A big walkoff for the Mets, a big FU from the Dodgers to an LGBTQ+ group, a suspension, a callup, a dead bird, a surprise Picasso, a messed up house, bad P.R., and the death of a catchphrase creator
Morant is not being punished for having a gun. He's being punished for violating league personal conduct rules. A lot of this is pure image for a sport that still doesn't know how to deal with Black youth culture (and I really wonder if a white player who did this would be getting the same flack). But as noted, it ties to a chain of actions by Morant that go beyond just waving a gun in the privacy of his home. Plus ever since Gilbert Arenas brought a gun into the Wizards' locker room during a beef with a teammate, there is sensitivity about guns.
It's not guns. It's irresponsible use of guns. These NBA guys have been robbed countless times. I can't fault them for protecting themselves, especially in jurisdictions where they can. But this kid waiving a gun around like it's a bubble wand isn't ideal.
Yes, and coaches like Gregg Popovich and Steve Kerr have used their platform to speak about gun control. The league can't have that one on hand, and then Ja on the other.
He flashed a gun in a nightclub, released a lame ass insincere apology then almost immediately waves a gun in a video. All while trying to portray himself as gangster. Sure Ja, your an $80M gangster wannabe. Ja Morant is an idiot of the highest order. Who the hell does that and what's the point? Seriously though, you don't see the issue with this?
Yeah. It's definitely his sort of thing. They could stand to keep it loose they way things started. Hopefully this is the true sign of things to come. Gonna miss him as well.
Bad news: the Nats lost again. Good news: Corey Dickerson, fresh off the injured list, had two hits, including an upper deck bomb off of Cabrera, who definitely did not “handle” him.
PS Calling it now: like most public homophobes, Donohue is projecting. Can’t wait to see the photos of him in an assless Pope costume.
PPS Definitely not Picasso plate territory, but apparently we had a mid-century modern table lamp at our estate sale that went for over $300 … Mary got it for like $5 at a thrift store and it was so ugly (to me) I was convinced I’d have to take it back there. Just your daily reminder that I don’t know doodle about squat.
We have a fairly extensive collection of folk art, some of which is fairly valuable and much of which I find either odd or ugly or sometimes both. But my wife's family was deeply involved in that art community and she has more refined tastes in art than do I. I have a 3 foot tall Butch Anthony dinosaur made out of license plates, scrap tin, can lids, and metal rakes that is staring at me as I type this. https://www.jtfolkart.com/butch-anthony
There's a somewhat famous artist whose work I always admired when I walked through the nearby art gallery/shop. But the pieces were all $2000-4000 and that's just more than I could afford to pay. A few years ago I came across a piece in a thrift shop (consignment shop) for $30 or so and immediately snatched it up. I'm not SURE it's worth 100x that but I don't really care; I'm glad to have the piece displayed. (It is not ugly.)
The Alvarez shot still appeared to be on an upward trajectory and hit the facade. Alonso’s landed in the second deck. I’d love to see how far the Alvarez shot would have went.
The numbers on Alvarez's weren't overly impressive 426', Alonso's was at 416', and Vientos' at 414'. Which seems funny, since the first two were headed for the upper deck while Vientos' was practically a wall scraper. It just goes to show you how much deeper the deepest part of the ballpark is.
Alvarez' exit velocity was only 104 while Alonso's was 112. I'd have guessed Alvarez hit his harder.
I used to say that it was an honor to be insulted by Bill Donohue. IIRC, he might have even issued a statement regarding an exhibition at the museum I worked at for forever and a day about a show that had nothing to do with Catholics or queer people but that offended him, and I was pleased to have been part of the offensive. But that man is no joke and it's grotesque how enduring his campaign of hate has been, and how he's found new allies in this moment of inexcusable transphobia. The Dodgers caving to him is beyond awful.
Less awful is feeling good about the Mets for a day. I think the biggest thing last night was Senga and his ghost fork. Yes, rookies hitting homers is awesome, but the path to victory anew starts with the rotation, and if Senga can go out there every fifth or sixth game, we will be much better for it. That said...boy it's nice to see Mets hitting home runs.
Craig, genuine question: Let’s say 75% of North American sports teams across the three major NA sports (outside of the NFL) currently hold a Pride Night right now. Am I wrong in thinking that number dips below 50% by 2026? If we see a decrease in NHL teams doing it next season, does baseball follow?
To be clear, I personally am all for pride night and celebrating all groups on their own night. Pride Night, insert heritage night, Veteran’s Night. I just think we’re waiting the next step in the domino effect started by the NHL teams not wearing the jerseys, and that next step to me is teams saying “it’s not worth the risk” despite there being no real risk. Is a Mets fan of 30 years really quitting NOW if there’s a drag show at Citi Field to celebrate Pride Night? Like you didn’t quit because of the on-field product, you didn’t quit because of the Wilpons, you didn’t quit because of Cespedes the Cowboy, but a man in drag singing “Meet the Mets” as he strokes a Mike Piazza bat is too far?
Problem is, they are also counting on progressive fans not quitting being fans because a Pride Night is cancelled. Though maybe they really don't think there ARE progressive fans, or at least not the fans they want?
I'm not sure that the fans ever enter into their calculations. As our esteemed host has written about, maybe even in a book, we are a rounding error on team finances these days.
Now if Mookie Betts were speak up...but that won't happen. Baseball players may be the least progressive professional athletes in this country.
From a couple articles I read, the risk to Russian athletes IS real.
But otherwise I agree with your point. If bigots and ultra-conservatives want to boycott the Dodgers and Dodgers games, let them. I think teams might shift focus towards LGB rather than LBTQIA+, but I don't see these nights going away. There's too much money to be made in all the group celebration nights which bring in 10K non-fans to stop them.
Ja cost himself about $40 million dollars because the first gun incident was the reason he was left off the all-nba teams, which made him ineligible for what they call a ‘super-max’ contract. Seems he will probably be suspended half of the next season which will cost him an additional $17 million. So, by playing the role he cost himself approximately $60million. He’s not going to starve or anything but that’s a lot of dough to lose. This of course doesn’t include sponsorship deals he may lose.
Regarding Morant and ChatGPT, when did FeelLikeDrew enter the prompt? It wouldn’t surprise me if the agent copy-pasta’d NOR if ChatGPT borrowed Morant’s line. Are there a lot of second-time apology posts for fodder out there?
Thanks for the shout-out, Craig - and yes, fuck the Dodgers for caving to that festering POS Bill Donohue. You can call them lame, or you can call them…
I keep a mental list of favorite types of plays. The broad category of outfield assists is near the top. Within that, the subcategory of CF throw to Home is, at least today, first among the group. The MHII throw home ended up being the difference in the ATL-TEX game.
...
I'm guessing that the Vegas house came to our host's attention via the @zillowgonewild twitter feed. Definitely some fun hidden there.
...
Rich Hill v Miggy Cabrera: too bad they weren't female distance runners. I haven't checked in a bit but IIRC, the records for both the half and full marathon are held by women who were closer to 40 than to 35 at the time of their races.
Fuck Bill Donovan for his bigotry and fuck the Dodgers for their cowardice.
A close friend of mine is a member of the local chapter of The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. The Dodgers were right the first time: this is a group that should be supported, awarded, and applauded. The membership here is a small group of late-middle-aged/borderline-elderly gay men, many of whom are living with HIV or AIDS, none of whom are financially well off, and who put a massive amount of time and energy into helping homeless and housing-insecure LGBTQ folks.
There is no one I respect and admire more than the generation of gay men who lived and died during the height of the AIDS crisis, and the survivors who came out of the with their sense of humor, charity, and community intact. I wish I believed in hell so I could believe that the Bill Donovans of the world will spend eternity there.
I didn't know much about the group but I'm with you, those who suffered and watch friends and family die in droves while the larger society said and acted like it was their fault and managed to make it through with their humanity intact are admirable.
I wonder how much less talk about how many young people are LGBT nowadays and the number is going up from previous generations there would be if an entire generation hadn't been decimated so any numbers from the present day are being compared to a lowered previous population. ☹️
WE had a House (Bungalow, not Cottage) in Hillcrest here in san Diego for 25 years and the Sisters were (and still are) visible on any given day Doing charity work at the local Hospitals or doing a fundraiser at a local Bar in The Neighborhood. Always cordial to anyone they come across who has a look of shock and awe or confusion on their face- patient Individuals who do deserve recognition in public. Bill Donovan......should be struck down by a lightning bolt. The Dodgers front office...a free all inclusive trip to the Castro district to have street lessons in tolerance and understanding.
Yeah, as a lesbian in her late 60s, I have always appreciated The Sisters. They showed up at countless lesbian chorus events that I went to - providing Security and helping out any way they could with raffles, etc. And of course they were literally at the forefront of fighting & educating about AIDs back in the early 80s - while the Catholic Church did the exact opposite, with their stances against condoms and homosexuality in general. I'm very disappointed in the Dodgers - and let's not let Magic and Bill Jean off the hook either. They should know better about The Sisters - and if not, educated themselves.
I don't understand why people keep caving to these freaks. Why would the Los Angeles Dodgers care about a Senator from Florida? Who cares about the Catholic League? It's real bizarre.
Bill Donohue sounds like the kind of person that almost makes you think the Know-Nothings weren't 100% wrong about everything. And just having that thought come into my head makes me think even more than I already did that he and his group, specifically, are pure scum.
Padres (rightly) got the boo birds last night not just for losing two one run games at home to the Royals, but the manner of the defeats were even worse
Grisham played the scapegoat wonderfully by striking out 3 times with the bases loaded and fewer than two outs (i believe the last time he struck out swinging and the strike 3 ball went to the backstop and ricocheted perfectly right back to Sal Perez who tagged out Soto coming in from third to end the inning)
But more damning is that the Padres had 22 runners reach base via walk in the series. only 1 scored. the Dads have the worst RISP average in all of baseball
and now Manny is out, just when it looked like he was starting to shrug off his typical slow start. bad times y’all
... also yeah beyond rivalries or anything FUCK the Dodgers for their cowardice but again, expect nothing from multi billion dollar organizations in terms of “championing progress” y’all
This is the wrong day to say this after their uncharacteristic heroics yesterday, but it's hard to believe any team is worse at stranding runners in scoring position than the Mets.
Edit: OK you win. Mets w/RISP - .239, 22nd in MLB. Padres .196. The one that shocked me was ATL is 27th at .229.
If it was a one-time incident than I might agree with you about the suspensions, but this has been a pattern of disturbing behavior. Here's a rundown:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2023/05/16/ja-morant-a-timeline-of-all-his-controversies/?sh=71543ca91703
Morant is not being punished for having a gun. He's being punished for violating league personal conduct rules. A lot of this is pure image for a sport that still doesn't know how to deal with Black youth culture (and I really wonder if a white player who did this would be getting the same flack). But as noted, it ties to a chain of actions by Morant that go beyond just waving a gun in the privacy of his home. Plus ever since Gilbert Arenas brought a gun into the Wizards' locker room during a beef with a teammate, there is sensitivity about guns.
It's not guns. It's irresponsible use of guns. These NBA guys have been robbed countless times. I can't fault them for protecting themselves, especially in jurisdictions where they can. But this kid waiving a gun around like it's a bubble wand isn't ideal.
Yes, and coaches like Gregg Popovich and Steve Kerr have used their platform to speak about gun control. The league can't have that one on hand, and then Ja on the other.
He flashed a gun in a nightclub, released a lame ass insincere apology then almost immediately waves a gun in a video. All while trying to portray himself as gangster. Sure Ja, your an $80M gangster wannabe. Ja Morant is an idiot of the highest order. Who the hell does that and what's the point? Seriously though, you don't see the issue with this?
I thought using technology in the dugout (particularly phones) was prohibited? Hopefully this is investigated and all three pitchers suspended.
Was one of the pitchers drinking Sunny D directly from the jug?
I saw that as well. I laughed out loud it was so funny. I mean, that phone is ridiculous.
Yeah. It's definitely his sort of thing. They could stand to keep it loose they way things started. Hopefully this is the true sign of things to come. Gonna miss him as well.
Bad news: the Nats lost again. Good news: Corey Dickerson, fresh off the injured list, had two hits, including an upper deck bomb off of Cabrera, who definitely did not “handle” him.
PS Calling it now: like most public homophobes, Donohue is projecting. Can’t wait to see the photos of him in an assless Pope costume.
PPS Definitely not Picasso plate territory, but apparently we had a mid-century modern table lamp at our estate sale that went for over $300 … Mary got it for like $5 at a thrift store and it was so ugly (to me) I was convinced I’d have to take it back there. Just your daily reminder that I don’t know doodle about squat.
We have a fairly extensive collection of folk art, some of which is fairly valuable and much of which I find either odd or ugly or sometimes both. But my wife's family was deeply involved in that art community and she has more refined tastes in art than do I. I have a 3 foot tall Butch Anthony dinosaur made out of license plates, scrap tin, can lids, and metal rakes that is staring at me as I type this. https://www.jtfolkart.com/butch-anthony
My favorite piece of folk art is at the Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery:
https://www.si.edu/object/saam_1991.61
There's a somewhat famous artist whose work I always admired when I walked through the nearby art gallery/shop. But the pieces were all $2000-4000 and that's just more than I could afford to pay. A few years ago I came across a piece in a thrift shop (consignment shop) for $30 or so and immediately snatched it up. I'm not SURE it's worth 100x that but I don't really care; I'm glad to have the piece displayed. (It is not ugly.)
That Alonso homerun was a monster shot. As was the Alvarez
And those last three innings were a rollercoaster
I love baseball
The Alvarez shot still appeared to be on an upward trajectory and hit the facade. Alonso’s landed in the second deck. I’d love to see how far the Alvarez shot would have went.
Ask and ye shall receive! (This account is a fantastic follow, naturally…)
https://twitter.com/homerunreport/status/1659016832320241665
The numbers on Alvarez's weren't overly impressive 426', Alonso's was at 416', and Vientos' at 414'. Which seems funny, since the first two were headed for the upper deck while Vientos' was practically a wall scraper. It just goes to show you how much deeper the deepest part of the ballpark is.
Alvarez' exit velocity was only 104 while Alonso's was 112. I'd have guessed Alvarez hit his harder.
Wow, it looked like it hit that facade pretty hard.
And Alfonso's exuberant post-game, on-the-field interview. Cohen et al were so flummoxed that they didn't even apologize for the f-bomb.
I used to say that it was an honor to be insulted by Bill Donohue. IIRC, he might have even issued a statement regarding an exhibition at the museum I worked at for forever and a day about a show that had nothing to do with Catholics or queer people but that offended him, and I was pleased to have been part of the offensive. But that man is no joke and it's grotesque how enduring his campaign of hate has been, and how he's found new allies in this moment of inexcusable transphobia. The Dodgers caving to him is beyond awful.
Less awful is feeling good about the Mets for a day. I think the biggest thing last night was Senga and his ghost fork. Yes, rookies hitting homers is awesome, but the path to victory anew starts with the rotation, and if Senga can go out there every fifth or sixth game, we will be much better for it. That said...boy it's nice to see Mets hitting home runs.
Craig, genuine question: Let’s say 75% of North American sports teams across the three major NA sports (outside of the NFL) currently hold a Pride Night right now. Am I wrong in thinking that number dips below 50% by 2026? If we see a decrease in NHL teams doing it next season, does baseball follow?
To be clear, I personally am all for pride night and celebrating all groups on their own night. Pride Night, insert heritage night, Veteran’s Night. I just think we’re waiting the next step in the domino effect started by the NHL teams not wearing the jerseys, and that next step to me is teams saying “it’s not worth the risk” despite there being no real risk. Is a Mets fan of 30 years really quitting NOW if there’s a drag show at Citi Field to celebrate Pride Night? Like you didn’t quit because of the on-field product, you didn’t quit because of the Wilpons, you didn’t quit because of Cespedes the Cowboy, but a man in drag singing “Meet the Mets” as he strokes a Mike Piazza bat is too far?
Problem is, they are also counting on progressive fans not quitting being fans because a Pride Night is cancelled. Though maybe they really don't think there ARE progressive fans, or at least not the fans they want?
I'm not sure that the fans ever enter into their calculations. As our esteemed host has written about, maybe even in a book, we are a rounding error on team finances these days.
Now if Mookie Betts were speak up...but that won't happen. Baseball players may be the least progressive professional athletes in this country.
You aren't reckoning with male golfers, though maybe I give a few of them credit for not joining LIV.
They play "YMCA" at just about every sporting event.
The Pride Side has won. But as usual, conservatives just don't realize it yet because as always they're half a century behind.
https://www.gocomics.com/doonesbury/1979/08/26
From a couple articles I read, the risk to Russian athletes IS real.
But otherwise I agree with your point. If bigots and ultra-conservatives want to boycott the Dodgers and Dodgers games, let them. I think teams might shift focus towards LGB rather than LBTQIA+, but I don't see these nights going away. There's too much money to be made in all the group celebration nights which bring in 10K non-fans to stop them.
Bill Donohue used to be such a fixture on cable news shout shows and I hadn't seen him for years I assumed he was dead. A true POS.
Ja cost himself about $40 million dollars because the first gun incident was the reason he was left off the all-nba teams, which made him ineligible for what they call a ‘super-max’ contract. Seems he will probably be suspended half of the next season which will cost him an additional $17 million. So, by playing the role he cost himself approximately $60million. He’s not going to starve or anything but that’s a lot of dough to lose. This of course doesn’t include sponsorship deals he may lose.
Regarding Morant and ChatGPT, when did FeelLikeDrew enter the prompt? It wouldn’t surprise me if the agent copy-pasta’d NOR if ChatGPT borrowed Morant’s line. Are there a lot of second-time apology posts for fodder out there?
I didn’t think ChatGPT used current content to feed its neural network? IIRC, it was baselines to something like late 2021.
Good call DaveO, I believe you are right.
Craigster, if you've gotten too old for acid, you have no use for that house.
And the Dodgers are a bunch of pussies.
The Padres held a players only meeting after losing 2 of 3 to Royals at home. Machado has a busted finger.
This is fine.
I’d prefer they press the runs button.
Back in March, when the wife told me we're going to San Diego in July, I was all "Woo hoo, Padres game against the Mets!"
Now I feel like we can just go to US Comiskular Pfield if we want to see bad baseball....
Thanks for the shout-out, Craig - and yes, fuck the Dodgers for caving to that festering POS Bill Donohue. You can call them lame, or you can call them…
I keep a mental list of favorite types of plays. The broad category of outfield assists is near the top. Within that, the subcategory of CF throw to Home is, at least today, first among the group. The MHII throw home ended up being the difference in the ATL-TEX game.
...
I'm guessing that the Vegas house came to our host's attention via the @zillowgonewild twitter feed. Definitely some fun hidden there.
...
Rich Hill v Miggy Cabrera: too bad they weren't female distance runners. I haven't checked in a bit but IIRC, the records for both the half and full marathon are held by women who were closer to 40 than to 35 at the time of their races.
Fuck Bill Donovan for his bigotry and fuck the Dodgers for their cowardice.
A close friend of mine is a member of the local chapter of The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. The Dodgers were right the first time: this is a group that should be supported, awarded, and applauded. The membership here is a small group of late-middle-aged/borderline-elderly gay men, many of whom are living with HIV or AIDS, none of whom are financially well off, and who put a massive amount of time and energy into helping homeless and housing-insecure LGBTQ folks.
There is no one I respect and admire more than the generation of gay men who lived and died during the height of the AIDS crisis, and the survivors who came out of the with their sense of humor, charity, and community intact. I wish I believed in hell so I could believe that the Bill Donovans of the world will spend eternity there.
I didn't know much about the group but I'm with you, those who suffered and watch friends and family die in droves while the larger society said and acted like it was their fault and managed to make it through with their humanity intact are admirable.
I wonder how much less talk about how many young people are LGBT nowadays and the number is going up from previous generations there would be if an entire generation hadn't been decimated so any numbers from the present day are being compared to a lowered previous population. ☹️
WE had a House (Bungalow, not Cottage) in Hillcrest here in san Diego for 25 years and the Sisters were (and still are) visible on any given day Doing charity work at the local Hospitals or doing a fundraiser at a local Bar in The Neighborhood. Always cordial to anyone they come across who has a look of shock and awe or confusion on their face- patient Individuals who do deserve recognition in public. Bill Donovan......should be struck down by a lightning bolt. The Dodgers front office...a free all inclusive trip to the Castro district to have street lessons in tolerance and understanding.
Yeah, as a lesbian in her late 60s, I have always appreciated The Sisters. They showed up at countless lesbian chorus events that I went to - providing Security and helping out any way they could with raffles, etc. And of course they were literally at the forefront of fighting & educating about AIDs back in the early 80s - while the Catholic Church did the exact opposite, with their stances against condoms and homosexuality in general. I'm very disappointed in the Dodgers - and let's not let Magic and Bill Jean off the hook either. They should know better about The Sisters - and if not, educated themselves.
I don't understand why people keep caving to these freaks. Why would the Los Angeles Dodgers care about a Senator from Florida? Who cares about the Catholic League? It's real bizarre.
Bill Donohue sounds like the kind of person that almost makes you think the Know-Nothings weren't 100% wrong about everything. And just having that thought come into my head makes me think even more than I already did that he and his group, specifically, are pure scum.
Padres (rightly) got the boo birds last night not just for losing two one run games at home to the Royals, but the manner of the defeats were even worse
Grisham played the scapegoat wonderfully by striking out 3 times with the bases loaded and fewer than two outs (i believe the last time he struck out swinging and the strike 3 ball went to the backstop and ricocheted perfectly right back to Sal Perez who tagged out Soto coming in from third to end the inning)
But more damning is that the Padres had 22 runners reach base via walk in the series. only 1 scored. the Dads have the worst RISP average in all of baseball
and now Manny is out, just when it looked like he was starting to shrug off his typical slow start. bad times y’all
... also yeah beyond rivalries or anything FUCK the Dodgers for their cowardice but again, expect nothing from multi billion dollar organizations in terms of “championing progress” y’all
This is the wrong day to say this after their uncharacteristic heroics yesterday, but it's hard to believe any team is worse at stranding runners in scoring position than the Mets.
Edit: OK you win. Mets w/RISP - .239, 22nd in MLB. Padres .196. The one that shocked me was ATL is 27th at .229.
at least in terms of just batting average, the Dads have them licked 😅