Fan Interference

Prof: It takes guts to be the first ones to do something that could be unpopular or controversial, and it takes even more guts to do it during a time of unrest. The Brewers did something that many people thought might not happen on the major league level, and inspired many of their brothers on different teams to do the same thing. No matter if you agree or disagree, you must respect the bravery of a team to put themselves on the line and say “This is where we stand” …and then do it.

On the flip side, Houston, who weathered Hurricane Harvey a few years back, is staring down another major cataclysmic event in Hurricane Laura. While we like to make jokes about the Astros knowing what’s coming, no one knows what’s ahead the Texas and Louisana coasts as I write this.

All I know is that from sea to sea, from top to bottom, our nation is hurting for one reason or another. And another thing that I know is that we have it within ourselves to be good to one another, if we choose to be. Y’all know my motto – baseball is a family. Let’s be a family to each other today and show others love now, when they really need it the most.

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Scouts: We don’t talk politics too often around these parts.  We try to keep this place as a haven, a refuge for those looking to get away from the day to day mess that is out there.  However there are times where politics and sports come crashing into one another and it would be irresponsible to turn a blind eye.  Last night was one of those nights.  Last night, something I never thought possible, happened.  It all started in Milwaukee, where the Bucks, all dressed in the locker room and ready to go, decided they would refuse to take the court for Game 5 of a playoff match against the Orlando Magic.  That means they were going to forfeit the game to the Magic, in protest over the recent shooting of Jacob Blake at the hands of the police.  The Orlando Magic hearing of this decision refused to accept the forfeit and joined their opponents in protest.  Sometimes life is indeed bigger than anything you could ever imagine.  After hearing this simply mind altering news, the Houston Rockets, Oklahoma Thunder, LA Lakers, and Portland Trail Blazers all followed suit, and the NBA quickly stepped in to officially postpone all games.  LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard are calling for a boycott of the remainder of the season.  Remember, they are in the playoffs.  News spread around the world as it tends to do these days, and over in the MLB, the Brewers and Reds decided to sit out their game as well.  The Mariners and Padres, and the Dodgers and Giants came next.

This has been an especially trying year.  There are days when it’s been extremely hard to get out of bed and face the world we now live in.  We have a political landscape that is absolutely terrifying, a virus that is wrecking havoc through our nation, nearly unchecked, and protests to a level I never thought I’d see in this country.  The spread of misinformation and willful ignorance has reached an all time high.  And yet, every once in a while you see something that gives you the strength to push on.  Something that says We just might be able to persevere through this after all.  It’s going to be an ugly battle, but it’s one we can win together and come out a better nation.  Please support injustice.  Please stand up and have your voice heard.  Register to vote.  Donate to worthy causes, and get involved.  We are at a breaking point and we need to band together, stand up, and say no longer will we allow injustice, racism, and intolerance to rule our society.

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A’s 3, Rangers 1 – Scouts: The most boring team in baseball did it again.  Picking up their 22nd victory, the A’s needed just 5 hits to score 3 runs as starter Mike Fiers shut down the Rangers over 6 strong innings.

Phillies 3, Nationals 2 – Scouts: Woof, the defending champions sure have a rough go of it at the moment.  They are in the middle of a 3 game losing streak, are 6 games back from the division lead and are in dead last place.  And of course there’s the loss of Strasburg which was a body blow to a team that was just hoping to make it to the playoffs and catch fire the way they did last year.  Rhys Hoskins picked up his third homer on the year, Aaron Nola out dueled Patrick Corbin, and the Nats bullpen picked up another blown save.

Red Sox 1, Blue Jays 9 – Prof: Let’s get Rowdy! Rowdy Tellez, that is. The Blue Jays’ first baseman was on a roll, going 3-4 with 4 RBI, including two home runs. Randal Grichuk added to the tater smashin’ party with a homer of his own.

Cubs 6, Tigers 7 – Scouts: Detroit, who has been struggling a bit of late, picked up their second win in a row, and did so in impressive fashion racking up 18 hits and 7 runs against Jon Lester and the Cubs bullpen.  Their bullpen attempted to pull a standard Tigers meltdown in the 9th, but Buck Farmer, who gave up 3 runs on 4 hits was able to get Javier Baez to fly out and Kyle Schwarber to line out to end the threat.

Royals 5, Cardinals 6 – Scouts: This game was over.  The Royals had a 5-2 lead entering the bottom of the ninth, and the Cardinals, not known for their spectacular offense were supposed to roll over.  And maybe they would have, had the Royals bullpen not absolutely melted down.  After loading the bases with two outs, Yadier Molina was hit by a pitch, forcing the first run in.  Then Tyler O’Neil singled in the next two runs.  A wild pitch moved everyone up, which lead to a walk of Dylan Carlson.  Then with the bases loaded, and two outs, Kolten Wong drew a 5 pitch walk and the game was over.

Rockies 8, Diamondbacks 7 – Scouts: Colorado is back over .500 thanks to Jon Gray’s 6 inning performance where he let up just 3 hits and 1 run.  Arizona attempted to mount a comeback scoring 2 in the 8th and 4 more in the 9th, but with the bases loaded Jeff Hoffman was able to strike Nick Ahmed out on three pitches to end the threat.

Marlins 4, Mets 5 – Prof: Mets are gonna Met. They nearly Metsed themselves in this game, blowing a quality start from Jacob deGrom. The bullpen barfed up three hits in the eighth, and if it wasn’t for Wilson Ramos hitting a single to bring Billy Hamilton, the Mets might have been singing a different tune.

Pirates 3, White Sox 10 – Prof: Fear the White Sox. This is a dangerous team, hungry for respect in the crowded AL Central. Four homers again last night, including a two run dinger from Jose Abreu, while Edwin Encarnacion hit a big time solo bomb. Dallas Keuchel goes six strong innings, striking out seven.

Yankees 1, Braves 5 F/7 (Game 1) – Prof: This was Ian Anderson’s debut in the majors and boy howdy. I don’t think he could have scripted anything better, a David going against Goliath and winning. I’m getting ahead of myself, let me set the scene. Young Ian kept the Evil Empire off the board for six innings and took the air out of Gerrit Cole’s tires, beating the Yankees’ ace at his own game. Ronald Acuna, Jr., Dansby Swanson, and Marcell Ozuna all hit dingers off of Cole. Surely the young, green Atlanta pitching staff wouldn’t be able to stand up against the Yankees in game two, could they?

Yankees 1, Braves 2 F/7 (Game 2) – Prof: Hahahahaha, you forget that the Jedi Apprentice was taking the mound for ATL. That’s right, The Maximum Fried allowed by law was pitching and yes, he continued his winning ways with only one earned run in six innings. My captain, FF5, smashed a two run homer to gain the victory.

Orioles 3, Rays 4 – Scouts: It says something that the Orioles who were supposed to be the worst team in the league has been able to hang with the Rays every game this series.  Unfortunately they’ve only been able to hang, as the Rays are simply on fire at the moment winning 8 of their last 10.  Michael Perez broke open the tie in the 8th with his first homer of the season, proving to be the game winner.

Twins 3, Spiders 6 – Prof: The Magical Land of Cleve recalled Sunshine from Purgatory, and he was effective, but did not get the win. I wonder if Clevinger has regained the goodwill of his fellow Spiders, after eschewing Covid protocols? Anyway, Jose Ramirez hit a three run homer in the third, while Tyler Naquin hit the go-ahead double in the eighth, as Cleveland defeated the banged up but still mighty Twins.

Angels, Astros – PPD (Hurricane Laura)

Reds, Brewers – PPD (Social Justice Protest)

Mariners, Padres – PPD (Social Justice Protest)

Dodgers, Giants – PPD (Social Justice Protest)