When the Chicago Cubs under Joe Maddon, themselves sans a World Series victory for 106 consecutive seasons, put an exclamation point on what will be the 54th of the Angels’ 55 seasons without a World Series appearance, (they did win it all in 2002 under current manager Mike Scioscia), some thoughts involving Maddon, Scioscia, and other teams came to the surface.
Maddon, as is the case with Dusty Baker, each the current managers of the top 2 N.L. teams record wise at this point, has been successful in the regular season (not as successful as Baker) and unfortunate at best, (not as unfortunate as Baker) in the post-season.
Scioscia considered a great manager at one point, can always point to 2002, but what has he accomplished since that point?
His record as Angels’ manager is a good one, not great. Almost any manager with a similar record would know his “fate,” but the Mike Scioscia “reign,” (certainly not great), with the Angels, seems to go on and on.
As cited in a previous post, in 3 of the 4 presidential elections in which major party nominees, Republican Thomas E. Dewey and Democrat Adlai Stevenson were denied the White House (in his fabulous book 11/22/63 which as you might have guessed, though a novel, deals with the assasination of President Kennedy, prolific and superb author Stephen King makes a point of spelling “White House” correctly), there was little hope of winning all along.
Other factors perhaps mattered, but their opponents Franklin Delano Roosevelt vs Dewey in 1944 and Dwight D. Eisenhower vs Stevenson in both 1952 and 1956, were virtually unbeatable at the time.
However, much was accomplished by Dewey and Stevenson in their campaigns.
Dewey came closer than one might expect vs a man seeking a fourth term as President during a World War. He went on to run and be nominated as the Republican Party candidate in 1948 and stayed a major figure in the Republican Party, helping Eisenhower get elected and essentially launching the national political career of one, Richard Milhous Nixon.
Stevenson, truly a man ahead of his time and one who would achieve fame as United Nations Ambassador under President Kennedy, raised the bar in political campaigns in both 1952 and 1956.
Issues were discussed and at least in 1952 while “Ike” successfully used effective, not negative early television ads, Mr. Stevenson did not, a lesson John F. Kennedy learned and used to his advantage in the 1960 election.
Paul Brown pictured above and Dwight D. Eisenhower were dominant figures in the 1950’s.
Oh if Joe Green, a friend among a gang of thieves and “roto rooters” (i.e. people who like other people, especially me to fail), albeit one, as with all of us, nowhere near perfect, was alive to see this U.S. Men’s basketball (1-6) record vs the spread.
I am not saying it, not even in saying, he would have said it!!
What I will and continue to say, is that having this men’s team with NBA players dismantle teams from other countries is a disgrace. There is no competition except with the “number.” (i.e. the point spread).
Speaking of numbers, U.S. team coach Mike Krzyzewski (another safe bet is I had to look up the spelling of his name,) trails only John Wooden in national titles.
That is an achievement, doing this Olympic massacre thing is not. That is my not so humble opinion.
Giuseppe Verdi, the brilliant opera composer, pictured above. “Joe Green” if you will.
All it does is virtually insure the N.L. Central title and increase their already high likelihood to be the N.L. one seed, but the current Chicago Cubs’ 9 game winning streak is impressive.
The streak began with a Sunday night, 12 inning, home win in a game started by the fine Seattle Mariners’ hurler Felix Hernandez (he won yesterday and the Mariners have won 6 straight games but unlike the Cubs are trailing in their division) and continued with 3 game sweeps vs the Miami Marlins and at Oakland vs the Athletics.
Yesterday the now (71-41) Cubs completed a 2 game sweep vs the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. “Chi” is five and a half games ahead of Washington (Nationals) in the race for the National League one seed.
Bot 7th: Phillies 3, Dodgers 1
Hoping to stay tied atop the NL West, LA scored first on Adrian Gonzalez’s double & Scott Kazmir has made it hold up. MLB.TV live
Almost unbelievable how long the “coffee break” is for whomever is running the MLB.com site today. This has been up for over 5 minutes and still is as I post it.
Obviously as the site itself notes with the underdog Phillies ahead, Kazmir, the L.A. pitcher has NOT made it hold up!
Of course they do, but is not anyone checking for them?
The fabulous C-Span, which even with the ongoing impasse between the two major political parties in this country which has derailed progress, still should be watched more often, as a view to our Congress, has aired some truly fascinating programs on presidential election history.
They will continue to do so, with Congress out of session.
The roles and significant places in history of both Republican Thomas E. Dewey and Democrat Adlai Stevenson were discussed.
Mr. Dewey and Mr. Stevenson each made major contributions to our society beyond presidential elections.
As nominees for U.S. President, Dewey and Stevenson combined to lose 4 straight Presidential elections in 1944, 1948, 1952 and 1956, with Harry Truman’s startling win vs Dewey in 1948, the only time either had a chance to win.
In a future post, I will delve further into some of the politics of those elections.
Last year, just before the Kansas City Royals were completing their run to a World Series crown (pun intended Royals’ Crown), the NFL Kansas City Chiefs were beginning a nice run of their own.
Of course the football Chiefs did not get anywhere near as far, but a 10 game regular season win skein in football especially, is nothing to sneeze at and in fact is truly remarkable.
K.C. was (1-5) when with the Royals crowned American League champions a day and a half earlier, when they began the winning streak vs the Pittsburgh Steelers (each team would win its wild card round game on the same day, perhaps the only time in the 26 year history of two wild card games in each conference, that two teams from the same conference would notch wild card game wins on the same day. Of course the schedule really never allowed such a possibility until last year?!) on October 25, 2015.
The next week on November 1st, a truly disgraceful late date for a World Series game to be played, the Royals completed their title season winning at New York vs the Mets in game 5.
That day the Chiefs were in London, England, easing to victory in a “morning time in the U.S. game,” the second of what would be 10 straight regular season victories, 11 counting a wild card game win vs the Houston Texans before losing in the “slots” (divisional round) in an Ian Eagle game at New England vs the Patriots.
The Browns won another title before moving to Baltimore in 1996 and that was vs a Baltimore franchise that eventually moved to Indianapolis but remained the Colts.
In 1964 the Cleveland Browns won what was the last Cleveland title until the Cavaliers won the NBA crown less than 2 months ago.
The baseball Indians won titles in 1920 and 1948. Three of the seven Cleveland titles were won by the great Paul Brown coached teams of the 1950’s.
Despite this great feat and the fact in many ways Mr. Brown invented “modern football,” ESPN a modern day indication of our serious problems as a society, left Brown off a list of sports’ 20 That is TWENTY greatest coaches. That is a total disgrace and I was far from Paul Brown’s biggest fans but his accomplishments were incredible.
The great coach and football innovator, Paul Brown, pictured above.
Though they did not clash in what would have been a meaningless exhibition game, a look at some “6” year history involving the teams scheduled to play two nights ago.
The Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts, the latter once the Baltimore Colts of the NFL Western Conference in which they engaged the Packers in epic 1960’s battles for that entity’s supremacy, each have a legitimate chance to make this year’s Super Bowl. Of course the odds are against each team but in neither case are they that high.
Green Bay has won 3 of the 8 NFL titles in years ending in “6,” won in a championship game, be it the NFL Championship Game or The Super Bowl.
They did so in 1936 with the great receiver Don Hutson, thirty years later with 5 time championship quarterback, Bart Starr. Mr. Starr is vastly under rated, contrasted with Brett Favre, just inducted into the Football “Hall” and the quarterback on the 1996 Supe winning Packers.
Indianapolis with another over rated quarterback, the current defending Supe winning one, Peyton Manning, copped a “6” year NFL crown in the 2006 season. In that Supe win on a rainy January 2007 night in Miami, a venue in which he failed in an AFC wild card game one of many big post season failures in his career, Manning did little in the victory. Sound familiar? He did even less but did win with the Denver Broncos in the most recent Super Bowl.
Memo to me—Do you think Manning cares about what I think of him? Do I over emphasize my strong opinion that he was essentially a big game failure? Is it even the least bit important? Answers are no, yes and no but I probably will keep doing it as a small voice in contrast to those like writer, Mike Lupica, who believe Manning was near, if not the top, in quarterback greatness.
A post written yesterday evokes the song “Yesterday” by The Beatles, specifically Paul McCartney. Two “yesterdays” ago, I attended Paul’s show at Met Life Stadium in New Jersey.
Much needed sleep after dealing with the unbelievable traffic/logistical nightmare that is inherent in leaving events at the football stadium venue and my venting on football’s ills, have not decreased my slight disappointment in the great Sir Paul McCartney and the show.
He is still a fabulous singer and performer, looking great, married a third time and though it was somewhat difficult to hear from far away and high up in the football stadium, that honors among others, Leon Hess, to me one of many symbols of New York Jets’ failure to achieve, Mr. McCartney’s words and recollections provided great treasures.
While he sang “Hey Jude” and “Yesterday” the latter so appropriate, not because a post was published late, but because time waits for none, there were many great songs eschewed, in favor of so called new songs.
Sir Paul, not his fault a maniac did not kill him but did kill the more socially intense, fellow Beatle, John Lennon, now over 35 years of “yesterdays” ago, remarked how the venue had great cell phone (why those?) induced light during Beatles’ songs, but remained dark during the new songs.
He added in a nice?, certainly non confrontational tone, that he/they (his band was great) did not care.
Old songs, new songs and I think about another Sunday night? performance by Rick Nelson, the Traveling Man, who died far too young, doing so and his song “Garden Party.” At Madison Square Garden, they did not like Mr. Nelson’s choice of songs and he wrote about it in “Garden Party.”
My thoughts turn to just missing the Beatles perform, most notably at Shea Stadium in 1965. That stadium, Yankee Stadium for football and its original ground, even Giants Stadium, the first “greed run” by the (not to me, nor in reality) “sainted” late football Giants’ owner, Wellington Mara, are gone.
Five dollar bottled water and a lowest common denominator culture remain.
While Paul, so often even at this late date, performed meaningful songs with a magic corresponding with his great talent and yes wealth, two “yesterdays” ago, for startling, free market, high prices, could have and in my and so many other attendee’s opinions, SHOULD have done so more often.
Click below to view Paul McCartney singing his iconic song, “Yesterday”
As with certain hot dogs, Paul’s greatness means holding him to a higher standard and despite my complaints, seeing and hearing him perform is a treasured memory. Hopefully there are enough good “tomorrows” to make my “longing for yesterday” not as intense nor sad.
Paul McCartney – Yesterday – Live at Anfield, Liverpool 1st June
Andy B Sports 