It Was Pfaadt Tuesday
And Then There Were Two
There was so much handwringing over the first several days of the MLB postseason. Too many upsets (the format is unfair!) Too many blowouts/games essentially over in the second inning. For those of us that stuck with it, patience has paid off. Both league championship series were extended the full 7 games, excitement and drama ramped up, and we were rewarded with a Texas/Arizona matchup, exactly what everyone expected to see back in March.
Sadly, we will be deprived of one of our favorite October traditions. It’s safe to say that this time there will be no freezing infielders standing on the field bundled up as if they were about to attempt an Everest climb. And if you set aside the 2020 COVID year anomaly, this is going to be the first World Series played entirely on artificial turf in years; I believe the first since Toronto/Philadelphia back in 1993.
Last night’s game had consequences as well. Chris Russo vowed that he would retire immediately if Arizona won last night. I suspect he had his fingers crossed when he made that pledge. On a more serious note, we’ve likely seen the last of Dusty Baker in the manager’s seat. He has always seemed to be a really good dude; as tough as it can be to root for this Astros squad I was genuinely happy to see him finally win a ring last season. His strategery has often left a lot to be desired, but he has been an asset to the game. If he does in fact retire, happy trails to him.
Fox executives wishing for high ratings are probably not feeling too good about this matchup, but that’s their problem, not ours. Looking forward to see a lot more heroics from Adolis Garcia and Ketel Marte. From Corey Seager and Corbin Carroll. Will there be a guy who comes out of nowhere to become an October legend? The future is unwritten.
Committee Era Candidates - Part One
With a few off days before the World Series begins, this looks like a good time to dive into the candidacies of the 8 men on the newest eras committee ballot. As a quick refresher, this year they are considering managers/executives/umpires from the post-1980 period. The voting panel, whose names will not be revealed until closer to the actual voting day, will convene during the winter meetings in early December. The voters, 16 in total, will consist of a combo of sportswriters, historians, and Hall of Famers. Each can vote for a maximum of 3 candidates, and just as with the BBWAA vote, any nominee will need to obtain 75% of the vote to become an inductee. Today I’ll look at the executives and umpires.
Ed Montague - I find it close to impossible to feel any sort of enthusiasm over the candidacy of an umpire. No disrespect intended, it’s just that spots in the Hall are so precious and selective that it seems wrong for an ump to siphon votes away from someone else. For what it’s worth, Montague had a long and distinguished career. I can hear the voice of Bob Murphy saying his name in my head. If there truly is a need to add another umpire into the institution, better that it be Montague than the other umpire on this year’s ballot.
Hank Peters - He was a classic baseball man, spending decades in front offices for multiple teams. His first major run of his success came as GM of the Athletics in the tail end of their time in Kansas City. Although he had left the organization well before their dynasty years, he laid the foundation by drafting many of their future stars. That was also the case with his final GM job in Cleveland. Those 90’s teams never won a championship, but he was once again instrumental in finding the young players who would form the backbone of a strong run. But his career highlight came in Baltimore, as he built the team that won an AL pennant in 1979 and the World Series in 1983. That’s quite a resume, but to be blunt, if he was Hall-worthy, he would have made it in years ago. I’m not necessarily saying that it would have taken a second championship to merit induction, but that would have helped strengthen his case immensely.
Joe West - He umpired more games than anyone in major league history. For more perspective on how long he stuck around - he portrayed one of the umps in the game at the end of The Naked Gun! Despite that longevity, was he all that good of an umpire? He often graded poorly, and he frequently displayed the worst tendencies that one can see in an official. He too often made himself the center of attention, and there is a long list of players and managers with whom he has had run-ins. His enemies list is long; that record is noteworthy, but I just cannot see him as a Hall Of Famer.
Bill White - I believe he is the most deserving of the 8 candidates, but there are all sorts of asterisks attached. He has lived the perfect baseball life, serving in practically every facet of the game. He was an all-star player with multiple Gold Glove awards, had a long career as a distinguished broadcaster, and served as National League President. It was a relatively short tenure, as he led the league at the point when MLB consolidated the league offices, making that position superfluous. He was a pioneer, as the first African-American to hold such a high position in one of the Big 4 team sports. However, his playing and broadcasting careers have no bearing on this ballot. Voters are to only take his years as an executive into account. Is 6 years as a prez enough, even with the historical significance connected to his term? I’d like to think so, but I have no idea if the voters will feel the same way.
More Performers Added To The Festivities
The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame has announced a new set of presenters and performers for next weekend’s induction ceremony. The performers are Common, Adam Levine, Miguel, Stevie Nicks, Sia, and Carrie Underwood. Announced as presenters are Ice-T, LL Cool J, and Queen Latifah.
Once again that means it’s time to play the match game. The rappers will clearly present for Missy Elliott, Don Cornelius, and DJ Kool Herc. Carrie Underwood has already shared a photo of her standing with Willie Nelson, so it’s safe to say that she will be part of Willie’s induction. As for the others - Sia performing for Kate Bush? Does Miguel make more sense for George Michael or for The Spinners? Common with Missy? Stevie Nicks with Sheryl Crow? Who does Levine match up best with? (Hint: not Rage Against the Machine, as hilarious as that could be.)
TV Of The 21st Century - House
Part of the reason why this show worked as well as it did was that it successfully mingled disparate types of TV tropes. Because it was a network series it couldn’t make the titular character too dark, but Greg House did share some DNA with the antiheroes that so dominated the cable TV landscape. But at its heart it was also a classic procedural. Instead of Columbo outwitting Jack Cassidy, it featured House outwitting the various microbes in the human body that are always trying to kill us.
Like most great shows, its success was made possible by its casting. Because Hugh Laurie was so good, we were able to sympathize with the main character despite his many negative qualities. House was a brilliant doctor, but also a misanthrope with a Vicodin addiction. He verbally abused his long suffering underlines and had a contentious relationship with his boss. And yet, Laurie found the humanity within the character. We never really liked him, but we understood him.
It was admittedly formulaic at times. House was a diagnostician, and each week he and his team would be presented with a patient displaying an unexplained malady with mysterious symptoms. It got to be a cliche that in most episodes everyone would assume the patient was suffering from lupus, and usually around the halfway point a misdiagnosis would place the patient in mortal danger until House would have his “elementary,” moment and save the day.
Like a lot of shows, it probably lasted at least a couple of years too long. There can only be so many odd diseases before the writers start repeating themselves. I did appreciate the fact that they didn’t fall into the trap of keeping his initial team together for too long. If the young doctors under his watch were as skilled as implied, then they would move on to better things. The drawback is that in the later seasons the newer doctors would always suffer in comparison to Cameron, Chase, & Foreman.
The show premiered fewer than 20 years ago, but it already feels like it came from another time. Hour long network TV has gotten addicted to franchising, so I can’t imagine seeing something like this on a network schedule these days. Even in its heyday I never considered this a must watch, but it always provided a very satisfying way to spend an hour. Just remember - it’s not lupus!
Originally aired on: Fox
Currently streaming on: Take your pick, it’s on both Amazon Prime & on Peacock
Quick Bites
After last night’s season opening appetizer, there is a full slate of NBA action tonight including the official start of the Wembanyama Era. The snippets and highlights I’ve seen so far are hard to wrap my head around. It’s almost as if a forward step in human evolution is taking place before our very eyes. To those who choose to act as contrarians or who angrily sit on their sofas saying “prove it to me” take a chill pill. It’s OK to enjoy things; it’s a nice feeling. In the meantime, be thankful that we are alive at this moment. It is NOT a photoshop, this is real life.
The NHL saved face and did a 180 following a major self inflected error. Last season there were multiple instances in which players (and in some cases entire times) refused to wear special sweaters during warmups for Pride Nights. The league responded by instituting a ban this season on all types of celebratory additions to uniforms; they specifically it was stated that using rainbow tape on sticks would not be allowed. Good way to let certain segments of the fanbase know that they’re not truly welcome. There were rumblings that players would call the league’s bluff and go ahead with taping their sticks and daring the league to fine them. Travis Dermott of the Coyotes was the first to test the league in a game earlier this week by taping his stick with pride tape. The league has now rescinded the ban. It should have never come to this; caving in to the bigots is never a smart move.
A bit of an unexpected development in the MLB managerial carousel took place as San Francisco will hire Bob Melvin as their new manager - official announcement should be made today. It says a lot about the dysfunction in San Diego, more specifically the poor relationship between Melvin and POBO A.J. Preller that Melvin would rather manage the Giants roster than what he had with the Padres. It had also been reported that before the Giants had set their sights on Melvin that they had interviewed Alyssa Nakken for the job as one of their internal candidates. I don’t believe many people actually expected her to get the job, but she was the first woman ever to interview for a major league managerial position. As more and more teams have begun to hire women as coaches, it’s certainly possible that we could see that glass ceiling broken in the near future.
That’s All For Now
In the time it took you to read this newsletter 3 additional candidates for House Speaker have stepped forward and then immediately dropped out. You may be next. In the meantime, see you all on Friday. Thanks as always for reading.