The Golden Ticket

Why was it snowing outside. Can someone explain this to me? It's a few days away from April...a few days away from Opening Day, and it was snowing like it was midwinter. This is ridiculous. And it better not ruin baseball.

Let's hope, then, that the weather in the Bronx is vastly different from that of Upstate, especially on Monday. Not only do I want to be able to watch the game, but I don't want my money or travel time to be for naught. For you see, I managed to capture Opening Day tickets last night (Don't ask how: I apparently still have some of my old eBay magic that enabled me to obtain the rarest of Super Nintendo RPGs in mint conditions for under $50 each). I probably won't fully believe it until they arrive in the mail tomorrow, but I should still be on my way to the final first day in the history of Yankee Stadium...

Baseball Brief--

• Despite his latest five-inning, one-run outing, Francisco Liriano will start the season in the minors. The Twins plan on starting him in Class A Ft. Myers next Thursday, following it up with a stint in Triple-A Rochester before returning to the Major Leagues. I suppose it's for the best; if the organization plans on investing in Liriano long-term, it doesn't make sense to rush him back (especially when this season probably won't be a push for the playoffs, anyway).
  
  
• Hideki Mastui went on and got married Wednesday, somehow keeping his plans secret from the media and his teammates. Congrats, Hideki!

Political Ponderings--

• The media's having a field day. Not only did Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) endorse Barack Obama in a state in which he could use the boost, but Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Patrick Leaky (D-VT) suggested that Hillary Clinton drop out in "the interests of a Democratic victory in November." He continued to say: "Senator Clinton has every right, but not a very good reason, to remain a candidate for as long as she wants to [...]. There is no way that [she] is going to win enough delegates to get the nomination." Yikes.
  
  
• Superdelegates were designed to give party elites the ultimate power at the last minute, but the irony is that they seriously need that power beforehand this time. Witness, if you will Howard Dean. The head of the Democratic National Committee has one hell of a crisis on his hands, and all he can do is say the following:
  

  "You do not want to demoralize the base of the Democratic Party by having the Democrats attack each other. Let the media and the Republicans and the talking heads on cable television attack and carry on, fulminate at the mouth. The supporters should keep their mouths shut about this stuff on both sides because that is harmful to the potential victory of a Democrat."

  Thanks, Howard. The most powerful party official can only wag his finger, and "encourage" superdelegates to pick a side by the end of June. Some power, eh? Even more proof that the modern political party is nothing like it was in its heyday.

And in closing, I've come to the conclusion that Hillary Clinton's VP shouldn't be Lord Voldemort; he's too much of a loner and wouldn't handle the spotlight very well. Instead, how about she pick someone who, like herself:

• Had a crisis close to home that generated sympathy,
• Used this wave of sympathy to ascend to a prominent political position,
• Secretly worked to slowly dissolve her governing organization, sending it into a state of internal chaos,
• Attempted to frame all opponents as unworthy and traitorous, and
• Promised to unite the divisions in exchange for the greatest position of Head of Government
  

There's only one person I know who fits that description perfectly. Folks, tonight I ask you to put your full support behind the ticket of...

Hillary/Palpatine '08!
"Our Resolve has never been Stronger!"