Many of the national pundits who opine about major league baseball suggest the Milwaukee Brewers need a front-line pitcher in order to stay in the playoff chase for the rest of the season. Those who follow the team more closely realize that the pitching, for the most part, has been good enough to contend. But the offense is something else. We all thought that the signing of Cain and the trade for Yelich in the offseason were great and the depth of the everyday position players was so great in spring training that Jesus Aguiliar was in danger of not making the major league roster. So it goes with the best laid plans…Thames was hurt, Cain's on the DL, Yelich and Braun have lingering back issues, Shaw has a wrist problem and Arcia has been so bad with the bat he was sent down to AAA for th 2nd time this seaon over the weekend. And for the most part its been another year of boom or bust offense from the team. Home runs or nothing. Just think where the team would be without Aguilar. Certainly not in first place. He is putting together not only an All-Star game worthy season but an MVP worthy season. GM David Stearns seesm to be a smart guy and I think he knows that another bat is what this team needs. It probably wont be a rental like Manny Machado (wouldnt that be great) but another middle infield stick (even with the aquisition of Miller and the return of Saladino) would seem to be an better answer for the Crew than a big-name expensive pitcher.
Who said pitchers can't hit? (well that would be me and most of them can't) but Michael Lorenzon of the Reds seems to be the exception. He homered twice against the Brewers this weekend including a pinch-hit grand slam on Saturday night.
By watching my Twitter feed on Sunday it appears the World Cup is staying crazy. A couple of shoot-out wins for Russia and Croatia.
Also, a high ranking US soccer official said the United States needs to sign up more youngsters to play the game if they are going to be a consistent contender in the world. Uh, excuse me…don't we already have millions of more young soccer players than countries like Uruguay and Croatia? Quantity doesnt seem tyo be the problem.
The big domino has fallen with Lebron James going to the Lakers. The rest should fall quickly enough. It certainly changes the balance of power in the East where Boston immediatly becomes the favorite with the Bucks and Sixers chomping at their heels.
Milwaukee has some decisions to make. Jabari Parker will undoubtably get an offer from someone. Will the Bucks match? Sign & Trade? Let him walk? One of the big criticisms of the Bucks this season was the lack of interior defense and rebounding. Irsan Ilyasova, while not a perfect answer, will help in those area.s Plus he has played for new coach Mike Budenholzer for the last two years in Atlanta.
Elections have consequences….Trump and Republicans in Congress told us that companies would use the tax cuts to increase wages. Trump said 70% would do that. Billions of dollars of tax breaks have instead been used for stock buyback programs that not only lead to the heaviest investors making big bucks but also leads to a short-term stock price rise which insiders use to cash out their shares. As some of us told you at the time, its just another scam from Paul Ryan and Donald Trump……………………………………a US official confirms that the North Koreans continue to decieve us on the number of nuclear facilities they have along with the number of weapons and missles. And that they have increased nuclear production at certain sites. They have no intention of abiding to even the crappy deal they allegedly agreed to with Trump. Once again, the con-man in the White House is selling us a pig-in-poke and calling it gold………………………..The Trump Organization has told Congress its too difficult to follow the Constitutional rules of tracking revenue from foreign sources so they are just going to ignore the emouluments clause. It's the latest salvo from Trump and his minions that suggest that the Constitution is merely a piece of paper and has no power over Trump and what he thinks he and his people can get away with. Due Process? A Free Press? Corruption at the highest levels of government? Trump believes that “his people” dont care about that stuff . And the party in power in Congress seems to agree as they continue to fail in their job of being a counter-weight against an out-of-control executive. McConnell, Ryan, Johnson, Duffy and all the other Trump enablers in Congress are just as responsible for the diminshed reputation of not only the White House but American institutions around the globe……..Anthony Kennedy is being praised for his judicial wisdom. Just remember, he is responsible for inflicting the Citizens United decision on us. The worst Supreme Court decision in recent memory and one big reason why our elections are so repugnant…………Detectives investigating crimes will tell you that coincidences are usually not believeable. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, its usually a duck. The fact that a healthy Anthony Kennedy steps down from a lifetime appointment just days before a New York Times story linking his son ( a Deutsche Bank banker) to money-laundering of Russian oligarch money years ago , some of which might have ended up in a multi-billion dollar loan to Trump when other banks wouldnt have anything to do with him is one of those coincidences. No evidence of a quid pro quo yet, but is it not reasonable to ask if Anthony Kennedy stepped down from the court to get the seat into the hands of a pro-Trump Justice who would not have to recuse himself from any cases involving the Mueller investigation, which his son may be a part of?…………….
Quotes Of The Day
“It's easy to forget what it was like to have a president who cared about uniting the country, consoled us, sought to inspire us and appealed to our better nature. The absence of such leadership is a huge and painful loss, but lets never let this reality become normal or tolerable.”-Steven Beschloss
“Republicans want smaller government for the same reason crooks want fewer cops: its easier to get away with murder.”-James Carville
“The silence from House and Senate Republicans on Trumps violations of the emoluments clause tells Americans all we need to know. You are as corrupt as he is.”-Pat Fuller
“I've been a lawyer in global financial services for more than 20 years. I've worked on Madoff matters as well as Lehman Brothers. Nothing I've seen , and I mean nothing, comes close to the level of illegality and corruption of the Trump Organization and the Trump White House.”-Albert Dell
“Racism isnt patriotism. Xenophobia isnt patriotism. Misogyny isnt patriotism. Islamophobia isnt patriotism. True patriots celebrate the “we” in “We the People”.-Robert Reich
” A president under investigation for impeachment has never appointed a Supreme Court Justice. Not Nixon, Not Clinton, Not Andrew Johnson. Never. Democrats should make it clear that if the GOP destroys this tradition, they will expand the court to 15 in 2021 without filibuster.”-Jed Shugerman
“Among the first cases the Court agreed to hear the day after Kennedy announced his retirement will decide whether a Trump pardon from federal prosecution will shield someone from state prosecution even if that state retains its dual sovereignty loophole.”-Lawrence Tribe
“We're paid for shit. We work like dogs. People,including the president disparage us at very opportunity. Now they are shooting us down in our newsrooms. I'll still be back tomorrow. Because the people at the Capital Gazette matter. My colleagues matter. Journalism matters.”-Adam Lynn
“The job of a journalist is to find out what is true and report it to the people. Democracies end and dictatorships start when leaders condemn journalists and tell the citizens to get their news only from them.”-Sarah Silverman
“Dominant thought on the right as America's reputation goes down in flames:”at least we are sticking it to the libtards”. Thats the Foxification of the Republican Party.”-Peter Daou
“Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of day, a week, a month or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.” Rep. John Lewis
Songs Of The Day
True Love Ways-Buddy Holly (1958) recorded as part of his last session in October of 58…before his death in Feb of 1959.
