As I See It

The questions resonating within my jumbled mind are where do I begin this week’s blog and what do I discuss? There is so much to talk about and, then again, what do my avid readers want to read?

Miguel Cabrera was the name my editor roared at me earlier in the week. Well, not his name but “the one who hit 500 home runs” is more exact. Which means she can’t help but stay on top of the developing story lines each week. Good. 

What about Miggy? He is a relic—a dinosaur throwback to the years when hitters might swat 500 home runs and others might garner 3000 hits. He is both—a 500 home run hitter and he is 42 hits shy of 3000 hits. 

While toiling with a sub-par Detroit team for years now, those who follow baseball cannot ignore that, from 2003 through 2007, Cabrera was a force on a Florida Marlins team which won a World Series. And oh, by the way, Cabrera is a 2X M.V.P., an 11X All-Star and  won the elusive Triple Crown in 2012 with  .330 average, 44 homers and 139 R.B.I.

Cherish him, baseball fans. We should do the same for Albert Pujols, who is probably in his last year as a part-time player on a talent-laden Dodgers club. There are few who stand a chance of hitting 500 homers or accumulating 3,000 hits who are active. Mike Trout was thought to be that kind of guy—except he has missed the bulk of this season with a calf injury. Bryce Harper is another. He may have an outside chance to hit 500 homers. Joey Votto, of whom I spoke glowingly last week, isn’t going to get near 3,000 hits. 

I looked at the top 50 active players in hits. Most everyone is 30 years old or over. As for home runs, there are some possibilities. Giancarlo Stanton is at  335 and he’s 31. Justin Upton, 33, has 324 homers. Trout is 29 and has 310 dingers. I look at Aaron Judge and he’s 29 and has 146 homers. Not a chance for 500 for number 99. 

In the same context, the Cardinals and Yadier Molina agreed to one final $10 million contract for 2022. Molina will retire as a Cardinal. That will be his 19th year catching for St. Louis. Molina is a 10X All-Star, 2X World Series winner and has won 9 Gold Gloves. He has amassed 2000 hits and a .280 average. In my mind, he is going to land in Cooperstown, too, but maybe not in his first attempt. 

I know you expect my dose of Yankees reverie. I won’t disappoint. This team has been on an epic streak, which reached 12 consecutive wins on Thursday night against a reeling but competitive Oakland team. Pick a player—seemingly everyone is contributing mightily. And Gio Urshela rejoined the club on Thursday and Corey Kluber has progressed enough that management has penciled him in to start on Monday in Anaheim. 

It is a boatload of riches. A.L. Player of the Week Luke Voit had to sit out when there was no DH in Atlanta, yet struck a critical pinch hit. He will play more this weekend. 

Anthony Rizzo and Joey Gallo were mired in slumps. Both drove in runs on Thursday night—Rizzo via a double and Gallo blasted a monstrous shot into the right field seats. 

Of course, there is the enigma. Aroldis Chapman had to be pulled from Tuesday’s night’s win in Atlanta, as he almost blew the game; ironically, he received credit for his first hold of the season because the Braves didn’t score. On Thursday night, he barely made it through the bottom of the ninth, providing viewers with more gut-wrenching TV. 

What is scary is this—Aaron Judge says this team still isn’t clicking on all cylinders. I mean—if they aren’t doing everything and the team is in the midst of a 13 game winning streak and they have taken 5 of 6 from the leaders in the A.L. Central and N.L. East on the road—then what will the Yankees be like when they are at full strength? If the team has been fun to watch since the All-Star break and even more so after the trading deadline, the last 36 games are going to be even better than one can imagine. 

The problem facing the Yankees march to the World Series is that there are three teams with better records, one of which leads the A.L. East. The Dodgers and Giants have the best records in baseball. 

But there is the omnipresent Tampa Bay Rays team which has managed to go on and on at an 8-2 clip. With that reduced payroll, a mausoleum for a stadium and no name players, again and again the Rays keep on winning. Manager Kevin Cash is s magician. He has kept the pedal to the metal.

Tampa drops into Baltimore this weekend. The Rays manhandled the Orioles last weekend in Florida.However, after spraying the clubhouse and stadium to rid all sports of evil influences like in the classic move Major League, the O’s broke their 17 game losing streak by hitting three home runs against Shohei Othani Wednesday night—the first time he has surrendered three in any MLB game (he was not the losing pitcher), then pummeled the Angels 13-1 on Thursday, overcoming Ohtani’s 41st home run leading off the game. Maybe Baltimore can derail the Rays a tiny little bit this weekend? Big maybe…

Being a baseball lifer, I seemingly cannot stop myself from watching games other than the Yankees. On Monday night I actually enjoyed a close contest between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Pittsburgh Pirates at the beautiful setting known as PNC Park. These two teams are not very good. They are far behind the leaders in their respective divisions. 

Before a sparse crowd, they played a very compelling game. It may not have had great fielding and flashy plays. Yet it was hotly contested and both teams really tried to win, despite their obvious flaws. The Pirates mounted a rally with 3 in the seventh inning and adding one more in the eighth before pitcher David Bednar collected his second save of the campaign. 

This was a contrast to watching the Yankees and the teams they had been facing—all tough teams except for the Twins. Besides, I root hard for the Yankees. 

While I recognized a few of the players on both sides, their stats didn’t jump out at me. Their competitiveness did. It was nice to watch.

More dramatic was the 16 inning game in San Diego between the powerful Los Angeles Dodgers and the Padres. I went to bed with Walker Buehler, the new favorite to win the N.L. Cy Young Award, training the Padres 1-0. Catcher Will Smith tied the game in the eighth inning with his 20th home run. 

I was overheated from too much exercise and not enough fluid, so I awoke at 12:58 EDT and started watching. It was the 11th inning. The tension was ever-present. The managerial wheels were turning overtime. Two out intentional walks to load the bases. Remember, each extra inning began with a runner on second base. 

Neither team broke through until the 15th inning when LAD scored two. I was nodding off so I turned off the TV. 

I missed phenom Fernando Tatis, Jr. hit a two run shot to tie the score. Which was matched and the ante raised  with a two run blast by Dodgers outfielder A.J. Pollock. LAD held on to win. The Padres, who had already fired venerable pitching coach Larry Rothschild, suffered another defeat to their arch rivals. 

LAD ultimately swept the series. San Diego, once a contender in the N.L. West, is now on the outside looking in at the Wild Card. Cincinnati has a claim to the second slot. As a commentator said, the Padres have a lot to learn from their brethren to the north.

I also tuned into the Mets twice this week. Largely because the team with the best record in baseball, the San Francisco Giants, was in town. 

Watching the Mets play is akin to getting a root canal. You have to do it, but it simply is not a pleasure. The Mets cannot hit and their folding and pitching isn’t much better. Manager Luis Rojas caused a furor when he inexplicably yanked starter Taijuan Walker in the seventh inning, with the Mets leading 2-1 and Walker having surrendered only one hit on a low pitch count.  Of course the Mets lost. The howls for Rojas to be fired have intensified. Something to keep an eye on. 

Coincidentally to the Orioles streak ending, the Chicago Cubs stopped their 13 game losing streak against the Reds. The Cubbies head to the South Side to meet the White Sox. Oh well. 

One other observation. The Atlanta Braves are a really good team. They are talented and this is without their best player, Ronald Acuna, Jr. who is out for the remainder of the season. The Yankees were very fortunate that a relay throw from Aaron Judge to Anthony Velazquez was called an out, because on replay, the call was hard to overturn. Had the call been safe, Freddie Freeman would have scored and the game would have had an entirely different look to it. 

Atlanta will give someone fits in the playoffs, should they be the N.L. East representative. They face those Giants tonight—two of the best teams, back-to-back at home. But it doesn’t get any easier. The Braves fly to the West Coast where they meet the Dodgers at Chavez Ravine. That is some gauntlet—Yankees, Giants and Dodgers. The three best teams in baseball. If the Braves do not lose much ground to the suddenly reeling Phillies during this stretch, they make the playoffs. 

The ACC, Big Ten and PAC 12 entered into an alliance. No formal papers. Just banding together for their common interests. Which is to offset the SEC and ESPN. All about the money. 

The fact that the SEC poached Texas and Oklahoma set off my college roommate. In a series of texts, he voiced his displeasure. His call was for regional divisions and to place the teams together based on how much money teams in each division can draw. He hates the greed of the college presidents, citing his distaste for the President of the University of Maryland. Who came to College Park from the University of Iowa, with stops at PAC-12 schools Colorado and Washington. 

We agreed that the setting at our alma mater, Franklin and Marshall College, is much better. We might even see the Diplomats host Muhlenberg at the end of October; the Mules are picked to be the best in the Centennial Conference, followed by Johns Hopkins, Susquehanna and F&M. Shadek Stadium and its newness is a much nicer setting than Maryland anyway. 

And the players play hard and without the benefit of the scholarships prevalent in Division I. Plus they cannot match the kind of player who went into the transfer protocol to leave Rutgers because of the mandatory student vaccination requirement. 

This unnamed individual (by me) left that fine academic institution in Waco, Texas, Baylor University, for greener pastures. (For the record, I have been to Waco and Baylor; the best thing to come from those parts is Dr.Pepper) RU took a shot on him. He bolted because he wants to retain his right to decide about the vaccine. I just don’t put much into this “student-athlete” and his academics because he mentioned the school as the University of Rutgers.

The NFL is starting to settle into place. Trevor Lawrence will be the starter in Jacksonville. Teddy Bridgewater is the QB in Denver. Jameis Winston will succeed Drew Brees in New Orleans. Plus COVID is decimating the Tennessee Titans. 

On Friday night to Met Life Stadium to test the transportation and atmosphere there. The Eagles met the Jets. Will I like to see Zach Wilson excel tonight? Nope. He was didn’t suit up. For both teams, the final score (a 31-31 tie via a Hail Mary pass and a two point conversion by the Jets at the end of the game) meant nothing. Fans like me have to wait until September 12, when the season begins for real.

At least I saw my son and tasted the subs from a Queens deli which he raved about. (Pretty darn good) It took both of us a lot of time to get to the parking lots of Met Life Stadium—it was rush hour and there were thunder showers in the area, delaying the game’s start for 30 minutes. 

As I see it, I could have been watching baseball or waiting until 9:40 for the Yankees game. Easy choice here.

For that matter everything I espouse on these pages is as I see it, isn’t it?

I’m not blogging until the second weekend in September. Stay cool. Be safe.