Hey Everybody:
They had a fall festival in my neighborhood on Saturday. I had read all about it and I couldn't wait to take Timmy there. They had bouncy houses, petting zoos, rides you name it. It was a gorgeous sun splashed fall afternoon.
But a funny thing happened...Tim had no desire to go into any bouncy house or pet any farm animals. It wasn't too long ago he would dash off before we even had a chance to settle in. Now he just kind of hung around. Nothing at this thing excited him.
He's growing up on me. On one hand, I'm happy, it's what is supposed to be going on.
On the other hand, he's growing up on me.
Damn.
Anyway
BASEBALL: RIP 2019 Yankees.
I really thought they were going to win it all this year. I thought the way they overcame the injuries was a sign that this would be a special year for them. Seemed like nothing could really keep them down.
I laughed as Yankee fans would go on the FAN and kvetch about their lack of starting pitching, as my team was getting clobbered on a regular basis. They controlled the AL East pretty much wire to wire. I didn't kill Brian Cashman for not making any deadline deals. They have a bullpen I could only dream about.
They did their almost annual spanking of the Twins, and last Saturday night they dominated the Astros. I thought they had their ticket punched for the show.
I was wrong. Again.
I mean I wasn't surprised they didn't win Game 2 in Houston or even Game 3 against Garrit Cole. But Game 4 they should have had. Losing that game was the killer for them. To their credit they came back in Game 5.
And when DJ LeMahieu hit that game tying homer in Game 6 , I was certain the magic was still there.
Instead, you Yankee fans got to see what I got to see all year from my Mets. That is, a closer who couldn't close. Watching Jose Altuve's ball fly out of Minute Maid Park gave me flashbacks to the good old days of yesteryear, as Edwin Diaz made that a nearly nightly occurrence over the summer.
As President Clinton used to say 'I feel your pain"
Had they won on Saturday who knows? I don't know how they would have fared against Cole, Game 7 on the road. My guess is not well. But they would have had the momentum, and maybe it could have been their year.
But alas, winning another game in Houston was not to be. So the fears of all those crazy FAN callers were realized.
Houston was the best team in baseball this year, so it's hard to say they don't deserve to be back in the Series. I just had that feeling that the Yankees had some magic.
Not this year.
So now it's the World Series I said I wouldn't give a shit about, Washington (who doesn't deserve a team) against Houston (who should still be in the National League) for what it's worth (and admittedly it's not much) I think the long layoff for the Nats is what will be their downfall. They remind me an awful lot of the 2015 Mets. So I'm predicting the Astros win in 5.
CRIME: Klapper to the Krapper
When I first heard that California Jewelry store owner Majorie Klapper was sentenced to three weeks in jail, I thought it was only because she put down on her son's college application that he was African American, Hispanic and a first generation college student. I didn't realize she also paid off that scuzzball to fix her son's ACT score.
She basically paid the same money as Felicity Huffman did, but got the extra week in the clink because of what she put on the application.
And I feel the need to ask this again.... What culpability do the colleges have in all of this?
Because lets face it, if I put on Tim's college application that he was African-American, it would take less than a second to see from his map-of-Ireland face that his father is either a) an idiot, b) a liar or c all of the above. Just like you don't have to be a brain surgeon to see that Lori Loughlin's daughter couldn't paddle a boogie board, never mind lead a college crew team. I mean that kid was all over the inter-webs right? An influencer I think is the terminology.
But you and I don't have 15K in the cushions of our sofas to pay anyone off. And colleges are just like politicians, forever with one hand out and the other in the cookie jar.
It's quite possible I'm dropping the ball on this and I am missing something here. Maybe some of the admissions people are being held accountable. But honestly, I haven't seen it.
And just because I don't think Huffman should have had to do time doesn't mean I don't think her or Klapper or Loughlin or anyone else should not be punished. Hit them in the wallet, make them pay for a kid who earned it and can't afford it because their parents weren't making out with Uncle Jessie or living on Westeria Lane.
I just think the big time universities are getting away with a crime. And as a sports fan, I've seen too much in football and basketball to believe otherwise.
FOOTBALL:
Phil Mushnick is one of my favorite columnists. His twice weekly rants against Mike Francessa are alone worth the price of the paper.
But I don't always agree with all of his takes. Yes I agree John Sterling needs to call a home run differently if its hit 500 feet than if it barely clears the right field fence, no I don't have a problem with his nicknames for Yankee home runs.
Lately, Mushnick has had a huge issue with football play by play guys assigning wins and losses to quarterbacks as if they are major league pitchers. He's taken several to task, the latest being Sam Rosen, who he usually leaves alone.
His argument goes something like "if a QB throws for a whole bunch of yards and touchdowns and the defense stinks, why should be get saddled with a loss?" Or if he didn't throw any TD passes and the game was won on the strength of the running game, why should the QB get the credit?
I see where he is coming from. But I respectfully disagree.
Can't you really say the same thing about a pitcher? My goodness look at Jacob deGrom the last few years. Did he deserve some of those losses he got because the bats went silent? Pitchers lose on errors in the field all the time. It's why era is so important.
And you need to look no further than at Sam Darnold.
I'm not going to pick on Luke Falk, there is a reason he is a third string QB. He did what he could.
But last Sunday against a decent Dallas Cowboy team, the Jets looked like a different team. Most of that had to do with the QB.
I have no issue assigning wins and losses to quarterbacks.
Let's go out on a fun note here this week.
Shay Bradley, a veteran of the Irish Defense Force died in Kilmanagh, County Kilkenny, Ireland on October 8th. Rather than send his friends and family home from the cemetery in tears, he sent them home laughing.
"Hello, hello hello," a voice said from inside the casket. "Let me out! It's f-ckin dark n here!"
Bradley and his son Jonathan cooked up the scheme as it became obvious that his cancer was terminal. According to his daughter, it was just like Shay to do something like that to his family and friends so that they could celebrate his life as well as mourn. What better way to send the mourners off to their post funeral pint than that?
That can only happen in Ireland.
Have a Great Week
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