100 Years Dead and Never Surpassed

When I was a little kid, my family used to travel up to visit my grandparents in Dodge County. We'd go to Juneau and watch my dad play Legion ball, watch ball games with my moms' dad and play in the park. Great little town. I haven't been back in years but the thing that always stands out to me is the yearly Addie Joss Days festival. Joss grew up in Woodland, but is celebrated in Juneau. There was a Legion tournament and clowns and...well, I was a little kid so I remember it as going to a great big carnival. In reality it was probably just the tournament and some barbequing and maybe a ride or two on some years. They don't run the festival anymore and in fact, Juneau doesn't even have a Legion ball team anymore but I can trace my love of the sport, and more importantly the sports' history, to those perfect days.

Anyway, I think I post something similar every year on this date, because to me there will never be a more important baseball player than Addison Joss. Son of a cheesemaker, feller of Rube "The Ringer," and pioneer not just in baseball but in writing about the sport. Addie Joss is an important figure, a legendary figure really...sadly no one seems to remember the legend anymore. Fact is, this state has never produced a better professional athlete and I doubt it ever will. Addie Joss was an all time great and he should be celebrated throughout Wisconsin.

Do yourself a favor, read King of Pitchers.

John Steigerwald is a bigger moron than you think.

If you've been on Twitter in the past 2 hours you've probably read this truly horrifying column in which Pittsburgh columnist John Steigerwald:

1. Asserts that a fan who was recently beaten within an inch of his life for wearing a visiting jersey is responsible for his condition because he wore said jersey.

2. Spells the fan's name incorrectly.

3. Claims that "drunks" are at fault while simultaneously pointing out the high price of beer at the stadium.

4. At the end of the column, seems to advocate violence in the form of Rob Dibble and Norm Charlton intentionally throwing at Barry Bonds.

Now, this column is horrible and ridiculous on it's own, but a quick glimpse into the man's past reveals that he has a habit of saying crazy, stupid, moronic things:

America is becoming more feminized all the time. Women getting involved (overly involved) in their kids' teams, Very few male elementary school teachers. You hear stories about tag being forbidden on school playgrounds. Effeminate men are celebrated (ever seen Adam Lambert and the fuss that was made over him?). I have a chapter in my book explaining why I would rather have the Three Stooges babysit my kids than Mr. Rogers because Mr. Rogers --who was a better person than I could ever hope to be and did a lot of great things--was a sissy. You're no longer allowed to discourage boys from being "sissies" because that would make you "homophobic". The country will get softer and softer the more we depend on the nanny state to take care of us.There are people in power now who want to take care of us from cradle to grave and they can't find their way to the supermarket. I'm a big self reliance guy and there's less and less of that going around every day.

So, men at ballparks are increasingly drunken thugs, but America is also being sissified by PBS. Got it.

The man seems to specialize in incoherent drivel. He also seems like a genuinely bad guy.

Tweeting a bit today

Rather than have an open thread, I'll just be over on Twitter. The handle is @BadgerNoonan.

4/5 Let's Get A Win Open Thread!

Look at this murderer's row! Paul said it best earlier: no team has ever missed Corey Hart more. Hopefully I was the bad luck. This is the first game I won't be at, which means it is time to win!

Weeks
Morgan
Braun
Fielder
McGehee
Kotsay
Counsell
Kottaras
Gallardo

Personally, I would hit Gallardo 6th in this lineup.