Letters to the Editor

by the Readers

The Umpire Strikes Out

I’d have subtitled the cover story ("Interview with the Umpire," Aug. 29) on Eric Gregg, "Always hustling, except when he’s umpiring." Howard Altman’s excellent portrait reminds us why Gregg, like a couple dozen other umpires, should be fired. Major League Baseball should investigate Gregg for shaking down Cubs general manager Ed Lynch for free Beanie Babies. When Gregg claims that the Bammer Bears Beanie Babies given out by the Phillies to honor Scott Rolen "are going for $500 each," baseball fans are concerned that Ed Wade and Dave Montgomery are going to have to fork over a few Rolen Beanie Babies so Eric won’t favor the Cubs over the Phillies. Altman’s tell-it-like-it-really-is article about Gregg was thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining. Major League Baseball will suffer if Gregg and his ilk can’t be fired.

Bob Volkmar
Marlton, NJ

Poor, poor umpire Gregg! This fat slob really deserves our sympathy when he struggles to send his kids through college because a $5K fine was taken out of his $225,000 annual salary.

Maybe Eric needs to restructure his eating habits and take a simple course on family financial planning. And, of course, don’t forget the race card as well — always a great reason why he is on the verge of losing his job.

H. Michael Vukosavich
Center City

Oh No! It’s Evo!

Re: Cartoon on Evolution ("This Modern World," Tom Tomorrow, Aug. 29).

It is always fun to make fun while avoiding the real issues, but it is not very provocative.

1) Macro-evolution is indeed a theory despite dishonest treatment in any number of textbooks. For over 100 years since the theory, intermediate forms are still not in evidence, despite exponentially more fossils unearthed since then.

2) I don’t know any serious persons with any scientific knowledge who doubt that fossils exist or that micro-evolution has taken place. Neither has any conflict with the Bible or any theories of how creation took place. However, the interpretation of this data does vary. It is interesting that all assumptions of age assume everything has been the same for millions and billions of years. Recent findings depict a much more dynamic condition and estimates change continually. Honest scientists will advise what they don’t know, and won’t make fun of alternative explanations. More scientists than journalists believe in God from what I hear. It is hard not to if you are honest with what you see.

3) Mathematical, statistical and other constructs make the macro-evolutionary theory problematical, even to honest secular scientists who are not traditional Christian creationists. In fact, a Jewish professor at my alma mater, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, believed the earth was only a few thousand years old, and no one could win an argument with him about it

4) I believe that those who mock God do so not because of any truly intellectual discourse, but because they do not want to believe that they are accountable for their actions. I picked up your paper because I know Eric Gregg, but had to quickly toss the rest, since the ads and positions in your paper must assume there is no God, advocating gross sin and debauchery. Since you cannot prove there is not a God, and since AIDS is still rampant, how on earth is that intellectually defensible?

John A. Teets
Horsham

More Movie Critics’ Critics

I have in the past enjoyed a certain trust in most reviews I’ve read in the CP. I think a basic trust in one’s local cultural reporters is important. Contrary to popular belief, quality reviews are more than just "someone’s opinion." Though they may contain opinions, reviews, ideally, are closer to educated studies of individual pieces based on a reviewer’s knowledge of a medium, its disciplines, its history, its cultural implications, etc. Why, in other words, the cool is cool, and the crap is crap.

With this in mind, I want to toss out a couple to the CP movie squad regarding reviews on the current pages of the paper. Cindy, the name of the "reigning hero" in Mystery Men (Cindy Fuchs, Movie Shorts, Aug. 6) is Captain Amazing, not "Amazing Man." Petty, maybe, but it might make a less trusting reader wonder what else you missed.

Sam, I can think of only two possible reasons for your lowball review of The Sixth Sense (Sam Adams, "Senseless," Aug. 6): 1) You were doing a cerebral, ironic anti-spoiler review that challenged people to believe the emphatic word-of-mouth recommendations of stunned viewers rather than shallow reviews; or 2) you left early. "No plot twists" ?!?! Are you kidding? Any shortcomings in pacing or script are so utterly eclipsed by the brilliantly conceived, punch-in-the-head ending. I can’t believe that you saw the same movie I did. To anyone within the sound of my voice: This is a well-acted, beautifully shot, locally produced movie which demands a second viewing like family dysfunction demands years of intensive therapy.

Peter Wright
Wayne

Note to Sam Adams, regarding his second "review" of The Sixth Sense ("The Sorta-Death of Cinema," Sept. 3): If I were an imbecile, I’d try to avoid being such a smart-ass. It makes you look ridiculous in print.

Michael Zungolo
Mount Airy

Siege Mentality

Thanks for the article (Jen Darr, "City Under Siege," Sept. 3). I live in Center City, and most of the time I’m in the dark about what is happening to all the buildings, rehabs and new. I am particularly interested in the Academy of Music. It seems that the 1400 block of Locust has been blocked by their construction for as long as I can remember (I jest), either the sidewalk or the sidewalk and one lane of the street. Driving east on Locust is frustrating because of the bottleneck. I hope this kind of coverage will be a regular feature.

Gerald Carlson
Rittenhouse Square