MLB

Play Ball

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Is the stock market trying to tell us something?  The Dow was up over 1000 points yesterday.  In premarket trading it’s up another 750 points this AM.

We hesitate to even speculate.  We will, however.   But, we suggest that you keep hoarding toilet paper, if you can find it, in the meanwhile.

Does Wall St. see light at the end of the tunnel in the fight against the enemy that we cannot see?

President Trump said last evening that he can see it.   Is President Trump trying to tell us something?  He always does.  In a way it’s part of his job.  He sees it that way for sure.   Jimmy Carter told us in ’79 to use less energy and examine our lives when energy was in short supply.  Barack Obama told us that the manufacturing jobs were gone forever.  Trump is a tad bit more of an abrasively aggressive solutions-oriented president.

He said this on the same evening that he brokered a few deals.  He talked to two companies that must have some very advanced medicines or medical procedures in an effort to help Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Great Britain.   Johnson is now an ICU patient.  He also talked to India.  They are major producers of a drug that is rapidly gaining traction in the fight.

Have you ever heard of hydroxychloroquine?  It’s the same drug that Trump mentioned two weeks ago as hopeful and was taken apart by the media for a) giving medical advice when he wasn’t a doctor, or b) giving false hope.  Soon “hydroxychloroquine” might roll off of your tongue as easily as “social distancing” does today.

There are now more than a few doctors in a few countries that are treating coronavirus patients with the drug and in many instances in combination with one or two others.  We suggest that you read it for yourself.  We make no medical claims here.

IS MLB trying to tell us something?  Major League Baseball and its players are increasingly focused on a plan that could allow them to start the season as early as May and have the support of high-ranking federal public health officials who believe the league can safely operate amid the coronavirus pandemic, sources told ESPN.  Can you almost hear the crack of the ball off of the wooden bat off in the distance?

One thing is for sure.  We can’t live like we are for too much longer.  The world is built around commerce.  No commerce for too long means 1930’s bread lines that stretch too long.

The road to recovery on Wall St. has many potholes and left turns in front of it.  The medical road to recovery mandates that we drive six feet apart and is somewhere on some hill that might be flattening.

Trump is in the on-deck circle.  When the medical umpires think it’s safe enough he wants them to bellow “PLAY BALL.”   Don’t we all?

 

16 innings, 2 pitchers

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Baseball should be in full swing by now.  As you know, it’s not.  And, it’s might be a while before it is.  So, in its absence, inspired by a Super 70’s Sports tweet, we went digging and found box score gold.

It also took a while to complete a regular-season ballgame on July 2nd, 1963 when the San Francisco Giants hosted the Milwaukee Braves (they moved to Atlanta in 1966) at Candlestick Park.  All told the game lasted 4 hours and 10 minutes.   That’s not crazy long by today’s standards, but it was back then.

What took so long?  It was a 16 inning game.  Why didn’t it take longer?  It didn’t take longer because there were zero pitching changes and likely very few trips to the mound.  Additionally, our guess is that very few batters stepped out of the box for very long either.

Loser Warren Spahn’s record dropped to a still sterling 11-4 when his screwball offering was accepted by Willie Mays in the bottom of the 16th.  Mays hit it over the left field fence for a walk-off 1-0 victory.  It was starter Spahn’s 201st pitch!  It also was his 42nd year on earth!

The winning pitcher was Juan Marichal (13-3).  Marichal threw 227 pitches!  Somewhere right now Tommy John’s left elbow is deep in a bucket of ice.

Fifty-nine times a Brewer stepped to the plate.  Eight got hits, four walked, and one reached on an error.  None scored.

Feared hitters Hank Aaron and Eddie Mathews from Milwaukee and Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Felipe Alou, and Orlando Cepeda from San Fran went a combined 4-31 before Mays ended it.

San Fran manager Alvin Dark called it “the greatest game he ever saw pitched.”

“I said to myself three times, ‘This will be my last inning’,” a weary Juan Marichal said quietly. “Each time I went out there again.”

Who needs relief pitchers anyway?

If you’re a baseball geek, or if you remember getting your baseball news in the next day’s paper, the boxscore is below.

Take a look.  You’ve got plenty of time on your hands these days.

Baseball Almanac Box Scores

Milwaukee Braves 0, San Francisco Giants 1
Milwaukee Braves ab   r   h rbi
Maye lf 6 0 0 0
Bolling 2b 7 0 2 0
Aaron rf 6 0 0 0
Mathews 3b 2 0 0 0
  Menke 3b 5 0 2 0
Larker 1b 5 0 0 0
Jones cf 5 0 1 0
  Dillard ph,cf 1 0 0 0
Crandall c 6 0 2 0
McMillan ss 6 0 0 0
Spahn p 6 0 1 0
Totals 55 0 8 0
San Francisco Giants ab   r   h rbi
Kuenn 3b 7 0 1 0
Mays cf 6 1 1 1
McCovey lf 6 0 1 0
Alou rf 6 0 1 0
Cepeda 1b 6 0 2 0
Bailey c 6 0 1 0
Pagan ss 2 0 0 0
  Davenport ph 1 0 0 0
  Bowman ss 3 0 2 0
Hiller 2b 6 0 0 0
Marichal p 6 0 0 0
Totals 55 1 9 1
Milwaukee 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 0 8 1
San Francisco 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 – 1 9 1
  Milwaukee Braves IP H R ER BB SO
Spahn  L (11-4) 15.1 9 1 1 1 2
Totals 15.1 9 1 1 1 2
  San Francisco Giants IP H R ER BB SO
Marichal  W (13-3) 16.0 8 0 0 4 10
Totals 16.0 8 0 0 4 10
  E–Menke (12), Kuenn (5).  2B–Milwaukee Spahn (3,off Marichal), San Francisco Kuenn (6,off Spahn).  HR–San Francisco Mays (15,16th inning off Spahn 0 on, 1 out).  Team LOB–11.  IBB–Mays (2,by Spahn).  Team–9.  SB–Maye (5,2nd base off Marichal/Bailey); Menke (1,2nd base off Marichal/Bailey); Cepeda (2,2nd base off Spahn/Crandall).  CS–Crandall (1,2nd base by Marichal/Bailey).  IBB–Spahn (2,Mays).  U-HP–Ken Burkhart, 1B–Chris Pelekoudas, 2B–Frank Walsh, 3B–Jocko Conlan.  T–4:10.  A–15,921.

baseball almanac flat baseball

Elmira?

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

As the calendar flips from February to March the madness of March Madness is nearly upon us.  Two weeks from now, or just 13 weeks removed from the college football bowl season, you’ll tune in to watch a college team you’ve barely heard of taking on another that you know no players on.  And, goodness knows you watched a lot of college football.

But, what about college baseball?  Similarly, 13 weeks from now the college baseball World Series will begin.  Prior to that thousands of games will be played.  Will you tune in now? Then?

It’s hard to tune in now because on traditional network TV none are on.  ESPNU carries a few along the way.  Conference channels carry a few more if you pay a few more bucks for your favorite one.

We wonder.  Why the huge interest in college football, the great interest in basketball, and the indifference in baseball?

Is it because as the weather heats up we choose to head outdoors for fun?  Is it acutely because the north does so? The north’s viewership is an important percentage of the potential TV viewership. And is that because the north doesn’t really play baseball nearly as much as year-round climates like California, Texas, and Florida?  It’s hockey season you know?  Eh?

Is it because the game is too slow?  That theory, which applies to MLB as well, has been advanced for years and years.

Or, is it that college baseball doesn’t allow us to establish a viewer relationship with its players?  What does that mean?  It means that very good and/or very likable baseball players, unlike football and basketball, head to the minors not directly to the NFL or NBA.

In the NFL we soon see which team drafts last season’s success stories.  We watch train wrecks like Johnny Manziel (Heisman to who’s man) in a nearly real continuous-time attempt to take their games to the next level.  We hope for and watch intently 36-month transition, great success stories like the build from Texas Tech to a Super Bowl MVP for Patrick Mahomes.

In the NBA the best ‘one and done” college players hit the hardwood for the NBA fame and fortune a mere six months after they cut down the nets in the NCAA tourney.

In baseball, if you even watched to begin with, the best of the best head to places called Round Rock, Appleton, and Elmira for a year, two, three, or more.  Many never dig their cleats in the major league batter’s box dirt.  Never is a long time.

In baseball we hardly knew you, then you left us.  So it’s harder to make the commitment.

When will I see you again?

Elmira?

 

 

Will Hoffa Weigh In?

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The court of public opinion continued to pour in yesterday on the crime and the punishment of the Houston Astros and their 2017 and 2018 cheating ways.  Even basketball superstar LeBron James, @KingJames, held court via a tweet.

He started with “Listen I know I don’t play baseball but I am in Sports and I know if someone cheated me out of winning the title and I found out about it I would be F*^king irate! I mean like uncontrollable about what I would/could do! Listen here baseball commissioner listen to your…..”

He continued with  “…..players speaking today about how disgusted, mad, hurt, broken, etc etc about this. Literally the ball(⚾️) is in your court(or should I say field) and you need to fix this for the sake of Sports! 

LeBron has every right to speak his mind.  It’s guaranteed in the first amendment.  Just ask Daryl Morey and all of the folks Daryl empathized with over in Hong Kong.  LeBron said as much back in October.  He also cautioned about speaking before thinking.

Maybe he should also caution about writing without spellcheck or a grammar check app.  Evidently King James is no fan of the King’s English.  But we digress.

Also yesterday Yankee Aaron Judge,

he of the same sport as the Astros, went judge and jury on his opponents.  He says the Astros should be stripped of their 2017 World Series title: “It doesn’t hold any value, it wasn’t earned.”

BBR wondered who hasn’t yet offered their two cents.  So, the staff comprised a list of the very few folks who have not weighed in yet on the circus and hit the phone lines, emails, and streets well into the evening.  Several eye-opening comments follow.

We caught up to Kanye West striding through LAX with his MAGA hat in place and daughter hand in hand.  “MAGA, Make (the) Astros Great Again,” he said.  “It looks like the organization is directionless to me.”  Daughter North West smiled in agreement.

Joe Biden campaigning in South Carolina for the upcoming Nevada primary frowned and commented, “I’ve been there.  I feel for the entire San Antonio Astros organization man!  They all need to support each other through difficult times.”  He concluded with, “Remember the Alamo!”

Elizabeth Warren, she of a campaign fading into the sunset, was asked what a team should do in such difficult times.  “Circle the wagons.”  We asked if she was referring to her campaign staff or the Astros.  “Both!” came the terse retort.

We asked Bernie Sanders if he thought it was crazy to ask the team to give the World Series trophy back.  “Of course it is.  Rather than give it back MLB should give one to every major, and minor league, and Little League team for 2017 and 2018.  Free trophies for all!” He shouted.

Prayerful Nancy Pelosi seemed torn on the subject.  But, she gritted her teeth and lamented, “Commissioner Manfred needs to get a (poly) grip on this 2017 stealing fiasco as we did with Russia in 2016.”

Adam Schiff declined our interview request saying “You just want to out the whistleblower, Mike Fiers.  But we are going to protect his identity at all costs.”

We reached out to Jeffery Epstein but got no answer.  We aren’t sure what the hang-up is there.

We spoke to big baseball fan Stormy Daniels as well.  Daniels has season tickets right behind the foul pole.  She thought that the Astros should be stripped of their crown just as Yankee Judge did.  Her lawyer Michael Avenatti is caught in some bad weather himself.  He thought “the punishment didn’t fit the crime.  Too harsh.  Everyone deserves a second chance, don’t they?” he queried.

He better hope that his judge agrees with him and not with Aaron Judge.

If Jimmy Hoffa weighs in today, BBR will dig up his quotes and dish the dirt tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Take out the Trash

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Let us dispell two myths this AM.  One, cheaters never win.  Two, any press is good press.  Both are false.

The Astros won the 2017 World Series and cheated using a player-driven electronic sign-stealing scheme throughout the regular season and straight through the World Series.  MLB warned all 30 clubs early that September that electronic sign stealing was against the rules and that GM’s and managers would be held responsible for any violations.

The press, after the MLB report finding the Astros guilty was released in early January, unleashed their vitriol towards the Astros organization and it has been anything but good for them.  The team has compounded the negative sentiment with one PR blunder after another.  Owner Jim Crane tripped all over himself attempting to set the record straight from the Florida spring training site last week.  Players from multiple teams have taken turns talking, complaining, and even whining about it as well.

But, let’s get some facts straight, offer some opinions, and even make some predictions about the circus that is the Astros organization right now.

  1.  They were guilty and are paying a steep price.  The GM and manager were held accountable, suspended by MLB, and fired by Crane.  MLB fined the team 5 million bucks, the most allowed by the franchise/league agreement.  Additionally, the team forfeits its first and second round amateur draft picks in 2020 and 2021.  If you want more blood you can scream that the team should “give back” its 2017 World Series trophy and renounce its title.  Good luck.  MLB declined to do so.  You can’t undo what is done.  Take the trophy back?  Sure.  It’s a symbol, not an outcome.
  2. A.J. Hinch was suspended for half a year and fired by Crane.  Hinch was against the scheme, busted two monitors to show his displeasure, but never stood up and said: “stop this.”  His reputation, sterling throughout the game otherwise, took a hard hit up the middle.  It says here that he’ll take the year away from the game, rehab his rep through another chance, perhaps as an assistant for another team for a year or two, and will be back managing before 2024.  He’s too good for all 30 owners to pass him by for too long.
  3. GM Jeff Luhnow might be done in MLB.  He’s ahead of the game analytically. He’s tough to work with.  He’s not too popular league-wide.  He might get another chance as a paid employee, but a better guess might be as a third-party consultant in personnel matters.
  4. The scheme stopped very early in 2018 and ceased to exist beyond that per the investigation.  The Astros success (lost 2018 playoffs and 2019 World Series) after 2017 is legit.  Players actually interviewed asked for the process to halt because they “found it to be a distraction while batting, not a help.”  Anyone can rail all they wish about 2017, but the team won over 100 games a year since.  It’s just such a bad look.
  5. Seven of the nine primary position players in the 2017 batting order had better-hitting stats on the road than at home.  The five best players’ regular season splits are below. Maybe they would have hit even worse at home if no one banged on a garbage can.  That we will never know.  It is true that the postseason splits favor the home Astros greatly over the road.  But, the sample size is so much smaller than the regular season.  Postseason pitching in a short series factors greatly in that as well.  Your ace and deuce might pitch all four home games in a seven-game series.
  6. The Yankees lost to the Astros in seven in the 2017 ALCS.  The home team won all seven games.  In Minute Maid the Yankees scored 1,1,1, and 0 in four losses.  In the Bronx they scored 8,6, and 5 in three wins.  The Yanks weren’t banging a trash can at home, they just hit a lot better.  They didn’t hit a lick at Minute Maid regardless of the Astros playing outside of the chalk lines.
  7.  The Boston Red Sox lost to the Astros in the 2017 ALDS.  They worked the Astros in the ALCS while on their way to the 2018 World Series championship.  They are under investigation themselves for the same reasons during their 2018 season.   Pot.  Kettle.  Not good.
  8.   The only thing worse than “did Jose Altuve wear a device to get signals about pitches?” is that Carlos Correa painstakingly defended him.  If Altuve did, is it worse than listening for the beat of the drum anyway?  Maybe he did, and maybe he didn’t.  Audio only uncovers 23 discernable trash can bangs all year for Altuve batting at home.  It’s been said by a few teammates that Altuve asked that it stop while he batted.  Maybe so, maybe not.  He hit .338 in 2016 with no accusations and .346 in 2017 with accusations.  He’s a lifetime .315 hitter and has nearly 1600 hits in 9 MLB seasons.
  9.  The popular theory for 2020 is that Astros batters will get plunked repeatedly for their wayward ways and arrogance since.  Maybe so.  Several sites have even put a betting over/under line on it.  It’s 83.5 four-seamers to the hip on the year.  Last year they were hit 66 times.  Take the under.  MLB has already warned teams that fines and suspensions are available for any intentional beanballs.
  10. The damage to the game and to the Astros organization is done and it’s significant.  They should have apologized profusely from the owner down to the bat boy and moved on.  They didn’t.  Now would be a great time to fire the whole PR team and hire a new one, and have the players shut up and play ball.

Is this scandal the worst in baseball history?  Maybe.  Shoeless Joe Jackson and his White Sox teammates supposedly threw WS games 100 years ago.  Pete Rose bet on baseball while actively managing the Reds.  A host of players took steroids and hit it further and threw it faster than ever before.  Time will sort it all out.

Right now the Astros organization smells bad.  At least they finally took the trash cans out.

 

 

Dear Mr. Crane,

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Dear Mr. Crane,

It’s been a week since MLB confirmed the terrible rumors, handed out the punishment, and you canned Manager A.J. Hinch and General Manager Jeff Luhnow.  They say time heals all wounds.  This writer might need more time however as this wound feels like the proverbial “1000 paper cuts.”

Your ownership in 2012 began with the Houston Astros franchise at a low point and it continued for your first few years.  No local TV contract (good Lord) and 100 loss seasons is no way to endear yourself to a city that loves baseball.  But, by 2015 you started turning things around.  Now on TV again (thank the good Lord) you introduced us to Jose Altuve and a manager that look the part, talked the part, and knew how to manage the game and endeared himself to his players.

Soon your GM’s talent evaluations and trades gave us guys named Springer, Correa, Beltran, Bregman, McCullers, and Morton.  Playoffs in 2015, and a near miss in 2016, and a guy named Justin Verlander paved the way for a World Series win in 2017.  Holy Cow the late Harry Caray would have said!

But whispers that your club denied about electronically stealing signs, aka cheating, grew louder.  And, at the end of 2019 they were exposed by a whistleblower willing to be named- Mike Fiers.  Everyone, not just Adam Schiff, knew the name of this whistleblower.  And, a week ago it all came crashing down, and down.

In the late 90’s baseball was rocked by the steroid era.  This writer had an up and coming offspring baseball player who idolized guys named McGuire, Bonds, and Sosa.  “How can they hit so many home runs daddy?”  Little did we know.

It took years and a leap of faith to buy in again.  But, the passion, strategy, and professionalism exhibited by your Astros, our Astros, Houston’s Astros won us over.  They had “it.”

And, now they don’t.  The fall is so much steeper than the climb.

The Astros won it all in 2017, and went deep into the playoffs in 2018.  Your marketing department had a catchy slogan for 2019.  “Take it Back!”  And, it came so close to doing so, losing in game seven of the World Series.  Perhaps the slogan should have been “Steal It Back!,” instead.

For 2020 and beyond the fans might have their own slogan.  “Win us Back!” This time you have local TV, but will we turn it on?  For the climb back is so much steeper than the fall.

Sincerely,

A Disillusioned Fan All Over Again.

 

 

 

 

One Year

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

My how things can change.  A lot can happen in a year.   And, a lot did.  Take a gander at some twists and turns below.

One year ago Alex Cora was getting ready to go to spring training as the manager of the 2018 World Series Champion Boston Red Sox.  A year later he is out of his coveted job due to his orchestration of an electronic sign stealing scheme as batting coach of the 2017 World Series Champion Houston Astros.

One year ago said Astros were unveiling a 2019 marketing campaign called “Take It Back!” After losing to the Washington Nationals in an underwhelming World Series in game seven, the Astros are indeed taking it back.  They are taking back control of their once proud franchise by dumping GM Jeff Luhnow and Manager A.J. Hinch.  Owner Jim Crane said ” they didn’t start the scandal, but didn’t stop it after they learned of it.”

Four years ago, with a year to go before the 2016 election, outsider Donald J. Trump took the Republican Party by storm and flipped it on it’s head.  Joe Biden was finishing up a heady eight year run as VP.

Four years later, with a year to go before the 2020 election, no one in the Democratic Party is doing any such water acrobatics.  “Low Energy” (per David Axelrod last evening) candidate Joe Biden leads but can only muster about 20% of the Party’s support.

One year ago, after dismantling Alabama, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney was hoisting the trophy after the National Championship Game.

One year later, after extending their unbeaten streak to 29-0, Clemson stood nearby as LSU’s Ed Orgeron hoisted the trophy after the National Championship Game.

One year ago no one had ever heard of newly signed LSU Passing Game Coordinator Joe Brady.  One year later, after a bevy of offensive NCAA records fell, Joe Brady is onward and upward.  He’s headed to Carolina to be the new OC for the Panthers.  Sean Payton “taught him all he knows.”  Going forward, twice a year,  Brady will attempt to teach Payton a thing or two when the Saints and the division rival Panthers meet.

One year ago the Dow Jones Industrial average stood at 23,909 on 1/15/19.  One year later the average stands at 28,939.  That’s a 5000 point move in one year That’s so good that it’s crazy.  That’s so crazy that it’s that good.

It’s fascinating to look back.  How about looking forward?  In one year could a mayor from South Bend, IN be your president?  Could the Oregon Ducks be hoisting a trophy?  Could the Tampa Bay Rays be the World Series Champs getting ready to go to spring training?  Dow 30,000 anyone?

BBR will keep an electronic eye on it all.  We know where to get some cheap used cameras that used to hang in center field.

Blowing Smoke and Whistles Too

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Once upon a time smoking cigarettes was all the rage.  Later it was tolerated.  Now it’s downright frowned upon.  America does change it’s collective mind over time.  Smokers.  What to do?  What to do?

Well, it seems like we have come to another of those crossroads.  This one isn’t about blowing smoke however. This one is about blowing whistles.  Whistleblowers.  What to do?  What to do?

Yesterday your tax dollars were hard at work as the Intelligence (misnomer) Committee of the US House convened and began it’s Impeachment Inquiry hearings.  Chairman Adam Schiff began the hearings by recognizing himself and launched into his narrative as to why they were indeed convened and what the findings would be as witnesses were paraded in front of the esteemed members of the body.

But not one minute into his diatribe he was interrupted.  “Point of order, point of order!”  When recognized, one Republican malcontent, Jim Jordan asked the chairman when the committee might be able to interview the whistleblower who broke this latest scandal of many scandals against Donald J. Trump.  After all Rep Jordan said, ” the chairman and his staff are the only ones who have had a chance to talk to him.”

Schiff said that he had not talked to him and did not know who he was.  And, he said he would do everything possible to protect his identity.  Late yesterday the Washington Post awarded Chairman Schiff “Four Pinocchio’s,” the highest (lowest) score for an outright lie the paper gives.  Oops.

Meanwhile, Project Veritas put a video out last week that showed an ABC News Anchor caught on a hot mic and a hot camera.  You can see that here.  In two minutes she told the story of how she had all of the dirt on dirtbag Jeffery Epstein years ago.  Yet, she continues, ABC squashed the story fearing that the Royal Palace would rain (reign) down on their head as allegations of illegal dalliances on the fantasy island included Prince Andrew.

ABC was so outraged at this development that they alerted CBS of this inexcusable leak of this video pirate and whistleblower.  Why?  ABC thought they knew who the leaker (a producer who moved to CBS) was and they wanted action.  CBS took action.  They fired this whistleblower faster than any termination on the hit show The Apprentice.  Apparently the industry wanted this person “outed.”  The only problem was that it turns out that they fired the wrong person.  Oops.

The search continues.  The very media that is carefully protecting the identity of the Washington whistleblower of the withholding of the Ukrainian aid, quid pro quo, Hunter Biden, we got Donald this time, blah, blah, blah has put their industry’s whistleblower on the Ten Most Wanted List.  Get your pitchforks and lanterns.  Impeachment is one thing, but protecting Jeffery Epstein’s reputation is quite another for some reason.

Meanwhile, in the world of sports, the World Series losing Houston Astros were accused of cheating once again.  The claim that they were stealing opposition pitching signs with electronic help flared up in the World Series against the Washington (home of the unidentified whistleblower and Schiff confidant) Nationals. After denying the accusation once more the WS came and went.

But.  The story broke Tuesday that they may have indeed been stealing signs in 2017, the year they actually won the WS.  Citing four sources Major League Baseball has begun it’s investigation.  It’s similar to an Intelligence Committee we assume, but likely more intelligent.  The Astros announced that they were joining/cooperating with MLB in the investigation.

Except this one is different.  Sometimes where there’s smoke, there’s fire.  There is no Trump, no Epstein, but there is a fire.  Mike Fiers pitched for the Astros in 2017 and he came straight out and said that they were cheating. Fiers now pitches for the Oakland Athletics, close competitors of the Astros, much like CBS is a close competitor of ABC.  Fiers, as one of the four whistleblowers, put himself right out there.  Oops said GM Jeffery Luhnow.

Three whistleblowers are at the center of three major stories all at the same time.  One remains anonymous (sort of) and has big brother on it’s side.  One is on the run even though he/she isn’t running and has the media on the hunt.  And one put his name right on the dotted line.

As they say, “Only in America!”  Smoke em if you got em!

 

Ten Piece Nuggets- Sports

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

NCAA, NFL, and MLB dominate the menu today.   There is much to chew on.  The Ten Piece Nuggets are served.

  1. The new AP Top 25 poll is out following Week 2 action.   LSU has moved into the top five after beating Texas 45-38 in a thrilling affair in Austin on Saturday night. With LSU jumping Oklahoma to take the No. 4 spot, the SEC now has three of the top four teams in the country, as the Tigers join No. 2 Alabama and No. 3 Georgia.
  2. It’s very early in the season and these things sort themselves out when conference play starts in earnest.   The Big 10 might have plenty to say about it as well.  They check in at spots 6,10,13,14,18,19, and 21.  So, that’s seven spots for the Big 10 conference that actually has 14 teams.  Got it?
  3. Big 10 Maryland’s got it.  They are #21 in the poll after a 63-20 pounding of Syracuse Saturday.  This follows up a 79-0 blasting of Howard.  The combined 142 points are the fourth most in NCAA history in the first two games of any season.  It was but a few years ago that the Terrapins were lower than a turtle’s belly.  Kudos to former New Mexico HC and Bama OC Mike Locksley.  This is year one for him in the Maryland HC role after a 1-5 interim record when he took over for fired Randy Edsall from the Maryland staff in 2015.
  4. The Big 10 is scoring big time too.  Penn State has scored 124 points, Wisconsin 110, Ohio St 87, and even Indiana has 86, all in two games.  Maybe the rust belt has rolled out some shiny new offense models off of the assembly lines.   It’s on to conference play for them mostly as well.  Though Maryland goes to Temple, and curiously is only a 7 point favorite.
  5.  It wasn’t the best weekend for the great state of Texas in football.  The Longhorns played well, especially on offense,  but lost to LSU as mentioned.  Texas A&M played pretty good defense, but Clemson played better defense and won 24-10.  BBR thinks both teams are on the rise and wonder when the regular season is done if Texas might be 10-2 or even better and A&M around 9-3.  Texas dropped three spots to 12th, while A&M slid only four to 16th.
  6. Washington lost at home to a California team that actually plays decent defense, 20-19.  That leaves Utah at 11th, Oregon at 15th, and Washington St. at 20th.  The PAC 12 continues to disappoint on the national stage.  Other disappointments have to be Florida St., winners over Louisiana Monroe 45-44 thanks to a missed extra point in extra time.  At least they seem hydrated this week.  Syracuse forgot to play defense against Maryland and surrendered 63.  Two AP writers actually voted for Syracuse to still be in the top 25.  Lots of sportswriters and sportscasters go to Syracuse’s fine journalism school.  This might have been two of them.  Tennessee is now 0-2 with a second non conference loss at home.  This time BYU beat them which was an upgrade from a Georgia Southern debacle a week ago.  Note to the Volunteers, the SEC schedule is way tougher than that.  Pruitt needs to prove it, and soon.
  7.  Swinging over to baseball, we ask, ‘where are the pennant races?’  The closest division has the Cubs trailing the Cardinals by 4 games.  That one isn’t over, but with only about 18 games to go, it isn’t terribly close either.  The race for the best record in baseball is on though.  With it comes playoff home field advantage throughout.  The Yankess and the Astros are tied at a sizzling 95-50, while the Dodgers are two back at 93-52.
  8. Even the wild card races aren’t dealing aces.  While the Indians and A’s are only a half game apart for the last spot in the AL, the Rays look like they are in.  In the NL, Washington is two ahead of Chicago who is two ahead of Arizona for those two wild card spots.  Yawn.
  9. The NFL kicked off season 100.  We refuse to read too much into week one.  Or do we?  New England looked like New England.  Miami is roster purging and lost 59-10 to Baltimore.  If you live in Miami you can always enjoy the beaches, especially South Beach.  Speaking of south, The NFC South is 1-3 and the AFC South is 1-3 after one week.   Do the Falcons make it through the year without a coaching change?  Dan Quinn looked like a rising star four years ago.  Now, it looks like Arthur Blank has a DIY project to fix them.  Luckily he’s a Home Depot kind of guy.
  10. Is Antonio Brown fixable?  Master craftsman Bill Belicheck starts the remodel this week.  It’s a project.   BBR wishes the entire mess would get far less air time.  Brown makes yesteryear guys like Keyshawn Johnson ( “just throw me the damn ball”) look like choir boys.  Less talented players who disrupt like this would be out of the league by now.  This is the last whistle stop for Antonio.  We hope.

Sports has it all in fall.

You may be excused.

Splendid Splinters, Yankee Clippers, and Yordans.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

College football heated up last weekend and some interesting story lines are developing.  We’ll explore them tomorrow in our Ten Piece Nuggets.  But today we want to explore a story in MLB that heated up just as summer heated up.

It was June 9th actually when Yordan Rubin Alvarez got a call from Houston and the Astros promoted him to the big show.  He made his major league debut that afternoon, at the tender age of 21, versus the Baltimore Orioles.  He went 1-3 with a two-run home run in his debut.  And, he hasn’t looked back.

Alvarez, despite missing the first eight days of the month, was named AL Rookie of the Month for June.  He garnered the award again in July.  And, why not, he was given the honor again in August.  He’ll be named AL Rookie of the Year when all is said and done, but it seems like he still has much to say and do in 2019.

Statistical comparisons with such a small sample size (he’s been active for only 70 major league games) are fun.  But often they don’t exactly play out in the future as the recent past would lead you to believe.  Undeterred, we’ll do it anyway.

Alvarez went 4-6 last evening in an Astros 21-1 romp of the hapless Seattle Mariners.  He drove in six runs.  That gives him 70 rbi’s in 70 games!  Ted Williams was only 20 years old in 1939 in his rookie year.  He drove in 145 runs in 149 games.  That’s the MLB rookie record standing tall for 80 years and counting.  Only four other rookies have ever had over 100 rbi’s in their rookie season, Joe DiMaggio among them at 125.

The Astros only have 18 games left, so Alvarez very likely won’t get to the century mark.  But, how many will he get in a total of 88 games?

His OBP is .409.  His slugging percentage is .655.  And, his OPS is 1.064.  Williams  put up .436, .609, and 1.045 respectively in his rookie year.  DiMaggio’s BEST year was  .448, .671, and 1.119.  Baseball is a numbers game.  These numbers put Alvarez, again after only 70 games, in some thin air.

Allow us for a moment to add Alvarez’s stats from Triple A in 56 games to the 70 major league games that he has played.  So in 136 professional games this year he has hit 45 home runs, driven in 141 runs, and hit for a melded .323 average.  His OPS would rise to 1.123.

We aren’t suggesting that Alvarez is the next Splendid Splinter nor the next Yankee Clipper.  His start suggests that he could be the next Yordan Alvarez.  And, that might be very good unto itself.

He defected from Cuba, then established residence in Haiti in 2016.  He signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers as an international free agent in June 2016.  In August 2016, Álvarez was traded from the Dodgers to the Astros for middle reliever Josh Fields.  Cuba and the Dodgers loss is America and the Astros gain.

If you haven’t seen his strong, smooth, balanced, left side swing, you should.  And, you will.  Alvarez will be right in the middle of a stacked Astros lineup when October playoff baseball takes center stage.  The ball just sounds different jumping off of his bat.

May the comparisons never end.