Lee Lowenfish

I have a historical mind. So here's some consolation for Mets fans enduring a 11-game losing streak: Back in the 1951 season when I was a precocious naive 9-year old, the NY Giants lost 11 in a row in April and wound up winning the National League pennant on Bobby Thomson's dramatic playoff home run.  I'm not predicting a great rebound for this bunch of aging strangers playing out of position brought in to replace such still-serviceable fan favorites like Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo - and how can I not mention onetime Yankee relievers Luke Weaver and Devin Williams that owner Steve Cohen thought would stick it to his crosstown rivals! - but there are still around 140 games to play.

Of course, daily reminders about how awful you are on so-called "social" media doesn't help turn around a team. But if misery loves company, the Mets are not the only supposed contender stuck right now way under .500.  Houston endured a 7-game losing streak and are now 8 under .500. The Phillies and Red Sox are limping along at 5 under .500. And so is defending AL champion Toronto - considered somewhat of a contender, Kansas City is 8 under as they return home to meet the Orioles.

I sure wish that I didn't have to revive the nickname Woerioles, but my team though only 2 below .500 at 10-12 is giving no indication of improving in any area of its game - hitting, starting pitching, and defense. They are striking out at an alarming rate even in this day when strikeouts are almost encouraged by the analytic geniuses in every organization. Woeriole injuries started pre-season and haven't stopped. Baltimore lost over a half-million fans last season when it became clear that the magic sauce that defied analytic predictions in 2023 and 2024 had lost its potency. Gunnar Henderson, the Birds' most talented player, has stayed healthy but is hitting barely over .200 and his defense at shortstop is erratic: Makes great plays, botches easier ones. I still think he might be more suited for third base where he played a couple of games to acclaim in the World Baseball Classic. Even more disturbing, he still throws tantrums on the field when things don't go his way. 

This past Sat night Apr 18 in Cleveland, a pitcher's duel was lost in Cleveland when with the pitch clock winding down, Dean Kremer couldn't communicate on his pitch.com device with rookie catcher Samuel Basallo. Instead of calling for time, Kremer threw the pitch anyway and Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio belted a 3-run homer that turned a 1-0 lead into a 3-1 hole and ultimate 4-2 loss. Memo to majority owner David Rubenstein and President of Baseball Operations Mike Elias who has not even named a GM beneath him because he evidently possesses supernatural powers: Those half a million lost Baltimore fans are not gonna flock back despite the bells and whistles brought in by Katie Griggs, former business manager of the Mariners who remain BTW the only franchise in MLB never to have been to a World Series (although they came close to World Series last season and their attendance is healthy. It should be noted that Seattle doesn't face competition from a nearby franchise in Washington DC as the Orioles do. And although Portland, Oregon, three hours away has one of the better and money-rich proposals for an expansion team, Seattle has quietly opposed that entry.)

Enough of today's rant. (Tomorrow is another day LOL.) Here are some surprisingly good stories in the early going.  The NL Central has seen the resurgence of three recent non-contenders, Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Pittsburgh. They are currently enough games over .500 that a series sweep won't sink them. I am happy for these historic franchises and their fans that have not tasted glory for a long time, especially the Pirates.  I don't know how long Paul Skenes - pronounced Beans - can stay a Pirate given the huge price tag for reliable starters, but every contender must have an ace and it seems that the rest of the rotation is improving too.  Cincinnati has been winning some remarkable games with late rallies.  Yesterday Sun Apr 19, manager Terry "Tito" Francona started a lineup at Minnesota of 6 players hitting WELL under .200. They still rallied to take a late lead that wasn't held but the Reds won it in the 10th helped by two Twins errors.  Kudos to Hall of Fame sportswriter Hal McCoy for his lively game story yesterday.  (Fighting blindness earlier this century, McCoy thought about retiring but Reds infielder Aaron Boone - yes that Aaron Boone! - encouraged him to fight on which he has done nobly.)

There have been some other heartwarming individual stories that warm the heartstrings of this snarky realistic-romantic.

**First baseman Dom Smith, once a backup on the Mets to his friend Pete Alonso, has found a home in Atlanta. He has hit some big home runs for his new team and befriended the family of fans who caught one of his round-trippers.

**Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who may be moving on after the team was eliminated in the play-in round of NBA playoffs, sent a handwritten letter to Toronto manager John Schneider after the Blue Jays lost that winnable extra-inning Game 7 to the Dodgers lin the thrilling 2025 World Series. Kerr praised Schneider for how he kept his team together during that series when they were down 2-0 at the start.  He offered Schneider solace by noting that after his Warriors lost a 7-game NBA final to LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers, they rebounded to win the next two titles.

A reminder:  I'll be appearing on a panel this Friday night Apr 24 after a 6P showing of "42" the 2013 movie starring Harrison Ford as Branch Rickey and

the late Chadwick Boseman as "42," Jack Roosevelt Robinson.  Event will be held at the Ferguson Public Library in downtown Stamford, CT. Admission is free.

That's all for now.  Always remember:  Take it easy but take it, and Stay Positive, Test Negative!   

I saw my first minor league game of the season this past Wednesday July 21, 2021 - the visiting Altoona Curve, affiliated with the Pittsburgh Pirates, against the Somerset Patriots, the new Double-A Yankee franchise.  

 
The lovely ballpark, currently called TD Ameritrade Park, is walking distance from the Bridgewater Township stop of the NJTransit Raritan Valley line. The independent league team of the same name started playing at the stadium late last century. 

Brian Hanlon's impressive sculpture of the late former owner Steven B. Kalafer and former Yankee reliever Sparky Lyle offers a fine meeting place near the main gate.  Lyle was the first Somerset manager and is still a regular presence at the games. 

 
The top four in the Altoona lineup had a productive night, starting with Korean leadoff batter Ji-Hiwan Bae, second-place hitter Canaan Smith-Njigba, shortstop Rodolfo Castro (back in Double-A after filling in well with the parent Pirates), and cleanup hitter Mason Martin all contributed to a 9-6 Altoona win. 

Martin blasted his league-leading 18th homer in the first inning.  But the Patriots quickly answered with a Brandon Lockridge two-run homer. The teams swapped runs in the second inning before the Curve took charge with a 6-run fifth inning on the way to their win.

Both Altoona and Somerset are in the top echelon of what used to be called the Eastern League but now is called Double-A Northeast, another annoying example of the soulless rein of commissioner Rob Manfred.

Starting just a few days ago, Double-A has become the first minor league classification to ban the defensive shift.  It's far too early to judge how the experiment will work, but it was aesthetically pleasing to see two players on each side of second base before the ball was thrown. 

 
On the following night, Thursday July 22, it was time for this couch potato to treat himself to baseball on the tube.  I was rewarded with three wonderful examples of comeback baseball. 

 
First it was the Red Sox rallying with two out in the bottom of the 9th in the first game of a four-game series with the Yankees. The ever-clutch former Dodger Kike Hernandez delivered the big blow, a two-run double. 

 
After the Yankees scored the "ghost runner" on a sacrifice fly in top of 10th, four wild pitches from emergency closer Brooks Kriske in bottom of 10th led quickly to a tie game. A sacrifice fly by former Tampa Ray right fielder Hunter Renfroe won it for the Fenway faithful.  

The second drama unfolded in Cleveland earlier in the evening. Tampa Bay tied the game with 2 runs in the top of 9th and then won it in the 10th on a hit by another Mr. Clutch, the former Pirate Austin Meadows.  

It is no accident that Boston and Tampa are neck-in-neck for the AL East lead.  They lead all of baseball in come-from-behind wins. 

Austin Meadows is becoming a particularly feared hitter.  In Tampa's home day game on Wednesday July 21, Meadows delivered a two-run two-strike single to walk off the Woerioles who came ever so close to winning a series against Tampa Bay for the first time since last decade.

 
If the game had mattered in the standings - the Orioles are bound to the basement for this season and I fear the foreseeable future - it would have been a particularly excruciating loss. 

 
Holding a precarious one-run lead with men on first and second and one out, rookie first baseman Ryan Mountcastle raced away from the plate down the first base line tracking a popup that lingered underneath the blurry ceiling at indoor Tropicana Park.  

 
He didn't realize until too late that second baseman Pat Valaika was chasing the same ball.  They collided and the ball fell for a single to load the bases with one out. You can't give a good team like Tampa an extra out.

 
Going for his first career save, Oriole gifted but erratic southpaw Tanner Scott struck out the next batter but gave up the winning two-run single to Meadows on an 0-2 pitch.  

Repeat after me:  CLOSE ONLY COUNTS IN HORSESHOES AND GRENADES.

 
The third comeback win, one that lasted into the wee hours of July 23, was the most dramatic of all.  For the second night in a row, the Giants prevented Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen from securing a save. 

 
Admittedly a blown call on a checked swing by first base umpire Ed Hickox played a big role. Giants substitute first baseman Darin Ruf, back from Korea after undistinguished years with Phillies, was the lucky beneficiary. The call tied the game - if Hickox had correctly called a swing, the Dodgers would have won.  

 
Dodger manager Dave Roberts was incensed and raced out of the dugout yelling at Hickox who promptly threw him out of the game. It was the second straight game the usually mild-mannered if not downright phlegmatic Roberts was thrown out. One hard and fast rule in baseball is that managers cannot dispute ball-and-strike calls. 

Before Roberts left the premises, he allowed the struggling Jansen to stay in the game. I guess he felt the very inexperienced well-traveled-in-short-career Phil Bickford was not a good alternative.  And he had already used Blake Treinen in the 8th inning.  

LaMonte Wade Jr, a productive Giants rookie, promptly blasted a two-run single to right, just in front of the newest Dodger, Billy McKinney, the journeyman originally signed by Yankees who shone earlier in the year for the Mets. 

 
McKinney kept the game alive with a two-out double in bottom of 9th. But former Rays closer Jake McGee, without any help from Me or Bobby McGee or the ghost of Janis Joplin, got a strikeout of former Oakland Athletic Sheldon Neuse (pronounced Noisy) to end the game.

 
In another example of how many so-called "little things" very often determine a game's outcome, it was Neuse playing second base who didn't stretch far enough to catch a throw from shortstop Chris Taylor on a grounder from former Yankee Thairo Estrada that enabled another Giants newcomer Jason Vosler hustling from first base to beat the throw. 

 
Cheers to Vosler from West Nyack, NY and Northeastern U in Boston who made his debut early this season and is part of the depth to replace the injured Evan Longoria at third base. He grinded out a walk against Jansen that set up in the dramatic denouement. 

I am waiting - not breathlessly I admit - for the moment when managers allow a pitcher who has excelled with ease in the 8th to be allowed to start the 9th. I know the ninth is different mentally, but it is still baseball.  

Like Roberts going from Treinen to Jansen, Yankee manager Aaron Boore lifted Luis Cessa who retired the Bosox on five pitches in bottom of 8th and turned to Chad Green in the 9th and it didn't work out.  

The Giants now lead the Dodgers by 3 games, 4 in the loss column, with another 3 coming up in San Francisco at end of month. The Padres are 7 games back.  At this juncture, it's hard to envision anyone catching these three for playoff spots, the NL West title plus the two wild card positions.  

 
But remember that the only word you need to understand baseball, as stated beautifully by the late pitcher Joaquin Andujar, is:  YOUNEVERKNOW, YOUNEVERKNOW! 

Interesting series coming up weekend of July 23-25 between AL Central-NL Central leaders who have comfortable leads, Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago White Sox. Meanwhile in tight NL East, Braves visit Mets for Monday July 26 doubleheader and three more games. Braves still can't clear .500 despite having a 15-run better run-differential than Mets, meaning they have outscored their opponents better than the Mets have done.  

Red Sox-Rays are neck-in-neck in AL East with Yankees hanging on perilously to hope prior to July 30 trading deadline. Toronto is returning at end of July to its home field for first time since 2019 - it might provide a boost if they get the pitching.  

Houston has solid lead on Athletics in AL West but with Mike Trout coming back soon and Ohtani always a presence, Angels not totally out of it either. Nor Mariners. 

 
NOTABLE PASSINGS: 

Condolences to the friends and family of Sparky Lyle's fellow Yankee reliever Dick Tidrow who passed away last week at the age of 74.  Originally signed by Cleveland (the Indians, starting 2022 the Guardians), Tidrow won World Series rings with the 1977 and 1978 Yankees. 

He was a great mentor to Ron Guidry. Later as a longtime member of the SF Giant front office, Tidrow's pitching evaluations were a key asset to the World Series champs of 2010-2012-2014.  

As far as the newly-named Guardians, it could have been worse, it could have been better.  There are ornate statues of Guardians on a bridge leading into the city that makes the choice somewhat understandable.

 
Before I close, the world of opera has suffered a series of losses, announced in just the last few days. 

Lighting designer Gil Wechsler, 79, of Alzheimers. He went from Brooklyn's Midwood HS to great fame in his chosen field, nicknamed "the prince of darkness" for his memorable sets at the Met (NY Times obit 7-23).

And director Graham Vick, 67, of covid (NY Times obit 7-19).  Vick was director of England's Birmingham Opera and a passionate believer that opera should be accessible to everyone not just the wealthy, entitled upper classes.    

 
That's all for now - always remember:  Take it easy but take it.  And, just as important:  

STAY POSITIVE, TEST NEGATIVE!