22 Oct 2023

Column: Random thoughts on a fall day, from Kyle Schwarber’s postseason record to the perplexing popularity of Pat McAfee

by | posted in: sport | 0

Fall might be the best time of the year to live in Chicago.

The changing colors and cooler temperatures are always agreeable. The start of the Blackhawks and Bulls seasons provide hope for better days ahead. And the countdown to the first mock draft gives Bears fans something to look forward to as well.

It’s a good time to let your mind wander aimlessly, which leads to random non sequiturs like the following.

There was only one Mr. October.

Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber tied Reggie Jackson’s postseason home run mark for left-handed hitters Tuesday in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series.

Both have 18, so Schwarber figures to set the record soon.

The difference is that 10 of Jackson’s 18 home runs came in his five World Series appearances. He had a 1.212 OPS in 98 World Series at-bats, earning the nickname “Mr. October” with his three homers against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 6 of the 1977 Series.

Only three of Schwarber’s 18 home runs occurred in a World Series, all of them coming in last year’s loss to the Houston Astros. He was homerless for the Cubs in the 2016 Series, when he made a remarkable comeback after missing almost the entire season and the first two rounds of the postseason after knee surgery.

That’s not to diminish Schwarber’s accomplishments. He’s one of his era’s greatest sluggers. But it needs to be pointed out when mentioning such “records” that the expansion of the postseason has skewed the record book. It’s much easier to get in than it was in Jackson’s era.

In other words, the Schwarber-versus-Jackson debate is deserving of an asterisk.

Chicago’s growing migrant population needs our help.

Seeing so many migrants camped out in tents around local police stations is heartbreaking. Watching residents react angrily at the possibility of relocating the migrants to their neighborhoods stirs up other emotions.

It seems like a problem with no good solution. But seeing the tents at the Town Hall station on Addison Street, only a few blocks from Wrigley Field, made me wonder about our two empty baseball stadiums.

How difficult would it be for the city to pay the Chicago Cubs for temporary use of their ballpark for the next four or five months until they need to get ready for opening day? The suites might be small, but they’re bigger than the tents currently used as living quarters. The Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, which owns Guaranteed Rate Field, also could be paid for use as shelter during the cold winter months.

Yes, there would be costs for security and heat and electricity, and it wouldn’t solve all the problems of the growing migrant population.

But it would help some families get through a cold Chicago winter.

I’m sure neither Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts nor Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf would mind as long as they had enough time to get their ballparks ready for the 2024 season, right? By then, perhaps Mayor Brandon Johnson would have a plan in place.

If anyone has a better idea, let’s hear it.

Get ready for a long delay before the World Series.

The pitch clock sped up the game, but it can’t speed up October’s postseason schedule.

The Phillies look poised to sweep the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLCS. The Texas Rangers appear ready to end the American League Championship Series at home against the Houston Astros in the next few days. That would mean we could be looking at a long gap between the LCSes and the start of the World Series.

MLB long ago scheduled Game 1 of the World Series for Oct. 27. But if the Phillies and Rangers win in four or five games, that would mean no baseball on tap for five or six days.

We all know TV rules the postseason schedule. But if both series end early, wouldn’t it make sense to move the World Series up a few days, perhaps even ending it by Halloween?

The list of famous people whose popularity escapes me gets longer every year.

That doesn’t mean they don’t deserve their fame. It just means I’m too old to understand what everyone else sees in them.

Among the celebrities I find devoid of real talent are Pete Davidson, Kevin Hart, Awkwafina, Sharon Osbourne, Jared Leto, Andy Cohen, Whoopi Goldberg, Ryan Seacrest, Russell Brand, Chris Pratt and any and all Kardashians.

It’s much longer, but you get the point.

My latest addition to the list is ESPN’s Pat McAfee, a former NFL punter and wrestler who shot to fame interviewing Aaron Rodgers on his podcast. He adopted a signature look by wearing a black tank top to show he’s different from other sports analysts, and apparently it works.

There’s no doubt McAfee is different, but he’s not funny or particularly insightful. Fawning over Rodgers is what he does best. What’s worse, he’s now ubiquitous on ESPN with his own show and a stint on College GameDay, where his clowning brings down an otherwise fine show. When he’s on, I always grab the remote.

I suppose McAfee’s audience is composed of millennial and Generation X “bros” who think he’s one of them, but I’ve yet to meet anyone who really enjoys his shtick. Nevertheless, McAfee clones will soon be all over TV.

It’s a copycat world, and we’re just living in it.

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22 Oct 2023

Other voices: Biden shows presidential courage in Israel

by | posted in: Politics | 0

Whether the matter is of formidable geopolitical import or merely a kid’s choir concert, showing up is one of the best ways to convey support.

So the mere physical presence of President Joe Biden in Israel Wednesday conveyed far more than most statements or speeches. Moreover, it came with such a level of political risk that we don’t doubt for a moment that some White House advisers urged him to stay home.

Those who are paid to worry about risk no doubt saw myriad red lights flashing. A full-throated defense of Israel and its right to defend itself hardly is the incontrovertible creed of the Democratic Party, especially given the unfolding humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

Those who put together presidential visits like to control the circumstances to show off their principal at his best. But when an explosion rocked a hospital in Gaza on Tuesday night, the intended balance of Biden’s trip was thrown off.

Biden had been scheduled to travel to Amman, Jordan, to meet with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas — crucial sessions given that a stated reason of the trip was to prevent escalation of the conflict.

But all of that got axed after the explosion as the anguish of the residents of Gaza was thrown into sharp relief on the world’s TV screens. The result: Biden was pictured only with Israeli officials. These were not images of an honest broker in a crisis with a long and complicated history, the preferred stance of some Democrats. They were pictures of someone coming to a grieving nation with a message that they are not alone. And that clear statement of support was tacitly backed up by a U.S. military force hovering in the Mediterranean Sea.

Biden cleared up the issue of who had bombed the Gaza hospital, citing U.S. intelligence reports that it was not an Israeli attack. European media had reported that same evidence, including wiretaps of a Hamas conversation, on Tuesday night, even as The New York Times was changing its headlines on its reports and CNN was speculating that the truth may not ever be known.

That was nonsense. There was an explosion causing grievous loss of life, and there is a forensic ability to figure out what sort of projectile was the cause. Biden has access to the best intelligence in the world and he was right to put the matter to rest.

Like many Americans, we’ve been worried not so much about Biden’s age, per se, but about his mental fitness for a second term. No doubt that same concern exists within the White House, where his loyalists are bound and determined to prevent situations where there is a high risk of a stumble, be it mental or physical. This was a visit carrying just such risks: long-distance travel involves jet lag, body aches and potential mental fog, even for much younger people. Biden took that risk. And, at the time of this writing, he has looked entirely up to his task in Israel.

We’ve often lamented the lack of authenticity in our local and national leaders, many of whom hide behind subordinates and refuse to defend their own decisions. In days following the Hamas attacks on Israel, we’ve similarly lamented the rise of spineless positions, written from overly cautious postures and specifically designed to appease, not to stand up for the truth. Academic leaders have been particularly unimpressive in that regard, and many have failed to lead the students who trust them.

But there was no mistaking Biden’s physical body standing in Tel Aviv.

Of course, only a naive person sees global diplomacy as painted entirely on a moral canvas. There will be political benefits to Biden’s trip; Jewish voters will surely remember the support for Israel from the White House, as well as many Republicans. Campaign strategists no doubt are biding their time until it can be mentioned.

We hope Biden pressed the Israelis hard on allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza, permitting safe civilian passage away from missiles, and on facilitating the exit from Gaza of U.S. citizens, whether by land or sea. The U.S. has an obligation to aid its citizens at risk and there are many Americans who were visiting family in Gaza and then found themselves trapped. Biden should use every means at his disposal to get them out and home to safety.

We were heartened when he noted that the U.S., in its pain, made mistakes after the Sept. 11 attacks and that he urged the Israelis to learn from that history. Exacting vengeance is not the same thing as neutralizing terrorists and ensuring security. Assigning collective guilt on an entire population, especially one with such a high percentage of children, is a crime against humanity.

But by showing such clear support, by traveling and being present himself, Biden showed his backbone and gave himself fresh currency.

Americans admire leaders who stand on principle.

— The Chicago Tribune

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22 Oct 2023

Biden walks a tightrope with his support for Israel as his party’s left urges restraint

by | posted in: News | 0

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden told a crowd of Democratic donors over the weekend about a decades-old photo he took with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, an aside that seemed intended to illustrate his long support of Israel and track record of speaking bluntly with the conservative Israeli leader.

Biden said he’d written on the photo of himself as a young senator and Netanyahu as an embassy hand, “Bibi, I love you. I don’t agree with a damn thing you say.’” He told donors at a Friday night fundraiser that Netanyahu still keeps the photo on his desk and had brought it up during Biden’s lightning visit to Tel Aviv last week.

As expectations grow that Israel will soon launch a ground offensive aimed at rooting out Hamas militants who rule the Gaza Strip, Biden finds himself facing anew the difficult balancing act of demonstrating full-throated support for America’s closest ally in the Middle East while trying to also press the Israelis to act with enough restraint to keep the war from spreading into a broader conflagration.

Biden has literally, and figuratively, wrapped Netanyahu in a warm embrace since the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas. He’s repeatedly promised to have Israel’s back as it aims to take out the militant group that controls the Gaza Strip and carried out the brutal attacks that killed 1,400 Israelis and captured more than 200 others.

But he also increasingly is paying greater public heed to the plight of Palestinians and the potential consequences of a hardline Israeli response.

White House officials say Biden, during his visit to Tel Aviv last week, asked Netanyahu “tough” questions about his strategy and the way forward. Biden himself told reporters on his way back from Israel that he had a “long talk” with Israeli officials “about what the alternatives are” to a possible extended ground operation. U.S. defense officials were also consulting with Israel on the matter.

“We’re going to make sure other hostile actors in the region know that Israel is stronger than ever and prevent this conflict from spreading,” Biden said Thursday in a nationally televised address on assisting Israel and Ukraine in their wars. “At the same time … Netanyahu and I discussed again yesterday the critical need for Israel to operate by the laws of war. That means protecting civilians in combat as best as they can.”

The pressure on Biden for a balanced approach comes from Arab leaders in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and beyond who have seen large protests erupt in their capitals over the crisis in Gaza. It also comes from European officials, who have expressed horror at the most brutal attack on Israeli soil in decades, but also underscored that the Israelis must abide by international and humanitarian law. Biden also faces scrutiny from people in the younger and more liberal wing of his Democratic Party, who are more divided over the Israel-Palestinian issue than the party’s centrist and older leaders.

Less than week into the war, dozens of lawmakers wrote to Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging them to ensure the protection of Israeli and Palestinian civilians by calling for Israeli military operations to follow the rules of international humanitarian law, the safe return of hostages, and diplomatic efforts to ensure long-lasting peace. That was followed by more than a dozen lawmakers introducing a resolution urging the Biden administration to call for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire.

Three members of the Democratic caucus — Reps. Delia Ramirez of Illinois, Summer Lee of Pennsylvania and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan — wrote to Blinken last week about the “lack of meaningful information” about the status of U.S. civilians, particularly those in Gaza and the West Bank. The administration has said some 500 to 600 U.S. citizens may be in Gaza.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., has suggested that the administration has demonstrated a double standard when it comes to valuing the lives of innocent Israelis and Gaza residents. Israel’s retaliatory bombing campaign has killed more than 4,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. Many of the victims are women and children.

“How do you look at one atrocity and say, ‘This is wrong,’ but you watch as bodies pile up as neighborhoods are leveled?” Omar asked at a news conference. “Israel has dropped more bombs in the last 10 days than we dropped in a whole year in Afghanistan. Where is your humanity? Where is your outrage? Where is your care for people?”

Inside the administration there has been debate over whether Biden is pursuing a policy too closely aligned to Israel’s.

Last week, at least one department official resigned, saying he could no longer support what he called a “one-sided” policy that favors Israel at the expense of the Palestinians.

“I cannot work in support of a set of major policy decisions, including rushing more arms to one side of the conflict, that I believe to be short-sighted, destructive, unjust and contradictory to the very values that we publicly espouse,” Josh Paul, an 11-year veteran of the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, wrote in a statement posted to his LinkedIn account on Wednesday.

Other State Department officials have expressed similar concerns and some of them spoke at a series of internal discussions for employees that were held on Friday, according to people familiar with the events who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. Many of those comments were angry and emotional, these people said.

Blinken sent a department-wide memo Thursday urging employees to remember the administration’s broader goals for equal justice and peace for both Israel and the Palestinians.

Biden administration officials, meanwhile, in their interactions with their Israeli counterparts have witnessed trauma — and rage — that is palpable.

The most significant announcement to come out of Biden’s visit to Israel this past week was getting Egypt and Israel to agree to allow a limited number of trucks carrying food, water, medicine and other essentials into Gaza via the Rafah border crossing

While the agreement to allow some aid into to Gaza appeared to be minor considering the enormity of the humanitarian crisis, U.S. officials said it represented a significant concession in the position Israel held before Blinken’s meeting with Netanyahu on Monday and Biden’s talks with the Israeli leader on Wednesday.

During the Blinken-Netanyahu talks, U.S. officials familiar with the discussions said they had become increasingly alarmed by comments from their Israeli counterparts about their intention to deny even supplies of water, electricity, fuel, food and medicine into Gaza, as well as the inevitability of civilian casualties.

Those comments, according to four U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe private conversations, reflected intense anguish, anger and outright hostility toward all Palestinians in Gaza.

The officials said that members of the Israeli security and political establishment were absolutely opposed to the provision of any assistance to Gazans and argued that the eradication of Hamas would require methods used in the defeat of the Axis powers in World War II.

One official said that he and others had heard from Israeli counterparts that “a lot of innocent Germans died in WWII” and had been reminded of the massive deaths of Japanese civilians in the U.S. nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Similarly, Biden and his top aides heard deep anguish from some of the high-ranking Israeli officials involved in the private talks, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter.

As he wrapped up his 7 1/2-hour visit to Tel Aviv, Biden compared the Oct. 7 assault to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States that killed nearly 3,000 people and he recalled the rage Americans felt and the desire for justice by many in the United States. He also urged the Israelis to remember American missteps after 9/11, an era that left the U.S. military ensconced in a 20-year war in Afghanistan.

“I caution this: While you feel that rage, don’t be consumed by it,” he said. “After 9/11, we were enraged in the United States. And while we sought justice and got justice, we also made mistakes.”

.

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22 Oct 2023

Orioles’ John Means looking forward to ‘normal’ offseason, spring training after return from Tommy John surgery

by | posted in: sport | 0

As the Orioles packed up their lockers in the visitors’ clubhouse at Globe Life Field last week, John Means had similar — yet also different — feelings of disappointment.

Means diligently worked for 16 months to make his way back from elbow surgery and pitched like one of Baltimore’s best starters in September, only to have a flare-up in his left elbow two days before the American League Division Series against the Texas Rangers started.

“Yeah, it was tough,” Means said about missing the ALDS after the Orioles’ loss in Game 3. “These guys have been so good all year. But obviously I wanted to be out there, try and help this team, but it just wasn’t in the cards.”

That elbow discomfort Means felt during his two-inning simulated game turned out to be something “small,” he said, and the decision to hold him out of the ALDS was “just one of those precautionary things.”

Past the disappointment of missing the Orioles’ first playoff appearance since 2016, Means’ elbow being structurally OK is good news for the left-hander and Baltimore’s rotation in 2024. Means said he expects to have a “normal” offseason and head into spring training ready for a full season.

“I’m looking forward to that,” Means said. “I should be ready to go. I’m looking forward to spring training when I’m not held back.”

Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias said during his end-of-season news conference last week that Means’ elbow is in “good shape.”

“His elbow just kind of barked at an unfortunate time for him, but we’ve gotten it looked at and he’s gonna be fine, so he’ll be a full-go in spring training,” Elias said. “Nothing needed for treatment with him other than just kind of time and rest.”

Means suffered through the Orioles’ painful rebuild as the club’s best starting pitcher. He was an All-Star and AL Rookie of the Year runner-up in 2019 and the team’s opening day starter in 2021 and 2022. But in his second start of the 2022 season, he tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow and later underwent Tommy John elbow reconstruction.

Three weeks after his surgery, the Orioles promoted catcher Adley Rutschman and transformed into a playoff contender. From the time of his injury to when he returned in September 2023, Means watched from the side as Baltimore emerged from the rebuild to play important games through the 2022 season and then spend the first five months of the 2023 campaign as one of MLB’s best teams.

The hope was Means could return in July, but a muscle strain in his back delayed his return by about two months.

“It was up and down, for sure,” Means said of his 2023. “I was glad I made it back eventually. I was hoping to make it back for more, but, yeah, I was happy with how I felt when I was back, so I guess that’s all you can ask for.”

Even though he only started four games and didn’t pitch in the postseason, he still played an integral role down the stretch. He posted a 2.66 ERA in 23 2/3 innings, including a masterful start in Cleveland in which he took a no-hit bid into the seventh to help end a three-game losing streak.

“The guy came out of nowhere and saved our division title in Cleveland, and I’ll never forget that,” Elias said.

Not having Means in the ALDS did play a factor in the sweep, although whether the left-hander would’ve made a big enough difference to turn the series is unlikely. It’s also unclear whether Means would’ve started Game 3 in Arlington, Texas, or come out of the bullpen sometime in the series, but manager Brandon Hyde said not having Means affected how he could use the rest of his pitching staff.

“It’s just one of those things that happened. It’s unfortunate, but it happened and it didn’t allow us to have one of our starters go in the bullpen,” Hyde said.

In 2024, Means could once again help lead the Orioles’ rotation, but one that’s much better than the ones he headlined during the rebuild. Kyle Bradish emerged this season as one of the AL’s best starting pitchers, while rookie Grayson Rodriguez bounced back from a poor first half with a stellar second, although he struggled in his one postseason start.

After the Game 3 loss to the Rangers, Means said getting playoff experience will be beneficial for a team that’s still on the upswing.

“This is something that, you know, is going to be very useful down the road,” he said. “This team is so young and so talented and so smart, too, that they’re just going to be able to be even better next year.”

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