I’ve spent a lot of very wonderful time on the baseball field, both as a youth and an adult. ( By “baseball , ” I ‘m afraid I must confess , I also mean “softball” … my apologies to the purists. )
I played it, I coached it , I umpired it ; I served on boards and committees dedicated to it; I wrote about it – still do – and studied it. And yes, I am one of those geeks who c an actually keep the official score.
You’ve seen us: Sitting in the stands, hunched over our spiral-bound scorebook, s crutiniz ing every move o f every player, counting pitches and hurriedly scribbling unintelligible (to you) code in the little squares on the page as the plays unfold , nearly nonstop and without hesitation , wholly immune to even the most spectacular off-field distraction . We’re a dedicated bunch of single-minded geeks, that’s for sure.
We ‘re also privy to some concepts – as a result of our esoteric baseball knowledge – not commonly known to the casual sports observer. One of those concepts is “defensive indifference ,” a specific ruling that applies to a particular situation that comes up occasionally in the game, to wit:
There are runners on (only) first and third bases , usually – but not always – with fewer than two outs . The runner on first base takes off for second on the pitch. The catcher makes no attempt to throw that runner out, opting instead to concede that runner’s advance rather than risking a throw across the diamond that may allow the runner on third bases the opportunity to advance and score a run. Defensive indifference.
Properly scored by the smug, attentive geek , the advancing runner is not given credit for a stolen base, because the defense let him take it without challenge , recognizing that the advancing runner’s goal was only to “draw” the throw and entice the defense into making a play on him or her, for the ex press purpose of giving the runner on third base the opportunity to score.
Often this attempt is accompanied by ” H ey , look at me ! ” taunts, arm waving or other animated antics designed to elicit the throw. The whole idea is to trade a freely – offered out for a r un, a (more than) equitable trade in any offensive team’s estimation. That’s why smart defenses do n’t fall for it .
We (conservatives, moderates, “independents” – all us non-liberals) need to be a whole lot smarter ourselves . For much too long now, we’ve been falling for the “Hey, look at me!” distractions proffered daily (hourly?) by the liberal media and impulsively chucking the ball all the way across the in field, in the effort to make plays on the lies and deception they lay out, while the liberal agenda happily jogs in from third to score yet another run.
It’s not that we’re stupid, or ignorant of the likely consequences , it’s just that we always feel compelled to try and nail the lying so-and-so’s , and throw them out by a country mile, which we always do. The problem is, while we’re high-fiving each other over our awesome abilities to execute such plays with stunning precision and regularity, the liberals are steadily racking up the runs against us. So which is more important, blustery self-congratulat ion or winning the ” game”?
Now, I’m as guilty of this foolishness as the next person. There is little I enjoy more than ripping some idiot liberal newsperson or commentator a new one by thoroughly destroying their point or position with the facts. I admit it … I live for it. It gives me the warm – fuzzies like nobody’s business. But I need to stop, and so do you.
Conventional wisdom has it – that to break a destructive habit – the first step is admitting you have a problem. Well, we’ve a problem. A big one. We’re making all the se dazzling plays, but we’re losing the ” game. “
So what do we do? Simple … Defensive Indifference. Pay no – zero – attention to the antics represented by the mainstream media lies; they’re all just feign s to distract us from the real issues of the day. From now on let’s simply watch that runner skip down to second base with all the amusement the moment may provide, but hold tightly to the ball and keep that other runner stranded on third.
Yes, we’ve been doing better at this recently than we’ve done it the past, as evidenced by the 2010 Republican surge in the U.S. Congress and the state governments (see my essay: “Liberal Media: The Bell Tolls for Thee”), but we keep backslidin ‘ … getting distracted by the ever more egregious lies the liberal media serve up as a matter of course. Let’s all decide – right here and now – to never again fall for the false victory of ” defeating ” the intentionally offered sacrifice.
Maybe that way we can keep the score close enough so that when our big hitters step up to the plate in 201 3 , we can finally take the lead in the “game” and get America back on track.