Lee Lowenfish

This Oriole fan is not emotionally involved in 2025 post-season baseball. But I must say that the gripping 15-inning elimination game last Friday night (Oct 10) that eliminated the Tigers and propelled the Mariners to the ALCS caused me to post on Facebook: "It is sad that either team has to lose." Both teams, especially Seattle, had many chances to win in the first extra innings but failure to execute sacrifice bunts cost the Mariners two innings in a row.  Finally, former Minnesota Twin Jorge Polanco came through with the deciding single against well-traveled Tommy Kahnle.   It was a tough loss for the Tigers but they certainly bounced back from their astounding collapse in the last three months of the regular season.  (The Mets' decline started in mid-June and cost them a playoff spot entirely.)

 

From being booed in Seattle when not healthy in 2024, Jorge Polanco is now a household name. I recently learned that he hails from San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic, the so-called cradle of shortstops going back almost 50 years when Toronto's standout the late Tony Fernandez emerged along with many others.  Polanco, 32, has now found a home at second base where his idol, countryman Robinson Cano, also made his mark.  Sadly, like Cano, Polanco a few years ago served a suspension for performance-enhancing drugs but nowhere near as long as Cano's whose career in MLB is long gone.   

 

Polanco continued to get big hits in the first two games of the ALCS at Toronto. But it looks like the old canard "Anything can happen in a short series" has come to fruition again as Toronto awakened in Game 3 at Seattle in a 13-4 rout silencing a Mariner crowd eager to root on their heroes to a World Series for the first time in its history - talk about a sentimental favorite, the Mariners are the only one of 30 MLB teams never to play in the World Series. 

 

I like both Toronto and Seattle as cities and as franchises that entered the AL as expansion teams in 1977.  Toronto became a contender quickly and within a decade were frequent playoff participants under manager Bobby Cox and general manager Pat Gillick.  By 1993 they won it all on Joe Carter's walk-off home run off Phillies closer Mitch Williams. The late Toronto broadcaster Tom Cheek delivered a memorable closing call: "Touch 'em all, Joe, you'll never hit a bigger home run in your life." 

 

Seattle has also enjoyed a memorable broadcaster in its history, the late Tom Niehaus whose "swung on and belted!" prepared listening audiences for good news. I''l never forget being allowed at a friend's wedding to relay news of the final game of the Mariners' division series against the Yankees in 1995.  Edgar Martinez's game-winning double drove in a flying Ken Griffey Jr. for a victory that in reality helped save the franchise because afterwards voters approved funding for a new stadium to replace the dreary indoor Kingdome. But the 1995 Mariners couldn't beat Cleveland in the 1995 ALCS.

 

In 2001, they won 116 games with two future Hall of Famers Ichiro (Suzuki) and DH Edgar Martinez. But they couldn't get past the Yankees in the ALCS. Now, 24 years later, they may have the good mix of pitching and defense and offense but I'm glad the Blue Jays, the team with the best regular season record in the AL, didn't roll over in Oct 15's Game 3. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. awakened to go 4 for 4 as the Mariners absorbed a 13-4 loss.  Toronto manager John Schneider managed Guerrero in the minors and he obviously sensed that Vladdy didn't want to be remembered in 2025 mainly for his leading the team to its victory over the Yankees in the ALDS.  Afterwards, along with some of his teammates, Vladdy led a raucous singing of their version of Yankee announcer John Sterling's loud end-of-game call, "The Yankees winnnnn!" - they turned it into "The Blue Jays winnnnnnn!"   Kinda interesting that Guerrero and company didn't know that John Sterling retired a year ago, but after being dissed by still-active Yankee announcer Michael Kay as not being a real first-place team, these Blue Jays can be forgiven their exuberance.   

 

Milwaukee now faces the same pressure as Toronto, having to win two games in Los Angeles to bring the series back to Wisconsin.  Many times in this blog I have called the Dodgers the Evil Empire West for its huge payroll and advantage in market size including seemingly endless ability to sign the best Japanese players.  But i have to give credit to Dodger front office's evaluation of the lesser lights, the grinders like Kike (Enrique) Hernandez who has been a huge part of their rallies and playing capably all over the diamond.  Ditto Tommy Edman, one of the many Cardinals that outgoing St. Louis "president of baseball operations" John Mozeliak let get away.   It's also hard to root against Mookie Betts who, defying many critics, is playing a great shortstop and is a crucial part of the lineup because no opponent really wants to pitch to Shohei Ohtani batting leadoff in front of Betts.  

 

All I want is for Milwaukee to make a series out of the NLCS because they have a lot of grinders too and budding stars in their leadoff man 21-year-old outfielder Jackson Chourio and a gritty star catcher in William Contreras.  The Brewers did win the most games of any MLB team so would have home field advantage in the World Series.  Their route to the Series seems obviously threatened now, but here's to a comeback for them and a continued comeback for Toronto.  Then more elimination games to keep winter away!  

 

In closing, here are a couple of TCM tips, not from baseball but from the rich fountain of other vibrant aspects of American culture: 

Th Oct 16 530P "Harry Warren America's Foremost Composer" (1933) a 15-minute short about the man who wrote "I Only Have Eyes for You," "Jeepers Creepers" (Where Did You Get Those Peepers"), "I've Got A Gal in Kalamazoo" and many other memorable tunes

F Oct 17 12N "The Big Lift" (1950) one of many Montgomery Clift films on TCM this day, with Paul Douglas as flyers in the aftermath of WW II

Sa Oct 18 430P "The World, The Flesh, & The Devil" (1959) I've mentioned this film before on this blog.  Harry Belafonte produced and stars in a film about a nuclear explosion

wipes out all of the US except seemingly Belafonte a steel worker in Penna. who was underground in a mine when the bomb went off.  He drives to an empty NYC and meets Mel Ferrer and then Inger Stevens and you can guess what happens next - a rivalry between two men and a woman.

Sa Oct 19 at midnight/repeated 10A Sun Oct 20. Noir Alley presents "Black Tuesday" (1954) Edward G. Robinson and Peter Graves break out of prison and plan a heist

 

That's all for now.  I repeat as always:  Take it easy but take it, and Stay Positive, Test Negative!

  

 

I've long believed that you cannot really analyze a baseball season until the Memorial Day weekend quarter-pole.  And obviously you cannot win a pennant in early spring, but you can sure dig a deep hole. 

 

As an Orioles fan for over a half-century, I have been thrilled by their early surge to more than ten games over .500.  Losing a series this weekend to the World Series-contending Braves in Atlanta was

disappointing, but they sure held their own in top-flight competition. 

 

I'm beginning to believe that if this young and spunky crew stays healthy, they could stay in the race all season.  Certainly into the summer when in a program note I'll be speaking about my new book 

BASEBALL'S ENDANGERED SPECIES on Tues afternoon July 18 at the Babe Ruth Museum.  A short walk from Camden Yards where that night the Orioles will host the LA Dodgers. 

 

If the Orioles keep on keepin' on, I will happily abandon my agonized Woeriole commentaries of past years and be glad to exclaim, "Wowrioles!"   

 

This past Saturday afternoon, I journeyed to the Brooklyn Cyclones' Maimonides Park to see the High-A Orioles Aberdeen Ironbirds win 7-2. They took charge in the first inning, scoring two runs without a hit against the Mets farm club. 

 

One of the big attractions for me was seeing Jackson Holliday, the 19-year-old shortstop and number one pick in last year's MLB amateur free agent draft.  I had seen Jackson, the son of All-Star outfielder Matt Holliday, show off his wares in late innings of a couple of Florida spring training games in March.   

 

On Saturday, he struck out his first two times but later contributed a sizzling opposite field double driving in a run through a drawn-in infield.  He also got another RBI on an infield hit.

 

He didn't have many difficult chances in the field but he handled a few easily.  I couldn't get a sense from one game how he was interacting with his teammates.  I do feel lucky I saw him on Saturday because he didn't play on Sunday in a 3-0 loss to the Cyclones that finished in two hours flat. 

 

I am pleased that games on all levels of pro baseball are shorter this year. However, I was not pleased that during the Aberdeen Saturday victory, they struck out 17 times! 

 

I had seen some of the same players at Low-A Delmarva in Salisbury, Maryland last summer. 

They showed a lack of knowledge of situational hitting last year, and, alas, they were no better on Saturday. 

 

On the positive side, I have my eye on Luis Valdez who played second base last year but now patrols right field and covers a lot of ground.  He may be hitting under .200, but it sure looks like his speed is a major tool, and repeat after me - "Speed never slumps." 

 

Hitting and hitting with power usually come last in normal player development, but a glaring example of how the bugaboos of "launch angle and exit velocity" have infected the game came late last month when the St. Louis Cardinals' ballyhooed rookie outfielder, Jordan Walker, just 21, was farmed out after a great start in early April.  His ailment?  Hitting the ball on the ground and not boosting his launch angle and exit velocity.  

 

Despite a significant payroll and playoff aspiritations, St. Louis has the worst record in the National League, 13 games under .500  They are evidently missing retired catcher Yadier Molina so much that they have at least temporarily removed free agent catcher Wilson Contreras from behind the plate.

 

They have sent him to outfield/DH purgatory. If there is a hot seat in baseball, it should be occupied by

"president of baseball operations" John Mozeliak.  His trades have not been successful.

 

He did get lefty Jordan Montgomery from the Yankees for Harrison Bader but he gifted Randy Arozarena to Tampa Bay for lefty Matthew Liberatore who has yet to contribute significantly in St. Louis.  He also fired manager Mike Schildt late in what was a very competitive 2021 season.

 

Meanwhile, neither the Yankees or the Mets have enjoyed good times recently, each hovering around .500.  The Yankees should get a big boost when Aaron Judge returns to the lineup this week from his stint on the injured list.

 

Judge hurt his hip sliding head first into third base, another sign that baseball fundamentals are being ignored by too many teams.  Judge's formidable partner in the Yankee lineup, Giancarlo Stanton, is likely out until the summer with a hamstring injury. This happened when he accelerated too quickly between first and second on a ball he was admiring because he thought it would be a home run. 

 

Whether the Mets can emerge as a contender is a good question.  They are not a young team and have invested enormously in future Hall of Fame pitchers Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander who are both pushing forty.

 

Because of injuries and Scherzer's 10-day suspension for using too much rosin on his throwing hand,  neither has been able yet to stabilize the rotation. I wonder if the rest of the lineup can ever become enough of an offensive force to make up for inconsistent pitching. 

 

Baseball's hottest team, the Tampa Bay Rays, spends a rare week in NYC starting on Thursday May 11, the first of four games at Yankee Stadium.  They just won two out of three closely contested games against the Yankees in Tampa. 

 

Their record of 28-7 is the best in MLB since the Tigers went 35-5 in their wire-to-wire 1984 World Series

winning season. (The numbers 28-7 remind me of one of my heroes, Robin Roberts' astonishing won-loss record in 1952 for a bad Phillies team.)  After finishing up in the Bronx, the Rays make a rare appearance in Queens for night games on TuW May 16-17 and a day game on Th May 18. 

 

On the college baseball front, my Columbia Lions need a lot of help from Yale if they want to host the first four-game Ivy League post-season tournament from May 19-22.  Penn and Harvard are tied for first with 13-5 records and Princeton just finished its season with a 13-8 mark and have made the tourney.

 

Columbia has fallen to 11-7 and needs one win against Penn this weekend or a Yale (9-9) loss at Harvard to get the fourth spot in a year the Lions were picked to finish first. 

 

Recent season-ending injuries to sophomore center fielder Skye Selinsky and junior third baseman Seth Dardar have hurt the team's record-setting offense and the pitching and defense have not been the team's strong suit in 2023. But the Lions have been consistent May winners in recent years so don't count them out yet. 

 

In other local college baseball news, Rutgers is closing the Big Ten season on a roll and has a chance

to make a push towards the College World Series.  The Big Ten tournament will be held this year from May 23-28 on the same field in Omaha where CWS will be played from Th June 16 thru M June 26, 

 

There is one more chance to see the Scarlet Knights at home.  It's this weekend against Illinois - Fri and Sat May 12-13 at 6p at Bainton Field in Piscataway and Su May 14 at noon in Lakewood NJ at ShoreTown Park, the home of the Jersey Shore High-A Phillies farm club. 

 

St. Johns and Seton Hall have not enjoyed outstanding years in the Big East, but they have often come big in May so keep your eyes open on their fortunes.   I'm not a big fan of aluminum bats but the competition is intense at this time of year and well worth watching. BTW if you must see wood bats,

the PSAL high school tourney starts shortly and more on that in the next blog. 

 

I close my first post in May in remembrance of Dick Groat, who passed away on April 27 at the age of 92 in his home town of Pittsburgh. In the latter stages of writing my Branch Rickey biography, I spent a very memorable afternoon at the golf course Groat built with Pirates teammate Jerry Lynch on the grounds of a former apple orchard near Ligonier, Pennsylvania, 60 miles east of Pittsburgh. 

 

He had warm memories of life lessons he had learned from the canny and philosophical Rickey. The 

Mahatma, or the ferocious gentleman as I dubbed him, talked Groat out of his pro basketball career, but he remembered the fun he had playing the sport where he became an All-American at Duke.

 

"Basketball was fun," he told me. By cotntrast, "Baseball does things to your coconut."  After a turnover in basketball, you can immediately make up for it with a steal or a good shot moments later.  In 

baseball you have to wait eight batters to get another chance on offense and you better not brood about it.

 

I thought about Groat's insight when I learned of the death from cancer of southpaw Vida Blue, 73, on May 6.  Blue rocketed to fame with Charley Finley's Oakland A's, but he let a contract dispute with the owner sap his love of the game.  

 

His full name was Vida Blue Jr. and he refused Finley's entreaties to legally change his name to Vida True Blue.  Vida never knew his father, Vida Blue Sr., but he was very proud of him and the family lineage in the northern Louisiana town of Mansfield. 

 

Blue's career record of 209-161 with a 3.27 ERA was certainly worthy of Hall of Fame consideration but his problems with cocaine that led to a prison sentence in the early 1980s did not help his candidacy. RIP both Vida Blue and Dick Groat.

 

Next time some more thoughts on baseball as we near the Memorial Day quarter-pole.  Also I'll provide some detail on one of the great cultural improvements in NYC, the renovated Geffen Hall in Lincoln Center. 

 

Since it is so hard to say goodbye, one last note:  I am glad to report that after a couple of months hiatus, Noir Alley with Eddie Muller has returned on TCM to its regular Sat midnight/repeated on Sunday 10am time slot. His new list all come from the heyday of Noir in the 1940s and 1950s. More details at tcm.com  

 

For now, always remember:  Take it easy but take it, and stay positive, test negative.