That Was A Lot To Write About

Nathan Eovaldi. Nathan Eovaldi. I know his name. You know his name. Red Sox fans certainly know his name. Astros fans have recent memory, so they remember it too. Yankees and Marlins fans might remember how to spell it correctly, even if their memory is a bit more distant. Dodgers fans saw him briefly in 2011—that was 11 years ago—so their memory lapse regarding the spelling of his name might be forgiven.

As to me, I committed the cardinal sin of writing on a Mac. I spelled Nathan Eovaldi’s name incorrectly. The laptop never forgot this. Every time I try to use his name in a blog, spell check rears its ugly memory and makes me look like an idiot. Which happened in last week’s edition. 

E-O-V-A-L-D-I. Let me repeat it once more: E-O-V-A-L-D-I. I am at war with spell check. Even if I had a chalk board and wrote his name correctly 100 times, I cannot trust that it will turn out right in this week’s blog. 

So, my faithful readers, please accept my apologies for last week’s misspelling. In case spell check does it again, please accept my apologies in advance. 

When I left off with the A.L.C.S. and N.LC.S., winners hadn’t been finalized. Now they have, and we have gone through Game 2 in Houston, with the Astros and Braves tied at 1-1.

Viewership on FOX is up double digits. Quite frankly, I don’t know why. The Braves are no longer “America’s Team” when their telecasts were a staple of the infancy of WTBS, Ted Turner’s national cable station. 

Perhaps it is the Astros whose magnetism is drawing viewers. Viewers, for the most part, who haven’t forgiven the team and its unpunished players for the cheating they did to win a world title. 

What I can say is that the lineups are worthy of being in a World Series. Up and down the starting nines for each team and there are not many weak links. Martin Maldonado, the Houston catcher, isn’t hitting, but his defense and handling of pitchers is superb and makes up for his offensive woes. His Atlanta counterpart, Travis D’Arnaud, is hitting much better than Maldonado, contributing to an already powerful group. Dansby Swanson, the Atlanta shortstop, bats at the bottom of the Braves lineup and he slugged 27 home runs this season.

Of course, there is Jose Altuve. As goes Altuve, so goes the Astros. Which he proved on Wednesday night with another post-season home run. Altuve has bashed 22 homers and has driven in 48 runs in the post-season. Altuve is tied for second place all-time with former Yankees great Bernie Williams. The leader is Manny Ramirez, who slugged 29 dingers in his post-season career. 

The pitching is the weakness for both squads. Charlie Morton was the top pitcher for the Braves and he started Game 1. Unfortunately, as Morton was sailing along in the Series opener, a comeback grounder struck his leg. While Morton remained in to pitch for a little bit more, he was removed and is out with a leg fracture. 

The Atlanta bullpen rose to the occasion, shutting down the potent Houston bats. And even if he was tagged early, starter Max Fried pitched deeper into Game 2, thereby saving a bullpen which will be taxed to the limit should this Series go the full seven games. 

On the other side, Houston’s bullpen is underrated. The starting pitching for the Astros is suspect without such stalwarts as Justin Verlander and Lance Mc Cullers on the mound. Thus, like the Braves, the Astros will have to match the Braves bullpen and whichever team hits just a little bit better will win the Series. 

Some trivia. It took Atlanta’s Jose Soler three pitches to enter the record book. Soler became the first person in World Series history to begin a World Series with a home run. Hard to believe.

When Fried faced Astros 3B Alex Bergman, it was the first time that two Jewish players who attained bar mitzvah faced each other in the World Series. Mazel tov, guys. 

Rumor has it that 1B Anthony Rizzo, the mid-season acquisition from the Cubs, would like to remain with the Yankees. That is the word to the newspapers from his NJ relatives. 

Rizzo is a star. He can hit for an average, hit in big situations and he is a Gold Glove-caliber fielder. The short porch in right field at Yankee Stadium is to his liking. As is the composition of the team—one that could be close to making it to a World Series with the right moves in the off season. That is why he left Chicago—he didn’t see the Cubs contending anytime soon. 

Moreover, his personality is infectious. It is apparent in the dugout. Plus word is that he and Aaron Judge became close, and the Yankees know that Judge is the heart and soul of the team going forward, so it might behoove GM Brian Cashman and owner Hal Steinbrenner to think about giving the 31 year old some of that Yankees cash leftover after they splurge on a long term deal for Judge.

Except where does another long-term signee, DJ. Le Mahieu fit in the Yankees lineup? If Rizzo is anchored at first, that means that there are three players to fill three spots—2B, SS and 3B. Which is a major dilemma.

First, New York must figure out how it will proceed with shortstop. Do they go and sign a free agent to a lucrative deal? Or sign a one year deal with a less pricey player? Or stay with Urshela at short and put Le Mahieu at third, waiting for super prospect Anthony Volpe to be ready to play in 2023?

These are hard decisions for the Yankees. Trading Urshela or Gleyber Torres could come back to haunt the team. And who knows if Le Mahieu will recover nicely from his sports hernia surgery and regain his batting crown hitting, or if he will become a very average player for the remainder of his Yankees tenure? 

It was nice having the weekend off from watching the Jets two weeks ago. Unfortunately, they returned to play and were shellacked by the not-so-good New England Patriots. Compounding the already miserable day was the injury to rookie QB Zack Wilson. 

Wilson suffered a PCL sprain, which is estimated to keep him out for 2 to 4 weeks. Journeyman Mike White took over in Wilson’s absence and immediately led the team to a TD, but little else positive happened. White’s stats were good; the team’s weren’t. 

White, who played at USF, then at Western Kentucky, was a 5th round pick of the Cowboys. He is in his 4th season in the NFL, but Sunday was his first real game experience. 

This makes White a veteran in the league, with rookie experience. That isn’t very good, with the Cincinnati Bengals and QB Joe Burrows coming to town for Halloween. Cincy went out and whomped a very good Baltimore team on the road last Sunday. If they playoffs started today, the Bengals would be the top seed in the AFC. 

Somehow, I don’t think the Jets will be making much of a game on Sunday. Then again, could lighting strike with Mike White like it did so many years ago when an unheralded Tom Brady took over for an injured Drew Bledsoe in New England and Brady went on to rewrite the record books? It will certainly be Trick or Treat at Met Life Stadium this Sunday. 

A few NFL games I watched interested me. In a monsoon in Northern California, the Colts profited from too many mistakes by the 49’ers and won 30-18. QB Jimmy Garropolo, once the heir apparent to Brady in New England, is a having a rough go without his top receiver, TE George Kittle. To the naysayers, I know the Niners are in a very combative NFC West where the Rams and Cardinals are quite good. San Francisco is not out of the playoffs quite yet, if the team can get healthy; at a minimum, they can cause grief for LAR and ARI.

On Monday night, Saints QB Jameis Winston played just enough better than former Jets and Giants QB Geno Smith, surviving a close game by a final score of 13-10. Another two teams destined to not make the playoffs. 

Much more entertaining was watching the Manning brothers alternative broadcast on ESPN 2. I missed parts of the second and third quarters due to our family’s inane fascination with Below Deck on Bravo. I saw the entirety of their interplay with women’s basketball legend Sue Bird, a Pacific Northwest resident who reminded Eli that as a youngster on Long Island, she once rooted for the Giants and the Mets, along with a fourth quarter of laughter and high class analysis with former Saints QB Drew Brees, now at NBC. 

I missed the exchanges with Tom Brady—Peyton told Tom he hated his games versus New England, while Eli chirped in how much he like to play against Tom, referring to his two Super Bowl wins and the end of the Pats’ 2007 undefeated season. I also liked the mocking tribute to Eli having his number retired at his alma mater, the University of Mississippi, which decorated each end zone in red with white letters spelling MANNING. 

The Mannings are must see TV for the football aficionado. I wish my family would go to On Demand, for Below Deck but that isn’t gonna happen, so I’m stuck watching the Mannings as I can. 

Then there was the thriller in the Arizona desert on Thursday night. Green Bay and Aaron Rodgers came in and halted the unbeaten status of Kyler Murray and the Cardinals. Despite a depleted receiving corps, Rodgers repeatedly executed his magic. 

One throw for a TD was particularly Rodgers-esque.  He looks left, following one receiver, then suddenly pivoted and fired a dart to another for the score. 

The guy may be cocky and aloof. He may be arrogant and misunderstood and even under appreciated. What this man, who scored 1310 on his SAT’s and is a self-professed geek and was highly under recruited before a year at junior college and then two record-shattering years at Cal, is this—Aaron Rodgers is driven to excel and he will tolerate no fools along the way to Canton, Ohio and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

With all that happened, Arizona had a last minute drive which began after a goal line stand that took them to scoring territory. Cardinals’ Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury, an offensive genius, made a call for Murray to throw to the left side of the end zone. 

QB Murray checked off of that call at the line of scrimmage. He wanted to go to WR A.J. Green in the right corner of the end zone. Except that there was a miscommunication on the fade throw—Green never turned around  and the ball was picked off. End of comeback and chance for the undefeated season to continue. 

I thought there was pass interference. No one made mention that the DB had a two handed hold of Green’s jersey. I think the officials swallowed their whistles. 

I hope these two meet again in the playoffs. Even thought the Cardinals lost all-pro defensive lineman J.J. Watt for the season, they still are a very fine defensive team. And Murray might be on the same page with Green the next time around. 

A couple of more things to discuss. The NHL is taking appropriate action in the aftermath of a long overdue investigation into the allegations of sexual abuse of a player by a Chicago Blackhawks assistant coach. The current GM, other staff and the head coach then, who was the head man of an unbeaten team in Florida, have either resigned or been fired. It’s late, but it is better than never. 

The Knicks are on a roll in the early season. First, the Knicks finally ended a 15 game losing streak to the Sixers with a win over their nemesis at MSG. Then they took the show on the road and handed the upstart Chicago Bulls their first defeat of the season. 

Last season, the Knicks were a surprise. This season, they are a revelation. Boston, Philadelphia, Toronto—teams which were at or near the top in the Eastern Conference—are  starting out slowly. Washington and Miami are getting off to better starts. 

In the West, the Lakers blew a 26 point lead and lost at Oklahoma City without an injured Lebron James and a still lost in space Russell Westbrook. Memphis knocked off the Warriors in OT. Minnesota is looking good under head man, Chris Finch, F&M ’92. LAC is struggling without Kawhi Leonard. 

One thing for sure—there is a lot of basketball left. With or without Kyrie Irving or Ben Simmons playing. 

As usual, I did it in for two teams. I lauded Dartmouth and Harvard in the Ivy League football chase. Both lost—now 5-1 Columbia shut out the Big Green on Friday night. Then Princeton downed Harvard in 5 OT. Harvard had two game-winning passes in the third OT wiped off the board. 

Finally, I end with this. Illinois stunned Penn State at University Park, winning in 9 OT. That’s an absurd way of deciding a game. 

For once, the NFL has it right with one 10 minute OT and each team has the opportunity to possess the ball. The exception is if the first to possess scores a TD on the opening possession. Then it becomes a sudden death outcome and the game ends. Or if nobody score in the 10 minute period, the game is a tie. These are the pros, and if it is good enough for them to conclude a contest tied at the end of regulation, it certainly must be good enough for college games.

That was a lot to write about. Enjoy.