Thoughts Medley: Baseball, RFK, Jr. and Proxies 21 May 24

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Thoughts Medley: Baseball, RFK, Jr. and Proxies 21 May 24

by Tony Medley

Dave Roberts, the worst handler of pitchers in the history of baseball, has done it again. Already holding the world’s record for most times inserting a relief pitcher who immediately serves up a gopher ball to the first batter he faces, Roberts’ record is further exacerbated by what happens to the second batter, who also often hits a home run. On May 20, in the top of the 8^th inning, Roberts put in Elieser Hernandez (who?) against the Arizona Diamondbacks. After retiring the first batter, the second batter, Lourdes Gurriel, Jr., a .232 hitter, blasted a home run. Not to be outdone, though, the next batter, Jake McCarthy, belted another four-bagger, two home runs in three batters.

Roberts is lucky because he has a plethora of fine pitchers, but it would be a much better game if he would allow his starting pitchers to pitch complete games. Last night he pulled 25-year-old Yoshinobu Yamamoto after retiring one batter in the 7^th inning, having allowed only two runs, striking out 8 with one walk in 7 1/3 innings. The Dodgers were leading 6-2 when Yamamoto left the game. Why pull a pitcher who is on top of his game to insert someone else (like Hernandez)? It makes no sense. But that’s modern baseball. The sabermetricians have decreed that pitchers turn into pumpkins after 100 pitches or seven innings, whichever comes first and nobody has the guts or intelligence to ignore them.

Here's something that happens all the time. The bases are loaded with one out. The batter hits a ground ball between third and short into left field, scoring two runs. The manager pulls the pitcher. But had the ball been two feet to the right or left, it would have been caught by the third baseman or shortstop for a double play that ends the inning. The pitcher remains in the game. That ground ball was what everyone wanted the batter to hit. The fact that it was well placed was luck, the law of averages, and not a reason to pull the pitcher.

Stock Proxies: I have warned people who own stock in their own names about signing proxies that contain the following statement about the power signatories grant proxies, “this proxy will be voted as directed by the shareholder and in accordance with the judgment of the Proxies upon any other matter that may property come before the meeting…” The underlined statement should be crossed out and initialed. It might be worded slightly differently, but you should read the proxy and find this or similar language. However, these people really want to be sure you give them this blank authority (which you shouldn’t). I just received a proxy for Organon & Co. (I didn’t buy it; I got it in a merger or spin-off). This or similar statements are in three separate locations on the proxy! Because I don’t trust any of these corporate bosses, I take the time to review each proxy to make sure I have crossed all of these authorizations out and initialed the crossout. Below is a copy of one side of the proxy with two crossouts. A similar statement was also on the reverse side. I crossed it out, too.

RFK, Jr. has revealed himself to be an intellectual flibbertigibbet. He first said he supported no limits on abortion, even at nine months. Then, when he got a lot of pushback, he backtracked and said that he was always “ready to listen,” and change his position. What kind of person doesn’t have a firm moral position on abortion? He’s 70 years old yet he has to have advisers tell him what his position on abortion is? His new position is equally brutal, however. He says he now thinks that abortion is OK up to the moment of “viability.” That means around six months. So even though a fetus has a heartbeat and is a formed human being, RFK, Jr. thinks it’s OK to kill it.

IMHO, RFK, Jr. is right about vaccines and Ukraine and the border and the deficit. However, he has a reputation as a womanizer (is there a Kennedy who doesn't?) and many believe that he drove his beautiful, vivacious second wife to suicide, her fragile mental condition exacerbated by his allegedly brutal, vindictive divorce affidavit. The affidavit became public in 2011, but you can’t find it anymore online, at least I couldn't. Within a year she hung herself.

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