Schwarber is the consummate all-or-nothing slugger. I wouldn’t want to be him when he’s air-conditioning 30,000 people. In his three previous full seasons, Schwarber averaged 148 Ks in 466 PAs. But now? Now, I want to be him.
Well, sort of.
But not really.
I told Sanders I had no use for the fame he had and the privacy he lacked.
I like eating dinner out without having people ask for autographs or, worse, just stare at me. I like not being tabloid food. To want stardom but not fame is a bitch of a line to draw in America’s dirt. I couldn’t do it. I wouldn’t want to have to try.
But I’ll surely take a day of Schwarber’s current slo-pitch softball life. I want to play stupid for a day.
I’d say Ali, walking into the ring v. Foreman in Zaire. Imagine the feeling of omnipotence he got from that pure idolatry.
Kirk Gibson, Game 1, ’88 World Series.
Wilt, scoring 100.
Joe Montana , to John Taylor. (Sorry.)
Any player or coach associated with the Miracle on Ice.
Jack Nicklaus on a certain early spring evening in April 1986.
Gimme yours.
Now, then. . .
OHTANI HIT TWO MORE TUESDAY. . .
MY NEW FAVORITE RED IS BRAD BRACH , who said this after The Club got to 0-5 against the San Diego Padres last night at GASP:
"We’re here to win baseball games. That’s what we get paid to do. It’s great that we played a tight game and that we had a shot to win, but at the end of the day, we’re here to win games."
Amen, son. No talk of the dreaded “C’’ word. It’s nice to compete, but in the pro arena, ultimately unfulfilling.
LOTS OF BLOWBACK YESTERDAY, from my writing that the hype for Simone Biles was starting to be a turn-off. Here’s the larger point:
The USA-USA-USA sent 555 athletes to the last Summer Games , 2016 in Rio. It’ll be close to that this time. Are there not a handful of other performers worthy of occasional mention in the lead-up to Tokyo?
I hear we swim pretty well. Our track jocks are decent. So are our rowers, softball players, volleyball players, wrestlers, boxers and so on. Could we get a little information about a few of those people?
That’s all. Good on ya, Ms. Biles. And on the other 554 folks wearing the colors.
THE POPULAR NOTION i s the Reds will trade Nick Castellanos if they judge themselves to be out of contention. That very likely won’t happen.
One, the notion any Central-ite will put considerable space between themselves and Cincinnati in the next month or so doesn’t seem likely. Every team is warted.
Warted, Doc?
No one is more sensitive to attendance numbers than The Big Man. No one is more reluctant to deal popular players, no one believes more that popular players sell tickets.
That’s why the Reds waited too long to trade Aroldis Chapman and Todd Frazier and Johnny Cueto. That’s why they won’t move Castellanos.
That said, they drew just 16,332 last night.
AND FINALLY . . . I love those adfotainment blurbs at the bottom of online news content. You know: 40 Best Small Towns for Guacamole Lovers. Here’s one I saw this AM:
40 Things Boomers Still Think Are Cool.
I’m proud to note that I nodded yes to a very few. I do not, for example, think there’s anything cool about the mall, and never have. I don’t write a lot of checks anymore, I’ve stopped wearing Hawaiian shirts (OK, my wife threw them out) I’ve never carried a briefcase or worn Velcro shoes. I haven’t tucked in a polo shirt for a decade at least.
I do, however, still use e-mail.
And it’s AOL.
OH MY GOD!
I didn’t know until recently that you can be judged by the e-mail you use. AOL isn’t for Boomers. It’s for people who think Lawrence Welk is groovy. NO ONE uses AOL.
Except me.
I have a G-Mail account, too. I hear that’s acceptable. But my AOL account is loud and proud and in its 25th big-league season. I’m supposed to ditch it because it’s not cool?
I mean, it’s an e-mail address. You shallow kids gonna judge the OG for an e-mail address?
Send your snark to montreatman@aol.com.
And if you’re Boomer-ish, tell me a possession/behavior that gives you away.
What’s Huey Lewis sing? (Huey Lewis, Hugh Anthony Cregg III, known professionally as Huey Lewis, is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. Lewis sings lead and plays harmonica for his band, Huey Lewis and the News, in addition to writing or co-writing many of the band's songs. Wikipedia)
It’s Hip to Be Square, our Tune O’ The Day.
