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October 26, 2006

Schrodinger's Bat

The Information Revolution

by Dan Fox

"Failure is a part of this game. You can't escape it. If you try, it's going to find you, more than your share sometimes. And I've had mine. Going through that makes all of this more rewarding in a lot of ways."

—Tigers pitcher Kenny Rogers, discussing his success in the 2006 postseason

"The number one benefit of information technology is that it empowers people to do what they want to do. It lets people be creative. It lets people be productive. It lets people learn things they didn't think they could learn before, and so in a sense it is all about potential."

—Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer

Kenny Rogers has been simply exceptional this postseason, the controversy a Tigers friend of mine dubbed "Gamblergate" aside. His masterpiece in Game Two on Sunday night in Detroit ran his scoreless streak this postseason to 23 innings; he gave up just two hits in eight innings, striking out five and walking three. That streak represents the second longest scoreless streak in a single postseason, behind only Christy Mathewson and the 27 shutout innings he twirled in three complete games for the New York Giants in the 1905 World Series. Oh, and Rogers became the first starter age 40 or older to win a World Series game. Not bad for a guy who came into this postseason with a career 8.85 ERA and who in recent years was better known for throwing cameras and cameramen and punching water coolers than for his pitching.

But as great as all of this is for Tigers fans like my friend, this column is not really about Rogers. It's actually all about the information.