Just Reviewed Sharon Lee’s “Carousel Tides” at SBR
Folks, if you’re looking for a really good urban fantasy novel to read, look no further than Sharon Lee’s CAROUSEL TIDES. This is an excellent read that does a number of things, all extremely well — it’s a coming of age story for its heroine, Kate. It’s a story of female empowerment, again for Kate. It’s a great quest story (where has Kate’s grandmother gone, and what’s happened to her?). And it has a very nice, yet understated romance between Kate and the enigmatic, sea-going Borgan.
Oh, yes — there’s a really nasty evil guy to root against, too, a guy named Ramendysis. This is a guy who’s into destroying as many other people with magical ability as he can, partly because he believes might makes right and partly because he’s just a terrible person. So the “big bad” is hiss-worthy, too — as if you needed any more reason to read this novel.
I said much more about CAROUSEL TIDES in my review over at Shiny Book Review (SBR). So please, read my review, then go grab the book! (You’ll be very happy you did, especially if you love urban fantasy.)
October ’12 Quick Hits, Pt. 1
Folks, I’m trying out a new browser — Mozilla Firefox — and so far, it’s working rather well. My previous browser, a version of IE, wouldn’t let me properly access the WordPress blogging site, which is one reason I haven’t done much with my blog in the past two weeks (I suspect a recent “upgrade” — by the way, why is it that upgrades seem to cause so much distress for all concerned no matter who’s doing the upgrading? — by WordPress was what caused me not to be able to use the site properly).
At any rate, there are a number of things to get to, so let’s get started.
First, Atlanta Braves P Ben Sheets — a long-time starting pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers — indeed retired after pitching one inning of the 162nd and final game of the regular major league baseball season.
Second, I will write an “end of the season wrap-up” blog later this week which will point out the highs and lows of the 2012 Milwaukee Brewers season; for now, all I’ll say is that it’s obvious LF Ryan Braun (with his 41 HR and 30 SB) is the Brewers 2012 MVP and that if baseball writers were objective, Braun would be likely to have his second National League MVP in as many years.
Third, I’m rather frustrated with most politics and most politicians at the moment — aside from Racine’s state Senator John Lehman, that is, and my incoming state Assemblyman, Cory Mason (Mason represented a different area of Racine prior to this year; due to redistricting, he’s now running unopposed to represent the 61st Assembly district and the seat presently held by Robert Turner (D), as Turner has retired). This is why I haven’t said much about politics in quite some time.
My basic beliefs, however, are unchanged; I believe that we’re not well served by our two major party system. I think most of the candidates we get via this system are indebted to big money interests, or worse, must be insanely wealthy themselves in order to afford to run in the first place (a la Mitt Romney of the Rs). And while I like Gary Johnson the best (he’s the Libertarian candidate for President, and is the former Republican Governor of New Mexico), I’m still undecided as to how I’ll vote this fall in the Presidential election.
Fourth, I’m still fighting a lingering sinus issue, which is one of the main reasons I haven’t been blogging overmuch in the past several weeks (well, that and the browser situation, which I’ve now remedied quite nicely). But I hope to write several blogs this week — maybe even one regarding the state of publishing, who knows? — and have a guest blog by novelist Stephanie Osborn in the pipeline that should be posted within the next two weeks also.
(Oh, yes — the reason this is “part one” of the Quick Hits for October is that I’m sure there’ll be more. Because there always are.)
Stay safe, everyone.
Former Brewers P Ben Sheets to Make One Final Start, Then Retire
Ben Sheets’ inspiring comeback has come to an end. After not pitching since August 24, 2012, the Atlanta Braves will start Sheets one, final time tomorrow — and after that, Sheets will retire.
Sheets returned from a surgery which had been called by Matthew Pouliot at Hardball Talk as “the most massive in the history of pitching” (link is here: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/08/11/ben-sheets-just-had-the-most-massive-surgery-in-the-history-of-pitching/), and as JP Starkey said at SB Nation:
Many believed Sheets would be ineffective even if he were able to return, but Sheets defied the odds and pitched well for the Braves in 2012.
Unfortunately for Sheets, he was placed on the disabled list on Aug. 25, with inflammation in his right shoulder. Sheets pitched well for the Braves, and carries a 4-4 record, 3.54 ERA and 1.34 WHIP into his final start in 2012.
Starkey goes on to give Sheets’s career numbers:
Wednesday’s start will be the 250th and final start of Sheets’ career. Sheets needs to throw just four and a third innings to log 1,600 career innings. A master of control, Sheets has struck out 1,323 in his career against just 369 walks. Sheets’ career record stands at 94-96, with a 3.78 ERA and 1.22 WHIP.
I had been hoping for a better outcome for Ben Sheets, as I’ve said all along; Sheets was a fantastic pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers, being a four-time All-Star (and one-time All-Star starter). But as Sheets said today as reported by the Sporting News (link is here: http://aol.sportingnews.com/mlb/story/2012-10-02/ben-sheets-retirement-atlanta-braves-2012-milwaukee-brewers):
“I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt I’m not playing again,” Sheets told MLB.com. “No matter what, there is not enough help or money to pull me out of this one.”
The Sporting News goes on to note that:
His Wednesday start against the Pirates will be the 250th of this career and his first appearance in a game in over a month. The plan is for Sheets to throw two innings in the start.
Even though Sheets’s comeback will end after his final start, rather than continue on for a few more good years in similar fashion to Chris Capuano after his comeback from a second “Tommy John” procedure, Sheets still did very well. He helped Atlanta. He proved he can still pitch. And he’s going out the way he seems to want — by pitching one, last time, and saying goodbye to the fans after taking part in one, final pennant race.
I hope for Sheets’s sake that his final outing will be a good, strong one, and that he’ll enjoy his well-earned retirement.
But I will miss seeing him pitch. And I’m sorry that his arm wouldn’t let him have just one good, solid year before he had to contemplate the final, drastic step of retirement. Much less carry it out.
Just Reviewed Two Books at SBR
It’s Romance Saturday at Shiny Book Review (SBR), which is why I reviewed two of Sherry Thomas’s Victorian romances — her two newest, in fact. These books are BEGUILING THE BEAUTY and RAVISHING THE HEIRESS . . . and are available here:
Now, my brief take on these books? They’re not up to the standard of Thomas’s earlier romances such as her debut, PRIVATE ARRANGEMENTS, nor her third romance, NOT QUITE A HUSBAND. They’re also not up to the standard of her second and fourth books, DELICIOUS and HIS AT NIGHT, respectively.
The upshot is that Sherry Thomas can write, and write well; in fact, her writing far outshines these plots, and makes getting through these books a pleasure while you’re reading them.
However, once you’ve finished the books, you realize, “What was that all about, anyway?” And then wonder why a writer as good as Sherry Thomas would write books that, put simply, are fluff — well-written fluff, to be sure, with some emotional depth and resonance balancing out the extremely convoluted, yet stereotypical plotlines.
I’m sorry. I love Sherry Thomas’s writing, but I did not love these plots. And because of that, the better-rated romance of the two was a B (for RAVISHING THE HEIRESS; even though I actually enjoyed BEGUILING THE BEAUTY more, the unbelievable contortions of the plotline made it impossible for me to grade it out any better than a B-).
Now, for those of you who’ve been reading my blog for a while, you’re well aware that HIS AT NIGHT rated a B grade, which seemingly matches the B grade I gave RAVISHING THE HEIRESS tonight at SBR. But there are B’s and B’s — to coin a bad phrase — which is why I point out that had I reviewed HIS AT NIGHT along with these two novels, I probably would’ve given HIS AT NIGHT a B-plus or better.
At any rate, the two latest novels from Sherry Thomas will divert you, engage you, and once read, make you shake your head. There’s some genuine emotion here, which is a plus; it’s the unbelievability of it all that vexed me to the point that I wanted to throw the books across the room.
So read these books, because Sherry Thomas is a great writer; then go back and read her truly excellent PRIVATE ARRANGEMENTS and NOT QUITE A HUSBAND to study how great writing and great plotting enhance books, while great writing and really strange plotting are, at best, extremely confusing.
NFL: Enter The Real Refs
It’s Week Four in the NFL, folks. And up until now, we’ve dealt with replacement referees who didn’t seem to know what they were doing at best — and definitely didn’t know what they were doing at worst.
But now, a deal has been reached by the NFL and the NFL Referees’ Association; that means the real, professional referees will be back on the field soon. Perhaps even as soon as Thursday night’s contest between the Baltimore Ravens and the Cleveland Browns.
Here’s a bit of the NFL and the NFLRA’s joint statement, courtesy of Yahoo Sports (short links aren’t working, so here’s the long link — http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/several-reports-indicate-deal-between-nfl-officials-imminent-023915580–nfl.html):
The NFL and NFLRA are pleased to announce that they have reached an agreement tonight on an eight-year collective bargaining agreement, subject to ratification by the NFLRA.
“Our officials will be back on the field starting tomorrow night,” Commissioner Roger Goodell said. “We appreciate the commitment of the NFLRA in working through the issues to reach this important agreement.”
“Our Board of Directors has unanimously approved taking this proposed CBA to the membership for a ratification vote,” said Scott Green, president of the NFLRA. “We are glad to be getting back on the field for this week’s games.”
Hallelujah! (And amen!)
Waiting to Exhale — er, Waiting for the REAL NFL Refs
Folks, after the last few days — after replacement referees made one of the worst calls in the history of the National Football League, which decided the Seattle-Green Bay game in favor of the team that should’ve lost (Seattle Seahawks) and took a win away from the team that should’ve won (Green Bay Packers) on the final play of the game — I’ve been waiting for the other shoe to drop.
You could say that I’ve been waiting to exhale.
But in a phrase, what I’m feeling is this: bring on the real NFL refs. Now.
What’s sad is that we have these incompetent replacement refs for one reason: the NFL, in a word, is cheap. The owners have locked out the real refs because they don’t want to have to pay $3 million or so in pensions.
As Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said, it’s wrong for the NFL — a multi-billion dollar enterprise — to be fighting the real, professional referees over a few million dollars in pension funds.
And not only does this make the NFL look silly and stupid, it also makes them look completely uninterested in player safety. Most replacement refs just aren’t up to the standard that the real NFL refs pride themselves on. And that’s going to lead to player injuries sooner or later.
Oh, wait. It’s already happened. Because Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub lost a piece of his ear — yes, his ear — on Sunday due to an illegal hit by a member of the Denver Broncos defense, Joe Mays. One that might not have occurred had the real refs been on the field.
And it’s not just me being upset by this. Nor the sports columnists across the nation, nor even the Packers players. Some players on other teams are also upset.
For example, Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe — surely one of the most articulate football players ever — said this today to the St. Paul Pioneer-Press:
Kluwe said . . . some of the controversial decisions exemplified how important good officiating is to the integrity of the game.
“I think it made a lot of people aware of just how tough the job of being a referee is,” Kluwe said. “You can’t just plug someone in and expect them to be able to deal with the speed of the game and just how fast guys are moving out there. I think it shed some light on what is, a lot of times, a very unrewarding profession. If a ref is doing his job right, a lot of times it’s like a punter or a long snapper: You don’t notice them.
“It’ll be good to have those guys back.”
Or how about Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald? This past Tuesday, Fitzgerald talked about the disputed ending to the Packers-Seahawks game to Yahoo Sports and said this (after a bit of a reprise from football columnist Mark Rogers):
Week 3 of the season was marred with a spate of disputed decisions but it was not until the dying moments of the Monday night clash between the Seattle Seahawks and the Green Bay Packers that the furor came to a dramatic head. Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson’s game-winning pass to Golden Tate appeared to have been intercepted by Packers safety M.D. Jennings, only for the officials to award the touchdown that handed Seattle a 14-12 victory.
“Being a player you want to know you are being protected and that is truly important to me,” Fitzgerald said. “On the play last night, I thought the same [thing] that everyone else thought. I thought it was an interception, I thought it was clear as day but unfortunately that call wasn’t made.
“This is definitely going to have playoff implications. You know Green Bay is going to be in the thick of the playoff hunt, you know Seattle is going to be in the thick of the playoff hunt. I just hope that later on in the year this is not something that comes back to hurt one of those teams.”
So at least one player who’s not on the Packers has already figured out that the replacement refs have adversely affected the Packers — and have unfairly benefited the Seahawks. Imagine that!
One final word about the replacement refs, this time courtesy of Pioneer-Press football columnist Joe Soucheray. He described what’s going on now as:
(Games are) like watching a movie where you begin to notice all the mistakes the director has made, furniture that isn’t supposed to be in the scene, characters called different names 10 minutes apart, pieces of equipment in the shot.
Soucheray goes on to say that he didn’t see the end of the Green Bay-Seattle game, but he didn’t need to:
Because before that I had seen enough to wonder how long the NFL intends to flirt with disaster. There is something else at work here, the very real prospect of outright corruption. I am not at all suggesting that the temps are corrupt. I am suggesting that with each passing week they are in danger of getting things so wrong that a victory might be awarded to a team that lost, if, in fact, that didn’t happen Monday night.
So that’s where we’re at right now. The NFL has a bunch of refs who aren’t ready for prime time, but three games have been played with these incompetent and inadequate refs. And at least one game has been decided for the wrong team due to these same refs, which is utterly absurd.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell needs to do the right thing; he needs to get the real refs back on the field, and stop his posturing already.
And until the NFL gets its act together and gets the real refs on the field, I’m not going to watch or listen to any games, and I’m going to do my best not to follow along online, either.
Because this farce has gone on long enough.
Musing about Three Former SYTYCD Champions
I thought tonight, especially as I’m under the weather (see previous blog post), I’d look up a few former “So You Think You Can Dance” champions and see what’s going on with them.
First, I looked up season seven winner Lauren Froderman. She’s been extremely active in the dance world with convention appearances (she dances and teaches), is a student at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, and was an All-Star dancer during season eight of SYTYCD.
If you put Lauren Froderman’s name into any search engine, you’ll find all sorts of notes about her, from YouTube videos to convention appearances. One thing’s for certain — she’s energetic, she loves to dance, and she is a great ambassador for the sport.
As for season two winner Benji Schwimmer, I’ve seen him pop up from time to time on television, mostly due to guest appearances on “Dancing with the Stars” (with his sister and DWTS pro, Lacey). But he, too, has remained active; one of his most high-profile performances was in Washington, D.C., in 2011 with the United States Air Force Band, along with season three winner Sabra Johnson and season one finalist Jamile McGee. And like Ms. Froderman, it’s very easy to see Mr. Schwimmer in action; just put his name into any search engine, and all sorts of videos of his dancing will show up.**
Season three winner Sabra Johnson is a bit harder for a non-dancer like myself to find out information about, but she also appears to have remained active in the sport and continues to dance and teach.
More about these champions is available at this link . . . that should give you some idea as to what these dancers have been up to lately.
———–
Now to the personal observations. I enjoyed watching season two of SYTYCD mostly because Benji Schwimmer’s story was extremely compelling; here’s this guy who came back from a two-year Mormon mission, nearly didn’t make the show, then wins the whole, frickin’ thing because of his excellent ballroom dancing skills and his obvious joy whenever he danced. Astonishing. (And his sweet friendship with fellow contestant Donyelle Jones certainly didn’t hurt, either.)
Season three was interesting to me mostly because I enjoyed watching Lacey Schwimmer and Danny Tidwell (both finalists; Danny T. came in second), but I also enjoyed Sabra Johnson’s dancing and personal story. Sabra didn’t start dancing until age sixteen; she took to it like a house on fire, and her joy and expressive movement was contagious.
As for season eight, I really liked Alex Wong, but he got injured. Lauren Froderman was the last female contestant standing, and she outlasted all of the men to win; she’s enthusiastic, bubbly, and mastered all the dance styles she was assigned.
Of course, if you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know that I wrote a blog about how I disliked the way the judges framed her win. (One of my most popular blogs I’ve ever written for a strange reason; most of the commentators, especially the recent ones, think I was way too harsh when it came to Lauren Froderman.) It’s important to note that I never disliked her or her dancing. (How could I? I’m astonished by what all of these dancers can do, as dance is decidedly not my talent.) But I definitely disliked the judges.
Mostly, I follow dance because it’s a creative art, it’s a good way for extremely athletic, talented sorts to express themselves, and as a musician, I enjoy seeing what visual artists like dancers can do to bring out the music. I think all three of these winners are creative, talented, and worked very hard for their respective wins.
It’s good to know that they’ve all continued in the sport — granted, it’s been longer since Benji Schwimmer won (six years), or Sabra Johnson won (five years), than Lauren Froderman (two years). But to see all the different references to the conventions Lauren F. has danced/taught at, or all of the videos available on YouTube that feature her, it’s obvious that she deeply enjoys dance and is very, very good at it; she appears to have the energy of any three other dancers, and seems like the type of person who is likely to succeed at anything she tries.
It’s far easier for me to empathize with someone like Benji Schwimmer, who had some ups and downs before he finally hit it big, or Sabra Johnson, due to her late start and compelling personal story, than it is with Lauren Froderman — I’ll readily admit that. But every dancer has to audition; that means every dancer must face rejection no matter how good he or she is or how well he or she knows the choreography.
And that part I can empathize with Lauren F. about, because as a musician, I’ve been there. (Many times.) While musicians don’t have to worry about choreography, we do have to worry about interpretation, how well we sight-read new music, and how quickly we can pick up parts, so there’s at least some cognates there to how quickly any given dancer can pick up the choreography for any given piece.
See, that’s what every SYTYCD winner or finalist has shown he or she can do — these people have the ability to pick up choreography fast, then learn the pieces so well that it seems like they’ve been dancing them all their lives. That’s a rare and special talent, one that very few people have, and it should be embraced.
That’s why it’s good to know that all three of these former champions have continued on with their dancing. They’re doing what they can to give others some of the infectious joy they have when they dance by teaching, choreographing other dance routines, or performing. And that’s great.
In other words — they know they’re talented. They’re using their talents accordingly. And they’re still in demand.
To quote Lawrence Welk: “Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!” (Though of course it sounded like “wunnerful, wunnerful, wunnerful.”)
**And yes, before anyone asks, I know that Benji Schwimmer came out as gay earlier this year. (So what? This impacts his dancing how, again? But I do feel for him and his struggles as a gay man who was raised as a Mormon. He’s since left that faith.)
Sick here; no book reviews this week
Folks, I’m sorry to report that I’ve been sick for several weeks now. I have a particularly nasty sinus infection, have been diagnosed medication, and am taking it, but it’ll be at least another few days before I’m feeling up to snuff.
This is why I haven’t talked about the Brewers amazing stretch run in this past week (they lost today to the Nationals, but are in the thick of the wild card race), or about the eighth anniversary of my late husband Michael’s passing (something I’d normally discuss), or about various issues that interest me, either. Because while I’m still interested and am doing my best to stay current, I just haven’t been up to overmuch.
As for the coming week, Stephanie Osborn has consented to a guest blog — I’m excited about that– and I hope to being up to discussing baseball, politics (Wisconsin and national), and any other thing that strikes my fancy.
Just as soon as I feel a little better.
But for now, you might want to head over to a few of the other sites I have listed on the side — Jason Cordova’s blog is particularly interesting, and so is the Mad Genius Club’s blog (several authors, all with interesting takes on stuff) — in order to follow what’s going on with publishing, life, the universe, and everything.
Back soon, I promise . . . Deity willing and the creeks don’t rise.
Wrote Guest Blog for Stephanie Osborn About Book Reviews
Folks, I’m excited. I just did my first guest blog ever for author Stephanie Osborn, writer of the Displaced Detective series featuring physicist Skye Chadwick and everyone’s favorite detective, Sherlock Holmes, brought into our time via physics and the parallel worlds theory.
Here’s a link to my guest blog, which is called “The Oft-Misunderstood Art of Book Reviewing.” And here’s just a little bit of it, to whet your whistle and perhaps make you visit Stephanie’s site (a very worthwhile site it is, too; Stephanie’s a physicist herself who knows more about space travel than most, and can actually explain it in a way non-scientists like me can understand, as she did here in an extensive interview at Blog Talk Radio for the JeffTrek program):
Now, you might be wondering, “Why talk about book reviewing at all? Surely it can’t be that difficult to review a book – can it?” Well, that all depends on the book.
And the fact that book reviewers are often just as misunderstood doesn’t help. Some of the popular misconceptions run the gamut from, “Those who can’t write, review,” and, “What does she know about books, anyway?” Yet writing a book review isn’t that much different, if you do it properly, than writing anything else – the trick is to read whatever book you’re planning to review thoroughly, then ask yourself a number of questions.
As for what the questions are, you’ll just have to head to Stephanie’s blog to find out, now, won’t you? (Insert evil laugh here.)
September 16, 2012 — Brewers Back in Wild Card Chase; Corey Hart Status
Folks, after all but writing the Milwaukee Brewers off a few months ago due to their bullpen meltdowns, the Brewers have quietly managed to get back into wild card contention.
Now, there are some qualifiers to consider, the first being that the Brewers are only contending for the second wild card spot, not the first — that is, if this were last year, the Brewers would not be in contention at this point as there was only one wild card available last year — and the second being that at 74-72, the Brewers are still two games over .500, which isn’t exactly a world-beating record.
However, this is much better than I thought the Brewers would be at considering it’s September 16, 2012 — they’re still in contention, they’re playing good baseball, and they’ve even taken the lead in strikeouts with 1,261 (by pitchers, not how many times the batters have struck out). This is because rookies like Mark Rogers, Mike Fiers, and the recently-called up Wily Peralta have done their jobs in addition to veteran and de facto ace Yovani Gallardo (who’s had a brilliant second half; his record is 15-8 with a 3.72 ERA and 188 Ks), and because the much-maligned relievers have quietly pulled it together, with John Axford in particular pitching much better in the past thirty-five days or so, converting on all eleven of his last save attempts (he now has 29 saves out of 38 attempts, a 5-7 record, and his ERA has fallen to 4.76). Without all of these pitchers doing their best, the Brewers would still be way under .500 and have no chance of the second wild card spot.
Better yet, Ryan Braun’s outstanding year has continued apace, even though Corey Hart has been out of the line-up and Aramis Ramirez’s year took a while to get started (as Ramirez is a notoriously slow starter, this wasn’t much of a surprise), so teams could and did pitch around Braun much of this season. Despite that, Braun is batting .312 with 40 home runs, 103 runs batted in, and 24 stolen bases in 31 attempts. Braun also has 201 career home runs with the Brewers, which leaves him fifth on the all-time list, tied with Cecil Cooper; Braun’s the sixth Brewer to reach the 200 HR plateau, and the seventh to hit 40 HRs in a season.
All of this makes for an exciting end to the 2012 season, and as a long-time Brewers fan, I’m extremely glad to see it. (Go Brewers!)
Now, let’s talk about Brewers first baseman/right fielder Corey Hart. Hart, unfortunately, has been out for a week with a sprained ankle and a partial tear in his plantar fascia, according to Brewers.com beat writer Adam McCalvy. That’s why he hasn’t pinch-hit; that’s why he’s not played the field; that’s why he’s had to rest and sit on the bench while having one of his better overall years despite his mid-season position switch from right field to first base (Hart’s stats stand with a .278 batting average, 27 HRs, 77 RBI, and 5 SBs in 5 attempts; as for his fielding stats, in 92 games played at first base, Hart has only 3 errors and a .996 fielding percentage).
Hart attempted to run the bases on Sunday and did not fare well according to McCalvy’s account. Here’s a quote from that article:
“I’m definitely aiming for Tuesday, I just wish it would have felt better today than it did,” Hart said. “It’s a little frustrating. Today was the first day I tried to run the bases, and it didn’t go as planned.”
Running in a straight line was fine, but the trouble came when Hart ran along the arc along the outer edge of the infield dirt.
A bit later in the article, Hart said this:
“It’s tough, because I want to play,” Hart said. “I’ve played through a lot of injuries, but it’s one of those things where if I’m on first, I’m not going to be able to score on a double. If I’m on second, it’s going to be iffy to score on anything. Is it worth it to these guys? I feel like I wouldn’t be able to do everything I need to do.”
The last resort, Hart said, is an anti-inflammatory injection. The club’s medical officials on Sunday were mulling the pros and cons of that step.
Hart is extremely well-conditioned, a dedicated athlete, and a very good teammate, someone everyone on the Brewers, past or present, has liked — that’s not an easy feat, either, to be the guy everyone likes — and if he could get on the field, he’d be there, no questions asked. But he’s obviously frustrated, as his quotes show . . . it’s not an easy thing to come up with a nasty injury toward the end of the season, especially when your team is still in the wild card chase.
My hope for Hart is that he heals quickly but doesn’t overstrain; even though the Brewers season is winding down and they do have a shot at the second wild card, the fact is that Hart is far more important to the Brewers in the long run, which is why he needs to put his long-term goals ahead of any short-term gains if those short-term gains will harm him.
Or to put it another way — I’d like to see Corey Hart play again this season, yes. But only if he’s healthy.
Barb Caffrey's Blog 