Steelers Get a MUST Win

Big Day for James Conner!!

Behind all of their vaunted offensive weapons, especially RB James Conner, a very strong defensive performance, and even great special teams work, the Steelers triumphed 41-17 over Atlanta yesterday in what was as close to a "must win" situation as you can find in Week 5 of an NFL season.  As I said about Pitt's win over Syracuse the day before, this victory doesn't necessarily save the Steelers season, but a loss to the Falcons yesterday may well have killed it.

As the AFC North stands today, the 2-2-1 Steelers are tied with the Browns, 1.5 games behind the Ravens, and 2.5 games behind the Bengals, and their next three games are, in order, @Bengals, Browns, @Ravens.  That is the make-or-break stretch of games for this squad.

As for this coming week, the 4-1 Bengals are looking strong thus far in 2018, but....

...we know that the Mike Tomlin-Ben Roethlisberger Era Steelers do to the Marvin Lewis-Andy Dalton Era Bengals.   Still, one of these years these Bengals might beat these Steelers (just like one of these years these Steelers might actually beat the Belichick-Brady Patriots), but until it actually happens, it's not the smart way to bet.  As I always say, three things in life you can count on: Death, taxes, and unbelievable screw-ups by the Cincy Bengals.

Hope this chick....

....is ready for this Sunday and a ride down the Paul Brown Stadium Escaloser....

Pitt Wins; Steelers Need To Win

Therran Coleman's interception in OT

seals the win for Pitt

As we settled into our Heinz Field seats yesterday before 2-3 Pitt took on 4-1 Syracuse, I said to my pal Dan Bonk, "Pitt really, really needs to win this game today."   Over four and one-half hours later, Pitt pulled off a 44-37 overtime win in a game that was sandwiched around a ninety minute weather delay.  That was a first for me at a football game.  Still, it was a fun and highly entertaining game.

Think about it, had the Panthers lost, they would have fallen to 2-4 (1-2 in conference) going into the Notre Dame game at South Bend next week, a game in which ND will be, rightfully, heavily favored.  Then they would have been 2-5, and the season would have been pretty much over insofar as making a bowl game.  Now at 3-3, the path towards six wins and bowl eligibility (if THAT is how you want to define "success" out there in Oakland) becomes a bit more obtainable.  

Winning against Syracuse yesterday didn't necessarily save Pitt's season, but a loss would surely have killed it.

********

Similarly, the highly disappointing 1-2-1 Steelers take on an equally disappointing 1-3 Atlanta Falcons squad on the Heinz Field greensward this afternoon in a game that both teams really, really have to win.  Both teams have explosive offenses (that dud against the Ravens last week notwithstanding) and rather inept, so far, defenses.  We could be looking at a 45-42 type of game this afternoon.   Yes, there will still be eleven games remaining, but the team that loses today could very well be kissing their playoff hopes goodbye as a result.

Speaking of that Baltimore game last week, I was unable to watch the game due to the fact that a fallen tree on Rochester Road knocked out the power in our neighborhood.  It was a classic good news/bad news situation.  The Bad News was that I was unable to watch the Steelers-Ravens game, and the Good News was that I was unable to watch the Steelers-Ravens game.

Further bad news was that I was forced to listen to the game on the radio being described by Moe, Larry and Curly, otherwise known as Billy, Tunch, and "Wolf".  Wow, are they God-awful.  I am sure that any random sixteen year  old kid doing play-by-play of his high school team's football game on an Internet streaming broadcast would do at least as good a job as that crew.

Oh well, in about two hours I'll be settling in for this Steelers-Falcons tilt.  In about six hours, we'll know just how meaningful the rest of the Steelers season will be.

"A Star Is Born"

With the arrival of Fall, Hollywood begins unleashing the movies that are deemed to be Oscar worthy, and perhaps the first such biggie arrived this week, Bradley Cooper's "A Star Is Born".

It is a familiar story: Established Star meets Young Up And Coming Talent and takes her under his wing, and they fall deeply in love.  Soon, Young Up And Coming Talent surpasses Established Star whose booze and drug consumption causes his career to crash and burn since he cannot live in the shadows of the Young Up And Coming Talent who has now become an Established Star herself.

In this version, Cooper plays Jackson Maine, the mega rock and roll star, who stumbles into a drag bar one night in desperate need of just one more drink.  There he sees Ally, played by Lady Gaga, performing.  He takes a shine to her, buys her a drink, listens to her sing in a parking lot, falls for her, takes her under his wing, they fall in love....., and, well, you get the idea.

Cooper and Lady Gaga

Cooper is quite a talent.  In addition to starring in this one, he produced it, co-wrote it, and directed it.  He learned to play the guitar for this role and does all of his own playing and singing.  He also wrote many of the songs that are in it.  He is an amazingly talented guy.

However, the real star of this one is Lady Gaga.   In the beginning of this one, she is stripped bare of the "Gaga" persona that we all know.  Don't get me wrong, she is not unattractive, but she is far from the glamorous star that we have come to know over the last half dozen years or so.

Stefani Germanotta, aka Lady Gaga

She is vulnerable and insecure about her looks, yet also confident in her ability to write and sing songs, and when she sings, wow!  Lady Gaga is indeed in possession of a once-in-a-generation musical voice, and does that ever come through loud and clear in this movie.  Oh, and she wrote many of the songs that she sings in this film.  She can also act.  She has dabbled in movies a little before this, but "A Star Is Born" is going to add the title of "Movie Star" to her already impressive resume.  Simply put, I loved her in this one.

Three interesting supporting roles in this one.  Sam Elliot, the voice that sold a million Dodge Rams, plays Cooper's older brother.   Ally's father is played by foul mouthed comedian Andrew Dice Clay.  Clay also had a role in Woody Allen's "Blue Jasmine" (2013).  As he was in that movie, he is quite good in this one.  Finally, Ally's friend Ramon is played by Anthony Ramos, the young man who played the dual role of John Laurens/Phillip Hamilton in the original Broadway production of "Hamilton".

I mentioned in the beginning that this is a familiar story, and that leads us to the subject of remakes.  This story was first told by Hollywood in 1932 in a George Cukor directed movie called "What Price Hollywood".  I had never heard of this movie until Arch Campbell mentioned it on his movie podcast a few weeks ago. It was remade in 1937 as "A Star Is Born".  Directed by William Wellman and starring Janet Gaynor and Frederic March, and it won an Oscar for writing.  In 1954, Cukor took another crack at this one, added music and cast Judy Garland and James Mason, both of whom received Oscar nominations, in the leads.  In 1977, it was back again with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson, and it won an Oscar for Streisand and Paul Williams for Best Original Song.  

And now, forty-one years later, we are seeing it again, and the questions are once again asked, Why does Hollywood keep making remakes of movies, and SHOULD they even try?  I have talked about this subject in this forum on many previous occasions.  As to WHY, well, obviously, somebody thinks that such projects will make money for the studios, so there's that.  As to SHOULD they keep  remaking such movies, my answer is:  Yes, IF the remade film can tell the story in a different way and get the same message across, and, more importantly, IF the newer version of the story is actually a good movie.

In the case of 2018's "A Star Is Born", Cooper succeeds on both fronts, and if the movie does absolutely nothing else, it gives us Lady Gaga.  There is more to the movie than that, of course, but she alone is a reason to see this one.

Three and one-half Stars from The Grandstander.

A Tale of Two Pitchers

Just for shits and giggles, take a look at the 2018 stats for two right handed major league pitchers, both in their mid-twenties:

	Pitcher A	Pitcher B
Games	34	11
W-L	1-2	1-5
IP	56.0	55.2
ERA	4.34	4.20
K	72	64
BB	34	10
K:BB Ratio	2.1:1	6.4:1
WHIP	1.45	1.10
BA Against	0.226	0.208

If you were building a team, which of these pitchers would you select. A? B? Both of them? Neither of them?

After hearing from all you knowledgeable baseball folk out there, I will identify both pitchers.

Wrapping It Up On Corey Dickerson

Shortly after the Pirates traded for Corey Dickerson back in March, I expressed a concern that while the numbers on the back of his 2017 Tampa Bay baseball card looked quite good, his production dropped off alarmingly that season after the All-Star Game.  So, from time to time during this season, I have been putting Dickerson's season with the Pirates under the microscope to see just exactly how he's been doing.  Today, I want to take a final look at Dickerson's initial season with the Buccos.  Here it is, on a month-by-month basis:

(Disclaimer: I realizes that there are probably better ways to segment any player's season, but month-by-month was readily available on the Pirates website, so that's what you get from The Grandstander!)

Corey Dickerson - 2018	AB	Hits	BA	Runs	HR	RBI	OPS
March	6	1	0.167	1	0	1	0.333
April	93	30	0.323	15	3	15	0.907
May	101	31	0.307	9	2	15	0.799
June	76	20	0.263	8	0	1	0.603
July	70	28	0.400	17	6	12	1.253
August	90	19	0.211	4	0	2	0.486
September	68	22	0.324	11	2	9	0.920
YTD	504	151	0.300	65	13	65	0.804
Rank on team	2nd	2nd	1st	4th	3rd	6th	4th

Compared to 2017, Dickerson's HR totals decreased (27 to 13), RBI stayed constant (62 to 65), BA went up (.282 to .300), and OPS went down slightly (.815 to .804).  When you look at the bottom line, Dickerson had a pretty solid, if unspectacular, season as a Pirate.  And in the interests of looking at both sides of the ball, Dickerson had 263 defensive chances in the outfield this year and was charged with only one (1) error.  He had seven (7) assists, third among Pirate outfielders. 

What really strikes you though, is the peaks and valleys that comprised his season.   He started great in April into mid-May, slumped in June, had a great July, slumped in August, which also included some time on the DL, and had a strong September.  This is interesting, but how meaningful is it?  Well, take a look at what the Pirates as a team did on a month-by-month basis:

Pirates by Month 2018	Wins	Losses	%
March	1	0	1.000
April	16	12	0.571
May	12	15	0.444
June	10	16	0.385
July	17	9	0.654
August	10	17	0.370
September	16	10	0.615
TOTAL	82	79	0.509

Great start in April to mid-May, lousy in late May and June, a great July, lousy again in August, and a strong September.

Coincidence?  Can you say "As Dickerson goes, so go the Pirates"?  Of course, that is way too simple an explanation of the Pirates overall performance this season, but it is still kind of eerie, don't you think?

I am still formulating my final analysis of the 2018 Pirates, so watch for that in the days ahead.

A Bet I Was Happy To Lose

Back in the first week of September, the Pirates' record sat at 69-71.  They had 22 games remaining, nine against bad teams (Marlins, Royals, Reds), thirteen against good teams (Cubs, Cardinals, Brewers).  They would have had to go 13-9 during that stretch to finish above .500.  I felt that they would not be able to do it, and I went on The Facebook and offered to bet $2 on it to the first five people who accepted the bet.  Only four people, Tim Baker, Andy Terrick, Ryan Frankhauser, and Len Martin took me up on it.

(Yes, I was only willing to put ten of my own dollars at risk here.  I'm not a complete idiot!)

Anyway, last night's win over the Reds was win #81. Combined with the cancellation of the now meaningless rained out game with the Marlins, the Pirates are assured of a winning, i.e., an above .500 season.  FYI, the Bucs went 6-7 against those "good" teams, and are 6-0 with two left to play against the "bad" teams.

I have to admit, I never saw this coming at the beginning of the season, so good for the team for this accomplishment.  I have many thoughts on the 2018 Pirates, and I will share those at length later  in the week when the season officially concludes.

Tim - Your Thomas Jefferson is in the mail.

Len - I will square away with you at our next breakfast.

Andy and Ryan - Thank you for how you have asked me to earmark your winnings.

Oh, and I had one other bet on the likelihood of an above .500 season, so, Jim Haller, your October breakfast is on me.

I will close with a pic of the guys who I deem to be the Co-MVP's for this year's squad.

Trevor Williams and Jameson Taillon

Like I said, it's a bet that I don't mind losing.

"The Wife"

As "The Wife" opens novelist David Castleman (Jonathan Pryce) and his wife, Joan (Glenn Close), are anxiously awaiting a phone call.  In the middle of the night, the call comes from Stockholm:  Castleman has been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.  The couple celebrates, and then we get glimpses into their marriage as they are toasted by friends and travel to Stockholm to receive the award.

Castleman is a pompous, narcissistic bore....he is begrudging and overly critical of his son's own attempts at writing fiction....most importantly, he takes Joan for granted and publicly overlooks her talents, which she has sublimated over her lifetime in order to feed his own, and the degree to which she has done this becomes more and more apparent as the movie unfolds.

The movie includes several flashbacks of the younger David and Joan showing how they met and the early years of David's struggles to become a serious novelist.  In these flashbacks, Joan is played by Annie Starke, who is the real life daughter of Glenn Close, which is a pretty cool piece of casting.  

There is also a key character of a writer who wants to do a biography of the new Nobel winner, a project with which the Castlemans want no part.  He is played by Christian Slater, and when was the last time you saw him in a movie?  It was one of those times where you're watching and saying "I recognize that guy, but I just can't put my finger on exactly who he is."  It's a key role, and Slater pulls it off nicely.

This is a a dramatic movie.  If you're looking for a lot of laughs, super heroes, or seeing things blow up, "The Wife" ain't it.  What you do get is a well written and directed character study that is thought provoking and insightful.    I'm not sure just how commercial "The Wife" will be or if it will find a big audience.  Too bad if that is the case, as Marilyn and I really enjoyed it and highly recommend it.

It gets Four Stars from The Grandstander.

Glenn Close as Joan Castleman

Glenn Close is a six time Academy Award nominee who has yet to take home the Oscar.  (I know what you're thinking:  How could she NOT have won in 1988 for her role in "Fatal Attraction", but she didn't, and Cher, of all people, did.  Another instance where the Academy got it wrong.)  All the reviews and buzz about "The Wife" says that THIS will be the role that will finally get Close her Oscar.  We'll see, but another nomination is a cinch and will be well deserved.  Just watch her face in a couple of scenes (when David accepts his award from the King of Sweden, and when he makes his speech at the banquet that follows).  It is one terrific piece of acting that you are seeing up there on screen.