*77th anniversary of Phyllis. Keep on rockin’ in the free world, Mom!
Starting Five
Punto failed to return to 2nd base in–wait for it–the Nick of time.
1. Italian-American Baseball Update: Napoli Up, Punto Down
(and just one day after Columbus Day)
Both the Los Angeles Dodgers and Detroit Tigers were home last night for key games in their respective league championship series.
The Tigers had a man on first base, no outs, the winning run at the plate, in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Dodgers were in nearly the exact same position, except that it was the tying run.
The Tigers had their hottest hitter, Jhonny Peralta, at bat. The Dodgers had rookie phenom Yasiel Puig.
Both batters hit into soul-sucking double players. The following batters struck out. Games over.
Except that in “The Postseason”, there are earlier turning points that presage doom and we can all feel them. At Comerica Park, it was when the Tigers had first and third, one out, one inning earlier. Up stepped their two best hitters, reigning MVP Miguel Cabrera and clean-up hitter Prince Fielder. Both whiffed. Even though the score was 1-0, it felt like, “Ballgame.”
Mike Napoli’s blast provided the decisive run in the ALCS’ second 1-0 outcome in its first three games.
In Los Angeles Nick Punto doubled with one out in the bottom of the seventh. The Dodgers had the tying run at bat. Then Card pitcher Carlos Martinez, the reincarnation of Joaquin Andujar, and shortstop Daniel Descalo executed a perfect pick-off play. Threat over.
Worth noting: Tiger aces Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander have worked 15 innings and allowed two earned runs. Their teams lost both starts.
Dodger aces Zach Greinke and Clayton Kershaw have worked 14 innings and allowed two earned runs. Their teams lost both starts.
The four aces, two of whom will likely win the Cy Young Award this season and the other two who already have won that award, have a collective ERA of 1.24 in their present series, but their teams are a collective 0-4 in their starts.
Icelandic communities all across the USA went bonkers after Johannsson’s equalizer in stoppage time.
2. PANAMANIA!
Here was the scenario: Mexico was in the process of losing a World Cup qualifier to Costa Rica, 2-1. The USA was simultaneously losing to Panama by the same score. The difference being that the Americans had already qualified for next summer’s World Cup. A Panama victory would keep Mexico home from the World Cup for the first time since 1982. The USA needed to rally to tie.
(Meanwhile, at the cookoutateria, I was bitching at our Mexican bartender, Oswaldo, who insisted that both televisions be tuned to the Mexico-Costa Rica contest, while I lobbied hard for Red Sox-Tigers. Believe me, this was as intense as anything taking place on the pitch.)
De Nada, Mexico: The USA’s arch-rivals in soccer suddenly owe Uncle Sam a huge favor. And you thought NAFTA was generous.
Luis Tejada of Panama, which has never advanced to the World Cup, scored in the 83rd minute to give Panama a 2-1 lead. All that remained to ensure that PANAMANIA!!! would break out in the isthmus was for the hosts to hold on for the final seven minutes plus three minutes of stoppage time. Panama retained the lead through regulation, but the Americans scored not once but twice in the three minutes of stoppage time: Graham Zusi scored the equalizer, which effectively knocked out Panama, and then Aron Johannsson drove in the dagger in the final minute.
The Yanks get a win that they did not actually need. The Panamanians get heartache. And Mexico gets a home-and-home play-in versus New Zealand to see which nation will advance to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
3. Up Late with Alec Baldwin: It’s ‘Tomorrow’ without the Cigarettes
Alec needs to recreate the opening scene from “Diner” with brothers Daniel, Billy and Stephen.
After this role-play scene between Jack Donaghy and Tracy Jordan, I was willing to give the A-List Baldwin bro as much rope as he wants in playing this latest role: cable talk show host. He doesn’t need it. Alec Baldwin’s debut episode of “Up Late With Alec Baldwin” last Friday night, with guest NYC mayoral race frontrunner Bill de Blasio, was smart and decaffeinated talk TV.
Tom Snyder: Yes, this was a fashionable look in 1979.
While the set resembles Edward Hopper’s classic 1942 painting, “Nighthawks”, the vibe reminded me of Tom Snyder’s old late-night one-on-one chat fest on NBC, “Tomorrow.” Only a matter of time before Saturday Night Live is spoofing this. Put Drunk Uncle in an adjoining booth as Baldwin attempts to converse with POTUS.
Incidentally, if you are wondering whether de Blasio is a Democrat or Republican, his wife is an African-American who was a lesbian when they met. As Tracy Morgan would say, “Whoaaa, no need to resort to ugly stereotypes.”
4. Barry Manilow Did Not Write The Song “I Write The Songs”
Bruce Johnston did.
This fact and 18 other bizarre ones courtesy of Buzzfeed.com.
Banksy thanks a patron of his art. She should be thanking him.
Yesterday the social media site had a terrific post about the British artist Banksy, who decided to stage a piece of performance art just outside Central Park last weekend. The sketch artist, whose works have sold for as much as $2 million, posed anonymously as a street vendor and hawked his works for $60. He even posted photos of the sale on his blog (see October 13).
5. Catholics Vs Convicts, 25 Years Later
Walsh sold the T-shirts for $10 apiece.
Yesterday was the 25th anniversary of the epic showdown between No. 1 Miami and No. 3 Notre Dame in South Bend. Last night I was fortunate enough to record a podcast with the former Dillon Hall resident/Notre Dame student, Pat Walsh (’89), who was the enterprising genius behind the iconic T-shirts. Among other things you’ll learn if you listen:
–the term was the brainchild of former Notre Dame basketball co-captain Joe Fredrick, a good friend of Walsh’s.
–On game day Walsh enlisted a sales force of 33 friends and sold more than 5,000 T-shirts. He sold out of the items before kickoff and so attended the game in person.
As ’80s Chicagoland underground entrepeneurs go, Pat Walsh >> Joel Goodson.
–Today Walsh, a Chicago-area native who out-Joel Goodson’ed Joel Goodson (“Sometimes you just gotta say, ‘What the f___?'”) personally owns just one original “Catholics vs Convicts” t-shirt.
I’ll have the entire interview up later today on The Grotto.
Remote Patrol
Game 5 NLCS: Cardinals at Dodgers
TBS 4 p.m.
Holliday. Celebrate. Holliday.Celebrate.
Look at it this way: We may be only nine innings away from Magic Johnson having very little to occupy his time for the next few months. Plus, don’t you want to see Clayton Kershaw pitch again this season? Root for the Dodgers. Root for Magic. Unless you want to see the Cardinals in the Fall Classic –this quickly– for the fourth time in the past decade.
I channeled Joel G. last August when I finally bought into SPWR after having it (& 4 other solar stocks) on my Watchlist for over 3 years. It’s been dancing around $31 the past few days & when it gets to $31.50, I’ll have my 5th (on ‘paper’ as I will not be selling at this time) 7-bagger since I started individual stock investing not quite 5 years ago.
Actually, my entire stock investing history is based on “sometimes, you just gotta say ‘what the f*ck?'”. And it’s served me fairly well so far (especially if I overlook the blackhole that is RIMM-BBRY). Although unlike your buddy Walsh, I’ve never made $50,000 in ONE DAY. Mighteee impressive! That would have paid for how many semesters of ND back then?
Speaking of stocks, are you going to be coughing up some of your tip money into Twitter when it goes public? Maybe not at the IPO, but later? I’ll just add to my Watchlist for now, I think. I’ve had 6 other stocks on that list for at least the past year & they keep calling my name. I’d been hoping for & expecting a correction since May to ‘answer back’ but so far, not even the stupidity of Congress has helped much. Wonder what Joel would say.
And mamadubs, I’d send you my best wishes, but fear your son would not approve. 😉
Just saw on your twitter that you invested in SCTY last week. May a 7-bagger soon be yours too. Well, you’ll probably sell before that & move on to the next fastmoney pick, but either way, may the, er, SUN be with you.