Hillary Clinton, smash your rearview mirror

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/hillary-clinton-smash-your-rearview-mirror/2017/06/02/7d5afe28-47d0-11e7-a196-a1bb629f64cb_story.html?utm_term=.5448c6349e04

 

Ruth Marcus hits the nail on the head, as usual.

 

“Hillary Clinton isn’t going gently. … no words minced, no target spared — except, for the most part, herself.”

 

“It’s essential to understand what went wrong in 2016 and to call out the bad actors. Clinton is just the wrong messenger. … Clinton’s obsessive summoning of 2016 gives Trump an excuse to change the subject from his missteps.”

Earl Weaver had it right when it comes to baseball brawls

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nationals/earl-weaver-had-it-right-when-it-comes-to-baseball-brawls/2017/05/30/5f8eaeea-4559-11e7-bcde-624ad94170ab_story.html?utm_term=.2d44abd86538

 

With a look back to a melee in 1993 that almost cost Cal Ripken Jr. his consecutive-game streak, Tom Boswell deftly demolishes the pseudo-macho crap peddled by Ray Knight, F.P. Santangelo and similar idiots that “red-blooded men” have no choice but to charge the mound whenever they’re intentionally (at least in their opinion) hit by a pitched ball. Side note: Boswell doesn’t even mention that former Nat Michael Morse (of “Take On Me” fame) suffered a concussion as a by-product of the Harper-Strickland confrontation, when he got the worst of a collision with teammate (and former Notre Dame football star) Jeff Samardzija.

 

Ironically, Harper and 8 other Nats visited various Washington area youth baseball programs last Saturday morning. Guess if grown and supposedly mature men are allowed to take the law into their own hands by charging the mound, it must be OK for high school players and Little Leaguers to do so as well, eh?

 

Bottom line – the old cliché that two wrongs don’t make a right still holds.

May 28, 2017 – Padres 5, Nats 3 – Nationals Park

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/233021108/ryan-schimpf-homers-in-padres-win-vs-nats/

 

Attendance: 30,243

Game Time: 3:19

Weather: 65 degrees, cloudy

Wind: 7 mph

Umpires: Home Plate - Dan Bellino, First Base - Jerry Layne, Second Base - Roberto Ortiz, Third Base - Mike Estabrook

 

Highlights – Nats scored a run in the first after loading the bases with nobody out (Trea Turner single, Goodwin double, Rendon walk), another in the second (singles by Difo, Turner, and Goodwin), and one in the fifth on an Adam Lind RBI double after a Zimmerman single … Jacob Turner, Treinen, and Romero combined for 5 scoreless innings out of the pen

 

Other – Joe Ross gave up two runs in the top of the first on a two-out Ryan Schimpf homer after Will Myers worked a walk … things didn’t improve from there, as Ross gave up 3 more runs and a total of 12 hits without retiring a batter in the 5^th … while we were prepared for possible rain late afternoon or early evening, we didn’t expect the drizzle (and eventual rain) we got before the game when waiting for autographs … were also a bit surprised when the put the tarp on about 15 minutes before the game was scheduled to start, as they were obviously warned of the rain that started shortly thereafter and delayed the start of the game for 80 minutes … cool throughout, also in contrast to the earlier forecast … tried the Italian sausage sandwich for the first time, which wasn’t bad

#148 (Don't Go Back To) Rockville – R.E.M. (1984)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fXCjSgItgw

 

Since I’ve been living in Rockville for almost 40 years, this is pretty much a no-brainer. (I’ve left for vacations, but have always gone back.) And, unlike many early R.E.M. songs, the lyrics are actually intelligible.

#147 Love (Makes Me Do Foolish Things) – Martha & The Vandellas (1965)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1-mqP0W8Hc

 

Martha & The Vandellas made a name for themselves with upbeat, danceable tracks such as “Heat Wave”, “Nowhere To Run”, and “Dancing In the Street”. This one, although one of the finest ballads in the history of Motown, was buried as a B-side (to “You’ve Been In Love Too Long”). Fortunately, although it only reached #70 on the national charts, it did get quite a bit of airplay on some stations (including WFEC in my birthplace of Harrisburg).

#146 Tears Dry On Their Own – Amy Winehouse (2006)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojdbDYahiCQ

 

Song-wise, the late Amy Winehouse is best known for the unfortunately-appropriate “Rehab”, but there’s a lot of other great material on her excellent breakthrough album Back To Black. This one tops them all, with Winehouse’s melody and lyrics over the backing track from “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”. While a successful single in the UK, it never really made it to radio on this side of the pond, which was definitely our loss.

May 24, 2017 – Nats 5, Mariners 1 – Nationals Park

http://m.nationals.mlb.com/news/article/232265970/anthony-rendon-homers-nationals-beat-mariners/?topicId=27118414

 

Attendance: 29,223

Game Time: 2:28

Weather: 64 degrees, overcast

Wind: 3 mph

Umpires: Home Plate - Todd Tichenor, First Base - Adam Hamari, Second Base - Bill Miller, Third Base - Kerwin Danley

 

Highlights – Nats scored all the runs they needed off rookie Sam Gaviglio in the bottom of the first … Trea reached on an error, stole second, and scored on long flies by Harper and Zim … Rendon followed later in the inning with a 3-run homer that scored Werth (who had walked earlier) and Murphy (double) … added their final run in the second on Taylor’s bunt hit, Roark’s sacrifice, and Turner’s RBI single … Tanner gave up a run in the top of the first and was over 40 pitches at the end of the second, but prevented any further damage through the 7^th … Romero and Kelley held off Seattle in the 8^th, while newly-anointed closer Koda Glover added a 1-2-3 9^th

 

Other – due to our early start and an uneventful ride down on Metro, we were first in the LF gate season pass holder line for the Max Scherzer Snow Globe giveaway … on a relatively chilly May evening, the wind gusts in our seats for much of the game were much higher than the “3 mph” gametime reading from the ESPN box score, although we were fortunate not to get any rain … Nats played their second straight game in less than 2½ hours

Shuffle #96 (May 20, 2017)

Come As You Are – Nirvana

I’ve Got To Use My Imagination – Gladys Knight & The Pips

Anyone Who Had A Heart – Dionne Warwick

North Side Gal – JD McPherson

Mirror In The Bathroom – The English Beat

Can’t Get You Out Of My Head – Kylie Minogue

Over And Over – The Dave Clark Five

Greasy Heart – Jefferson Airplane

Just Another Day – John Mellancamp

Da Doo Ron Ron – The Crystals

Dream Dancing – Scott Hamilton

Serendipity #67

Bad Bad World – Guster

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukdZMtzgb1c

Heard 5/12/2017 around 12:35pm, at Wegman’s (Germantown)

May 14, 2017 – Nats 6, Phillies 5 (Game 2) – Nationals Park

http://m.nationals.mlb.com/news/article/230293680/taylor-home-run-lifts-nationals-past-phillies/

 

Attendance: 30,137

Game Time: 3:34

Weather: 78 degrees, partly cloudy

Wind: 9 mph

Umpires: Home Plate - Andy Fletcher, First Base - Alan Porter, Second Base - Joe West, Third Base - Chris Segal

 

Section 416, Row F, Seats 3-5 (back in our old Section 416 stomping grounds)

 

Notes – the ultimate see-saw game, which was tied 3-3 when we left the building in the middle of the 6^th … worst moment came in the top of the 4^th, when Scherzer was hit on the left knee by a 100-MPH liner off the bat of Michael Saunders … Max stayed in the game, and after allowing two runs to score in the inning, struck out the Phils on 9 pitches in the 5^th before allowing another run in his final inning of work … Velasquez was his typical inefficient self for Philadelphia, needing 100 pitches to get through 5 innings while allowing 3 runs … Luis Garcia allowed the Nats to take the lead in the bottom of the 6^th by allowing a double to pinch-hitter Brian Goodwin after walking leadoff batter Anthony Rendon … Phils went back on top in the 8^th when Matt Grace and Jacob Turner each walked a batter and Galvis tripled them home … Nats regained the lead in the bottom of the frame on a two-run homer by Taylor (who had fanned in his previous 3 ABs) off Neshek, and Matt Albers saved the day (and game) for the Nats with a 1-2-3 ninth