Big Surprise - The Times Doesn't Like Freedom Tower

Here is an article by the New York Times' architecture critic about the new design for Freedom Tower, the 1776-ft. building that will be erected on Ground Zero to replace the World Trade Center's twin towers. Big surprise... he doesn't like it. But dig the not-so-subtle logic:

1. America post-9/11 (read "President Bush's America") has become an oppressive, closed society, and the design for Freedom Tower reflects that oppression.

"Somber, oppressive and clumsily conceived, the project is a monument to a society that has turned its back on any notion of cultural openness. It is exactly the kind of nightmare that government officials repeatedly asserted would never happen here: an impregnable tower braced against the outside world."

"For better or worse, it will be seen by the world as a chilling expression of how the United States is reshaping its identity in a post-Sept. 11 context."

2. President Bush's America is like Hitler's Germany.

"But if this is a potentially fascinating work of architecture, it is, sadly, fascinating in the way that Albert Speer's architectural nightmares were fascinating - as expressions of the values of a particular time and era. The Freedom Tower embodies, in its way, a world shaped by fear."

3. America, like Hitler's Germany, is an aggressive militaristic country seeking empire, and, like the Third Reich, is doomed.

"What the tower evokes, by comparison, are ancient obelisks, blown up to a preposterous scale and clad in heavy sheaths of reinforced glass - an ideal symbol for an empire enthralled with its own power, and unaware that it is fading."

4. It's the fault of Republicans.

"All of this could be more easily forgiven if it were simply a result of bad design. But ground zero is not really being shaped by architects. It is being shaped by politicians.... the quality of the master plan has been sacrificed to the governor's [New York's RINO Governor George Pataki] insistence on preserving hollow symbolic gestures."


Cute, huh? Don't these guys know any other tunes? Sheeesh!

Tom Cruise Is Probably Not As Stupid As You Think

Tom Cruise has taken and will take whippings in the press for his adherence to Scientology and his over-the-top, somewhat odd pronouncements on his love for Katie Homes. Now, I think Scientology is a lot of hooey, but I can't really blame someone for talking about how much he loves his fiancee, since, if I were famous and someone wanted to interview me, I would probably wax pretty romantic about my wife and pretty sappy about my kids too.

However, Cruise is, I think, onto something in his comments on prescription drugs in a Today interview with Matt Lauer this morning. Now, I don't think that all prescription drugs for mental illness are necessarily bad -- doctors and scientists are pretty smart guys, after all, and generally should be listened to before we listen to actors. But to the extent that Cruise increases focus on the massive over-prescription of Ritalin for school children (read "boys"), I think he's making a very valid point and is very courageous for bringing it up.

Yadier Molina

We drove down to St. Louis over Memorial Day to see my beloved Cardinals at Busch. They're tearing the old girl down at the end of the year to make way for a new stadium. Why? Money -- luxury boxes, concessions, shoppes, restaurants, all the trapping of new, improved stadia bring in new revenue streams. OK. It's a business. But Busch was where I went to baseball when I was a kid, and it's a beautiful park, with the white arches of its upper reaches echoing the Arch that rises above the city's riverfront.

Anyway, this year's Cardinals are a great team and will run away with the NL Central if they stay healthy. They've got it all -- great starting pitching from all five starters, great relief pitching, power (Pujols, Edmonds, Rolen when he gets healthy), and defense. But my favorite player this year, the one who I look for in the box scores, is their new 22 year-old catcher, Yadier Molina. Molina started off the season terribly, going 1 for 31 over the first two weeks, but he's picked it up since then, and hit .321 over the full month of May. But, even so, he's only hitting .248 with 2 HRs and 17 RBIs. What's so special about him?

Consider: so far this year in 51 games, Molina has given up only 7 stolen bases while throwing out 15 runners. That's right -- seven! To put that in perspective, a truly bad fielding catcher like Mike Piazza has already given up 41 stolen bases while throwing out only 5, and a mediocre fielding catcher like Jorge Posada has given up 34 stolen bases while throwing out only 12. The difference between Molina and Piazza is the equivalent of 44 extra bases, between Molina and Posada 30 bases. Both Piazza and Posada, of course, are considered All-Stars because of their hitting. And, it's true, they're good hitters. This year, Piazza has 12 doubles and six HRs while hitting .242, with 70 total bases hitting. Posada, meanwhile, has 7 doubles and 7 HRs while hitting .285, with 73 total bases. Molina has 5 doubles and 2 HRs while hitting .248, and thus only has 48 total bases hitting. But if you add in the "extra bases" he gives you by throwing out runners (and by dissuading runners from even trying -- note how only 22 runners have even tried to steal on him, while 46 have tried to steal on Posada), and you could make the argument that Molina is the superior catcher already, even if he doesn't hit any more than he's doing now.

Ah, baseball, the combination of beer, sunshine and numbers! What could be better?