The Road To Cooperstown Is Filled With Potholes

Crime Dog & ???

I was originally intending to write a long piece about my quarrels with the Baseball Hall of Fame election process, but being that I posted my deep thoughts on the Rock & Roll Hall only a couple of weeks ago, I feel that this one should be left for a later time. So for now I’ll simply give the short version.

To be clear, a Hall of Fame should be tough to get into. Induction into a hall is the greatest honor one can receive, and in the case of a sports hall it’s what separates a great career from a GREAT career. But the powers that be appear to take pleasure in setting the hurdles to get in needlessly high. In short, inductees are forced to wait an unnecessarily long time to receive their plaques.

On the eve of the announcement of the results, Ryan Thibodeaux’s ballot tracking info indicates that this may be the second time the BBWAA throws a shutout in the last three cycles. HOF President Josh Rawitch opening up an envelope containing a blank sheet of paper is not exactly compelling television, especially since MLB Network devotes hours of programming on Election Day to lead up to that moment.

If Scott Rolen does manage to make it over the 75% threshold, good for him. If not, he’ll be so close that he’ll be almost certain to do it next year. But why string him out like this? History shows that players that poll over 50% in any election eventually get in anyway. The only exceptions other than the men currently on the ballot are Bonds, Clemens, and Schilling, all of whom have their own unique issues. Rolen, Todd Helton, and Billy Wagner all finished above 50% last year, and the Thibs data makes it look like Andruw Jones, Gary Sheffield, and perhaps Carlos Beltran will do the same this year. Historical trends indicate that all will get in, so why make them wait so long? Who does it benefit to shut the door closed in their faces year after year? Hell, who did it benefit to make Fred McGriff wait this long?

SNL Wrap-Up

The post-Cecily era of SNL is now officially underway. With Aubrey Plaza hosting we had the obligatory White Lotus sketch and as suspected, Bowen Yang portrayed George Santos. Twice! This week’s episode was a tad overstuffed with surprise guest appearances but a couple of the newcomers got some more airtime as they continue their attempts to establish themselves. As for Plaza, she let loose a little bit without losing her essential “If you turn your back on me I can murder you” aura.

The cold open was fairly meh, with a take on the Fox NFL postgame show. If there was a standout here it was Devon Walker as Michael Strahan. He didn’t have any memorable lines, but he had the impression down pat. It might be worth revisiting in a better sketch. It only slightly took off when they turned to sideline reporter George Santos, with Bowen reciting his litany of accomplishments such as being the first African American to dunk a football.

Plaza’s monologue focused on 2 predictable topics. She began by referencing her reputation for being a little crazy. After a brief aside in which she brought up a poll naming her the most famous person from Delaware (including a video message from Joe Biden. I can’t remember, was this the first time he’s appeared on the show?) they moved on to the meat of the segment. After showing a photo from her days as a NBC page she revisited her past by putting on a page jacket and conducting a faux backstage tour. She made sure to point out that she was really bad at that job, illustrated by Kenan complaining that he still hasn’t received a Starbucks order he placed with her back in 2004. (Kenan’s been on the show for a long time.) After lifting Amy Poehler’s wallet backstage, it was time to go on with the rest of the show.

The highlight of the episode was the Miss Universe sketch. I did happen to catch the viral clip that went around last week showing the enthusiastic way in which the competitors identified their countries, so I got the premise. Chloe Fineman was suitably manic as Miss Albania, and Molly Kearney did a good job as a seemingly doomed Miss Denmark. And Plaza really nailed the French contestant, who was the most over the top woman in the real pageant. I also liked host Kenan’s throwaway line expressing disbelief that beauty pageants are still a thing. And we got to see the Property Brothers and Tony Hawk appear as the judges, with Hawk throwing in his own “France!” shouts.

As for the rest of the show, I give props to the White Lotus sketch, as this time the denizens check into the Black Lotus, in which the primarily African American staff is not having it with the overly privileged white guests. And any excuse to see Chloe Fineman’s Jennifer Coolidge is welcome. Otherwise, I also kind of liked the game night sketch in which 2 couples have their new neighbors portrayed by Plaza and Mikey Day play Taboo with them, as their answers grew increasingly scary.

There were 2 correspondent pieces on Update this week. Bowen made a return appearance as George Santos, as I’m sure that the writer’s room had so many liar jokes that they needed to split them across multiple sketches. The highlight here was a mini Parks & Rec reunion with Plaza as April Ludgate. Since it was already established earlier in the episode that Amy Poehler was in the house, it was no surprise that she joined in as Leslie Knope. As a treat she took over Jost’s seat, waving off her first two jokes for being too mean.

Nothing else really stood out, there were a couple of promising premises that didn’t really go anywhere. Allison Williams made an appearance in the taped M3gan piece, and after silently sitting on stage as part of Sam Smith’s second song, Sharon Stone popped in as Plaza’s mother in the episode closing film noir sketch.

Overall, it was an average evening. Aubrey Plaza was better than the material that was given her. Both Devon Walker and Molly Kearney had larger spotlights than they have had previously, but it remains to be seen if either can maintain that momentum. Next week Michael B. Jordan makes his hosting debut.

A Sequel Without Being A Sequel

I recently watched The Banshees of Inisherin and really enjoyed it. It’s not as good as In Bruges was, but it was a keeper with a wonderful sense of place and an adorable donkey. I bring it up because it’s a type of movie we don’t see enough of; a reunion of actors with writer/director that is not a forced sequel.

Granted, (spoiler alert) you can’t make a sequel to In Bruges, but that’s rarely been an unsurmountable barrier for the movie industry. There have been so many unnecessary sequels made over the years. Sometimes they’re clearly trying to draw blood from a stone, as there’s no real story left to tell after the initial successful movie. Other times making a second movie essentially contradicts everything that happened in the first one. I understand the impulse to attempt to recreate the magic. Not only do they come presold, but when you have an actor combo that clearly works, you’d try to stick with it.

But why not simply create a new story featuring original characters with the same actors? The gold standard for this idea is the combo of Paul Newman/Robert Redford/George Roy Hill. Rather than revisit Butch & Sundance, (maybe try a prequel?) they reunited years later with The Sting. Same actors, similar vibe, another massive success. We’ll find out soon enough if Banshees gets the same Oscar love that The Sting did, but Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson and Martin McDonagh clearly know how to create something special together. Something to keep in mind as there’s plenty of evidence that audiences are suffering from sequel fatigue.

RIP Sal Bando

It’s inevitable that many famous people pass away over the course of a year. There are 2 classes that really hit harder than others because they force us to contemplate our own mortality, or face as David St. Hubbins famously put it, “too much f***ing perspective.” Rock star deaths are rough because even though that first generation of classic rockers have reached their 70s & 80s, we still like to maintain our images of them as forever young.

Deaths of famous athletes, particularly one whose heyday came when you were very young, are just as big of a slap in the face. Former Oakland great Sal Bando is the most recent example. The captain of those dynastic A’s teams, he was a constant presence on my TV in the earliest Octobers that I have clear memories of. Reading about his passing is yet another brutal reminder that parts of my childhood are fading away and that Father Time will always remain undefeated.

I don’t want to end this on too morbid of a note. Bando was one hell of a player, a perfect example of the category of a guy who falls just a tad short of Hall of Fame worthiness, yet with a career that anyone can be proud of. The Hall frequently throws out that stat mentioning that only 1% of major league players earn a plaque. Sal Bando could say he was in the top 2%, and there ain’t no shame in that game.

No need to get into how disheartening it is to lose a childhood celebrity crush. If I had started this newsletter last year I could have spent about 40,000 words talking about Olivia Newton-John.

And In Conclusion

Keep your feet on the stars and reach for the ground. If you like what you see, please share and recommend. If you’re paying a visit, the “subscribe” button is one simple click away. Thanks for reading.