Curly Putman, Jr., R.I.P.

Country music songwriter Claude "Curly" Putman, Jr. passed away yesterday at the age of 85.


Putman, Jr. wrote hundreds of songs, but is known for three in particular.


First, there was the song that put him on the map - "Green, Green Grass of Home" which became a hit for Porter Wagoner in 1965, but has been covered by dozens of artists including Tom Jones, Elvis Presley, Kenny Rogers, Trini Lopez and The Flying Burrito Brothers.


The other two hits were co-written with Bobby Braddock. The first was "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" which became a hit for Tammy Wynette in 1968. A decade later, the team of Putman and Braddock penned "He Stopped Loving Her Today" which would re-launch George Jones back into the limelight. It is now considered the greatest country song of all time.


Yet despite all his country music credentials, Putman also plays a small role in Beatles lore. Well, at least with one Beatle. Following the success of Band on the Run, Paul McCartney & Wings spent six weeks on Putman's farm. The recording sessions resulted in "Junior's Farm" which became a hit single and the last McCartney would record for Apple Records before signing with Capitol.


Have a listen to all these songs below.

Harry Reid Pulls a Romney on Comey

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has written a letter to FBI Director James Comey claiming his decision to re-open the investigation of Hillary Clinton's e-mails could violate federal law.

Reid claims that Comey is violating the Hatch Act stating that the investigation is influencing the outcome of the election.

Funny, but I don't recall Reid claiming that Comey's decision to not to pursue charges against Hillary in July constituted influencing the outcome of the election.

Let me put it another way. If Comey had announced he was opening an investigation into Donald Trump I doubt Reid would be accusing Comey of violating the law.

Harry Reid is pulling a Romney. Let's not forget that during the 2012 election, Reid claimed that Romney hadn't paid income taxes in 10 years stating such an action would be a felony.

Reid, of course, lied about the allegation. But he's proud of the lie. As Reid told Dana Bash last year, "Romney didn't win, did he?"

Harry Reid's mission in 2012 was Barack Obama's re-election. This year, his mission is Hillary Clinton's ascension to the White House. Under the circumstances, if Harry Reid wasn't telling the truth about Mitt Romney in 2012 why should we believe he's telling the truth about James Comey in 2016?

Could Marv Levy's Presence at Wrigley Field Be a Bad Omen For The Cubs?

If one mentions the name Marv Levy one immediately and invariably thinks of the Buffalo Bills who won four straight AFC titles, but could not win a Super Bowl.

I, however, did not know that Levy was on hand for Game 7 of the 1945 World Series at Wrigley Field when he was a 20-year old on leave from the US Army Air Corps. It was nice to see Levy honored at Wrigley Field as the Cubs played their first World Series game at Addison and Clark since that day. At 91, Levy looks hale and hearty and appears to be living well.

But it also made me think of Levy getting the Bills so close and yet so far. I thought of this even more as the Cubs lost 1-0 giving the Cleveland Indians a 2-1 lead in the World Series.

Nothing against Marv Levy. But I can't help but think his presence is a bad omen for the Cubs.

FBI Re-Opens Hillary E-Mail Investigation; Will Trump Look This Gift Horse In The Mouth With Both Feet? UPDATE

With the election only 10 days away, FBI Director James Comey has informed the Senate Judiciary Committee that the Hillary Clinton e-mail investigation has been re-opened.


Holy poop on a stick!!!


The only reason I can think why Comey would re-open the investigation is that he got wind of a forthcoming Wikileaks bombshell which would have the effect of darkening the FBI's already blackened eye thus giving him no choice but to act.


Needless to say, Donald Trump has been given good fortune. First, the Obamacare premium increases. Second, the Wikileaks revelations concerning the Clinton Foundation and now more classified e-mails to "an unrelated case."


As I stated earlier today, Trump needs to get out of his own way. All he should talk about is Obamacare premiums, the Clinton Foundation and now classified e-mails. That is all.


Honestly, I thought Comey might have handed Trump the presidency when he announced Hillary would not face charges in early July. Needless to say, Trump foolishly got in his own way when he saw fit to retweet anti-Semitic imagery never mind his feuds with the Khan family, Alicia Machado and the Access Hollywood tape, etc, etc, etc.


Well, whether he wanted to or not, James Comey has handed Donald Trump his second gift horse in less than four months. The question now is whether Trump will look this gift horse in the mouth and stick both feet into it.


UPDATE: The "unrelated matter" turns out to be sexting case involving former Congressman Anthony Weiner. Evidently his device as well as that of Huma Abedin, his estranged wife and top Hillary adviser have more classified e-mails.


And we thought things couldn't get weirder.

With The Clinton, Inc. Wikileaks Bombshell, Trump's Only Chance Is To Stay Out of The Way

As much as they have might have wanted to ignore it, mainstream media outlets could not overlook the Wikileaks e-mail from Doug Band explaining the for profit aspects of The Clinton Foundation (a.k.a. Clinton, Inc.) All of which basically confirms what we already knew about The Clinton Foundation. It is little more than personal slush fund for Bill and Hillary Clinton. The Clinton Foundation may perform charitable works, but it is unlawful, unethical and immoral to profit from charity.


What this means is that Donald Trump has been thrown a lifeline albeit a faint one. But he can strengthen that lifeline provided he does one thing - stay out of the way.


That doesn't mean Trump goes silent. By all means, Trump should talk about the Clinton Foundation. In fact, the only two things he should talk about between now and November 8th is the Clinton Foundation and rising Obamacare premiums. That's it. That's all.


But Donald Trump is Donald Trump. Which means there's a good chance that he will get into a row of his own making thereby relegating the Wikileaks revelations and the Obamacare clusterfuck to the back pages.

Gary Johnson Is All Out of Joint & Needs One Badly

As horrid as Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are, I was sorely tempted to cast my vote for Gary Johnson and the Libertarian Party.

This temptation did not last long and it burned out long before his Aleppo moment. I concluded that I wouldn't mind him being my personal fitness instructor, but not my President.

But after seeing this interview with The Guardian I wouldn't want to be within ten feet of him (something I have actually experienced).

Yes, the interviewer was slightly obnoxious, but Johnson should have easily turned around questions about his poll numbers and his tax policy. At one point, Johnson said he didn't want to argue about his tax policy after being told no serious economist thought eliminating the income tax was feasible. Johnson should absolutely be eager to defend his taxation policy. At the very minimum, Johnson ought to have asked the reporter which economists he was specifically citing.

Instead, Johnson ended up talking about the legalization of marijuana but not before he went off on the reporter.

The fact that Johnson got angry and turned the subject to marijuana suggests to me that he is out of joint and needs one badly for his own sanity.

Gary Johnson isn't cruel, corrupt or conniving like Hillary or Trump. Nevertheless, he clearly lacks the temperament to be President of the United States even at his highest point.

Are Cleveland Indians Players Are Racist For Voting to Wear The Chief Wahoo Logo?

I had hoped the Cleveland Indians-Chicago Cubs World Series would be a nice respite from the 2016 election and from politics at large.


But who the hell am I kidding? This is 2016. This is the era when all things must be politicized. This is the era of Colin Kaepernick taking a knee to the Star Spangled Banner. This is the era where activists are trying in earnest to stop the Washington Redskins from using their name.


Where the Cleveland Indians are concerned the "do-gooders" object to the team's Chief Wahoo logo. Op-eds in Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Sacramento Bee among many others demand the Indians excise Chief Wahoo from polite society. An editorial in The L.A. Times demands that fans in Cleveland root against the Indians or be considered racist.


For his part, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred plans to meet with Indians owner Larry Dolan in the off-season to discuss Chief Wahoo. No word if Manfred also plans to bring up the use of the team's name.


Yet what is lost in all of this is that the Indians' players voted to wear the Chief Wahoo logos during the post-season.


Does this make Cleveland Indians' players racist?


Keep in mind that the Indians boast a diverse roster which includes eight Latin American players (Danny Salazar, Michael Martinez, Jose Ramirez and Carlos Santana are from the Dominican Republic, Francisco Lindor and Roberto Perez were born in Puerto Rico, injured pitcher Carlos Carrasco hails from Venezuela and injured catcher Yan Gomes is MLB's only player from Brazil) and two African-American players (outfielders Coco Crisp and Rajai Davis). And for good measure second baseman Jason Kipnis is Jewish.


It would be nice if The Left took a moment to refrain from their self-righteous sanctimony and not casually cast everyone who doesn't share their point of view as racist.


Of course, if the Indians give up Chief Wahoo these "do-gooders" will invariably demand the team change their name. If they do that they will invariably follow suit with the Redskins, Chicago Blackhawks, Atlanta Braves, Edmonton Eskimos, etc.


And what exactly will any of this accomplish? Will it alleviate Native American (or Native Canadian) poverty? All this will do is reinforce The Left's self-righteousness and become even more insufferable demanding that everyone think like they do.


If Rob Manfred tells Larry Dolan to change the team's logo, he should politely tell him to shove it.

Why is Colin Powell Voting For The Candidate Who "Screws Up Everything"?

I suppose we shouldn't be that surprised that Colin Powell is voting for Hillary Clinton. After all, he did vote for Barack Obama twice and, frankly, after the War in Iraq became such a clusterfuck I wouldn't be surprised to learn he voted for John Kerry in 2004 notwithstanding his role as George W. Bush's Secretary of State. Powell might be a registered Republican, but he is for all intents and purposes a RINO.


Yet you would think that Hillary's efforts to take Powell down during her talk with the FBI might have given him pause. As I argued a couple of months ago (in what proved to be my very last post for The American Spectator) voting for Obama twice didn't get Powell very far with Hillary. When his leaked e-mails regarding the election came out a little over a month ago one would have thought he was sitting this election out or writing in a candidate - possibly himself. If nothing else Powell's e-mails reflect our national disgust with both candidates.


Now I agree with Powell's assessment of Trump as "a national disgrace and an international pariah". But that isn't sufficient grounds for me to fill in a black dot for Hillary? So why is Powell with her? Is it because she is the Devil he knows? If that's the case that Devil tried to do him in and would do so again in a heartbeat. So why reward such bad behavior? After all isn't this the same woman of whom Powell wrote "screws up everything"?

Without Obama There Would Be No Hillary or Trump

David French's latest piece on NRO has him declaring President Obama to the be the biggest winner of the 2016 election.


This is not the first time I've heard the argument, but I think it utterly misses the point. If it wasn't for Barack Obama neither Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump come to pass.


Where it concerns French argues:

Yes, he may have violated his pledge to create the most transparent administration in history, but at least he didn’t create a private, unsecured server on which to discuss the most highly classified information. Hillary was transparent to Russia and China for the sake of being opaque to Americans. She feared FOIA more than she valued our nation’s secrets.

But who exactly put Hillary into such a position of responsibility in the first place? Are we to believe that President Obama was unaware of the private server? The Podesta e-mails would suggest that he is. In any case, it's inconceivable to me that President Obama and Secretary Clinton didn't e-mail each other on a regular basis.


Now one can make the argument that Obama was keeping his onetime rival closer. Nevertheless appointing her to such a great position of responsibility demonstrates a terrible lack of judgment on his part. If he hadn't appointed her to such a sensitive position WikiLeaks would not be so busy.


As for Trump, his rise is in large part due to disaffection in Republican ranks for the Congressional leadership and a repudiation of the Bush and for that matter the Reagan years. Yet even with all of that if the economic recovery hadn't been so weak, if Obamacare hadn't completely destabilized American healthcare  and if Obama hadn't denounced police with a greater passion than he denounces ISIS I doubt that a demagogue like Trump would have been possible.


With that said, I'm sure Obama would trounce Hillary in a Democratic primary and would trounce Trump in a general election. Obama is good at winning elections where he is on the ballot. He's just not so good at governing. It his incompetence in this area which gave rise to both Hillary and Trump.

I Predicted a Cubs-Indians World Series -- In 2015

Like many people, I am looking forward to this Chicago Cubs-Cleveland Indians World Series. One of these teams is going to end a long drought while the other will prolong their agony.


Believe it or not, I actually predicted a Cubs-Indians World Series - last year. While the Cubs reached the NLCS, the Indians were not contenders in 2015.


When I was at The American Spectator I would write my annual MLB Predictions. I never came anywhere near predicting the World Series. This year I picked a Minnesota Twins-Los Angeles Dodgers' Fall Classic. While the Dodgers did reach the NLCS, the Twins finished with the worst record in MLB. My best pick in 2015 was Jake Arrieta winning the NL Cy Young Award. That was a leap of faith.


It is fitting that both the Indians and Cubs would have deep connections to another franchise that went through a lengthy drought of its own - the Boston Red Sox. Of course, I am specifically referring to the 2004 Red Sox which won a World Series for the first time in 86 years. The manager was Terry Francona who is now managing the Tribe while the GM was Theo Epstein who is now the President of the Cubs. Somehow I think being President of the Cubs is more fun than being President of the United States.


Should Francona (affectionately known as Tito) lead the Tribe to the World Series after doing so with the Red Sox in 2004 and in 2007 there will be call to enshrine him into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Ditto for Epstein should the Cubs win. As it stands, I think both men deserve a plaque in the Hall.


The other interesting dynamic is Indians reliever Andrew Miller and Cubs closer Aroldis Chapman. Both men started the season as teammates with the New York Yankees and now face off against each other in the late innings of this Series. Regardless of how it ends, Miller and Chapman will be the two hottest free agents in MLB this off-season.


In 2015, I picked the Indians to prevail over the Cubs in six games. But now that it has come to pass, I have to give it to the Cubs in five. The Indians haven't played in six days. That's just too long a layoff while the Cubs 72-hour layoff is just about right.


So I say the Cubs in five with Dexter Fowler being your World Series MVP.


Whoever wins, this World Series will provided a much needed respite from this awful election and its consequences.

Bobby Vee, R.I.P.

Pop singer Bobby Vee, who enjoyed a string of hits during the early '60's, passed this morning of complications from Alzheimer's Disease. He was 73.


Vee is often lumped in with performers like Fabian, Frankie Avalon and Bobby Rydell. Their music was considered a safe alternative to the likes of Elvis Presley, Little Richard and Chuck Berry.


But Vee's music was rooted in the voice of Buddy Holly. Indeed, Bobby Vee & The Shadows had the unenviable task of filling in for Holly after his plane went down in Iowa that cold February day in 1959. The music did not die and a star was born.


Vee would have a minor hit with "Suzie Baby" and would gain greater recognition with songs like "Devil or Angel", "Rubber Ball", "Take Good Care of My Baby", "Night of A Thousand Eyes" and "Run to Him" which you can listen to below.

Vee's popularity would fade with the emergence of The Beatles and the advent of The British Invasion. However, Vee's street cred was enhanced considerably in 2013 when Bob Dylan publicly acknowledged him as one of his greatest musical influences. Indeed, Dylan played with Vee under the alias Elston Gunn before making it big himself.


I think it's fair to say that Bobby Vee was the early 1960's teen idol whose music aged the best. R.I.P.

What If The Pollsters Are Wrong About Hillary's Lead Over Trump?

The vast majority of polls taken over the past week have Hillary Clinton leading Donald Trump between 4 to 12 points.


However, two polls show a statistical dead heat between the two. According to the Investors Business Daily/TIPP poll, Hillary only leads Trump by a tenth of one percent (41.2% to 41.1%). Meanwhile, a L.A. Times/USC poll has Hillary leading Trump by 1.3% (45.1% to 43.8%).


Now it's quite possible that these two polls are statistical outliers and Hillary is well on her way to a landslide victory in 15 days.


But, on the other hand, maybe these folks have it right and things are much closer than we think. IBD/TIPP has an outstanding reputation for getting it right. Could it be that people are uncomfortable identifying themselves as Trump supporters?


Now American pollsters have a far better reputation than British pollsters which badly misread the results of the 2015 general election and the Brexit vote.


I just have a funny feeling that with a majority of the polls showing Hillary with a convincing lead that the anti-Trump forces are letting their guard down.


Say what you will about Trump's supporters. Some of them may be deplorable, but they are nothing if not dependable. Trump's supporters are far more loyal than Hillary's. No doubt there are a lot of people motivated to vote against Trump. If Trump is leading in Texas by only three or four points would indicate fertile ground for Hillary.


Then again if 2016 has taught us anything is that nothing is as it seems.

At 90, Mel Brooks Is Firmly In The Saddle

On Saturday, my roommate Christopher Kain and I went to the Wang Theater for a special screening of Blazing Saddles followed by an interview with Mel Brooks himself.

What can one say of Blazing Saddles? I have probably seen it at least two dozen times. I know the movie like the back of my hand and yet no matter how many times I watch it I still laugh. But there's nothing like watch it in a theater full of people.

Naturally, the loudest applause was reserved for the recently deceased Gene Wilder. But there was plenty of applause for the likes of Harvey Korman, Madeleine Kahn and Dom DeLuise who have sadly left this mortal coil.

All things considered, it is amazing that as the oldest cast members, Mel Brooks is last in the saddle. At 90, I was amazed by Brooks' energy, enthusiasm and vitality. Ostensibly, Brooks was going to participate in a sit down interview following the movie. Brooks scarcely had any time for the chair. He could barely sit down spending the majority of the time standing and moving around the stage telling stories. It was hard to believe Brooks had a cold. If this was what he was like when was sick, I can't imagine what he's like when he's fully healthy.

Mel Brooks has lived a full life and yet he has so much more to do.

Cubs Win 1st NL Pennant Since 1945

Half the curse is over.

The Chicago Cubs won their first NL pennant since 1945 with a 5-0 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 6 of the NLCS. They now have the opportunity to win their first World Series title since 1908. They will face the Cleveland Indians, a team that has a World Series drought that goes back to 1948.

Wilson Contreras and Anthony Rizzo hit home runs for the Cubs off Dodgers' ace Clayton Kershaw while Kyle Hendricks pitched 7 1/3 innings allowing only two hits. Closer Aroldis Chapman got the final five outs including a game ending double play by Dodgers pinch hitter Yasiel Puig.

Remarkably, Hendricks and Chapman faced the minimum of 27 batters in the game. The only other time that ever happened in post-season history was Don Larsen's perfect game against the Dodgers 60 years ago.

Cubs' shortstop Javier Baez and starting pitcher Jon Lester were named co-ALCS MVPs.

To put matters into perspective, the last time the Cubs were in the World Series Harry Truman was President, the Second World War had just ended and Mel Brooks was a teenager.

The World Series commences on Tuesday night in Cleveland.

Some Trump Supporters Really Are Deplorable, Part II (The David French Edition)

While Hillary Clinton was wrong to put half of Donald Trump's supporters into a "basket of deplorables" it does not change the fact that a critical mass of them are, in fact, deplorable.


A case in point would be the Trump supporter who last month left an obscene voice mail for Rina Shah, the campaign manager of independent presidential candidate Evan McMullin and was damn proud of himself for doing so.


Another example of deplorable behavior is how Trump supporters, specifically those from the so-called alt.Right (let's call them what they are: racists, anti-Semites, white supremacists, neo-Nazis, etc.) targeted NRO writer David French and his family. Today, French has written an account of the torment has family has gone through over the past year or so. To wit:

I saw images of my daughter’s face in gas chambers, with a smiling Trump in a Nazi uniform preparing to press a button and kill her. I saw her face photo-shopped into images of slaves. She was called a “niglet” and a “dindu.” The alt-right unleashed on my wife, Nancy, claiming that she had slept with black men while I was deployed to Iraq, and that I loved to watch while she had sex with “black bucks.” People sent her pornographic images of black men having sex with white women, with someone photoshopped to look like me, watching.

When we both publicized some of the racist attacks — I in National Review and Nancy in the Washington Post — things took a far more ominous turn. Late the next evening — while Nancy was, fortunately, offline attending a veterans’ charity event in D.C. — the darker quarters of the alt-right found her Patheos blog. Several different accounts began posting images and GIFs of extreme violence in her comments section.

Click on a post and scroll down and you’ll see pictures of black men shooting other black men, close-up images of suicides, GIFs of grisly executions — the kinds of psyche-scarring things that one can’t “unsee.” Had I not deployed to Iraq and witnessed death up close, the images would have shocked me. I quickly got on the phone with Nancy, told her not to look at her website, and got busy deleting comments and blocking IP addresses, but in the meantime a few friends and neighbors had seen the posts.

The next Sunday, friends from church approached, expressing concern not just for our safety but for theirs as well. We live in a community where most of the streets have similar names, and it’s common for UPS drivers, FedEx deliveries, and friends to end up at the wrong house. They interpreted the images as threats, and they didn’t want anyone to drive into our neighborhood, looking for the Frenches, intent on turning image into reality.

It took days — and hundreds of IP blocks and Twitter reports — but things finally calmed down. The racist images slowed from a flood to a trickle, I relaxed a bit at night, and life returned, I thought, to normal. I was wrong. Our “normal” had changed. This wasn’t the beginning of the end of our troubles, but rather the end of the beginning.

Things got worse for David French. Much worse. Perhaps the worst is yet to come.

All things considered, I've been fairly fortunate. My opposition to Trump hasn't resulted in threats of harm to myself much less my family. Knock on wood. Sure, I know the comments section in my old American Spectator articles and blog posts were pretty nasty. But that was always the case. Over time, even before Trump threw his hat in the ring, I seldom heeded it my attention. In the rare times I did look at my comments it only served as a reminder of why I stopped looking at them. There was nothing of value for me to read.

Of course, I have since stopped writing for The American Spectator. The circumstances of my departure were on my own terms and at no time did I fear for my safety. Nevertheless, The American Spectator was unwilling and unable to respect nor tolerate my dissent. Yes, I understand they abhor Hillary Clinton. So do I. But this standard wasn't applied to Mitt Romney against Barack Obama four years ago. I and other American Spectator contributors criticized Romney after he won the Republican nomination especially his 47% comment. So what makes Trump so special?

But like it or not, Trump is special to a great many people. So special that all criticism must be suppressed by any and all means and a subset of Trump supporters are prepared to show their devotion by committing acts of cruelty. In the grand scheme of things, I am not surprised that Trump supporters would exhibit such cruelty. They are, after all, acting in the image of their man - a word I use in the loosest possible terms. Conor Friedersdorf's recent article in The Atlantic on Trump's callow behavior towards everyone in his path is essential in understanding Trump's nature. If cruelty is Trump's modus operandi then it is not a stretch of the imagination to conclude that some of his supporters would emulate it. If that it isn't deplorable then nothing is.

 

 

Both Hillary & Trump Are Nasty People

I was determined not to watch the final debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

After all there was the NLCS.

But like a canker sore, I just had to touch it.

So like a damn fool I watched.

Honestly, I think Trump got the better of Hillary. For a woman almost completely certain to win the election in 20 days time, she was incredibly angry and defensive especially when moderator Chris Wallace mentioned Wikileaks. When she spoke about the Russians interfering in our election she came off as more of a conspiracy theorist than Trump.

As for Trump, he started out quiet. But you knew the sedatives were going to wear off the moment he used words like "disaster" or "believe me." Trump views both NAFTA and Aleppo as "disasters" in equal measure. Trump kept putting NAFTA at the door of Hillary Clinton. But NAFTA is nothing more than an extension of the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement which was signed into law by President Reagan. So when Trump says we should scrap NAFTA does he also want to scrap trade with Canada too?

So forgive me if I'm not exactly full of confidence when Trump says he plans to run the country like the companies he's driven into bankruptcy.

Hillary did have her moments. When Trump pointed to Bernie Sanders' criticisms of her judgement, she reminded him that not only had he campaigned for her but had called Trump the most dangerous presidential candidate in history. But when Hillary defended Obamacare, Trump reminded her that her husband doesn't like it so much.

Towards the end of the debate, in one of his asides, Trump said Hillary "is such a nasty woman." Said the nasty man.

Both of these candidates are insufferable people with whom I pray I will never has the misfortune of being stuck in an elevator.

Needless to say, I was happy when it was over.

I was even happier when I turned back to the NLCS and saw that the Cubs were winning back.

Even in this awful season there are silver linings.

Indians Win 1st AL Pennant Since 1997

Congratulations to the Cleveland Indians for winning the American League pennant. They beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-0 in Game 5 of the ALCS despite the fact that Indians pitcher Ryan Merritt was making his second ever big league start. Jose Bautista would be wise to keep his mouth shut in the future.

But the big pitching story for Cleveland was reliever Andrew Miller who won the ALCS MVP striking out 14 batters in 7 2/3 innings pitched over four appearances.

This marks the Tribe's first AL pennant since 1997. Of course, the Indians haven't won a World Series since 1948. If Terry Francona leads the Tribe to ending their World Series drought after having done so with the Boston Red Sox 12 years ago then he should be inducted into Cooperstown post-haste.

However, I do think the Indians are at a disadvantage. Game 1 won't begin for six days. The earliest the NLCS between the Cubs and Dodgers could end would be tomorrow. If it goes a full seven games it will conclude on Sunday. The longer the NLCS goes then the less it favors Cleveland.

As for the Blue Jays, the team has lost its second straight ALCS. Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion are unlikely to return in 2017. They still have Josh Donaldson, Troy Tulowitzki and Russell Martin, but will it be enough? Will Michael Saunders step up? Do they have a diamond in the rough? Or will the Jays score big with a trade or free agent signing? Or will the the Jays be dethroned by Gary Sanchez and the New York Yankees?

Those questions will be answered next year. The next question to be answered is whether the Tribe will face the Cubs or Dodgers come Tuesday night.

Liberal Media Does Not Blast Corrosive Political Discourse When Republicans Are Victims of Violence

When former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was shot more than five years ago, the Left from President Obama on down blamed corrosive political discourse coming from Republicans and the Tea Party and the liberal media was all to happy to play along.

But when Republicans are the victims of political violence as was the case with an explosion at a GOP office in Hillsborough, North Carolina, President Obama and his liberal media cheerleaders do not lecture their own side on civil discourse. Indeed, one would have needed a microscope to find The New York Times article concerning this act of domestic terrorism. This would not have been the case had Democratic Party headquarters been the target.

The Left would be wise to keep their own house in order. As long as someone or a group of people feel the need to detonate explosives with the message "Nazi Republicans leave town or else" the Left has a big problem and it had better address it. Now!!!

Fortunately no lives were lost. But I'm sure those who planted the devices wanted someone to die. Politics in America is becoming a dangerous affair if someone must die because they do think as you do.Yes, please oppose Donald Trump to your heart's content. But how is killing a bunch of volunteers going to help that cause?

To end on a positive note, I am heartened that some Democrats have banded together to raise money on GoFundMe to rebuild the Republican headquarters to the tune of just over $13,000. Yet acts of goodwill between opposing camps should not be so few and far between. Especially when we have to live together.

Jim Prentice, R.I.P.

Former Alberta Premier Jim Prentice was killed along with three other people in a plane crash near Kelowna, British Columbia on Thursday. Prentice was 60.

Prentice was a prominent cabinet minister in the Conservative government of Stephen Harper and was thought of as a possible successor. Instead, Prentice left for provincial politics and won the leadership of the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party in September 2014. Shortly thereafter, Prentice persuaded a majority of the opposition Wildrose Party to cross the floor to join his government.

Eight months later, Prentice led the Tories to defeat ending the party's 44 -year dynasty. Rachel Notley and the NDP took power. Prentice's passing hit home for Notley's whose father Grant (also an NDP leader) was killed in a plane crash in 1984.

Prentice undoubtedly had much more to offer Canada and I'm sure he had plans. But life has an unfortunate way of intervening.

After Four and a Half Hours, The Dodgers Eliminate The Nationals & Now Face The Cubs in NLCS

It was the longest 9-inning game in post-season history. After four hours and 32 minutes, the Los Angeles Dodgers bested the Washington Nationals 4-3 in Game 5 of the NLDS.

The Dodgers scored all four runs in the top of the seventh inning. The Nationals brought it within a run on a pinch hit two-run home run by Chris Heisey in the bottom of the seventh. The seventh inning alone took one hour and six minutes.

I was shocked to see Dave Roberts bring in Kenley Jansen in the seventh inning. Was he going for a nine-out save? That was more fireman than closer a la Mike Marshall circa 1974.

Well, Jansen got seven outs. The final two outs were recorded by Clayton Kershaw. Making his first relief appearance since 2009, Kershaw was working on a day's rest. The moment he got Daniel Murphy to pop out to second, the D.C. crowd got deflated. Pinch hitter Wilmer Difo wasn't equal to the task and was overmatched by Kershaw as he struck out to end the game. I know there is no MVP in the NLDS, but if there was Kershaw would win it having earned two wins and a save. It was the first save of his big league career. Kershaw did have one save in the minors. His catcher was a fellow named Kenley Jansen.

This was a good series. Four of the five games were decided by one run including the Dodgers' three wins. It's a shame that someone had to lose, but the Nationals fell short after taking a lead into the seventh inning with Max Scherzer on the mound.

The Dodgers now advance to the NLCS against the Chicago Cubs beginning Saturday. In 2007 and 2008, the Dodgers swept the Cubs in back to back NLDS. But that was nearly a decade ago and the Cubs may have their best team ever. But with the Cubs having been idle since Tuesday, I am disinclined to bet against the Dodgers.

I Have Added My Name to Scholars & Writers Against Trump

Late last month, my former American Spectator colleague F.H. Buckley established Scholars and Writers for America - an online petition by writers and academics in support of Donald Trump.

In response, Andrew Hazlett has organized Scholars and Writers Against Trump, a website for writers, academics and others persons of letters "who have voted for Republican presidents and candidates" to express our collective disgust and dismay with Donald Trump:

Given our choices in the presidential election, we believe that Donald Trump is the candidate most dangerous to our nation's founding ideals. He is a unique and dire threat to the political principles, liberties, and cultural values of justice, fairness, honesty, and decency we have long defended. We urge you to vote, as we will, for someone else.

This doesn't mean we are in agreement about who we want in the White House. For some that someone else will be Hillary Clinton, for others Evan McMullin and maybe even Gary Johnson whether or not he knows what Aleppo is. Then there are others who will write in a candidate. I find myself in this category and, as I indicated a couple of days ago, I shall write in Ben Sasse & Charlie Baker.

But we are united against the prospect of a Trump presidency and what it would mean for our Republic. With this in mind, today I proudly added my name to Scholars and Writers Against Trump and can only hope this list grows by leaps and bounds between now and November 8th.

Poor Ronald McDonald (Or Kick Out The Clowns)

In what has to be the dumbest overreaction ever, McDonald's is banishing Ronald McDonald because of this "creepy clown" phenomenon:


In a statement Tuesday, the fast-food chain announced that Ronald McDonald and his signature red and gold garb won’t be seen in public for a while, at least until America stops being so collectively terrified of his kind.


The chain’s more than 14,000 locations nationwide are “mindful of the current climate around clown sightings in communities” and “are being thoughtful in respect to Ronald McDonald’s participation in community events for the time being,” spokeswoman Terri Hickey said in an emailed statement to NBC News.


The announcement comes after weeks of reported creepy clown sightings across the United States that have led to something approaching mass hysteria, playground panic and even some arrests.


What the hell is this country coming to anyway?


Well, if Evangelical Christians consider Donald Trump a man of virtue....


But that's just it. What's up is down. What's right is wrong. What's sacred is now profane.


Ronald McDonald has been in the public eye for more than 50 years and because of, well, a few clowns he is being shunned. By shunning Ronald McDonald all one does is give reinforcement to the views that clowns are associated with fear instead of fun. It also reinforces the behavior of these fools who see fit to use clowning as a means of cruelty towards children.


If anything, McDonald's should give Ronald McDonald a higher profile than ever so as not to let the boorish behavior of a few rogue clowns define an art that has been around for centuries.


But this would require common sense. Unfortunately, this is in short supply these days.

Cubs Score Four in Ninth Off Giants' Imploding Bullpen; Advance to NLCS

Holy poop on a stick!!!

The San Francisco Giants were on the verge of forcing a Game 5 of the NLDS. Giants starter Matt Moore pitched 8 beautiful innings limiting the Cubs to two runs while fanning 10 batters. The Giants had a 5-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth.

On Twitter, I posed the following question, "Will Bochy give Matt Moore the MadBum treatment & bring back him out for the 9th? Or does he go to his shaky bullpen?"

Bruce Bochy went to his shaky bullpen. I then Tweeted this:

Bochy takes out Moore in the 9th & Derek Law promptly gives up a single to Kris Bryant. An omen?

It was an omen. It took four Giants relievers - Law, Javier Lopez, Sergio Romo, Will Smith - before they recorded an out. By this time the game was tied.

Then came Hunter Strickland who gave up a go ahead single to Cubs second baseman Javier Baez. Five Giants' relievers could not hold a three run lead.

Cubs closer Aroldis Chapman, who faltered in Game 4, struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth. The Giants' even year streak has run out while the Cubs advance to the NLCS for the second consecutive year. We will find out on Thursday if they play the Los Angeles Dodgers or the Washington Nationals as they go to a decisive Game 5 in their NLDS.

The Giants' bullpen, which was the team's Achilles' Heel during the second half of the season, proved to be the team's downfall.

Bruce Bochy should thank his lucky stars he's not managing the Red Sox. If he were here, Red Sox Nation would have called for his head. Bochy is a Hall of Fame manager with three World Series rings. He's made a lot of gambles and won. But he probably pushed the wrong button when he took Moore out of the game.

I feel most sorry for Giants third baseman Conor Gillaspie. He was having the run of his life going 4 for 4 after getting the go ahead hit off Chapman last night on top of the game winning home run in the NL Wild Card game.

Should the Cubs win the NLCS they will play their first World Series game since 1945. On the other hand, there hasn't been a World Series game played in Washington, D.C. since 1933. And the Dodgers would sure like to win one for Vin Scully.

The NLCS will commence at Wrigley Field on Saturday.

On November 8th, I Shall Write In Ben Sasse & Charlie Baker for President & Vice-President

As someone appalled by both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, but who still wishes to participate in the voting process I was unsure for whom to cast a ballot this year.


I gave some thought to Libertarian Gary Johnson, but the more thought I gave the less desirable he became.


I'm sure Evan McMullin is a nice guy, but I find nothing he's said or done during this campaign to be compelling.


My mother suggested I write in Groucho Marx (a.k.a. Rufus T. Firefly). "The last who ran the place/He didn't know what to do with it/If you think things are bad now/Wait 'til I get through with it."


For awhile, I considered writing in Ted Cruz & Carly Fiorina especially after Cruz's mic drop at the RNC. But then Cruz had to do an about face & so to Fiorina.


With the election four weeks from today, I have decided I will write in Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse and Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker. They are the first GOP Senator & Governor to publicly rebuke Donald Trump, respectively. This has earned Sasse a rebuke from his own party and could cost him his Senate seat down the road. There's something to be said for someone who takes a stand regardless of whether it will be popular or not.


While Baker has no national ambitions, as a Bay State resident, I shall surely vote for his re-election as Governor in 2018 it will be interesting to see what Sasse does in the next few years. But for the moment they stand as honorable men and in that spirit I shall write in their names on my ballot on November 8th.

Why Do Conservatives Think Trump Gives a Damn About The Supreme Court?

With Donald Trump all but declaring nuclear war on Congressional Republicans including those who actually haven't withdrawn their support, I found Alexandra DeSanctis' piece on the subject in NRO interesting. DeSanctis concludes:

If Republican senatorial candidates lose and Democrats take over as the majority party in the Senate, who is going to confirm Trump’s conservative Supreme Court picks? Without a loyal Republican Senate, not a single one of the men and women on Trump’s list stands a chance of being confirmed.

What makes any conservative honestly think Donald Trump is going to make a conservative Supreme Court pick? That list of judges? Please. That list is about as iron clad as his commitment to pay his contractors and creditors.


If Trump truly is considering picking a conservative justice in the mold of the late Anton Scalia he wouldn't be going after John McCain and other so-called "establishment Republicans".  But he isn't going to pick a conservative justice. Why? Because Donald Trump isn't a conservative, never has been and never will be. Conservatives who think otherwise are simply fooling themselves.


Honestly, Trump would rather deal with fellow New York liberal Chuck Schumer than Mitch McConnell any day of the week. If Trump is somehow elected President and Schumer becomes Senate Majority Leader there is no way that any justice on that list is going to be appointed to the Supreme Court.

In Defense of John Farrell

There has been a clamor on Twitter throughout the season that John Farrell should be fired as the manager of the Boston Red Sox. This clamor has intensified now that the Red Sox have been swept in the ALDS by the Cleveland Indians.

If the Red Sox fire Farrell for being swept in the ALDS then should the Rangers also fire Jeff Banister because they got swept by the Blue Jays? As I write this, the Giants are a couple of innings from being swept by the Cubs. Should Bruce Bochy also be dismissed?

Farrell has been questioned for his moves particularly where it concerns his pitching decisions. Tonight, he was criticized for pinch hitting Chris Young for Andrew Benintendi instead of pinch hitting him for the struggling Jackie Bradley, Jr. I seem to recall Bradley singling to extend the game in the bottom of the ninth.

There is a logical fallacy in this criticism. It assumes that if Farrell made the opposite decision the result would be favorable to the Red Sox.

The fact is the Red Sox went from worst to first and then they got swept by a better team. Hey there are 30 teams and only one can win the World Series. You would think by the criticism that Farrell has received that the team went 69-93 rather than 93-69.

Frankly, Boston Red Sox fans are about as rational as Donald Trump supporters.

The Red Sox organization would be wise to ignore them.

David Ortiz Is The Greatest Player In Boston Red Sox History

With the elimination of the Boston Red Sox in the ALDS, David Ortiz's MLB career is now over.

In his final game, Ortiz went 0 for 1 with a RBI via a sacrifice fly and two walks. He would be lifted for pinch runner Marco Hernandez in the eighth inning.

With all due respect to the achievements of Ted Williams, David Ortiz is the greatest player to ever wear a Boston Red Sox uniform.

If not for David Ortiz this team would not have won three World Series titles.

"Big Papi" changed the mentality of the Boston Red Sox organization by turning it from one that was cursed to one that is blessed.

It's too bad that Ortiz will not get a chance for a fourth World Series ring. But he went out on a high note hitting .315 with 38 home runs, 127 RBI and a league leading 48 doubles. It's hard to believe he is 40. But all things must come to an end. It wasn't a storybook end this time around, but he did rewrite Red Sox history.

With that in mind, David Ortiz is a sure bet to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame as top of the Class of 2022.

Indians Sweep Red Sox; Will Meet Blue Jays in ALCS

Despite a ninth inning rally, the Boston Red Sox could not overcome the Cleveland Indians who won Game 3 of the ALDS 4-3 sweeping the Bosox and ending the career of one David Ortiz (more on him in a separate post).

Former Red Sox outfielder Coco Crisp, who won a World Series ring in Boston in 2007, put the nail in the coffin with a two run home run in the sixth inning. The year that Crisp got his World Series ring was the year the Tribe were last in the ALCS falling to the Red Sox after 3-1 series lead.

The Indians will host the Toronto Blue Jays for Game 1 of the ALCS on Friday. The Jays also swept their ALDS agains the Texas Rangers yesterday. This is the second time this year the two cities have faced off against each other in a playoff. The Cleveland Cavaliers bested the Toronto Raptors in the NBA Eastern Conference Final before going on to win their first NBA Title.

Should the Indians dispatch the Jays they will win their first AL pennant since 1997. Of course, the Indians have not won a World Series since 1948. It's a long drought although it pales in comparison to that of the Chicago Cubs who haven't been in a World Series since 1945 and haven't won it all since 1908.

Despite the Cavaliers win earlier this year, championships have been few and far between in Cleveland. A World Series win by the Tribe would be a big deal. It would be an even bigger deal with Terry Francona in the dugout. After all, it was Francona who led the Boston Red Sox to their first World Series title in 86 years in 2004. If Tito leads another club to a World Series title after a long drought he will have written his ticket to Cooperstown.

However, the Blue Jays aren't about to roll over and play dead. But if the Indians can sweep the Red Sox without two of their key starting pitchers (Carlos Carrasco & Danny Salazar) then the Jays will have their work cut out for them.

Aaron Pryor, R.I.P.

Former WBA & IBF Junior Welterweight Champion Aaron Pryor passed away on Sunday following a long battle with heart disease. He was 60.

Pryor was my favorite boxer growing up naturally because the fact we shared the same first name. I saw many of his fights on CBS and there were his two great fights with Alexus Arguello (who sadly died too young himself).

Nicknamed "The Hawk", Pryor had a sterling 39-1 record with 35 knockouts. He should be more well known and would have been had he fought Sugar Ray Leonard, but Leonard's detached retina put those dreams to an end. His career also might have been even better if drug abuse hadn't taken its toll. Fortunately, he got clean in the early 1990's although his past use undoubtedly caught up with him.

Nevertheless, Pryor is certainly one of the five best fighters in any weight class during the 1980's as this video below demonstrates.

Blue Jays Sweep Rangers & Advance to ALCS on Donaldson's Mad Dash Home

A year ago, the Toronto Blue Jays came back from 0-2 to defeat the Texas Rangers in the ALDS on a walk off home run by Jose Bautista complete with a bat flip.

This year, the Blue Jays swept Rangers in the ALDS. They won Game 3 in dramatic fashion again in 10 innings as reigning AL MVP Josh Donaldson scored on a mad dash home following an errant throw by Jays' nemesis Rougned Odor on what appeared to be a routine double play ball by Russell Martin. The Jays won 7-6 and the Rangers' AL best 95-67 didn't count for very much.

The Jays will face the winner of the ALDS match up between the Cleveland Indians and the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS. The Tribe is up 2-0. They were scheduled to play this afternoon, but the game at Fenway Park was rained out. Game 3 will be played tomorrow at 6 p.m.

If the series goes a full five games it could be a tremendous disadvantage to the Jays. Game 1 of the ALCS is scheduled to begin on Friday in either Boston or Cleveland. The Jays will have four days off & that could make them rusty. The Bosox or Tribe might be tired but they will be game ready.

On the other hand that could be a blessing to Jays closer Roberto Osuna and the rest of the Jays overtaxed bullpen.

Last year, the Blue Jays fell short in the ALCS losing to the Kansas City Royals in six games. The Royals, of course, went on to win the World Series. While lightning struck twice for the Blue Jays in the ALDS they seek a different outcome in the ALCS this year & advance to their first World Series since 1993.

I Only Saw a Little of Hillary-Trump II But I Saw Too Much

I did not watch Hillary-Trump II in its entirety. My Dad and I were watching the Rangers-Blue Jays ALDS game, but we check in on the debate in between innings.

While I only saw a little bit of the debate, I saw too much.

Donald Trump was nasty, Hillary Clinton was nasty and Martha Raddatz was even nastier. Her contempt for Trump was plain as day and she made Candy Crowley look like a beacon of objectivity.

At the beginning, Trump seemed, well, low energy. I thought he missed opportunities when they debate Obamacare. He said it was a disaster, but he should have added, "And your husband thinks it's a disaster too." He also botched a question about Islamophobia. Trump made reference to San Bernardino. There were neighbors who saw the perpetrators bring arms into their house, but were afraid to report it for fear of being labelled Islamophobic. Instead, Trump said that Muslims should have reported what was going on. He missed the point entirely.

I thought Trump did better with regard to the tax code stating that if Hillary objected to tax loopholes so strongly she should have voted to close them. Hillary later claimed she did so, but this is no more true than her oft-repeated claim that she created the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) (Ted Kennedy was that program's champion).

Of course, Trump calling Hillary the devil is Hugo Chavez stuff. You may remember that is how the late Venezuelan strongman characterized President Bush.

Hillary came off like a Cheshire cat. She was preening, arrogant and overconfident.

As for Martha Raddatz, she was practically cross examining Trump. If any Trump supporters were wavering her conduct will surely put that to an end.

The final question was very telling. An audience member asked the candidates to describe their opponent's best quality. Hillary spoke of Trump's children. Talk about a backhanded compliment. When it came Trump's turn he said he wasn't sure if Hillary meant it as a compliment, but thanked her anyway. Trump then said he admired Hillary's determination and tenacity. For once, Trump took the higher road. Whether that will leave a lasting impression remains to be seen.

Honestly, I don't know if there was a winner in the debate, but there sure was a loser and it is us.

It's a Wee Bit Late For Republicans to Repudiate Trump Now

Sure now Ben Stein says Donald Trump is beyond the pale. A mere four days ago, he argued Trump was the victim of leftist bullying.

I find it interesting that it is something vile that Trump said 11 years ago could what does him in. Of course, the phrase "grab them by the pussy" is not something you want to hear out of the mouth of a future President. But Trump has said so many egregious things over the past 16 months in full public view yet it didn't prevent Republicans from freely choosing to nominate him.

Of course, there have been honorable exceptions among Republicans. Senators Ben Sasse and Jeff Flake come to mind as does Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker and Maryland Governor Larry Hogan. But these are anomalies. It must be remembered that Nebraska Republicans rebuked Sasse for his criticisms of Trump.

Honestly, Republicans knew exactly what they were getting with Trump and just didn't care. Some of them are breaking ranks now only because they think Trump is going to lose big. If this tape came out and Trump were up 6 points do you think Paul Ryan would have asked Trump to stay away from Wisconsin this weekend?

This is the candidate Republicans wanted. Now you got him. Deal with it. You've jumped into bed with Donald Trump and now you have to lay down with him as he rolls over you over and over again.

P.S. It's interesting that Stein wrote this in The American Spectator. That would be the same publication which prohibited me from criticizing Trump less than two months ago. Of course, Stein has a different status with the magazine than I did. But it could be the case that Bob Tyrrell is cutting his losses with Trump and once again permitting criticism of him. Whatever the case, I have no plans to go back.

Giants Advance to NLDS on CG Shutout by MadBum; Gillaspie Gets Biggest Hit of His Career

Will the San Francisco Giants win their fourth World Series since 2010?

They took their first step tonight by beating the New York Mets in the NL Wild Card game on a complete game four hit shutout by Madison Bumgarner. It was a Deja Vu all over again. MadBum also threw a complete game four hit shutout in the 2014 NL Wild Card game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Throw in MadBum's performance against the Kansas City Royals in Game 7 of the 2014 World Series and you have one of the best post-season pitchers in MLB history.

The Giants needed every bit of MadBum's pitching because they did not get a hit until the sixth inning. Mets starter Noah Syndergaard threw seven shutout innings striking out 10 batters. Addison Reed did his job in the eighth, but Mets closer Jeurys Familia didn't have his stuff in the ninth. He gave up a lead off double to Brandon Crawford, After striking out Angel Pagan, he walked Joe Panik in a tough at bat. If Familia had retired Panik he would have walked Conor Gillaspie and forced Giants manager Bruce Bochy to pinch hit for MadBum.

Instead Familia would have to face Gillapsie who would collect the biggest hit of his life with a three run home run to give the Giants a 3-0 lead. Gillaspie began his career with the Giants and had a cup of coffee with them when they won it in 2012. He had stints with the Chicago White Sox and the Los Angeles Angels who let him go a year ago today. Gillaspie found himself back in a Giants uniform and playing third when Eduardo Nunez went down with an injury. It would be all they needed as MadBum retired the Mets three up and three down.

The Giants now advance to the NLDS against the Chicago Cubs which commences on Friday night. The Cubs are heavily favored, but given the Giants' post-season success they cannot be counted out.

Encarnacion's 11th Inning Home Run Bat Flips Blue Jays AL Wild Card

Last year it was Jose Bautista. This year it's Edwin Encarnacion who flipped his bat as he hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Toronto Blue Jays a 5-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles. The Jays will now travel to Texas to face the Rangers for a rematch in the ALDS starting on Thursday.

Things didn't look good for the Jays who thrice ended innings with double play with two of them hit by second baseman Cecil Travis who had hit into one the entire regular season. Complicating matters was an apparent injury to Jays closer Roberto Osuna. If they lose the 20-year old Osuna, the Blue Jays will likely have to rely on the nearly 40-year old Jason Grilli to close games. But the Jays will cross the bridge when it comes.

While the Jays get to go to Texas, Orioles manager Buck Showalter will be second guessed as to why he didn't bring in his closer and Cy Young candidate Zach Britton. Instead, Showalter brought in Ubaldo Jimenez. In 2010, this would have been a no-brainer. But Jimenez is a shadow of his former self. Jimenez did not retire a single batter givng up singles to Travis and Josh Donaldson before giving up the gopher ball to Encarnacion.

This was the Orioles' season and Zach Britton is their best pitcher. That he wasn't used in this game is mind boggling. Showalter didn't have a better answer than to say, "Nobody's pitched better than Ubaldo." I haven't heard that statement since 2010. I guess Showalter didn't want to put Britton in unless the O's had a lead on the road. But that lead would never come.

Nevertheless watching this game was infinitely better than watching Tim Kaine interrupting Mike Pence.

The Blue Jays-Rangers rematch is going to be exciting and tense. After Bautista's bat flip last year and Rougned Odor's punch to Bautista's face this year there is a lot of unfinished business between the two clubs. I wouldn't be surprised that there's a baseball game and a hockey match breaks out at some point in the proceedings.

Until then there is still the NL Wild Card to be settled between the San Francisco Giants and the New York Mets tomorrow night. The pitching match up between Madison Bumgarner and Noah Syndergaard should be fun. But who knows? Maybe it'll be a 9-8 game.

Yet at this moment the man of the hour is Edwin Encarnacion. He will probably be in another uniform next season. But right now Encarnacion is the most popular man in Canada.

The VP Debate vs. The AL Wild Card Game? This Isn't a Tough Call

If the Commission on Presidential Debates was smart they would have aired the VP debate between Mike Pence and Tim Kaine last night. But instead it will be aired opposite the AL Wild Card game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Toronto Blue Jays. I wonder what the folks in Maryland & Virginia will be tuned into tonight.


For me this isn't a tough call. The O's & Jays will offer athleticism, suspense and an exciting denouement. Pence and Kaine will not. Besides anything Pence says can easily be contradicted by Trump. His word doesn't really count for much.


Don't get me wrong. If there was no post-season baseball, I would watch the debate. But if it's a choice between watching something I am going to get some joy out of against something I know will be devoid of joy I shall choose the former over the latter. Besides it's not like I got a dog in this fight.


With this in mind there's a good chance I could skip both the second and third presidential debates. The second debate will coincide with Game 3 of the ALDS. I will be New York with my Dad and I doubt he would want to watch the debate. The third debate will take place knee deep in the ALCS/NLCS. That one is a judgment call. If there's a clinching game, I'll probably eschew the debate. But if I feel the need to make snarky comments about Hillary and Trump on Twitter I just might tune in.

My 2016 MLB Post-Season Predictions

My 2016 MLB predictions were the mixed bag they always are.

Sure, I thought the Boston Red Sox would win the AL East, the Texas Rangers would win the AL West, the Los Angeles Dodgers would win the NL West and that New York Mets would reach the post-season albeit as repeat NL East champs rather than through the NL Wild Card.

But I also picked a post-season berth for the Arizona Diamondbacks and the AL pennant for the Minnesota Twins who ended up with 103 losses and the worst record in MLB.

So with that in mind here are my 2016 MLB Post-Season Predictions.

AL Wild Card Game - Baltimore Orioles vs. Toronto Blue Jays (Winner: Toronto)

ALDS - Toronto Blue Jays vs. Texas Rangers (Winner: Rangers in five)

ALDS - Boston Red Sox vs. Cleveland Indians (Winner: Red Sox in five)

ALCS - Boston Red Sox vs. Texas Rangers (Winner: Rangers in six)

ALCS MVP - Adrian Beltre, Texas Rangers


NL Wild Card Game - San Francisco Giants vs. New York Mets (Winner: New York)

NLDS - New York Mets vs. Chicago Cubs (Winner: Mets in three)

NLDS - Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Washington Nationals (Winner: Dodgers in five)

NLCS - New York Mets vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (Winner: Dodgers in seven)

NLCS MVP - Howie Kendrick, Los Angeles Dodgers


2016 World Series - Texas Rangers vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (Winner: Dodgers in seven)

World Series MVP - Kenley Jansen, Los Angeles Dodgers

Riding Off In The Sunset - Vin Scully, Los Angeles Dodgers

Let the fun begin tomorrow night in Toronto.

Will The Braves Give Brian Snitker a Raw Deal?

Why haven't the Atlanta Braves named Brian Snitker their manager for crying out loud?

Snitker took over the club on May 17th after the Braves got off to a 9-28 start under Fredi Gonzalez. The Braves went 59-65 the rest of the way. OK, that doesn't look impressive and the Braves did finish in last in the NL East a distant 26.5 games back of the Washington Nationals. But they did go 37-35 after the All-Star Break and went 18-10 in September/October.

The Braves were on pace to lose more than 100 games. Not only did Switker prevent that, he also prevented the club from having the worst record in the NL (the San Diego Padres and Cincinnati Reds share that honor). Pete Mackanin essentially did this with the Philadelphia Phillies last year and the Phillies gave him a vote of confidence. There's no reason the Braves shouldn't do the same with Switker.

But instead they have interviewed Terry Pendleton, Eddie Perez and Bo Porter as well as former Padres manager Bud Black and ex-Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington.

Brian Snitker has been with the Braves' organization for 40 years. He's given the Braves his heart and soul. The very least the Braves can do is give him a vote of confidence. But I've a bad feeling the Braves will give Snitker a raw deal.

Weiss Parts Way With The Rockies; D'Backs Dismiss Hale & Stewart

Now the regular season is over there are two NL West teams that are already changing course after a disappointing 2016 season.

Walt Weiss has resigned as manager of the Colorado Rockies after four seasons. During his tenure, the Rockies did not have a winning season going 283-365. To be fair, the Rockies haven't had a winning season since 2010. But Weiss' relationship with GM Jeff Bridich was strained. Bridich, who took over as Rockies' GM in 2014, wants his own man.

The Arizona Diamondbacks took it a step further firing both manager Chip Hale and GM Dave Stewart. Hale was only at the helm of the D'Backs for two seasons and had a record of 148-176. But the dismissal of Stewart is even more telling. The D'Backs went all in on Zack Greinke and Shelby Miller and they disappointed and their offense couldn't make up for it. At this point, Tony LaRussa has been spared, but that could change.

This is only the beginning of the changes in Denver and Phoenix this off-season.

So Much For That "New & Civilized Donald"

It was just over six weeks ago that I resigned from The American Spectator after Bob Tyrrell told me to "lay off Donald".

When Bob issued this edict he told me, "A new and civilized Donald is heading down the homestretch."

Well how is that new and civilized Donald working out for you?

Yeah, he kept it up for a little over a month. But the moment Hillary Clinton brought up Alicia Machado the wall came tumbling down and so did his punches. After being restrained about Hillary's illness, he saw fit make fun of it. It's one thing for Trump to question Hillary's fidelity to the law, but for a serial adulterer like Trump to criticize Hillary's faithfulness to Bill takes sheer chutzpah.

Count me unsurprised that Trump would attack veterans with PTSD for not being strong and being unable to handle things. If he was willing to attack John McCain who spent seven long years in the captivity of the Viet Cong then he's willing to attack any soldier. Shame on Trump!!! He's not worthy to lick their boots.

There is no new or civilized Donald. How can there be when a 70-year old body plays host to a 7-year old child.

Robin Ventura Bows Out as Chisox Manager; Rick Renteria Expected To Take Over

After five seasons at the helm of the Chicago White Sox, Robin Ventura has stepped down and is expected to be replaced by bench coach Rick Renteria.

Following the drama with Adam LaRoche's abrupt retirement after the organization's dispute with his son, the Chisox got off to an 18-8 start. But the team fell apart in May and never really recovered. They finished 2016 78-84, 11 games back of the Cleveland Indians. The Chisox never reached the post-season under Ventura and had only one winning season during his inaugural year in 2012. The White Sox were last in the post-season in 2008. Under Ventura, the White Sox were 375-435.

Picking Renteria would be an interesting choice. After all, Renteria managed the crosstown rival Cubs in 2014 only to be unceremoniously dumped in favor of Joe Maddon. Of course, with the Cubs's success under Maddon the fans at Wrigley don't care too much. But Renteria surely has something to prove and nothing would hit the Cubs harder than success with the Chisox.

Vin Scully Says He Has Said Enough For a Lifetime, But He Left Us Wanting More

After Giants outfielder Angel Pagan snugged Rob Segedin's fly ball in his glove securing a Giant victory over the Dodgers and a NL Wild Card berth, Vin Scully signed off by saying, "I have said enough for a lifetime." Thus ended Vin Scully's 67-year broadcasting career which began on the East Coast and ended on the West Coast.

Scully's sign off was typically modest. Yet I must disagree. He left me and millions of Americans wanting more. In a year where too many people have said too much, Vin Scully had so much more to say and share with us - young and old alike.

But all good things must come to an end. At least, he has signed off on his terms rather than be shown the door. Sadly, never again will anyone call a baseball game all alone. Never again will we hear the kind of non-partisan language. Never again will we be asked to simply pull up a chair and just listen.

I hope Vin Scully has a happy & healthy retirement, but both baseball and America will be the poorer for his absence from the public space.

Mets & Giants Face Off in NL Wild Card; Blue Jays vs. Orioles Soar to AL Wild Card

The 2016 post-season picture was settled on the final day of the regular season.

On Vin Scully's last game, the Los Angeles Dodgers fell 7-1 to the San Francisco Giants who will face the New York Mets in the NL Wild Card Game on Tuesday.

The Giants had a horrible second half. After leading the Dodgers by 6.5 games at the All-Star Break, the Giants went 30-42. Much of their troubles centered on the bullpen. But Sergio Romo reclaimed the closer' job and the Giants won their last four games & managed to hold off the St. Louis Cardinals. Then again it's an even year.

The Mets, on the other hand, were under .500 as late as August 19th and it didn't appear a tirade by Terry Collins had the desired impact. But the Mets went 27-13 despite the absence of Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Steven Matz and even Noah Syndergaard. But the bullpen and the return of Jose Reyes kept the Mets in contention. The winner of the Giants-Mets match up will face the Chicago Cubs in the NLDS.

The Toronto Blue Jays spoiled David Ortiz's final regular season game at Fenway Park with a 2-1 victory. Despite a mediocre 13-16 record in September, the Jays will host the Baltimore Orioles in the AL Wild Card match up on Wednesday. The Orioles clinched their Wild Card spot with a 5-2 victory over the New York Yankees. The winner of this game will face the Texas Rangers in the ALDS. If Toronto prevails then it will be a rematch of last year's ALDS. Given Jose Bautista's bat flip and Rougned Odor striking Bautista in the face there is unfinished business between these two clubs.