The Bench Jockeys

What on earth is a Chinese Wall?  Yes, it could be the Great Wall of China. But it’s not.  It is a business term, which is defined as an “ethical barrier between divisions of a financial (or other) institution to avoid conflict of interest.” (Investorpedia)

The typical example would be an investment banking firm with multiple lines of business. Perhaps one division is helping a company sell its bonds to the public, and perhaps another division is analyzing its client’s assets, etc.  One division might realize its assets are worth about 20 cents on the dollar, while the other is trying to ream the public by selling the bonds for 97 cents on the dollar. (Any bells going off yet? Think Mortgage Crisis).

Anywho, imagine what would happen if Read more »

Could the epic collapse of the 2011 Boston Red Sox be yet another manifestation of the “King James Curse” as conjectured by The Bench Jockeys back in April http://thebenchjockeys.com/2011/04/09/a-cursedly-simple-answer-for-red-sox-slow-start/ and May http://thebenchjockeys.com/2011/05/11/the-king-james-curse-just-like-we-told-ya/ ?

It wasn’t the “shot heard ’round the world” or Kirk Gibson’s remarkable one-handed home run off of the Eck in the 1988 World Series, but last night was most definitely one of the most memorable nights in baseball history as the fate of four teams trudging through the marathon of a 162-game season weathered the perfect storm of rain delays, improbable comebacks, momentum shifting plays and managerial “stick it to yas.”   The Rays down a hockey stick in the 8th comeback to force extra innings and beat the Yanks who opted not to trot out their closer Mo Rivera, while Red Sox in control of their game against the O’s with the taste of victory one out away give up three consecutive base hits in the bottom of the 9^th and lose 4-3.  The Cards pound the hapless Astros 8-0 and wait through extra innings for the results in Atlanta where the Braves jump to a 2-0 lead only to lose at home in 13 against Philly.  The Divisional races long settled, baseball needed last night’s drama to kick start the Playoffs.

Boston, which held a 9 game lead in the wild card race on September 3rd, limped to a 7 -19 record over the ensuing 26 days, losing to the AL East doormat, Baltimore Orioles, 5 times in 7 games.  The “2011 Fold” as it will come to be known by the Red Sox sets the new standard for “failing to close” as Boston became the first MLB team to miss the postseason after leading by as many as nine games for a playoff spot entering September.  In the yin/yang of baseball, Atlanta proceeded to cough up the second largest September lead – 8.5 games – as the Cardinals passed them for the NL Wild Card.   Is it also possible that the unholy alliance between LeBron James and the Fenway Sports Group has so skewed the balance of Boston lore that karmic forces also impacted the 2011 Atlanta Braves (formerly of Boston)?  Could be….

The Developer of The Bench Jockeys always talks about sports Karma.   Streaky-hitting, baseball players and Major League franchises rise and fall with the karmic tides.  After all, the Boston Red Sox endured 86 years of bad juju associated with a curse.  So what better time to talk about Karma than eight games into the 2011 season; a season where the folks at Fenway Park printed Red Sox World Series Champs – 2011 T-shirts on March 30th.  And why wouldn’t they?  Virtually every sportswriter deemed the Sox a lock to win the AL East and 75% of the ESPN pundits were certain they will be in the Series. The only problem is Read more »