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Monday, October 19, 2020

Lighten Up, Francis

 

The difference between winning and losing can be razor thin. All those fans saying the Braves “chocked” – I’d like to see them do better against the highest payroll in baseball – twice the payroll of the Braves. LA and Atlanta had the top two pitching staffs, so sure it would be tough for the Braves to hit, especially after losing Adam Duvall, and with Acuna’s wrist hurting. Dodgers made several great defensive plays and the Braves too many uncharacteristic baserunning blunders.

Sure it hurts. Glad I’m not as mad and bitter as many on social media. Get over it. Makes me feel good that I’m not so caught up in something I can’t control. A “coach” on Twitter was ready to fight anyone who didn’t agree with him – “THE BRAVES CHOKED” he kept repeating. Is that what he tells his players? Lighten up, Francis. 

Smoltz was on point with much of his analysis, particularly about Braves hitting trying to pull outside pitches. Freddie doesn’t. Acuna and Riley are guilty most of the time, but every now and then go oppo. Braves were handed an unexpected gift in game four, with Bryse Wilson outpitching Kershaw. Without that the series would’ve ended earlier. All those social media experts forget that.

If the NL adopts the DH that will be the Braves top priority, as well as keeping the bullpen loaded. An outfield of Duvall, Pache, and Acuna. Starting rotation of Soroka, Fried, Anderson, Wright, and Wilson. Infielders Freeman, Albies, Swanson, and Riley.  

When Will played East Cobb Baseball, the best team recruited players from all over the country. Most were big boys, the typical high school jock types. Reminded me of Dodger first baseman Max Muncy. Dodger catcher Will Smith looked like the all-American kid, like Jason from the 321 Penguins cartoon. 

Things I found cleaning out M’s leftovers: several unused tubes of Chapstick, lots of nice socks (kept some, gave away others), a harmonica, two toy VW busses, five antiperspirants, a two dollar bill, two Halloween costumes, and a fish tie. Need to clean out the upstairs closets next. And the utility room. And get a haircut. Still haven’t gotten out my winter clothes.

I have a Jimmy Carter button that Ceil probably paid $5.00 for. You can buy new t-shirts with old candidates on them. I sold an old Clemson button from the 70’s for five or ten bucks. I have some old Tech buttons from the late 70’s, when I was in school. Also a Braves / Yankees World Series cap from the late 90’s. Guess I won’t be wearing it this week. Sold a 1996 Olympic softball cap on eBay.  

Didn’t leave the house all weekend. Man I worked like a dog. Friday Ceil took Barney over to the vet school in Athens. On the way back she stopped by Dekalb Farmers Market. I left at five and drove straight home. Didn’t sit down until 8:45. The house has been a mess with us caring for Barney. I did the dishes, started some laundry, folded clothes, repositioned the heavy area rug in the den, and straightened up the entire downstairs. Stayed up late to watch the Braves lose. 

Saturday morning I slept late and did some cleaning upstairs. Got a call from the vet school with an update on Barney. He had pneumonia but was getting better. Later went downstairs and watched College Gameday, Clemson@GT, the Braves loss, and GA@AL With the games I finished cleaning out M’s old room. Swept the room and cleaned the baseboards. Folded lots of clothes and towels. Had the washer/dryer going most all day Saturday and Sunday. Ceil cooked homemade pizza for supper.

Stayed up late to watch the Dawgs lose. Guess in the end the missed field goal didn’t matter much. Alabama is good. The big difference in the game was Alabama’s play-calling. Georgia could’ve run the ball more. Dawgs will have to improve to beat Bama in the SEC Championship Game. 

Online church, then back to work on the house. Cleaned out and sorted a bunch from M’s room. Threw some away, saved some, had a bunch to give away. Mopped the floor and painted the closet. Raked the leaves. Had on the Falcons@Vikings and Packers@Bucs. Folded clothes. Got an update on Barney and he was doing better. Stayed up late to watch the Braves lose.

LOU WHITAKER [SABR Bio] appears in the top ten for career offensive statistics more than thirty times for his American League franchise. In more than half of those categories, he’s in the top five. Played his whole 19-year career for DET, taken by them in the 5th round of the 1975 MLB Draft, #99 overall, as a third baseman—a position he never played in the majors. 

The third time he made the All-Star team he arrived at the venue without his uniform. He still played but improvisation was the watchword of the day. The Smithsonian requested the jersey he concocted and it remains a part of their collection. Having left much of his uniform and gear behind in a bag in his car and because he was his league’s starter at 2B, his All-Star teammates and some Twins clubbies pitched in to help construct a uniform that was acceptable by game time. Here is the jersey he left behind.   

He turned 1,527 double plays at second base. That’s fourth best all-time. Some of the second basemen with fewer include Morgan, Alomar, Gehringer, Doerr, Schoendienst, Collins, Sandberg and Frisch. The only 2B with more DPs are Mazeroski, Fox & Willie Randolph. Additional HOF 2B finishing behind Whitaker but not mentioned above are Billy Herman, Bucky Harris, Rod Carew, Johnny Evers, Craig Biggio, Tony Lazzeri, Joe Gordon, Nap Lajoie and Rogers Hornsby.

Denison: Twitter and Facebook blocked users from sharing a New York Post article making damaging claims about Joe Biden's son. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said his company had been wrong to block the links, but Twitter still refuses to unlock the Post's account unless it deletes posts about its reporting on this issue. Freedom of speech and trust in the media are more threatened today than any time in my lifetime. Three issues: (1) media political bias, (2) fake news, and (3) digital news feeds reinforcing our own positions while rejecting those who disagree with us. Three biblical responses: (1) listen to those with whom you disagree – iron sharpens iron, (2) measure all “truth” claims by biblical truth, (3) share truth with grace.

https://www.denisonforum.org/columns/daily-article/free-speech-demonstrators-attacked-in-san-francisco-three-urgent-problems-and-three-biblical-responses/

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