Filling Time During Covid-19

One of advantages of the Covid-19 quarantine, if you can call it that, is having more time to read.

Since I retired, I have made great use of the public library system for both books and films. Hated the lock-down when the library wasn't able to bring in my requests from the southwest regional libraries. Thankfully, even with limited pick-up dates, that has passed.

In no particular order, here's a list of some of my most recent reads.

• Out Of My League by George Plimpton. Plimpton is essentially an Everyman kind of guy. He authored a book from a stint as a quarterback with the Detroit Lions (Paper Lion), fought a few rounds with light-heavyweight champion Archie Moore, played golf with pros, etc. In this one he attempts to pitch to the American League and National League all-stars. This was back before players were making serious money, so the players agreed to it for a few hundred bucks each. Plimpton only made it through the AL -- a half-inning -- before the stunt was called due to his exhaustion.
• Ernie Banks: Mr. Cub and the Summer of '69 by Phil Rogers. The summer of 1969 was one that really got me interested in baseball. After the Milwaukee Braves packed their bags and left for Atlanta in 1966, many tried to fill the baseball void. Bud Selig, trying to get major league baseball back to Milwaukee, talked the Chicago White Sox into playing games at County Stadium. Growing up in Central Wisconsin, the NBC affiliate out of Green Bay picked up the WGN feed for Chicago Cub games. We watched them all season, and this collapse in the final 6 weeks of the season was epic. So when the Cubs traded my favorite player, pitcher Fergie Jenkins in 1973, I washed my hands of the whole organization. Still really haven't forgiven them!
• For The Good Of The Game by Bud Selig. The man who brought baseball back to Milwaukee, and went on to serve as MLB Commissioner lays out a great behind-the-scenes look at his life in baseball.
• Baseball's Great Experiment: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy by Jules Tygiel. This is part of the reading list for "Baseball And Society Since World War II" as taught at the University of Wisconsin Madison. While I wasn't able to take this as a senior guest student (no room), I did get the reading list. Fascinating read for anyone who is a baseball fan.
• Ball Four by Jim Bouton. Probably the first tell-all book by an athlete that pretty much strips away the veneer from a professional sport. Bouton kept a diary in 1969 of his season with the Seattle Pilots -- the team that, by the next season, was in Milwaukee and renamed the Brewers. This was another book recommended in the UW class, as was
• The End Of Baseball As We Knew It: The Players Union, 1960-81 by Charles P. Korr. A fascinating look at the changes in baseball, many touched upon by Selig in his book. And, if looked on in context, a way to see WHY the players and owners continue to be at odds even in 2020.
• Football For A Buck: The Crazy Rise and Crazier Demise Of The USFL by Jeff Pearlman. Great look at the league that, essentially, Donald Trump killed (and helps explain why our President hates the NFL).
• Playing for Pizza by John Grisham. This is the only novel in the group and is like an old friend; I've read it probably six or seven times over the years and still find it enjoyable.
• Catcher In The Wry: Outrageous but True Stories of Baseball by Bob Uecker. Yes, it is THAT Bob Uecker, long-time radio voice of the Milwaukee Brewers. Published in 1982 -- and my copy is autographed, so am proud of that.
• Instant Replay and Distant Replay, both by Jerry Kramer. The first is a diary of the 1968 Super Bowl season under Vince Lombardi, his second and the final of his career. The second is a followup, a way that Kramer catches up to his teammates years later. Both are good reads for a Green Bay Packers fan.
• Commander in Cheat: How Golf Defines Trump by Rick Reilly. I'll steer clear of making any political comment one way or the other, but suggest that Reilly, a long-time entertaining columnist with Sports Illustrated who does his homework, presents an interesting picture. It's worth the read.

Celebrate Part Of Baseball's History

It's the 100th anniversary of the Negro Leagues, the baseball league that began in 1920 to give many great players a chance to play professional baseball.

Long before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier by joining the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, many great (and I do mean GREAT) players were denied the opportunity to play in the Major Leagues.

Players like Buck O'Neil, Josh Gibson, Ted "Double-Duty" Radcliff, "Cool Papa" Bell, even Satchel Paige -- who didn't get a chanced until he was in his late 40s -- all starred in the Negro Leagues, playing for teams that were often owned by Blacks. And players who because Hall of Famers, players like Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Ernie Banks, cut their teeth in the Negro Leagues.

The expansion of Major League baseball west, the growth of games on television, economics and more were factors that led to the league's demise.

If you're a baseball fan, and you get down to Kansas City, MO, I suggest making a stop at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Well worth the visit, for sure.

A READER, and yes, I do appreciate any and all, questioned the new change in ending extra-inning games in MLB. So, to help with some clarification, when teams go to the 10th inning, the runner at second base will be the player in the batting order position previous to the leadoff batter of the inning (or a substitute for that player).

So, if the number five hitter is due up to lead off the 10th inning, the number four player in the batting order, or a pinch-runner, starts the inning at second base. Any runner or batter who has been removed from the game for a substitute cannot be used (no re-entry).

That's straight from the MLB itself. Hope that clears up any confusion. Personally, I do like this change for the Covid-19 season, tho also like games that go 12 or 15 innings as well.

Baseball Schedule Woes Grow

Looked at the standings for Major League Baseball this fine, clear Wednesday morning.

Oh my.

Toronto, banned from playing in Canada because of Covid-19, just opened their "home" season in Buffalo. The Blue Jays are 6-8, just 3 1/2 games behind the American League East-leading New York Yankees.

Go over to the National League, where a 7-4 Miami Marlins team leads the NL East over an 11-8 Atlanta team.

And in the NL Central, home of the Milwaukee Brewers, the Chicago Cubs are tops with a 11-3 mark. Milwaukee, scuffling at home with just two wins in seven tries, is in third at 7-8.

Now the amazing stat: the St. Louis Cardinals are right behind the Brewers with a stellar 2-3 mark. That's not a typo, folks. They have won two games in five tries! Every other team in the NL East has played at least 15 games. But St. Louis has been Covid central and has missed series after series after series.

MLB is still clinging to a 16-team playoff picture that will be based on winning percentage. Think maybe that ought to be reconsidered, based on the Cardinals. It's just not fair to the rest of the teams to force them to schedule multiple doubleheaders. Milwaukee is already facing a tentative three after having it's home opening series with St. Louis shelved due to Covid.

We have reached a point, MLB, in which time is running out and Commissioner Rob Manfred needs to say to the Cardinals "Thanks for attempting to play; we have lovely parting gifts. You birds just stay home now..."

DOES THE HOME FIELD crowd make that much difference to professional players? It seems to be the case with the Brewers. Over the last two seasons, both playoff-caliber seasons, Milwaukee has gone 100-62 at home, a winning percentage of 61.73% Clearly, the lads have fed off that home crowd atmosphere.

Those in the know figure that if you win 60% of the time at home, and 50% on the road, you're golden. Milwaukee is now 62.5% on the road, but only 28.57% AT HOME.

Gonna have to turn that round, fellas, and do so with just cardboard cutouts and canned crowd noise.

Sick Birds Shut Down Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers were scheduled to have their home opener today at 1:10p.

Word came out earlier today that, due to positive tests with players on their opponent, the St. Louis Cardinals, the game has been postponed. The Cardinals were told to nest....er, quarantine, in their Milwaukee hotel.

Sucks, for sure. Was really looking forward to baseball in Milwaukee, especially after the team went .500 (3-3) on the road to start this abbreviated season. And a postponed game just gives Christian Yelich, who has won the last two NL batting titles, a chance to sit and stew about his terrible 1-for-27 start to the season.

I'm in the "don't worry, Yeli will turn it around" camp. Stay positive, Brewer fans!

If games start to pile up and baseball turns to doubleheaders, MLB just announced that those games would be seven innings each. Seems like a good decision.

I AM AN odd one, I admit it. I happen to enjoy mowing lawn. I put on headphones and listen to the Brewers if they happen to be playing. Otherwise, it's sports talk radio. Yesterday, while mowing, I was listening to Colin Cowherd. I seldom agree with old Colin, as he is usually just trying to stir the pot and create listeners.

Shock of shock, Colin actually made a point I agreed with: That the Houston Astros get what they deserve if teams are throwing at them.

This stems from an incident the other night, when Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Joe Kelly threw at (and taunted) Houston hitters. Major League Baseball took exception, suspended Kelly eight games, suspended LA manager Dave Roberts for a game and fined first-year Houston manager Dusty Baker.

Aren't these the same Astros who were relaying signs in the playoffs (and in the World Series win over LA) by banging the trash can? And the only penalities were the team firing the manager and general manager after the truth came out. No player suspensions, fines, etc.

So if opposing teams throw at Astros, I'm good with that. After all, hasn't baseball forever taken the "we police ourselves" approach. Teams, and players, never forget.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL may or may not take place this season, but conferences are taking steps to have a season. Schedules are being set. The ACC, for example, dropped it's schedule this week -- and for this season, added long-time independent power Notre Dame to the football schedule (probably on a one-year basis). Notre Dame's other sports, with the exception of hockey (part of the Big Ten) are all in the ACC.

Glad to have them in the ACC. I root for the Florida State Seminoles (thanks to my high school buddy, Charlie) and having the Whinin' Irish on the schedule just gives me one more reason to hate the Golden Domers.

Covid Already Crushing Baseball, Spirits

Certainly didn't take long for Covid-19 to rear it's ugly head in Major League Baseball's 60-game season.

On Saturday, just two games in, four members of the Miami Marlins tested positive. The Marlins went ahead with their game Sunday. And now we're up to nearly a dozen positive cases on the team. Scheduled to start a two-game series in Baltimore, the Marlins team was still in Philadelphia as this is being written.

Of course, their opening game in Miami has been scratched. And the scheduled game tonight between the New York Yankees and the Phillies in Philadelphia has been postponed.

Since MLB was trying to get 60 games played in roughly 67 days, any sort of delay, be it weather or sickness, makes things dicey.

The obvious question: If games are cancelled, and can't be made up, does the team forced to cancel (in this case, Miami) forfeit the game? If the team is sidelined for, say, six games, are they all forfeits, and count as wins for their opponents?

Don't see how can handle it any other way. You can bet the suits in MLB's headquarters are trying to get a handle on it right now.

Who knew this season might come down to a war of attrition, with the last healthy team left standing claiming the championship?

Welcome To The New Baseball

In case you haven't noticed, baseball is just a bit different this year.

Start with the 60-game schedule, turning the season into a sprint from a marathon, and move on fro there.

Designated Hitter in the National League? Check. Gotta admit, I do like the managerial chess match that comes from pitching changes, pinch hitters and the like. But, at least for this season, I'm fine with the Senior Circuit going with the DH. But it sure will make for some interesting options. As will having a relief pitcher face a minimum of three hitters or finish an inning.

Then there's the expanded playoffs, from 10 teams to 16. This breaks down to the divisional champion and runner-up making the playoffs, plus two wild card teams. As long as it doesn't push the World Series into November and beyond, sounds good to me. IF baseball stays with this format in the future, tho, it had better shorten the regular season. Could see it going back downs to 154 games. Or even to 146. A larger playoff  field means more television money shared among all teams, so the owners might go for that.

How about Toronto's Blue Jays? Banned from playing at home by the Canadian government (due to the surging Covid-19 numbers in the US, Canada wasn't comfortable with the back-and-forth flights. So, up until this past weekend, the Blue Jays were without a home. They thought they had one in Pittsburgh, but Pennsylvania said no to that. Baltimore was tossed around as a potential perch, but that didn't work out.

So the Blue Jays will now nest in Buffalo, home of their Triple A ballclub, the Bison. The organization will have to do a few improvements to bring the stadium up to snuff, like lights for night games (think television).  As an aside, I'm probably the only one in the state of Wisconsin who owns a Buffalo Bison hat. Have had that since the late 1980s, thanks to a business trip by my wife.

About those "crowds" we saw during Saturday's Brewers-Cubs game: cute attempt. Looked like they were laid in from a video game. A step up from the over-size photos we're seeing in a lot of ballparks (where's that dude in the orange Marlins hoody who is always seated behind home plate?)  They should have mixed into the video crowd some mustard-stained shirts, spilled beer, overweight fans and a fight or two. This was a Milwaukee-Chicago game, so some realism would be nice.

Speaking of fights, I thought we would see one Saturday when the dugouts emptied. There has always trash talk coming from dugouts, but without crowds, the players can actually hear what the opposition is saying. Javy Baez has always been a little chirpie, and when he took exception to an inside pitch, the Milwaukee dugout gave him some grief. Javy didn't care for it, and both benches emptied to mill around in front of their dugouts.

Guess the baseball powers-that-be have made it VERY clear that there should be no on-field dust-ups, to maintain social distancing, etc. Pity.

AT LAST! A Little Taste Of 'Normal"

Couldn't believe my eyes when I flipped open the morning sports section. Lo and behold, actual Major League Baseball box scores! 

Have always found it enjoyable, a great start to my morning. Pour a cup of coffee (or as Ol' 61 likes to call it, jitter juice) and go over the previous day's baseball box scores. Hell, in some cases (West Coast tilts), I'll turn to the internet and recap the action.

Just seems like there's a little bit of normal to it all. And since we've been so ABNORMAL for months now, having baseball to follow again is great. For how long? Well, that remains to be seen.

Gotta say, tho, it was pretty strange watching the Brewers-Cubs game last night from the friendly confines of Chicago's Wrigley Field. No fans, no crowd noise. But hey, they were playing baseball so take the positives where you can.

NFL camps are opening up, which adds to the normal feel. No exhibition/preseason games this year, with is fine with me. Never a big fan of football when you see a bunch of guys who are saying "I played pro ball...you want fries with that?" Always did consider that bogus preseason to be too long. Hell, expand the rosters and taxi squads, give teams a little more leeway on cut-downs and let it go at that.

Speaking of the NFL, I see where the franchise in D.C. will be known as the Washington Football Team. At least until they can decide on a name and logo that all can agree upon.

They missed the boat here.

Should have called it Washington Team Football. Then we could all refer to them as the WTFs. Slap that on the ol' helmet. Or a forehead slap emoji. Either way it pretty much defines what is going on in Washington, and nationally, these days.

High schools are pretty much in a quandary when it comes to the status of fall sports. Some, like golf or cross country, will have no problem getting going. Football, on the other hand, is an issue. Might we see some fall sports pushed to spring, and spring sports to summer? Highly possible. Can't blame school districts for trying to err on the safe side.

Covid-19 And Baseball (Fantasy & Otherwise)

My oh my, but this Covid-19 business has really messed with my fantasy baseball leagues! Players contract it, or decide to stay home, and it just screwed up the draft we had, though my Yogi&Ueck remains ever optimistic.

As for real baseball, well the 60-game season becomes a sprint, not a 162-game marathon. It all starts today, while the Milwaukee Brewers will take on the Cubs in Chicago tomorrow.

Despite the uncertainties -- will the Toronto Blue Jays find a 'perch' for the season after Canada put up the STAY OUT sign and Pennsylvania passed? Will we even get 60 games in? But we're all happy to have baseball back, right? Having baseball to watch/listen to again puts many of us in a better mood. Can't believe that we've had to wait this long, but totally understand it.

AS FOR the Milwaukee Brewers, I'm predicting a 35-25 record. Ever the optimist, I think Manager Craig Counsell and his staff will be able to handle this season just fine. Look for Christian Yelich to to shine, leading the BrewCrew on the field.

And this will no doubt be the farewell tour for Ryan Braun. Pity that he tarnished his image with the Brewers with that drug issue. Personally, I'm happy to say goodbye to Ryan, wish him well and move on.

My Favorite Golfer Is Ageless

My favorite golfer is not a professional. He doesn't come close to par these days. His drives and irons don't have the distance they once did. But he still chips and putts like a demon.

And trash talks.

Don Klink is a young 88, a number he put up earlier this summer. While I'm in my 14th season playing in  The Gisholt Golf League, Don's been a member for over 40 years. ("It's either 41 or 42," he admits during a recent round. "I either started in the league in 1978 or '79. I got recruited by Dick Saunders."

The Gisholt League is the oldest continuous golf league in Madison, calling Odana Hills Golf Course home. It's technically the Gisholt Retirement League, named for Gisholt Machine Company.

I looked into a bit of the history on this. Founded in 1889 by John A. Johnson, it was named after a childhood vacation home in Norway. The company won a prestigious gold medal for turrent lathes at the 1900 Paris World's Fair. Gisholt was acquired by Giddings & Lewis in 1966, but the Gisholt name reportedly lasted until 1970.

 "I was the first non-Gisholt employee or family member in the league, " Don explained. "They were running out of former Gisholt employees by then."

Here's a tip of the cap to Don. While he hinted at stepping away several years ago, here's a hope he keeps coming back for several years. As Don says, "I have 24 friends in this (league) and I really enjoy them. That keeps me coming back."

We all want to be like Don -- playing well and enjoying life, not letting a number (age) define us!

Ideas Whose Time Have Come

We're all still slogging along with Covid-19, with the NBA heading to the bubble to finish the season and Major League Baseball eyeballing an end-of-the-month start.

Meanwhile, the NFL is still looking optimistically at a 2020 season. This past week, the league announced a reduction in pre-season games from four to two.

I know that, maybe a year or more ago, I talked about this option. At the time, it was a move that would push the NFL to an 18-game regular season. I still think that is on the near horizon -- and while Covid-19 makes a good reason to reduce pre-season games in 2020, don't be surprised if (and when) the NFL makes that permanent. At the time, I compared the NFL to our neighbors to the north, the Canadian Football League, which has two pre-season games, an 18-game regular season schedule AND two bye weeks (to the NFL's one).

This schedule sounds pretty reasonable to me.

AND WHILE WE'RE talking about the NFL, how about the increased chatter to finally drop Redskins as the Washington team name. It's inappropriate as all get-out. Time for Washington owner Dan Snyder to get with the times.

Am all in favor of keeping the maroon & gold color scheme. Let's just change the moniker. Don't have anything to suggest at this point, but, seriously, let's move forward.