Major League Baseball’s Opening Day is unequivocally the greatest day of the year.

I could expound on how Opening Day is a rite of spring that leads us out of the darkness of winter, that it imbues every fan with an optimism that this is THE year, how it connects generations within families, perhaps I laboriously describe the history of the game and its place in the story of America, or how baseball is a complicated dance between flashes of occasional success and routine failure. I’m not going to do that.

Here’s What I Love About Baseball:

The Jeter jump throw from deep in the hole.

A hot dog with mustard and sauerkraut washed down with a lukewarm cup of suds in 90 degrees heat. Don’t be a rookie and put the mustard on the kraut. Slap down the mustard first and then pile on the kraut. Part of the ballpark experience is having mustard glued to your cheek or plastered to the side of your mouth for an inning or two. Hopefully, a concerned friend will politely point out that you resemble a clown and you’ll take the necessary steps to remedy the situation. (At Fenway, you’ll have to substitute chopped onions for kraut. New Englanders don’t appreciate that sauerkraut is a delicacy. )

Ditching work and hitting a weekday afternoon matinee.

The athletic colossus that is Shohei Ohtani.

Stopping by the side of the road to watch an inning of a Little League game.

The crack of the bat.

The smell of a well-oiled and cared for mitt. (Preferably Rawlings.)

Watching an afternoon Cubs game and the production crew highlighting the attractive women in attendance. They really do their homework in Chicago.

Listening to the New York Mets broadcast trio of Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling. (Oh, how I have missed you.)

Fantasizing about the possibility of catching a foul ball. (I’ve done it once off the bat of Bobby Meacham. That brief moment in time symbolizes everything crazy and sometimes charming about growing up as a Sheridan.)

An around the horn 5-4-3 double play.

The insanity and genius of Billy Martin.

The diminutive Jose Altuve putting every last molecule of his being into a violent attempt to destroy a baseball.

The unexpected success of Nasty Nestor Cortes and his start/stop/twist/pause/rope-a-dope impersonation of El Tiante.

The feel of a bat in my hands.

The feel of a baseball in my finger tips.

Dirt. Dirt on the uni. Dirt in your spikes. Dirt in your hair. Dirt down the front of your baseball pants from a headfirst slide. GLORIOUS DIRT.

The warrior that is J.T. Realmuto.

The throwback nature of Jeff McNeil.

Bull Durham

Heading to the big ball orchard with a friend to take in a game. The conversation, the laughs, sharing a meal together — reconnecting with each other. Nothing beats it.

Bo Bichette’s flow.

Rollie Fingers’ moustache.

The homicidal stare of Goose Gossage.

The All-American dysfunction of my childhood hero Pete Rose.

YAZ

The athletic grace of Mookie Betts.

The savage beauty of the stolen base.

A bazooka throw launched from deep in right field to erase the runner at third base.

The concept of Javy “El Mago” Baez.

The understated craftiness and beauty of Anders Gimenez’s game.

A FILTHY slider.

Watching a late night game from the West Coast, where the light from your tv demonstrates to the rest of the neighborhood that you’re not a casual fan.

Jacob deGrom = Baseball God

Baseball is a balm. It is an indicator of the approach of spring and the advent of winter. It is part of the fabric of our American life, where a 162-game schedule plays out either in the lively foreground or muted background of our days. Baseball is a constant presence that brings normalcy to our lives, which have become increasingly more fractured and isolated.

The lockout imposed by the stewards of baseball (the 30 owners of MLB franchises and Commissioner Rob Manfred) and the failures of these same guardians of the game to achieve an agreement with the Major League Baseball Players Association resulting in the loss of Opening Day and the first two series of the regular season, is an indictment of the public trust that has been placed in their hands.

It’s difficult to get overly overwrought or lament the loss of a spate of regular season baseball games when Vladimir Putin has launched a war in Ukraine and our media feeds are being besieged by graphic images of death and destruction.

But baseball should be a respite from the ills that plague us. Baseball provided a diversion from the drudgery of the pandemic in 2020 with a shortened 60-game regular season. The fall of 2021, where the World Series between the Houston Astros and the Atlanta Braves showcased crowded stadiums and a glimpse of post-pandemic life, was both illusory and real. We could return to something approaching normal; it was possible.

What is confounding and stupefying is how the owners and their minions can constantly fail to correctly read the room. The room being baseball fans and the larger American public. How can an industry that is losing interest in its brand and losing fans, so blithely ignore its declining position in our American society?

Baseball needs to do what it does best: and that is be there. It’s as simple as that. Just show up.

The lockout and impasse in negotiations is one plank of an orchestrated plan on the part of major league baseball owners to lower costs – not only on the major league level – but also at the minor league level. Displaying a profound lack of wisdom and judgment, which seems to be the defining rule and not the exception, Major League Baseball owners have decimated the relationship between small town America and the national pastime by napalming 42 minor league baseball teams in December of 2020. In the Northeast, the short-season Single A New York-Penn League became as extinct as the Golden Bamboo Lemur. Major League Baseball’s lawyers are currently arguing in federal court that minor league baseball players should continue to not get paid for spring training.

Continuing in their quest to save dough and pad their profit margins, the loss of Opening Day and the first two series of the regular season has a negligible effect on the owners’ bottom lines. However, players will lose money. The lockout was orchestrated to put pressure on the players to accept a less than equitable agreement, which makes it that much harder to embrace this game.

As I have been described by my friend Dan-o, “You are the only person that still watches baseball.” Our mutual friend Kell would disagree with that assertion, but hardball fans are vanishing faster than the secrecy behind a Russian oligarch’s Swiss bank account.

In the end, the owners were given a shiny bauble to preserve and protect. And they are completely incapable and utterly lacking in understanding how the game should be managed, cherished, and presented to its loyal fans. After our nation has struggled through a pandemic, a return to normalcy would be a welcome relief from the isolation many people endured. Baseball is a conduit to people. It connects people to each other at the local tavern, where two strangers can gripe about why some dumbass manager ruined their night by bringing in a train wreck of a relief pitcher. It’s a family returning from their daughter’s Little League game, to watch the big club play some ball on their family room’s tv, while they chow down on some pizza from their local spot.

That’s baseball. It connects. It’s always there.

Fuck the owners. And fuck Rob Manfred.

CHRIS TAYLOR WALK-OFF HOME RUN! THE DODGERS ADVANCE TO PLAY THE GIANTS! pic.twitter.com/ceWZmBPR6V

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) October 7, 2021

Suffering from a neck injury that had Chris Taylor slogging through an 8-for-72 slump, the Dodgers utility player extraordinaire was the unlikely hero to end the National League Wild Card playoff game with a two-run walkoff blast into the Hollywood night. Hollywood is where fairy tales are created and the St. Louis Cardinals saw their fairy tale run end, by a shot into the night, resulting in a 3-1 loss to the SoCal colossus that is the Los Angeles Dodgers.

When I watch Chris Taylor, I see a ballplayer. Emphasis on ballplayer. Taylor plays all over the field. This year he has played right field, center field, left field, shortstop, third base, second base, and played in the All-Star game at Coors Field.

The 31-year-old Taylor will be a free agent whenever the Dodgers’ playoff run ends, which leads me to this pitch for Mets owner Steve Cohen and Mets President Sandy Alderson:

Whatever the hell you do this offseason, make a strong play for the 2017 NLCS MVP. That’s right, I want Chris Taylor on the New York Mets. The Mets need to change the makeup of their roster and Taylor would bring professionalism, a knowledge of what it takes to win, and a collection of gloves that allows him to play all over the diamond like a modern day Bert Campaneris.

If Michael Conforto exits the Mets for a Scott Boras money run, which he should, because he had a 2021 season that was absolute crap and any big time money offered to him should be gratefully accepted. To replace Conforto, the Mets search should consist of contacting Taylor’s agent. The Mets need to move on from Conforto, who simply cannot hit lefties. Against southpaws in 2021, Conforto had 146 plate appearances, 22 singles, 19 walks, 2 doubles, 1 home run, 9 RBI, and 37 punch outs.

If Earl Weaver or Billy Martin had been managing the 2021 Mets, Conforto would have been consistently benched against lefties and known as a platoon player. For most of the season, Conforto was slightly north of the Mendoza line and did not hit his first home run off a lefty until the month of September. But we live in 2021, the Mets seemingly had no one to platoon with Conforto (Dom Smith crushed lefties in 2021.), and we had to watch Conforto submit this slash line: .232/.344/.729

Has this become more a piece on why I believe the Mets should move on from Conforto and less of a piece regarding the merits of Chris Taylor? It appears so.

Oh … to be Brian Cashman. It can’t be the most wonderful time of the year to be the Yankees general manager. Fans are fed up with the mediocrity that was showcased throughout the 2021 season and the Steinbrenner family can’t be thrilled with the recent results on the field. When have the Yankees fielded a team that couldn’t hit? You would have to point to the Stump Merrill years or the Horace Clarke era for such an example.

Going into last night’s American League Wild Card playoff game versus the Boston Red Sox, the Yankees were relying on their ace, Gerrit Cole, and defense to move on. The defense was fine, but Gerrit Cole resembled former Yankees pitcher Kenny Rogers and got lit up by Boston’s bats. Cole pitched into the third inning when Aaron Boone had no choice but to end the bleeding. Cole surrendered 3 earned runs, 2 home runs, 4 hits, walked 2, struck out 2, and managed to record 6 outs. Game over. Season over. Because the Bronx Bombers are only the Bronx Bombers when Aaron Judge or Giancarlo Stanton has a bat in their hands.

With Boston ace Nate Eovaldi dealing – something he had done almost all season versus the Yankees with the exception of his September 24th start, the Yankees were done. There was no way this offensively-challenged team was going to claw their way back into this one. How bad was it? The last six spots in the Yankees batting order went 1-20, struck out 11 times, did not register a walk, and the lone hit was an infield single.

Now, if I were Brian Cashman, here are my offseason priorities:

1. Add Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop and free agent-to-be, Corey Seager. Seager is 27 and has demonstrated that he can thrive in a big market.
2. Trade Aroldis Chapman. Chapman’s stock is down but getting out from under his contact would be huge and help the Yankees stay under the dreaded luxury tax threshold. The Yankees closer has one year remaining on his contract at $16 million. Can you say San Diego Padres?
3. The Yankees infield would be: D.J. LeMahieu at 1B, Gleyber Torres at 2B, Gio Urshela at 3B, and Corey Seager at SS. Anthony Rizzo is allowed to leave via free agency.
4. Look to add either A’s center fielder Starling Marte or Los Angeles Dodgers all-purpose utility player extraordinaire Chris Taylor. Taylor is Tyler Wade on steroids.
5. Add a starter. That could be anyone from Zack Greinke to Marcus Stroman or old man Rich Hill. The Yankees need to add a reliable starter and not take another flyer on a rehabbing pitcher like Corey Kluber. If Luis Severino can stay healthy, that would be a huge boost.
6. Make a decision on Gary Sanchez. Can you withstand his mental lapses, subpar defense, and diminishing offense? That Sanchez started on the bench against the Red Sox answers those questions.
7. Bid farewell to one of my all-time favorite Yankees, Brett Gardner. Adam Duvall could be a nice replacement.
8. Sayonara to Clint Frazier.
9. Au revoir to Luke Voit.
10. Bring back Aaron Boone.

Cash & The Cheater

After 162 games, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox will meet at Fenway Park to decide who will move on and who will go home in tonight’s American League Wild Card playoff game.

Based on the modern game’s fixation on power, the 2021 Bronx Bombers were constructed to bash the opposition into submission. But in a survive or die affair, the Yankees have selected to go with defense and not offense.

Behind Gerrit Cole on the bump, the Yankees will have Brett Gardner patrolling center field, Andrew Velasquez manning shortstop, and Gio Urshela moving back to third base. Behind the dish will be Kyle Higashioka and not Gary Sanchez.

When it comes down to crunch time, Brian Cashman’s analytics department and Aaron Boone have decided to eschew their 162-game approach and attempt to win with D. My gut tells me this is a manager’s decision.

Rocktober is here, which means the end of Zeptember, but for those about to rock we salute you.

Jeff Hafley’s Boston College Eagles are getting ready to rock Death Valley. ESPN charitably gives the Eagles an 11% chance to pull a win out of Death Valley, but Dabo’s Clemson Tigers are looking vulnerable after a loss to N.C. St. As Hafley likes to say, B.C. won’t flinch.

The Red Sox are playing down the stretch like they would prefer to play fall ball in the Yawkey League. The Orioles Curse of Robert Andino continues.

The Toronto Blue Jays could be the the AL East’s team to beat in 2022. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is getting all the love but Bo Bichette is also a beast. Bichette just joined the 25/25 club.

Kyrie Irving views himself as an intellectual, who holds views that confuse the vast majority of intelligent people. I’m just completely bored with the guy.

Good to see Tom Brady’s personal trainer, Alex Guerrero, returning to Gillette Stadium. I wonder if Bill will find a nice electrical closet, where the TB12 trainer can attend to his client’s needs.

The Seattle Mariners are aiming to fuck up some people’s shit.

Is Lane Kiffin versus Nick Saban bigger than the return of Tom Brady to Foxboro?

Are Larry Nassar’s buddies running the NWSL?

Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a ball out of Dodger Stadium but the Padres continue to lose, and lose and lose some more.

Watching Joe Biden attempt to corral members of his own political party is like watching Steve Nash coach the Brooklyn Nets.

No sleep ’til Brooklyn unless you’re a Mets fan.

ROCKTOBER

I have to confess that I have been maniacally-obsessed with the Mets. The season started out with promise and has disintegrated into the usual dysfunctional mess that has come to define the New York Mets.

In yesterday’s State of the Mets Address by team president Sandy Alderson, who may not be dealing with a larger mess than Joe Biden this fall, but it’s debatable. Speaking to reporters, Alderson all but assured the press that Luis Rojas will not return as manager.

“It may be in everybody’s interest that those decisions are made in a more timely fashion,” Alderson said. “What I would hope is that those decisions are made with a new leadership potentially in mind, not trying to anticipate what they would decide, but to make sure, whether it’s in the case of players or other positions, they have as much flexibility as possible.”

“I’m big on process, but ultimately results matter,” Alderson said. “And if you don’t have good results over a period of time, then process may not survive. So as we approach the end of the season, we have to be realistic about what the results have been.

Alright, so Mets fans will be relying on Alderson to find a President of Baseball Operations, who will then be responsible for hiring a general manager, a new manager, decide on which players should go and which should stay, and decide on what free agents to pursue. Ideally, all of this should be completed before Dec. 1st when the current Collective Bargaining Agreement ends. That’s a tiny Honey To-Do List.

When it comes to Luis Rojas, it is hard to place blame on him for the Mets struggles. The Mets can’t hit. Rojas can’t step up to the plate and hit for Lindor, Conforto, McNeil, Smith, and McCann. These five guys killed the Mets offense. Unless the next Mets manager knows a guy who has a connect to Pedro Cerrano’s Jobu Voodoo, this offense needs an overhaul. A fair complaint about Rojas is he did little to change the Mets by being more aggressive with the running game. Rojas was reluctant to use the steal and did little hit and run action.

El Mago

For the month of September, one of the Mets best hitters has been Javy Baez. Acquired from the Chicago Cubs, who graciously agreed to pay Baez’s salary for the remainder of the season and allow the Mets to stay under the luxury cap threshold, Javy Baez has breathed life into a moribund offense. El Mago’s salary drive has resulted in a slash line over the last 30 days of: .352/.421/.602

Baez being one of the bright spots in an end of summer collapse that would have been hard to predict, seemingly has no future with the Mets. Sandy Alderson had this to say on the topic:

“Baez has been really exceptional for us since he came off the IL, on which he was placed shortly after we acquired him,” Alderson said. “Javy, as we’ve all seen, impacts the game in a variety of ways. Not only offensively with his power, but on the bases, in the field.

“Probably last night was a testimony to those additional qualities that make him such a good player. That tag at second base early in the game, and then scoring from third base on that infield hit.”

When asked by one of the knights of the keyboard whether it was possible for Baez to return in 2022, Alderson had this response:

“Is it possible? Yes. Is it realistic? Maybe,” Alderson said. “It’s hard for me to put odds on it. Does Javy want to be here, did he enjoy his stay, what could be expected from him over the next several years. There’s a lot of things that go into any free agent decision.

“But to say no, there’s absolutely no way that Javy Baez can be a part of the Mets next year, no I wouldn’t be prepared to say that at this point.”

Maybe it’s realistic? The Mets surrendered their first-round draft pick in 2020, Pete Crow-Armstrong, to acquire Baez and pitcher Trevor Williams. Crow-Armstrong could have been the Mets center fielder of the future but now it appears he was traded for a rental. Yes, Lindor was hurt at the time of the move and the Mets felt they needed Baez to shore up shortstop for their playoff push, but to give up a first-round pick for a rental is astounding. Coupled with the Kumar Rocker fiasco in the 2021 draft, where the Mets seemed ignorant and oblivious to the concerns shared by other teams regarding the health of Rocker’s shoulder, resulting in a wasted first-round pick and leaving the Mets with nothing to show for the first round in 2020 or 2021. Can you say s-l-o-o-o-w-l-y? FUCKED UP!

To sum up:

1. Baez does not appear to be a part of the Mets future.
2. Pete Crow-Armstrong is a part of the Cubs future.
3. Kumar Rocker is back at Vanderbilt or wherever he is.

After all this and Alderson’s previous hirings of Mickey Callaway, Jared Porter, and Zack Scott, Mets fans are to believe that Alderson can hire the right person to head the baseball operations department at Citi Field.

Just writing this shit is giving me agita.

The 2021 New York Mets spent over 100 days in first place and this week will play out the string for the final week of the regular season. Entering yesterday’s doubleheader sweep of the Miami Marlins, the Mets had lost 10 of 11 games, which included series sweeps by the Boston Red Sox and the Milwaukee Brewers. These not quite mediocre Mets sit in third place in the National League East and eliminated from postseason baseball, 9.5 games behind the division-leading Atlanta Braves, 13.5 games out of a Wild Card berth, and sporting a 75-82 record.

The second half of the season has exposed the Mets as being unable to run with the big dogs of MLB. The most glaring example of this fatal flaw is when the Mets locked up for two weeks versus the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers in August; resulting in a two-week stretch of baseball where the Mets went 2-11, lost 7 one-run games, fell from first place to third place in the NL East, and saw the ball club plummet from four games over .500 to four games under .500.

The Mets never recovered from these vicious body blows inflicted by the heavyweights of the senior circuit. As the Mets were getting mauled by these West Coast titans, Mets manager Luis Rojas made the comment that at least the Mets weren’t getting blown out.

No, the Mets weren’t getting blown out but they were exposed as a team incapable of winning against teams with more savoir faire and swagger. The Mets simply couldn’t solve the puzzle on how to beat a quality MLB team; and in stark terms, it exposed the Mets talent level as being wildly overrated.

Coming into the 2021 campaign, the Mets were expected to score runs. Based on the brief 60-game sample of the 2020 season, the Mets finished third in MLB with 551 hits. A little disconcerting was the Mets scored only 286 runs, placing them 13th in MLB and 8 runs over the mean; but there was no reason to expect the Mets to suffer from a colossal failure on offense, which is what happened in 2021.

How abysmally inadequate are the Mets at the plate? Only three teams have failed to score fewer runs than the Mets: the Pittsburgh Pirates, Texas Rangers, and Miami Marlins. Coming into last night’s doubleheader, the Mets and Marlins were both sitting at 606 runs scored on the year, and New York’s doubleheader sweep of Miami catapulted the Mets to a 613-609 season lead.

If somehow you’re of the belief that the Mets were also victimized by subpar pitching or shoddy defense, the Mets have surrendered 648 runs in 2021, which places them 10th in MLB in Fewest Runs Allowed. The nine teams ahead of the Mets have either clinched a playoff berth or are in playoff contention.

Fewest Runs Allowed Ahead of the Mets

1. Los Angeles (537)
2. San Francisco (583)
3. Milwaukee Brewers (593)
4. Chicago White Sox (625)
5. Houston Astros (631
6. Atlanta Braves (642)
7. Tampa Bay Rays (642)
8. Toronto Blue Jays (643)
9. New York Yankees (645)
10. New York Mets (648)

How did the Mets get here? How did the Mets become a collection of guys scuffling to stay above the Mendoza line?

The Mets acting general manager now on-leave (DUI arrrest), Zack Scott, attempted to solve the Mets hitting woes by firing hitting coach Chili Davis. Zack Scott was a member of the Red Sox front office when the Old Town Team bid farewell to Chili as its hitting coach. It wasn’t necessarily a huge surprise when Scott made a move, in May, to replace old school Davis and assistant hitting coach Tom Slater with new school Hugh Quattlebaum and Kevin Howard. Scott was familiar with Quattlebaum, because the Mets acting g.m. had worked with Quattlebaum’s brother, Gus, in Boston’s front office.

The Mets could have brought in the head of Ted Williams, the ghost of Charley Lau, and former Red Sox hit guru Walt Hriniak as hitting coaches – and this team was still going to struggle to score runs in 2021.

Having watched way too much of the Mets in 2021, here are the macro reasons for the Mets lack of offensive production:

1. The talent is overrated.
2. Top six hitters are having career worst years at the plate.
3. Approach at the plate
4. Pitch Selection
5. Inability to hit with men in scoring position. The Mets leave 3.2 runners in scoring position per game, which is the 8th worst in MLB.

Here are the micro reasons:

1. The much- ballyhooed Francisco Lindor has been a bust at the plate in 2021. Lindor spent most of 2021 trying to jack everything out of the park and failed miserably with that approach. The more important question: Can this guy thrive in New York? The jury is out.
2. Michael Conforto, a Scott Boras client who is in his walk year, put together a 2021 campaign that cost him millions of dollars. Conforto has hit better over the last month of the season, but has been a drain on the Mets offense. Conforto is hitting below .200 versus lefties. Conforto’s oWAR is 0.9.
3. Jeff McNeil is another Met, who in his age 29 season, put up career worst numbers. In his three previous seasons, McNeil had never hit under .300. McNeil is batting .250. McNeil has great hand-eye skills, but he needs to become much more disciplined at the plate. It’s all about pitch selection with McNeil.
4. Dominic Smith’s oWAR is -0.3. Behind or under on the fastball – Rojas has effectively benched Smith because of his continued struggles at the plate.
5. The 2021 James McCann is not the hitter he was in 2019 or 2020. The Mets may have grossly overpaid for this free agent catcher, who resembles a platoon player/backup catcher.

There is no way the Mets were going to win with key offensive performers contributing offensive numbers that were in the Mark Belanger and Mario Mendoza range. Will this change for 2022?

If it doesn’t, the Mets will again struggle to win in 2022. In fact, a shake-up may be necessary to cure the Mets struggles at the plate. Would it be a bad move to allow Michael Conforto to leave via free agency and sign Dodgers free agent Chris Taylor? Does Dom Smith have any trade value? If the Mets sign Javy Baez to play second base, is Jeff McNeil your every day left fielder or will he be moved?

The Mets have a lot of questions for 2022. And the offense is the first riddle to solve.

Jeff Hafley’s Boston College football team ends the month of September with a 4-0 record. After an exhilirating 41-34 OT victory over the SEC’s Missouri Tigers, where two of the Eagles main contributors were redshirt senior backup quarterback Dennis Grosel and true freshman backup kicker Connor Lytton, it’s safe to state that Hafley is in the process of creating a football program at Boston College.

Developing a football program and creating a culture that allows student-athletes to thrive is a difficult feat. Being on campus for Saturday’s game, it was obvious not only that Hafley’s players have bought in but so have students, alums, and Boston College football fans. Before the game, on a beautiful day in Chestnut Hill, there was a distinct buzz in the air. It was a mixture of hope, excitement, a return from the new normal to the familiar rhythms of a college football game day, and the belief that Jeff Hafley’s Boston College football squad had the wherewithal to beat an SEC opponent with a backup qb.

Let me repeat that point: With Dennis Grosel replacing the injured Phil Jurkovec, the expectation around the program was that Hafley’s team had the talent, coaching acumen, and confidence to beat a visiting SEC football program – the Missouri Tigers. This wasn’t a, “Well, if everything goes right B.C. can beat Missouri.” This was a true belief that B.C. could beat Missouri.

That feeling – and that energy – had been missing from Alumni Stadium for far too long.
During the Steve Addazio era, some students went four years without experiencing that feeling. But belief and hope are alive on The Heights. And it’s a kick in the face to the college football zeitgeist that fervently believed that Boston College should hold on to Steve Addazio and be satisfied with an uninspiring and mediocre football program.

The feeling that preceded and followed Saturday’s win is a testament to the culture Hafley is constructing at Boston College. As the coach would say, “Get In.”

Weekend Observations

The young gun American golfers kicked some serious European ass at the Ryder Cup in Wisconsin. There is nothing more enjoyable than American supremacy. I sound like an Imperialist twat? Again, I make no apologies for American dominance in golf. (Could we do something about the state of American men’s tennis?)

The (0-3) New York Giants simply do not have enough talent to win in the NFL, which has been the case for the last ten years. The Giants have a losing culture and John Mara needs to take a hard look in the mirror at himself and what he needs to do to make his franchise relevant in the NFL. His father, Wellington Mara, went through the same crucible in the 1970s with his hapless version of Big Blue.

The Yankees sweep the Red Sox and move one game ahead of their rivals for an AL Wild Card playoff berth. The Yankees’ Giancarlo Stanton lived up to the hype and the size of his mega-contract with a display of megatron offensive force at Fenway Park. Battling two botched pop-ups and a roster incapable of playing solid defense, the Bronx Bombers bashed their way to a late September sweep of Liverpool Football Club’s sister squad, the Boston Red Sox.

STANTON HAS DONE IT AGAIN!!!! pic.twitter.com/gon542nS3d

— MLB (@MLB) September 27, 2021

After being inundated by Team TB12 trashing Bill Belichick all week, it was nice to see the Los Angeles Rams kick the crap out of Tom Brady’s Buccaneers.

Apparently the Karma Police weren’t completely on the side of Bill Belichick because the Saints traveled to Gillette Stadium and opened a can of whoop ass on the Patriots. Mac Jones now knows what it feels like to be the starting quarterback at Vanderbilt.

The St. Louis Cardinals have embraced John Calipari’s trademarked phrase “Refuse To Lose”, and have won 16-straight games. This is the longest winning streak in the National League since the New York Giants won 16-consecutive games in 1951. That Giants team only had Willie Mays, Bobby Thomson and Monte Irvin on it. Monte Irvin led the Giants to the pennant by putting up these numbers: .312 BA, 24 Home Runs, a league-leading 121 Runs Batted In.

Reminiscent of SkyLab hurtling its way downwards to Mother Earth to face its fiery ruin, the 2021 flawed and offensively impotent New York Mets have given new meaning to the word: frustrating. Incapable of producing runs, hitting with runners in scoring position, refusing to implement any type of running game not named Javy Baez, and having a roster comprised of players either having career worst years or who are simply overrated, the Mets have treated the second half of the season as if they’re tanking for a high draft pick. These are the anti-Cardinals.

Out of the five major sports teams in the Boston area (Yes, I am begrudgingly placing the MLS’s New England Revolution into the mix.), the Boston Bruins may have the most zealot and meathead following of the five franchises. Stepping onto an Orange Line train two hours before face-off of Game 5 between the Islanders and the Bruins, I walk into a car that is filled with Bruins fans grinning ear-to-ear. Decked out in their Bruins jerseys and hats, there is nary a mask to be found in this sea of black and gold.

To quote the MBTA from May 29th: All riders and employees are required by federal and state law to wear face coverings while on MBTA vehicles and at all stations, facilities, outdoor bus stops, and outdoor platforms for the Commuter Rail, subway, and trolley systems, including those who are fully vaccinated. Not doing so is a violation of federal and state law and failure to comply may result in denial of boarding or removal.

Now, do I believe most of the Black & Gold contingent understood that the mask policy was still in effect? I’m not sure.

Does it bother me that these sons and daughters of the Big Bad Bruins were not wearing masks? Not really.

I was more struck by the fact that there was an almost uniform disregard for the mask policy. I have seen train operators use the sound system to admonish passengers for not wearing masks, but this Black & Gold contingent was given a free ride. (Not literally – I’m sure this maskless tribe of hockey zealots paid for the perverse pleasure of taking the worst MBTA line into Boston.) I also understand it feels like the dying days of the requirement to wear masks, but this was en masse movement – a suburban “Fuck You” to the mask.

This maskless Black & Gold contingent, while a ridiculously small sample size, did nothing to change my mind about the meathead nature of some B’s fans. I will never question the dedication or passion of Bruins fans, who are required by birthright to own at least one over $200.00 Bruins Adidas Authentic Player Jersey, but the worldliness of this fan base is a little questionable. Let’s just say they’re not the most progressive fan group, but they are without a doubt the most rabid and committed fans.

_________________

Near the end of the NHL’s regular season, the New York Rangers played two contests against their hated rivals, the New York Islanders, and these two feuds would be critical to the Rangers slim chances of making the playoffs. In these back-to-back affairs, the Rangers were smoked by the Islanders. In the first matchup on April 29th, the Isles shut out the Broadway Blueshirts, 4-0, at Nassau Coliseum. Two days later at Madison Square Garden, the Islanders extended their dominance over the Rangers by shutting out the Rangers 3-0. The Rangers were without the physical presence of forward Chris Kreider and defenseman Jacob Trouba (Trouba was still suffering the lingering effects of a concussion, which was the result of a huge hit delivered by the Isles’ Matt Martin.), and the second-youngest team in the NHL was pounded into submission by the unrelenting physical play of Barry Trotz’s Islanders.

These non-competitive drubbings would lead owner James Dolan, on the advice of Glen Sather, to gut the front office and coaching staff. In his statement firing front office execs John Davidson and Jeff Gorton, Dolan stated his belief that the Rangers were capable of contending for the Stanley Cup. Having watched a lot of Rangers games this year through the magic of NHL.TV (I cannot tell you how much I enjoy watching the Rangers. During the bleak entertainment offerings of the pandemic, my subscription to NHL.TV was a godsend.), Dolan’s description of the state of the Rangers was patently absurd. Before the New Jersey Devils nearly traded away their entire roster and then rolled out an AHL squad, the Rangers were the youngest team in the league. With a roster more like a college-aged all-star squad, how did Dolan or Sather truly believe this 2020-21 edition of the New York Rangers was a championship team is beyond me.

It was obvious watching both games that the Rangers needed to add a little snarl and some grit to their roster, which also had to be apparent to both John Davidson and Jeff Gorton. The Isles are a heavy team that are difficult to play against. Barry Trotz doesn’t coach pond hockey.

With the Boston Bruins facing elimination in Game 6 on The Island, it’s pretty clear to most observers that the B’s will have their work cut out for them to survive and advance. The Isles have an ultra-hot goalie in Semyon Varlamov. The Bastard Sons of Billy Smith refuse to allow easy scoring chances and have proven they are capable of frustrating an offensively-talented Bruins roster.

The Great One showing his love for Isles goalie and misanthrope Billy Smith.

Now, if you were to listen to meathead Bruins fans:

• Tuukka Sucks!
• The Bruins just don’t want it enough.
• The B’s are a bunch of pussies.

There is usually very little nuance when B’s backers criticize the Black & Gold.

This Islanders team is constructed for playoff hockey and they’re doing it without their captain Anders Lee.

Can the Bruins win in Uniondale? Yes.

Will the B’s win? Who knows?

_________________

If I hear announcer John Forslund again refer to the Nassau Coliseum as a “great old barn”, the same description should be applied to the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence because they are nearly the same building.

pic.twitter.com/SUHUkFB2Qk

— johnny hammersticks (@asbarra1997) June 9, 2021