Even if nobody asked……sports edition:
1. The Boston Red Sox player whose early departure hurt the most (21st century) to me is still Dustin Pedroia. Yeah, Betts really hurt, Bogaerts looked like he’d hurt, and Devers is a bad one too, but Pety’s early retirement gutted the team’s culture of toughness.
2. Speaking of the Sox, they won a game yesterday – on the road – with only 3 hits. That’s a near statistical impossibility.
3. Jayson Tatum’s injury opens up the opportunity for Jaylon Brown to prove to everyone just how overrated he is as a basketball player.
4. I like West Coast US Open’s much better on Father’s Day. Watching the final round in prime-time is a great Sunday night dessert for a sports-loving dad.
5. The NFL is almost always all about Coach/QB, Coach/QB, Coach/QB. That’s why I think the Patriots make the playoffs this year. I could be wrong. I was in 2008, so it happens 😎.
6. In baseball, I think the strike box is wrong just us much as the umpires on balls and strikes. “Hey, just calling ‘em like I see ‘em”. Watch for it. You’ll see it.
7. Kids play tee-ball for the uniform and the equipment, so the game is pointless. Line them all up in a well-constructed 60-minute practice instead. Keep them learning and moving. They’ll have more fun, get better faster and still enjoy their uni, gloves, and bat all the same. Trust me on this.
8. Everybody knows the Colorado Rockies are 16-57, a solid 20+ games out of NEXT TO LAST PLACE, right? Outscored by nearly 3 runs a game. This is a AAA team stuck in MLB. They should get relegated.
9. I’m not for uniform stadium sizes but I think any “homer” hit in the first deck of right field in Yankee Stadium should be ruled a ground-rule single. And don’t insult the double by arguing for that instead. No.
10. Here’s a laugh: My son played his senior year of high school baseball at IMG Academy in FL. I flew down to see him play a game in Tampa. He was the teams 4-hitter but in this big one he was on the bench. Game gets to IMG’s last at bat and they are hitless and down 1-0. The #3 hitter walks with two outs and the coach calls my son to pinch hit. He grabs his bat, takes a few practice swings but can’t get the donut off the bat. The ump starts yelling at him, the opposing catcher mocks him, the pitch just chuckles. Finally, the ump demands he uses the bat from the on-deck hitter. (It’s not his size.) He comes to the plate angry, embarrassed and distracted. I’m not sure he even saw the first pitch he swung at and I’m quite sure none of us saw it when it landed 400+ feet away to dead center straight into the Tampa River. IMG wins it 2-1.
Thanks for reading and commenting……