Nate Colbert, R.I.P.

Former MLB player Nate Colbert, who was an original member of the San Diego Padres, passed away on Thursday. No cause of death has been released. Colbert was 76.

A native of St. Louis, Colbert was signed by the Cardinals prior to the 1964 season. By the following year, the Cardinals had sent him to the Houston Astros where he played briefly in both 1966 and 1968. 

But his fortunes turned for the better when the Padres selected him in the expansion draft prior to the 1969 season. Colbert immediately became the Padres best player on a very bad ball club. He was selected to three consecutive NL All-Star Teams between 1971-1973. Colbert's best season came in 1972 when he hit .250 with 38 HR and 111 RBI. 

The highlight of that '72 season (and indeed his entire career) when on August 1st, Colbert hit 5 HR and drove in 13 runs in a doubleheader against the Atlanta Braves. Those 5 HR matched that of Stan Musial who had done it with the Cardinals in 1954. Remarkably, Colbert was in the stands that day rooting on his favorite player. 

Back problems would hamper Colbert's career. Prior to the 1975 season, Colbert was traded to the Detroit Tigers. This would be followed by brief stints with the Montreal Expos and Oakland A's. It appeared that Colbert would hook on with yet another expansion franchise when he went to spring training with the Toronto Blue Jays. But his back problems forced his retirement. In 1,004 games over 10 seasons, Colbert collected 833 hits for a lifetime batting average of .243 with 173 HR and 520 RBIs. 

Of those 173 HR, 163 of them came with San Diego. To this day those 163 HR are more than any other player who has worn a San Diego uniform. Adrian Gonzalez came very close to eclipsing this record with 161 HR. However, Gonzalez was traded to the Boston Red Sox prior to the 2011 season. Manny Machado has 108 HR but is expected to opt out of his contract at the end of this season. Fernando Tatis, Jr. is about halfway home with 81 HR, but it remains to be seen how much longer he'll be staying in San Diego despite being currently signed with the club through 2036. 

As it stands, Colbert's HR record with the Padres has stood for nearly 50 years and remains among the best players to ever wear a San Diego uniform. R.I.P.

Republicans Come To Near Brawl on 2nd Anniversary of January 6th as McCarthy Elected Speaker on 15th Ballot

Two years ago today, insurrectionists breached the floor of Congress in an effort to overturn the will of the people.

Two years later to the very day insurrectionists breached the floor of Congress, Republicans nearly came to blows on the floor of Congress after Kevin McCarthy failed to be elected Speaker for the 14th time.

McCarthy confronted Florida Republican holdout Matt Gaetz and there was a heated exchange before McCarthy walked away. As he walked away, Gaetz said something which prompted McCarthy to storm back for more words. In the midst of all this, Alabama Republican Mike Rogers got an elbow to the face when he appeared to lunge towards Gaetz.

Order was eventually restored. A motion was put forward to adjourn the House until Monday, but Republicans did an about face the defeated the motion which seemed to indicate that McCarthy finally had the support he needed with Republicans chanting, "One more time!!!" as if they were at a WWE or AEW event. With six Republicans abstaining with none opposing his candidacy, McCarthy finally got the majority of votes he needed to achieve his lifelong dream of becoming Speaker.

Given that it now takes only a single Republican to challenge McCarthy's leadership his tenure will probably be short-lived. The chaos has only just begun. I shudder to think what could happen if a Republican Congress refuses to lift the debt ceiling and default on the national debt while they are busy trying to impeach President Biden and crucify Hunter Biden, Dr. Fauci and the members of the January 6th Committee. As I said earlier this week, the only good which can come out of it is that voters are so repulsed by Republicans that they see fit to give the House back to Democrats in 2024. But the amount of harm inflicted in the interim will be staggering. 

But Democrats do have Hakeem Jeffries. In his opening remarks, he threw some shade at McCarthy by emphasizing the unity and unanimity of his caucus and valuing the peaceful transfer of power, maturity over Mar-a-Lago, quality over Q-Anon. Republicans won't like it but they seem to like each other even less and that which may be our saving grace.

I'll give McCarthy his small due. He was gracious to Jeffries although he added that he had earned unanimous support by the GOP two years ago. It was also good of him to thank House Clerk Cheryl Johnson for the thankless of presiding over 15 votes. 

Still, when McCarthy spoke about having a country where law enforcement is respected there are lot of officers in D.C. who did not get much respect two years ago today. Nor could Republicans (save for one) be bothered to show up for the officers who were honored today by President Biden for their bravery. Respect for law enforcement doesn't apply to the FBI who he asserts has been "weaponized."

It's also hard to take McCarthy seriously when he says there will be "no one sided inquiries". Obviously, this is a veiled reference to the January 6th Committee. Of course, it was McCarthy (through the cajoling of defeated, former President Trump) who opposed the establishment of a bipartisan commission to investigate January 6th which would have given Republicans equal power to summon witnesses. 

As previously mentioned, we can look forward to a litany of one-sided inquiries concerning January 6th, Dr. Fauci, Hunter Biden not to mention impeachment proceedings against President Biden over policy differences. All of McCarthy's allusions to Abraham Lincoln can't change that particularly when a critical mass of his own party supported those domestic terrorists who stormed the House of Representatives two years ago today.

11 Ballots & No Speaker, It Took 44 Ballots To Elect a Speaker in 1860 & Then Along Came The Civil War

The House has voted 11 times over the past three days and has yet to elect a Speaker.

This isn't quite uncharted territory. Before the Civil War it was not unusual to take dozens of ballots before a Speaker was finally chosen. It took 44 ballots to elect a Speaker in 1860 (and then along came The Civil War). Not a good omen, Five years earlier, it took 133 ballots with the question of slavery bitterly dividing the country. 

But while our divisions are nothing new, not being able to choose a Speaker is unfamiliar terrain for us in the present. And unlike the present, the previously aforementioned Speaker battles those were a century before television. Americans living 150 years did not get to see this happening in real time. 

The fact that we are seeing this sorry spectacle as it happens only serves to further undermine our faith in the democratic process and I suspect those who seek to deny McCarthy the Speaker's chair are seeking.

After all, tomorrow it will have been two years since the attack on the U.S. Capitol. In two years, Republicans in Congress have gone from refusing to certify the election of a Democratic President to refusing to choose a Republican for Speaker. 

Not that I sympathize with McCarthy. He wouldn't certify Biden's election and following a brief flicker of conscience saw fit to curry favor at Mar-a-Lago. 

Nevertheless, the entertainment value of this spectacle is going to be short-lived because it is only a matter of time before Congress needs to agree to fund the federal government and lift the debt ceiling. If this doesn't get resolved, then people are going to get hurt and the harm will be greatest to the most vulnerable. 

Biggest Winner & Biggest Loser So Far in McCarthy Speaker Debacle (Aside From McCarthy)

The House of Representatives has attempted to elect a Speaker of the House six times and six times over the past two days Republican Kevin McCarthy has failed to get the necessary 218 votes.

On each of these six votes, McCarthy has received fewer votes than House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. This makes him the biggest winner in this whole debacle thus far. Even if he doesn't get elected Speaker that doesn't matter because that is not the expected outcome. But with each passing ballot while Republicans are in open warfare, Democrats have demonstrated solidarity and unity. There might be disagreements behind the scenes but that is where they have been kept. Jeffries has shown himself to be calm and in control and has thus increased his standing. Whoever Republican elect as Speaker there will be chaos. Come 2024, I suspect a lot of voters will prefer to see the gavel being held by Hakeem Jeffries.

The biggest loser of this sordid affair aside from McCarthy himself is Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene. She has expended a great deal of political capital on backing McCarthy and has gone after one-time allies like Lauren Boebert, Matt Gaetz and Andy Biggs alienating part of the MAGA base in the process. Greene is tied to McCarthy's hip and McCarthy is dragging her down with him. Even if McCarthy does prevail, he is on borrowed time and Greene stands to lose influence and prestige because of it.

How much longer will it take to elect a Speaker? The longer this goes on the more winners and losers we will see.

So Rafael Devers Will Be Staying in Boston For Many Years to Come After All

When Rafael Devers avoided arbitration with the Boston Red Sox and agreed to a 1-year deal worth $17.5 million, I thought 2023 would Devers last season in Fenway Park.

Well, famous last words.

Devers and the Red Sox have reportedly agreed to a contract extension of $331 million over 11 seasons beginning in 2024 which would put him under contract in Boston through the 2034 season. 

Wow!!! Two agreements in two days.

Perhaps Red Sox majority owner John Henry getting booed at the Fenway Winter Classic on Monday lit a fire under him and made him determined to keep Devers in the Fenway fold. 

For whatever the reason the deal got done, it is the best news Boston Red Sox fans have heard in a long, long time.

Massachusetts Democratic State Legislator Calls Israel "An Apartheid Run Thuggery Terrorist Regime" Committing "Genocide"

Massachusetts State Representative Jamie Zahlaway Belsito, a Democrat from the 4th Essex District which covers North Shore communities like Topsfield, Ipswich and Manchester-by-the-Sea, made comments far removed from her constituency.

Belsito took to Twitter on Friday to describe Israel as "an apartheid run thuggery terrorist regime on a mission to kill Palestinians." While Belsito denied being anti-Semitic, she then quickly accused Israel of committing "genocide" which is, of course, false and therefore an anti-Semitic statement. 

The question now is if the Massachusetts Democratic Party will condemn her hateful and inflammatory statements.

I have my doubts. But we shall see.

I Doubt Devers Will Be in a Red Sox Uniform Beyond 2023

Today, Boston Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers and his team avoided arbitration when he agreed to a one-year, $17.5 million contract. 

Of course, the Red Sox managed to avoid arbitration with Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts and they are both now in Southern California.  If the Red Sox weren't serious about making a long-term commitment to Betts or Bogaerts it's hard to see them being prepared to shell out $300 million to the Dominican born Devers.

Should the Red Sox be headed for another last place finish in the AL East by the All-Star Break then Chaim Bloom will trade him for prospects. If Miguel Vargas can't fill Justin Turner's shoes in Chavez Ravine then I could see Devers reuniting with Betts in Dodger Blue.

Now let's say there's a better scenario for Boston in 2023. Suppose they win their first World Series in five years. I still think Devers is playing somewhere else in 2024. The San Francisco Giants lost out on their chance on Aaron Judge and then let Carlos Correa slip away. I could see them loading a Brinks truck for Devers. I cannot see the Red Sox doing the same. 

The shame of it is that Devers is only 26 and has not yet reached his prime. Last season, Devers hit .295 with 27 HR and 88 RBI in 141 games played. In six seasons with the Red Sox, Devers has collected 762 hits for a lifetime batting average of .283 with 139 HR and 455 RBI.