Yeah, coaching is kind of important

So the Rays managed a split with the Jankees as Big Game James Shields pitched his ass off once again to overcome the . . . well, I was going to say anemic bats of his teammates. But by this point, I think the proper word is hapless.

Rumors have Shields going to the Reds possibly. I'd still like to see him in Boston, but no matter how much money Theo throws at them, I don't think the Rays would want to see another of their former stars playing in the division.

That said, one of the sofa-bound, arm-chair expert sportswriters for the St. Pete Times weighed in on the Rays offensive struggles.

Cue tape of Bucs coach John McKay -- "Coach, talk about the execution of your offense today." "I'm in favor of it."

But seriously, it might have been Marc Tompkin, but he was saying how frustrating the Rays batters were performing. Then threw out something about, "Don't talk to me about a hitting coach..." and went on to say that players at this level don't need to be coached on the basics of the game.

!?!

Really? So I guess quarterbacks don't need those qb coaches, huh? And defensive back coaches and pitching coaches and O-line and D-line coaches and . . . all useless, eh Marc?

The Rays have one player with an batting average over .300, the Sox have nearly a half dozen. Boston's 1 through 5 hitters have more home runs than the entire Rays team, in fact lead off hitter Jacoby Ellsbury's stats are better than anyone on the Rays. Are these guys really that much better players? Or just better coached?

We have been lulled into believing because someone writes for a newspaper or is on a television news show, that they are somehow more intelligent or more informed than we, the viewers. But in fact, the opposite is more likely true. They just have the soapbox, it doesn't mean they deserve it or are more worthy to express opinions as truth or fact.

The talking heads at MSNBC all ran with a snippet of an old Reagan speech trying to discredit the Republican efforts to right the economy. When if you look at the entirety of Reagan's speech he is saying exactly what current fiscal conservatives are saying -- to reduce the deficit and balance the budget you have to cut spending.

But because Rachel Maddow wears geeky glasses and smirks a lot, she has viewers who don't realize that she doesn't have a clue about what she's saying on the air. She just happens to have a show and we don't.

Contessa Brewer, who got her job at CNN by washing Ted Turner's car in a bikini (okay, I made that up, but how else did such a dunderhead get an anchor job at that network?) got pwned on live tv when she attempted to show up a Tea Party freshman over the budget talks. When she couldn't bully him to accept her DNC approved talking point, she blurted out the question, "Do you have a degree in Economics?" To which the Senator replied, "Yes, with the highest honors."

If Ms. Brewer had done the least little bit of actual journalistic investigation, she might have known that. But she just went on air and tried to push her liberal talking points down her guest's throat. Like I said, she isn't smarter than you or I, she doesn't deserve that job any more than you do, she just happens to have it. But that doesn't make her opinion more valid or accurate than yours or mine.