I got a different perspective on the baseball sign stealing scandal last night. I ran into former Woodchucks manager Steve Foster who was back in the area visiting friends. Foster is a former major league pitcher who is currently the pitching coach for the Colorado Rockies. It's his job to prepare a game-plan for his pitchers to use against opposing teams. And if his pitchers struggle he'll get fired. He said that privately he has been railing about sign stealing with his employers for quite awhile. Now as a former player he did not want to go public with his suspicions for various reasons. But now that the commissioners office report is out and it is damning for all involved, he feels he can vent a little bit. It's his belief that there are many teams that have done what the Astros did. As I mentioned yesterday, SI reporter Tom Verducci says at least 7 teams in the majors have been doing it and Foster believes one of those teams is the Milwaukee Brewers. Now, I have no idea if that's true. Former Brewer Mike Fiers was the player who outed the Astros and, as far as I know, did not name other teams including his former employers in Milwaukee. Colorado met the Brewers in the 2018 postseason and it seemed, to Foster, a former major league pitcher, that Brewer hitters were not reacting, especially to sliders, they way they should if they didn't know what was coming. We don't know how widespread the current investigation will go although Alex Cora, who was bench coach in Houston, and manager of the Boston Red Sox was fired yesterday…and former Astro Carlos Beltran, new manager of the Mets, was named as a participant in the Houston cheating. The investigation may stop there…but you've gotta believe that other teams that were using technology to steal signs will get the message and cease the operations. And breathe a sigh of relief that they didnt get caught up in the fallout.
I've seen some interesting reaction to the investigation and the firings of those involved. Some are saying that this isnt as bad as the Steroid Era, and that some of those guys are getting more support for the Hall of Fame this year…and I saw another meme that suggested that if Pete Rose is banned for life, the current punishment is too lenient. They are taking the position that Rose's punishment was too harsh. IMO Rose was an idiot who defied rules he knew were in place and knew what would happen if he was caught. He also denied for years that he had even done it. The current situation was a little bit grayer as organic sign-stealing has been going on for years and was considered part of the game. The recent high-tech stuff has pushed into a place where baseball decided that they had to do something to stop it.
Happy Birthday to Regina King who turns 49 today. She is one of those actresses that makes any material she's given better. whether its movies like Ray or TV shows like The Watchmen. I'm going to include an older show which she was in called Southland. You may have missed this one a number of years ago but if you can seek it out…it is really good. It aired for one season on NBC in 2009 and three more seasons on TNT. A cut above the normal cop shows with a great cast including King
Don't look now but the Wisconsin Badger basketball team has knocked off three ranked opponents in a row and will get another chance Friday night against Michigan State. I don't think it's any surprise that one of the big reasons why is the availability of Micah Potter for the last four weeks.
The Minnesota Twins added to their powerful offense with a surprise signing on Tuesday. Josh Donaldson was expected to go elsewhere but ended up with a four year deal from the Twins for 92 million bucks. It includes a fifth year option for the 34 year old who came back from a serious injury to put together an excellent bounce back season last year.
A new Brewers book celebrating the 50th birthday of the team is on the way. Written by Brewers beat reporter Adam McCalvy
Covers Of The Day (Harry Nilsson died on this date in 1994)
Quotes Of The Day
“So far, Scott Walker's Foxconn deal looks like one of the biggest bunco schemes ever foisted on a single state.”-Charles Pierce
https://esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a30520…
“If we can get rid of Mitch McConnell, we can literally change the trajectory of our country.”-Amy McGrath (running against McConnell in Kentucky)
“Contrary to GOP framing: Democrats have been the best stewards of the economy in modern times INCLUDING in managing the deficit. This is a HUGE issue as Trump’s tax cut ballooned it to $1 trillion in an expansion year and largest in a decade. A winning point in for us in GE.”-Amy Siskind
Reagan (R)
$175 billion deficit
Bush Senior (R)
$269 billion deficit
Clinton (D)
$127 billion surplus
Bush Junior (R)
$1.4 trillion deficit
Obama (D)
$492 billion deficit
Trump (R)
$1.1 trillion deficit
Democrats clean up the damn messes Republicans create.
-Andrea Junker
“It’ll be interesting and revealing if the only defense witnesses the Trump lawyers try to call are folks like Hunter Biden, who have no logical relevance to the charges against President Trump. That would strongly suggest what’s increasingly emerging: Trump has no defense at all.”-Lawrence Tribe
“McConnell’s idea of a fair trial is one where the defendant gets to choose which evidence may be used against him.”-Eric Columbus
https://twitter.com/steventdennis/status/121710519…
“As usual the stories keep changing. Barr and Pompeo shift justification for Iran strike from 'imminent' threat to deterrence.”-Richard Painter
https://cnn.com/2020/01/13/politics/pompeo-barr-so…
“BREAKING: State Dept officials were never warned about any imminent threats to US embassies, two State Dept officials tell CNN. Trump is a dangerous pathological liar who needs to be removed by the Senate immediately. Then he needs to be prosecuted for every crime he's committed.”-Scott Dworkin
“right now some Deplorable with a persistent cough is driving a crappy car on crumbling roads past abandoned storefronts to a low-paying job and pumping his fist and going “hell yeah!” as he hears on wingnut radio about how Trump wants the Supreme Court to gut Obamacare”-Jeff Tiedrich
“I don’t think “this” “ends”. I think we delude ourselves with the idea of narrative closure in history. The potential for a president like Trump, for instance, has always been with us. Mark Twain would have instantly recognized him for what he is.”-William Gibson
“https://twitter.com/davidcorndc/status/1216504439642710023
“In covering US wars, I've been in foxholes and VA hospitals, on medic choppers and patrols. Brave Americans serve their nation, not political parties. The accusation that somehow one party supports the enemy is a debasement of everything that should define us as a country.”-Dan Rather
“If Trump sold a candle that smelled like his ass it too would be sold out. I mean the GOP Senate orders alone. @realDonaldTrump@GOP”-Tom Smith
“Abortion –
The issue that gets followers of Christ
to vote against everything Christ talked about,
by talking about something Christ never talked about.”-John Fugelsang
“Just when you think Trump's Twitter account can no longer shock you, he engages in hate speech against an entire religion and posts an image of a mutilated body.”-Walter Schaub
