Monday, July 30, 2018

Sports this 'n' that

With three games remaining until the playoffs begin on Wednesday, the Albany Dutchmen sit in 2nd place in the East division of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League. Today, they're in Glens Falls for a double-header to make up for a rainout last week. Friday's home game vs. Utica will not be made up. The Dutchmen sit 3 games behind East leader Amsterdam with two days left in the regular season. Even if they sweep all three remaining games, that doesn't mean they can catch up.
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When rains also washed out Friday's game between the Tri-City Valleycats and Staten Island Yankees, more than one person, I'm sure, questioned whether or not the baseball gods wanted these two teams playing each other again this season.

Then came another deluge on Saturday, which bumped the regularly scheduled game off the schedule. The July 22 game at Staten Island that had been suspended in the top of the second inning was completed Saturday, with the baby bombers winning, 2-0. They also won the first half of the Sunday double-header by the same score before the 'Cats salvaged the nightcap.

Meanwhile, outfielder Gilberto Celestino, one of the 'Cats' best players (team leader in stolen bases, 2nd in HR's, etc.) was part of a trade package that Houston dealt to Minnesota on Friday. Celestino could still make it to the bigs, but just not with Houston. Yet. Stranger things have happened, of course.
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The Mets traded infielder Asdrubal Cabrera on Friday. Problem was, it was to a division rival, NL East-leading Philadelphia. It would've been nice for Cabrera, at the time of the trade the team leader in HR's for the Mets, to return to the American League, where he began his career (Cleveland, Tampa Bay). As it is, he's on his 3rd different NL East team (Nationals, Mets, Phillies) in the last five years.

On the other hand, ESPN's Buster Olney reported Sunday that the Mets now aren't likely to deal away their two best pitchers, Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard, and, to be honest, they shouldn't. That would seal the casket on the season, in ye scribe's opinion. Zack Wheeler, who was virtually a 1-man show in a Sunday win over Pittsburgh, is still being talked about as a possible trade candidate. I don't think so. The Mets need to stand pat going forward, and worry about fixing their farm system in the off-season.
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Right around the All-Star break, Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Josh Hader had to answer for some long deleted and forgotten tweets made before he got into the big leagues. In the wake of a similar imbroglio involving filmmaker James Gunn, two more players have found themselves having to apologize for tweets dug up by a bunch of social media nannies.

Atlanta Braves pitcher Sean Newcomb pitched a 1-hitter for 8 2/3 innings Sunday vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers, but the focus after the game wasn't the gem, but some 7-8 year old tweets involving racial and gay slurs. This morning, we are learning the same thing happened to Washington infielder Trea Turner.

It seems there's a few get-a-life's that are burrowing through Twitter archives, looking for dirt on pro athletes just because they think it's important to them, if not anyone else, to "get the message" out. As I wrote regarding Gunn 10 days ago, a couple of conservative jackasses decided to knock him down a few pegs just because he's not a fan of President Trump. The hypocrisy of the Geezers on Parade and the sycophants pledging loyalty to President Donald John Archie Bunker Trump is sickening. To the anonymous so-called "social justice warriors" making life miserable for pro athletes for the same reason, find something better to do. Just because you're miserable doesn't mean you can force others to feel the same way.
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Finally, a Dunce Cap is headed to incoming NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Owens, who now is telling the media he felt butt-hurt because it took three years for him to enter the shrine, and that certain media types cast him in a negative light. Well, I look at it this way. Owens was a great player. The first mistake he made was leaving the San Francisco 49ers to chase the money. The fact that he presented himself as a me-first prima donna didn't endear him to a lot of the media, including gadflies like Phil Mushnick, for example. Did Owens really think the media wouldn't hold his on-field clowning against him? That he also did a reality TV show wasn't helping. So his ego is bruised. Big whoop.

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