International Day of the Girl was October 11. The Yard has been surrounded by amazing girls
since birth. With four sisters and three
girl first cousins, I was blessed with the International Day of the Girl almost
daily since 1963. The American white, heterosexual reign has been crumbling for
years. Many would argue rightfully so
after years of exclusion and subjugation of everyone else by this questionably fraternal
organization. The Yard chose not to major
in Sociology or Anthropology, so our opinions are as usual just opinions. We could have studied the evolution of man
from Cro-Magnon man to the fully, evolved cretin. Until the girls stood up and
said “enough” the entitled only knew entitlement. Most of us do not have this
false sense that goes viral when unchecked. The stereotype can stick to all of
us like the syrup tray at IHOP.
The Yard only hopes that our last bastion of male domination
is preserved- the classic Boy Band. NSYNC,
Duran, Duran and the Back-Street Boys are still going strong. Girl bands not so much. It is probably that there are many more young
girls willing to scream at their concerts and they are still screaming today as
adults. Diffident teenage boys wishing they were anywhere else but a concert
with their parents is not a long market play.
Even the Seahawks were rocking NSYNC for a TD celebration.
When the Yard launched in 2007, it was different time and
space. It was just a lark this
Yard. Who knew it would turn into 150
postings of inconsequential meanderings couched within unknown
proportions? Our legal team has been
closely following the late John Steinbeck estate’s battling heirs. The Pulitzer prize winner did not give much
thought to copyright and did not call it out specifically in his will. At the time of his death in 1968, his estate
was worth $1 million, a decent sum in those days. The original heirs have been dead for decades
but the battles rage on over movie rights, digital rights and the rest of
things no one thought of in the 50’s and 60’s
It would seem that after nearly 60 years the original $1 million estate
might have evaporated? The Yard legal team
is taking a close look at our trove of basement tapes, bootleg recordings and
other missives to ensure we protect not just the future of the Yard for our
progeny but other stuff as well.
As Joe Kelly stared at the dirt before his feet on the mound
and Howie Kendrick watched his game winning grand salami clear Cody Bellinger
and the outfield wall, the Yard felt relief.
It has been three years of pressure packed post seasons for the Dodgers
and their fans. We cannot imagine the
pressure the players feel but it has been unpalpable from the Yard sofas. Grinding through seven playoff series over
the past three years, the Dodgers went 4-3.
The four series wins are hardly remembered. The three series losses are burned into our
history forever. It was an amazing run without a title. The Dodgers faced the Amazing Astros in 2017 and
the 106-win Red Sox team in 2018. The
Dodgers were not the favorites in either WS. Giant fan is proud of their recent
titles and we hear of them often. A bit
dusty but relevant. The Giants beat the
Rangers, Tigers and the Royals. Flash forward to 2019 and these are three of
the worst teams in the MLB. Collectively, 61 games under .500. One might argue the Giants suck also and we
are not opposed to that sentiment. But you
can’t take away their three titles unless maybe we can snag #metoo one for the
Giant VP with the viral video pushing his wife at the zoo. Fortuitously, the Giants got the cream of
American League Crap during their reign.
The AL is back with Yankees, Red Sox and Astros probably better than any
team in the NL possibly for years to come.
We will root for the Nat’s even with their game five rout of the
Dodgers.
Although the Dodgers won 106 games this year, there were
troubling signs throughout the season that would give this fan pause in the
playoffs. Kenley Jansen had 33 saves,
but he finished with a 3.71 ERA and gave up 9 home runs in 63 innings. Watching Kenley come in with a one run lead
in the 9th in the World Series would be intestine twisting. Creaky
Rich Hill going three innings in Game 4 was a “really?” moment for a team with
these resources.
Clayton Kershaw’s post season woes were on full display with
his 8th inning three pitch two homerun blow up the season
moment. Dave Roberts bringing Kershaw
into the game as a reliever was evidence of the insanity that permeates Roberts
psyche during the playoffs. Kershaw has
a nearly 6.00 ERA in deciding playoff games. His playoff ERA is 2.00 higher
than his regular season. And if the game
is on the line, it jumps two more runs. He has only given up back to back
homeruns on consecutive pitches twice in his HOF career. Both times in the playoffs. He is not your go-to
pitcher to win a playoff game, Dave! It
is not a secret that the Yard has Dodger Blue phantasm. We do not think there is another team in the
MLB that would not trade their starting lineup for the Dodgers projected
starters in 2020 except maybe the Yankees and the Astros.
We are starting to feel like the Dodgers are Atlanta Braves
of the 1990’s. Those powerhouse teams
won the NL East eleven straight seasons.
They made it to the WS five times during that stretch and won one title
over the Cleveland Indians in 1995. John
Smoltz, Chipper Jones, Greg Maddux and Manager Bobby Cox are all in the HOF
from those teams. We hope that Dave
Roberts is not going to be our Bobby Cox.
Bobby did lose his first two trips to the WS in 1992-93. The Braves came back in 1995 to win their
sole title of the era. They went twice
more but could not get past those Yankees teams of the era. We can hope to win 11 straight titles but
sprinkle in a few more WS titles before the dirt nap.
In the clubhouse: The best pitching
performance that we watched in the playoffs so far was by Max Scherzer of the Nat’s
in his game 4 gem over the Dodgers in our nation’s capital. 33-year old Max outdueled the Dodger young
gun lefty lineup. He gave up 4 hits and
1 run in his seven innings. It was
raining off and on throughout the game.
There was Mad Max grunting and heaving the rock over the dish with rain
dripping off his bill. Fist pumping each
third strike and taking some rips at the plate.
The National are doing all this without Superman Harper who darted to
the 81-81 Phillies so he could watch from home in LV with his new-born.
OT: The hypocrisy of Lebron regarding the NBA
tweet skirmish with The People’s Republic of China is surprising. The King is quick to highlight the perceived
abuse of others as when he called the NFL owners essentially slave owners. He called out the NCAA about not letting
their players get paid. But when it came
to that one tweet from the Rockets in support of Hong Kong, Lebron had to call
the NBA out on that. “How can someone
make a tweet so insensitive that it costs people millions if not billions?” Bron
queried his nation. Lebron felt it would cost Lebron money that is why. With the Lebron XVII shoe, coming to your
store straight from the factory in China, he had to say something. He was
probably worried about the workers not his lifetime contract with Nike.
Grace of God: Thank you everyone for thoughts and prayers
for our Jo. She is 100% recovered and
gorgeous as ever. The humor left the
building for about a month, but she has brought the joy back to my life as she
always has. God Bless!
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