Lee Lowenfish

Going to baseball day games at Yankee Stadium is not exactly becoming a habit, but on the Fourth of July I journeyed via swift air-conditioned NYC

Transit Authority buses to see the Yankees lose for the second time in three Thursdays. (I took my June 27 birthday off to enjoy a fine meal at Amor

Cubano, a fine restaurant in Spanish Harlem.) 

 

What I had never seen before was that after the first pitch of the July 4th game, a routine 6-3 grounder to short, Cincinnati manager David Bell protested that Yankee shortstop Anthony Volpe had started the play on the first base side of second base (a no-no since the infield shift was banned a few years ago). The protest was turned down and the Reds lost their right to challenge calls for the rest of the game. 

 

As it turned out. they didn't need it as they led all the way in an 8-4 victory and a 3-game sweep of the slumping Yankess who for the time being are in second place behind my Orioles - lots of baseball to play, I remind myself.

 

I saw another rare occurrence later in the game.  With a 5-2 lead in the bottom of the 5th, Manager Bell brought the infield in with a Yankee on

third base and one out.  "The baseball book" - which the late Earl Weaver scorned and most of today's analytics people do, too - says you don't bring the infield in with a lead so early in the game. It can lead to a big inning if infielders are moved much closer to home plate.

 

Maybe if you have on your side sensational shortstop (and promising switch-hitter) Elly de la Cruz, you can tempt fate. Because he threw out a Yankee runner at home plate on a hot grounder and the Reds never were threatened again. 

 

Cincinnati is one of those teams that though under .500 still has playoff aspirations in the 12-team tournament coming up in October. They have a positive run-differential (meaning they have scored more runs than they have given up.) Pitching and defense will tell the story and they are youthful and athletic. 

 

If you haven't noticed, the Astros, Cardinals, and Red Sox already have soared over .500 after bad starts.  It will make the trading deadline of July 30 very interesting (and nerve-wracking for fans and unsettling for players who will have to change employers and residences with little say in the matter).

 

Here's a word of caution on that deadline. It will be a big media story throughout July, but rarely does a trade make a huge difference in the outcome of a pennant race.  I still believe knowing your own farm system and rewarding those who can help the parent club is the best way to build a winner.

Let's call it IBP - Improvement By Promotion, OK? 

 

Yet like everything in baseball, there are no guarantees.  The Orioles thought that Jackson Holliday could make the jump to MLB as a 20-year-old,

but they had to send him back to the minors.  He's doing OK but not sensationally. He is learning a new position, second base, because it seems that Gunnar Henderson will monopolize shortstop for the foreseeable future.

 

Fortunately, the tandem of veteran Jorge Mateo and rising young star Jordan Westburg has handled second base very well for the Orioles with another veteran Ramon Urias now and then filling in. It is hard for even the Prince of Paranoia to criticize the decisions of GM Mike Elias (so far). 

 

He surprised a lot of people by bringing back both Mateo and Urias in 2024 and they have both contributed, especially speedy and savvy Mateo who alas will never be a consistent hitter but he can turn a game around with his legs.  I am also enjoying whal it seems will be the last Oriole season of Anthony Santander, who like Mateo was signed as a teenager - Anthony out of Venezuela by Cleveland and Mateo out of the Dominican Republic by the Yankees.   

 

I love it when players persevere to become key contributors. And I recently read that Anthony and Jorge, who incidentally the Padres also gave up on, have become chess-playing buddies in the clubhouse!  

 

Baltimore obviously needs a more consistent relief corps and another reliable starter, but so do most contenders. Meanwhile, Oriole rookie southpaw Cade Povich - a native of Omaha, Nebraska and not related to Shirley or Maury Povich - has been a godsend.  I repeat again - it is so easy to root for someone you've developed from day one after the draft . . . and rescued from the waiver wire and other areas of the baseball scrap heap. 

 

For example, 34-year-old Venezuelan starter Albert Suarez who has stepped up to become a fairly reliable member of the rotation after several years playing in Korea and Japan.  I love that manager Brandon Hyde is challenging his starters  to work deep into games because - this is not original but it is so accurate - THE BEST BULLPEN IS A STARTER THAT GOES 7 INNINGS.   

 

This will probably be my last post until after I return from teaching my almost-annual class in Baseball and American Culture at the Chautauqua Institution in the southwestern corner of New York State near Jamestown NY which is now the home with the National Comedy Center.

 

My theme this year is "Baseball Fandom" and I've been delving into a bevy of different sources.  New Oriole owner David Rubenstein is certainly

making his mark as the Delirious Fan Owner - DFO another acronym I've just coined. 

 

Rubenstein has splashed with Dr. Splash in the outfield bleachers at Camden Yards - Splash is a fanatic fan bringing back memories of Wild Bill Hagy in Section 34 of Memorial Stadium, the last time Orioles had a genuine contender over 40 years ago.  Rubenstein has also danced on the dugout with the Bird mascot during the 7th Inning Stretch.  (I just hope in the off-season he will ante up the shekels for both Santander and staff ace Corbin Burnes, but the Prince of Paranoia will wait until after the season to deal with that anxiety.) 

 

In addition to discussing in my class the writings of Rogers Angell and Kahn, Wilfred Sheed, and sharing the lyrical excerpts from Richard Greenberg's play "Take Me Out", I want to show the wild taxicab ride that Harold Lloyd takes Babe Ruth to Yankee Stadium in the 1928 classic "Speedy". 

(For more info on my class, running July 15-19 from 330-5P in the heart of the campus in 201B Hultquist - google Chautauqua Institution Special Studies Week 4 Classes.) 

 

And now we've come full circle because here's the info about the bus ride I took to the Stadium:  M4 or M5 bus to Broadway/157th St.  Cross street to west side and walk a curved half-block to Morgan Place stop of Bx6.  It takes you past the old Polo Grounds site, across the bridge over the Harlem River into the Bronx and the famous address of River Ave and E 161 Street.  Bus runs about every 12-15 minutes and is nicely air-conditioned too.

 

Here are some TCM Tips for much of the rest of July:

M Jul 8 230P - "Sapphire" (1959) rarely shown.  Basil Dearden directs a searing murder mystery about a British woman who had been "passing" as white.  

M July 8  8P "Scarface" (1932) Howard Hawks directs Paul Muni/Ann Dvorak in a pioneering gangster movie - too mannered for me but classic.

M July 8  1030P "The Roaring Twenties" (1939) Raoul Walsh directs Jimmy Cagney, Bogart in supporting role, classic last line by Gladys George

         

And now the sports-related films:

F July 12 1015P  "Slap Shot" (1977)  George Roy Hill - "Butch Cassidy", "The Sting"  - directs Paul Newman as minor league hockey coach

 

Sa July 13 8P  "Elmer the Great" (1933) Mervyn Leroy directs Joe E Brown in Brown's favorite baseball movie - opening scene draws you in.

Sa July 13 8p "Eight Men Out" (1988)  John Sayles directs an earnest, well-acted though not very accurate Black Sox Scandal movie

 

Su July 14 two classic noirs back to back:

 8P "The Killers" (1946) based on Hemingway story - Robert Siodmak directs young Burt Lancaster, Ava Gardner among others 

10P "Criss Cross" (1949) R. Siodmak directs Lancaster and Yvonne DeCarlo among others

 

Th July 18 8P  "36 Hours" (1964)  George Seaton directs James Garner as WW 2 POW with amnesia who Germans are brainwashing

1015P "Grand Prix" (1966) John Frankenheimer auto racing movie with James Garner and Eva Marie Saint who plays brainwasher in "36 Hrs"                    

Su July 21 8P "Chariots of Fire" (1981) deserved Oscar-winning film about British Olympic runners of early 20th century

1015P "Jim Thorpe-All American" (1951) Michael Curtiz directs Burt Lancaster in one of his better roles

 

M July 22 945P "Boys Town" (1938)  Spencer Tracy as Father Flanagan saving Mickey Rooney from delinquency

 

Tu July 23 8P "Slippery When Wet" (1958)  documentary on surfers in Oahu

 

Th July 25 8P "The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming" (1966)  Norman Jewison directs a hilarious satire from a more irreverent time

    of our history with Carl Reiner, Alan Arkin, and Eva Marie Saint (TCM's Star of Month, Thursday in July)

 

That's all for now.  And here's a different closing line.  THE ELECTION OUTCOME IS NOT FOREORDAINED.  MAKE SURE YOU ARE REGISTERED

TO VOTE AND DON'T LET MASS MEDIA LEAD YOU TO TOTAL NEGATIVISM AND COMPLETE CYNICISM.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I call this time of year in the baseball calendar the "silly season".  It's filled with bestowing awards and moaning about awards not bestowed.  It's filled

with speculations on trades and free agent signings more than actual trades and free agent signings.

 

It's also filled with the copycat talk of young executives in this Age of Analytics.  I am particularly amused at the similarity in the chatter of new Mets

president of baseball operations David Stearns and beleaguered longtime Yankees honcho Brian Cashman. 

 

When Stearns were introduced to the press last month by Steve Cohen, MLB's wealthiest owner, he quoted one of Cohen's favorite phrases as the owner looked on approvingly:  We are trying to find "the best in class" as his goal for Mets' future fromt office hirings. 

 

A few weeks later, Cashman responded by defending his staff even if "it doesn't mean we're best in class" (quoted by Bob Nightingale in USA Today, accessed on line November 12, 2023).  Cashman angrily accused the media of overplaying the Yankee reliance on analytics, but there is no doubt they

are still searching for "the next best thing" in advanced logorithms designed to addle the traditional fan who I argue is not dumb but skeptical.      

 

Fortunately, there will be substantial baseball news shortly.  A clue to where organizations are headed will be this coming Tues Nov 14 when 40-man rosters for every one of the 30 MLB organizations will be announced.  

 

As an ardent Oriole fan, it will be interesting to see who is protected and who is "non-tendered" a contract and thus can become a free agent.  I have loved the contributions in recent years of Bird bargain basement infielders Ramon Urias and Jorge Mateo, but it is hard to see both returning next season.  

 

Mateo has spectacular speed, base running talent, and infield savvy but a very erratic bat.  If it comes down to an either/or, Mateo might get the nod

over Urias whose power numbers slipped in 2023 and occasionally had rare defensive lapses. 

 

Ramon was a 2022 Gold Glove third baseman though he played less than 90 games there. He is also a fine defensive second baseman and came up to the Cardinals primarily as a shortstop. His younger brother Luis was traded from Milwaukee to Red Sox late in 2023 and his Boston roster spot might be as precarious as Ramon's.  

 

Ramon and Jorge are endangered because the Orioles are blessed with young talented infielders.  22-year-old Gunnar Henderson, signed as a high schooler in Selma, Alabama, starred at both shortstop and third baseman in 2023.  He will likely be voted the American League Rookie of the Year although Josh Jung has strong credentials from the Texas Rangers world champions.

 

I don't get carried away with that award - along with Manager of the Year awards, which will likely go to Baltimore skipper Brandon Hyde, the award does not guarantee longevity of career. 

 

Waiting in the infield wings are two rookies who excelled in the minors in 2023.  Joey Ortiz played at New Mexico State, the same alma mater as budding Oriole ace Kyle Bradish. I am drawn to players who come from unheralded schools and have something to prove.  Ortiz won't be 26 until July. 

 

Another infield stud is Jackson Holliday who won't turn 20 until Dec 4. Son of 7-time All-Star outfielder Matt Holliday, Jackson was number one MLB pick in 2023 after graduating from high school in Stillwater, Oklahoma. He rocketed through four levels of the minors in 2023.

 

Already on the Oriole roster, and a solid contributor since late June to the 2023 AL East champion, is Jordan Westburg who starred at perennial college power Mississippi State.  He is another shortstop that can play second or third base and he will only turn 25 on February 18, just as Oriole spring training is heating up. 

 

The competition among those infielders will be fierce.  So will it be betwen upcoming outfielders Colton Cowser, Heston Kjerstad, and Kyle Stowers. They will try to unseat at least one of the incumbents, Austin Hays and Cedric Mullins, and Anthony Santander who will be a free agent after 2024 season.  

 

It's quite possible before I file another post before baseball's winter meetings in Nashville in early December that some of the Baltimore core and some prospects are traded for starting pitching, bullpen help, and/or a solid run-producing bat.  I just caution people to read carefully headlines in the blogosphere.  Many posts are about what writers want and not actual news. 

 

As for other news about my favorite non-baseball teams, only Columbia's women's basketball team looks promising.  They lost six solid contributors

from the 2022-2023 team that won their first Ivy League title. Snubbed by the NCAA selection committee, the Lions went on to play a competitive WNIT final against Kansas at the historic Phog Allen field house in Lawrence.

 

Senior Abby Hsu returns and she is developing into a complete player not just a sharpshooter with the enviable quick release. 

The Lions are playing a very tough pre-league schedule with most of the games at home at Levien Gym, Broadway W 120 Street SE corner.

Upcoming are Duke Tu Nov 14 6p.  

Towson Th Nov 16 7p.  

Northeastern Sa Nov 25 4p. 

Providence W Nov 29 11a - the annual game to which hundreds of NYC schoolkids are invited.

Villanova Sun Dec 3 2p.

Memphis Wed Dec 6 6p. 

Wagner Su Dec 10 2p.

Ivy League home season begins with Penn Sa Jan 6 2p. More informatioin at gocolumbialions.com

 

And now before I close, some tips on the upcoming TCM (Turner Classic Movies) schedule. All times EST.

The two sports-related movies in November are F Nov 17 5p "The Set-Up" (1949) maybe the best boxing movie ever.

Robert Ryan who was a boxer at Dartmouth gives one of his riveting performances. 

 

F Nov 17 is All-Noir from 730A "Too Late for Tears" (1949) with Lisabeth Scott as not exactly the girl next door LOL

Through 8p "Between Midnight and Dawn" (1950) Mark Stevens, Edmond O'Brien, Gale Storm

Among other highlights:  1215p "Detour" (1945) about as grisly as "Too Late For Tears"

130p "The Maltese Falcon" (1941) the first Bogart/Lorre/Greenstreet collaboration - we'd love to trust Mary Astor.  However, . . . 

315p "Born To Kill" (1947) - Lawrence Tierney almost typecast and Claire Trevor a year before she plays another Claire in "Babe Ruth Story"

615p "Naked City" (1948) the original, a film that producer/inspirer Mark Hellinger never lived to see completed 

 

Sun Nov 19 345p "Pat and Mike" (1952).  Set in a golf world with legendary Babe Didrikson Zaharias in a cameo appearance, look near the end

for Chuck Connors, former first baseman, at the start of a career that led to TV's "The Rifleman". 

 

Also on Nov 19 at 10p Belafonte's "The World, Flesh, and the Devil" (1959) by no means sport enters here but quite a film about aftermath of

a nuclear war with only Belafonte, Inger Stevens, and Mel Ferrer as survivors.

 

Every Tuesday in November is Gloria Grahame night - one of the queens of Noir who always attracted good directors:

Tu Nov 14 triple-feature starting at 8p "In A Lonely Place" (1950) with Bogart as writer with anger problem to put it mildly.

Directed by Nicholas Ray, then married to Grahame.   

Followed by two Cold War era films: 945p "The Glass Wall" (1953)  directed by Maxwell Shane with Vittorio Gassman

and 1130p "Man on A Tightrope" directed by Elia Kazan with Fredric March

 

Tu Nov 21 8p "Bad and the Beautiful" (1952) Grahame's Oscar that she should have gotten for "Crossfire" (1947)

"TBATB" is one of the best films about Hollywood, dir. Vincent Minnelli with the wonderful David Raksin title song

10:15p "Odds Against Tomorrow" (1959) minor role for Gloria but Robert Wise directs bank robbers Ed Begley Sr., Belafonte and Ryan whose

racial enmity sabotages the plans 

 

Tu Nov 28 8p "The Big Heat" (1953) dir. by Fritz Lang with Glenn Ford and co-starring Jocelyn Brando, Marlon's sister

10p "Human Desire" (1954) another Lang not for faint of heart with Ford and Grahame and Broderick Crawford

1130p "Naked Alibi" (1954) with Sterling Hayden, Gene Barry, Chuck Connors again - have not seen this one about police brutality.

 

That's all for now.  Always remember:  Take it easy but take it.  And even if recovery from ubiquitous covid is slow like mine,

stay positive, test negative.