Joshua Báez Hits 3 HR in MLB Debut for The Cardinals

Joshua Báez put himself on the map in his MLB debut on Saturday afternoon for the St. Louis Cardinals.

The 23-year-old Boston native hit 3 HR in his first 3 at bats driving in 5 runs in an 8-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Báez becomes the first MLB player to hit 3 HR in his big-league debut. He belted all 3 of his HR off Cubs starter Matthew Boyd. 

The Cardinals selected Báez in the second round of the 2021 MLB Draft straight out of Dexter School in Brookline, Massachusetts. Perhaps Báez will prove to be the spark necessary for the Cardinals to gain a NL Wild Card berth. If Báez continues to hit in this manner, then he could win NL Rookie of the Year honors despite only six weeks of playing time.

Mamdani is Shocked, Shocked That Jews in Prayer Would Be Assaulted in NYC

 

It is amazing how I can be somewhere, and my mother knows about it before I do. 

As it happens, I am in New York City. After awaking a short time ago, I saw a text from Mom about the assault which took place during Shabbat services last night at Central Synagogue. It is a Reform Temple located on Lexington Avenue & East 55th Street. When I lived here, I would often pass Central Synagogue on my way to work at the Chrysler Building.

During the incident, which was livestreamed, a hooligan comes in ranting and raving and punches a 63-year-old woman in the face. The punk also headbutted a security guard and spat at him as well as desecrating the synagogue.

True to form, NYC Mayor Mamdani was "shocked, shocked" such a thing would happen:

This despicable act has no place in our city, and our administration will do everything in our power to keep Jewish New Yorkers safe.

I trust Mamdani to keep Jewish New Yorkers safe about as much as I trust President Trump to protect women from sexual assault.

Now I suspect that this bum probably has a deep-seated hatred for Jews, but that Mamdani's recent taxpayer funded video tirade gave this hatred legitimacy and emboldened him to commit this heinous act. Since Mamdani issued his irresponsible statement, we have seen two stabbings on the Upper West Side plus the brick throwing incident at a synagogue in Sarasota, Florida in which the suspect specifically stated he was inspired by Mamdani.

Sooner or later, Mamdani words and deeds will get Jews killed in NYC and beyond. 

As far as the safety of Jewish New Yorkers goes, the surest way to ensure is to see to it that Mamdani is defeated in the next election. Although by then, a lot of death and damage will have been done.

A Thought or 54 for Butch Huskey

Former MLB player Butch Huskey died suddenly of a pulmonary embolism today. He was only 54.

Born and raised in Oklahoma, Huskey was a 7th round draft pick of the New York Mets out of high school in 1989. Huskey would reach the Mets for a cup of coffee in 1993 and again in 1995 before becoming a mainstay of their lineup between 1996 and 1998. His best season was in 1997 when Huskey hit a career best .287 with 24 HR and 81 RBI. Huskey played in the outfield, third base and first base. 

Between 1999 and 2000, Huskey would have stints with the Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, Minnesota Twins and the Colorado Rockies. His professional career ended after the 2001 season during which he played in the Cleveland Indians system before rejoining the Rockies organization. In parts of 7 MLB seasons, Huskey played in 642 games collecting 555 hits for a lifetime batting average of .267 with 86 HR and 336 RBI. 

During tonight's New York Mets-Washington Nationals game, Mets announcer Gary Cohn choked up when announcing Huskey's passing. Cohn spoke about Huskey's big-league debut on September 8, 1993 against the Houston Astros. As it happened, the Mets were on the wrong end of a no-hitter by Darryl Kile. During the game, Kile struck out Huskey thrice. Cohn noted that Huskey was upset following the game thinking he wouldn't be able to get a hit in a big-league game but was assured that no one could hit Kile that evening. Four days later, Huskey would collect his first MLB hit and RBI against the Chicago Cubs.

Of course, for those who know, Kile would die suddenly during the 2002 MLB season while a member of the St. Louis Cardinals at the tender age of 33. Kile was the first MLB player to die during the season since New York Yankees catcher Thurman Munson was killed in a plane crash in 1979 at the age of 32.

While Huskey didn't die nearly as young as either Kile or Munson, he certainly left this world sooner than he ought to have. Huskey's passing hits me as I am due to turn 54 in just over one month - G-d willing. This ought to have been Huskey's middle age with decades left in the tank. Alas, the only guarantee in life is that it will end. We have little control over when. R.I.P.

Man Throws Brick Through Synagogue in Sarasota After Viewing & Sharing Mamdani's Anti-Israel Video

Last month NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani's taxpayer subsidized rant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resulted in a pair of stabbings on the Upper West Side including a man leaving a synagogue.

Unfortunately, Mamdani's words have caused damage beyond New York City. As per the New York Post:

A Florida man charged with a hate crime for hurling a brick through a synagogue window was motivated by a video of Mayor Zohran Mamdani calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “war criminal,” his police interview suggests.

Sarasota resident Brayton Laschinger, 30, admitted he targeted the Chabad House on July 29 and told detectives he became enraged by “propaganda on social media that was making him mad,” the Sarasota Police Department said.

“Laschinger admitted to deliberately throwing the brick at the window of the synagogue because it was a Jewish temple,” Sarasota Police Department Detective Frank Castro wrote in the probable cause affidavit dated July 30.

“He stated he was anti-Israel,” Castro added.

The only political content found on his public Instagram account was Mamdani’s July 21 video labeling Netanyahu with the “war criminal” moniker.

“Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal, the architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people,” New York’s socialist mayor said in a video address that repeats unproven, pro-Hamas talking points.

This act of hate would not have happened had Mamdani not seen fit to disseminate this video. It is only a matter of time before Mamdani words result in death. The frightening thing is that even if his words do result in deaths, he will say those deaths have no place in our society and then continue to use his office to incite further violence against Jews.  

Strolling & Trolling in North Kingstown, Rhode Island

For the third summer in row, I took a daytrip to Rhode Island to see my friend Christopher Kain. 

Two years ago, our focus was Providence with stops at the RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) Museum, the Providence Athenaeum and Brown University before taking in the WaterFire along the Providence River. It was a fabulous time until I fell, bloodied my knee and ripped my pants and then discovering the Commuter Rail back to Boston was inoperable due to a felled tree on the tracks in Canton. Last year, we ventured to Newport highlighted by a visit to the Castle Island Lighthouse and dinner at the Valley Inn Restaurant in Portsmouth.

This year, we made our way to North Kingstown which is just under 25 miles south of Providence. Our first destination was an art installation of a troll by Thomas Dambo in Ryan Park. These trolls are wooden sculptures made mainly of recycled materials. This troll you see below is called the Iver Mudslider and is Troll 161 out of an estimated 170 which are situated all over the world. After we concluded our visit, several people asked us if we had been trolling. Indeed, we had.

From there, we made our way to Wickford which is a village within North Kingstown which has a large number of 18th Century colonial homes. It is Christopher's favorite spot in all of Rhode Island. Before we explored the area, we had lunch at Tavern by the Sea where I enjoyed salmon, veggies and rice pilaf without any dressing or sauce and it was quite refreshing. Equally refreshing was the level of service provided by our waitress, Leah. 

After our meal, Christopher showed me several antiques store before we made our way onto Main Street to look at these houses. Christopher then led me to the Old Narragansett Church which is believed to be the oldest Episcopalian house of worship in New England. We met with the church caretakers who showed us the pipe organ built in 1680 which has been with the church since 1800.

As you can imagine, this church was not air conditioned. So, we went back out in the 90-degree weather to cool off and made our way down to the ocean. After all, we were in the Ocean State.

We concluded the afternoon with a visit to the Village Ice Cream & Soup shop. I was hoping there would be gazpacho on this hot day. But I settled for a scoop of vegan cookies 'n cream ice cream before heading back to Providence where Christopher dropped me off at the train station.

Honestly, it doesn't seem like we did all that much, but what I described to you took place over a period of 6 hours. This was truly a day trip.

So, what will my next Rhode Island adventure be? I would like to go duckpin bowling. It is something I have not done since I was in Atlanta. Or perhaps we can pick some tulips next spring. Who knows? Maybe we venture to Westerly and bump into Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.

In such a small place the possibilities are endless.

A Thought for Mike Krukow

Yesterday, Mike Krukow announced he will be retiring from broadcasting San Francisco Giants games at the end of the 2026 season. Krukow has been in the Giants broadcast booth, mainly with Duane Kuiper, since 1990. The pair, both former MLB players, are affectionately known as Kruk & Kuip. 

Prior to joining the Giants broadcast booth, Krukow pitched in San Francisco for 7 of his 14 MLB seasons from 1983 to 1989 with his best season coming in 1986 when he won 20 games and finished third in NL Cy Young balloting. Krukow has spent more than half of his life with the Giants organization.

Krukow is retiring with great reluctance. Sadly, for the past 20 years, Krukow has been battling inclusion body myositis, a degenerative muscle disease. It has affected his ability to move to the point where he has been broadcasting games remotely from his home in Reno, Nevada for the past several seasons. Kruk hopes to remain with the Giants in some other capacity. Some suggest that the Giants make him a special pitching adviser given his encyclopedic knowledge of pitching. 

I have occasionally viewed Kruk and Kuip cover Giants games on the MLB Network over the years. The pair have an easy camaraderie. Krukow is particularly knowledgeable without going over people's heads. Both men bring a joy to broadcasting and Giants fans tune in to find that joy even in a season which has been so disappointing for the Giants. 

The Giants enter tonight 21 games back of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West. At this point, the only reason to tune into Giants games is to hear Kruk & Kuip together for one last summer. Because after this year, it just won't be the same. 

Jon Stewart Doesn't Think Israel is Part of The Jewish Community

 

I've never thought Jon Stewart was particularly funny. Not when he had a syndicated talk show more than 30 years ago and not today.

I've also never taken Jon Stewart seriously as a political analyst. Whenever he would be overmatched by someone who knew what they were talking about such as John Yoo, Stewart would by default say, 'I'm a comedian,' Well, that's a debatable proposition. In any case, I believe Stewart is daft.

Case in point was his testy interview with Pennsylvania Democratic Senator John Fetterman over his support for Israel. At one point in the interview, Fetterman told Stewart that he supports Israel in part because when Jews are persecuted "things end badly." Stewart shot back, "The Jewish community and Israel are not the same thing, brother-man. That is not the same thing."

If that is true then why did Ayman Mohamad Ghazali drive his truck into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan armed with a rifle and with explosives? In the days which followed, newspaper headlines proclaimed the shooter's family had been killed in an Israeli airstrike. What was not mentioned was that Ghazali's brother was a Hezbollah commander. Abdul El-Sayed, now the Democratic Party nominee for the U.S. Senate race in Michigan, excused Ghazali's action stating that "hurt people hurt people." Those who hate Jews make no distinction between Jews in Israel, Jews in San Jose or Jews in the Philippines. 

Stewart's comment, on its face, is also absurd. Israel is a part of the Jewish community. Nearly half the world's Jewish population is in Israel. A country which emerged out of the ashes of the Holocaust after most of the world refused to admit Jewish refugees fleeing Hitler. Frederick Blair, the civil servant in charge of Canada's immigration system proclaimed, "None is too many."  It is those attitudes which necessitated the creation of Israel and necessitate its continuation. Indeed, the cradle of Judaism is to be found in Jerusalem. To suggest that Jews have no ties to Israel is akin to suggesting that Muslims have no ties to Mecca.

Of course, while Stewart is Jewish it is clear that he is woefully ignorant of his people's history and culture. I also suspect that Stewart is ashamed of being Jewish and hence his hostility to a non-Jew like Fetterman who goes out on a limb to support Israel and the Jewish community at large. After all, his real name is Jon Leibowitz. Alas, he is not the first Jew to Anglicize his name and sadly he won't be the last.