Athletics Lose 10 in a Row After Being Pounded 23-4 by Nats

The Athletics began the second half of the 2026 season last night with a big thud falling 23-4 to the Washington Nationals.

The loss was the club's 10th in a row. During this stretch, the Athletics have been outscored 91-25.

On May 24th, the day before Memorial Day, the Athletics had a record of 27-26 and were atop the AL West leading the division by 2½ games over both the Texas Rangers and the Seattle Mariners.

The Athletics have gone 14-30 since including the 10-game losing skid as well as losing 14 of their last 15 games. They enter action today now in fourth place in the AL West 8 games back of the Rangers. 

Losing All-Star first baseman Nick Kurtz to a thumb injury hasn't helped matters, but the team's pitching both of the starting rotation and the bullpen has also been unequal to the task as pitching coach Scott Emerson was dismissed prior to the All-Star Break. But last night's results indicate that it will take a lot more than rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic to resolve the A's pitching woes. Playing in a minor league ballpark in Sacramento also isn't conducive to long-term success but they will be stuck there until the move to Las Vegas in 2028.

With most teams in the AL still having a fighting chance at the post-season, I suspect the Athletics will be looked upon as sellers with the August 3rd trade deadline coming soon. In which case, it will be another long season in Sacramento.

Ron Hunt Turned Getting Hit By a Pitch Into an Art

Former MLB infielder Ron Hunt passed away on July 15th of complications of Parkinson's Disease. He was 85.

His passing was expected after it was announced he was in hospice care earlier this month.

Hunt was best known for his ability to get hit by pitches and would lead the NL in this category in the final seven seasons of his 12-year MLB career.

A native of St. Louis, Hunt signed with the Milwaukee Braves prior to the 1959 season. After four seasons in the minor leagues, the Braves sold Hunt's contract to the New York Mets where he would become the fledgling team's first star player.

In 1963, Hunt finished runner up to Pete Rose in NL Rookie of the Year balloting hitting .273 with a career best 10 HR along with 42 RBI.

The following season, Hunt became the first Met to ever be elected to the NL All-Star Team as its second baseman besting Pittsburgh Pirates legend Bill Mazeroski. Hunt would also earn a trip to the All-Star Game in 1966.

However, following that season the Mets would trade Hunt along with outfielder Jim Hickman to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for outfielder Tommy Davis and Derrell Griffith, the latter of whom would never play a big-league game in a Mets uniform.

Hunt only played one season with the Dodgers before being traded yet again to the San Francisco Giants along with fellow infielder Nate Oliver in exchange for catcher Tom Haller. It was while wearing a Giants uniform when Hunt began to find his niche as a big-league player - getting hit by pitches. In each of his three seasons in San Francisco, Hunt would lead the NL in this category. 

Prior to the 1971 season, the Giants traded Hunt to the Montreal Expos for first baseman Dave McDonald. Curiously, the Expos purchased McDonald back from the Giants during spring training.

The trade would prove a double-edged sword. In 1971, the Giants would win the NL West thus depriving Hunt of a post-season opportunity. Nevertheless, Hunt had a remarkable inaugural season in Montreal setting a MLB record when he was hit by a pitch 50 times that season breaking a record set by Hughie Jennings for the old Baltimore Orioles in 1896. However, years later, researchers discovered that Jennings had been hit by a pitch two additional times that season thus giving the record back to him.

Nevertheless, it was a remarkable achievement for Hunt. The closest anyone has come in the modern era to being hit that many times in a season was when Don Baylor got plunked 35 times for the AL champion Boston Red Sox in 1986. 

Hunt remained with the Expos until he was released late in the season and was picked up on waivers by his hometown Cardinals. He would only play 12 games with the Redbirds before calling it a career. In 12 MLB seasons, Hunt collected 1429 hits for a lifetime batting average of .273 with 39 HR and 370 RBI while being hit by pitch 243 times which is 6th on MLB's all-time list.

Several players would surpass Hunt's career total - Jason Kendall (254), Don Baylor (267) and Hall of Famer Craig Biggio (285). Jennings has the all-time record with 287 with fellow 19th Century player Tommy Tucker ranking third at 272 HBP.

To put Hunt's achievements into perspective, Kansas City Royals outfielder Starling Marte leads active players being hit by pitch at 169. After Marte, it is Boston Red Sox first baseman Wilson Contreras with 143 HBP followed by San Diego Padres catcher Ty France who is tied with five other former players at 134 HBP.

Unfortunately for Hunt, some of those HBP were in the head. Coupled with several baserunning collisions, it is believed to have contributed to the onset of Parkinson's.

Yet Hunt took it all with good humor. He famously said, "A lot of people give their body to science. I gave mine to baseball."

It is a fitting epitaph. R.I.P.

The Guess Who is Back While Don Felder Soars Higher Than The Eagles

 

(The Guess Who with Randy Bachman (L) & Burton Cummings (R) performing at the Leader Bank Pavilion in Boston on July 17, 2026)

For me when I think of Canadian rock 'n roll the first act that comes to mind is The Guess Who. 

I first remember listening to them earnest in the late 1970's when Dad would play an 8-track of the Share the Land LP in his Buick LeSabre when we moved from Thunder Bay, Ontario to Victoria, B.C. for his sabbatical, the year we spent in the provincial capital and when we returned to Thunder Bay the following year. 

The two core members of The Guess Who are Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings. I had the great privilege of watching then perform at the Tweeter Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts (now known as the Xfinity Center) three days after the 9/11 attacks. While Cummings was eager to get even with al Qaeda, it wasn't going to stop them from performing "American Woman".

In the years that followed, The Guess Who became little more than a glorified cover band as the name was owned by bass player Jim Kale who hired players who had no connection with the band and yet represented themselves as the ones who had hits with "These Eyes", "American Woman" and "Laughing".

Bachman and Cummings had enough and filed a poison pill lawsuit prohibiting the public performance of songs that they wrote or co-wrote thus chloroforming the fake Guess Who. The rights to the Guess Who were restored to Bachman and Cummings in an out-of-court settlement in 2024 and the pair are now touring as The Guess Who for the first time in a quarter century. 

When I learned that The Guess Who would be playing in Boston down the street from where I work, not only did I determine I needed to be in attendance but also invited two of my co-workers to join me. For one of those co-workers, it would be his first concert in 13 years.

So, the date of destiny arrived last night when the three of us left work and made our way to the Leader Bank Pavilion. I had been there once previously a quarter century ago when it was known as the Fleet Pavilion and when Boston's Seaport District was essentially an industrial area. In July 2001, I saw Crosby, Stills and Nash in concert and sat in the fifth row. Aside from a James Taylor concert that I attended in Ottawa in 1997, it was the best seat I ever had at a show. 

Of course, much has changed in 25 years. Concert tickets are now on your phone. What complicated things was that I either had to access them through the Ticketmaster app or through Google Wallet. I managed to access them through the latter. But my tickets would not scan. Fortunately, the staff at the Leader Bank Pavilion was helpful and we were soon on our way.

Opening for The Guess Who was former Eagles lead guitarist Don Felder. Best known for co-writing the music to "Hotel California", Felder mostly played a short set of Eagles tunes - "One of These Nights", "Victim of Love", "Seven Bridges Road", "Life in the Fast Lane" and the aforementioned "Hotel California". 

Felder, who turns 79 in September, looks and sounds decades younger. Whatever problems Don Henley and the late Glenn Frey might have had with him, Felder comes across as a positive guy who is a downright mensch. Before his set concluded, Felder is sponsoring a contest in which a lucky winner will spend a weekend with him in Nashville at the Musicians Hall of Fame, at the Gibson Guitar garage along with a guitar lesson. The proceeds benefit St. Jude's Hospital.

Following Felder's set, I overheard several fellows in the washroom praise his performance saying he was much better than The Eagles are live these days. Given the unceremonious circumstances which led to his ouster, I am sure such sentiments would hearten Felder who appears to have soared higher than his former bandmates.

The Guess Who brought equally positive energy to the stage. Burton Cummings clearly loves what he is doing with his life and is as happy to play music in front of enthusiastic audiences as he was 60 years. Cummings, like Felder, will turn 79 later this year. Randy Bachman isn't as gregarious as Cummings but is also having a good time and still plays guitar with the best of them. 

Of course, Bachman, who turns 83 in September, has been actively touring for many years, and I had the good fortune of seeing him front Bachman-Turner Overdrive in Medford in March 2024. A good many of the songs Bachman played that night were Guess Who songs so it was only natural that we would hear some BTO songs at this Guess Who concert including "Let It Ride", "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" and "Takin' Care of Business" which closed the show.

There were some additional treats in the form of "Proper Stranger", a deep cut from the American Woman and "My Own Way to Rock" which was a modest solo hit for Cummings in Canada in 1977. I was also delighted by the inclusion of bassist Jeff Jones in the touring band. Jones was briefly a member of Rush before joining the Canadian gospel-rock group which had a hit with "Put Your Hand in the Hand". Jones has also had a long association with Tom Cochrane.  

But most of the evening was devoted to songs which invoked the best memories - "These Eyes", "Albert Flasher", "Undun", "Laughing" and "Bus Rider".  And for those songs which didn't such as "Star Baby", Cummings cheekily reminded us it was straight up rock 'n roll which would be over in 2 minutes and 57 seconds. 

The audience would be up on its feet with the slow jam into "American Woman" which includes references to The Doors' "Roadhouse Blues" and would remain on its feet for "No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature", "No Time" and an encore of "Share the Land" and the Bachman led "Takin' Care of Business".

It is fair to say that the audience left the Leader Bank Pavilion happy. Don Felder, Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings are happy and at peace in their minds and in their hearts and that goodwill spread like a groundswell. We should all be so fortunate to be in the presence of such good energy.

The Guess Who and Don Felder will be parting ways temporarily. Bachman and Cummings will be returning to Canada to perform at the Ottawa Blues Fest on Sunday while Felder has shows later this month in Hallowell, Maine and in Columbus, Ohio. The two acts will reunite in Atlanta on August 6th for the first of 9 shows on the same bill over a 17-day period.

I have no doubt both The Guess Who and Don Felder will continue to spread joy wherever they perform.

Democratic Congressman Smith Admits Voting for Anti-Israel Amendment Because of "Far Left" Violence

Yesterday, more than 100 Democrats supported soon-to-be former Kentucky Republican Congressman Thomas Massie's amendment to strip Israel of all military aid. 

Massie has had a long history of anti-Semitic behavior which has only intensified since he lost a GOP primary for his seat back in May.

Among the 103 Democrats who sided with Massie was Adam Smith, a 30-year veteran of Congress in Washington's 9th District which covers parts of Seattle. 

Smith, who is the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, had originally planned to vote against Massie's amendment but ceded that he voted in favor of Massie's because of threats of violence against him and his family by what he described as "the far left":

I am deeply concerned about the tactics used by those on the far left to advocate for cutting off aid to Israel. To date, my family and I have had our home vandalized, a fire has been set in my driveway, my neighbors’ lives have been disrupted by demonstrations in the middle of the night, town halls meant to be forums for dialogue have been shut down, and a staff member has been physically assaulted.

Guess what.

The tactics of the far left worked and they will continue to deploy these tactics against members of Congress and their families if it gets them their desired results.

If the far left is prepared to commit vandalism, arson and assault in the name of ending military aid to Israel then it is only a matter of time before they will commit murder. Perhaps an October 7th-style massacre. 

Some Democratic member of Congress has to stand up to the far left and tell them what they can do with their violent tactics. Sadly, such profiles in courage are few and far between.

Trump Validated President Biden's Warning About MAGA Republicans

 

I did not catch all of President Trump's prime time address, but I really didn't need too. 

I got the essence of it.

Trump claimed China interfered in our elections, asserted that voting lists were full of fake electors, dead people, decried mail-in voting and angrily denounced networks which would not air his speech threatening to take away their broadcast licenses. 

While ABC, NBC and CNN did not air the speech on broadcast and network TV, it was available on their streaming services.

In other words, anyone who wanted to watch Trump spew bullshit could do so online at the touch of a fingertip.

Trump also did not see fit to mention that the networks refused to air President Biden's speech on democracy in September 2022. Perhaps they ought to have:

MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution. They do not believe in the rule of law. They do not recognize the will of the people. They refuse to accept the results of a free election, and they’re working right now as I speak in state after state to give power to decide elections in America to partisans and cronies, empowering election deniers to undermine democracy itself.

President Trump proceeded to spend this evening validating Biden's points. Trump will do everything he can to prevent an election result he doesn't like and, if that result comes to pass, to move Heaven and Earth to ensure there is no peaceful transfer of power starting with the November midterms. 

Had we only listened to President Biden.

JD Vance Amplifies & Legitimizes Joe Rogan's Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Theories

So, the Vice-President of the United States makes an appearance on a conspiracy theorist's podcast and proceeds to amplify conspiracy theories.

Of course, the oldest conspiracy theory of them all is anti-Semitism:

Joe Rogan: Most people think Epstein was Mossad.

JD Vance: Ya. Mossad or CIA or some other deep state, whether in America or Israel. He certainly had connections to the highest levels of American intelligence. He clearly had connections to the highest level of Israeli intelligence.

As with most conspiracy theorists, Rogan makes an unsubstantiated assertion and instead of challenging the premise of the assertion, Vance dives in head first and makes equally unsubstantiated assertions.

Vance also did so by design and in so doing gave anti-Semitism both amplification and legitimacy.

The only purpose this sort of amplification and legitimacy serves is to stir up public opinion against both Israel and the Jewish community in the United States.

There is nothing good which can come of it.

I wish I could say I was surprised by Vance's remarks. Yet this is a man who has dismissed out of hand the surge of anti-Semitism in the United States and around the world since October 7th. This is a man who has claimed there is a difference between anti-Semitism and, in his words, "not liking Israel"  This is also a man who does not see fit to talk about Jews when speaking about The Holocaust, 

In view of these facts, it is not a surprise that such an individual would casually accuse a convicted sex offender of being an Israeli spy without a shred of evidence in support of such a claim.

As appalling as left-wing anti-Semitism is, the fact remains that JD Vance is a heartbeat away from the Oval Office. A Vance presidency would present an enormous danger not only to Israel but to the very standing of Jews in the United States. G-d help us!!!

Boston Skies Get The Sights & Smells of Smoky Air From Northwestern Ontario Wildfires

 

Today, Boston and other parts of the Northeastern United States and the Midwest got the sight and smell of smoky air from wildfires raging through Northern Ontario and Minnesota. But most of the fires are taking place in my neck of the woods in Northwestern Ontario, just north of Thunder Bay.

For any inconvenience which may be caused over the next couple of days here, it pales in comparison to what is happening in Thunder Bay. My mother tells me that decks and sidewalks are covered in ash. The skies have been considerably darker than ours. Even with keeping the doors and windows closed one cannot escape the smell of smoke. Unfortunately, she does not have air conditioning which further compounds the situation. The long and the short of it is I'm glad that I'm here and not there.

While the fires themselves are mostly occurring in sparsely populated areas there are some rural communities, particularly Aboriginal reserves, which have had to be evacuated. Many of these fires could burn for months on end. In which case, the snow cannot come soon enough.

From where I sit, the one positive from these disconcerting sights and smells is that it had the effect of lowering the temperature thus avoiding yet another 90 plus degree day. But this is a very, very small consolation.