August 22, 2021
Once again, there will be a double shot of ranking this week. And once again we're going to do it Quiz Show style, i.e. taking the second part first. And once again, you can blame travel for the on again off again nature of the rankings this summer since I was driving back from another trip last weekend.
Travel and tennis.
Yes the Cincinnati (officially called Western & Southern for sponsorship reasons) Open took place over the past 10 days (including qualifying rounds) and I was firmly engrossed, whether watching on TV or attending in person. Anyway, some things happened during the tournament. I will address them in the next post since last week's episode of Sunday Morning has a mental health tie-in.
Instead, give me a few sentences (paragraphs) to talk baseball.
My Cincinnati Reds (no, I don't own them) swept the Florida Marlins in a four game series this weekend. Notable because it is the third time they've swept a four game series this year (an unusual and rare feat) and also because they've passed the San Diego Padres to move into the second wild card spot for the playoffs. Now there is still a full month+ of baseball left and their margin for error is not large, but at the very least, as a fan, I must abandon the pretext of lowered expectations:
Yes, their bullpen has been largely been inadequate for most of the season, but they amazingly seem to have solved for peanuts for a couple relievers and the timely return of Michael Lorenzen. The Padres MASH unit of a team is, on paper, superior, but the Reds stand a good chance of making that one game dice roll we call the wild card game. So when people ask what I think about their chances, I can no longer just shrug and say, "Meh."
There is something of a karmic conundrum in rooting for the Reds though. While the Reds were briefly relevant as a franchise a decade ago, and then previously in 1999 (where there were forced by Bud Selig to play a joke of a final regular season game against the Brewers in a monsoon, which they lost, which forced a one game playoff against the Mets, which they lost, but I'm not bitter...) the Padres have mostly managed to outdo the Reds in terms of irrelevancy ever since a steroid fueled Ken Caminiti pulled the Padres to the 1998 World Series, where they were promptly steam rolled by nascent, most recent incarnation of the Yankee's dynasty.
In 2020 both franchises decided, like lotto, they were in it to win it. COVID mostly threw a wrench into those plans for both teams, but there was a 60 game season. The Padres made the NL Championship series, whereas the Reds went out meekly to the Braves without scoring a run after going on a late season run to make a bloated playoff field. This was the fate that both teams deserved. The Reds offense was (surprisingly) bad. The Padres had the best left side of the infield in baseball (Tatis Jr. and Machado) and traded for some legit pitching before the season ended. The Reds did something to try and improve, but that something could also adequately be described as nothing. They mostly just relied on presumptive Cy Young award winner Trevor Bauer (The less said, the better. I was happy to see him leave even before the despicable allegations surfaced.) and 1A starter Luis Castillo to pitch them into a deep run as the offense still floundered.
The Dodgers beat the Padres, but we all prepared for a fun new rivalry centered on the left coast for the next 5-10 years.
In 2021, the Padres ownership added more pitching and more hitting.
In 2021, the Reds ownership did not just do nothing, they did the opposite of nothing - they got rid of perfectly serviceable assets in money dump trades citing the financial difficulties brought about by COVID. The fact that none of the players they got rid of have exactly set the world on fire is only tangentially relevant. Most of the money they spent to bring in players in 2020 was tied to short term 2-3 year contracts so their window of opportunity could essentially after closed 2021. The were essentially shutting a narrow window prematurely.
The Reds are a small market team and the ownership clings to that fact like a raptor crushing clams. But let's be clear. No one who owns a baseball team is or was in any sort of financial peril due to COVID. If they were, they could, you know, sell their asset for a billion dollars. I'm not making up an exaggerated number for comedic effect. That's what the Reds could supposedly fetch on the open market. And that is #27 out of 30 MLB teams. Is that real money? I don't know, but owners mostly deal with monopoly money as opposed to straight cash, homie.
The fact that multiple Reds players had the worst offensive seasons of their careers last year meant that regression to the mean would actually be a good thing for the Reds this year. Still, I don't understand how they could stand pat and claim to be trying to compete when they could only muster a seventh place finish and an ignominious playoff no show last year. Especially given the fact that the playoff pool was shrinking back to 5 teams, the teams of ahead of them weren't getting any worse, and a certain team behind them (the Mets) got much much better (on paper).
I didn't buy it and quite frankly nobody else in Cincinnati did. I was fully ready to invest in the Padres as my backup rooting interest assured that the Reds would finish 81-81 at best this year because, ostensibly, the Padres were trying to win, and because Fernando Tatis Jr. Everyone likes the new upstart trying to take down the bully on the block.
However, as it's playing out, the Padres may end the season by having to forfeit entire remaining series as they are running out of healthy players to trot out there. The Reds improved simply by virtue of the fact multiple players are not having career worst offensive seasons. Their bullpen has caused them at least 10 or more games so far, which is kind of astounding when you think of what might have been if they had addressed this glaring deficiency early on (i.e. not gotten rid of serviceable relief pitching due to salary considerations). They also have managed to feast on one of the weakest schedules in baseball - the NL/AL centrals are awash with like minded teams unwilling to attempt to improve their lot. The Padres schedule is... not as easy. If you could Freaky Friday the Padres and Reds schedules, the Padres are likely coasting into the playoffs right now. Instead, there's an ever increasing chance that we might get to see the reds take on the bully and that the Padres will have to try again next year.
Karma belongs on the side of the Padres. But of course I'm sticking with my hometown team. If I don't Mr. Redlegs and his crazy eyes may hunt me down and kill me:
Also, I love Joey Votto so much. Maybe I'll write about that next week.
I know I've bored you not just with sports, but the most boring of sports, so it's time for what you want, what you really really want:
The CBS SUNDAY MORNING POWER RANKINGS
Unfortunately, Tracy Smith's John William's segment is not eligible because it's from 2019. Despite the Mo Rocca controversy of a few weeks ago, thems still the rules. There was also a twice reaired Lee Cowan segment, but as backup host, Lee's still allowed in the club via the side door.
I do want to say that I once went to a Cincinnati Pops live soundtrack showing of Star Wars and the music really is astounding. The overture that accompanies the opening title and crawl is a shot of adrenaline. You know how people always cheer when the music plays at Star Wars movies? That's John Williams. I really believe that Star Wars fails to achieve global domination without Mr. Williams. His scoring demands that you take what could otherwise seem like a silly sci-fi movie seriously. Everybody can hum a John Williams score. Indiana Jones and Jurassic Park are my next favorites, but he's scored a lot of movies and they are mostly all worthwhile. Maybe there's a debate to be had about whether is scoring music for film can or should be compared to stand alone pieces or whether it is as artistically valid. (I think yes.) There could also be a debate about whether a Williams score is too obvious - there is a certain lack of subtlety (maybe subtlety is overrated). But if there's one thing I wish I could have experienced, it would be to go back to 1977 and watch Star Wars on a big screen having no prior knowledge about the movie. Movies were never the same after that audacious, opening blast of music that follows "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..."
1) Luke Burbank
Luke's been knocking on door of #1 for the past few weeks. His latest contribution is another in his series of segments on the great American West. This time about ghost town Cerro Gordo and the efforts of Brett Underwood to almost single-handedly restore it to its former glory. I've previously referenced Captain Vasily Borodin from The Hunt for Red October in reviewing Luke's pieces, but what can I say? I'll do it again because it's there and it's perfect. Because to some people, the American Dream still exists and it is mostly easily found under the big skies and open vistas of the great American west. Alaska may be the last frontier, but there is still room for a man to be alone with his thoughts up in the mountains in an old mining town. Uploading the experience to YouTube may not exactly be Walden, but in his conversation with Luke, Brett does seem like a different sort of cat than you or even his own three actual cats.
If you asked me guess what Brett Underwood did prior moving to Cerro Gordo, I'm pretty sure running a hostel in Austin, TX would have pretty high up on that list.
I don't think this is the best segment from his recent "Western" series - I'd give that to Red Rocks. However, much like the Reds, Luke can only play whoever is in front of him in a given week, so kudos on taking the top spot.
2) David Pogue
Pogue's interview of Marty Cooper, the man who helped bring the cell phone to life, is a hoot. Nonagenerians generally are in my experience. I didn't say invent because while Cooper probably has much more technical expertise I feel that would be kind of like saying Steve Jobs invented the iPhone. Cooper had an idea and helped lead a team of people in bringing that idea to fruition.
Cooper has something of a rogue's charm. His story is as follows. AT&T asked the FCC for a monopoly on a portion of the broadcasting spectrum to use as a cellular network for car phones. Marty recognized this was a terrible idea and therefore led a team at Motorola to create a truly portable handheld cell phone that demonstrated the potential of a competitive cellular marketplace in a few months. You could talk on that original phone for 25 whole minutes until the battery went dead.
I appreciate his optimism, but Cooper's idea that cell phones could some day help eliminate poverty has a very solutioneering vibe to it, wherein technocrats assume that new technologies will be able to solve all mankind's problems without concerning themselves with unintended consequences and end up turning into Hank Scoprio. (Follow the link for a brief primer and an otherwise great read.) The fact that Cooper even resembles an aging Hank Scorpio doesn't help the comparison:
In the end, I do like Hank, I mean Marty Cooper. And Marty's wife is also a hoot.
3) David Martin, Travis Mills (tie)
I don't know for how many more weeks we're going to have retrospectives on Afghanistan, but we're just lumping them all together because, unlike the powers that be, I'm not going to allow myself to get drawn into a quagmire. (Zing! Too soon?)
I don't have much to say about Afghanistan, but if there is something to be said, I enjoy hearing it the form of David Martin's Dragnet-esque monotone, free of embellishment, politicization, and random yelling.
Biden's administration is trying to say that what's happening in Kabul is not fall of Saigon. But if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck... somehow we probably did a better job in getting allies out of Vietnam when we left.
And to Republicans trying to use the chaos a cudgel with which to score some hits on Biden: No. Glass houses and all that.
I don't have the answer as to what would have fixed it. Afghanistan seems like a hyper local country where the old government and now the Taliban are leading in name only. It seems like the people who came forward to lead in Afghanistan were opportunists who were happy to say whatever we wanted to hear in order to get some of the US's sweet money with no intention of actually using it to improve and/or unify the country and then bolted or handed portions of it over to the Taliban in order to remain and keep some of what they had ferreted away.
Please know I am in no way passing judgement on the people of Afghanistan. Most did have any role in the quick collapse that took place before the US could even leave and I and saddened that those who had some semblance of a normal life now must return to a fearful existence under the flag of the Taliban.
Despite our political and/or military leaders' inability or unwillingness to understand Afghanistan and what it would have taken to enact lasting change, I would like to commend the short (non-political) opinion segment given by retired Staff Sgt. Travis Mills. Many men and women sacrificed much through countless tours of duty in Afghanistan. It could be dangerous to give into despair and assume their sacrifices now mean nothing. His mantra "We did good," fights against that instinct. It shouldn't whitewash mistakes made the US or abhorrent civilian casualties that we tend to euphemize as collateral damage. But they did build hospitals and schools and help provide access to stable food and water. They did make life demonstrably better and more free for many in Afghanistan. For 20 years, women, at least in the parts of the country that were relatively stable, were able to get an education and work towards a career. They did good.
It's just a shame that the pendulum swings back now for a time. But lets hope this is a case of two steps forward, one step back and not one step forward, two steps back.
4) Jon LaPook
Oh geez, I went on too long about Afghanistan.
Norman Lear's son in law presents a story about a singer/songwriter/neonatologist. It's a well done story. Uplifting, with a hint of melancholy. It would seem the segment has that in common with Dr. Krueger's music. I'm not going to run out and buy his albums, but crusty old music critic who insists on his brilliance as a songwriter makes a compelling case that maybe we all should consider it. (I'm sure Dr. Krueger will sell a few albums thanks to this segment...)
I can't help but find the segment inspiring.
The neonatologist works 80-100 hours a week trying to save babies and inevitably some are lost. Still he makes to write and perform his music. He probably needs that outlet, much like I need an outlet like this. He didn't get around to recording his music until his 50's and got a rock critic to go on national TV declare him not at the level of Lennon/McCartney or Randy Newman, but just a step below. (Let's call it the Steve Earle zone.)
I've still got time.
5) Mount Ranier
In theory, I love mountains. I want to go somewhere there is snow year round and learn how to ski well. I've gone skiing once in my life. I seemed to pick it up pretty quickly and had a grand day of it.
I do not live near a mountain. I have never vacationed in the mountains. I have never gone to the mountains for a weekend.
I have seen mountains while may making a connecting flight in Denver. I know enough to know it's not the same.
Pogue bring a story about the 92-year old fitness enthusiast inventor of cell phone? Hartman can't help but one up the nonagenarian with a honest to goodness centenarian lobster fisherwoman. Take that Pogue.
Some please tell me when I'm old enough to say whatever I want and not have to worry what other people will think of it.
7) Lee Cowan
Lee Cowan hosted, had a segment and ran "Sunday Passage". Maybe I ding him too much for the fact that this is the third airing of "The Armless Archer". Lee looks good in a suit. Or maybe it's jealousy because I wish I could pull of a pocket square. I'm just saying if Pauley hosted and gave the retrospective on Chuck Close the Lee did, I probably would have put it 3 or 4. I like art and Close's portraits, but the photorealistic ones and the more modern pixelated ones are mesmerizing. "Sunday Passage" makes clear that Close got "Me-too"-ed a few years ago, so once again it's time to let the nihilism start, read a little Sartre, throw my items in the cart, burn the Super Mart, and try to separate the artist from the art.
If I could just appreciate Close's art without having to reconcile accusations of sexual harassment, Lee also would probably have rated higher. Sorry, sometimes, it's hard to separate presenter from subject.
This story should be higher. It has art. It has history. It has New Orleans. It has Roz Goldstein, a New York City dowager straight out of central casting who collects Necessaires (!!!). Maybe it's my lack of a patrician upbringing, but something makes me inherently distrustful of a place like
Nobody really got Teichnerized this week. I don't really count a check in on the Hurricane Henri as a segment, but wouldn't it be fun to have Martha deliver the weather report just once. I'm not saying I want her out there with Jim Cantore in the middle of a hurricane. Quick some make a weather themed modern art installation!
To come in Part 2: August 15, 2021.
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