Hmmmm

On the recession "narrative."

We all do the “narrative thing,” so this post isn’t an indictment of the practice. Heck, this post and this blog (like all opinion-driven media) are exercises in cherry picking things that “confirm” what I observe and believe.

Thing is, events also effect narrative understanding...it's not as if I just sit around looking for stuff to confirm what I already believe. Generally, what I believe to be true is born out of what I witness, read, and generally experience. If all of a sudden good pitching ceases to be the vital component to winning baseball games - I'll be the first to say it. But it simply isn't true.

(one caveat I'll add - one of the reasons the A's are so lucky in terms of getting good young pitching has to do with the ballpark. With the wide foul territories, the Coliseum is a pitching friendly park. This is one reason why these great young pitchers go elsewhere, they don't perform as well. Shhh - don't tell any GMs)

As for the recession - well, I see my stocks falling 35-50% and my friends and family losing their jobs and a ton of "for rent" signs around the neighborhood, and well, it doesn't take a genius to know the obvious.