring any unforeseen relief from the state, the news is not going to be good. There could not be a more obvious illustration of this than the Four Points hotel on Wheeler Road that changed hands last year. It had previously sold in 2000 for 14 million dollars but last year it was sold again but this time for for 6.48 million dollars. That resulted in a loss of about 200 thousand in tax revenue. Who do you think is going to make that up?
This situation is likely to be transitory as the residential values seem to have peaked and will likely moderate or decline during the next business cycle. Recent activity seems to indicate commercial and office space is beginning to recover according to some of the bigger players in town. How long it takes to return to a much higher commercial value remains to be seen but it certainly is not going to be immediate.
While this is going on the town is facing a number of financial challenges, fore most of which is the school building issue. The town will be faced with 2 problems. What to build or renovate and while construction goes on where to put students?
Perhaps a solution is one of those public private partnerships we often hear about. From what I understand, Sun has substantial vacant space in their buildings on Network Drive. How difficult would it be for the town to enter into negotiations to lease some of that space to house a number of classrooms? There would be a number of hurdles to overcome such as insurance indemnification and segregating access to a building from the rest of the campus but nothing that appears to rule out the potential at first glance.
The applicant is not in compliance with the TIF agreement and does not appear to be any where near compliance in the future. If that is the case why is the town still extending annual tax reduction? If the town had not met its obligations what would Sun's attitude be? Everything's fine and we are happy to be here? Somehow I think not.
Why not a creative solution that takes into consideration some of the challenges the town currently faces? It would be a complex negotiation however two facts remain. The town needs space and Sun is not making good on their own promises. It is not unreasonable to ask them to do so. If they can't meet the original terms of the deal then perhaps it can be amended to meet the needs of the community in other ways.
Let's state the obvious outcome to date of the Sun TIF deal. Yes we are glad to have them, yes there are 2100 new jobs on the site and yes they have put up some beautiful buildings and yes they contributed 6 million dollars to the town's school system for technology upgrades and yes the traffic improvements at Network Drive and route 62 have resulted in enormous improvements over the old situation.
In addition, they are wonderful neighbors and they do a lot in the community as an organization. All of that is true including the fact that they also were diligent in working to clean up the contamination that existed on the site as a result of manufacturing activities by previous owners of the site.
All of this is undeniably true. What is also true is that they were to have created roughly 4000 jobs in town and substantially more build out of the campus was to be completed by now. In exchange for that they were given tax reduction from the town as well as substantial investment tax credits from the state.
The current situation is that they have not met the terms of deal they signed. It is a difficult business environment but it is just as difficult a municipal tax environment if not more so. This is going to become even more difficult over the next several months when residents receive their new tax bill. The number has not been fixed as of yet but it is certain that the residential tax bill in town will be going up by double digits. Not because of over spending by town meeting but simply because of the shift in residential values.
To put it simply, the same amount of money has to be raised for this fiscal year, however where it comes from is determined by values. The residential value has increased substantially and the commercial values have declined. Therefore, more of the tax levy will come from the residential side of the ledger. Barring any unforeseen relief from the state, the news is not going to be good. There could not be a more obvious illustration of this than the Four Points hotel on Wheeler Road that changed hands last year. It had previously sold in 2000 for 14 million dollars but last year it was sold again but this time for for 6.48 million dollars. That resulted in a loss of about 200 thousand in tax revenue. Who do you think is going to make that up?
This situation is likely to be transitory as the residential values seem to have peaked and will likely moderate or decline during the next business cycle. Recent activity seems to indicate commercial and office space is beginning to recover according to some of the bigger players in town. How long it takes to return to a much higher commercial value remains to be seen but it certainly is not going to be immediate.
While this is going on the town is facing a number of financial challenges, fore most of which is the school building issue. The town will be faced with 2 problems. What to build or renovate and while construction goes on where to put students?
Perhaps a solution is one of those public private partnerships we often hear about. From what I understand, Sun has substantial vacant space in their buildings on Network Drive. How difficult would it be for the town to enter into negotiations to lease some of that space to house a number of classrooms? There would be a number of hurdles to overcome such as insurance indemnification and segregating access to a building from the rest of the campus but nothing that appears to rule out the potential at first glance.
The applicant is not in compliance with the TIF agreement and does not appear to be any where near compliance in the future. If that is the case why is the town still extending annual tax reduction? If the town had not met its obligations what would Sun's attitude be? Everything's fine and we are happy to be here? Somehow I think not.
Why not a creative solution that takes into consideration some of the challenges the town currently faces? It would be a complex negotiation however two facts remain. The town needs space and Sun is not making good on their own promises. It is not unreasonable to ask them to do so. If they can't meet the original terms of the deal then perhaps it can be amended to meet the needs of the community in other ways.
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