Don Cooper Deserved Better From The Chicago White Sox

Former MLB pitcher and coach Don Cooper passed away on Tuesday at the age of 70.

A native of New York, Cooper pitched parts of four seasons in the early to mid 1980s with the Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Yankees.

But for Cooper coaching was his calling and he would join the Chicago White Sox organization in 1988 with the Single-A South Bend River Hawks. Fourteen years later, Cooper would become the Chisox's big league pitching coach and would remain in that position for 18½ years serving under four managers - Jerry Manuel, Ozzie Guillen, Robin Ventura and Rick Renteria. Cooper would earn a World Series ring with the Chisox in 2005 which included a starting rotation of Mark Buehrle, Freddy Garcia, Jon Garland, Jose Contreras and Orlando Hernandez. 

After more than 30 years with the organization, the White Sox abruptly dismissed Cooper along with Renteria following the COVID shortened 2020 season despite making it to the post-season. 

Yes, managers and coaches get fired. It is a part of baseball. But in view of Cooper's long service to the organization, he deserved a better fate. The team should have promoted him to the front office and made him a special pitching adviser. 

Barring a weekend collapse, the White Sox will reach the post-season for the first time since 2020. Should they survive the Wild Card round and host ALDS games, they should formally honor Cooper's memory now. It doesn't make up for not giving him his due while he was still here, but it could give his family some measure of comfort. R.I.P.

Macron Minimizes Hamas at UN Despite Their Killing of a French Citizen

French President Emmanuel Macron sparked considerable anger at the UN General Assembly when he claimed Hamas "never caused trouble" in the West Bank. 

In point of fact, Hamas killed Netanuel Shukron, a dual French Israeli citizen, on the eve of Yom Kippur in the West Bank.

Not that Macron gives a shit about such details. No apology has been forthcoming. The French government is claiming Macron's statement was mistranslated claiming that what he said was that Hamas has never governed the West Bank. While the West Bank is nominally ruled by Fatah, Hamas does operate in the territory and carries out attacks.

I suspect that Macron is mad at the Trump Administration for not permitting Mahmoud Abbas to travel to New York. Mind you, Macron lavished praise upon Abbas during a state visit to France in 2022 despite his term of office ending more than 15 years ago.

Let us not forget it was Macron who spearheaded the effort at last year's UN General Assembly for formal recognition of a Palestinian state. Indeed, just over a month after the October 7th attacks, Macron derided Israel for "bombing ladies, babies and old people" without a word of concern for the hostages being held in captivity by Hamas.

Macron chooses his words very deliberately and has made it abundantly clear that he is an apologist for Hamas even if they murder French citizens.

Mets Make Andy Green An Offer He Can't Refuse

I am delighted to hear that Andy Green has decided to accept the New York Mets' offer to make him their full-time manager with a three-year contract through the 2029 season. 

Green, a former manager for the San Diego Padres who was working in the Mets' front office, only intended to finish out the season wanting to spend as much time as he can with his family.

The Mets evidently made Green an offer to stay beyond this season that he couldn't refuse. It would also appear that Green spoke with his family about the subject at length and they are on board with him managing. Perhaps the Mets are prepared to accommodate family visits during the season. Whatever led to the decision, I'm glad Green is getting a second chance at managing.

Entering tonight, the Mets are 39-39 under Green after a 34-47 start under Carlos Mendoza. Although the Mets will likely finish in last place in the NL East, there is a semblance of order on the team and that they are headed in the right direction in 2027 barring any significant labor stoppage. 

Of course, as with any New York team, there are naysayers. But Green has earned his chance. Let's see what he does with it.

Belleville Synagogue Shooter Blamed Jews For COVID

To the surprise of no one, the man responsible for trying to kill Jews at the Sons of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville, Ontario harbored hatred towards Jews. 

He evidently became radicalized when he began subscribing to conspiracy theories blaming Jews for COVID. Because of these beliefs, the gunman refused to be vaccinated and would be discharged from the Canadian military in 2022.

Those same beliefs would drive him to try to kill Jews, and he might have succeeded if not for Constable Jeff Smith who ended up killing the assailant. Smith was seriously wounded and his wife says he faces a long road to recovery.

But I have no doubt that Belleville's Jewish community, the Jewish community across Canada and non-Jewish Canadians will see to it that Constable Smith gets everything he and his family needs for his valor. 

Of course, the congregants of Sons of Jacob Synagogue should not have needed to have police protection for being Jewish. Unfortunately, so long as Jew hatred flourishes and public officials tolerate anti-Semitism in our political discourse such as the belief that Jews are somehow responsible for COVID and all other of society's ills then we can expect more violence and more brave souls like Constable Jeff Smith to put a stop to it.

Chad Tracy Becomes Red Sox Full-Time Manager with 3-Year Contract with Option for 2030

 

Nearly five months after he was named interim manager of the Boston Red Sox following the abrupt dismissal of Alex Cora, Chad Tracy has officially become the team's full-time manager.

Tracy has been given a 3-year contract with a club option for the 2030 season. The team has also extended Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow through 2030.

It took a while for the Red Sox to get going but in the space of less than a month went from having the worst record in the AL to climbing their way to one of the AL Wild Card spots. From June 25th through August 7th, the Red Sox went 32-5. During this streak, they tied an 80-year-old club record with a 15-game winning streak.

Now, the team has cooled off considerably. Since August 7th, the team has been treading water with a 20-22 record. But the Red Sox did clinch an AL Wild Card berth over the weekend albeit indirectly with the help of Atlanta Braves slugger Mike Yastremzski, the grandson of Red Sox legend Carl Yastremzski. 

How far the Red Sox will go in the 2026 post-season remains to be seen. But in the grand scheme of things, Tracy has exceeded all expectations much like the recently departed Joe Morgan did when he took over the team midway through the 1988 season. Regardless of what happens in October, Tracy certainly deserves to win AL Manager of the Year. 

Megyn Kelly's Inhumanity Towards Cindy Crawford After Her Son's Death

My opinion of Megyn Kelly has diminished considerably since she started engaging in anti-Semitism.

Generally speaking, it is difficult to descend below anti-Semitism, yet Kelly has succeeded in doing so by publicly lambasting a mother following the death of her child. 

Yesterday, Kelly saw fit to berate Cindy Crawford after the death of her 27-year-old son, Presley, from an apparent drug overdose:

Let’s face it, both kids were commercialized. He said he was signed when he was 15. And Cindy Crawford of all people should have known the dangers of that. She should have known the dangers.

You’ve got a teenage boy being sent over to New York, to Europe, Hollywood, and he remarked several times about how bizarre it was to grow up in Hollywood. And you better watch him. There are predators in that industry, predators in modeling, in music, in Hollywood. I mean, honestly, can you imagine putting your 13-year-old and 15-year-old in modeling?

I just think it’s a reckless decision. The odds are overwhelmingly against them growing up to be well people.

If that wasn't enough Kelly further claimed that Crawford and her husband Randy Gerber are "by all accounts aren’t drug addicts themselves, but we don’t know that to be honest."

What kind of person would say such a thing to millions of people?

I suspect it would be the sort of person who doesn't care what she says and who she harms as long as she draws her attention to herself and that her name is spelled correctly.

There is nothing a parent dreads more than the thought of their child predeceasing them. That Kelly would see fit to kick Crawford while she is going through the worst moment of her life says a great deal more about Kelly than it does about Crawford. Kelly has demonstrated she is devoid of any humanity.

It ought to be said that Kelly has three children of her own. One would think a mother of three children would be the last person to publicly castigate Crawford in her darkest hour. But perhaps Kelly simply believes she is better than Crawford or perhaps simply jealous of her. It would go a long way in explaining her lack of humanity.

I certainly hope none of Kelly's children should die before she does. Were such an awful thing to come to pass, I suspect that Cindy Crawford would be the first to offer her condolences.

Thoughts on German Chancellor Merz Declaring "Jewish Life is No Longer Safe in Germany"

On Sunday, Germany's Christian Democratic Union suffered massive defeats in state elections in both Berlin and in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

In Berlin, the far left Linke Party garnered the most votes while Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania proved to be another triumph for the far Right AfD. Earlier this month, the AfD triumphed in Saxony-Anhalt.

In response to this electoral disaster, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated, “The fact that Jewish life is no longer safe in Germany is the heaviest burden of recent years.” 

As you can imagine, when the German head of state tells the world that his country is no longer safe for Jews then all bets are off.

Merz's pledge that his government will do "everything possible to ensure that Jewish life in Germany, and here in the capital, Berlin, is safe,” is a day late and a Deutschmark short when he has already concluded it is no longer safe to be a Jew in Germany. This reality is reflected in the vote.

Of course, it is less safe to be a Jew all over the world. Yet the declaration of Jews no longer being safe in Germany takes on a whole other meaning. 

Merz's grip on power is on tenterhooks. It is only a matter of time before the Far Left & Far Right rule Germany and Jews will once again be public enemy number one.

No good can come of it. I can only hope it can be stopped but it seems that Germans don't want to stop it. It would seem that Germans are in the mood to kill Jews again.