Thumbs up, down
Astros’ success makes us #LoveYaOrange, while Straus’ departure gives us the blues.
There’s only one game in town this week. To borrow a phrase from Chronicle sports writer Dale Robertson: #LoveYaOrange.
Only one man should be in the discussion for MLB’s MVP. That’s José Altuve. Yankee fans can chant what they want, but their guy has only two things going for him: he hits home runs, and he lives in New York. Our guy has five tools. We think of José when remembering a quote from the immortal Bear Bryant about John David Crow, “If they don’t give him the award, they ought to stop giving it.”
Our second choice for MVP is Global Warming. With apologies to our buddies in the fossil fuel bid-ness, Wednesday’s game of all games was 102 degrees at the first pitch, the hottest World Series game ever. The Dodgers bullpen, renowned for its hurling heat, couldn’t take it. They burned through eight pitchers and gave up six runs from the eighth inning on.
We don’t want to jinx anything, but the Astros would become the first team ever to dispatch all of baseball’s elites — the Yankees, Red Sox and Dodgers — in the same postseason. Fans in New York were their classless best toward those in rainbow jerseys. They tossed beer at the family of Astros manager A.J. Hinch. Our response? Thou shalt welcome the visiting Dodgers fans with kindness.
The line, “Houston, we have a problem,” has been banned on this page for a long time. It’s not because we have a problem with “problem.” The misquote of Apollo astronaut Jack Swigert (he actually said, “OK, Houston, we’ve had a problem here”) has become a journalistic cliché. In a front-page article Friday suggesting Houstonians have grown tired of the phrase, the Wall Street Journal found 12,000 instances of its use in a search since 1982. Our problem, though, is that this was not solutions-based reporting. What, we ask the WSJ, is a better expression for us?
There’s a one-word answer to ruthless parking lot operators charging up to $75 a car near Minute Maid Park: Lyft.
The most popular Halloween costume this year: José Altuve. The scariest possible costume: Hurricane Harvey. Stay safe out there Tuesday night.
The best legal drama in Texas ain’t on television. It’s unfolding in a criminal courtroom in Waco. Dallas Bandito president Jacob Carrizal is on trial for his part in the 2015 Twin Peaks massacre. A shootout between the Banditos and archrival Cossacks left nine dead, 20 injured and led to 154 indictments. Once again, we’re learning that justice is hard to come by in Texas. Consider: The prosecution, it appears, withheld evidence from the defense. The feds may be investigating DA Abel Reyna. Part of the carnage came from a SWAT team member who shot four people but didn’t remember his actions. Another law enforcement officer wept on the stand. “It was like a horror movie, with bodies lying around, so much blood everywhere and so many weapons,” he said.
Clueless Cabinet secretary of the week. HUD’s Ben Carson may be a brain surgeon, but he made an F-minus on the easiest possible test administered by Houston Congressman Al Green. At a congressional hearing, Carson couldn’t and wouldn’t answer the Houston congressman’s questions about the agency’s budget cuts. Google Al Green and Ben Carson. In the Trump world, it appears it doesn’t matter whether you’re good at your job, if you know your facts or if you want to make the world a better place.
Texans owner Bob McNair put foot(ball) in mouth at a recent NFL team owners meeting. “We can’t have the inmates running the prison,” he told his elite colleagues when discussing the kneeling controversy. Our advice is simple: Have San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich fly over to Houston to lead a seminar on politics and treating players with respect.
We sign off this week with both thumbs turned down to the news that Texas House Speaker Joe Straus is not seeking reelection. Straus is the last standing icon of Texas business Republicans. While Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick spend far too much time stirring up primary voter emotions over bathroom bills, border security myths, immigrant bashing and hatred of Washington, Straus was the adult in the room. A full editorial on Straus appears on this page tomorrow.