Since leaving office, Carter has marched to a different drummer

Recent reports of former President Jimmy Carter’s health issues make you think of how his years after the Presidency have differed from virtually all others. First, he’s had time to do more; no President has lived longer after leaving office than Carter. More striking is how he’s spent his time since 1980 - not so many six-figure speaking engagements as time spent pounding nails for Habitat for Humanity. So many successive Presidents have called on him to moderate world disputes, to monitor elections in emerging countries and serve as an ambassador at large. Carter may not go down as one of our greatest Presidents, but his body of work since leaving the White House is unmatched.

Around the bay:

1. Open primaries in Florida where left leaning independents could throw some crap in the game in a GOP primary or far right independent voters do the same in a Democratic primary – now what could possibly go wrong with that?

2. More on politics, the sooner the gigantic field of presidential aspirants is pared down to three or four, the better. In the end, the GOP may be faced with choosing the person who has the best chance of beating Hillary Clinton or the most qualified candidate. We’re not sure that’s the same person.

3. Tampa’s Walter Corporation is bleeding red mainly because of the federal government finding their Green Tree mortgage arm guilty of illegal loan servicing and debt collection. Then there are the poor souls who were arbitrarily moved to Green Tree when GMAC and other mortgage companies went south. In terms of customer service, it was like being transferred to a third world country.

4. In between whines about all the rains we’ve had, you might want to check your hurricane preparedness kit – or start one. It’s been eerily quiet in the tropics this year. Can’t last.

5. Sad to hear of the passing of Clearwater Bomber great Bobby Quinn. The Bombers of the fifties through seventies had an embarrassment of riches on the mound with stalwarts like Herb Dudley, Weldon Haney, John Hunter, Eddie King and Quinn. Those arms (and a few others) carried them to ten national softball championships.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. It’s troubling to see the once-proud Cleveland Indians franchise in such a deep funk. They are ahead of only the Rays in attendance. This was a team that sold out every game in the mid and late nineties and played in two World Series in that decade giving the Atlanta Braves all they could handle in ‘95 and coming within a couple outs (damn you, Jose Mesa!) of winning the ’97 classic. If you’re a baseball fan, you’d like to see a franchise with names like Feller, Lemon, Rosen, Thome and Doby in their pedigree turn things around.

7. Our Rants and Raves focus group (comprised of three, old cranky people) on certain forms: Employment application blanks always ask who is to be called in case of an emergency. I think you should write, 'an ambulance’. Okay, this wasn’t from our focus group but a longtime friend who is also old and cranky.

8. A related note to our lead item on Jimmy Carter. He is the only President your humble blogger has ever been in the same room with - happened at a dinner honoring the ’95 Atlanta Braves years ago. Have always been able to claim we had dinner with a former President and a deserved Nobel Peace Prize winner (Carter) and two Hall of Famers (Aaron and Niekro) in the same evening.

9. It sure looks like an I-70 World Series with the Royals and Cards clearly the class of their leagues. But strange things happen along the way to October.

10. Just an idle thought: Whose August advertising budget was larger – John Morgan or the new Kia guy?

Why can’t these managers win with minor league players?

Watching some of the AAA teams being fielded by four or five major league teams reminds us of how Chuck Tanner, a brilliant baseball man who won in both Oakland and Chicago, suddenly became stupid when he was handed Triple A teams to manage in both Pittsburgh (where he previously won a world championship) and Atlanta. The same fate awaits at least a trio of good baseball men at the end of this season. It’s easier to fire the manager than the entire front office.