Will Nick Castellanos Turn Over a New Leaf With The Padres Burning Bridges With The Phillies?

Nick Castellanos had a very interesting 48 hours.

Only days before he was due to report for spring training, the Philadelphia Phillies abruptly released him with a year remaining on his contract.

A mere 48 hours later, Castellanos, who turns 34 next month, signed a one-year deal with the San Diego Padres for the MLB minimum $780,000 with the Phillies on the hook for the balance of the $20 million he was due to make this season.

Castellanos' falling out with the Phillies stems from an incident in a game against the Miami Marlins in Miami (where Castellanos lives) back in June during which manager Rob Thomson pulled him out of the game for late inning defense. In protest of the decision, Castellanos brought an open beer to into the dugout which several teammates including Kyle Schwarber urged him to put away so as not to be caught on TV. 

For his part, Castellanos openly questioned the credibility of both Thomson and hitting coach Kevin Long because neither had played at the major league level. It is a curious comment considering, Thomson was hired by the Phillies following Joe Girardi's dismissal in mid-season in 2022 and turned around the club en route to a NL pennant. 

Castellanos' was in the first season of a five-year contract with the Phillies after a career year with the Cincinnati Reds in 2021 (.309 BA 34 HR 100 RBI). His tenure in Philly has been largely disappointing although he did drive in a career high 106 runs in 2023 along with 29 HR and a respectable .272 batting average. In 2025, Castellanos hit .250 with 17 HR and 72 RBI. Complicating matters is that he below average defender in both the outfield and at third base. 

While Castellanos wanted to play for the Marlins, he would have encountered the same problem he had with the Phillies. Neither Marlins manager Clayton McCullough nor hitting coach Pedro Guerrero had played at the major league level. In case you're wondering, this is not the same Pedro Guerrero who starred with the Los Angeles Dodgers during the 1980s.

Castellanos does not have this issue in San Diego with both manager Craig Stammen and hitting coach Steven Souza, Jr. having both played at the big-league level. Indeed, he praised Stammen:

He’s a player. He’s done it. He’s put on spikes. He’s grinded. He’s felt the feeling of success, and he’s also felt the feeling of when the game doesn’t go your way. There’s a lot of respect in that. I’m excited to do whatever he needs me to do.

In this particular case, Stammen has asked Castellanos to play first base, a position he has never played before. He will be in the same infield with Manny Machado, a friend since childhood.

Perhaps Castellanos can turn over a new leaf in San Diego and rebuild his career. A rebound season (especially if he helps the Padres win their first ever World Series title and perhaps a World Series MVP to boot) could help get one last big payday whether it be in San Diego or somewhere else.

With 13 seasons of big-league ball under his belt with the Detroit Tigers, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies, Castellanos enters 2026 with 1742 hits in 1688 career games for a lifetime batting average of .272 with 250 HR and 920 RBI along with 399 career doubles.

Jews Should Not Let Anti-Semites Redefine Zionism

Alfred Dreyfus (L) and Theodor Herzl (R)

Earlier this month the Jewish Federation of North America (JFNA) released a survey which concluded that while nearly 9 out of 10 Jews support Israel only a third identify themselves as Zionist.

In response to this survey, Jerusalem based communications strategist Laura Kam welcomed his development:

Communications strategist Frank Luntz saw this problem years ago, long before today’s campus upheavals and social media wars. In his work for The Israel Project (where I worked on enhancing Israel’s image internationally), including his 2003 report “Israel in the Age of Eminem,” Luntz explicitly and repeatedly warned pro-Israel advocates not to use the word “Zionism” on college campuses. His reasoning was blunt and strategic. Whatever the word once meant to Jews, it no longer meant that to the audiences’ advocates were trying to persuade. On campus even then, “Zionist” functioned as a negative identity marker, not a neutral description. Once a word triggers hostility, Luntz argued, you have already lost the argument.

From where I stand, this is a copout. Because if one cannot utter the word Zionist because it triggers hostility, then what of other words such as Jew or Israel? Indeed, I would make the case both words trigger even more hostility than Zionism.

This argument, taken to its logical conclusion, would mean Jews would cease calling ourselves Jews.

On this note, Kam addresses the language around Zionism:

Words do not operate in a vacuum. They operate in ecosystems shaped by repetition, repetition, repetition, as well as media framing. Today, Zionism is widely understood — particularly among younger Americans — not as Jewish self-determination but as a synonym for occupation, oppression and/or racism. That definition is historically wrong, but Luntz’s core insight from his seminal book Words That Work still applies: It’s not what you say; it’s what people hear.

Some within the Jewish community have responded by trying to reclaim or redefine the term. We see earnest campaigns insisting that “Zionism simply means…” followed by careful lessons in Jewish history. These efforts are sincere — and largely failing. You cannot successfully rebrand a word whose public meaning has hardened, especially in hostile environments like college campuses and social media.

Luntz’s insight was not ideological; it was tactical. He was not arguing against Israel or Jewish self-determination — nor am I, having moved to Israel and raised a family here. He was arguing that clinging to language that alienates persuadable audiences is self-defeating. Defending a word is not the same as defending values, Israel’s legitimacy or Jewish safety. 

Words are indeed shaped by repetition. But what happens when the words which are repeated are false? Well, Hitler's Big Lie answers that question. Unfortunately, a great many Americans (Jewish or not) have been subjected to yet another big lie when it comes to Zionism. Even more unfortunately, being passive consumers of what we are told, we either accept things at face value or accept them because we want to believe them.

Kam argues that "defending a word is not the same as defending values". Alas, she utterly misses the point. The fact is Israel does not come into existence as a modern state without Zionism. To ask Jews to stop using the term Zionism not only emboldens our enemies but it renders us ignorant of our own history. 

Let me put it this way. How many Jews who object to the term Zionism are aware of The Dreyfus Affair or of Theodor Herzl's response to it? 

If those who oppose Zionism think I'm referring to Richard Dreyfuss then they have no business being anti-Zionists. 

Should one ultimately oppose Zionism then one ought to know what Zionism actually is not as it is defined by the Zohran Mamdanis or the Carrie Prejean Pollers of the world.

As for me, I am a Jew and I am a Zionist. If you don't like it then too damn bad.

ICE's Withdrawal from Minnesota is a Tactical Retreat, Not a Sign of Deescalation

(Mary Murphy/Forum News Service)

ICE might be leaving Minnesota within the next week or so. But make no mistake. It is not a sign of deescalation but rather a tactical retreat. Consider what White House Border Czar Tom Honan said yesterday:

We have a lot of work to do across this country to remove public safety risk, who shouldn't even be in this country. And to deliver on President Trump's promise for strong border security and mass deportation, law enforcement officers drawn down from this surge operation will either return to the duty station or be assigned elsewhere to achieve just that.

What this tells me is that a) ICE will be deployed in large numbers elsewhere and b) that ICE will return to Minnesota at some point in the future. It also tells me the retreat coincides with the imminent shutdown of DHS at midnight over funding to ICE and CBP . But unless Republicans lose their majority in the House, at some point DHS will have its funding restored. And when it does ICE will be back with a vengeance. ICE isn't getting the fuck out. Not by a long shot.

I have no doubt President Trump will vigorously defend ICE at his State of the Union address later this month and escalate matters. It would not surprise me if he bestowed the "men" who murdered Renee Good and Alex Pretti with the Presidential Medal of Freedom or made a point of honoring them. That escalation will certainly reignite anger over Good and Pretti's deaths and cruelty with which ICE has treated migrants and American citizens alike.

While I think ICE will return to Minnesota in large numbers, I think it is more likely that the Trump Administration sets its sights on another blue state. I cannot help but think that Massachusetts could see the sort of ICE surge which occurred in Minnesota with tragic results. This is certainly not lost on leaders here in the Bay State including Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.

Until there is no more Trump Administration or an administration which shares it values, ICE presents a clear and present danger to the people of the United States regardless of our immigration status.

Elroy Face Was a Relief Pitching Pioneer

(Elroy Face (R) showing Ed Sullivan (L) how to grip a forkball)

Former MLB pitcher Elroy Face, who spent the majority of his 16-year big league career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, passed away today at the age of 97. He was 8 days shy of his 98th birthday.

Face, who grew up near Albany, New York, was a high school baseball standout despite standing only 5, 8. Because of this, Face did not turn professional until he was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies prior to the 1949 season following a two-year stint in the Army. He would then spend three seasons in the Brooklyn Dodgers organization before being plucked by the Pirates prior to the 1953 season.

That year, Face would make his big-league debut but struggled posting a ghastly 6.58 ERA in 41 appearances (including 13 starts). After spending all of 1954 with the Bucs Double-AA affiliate in New Orleans, Face would return to the majors in 1955. By then, Face had developed a forkball under the tutelage of manager Danny Murtaugh for whom he would later pitch at Forbes Field. 

In baseball's early days being a relief pitcher went that one was not good enough to be a starting pitcher. But Face's forkball was so devastating that he was often called into games in crucial situations. More often than not, he would win or save games. In 1956, Face led the NL in appearances with 68 and by 1958 would lead the NL in saves with 20.

But it was in 1959 when Face would become one of baseball's most prominent faces when he went 18-1 with a 2.70 ERA in 57 appearances all in relief. Face would not get a Cy Young vote, however. At the time, there was a single Cy Young for the AL and NL. Alas the baseball writers of the day were partial to starting pitchers as Early Wynn would get the nod for his performance with the AL pennant winning Chicago White Sox. However, Face did finish 7th in AL MVP balloting that year.

In 1960, Face would earn a World Series ring with the Bucs saving three games in that Fall Classic against the New York Yankees. Face would run out of gas in Game 7 blowing a rare save opportunity by giving up a 3-run HR to Yogi Berra in the 6th inning. But Bill Mazeroski would help Face save face and earn Pittsburgh its first World Series title in 35 years.

With Face's passing, the only surviving members remaining with the 1960 Bucs are Mazeroski, pitcher Vernon Law and outfielder Bob Skinner. 

Face was named to six NL All-Star Teams between 1959 and 1961 (when there were two All-Star games per season) and led the NL in saves twice more in 1961 and in 1962. He would continue pitching in a Pittsburgh uniform until he was sold to the Detroit Tigers late in the 1968 season. While the Tigers would win the World Series, Face was largely a spectator only making two appearances before watching the World Series from the dugout. Face would finish his career with the expansion Montreal Expos in 1969.

Face finished his career with 848 appearances (802 of them in a Pittsburgh uniform). He went 104-95 with a 3.48 ERA saving 191 career games, 188 of them with the Bucs. He would appear on the BBWAA ballot between 1976 and 1990 but never reached 20% of the vote and was never subsequently given consideration by the Veterans Committee. No pitcher who played the majority of their career with the Pirates has ever been inducted into Cooperstown. 

Nevertheless, Elroy Face is among the greatest pitchers in Pittsburgh Pirates history and is the man who invented modern day relief pitching. That is a worthy baseball legacy. R.I.P.

If JD Vance Believes "Jew Hatred is Disgusting" Then Why Does He Associate with Tucker Carlson?

In an interview last week with The Daily Mail, Vice-President JD Vance spoke about anti-Semitism when asked whether Nick Fuentes' supporters should be accepted into the Republican Party fold:

Well, I don't know what that means. I think people are going to vote for us or not vote for us. I think that there are certain things that we should - we should have the moral clarity to condemn. I think Jew hatred is disgusting.

Vance went to say:

You shouldn't hate people because they're white. You shouldn't hate people because they're Jewish. You shouldn't hate people because they're black,

And I don't like anybody who does that or engages in that stuff. So when you say supporters of this or that person, all I can do is say what I believe, take the moral stance and the policy stance that I believe in.

The Vice-President's words ring false.

If Vance truly believes that Jew hatred is disgusting and that one ought not to hate people because they are Jewish, then why does he pal around with Tucker Carlson?

Mind you, Florida Republican Congressman Randy Fine considers Carlson "the most dangerous anti-Semite in America." 

After all, Carlson has seen fit to legitimize Holocaust deniers like Nick Fuentes and Darryl Cooper, legitimize the anti-Semitism of the despised Iranian regime and suggesting Jews were responsible for Charlie Kirk's assassination and likening Kirk to Christ. Where it concerned Carlson's interview with Cooper in September 2024, not only did Vance not condemn the interview he stated he "doesn't believe in guilt by association cancel culture."

Of course, a lot of it has to do with the fact that Vance would not be Vice-President today if not for Carlson. Vance is not about to bite the hand that feeds him even if that hand spreads the poison of anti-Semitism.

As such, I am not inclined to take Vance's claim that he is disgusted by anti-Semitism with any degree of credibility and seriousness when he could not bring himself to mention anti-Semitism let alone Jews during Holocaust Remembrance Day, declined to condemn Young Republicans who exchanged anti-Semitic messages with one another and denying there is a surge in anti-Semitism among both Republicans and Democrats alike.

JD Vance cannot tell us that he finds "Jew hatred is disgusting" all the while ignoring it, minimizing it and giving credence to those who spread it.

Bud Cort is Gone but His Presence Will Remain with Me

After seeing Harold and Maude at The Brattle Theatre in 2022, I had some thoughts and concluded with this one:

I don't know how much time Bud Cort has in this world (or for that matter of any of us) but Harold will thanks to Maude always have his whole life ahead of him.

While Harold will always have his whole life ahead him, Bud Cort had four more years less a day. Cort passed away today at the age of 77 following a long illness. 

While Cort never attained the level of stardom he appeared destined for with roles in Harold and Maude and in Robert Altman's Brewster McCloud with Shelley Duvall, he did carve out a unique place for himself in and out of Hollywood even if it wasn't by his design. 

Some among us see ourselves one way while the world around us sees us in another way and is wedded to that vision. Cort wanted to play Randall McMurphy in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest while the studio viewed him as Billy Bibbit. He didn't want to play Bibbit but the studio wanted Jack Nicholson as McMurphy. Only then did he change his mind, but by that time the role had gone to newcomer Brad Dourif. The thing of it is that Cort probably could have played both roles with equal effectiveness.

So, he would settle for smaller roles such as in Bernice Bobs Her Hair though it did give him an opportunity to reunite with Duvall as well as an uncredited appearance in Columbo though he did share screen time with Peter Falk. Cort spent much of the 1970's living with Groucho Marx which in of itself would be worthy of some letters and some dialogue. It did not help matters that Cort was twice seriously injured in car accidents in 1979 and again in 2011.

Outside of Harold and Maude, I remember a guest appearance Cort made on the 1980's revival of The Twilight Zone in which he played hapless hotel manager who came in possession of a trunk which made all wishes come true though he would not be careful about what we wished. Disappointed by what the trunk brought he went inside the trunk only to be unable to get out of it. 

The ending scene shows a woman alone in an empty apartment now with the trunk. While on the phone with her mother, she says she wished she had a husband and out pops Cort dressed as a groom. I haven't seen that episode since it aired nearly 40 years ago and yet it has stayed with me. It has stayed with me because Bud Cort's presence will never leave. R.I.P.

Verlander Rejoins Tigers; Will Be in Starting Rotation with Skubal & Valdez

Justin Verlander, who spent 13 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, is returning to the team for one last season having signed a 1-year contract worth $13 million. Of that $13 million, $11 million will be paid out through 2030.

Verlander, who turns 43 later this month, spent 2025 season with the San Francisco Giants where he had a subpar 4-11 record with a decent 3.85 ERA over 29 starts. While Verlander is not the ace pitcher he was in 2022 when he won his third AL Cy Young Award, he still has gravitas and could help the Tigers get over the hump in search of their first World Series title since 1984.

He will join a starting rotation which includes back-to-back AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal who last week earned a record $32 million in arbitration before he becomes a free agent at the end of this season and Verlander's former Houston Astros teammate Framber Valdez who signed a 3-year, $115 million contract with the Tigers last week.

Verlander earned two World Series rings with the Astros in 2017 and in 2022 (the latter alongside Valdez) and would like to finish his career with a ring with the Tigers. Of course, Verlander went to the Fall Classic with the Tigers during his rookie season in 2006 and in 2012 but were bested by the St. Louis Cardinals and the San Francisco Giants, respectively.

He enters the 2026 season in eighth place on MLB's all-time strikeout list with 3553. It is conceivable that by season's end he could leapfrog Hall of Famers Don Sutton, Tom Seaver and Bert Blyleven for fifth place on the all-time strikeout list.

Detroit Tigers fans have a lot to be excited about in 2026 and the return of Justin Verlander has just added to that excitement.