Cup of Coffee: August 13, 2024

Good morning!

Grady Sizemore gets his first win as Chicago’s manager, the Dodgers got Mookie Betts back, there was a hell of a pitcher’s duel in San Francisco, Jarren Duran is getting an involuntary two-day unpaid vacation, Victor Robles got an extension, and Rod Carew did something that a lot of people thought he had already done years ago.

In Other Stuff, the more people know about J.D. Vance, the less people like him, Project 2025 is making how-to-turn-your-country-into-an-autocracy videos, the biggest news in Ohio this week is, apparently, about vampires and ferrets, and someone makes a hash out of a top-100 movies list.

And That Happened 

Here are the scores. Here are the highlights:

Reds 6, Cardinals 1: Spencer Steer had a hell of a Monday night, hitting a two-run homer in the third and a three-run homer in the fifth. Elly De La Cruz hit a solo shot. Reds starter Andrew Abbott allowed one run while working into the seventh and striking out six.

Astros 6, Rays 1: Framber Valdez allowed one while working into the sixth and Alex Bregman and Yanier Díaz went yard with a solo shot and a three-run blast, respectively. That’s six straight for the ‘Stros, who now lead the division by half a game over idle Seattle.

Guardians 9, Cubs 8: Cleveland rookie Jhonkensy Noel hit a three-run homer and solo shot and also made a nice catch out in right that saved a couple of runs. Steven Kwan added a two-run homer and Josh Naylor drove in José Ramírez with the go-ahead run in the eighth in what had been a pretty wild, back-and-forth affair.

Red Sox 5, Rangers 4: It went to extras tied at three and Texas picked up a run in the top of the tenth. In the bottom half pinch-hitter Enmanuel Valdez hit a leadoff double to plate the Manfred Man and tie things up after which Rob Refsnyder hit a two-out, walkoff single. Texas has lost nine of its last 12 games and, after with a relatively recent flirtation with contention, are now nine under .500, eight and a half back in the division and ten games back in the Wild Card race, so they can confidently make October travel plans.

Twins 8, Royals 3: A six-run second powered by a three-run homer from Willi Castro and a two-run shot from Royce Lewis put this one out of reach early. Pablo López went six innings, allowing three runs, but just two earned. The Twins kept up with Cleveland and remain three and a half games back in the Central. The Royals dropped to five games back.

Dodgers 5, Brewers 2: The Dodgers activated Mookie Betts before this game after he missed eight weeks due to a broken hand. Betts, batting second in the lineup and playing in right field, almost immediately contributed, hitting a two-run homer in the third inning to open up the game’s scoring. Shohei Ohtani added a two-run homer of his own in the fifth and Betts closed out the scoring by singling in Ohtani in the seventh. Clayton Kershaw picked up his first win of 2024, allowing one run on three hits and striking out six while working into the sixth. Viva Superstars.

White Sox 12, Yankees 2: Interim manager Grady Sizemore picked up his first win as the White Sox won for just the second time in 26 games, setting season highs for runs (12) and hits (18) in the process. It was a no-doubter, too, as Gavin Sheets had four hits and drove in four and Korey Lee and Brooks Baldwin homered. Lee’s was a fourth inning solo shot and Baldwin’s was a three-run poke in the the White Sox’ six-run seventh. Four other Chicago batters knocked in a run and four White Sox relievers combined for four and a third scoreless frames to close the game out. The Yankees were 2-for-18 with runners in scoring position and stranded 16. Oh, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. left the game early due to what appeared to be an elbow injury of some kind, about which we’ll no doubt hear more today.

Blue Jays 4, Angels 2: Jays starter Bowden Francis allowed one run on one hit and struck out eight in seven innings for the win. Shortstop Leo Jiménez hit a two-run homer in Toronto’s four-run third. Also driving in a run that inning was Will Wagner — son of seven-time All-Star reliever Billy Wagner — who was making his major league debut. Wagner had three hits, in fact, and made a bunch of us who are roughly his father’s age feel impossibly old.

Diamondbacks 5, Rockies 4: Colorado took a 4-1 lead into the sixth, when Arizona picked up a couple of runs to make it close. The Dbacks tied it up and then took the lead in the seventh when new reliever Tyler Kinley came in with two men on and uncorked two wild pitches in a row, the first of which allowed Corbin Carroll to score and the second of which brought in Kevin Newman. What a way to blow it. Four straight wins for the Snakes. Bad news, though: Ketel Marte left the game after aggravating an ankle that he tweaked on Sunday. We’ll more about that today, presumably.

Padres 2, Pirates 1: It was a scoreless game until the seventh when Xander Bogaerts singled in a run. The Padres plated another in the eighth on a Kyle Higashioka sac fly. The Pirates threatened in the ninth, scoring one and putting a runner on when Bryan Reynolds hit a sinking liner that looked like it was heading for the gap and trouble for San Diego but Jackson Merrill ranged to his left to snag it and end the game. The red-hot Padres won for the 17th time in their last 20 games. The Pirates lost for the tenth time in their last 11.

Atlanta 1, Giants 0: Chris Sale (7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 12Ks ) and Blake Snell (6.1 IP, 0 R, 11 Ks) went at it, I tell you what. Neither got the decision, however, and the sides entered extras tied at zero. Atlanta’s Sean Murphy singled the Manfred Man over to third to start the tenth and then Travis d’Arnaud scored him with a sac fly. Raisel Iglesias, who handled both the ninth and tenth, striking out four batters and not allowing a hit, got the win.

The Daily Briefing

The Red Sox gave Jarren Duran a two-game suspension

The Boston Red Sox and Major League Baseball have suspended Jarren Duran for two games in response to his offering an anti-gay slur at a fan during Sunday’s game. The Sox issued this statement when announcing the suspension:

“In consultation with Major League Baseball, the Red Sox today issued an unpaid two-game suspension to outfielder Jarren Duran beginning with tonight’s game against the Texas Rangers at Fenway Park.

“Additionally, Duran’s salary from the two-game suspension will be donated to PFLAG (Federation of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), the United States’ largest organization dedicated to supporting, educating, and advocating for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people and those who love them.”

A two or three-game suspension, administered by the team and approved by MLB, has become the defacto standard in these sorts of cases. As Jeff Passan at ESPN noted yesterday, In 2017 the league suspended Oakland Athletics outfielder Matt Joyce two games for directing an anti-gay slur at a fan like Duran did. As I noted yesterday, that same year then-Toronto outfielder Kevin Pillar was banned two games after using the same word Duran used at Atlanta reliever Jason Motte. In 2012 Blue Jays infielder Yuñel Escobar received a three-game suspension for wearing eye-black stickers with a Spanish homophobic slur.

Personally, I think two games is pretty damn light for this kind of obnoxiousness, but it’s also the case that, based on precedent, the Sox and MLB likely could not make a longer suspension hold up on an appeal. If Major League Baseball wants to go harder after guys who drop slurs, they’ll have to work with the union to come up with a set policy with pre-specified punishments.

Seattle, Robles agree to an extension

The Seattle Mariners and outfielder Victor Robles agreed on a two-year contract extension yesterday. The deal is worth $9.75 million over 2025 and 2026 with a $9 million team option for 2027. There’s also $2 million in potential bonuses and escalators.

Robles was DFA’d by the Nationals back in May after parts of eight seasons in Washington during which he frequently underperformed expectations and during which he frequently found himself in Dave Martinez’s dog house. The Mariners, no doubt considering Robles a change-of-scenery candidate signed him to a big league contract a week later and it’s paid off wonderfully for them. Robles has hit .303/.372/.450 (140 OPS+) with three homers, seven doubles, and 12 stolen bases in 42 games.

This quote from Scott Servais, offered within the past week or so, says a lot about how much that change-of-scenery has meant:

"Vic is an entertainer. We're in the entertainment business and I talk all the time to these guys, 'Be who you are.' And that's who he is. That's what allows him to play really well. It's what allows him to be free. He's not out there thinking too much. He's just out there being Vic."

It’s possible that these 42 games with Seattle represent a high water mark for Robles and that, over the next two seasons he’ll look more like he did in Washington. But it’s likewise possible that the Nats simply didn’t know what they had in Robles or didn’t know how to coach or manage him in a way that allowed him to get the most out of his game.

Peter Bendix cleans house in Miami

The Marlins hired former Rays executive Peter Bendix to be their general manager before the season. He didn’t make wholesale changes upon arriving but, now that the team has sold off what seems like half the damn roster at the deadline and is embarking on the umpteenth rebuild in franchise history, he has cleaned house in the front office, firing two assistant general managers, four field coordinators and the club’s international scouting director, among others yesterday.

The most notable figure told to hit the bricks was assistant GMs Oz Ocampo who had considerable success bringing in and developing international talent during the buildup to the current Astros dynasty. Dan Greenlee, who has been in charge of analytics, was likewise fired. Roman Ocumarez, who worked with Ocampo in Houston and who was Miami’s international scouting director was shown the door as well.

Also being made redundant: field coordinator Patrick Osborn, pitching coordinator Scott Aldred, hitting coordinator Tom Slater and performance coordinator Frank Moore. Multiple scouts have also been let go and, per ESPN, more changes are expected in the coming weeks. It’s a wholesale rebuilding of the Marlins player development department. One of the only holdovers will be Gabe Kapler, who Bendix hired as an assistant GM upon getting the job.

And there will no doubt be more changes, as manager Skip Schumaker, who is a lame duck, is all but certain to leave and when he goes the entire coaching staff will no doubt turnover.

The Marlins, who made the playoffs last year, currently sit at 44-75 and are in last place in the NL East.

Rod Carew became a U.S. citizen

Hall of Famer Rod Carew was born in Panama but he moved to the Untied States when he was 14, did a stint in the U.S. Marine Corps reserves, and has lived in the U.S. for the past 64 years. As such, everyone sort of assumed he was a U.S. citizen. Nope. At least not until August 2, when he was formally granted citizenship, he wasn’t. From Dan Hays of The Athletic who, after chronicling Carew’s wonderful career and interesting life, wrote this:

All along, Carew wasn’t a U.S. citizen.

“They had no idea,” Carew said with a laugh.

Friends and family implored Carew to become a citizen for years. After becoming a U.S. citizen himself in 1971, fellow Hall of Famer and longtime friend Tony Oliva suggested Carew do the same.

“The first time he told me he wasn’t an American citizen, I didn’t believe him because he came to America as a young kid,” said Oliva, 86, who was born in Cuba. “I was thinking he was playing around. We’ve known each other for a hundred years. I still was thinking he was lying. … When they mentioned it at the dinner the other night, I opened my eyes like, ‘Finally. What did you wait for?’”

No real reason. He had meant to but never got around to it, choosing instead to renew his Panamanian passport every few years and just roll with it. Then in the mid-teens he had all sorts of health problems, including a heart transplant. Now at 78 he’s as healthy as he has been in some time, he wants to travel more, and he wants to do it on a U.S. passport.

“I love this country,” Rod Carew said. “It has given me everything and more.”

And now he has given it something: himself. How cool.

Other Stuff

The more people know about J.D. Vance, the less people like him

From Semafor, on J.D. Vance’s polling:

A pair of surveys by Blueprint, the centrist Democratic pollster backed by Reid Hoffman, one taken July 21 - July 22, two days after Vance was announced as Donald Trump’s running mate, and then again two weeks later on August 4, showed Vance’s net favorability falling from -7 to -11 with fewer voters unsure either way. That’s similar to other public polling, which has also shown Vance making a poor first impression since joining the Republican ticket.

The main shift in how respondents viewed Vance: He’s become more and more identified with his particular brand of conservatism and less with his famed biography as an author, veteran, and politician. Presented with a list of options to describe Vance in August, the most common answers were “conservative,” “anti-woman,” and “weird,” while more positive options like “young,” “smart,” and “businessman” declined from July. The percentage calling him “extreme” shot up 13 points.

First thought: you love to see it.

Second thought: Because Trump is pretty clearly not able to handle a rigorous campaigning schedule, the GOP has put Vance out front-and-center in much the way a presidential candidate, as opposed to a vice presidential candidate, behaves. He did the rounds on all the news shows on Sunday morning. He’s been doing far, far more events than Trump has. He has been the face of the Republican ticket since mid-July. Which, given these numbers, is probably not a good thing for them!

Third thought: See First thought.

J.D. Vance sure does love conspiracy theorist white supremacists, though

Right-wing activist Darren J. Beattie was fired from the Trump White House — the TRUMP White House! — for attending a conference frequented by white nationalists back in 2018. Two years later he was given a sinecure, however, on some U.S. government commission tasked with preserving Holocaust memorials overseas. Which, sure, that’s totally where you want a white nationalist to serve.

Beattie was then fired from that job in 2022, however, after he was found promoting the baseless conspiracy theories that the FBI planted agents among the pro-Trump mob that stormed the Capitol on January 6.

Talk about a person with whom NO sane actor with legitimate political aspirations should want to associate!

Anyone who pays even half the amount of attention I pay to J.D. Vance knows that the guy absolutely loves the extremist right-wing community, particularly the ones who do most of their talking online. It’s why he gets asked to blurb their books and introduce them at fundraisers and it’s why so much of the stuff he talks about reflects their world view. A huge reason Vance comes off as weird and stiff and awkward is because he’s so steeped in that relatively insular world that he doesn’t know how to talk to normal people.

When Trump loses the election and Vance is blamed for the loss — which he will be, because the cult’s world view requires that Trump cannot fail; he can only be failed — I guarantee you that Vance will retreat into the world of online extremism even more, where he will be welcomed with open arms.

How the people behind Project 2025 are training potential Trump-appointees

Talk about the Republican Project 2025 plan has diminished a bit in the past couple of weeks, probably because it now seems far less likely that Trump will win in November than it appeared for most of July. But that doesn’t mean that the people behind Project 2025 aren’t planning what to do if Trump does manage to retake office.

Over the weekend ProPublica reported on a series of training videos — 23 so far, containing over 14 hours of content — created by what is called the Project 2025 “Presidential Administration Academy.” There are 36 speakers in the videos, 29 of whom have worked for Trump, be it on his 2016-17 transition team, in the Trump administration proper, or who now work on his 2024 reelection campaign. Another works for J.D. Vance’s Senate office.

The videos provide instruction on how appointees can evade Freedom of Information Act requests and avoid creating paper-trails that could be used for investigations or oversight. They also talk about the importance of “eradicating” references to and mandates pertaining to climate change and gender identity. One speaker says that a big reason climate change language must be removed from governmental regulations, documents, and policies is that such things are a cover for liberals’ alleged plans related to population control. Specifically, the speaker says, “I think about the people who don’t want you to have children because of the [air quotes] impact on the environment. This is part of their ultimate goal to control people.” The videos go on to counsel would-be appointees to avoid speaking to any press except conservative press and to freeze out civil service employees from decision-making, relying exclusively on other political appointees.

Trump has attempted to distance himself from Project 2025, but in 2022 he gave a speech at a Heritage Foundation event, saying that, “[t]his is a great group and they’re going to lay the groundwork and detail plans for exactly what our movement will do and what your movement will do when the American people give us a colossal mandate to save America,” so it’s obviously all part of Trump’s plans if he regains power. And these videos are obviously the blueprint for how his foot soldiers will behave so as to most effectively enact Trump’s autocratic agenda.

Meanwhile, in Columbus

Columbus, Ohio is the 14th largest city in America, with a current estimated population of around 913,000 people. It certainly doesn’t have the cachet of many other cities, but it’s, objectively speaking, a major city.

Which is why I cringe when I navigate to the homepage of the city’s only major daily newspaper and see this leading the news. Like, literally, the top story on the front page of the website:

I suppose the fact that the alleged coven is in Dayton, not Columbus, should make me feel better, but honestly, having a vampire coven here would be pretty bitchin’. I’m just mad that the local paper has decided that there’s nothing else worth covering more prominently.

Oh, and just below that story in the stack:

Big things going down in the big city.

The Best Movies of the 2000s

Over at IndieWire they counted down the best 100 movies of the 2000s. Not the whole 25 years of the 2000s, mind you, but the first decade. There will no doubt be a teens and, eventually a 20s version one day as well.

The 2000s are a weird decade for me, movie-wise, as I had my first kid in late 2003 and my second in mid-2005 and as the parents among you know, doing that sort of thing can really impact your movie-going. As in, I didn’t really go to many movies at all for several years there. There were some one-offs, of course, in which my then-wife and I would trade off solo moviegoing experiences for each of our must-see films, but not a ton, really. I was more content to just watch stuff on cable or Netflix DVDs or streaming when that all began. I’d be back into regular moviegoing by, say, 2009? 2010? I don’t remember. I just mention all of that because unlike other time periods, I’m not particularly well-equipped to rate the movies from a big part of that decade. Seeing things on the big screen really does make a difference and for many of those years I wasn’t doing that much.

All I’ll say for sure, though, is that putting “Michael Clayton” at 88 is a goddamn travesty. It’s WAY better than that. Same with “The Royal Tenenbaums” at 68. Both are top-10 material.

“Synecdoche, New York” is WAY too high at 25. My choosing that one for the Netflix DVD queue almost caused me to get divorced three years before I actually did get divorced and, frankly, I wouldn’t have blamed her for filing papers, because that movie was terrible. A different Charlie Kaufman-penned movie, however, “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” is, at 23, 22 spots below where it should be. The movie they actually picked for number one, in contrast, should not be in the top 30 or maybe even the top 50. You’ll have to click through to see what they picked.

But you know what they say about opinions.

Have a great day everyone.

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