Lee Lowenfish

Are you ready dear readers?  The Prince of Paranoia boldly predicts that . . . The Days Will Continue To Get Longer Until The Summer Solstice! How about that for fearless prediction!  I guess I don't want to join the chorus of pundit naysayers who are sure that a year from now, the big MLB story will be: How long will the lockout last?  My guess is we'll know more about the lockout likelihood if the Tigers have traded ace Tarik Skubal to the Dodgers or perhaps another deep-pocketed owner before spring training. One of those owners could be Edward Rogers of the Blue Jays who I mistakenly IDed as James Rogers in a recent blog. My bad on that one.  Edward is one of the richest men in Canada as head of the big media combine Rogers Communications - he is the Rogers the Rogers Centre stadium is named after.   How far we have come from the days when Philadelphia A's owner/manager Connie Mack did not want Shibe Park named after him. 

 

I am crossing fingers that the recent acquisition by the Pirates of second baseman Brandon Lowe and outfielder Jake Mangum in a trade with Tampa Bay Rays and former Oriole All-Star first baseman/outfielder Ryan O'Hearn as a free agent increases the chances that Pittsburgh's great RHP ace Paul Skenes will stay on the beautiful hilly city on the three rivers (the Allegheny, the Monongahela, the Ohio) for at least another year.  Skenes won't be a free agent until after 2029 season but unless the Pirates improve on the field in 2026 - and even if they do - hard to see Skenes staying with Pittsburgh for another four seasons but the good baseball city of Pittsburgh deserves hope.

 

If I didn't know too well the bitter history of player-owner labor relations that traces back to the late 19th century, I'd like to think a possible compromise exists: A quicker route to free agency and a higher salary floor for the players in exchange for a limit on salary highs, the dreaded salary cap. Despite some disarray in the usually united Players Association, it is hard to see at this juncture any leaders on either side stepping forward with compromise on their mind.  It seems that the richest owner the Mets Steve A. Cohen has now seemingly joined the hard-line owner group.  He has replaced Phillies owner John Middleton on the 8-owner executive council that ostensibly advises commissioner Robert Manfred. Middleton was the owner who announced that he was going to do something stupid in free agency and in renewing his own players.  Now there is hardly a dove in that group that consists of John Fisher (Athletics), Ken Kendrick (Diamondbacks), John Stanton (Mariners), Greg Johnson (Giants), Paul Dolan (Guardians), Arte Moreno (Angels), and Bruce Sherman (Marlins). Keep this list handy because a miracle might happen and some owners not on the committee might step forward in the name of compromise. 

 

SAVE FRI NIGHT JAN 23!

The 59th Annual New York Pro Baseball Scouts Dinner will be held at Leonard's of Great Neck at 555 Northern Boulevard just off the Long Island Expressway.

Yankees radio announcer Dave Sims will be the guest speaker and several local scouts and coaches will receive honors including the Good Guy Award to Pirates associate scout Chris Clehane who is indeed a good guy and a highly regarded NYC area coach.  Tickets are $125 and checks should be sent to Billy Blitzer, 3759 Nautilus Ave, Brooklyn NY 11224.  No tickets will be sold at the door and checks must be received no later than Jan 16, a we before the dinner.  They should be made out to the NY Pro Scouts Association. Billy Blitzer can also be reached at bbscout1@aol.com 

 

LOCAL WOMEN'S BASKETBALL NOTES:

My favorite Columbia team entered Christmas break with a 8-4 record.  Their two most recent wins, against Seton Hall on the road and UTSA (University of Texas San Antonio) at home, weren't decided until the final seconds. Good experience for the players, a lesson in emotional control for the Prince of Paranoia.  Down in Greenwich Village, the defending Division III champion NYU Violets, unbeaten for well over 2 years, are rolling along with a 7-0 record, scoring over 100 points in 5 of the games and its closest competition came in a 90-48 win over Brooklyn College.  Here is their upcoming home schedule at their spiffy Paulson Center on Bleecker Street just west of Mercer Street.

M Dec 29 2P Hamilton College (from Clinton NY - not to be confused with Colgate University in Hamilton NY) [but game at tourney in Montreal].   

M Jan 5 2P Skidmore College (from Saratoga Springs, NY)

Home games against their league opponents in the UAA (University Athletic Association) start:

F Jan 16 730P U. of Rochester (NY)

Su Jan 18 Noon Emory U (from Atlanta)

 

TIME FOR TCM TIPS    

Christmas Night at 10P EST - Tune in for "Angels in the Outfield" the original 1951 film directed by Clarence Brown, the M-G-M director who made Greta Garbo a star among his many credits.  Even if you don't go for the fantasy of a little girl (Donna Corcoran in her debut) seeing angels in the outfield and hard-bitten manager Guffy McGovern (Paul Douglas) hearing them too, the photography of Forbes Field and its beautiful Pittsburgh neighborhood are worth seeing.  Morphing Phil Rizzuto, others in the cast are "not too shabby" either: Janet Leigh as the Household Hints writer for a Pittsburgh newspaper who tries to humanize Guffy/Keenan Wynn as a virulent sportswriter/Spring byington and Ellen Corby as nuns that bring little Donna to games/Bruce Bennett as veteran pitcher/and James Whitmore as the uncredited voice of the angel Gabriel. 

11:45P the 15-minute short "Donkey Baseball" (1935). Promoter Ray Doan's novelty sport. 

I don't see any other sports films of note in the days ahead but some major ones need mention: 

F Dec 26 8P "Kramer vs. Kramer" (1979) Robert Benton [NOT Sidney Pollack] directs Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep as they go through a nasty divorce

Sa Dec 27 8P Here Comes Mr. Jordan" (1941) some sports in here as Robert Montgomery is a onetime boxer who gets reincarnated with the help of Claude Rains

945P "Network" (1976) Paddy Chayevsky's diatribe against TV with stellar cast including William Holden/Faye Dunaway/Peter Finch who delivers the memorable line,

"I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more!"  Does that line still resonate as 2025 careens to its end. 

Followed at 1215A repeated at 10A Noir Alley brings you "Odd Man Out" (1947) Carol Reed directs James Mason/Robert Newton in story set in Ireland during IRA troubles

 

Two Woody Allen films of note:

Su Dec 28 1215P "The Purple Rose of Cairo" (1985) a big part of it set in movie theatres during Great Depression and filmed just north of NYC in Piermont, NY. With Mia Farrow.

M Dec 29 6P "The Front" (1976) Martin Ritt, who lived through the Hollywood blacklist, directs Woody who plays a front for a blacklisted writer.  Zero Mostel who also endured the blacklist is not to be missed.

[M DEC 31 Marx Brothers Marathon:  

530A "Room Service: (1938)

7A "At The Circus" (1939) with Eve Arden and memorable song "Lydia The Tattooed Lady"

830A "A Day At The Races" (1937) the passing of producer Irving Thalberg who did the earlier one is felt here 

1030A "A Night At The Opera" (1935) one of the immortal ones with the famous state room scene and Kitty Carlisle's most famous role

1230P "The Cocoanuts" (1929) the very first one filmed in Queens after its success on the stage

215P "Animal Crackers" (1930) Groucho as Captain Spaulding the African Explorer 

400P "Monkey Business" (1931) the next two have talented blonde beauty ill-fated Thelma Todd (instead of the more stately hilarious Margaret DuMont)

530P "Horse Feathers" (1932) college football was never the same after this one

645P "Duck Soup" (1933) the wonderful mirror scene and the most anti-war in politics - a 7-letter word causes war.  Can any reader ID it?  

 

That's all for now.  Happy and healthy New Year to all, Stay Positive and Test Negative, and Take it Easy But Take It!  

 

 

Playoff-starved Baltimore Oriole fans know there will be post-season games in October for the first time in 9 seasons. Pennant fever is so high in Charm City that I've heard that the city is already getting decorated in Oriole orange and black. 

 

But the race for the AL East division title against Tampa Bay with the coveted first round bye at stake was still undecided as the last week of the regular season began. Yesterday (Sunday Sept 24) the Orioles salvaged a split in a 4-game series with the Guardians with a relatively easy 5-1 victory behind 7 strong innings by veteran starter Kyle Gibson. 

 

Gibson managed to contain former Met second baseman Andres Gimenez at the plate although the brilliant Venezuelan was a marvel in the field the

whole series.  He constantly robbed our hitters in the same spectacular way as our infield - and outfield - defenders have displayed all year.   

 

Even more encouraging for Oriole hopes was southpaw John Means who hurled one-hit 7 & a 1/3 innings on Sat night.  Out because of Tommy John surgery for almost two whole seasons, Means had a no-hitter until the 7th when that man again Gimenez homered for Cleveland's only hit. 

 

The weekend proved yet again the wisdom of the old baseball adage, "The best bullpen is a starter that goes 7 innings." Since Baltimore's breakout

closer Felix "The Mountain" Bautista went down in early August with a partial tear of his UCL (ulnar collateral ligament), the Bird bullpen has become

unsteady.   

 

By the end of the 17 games in 17 days road trip that mercifully ended on Sunday, you could sense the fatigue on the bullpen arms, not to mention the agita of those of us in front of our TV sets.  I don't even want to think about what it might have felt like if a playoff position hadn't already been secured. 

 

As it turned out, a righty-lefty combo of Yennier Cano and Cionel Perez secured the 4-1 Sat victory for Means and two lefties Danny Coulombe and DL Hall locked down the Sunday 5-1 win for Gibson.  Felix The Mountain has been throwing bullpen sessions but I would consider it very doubtful that he can return this season.  He is traveling with the team and though on the IL, you know the presence of the 6' 7 280 pounder who was signed by the Marlins at 16 and is only 28 means a lot to his teammates. 

 

AL and NL wild cards are still be determined this week and it is still wide open with only Tampa Bay definitely in although they will miss two recently injured stars, first baseman Yandy Diaz and second baseman Brandon Lowe.  The schedule has the Red Sox in the spoiler role, playing two at home with Tampa Tu and W and then four on the road in Baltimore. 

 

The Orioles play two at home with Washington before greeting the divisional rival Bosox for the last four at home.  The earliest Baltimore can clinch is Wed with a magic number of 3 (any combination of Balt. wins and TB losses).  

 

Oriole manager Brandon Hyde has been critical of the schedule that put Birds on the road for those 17 games in 17 days.  He hopes for a correction in

the future but how about the Diamondbacks having to make TWO trips to New York in the last weeks of the season. 

 

They didn't too well in the Big City and now find themselves in tie with Cubs for last wild cards with the dangerous Phillies already assured of a place in the tournament. The Reds and Marlins still have chances too, the Giants much less so. 

 

Toronto could be the sleeper team in the AL.  They have been winning series in September and just took a big one at Tampa.  They end season at home against Tampa Bay but first must play the Yankees who are likely to pitch Gerrit Cole on Wed or Thurs.  Stay tuned for some great drama in the AL East.

As well as the AL West where Houston, shockingly swept at home by 102-loss Royals, and Seattle are basically in a Survivor series before Texas

visits Seattle and Houston goes to Arizona to end season. 

 

Let me close with a couple of TCM sporting tips. 

Th Sep 28 8p "A Night At The Opera" (1935) the Marx Brothers classic with a memorable rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame"

 

Su Oct 1 1215A repeated at 10P - "Whiplash" (1948)   A Noir Alley presentation with as seemingly as preposterous a script for even Noir.

But could be a lot of unintended fun.  Dane Clark is a painter turned boxer gets into a triangle with Alexis Smith and Zachary Scott who becomes Clark's manager and names him Mike Angelo. You can't beat the supporting players, Eve Arden and S. K. "Cuddles" Sakall. (Obviously this film has no relation to the "Whiplash" of a few years ago about music that won an Oscar for J. K. Simmons.)

 

Su Oct 1 1015P  "On Moonlight Bay" (1951) - Doris Day as the tomboy who falls in love with next door neighbor Gordon McRae.  In addition to the title tune, we hear "Pack Up Your Troubles In Your Old Kit Bag, and Smile, Smile, Smile".  Those of a certain age will remember this song as I believe the theme song on WOR Radio's morning "Rambling With Gambling" show. 

 

That's all for now.  Take it easy but take it and stay positive, test negative.