Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Former FBI Director Wray hit with criminal referral for lying to Congress. So it begins.

- From the archives: The Mets losing Tom Seaver to the Reds. I grew up only knowing Seaver with Cincinnati.

- Iran should abandon its nuclear program. He has a point.

- The great Texas walk-out. "Elections have consequences." - Barack Obama.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Joni Ernst is making news for all the wrong reasons.

- Mets land Juan Soto. The new $765 million man.

- Learn something new every day: The philosopher George Gurdjieff. "Here there are neither Russians nor English, Jews nor Christians, but only those who pursue one aim - to be able to be." This may only be trivia.

- Syria after Assad. Worth a read.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Love a good baseball feud backstory.  Put me on Team Seaver.

- Morgan Housel on How to Read: Lots of Inputs and a Strong Filter. Agree 100%.

- Heh Heh

- Daniele Bolelli on Taoist Strategies, Homeric Heroes, the Trojan Horse, and El Salvador

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Sadly, many new nursing homes will have to be built to house the growing number of obese elderly. These new nursing homes will have extra wide hallways and rooms to accommodate all the Rascal-type personal mobility vehicles people are becoming dependent on... Jacob DeGrom of the Mets has been having a historic season. His ERA is a microscopic 0.56 and incredibly he has more RBI (5) than earned runs allowed (4)... Delicious Baby Seals would be a good name for something - just not sure what. .. Jack Dempsey said the only man he ducked fighting when he was heavyweight champ was Ernest Hemingway. He didn't want to hurt the writer who was intent on sparring with him... MMA Jesus would be a good name for a Christian rock band... 

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I wonder if the answer to the Patriots QB issue would be a simple one-for-one trade of Stephon Gilmore for Jimmy Garappolo?  Gilmore is one year removed from being the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year but also one year away from being a free agent looking for a big contract that New England won't be willing to give him. Jimmy G has long been a Belichick favorite and San Fran may be looking to get out of the big contract they signed him to... Funny but also true... Is there anything more sexy or feminine than a woman who uses scrunchies on her underarm hair? (Now that I've put that image into your head)... Funny but also true... Would be cool to see a GameStop version of It's a Wonderful Life with Citadel/Melvin Capital playing the role of Mr. Potter and the Reddit/WallStreetBets folks playing George Bailey... And speaking of GameStop - Mets owner Steve Cohen deletes his Twitter account due to GameStop backlash. This is so Mets...  

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

What fresh hell is this? Stayed at a big brand name hotel in Vermont the other night and was told there was no morning coffee. Was told the communal coffee stations would not be reopened until October. Bed and breakfasts from now on it is... Mike Rowe is the best... "If you must study for an exam, you will never really know the subject matter." - Nicholas Nassim Taleb... I too would like to publicly announce that I am launching a bid to buy the New York Mets. All the cool kids seem to be doing this so I thought I'd jump in too (with probably an equal chance at success)... Providence RI Mayor launches reparations process. "How much, what form, how long are all legitimate questions, but questions for another day. It's important to go step-by-step through this," said virtue signalling Mayor Elorza who just guaranteed Worcester remains the second largest city in New England by launching massive white flight from his city... In a surprise move Sesame Street announces a new progressive Muppet named Senor Gonorrhea to be introduced to warn children about the dangers of venereal disease... "The conscience is that part of the psyche which is soluble in alcohol." - William Ober... 

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

When the outrage over Justice Kennedy retiring dies down, President Trump should announce that he's turning the White House Press Briefing Room back into a swimming pool. Can you imagine how well the MSM would take that news?.. I'm still convinced that Peyton Manning and his brother Eli only work out using Shake Weights... It's funny because it's so true... Idea for a movie - Zombie Inventory Takers. The undead converge on a local mall to take inventory... The stuff nightmares are made of - the insect that sucks his prey dry and then wears the corpses of his victims... Have the "TRUMP/PENCE 2020 - No Fat Chicks" bumper stickers been printed up yet?... Looks like the attendance poor Mets are planting the seeds of a September Tim Tebow call-up...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Obviously disappointed at the Bruins losing their series to Tampa Bay yesterday. However, the team has an excellent young core of players and gives us fans reason to be hopeful for next season and beyond... No matter how many times I watch - this always cracks me up... Who knew? The last battle of the Civil War, the Battle of Palmito Ranch was a Confederate victory... I'm a fan of Tim Tebow but my gut tells me that even a September call-up by the Mets would backfire. Yes Tebow would put fannies in the seats but the back-page backlash of the cash-grab move would negate anything positive to come from it... Very cool... Modern Americans don't know either the horror that was grisly ax murders or the horror of pay toilets. I don't know which one was worse... General Eisenhower's understated message proclaiming victory in Europe from this day in 1945...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

The Mets got off to a hot start this spring but come September they'll be reduced to bringing Tim Tebow up to the majors to try and put fannies in the seats... Trump does right by Ukraine... If you think about it narwhals and rainbows are much more likely than unicorns and rainbows... I'm looking for an opportunity to use the phrase that thing/guy "is more polished than the admiral's buttons". Just because... Interesting interview of Don Nelson who's living the life in Hawaii. That life includes a lot of poker and pot smoking (Willing Nelson got him smoking). Well worth the read.. Heh heh... And it's "Ukraine" not "the Ukraine". You wouldn't say "the Canada" or "the Ireland". Common mistake...

Just Saying

The New York Mets have been a Major League Baseball team since 1962 but their all-time leader in HR, Darryl Strawberry, has just 252 HR. That would only be good for 7th on the Red Sox all-time list (nudging out Mo Vaughn).

And before you claim "Well the Red Sox have been around much longer" - 4 of the top 6 Boston HR sluggers started their careers after 1962. And it would have been 5 out of 6 but Carl Yastrzemski started his career in 1961! You could double Strawberry's 252 HR and he'd still fall short of Ted Williams' 521 (and Williams took multiple seasons off to fight for his country).

The Mets are just lousy at producing power hitters.

And no - I'm not still bitter about 1986 (well maybe a little).

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Have we reached the point where the question "What did Scott Baio know and when did he know it?" needs to be asked?... Wow... Just a reminder - Joe Biden is an anagram for "I need a job"... I think this is spot on... Bill Nye is a scientist the same way Russell Crowe is a gladiator... Heh heh... Baseball rumor - Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria is considering trading Giancarlo Stanton to the Yankees for cash considerations. A lot of cash considerations... Yeah about that glacier the size of Manhattan that busted off today... Still think that the Mets missed a huge PR opportunity by not having Tim Tebow represent the team at the HR Derby the other night...

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- What happens to these cicadas is a nightmare of mine. Nature can be a viscous bitch.

- Long live the Oxford comma!

- UMass-Amherst is always making the news for the wrong reasons. Harambe died for your sins!

- I hope Las Vegas does name their NHL team the Ratpack. And I would buy one of those away jerseys.

- And speaking of Harambe...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Where are all the "Hillary Lied and People Died" headlines in the MSM?... You have to admit - the resemblance is pretty uncanny... Nobody is even mentioning the officials from yesterday's Pats / Jets game. That's how well the game was officiated - they went without notice... Kevin Garnett pays tribute to Flip Saunders... Bar room etiquette - a reminder it is acceptable to bring a beer into the men's room. It is not acceptable to bring a cheeseburger... Starting to think that Rex Ryan is basically Rich Kotite with better PR and a foot fetish... Pretty funny camel toe prank... Who knew? Ralph Wilson originally wanted to place his AFL franchise in Miami - Buffalo was his second choice... Cool - the neuroscience of bass guitar...

Daniel Murphy and the Mets

Congratulations to the Mets and Daniel Murphy for advancing to the World Series. I do have to wonder what would have been the outcome of the series if the Cubs had simply intentionally walked Murphy every single at bat though. Would it have made a difference?

Murphy had 17 AB vs the Cubs with 7 hits and one walk. Included in those 7 hits he had 4 HR and a double. According to my simple math - if the Cubs walked Murphy every at bat it would have dropped his OPS from an incredible 1.561 during the series down to an even 1.000. That's why I can stop wondering if the Cubs had just walked Murphy every at bat - would they still be playing for a World Series birth?

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

One of the reasons I don't like Peyton Manning is because he seems like the type who needs to have that "C" on their chest to show people they are a "leader"... What if you put all the viruses in the world into one pile? Amazing especially when you think that all the HIV in the world could fit into a teaspoon... Meat Slurry would be a good name for a band. Or an entree companion to Golden Corral's Chocolate Waterfall... What if the average family spent money like the federal government?...  If I changed my name to Fausto Carmona - what are the chances I could trick the Mets into signing me to an MLB contract?... In season 3 of Sherlock they should have just had an animated Benedict Cumberbatch since they've decided to make Sherlock Holmes into such a cartoon character... General Arse Buiscuitses. As opposed to to Specific Arse Buiscuites?... Fantasy do not attempt! Do not let a woman drive you to work - she will attempt to jump onto a train if you're running late...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

President Obama weighed into Augusta National not having any female members but I'd be willing to bet a months pay that if you took the number of women who have played rounds of golf at Augusta this year versus the number of rounds women have played with the President since he was elected - the percentage of women playing at Augusta National would be higher. Very hypocritical comments by the President... Any time you think your favorite baseball team made a bad financial move (Hello John Lackey) just remember that the Mets still owe Bobby Bonilla $1.2 million a year until 2035. I laugh any time I think about that... The Manchurian Candidate indeed. Obama's Budget: Interest payments will exceed Defense Budget in 2019. And who will we be paying those interest payments to? The Chinese... Every Opening Day I wish for just two things - a Red Sox victory and for Dan Shaughnessy to get explosive diarrhea... Harvard Law Review must be so proud of President Obama's views on the Supreme Court. This will make the President releasing his college transcripts a campaign issue. What if his marks aren't all that his supporters have made them out to be? If he doesn't release them then that's an issue all by itself... I am so pissed at myself that I didn't go to a bar that served fried chicken to watch the Red Sox Opening Day!... Wonder if the advisor who convinced Al Gore to use the word "lockbox" as a centerpiece of his campaign is still employed in politics... The price of food at the Masters is awesome. You can't go there and not get the Pimento Cheese sandwich... Tweet of the day - imagine if Bush said this:

Jimmy Simpson ‏ @informedblackmn

Obama said under Ryan's budget plan, "hundreds of national parks will close." There are 58 national parks.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Was Vladimir Putin able to steal the Russian election because Jimmy Carter wasn't there to monitor the election? Yeah - that was a joke... Every spring I wonder if New York City icon was alive today - would he be a Mets fan or a Yankees fan? I'm guessing Yankees... Brent Musberger is always rumored to have money on a game and Saturday night's KU / Texas game may have been the ultimate proof... Too Big to Fail would be a good title for an Andre the Giant biography... I think in the end that Kevin Garnett will be remembered as a better player than Patrick Ewing for the simple fact that Garnett won a ring... Heh heh - the Red Sox JetBlue Park was supposed to be exactly like Fenway but someone made the Green Monster South too short... During his first full four seasons with the Indians - Grady Sizemore averaged almost 160 games and almost 27 home runs. Oh what could have been.

Mets Won't Be Selling to David Einhorn Afterall

When I saw the news that the Mets will not be selling a minority share to David Einhorn I got that something stinks in Denmark feeling.

Einhorn thought he had a $200 million deal with Fred Wilpon and the Mets. He had entered into a agreement that had an exclusivity period but was non-binding. The Mets need cash because they were victimized by (though some say complicit with) Bernie Madoff. It should be noted that the Mets have a pretty cozy relationship with baseball commissioner Bud Selig. At around the same time the Mets were having financial difficulties - the Los Angeles Dodgers were also having a financial meltdown. Frank McCourt, the owner of the Dodgers, doesn't have the sort of cozy relationship with Bud Selig that Fred Wilpon enjoys.

The $200 million infusion from David Einhorn would have stabilized the Mets franchise. One wonders if the existence of this non-consummated deal allowed the Mets to borrow cash to get them over the rough spots (and one wonders if that cash could have come from MLB). The story I linked to say that Mets ownership has "provided additional capital to cover all 2011 losses." Really? Where did this cash magically come from? The Mets ownership clearly did not have the money back when they first entered into the deal with Einhorn.

With Einhorn's cash giving the Mets cover - the commissioner was free to force the hand of the Dodgers by basically having MLB take over the team. Now an offer for the Dodgers for $1.2 billion is leaked. And at the same time the Mets get money from nowhere and decide to unilaterally change the terms of the deal with Einhorn to a point where they know they won't be acceptable. The whole thing reeks.

I could be wrong about this but I still think the situation stinks of tangled webs being weaved out of the commissioners office.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Really happy about Bruins going to the Stanley Cup but I am a little bit worried that the rest of the sports world will start to hate Boston for our embarrassment of riches this past decade.... The Red Sox brought up outfielder Josh Reddick which makes me wonder if Reddick on display for trade potential? Maybe Mike Cameron is on the block? It would not be unlike the Red Sox to trade a veteran to a place where he could get more playing time... Hah hah - this has to be a metaphor of sorts regarding the state of Unions in the USA. The manufacturer of the union's "Scabby the Rat" balloon is non-union... Omar Vizquel is just 181 hits from 3,000 for his career. I really hope he gets there. Guy is a Hall of Famer... Josh Reddick is wearing number 16 for the Red Sox. That brings to mind another outfielder for the Sox who wore 16 - Rick Miller. It reminds me that Angels owner Gene Autry once told his GM to get him "that outfielder from the Red Sox." The GM thought he meant Rick Miller who was a free agent but Autry actually meant Dwight Evans... Take a few minutes to listen to a really thought provoking talk... Is this the definition of awful? Adam Dunn is ZERO for 33 vs LHP this season with 15 strikeouts... Just a reminder - Bob Dylan's 1st album sold just 5,000 copies. So not only is he a paragon of success - so he's also an inspiration for struggling artists... Deal of the century? According to this article - David Einhorn will get 33% of the Mets for $200 million but he also gets the option to up his stake to 60% for majority ownership of the team. To buy-out that option the Mets would have to give Einhorn back his $200 million but let him keep his 33% ownership stake. Wow - just wow!... Some of these are more than genius. I would seriously think about buying that convertible couch... What would I do for a Klondike Bar? I guess go to a store and pay a buck and a half. That's what I'd do for a Klondike Bar.

Strange Reception

Driving back to Worcester from Syracuse tonight I had a strange smörgåsbord of radio listening sequences. I started out listening to the Red Sox pregame in Syracuse. Deep in Yankee country the local Syracuse ESPN radio outlet carries the Red Sox - I just find that strange (and interesting). Once that signal drifted out I started listening to the Yankees / Blue Jay game first on one channel then another. (As an aside - how can the Yankees keep Suzyn Waldman employed? She is beyond awful.) Then the Mets / Braves broadcast became my clearest sports option. Then - just east of Albany - it got weird. I started picking up the Red Sox game again but it was from a channel out of Cleveland.

In upstate New York I started picking up WTAM - 1100 AM out of Cleveland. That was just weird. I listened to their broadcast for the 7th and 8th innings. It was amusing to hear their take on the "scrum" between the two teams after Adrian Beltre took exception to a pitch thrown behind him. The Cleveland broadcasters went right after Josh Beckett as the root cause of the belligerence. One broadcaster went as far as to exclaim, "Josh Beckett has always been a punk!" I found that amusing.

Once east of the Berkshires I listened to the 9th inning on the Red Sox radio network channels.

Listening to the Cleveland channel reminded me of the time in July of 2007 when I somehow picked up a Red Sox broadcast while in the middle of Pennsylvania. Funnily - they were playing the Idians that night too.