By Robert Kahne, RP Staff, on Wed Jul 20, 2011 at 10:00 AM ET
No division in baseball is nearer and dearer to me than the National League Central, home to my St. Louis Cardinals, as well as the team geographically closest to me (the Cincinnati Reds). I grew up in Louisville, KY, which has been home to a AAA baseball team since before I was born that has been affiliated with three NL Central teams–the Cardinals, Reds, and the Milwaukee Brewers. I’ve followed this division as long as I can remember, and this year it is really shaping up to be a doozy of a race.
No division in baseball has seen as much upheaval as the NL Central–the 1994 realignment that created it pulled three teams from the old NL East and two teams from the NL West and put them together in a division. Old rivalries took a backseat (Cardinals-Mets, Reds-Dodgers), while new ones heated up (Cardinals-Astros in the 2000s, recently Reds-Cardinals). In 1998, the Brewers were added to the NL Central, and now the division exists as the largest in the league (6 teams, while most divisions have 5, and the AL West only has 4). The St. Louis Cardinals have essentially dominated the division, winning eight of the seventeen championships–and they account for the only World Series to be won out of the division. The Astros have won 4 division titles, the Cubs have won 3, the Reds 2, the Brewers have won one wildcard, and since the inception of the division, the Pirates have never been to the playoffs.
That all might change this year. While the Reds and Cardinals were expected to compete for the division title during the offseason, the acquisition of Cy Young award winner-Zack Greinke and the injury to Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright had people thinking this division might be a bit more competitive than previously expected–and when former Astro Lance Berkman started coming on strong for the St. Louis Cardinals, those predictions came true. The early season race was between those three teams, but a surprising thing started happening right before the All-Star Break–the Pittsburgh Pirates started coming on strong.
Joel Hanrahan--one of the best closers in baseball As I stated earlier, the Pirates have never won the NL Central. But the story is actually much sadder than that–the Pirates haven’t had a winning season in 18 years, and have been the victims of terrible mismanagement in recent times. However, the Pirates managed to develop some great pitching, including a shut-the-door closer in Joel Hanrahan and some great team speed including Andrew McCutchen. No one expected them to win the division title this year–and honestly, no one even thought they would compete. But today, the Pirates are in 1st place–a full game ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers.
The race will be exciting. I don’t believe the Pirates have what it takes right now to win a division title–but I think they are in a great spot to end their 18 year drought of winning seasons. With the talent currently on the roster, this team will be very competitive in a few years. From what I have read and heard about their farm system, talent will continue to pour into this team, ensuring that Pittsburgh is the next Boston–the town all the champions call home. The biggest mistake the Pirates can make this year is trading some of their younger prospects–some of whom are all the way down in single-A ball and would need to put into a bigger package–for a big contract that the franchise couldn’t hold on to. It seems extremely mean to tell a team who has waited 18 years for a winning team to wait longer–but that is the smart move.
The Brewers and Cardinals are the most likely teams to take the division–but if the Reds can address the problems that their long-time closer Francisco Cordero is beginning to show, and start winning close games, they will be right back in the race. The Brewers biggest hurdle to the division title is their proclivity towards close games. Right now, everything is bouncing for the Brew-Crew–they have a aggregate run differential of -15 (in English: other teams have scored 15 more runs than the Brewers) even though the team is five games above .500. This means that the Brewers win close games–if they can continue to do that, it bodes well for them to win the division.
 This Cardinal has shown up in a big way. The Cardinals main issue changes daily. At the beginning of the year, starting pitching and the slow start of Albert Pujols was thought to be a big problem for the Cards. However, with the emergence of Berkman and the return of Albert, offense hasn’t been much of an issue. Furthermore, the starting pitching really stepped it up for the Cardinals. The bullpen was the next thing to break down, but with the addition of Fernando Salas as the every day closer and the emergence of Mitchell Boggs as a good long reliever, the bullpen hasn’t been so bad. The Cardinals have a chance to be great–but only if everything works at the same time. Which it hasn’t done yet this year. The Cardinals are an impossible team to predict, and as a fan that is both extremely engaging and very frustrating.
The Reds problem is with their bad luck–which I think they wasted during the previous season. Last year, when the Reds won the division title, they won nearly every close game. This year has been a different story. To mirror the Brewers, the Reds have a +26 run differential while being 3 games below .500. This speaks of a team that can blow some teams away, but fails to win the close games. The Reds have the talent to win–they proved that last year. Brandon Phillips is having a phenomenal year defensively, and isn’t doing too poorly offensively either. Joey Votto is MVP caliber, and they have a good-enough rotation. The chips just need to start falling for Cincinnati if they are to win the title.
 Joey Votto--2010 NL MVP So, the end of the regular season should be fun, but if recent history is to be any guide, whoever wins is doomed in the post-season. The NL Central is 1-15 in the playoffs since the Cardinals won the title in 2006, including sweeps over the Reds, Cubs, and Cardinals, and a 1-3 series where the Dodgers beat the Brewers. I usually don’t do this, but I think this year, I’ll cheer for the NL Central no matter who wins the division–just to restore some pride in my favorite division of all.
By Ronald J. Granieri, on Wed Jul 20, 2011 at 8:30 AM ET  Last April, the organizers of the annual “College-palooza” at the University of Pennsylvania invited me to participate in their series of “one minute lectures,” where professors had one minute to crystallize their approach to their subjects. I figured that it would be a challenge to say anything coherent in only a minute, but at the same time found the experience to be quite stimulating as I tried to make a point that I often hint at in my undergraduate lectures.
This is the complete text:
“I am often asked: What does History teach us?
History doesn’t teach us anything. Historians do. History is not some independent abstraction; it is the attempt by human beings to make sense of the past.
 Viewing history with the ironic distance of the hip moviegoer breeds a dangerous sense of superiority over historical actors, and the equally dangerous assumption that simply identifying past mistakes will grant mastery over the present and guarantee future success. Remembering the human dimension can help us avoid those dangers.
Historical actors are human beings, not necessarily any smarter or dumber than we are. Their weaknesses are ours: the limitations of individual perception and the inability to see the future.
Read the rest of…
Ronald J. Granieri: History, Mastery, Utility: Or, the Public Responsibility of Historians
By Robert Kahne, RP Staff, on Tue Jul 19, 2011 at 3:30 PM ET
Amazingly enough, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II won the box office weekend. WHO COULD HAVE THUNK IT? [Movie Web]
Sigourney Weaver wants to do another Alien film. Good idea or bad idea? I say good idea. [Toronto Sun]
Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather, The Godfather Part II) is making a new film called Twixt, which is based on a dream he had. Starring in it will be Elle Fanning, who recently played the little girl in Super 8. /Film has some pictures from it. It looks crazy. [/Film]
The new, secret, Sarah Palin documentary came out this weekend. It grossed about $65,000. That’s not a lot of money, even for a documentary that opened in selected theaters. Is that because the film opened against Harry Potter, or because, you know, its about Sarah Palin? [The Atlantic]
Rupert Murdoch is in a lot of trouble. In addition to running newspapers, heading up Fox News, and wiretapping phones, he also makes a lot of movies. Here is a fun post that asks the question “What if we prosecuted Murdoch on the quality of his films alone?” [The Guardian]
The newest Quintin Tarantino film, Django Unchained, is coming into focus. We already know that it will star Jaime Foxx as a runaway slave, who is then trained by a German hitman (Christoph Waltz) on how to kill evil plantation owner (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his equally evil pit boss (previously unknown). That final spot is apparently going to go to Kevin Costner–who, as this piece says, could fill the same sort of role as John Travolta did in Pulp Fiction. [Film Junk]
Now that the Harry Potter series is over, what’s next for Emma Watson? Apparently she is attached to Guillermo Del Toro’s new adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. I wonder if Watson will learn a French accent, or if this will be another one of those pictures in which “European” is code for “British.” [IFC.com]
Ron Howard has been talking a big game about adapting the Steven King series The Dark Tower into a film/TV franchise for the better part of a year. Now, however, it seems like the deal is dead. Poor Ron Howard. He should just get to work on making the Arrested Development movie. [The Movie Blog]
By Sandra Moon, RP Staff, on Tue Jul 19, 2011 at 1:30 PM ET
Gay marriage is legal in New York, but those against it are putting up a fight. One protester explains “…based on my Christian faith and my belief in God and what the Bible teaches, I cannot and I don’t support gay lifestyles.” (Disclaimer: Not all Christians follow these beliefs, and many Christians are in fact strong advocates for LGBTQ equal rights.) [New York Times]
A man who went on a post-9/11 race-motivated killing spree is scheduled to be executed on Wednesday. One of his victims, however, is fighting against the death sentence, citing his Muslim faith as the reason. [CNN]
The Dalai Lama’s visit to Chicago sparks unity among people from several different faith traditions. [Chicago Tribune]
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Tue Jul 19, 2011 at 12:00 PM ET Sean Hoare, one of the first journalists to go on the record and allege phone hacking at News of the World, was found dead Monday. His death is not thought to be caused by foul play. [CNN]
Follow the rise and fall of British journalist Rebekah Brooks, one of the News of the World editors thought to be responsible for the recent phone hacking scandal. [Newsweek]
Speaking of Rebekah Brooks or Rebecca Black? See if you can tell the difference between these two newsmakers in a handy quiz (and if this is hard for you, we have a bigger problem). [Esquire]
Check out 21 up-and-coming reporters who are using technology and social media to tell important stories. [NY Magazine]
More bad news for Gannett: the media conglomerate reports a 22 percent drop in its second quarter income. [Poynter Institute]
By Kristen Hamilton, RP Staff, on Tue Jul 19, 2011 at 10:00 AM ET
Still living it up in Paris, I decided to continue with the Paris-themed Weekly Web Gems for this week. Enjoy!
Check out some of the fashion that I get to see everyday in the streets of Paris! [NY Mag]
In honor of Bastille Day, here are 14 fashionable reasons on why you should love France too: [Fashionista]
Wow – Sephora manicures are coming to a city near you! And yes, there are Sephoras in Paris. [Fashionista]
Is every week a fashion week in Paris? I think so! Check out this recap of the Paris Couture Fashion Week: [The Globe and Mail]
By Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, on Tue Jul 19, 2011 at 8:30 AM ET  A few weeks ago, I was reading Walt Whitman, enthralled by the energy and rhythm of his poetry. It’s easy to see why he was embroiled in fights with 19th-century censors. “I will go to the bank by the wood and become undisguised and naked,” he wrote, “I am mad for it to be in contact with me.” In Song of Myself, he praises “a well-made man,” saying, “dress does not hide him;/The strong, sweet, supple quality he has strikes through the cotton and flannel;/To see him pass conveys as much as the best poem, perhaps more;/You linger to see his back, and the back of his neck and shoulder-side.”
And these are some of the milder passages. These probably aren’t the ones that got him fired from his job at the Department of the Interior and charged with “that horrible sin not to be mentioned among Christians.”
What’s most shocking about his writing today is not that he loves men or describes “the body electric.” What’s stunning is his democratic sensibility.
 What a long way we’ve come. Whitman, who lived in Brooklyn for 28 years, would be astounded that New York has actually legalized same-sex marriage. He would have been equally amazed by a recent article in the New York Times about an effort to recruit more gays and lesbians into politics. And I’m sure his eyes would have widened a few weeks ago when the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond ran a rainbow flag up its flagpole at the request of a group of gay and lesbian employees in honor of gay pride month.
These events–especially the New York decision–are victories in the fight for gay and lesbian equality. New York has joined a handful of other states where people who love each other can make a legal commitment in a public ceremony and announce to the world at large: We are men and women with hopes and dreams. The promise of freedom, equality, and happiness in the Declaration of Independence applies to us, just as it applies to you.
Read the rest of…
Kathleen Kennedy Townsend: Walt Whitman and the Soul of Democracy
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Mon Jul 18, 2011 at 3:00 PM ET  The Politics of Tech Google+ has now been in Beta for two weeks and has hit the 10 million user mark. Of course, if you choose to compare that number to Facebook’s 750 million, it doesn’t seem like much. The point is that growth so far has been extremely promising. We will be discussing the developments much more in the coming weeks and it is going to be very interesting to see how things progress. [The Atlantic]
A little Google+ humor based on limited access to the Beta. [comic]
Movie rental giant Netflix recently announced pricing changes. They have made their DVD rental service and streaming service mutually exclusive at $7.99 each and $15.98 for both. This comes only 7 months after the most recent price increase last November. At lot of customers are not happy, but it looks like many investors are. The question going forward is whether this will hurt Netflix’s ability to dominate the market like they have in recent years [Huffington Post]
A new poll indicates that 1/3 of iPhone owners are under the impression that they currently have access to 4G networks. This is, of course, wrong. Current generation iPhones doe not have LTE technology, nor is it being planned for the iPhone due out this Fall. [retrevo]
This 360 panorama of the last space shuttle’s flight deck is truly amazing. [The Last Shuttle]
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Mon Jul 18, 2011 at 12:00 PM ET Here’s some tips on how to beat the heat this summer, from a roofer who’s used to working in scorching weather. [CNN]
Good news, nice guys. New research on baboons reveals that alpha males are significantly more stressed out than beta males. [Time]
According to the British Medical Association, doctors being Facebook friends with patients is a no no. [Wall Street Journal]
New research shows the widespread use of search engines and online databases has affected the way people remember information. [NY Times]
Does summer make you nostalgic for the better days? According to scientists, it’s totally normal. [Psychology Today]
By Grant Smith, RP Staff, on Mon Jul 18, 2011 at 10:00 AM ET
Does the Chinese web search giant serve two masters? [New York Times]
The Netflix price hike may begin a search for more options by consumers. [Chicago Sun Times]
Google anti-trust case watchers: begin placing your bets now, please! [Reuters]
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