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Bar Chat

07/03/2023

Fowler and Langer...John Adams and Thomas Jefferson

Update…posted early Wed. a.m. ….I had a little time and opted to clear the table of a few matters before they get too dated.

MLB

--Through Monday, Atlanta had won a staggering 17 of 18 to get to 57-27 (Tampa Bay is 57-30).  They also hit 61 home runs in June – four more than any other NL team has ever hit in a month.  [161 thru July 3, and an MLB-leading .837 team OPS!]

Befitting the Braves’ greatness, you have the story of Ronald Acuna Jr.  On Monday he stole his 40th base of the season, making him the only player in MLB history with 20-plus home runs, 40-plus stolen bases and 50-plus RBI before the All-Star break, according to the league.

Acuna stood at 21 home runs, 40 SBs, and 54 RBI through Monday.  He also has a 1.012 OPS and 77 runs scored!

Oh, and Atlanta will have a franchise-record eight All-Stars, after the announcement of the reserves on Sunday.  Atlanta’s starting infield made it.  First baseman Matt Olson, second baseman Ozzie Albies, shortstop Orlando Arcia, and third baseman Austin Riley.

The Braves did lose Tuesday, 6-5 in 10 innings at Cleveland.

--Mike Trout exited Monday night’s game against the Padres with a worrisome injury to his left wrist.

After fouling off an 0-1 pitch from Nick Martinez leading off the eighth inning, Trout immediately shook his left arm.

“I just took a swing and something felt uncomfortable,” Trout said after the Angels lost 10-3. “Just waiting on getting some sans and hope for the best.  It doesn’t feel great… Hopefully just a sprained wrist.  I can’t describe the pain I felt. I never felt it before, ever, before this.  I never had wrist problems or anything.  Just freak things.”

And then we learned Tuesday afternoon that the Angels put Trout on the IL with a fractured  hamate bone in his left hand, which is one of the worst injuries you can suffer as the timeline is iffy (though for now five weeks), and the long-term prognosis questionable.

What a brutal blow for L.A., and makes you wonder anew about the fate of Shohei Ohtani and the trade deadline. 

It’s also the third year in a row that Trout makes the All-Star team but can’t play due to injury.

So then last night, Tuesday, Ohtani exited his mound performance, where he was hit hard, 5 earned in 5 innings, with a blister on his right middle finger, the same finger he had problems with a cracked fingernail in his last start.

So Ohtani will probably be able to hit in the All-Star Game, but definitely not pitch, and likely won’t be making a start for about two weeks.  The Angels also lost the game, 8-5 to the Padres, and have fallen to 45-43, losers of six of seven.  The GM has to be working the phones prior to Aug. 1.

--Clayton Kershaw didn’t make his start Monday after all and was placed on the 15-day injured list, six days after feeling shoulder pain during a start in Colorado last week.

The IL stint is backdated to June 30.  No All-Star Game appearance for him either.

--Aaron Judge is nowhere near a return.  Tuesday, he said he started hitting off a tee but is unable to run due to the torn ligament in his right toe.

“I got to be able to run,” Judge said prior to Tuesday’s game against the Orioles.  “If I can run then I can play.  Me running at 10% ain’t going to help anybody out there.”

But the Yankees are playing better and have taken the first two at the Stadium in a series with the Orioles, 6-3, 8-4, and with the Rays having lost three straight, suddenly their AL East lead isn’t so surmountable.

Tampa Bay 57-31
Baltimore 49-35…6
Yankees 48-38…8

--The Mets (39-46) have won three straight, opening up their road trip with an 8-5 win over first-place Arizona (50-36), Starling Marte with a 3-run homer, and Francisco Alvarez with a 2-run, 467-foot bomb.  Max Scherzer, despite struggling, improved to 8-2, 4.03.

Stuff

--John Cherwa of the Los Angeles Times summed it up for horse racing fans:

“In a stunning development, Churchill Downs Inc. extended trainer Bob Baffert’s suspension from all of its racetracks, including its signature track that hosts the Kentucky Derby, by at least another year despite the fact he has had no violations in the two years since he was suspended.”

What a-holes!

Baffert’s case concerning his 2021 suspension after Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit tested positive for a medication that is legal except for on race day, is still in litigation, and the now-deceased Medina Spirit was stripped of the victory.

“Mr. Baffert continues to peddle a false narrative concerning the failed drug test of Medina Spirit at the 147th Kentucky Derby from which his horse was disqualified by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission in accordance with Kentucky law and regulations,” Churchill Downs said Monday in a statement.

He is suspended through 2024 at all tracks owned by CDI.

--“The Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest is the crucible through which greatness is forged,” said Major League Eating Chair George Shea in a news release heading into Tuesday’s affair on Coney Island.

But then Mother Nature chose not to cooperate.  As has been the case in our region for the better part of a week, storms pop up out of nowhere and then sit, and this one storm sat over the Coney Island, NY, area for like two hours.  [Two people were reportedly sent to the hospital following a lightning strike on the boardwalk.]

But when they finally started masticating, one of the greatest athletes of all time, Joey Chestnut, picked up his 16th Mustard Belt, eating 62 hot dogs and buns in ten minutes, well off his record of 76 set in 2021, but enough for the win, a comfortable 13 ahead of second-place finisher Geoffrey Esper, Esper’s third straight runner-up finish.

“Jaws” picked up another $10,000 for the win, and hopefully a lot more endorsements as he remains a true inspiration for us all.

Among Chestnut’s other Major League Eating records is 141 hard-boiled eggs in 8 minutes, and 121 Twinkies in 6 minutes.

Miki Sudo won her ninth female title by swallowing whole 39 wieners and buns.

--There were some folks pissed off at the media on Sunday.  I told you of how I watched the PGA Tour event live online due to the tee times being moved way up due to weather, which was convenient because I wanted to focus on Bernhard Langer and his U.S. Senior Open bid.

But golf fans who didn’t watch when I did were furious that CBS didn’t show the final holes live of Rickie Fowler’s big win, opting for programming like rodeo and a canned golf program before they went to their tape-delayed coverage.  Understandable…hopefully a lesson learned.

So, then I was miffed because the NASCAR Cup Series race in Chicago, the first-ever street race in Cup Series history, was supposed to go off at 5:30 p.m. eastern, and when I flipped it on (right before posting), Chicago was getting slammed with a historic storm and it seemed unlikely the race would go off Sunday evening.

I was then watching local news and sports at around 6:20 when the sportscaster said the race had been “postponed.”

The Mets and San Francisco were the Sunday night game and I stayed on that for the duration, never knowing the NASCAR race went off later that evening and it proved to be a huge win for the sport.

Fans, the drivers, the experts all loved it, with Shane van Gisbergen of New Zealand winning in his Cup Series debut…a terrific story.

The 34-year-old became the first driver to win his debut since Johnny Rutherford in the second qualifying race at Daytona in 1963.

--Back to Langer’s historic win, he has now won 13 times since turning 60!

And how good has Rickie Fowler been this 2022-23 season?  He has made 18 cuts in 20 events, with eight top tens.  He had just one top ten in 2021-22 in 22 tournaments, and one in 2020-21 in 24.

--The LA Galaxy and city rivals LAFC played a Fourth of July match at the Rose Bowl and broke the MLB single-game attendance record after attracting 82,110 fans.  That’s a terrific sign for the sport, and the league.

Next Bar Chat, Sunday p.m.

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[Posted early Sun. p.m.]

No midweek Add-on.

Baseball Quiz: Domingo German threw a perfect game on Wednesday, as noted below, the first since 2012.  Name the six who threw one between 2009 and 2012. Answer below.

MLB

--Going back to Wednesday night in Oakland, the Yankees’ German, who had given up 17 runs (15 earned) in 5 1/3 over his previous two starts, threw a perfect game, striking out nine, 99 pitches (72 strikes), in an 11-0 win.

Talk about out of nowhere.  It was just the 24th perfect game in MLB history and first since 2012.

German is the first Dominican Republic native to throw a perfect game, and he joins Dennis Martinez and Felix Hernandez as the only players not born in the U.S. to achieve the feat.

He also became the fourth Yankee to throw a perfecto, joining David Cone (1999), David Wells (1998) and Don Larsen (1956).

German is 5-5, 4.54 on the season.

Until this effort, German was probably best known for getting suspended a total of 81 games for violating baseball’s domestic violence policy.

In the here and now, the Yankees are in St. Louis, dealing with the crappy weather in the Midwest, and they split a day/night doubleheader with the Cardinals (34-48) Saturday, losing the first 11-4, but taking the second 6-2, New York 46-37.

Make that 46-38, 10 games back of the Rays (as they play late this afternoon), former Yankee Jordan Montgomery (6-7, 3.28) outdueling Gerrit Cole (8-2, 2.79), 5-1.

--Mets owner Steve Cohen, aka Uncle Stevie, finally spoke out last Wednesday on the state of the franchise and this godawful season, after going 101-61 last year.

He’s been a terrific owner, spending the money, doing both big and little things right, but the fans are not just restless, we’re asking for the sword (at least I am, on occasion).

And he’s pissed too.

“I watch all the games,” he told reporters, “so I know.” 

And he knows his grace period has evaporated in this his third full season.

Cohen also knows that with the Aug. 1 trade deadline fast approaching, he’s going to have to make some tough decisions.

“All is not lost yet,” he said, “but it’s getting late.”

After Cohen spoke Wednesday, the Mets went out and lost to the Brewers 5-2.  They then lost again to the Brewers, Thursday, 3-2, despite Max Scherzer’s six strong, and Friday night, it was another crushing loss, 5-4 to the Giants, closer David Robertson giving up a 3-run eighth-inning homer to rookie catcher Patrick Bailey, a 4-2 lead up in flames.

So the Mets were 0-3 since Cohen’s address and 36-46 on the season, after their 14-7 start.

For good reason all manner of folks are musing what the Mets could get in return from a contender for the likes of Scherzer and Justin Verlander, Cohen knowing he’s going to have to take a hit on a lions-share of the contracts in all likelihood.

And think about this.  Slugger Pete Alonso, who early in the season fans were clamoring for Cohen to give a long-term contract, a la what the Braves have done with their stars, and yet after Pete hit .293 in the team’s first 21 games, he is .185 in the next 54!  [36-for-195.]  That’s no small sample size, boys and girls.

The Mets did finally win Saturday, 4-1, hitting three solo home runs in the third inning, and Verlander importantly throwing seven innings, zero runs earned, as he lowered his ERA to 3.66.

So after a catastrophic 7-19 June (13 blown leads), the Metsies start off July with a win.  Yippee!

Meanwhile, Alonso made an error for the second straight game, was 0-for-1 at the plate, and is 7-for-48 since coming back from injury.

--The surprising Marlins traveled to Atlanta for an important test against the best and the Braves took the first two, 16-4 (Matt Olson, 4-for-5, two home runs, a triple, 5 RBI), and 7-0.

And then today, the Braves completed the sweep, 6-3, defeating last season’s Cy Young Award winner, Sandy Alcantara, who after yielding 4 earned in 5 innings fell to 3-7, 4.93!  Atlanta’s Spencer Strider improved to 10-2 (2 earned in 6 2/3).

Atlanta stretched its lead in the NL East to 9 games.

Braves 56-27
Marlins 48-37

Luis Arraez, after getting his average up to .402, is down to .389, though was 2-for-4 today with 2 RBIs.

--The first-place Rangers hosted the Astros this weekend and the teams split the first two, Nate Eovaldi picking up his tenth win for Texas Saturday.

But Houston won today, 5-3.

Rangers 50-34
Astros 46-38…4 back

--In the bottom of the sixth inning Friday night at Angels Stadium, Shohei Ohtani sent Tommy Henry of the Diamondbacks’ slider 493-feet, the deepest home run of Ohtani’s career, surpassing the 470-foot shot he hit against the Royals on June 8, 2021, also at Angel Stadium.

The ball traveled so far and disappeared so quickly, after the game, several members of the media were still debating where the ball actually landed.

I’ve watched the video multiple times, from a few angles, and it is truly astounding.

The homer was No. 30 on the season, and No. 15 for the month of June, putting him in a four-way tie for most American League home runs hit in the month…the others being Babe Ruth (1930), “Indian Bob” Johnson (1934)* and Roger Maris 91961).

* “Indian Bob” didn’t start his MLB career until age 27, yet finished his career (1933-45) with 288 home runs, 1,283 RBIs, and a .296 batting average.  Perhaps one of the two or three more underrated players in the history of the game, as I’ve written before, Johnson had eight 100-RBI seasons, including seven straight with the Philadelphia Athletics.

Back to Ohtani, he also joined Sammy Sosa (boo booo) as the only player to hit 30 home runs and steal 10 bases before July.  Sosa did so in 1998.

[Shohei also has 18 home runs in his last 29 games and had a 1.444 OPS for June.]

Unfortunately, the Angels (44-40) lost to the D’Backs (49-34) 6-2.  And they lost again, Saturday.

--The Dodgers and Clayton Kershaw say he has been diagnosed with shoulder inflammation, but after a cortisone injection, the team remains hopeful he can make a start Monday against the Pirates.

--Tampa Bay’s Shane McClanahan, in the midst of a superb season, 11-1, 2.53 ERA, was put on the 15-day injured list Saturday, a day after the left-hander came out of his second straight start due to mid-back tightness.  Both the pitcher and the team appear confident he’ll be back after the All-Star break.

--The Texas Rangers lead MLB with 4 starters in the upcoming All-Star Game in Seattle, the most of any team…catcher Jonah Heim, third baseman Josh Jung, shortstop Corey Seager and second baseman Marcus Semien.

Ohtani and Atlanta’s Ronald Acuna Jr. were the leading vote getters in their respective leagues.

Mike Trout earned his 11th All-Star appearance, while Nolan Arenado will be going for an eighth time, Freddie Freeman a seventh.

Luis Arraez will be starting at second base.

Aaron Judge was voted in as a starter but it’s not known if he’ll be available.

--July 2nd is a big day in baseball history.  This year, the 60th anniversary of the epic mound duel between Juan Marichal and Warren Spahn, a game that ended in the bottom of the 16th when Willie Mays homered off Spahn at Candlestick Park for a 1-0 win.  They didn’t keep official pitch counts in those days, but they worked it out later.  [You can guess…I’ll reveal it below.]

The 25-year-old Marichal, who had thrown a no-hitter 17 days earlier, went 16 innings, allowing 8 hits, 4 walks and fanning 10, while the 42-year-old Spahn went 15 1/3, giving up 9 hits, 1 run, 1 walk and 2 strikeouts. 

Marichal would go on to finish 1963 at 25-8, 321 innings, while Spahn was 23-7, completing 22 of 33 starts and pitching 260 innings…again, at age 42.

Giants manager Alvin Dark never asked a reliever to warm up.

“If a guy gets wild or starts getting his pitches up, you know his arm might be tired, but that wasn’t the case with Juan.”

Milwaukee manager Bobby Bragan insists he never even went to the mound.  “I was a member of the Phillies [1940-42], and I can remember hearing that Connie Mack of the Philadelphia A’s would take three pitchers to Detroit for a weekend series,” said Bragan.

Spahn, by the way, smoked a cigarette between innings.  You could do that behind the dugout.

Marichal said: “After I pitched the 16th inning, I walked off slow, waiting for some of the players coming in from the outfield” he told the Oakland Tribune.  “I was waiting for Willie Mays. I said, ‘Willie, this is going to be the last inning for me.’  He said, ‘Don’t worry Chico, I’m going to win this game for you.’”

Mays won it.

The pitch count?  Spahn threw 201 pitches, Marichal 227.  Or a 147-pitch nine-inning rate for Spahn to Marichal’s 152. [Source for some of this, Sabr.org]

By the way, it was June 15, 1963, that Marichal no-hit the Houston Colt .45s, 1-0.  The opposing pitcher was Dick Drott.

Drott was 15-11 as a rookie with the Cubs in 1957, third in the ROY voting, but in ’63 he would finish 2-12, 4.98, and never made it back to the majors.

[In 1954, Aug. 13, there was a game where Jack Harshman of the White Sox outdueled Detroit’s Al Aber in another 1-0, 16-inning affair with Aber giving up the only run. Harshman allowed 9 hits, 7 walks and struck out 12, so imagine his pitch count. Aber yielded the run on 9 hits, walked 3 and fanned 8.]

NBA Free Agency

--For the record, just a few high-profile signings early on….

Kyrie Irving is returning to the Mavericks on a three-year, $126 million contract.

Fred VanVleet bagged a three-year, $130 million contract with the Houston Rockets, ending VanVleet’s seven-season run in Toronto.  He turned down a $22.8 million player option with the Raptors.  Pretty good job by a player who was undrafted out of Wichita State.

Draymond Green agreed to a four-year, $100 million contract that will keep him with Golden State. 

All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers agreed on a five-year, designated max contract that could be worth up to $260 million.

Kyle Kuzma is returning to the Wizards, four-years, $102 million, which is a good sign for the team’s fans after Washington appeared to be in major rebuild mode this offseason.

Memphis is signing Derrick Rose to a two-year deal.  Good for him.  Rose was a perfect soldier for the Knicks this season, understanding that coach Tom Thibodeau (the two having a great relationship) was going with a strict 8- to 9-man rotation and that Rose wouldn’t be part of it.  Rose never complained and he was the perfect teammate, instilling his immense wisdom on the younger players.

The Trail Blazers reached agreement with forward Jerami Grant on a five-year, $160 million contract.  Jerami Grant?  $160 million? Well, ain’t my money.

But then Portland superstar Damian Lillard requested a trade, and specifically wants to join Miami.

No one is surprised.  Lillard wants to win now, and the Blazers are in rebuild mode, keeping their draft picks (selecting Scott Henderson at No. 3) and then failing to make a splash in free agency.

So we’ll see what happens here.

Most importantly for yours truly, Josh Hart is returning to the Knicks.  He accepted his $12.9 million player option, and is likely to agree to a longer-term extension in the weeks ahead.

“I love New York.  I love the team,” Hart said in a recent interview prior to opting in.  “I love the coaching staff, the front office that we have, we have young guys, draft picks, all those sorts of things.  I mean, obviously that would be an ideal place for me to just re-sign there and do that.”

And then the Knicks added another former Villanova star, and teammate of Hart and Jalen Brunson, in inking free agent guard Donte DiVincenzo, 26, to a four-year, $50 million deal.

I like the move.  This guy, like Hart and Brunson, is tough and a team-first player, plus he’s effective from 3-point range.

The only problem is that DiVincenzo, at 6-4, is another undersized wing, including Immanuel Quickley and Quentin Grimes.

The Knicks also traded Obi Toppin, as expected, to Indiana for two future second-round draft picks.

NFL

--The NFL suspended four players Thursday for violating its gambling policy, adding to a growing list of such suspensions imposed this offseason.

Three of the players, the Colts’ Isaiah Rodgers and Rashod Berry, and free agent DT Demetrius Taylor, were suspended for at least the entire 2023 season.

The players may apply for reinstatement next year, the NFL said.

The league also suspended Tennessee Titans offensive tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere for six games for placing bets on non-NFL sports at the team’s facility, which is a violation of the NFL’s gambling policy.

The Colts announced Thursday they released Rodgers and Berry.

The NFL said its gambling policy is “annually reviewed with all NFL personnel, including players” and reiterated that the policy “prohibits anyone in the NFL from engaging in any form of gambling in any club or league facility or venue, including the practice facility.”

The recent string of suspensions has occurred at a time in which the NFL and its teams have embraced legalized sports betting as a revenue source, forging gambling partnerships after previously opposing efforts to spread its legalization.

--In College Football…an early preseason top ten from The Athletic’s Austin Mock:

1. Georgia
2. Alabama
3. Michigan
4. Ohio State
5. Penn State
6. LSU
7. Tennessee
8. Texas
9. Florida State
10. USC

Golf Balls

Golf fans had two terrific story lines today (if the weather cooperated)…one involving Rickie Fowler’s quest to get back in the winner’s circle, the other concerning 65-year-old Bernhard Langer and the U.S. Senior Open.

--Heading to the last round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic, at Detroit Golf Club….

Fowler -20
Adam Hadwin -19
Taylor Pendrith -18

Fowler is again attempting to pick up his first win since the 2019 WM Phoenix Open.

So I saw they were teeing off early, 8:45 a.m. ET, due to pending weather, followed it online and then picked it up live, online, as Fowler and Hadwin were playing 13.  Collin Morikawa was on fire and we had the following leaderboard….

Morikawa -23…thru 16
Fowler -23…15
Hadwin -23…15

Morikawa birdied the par-5 17th to get to -24, but missed a birdie on the par-4 18th by a mere fraction to the left.  That would have won it.

Hadwin birdied 17, but Fowler managed only a par…eight straight pars on the back.  He wasn’t exactly taking advantage of the opportunity to get back into the winner’s circle.

And Fowler hit a poor drive on 18, only to, kind of out of nowhere, nail his approach, a makeable birdie attempt, and he converted, all three of them in a playoff.

The first extra hole was back at No. 18, and we were told rough weather was a ½-hour away, so this was very likely the last hole before a lengthy delay, and Rickie did it.  He nailed his approach, again, after another wayward drive, and made about a 12-footer for the win, Morikawa having airmailed his approach.

A great finish for the sport, the popular Fowler with win No. 6…finally.  Four years, four months, much of which was spent in golfing’s wilderness.

--In the U.S. Senior Open at Sentry World, Stevens Point, Wisconsin, Bernhard Langer held the lead heading into the final round, but he was going up against two Wisconsin golfing legends….

Langer -6
Jerry Kelly -4
Steve Stricker -3

Aside from the fact this is a major, Langer sits on 45 PGA Tour Champions career victories, tied with Hale Irwin at the top.  [Stricker and Kelly, both 56, have 15 and 11 career senior wins, respectively.]

Langer has 11 senior majors, but the last one was at the 2019 Senior Open Championship.

At 65 years, 10 months, 5 days, should Langer win he would extend his record as the oldest winner in PGA Tour Champions history.  He currently holds the top 4 spots on the oldest winners list.

But he was going to have to deal with a crowd heavily rooting for their two hometown boys.

A big reason why I watched the ending of the Rocket Mortgage Classic live, rather than wait for the tape delayed network coverage, was so I could follow Langer’s quest and he delivered.

He quickly built a 6-shot lead and cruised, winning by two despite a bogey, bogey, bogey finish.

What an amazing career.  Say it again, at age 65!  And I have to admit, I love how in his comments to Jimmy Roberts he said he kept repeating a Bible verse.

Bernhard Langer is an example for us all.

Stricker finished second at -5. Kelly third, -4, so the Wisconsin boys still gave their fans a show.

--The two executives running the PGA Tour in the absence of commissioner Jay Monahan said they anticipate his return.  But no further update on his health or working status was given this week.

--Talor Gooch won his third LIV title of the year this weekend at Valderrama in Spain, one stroke over Bryson DeChambeau.

Stuff

--Wimbledon starts Monday, Novak Djokovic gunning for his fifth consecutive and eighth overall championship at the All England Club.

--No one likes to see someone laid off, so it was kind of sad to see ESPN hand out pink slips to some big names, like Jeff Van Gundy, Jalen Rose, Suzy Kolber, Matt Hasselbeck, LaPhonso Ellis, David Pollack, and longtime NFL draft expert Todd McShay.

Both Van Gundy and Rose joined ESPN in 2007.

I really liked Ellis, who joined the network in 2009 as a college hoops analyst.

But it’s all part of parent Disney’s efforts to save major dollars, amid the ongoing turmoil in our new world and how we all view sports.

--Connor Bedard was the No. 1 selection of the NHL Draft Wednesday by the Chicago Blackhawks, a highly skilled offensive forward who’s drawn comparisons to Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby.

Bedard turns 18 on July 17, and at 5-10 and 185 pounds is regarded as a generational prospect, much like McDavid, who was selected first in 2015 and this week was named the league’s MVP for the third time.

--We note the passing of the amazing actor, Alan Arkin, 89.

Arkin won a Tony Award for his first lead role on Broadway, “Enter Laughing” in 1963, and won rave reviews for his second role in the hit show “Luv,” staged by Mike Nichols and co-starring Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson.

So, with two Broadway hits under his belt, he was nominated for an Oscar for his first feature film, “The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming,” which was the second movie I ever saw in a theater and was a staple on “Saturday Night at the Movies” on television for like the next decade.

There are some lines, movie or otherwise, that stick in your head forever and for me, the line from this film, in which Arkin tries to teach his non-English-speaking Russian crew how to say “Emergency!  Everybody to get from street!” pops into my head like once a month.  Just a terrific film, if you haven’t seen it.

Well, that role led to Arkin playing a French detective in “Inspector Clouseau” (1968), putting his own spin on a role created (and subsequently reclaimed) by Peter Sellers; a Puerto Rican widower in “Popi” (1969); a Lithuanian sailor in the television movie “The Defection of Simas Kudirka” (1978); and many other nationalities and ethnicities.

“I could play any kind of foreigner,” he told The New York Times in 1970. “But I can’t play any kind of native of anywhere.”

Arkin became known for playing likably hapless Everyman characters, such as Captain Yossarian in “Catch-22” (1970).

But he had dramatic roles, as in the 1967 suspense drama “Wait Until Dark,” and in “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter” (1968), in which he earned his second Oscar nomination.

But it was nearly 40 years before his third nomination, and first Oscar, for his portrayal of a crusty and heroin-habituated grandfather in the indie comedy “Little Miss Sunshine” (2006).  His fourth and final nomination was for his role as a cynical movie producer in “Argo” (2012), Ben Affleck’s tale of made-in-Hollywood rescue of hostages in Iran.

RIP, Mr. Arkin.

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Independence Day

From my archives:

On June 6, 1776, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia introduced the following resolution:

“That these United Colonies are, and of a right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.

“That it is expedient forthwith to take the most effectual measures for forming foreign Alliances.

“That a plan of confederation be prepared and transmitted to the respective Colonies for their consideration and approbation.”

Lee’s resolutions were debated, but the Second Continental Congress was unable to pass them.

On June 11, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert R. Livingston and Roger Sherman were appointed to draft a declaration.  Jefferson prepared the first draft, with slight improvements being made by Adams and Franklin. Lee’s resolution of independence was adopted on July 2 by a vote of 12 to 0, New York abstaining.  Then the actual Declaration was approved on July 4, after the Congress made some further changes.

On July 3, John Adams wrote the following to his wife, Abigail, in Boston.  [Spelling and punctuation are correct.]

“Yesterday the greatest Question was decided, which ever was debated in America, and a greater perhaps, never was or will be decided among Men.  A Resolution was passed with but one dissenting Colony ‘that these united Colonies, are, and of right ought to be free and independent States, and as such, they have, and of Right ought to have full Power to make War, conclude Peace, establish Commerce, and to do all the other Acts and Things, which other States may rightfully do.’  You will see in a few days a Declaration setting forth the Causes, which have impell’d Us to this mighty Revolution, and the Reasons which will justify it, in the Sight of God and Man.  A Plan of Confederation will be taken up in a few days.

“When I look back to the year 1761 I am surprised at the Suddenness, as well as Greatness of this Revolution.  Britain has been fill’d with Folly, and America with Wisdom, at least this is my Judgment. – Time must determine.  It is the Will of Heaven, that the two Countries should be sundered forever.  It may be the Will of Heaven that America shall suffer Calamities still more wasting and distresses yet more dreadful.  If this is to be the Case, it will have this good Effect, at least: it will inspire Us with many Virtues, which We have not, and correct many Errors, Follies, and Vices, which threaten to disturb, dishonour, and destroy Us. – The Furnace of Affliction produces Refinement, in States as well as Individuals.  And the new Governments we are assuming, in every Part, will require a Purification from our Vices, and an Augmentation of our Virtues or they will be no Blessings.  The People will have unbounded Power.  And the People are extremely addicted to Corruption and Venality, as well as the Great. – I am not without Apprehensions from this Quarter.  But I must submit all my Hopes and Fears, to an overruling Providence, in which, unfashionable as the Faith may be, I firmly believe.”

Later that same day, Adams wrote Abigail a second letter, rather than quaffing pints at Ye Olde Tavern as I would have been doing, just as a local schlub, not as a Founding Father, mind you.

“The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. – I am apt to believe it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.

“You will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I am not. – I am well away of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. – Yet through all of the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory.  I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will triumph in that Days Transaction, even though We should rue it, which I trust in God We shall not.”

On July 13, Abigail Adams replied.

“By yesterdays post I received two Letters dated 3 and 4 of July and tho your Letters never fail to give me pleasure, be the subject what it will, yet it was greatly heightened by the prospect of the future happiness and Glory of our country; nor am I a little Gratified when I reflect that a person so nearly connected with me has had the Honour of being a principal actor, in laying a foundation for its Greatness.  May the foundation of our new constitution, be justice Truth and Righteousness.  Like the wise Mans house may it be founded upon those Rocks and then neither storms or tempests will overthrow it.

[Source: “The Declaration of Independence,” edited by Wim Coleman.  Of course in celebrating the Fourth, Adams was quite prescient, if but two days off.]

And there is the wondrous story of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, Founding Fathers and our 2nd and 3rd presidents, who both died on the Fourth of July, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

Adams’ last words were reported to have been, “Thomas Jefferson still survives.”  He had no means of knowing that Jefferson had died the same morning at 9:50 a.m.

For his part, Jefferson had ten days earlier declined an invitation to attend ceremonies in Washington marking this golden anniversary. Barely able to hold pen in hand, he wrote his last testament to the American people.

“All eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man. The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their back, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately, by the grace of God. These are grounds of hope for others.  For ourselves, let the annual return of this day, forever refresh our recollections of these rights, and an undiminished devotion to them.”

Top 3 songs for the week 7/2/77:  #1 “Gonna Fly Now” (Bill Conti…“Rocky” is out…)  #2 “Undercover Angel” (Alan O’Day)  #3 “Got To Give It Up (Pt. 1)” (Marvin Gaye)…and…#4 “Da Doo Ron Ron” (Shaun Cassidy)  #5 Looks Like We Made It” (Barry Manilow)  #6 “Dreams” (Fleetwood Mac)  #7 “I Just Want To Be Your Everything” (Andy Gibb)  #8 “Angel In Your Arms” (Hot)  #9 “Jet Airliner” (The Steve Miller Band)  #10 “Margaritavlle” (Jimmy Buffett…C- week…)

Baseball Quiz Answer:  It’s rather remarkable that with now only 24 perfect games in MLB history, six were between 2009 and 2012….

Felix Hernandez (Aug. 15, 2012), Seattle vs. Tampa Bay, 1-0
Matt Cain (June 13, 2012), San Francisco vs. Houston, 10-0
Philip Humber (April 21, 2012), Chicago White Sox vs. Seattle, 4-0
Roy Halladay (May 29, 2010), Philadelphia vs. Florida, 1-0
Dallas Braden (May 9, 2010), Oakland vs. Tampa Bay, 4-0
Mark Buehrle (July 213, 2009), Chicago White Sox vs. Tampa Bay, 5-0

Humber was 16-23 in his career, Braden 26-36.

But they got a perfecto!

***No midweek Bar Chat.  And no midweek Bar Chats in July or August. 

Don’t forget the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest on the Fourth, Noon ET, ESPN2.

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