Wake Up With a Bang...or Boom 9/30/11

So I woke to the news this morning that Anwar al-Awlaki dropped dead. Good news considering that unlike the other yahoos, this guy was American and spoke fluent English, no doubt an incredible advantage when attempting to recruit shitheads here in the US. This guy was involved with 3 of the 9/11 hijackers, the so-called “underwear bomber” and that asshole that was responsible for the shootings in Ft. Hood that left 13 servicemen dead.

Yemen, the country he was killed in, does present a delicate international situation for the United States. Much like the rest of the Middle East, Yemen is experiencing the “Arab Spring” and its population is protesting against their oppressive government. What makes Yemen a bit different is that there are elements of radical Islam in their movement, not to mention a separate civil war going on. As they desperately attempt to hold on to power, the last thing the Yemeni government needs is to be seen as a puppet of the US. And much like Afghanistan, this is a government that is not even in control of the entire region within its borders, which presents and ideal situation for terrorist groups to train and recruit without fearing authorities.

But seriously, it was a drone strike that took these terrorists out. Who else could possibly take credit for that? France? 

Now the last argument to address is that the US has now killed an American citizen without due process of law. OK but let’s not forget that this person also had Yemeni citizenship and that their constitution would have prohibited his extradition. This was a joint effort where both countries determined he was a legitimate threat, and remember this person chose to be a terrorist, chose to be involved in actions which killed Americans and not only participated, but bragged about it. This is not the time to make a Constitutional argument. This man was a clear and proud enemy combatant, and he was treated like one. Remember this is a war not a senior prom.

SPORTS

What an incredibly satisfying end to the baseball regular season. Not only are the Red Sox now the greatest team since the 1927 Yankees, to umm…not even make the playoffs, but the greatest franchise in the history of sports has home field advantage throughout the post season. 

One of the few teams in the National League that I can stand won it all last year, but this year the team I hope makes it to the World Series at least, are the Arizona Diamondbacks. Yes I remember that they won 10 years ago on a weak hit given up by Mariano Rivera, but still. The guy I am rooting for is the same guy I am rooting for to win the Cy Young Award in the NL this year, Ian Kennedy.

A few years ago, I wrote an article praising the Yankees for not giving up their prized pitching prospects to use as a quick fix for the post season. Those arms were Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain and Ian Kennedy. Hughes won 18 games for the Yankees last year, Chamberlain until he got hurt this year was their main set up man, but Kennedy seemed to flounder a bit. I saw him pitch for the Yankees in a game where he threw hard, but made some costly bad pitches. He had some injuries and was eventually traded in a deal that involved Curtis Granderson. Not that Granderson hasn’t paid off, but I will always vote against trading good pitching prospects. I remember writing that I was against the trade and that the Yankees just needed to be more patient with him. Well...I also said that the Yankees should have never let go of John Wettland and keep Mariano Rivera as a set up man one more year, so what the fuck do I know?

This year, Kennedy seemed to pull it all together and win 21 games for the D’Backs. On a rotation where only CC Sabathia is a sure thing, a 20 game winner would have been nice. I don’t know what he will be like next year, but for a guy everyone seemed to give up on, it was nice to see him succeed even if it was only for a year.