... in progress

Is there life in the universe? Are you serious? The universe abounds with life, teems with life, of such description and diversity as to strain credulity. There are paradise planets, ice planets, swamp planets, desert planets, some the same size as Earth, but most a little smaller, with some no bigger than New Jersey. There are giants, too; Jupiter-sized and bigger. Twin planets, triplet plants, dual suns... think it, it's out there.

Inhabitants? How about Reptile people a hundred times more intelligent than humans? Or Bird people, Cat people, people who design their own bodies! On the vast, encompassing scale of evolution, Earth and homo sapiens are not the bottom of the barrel, but we're definitely in the lower third.

We think we're alone mainly because we've had the misfortune to flame into existence in a butt-fuck section of the universe where almost nothing ever happens. Every planet we've ever known besides ours is dead - stone dead; no relics, no history, nothing. Small wonder we think we may be the only ones here.

Of course, by now you're asking, 'How do I know this? What makes me so all-knowing, and with such specificity, yet? Easy.  Freddy Muller told me, and Freddy's been there.

What exactly is a 'clutch' hit? (Originally published April 14, 2008 -- Gary Carter, R.I.P. 1954-2012)

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/17/sports/baseball/gary-carter-exuberant-power-hitting-catcher-dies-at-57.html

The real litmus test here is, 'the game is on the line.' There are degrees of clutch, of course. In a scoreless game in say, the 7th inning, any at bat with a runner in scoring position can be called a clutch opportunity; further, ANY later-inning at bat in a close game can be considered to contain a modicum of 'clutch.'

A game-winning hit is always a clutch hit, but the actual degree of clutch can vary considerably. Is the game on the line? This should be the final arbiter. A game-winning homer in the bottom of the 9th is undoubtedly clutch, but if the game was tied, it is NOT the ultimate, because the game is not 'on the line.'

The greatest clutch hits snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. They take an impending loss and transform it into a win, and the more important the game, the more clutch is the hit. In modern baseball the best clutch hit almost has to be Kirk Gibson's 1988 bottom of the 9th 2-run homer that beat the Oakland A's in the first game of the World Series. It was like drawing a straight flush in poker, with the only better homer being a bases loaded, bottom of the 9th, game 7 dinger that wins, 4 to 3.

There are many unsung clutch hits, which is the reason for this article. I submit my candidate:

1986, the sixth game of the World Series, with the Red Sox up 5-3 and one out away from winning the Series. Gary Carter of the Mets is at bat against the Red Sox premier closer. There are two strikes on Carter. The game, the entire season, is on the line. Carter singles.

OK then. What's your candidate?

Welcome to the Resurrection

We're going to attempt this blogger thing again. Thanks to a new, computer guru friend, the Jaxonia archives have been restored; they will be the foundation for this new venture, Jaxonia Redux.
The M.O. of the new blog has yet to be determined, but the leaning is toward more interaction, if this format permits.
In the meantime, as sort of a prequel (what the hell, everybody's doing it), Jaxonia Redux will feature highlights from its archives.
Oh, and Happy Birthday Jen!

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