Happy Juneteenth Everyone! I hope all you fathers out there enjoyed your day yesterday.
It's time, once again, for me to clean out my file of potential columns that weren't going to be long enough on their own and yet still share with you my brilliant thoughts on the subject. Here we go.
This past weekend was the 123rd US Open at the famed Los Angeles Country Club and to say the players were underwhelmed would be an understatement. Unlike many golf fans I do not enjoy holding the majors in men's golf in the corridor between Boston and Philadelphia every year. Believe it or not there is a great big country out there with many fantastic golf courses they could play so moving it around has always been my choice.
This year the players hated the small crowds, the course set-up, sixteen of the eighteen holes, the hot dogs sold, and five hundred other things. Guess what? The players hate every course that isn't pristine and boring like what they play each week on tour. Those courses aren't a test of their greatness, it is a contest of who can drive it the furthest and putt.
The majors are suppose to be different, harder, and more interesting and this year the US Open was all that and then some. Their complaining just adds another reason why I refuse to watch tour golf anymore, and I've got plenty of reasons to not watch.
Congratulations to some guy nobody ever heard of named Wyndham Clarke, who I thought was the hotel where they had the players staying in LA until Saturday when I figured out it was the name of the guy leading the tournament. I had been calling him Wendall until then. It was also nice that I got to watch the tournament on my time zone time for a change instead of having to turn it on at 5:30 in the morning to watch.
One of the most disappointing teams in baseball this year, so far, has to be the San Diego Padres. With the collection of all-stars they have it was believed they would run away with the National League West and get to the World Series. well, they still may get there but winning the West is not going to happen.
However what I have learned about this team is that they have a collection of great players that aren't as great as we thought they were. I know the stats show they are one of the top defensive teams in baseball but their almost billion dollar shortstop can't catch the ball. He drops every throw from the catcher to second base on steals, the routine grounders eat him up, and I'm going to start calling him Bobbles. I knew little about him before he became a Padre because he played in the American League East and I don't care about either the American League or the Eastern division.
Hearing about him on TV I thought this guy was going to be something special and it turns out he may not even be as good as the guy the Cubs moved from short to second base Nico Hoerner. The team has decided to not hit all year and with runners in scoring position they are dead last in baseball. Not a good thing. I hold out hope for a turnaround but time is getting short.
And while I'm on the subject of baseball I want to reiterate my loathing for all these new stats. I have said this before and I will continue to say it until I die, they are for fantasy baseball players and scouts to evaluate players, they mean nothing to the game.
This weekend Eric Karros told baseballs little secret out loud when he pointed out that on base percentages means nothing. With a runner on second base and no one out the hitters job is to move him to third so he can score easier. Taking a walk does not accomplish that but it makes the batters on base numbers look great. Sometime stats are bullshit.
Finally, an update on my new book. It is skyrocketing up the charts on Amazon. Right now it is #3476 on the Assassination & Thriller chart, #3491 on the Crime Action & Adventure chart, #11,642 on the Mystery Action & Adventure chart, and #1,384,594 overall on the total sales chart. I keep waiting to hear from Jimmy Kimmel about being on the show but so far crickets.
You missed Father's Day as a reason to buy this but we still have Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Thanksgiving, and of course Christmas coming up so don't delay. operators are standing by at Amazon to take your orders.
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