On muted singing, mighty swinging
Sports snorts ...
⏩ If NFL owners vote to leave the handling of pregame player protests up to the individual teams, what will Raiders owner Mark Davis do?
Local hero Marshawn Lynch (local as in Oakland, not Las Vegas), has been a sit-down guy during the national anthem. If most team owners decide to fine or suspend protesters, good chance Davis will go that route, too. If so, good luck with Lynch.
Davis has to be careful. He wants to keep Oakland fans happy while also pleasing the big-money Vegas guys building his new stadium, and the bigmoney Vegas ticket buyers. Big money and protests don’t always mix.
⏩ Just once I want to hear Steve Kerr say, “The coach of the team we’re about to face in the playoffs, I do not care for that guy. He’s a jerk and we’ve never gotten along.”
⏩ Great stat on Twitter, from @JDaniel2033: Tony Gwynn faced Atlanta’s three-headed monster Glavine/Smoltz/Maddux 270 times. He batted .394 against that Axis of Nasty, and struck out three times. Tha-ree.
If Gwynn were a young prospect now he would be told, “Kid, you’ve got a shot to make the majors, but you’ll have to adjust your launch angle and pound some home runs.”
⏩ Shohei Ohtani seems to be legit. On the mound: 3-1 with 43 strikeouts in 322⁄3 innings.
When he’s pitching, why don’t the Angels waive the DH and let the lad swing? In 20 games, he’s hitting .348 with five homers and 15 RBIs. When he pitches, his swings go to Albert Pujols: 37 games, .255, six homers, 21 RBIs.
Hitting is too strenuous for pitchers? Run that by Madison Bumgarner and every NL pitcher for the past 150 years.
⏩ In my recent column on homeless Warriors fans camped one block from team HQ in downtown Oakland, a homeless fellow sporting a new Warriors sweatshirt said “some man” gave it to him.
Turns out the giver was some team general manager who occasionally stops at the park and hands out Warriors clothing, but apparently does not hand out business cards.