Braves Trample Phils

 

In the over two thousand times a MLB scored ten runs in one inning, only five times has their opponent come back to win. After the Braves scored ten in the second inning last night, all the ESPN announcers could talk about (besides Bryce Harper) was whether the Phillies could stage a comeback. Every now and then a disparaging comment would be made about the woeful Philly bullpen, but for the most part the talk was all Philadelphia. So glad this was the Braves last ESPN game for a while, and glad to be done with the Phils for the season, so I don't have to hear those mindless airhorns the whole time. 

 

Since I have attended a Braves game the past 18 seasons, as well as 30 of the past 31 years (and 33 of the past 35), I think I'll take in a September Braves game from The Battery, just outside Truist Park. Guess I should take a lawn chair and maybe my laptop (or my scorebook), and wear a Braves jersey and cap. Atlanta has 26 games remaining – all against the Red Sox, Nats, Marlins, Mets, and Orioles. Only seven home weekday games, so I'll probably go September 8th against the Marlins.

 

The Braves and Phillies (and a couple other teams) wore Jackie Robinson's number 42 all weekend. Perhaps this would be a good year to wear 42 for the rest of the season and playoffs. Saw the clip from the Jackie Robinson movie for the first time, depicting PeeWee Reese coming over to express solidariry with Jackie when the fans were jeering him. Reese delivered the iconic line "Maybe tomorrow we'll all wear 42, so they won't be able to tell us apart."  

While on the subject of baseball, here's a link to the video of my coworker's showdown on the baseball diamond.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yms-R7T-6L8&feature=youtu.be

 

Saw an old video of NBA players playing HORSE. Thought the background looked familiar and sure enough, it was filmed in the old Omni International (now known as CNN Center).

 

https://triblive.com/sports/pistol-pete-maravich-was-in-a-league-by-himself-in-h-o-r-s-e/ 

Link to a story about when sportswriter Mark Shlabaugh's dog interrupted a UGA/Kentucky game at Sanford Stadium.

 

https://allfans.co/when-a-georgia-football-game-was-interrupted-by-my-dog-on-the-field/

Friday. Left right at five. Ceil didn't get home from her Alabama lake trip until after 8 pm. I hit the Taco Bell drive through on the way home. Watched the Braves.

Straightened upstairs on Saturday morning. Then laundry and dishes. Actually watched a Drew Barrimore movie "Going the Distance" about her long distance relationship.  

 

Also watched some of the golf tourney. I was listening to ESPN radio yesterday. They were talking about poor Marc Leishman, who shot 69 yesterday but still finished last, at 30 over par. At one point he made birdie and threw his hands up in the air in celebration.

Supper was beef tips, baked potatoes, and tossed salad.

 

Sunday I picked up a cool black UGA jacket at Goodwill. Ceil cooked pancakes on M's new grill top.

This weekend Matthew worked the brunch shift at Beetlecat, making salads and such. Today he's back at the farm.

This weekend the CDC revised their statistics – 94% of previously reported death attributed to covid were from actually people suffering from other ailments, meaning the virus is much less deadly than first thought. My friend Todd's take: "The article points to the danger of contracting the virus with underlying conditions. It also shows that healthy people need to be careful, but don't need to live in fear." 

 

https://disrn.com/news/new-cdc-report-says-94-of-covid-deaths-had-underlying-conditions

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__nbc25news.com_news_local_cdc-2D94-2Dof-2Dcovid-2D19-2Ddeaths-2Dhad-2Dunderlying-2Dmedical-2Dconditions&d=DwIFAg&c=UXihhqr7vvdA-hrKyTiC1Q&r=wMWwaEbn9nr4zXI4p6CDP7FGwn1DrBd77MJElrWsP6U&m=dZaWlgGnOxlZEucJdPMgd5zk97dwEBzQwXLUNDC55ik&s=9sU39tQVgBRsfvTq0NMkYhe8gvfYaZiXn7t4f6Rb2k8&e=

 

Eleven signs you were born and raised in California (link below):

 

1. You never call it "Cali." The only people who call it "Cali" aren't from California. Me: exactly like HOTLANTA.

2. Burritos are a constant topic of conversation.

3. Other English speakers don't understand your English. Me: it's like that in lots of places.

4. Living somewhere rainy makes you depressed.

5. You're the best driver around. NOT

6. You have an incorrigible avocado habit.

7. You act all tough when there's an earthquake.

8. You have a special PCH playlist.

9. You've asked someone "Why do you live there?" Me: now the tables have turned: why would anyone live in California?

10. Snow kinda freaks you out. Me: at least Californias don't get the totally unfair rap that Georgians get when there's an ice storm.

11. In-N-Out Burger.

 

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__matadornetwork.com_life_11-2Dsigns-2Dborn-2Draised-2Dcalifornia_&d=DwICaQ&c=UXihhqr7vvdA-hrKyTiC1Q&r=wMWwaEbn9nr4zXI4p6CDP7FGwn1DrBd77MJElrWsP6U&m=-RXvA9D-iImtdne3W_CGtebVcMK8dgHVY00pU5KdGlI&s=AV8zIwfgAnBI3Gl1kuOvc8Yilya8I5lqEJVkd-RXUA0&e

 

Sure all lives matter, but saying so right now when one particular group is under duress is tone deaf. Like saying all sheep matter to the shepherd when he's out looking for the one lost lamb.

 

Pet peeve: people who voice their opinion in a way that let's you know that if you don't agree then you're an idiot.  So good with words that they'll shout down any opposing viewpoint. Isn't that like being a bully? This just bothers me.

 

Tonight Ceil turned on an UpTV movie. Tatum O'Neal has a small part. Also Galadriel Stineman from The Middle.

Tales of the HR-V

I really try not to make a huge deal out of things, though it may seem like it. Here's the whale of the story of what Anna and I have been working on the past few days.

Wednesday July 29: Anna and I are doing some serious car shopping, both on line and at CarMax, which looks to be cheaper than Carvana and other actual dealerships. Certified used cars this time, as opposed to small used car dealers and Craig's List. We look at small SUV's. Those in the know say that as far as quality and reliability the ranking is (1) Honda (2) Toyota (3) Mazda with Nissans and others after that. Subarus are good (and pricey) but after her 2011 Forrester died we have ruled them out.

Compared to the CR-Vs and Rav4s and Mazdas, we discover the slightly smaller Honda HR-V, built on the Civic platform, is more affordable. You can get a newer HRV with fewer miles for the same price as other older small SUV's with more miles. Plus since the HRV is a little smaller, it's probably slightly better for Anna's intown driving.

Thursday July 30: we look in Norcross at two white HRVs. The 2018 with 20K miles has been recently reduced $1,000.00, to the same price as the 2017 with 26K right next to it. The only difference we an detect: the 2018 has nicer wheels. Perhaps we should've looked closer. We tell the salesman we'll be back the next day to buy the 2018.

Friday July 31: it takes almost three hours to make the purchase. Earlier in the day Anna drove another HRV that wasn't as nice. She got together her down payment and signed for the loan to pay the rest. Glad to have that behind us.

Saturday August 1: Anna swings by the house. I notice a piece of black trim that is loose. I make a note to get it fixed before the warranty expires.

Thursday August 13: Anna notices the passenger side floor is wet. She makes an appointment at the Honda dealer to check it out, since the car is still under the original manufacturer's warranty.

Tuesday August 18: Anna leaves the car at Ed Voyles Honda on Cobb Parkway. They need to keep it overnight.

Wednesday August 19: I go with Anna for the news: the service manager shows us the leak. The car had been damaged and repaired, and showed us the telltale signs. I should've known the traces of paint I'd seen on black trim meant something. We'd already had talked to CarMax corporate, since it was hard to get a person on the phone at a dealership. Corporate contacted the Norcross manager, who called Anna. Even though the seven day return window had expired, he agreed to take back the car. We started looking again. I spotted a white 2017 at the Southside CarMax and initiated a free transfer to Roswell, in case we didn't find anything else.

Friday August 21: we kept looking for cars, focusing on the HRVs. Anna also looked at Mazdas but the closest best option was in Chattanooga. Transferring it down to take a look would take several days. After supper I drove out to the Roswell CarMax to see if the white HRV had come in. It hadn't, but while there I confirmed a suspicion – this white 2017 was the same exact car we had seen in Norcross. It had been transferred to Morrow but wasn't bought.

Lots of rain Thursday and Friday, so it was good I had the leaky 2018 HRV in the garage.

Saturday August 22: left home before 9 am and drove the 2018 to Norcross to meet with Anna and the Norcross manager. Got 37 mpg on the trip, according to the onboard computer. Anna had spotted a dark grey 2017 HRV in Norcross, so we took a test drive. Inexplicably, this dark grey HRV had a small puddle of water under the back seat. Also a small ding on the side. No thanks. 

We drove 31 miles to the Kennesaw CarMax is look at a silver 2017 HRV, that was a thousand dollars less.  We could see why – it was a little beat up. By now we were checking every car for wet carpet. There also were two black and two red HRVs there in Kennesaw, all with factors that ruled them out. Drove 21 miles to the Roswell CarMax to test drive the white 2017. Most of the other HRVs we'd seen were front wheel drive (including Anna's 2018), but this 2017 was all wheel drive. Better traction. I checked over the car. Molding was secure. All the carpet was dry.

We decided to trade the damaged 2018 for the white 2017, and confirmed the process with both the Roswell and Norcross managers. Had to drive back to Norcross to retrieve the 2018 HRV, which we hadn't wanted to drive all over town. A 32 mile round trip. The return / buying process went much quicker in Roswell than the original purchase in Norcross. I had feared they'd try to hit us with some sort of fee, considering Anna had driven the 2018 almost 900 miles, but all the CarMax people were very accommodating.

Was almost six pm when I got home. Long day out in the hot sun. Anna had driven further than me, a total of almost 150 miles - four hours of driving. She'd done all the work. As her father, it was great to hang out with her all day and share the experience. A rare treat.  

Saturday

Will and Mary-Clayton played golf with Thomas and Holly today, at the public course near their house.

MLB celebrates Jackie Robinson again this weekend, instead of the usual one day affair. Braves and Phillies all wore 42 Friday night, then again Saturday afternoon. Might've been an impromptu deal.  

Dansby, Acuna, and others wore special Stance Jackie Robinson socks for the occasion.

 Tiger missed a belt loop.

 Keyrings are made for right-handed people. Ask any lefty.

Here's a bar bet that'll win you some money:

name the last American League MVP who was a switch-hitter:

pitcher Vida Blue.

 Mike Evans is a wide receiver for Brady's Buccaneers.

SAM McDOWELL  [SABR Bio] was the only Cleveland Indian pitcher to be traded after racking up more than 2,000 strikeouts for them. Traded 29-Nov-1971 to the Giants for Gaylord Perry and Frank Duffy.  Totaled 2,159 K in 11 years for the Tribe, 1961-71. His ERA in “The Year of the Pitcher” was second only in the American League to leader Luis Tiant. In 1968 Sam’s ERA was 1.81 to Tiant’s 1.60. (Both trailed NL's Gibson with his 1.12.) Sam’s delivery was smooth compared to the speed he generated when he threw. The ball seemed to arrive at the catcher’s mitt suddenly. His nickname quickly became “Sudden Sam”.

 

Listening / observing: guy I know, a former NFL player off my high school football team, does radio for the Mercer Bears, posted asking why white people hate blacks.

 

A “megachurch” pastor, the pastor of MLK’s Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, who is running for the State Senate - says abortion is “consistent” with Christianity, calling it “healthcare” and “reproductive justice”. Tony Dungy called him out on it, claiming abortion isn’t Biblical. Same pastor paraphrased the messianic prophecy in Isaiah 53 to reference John Lewis instead of Jesus.

   

https://disrn.com/news/megachurch-pastor-and-democratic-senate-candidate-says-abortion-is-consistent-with-christianity

Interesting Denison column, on how James Bond spurred on the 1960’s sexual revolution, and further loosened the public’s perception of sex outside of marriage.  

https://www.denisonforum.org/?utm_medium=email&_hsmi=93955202&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9NTdWqL3lL-_lN14_-a3WlDsItyqXFZaVjJbkaNCoV3JIldAGSu-P8SiB-kz7Tb13z_3YM49Iv9hrifgZ6DQ5yo99QuQ&utm_content=93955202&utm_source=hs_email

 

Copied (and edited): What are you voting for? Are you voting for what is best for the country? The Republic we live in? The military and veterans who fought for this country? The police? The second amendment? You are voting for the next supreme court justice. The electoral college. For unborn human babies that have the right to live. For the flag. Do you want Jesus to be welcome in this country, that talk of God would not be shouted down, except in election years? Voting for the right to speak my opinion without being censored or cancelled. What are you voting for?

Sweet Home Alabama

 

Today Ceil went to a lake in northeast Alabama, with the ladies and children from The Table on Delk ministry.

 

I was kind of blue this morning, but God used two different people to encourage me - one in Charleston and another in Charlotte. Unfortunately I had to work on a Charlotte / Charleston problem all day, instead of my regular work that won’t go away. Also today a film crew came to the office to tape something for the city of Peachtree Corners. I was not involved, to my knowledge. Plenty to do with month end looming on Monday.

 

Yesterday I left at 5 pm and drove straight home. Cut the grass, which took an hour. Covered 2.1 miles. Need to replant some of the creeping grass, taking some overgrowth from the front to the back. Supper: grits and an eggy boy.

New fridge got postponed to Sunday. Not really confident that it will deliver then. We’ll see. Actually it will probably deliver right when we’re trying to watch church or Sunday School.

 

Not much else to report. Watch any games last night? Guess they all got cancelled so the teams could watch the President’s speech. NFL practices are cancelled in protest, but athletes still posed for photos. I guess that’s okay.

Got a care package of stamps last week. I had already gone through it two times. Ceil picked through them as well. Then I packed them all up with my work stuff. Monday morning I dumped all my stuff on my desk and ever since I’ve been organizing bit by bit. Finally got out the package again and went through it. I was able to remove the backing from all the cancelled stamps So now I can paste them in my scrapbook calendar. Good stuff.

During tonight's Braves telecast, while discussing Jackie Robinson Day, Jeff Francoeur quoted from Romans chapter twelve.  
 

SHERM LOLLAR [SABR Bio] won the first-ever Gold Glove awarded to a catcher. First awarded in 1957, Gold Gloves were first awarded for all of MLB, not for each league. .Lollar also won it the next two seasons for the AL after the selection criteria was broadened to honor defensive standouts from each league at all positions. A player pinch-hitting for him hit the first World Series pinch-hit home run. In the third inning of G 3 of the 1947 WS, a young Lawrence Berra replaced Lollar and proceeded to take Ralph Branca deep, knocking Branca out of the game. BRO won that G, but NYY took the Series.  It was the first of 12 World Series home runs for Berra, behind only the totals of Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth. Earlier this year, CBS Sports named him the best catcher in the history of his primary franchise. Writer Matt Snyder of CBS Sports named the All-time Chicago White Sox team, leading off with Lollar at the catcher position.

 

Dropped a vitamin and it landed on its edge.

Braves Sweep Yanks

Those seven inning games get over quick. I watched game two of the Braves / Yankees doubleheader but missed Freddie’s go-ahead home run. Your friend Austin Riley his hitting the ball with authority, and cutting down on his strikeouts. Ozuna is heating up. Acuna is back (note: wearing baseball pants pulled up to your knees is not a slimming look).

Dansby is playing like an All-Star. I know it’s early, but will Mike Soroka, Max Fried, and Ian Anderson be the next Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz? You heard it here first.

Just in: statistically speaking, Max is not only the best pitcher in baseball, but the best overall player in MLB. 

Dang smoke alarm went off at 5 am this morning, for no reason. Had my heart beating so fast it was hard to get back to sleep. Barney hates the alarm. Probably hurts his ears. I tried to get him to stay downstairs, but he scrambled up to be with us.

 

Worked until almost six trying to get some things done (and did). Very busy. Today was also be fun.

 

Anna stopped by the house to pick up some art supplies. C ran out to Whole Foods. I fixed quesadillas from the leftover shredded chicken and refried beans.

 

Accidentally sent a personal email to a customer. Hope I don’t get fired. Not politically correct to say, but I’m weary from all the rioting, name-calling, fake news, and other crud. I need to take a break from social media, but I’m way too addicted.

 

BILL SKOWRON  [SABR Bio] got his nickname due to a childhood resemblance to a certain European dictator. After a less-than-professional haircut, they said he looked like Italian strongman Benito Mussolini and so called him “Moose”. He has as many career World Series home runs as Joe DiMaggio, as many as Frank Robinson. Moose hit eight career WS HR. He went to Purdue on a football scholarship, earning a letter in 1949 as a blocking back and punter. He once shaved four times before going out to dinner with a couple of Hall of Fame teammates. Skowron’s preprandial exuberance wasn’t intended to impress his fellow Yankee teammates, Joe DiMaggio and Yogi Berra, but to wow the Yankee Clipper’s wife Marilyn Monroe who joined them that evening.  Skowron recalled, “Marilyn was a lovely woman, nothing like the characters she played in the movies.  She wanted to learn about baseball and asked a lot of good questions."

 

Denison: no one likes being confronted by their sins and failures. He writes: “One of the falsehoods of moral relativism is that there are no falsehoods. Since all truth is subjective, "sin" is equally subjective. As a consequence, there can be no judgment for sin, since there is no basis for such judgment. If you were Satan, committed to leading as many people into sin as possible, wouldn't you try to persuade as many people as possible that this lie is true?” 

 

In John 14:6 Jesus declares, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.” Not exactly politically correct words.

 

https://www.denisonforum.org/columns/daily-article/the-latest-on-hurricane-laura-leading-the-way-to-the-shelter-our-souls-need-most/