Which Side Are You On? (It's time to decide)

 

Florence Reece wrote Which Side Are You On? in 1931 about the Coal Wars in Kentucky. It’s a union song made popular by the Weavers and Pete Seeger. It’s been recorded by numerous artists over the years.

Sometimes the words are changed, as in Billy Bragg’s version, mainly to fit the times or circumstances. That’s the nature of folk music.

One newer version of the song is by S.G. Goodman, a Kentucky woman herself like Reece. She relates the song to her place in the world, and, in effect, our place, too.

The question as important as ever. It’s time for us to choose, as a nation, and perhaps more importantly as individuals.

As a voter I have to decide. Do I want the country I love to be led by a man who is the antithesis to what I believe in?

To me the choice is clear. And logical.

The economy is doing well. The stock market is at record highs. Unemployment is at record lows. Millions of new jobs have been added. Wages are now outpacing the inflation rate. Infrastructure is being built and repaired. If I were diabetic, I’d be paying only 35 bucks for insulin. As a senior, my out of pocket medication costs are capped at 2000 dollars.

In short, the current guy is getting stuff done.

Yes, Biden is old, older than I am. So is the other guy. Yes, Biden is slow of gait and sometimes stumbles over words. Have you heard the word salad come out of the other guy’s mouth?

Like it or not, we have a two party system.

Like it or not, unless something happens, either Joe Biden or Donald Trump will be President for the next four years.

The chances of a third party candidate winning enough votes, let alone the electoral college, are slim and none. Psst. Slim left town a long time ago.

Regardless, some people will still cast their ballot for Kennedy’s kid or some faux libertarian candidate. Some will not vote at all. I submit that any such vote or lack of vote will lead to Trump’s winning the Presidency.

Trump and the Republican party want the following;

• Take away women’s right to control their own bodies

• Make it harder to vote

• Lower taxes for the rich

• Project 2025 to create an autocracy

• A government mandated religion

• Elimination of several federal agencies

• Elimination of Climate Controls

I get that some people don’t like Biden. I’m not happy with everything he’s done or not done. No President is perfect. No President can do everything he (or hopefully one day she) had promised. A decent President at least tries to get things done. A decent President gets done the stuff that can get done.

I already mentioned some things that the current guy has gotten done. He is still trying to get more done.

It Biden doesn’t win, Trump and his self-indulgent autocratic view of the world will be in power.

I have to ask. Is that what you want? Which Side Are You On? Really?

Say Hey, Willie! (and a player of lesser repute)

 

Willie Mays was a great player, arguably the greatest all around player in history. According to Leo Durocher, a great player can hit, hit with power, throw, field, and run. Mays could do that and more. He was full of joy and a joy to watch.

He was the total package. He gave the game power and grace. Had it not been for two seasons in the army, he might have passed Ruth before Aaron. He gave us “The Catch” that helped the Giants win a World Series.

The game and each team needs players like him.

Teams also need journeymen players. The players who aren't the big stars, but get the job done and have enough skills to allow them to stick around and move from team to team for several years. 

One such player was Manny Trillo. He played 17 seasons with eight different teams. His career stats were certainly not Hall of Fame stuff.

He had four All Star appearances and won Gold Gloves three times. Four times a team he played on went to the post season. Twice they won the World Series. There have been many such players in baseball. Guys who are good enough to make the bigs and good enough to stick around long enough that teams find a need for them to fill. Sometimes they shine on the big stage of the playoffs like Ben Zobrist who was the World Series MVP for the Cubs in 2016. Trillo was the MVP in the National League Championship for the Phillies in 1980, batting .381 for the series.

He fell to .215 for the World Series that year. Still, without him, the Phillies might not have even got to the post season that year let alone win the whole thing. Such is the life of the journeyman player.

They play in the shadow of great players like Mays. Among Trillo’s Phillies World Series teammates were Mike Schmidt, Pete Rose, and Steve Carlton. Without the journeyman, the stars might shine but never win.

Sometimes journeymen become fan favorites and part of a team’s lore. Sometimes they go unheralded. Sometimes they just are there, part of the game.

Manny Trillo played four seasons with the Cubs before going to the Phillies. From Philadelphia he went to Cleveland Montreal and San Francisco. He then returned to the Cubs before a final season with the Reds.

Trillo holds a special place in my love of the game. It wasn’t a big hit or a great play. It was a simple toss.

He was with the Giants at the time, and they were playing an away game at Wrigley. It was a day game, and my son’s first baseball game. We arrived at the park while the Giants were taking batting and fielding practice.

Trillo was in the outfield grass fielding grounders and fly balls, just warming up for the game. We were standing behind the bricks at what used to be the left field bullpen. I yelled, “Hey Manny.” He turned to look at me and I point to my son and said, “It’s his first game.” He walked closer toward us and smiled at my son and tossed him a ball.

Such is the stuff journeymen are made of.