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Bar Chat

08/04/2016

Ready or Not...Here Comes Rio!

[Posted: Wednesday a.m.]

San Francisco Giants Pitching Quiz: The other day Matt Cain threw five no-hit innings on the way to his 100th career win as a Giant.  Since the franchise moved to San Francisco in 1958, five others have won 100 in a Giants uniform.  Name ‘em.  Answer below.

MLB

--A year after the Mets traded for Yoenis Cespedes, a move that transformed the team overnight and propelled them to the World Series (with Daniel Murphy’s help in the playoffs), the Mets obtained slugger Jay Bruce from Cincinnati, the first time in baseball history the league’s RBI leader (Bruce with 80) was moved at the trade deadline.

But there is no obvious place to play the lumbering outfielder, and the Mets gave up big-time prospect Dilson Herrera (and a 19-year-old pitching prospect).

Herrera was the supposed second baseman of the future and I’ve been writing about the guy for two years, being very high on him myself, but now he’s gone.  I mean Herrera was the reason the Mets so readily let Daniel Murphy go, while signing Neil Walker who had just one year left on his contract, meaning Herrera was the guy in 2017.  But noooo.

Bruce, though, is under contract for next year and as much as anything, he is protection in case Yoenis Cespedes opts out again and tests the free-agent market, like he did last winter.  Of course it would be nice to have both in the lineup, the rest of this year and next, but in terms of the former, no one knows how Yoenis will hold up the next two months given his balky quad.  And regarding the latter, Cespedes would be a fool not to try to get the $110-$120 million, five-year deal he could get from someone, rather than keep the remaining $47m, two-year contract he has with the Mets currently.

Meanwhile, the Mets traded reliever Antonio Bastardo back to the Pirates, from whence he came last offseason, and in return they received an old friend, Jonathon Niese.  Neither was having a good year at all, but Mets fans should be ecstatic because there was no one more painful to watch on the mound than Bastardo, though as slow as he was you could go for a beer run and miss only two or three pitches, while catching up with family and friends along the way...and checking on the elderly during heat waves.

--As for the Yankees, GM Brian Cashman continued to make all the right moves in unloading veterans for prospects; this time trading outfielder Carlos Beltran to Texas for a handful of minor leaguers, one of whom, pitcher Dillon Tate, was the fourth overall pick in the 2015 draft. And they traded pitcher Ivan Nova to Pittsburgh for a player to be named later.

Again, I have to hand it to the Yankees, who are suddenly stockpiling potential big-league talent (12 minor leaguers in all from the various deals of the past few days), knowing they weren’t a real contender this season.  Granted, the showpiece in the Beltran deal, Tate, hasn’t had an awesome Class-A season, 4.86 ERA, 63 strikeouts, 30 walks, in 74 innings, but he apparently has all the stuff.

The Yanks, by the way, hadn’t been .500 or worse at the end of July in 24 years (52-52 on July 31), and by some accounts, this is the first time the team has been a ‘seller’ at the trade deadline since 1989, when they traded Rickey Henderson and third baseman Mike Pagliarulo.

--As for the Mets-Yankees Subway Series that commenced Monday night at Citi Field, the Mets blew a 5-3 lead in the eighth and lost 6-5 in 10, as their once reliable bullpen has suddenly hit a speed bump at the worst possible time.  Monday, it was one of the game’s great eighth inning relievers, Addison Reed, who stumbled, giving up his first run since June 23.

But Tuesday, the Mets knocked around Masahiro Tanaka (7-4, 3.46) and rode the pitching of Jacob deGrom (7 scoreless) as the Metropolitans prevailed 7-1; deGrom now 7-5, 2.41.   Jay Bruce was 0-for-4 in his Mets debut.

Meanwhile, all New York is waiting to see if Alex Rodriguez gets released.  A-Rod said, “No matter what happens, I’m at peace with myself.”

The Yanks would still be responsible for the last $20 million on his contract for 2017.

--The big winners of the trade deadline were the Texas Rangers, who are all-in with the acquisitions of Beltran and Jonathan Lucroy; with the Milwaukee All-Star catcher having vetoed a trade to the Indians.  “Really excited and can’t wait to get after it!” he Tweeted.  The Rangers also received Brewers closer Jeremy Jeffress, who has 27 saves and a 2.22 ERA.

--The Giants obtained lefty Matt Moore (7-7, 4.08) from Tampa Bay; Moore being effective in his first full year back from Tommy John surgery, while Toronto picked up Francisco Liriano (6-11, 5.46) from the Pirates as the Blue Jays hope he regains his better self.

Tampa Bay received third baseman Matt Duffy, who has been mediocre after a very solid 2015, along with two prospects.  The Giants also acquired reliever Will Smith from Milwaukee for the club’s No. 1 prospect Phil Bickford and catcher Andrew Susac.

--The Cubs added to their bullpen by picking up Angels reliever Joe Smith, 32, who has been a solid performer throughout his career, with a 2.94 ERA in 623 major league appearances.

--Yasiel Puig burst on the baseball scene with the Dodgers in 2013 as a 22-year-old Cuban defector with enormous potential and in his first year he hit .319 with 19 home runs, playing with an eccentric style that while reckless, was also somewhat endearing.  He’ll grow up, the baseball world tried to convince itself.   But his numbers gradually declined, with 16 home runs in 148 games in 2014, and a .255 batting average in 2015 in just 79 games and then just 7 home runs and 34 RBI in 81 games this season.

More importantly, he has become a highly unlikable guy, culminating in the Dodgers’ traveling to Colorado on Monday without Puig, who they were trying to unload on anyone but couldn’t, with the team now demoting him to AAA Oklahoma City.

Dylan Hernandez / Los Angeles Times

“Something like this was inevitable. The story of Yasiel Puig always looked as if it were destined for a tragic ending.

“Puig certainly deserves blame for what happened, the 25-year-old declining as a player while continuing to disrespect the people around him.

“But the Dodgers also are responsible for Puig’s descent into mediocrity.

“The organization never figured out how to handle him, never finding the right balance between Don Mattingly’s no-nonsense approach and Dave Roberts’ love-him-to-death form of diplomacy.

“The Dodgers made the mistake of crowning Puig their king when he came out of nowhere to salvage their 2013 season.  It didn’t take long for Puig to figure out that he could more or less do as he pleased so long as he continued to seduce ownership with his ability to move merchandise and tease the baseball operations department by making breathtaking plays on occasion.

“Puig was always a step ahead of management, which didn’t know what to make of him.

“The Dodgers scolded him for his immaturity but also understood he was adapting to an alien culture after surviving a frightening ordeal to escape his native Cuba....

“The lack of discipline slowly started to affect his once-unmatched athleticism, transforming him from an All-Star to the .260 hitter he was this season.”

So the Dodgers acquired outfielder Josh Reddick from the A’s (as well as starter Rich Hill)* to replace Puig in right field, but they still don’t know what to do with the guy, aside from hoping he takes the demotion seriously so they can rebuild his trade value.

*The A’s obtained three pitching prospects from L.A. in return.  Hill is 9-3 with a 2.25 ERA, but is currently on the DL with a blister, though he should be back shortly, and a free agent at the end of the season.

--Back to some games of note....

Monday....

Washington blasted Arizona 14-1 as Stephen Strasburg is a stupendous 15-1, 2.63, after 6 innings of one-run ball.

Kansas City beat Tampa Bay 3-0, with Danny Duffy taking a no-hitter into the eighth and settling for 8 innings, one hit, one walk and 16 strikeouts! as he moved to 7-1.  In defeat, the Rays’ Chris Archer fell to 5-15, 4.38.  Yikes.  I mean for the A.L., that ERA isn’t horrid, certainly not worthy of a 5-15 record.  I’m assuming all sharp objects have been removed from the Archer homestead.  [Archer still has great stuff...161 strikeouts in 137 2/3.]

Minnesota appears to have found a budding slugger in Max Kepler, who blasted three home runs, good for six RBIs, in the Twinkies’ 12-5 win over the Indians; Kepler now with 14 homers in 203 ABs.  Make that 15 in 205, as Kepler homered again in the Twins’ 10-6 win over Chief Wahoo and Co., 10-6, Tuesday.

--Finally, the other day Jerry Izenberg, columnist emeritus for the Star-Ledger (now NJ.com as well) did a column on the comedy skit, “Who’s on First,” ostensibly because a biography of Lou Costello from 23 years ago, “Lou’s on First,” by Chris Costello, is now an EBook through Amazon and Barnes & Noble; this year also being the 80th anniversary of the comedic partnership between Abbott and Costello.

The routine “Who’s on First” debuted on Kate Smith’s radio show in 1938.  “Its success was instantaneous and within two years they had their own radio show.  It was 1940 and while they had already made their first movie, ‘One Night in the Tropics,’ they were still headlining vaudeville cards.”

I remembered Lou Costello had a lot of tragedy in his life (as so many people did in those days), but forgot his son, Lou Jr., drowned in the family pool just before his first birthday.  “Out of that tragedy came the Lou Costello, Jr., Recreation Center in East Los Angeles.  Costello funded it along with donations from other Hollywood stars and then turned it over to the city.

“But at his insistence, with his late son in mind, there was a swimming pool where every kid could be taught to swim.”

So Bud and Lou are long gone, but as Izenberg noted, the skit lives on.  If you go to Cooperstown, you’ll hear it on the third floor, echoing through the exhibit area.  It has held up remarkably well.

And while this isn’t new to some of you, Izenberg reminds us that it was in September 2007 [Mr. Izenberg has “2008” in his column, but your editor thought ‘I better double-check this, given Mr. Izenberg’s age’], the Dodgers having called up Chin-Lung Hu, a native of Taiwan, from their Triple A farm team.  In the first five games, he had two hits, both home runs.  But in his sixth game wonder of wonders, he hit a single.

“And up in the radio booth the legendary Vin Scully smiled broadly and said, ‘Okay, everybody.  All together now:

“Hu’s on first!”

The PGA Championship...final words...

--The “Big Three” in the majors this year.

Jordan Spieth: Masters T2; U.S. Open T37, The Open T30, PGA T13
Rory McIlroy: T10; Cut; T5; Cut
Jason Day: T10; T8; T22; 2

So, sports fans, if you’re going to talk about a “Big Three,” you really need two of them to win one each year over the coming 8-10 years for it to hold up.  Ergo, this is a sham as of this point.  And it didn’t help that Dustin Johnson missed the cut at the PGA.  Talk of a “Big Four” is bogus, says your editor, until next April and The Masters...a tradition unlike any other, on CBS.

Now if one of these four wins two of the FedEx Cup events, including The Tour Championship, that would be strong.

By the way, who is Player of the Year?  The next six weeks will determine that.

As for Phil Mickelson, who was T33 last weekend, he’s pumped about his game, as he should be after his stirring performance at Troon two weeks earlier.  For the first time since 2013, he’s taking three weeks off heading into the FedEx Cup Playoffs and then playing all four events, convinced he can win one or two of them.

For all the handwringing over Mickelson’s performance at age 46 this year, the guy has had six top-5s, which as Ronald Reagan would have said is ‘Not bad, not bad at all.’

It’s just that he is still winless since 2013.

--If you were watching Sunday’s third round play, you saw Bubba Watson get hot under the collar on the par-3 12th after he hit his tee shot, Bubba famously hearing everything around him (like Colin Montgomerie in this respect).  It appears a spectator started talking during his backswing as Bubba turned around after his swing and glared into the crowd.

In such situations it’s up to long-time caddie Ted Scott to take charge and Scott, inquiring to the crowd, asked, “Who said that?  Hey, buddy, right here!”  As Golfweek picks up:

“Watson then, after a few seconds, once again looked at the fan after the ball had landed and appeared to say, ‘Why are you all scared to say it now?’  He followed it with a smile and a laugh.

“But the matter was punctuated several seconds later with Scott serving the fan this epic burn:  ‘Go back and watch in your grandma’s basement.  You’re better there.  Tweet about it.’”

--And if you were watching Sunday, you heard the story of Jimmy Walker and his swing coach, Butch Harmon, and a certain bottle of wine that was to be drunk when Walker finally won a major.

To be accurate, from Jim McCabe / Golfweek:

“It’s a $1,200 bottle of Chateau Margaux, given to Harmon by Jimmy Walker several years ago.

“It was Walker’s gift to Harmon when the heralded swing coach refused to take any money for their first set of lessons.  Harmon accepted the wine, but said he would open it when Walker ‘won his first major.’

“That’s how much faith Harmon had in the tall, gangly Texan, even though when they first started together Walker had not won on the PGA Tour.  Everything was in place, Harmon said.  ‘I just had to make him believe in himself.’....

“A get-together will be in order, ‘because I’m not opening that bottle till I visit his house (in San Antonio) and pour that wine into that big old (Wanamaker) Trophy,’ said Harmon.”

Walker, by the way, was a 150-1 long shot in Vegas to win at Baltusrol.

--Lastly, regarding the PGA, Jason Day’s 252 yard 2-iron on No. 18 in the final round was so close to becoming one of the great shots in the history of major tournament play...until it wasn’t.  It’s just another shot, not a “great” one when you finish second.

Day, by the way, now has four runner-up finishes in majors vs. one win.

--There was an historic performance at this weekend’s Web.com Tour event in Hayward, Calif.  27-year-old German Stephan Jaeger posted a 58...58...in the first round, the first such score in the history of the PGA Tour’s many circuits, on his way to a 30-under-par 250 total (58-65-64-63).

So Jaeger ended up with the Web.com Tour records for low 18-, 36-, 54- and 72-hole scores.

But talk about a performance out of nowhere, the Munich-native had only two top-10s in 44 Web.com Tour events.

--You know who was good in the television coverage of the PGA on TNT?  Interviewer Amanda Balionis.

--Brad K. and I grew up here in Summit and he asked his mother what her recollections were of the 1967 U.S. Open at Baltusrol.  Mrs. K. and her husband went to the Summit Hotel one night after the round and Arnie and Jack Nicklaus were there.  Mrs. K. got to meet Palmer and he couldn’t have been more delightful, she recalls, while her husband talked to Nicklaus because he had just played a round of golf with Jack’s college roommate.  Jack wasn’t real friendly.  [Had to include this as just further confirmation of past recollections of my own.]

Rio

[Cue the Monday Night Football music]

Are you ready for some sewage?!  All over your body?!  It’s Bob and Hoda and Matt...a real sludge party!

Yes, the latest report before the Opening Ceremonies is that Rio’s waterways are as bad  as ever, according to a long-running study by the Associated Press.

And we all know by now it’s not just the athletes, but all the tourists ingesting crapola at the beaches, let alone any restaurant or food stand washing fresh fruit and vegetables in contaminated water.  Yuck!

You know what’s going to happen.  Some of the athletes participating in later events will get sick and won’t be able to compete.

As for what you’ll be watching, I imagine, it’s as usual about swimming, track and field, and for some of us, maybe the final round of the golf action...maybe.

The swimming is from Sat. to the following Sat., and we’re anxious to see if Michael Phelps can pick up one more gold or two, as well as whether Katie Ledecky can sweep her freestyle events.

And then in track and field, which gets cranking Fr., Aug. 12, I’m most interested in any running event, with the men’s final in the 100m on Sunday, Aug. 14.  Just tune in by 9:00pm ET that evening, with Usain Bolt’s effort preceded by the men’s final in the 400m.

Mon., Aug. 15, you have the men’s 800m final and the women’s 400m, the latter the showcase for my favorite female athlete of the last 8 years, Alysson Felix.

There is a fascinating men’s 110m hurdle final on Tues., Aug. 16. Can the Oregon Ducks’ wide receiver Devon Allen medal in this one?  The guy is literally improving by the day, it seems.

And Thurs., Aug. 18, we’ll watch Usain Bolt go for the 200m gold, while the following day, Friday, you’ll have two potentially spectacular races, the men’s and women’s 4X100 relays, USA vs. Jamaica in both.

Sat., Aug. 20 will be tremendous...finals in the men’s 1500m, women’s 800m, men’s 5000, and men’s and women’s 4X400 relays.  Those of us who have been around a while will be waiting to see if Team USA screws up the baton passes again, as has happened too frequently in the past.

So swimming and track for me.  Yes, I’ll have NBC on every night, and I’ll watch the gymnastics competition if it’s on then, while flipping back and forth with my Metsies.

I couldn’t care less about the other events, including basketball.

But I was hoping to care about the boxing.  However, in looking at Sports Illustrated’s medal predictions, seriously, not one American is listed as winning even a single bronze! 

Throughout the entire Games, though, there will be an important subtext (aside from keeping the athletes and spectators safe), that being how many Russians win medals, seeing as they should NOT be there at all.  Boy, if some of them win on the track and in the pool, every single American should be fuming.  In fact I think I’ll go outside and just start rioting for the heck of it.  I mean I’m very old and I don’t have too many years left to riot, know what I’m sayin’?  Just don’t tell my parents.

Finally, just saw Michael Phelps is the flag bearer for the U.S. at the Opening Ceremonies.

NASCAR

--The sport can’t catch a break when it travels to Long Pond, Pa., for the two annual races at Pocono Raceway.  Monday saw another rain-delayed event and this time it was not only delayed a few hours due to more rain, but then with just 21 laps to go, it was fogged out, though at least it was official.  I watched a lot of it and have to admit I was amazed how many fans stuck around after Sunday’s cancellation.

And we had a first-time winner, Chris Buescher, a driver who had no top-10 finishes while driving cars that weren’t top shelf; not having even qualified in the top 20 all year.

But the 22-year-old persevered Monday and then won because of a decision not to pit a final time for fuel while all the other leaders, save for Regan Smith, who finished third, opted to and then suddenly the fog rolled in, which wasn’t on the radar, leaving the other racers, in essence, with their pants down and Buescher the winner after NASCAR waited 80 minutes before making the decision to end it.

The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook had Buescher at 1,000-1 to win the race as he became the first rookie to capture a Sprint Cup event since Joey Logano did it in 2009.  And now, suddenly, Buescher has a shot at making the Chase.

--Dale Earnhardt Jr. continues to send off bad vibes regarding his physical condition, saying on his podcast Monday that his concussion-like symptoms – specifically a problem with his vision – aren’t going away as fast as he expected them to.

“In my mind, my plan is to race more.  I have plans to keep going.  I’ll worry about that when I’m well.  My doctors are confident they can make me stronger than I was before this event,” referring to two crashes in June and July.

Earnhardt said he continued to have balance issues as well.

He missed his third consecutive race this weekend, with Jeff Gordon substituting for him again at Pocono.  Dale Jr. is not racing at Watkins Glen this coming weekend or at Bristol two weeks after that. [Gordon finished a poor 27th Monday.]

Stuff

--So I totally forgot Sunday was the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park, where a year ago I went down to see American Pharoah rule.

Granted, there was no compelling reason for me to go this time, but you did have Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist against Exaggerator, the Preakness winner, matching up yet again, and Exaggerator defeated Nyquist a second time.  [The track conditions were sloppy at Monmouth Park, exactly as they were in the Preakness, you may recall.]

Nyquist finished fourth.

--Serious note for parents....

From the Los Angeles Times’ Francine Orr:

“Three people have died after attending the Hard Summer rave this weekend at the Auto Club Speedway, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said.

“All three were rushed from the venue to local emergency rooms; two death occurred on Saturday and one on Sunday, said sheriff’s spokeswoman Jodi Miller.”

The victims were two women, ages 21 and 22, and a man, age 22; all separate incidents, according to police.

Nine in total were transported to the hospital.

While the story I’m reading does not identify any cause, yes, at raves, drugs are prevalent.

I mean three young people dying in one night at a ‘concert,’ or whatever a rave is?  [I know what it is....I just wish these kids were home watching a ball game and maybe having a beer instead with friends.]

The Times story noted that last year two teens died at a similar deal from drugs thought to be “pure Molly” (Ecstasy).  At that Live Nation extravaganza in Pomona, 49 were hospitalized. 

This last deal caused emergency room physicians in Los Angeles County to call for an end to large raves.

“One big problem is that Ecstasy can cause body temperatures to shoot up as high as 109 degrees, causing organ failure.”

--According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, boats are killing manatees in the state at a record-setting pace; some 71 as of July 22, which truly sucks.  In 2009, a record 97 died from boat strikes.

I mean, who’s better than a manatee, which I admit should be a potential top ten on the All-Species List as I’ve given it short shrift.

Then again, manatees need to adapt and stop hugging the lagoons and perhaps learn a trade; maybe bell hops at Mar-a-Lago.

At least aerial counts reveal about 6,000 manatees each of the past two years.

--I meant to pass on some hot dog stats from the July 25 issue of Crain’s New York Business and a story by Peter D’Amato.

Say you’re in Washington Square Park in New York City and you order a hot dog from a cart there, $2.

“At 18 cents a link wholesale, hot dogs made from chicken meat and parts are a  steal (for vendors) compared with 38-cent Snap Dogs, which are branded are beef.’

So next time, ask for a Snap Dog and see if the vendor has them.  They are branded as such.

But Snap Dog wholesaler Keith Dorman tells Peter D’Amato something you can already imagine.

“For tourists, how thick your accent is determines what kind of hot dog you eat.”

--So I get stopped on the street all the time and people ask me, “Hey, Editor...is ‘Dog’ always going to be No. 1 on the All-Species List?” 

Why, yes, I tell them.  Case in point the following story many of you have seen.

From NJ.com...Northvale, New Jersey:

 “Police are crediting a dog with helping to save the life of its owner, a woman who suffered a medical emergency and lay unconscious inside the home for several days.

“Two women were walking near the home shortly before 8 p.m. Friday when they heard glass break and a dog barking loudly, according to Northvale Police Chief William Essmann.

“The women called police.

“ ‘Our officers observed the broken pane of glass next to the front door with the dog inside the home,’ Essmann said in a statement.

“The officers called out for anyone inside to come out but there was no response, Essman said.

“The officers then entered the home, where they found the resident unconscious.

“The resident had ‘suffered an unknown medical event’ and had been there for ‘an extended period of time,’ Essmann said.

“Humans are better equipped to handle the heat than dogs and cats because people perspire.

“EMTs arrived and transported the resident to a local hospital for treatment.

“The dog suffered a minor injury to a front paw from breaking the window, the chief said.

“ ‘We believe that the dog inside the home heard the two women talking as they walked past the home and broke the glass with its paws in an attempt to get their attention, which led to their owner being rescued,’ Essmann said.

“The woman remained in the intensive care unit of a local hospital on Monday, Essmann said.”

Top 3 songs for the week 8/6/66:  #1 “Wild Thing” (The Troggs)  #2 “Lil’ Red Riding Hood” (Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs)  #3 “Summer In The City” (The Lovin’ Spoonful)... and...#4 “The Pied Piper” (Crispian St. Peters)  #5 “They’re Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!” (Napoleon XIV...do NOT YouTube this one...one of the most depressing songs of all time and will stick to your brain until you die...as it has for me every time I see this title...have no clue how the next week this one peaked at #3...)  #6 “I Saw Her Again” (The Mamas & The Papas)  #7 “Hanky Panky” (Tommy James and The Shondells)  #8 “Sweet Pea” (Tommy Roe)  #9 “Mothers Little Helper” (The Rolling Stones...good one...)  #10 “Somewhere, My Love” (Ray Conniff and the Singers...think Dr. Zhivago...)

San Francisco Giants Pitching Quiz Answer: The others aside from Matt Cain to win 100 games in a San Francisco uniform (since 1958) are: Juan Marichal (238), Gaylord Perry (134), Tim Lincecum (108), Kirk Rueter (104) and Mike McCormick (104).

If you got Rueter (who actually had a decent career), take out that domestic from your desk drawer and announce to your office, “It’s party time!”  [Just make sure it’s close to 5:00, at least, and that you feel secure in your job before doing this.  As always, I am in no way liable for anything that happens in your future.]

Next Bar Chat, Monday.

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