Alabama Grad Marissa Ayers Was A Ring Girl At Taylor-Serrano, Barkley's Golf Game Is Dialed In & Filet Mignon
Plus: Reds kid sends a message to the Rockies
That was just bad baseball out of MY Reds
Down 3-2 in the bottom of the 9th, MY Reds got a lead-off double. Old-school baseball says get the guy over and a sac fly scores the runner.
Nope.
Here's how it played out:
- Friedl struck out
- McLain struck out
- Elly intentional walk
- Hays struck out
Game over against the worst team in baseball.
I'm going to need the baseball nerds to give me the analytics on why you don't bunt a guy over when your offense has struggled for a week straight. Plus, if you get the guy over and McLain strikes out, there's a chance they still intentionally walk Elly, who can then steal second and you have the winning run on second with two outs.
Base hit wins it.
Modern baseball just drives me crazy. It's also driving Herbie crazy as well.
— Steve B. in Grand Junction, CO popped off an email seconds after Austin Hays struck out…again:
Taking my victory lap with my Rockies beating your Reds. It's tough when your clean-up hitter gets the golden sombrero.
But I have to give you a lot of credit for the way you handled that brutal rec ball loss. I've been there, and it sucks when the teenage ump doesn't want conflict, so he goes with whomever is complaining louder.
Your son noticed the way you took the high road. I guarantee it. Maybe not now, but that stuff sinks in. I've embraced the saying, "more is caught, than taught."
And props to my fellow Coloradan, Tom in Highlands Ranch, for raising such an outstanding daughter.
Readers are still reacting to the end of the 12U season and how we lost when chaos erupted & coaches started screaming that our runner didn't touch home when there was no play at the plate
Last night, I treated some of the boys on the team to pizza at a local place that has free video games and volleyball. Six or seven (it's been a long week, I lost track) made the event as we put a bow on the season in a better way than how it ended on Wednesday.
While they were running around, it was nice to meet some of the parents on a personal level and hear what they thought of the end to the season. I was assured by three of them that the umpire waved safe when Zap scored that run.
What's done is done. I've slept great since Wednesday night.
— RJM tells me:
Your story this week of de-escalation was pure "good dadness" and that will be a moment of which you can always be proud. It's hits home a little bit because in my final season of Little League, my dad was asked to step up. The coach that volunteered for the season and drafted the team passed away days later from a massive heart attack.
That deceased man probably didn't know much about baseball or about anyone in the school (because I thought he drafted a pretty crappy team) but he signed up to be there for his son and teammates. My dad knew the guy but he had no intentions of ever coaching baseball.
I still 'til this day don't know whether my dad has ever watched a full baseball game. I seriously doubt it. But this team of misfits needed a coach.
I pleaded with dad to coach our team and he finally gave in.
At this point in his life he had 6 different incomes. 6 jobs. His main career with the county highway department as foreman, farming, owned a small pay phone business, read electric meters a couple days a month, worked at his brother's body shop, and since he had a CDL, drove busses to me and my siblings sporting events for the school. "Going anyway, might as well make $50 and get free concessions."
Needless to say, the man didn't have time to coach a Little League team. But he did. At the start, I was basically putting the lineup together. Positions and batting order. I was obsessed with baseball and my dad didn't know these kids or their capabilities either.
Fortunately, I was 12 and "knew everything." That lasted about 2-3 games. Probably blowout losses, I don't remember. What I do remember is that we ended up in the championship game of the tournament at the end of the year. I remember that but can't recall whether we won or lost. Probably lost since that memory eludes me.
But I'll always remember dad stepping up out of his impossible busy life to support his family, to just support me playing baseball for a spring/summer. It took many years for me to realize all of my dad's sacrifices but your Rec ball updates the last few years made me realize what a special "Pop" I have.
It's getting dusty out here so just a thanks to you and GEM. Yeah, those are his initials. Perfect.
— Andy L. emails:
Read the heartbreaking loss for your team and all the responses to it. I agree you were the bigger man and better human being to go into de-escalate mode rather than taking a fight to the other coach and umpire.
My wife and I experienced a similar experience when our daughter’s soccer team lost a heart-breaking game which would have sent us to state had they pulled it out. They were up 2-0 with 20 minutes left but ultimately lost in double overtime and PKs.
Fast-forward a day or two and we found a post on Instagram from my daughter that had clips of all the fun, goofy crap that the girls did during the season with her saying something to the effect of "even though we lost I didn’t forget the real reason I play or all of the fun we had during the season"
I have no doubt reading through your season game summaries and knowing what kind of coach you are that all your players will walk away with this same attitude. You’re doing hard things and it’s paying off way more than 1 win ever will. Keep it up!
Have you ever seen 2,500 wieners dropped out of a helicopter?
If you're near Joliet, Illinois later this month, you are in luck.
#notsponsored
This was sent over by the PR team from the Joliet Slammers and Pabst Light:
On Tuesday, July 22, at exactly 6:35pm, during the game against the Gateway Grizzlies, [the Slammers] will be attempting to make their mark in history by dropping more than 2,500 hot dogs (current record) from a single helicopter, in just one hour, over the entire stadium. If fans can ketchup when the wieners drop from the sky, they can relish in the moment and get a free hot dog in the process!
If Judas Priest/Jackass took a school bus, cut off half of it, built a sound stage & then took the bus to Nashville
"Breakin' the law," indeed, boys!
These guys popped up in my Instagram stream this week and I've been hooked ever since. I can't figure out where they're from. South Dakota? Kentucky? I'm not detecting southern accents, so it's entirely possible they're from Iowa.
All I know is that they're raising hell with this bus and I can't get enough of their antics.
The state of travel in the United States
— Kevin says it's not great:
Joe, greetings today from the Lone Star State. This summer I have been traveling the US for business and my kids' sports. Currently I am in Dallas. Upon returning from the rental car agency my son, a 5th grader, asked how my trip was as I arrived in the middle of night.
It dawned on me - it was bad. Not terrible but bad. Just not pleasant, a lousy experience. The state of travel in the US has never been worse. People seem to be at their limit of patience. Understanding of how certain companies operate and do business is lost on most people. Travelers trying to scam the system by boarding planes early, and feigning ignorance, complete lack of understanding. It's like people have never traveled before and don't think simple rules or courtesies apply to them - or they just don't care through entitlement. To compound it, companies don't seem to care about service or cleanliness of tier product.
Last night, flying out of an East Coast Southwest Hub to DAL (DAL is the best metropolitan-based airport in America in my opinion) the boarding process at Southwest had multiple people trying to board A group with B&C passes because their friends were A group. I was 31B. I don't care. I'll get an aisle or window seat. They got scanned with C group (6 of them) and they rolled up through the jetway like a mom at an amusement park trying to catch back up with her family in line for a ride after going to the bathroom. Many people shared their opinion and two guys didn't care the other four held back.
Full plane, checking bags FOR FREE at the gate, people still putting carry-on and personal bags up top. Then the same people got mad when the stewardess told them their personal bag had to be under their seat as we were full and needed space. Not fighting mad but incredulous that they had to move them. Make room for other people! My tray was broken. Couldn't put it down for my drink and iPad for a 3-hour flight. Seat in front of me also wouldn't stay up right. Lady kept apologizing to me as it broke my knee every time she moved in her seat.
Got a rental car today, hadn't been vacuumed out from the people before me - food crumbs all over. Dried ketchup or BBQ sauce on the setting wheel. Greasy gross fingerprints all over windows and touch screen. Like, come on, give me a little bit of effort here.
I know you used to get around a lot for work. Have you noticed, or other readers out there noticed this as well? I'm paying more for travel to my kids' events (AAU is the worst - Phoenix, KC, Memphis and Augusta - which BTW is a hellhole) but the entire experience is getting worse and worse.
Gonna go yell at some clouds and water that one spot in my yard where all the dogs pee.
Kinsey:
Kevin, did you hear about Hertz scanning cars with AI looking for dings? Wait until you start traveling and have to sweat every little pebble that flies up on your rental car.
There is NO DOUBT that traveling has become a huge pain in the ass, especially air travel due to the budget airlines and the filthy dirtbags that somehow have $200 bucks to jump on those planes.
That's why, when financially reasonable, you'll never catch me on a plane other than Delta, which has its own terminal in Detroit away from the heathens.
Our family has a rule that the only way we fly a budget airline is if it's 2.5 hours or less. Yes, we flew Frontier to Florida in March because it was ridiculously cheap and that included checked bags.
It ended up fine. No problems.
But, then, we ended up in suburban Columbus, OH in June for a night at a Courtyard and the pool scene was an absolute mess with scumbags trashing the hot tub. Total mess.
The front desk never even checked to see how things were going.
Kevin, give me northern Michigan. I can drive four hours north into one of the most incredible areas in the United States this time of year.
Pack up your kids one of these days and fly into Traverse City. Trust me.
American has direct flights from Dallas. Just keep it somewhat quiet when you get home.
Mike T. makes better pizza than Pizza Hut
— T. writes:
My oven in my house is gas so I make pizza in it on a stone! 500 degrees!
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And that is it for this Saturday morning. Screencaps Jr. has an all-star game to compete in this afternoon. If I'm being completely honest, his team seems stacked to me, but we'll see how it goes.
Other than that, it's going to be a pool, grill and chill sort of weekend around here.
Go have fun.
Email: joe.kinsey@outkick.com or use my personal Gmail