Return to the Evil Empire

I must also confess that I've finally changed Web browsers, from Netscape to (choke) Microsloth Internet Explorer. This is not so much an endorsement of IE as it is an indictment of Netscape, which has gotten bigger, slower and less reliable over the last couple of years, and with its purchase by America On-Line, who knows when or if we'll see a major new revision fixing its various problems? In the last year and a half Netscape has been nearly the only program that ever crashes my Macintosh, and I finally got frustrated with it.

My Mac had been Microsoft-free for most of the last two years, and it's frustrating that there isn't a good alternative out there. iCab is not bad, but it's still in beta mode and is lacking a few essentials (style sheets, JavaScript, Java support that I can actually get to work) which make it unsuitable - right now - as my main browser.

Sigh.

I did, however, also download Apple's Macintosh Runtime for Java 2.1.4, since I'm not about to trust Microslush to compile and run Java apps for me.

Oh, please, let the courts decide to break up Micromonopoly into six or seven smaller, independent companies. The industry would be so much the better for it.

It looks like I'm going to join the South Bay Ultimate League this winter with Subrata. I used to play regularly back in grad school, but fell out of the habit when I started working. On the scales used on their sign-up form, it sounds like I may be a middle-of-the-road player, or maybe slightly below.

Baseball season is winding down. With only five games remaining for most teams, here's how things stand:

1. The American League playoff teams will be identical to last year's teams: The Yankees, Indians and Rangers win their respective divisions, and my Red Sox win the Wild Card. The difference is that the Yankees look vulnerable, and all four teams are close to each other in records. Plus, the Sox have dominated the Yankees and Indians this year. The Sox will likely play the Indians in the first round - same as last year - and hopefully this year they can win the series.

2. While the Braves are going back to the playoffs this season, the rest of the line-up is a toss-up. The Padres have been poor this year, and the Arizona Diamondbacks have instead won the NL West in only their second season of existence (a record for an expansion team). Meanwhile, the Reds, Astros and Mets are fighting it out for the other two playoff spots, with the Mets the decided un-favorites due to their dramatic collapse in the last week. The Reds, by contrast, are surging.

   The Braves, with 100 wins as of today, are the favorites to return to the World Series, but the other four contenders, again, have similar records. So the playoffs could be exciting.

3. My choice for an exciting World Series? Red Sox vs. Astros or Reds.

4. Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa have each reached the 62-homer mark this year, meaning that they've relegated Roger Maris to #5 on the all-time single-season home run list, and Babe Ruth to #6 (!). McGwire has basically done what I expected him to do: Reach about 60 home runs, but not get back to 70s. Sosa's continued dominance is quite remarkable, however, as players like him - who rely on a fast bat rather than a good eye - tend to have a great peak season and then fall back to normal (a "mere" 35 or so home runs). Sosa seems to be one of those rare players who lifted his game to a new level for good. Good for him!

5. Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez finishes the year with 23 wins, 312 strikeouts (a Red Sox team record), and only 37 walks, an amazing strikeout-to-walk ratio. His ERA is 2.08, well under league average, and I don't think any other ERA qualifier has an ERA under 3.00.

6. Oft-injured #2 guy on the Sox staff, Bret Saberhagen, seems likely to miss a chance to win as many games as he walks batters this year. He has 10 wins and 11 walks. He last accomplished this feat in 1994 with the Mets, when he won 14 games and walked 13 men.

   This is an exceedingly rare stat, as Rob Neyer recently discussed on ESPN's Web site. In this century, among starters, only Christy Mathewson has done this twice, in his last (!) two full seasons. Dennis Eckersley did it twice - a decade ago - as a relief pitcher. But here's something really amazing: A man named Tommy Bond did it six times in a row back in 1874-1879. Of course, he did win 40 (!) games twice in that span, but even in the 19th century this feat seems to have been rare. Bond must have been a hell of a pitcher.

7. Detroit pounded Kansas City in the final game at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. The stadium opened in 1912, on the same day as Fenway Park in Boston. Fenway is now the undisputed oldest stadium in the Major Leagues. For as long as it lasts.

But, if the Red Sox can make a good showing in the playoffs, then I'll be happy. And if Pedro Martinez can bring a championship to Boston before the century ends, he'll be canonized by the Fenway faithful.