Lee Lowenfish

"Every season is different" goes the old sports adage that like most cliches survive because there is a lot of truth to them.  Getting the most annoying story out of my system early on, I didn't expect more than a .500 season from the Orioles and now that modest hope is fading. You have read many times on this blog that I never believed in the baseball acumen of "President of Baseball Operations" Mike Elias but as long as relatively new owner David Rubenstein believes that Elias, who has 8 years in a top role, is such a genius that he doesn't even need a general manager beneath him who just might just know a little more about analyzing pitching talent, the future seems bleak. 

 

For the next three nights (M thru W May 11-13) the Orioles do have a chance to avenge the embarrassing four-game sweep at Yankee Stadium earlier this month.  Perhaps it is a blessing that because the MLB schedule now limits head-to-head divisional matchups to only 13 a season, the Birds don't return to the Bronx until the last weekend of regular season.  Of course, there will be two series in Baltimore where if the Birds don't show more life, Camden Yards will likely become Yankee Stadium South.  But I still use the pronoun "we" and wear my Oriole jacket often and it leads to fruitful conversations with strangers who love the Orioles.  Like the young woman one-third my age who wondered, "What is Elias giving RHP Shane Baz a 5-year contract worth $65 million before he threw one pitch for us?"  So far his results have not been promising. I am tempted to shout, "Don't come back, Shane!"  (Stay tuned for more movie snark near end of this post.) 

 

To turn positive for a moment, we are only five games below .500 as I post on Monday morning May 11. Nobody in AL is comfortably above .500 except the first-place Tampa Bay Rays (who plucked 4 top prospects from the Birds in the Baz deal) and the Yankees. Yesterday on Mother's Day, we enjoyed a rare win over the improved Athletics. My boys did it mainly with pitching and defense - How about that?

 

In top of 7th inning after getting the first lead of the weekend on a clutch single by rookie outfielder Dylan Beavers, inexpensive free agent pickup center fielder Leody Taveras threw a one-hop strike to impressive 21-year-old rookie catcher Samuel Basallo to preserve the 2-1 lead. 37-year-old gritty RHP Chris Bassitt gave his best effort as an Oriole for 6 innings and the 2-1 score held thanks to a save by well-traveled interim closer Rico Garcia.  A native of Hawaii, Rico G wears #50 as a tribute to his home state and one of his heroes, former Mets outfielder Benny Agbayani.      

 

As for the overall outlook for MLB with a quarter of regular season games already as Mets broadcaster Howie Rose loves to say "in the books", Tampa makes their first visit to Yankee Stadium over the weekend of May 23 after sweeping the Bronx Bombers early last month at their domed dungeon called Tropicana Field that has been restored after severe hurricane damage.  The justly-maligned NL Central has all its teams over .500 as I post this in early May. The St. Louis Cardinals are nipping at the heels of the Chicago Cubs for first place and the Brewers after sweeping the Yankees this weekend are right in the mix, too. 

 

About 10 days ago, I watched FOX's Saturday "Baseball Night in America" and was impressed that the Cards started virtually an entire home-grown team with early Rookie of the Year contender second baseman JJ Wetherholt shining on both sides of the ball as the Cards beat the filthy-rich LA Dodgers.  Wetherholt is from the Pittsburgh area and I'm glad that the Pirates bounced back from a home sweep by the Cardinals to sweep the Reds. Pittsburgh is a great baseball town and the fans have suffered for so many years that they are still not drawing very well.  I hope many will return if the Buccos stay in contention.  

 

There have been many losses of eminent baseball people since I last posted.  I never had any real personal encounters with Yankee broadcaster John Sterling, 87, Atlanta Braves owner/champion yachtsman/media entrepreneur Ted Turner, 87, or Hall of Fame manager/former Yankee third baseman Bobby Cox, 84, but they certainly deserve to be remembered.  

 

Seattle broadcaster Aaron Goldsmith told on air last week a classic story about John Sterling whose love of the Great American Songbook was well-known. Goldsmith was a friend of slugger Matt Holliday and when Matt was a Yankee near the end of his stellar career, Goldsmith asked Matt if John Sterling was willing to narrate a tape that Aaron could use on his answering machine during the holidays.  Sure enough before Thanksgiving one year, Goldsmith received in the mail a tape of Sterling introducing Frank Sinatra singing "Happy Holidays". 

 

At the beginning of his career as a baseball owner in the early 1970s, Ted Turner was very brash, even putting on a uniform to manage a game during a long Braves losing streak. Soon he wisely let solid baseball people make the vital scouting and developmental decisions that led the Braves towards constant contention by the early 1990s. I devoted a chapter of my book on scouting BASEBALL'S ENDANGERED SPECIES to such Braves lifers as Bill Lucas - the unacknowledged first Black GM - and scouting maven Paul Snyder.  After a down 2025, the Braves are back in clear NL pennant contention. Atlanta just won a series in LA and are the only team above .500 in what so far must be called the NL Least. After a horrenous start, the Phillies have moved to only 3 under .500 under new manager Don Mattingly.  The Mets languish at 10 under .500 and show few signs of a rebound.

 

On a personal note, I had a moving experience on the last Friday of April, the 24th.  After a showing at the Ferguson Public Library in downtown Stamford CT of the 2013 bio-pic "42," the film that starred Harrison Ford as Branch Rickey and the late Chadwick Boseman as Jackie Robinson, I was part of a panel discussing the movie along with authors of two recent books about the crucial period of the late 1940s Keith Evan Crook who has written OPENING THE DOOR FOR JACKIE (McFarland) and Peter Eisenstadt, INTEGRATION AT SECOND BASE (U of Illinois Press).  Courtesy of author Crook, here is a YouTube link to the discussion that was hosted by Guy Fortt, president of the Stamford NAACP who over 40 years ago was the first Black firefighter in Greenwich CT.  

 

I never tire of discussing this period in American history which seemed hopeful for genuine and equitable social change.  As I say in the tape, 1947 was the high point of success in Branch Rickey's career even though the Dodgers lost a memorable 7-game World Series to the Yankees. Though there are some errors in the baseball history, I'm so glad that feisty Leo Durocher is an important presence in "42" and Chris Meloni does him justice. Understandably not in a film made for a mass Hollywood audience, we don't learn the later story after 1947.  In 1948, the Dodgers did not win the pennant and the signs of Walter O'Malley's coming takeover of the team were clearer than ever, reaching fruition after the 1950 season though the Dodgers returned to Series in 1949 and missed out on last day of 1950 season.  Rickey's post-Dodger career in Pittsburgh and later back to St Louis was not crowned by baseball success but I continue to find him a  fascinating figure, a grandfather that I never had I guess. Was delighted that several in audience remember fondly my bio BRANCH RICKEY: BASEBALL'S FEROCIOUS GENTLEMAN still in print from U of Nebraska Press. Hope you enjoy the link and can ride through some occasional sound glitches. Many thanks to Keith Crook for providing the link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i03NKPZWp_M&t=17s 

 

 CLOSING NOTES:

**Ivy League Baseball Post-Season Tournament begins Fri May 15 at 12N with top-seed Yale hosting #4 Columbia followed at 4P by #2 Penn versus

#3 Brown.  Loser's bracket at 11A on Sa and winner's bracket at 4P  Tourney winds up either on Sun or a M 12 Noon game.  

Kudos to Columbia senior RHP Evan Kleinhans who has closed games, served as an "opener", and pitched 8 1/3 innings of shutout ball in a key late

regular season game at Cornell.  I have dubbed him "Every Day Evan" referencing the former Twins and Giants hurler Eddie "Every Day" Guardado.  

All Ivy League tourney games will be available on ESPN+. 

 

*"Grass Routes" is a fun MLBTV show that features a different minor league franchise each Sunday from 1-130P on MLBTV.  During a show about the Portland (Maine) Sea Dogs, a fan described his dream afterlife: "I don't want to be buried but bronzed holding an umbrella so the pigeons don't get me." 

During a recent show about the Asheville Tourists that play in McCormick Field that is over a century old, Connor Griffin, then a visiting minor leaguer and now the Pirates' 20-year-old wunderkind SS, expressed his genuine love of the game and the experiences he was having on the way up to the majors.  The show narrited by Jonathan Mayo is on every Sunday at 1P on MLB network

 

 TCM TIPS:

F May 15 630P "Baby Face" (1933) Barbara Stanwyck sleeps her way to the top and among the beaus discarded are uncredited Douglass Dumbrille and John Wayne. Black actress Theresa Harris is a friend of Barbara's and is treated in film as an equal.  I mention this film because it's directed by Alfred E. Green (1889-1960) who started in Hywd as silent movie actor and directed a lot of bio-pecs including the "Jackie Robinson Story" (1950).  BTW it should be watched along with "42" for different insights into that crucial period of our history.  Jackie Robinson played himself in the 1950 film quite convincingly though, of course, masking on screen his righteous disdain in real life for the racists in our midst.

 

Sa May 16 245A "Designing Woman" (1957) Vincente Minnelli tries to make Gregory Peck believable as a sportswriter. Doesn't work for me but Lauren Bacall/Dolores Gray are also in cast.

 

Su May 17 Noir Alley a little later 1230A and 1015A Hitchock's "Strangers On A Train" (1951) with some memorable footage at Forest Hills Tennis Club.

Robert Walker is out to get innocent Farley Granger. Also with Ruth Roman/and oh-so-reserved Leo G Carroll. 

Later on Sunday two memorable films that have nothing to do with sports but must be listed:

1215P "Humoresque" (1946) one of the best films about classical music with John Garfield/Oscar Levant/Joan Crawford

1030P "Moonstruck" (1987) J P Shanley's memorable script and Vincent Gardenia, who did play the NY Mammoths manager in "Bang The Drum Slowly", as

Olympia Dukakis's straying husband and of course Cher choosing Nicolas Cage over Danny Aiello. 

 

****Th May 21 330P. Joe E Brown in "6-Day Bike Rider" (1934) along with frequent pal Frank McHugh.  Joe E always deserves 4-stars. 

11P "Blazing Saddles" (1974). how can I fail to mention Mel Brooks' enormously politically incorrect hilarious classic!

 

F May 22 6A "Body and Soul" (1925) Paul Robeson as philandering minister

8P Gregory Peck tries his hand as "MacArthur" (1977) - not sure I can last through this one but Genl Douglas A is an important if flawed figure in our history.

How can I forget my remedial speech class in 3rd grade when I had to recite a poem in honor of MacArthur's young son returning from Japan after Truman fired his daddy:  "Arthur MacArthur/We welcome you home!"  Fortunately forget the rest of poem but not this ditty that Miss Frisch taught us: 

"Good, better, best/Never let it rest/Until the good is better/And the better is best."

 

That's all for now (whew!). Always remember:  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.