From Drab to Fab

122104 029, originally uploaded by edrahe.

It's hard to believe that Busch Stadium III is in its third year. Oh how people howled when they learned that Busch Stadium II would be torn down to make way for a new facility.

I've said it many times before to family and friends and I'm not afraid to say it publicly now: I NEVER liked our old stadium. (pictured here early in the construction phase of the new stadium next to it). It was a big old uninteresting concrete bowl. Sure, the arches in the top made it somewhat interesting, but take those off and you have a clone of every other baseball/ football stadium built in the 1960s.

I was at the game Sunday in the "new" place (and the local media have stopped calling it 'New" Busch Stadium thankfully) and thinking that we are fortunate to have such a beautiful baseball stadium for our Cardinals. And it is so much nicer because except for a $20 million loan from St. Louis County it was built mostly without taxpayer dollars.

And by now the "new" stadium is plain old Busch Stadium in its own right. I haven't heard anyone say that they miss the old ballpark. Go Cards!

It finally feels like summer

L1010874, originally uploaded by edrahe.

We took in our first baseball game of the season and watched our Cardinals get clobbered by the Chicago Cubs 10-3. You win some and you lose some. Even so, I enjoy going out to the ballpark whatever the outcome, unless I have to sit through blistering heat, bone-chilling cold, wind or rain. Today was perfect.

Going to the game today reminded me of a new idea I had regarding how major league players are compensated. I think ballplayers should be paid what they're worth, and only what they're worth. If they're worth $10 million a year then they need to earn it. I think they should all be paid by the piece. Here's how my plan would work. Mind you I haven't crunched the numbers in a spreadsheet or anything, but here's the framework even though the numbers might have to be determined by complex calculations that I would leave to mathematicians.

Let's take baseball for instance. Every player would have a base salary of $300,000. That's what you'd get just for showing up in uniform.

For each home run the player would get. lets say $10,000, and $35,000 for a grand slam home run. It could be called a 35-grand slam.

A base hit would be worth $5,000; $6,000 for a double; $7,000 for a triple; $3,000 for a sacrifice fly and a bunt; and $2,500 for a stolen base. Stealing bases can be risky and it should not be overly encouraged. In practice if a player came to bat and struck out or was out on the fly then he gets nothing.

My pay scale would be very interesting for pitchers. $500 for each strike or foul tip; $0 for a walk, intentional or not; and $800 for a pick off. A $500,000 fee would be paid for a no-hitter.

You get the idea. The above samples do not cover every fielded play possible but I don't think it would be difficult to assign a fee to all of them. I think this payment method would make players more accountable for their performance. It's just a thought.

Can't Wait to drive the Hearse

Slchearse, originally uploaded by edrahe.

I work for a funeral home that specializes in cremations and therefore we don't have much use for a funeral coach. We rent a hearse on those occasions when one is needed. Nonetheless, the boss came across a deal too good too pass and now we have a gently used 1996 Lincoln funeral coach and matching limousine.