I Was Visiting Israel When I Learned Joe Morgan Was Managing The Red Sox

Former Boston Red Sox manager Joe Morgan passed away yesterday at the age of 95.

Not to be confused with the Hall of Fame second baseman who himself passed away in 2020, Morgan made a name for himself when he was named interim manager for the Red Sox during the 1988 All-Star Break after John McNamara, who had taken Boston to the AL pennant two years earlier was abruptly dismissed. 

At the time, Morgan was the team's third base coach. The plan was to have Morgan manage a few games before a permanent replacement could be found. Perhaps Joe Torre. 

But then the Red Sox started winning starting with a 12-game winning streak and then 19 out of 20 games. Morgan was a familiar face to most Red Sox players like Wade Boggs, Jim Rice, Mike Greenwell, Ellis Burks, Rogers Clemens and Bruce Hurst as he had managed the Triple-AAA Pawtucket Red Sox for nine seasons. 

Needless to say, it wasn't long before Morgan was named the team's full-time manager as he would lead the Red Sox to the AL East crown before being swept in the ALCS by the Oakland A's. 

Morgan certainly paid his dues. A native of Walpole, Massachusetts, Morgan was a baseball and hockey standout at both Walpole High School and Boston College. In 1952, Morgan signed as a free agent with the Boston Braves as an infielder.

Morgan would miss two seasons due to military service. When he rejoined the Braves organization in 1955, the big-league club had moved from Boston to Milwaukee. It was not until 1959 when Morgan made his MLB debut with the Braves although he would be sold to the Kansas City A's before the end of the season.

In 1960, the A's sold Morgan back to the Braves. By mid-season, the Braves would trade Morgan once more this time to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for future MLB manager Alvin Dark. Less than two months later, the Phillies would sell Morgan to the Cleveland Indians. While with the Tribe, Morgan hit his only 2 big-league homeruns.

Early in the 1961 season, the Indians traded Morgan to the St. Louis Cardinals for veteran outfielder Bob Nieman. Morgan would play three games with the 1964 Cardinals team that would win that year's World Series. This would be his last time playing at the big-league level. In 88 games over parts of four seasons with five teams, Morgan collected 36 hits for a lifetime batting average of .193 with 2 HR and 10 RBI.

In 1966, Morgan would transition into managing while with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. He was the player-manager for the Single-A Raleigh Pirates. After this season, Morgan concentrated on managing full time. Morgan played 13 seasons of minor league baseball collecting 1353 hits in 1440 games for a lifetime batting average of .278 with 117 HR and 632 RBI.

After one more season in Raleigh, Morgan would manage the Double-AA York White Roses in 1968 and 1969. In 1970, the Pirates promoted Morgan to their Triple-AAA affiliate with the Columbus Jets. The following year the Jets moved to Charleston, West Virginia where they became known as the Charleston Charlies.

In 1972, Morgan would join the Pirates big league coaching staff under manager Bill Virdon who succeeded Danny Murtaugh who guided the team to a World Series title the previous season. The Bucs would win the NL East for a third straight season but would fall to the Cincinnati Reds in the NLCS. In 1973, the Bucs trimmed the coaching staff and sent Morgan back to manage Charleston for one more season before he joined the Red Sox organization in 1974. 

After 9 seasons as the PawSox manager, Morgan became a scout for Red Sox for two seasons before he was assigned to John McNamara's coaching staff in 1985 as the team's bullpen coach, a position he held when the Red Sox won the AL pennant in 1986.

Being a baseball lifer did not pay well. In the off-season, Morgan worked a variety of jobs up to and including plowing snow on the Massachusetts Turnpike earning him the nickname "Turnpike Joe". Morgan was also affectionately known as "Walpole Joe".

Morgan would guide the Red Sox to a second AL East pennant in 1990 but were once again swept in the ALCS by the Oakland A's. The Red Sox would contend in 1991 finishing tied for second in the AL East with the Detroit Tigers, seven games back of the Toronto Blue Jays. 

Although Morgan had a year remaining on his contract, the Red Sox cut him loose in favor of former Red Sox third baseman Butch Hobson who had been managing the PawSox. The Red Sox would finish in last place in the AL East under Hobson in 1992 and would never enjoy a winning season during his three-year tenure as manager.

As for Morgan, he would never get another chance to manage in MLB. In part of four seasons as Red Sox manager, Morgan had a record of 301-262 with two AL East pennants under his belt.

On a personal note, I will forever associate Joe Morgan with Israel. During the summer of 1988, I made my lone visit to Israel. I was there for six weeks. During the first half of the trip, we were traveling around the country in remote areas. Needless to say, this was pre-internet. Media was scarce. We were lucky if we could get Jordanian TV much less a newspaper.

During the second half of the trip in August, we were spending most of our time in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. One afternoon, someone found a copy of the Jerusalem Post. We were shocked to learn that the Red Sox had won 19 out of 20 games and were doing it with Joe Morgan as their manager. Of course, I thought of Joe Morgan of the Big Red Machine. But the paper made a point of stating, "No, not that Joe Morgan." This is how I remember Morgan Magic.

I consider this a precious memory both because of the moment and because how such a moment is unlikely to replicate itself in the current state of our connected world. R.I.P.

The Real Third Man in The Third Man Was The Music

 

On Saturday evening, I went to the Harvard Film Archive to attend a screening of The Third Man starring Joseph Cotten, Valli, Trevor Howard and, of course, Orson Welles.

The screening is part of a retrospective of Graham Greene's novels and novellas adapted for the big screen.

Prior to the screening there was a lengthy introduction to the film by one of the staff members whose name I cannot recall. For the most part, I find these introductions to be largely unnecessary. You may recall that I was rather perturbed with Foster Hirsch's soliloquys during the film noir series which took place at the Brattle Theatre back in June. 

However, I will give Hirsch his due in this respect. His remarks were off the cuff. Tonight's introduction was read which made the proceedings that much more tedious. 

Although the one notable part of those remarks was that a point was made of stating that Orson Welles had no role in directing The Third Man which was entirely Carol Reed's baby. It was explained that Welles had other projects going on at the time and was not on the set long enough to have done anything beyond improvising a line or two of dialogue. Yet it has remained an urban legend for decades.

A synopsis of the film is in order. Author Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten) comes to post-WWII Vienna to visit his friend Harry Lime only to discover that his friend was killed in a traffic accident. At Line's funeral, Martins encounters Anna Schmidt (Valli) who was Lime's lover as well as Major Calloway (Trevor Howard) and it becomes clear to Martins that Lime's death was not an accident. 

Martins learns of a third man who helped carry his friend's body across the street. Yet more than two-thirds through the film we learn in spectacular fashion that the third man is none other than Harry Lime himself (Orson Welles). Nothing is ever as it seems.

The one constant in The Third Man and perhaps the true third man is the music composed by Austrian zither player Anton Karas and now I can't get the "Harry Lime Theme" out of my head. What is most astonishing is that Reed discovered Karas by chance while visiting a wine bar and asked him to compose the music for the film on the spot. One can only imagine how different the film would have been had Reed not ventured into that wine bar.

Indeed, the first image you see on the screen in the background behind the words are the strings to a zither. I would be remiss if I did not mention that we had a zither much the like pictured below.

Perhaps it is fitting that a zither was prominently used in The Third Man because the audience is certainly being strung along.

Even after the film, we were treated to an original trailer of the film zither and all.

The Rise and Fall of British Columbia's Conservative Party

When it comes to Canada, there is an understandable focus on tensions with the United States on trade amid the desires of the Trump Administration to annex its neighbor to the north.

There is also considerable attention to the forthcoming provincial election in Quebec as well as the Alberta referendum to determine if there will be a referendum on separation.

While these events loom large, I am fascinated by what is happening to the Conservative Party of British Columbia.

Less than two years ago, the B.C. Conservatives went from being a non-entity to coming within striking distance of forming a provincial government and ousting the NDP from power.

Yet success came too fast too soon. Just over a year after nearly becoming Premier, John Rustad was ousted as Conservative Party leader following a series of expulsions and defections from the party caucus.

Just over three months ago, B.C. Conservatives chose former Conservative MP Kerry-Lynne Findlay as their new leader.

But in less than 100 days as party leader, Findlay has seen 9 Conservative MLAs defect from her caucus. 

Much of this stems from Findlay's autocratic and dogmatic behavior. Among other things, Findlay assailed the Aboriginal ancestry of the wife of leadership rival Peter Milobar who was the first MLA to defect during her leadership. 

Then there were Findlay's attempt to offer financial inducements to MLAs to resign so she could run for the legislature in a by-election. Reann Gasper did resign her seat so Findlay could run and now Findlay has rewarded her by appointing her chief of staff. The problem here is that this is illegal and the RCMP is now looking into the matter. 

To make matter worse, Findlay has also surrounded herself with a staff full of Alberta separatists. 

Five of the nine ex-Tory MLAs have formed a new, yet to be named party under the joint leadership of Milobar and Ian Paton.

In exactly three weeks, Findlay faces voters in a by-election. Whether she wins or loses, I suspect there will be more defections to this new opposition party. 

With a divided opposition, speculation has grown as to whether B.C. Premier David Eby will call a snap election only two years into his mandate. While this strategy might favor the NDP with a weakened opposition, calling an election for the sake of calling an election could also backfire and voters could give this unknown party a chance to govern even if it doesn't have a clear platform. An early election could be the final straw for voters with the NDP after nearly a decade in power.

At this point, it might be best for Eby not to interrupt the Conservatives while they make mistakes left, center and right.

Carney Dismisses Lutnick's Knowledge of Canadian Politics in Thunder Bay

(Leith Dunick, Thunder Bay Newswatch) 

On Thursday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney made a visit to my hometown of Thunder Bay, Ontario to announce $4.7 billion (roughly $3.4 billion in U.S. dollars) in funding for Alstom to build and maintain 300 plus rail cars for VIA Rail, Canada's national passenger rail system.

Following the press conference, Carney was asked about Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick's comments that Canada walked away from the deal for domestic political reasons. 

Indeed, Lutnick has made this claim on more than one occasion. Last month, Lutnick asserted that Carney's claim concerning the use of French language on labeling was intended to affect the ability of the Parti Quebecois to win provincial election in Quebec next month.

Then on Wednesday, Lutnick claimed that Canada started "adding crazy ideas to the mix" at the last minute and that he asked "one of the ministers" if he was trying to blow up the deal. Lutnick alleged that minister told him he wasn't permitted to say so. The only minister present at the negotiations at the time was Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc who has not commented on the matter.

For his part, Carney replied in part, "I don't think, with all respect, appointed, unelected cabinet members in the United States are experts on Canadian politics."

Indeed, I doubt that Lutnick could find Thunder Bay on a map much less name all 10 Canadian provinces and our three territories.

I also doubt that LeBlanc or anyone in the Canadian delegation made a non-denial denial to Lutnick about trying to blow up trade negotiations. Given Lutnick's dishonesty about his association with Jeffrey Epstein (not to mention his association with a pathological liar like Trump), I am not inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt.

While Trump, Lutnick and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent decry Canada, Carney is moving forward in helping to bring more manufacturing to my home and native land. 

My work colleagues are staggered to hear a world leader speak with an even tone in complete sentences (in two different languages) who actually tries to work for the betterment of the people he was elected to lead.

There's No Difference Between JD Vance & Abdul El-Sayed

Vice-President JD Vance and Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed believe the other is evil.

So far as I am concerned there is no difference between Vance and El-Sayed. They both aid and abet evil in equal measure.

Chief among those evils is anti-Semitism. 

Vance will no more disavow Tucker Carlson than El-Sayed will disavow Hasan Piker.

During a White House press briefing today, Vance said this about Carlson:

Tucker is a friend of mine. Tucker is a friend, despite the fact that we disagree on a number of things. And I’m not going to play the game where I throw friends under the bus because I have political disagreements with them.

I think that is a terrible place for the United States to go.

In just over a week, we will commemorate the 25th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. Carlson is on public record claiming Israelis had advanced knowledge of the attacks. 

That isn't disagreement, it's defamation. 

In scapegoating Israel, Carlson absolves al Qaeda of its responsibility and Vance's friendship aids and abets his defamation.

For his part, El-Sayed is taking a more Trumpian approach with regard to Piker pretending as if he doesn't know him but won't disavow him just the same:

We’re in the state of Michigan. If you want to make this race about a streamer in California, I just think you’re missing the boat. This is about affordability in Michigan. This is about being able to see a doctor in Michigan. This is about Donald Trump’s disastrous policies in Michigan. That’s what I’m focused on right now. I am not interested in a conversation about a social media person in California.

Well, El-Sayed chose to make his campaign about that streamer in California. And without him and his followers, El-Sayed isn't facing Mike Rogers in November.  

While El-Sayed isn't calling Piker his friend, he notably told Charlamagne tha God on Monday, “There’s this massive effort to cancel Hasan—my point is that I don’t do cancel culture."

El-Sayed's "I don't do cancel culture" is no different than Vance's "I'm not going to play the game where I throw friends under the bus because I have political disagreements with them."

Sadly, there is also one other area where this is no difference between Vance and El-Sayed. Jews in the Republican Party are prepared to make excuses for Vance while Jews in the Democratic Party are prepared to make excuses for El-Sayed which makes it more difficult to confront the cancer of anti-Semitism.

In truth, neither JD Vance nor Abdul El-Sayed deserve a moment's consideration from the Jewish community nor anyone else in this country. They are both equally unworthy men.

Will Angels Take Flight After Arte Moreno Sells Team to Stan Kroenke?

In a surprise move, Arte Moreno announced plans to sell the Los Angeles Angels to Stan Kroenke, the current owner of the NFL's Los Angeles Rams pending approval of MLB.

Moreno purchased the team from Disney in 2003, a year after the Angels won their only World Series title in franchise history. 

At first, this wasn't such a bad thing. The Angels would win the AL West five times between 2004 and 2009 reaching the ALCS twice. 

However, since 2009, the Angels have made one post-season appearance in 2014 when they were swept in the ALDS by the Kansas City Royals who went on to win the AL pennant. 

The Halos haven't had a winning season since 2015 and entered tonight with a record of 53-86, the worst in all of MLB. Should the Angels go 9-14 or worse the rest of the way then they will have lost 100 games for the first time in franchise history. The team lost 99 games in 2024 under former Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington who went to the World Series in back-to-back seasons in 2010 and 2011. It is remarkable when you consider that the Angels have had Mike Trout paired with both Albert Pujols and Shohei Ohtani in the middle of their lineup at various points. Long term contracts handed out to Pujols as well as Josh Hamilton and Anthony Rendon left the Angels in the dust.

Since Mike Scioscia departed the team after the 2018 season, the Angels have had six managers - Brad Ausmus, Joe Maddon, Phil Nevin, Ron Washington, Ray Montgomery and now Kurt Suzuki. And don't expect Suzuki to last beyond this season given that he signed a one-year contract to manage the club. 

There have also been dark shadows such as the death of pitcher Nick Adenhart and two of his friends at the hands of a drunk driver early in the 2009 season and then the death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs due to a drug overdose a decade later. In the Skaggs case, an Angels employee gave the pitcher the drug that would take his life. Skaggs' family brought suit against the club, and the case was finally settled out of court last year.

Then earlier this year, Moreno raised eyebrows when he declared that a winning ballclub was not a top five priority for Angels fans.

All things considered, the Angels really have nowhere to go but up. The question remains how quickly. Let's consider that in the space of two years, the Chicago White Sox went from having the most losses in a single season to being on the verge of winning the AL Central. 

I think it is more likely than not that the Angels will eventually take flight after Stan Kroenke takes over the team. Angels' fans should be happy. That is unless Kroenke decides that the Angels should take flight somewhere else.

Markey Trounces Moulton in Massachusetts Democratic Senate Primary

Massachusetts Democratic Senator Ed Markey easily fended off a Democratic primary challenge from soon to former Congressman Seth Moulton.

With 68% of the polls in, Markey has a lead of just under 30 points over Moulton despite being more than 30 years older than Moulton.

This is more than triple the margin by which Markey bested Joe Kennedy III exactly six years ago today.

While I prefer my Democrats to be moderate as opposed to progressive, I loathe candidates who believe they are entitled to my vote by virtue of their age by the vice of someone else's. The older I get the less patient I am with this line of reasoning. Critique a politician for their performance not for what year they were born.

I also found Moulton utterly insufferable when he went out of his way to say he would return AIPAC donations last year. When I hear that from a politician, I hear a politician telling me that Jews should not participate in the political process. With that being said, Markey has long been hostile towards Israel. So, I have no great affection for him either. 

Markey will face Republican John Deaton who is also critical of AIPAC's participation in the political process. Not that it matters much. There's no way Massachusetts is electing a Republican to the U.S. Senate no matter how anti-Trump he might be.

I am a stage in my life where I just don't have a high opinion about politicians whatever their party. 

As for whose side I am on, I am on my side. I prefer to keep my own counsel and will do for as long as I can.