Monthly rainfall affirms collie weather prediction: Run and hide your heads

Whom do you believe now: the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA)... or Rainier Valley's own weather prognosticator, O'Doul the Collie?

NOAA predicted an El Niño (drier and warmer) winter for 2009-2010. The amount of hair O'Doul continues to shed says otherwise. The collie's owner Tony reports that the collie continues to shed his summer coat and the hair loss has not let up in late November. Meanwhile, rainfall in the greater Seattle area measured 9 inches this month -- a variance of 3.1 inches from the average 5.9 inches of precipitation in November. On Thanksgiving alone, 1.34 inches of rain poured down in Seattle.

Tony estimates that O'Doul has shed enough hair to fill three-fourths of a recycling bin. By comparison, Tony combed out enough hair to fill an entire recycling bin last month last year. The Seattle area experienced record snowfall.

So much for drier. Notice that the weather is getting colder.

Better dig out your snow shovel. Just in case.

Put Gar-ed where he belongs: in the Hall of Fame

Of the 15 rookies appearing on the Baseball Hall of Fame (HOF) ballot, no candidate will receive greater scrutiny than former Seattle Mariner Edgar Martinez. A thumbs-up from 75 percent of the ballots cast by Writers Association of America (BBWAA) writers means enshrinement in Cooperstown, and the Mariners organization is pulling out all stops to make the case for Edgar.

Leaving no stone unturned, the Dog Denizens of Genesee Park (DDGP) -- an unlikely source of baseball blogging -- will leap in the fray When all is said and done, we at the DDGP can say that we've done our small part in advocating Edgar's rightful place in Cooperstown.

Some will tune out our message. Hard-headed fundamentalists can't get past the fact that Edgar spent much of his career as a designated hitter (DH). Get over yourselves and your 20th century values. The polar icecap is melting, cars run on electricity and the Big City Slider Station cooks five mini-burgers in five minutes.

Major League Baseball (MLB) threw down the gauntlet in 1973 when the American League implemented the full-time designated hitter. BBWAA scribes shouldn't penalize Edgar because the Mariners organization determined that he would best serve the ball club at DH. HOFers Dave Winfield, Paul Molitor and Eddie Murray (never cared much of his movies) spent portions of their careers at DH. The old-school prejudice against DHs resembles one of two decades ago when voters contemplated the candidacies of relief pitchers like Rollie Fingers ("the guy doesn't pitch nine innings"). Try and stop Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman from entering the HOF ranks -- lest you want a 98-mph baseball whizzing past your left earlobe.

Others devalue Edgar's career statistics (7, 213 at bats, 2,247 hits, 309 home runs), which they allege don't much the totals posted by Cal Ripken (11,511 at bats), George Brett (3.154 hits), or Willie Mays (660 HRs). But consider this: With one or two thousand less ABs, Edgar collected more career HRs than HOFs Robin Yount (251), Brooks Robinson (268), or Ryne Sandberg (282). Edgar's 2,247 career hits outnumber those of HOFers Johnny Bench (2,048), Willie McCovey (2,211), and Duke Snider (2,216).

You can't dismiss that Edgar wielded a wicked bat. Consider that his career average (.312), slugging percentage (.515) and on-base percentage (.418) blow away those of HOFs Ernie Banks (.274, .500, .330), (Reggie Jackson (.262, .490, .356), and Carl Yastrzemski (.285, .462, .379).

Forget the most inane argument that Edgar never played in the World Series. Neither did HOFs Ernie Banks, Rod Carew, or Gaylord Perry. Meanwhile, reviled former Mariners third baseman Scott Spiezio has two World Series rings. What's your point, caller?

Finally, there are the intangibles: Edgar is a solid citizen and helluva of a great guy. You never heard his name associated with steroid use, barroom brawls or Madonna. If Edgar were a canine, he'd be a Labrador retriever: smart, affable and loyal. He'd be welcome any time at the Genesse off-leash area, and the best-behaved dog at the park.

Ken Griffey Jr. is a given for Cooperstown (1997 Most Valuable Player (MVP), 1992 All Star Game MVP, 10-time Gold Glove and seven-time Silver Slugger winner, 630 home runs). Ichiro Suzuki is a lock for the HOF (2001 Rookie of the Year and MVP, 2007 All-Star Game MVP, 2,030 hits in nine seasons, nine-straight seasons of 200 hits, nine-time Gold Glove winner). Edgar belongs in the HOF with his former battery mates.

As Archie Bunker would say, "Case closed, meathead."

Compare Edgar's lifetime stats to those in the HOF:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/hof_batting.shtml

Check out Edgar's future home:

http://community.baseballhall.org/Page.aspx?pid=329

Happy Thanksgiving!

The average American consumes 4,500 calories (229 grams of fat) on Thanksgiving. All that turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, candied yams, gravy, green-bean casserole and pumpkin pie make up a 45-percent fat content. And if you need two or three bourbon and waters to self medicate before the relatives arrive add another 400 or so calories.

Translation in Valerie Bertinelli-eese: "Hello, Jenny..."

Before you lapse into a well-deserved tryptophan coma, remember to catch the Purina National Dog Show on KING-5 at noon today following the Macy's Thanksgiving parade. For those of who tuned into the parade to see if the Woody Woodpecker balloon deflates on national television, why not invest two more hours in front of the tube?

And after the dog show, take your dog for a walk... or better yet, a muddy romp at the Genesee off-leash dog park in Lovely Rainier Valley. Do you really want to waste the better part of your afternoon watching the Dallas Cowboys mop up the turf with the Oakland Raiders? For the same entertainment value, you can tune into a marathon of Lockup: San Quentin on MSNBC.

Happy birthday, Lola!

Happy fifth birthday to Lola the chocolate cockapoo!

Lola's human father (I've met her canine father, an affable apricot miniature poodle named Elmo and her mother, a gorgeous Black Cocker spaniel named Gracie) bemoaned the closure of downtown's Three Dog Bakery. No "pupcake" this year. He would have to scramble find a substitute canine-oriented confectionery.

Twenty-first century dogs don't know how good they have it. Back in the day -- most of the twentieth century -- most owners didn't celebrate their dogs' birthdays. The lucky one received a box of Liv-a-Snaps with a string of ribbon.

Now, owners -- or "parents" as many prefer to be called -- organize dog parties with carob-and-peanut-butter flavored cakes. They purchase their birthday canines faux Shearling jackets at L.L. Bean or NFL dog jerseys. Designer hemp collars or American Kennel Club (AKC) honking mallards or "green planet beaver" toys. Forget your dog's birthday and Gladys Kravitz will report you to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and the local humane society. Or worse, yet KING-5 news. Do you want to explain to Jessse Jones why you didn't make it to Fido N-Scratch, Dog Mania or Ideal Pets in time for The Big Day?

Life was a lot simpler in the Nixon and Clinton eras.

Who is Hideki Matsui and why is he saying those terrible things about me?

Damned Yankee. Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the 2009 World Series. Possible Seattle Mariners free agent acquisition.

He isn't saying anything about me. He doesn't know me, and I don't know him.

This is a play on the title of a Dustin Hoffman movie, Who is Harry Kellerman and Why is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067980

There is no relationship between this post and the Genesee dog park. Look at the title, i.e., "other musings".

Support your local off-leash dog park

Before you begin depleting your financial resources for the holiday season, consider using a comparatively small amount of money to support your local off-leash dog park.

The Citizens for Off Leash Areas (COLA) is a volunteer, non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization that finances the promoting, maintaining and creating of off-leash parks in Seattle. Annual membership dues pay for the "mutt mitts" that conscientious owners use to pick up their dogs' doody.

COLA is in no way associated with this blog. It wouldn't be surprising if some COLA board members wished this bodacious blog would go away. But it doesn't take possession of Phi Beta Kappa keychain -- one earned by hard work and good grades and not via an eBay purchase -- to figure out those of us who take our dogs to the off-leash areas bear responsibility in ensuring that our parks remain open and viable.

Membership dues are dirt cheap when you consider the number of times that you frequent Genesee Park in the Lovely Rainier Valley... or any of the other off-leash areas in the city proper:

• $20 for individual;
• #35 for family;
• $50 for supporter;
• $100 for business.

Consider that if you chauffeur your dog to Marymoor once a week, you'll pay $52 a year for parking fees alone. Isn't an annual COLA membership worth avoiding weekly trips to the Eastside? You can stay in the Lovely Rainier Valley because you want to... and not because the ankle bracelet will alert the authorities when you travel north of Safeco Field or east of Lake Washington.

Did we mention that COLA is a tax-deductible, 501(c)(3) organization?

COLA doesn't employ the hard-sell guilt trip like, say. public television. You don't have to sit through pledge broadcasts of an Osmond family reunion concert in Vegas, introductory yoga for IBS patients, or KCTS Cooks With Boiling Water.

Before you spend three bills outfitting your family and pets in Snuggies for the holidays 0r blowing a paycheck on Black Friday purchases, give to COLA. Do you really think you'll land one of three available $400 laptops at the box store? COLA's link is provided for your convenience.

http://www.coladog.org/home

Alumni User Profile #1: Sammy

NAME: Samuel J. Childenhall the Second of Sprightly Fields y Castile (aka Sammy)

BREED: Poodle bichon, 19 lbs of sheer ferocity

AGE: 6 or 7

RESIDENCE: Elizabeth NJ, Tacoma 2005-2008

FAVORITE PARK ACTIVITIES: Shirking away from alpha dogs and heading toward the exit - I prefer humans

FAVORITE NON-PARK ACTIVITIES: Chasing flies, tummy rubs on my Beasley, being held like a baby, riding on the NJ Turnpike, inhaling some fumes and listening to Bruce (Exit 11, BABY!). Rooting for whoever plays the Yanks.

CANINE HEROES: Any dog who can evade wearing a costume for Halloween or Christmas

FAVORITE CELEBRITY DOGS: Baby, the three-legged bichon who with his mom Jana Kohl crusade against puppy mills (and get their pics taken with high profile peeps).

HUMANS I'D MOST LIKE TO EMULATE: Henry David Thoreau

OTHER PARKS VISITED: Marymoor (awesome!), Wright Park and Point Defiance were my fave hangouts but I've gone to some lame ones in NJ, I did Dog-O-Ween at Genesee with my cuzin Murphy in 2006.

ADOPTED: Kitsap Humane Society

http://www.kitsaphumane.org

EDITOR'S NOTE: Sammy's family moved from Tacoma to New Jersey last year. While known for many things (The Boss, Atlantic City, the boardwalk, interstate highways), the Garden State is not blessed with dog parks like those in Seattle (or the lovely Rainier Valley). Perhaps Sammy's family will lead the movement to establish off-leash, dog parks in Jersey!