Baseball this 'n' that

Word out of Philadelphia is that the Phillies have signed former Marlins & Yankees manager Joe Girardi to replace Gabe Kapler, who was fired after the regular season ended. The Phillies collapsed late in the season after getting off to a hot start, and the fiery Girardi, who leaves Fox/MLB Network after 2 seasons, could be what the team needs to get back in the playoff hunt next year.

Meanwhile, the Chicago Cubs have lured World Series hero David Ross out of the ESPN booth to succeed Joe Maddon, who left for the Angels last week.

The Girardi hire in Philadelphia will disappoint Mets fans, who had hoped the Wilpon family would bring him back to the Big Apple, but that would be above the pay grade the Wilpons have set for themselves, with the 2 year Mickey Callaway experiment an example of their unwillingness to spend money on quality management personnel.
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Speaking of the Mets, the Wilpons decided that despite leading the Brooklyn Cyclones to the NY-Penn League title last month, 90's hero Edgardo Alfonzo will not be retained as Cyclones manager for 2020. They're not even considering him for the Mets' job.

Let's face it, the Wilpons have become this generation's version of former owner Joan Payson and GM M. Donald Grant, whose penny-pinching left the Mets in a bad position when Fred Wilpon & Nelson Doubleday bought the team 40 years ago.
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Washington may be leading Houston, 2 games to none, in the World Series, but the biggest highlight for Houston so far may have been last night's first pitch, thrown by gymnastics champion Simone Biles, who put her own spin on things.....

Edit, 7/21/22: The video was deleted. We'll use the 2019 Series logo.