Fred's Ramblings

A little over 4 years ago, I was diagnosed with Celiac disease. I certainly wasn’t expecting it and I didn’t really know what that was. Here is how Beyond Celiac defines it…

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease that’s triggered by consuming gluten and results in damage to the small intestine. When a person with celiac disease eats gluten, the immune system sees gluten as a threat and mounts an attack. However, it ends up damaging the villi of the intestines, which help to digest food. Damaged villi make it nearly impossible for the body to absorb nutrients, leading to undernourishment and a host of other issues.

I was having some stomach issues and lots of diarrhea which seemed to last longer than I thought it should. It took quite a while to finally get the diagnoses…an endoscopy and blood work finally confirmed the diagnosis and all of a sudden, the way I ate and specifically what I ate became a big deal. Until you deal with this issue, you have no idea how many foods contain gluten. Wheat, barley and all of their derivatives all contain gluten. Such foods as pasta, bread, beer all contain gluten and as such are no longer on my list of edible foods. Whenever I buy anything new, I always check the ingredients to make sure that I don’t get glutened eating something I shouldn’t. There are applications out there that will tell you if a product contains gluten…it is one of the most used applications on my phone. Granted, finding gluten free foods is considerably easier today than it was 5-10 years ago, but there is no cure for the disease, so I am stuck with it.

What has also happened is that I can’t go out to a restaurant and feel comfortable that I won’t be affected, even though they will carry menu items that are “gluten free”. The problem is that at a restaurant, the preparation of their menu items are all done in the same general area and for a celiac patient, that is a problem due to the cross contamination that is almost assuredly happening. I understand…the profit margin at a restaurant is quite small so having a separate prep area for gluten free items does not make sense. Therefore, a night out is most likely going to end up with at a minimum, a stomach ache and likely also many trips to the bathroom. On the positive side, I have just confirmed that I can drink Scotch because all of the gluten has been distilled out of the wheat used in most Scotches.

For any Dodgers fan, they are in their rightful place atop the Western Division of the National League. It has taken a lot of work and some of the players playing up to their potential, but they have finally reached the top of the division. The big task now is to maintain this level of playing for the rest of the season so that they can enter the playoffs in a good position to hopefully again reach the World Series.

As noted, the Arizona Diamondbacks are tied for second place with the Giants and to count them out would be a mistake as they have shown that they have the mettle to make this race an interesting one. Colorado is in its usual place at the bottom of the heap, but I think everyone is surprised at the San Diego Padres sitting in 4th place. The Dodgers have a precarious 2 game lead at the moment that can change at the drop of a hat, and it is quite possible that the Padres will make themselves heard before the season is over. This should be an interesting race going forward.

Back in June when the weather around here was unseasonably cool, we knew that the “Dog Days Of Summer” were coming and lo and behold, they have arrived. According to Farmer’s Almanac, the dog days of summer usually occur between July 3rd and August 11th. They’re usually the hottest and most unbearable days of the season.
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It seems that every year about this time, the discussion of whether or not Barry Bonds should be in the Hall of Fame is brought up. Bonds’ talent and accomplishments are unquestionably Hall Of Fame worthy. He passed both Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron, ultimately hitting the most home runs of all time with a total of 762. The subject of PEDs, however, has kept him out of Cooperstown. MLB Hall Of Fame voters haven’t forgiven the former San Francisco Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates superstar. Bonds’ absence from the Hall Of Fame has led to various opinions on the matter. Some believe he should remain out of Cooperstown because of the PED issue, while others are willing to look past his troubled history and think he should be a member.

While the subject is up for debate, my opinion is that he should not be a member of the Hall Of Fame. Yes, he is the alleged leader in the home runs category, but who is to say that he would have achieved that spot without the use of PED’s. The PED issue taints all of his statistics and the fact he cheated to get those stats should keep him out of the HOF.

Electing Bonds to the HOF would create a domino effect. Other players linked to PEDs, such as Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, Rafael Palmiero and plenty of others, would likely join Bonds in Cooperstown. And therein lies the problem. If one player linked to PEDs is elected, then everyone else involved in PED’s will likely get in. Pete Rose has been kept out of the Hall Of Fame because of his gambling, but he earned his Hall Of Fame statistics without having to cheat. If Rose is not allowed in, then for sure, none of the PED players should be allowed in.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I just provided mine. I would be interested in hearing other’s views.