Photo by the Mrs. 5 at 10 / The lightning delay at Saturday’s Lookouts game was caught by the amazing talents of Kathleen Greeson. And hold on to your hats - she took this with a phone.Eye-popping stuff at the park
Buckle up, friends. There’s a lot to get to this a.m.
But we will start with the awe-inspiring picture-taking skills of my better half. We were at the Lookouts game Saturday night and the storm rolled through in the bottom of the sixth.
How great is that photo? Let’s do this.
Big bat, bigger problems
So Ronald Acuña Jr. did dude things last night. Try these numbers:
A tidy 4-for-5 at the plate, a triple short of the cycle, which included his 29th homer and five RBIs and four runs scored. He also stole two bases.
So now, Acuña is third in MLB in batting (.335), tied for 11th in homers (29, and remember he’s a lead-off hitter), first in runs scored (119), first in steals (61), first in on-base percentage (.418), fourth in OPS (.989) and second among non-Shohei-named players in WAR (6.6).
Yet somehow, the betting gurus not have Dodgers lead-off hitter Mookie Betts as the NL MVP favorite.
Say what? PUH-lease, stop with that. Betts is better only in homers and WAR, and that’s only slightly.
(Side question: How reliable it WAR as a stat anyway? I embrace analytics — truly — and the Moneyball concepts make a ton of sense. But when your stat model says that Ha-Seong Kim is the third most valuable offensive player in baseball, then something must be broken. Side questions on the side question: Do you know who Ha-Seong Kim plays or even what position he plays?)
People stop with trying to make this an interesting race. It shouldn’t be. Acuña is clearly the NL MVP, and I say that as a lifelong Dodgers fan.
This feels a lot like the voter boredom that cost Peyton and Leonard Fournette Heismans back in the day, you know?
I had more on this as Acuña was shredding the Rockies last night, but then two fans jumped the wall and raced toward Acuña seeking a hug.
Wow, it was a scary scene in real time.
It also made me wonder how quaint we used to be in almost all things. Heck Morgana the kissing bandit was a celebrity for Pete’s sake.
But last night had the “Oh snot, what are those crazy dudes about to do” feel and in truth, the answers in this day and age are terrifying.
Also, someone on the Rockies security detail needs to have a stern talking to this morning. There may be some pink slips involved.
Thoughts?
A not-so-Smart call
Dear Lord. Kirby Smart is a great football coach. Great.
He’s a clear No. 2 nationally in my mind behind his mentor the Dark Lord Saban.
But buckets, here’s hoping Mary Beth picks the tunes when the Smarts hit the road.
So the folks at ActionNetwork posted on the interwebs the favorite recording artist of each SEC football coach. And in truth, this may be the biggest knock on Kirby Smart’s entire career. Ever.
Here’s the list:
— Alabama’s Nick Saban: The Rolling Stones.
— Arkansas’ Sam Pittman: Aerosmith.
— Auburn’s Hugh Freeze: Eric Church.
— Florida’s Billy Napier: Coldplay.
— Georgia’s Kirby Smart: Luke Bryan.
— Kentucky’s Mark Stoops: Toby Keith.
— LSU’s Brian Kelly: Bruce Springsteen.
— Mississippi State’s Zach Arnett: Led Zeppelin.
— Missouri’s Eliah Drinkwitz: Eric Church.
— Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin: Taylor Swift.
— South Carolina’s Shane Beamer: Darius Rucker.
— Tennessee’s Josh Heupel: Mumford & Sons.
— Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher: George Strait.
— Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea: Caamp.
It also is the most respect Jimbo Fisher is ever going to get from me if we’re being honest.
It also may be the most Lane Kiffin answer possible.
And, after having seen Mumford in concert this summer — and granted it was without the Sons, but Marcus was amazing — visor tip to Heupel’s choice.
No bleep Sherlock
So this report has the Knicks and the Lakers interested in Giannis Antetokounmpo if the former MVP elects to leave the Bucks.
Wow. Shocker.
Wouldn’t it be a much bigger story if any basketball team in any league on almost any planet was NOT interested in Giannis?
C’mon.It also makes you wonder a) why would Giannis want to stay in Milwaukee and b) if you could sign with any NBA team, where are you headed?
Heck both the Lakers and the Knicks have paid lesser Antetokounmpos in an effort to impress the star sibling of the basketball family.
Discuss.
This and that
— So some AI generator has created a Barbie to represent each state. Not surprisingly, Tennessee Barbie looks and dresses kinda like Dolly. Georgia Barbie is not as impressive. And surprisingly Kentucky Barbie does not have a Derby hat on. Fail.
— Today is NFL cut day. It also appears to be the day that the Colts have to make a decision on Jonathan Taylor. Buckle up.
— Wow, so Weston Wamp is continuing to make waves. But are they good waves? Here’s today’s story with Weston taking shots at Commissioner David Sharpe and at Red Bank in general. So there’s that. Also in that story is a reader poll in which the TFP asked how folks would rate Wamps’ first year, and at 8 a.m. 63% voted “poor” among the four options of “great,” “good” or “fair.” And truth be told after reading that story, Monday was not a good day for my buddy Weston.
— So the U.S. has picked its team to face an international foe in golf. That’s right, the Solheim Cup was chosen Monday. Yay.
— In truth, this report has US Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson using five of his six captain’s picks on Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Colin Morikawa, Rickie Fowler and … wait for it … Brooks Koepka. Reports have the final spot going to Sam Burns, but we’ll see this afternoon.
— You know the rules. Here’s Paschall on Alabama staying silent on its QB1. Shocker that Lord Saban is not overly interested in sharing news, right?
Today’s questions
True or false, it’s Tuesday. Morning Ernie.
True or false, mayor Tim Kelly has a higher approval rating than county mayor Weston Wamp.
True or false, they are going to rob Acuña of the MVP.
True or false, you have seen the Barbie movie. (That’s a big false for me, but feel free to review as you see fit.)
True or false, Brooks should be on the U.S. Ryder Cup team.
You know the drill. Answer some T or Fs, ask some T or Fs.
As for today, Aug. 29, let’s review.
Michael Jackson would have been 65 today.
Gene Wilder died on this day in 2016.
Speedy Gonzales is 70 today. Does he make the Rushmore of cartoon mice?
Go.