by John Walters

Tweet Me Right

“Excellent phone call with President A. Hitler of Germany today. Great things happening! He said nice words about me, and will buy $100B in Guns. He is strong on Military and tough on Borders — especially other people’s. He gets it!”

— Michael Marshall Smith (@ememess) October 16, 2018

Starting Five

Betts, Bens and Bradley, Jr.

The Red Sox are the best team in baseball because they have the best outfield in baseball, and last night’s Game 4 in Houston demonstrated why. Jackie Bradley, Jr., one day after smoking a grand slam, hit a three-run jack. Presumptive MVP Mookie Betts (already the Mookie of the Year) pegged Tony Kemp on what should have been a leadoff double in the eighth inning, and then left fielder Andrew Benentendi, with the bases loaded of Astros and only up 8-6, made a diving catch to end the game.

If Benentendi misses, the Astros at least tie it up, have a great shot of tying the series, and won’t have Craig Kimbrel for today’s Game 5. They won’t now, but it doesn’t matter as much.

It’s the second Game 4 in as many series in which Kimbrel loaded the bases in the ninth and he Red Sox escaped by the narrowest of margins. They’re charmed, but they’re also really good.

About that Jose Altuve two-run homer that became an out in the first inning, three points: 1) What exactly are the fans supposed to do in that situation? It’s not as if they reached their hands far past the wall, if at all? 2) It seems cruel, in that situation, to call Altuve out. The catch by Betts there is hardly a presumed certainty, it would have have to be a fabulous play, and 3) on the TBS postgame show, a great point: it’s Joe West who immediately called interference; back at the the review center in Chelsea, might the anonymous replay ump feel a little intimidated about the prospect of overturning a Joe West call, i.e., are umps just as worried about their own jobs as the rest of us?

2. This Seems Rather Incriminating

As the White House gives Saudi Arabia a few more days to put a digestible lie together conduct its investigation, the free press is way out in front of both, as expected. Here’s a photo of Maher Abdulaziz Mutreb, an aide to Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), walking into the Saudi Arabia consulate in Istanbul. Not the time stamp: Tuesday, October 2, the day Jamal Khoshaggi also walked in and was never seen again.

And above is a triptych of MAM traveling the world with MBS just this year. Note how he stays out of photo op range but within keeping-an-eye-on-him distance. He’s one of his more trusted, if not most trusted, security men.

If this were an actual court of law, the defense would already be plea-bargaining to simply get life imprisonment. But this is Donald Trump’s White House, where the only things that matter or are treated with respect are money and authoritarianism. The Saudis have as much of both as they have oil stockpiled.

At the end of the day, this is going to be Trump using his powers of Implausible Deniability to say that they buy the Saudis’ alibi, then some poor Saudi sucker will be hanged or beheaded, the $110 billion arms deal will remain intact, and as a world power the United States is now on the same ethical plane as Russia or China. And you may argue, But we always were and that may be true, but at least in the past when we were caught with our pants around our ankles we hustled to pull them back up.

Not under this White House. Truly sad, particularly when journalist, abetted by Turkish officials, paint such a vivid and gruesome picture of what took place in the Saudi consulate that afternoon.

3. Some 41

After the NBA’s widespread opening night, no number was more relevant than 41: that’s the number of points Kemba Walker of the Charlotte Hornets scored in a one-point loss to Milwaukee and it’s also the age of Vincent Carter, who started in the Atlanta Hawks’ backcourt along with 20 year-old Trae Young (we still can’t believe Atlanta took him).

Elsewhere, Devin Booker scored 19 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter as the Suns ran away from the Mavericks. Top overall pick Deandre Ayton looked terrific with 18 points in his debut and this Suns fan of 40 years has no idea how to deal with a team that has a potentially dominant center.

4. Making A Murderer, Season 2

In the northwest Wisconsin town of Barron, 13 year-old Jayme Closs‘ parents are shot dead in their home on Monday morning and then their tween goes missing. Steven Avery, serving a life sentence hundreds of miles down state, says, “Don’t look at me.”

James Closs, 56, and his wife Denise, 46, were murdered some time after midnight Monday morning. Police received a cryptic 911 cell phone call  from the house at 1 a.m. in which no one spoke, but a disturbance was heard (was that Jayme or a parent surreptitiously dialing?). Deputies arrived at the home 4 minutes later but no living beings were there and no vehicles were in the immediate area.

A neighbor said he heard two shots shortly after 12:30 a.m. Police are not saying from whom the call came but are saying that they are “100% certain” that Jayme is still alive.

There is no known motive.

5. Rainbow Warrior

Why are there so many songs by this Rainbow/And what’s on the other side?
We don’t know Randy Rainbow‘s backstory, his real name or if he’s ever sung on Broadway (or inside Marie’s Crisis Cafe in the West Village). All we know is that he’s uber-sassy, his lyrics are hot fire and that he must be the demon spawn of Liza Minelli and Pee Wee Herman.

UPDATE: Here, you can do the work on Randy’s backstory.

Reserves

Jail? No, this man deserves his own ad campaign. Dilly Dilly!

Here is a textbook definition of a beer run. This beer baron swiped 5 cases from a convenience store in the 5000 block of Little School Road and took off. He left in a Gray Dodge truck. 📞 Det. Thompson if you recognize him, 817-459-6054 or email, leonor.thompson@arlingtontx.gov pic.twitter.com/un3So55wB1

— Arlington Police, TX (@ArlingtonPD) October 17, 2018

*****

Meanwhile, during the Mavs-Suns game last night, ESPN’s Dave Pasch casually dropped that Klay Thompson will be the College GameDay celebrity picker for the show’s relatively historic visit to Pullman on Saturday. That info had not yet been released and College GameDay often likes to keep that a secret. Particularly this weekend. Wheels Up, head down, Dave.

Music 101

While You See A Chance

Not unlike Jefferson Airplane/Starship, Steve Winwood went from late Sixties rock icon to early Eighties pop star. For anyone who was alive and into music in 1981, the instrumental opening of this tune is an eight-foot wave of nostalgia. This was one of the former Spencer Davis Group, Traffic and Blind Faith vocalist’s biggest solo hits, peaking at No. 8 that spring. Yes, the video is god-awful.

Remote Patrol

Red Sox at Astros

ALCS Game 5

8 p.m. TBS

Joe Buck and John Smoltz are the better booth duo (don’t mistake us, I like Brian Anderson and Ron Darling, too), but this is the better series. It’s the de facto World Series (now watch the Dodgers go ahead and win it all).

Stanford at Arizona State

9 p.m. ESPN

And this is why October is the greatest sports month, and that was before the NBA moved up opening night two weeks. The Cardinal under David Shaw, in his eighth season in Palo Alto, have never lost three consecutive games. That mark is on the line tonight in Tempe, as week night Pac-12 After Dark mayhem awaits. Bryce Love, who last played on September 29 and has already missed two full games this season, should start.