Sports this 'n' that

It's been a bad week for umpires.

First, veteran arbiter Eric Cooper, two weeks removed from the ALDS between the Yankees & Minnesota, passed away at 52. Days later, retired ump Chuck Merriweather passed away at 69, which means another patch will be added to the umpires' shirts for the remainder of the World Series.

Then, on Sunday, Washington fans took out some frustration on plate umpire Lance Barksdale during game 5. In the 6th, Washington pitcher Tanner Rainey thought he had Houston's Michael Brantley out on strikes, but Barksdale called it a ball instead. Barksdale would later claim that Nationals catcher Yan Gomes showed him up by getting out of position, assuming it was an inning ending strikeout.

To add to the Nationals' misery, Barksdale later called Washington outfielder Victor Rojas out on strikes, even though strike three was outside, and the partisans let him have it.

The theory I have about such strike calls is that if the ball crosses the imaginary lines at the knees or the letters on the batter's uniform, even if it is 1-3 feet outside, it's still going to be called. Just accept it, and move on.
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It's rare when the Mets & Yankees make trades, and rarer still for the Jets & Giants.

So it comes as a shock today to learn that the moribound, 1-6 Jests traded 2015 first round pick Leonard Williams, a defensive tackle out of USC, to the 2-6 Giants for draft picks in the next couple of years.

After the Giants lost to Detroit yesterday, a friend of mine from Massachusetts, whose loyalties are split between Big Blue and the Patriots, asked if the Giants needed to jettison Pat Shurmur and his entire staff. I reminded her that the Giants had to deal with some major injuries early this season, contributing to another bad start, not to mention management being too stubborn to see, until it was too late, that Eli Manning wasn't a quality starting quarterback anymore.

Williams, though, addresses a need on the defensive side of the ball. Getting just draft picks, on the other hand, doesn't help the Jests, and the two teams meet in two weeks.
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After nine seasons, the Yankees parted company with well traveled pitching coach Larry Rothschild today. It didn't take long for the rumor mill to start spinning with speculation that Rothschild's next stop could be Philadelphia, reuniting with Joe Girardi.

So who replaces Rothschild in the Bronx? Dave Eiland's available.......
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After two years of being a deer in the headlights in the Mets' dugout, Mickey Callaway is returning to being a pitching coach, and to the American League, joining Joe Maddon with the Angels. Well, it beats selling golf equipment.........
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Back to the World Series. President Trump wisely decided not to throw out a first pitch in any of the Nationals' home games in the series, but when he decided to attend game 5 with wife Melania Sunday, Trump ended up getting booed out of the ballpark.

Anti-Trump fans in attendance used one of his pet catchphrases against him, chanting "Lock him up!", in reference to the ongoing impeachment inquiry, and contrary to Trump's brainless supporters echoing his call for his defeated opponent in 2016, Hillary Clinton, to be locked up, despite the lack of evidence of wrong-doing.

Similarly, the most polarizing President in American history has at times seemed to be made of teflon, despite the past coming back to haunt him (i.e. the infamous 2005 Access Hollywood video). Reportedly now a man of faith, Trump has been targeted by mainstream media because of his past sins. The Bible tells us that when we are born again, we become a new creation. So why doesn't, say for example, 60 Minutes, acknowledge this in regards to Trump. In his own awkward way, he's trying to deny his past sins based on those scriptures, but after being a public figure for so long, keeping his faith under wraps is not the smartest of ideas.

Then again, he still comes across as a deer in the headlights in the White House.