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You are here: Home / Past Elections / Election 2018 / We’re Born Again, There’s New Grass on the Field.

We’re Born Again, There’s New Grass on the Field.

by Jewish Steel|  March 28, 20182:30 pm| 163 Comments

This post is in: Election 2018, Open Threads, Sports

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Sparse posting for me, America’s Only Blue Collar Blogger. Tax season, filthy weather, single dog-parenting (not single dog parenting, if only!) Things are coming back under control slowly.

But coming up quickly is the end of the theoretical baseball season and beginning of the games they play out here in the sloppy, unpredictable, real world.  Now we run our WAR, FIP, wOBA , and triple slash lines out onto the field and see how they do. Please give me your bold baseball predictions for the 2018 season. Or any other kind of prediction if you are feeling frisky.

While you are here, why not step up to the plate (sorry, irresistible) and square up this fund that’s split between all eventual Democratic nominees in House districts currently held by Republican.

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And a quick reminder that we would love to hear the story of your congressional district. Send me your stories and, if selected, we will front-page it and include fundraising for nominees: [email protected]. What are you waiting for? Unleash the power of Balloon Juice fundraising!

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Reader Interactions

163Comments

  1. 1.

    TenguPhule

    March 28, 2018 at 2:34 pm

    Please give me your bold baseball predictions for the 2018 season.

    The Yankees will be the most hated team on the field.

  2. 2.

    LAO

    March 28, 2018 at 2:35 pm

    The NY Mets will disappoint me!

  3. 3.

    Omnes Omnibus

    March 28, 2018 at 2:40 pm

    The Brewers will make the play-offs.

  4. 4.

    Roger Moore

    March 28, 2018 at 2:41 pm

    The D-backs will win the NL West as the Dodgers regress.

  5. 5.

    Gin & Tonic

    March 28, 2018 at 2:43 pm

    Paul Manafort will not be pitching for the Red Sox.

  6. 6.

    Ian G.

    March 28, 2018 at 2:43 pm

    @LAO: beat me to it.

    How magical 2015 was. The Mets actually exceeded my expectations for once!

  7. 7.

    LAO

    March 28, 2018 at 2:51 pm

    @Ian G.: Mets fans are like Lucy with the football. Somehow, I feel optimistic every spring, only to have my heart torn out of my chest.

  8. 8.

    scav

    March 28, 2018 at 2:51 pm

    The disinterred red currents will actually start regrowing from the base, but not necessarily enough to win them a reprieve from my mother’s unexpected interest in a (previously disdained) mahonia. Slim point of hope for team currents may lie in the recent credit card billing cycle.

    Not so bold as to predict if team Mahonia aquifolium or M. nervosa will prevail.

  9. 9.

    OzarkHillbilly

    March 28, 2018 at 2:51 pm

    The Cards win it all by taking the hated Yankees down in 3.

    (the yanks forfeit game 4 after 3 resounding beatdowns)

  10. 10.

    Central Planning

    March 28, 2018 at 2:52 pm

    Since I grew up on Long Island, Yankees all the way.

  11. 11.

    Darkrose

    March 28, 2018 at 2:53 pm

    I have no predictions, only prayers for my Giants:

    I pray to the baseball gods that Madison Bumgarner comes back from the DL healthy and pitching like Madison Bumgarner.

    I pray that Johnnie Cueto pitches like an ace this season.

    I pray that Buster Posey’s back and ankles hold out.

    I pray that Hunter Pence is not recalled to his home planet.

    I pray that Hunter Strickland (asshole) isn’t responsible for ending another teammate’s career.

    I pray that the Dodgers go 30 years without winning a World Series.

    And most of all, I pray to the baseball gods that people stop hitting Brandon Belt in the head with baseballs!

  12. 12.

    dexwood

    March 28, 2018 at 2:54 pm

    The Isotopes will be PCL champs… or not.

  13. 13.

    hedgehog the occasional commenter

    March 28, 2018 at 2:55 pm

    Love the Centerfield reference :)
    No predictions other than that my Rockies will break my heart (again).

  14. 14.

    Jewish Steel

    March 28, 2018 at 2:56 pm

    @TenguPhule: A few folks I know are predicting a Cubs/Yankees WS. Oy!

  15. 15.

    Gravenstone

    March 28, 2018 at 2:57 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    The Brewers will make the play-offs go as far as their rotation will carry them.

    As long as they can keep the hated Cards at more than arm’s length, I’ll be happy.

  16. 16.

    Ian G.

    March 28, 2018 at 2:58 pm

    @Jewish Steel:

    That would be awful, although Cubs fans haven’t become quite as insufferable as post-2004 Red Sox fans became.

  17. 17.

    Jewish Steel

    March 28, 2018 at 2:58 pm

    @LAO: I’m a Mets-liker by virtue of being a fan of the second most beloved team in a major metropolitan area. An Athletics-liker too. (I was going to say A’s-liker, but that just didn’t look right)

  18. 18.

    Spanky

    March 28, 2018 at 2:59 pm

    The Pirates will once again collapse. This year, I predict that instead of waiting until the All-Star break, they’ll collapse around mid-April.

  19. 19.

    Jewish Steel

    March 28, 2018 at 2:59 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Amen! I like the Brewers too. The NL Central will be very interesting this year.

  20. 20.

    Yutsano

    March 28, 2018 at 3:00 pm

    The Mariners will continue to wallow in deep mediocrity while the collective ownership dickers about moves over and over again.

    In other words, SSDD.

  21. 21.

    Jewish Steel

    March 28, 2018 at 3:00 pm

    @Roger Moore: Bold! I like it.

  22. 22.

    Major Major Major Major

    March 28, 2018 at 3:01 pm

    I guess I should probably see a Giants game this decade.

  23. 23.

    Jewish Steel

    March 28, 2018 at 3:01 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: It’s hard to do that high kick with two ankle bracelets.

  24. 24.

    Gravenstone

    March 28, 2018 at 3:02 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: I would not recommend this year …

  25. 25.

    Jewish Steel

    March 28, 2018 at 3:03 pm

    @scav: Boldly surreal.

  26. 26.

    Major Major Major Major

    March 28, 2018 at 3:06 pm

    @Gravenstone: what if I’m moving?

  27. 27.

    Jewish Steel

    March 28, 2018 at 3:06 pm

    @OzarkHillbilly:
    @Central Planning: I just cannot muster the kind of hate I used to have for the Yankees. I like this team. They seem like good dudes for the most part.

  28. 28.

    khead

    March 28, 2018 at 3:07 pm

    The Nationals will win a lot of games and then choke in the playoffs. Again.

  29. 29.

    Jewish Steel

    March 28, 2018 at 3:07 pm

    @Darkrose: The MB thing is just brutal. I feel bad for Giants fans.

  30. 30.

    grandpa john

    March 28, 2018 at 3:09 pm

    @LAO: same with the braves

  31. 31.

    ? Martin

    March 28, 2018 at 3:10 pm

    My prediction is to fuck the fucking Yankees. Also the American League in general.

    I have a genetic contract to support the Dodgers and Mets. The former from my dad’s side who settled in Brooklyn near Ebbets. She would have likely given up on the Dodgers except that she moved to SoCal in the late 60s and was able to reunite with her team.

    The latter is from my mom’s side as my grandfather was a huge NY Giants fan, who upon the Giants leaving New York couldn’t bring himself to support either the Yankees (FTFY!) or the Dodgers or stick with the Giants, settled on the Mets when they arrived. I went to many games at Shea, cheering on a team that everyone in the stands knew was going to lose. It’s where I learned to score games with my grandpa and he’d tell me stories of listening to the Giants on the radio.

    Also fuck the fucking yankees, and fuck their fans too. Yankees fans are the worst. I went to 2 games at Yankee stadium, one was bat day and the fans were throwing the bats at their own players who lost that game.

  32. 32.

    Jewish Steel

    March 28, 2018 at 3:10 pm

    @Yutsano: The Mariners and White Sox felt like sibling teams for a while there. Partial rebuild years that disappointed again and again. The White Sox have had really bad pro scouting for a long time.

  33. 33.

    burnspbesq

    March 28, 2018 at 3:11 pm

    My blue-clad boys of spring will perform as follows.

    Duke will win the NCAA championship in men’s lacrosse.

    Everton will finish seventh in the Premier League.

    The Mets will be toast by June 15.

  34. 34.

    trollhattan

    March 28, 2018 at 3:11 pm

    @Darkrose:

    I pray that Hunter Pence is not recalled to his home planet.

    Heh!!! :-)

  35. 35.

    O. Felix Culpa

    March 28, 2018 at 3:12 pm

    Hot off the press: Federal judge allows D.C., & Maryland to proceed with lawsuit alleging Trump violated emoluments clauses.

  36. 36.

    Hungry Joe

    March 28, 2018 at 3:12 pm

    The Padres will kick butt, going 81-81 — maybe even 82-80. (That’s kicking butt in PadreLand.) But they’ve got some impressive-looking kids in the middle- to high minors, which will give the team yet more opportunities to trade for stars on the decline and some lights-out middle relievers.

  37. 37.

    Jewish Steel

    March 28, 2018 at 3:13 pm

    @khead: I don’t want to see that. Nationals will take down the Cubs in the LCS in 7. There’s my prediction.

  38. 38.

    ? Martin

    March 28, 2018 at 3:13 pm

    Oh, and fuck Orange County for joining that confederate shithead at the DOJ in suing CA over the sanctuary state laws, so I guess fuck the Angels in the process (though already covered under the fuck the AL clause above). Not a proud OCer today.

  39. 39.

    Jewish Steel

    March 28, 2018 at 3:14 pm

    @? Martin: I feel like you’re holding back on us. How do the Yankees really make you feel?

  40. 40.

    O. Felix Culpa

    March 28, 2018 at 3:14 pm

    @dexwood: Hah! Maybe we should have a meet-up at an Isotopes game. I usually take in a few games each season and love their ball park.

  41. 41.

    Jewish Steel

    March 28, 2018 at 3:15 pm

    @burnspbesq: A 3-fer! That’s prediction value.

  42. 42.

    gene108

    March 28, 2018 at 3:15 pm

    @Ian G.:

    That would be awful, although Cubs fans haven’t become quite as insufferable as post-2004 Red Sox fans became.

    Red Sox fans were rather insufferable prior to 2004.

  43. 43.

    TenguPhule

    March 28, 2018 at 3:16 pm

    @Jewish Steel: I have no dog in this fight. My state has no national team.

  44. 44.

    Raven

    March 28, 2018 at 3:17 pm

    Hey Hey
    Holy Mackeral
    No Doubt About it. . . ./

  45. 45.

    OzarkHillbilly

    March 28, 2018 at 3:17 pm

    @Jewish Steel: In all seriousness, while I think the Cubs will win the division, they won’t make it to the WS this year.

  46. 46.

    Jewish Steel

    March 28, 2018 at 3:18 pm

    @Hungry Joe: Take James Shields back? Please?

  47. 47.

    mai naem mobile

    March 28, 2018 at 3:20 pm

    Dolt45 will not be throwing out the first pitch. Neither will Chris Christie.

  48. 48.

    OzarkHillbilly

    March 28, 2018 at 3:22 pm

    @Jewish Steel: I’ve never hated the Yankees. George Steinbrenner on the other hand… When it comes to the AL, I’ve just always had a soft spot for Detroit.

  49. 49.

    dexwood

    March 28, 2018 at 3:22 pm

    @O. Felix Culpa:
    That would work. I love AAA baseball though I was raised on the Orioles growing up.

  50. 50.

    Gravenstone

    March 28, 2018 at 3:23 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Then go for the experience? But resign yourself to a likely subpar outcome. Injuries and age have done a number on them before the season even got started.

  51. 51.

    Eric S.

    March 28, 2018 at 3:27 pm

    @OzarkHillbilly: I like the way you think. Do you have a newsletter to which I may subscribe?

  52. 52.

    Central Planning

    March 28, 2018 at 3:27 pm

    @Jewish Steel: Also my senior skip day was opening day at Yankee Stadium. That was a blast, so I have fond memories of them.

    @? Martin: Heh. With all your fucking fucks, are you sure you aren’t a Yankees fan?

    Honestly, I don’t care who wins and I don’t understand the obsession some people have with watching/attending any sport. I’d rather play them than watch them.

  53. 53.

    Sergio Lopez

    March 28, 2018 at 3:28 pm

    Pirates are going to suck

  54. 54.

    Vheidi

    March 28, 2018 at 3:29 pm

    @? Martin: we’re 3 blocks away, where did your dad live?

  55. 55.

    ? Martin

    March 28, 2018 at 3:29 pm

    @Jewish Steel: Donald Trump is a Yankees fan. That is the least predictable thing ever. They were made for each other.

  56. 56.

    AnotherBruce

    March 28, 2018 at 3:30 pm

    @Jewish Steel: True story, Cubs have never won in Yankee Stadium. And it’s not like its a small sample size. In the first half of the 20th century. The Cubs made the Series a number of times, and ran into the Yankees at least a couple of times.

  57. 57.

    Eric S.

    March 28, 2018 at 3:30 pm

    @Ian G.: Au contraire! Boston beat my Cardinals in 2004. I live in Chicago. The number of Cubs fans suddenly wearing Red Sox great and claiming ” they were always my second / American League team” were innumerable and insufferable.

  58. 58.

    AnotherBruce

    March 28, 2018 at 3:32 pm

    @Yutsano: A minor league system would be nice.

  59. 59.

    Yutsano

    March 28, 2018 at 3:32 pm

    @Jewish Steel: We can’t seem to find any good managers. And a lot of what’s happening comes down to both ownership paralysis and just bad team management calls. There are many sentimental reasons to take Edgar as a hitting coach but is he really the best option available? And we’ve gone through like three managers in four years. The only thing keeping it from being terrible is we have bright spots like Cano, Seager, and Haniger (who is starting to really blossom) but there seems to be no coherence at the top to keep all this together. It’s severely frustrating.

    @AnotherBruce: That again goes with the team management issues. But yeah, there seems to be almost zero talent being farmed. Almost all of the current roster started on other minor league farms.

  60. 60.

    raven

    March 28, 2018 at 3:32 pm

    Fuck da stinkin Jankees!

  61. 61.

    CarolDuhart2

    March 28, 2018 at 3:36 pm

    Reds will actually be at least mediocre this year. This will be the year when we start looking ahead instead of back to 1976-1977 and to a lesser degree, 1990.

    Pete Rose will fade somehow.

  62. 62.

    Major Major Major Major

    March 28, 2018 at 3:36 pm

    @? Martin: I saw that. They apparently also went and rejected a pro-homeless-people measure they’d passed unanimously like last week. I guess they’re going full wingnut.

  63. 63.

    Yutsano

    March 28, 2018 at 3:39 pm

    @raven: May the spirit of Steve Gillard never fade.

  64. 64.

    AnotherBruce

    March 28, 2018 at 3:41 pm

    @Central Planning: Because it’s fun to watch elite athletes that do what they do. Have you ever watched Javier Baez of the Cubs? The man is a fielding magician. He turns plays that seem impossible into outs.

  65. 65.

    Yutsano

    March 28, 2018 at 3:41 pm

    @ Martin: @Major Major Major Major: Call me crazy but I bet even with the bluing of Orange County the DA is still a wingnut.

  66. 66.

    Duane

    March 28, 2018 at 3:45 pm

    Luke Weaver of the St. Louis Cardinals will win the Cy Young award. You heard it here first.

  67. 67.

    japa21

    March 28, 2018 at 3:46 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Agree the Brewers will make the playoffs. They even may win is as NL Central champs, unless the Cards win the division. My really bold prediction is the Cubs will not make the playoffs.

  68. 68.

    OzarkHillbilly

    March 28, 2018 at 3:48 pm

    @Duane: A man can dream. He is impressive.

  69. 69.

    O. Felix Culpa

    March 28, 2018 at 3:49 pm

    @dexwood: I spent many years rooting for the White Sox, so practically AAA (except for 2005, which was glorious).

  70. 70.

    Duane

    March 28, 2018 at 3:49 pm

    Luke Weaver of the St. Louis Cardinals will win the Cy Young award. You heard it here first.

  71. 71.

    Major Major Major Major

    March 28, 2018 at 3:50 pm

    @Yutsano: this was the county supervisors though.

  72. 72.

    Central Planning

    March 28, 2018 at 3:50 pm

    @AnotherBruce: No, I haven’t. But I don’t want to sit around for 3 hours to watch 10 minutes of him being athletic.

    I’ve been to many Olympic events. It is cool to see those athletes and what they can do. I’d rather watch games on TV, or see the highlight reel.

  73. 73.

    Cacti

    March 28, 2018 at 3:55 pm

    The local Mariners will not threaten for anything.

    My St. Louis Cardinals will contend for a wild card.

    The young, loaded, and cash flush New York Yankees will win 100 games this year.

    The Astros won’t repeat as WS champions.

    The Dodgers won’t repeat as NL champions.

  74. 74.

    randy khan

    March 28, 2018 at 3:56 pm

    @LAO:

    The NY Mets will disappoint me!

    As a nearly life-long Mets fan (the flirtation with the evil Yankees was mercifully brief, and I had not yet reached the age of reason), I will be surprised if they don’t disappoint me.

    More locally, I think this is the year the Nats win a playoff series. Trading Eaton for Werth in the lineup is a real improvement in an already-scary lineup, and they didn’t even have to do anything to make it happen. And with a real bullpen, they won’t blow games the way they did in the first half last year.

  75. 75.

    James E. Powell

    March 28, 2018 at 3:57 pm

    The Baseball Gods will reward the Cleveland Indians’ decision to stop using the racist cartoon logo with a World Series Championship.

  76. 76.

    randy khan

    March 28, 2018 at 3:59 pm

    @Jewish Steel:

    I just cannot muster the kind of hate I used to have for the Yankees. I like this team. They seem like good dudes for the most part.

    I have no trouble. They made a trade with the Marlins – run by a former Yankee captain – to get the reigning NL MVP for peanuts. They’re evil.

  77. 77.

    randy khan

    March 28, 2018 at 4:00 pm

    @Hungry Joe:

    The Padres will kick butt, going 81-81 — maybe even 82-80. (That’s kicking butt in PadreLand.) But they’ve got some impressive-looking kids in the middle- to high minors, which will give the team yet more opportunities to trade for stars on the decline and some lights-out middle relievers.

    But what about their hot lava talent?

  78. 78.

    randy khan

    March 28, 2018 at 4:02 pm

    @Eric S.:

    Au contraire! Boston beat my Cardinals in 2004. I live in Chicago. The number of Cubs fans suddenly wearing Red Sox great and claiming ” they were always my second / American League team” were innumerable and insufferable.

    How strange. They could just have said they were rooting against the Cardinals, like their mothers and fathers and grandmothers and grandfathers before them would have done.

  79. 79.

    ? Martin

    March 28, 2018 at 4:05 pm

    @Vheidi: On Maple. Family owned a bunch of homes there at one time, but everyone has moved onto other parts of the country since.

  80. 80.

    khead

    March 28, 2018 at 4:05 pm

    @Jewish Steel:

    Please, please, please. I am SOOOOO tired of getting my hopes up.

  81. 81.

    TenguPhule

    March 28, 2018 at 4:06 pm

    @randy khan:

    And with a real bullpen, they won’t blow games the way they did in the first half last year.

    How many other teams are the fans saying this exact same thing about?

  82. 82.

    OzarkHillbilly

    March 28, 2018 at 4:07 pm

    @randy khan: Cubs fans…. They just don’t make ’em like they used to.

  83. 83.

    low-tech cyclist

    March 28, 2018 at 4:07 pm

    Please give me your bold baseball predictions for the 2018 season.

    For the 25th straight year, there will be no real pennant races.

    They were like crack, from Dodgers-Giants in the mid-1960s to Braves-Giants in 1993, with stops along the way like Yankees-Red Sox in 1978 and O’s-Brewers in 1982. They were the heartbreaking drama that gave the regular season its emotional power. The difference of one win out of 162 games (or 163 in the 1978 AL East) was enough to send one team on, and the other back home.

    Now we play 162 games to separate the top 10 teams from the other 20. That’s a lot of games to not settle that much, and I just can’t bring myself to care anymore.

    Dammit, I really do miss pennant races. I guess I always will. They really were like crack, and they aren’t making that drug anymore. I had my last fix in 1993, and I’ve been going through withdrawal ever since.

  84. 84.

    OzarkHillbilly

    March 28, 2018 at 4:09 pm

    @TenguPhule: All of them, Katie.

  85. 85.

    Roger Moore

    March 28, 2018 at 4:11 pm

    @AnotherBruce:

    True story, Cubs have never won in Yankee Stadium. And it’s not like its a small sample size.

    It’s a total of 9 games, which seems like a fairly small sample size to me.

  86. 86.

    OzarkHillbilly

    March 28, 2018 at 4:11 pm

    @low-tech cyclist: Technically, there hasn’t been a pennant race since ’68.

  87. 87.

    TenguPhule

    March 28, 2018 at 4:14 pm

    So now the Republicans are apparently planning a vote on a balanced budget amendment after their recess.

    Are you fucking kidding me?

    /Via Atrios.

  88. 88.

    Darkrose

    March 28, 2018 at 4:16 pm

    @Jewish Steel: This time, there’s not even anyone to blame. It was one of those freaky things.

  89. 89.

    sherparick1

    March 28, 2018 at 4:16 pm

    Nationals win NL East; Cubs win NL Central; Rockies win NL West (my unconventional pick – Dodgers lost talent and did not add this off season; injuries to Turner and Seeger, pitching after Kershaw declines). Wild Cards: Mets and Phillies (beating Miami constantly boost them both over Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Brewers, and Cardinals as no other division has such a pathetic a team as Marlins – who after the July trade deadline won’t even be a good AAA team.)

    Red Sox win AL East over Yankees (both teams are of course very hateable, but the Yankees eewh!! Red Sox had down years from Price, Portello, Boegarts, & Hanley Ramirez and still won 93 games). Yankees infield is looking pretty “journeymen” right now.)

    Cleveland holds offf Minnesota in the AL Central

    Houston wins going away in AL West. Wild cards Yankees and Minnesota Gee this looks like last year’s playoffs.

    Foolish predicting who will win now (injuries, who is hot, trades at deadlines (whether July or August waiver wire). So I will go with my heart. Cubs beat the Astros in seven! (Sentimental choices if its not the Cubs – Cleveland and if not Cleveland, Nationals). Astros on paper are the best team. Best teams not named Yankees don’t often win.

  90. 90.

    AnotherBruce

    March 28, 2018 at 4:17 pm

    @OzarkHillbilly: You mean, frustrated?

  91. 91.

    Darkrose

    March 28, 2018 at 4:20 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: I’d say go for the experience. I went to my first ever professional sporting event 10 years ago at AT&T Park, and I fell in love with baseball. Even if—as is likely—the Giants play badly, it’s a beautiful park and a beautiful game. Have a crab sandwich for me.

  92. 92.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    March 28, 2018 at 4:23 pm

    The Baltimore Orioles will win the World Series (which should really be called the National Series or something)

    (No I’m not being serious).

  93. 93.

    ? Martin

    March 28, 2018 at 4:23 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Yeah, I’m a bit pissed about that too. I had jury duty in Feb and behind the superior court in Santa Ana is this sizable tent city visible from all of the courtrooms. It’s unconscionable. Irvine could easily handle that and we have both the Tustin base which could be developed as well as the Great Park. There’s already the Orange County Rescue Mission at the Tustin base and a number of other shelters and low income housing around there. There’s more than enough money around to pay to build and operate new shelters. This is just NIMBY bullshit, which is how Irvine rolls, but had been steadily getting better.

  94. 94.

    OzarkHillbilly

    March 28, 2018 at 4:24 pm

    @AnotherBruce: Dejected.

  95. 95.

    ? Martin

    March 28, 2018 at 4:25 pm

    @Yutsano: Oh, certainly. We’ve got a long way to go yet, but at least we’re headed in a better direction overall.

  96. 96.

    opiejeanne

    March 28, 2018 at 4:33 pm

    @? Martin: Yes, fuck the Orange Curtain but I would submit that Arte Moreno is the only Angel I would add to the fucking fuck them pile. I mean, you really can’t say that about Mike Trout. He’s a force of nature and a heck of a nice guy.

  97. 97.

    Major Major Major Major

    March 28, 2018 at 4:34 pm

    @Darkrose: I don’t think I’ve been since college.

  98. 98.

    JGabriel

    March 28, 2018 at 4:36 pm

    Jewish Steel @ Top:

    Please give me your bold baseball predictions for the 2018 season.

    Trump won’t make the first pitch of the season, because he’s too weak and low energy to reach the plate.

  99. 99.

    opiejeanne

    March 28, 2018 at 4:36 pm

    @OzarkHillbilly: You know, the Cubs winning the World Series was the omen of how badly things were about to go wrong in the world, that and the Malheur trials ending the way they did.

  100. 100.

    Vheidi

    March 28, 2018 at 4:37 pm

    @? Martin: ah, that’s a pity, they’re worth a fortune now. I love this neighbourhood, not sure how much longer we’ll be able to stay though.

  101. 101.

    M. Bouffant

    March 28, 2018 at 4:43 pm

    Bad omen for season?

    Pipe leak at Dodger Stadium forces umpires to cut ballgame short

  102. 102.

    Anthony Cooper

    March 28, 2018 at 4:43 pm

    I’ll talk up my congressional district. I’m in KY 4th, which is currently misrepresented by Thomas Massie, whose motto seems to be “you’re on your own.” There are three Democrats in the primary, and I’m volunteering for Seth Hall. I think this district can be flipped because the partisan lean is in the upper end of doable, and Massie has neither a record of accomplishment nor is he likely to get much GOP support. Seth Hall’s three priorities are health care, raising wages, and bringing the district together (meaning working on popular policies that aren’t getting enacted). For instance, Kenton County outside of Cincinnati had a big opioid problem, and nothing is happening on the federal level to help solve it. This race hasn’t attracted the money or relative attention of the Gray vs McGrath primary, but the winner still has a good chance of flipping a district.

  103. 103.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    March 28, 2018 at 4:44 pm

    @TenguPhule:
    As in an amendment to the US Constitution?

  104. 104.

    rikyrah

    March 28, 2018 at 4:47 pm

    Tell it, Rev. Barber

    https://twitter.com/RevDrBarber/status/978989570292375552?s=19

  105. 105.

    rikyrah

    March 28, 2018 at 4:48 pm

    @TenguPhule:
    ???

  106. 106.

    catclub

    March 28, 2018 at 4:50 pm

    @opiejeanne:

    that and the Malheur trials ending the way they did.

    when was the last time a notable federal trial got a conviction? Mostly it seems they end in misconduct sanctions on the US Attorneys.

    There was a book on chickenshit prosecution (actually lack thereof) of any crimes from 2008 financial meltdown.

    ETA: this does not bode well for Mueller and his cases. So far only cases are plea agreements, no trials.

  107. 107.

    opiejeanne

    March 28, 2018 at 4:55 pm

    @Eric S.: Gawd, the ones showing up at Angels stadium in droves, people who’d never been to the east coast, let alone Bahstahn. So obnoxious.

    We were at a post season game in Anaheim and some of them were so awful they were ejected from the stadium. Most of the ushers are elderly volunteers, and these assholes hit them and shoved them and one fell down a couple of the cement steps.
    Yankees fans used to act that way when they came to town in the 70s and 80s. We had season tickets for several years and we sold all of those tickets to friends after we realized it was a constant problem and not a one-off.

  108. 108.

    O. Felix Culpa

    March 28, 2018 at 4:56 pm

    @rikyrah: Truth.

  109. 109.

    TenguPhule

    March 28, 2018 at 4:57 pm

    @opiejeanne:

    the Cubs winning the World Series was the omen of how badly things were about to go wrong in the world

    Just like how the Red Sox finally won in 2004.

    Bad things keep happening when the underdogs in sports win.

  110. 110.

    TenguPhule

    March 28, 2018 at 4:58 pm

    @? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?: Yes.

    In prior years it was all bullshit Kabuki.

    This year….its rubbing salt in the tax cut wounds.

    /And this story seems to have legs, since more media are reporting this as we speak

  111. 111.

    trollhattan

    March 28, 2018 at 4:59 pm

    @Darkrose:
    Location, location, location. Perched on the Bay with folks paddling around waiting to snag balls hit into the drink, the views, the food, the twenty-buck beer, who cares about baseball when you have all that?

    Similarly, Husky Stadium in Seattle. What a magnificent place.

  112. 112.

    TenguPhule

    March 28, 2018 at 5:00 pm

    GOP to Push for More Tax Cuts — and a Balanced Budget Amendment

    House GOP to push balanced budget amendment after recess: report

    Playbook scoop: Republicans to push balanced-budget amendment

  113. 113.

    TenguPhule

    March 28, 2018 at 5:02 pm

    And they want even MORE FUCKING TAX CUTS.

    The government isn’t going to drown in a bathtub, its going to be held down under 2 inches of Republican urine and murdered.

  114. 114.

    trollhattan

    March 28, 2018 at 5:04 pm

    Sweet rompin’ Ronny Reagan on a runaway Roomba, Don Blankenship–that Don Blankenship–is running for Manchin’s West Virginia senate seat.

    “Hey now, how about we elect a murderer to congress?”
    “Hold my beer and let me go get my thinkin’ overalls.”

  115. 115.

    TenguPhule

    March 28, 2018 at 5:05 pm

    @trollhattan:

    Don Blankenship–that Don Blankenship–is running for Manchin’s West Virginia senate seat.

    Fuck Blankenship for making me have to root for Manchin.

  116. 116.

    OzarkHillbilly

    March 28, 2018 at 5:10 pm

    @TenguPhule: Dreams they’ll never see.

  117. 117.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    March 28, 2018 at 5:11 pm

    Shohei Ohtani is going to be a bust.

  118. 118.

    laura

    March 28, 2018 at 5:11 pm

    @Darkrose: Darkrose, I’d like to sign on to your Prayer for our Giants.
    I’d like to add a prediction or two:
    Dusty Baker will inspire the Team in his return to the Bay Area,
    The Team will have slump at some point in the season that will dismay and demoralize fans of little faith. However, the Team will rally and enter the playoffs come the fall and will once again earn a Championship Title in the World’s Series.

  119. 119.

    AnotherBruce

    March 28, 2018 at 5:15 pm

    @TenguPhule: The Cubs were not underdogs, they were by every measure, the best team in baseball. As for the omen thing, consult your Ouija board.

  120. 120.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    March 28, 2018 at 5:16 pm

    @TenguPhule:
    I’m pretty sure they don’t have the states to shove an amendment through.

  121. 121.

    patroclus

    March 28, 2018 at 5:17 pm

    TCU to the CWS!

  122. 122.

    TenguPhule

    March 28, 2018 at 5:26 pm

    @? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?: I’m pretty sure about that too. I just find it fucking infuriating that those assholes dare to play memory blackhole with their fucking tax cuts while pretending to care about deficits.

  123. 123.

    Frankensteinbeck

    March 28, 2018 at 5:30 pm

    @TenguPhule:
    Well, hey, if they want to provide direct evidence that they’re trying to cut people’s social security and medicare to give tax cuts to the ultra-rich, and they want to do this in an election year where they’re already facing terrible numbers, they can propose it. I can’t imagine how they think it will pass.

  124. 124.

    Captain C

    March 28, 2018 at 5:34 pm

    @randy khan: As a Mets fan, I’m inclined to agree. However, it’s those times when we’re absolutely sure they’ll disappoint us that they put together a great run, usually (but not always) falling just short of a title.

    And they did make the most important change they needed to make this offseason, namely, firing their entire training staff. I’ve seen football teams go through seasons with fewer injuries then the Metsies had last year. Now if only Thor figures out that 100mph is more than enough for a fastball…

  125. 125.

    Van Buren

    March 28, 2018 at 5:36 pm

    @dexwood: What’s the difference?
    I kid. I”ve always liked the O’s. Al Bumbry was my second favorite player when I was a child.

  126. 126.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    March 28, 2018 at 5:36 pm

    @TenguPhule: @Frankensteinbeck:

    They apparently think they’ve transcended the traditional laws of American politics and democracy

  127. 127.

    Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)

    March 28, 2018 at 5:39 pm

    BREAKING NEWS: VA Secretary David Shulkin to resign and President Trump will nominate his personal physician to succeed him, White House officials say. Details to come.

    Holy shit. They can’t mean that lunatic, can they? They must mean the doc from the VA who said he was healthy in all ways.

  128. 128.

    JR

    March 28, 2018 at 5:40 pm

    @catclub: Enron

  129. 129.

    JR

    March 28, 2018 at 5:42 pm

    @catclub: Also there was a famous mortgage fraud case featuring some guy we know.

  130. 130.

    EBT

    March 28, 2018 at 5:45 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady): His personal doctor who gave him the bogus physical at the start of the campaign yeah.

  131. 131.

    O. Felix Culpa

    March 28, 2018 at 5:45 pm

    Shulkin out at the VA. Quelle surprise.

    Merde! IOL got there ahead of me. Shakes fist in friendly acknowledgement.

  132. 132.

    drdavechemist

    March 28, 2018 at 5:46 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady): Yes, the latter. Very misleading to call the “Physician to the President” Trump’s personal physician.

  133. 133.

    Captain C

    March 28, 2018 at 5:46 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady): C’mon, who wouldn’t want Jeff Lebowski’s brother who’s like a creepier, less competent version of George Clooney’s character from O Brother, Where Art Thou? running an important governmental agency?

  134. 134.

    No Drought No More

    March 28, 2018 at 5:47 pm

    Maybe the Giants will fracture Clayton Kershaw’s pitching hand in the first inning on opening day, with a line shot come-backer he can’t possibly avoid either, like what happened to Madbum a week ago. Assuming Kershaw would mend well too, that would be cool. The Giants otherwise have a team that can hang in baseball’s toughest division, and they’ve already proved that’s all they need to win it all. Go Giants… and best of luck A’s, except those games where their interests conflict..

  135. 135.

    dmsilev

    March 28, 2018 at 5:50 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady): Yeah, it’s the military doctor (Rear Admiral Ronny Jackson, or was he promoted to V. Adm?). You know, the one who agreed to sign off on Trump’s claim that he’s just a hair below obese on a BMI chart.

  136. 136.

    J R in WV

    March 28, 2018 at 5:50 pm

    I hit this contribution fund up with a monthly donation when it first appeared. Every month I get an ActBlue receipt for $1 donated to each of 50 congressional candidates. I don’t think my donations are getting onto the running total, though, and I have no idea of how to adjust things to get into the pool.

    But the money is going where it is needed, so I’m OK with that.

  137. 137.

    Captain C

    March 28, 2018 at 5:51 pm

    @Hungry Joe: Didn’t the Pads win a division title once by going 82-80?

  138. 138.

    Aleta

    March 28, 2018 at 5:52 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady): That one seems well qualified. Proved himself at math– juggling numbers like only the best weight loss programs –and proven at following orders at a podium.

  139. 139.

    Jewish Steel

    March 28, 2018 at 5:52 pm

    @Anthony Cooper: Fantastic. Let’s keep an eye on this race and raise money for the primary winner.

    @patroclus: CWS = College World Series, rt? I was puzzling over which player with the initials TCU could be going to the Chicago White Sox.

  140. 140.

    lgerard

    March 28, 2018 at 5:53 pm

    Ironic that the same indiscretions republicans are excusing for Carson, Zinke, Pruitt and Mnuchin were used by trumpbots seeking to politicize the federal bureaucracy to force Shulkin out.

    Lets go Mets!

  141. 141.

    cosima

    March 28, 2018 at 5:54 pm

    Not sure if this is an open thread, but oh well! And it is past my bedtime, so I’m going to leave this here for others to discuss.

    Can we have a FTFTA (fuck the fucking the atlantic) for this: http://prospect.org/article/atlantics-gigantic-stumble?

    They’ve been out of favour with me since McArglebargle & anti-Obama Sully days, but this really is a new low for them.

  142. 142.

    Jewish Steel

    March 28, 2018 at 5:55 pm

    @J R in WV: I don’t know how any of that stuff works. Maybe DougJ or mistermix does? I am merely their creature. ?

  143. 143.

    TenguPhule

    March 28, 2018 at 5:57 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady):

    Holy shit. They can’t mean that lunatic, can they?

    Rear Admiral it is.

  144. 144.

    Inventor

    March 28, 2018 at 5:57 pm

    Astros back-to-back WS champs followed shortly thereafter by Beto beating Rafael’s ass.

  145. 145.

    TenguPhule

    March 28, 2018 at 5:59 pm

    @drdavechemist:

    Very misleading to call the “Physician to the President” Trump’s personal physician.

    Yet completely accurate as we know the quisling fucker made his own deal with the devil.

  146. 146.

    randy khan

    March 28, 2018 at 5:59 pm

    @TenguPhule:

    @randy khan:

    And with a real bullpen, they won’t blow games the way they did in the first half last year.

    How many other teams are the fans saying this exact same thing about?

    Well, not my Mets.

    In the case of the Nats, though, it’s the bullpen that they built in the middle of the year, replacing the existing dumpster fire. This year, they basically have the crew they ended last year with, which was pretty darned good.

  147. 147.

    TenguPhule

    March 28, 2018 at 6:02 pm

    Skripals poisoned from front door of Salisbury home, police say

    Detectives investigating the attempted murders of Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia Skripal have said they believe the pair were poisoned with a nerve agent at the front door of his Salisbury home.

    Specialists investigating the poisoning of the the Skripals have found the highest concentration of the nerve agent on the front door at the address, police said.

    Counter-terrorism detectives will continue to focus their inquiries on the home address for the coming weeks, and possibly months, after the father and daughter were found unconscious on a park bench in Salisbury earlier this month.

    Well that’s chilling.

  148. 148.

    randy khan

    March 28, 2018 at 6:04 pm

    I generally dislike the White Sox, but this story makes me think better of them:

    Rehired 23 years after wrongful conviction

  149. 149.

    debit

    March 28, 2018 at 6:07 pm

    @TenguPhule: So they touched the doorknob and that was it. Jesus.

    ETA: Paul Manfort takes a note: Get personal door opener.

  150. 150.

    MJS

    March 28, 2018 at 6:08 pm

    @TenguPhule: Between this douche and Kelly, I really don’t want to hear anymore about military honor.

  151. 151.

    Gravenstone

    March 28, 2018 at 6:10 pm

    Royals weren’t going to do anything anyway, but reporting that Salvi Perez is out 4-6 weeks with a torn MCL.

  152. 152.

    JPL

    March 28, 2018 at 6:15 pm

    @Aleta: It’s time to call Cohen, not only did I sleep with the orange one, but I can testify that he is not obese. That’s worth more than 130,000.

  153. 153.

    Mary G

    March 28, 2018 at 6:15 pm

    I used to be a diehard Dodgers fan, but the horrible McCourts kind of ruined it for me, and I can’t watch the games on TV, so I just ignore baseball until the playoffs start and root for whoever takes my fancy.

    The primaries here in we-got-rid-of-Darrell-Issa land are starting to heat up, but no mud has been slung so far. I just realized my state senator and assembly person are both Republicans, and though they have no power, I think they should go.

  154. 154.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    March 28, 2018 at 6:19 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady):
    Caligula and his horse. I’m seeing parallels.

  155. 155.

    SiubhanDuinne

    March 28, 2018 at 6:31 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady):

    That was my first thought/fear when I got in the car at 6:00 pm and heard Ari Melber announce that Trump’s “personal physician” would be heading up the VA. Then, without following up, he went to the other breaking news (preëmptive pardons) and didn’t get back to the VA story for almost 15 minutes. That whole time, I was thinking “Please, not that insane Harold Bornstein.”

    We know Ronny Jackson is willing to lie for Trump, at least when it comes to things like weight and BMI, but at least he’s military — and I don’t think he’s an actual raving lunatic.

  156. 156.

    Gravenstone

    March 28, 2018 at 6:34 pm

    @TenguPhule: And this is where Russia fucked up majorly by using such a persistent agent. No way they should be able to make that determination this far after the attack, except it lingers a long fucking time.

  157. 157.

    Mnemosyne

    March 28, 2018 at 6:41 pm

    @dmsilev:

    You know, the one who agreed to sign off on Trump’s claim that he’s just a hair below obese on a BMI chart.

    And here we were all assured that a military doctor couldn’t possibly have a motive to lie about Trump’s health. ?

  158. 158.

    Jacel

    March 28, 2018 at 7:31 pm

    @laura: It works for me.

  159. 159.

    Jewish Steel

    March 28, 2018 at 7:36 pm

    @randy khan: Great story!

  160. 160.

    Amir Khalid

    March 28, 2018 at 8:05 pm

    I have no baseball prediction to make, but if Liverpool FC make it to this year’s World Series playoffs I will definitely root for them.

  161. 161.

    Joeg

    March 28, 2018 at 9:03 pm

    AL: Toronto
    NL: Colorado

    Toronto wins WS 4-2 with Game 6 in Colorado with flurries at game time.

    Or not….

  162. 162.

    Jewish Steel

    March 29, 2018 at 3:13 am

    @Joeg: The boldest prediction saved for last!

  163. 163.

    LAO

    March 29, 2018 at 10:38 am

    RIP Rusty Staub. A sad day for NY Baseball.

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