Opening Day 2024

I cannot recall a time in the fifteen years (!!) that I have been writing this blog where I have spent a spring time where I have written less about baseball and, more specifically, the Pittsburgh Pirates than I have in this Year of Our Lord 2024.  So, on this Opening Day, the day in which all things remain possible, as JFK might have put it, let us begin.

Before getting into the Pirates, a word about what will be, if it isn't already, Rob Manfred's biggest nightmare, the Shohei Ohtani Affair.  Baseball's biggest star has found himself smack in the middle of some questionable affair concerning illegal bookmaking and betting on, maybe, possibly, baseball games to the tune of a measly $4.5 million.  The Dodgers and Ohtani have already fired the guy set to become the Fall Guy here, Ohtani's interpreter, but this thing is far from over, and Manfred has to be sick with the thought of having to suspend or even ban the sport's brightest and biggest star over these matters.

As the saying goes, we'll see how it all plays out.

Now, on to the Pirates.

Of the twenty-six players coming north with the team, here are the players about whom I am excited:

SP Mitch Keller

SP Jared Jones

RP David Bender

C   Henry Davis

SS Oneil Cruz (especially him!!)

3B Ke'Bryan Hayes

OF Brian Reynolds

OF Jack Suwinski

OF Michael A. Taylor

DH Andrew McCutchen

Ten out of twenty-six, and only two of them are starting pitchers, and therein lies the biggest question mark and/or weakness of the team: starting pitching and the lack of depth therein.   This is especially frustrating when one realizes that the team just might possess an outstanding starting pitcher, one who shows all the signs of becoming a legitimate Ace Number One starter, and he will be starting the season in Indianapolis.  I am speaking of course of Paul Skenes, last year's over all first pick in the draft.  He has pitched all of three innings in spring training, but according to all reports, he is Major League ready NOW, but the Bucs are not bringing him to Pittsburgh to start the season.  Gotta protect that service time...gotta put off that arbitration eligibility date....gotta put off that free agency eligibility season (by which time, there is a good chance that the team will already have traded him for prospects).  Yep, can't spend any money if you don't have to on the Bob Nutting Ship of Fools.  What a tiring story this has become.

In 2023, the Pirates improved by 14 games over 2022, and won 76 games.  A similar improvement in '24 would produce 90 wins and put the Pirates in the thick of playoff contention, but alas, I don't see it happening.  FanDuel set the Over/Under on Pirates wins for the season at 75.5.  I put $20 on the OVER, if only because I don't want to be rooting for them to lose as the season winds down in September.  I think 75-80 wins is about the outside limit for the team this year.  As always, when it comes to the Bucs, I hope that I'm wrong in this gloomy forecast.

My own goal is to see at least twelve games at PNC Park this season.

Oh, and I also know that we are all looking forward to 162 more of Derek Shelton's always riveting post game pressers.

Raise The Jolly Roger!!

On Katherine, Princess of Wales

 

I don't write a lot about the Royal Family of Great Britain because, frankly, I view the Monarchy as an anachronism of immense proportions, and, outside of watching a well done soap opera like "The Crown", who really cares about this family, which over the last century or so, has brought whole new meaning to the term "dysfunctional family"?

As such, I was vaguely aware that the Princess of Wales had recently undergone abdominal surgery, and then seemed to disappear from sight.  I did, however, like most other people, see the video that the Princess recently made announcing to the world that during the course of this rather serious surgery, cancer was discovered, and that she is now undergoing chemotherapy for treatment of the disease.

As person who lost his wife to cancer almost three years ago, after she had battled the disease for almost five years, and after she had undergone chemo and and other treatments for the disease over the course of her illness, watching this video of the Princess was almost personal to me.  It brought up lots of bad memories, and it made me feel a great deal of sympathy for Katherine.   I could almost see the feelings and emotions that had to be roiling within her.  Why did she need to make such a deeply personal announcement for all of the world to see?

I suppose that since she is the wife of the guy who will one day become King justifies it.  Also, perhaps the Princess wishes to serve as a role model others similarly afflicted.  

But if you can justify this public announcement on those bases, there is one other question that needs to be answered:

WHY WASN'T HER PRIG OF A  HUSBAND SITTING ALONG SIDE HER AS SHE MADE THIS ANNOUNCEMENT?

You can give me all of the British "stiff upper lip" bullshit you want, but this is inexcusable.  I have been that husband, and throughout the whole ordeal, the only place I ever wanted to be was by Marilyn's side.

Count me among the many who shall be rooting for Katherine to come through and survive this awful ordeal.

Down By the Old Video Stream

I have finally finished watching three different streaming series on the boob tube, and here is what I have to say about them.

Feud: Capote vs. The Swans (Hulu)

Remember the "Feud" series from 2017 about Bette Davis vs. Joan Crawford?  That was a delightfull bit of soap opera-ish trash that was so much fun to watch.  Well, FX/Hulu finally came up with a new season, this one about Truman Capote and what he called his swans, a group of six high society ladies who he courted and in whom he confided, and they, in turn, confided in him, until he one day wrote an Esquire magazine article where he thinly disguised each of them and told the world about all of their foibles, flaws, faults, and secrets that were behind their high society veneers.  They, in turn, ostracized him, and sent him into a sinking spiral of drugs, alcohol, and writer's block.

Tom Hollender, like Phillip Seymour Hoffman before him, plays Capote to a T with the high pitched voice, fey mannerisms, and outlandish clothes.  It was the cast that comprised the Swans that intrigued me about this show: Naomi Watts, Diane Lane, Chloe Sevigny, Calista Flockhart, and former brat packers Demi Moore and Molly Ringwald.   Among the six swans, Watts, Lane, and Sevigny get most of the screen time in this eight part series.  Ringwald, of "Sixteen Candles" fame and who is now, believe it or not, 56 years old, was the one that I was most anxious to see.  Alas and alack, she was prominent in only two of the episodes and was barely recognizable, to me, at least.

One of the main plot points was Capote's struggle to produce what he felt was gong to be his masterpiece, a novel called "Answered Prayers" which would expand upon the Esquire piece and bring further humiliation to the high society grande dames.  Capote may or may not have finished Answered Prayers.  There are legends that he did finish and then destroyed it.  Capote himself once stated that he locked it away in a locker in the Los Angeles bus station.   Whatever happened, the completed version of the novel was never found amongst the papers and files of Truman Capote, who died in 1984 at the age of 59.  

A version of Answered Prayers was published.  It was only 150 pages long, and consisted of three parts, one of which was the complete article that appeared in that long ago Esquire magazine story.  I bought a copy of it and read it, but I didn't really like it at all.  I also bought a copy of Capote's true masterpiece, In Cold Blood.  I read that book over fifty years ago when I was in high school, and I can't wait to read it again, as I now have over fifty years of life experience and, I hope, maturity, under my belt, but more on that after I do read it once again.

The show is lavish and stylish, well written and acted, and delightfully trashy.   It gets Three Stars from The Grandstander.

TED (Peacock)

Remember the 2012 movie that starred Mark Wahlberg who, as a young boy wished that his teddy bear would come to life and be his best friend forever, and did?  "Family Guy's" Seth MccFarlane was the brains behind that movie, as well as the voice of Ted, and it delivered exactly what you would have expected from MacFarlane.

Well, now Ted is a TV series from Peacock.  It is set 1993, and Ted lives with a Boston family that includes his best buddy, sixteen year old high schooler, John, John's parents, and his cousin Blair, who is living with the family as she attends college in the area.

"Family Guy" is a series that you are almost embarrassed to tell people that you watch.  It has crude humor, which include lots of flatulence jokes.  It has almost no social value and much of it is very bad taste, but it is also hilarious.  Well, "Ted" is all of that and then some.  As it is not on network over-the-air television, MacFarlane doesn't let out any stops when it comes to "adult" language and humor.

Season One consists of seven episodes.  It is rude, crude, often tasteless, but you will also find yourself laughing constantly and loudly.

Two Stars from The Grandstander.

True Detective: Night Country (HBO Max)

I was really looking forward to watching this six episode series for several reasons.  HBO's True Detective series were always praised, (even though I had never seen one), it had an exotic setting, the wilds of Alaska during the six months of the year when the sun never appeared, and it starred Jodi Foster.

Three episodes in I was saying to myself "Gee, I hope that this picks up soon."  It took me three separate sittings to get through Episode Four, and when it was over I was saying "Well, I've put this much time into it, so I guess I'll watch the final two episode."  It took two sittings to watch Episode Five, and today I made myself plow through the sixth and final episode.

What a convoluted slog of a series.  I couldn't keep track of the various plot lines, probably because I didn't care all that much.  And that final episode!  (ATTN: Spoiler Alerts to come right here)  Foster and her partner (Kali Reis) enter an ice cave all by themselves, with no back ups.  This defies all credulity insofar as correct police work goes.  Foster falls through the ice and into the ocean, but somehow survives.  We are forced to believe that ghosts from beyond have dogged Reis throughout the series are now visiting Foster, too.  And the central mystery - what happened to the crew at the Tsalal Research Station - seems to get solved, not from out of left field, but from out of the bullpen located on one of the spring training practice fields.

A very disappointing series to me.  Glad it was only six episodes instead of ten.

One Star from The Grandstander.

Up next for me are two series: "Death and Other Details" (Hulu), a ten part mystery in the mold of "Murder on the Orient Express" starring Mandy Patinkin, and "The Regime" an HBO Max series starring Kate Winslet.  HBO and Winslet hit it out of the park a few years back with "Mare of Easton", so I am hoping that they can do it again.

Also, for the past few months Linda and I have been binge watching "Seinfeld" from Season One, Episode One, and we are ready to start the ninth and final season of the series.  I have come up with some thoughts and comments on the series as a whole as I rewatch it all these years later (can you believe that this show  debuted in 1992, over THIRTY years ago?), that I will yak about in this space once we finish the series in the next couple of weeks.

Way To Go Duquesne, and Other Sports Tidbits

Hearty CONGRATULATIONS go out to day to the Duquesne Dukes, the college basketball team of my youth, and the Alma Mater of my parents, Class of '35, and my older brother Jim, Class of '66, and their head coach of seven years, Keith Dambrot for winning the Atlantic 10 Tournament and earning an automatic bid into this year's NCAA Tournament.  As we were constantly reminded by the announcers over the course of the A-10 tourney, this is the Dukes first trip to the Big Dance since 1977, the first year of the Carter Administration to put it perspective.

I'm not going to lie, I hadn't followed the Dukes much at all this season, but I was thrilled to watch them in this tournament as they beat top seed Dayton and then St. Bonaventure and Virginia Commonwealth in the semis and the finals.  When I was just a tyke being indoctrinated into the world of sports by my grandfather, father, and older brothers, there were the Pirates in baseball, the Steelers in football, and Duquesne in basketball.  That's was it.  That was the list.  So, yes, I'm thrilled for Duquesne today.

One could write a book - and my pal Dave Finoli probably already has - about what has happened to the once storied program on The Bluff, but let's forget about it for now and celebrate today.  Who knows what kind of run the Dukes may have once the NCAA extravaganza tips off, but it sure is nice to see them relevant once again.

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Well, the figurative ink was barely dry on my Grandstander post of yesterday, wherein I detailed the the amazing news from the Steelers this week, first Wilson, then Pickett (see what I did there), when another bombshell was donated from South Water Street:  the news that the Steelers had made a trade with the Chicago Bears and obtained quarterback Justin Fields (as speculated upon in yesterday's Grandstander).  To get this former first round pick and three year starter, the Steelers sent to Chicago a bag of practice footballs, a tackling sled, and a few kicking tees.   

Fields is set to be Russell Wilson's back up.  He is 25 years old, and he could become the team's QB for the next decade.  Of course, that might not happen either, but regardless of how it plays out, the Steelers and GM Omar Kahn have certainly not sat still during this off season.  An interesting note in the paper this morning stated that since Kahn took over as GM two years ago, only 17 players from the Kevin Colbert era remain on the current 90 man roster.  In addition, Kahn has let go of a bunch of scouts and personnel people and replaced them with new ones.   Omar is definitely putting his stamp on Rooney U.

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Of course, when the Steelers are making one blockbuster deal after another, other sports news in The Burgh gets pretty well lost in the shuffle.  Such was the case with the signing by the Pirates of outfielder Michael A. Taylor (former Twins, Nationals).   It was pretty much stated that Taylor would become the starting centerfielder for the Bucs heading into the '24 season.

To be sure, Taylor is no Andy Van Slyke, but I think that he could become a significant contributor to the Pirates as the season unfolds.

 

A Bombshell from the Steelers

The Steelers held their formal press conference yesterday to make official the signing of Russell Wilson as a free agent and to make official the Russell Wilson Era, as described in this piece four days ago.  That wasn't the bombshell, however.  That exploded a few hours later with this news:

No one new that the beginning of the Wilson Era would mean the end of the Kenny Pickett Era.  It has been hinted in the media that Pickett's reaction to the Wilson signing was not at all positive.  Not unexpected, of course, but it apparently went even beyond competitive issues, and it makes one believe that keeping Pickett would not have been a good thing for the chemistry in the locker room.  So, the team made this move and sent the Number One draft choice of just two years ago to the Eagles for a couple of draft picks.  

Coupled wth the release earlier in the off season of Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph's signing as a free agent with the Titans this week, the Steelers now have one QB on the roster.  It seems critical now that the team draft a QB in this year's draft, someone who could be groomed as the 36 year old Wilson's heir apparant and probably sign a mid-level experienced QB (Ryan Tannehill?) to back up Wilson.  They will also no doubt bring in a Duck Hodges-type as an extra arm for training camp.   Speculation also hangs over the whole thing that the Bears may still be shopping Justin Fields, and might he be the Steelers long range answer for the QB spot?

In other Steelers news, former Ravens linebacker Patrick Queen was signed as free agent, and he too was introduced at that Steelers presser yesterday.   The Steelers have yet to adequately fill the spot left open due to Ryan Shazier's injury of a few years back, and this signing can only be a positive for the team.

The team also made a trade with Miami, and received defensive back DeShon Elliott in exchange for WR Dionte Johnson.  One report stated that the team wanted to shed themselves of Johnson so that his diva tendencies would not rub off on George Pickens.  Sort of Branch Rickey's old "addition by subtraction" adage.

I have written extensively of Pickett over the years, dating back to  his Pitt years.  How great a story it would have been had it worked out the way that everyone hoped.  I wish him well in Philly where he will be behind Jalen Hurts on the Eagles depth chart, and Hurts, we know, is no Mitch Trubisky, so we can't expect to see Pickett play a lot in Philly.

Oh, and here is a picture from today holding my birthday present from two years ago.  It was gift that Linda was excited to give me, and I was a most enthusiastic recipient.  Ashes to ashes, dust to dust....

To Absent Friends - Departed Pirates

Regular readers know that I always post whenever a member of Pittsburgh's most iconic sports team, the 1960 World Series Champion Pirates, passes away.  It is because THOSE GUYS deserve to be remembered.  Always.  For the record the five remaining members of that team still with us are Roy Face, Vernon Law, Bill Mazeroski, Bob Oldis, and Bob Skinner.  Maz is the youngest among them, and he will turn 88 in September.

While eulogizing the '60 Buccos, we sometimes tend to forget the two other World Series champs that we have seen in our lifetimes, the 1971 and 1979 Pirates teams.  The death of 1979 Pirates catcher Ed Ott earlier in the month brought this close to home, and it prompted me to do some research.  Before showing the results of that research, how about some photos to jog your memories?

Manny Sanguillen and Steve Blass 

celebrate in 1971

1979 - "We Are Family"

The MVP's of the '71 and '79 Series

I don't really need to identify them, do I?

Okay.   The Internet makes it really easy to pull off such a project, but let me make one stipulation.  The names that you see below are the guys who were on the 25 man World Series roster.  Nobody who got traded in mid-season or was on the team for a September call-up qualifies.  Whenever I make a post about the 1960 team, somebody always chimes in and tells me that "Hey, Bennie Daniels is still alive."  Daniels spent time at Forbes Field in 1960, but he watched the World Series on television that year.

So, here are the World Series roster of the 1971 and 1979 Champions.  I have also included Managers Murtaugh and Tanner on the lists. Those who are no longer with us have a black box beside their name.

	1971			1979
Pitchers	Steve Blass		Pitchers	Jim Bibby
	Nelson Briles			Bert Blyleven
	Dock Ellis			John Candelaria
	Dave Guisti			Grant Jackson
	Bob Johnson			Bruce Kison
	Bruce Kison			Dave Roberts
	Bob Miller			Don Robinson
	Bob Moose			Enrique Romo
	Bob Veale			Jim Rooker
	Luke Walker			Kent Tekulve
Catchers	Manny Sanguillen		Catchers	Steve Nicosia
	Milt May			Ed Ott
	Charlie Sands			Manny Sanguillen
Infielders	Gene Alley		Infielders	Tim Foli
	Dave Cash			Phil Garner
	Jackie Hernandez			Bill Madlock
	Bill Mazeroski			Willie Stargell
	Jose Pagan			Rennie Stennett
	Richie Hebner		Outfielders	Matt Alexander
	Bob Robertson			Omar Moreno
Outfielders	Roberto Clemente			Mike Easler
	Gene Clines			Lee Lacy
	Vic Davalillo			John Milner
	Al Oliver			Dave Parker
	Willie Stargell			Bill Robinson
Manager	Danny Murtaugh		Manager	Chuck Tanner
	Deceased	13		Deceased	11

A lot of names that stir up a lot of great memories.

Twenty-four of those 52 names are no longer with us.  These teams played 53 and 45 years ago, and as we have witnessed the Pirates performances over the years on the 21st century, one wonders if we will ever see a Pirates team in the World Series again.

All the more reason to remember these guys.

Oscars Post Mortem, or A Night at the Oppie-ra

As you all can see, I liked the title of my Oscar Predictions post so much, that I am using it again.

Big Winners

"Oppenheimer"

Cillian Murphy, Christopher Nolen

Hollywood's biggest night, the Academy Awards came off smoothly on Sunday night.  A smartly produced telecast that went off without any apparent glitches.  Jimmy Kimmel was a smart and funny host, and the big winner of the night was, as expected, "Oppenheimer", winning seven Awards including Best Picture, Director, Actor, and Supporting Actor.   "Poor Things" was next with four Awards, including the big surprise of the night, Emma Stone winning for Best Actress.

Some random thoughts and observations from The Grandstander on the show and the Awards themselves.

• As noted above, Jimmy Kimmel was great as the host.  Funny monologue and he kept the traffic moving.  Couldn't ask for more.
• The show started at 7:00 this year (or actually about six or seven minutes after 7:00) which meant it was all over by 10:30 in the East.  What took them so long to come up with that idea?
• Loved the idea of the four acting awards being presented  by five previous winners of the Award in question, although some of the dialog written for those actors was a bit cheesy. 
• I thought that the best speeches of the night were given by Cord Jefferson (Adapted Screenplay, American Fiction), Jonathon Glazer (Best International Film, Zone of Interest), Mstyslav Chernov (Best Documentary, 20 Days in Mariupol), and Cillian Murphy (Actor, Oppenheimer).
• I can't remember what award they were presenting, but the presentation of the night went to the team of Emily Blount and Ryan Gosling.
• The In Memoriam portion was awful.  Why couldn't they show those being honored on a full screen?  For at least half of the honorees, you couldn't see who they were.
• Did you catch the pissed off look on Annette Bening's face when Stone was called for Best Leading Actress?  It was delicious.  And why wasn't Warren Beatty with her in the audience.
• Fashion Statements:  (1) Best look of the night: Men not wearing ties.  I love that look. (2) Lots of pretty dresses on the ladies, but none stand out as being "the best of the night" for me. (3) A clearcut winner for Worst Dress of the Night - the one worn by Ariana Grande, and there wasn't even a close second to it.

• Again, don't remember what he was presenting, but John Mullaney's summary of Field of Dreams was a classic.
• I thought that the award for Best Costume Design should have gone to Oppenheimer, solely because of the hat that Cillian Murphy wore.  I want one.
• As usual, there is always one big movie that comes away empty handed.  This year it was Killers of the Flower Moon, 10 nominations, 0 wins, followed by Barbie with 1 win for 7 nominations.
• The tweet read by Kimmel from Orange Julius Caesar that Kimmel read near the end of the show.  I know that will drive the MAGA-lydites nuts, but as I heard someone on the air say today: Don't ever get into a pissing contest with a professional comedian; you'll lose every time.

As for my predictions....

Best……	Predicted Winner	Actual winner	For Whom I Would Vote
Picture	Oppenheimer	Oppenheimer	Oppenheimer
Lead Actor	Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer	Cillian Murphy	Cillian Murphy
Lead Actress	Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon	Emma Stone, Poor Things	Emma Stone, Poor Things
Supporting Actor	Robert Downey Jr., Oppenheimer	Robert Downey Jr	Robert Downey Jr
Supporting  Actress	Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers	Da’Vine Joy Randolph	Da’Vine Joy Randolph
Director	Christopher Nolen, Oppenheimer	Christopher Nolen	Christopher Nolen
Original Screenplay	Maestro	Anatomy of a Fall	The Holdovers
Adapted Screenplay	American Fiction	American Fiction	Oppenheimer

The record will show that I went 6-2, but I like to give myself a 6.5-1.5 record since I had listed that "I would have voted for" Emma Stone.   Let us hope that Pirates pitchers can do so well throughout the upcoming season.

As I do every year, I close with a picture of the four winning actors.

Downy, Randolph, Stone, Murphy

See you all at the movies!!