...became the majors' second nine-game winner on Friday with a 7-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs. I don't follow baseball as closely as I used to, so I was only vaguely aware of this guy until now. Apparently he's off to a good start. And I have an idea why: it's his name, Slowey. His opponents are having a hard time taking him seriously.
I had a friend at the Merc named Kevin and he and I used to talk about people's names a lot. (And you thought I had a lot of time on my hands now.) He had a little problem with off-beat names or ones that were hard to pronounce. I, on the other hand, was always fascinated by how some people's names fit their choice of a career. For example, James Steele was the name of a metals analyst at Refco. I see that kind of thing all the time.
As far as this Slowey guy is concerned, I think his name is lulling the opposition into a false sense of security. Just imagine the Cubs' clubhouse on Friday morning. A bunch of the players are sitting around a card table playing Texas Hold 'Em. One of the coaches pokes his head in the room.
"Hey, anybody want to take some extra batting practice?"
One of the players looks up from the game. "Who's pitching today?"
The coach looks at his clipboard. "Uh, some guy named Slowey."
The player gazes up at the ceiling. "Slowey, huh? Never heard of him. Hmmm. No thanks. We got a real good game going here."
"Suit yerself."
It's hard to be intimidated by a pitcher named Slowey. Your unconscious just can't picture him as overpowering on the mound. It would be kind of like going to the Kentucky Derby and betting on a horse named Earthworm. As a result, his opponents are underestimating him and batters are just not preparing themselves. I think he may have a big career ahead of him.
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