by John Walters

Yesterday’s answers: 1) Mississippi State, Notre Dame, South Carolina 2) Rich Hill 3) Iraq, Iran, Syria, Armenia, Georgia, Greece, Bulgaria 4) U.S. Steel 5) Grand Rapids

Anomaly or Harbinger?

The San Francisco Giants and New York Yankees were two of four teams (the Braves and Nats started moments earlier) who launched the Pitch Clock era today. What did we encounter? A game that wrapped neatly in 2:34 AND a combined 32 strikeouts (each side had 16).

Was the strikeout total more about staff aces and last season’s MLB strikeout leader (Gerritt Cole) or was it more about the pitch-hit clock? Maybe a little of both. It’s our feeling that the pitch-hit clock makes it easier for pitches to maintain a rhythm while it may, at least earlier in the season, make batters feel rushed. Kinda like playing blackjack with your friends as opposed to the first time you sit down at a table at the Bellagio. Feeling rushed, making poor decisions.

Also, a follow-up to yesterday’s Anthony Volpe item: the Yankee rookie actually phoned Brett Gardner and asked him for permission to wear that number. Classy. Also, as Matt Vesgersian insightfully noted, Volpe’s favorite player was Derek Jeter, who wore 2, and 11 may be construed as 1 + 1 = 2.

Ballpark Buddies

The Giants opened their season in New York City for the first time since their home was the Polo Grounds. Look how close the Polo Grounds and Yankee Stadium were once located. Apparently, less than half a mile apart across the Harlem River.

Worth noting: neither of the stadiums pictured above exist today. The Polo Grounds are now apartment buildings, and the Steinbrenners tore down the House That Ruth Built and erected a new one just across the street from where you see the left field bleachers.

Guessing Liverpool and Everton in the EPL might be the best modern comparison. The distance between Anfield (Liverpool) and Goodison Park (Everton) is 0.59 miles…an easy walk through Stanley Park. pic.twitter.com/5fS4NYXC6R

— Spuds McKenzie (@McKenzieSpuds) March 30, 2023

I asked on Twitter if there’s another two stadiums so close that house two teams that play the same sport (who, unlike the Clippers and Lakers, don’t actually share the venue). The possible correct answer came from this wonderful tweep.

A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Deaths

American obscenity.
My @smh cartoon. pic.twitter.com/YinVNYscIr

— The Cathy Wilcox (@cathywilcox1) March 28, 2023

This work by Cathy Wilcox of the Sydney Morning Herald deserves a Pulitzer. There’s really nothing new to say about these tragedies. Politicians who accept NRA donations are, for the most part, willfully trading the lives of children for money (and the power that comes with being reelected). It’s blood money; there’s no denying that.

The hypocrisy is, of course, shameless. And the easiest way to illustrate that is automobiles. You must register your car, you must also register yourself. No one bats an eye. But ask these 2nd Amendment truthers, who ALWAYS conveniently ignore the phrase “well-regulated” to give an inch on guns and they act as if someone just suggested canceling Yellowstone.

There’s no reasoning with these types. As we see it, only two solutions: nationwide school strikes by students AND teachers or, sad but true, someone needs to start giving these pols a lead-based taste of their own medicine.

Leap Of Faith

The 1973 film Papillon aired on TCM two nights ago. It starred Dustin Hoffman and Steve McQueen as two Frenchmen imprisoned for crimes first in French Guiana and later on Devil’s Island, 24 miles off the coast of South America. Above is the climactic scene, as McQueen’s character (this was based on a true story) leaps either to freedom or his death (I’m not going to spoil it).

A few notes:

A) McQueen did this leap himself. The Tom Cruise of his day, McQueen often insisted on doing his own stunts (particularly in love scenes with Faye Dunaway). He rode the motorcycle and did the jump in a film 10 years earlier.

B) The director chose this panoramic shot to show the climactic leap. While it provides great perspectie on how high up the cliff was, how perilous the jump, it robs McQueen of any glory. The audience has no way to know that it’s McQueen, and not a stuntman, jumping. I imagine this did not sit well with Steve, who called this moment “one of the most exhilarating of my life.”

C) That scene was shot in Ke’anae, Maui; not in any of the other locations for the film (Spain, Jamaica). This was already an overly costly film ($12 million, including McQueen’s $2 mil salary) to make, so I’m a little surprised they’d venture all the way to Hawaii for one scene, albeit a memorable one.

D) A hedge: there is a previous scene in which McQueen falls from a small cliff into a river. I cannot be sure, and searching on the web has failed to yield a conclusive answer, if THAT was the actual cliff jump to which McQueen referred. And not the film’s above climactic moment.

E) Further, I’ve been unable to find the height of that cliff. I know; I’m useless. But I’d venture more than 100 feet.

Metaphor/Meme Alert

Hitting the ceiling during the Pro Day is an incredibly big brain move from Anthony Richardson. Gotta respect it. pic.twitter.com/RLI8WDoZyb

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) March 30, 2023

This was Anthony Richardson at his pro day, his pass hitting the ceiling at UF’s indoor training complex. I sent this to SportsBrain, who for a finals paper tried to do more than he needed to do (in essence, shelving the assignment he’d committed to doing and then crashing and burning on the improvised one) and wound up receiving a “C.” But he was not a grad student so he did not go whine in an email about it to my boss. Because he understood that he received what he did based on his work. That’s why I’d hire him if given the chance. (Am I worried that former ASU colleagues or students will read this? Exactly the opposite.)

As for Richardson, this play may wind up being a metaphor for his value. Off-the-charts athletic ability, but all we want is for the pass to be completed. We’ll see if it turns out to be an apt metaphor or not.

Dollar Quiz

1. Name a current Oakland A.
2. In Papillon, both Hoffman and McQueen have a character trait or plot point that is redolent of earlier films each appeared in. Name the films and the trait or plot similarity.
3. In what country was Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, born?
4. The other day, in a spring training game, the Astros beat the Cardinals 24-1. What is the greatest final score disparity in a regular season MLB game (hint: happened this century)?
5. Name a college head football coach who appeared in The Blind Side as himself but has NEVER won a national championship.