Randomness part 984

As written in these posts on many, many occasions, I believe the issue of performance-enhancing drugs and doping is the most important issue and story in sports now and for the foreseeable future. Actually, it’s the only story of real import but it would get pretty boring to write and read about drugging athletes all the time.

After all, sports are supposed to be entertainment.

Regardless, it should be required reading for any sports fan and/or writer to read Game of Shadows by Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams. It truly is an unbelievable piece of work and parts of it read like a Cold War spy novel.

Baseball and its union should thank the authors for the book, yet instead they had the opposite reaction.

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Similarly, I will be attending a lecture by Eric Schlosser this evening at Franklin & Marshall College. Schlosser, of course, is the author of Fast Food Nation, which examines how fast food restaurants use their economic power to exploit the culture, social conditions and public health.

Schlosser also wrote the award-winning Reefer Madness and is writing about the prison system in his next book.

It should make for an interesting evening.

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Speaking of interesting, it’s becoming more likely that the Phillies will break camp in two weeks with six starting pitchers. According to a story in the Inquirer, the Phillies will be especially deep in the rotation, but remarkably thin in the bullpen. As written by noted casanova Todd Zolecki:

Pat Gillick said yesterday that he didn't think he would be able to make a trade for bullpen help before the season starts. He said he expected to open the season with six starting pitchers, one of which would move to the bullpen.

“Everybody is looking for the same thing,” Gillick said. “Everybody is looking for the same commodity. Everybody has a bullpen problem; nobody wants to give up a bullpen piece. If they give up a piece, it's going to create another problem for them. Who has excess?”

Anyone think Gillick is playing ‘possum?

Maybe not... according to Scott Lauber's info-packed blog, skipper Charlie Manuel has been his happy-go-lucky self lately. It seems as if the paper-thin bullpen's production this spring is wearing him out. Certainly the 'pen is not wearing out the opposition's hitters.

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Finally, mathematics seems to have sabotaged my college basketball pool last weekend. After opening with a perfect first day in selecting winners on the first day of the tournament action, the picks made after consulting a mathematician resulted in a sub par 8-for-16 for the “Sweet 16.” Meanwhile, the picks made on hunches, a coin flips garnered 10-of-16 correct picks.

Fortunately, in both pools all of my Final 8, 4, 2 and championship teams remain.

Either way, I’m cooked.