Category: Observations

By Hal McCoy

UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from the Man Cave trying to convince my schnoodle, Paige, that she can’t play ball in the snow. And the Cleveland Browns can’t play in 80 degrees.

—BROWN OUT: If you watched, you saw that the Cleveland Browns showed up in Miami for no apparent reason. They would have better spent their time bonefishing in Biscayne Bay. They lost 39-17 and it was not that close.

The Dolphins, not known for a rushing game, gobbled up yards against Cleveland’s paper mache defense like Sherman’s scorched earth march to the sea, 253 yards rushing. On the flip side, the Dolphins’ defense walled up Cleveland’s ground game, other than one long run by Nick Chubb, a 43-yard touchdown. Other than that, he carried 10 times for 20 yards.

Passing? Miami’s lefty quarterback, Tia Tagovailoa, played catch with eight different receivers. . .everybody on Miami’s offense touched the ball but the punter. He never had to punt. T.T. was 25 for 32 for 285 yards and three touchdowns.

The Browns are looking forward to the debut of quarterback DeShawn Watson. Why? Won’t make any difference. Quarterbacking is the least of their problems. And next week they’ll be shuffling out of Buffalo lugging another defeat.

—QUOTE: From Kansas City all-world tight end Travis Kelce after facing Buffalo all-world linebacker Von Miller: “I felt like a rag doll. He threw me into next week.” (And Miami knocked the Browns into next year.)

—SIGN ‘EM UP: The Cincinnati Reds made their first free agent signing over the weekend and cover your mouths when you yawn.

They signed right-handed pitcher Kevin Herget to a minor league contract. He was a 39th-round draft pick of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2013 and spent 10 seasons in the minors.

His one glimpse of big league action came last season with Tampa Bay — three bullpen appearances during which he pitched seven innings and gave up six runs.

Well, he does seem to fit right into the Reds bullpen.

—GREAT SCOTT: One thing you can say for certain, Wright State coach Scott Nagy isn’t afraid to play anybody, anywhere, any time.

The Raiders opened at home against Davidson and lost in double overtime, 102-97, after leading by 21 in the first half. Then they zipped down I-71 to play Louisville and hung a 73-72 stinger on the Cardinals on a last-second shot by Trey Calvin, WSU’s fast-
developing super nova.

Nagy does it every season, which affects the Raiders in a positive way before they embark on the rigors of the Horizon League schedule.

—NOSE JOB: Before last Friday night’s UD-SMU basketball game, I was wandering the halls of the Donoher Center on my way to visit good friend and equipment manager Tony Caruso.

On my way, I encountered a glass door and somehow walked face first into it, opening a gash on my nose. It was bleeding profusely and I turned and walked back the way I’d come, bloody hand on my nose.

Fortunately I encountered two gentlemen walking toward me and one said, “Hal, what happened to you?”

“Lost a skirmish with a glass door,” I said.

That’s when Nate Seymour, manager of sports medicine for UD, and Mike Mulcahey, on the medical staff for men’s basketball, escorted me into the athletic training room. Seymour stopped the bleeding and applied a bandage. And during the game, Mulcahey came across the the floor to inquire about my health and well-being.

Neither man had to take their time to come to the aid of a broken down sports writer, but those guys are typical of the class people throughout the UD athletic program.

—BAKED OR FRIED?: It appears quarterback Baker Mayfield’s once budding career has been nipped in the bud and he has reached the bottom of the pit.

He lost his starting job with the Carolina Panthers, who would like to trade him but find no takers. A release is possible.

One of Mayfield’s problems in Cleveland was that he appeared in more TV commercials than he appeared in winning games for the Browns.

—QUOTE: From quarterback Baker Mayfield: “It doesn’t matter what cards you’re dealt. It’s what you do with those cards.” (Unfortunately, Mayfield has been dealt nothing but aces and eights, the cards Wild Bill Hickok held when he was shot while playing poker in Deadwood, S.D.)

—ISN’T IT ODD(S)?: It is mystifying and mystical how close Las Vegas oddsmakers come on games. How do they do it?

For example, Dayton was an 11 1/2-point favorite over SMU and won by 12 (74-62). Ohio State was a 40-point pick over Indiana (I’d never give anybody 40 points) and the Buckeyes won by 42 (56-14). Eastern Michigan was favored by 6 1/2 over Akron and won bv six (34-28).

SMU’s football team was a 17 1/2-point selection over South Florida and won by 18 (41-23). By the way, SMU’s football team scored 77 points in a game last week and I said the SMU basketball team wouldn’t score that many against Dayton. It didn’t. The Mustangs scored 62.

—QUOTE: From Albert Einstein, who doesn’t look like a gambler: “ You can’t win at a roulette table. . .unless you steal from it.” (The first time I played roulette, I won $700. The next five times I lost my shirt, pants, socks and shoes. Haven’t played it since.)

—COUNT ‘EM: There was a nifty trivia question on GameDay Saturday. As we all know, or as Texans tell us, “Everything is big in Texas.”

Well as it turns out, Texas is the state with the most FBS football schools. Can you name them? There are 12. I named nine.

They are: Texas, Texas Tech, Texas Christian, Texas A&M, Texas State, Texas-El Paso, University of Texas-San Antonio, Houston, Rice, Baylor, North Texas, and Southern Methodist.

—SOME RESPECT: Because I love Las Vegas and I love Rodney “No Respect” Dangerfield, I’ll give him some respect for this funny joke he told.

“Y’know, in Las Vegas they have slot machines everywhere. They even have them in grocery stores. I went into one to buy a quart of milk and it cost me $249.”

By Hal McCoy

UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave, starting a diet with the goal of losing 15 pounds. I know from previous diets, losing weight is a piece of cake, but you can’t eat it.

—THE RIGHT STUFF: There was one good thing that came out of the Houston Astros illegal sign-stealing mess. One thing.

What? It brought Dusty Baker back into baseball and that might not have happened without the scandal.

I was a guest this week on Allen Cutler’s new sports talk show out of Lexington and he brought it up with a comment that hit the bulls-eye.

He said, “Without the Houston scandal, Dusty Baker might not have managed again.” To me, he is right on.

After the Washington Nationals let him go after a 97-win season, Baker slipped into near-oblivion as a special advisor with the San Francisco Giants.

But after the scandal, after the Astros fired manager A.J. Hinch, the club needed somebody to clean up the mess, somebody highly-respected in the baseball world, somebody with no warts, somebody who knew the game inside-out and sideways.

Who better than Johnnie B. (Dusty Baker) Jr.?

Not only did he unrock the boat in Houston, he led them to this year’s World Series championship. And he signed a one-year contract to return as manager in 2023. It’s a no-brainer, even if he will be 74. Senior citizens, unite.

“I always said if I win one, I wanted two,” said Baker. “I’m going to try to keep my word. I like to keep my word. This was as much fun as I’ve had. . .ever.”

—NO RESPECT: Are the Cincinnati Reds the Rodney Dangerfield of major league baseball? Can the disrespect for the franchise sink any lower?

In a piece about the upcoming off-season free agent signings and trades, The Athletic web-site wrote, “It’s time to make big moves. . .unless you are the Reds.”

Harsh, but true.

—QUOTE: From comedian Rodney Dangerfield: “If the odds are 50/50, I don’t stand a chance.” (Yes, it does sound like the Reds.)

—REDS REPORT: The Cincinnati Reds declined a $13 million mutual option on pitcher Mike Minor, a wise decision, and he is a free agent. It cost the Reds a $500,000 buyout to tell him to go away.

And to keep five possible free agents, the Reds must make each an $18.4 million qualifying offer. The player can accept and stay with the Reds at that salary or become free agents.

The players are pitcher Chase Anderson, catcher Austin Romine, infielder Donovan Solano, pitcher Hunter Strickland and pitcher Justin Wilson.

And which of those will receive a qualifying offer?

None.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that the Reds are on the hook for $18 million next season for infielder Mike Moustakas, if they can’t trade him and a trade is unlikely. He was on the injured list six times last season.

Moustakas and the Reds have a $20 million mutual option for 2024 with a $4 million buyout. It is likely the Reds will cut a check for $4 million and tell him to skeddadle.

—FALL GUY: Another coach took the rap for front office failures when Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay fired head coach Frank Reich.

Just after Reich was hired five years ago, quarterback Andrew Luck suddenly retired. So, during Reich’s five seasons he has had to endure five different starting quarterbacks.

Irsay must not know what year it is. Just last year he extended Reich’s contract through 2026. And he obviously doesn’t know what day it is. He named Jeff Saturday as interim coach when he knows the NFL only plays regular-season games on Sunday, Monday and Thursday.

—EMPTY SEATS: When I watch one of those Mid-American Conference mid-week football games, I always hope they don’t show the stands.

When they do, it reminds me of Great American Ball Park last season. . .row after row after row of empty seats.

Why does the MAC do it when it knows fans won’t be there? It starts with ‘m’ and ends with ‘y’ and it isn’t malarkey. It is m-o-n-e-y. Of course it is. A million reasons.

ESPN pays each MAC school $1 million to play during the mid-week. As one MAC executive said, “It gives ESPN mid-week content and we’ll take the million.” Of course they will.

When Reds executive Phil Castellini asked TV viewers, “Where ya gonna go?”, they didn’t say, “To a Tuesday night MAC football game.”

—DEAD HORSE: Wright State opened its season at the Nutter Center against Davidson, an Atlantic-10 member located 430 miles from Fairborn.

Meanwhile, another Atlantic-10 member, the University of Dayton, is only 13 1/2 miles away.

If Davidson isn’t afraid to play Wright State and come all the way to Fairborn to do it, why can’t the Flyers schedule Wright State?

I know, I know. The old argument is that Dayton has nothing to gain and a lot to lose. So is losing to Wright State any more painful than losing to UMass-Lowell, Lipscomb and Austin Peay as UD did last season, all in UD Arena?

As Wright State athletic director Bob Grant says, “We’ll play them in a parking lot for charity.”

If the University of Cincinnati and Xavier can play, why not WSU-UD? If Philadelphia’s Big Five — St. Joseph’s, LaSalle, Temple, Penn and Villanova can all play each other, why not UD-WSU?

And before Flyer fans come after me, there isn’t a bigger UD fan in Dayton than I am. Check my closet for UD gear.

—QUOTE: Picked up from former Northmont/Brookville baseball coach Chuck Harlow, something former Browns/Bengals coach Paul Brown said, “When you win, say nothing. When you lose, say less.” (To say something, though, those are words to live by.)

By HAL McCOY

UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Ma Cave, counting the days until spring training, but anxiously awaiting the start of the University of Dayton basketball season.

—‘SOME PEOPLE:’ So Dusty Baker finally has his World Series championship. And it seemed nine-tenths of the free world was pulling for him.

Dusty, though, knows he has his detractors. He has heard and read the many criticisms about what he can’t do and hasn’t done.

The biggest, of course, was that he couldn’t win the big game, that he always flopped and foundered in the post-season, whether it was when he managed San Francisco, Chicago (Cubs), Cincinnati, Washington or Houston.

It was a mighty bad rap. Anything can happen in a short series and what happens in the post-season is magnified, usually out of proportion.

During Baker’s post-game interview after winning the World Series, when a reporter said Baker was considered a great manager, even before the World Series, Baker interrupted.

“By some people,” he said.

The reporter persisted and said, “I think by most people.”

And Baker repeated, “By some people.”

He later said, “After a while I quit listening to folks telling me whiat I can’t do. All that does is motivate me more to do it more because I know there’s a lot of people in this country are told the same things and it’s broken a lot of people.”
This all reminded me of his time as Cincinnati Reds manager and how some so-called fans dealt with the team’s struggles in September of 2012. . .a losing spell that cost them the National League Central title.

I was sitting in Baker’s office, just me and him. He pushed a cardboard box filled with letters toward me and said, “Pull one out and read it.”

The one I selected was a hate-filled diatribe, with the ’n’ word sprinkled throughout it, and Dusty said, “Most ‘em are the same.”

It was a heart-breaking commentary on the way too many fans think and not just in Cincinnati.

The reporter is right, though. Most knowledgeable fans know that Baker is a great manager and even more of a great leader and motivator of men. And most of the free world, many of whom despise the Astros because of the sign-stealing scanda, were pulling for Baker.

—QUOTE: From Houston manager Dusty Baker: “I love my daughter, but she had me on couscous and fixed me pastas and made me eat oatmeal every morning, turkey burgers, turkey bacon, and that kind of stuff. So she wants her dad to live a long time, and I do, too.” (Baker is 73, oldest manager to win a World Series and who is to say he won’t win more?)

—HORSE SENSE: One of the greatest athletes of all-time was on display Saturday, and he didn’t pass or carry a football, didn’t throw a pitch or hit a baseball, didn’t shoot or dribble a basketball.

And unless you are an avid horse racing fan, you probably never heard of Flightline. Insider horse folks compare him to Secretariat, the best of all-time, and some say he is better.

Running against the best horses in the world Saturday in the $6 million Breeders Cup Classic at Keeneland, Flightline won by 8 1/2 lengths, pulling away, running the 1 1/2 miles in 2:00.5. He made the other horses look like they belonged on a carousel.

Mainstream sports fans only watch the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes, so they didn’t see Flightline, who was beset by injuries and didn’t run as a 3-year-old.

But as a 4-year-old, he is now 6-for-6 and won the six races by a total of 70 lengths. He won his previous race at Del Mar by 15 lengths.

Asked if Flightline is the best horse he ever trained, trainer John W. Sadler, said, “He is probably the best horse anybody ever trained.” And as somebody said, “If you bet against Flightline in any race, you probably bet on the Washington Generals to beat the Harlem Globetrotters.”

Unfortunately, nobody will see him run again. It is sad and a knock against horse racing that a horse can make more money in the breeding barn than on the track. And the owners plan to turn him out to stud, where it is estimated Flightline will earn up to $40 million next year, without once wearing a saddle.

—QUOTE: From Hall of Fame jockey Angel Cordero Jr.: “Any horse can win on any given day.” (Not if any horse enters the same gate occupied by Flightline.)

—OLD SCHOOL: From former Baltimore baseball writer Jim Henneman about the four-pitcher Houston Astros World Series no-hitter.

Many baseball traditionalists (save me a spot in the group) were disturbed that Astros manager Dusty Baker removed starting pitcher Cristian Javier after six innings when he owned a no-hitter.

Baker is as old-school as anybody, but he knows baseball’s realities these days. Javier had thrown 97 pitches and Baker knew Javier had throw more than that in a game only four times in his career.

And he had pitched seven innings only three times. He has never pitched a complete game, even in the minors.

Like it or not — and we traditionalists do not like it — it is baseball’s new reality.

As Baker might say, “How did it work out?”

—QUOTE: From former major league pitcher Early Wynn: “A pitcher will never be a big winner until he hates hitters.” (This comes from a guy who once said, “I’d knock down my grandmother if she crowded the plate.”)

—WHO KNEW?: A check of the NBA standings gave me a quick startle. Yes, the Milwaukee Bucks lead the Eastern Conference with a 9-and-0 record. No shock there.

It’s the second place team that’s the stunner. It’s the Cleveland Cavaliers with an 8-1 record. . .and, no, LeBron James hasn’t sneaked back into town.

—SCORE, SCORE, SCORE: It was almost as if they got together before the game and said, “We won’t tackle you if you don’t tackle us.”

The final score was Southern Methodist 77, Houston 63. No, it wasn’t basketball, it was football. And it wasn’t overtime.

The SMU basketball team comes to University of Dayton Arena Friday night and I’m wagering the Mustangs don’t score 77 against the Flyers.

—WISE ADVICE: If you think opportunity is knocking, look out the window before you open the door.

By HAL McCOY

UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave on Sunday afternoon with no World Series game, no Browns game and no Bengals game. What’s a guy to do. Yeah, Nadine, I hear ya. Time to cover the patio furniture.

—PHIL ‘ER UP: Like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get in the World Series.

Who would predict that Houston’s Justin Verlander, baseball’s most dynamic pitcher and close to being invincible this season, couldn’t hold a five-run lead at home in Game One. The Astros would have been better served sending Justin Bieber to the mound.

And who would predict that Philadelphia’s Zach Wheeler, 3-and-0 this post-season and owner of a 2.82 earned run average this season, would give up five runs and six hits in five innings in Game Two? The Phillies would have been better served sending actress Maggie Wheeler to the mound.

So the Series is tied at a game apiece and it shifts to Philadelphia for the next three games, beginning Monday night.

Advantage: Philadelphia. The Phillies are unbeaten at home in the post-season and the fan base is above-and-beyond phanatical. . .a huge factor.

The Astros need to take two of the three or they won’t need manager Dusty Baker’s ring size. Game 3 is the swing game. Whoever wins takes a 2 to 1 lead and puts the other team in an uncomfortable chair.

Expect the unexpected. It looks as if that will be the theme for this World Series.

—QUOTE: From former major leaguer Mark Teixeira: ““I have three beautiful children and a World Series ring. That’s all I need.” (And Dusty Baker has all he needs. . .except a World Series ring.)

—ARE U KIDDING? — I’ve poked fun at a web-site called sportsscroll.com before for its ridiculous lists. And I stumbled across another one.

It listed, ‘The Top 25 Overhyped and Over-Rated MLB Players.’ So I began to scroll and quickly the names Derek Jeter, Nomar Garciaparra, Omar Vizquel and Bryce Harper popped up.

I stopped to grab a hankie to wipe the laugh tears out of my eyes. Then I continued and saw Phil Niekro, Darryl Strawberry, Don Mattingly and Reggie Jackson.

Whomever made up this trashy list spends too much time in their basement in front of a computer screen eating mac & cheese.

—TIGER TALES: Legendary sports writer Mike Downey (Detroit Free Press, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times) offers an incisive detail as to why the Detroit Tigers haven’t won a World Series since 1984, and it has nothing to do with George Orwell. It has to do with Justin Verlander, Nick Castellanos and John Smoltz.

OK, so Houston’s Verlander faced Philadelphia’s Castellanos in Game One of the World Series, with former Atlanta pitcher John Smoltz in the TV booth.

Well, they all played for the Tigers. They traded Smoltz in 1987 for Doyle Alexander. They traded Verlander in 2017 for Franklin Perez, Jake Rogers and Daz Cameron (Who, who and who?). And they traded Castellanos in 2019 for Alex Lange and Paul Richarde (Who and who?).

—QUOTE: From Houston pitcher and likely American League Cy Young winner Justin Verlander: “When an artist wants to paint a painting, they have all those things in their head that they want to portray on a canvas. It’s the same thing when I’m pitching. I have all these thoughts going through my head about how I want to pitch: which pitch I want to throw here, and why do I want to throw it?” (And Verlander is certainly is artist on the mound, with a baseball as his brush. . . .except for Game One of this year’s World Series.)

—DOUBLE 4’S: Uniform No. 44 was worn by some famous athletes: Henry Aaron, Willie McCovey, Reggie Jackson, Jerry West, George Gervin, Eric Davis, Ernie Davis, Floyd Little, Pete Maravich and LeRoy Kelly.

Well, Ohio State scored 44 points against Penn State, mostly because of No. 44 — defensive end J.T.Tuimoloau. He was a human wrecking ball with a pass deflection that led to an interception, an interception of his own, a fumble recover and an interception pick-6. And, oh yeah, he made six tackles.

Guess that’s why the 6-4, 270-pound Polynesian was ranked the No. 1 defensive recruit in the country when the Buckeyes landed him.

—NO GOOSE CHASE: That’s horrible news out of Cincinnati that Bengals wide receiver La’Marr Chase might miss four to six weeks with a hip injury.

Chase is quarterback Joe Burrow’s favorite target, dating back to their days together at LSU. Chase is the deep threat that gives defensive backs nightmares and sleepless nights.

When he was at LSU, then coach Les Miles told Chase he was not good enough to be a wide receiver. He told Chase to play cornerback on defense and Chase walked off the field.

Wouldn’t you say that ol’ Less was miles from being right?

While nobody wants to see anybody hurt, Cleveland Browns rookie defensive back M. J. Emerson Jr. had to expel at least one sigh of relief.

—WHAT’S IN A NAME: Some college nicknames you probably never heard unless you are an alumnus:

Cal State-Long Beach Dirt Bags, Arkansas-Monticello Boll Weevils, UC-Santa Cruz Banana Slugs, Texas A&M-International Dust Devils, Trinity Christian Trolls, Centre College Praying Colonels, College of the Atlantic Black Flies.

Washburn University Ichabods, Amherst Lord Jeffs, Centenary Gentlemen, Pomona College Sagehens, Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys, Wayland Baptist Flying Queens, Tufts Jumbos, Cal-Irvine Anteaters, South Carolina-Sumter Fire Ants, Oglethorpe Stormy Petrols.

—VOCABULARY TEST: Who knew? There are only two words in the English language that end in GRY. I can use both in a sentence: ‘I get angry when I’m hungry.’

And subtract the letter ‘r’ from friend and what do you get? A fiend.

By HAL McCOY

UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave, wonder how so many days off will affect the Astros and Phillies and if they visited Ace Hardware to buy some Rustoleum for their pitchers’ arms.

—TRUE ‘FAMER: When any Hall of Fame is established, the prototype for an inductee should be Bronson Arroyo. He is the kind of guy who never missed a team bus or the National Anthem.

In fact, he can play the National Anthem on his acoustical guitar and sing it with a perfect pitch. Then he could walk to the mound and pitch a near-perfect game.

Arroyo won this year’s vote for induction into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame. The red jacket will fit him perfectly.

He always was a media darling. It didn’t matter if a writer represented the New York Times or the Cucamonga Chronicle, if you approached him and asked a question, he looked you straight in the eye and listened intently, then gave a well-thought, in-depth answer you never heard before. No clichés.

He was an excellent pitcher, not great, but very good. He went at hitters with more moves, more angles, more different deliveries than JA Morant.

There was a game where he delivered pitches from 70 to 85 miles an hour and hit every number between.

And the man has no airs about him. While most players take off their muddy spikes after a game and toss them on the floor for the clubhouse attendants to clean, Arroyo could be found standing along-side the clubbies over a trash barrel scraping spikes with a tongue depressor. . .his shoes and his teammates’ shoes.

Arroyo was a featured speaker at the Dayton Agonis Club last year. Before his elegant and entertaining talk (not a prepared speech, a talk), he pulled out his guitar and sang three or four songs. It was the first time in the 90-year history of the club that anybody sang for their supper.

He was given his first name because his mother liked actor Charles Bronson. And he once told me pressure never bothered him because when he pitched youth ball in Key West, Fla., parents and fans often brawled. . .and weapons were involved.

—QUOTE: From Cincinnati Hall of Fame pitcher Bronson Arroyo: “People don’t own teams to lose money. If you ask any owner if they would rather make $20 million and come in last place or lose $20 million and win a World Series, there’s only one guy who honestly would take that championship: George Steinbrenner. Nobody else.” (Yep, he definitely pitched for the Reds.)

—WORLD SERIOUS TIME: With no apologies necessary to F. Scott Fitzgerald, the Philadelphia Phillies certainly are on ‘This Side of Paradise.’

The World Series begins Friday night in Houston and the Phillies are there, Against All Odds. Ten of the other 29 teams had better regular season records than the Phillies, but there they are. Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Cleveland, Toronto, St. Louis, San Diego and Seattle all won more than Philadelphia’s 87.

Houston won 106, 19 more than the Phillies, and Dusty’s Boys have won seven straight post-season games.

Las Vegas, of course, installed the Astros as heavy favorites, which means nothing. Remember 1990? The Oakland A’s and The Bash Brothers (Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco) were huge favorites, but got bashed in four straight by the Cincinnati Reds. Jose Rijo, Tom Browning and The Nasty Boys (Norm Charlton, Randy Myers, Rob Dibble) put The Bash Brothers in the trash.

It can happen in a short series. Depends on who gets hot and both the Astros and Phillies are carrying blow torches. Both have stellar starting pitchers, bot have blow ‘em away bullpens and both have firepower in a couple of ball parks with easy-to-reach walls.

Nevertheless, in Dusty I Trusty. Astros in five.

—GO FIGURE: It is easy to wonder how and why the Phillies are in the World Series, and not just because they fired manager Joe Girardi 51 games into the season, not just because they only won 87 regular season games and not just because they finished third in the National League East, 14 games behind Atlanta.

No, the most perplexing thing is that the Phillies were 0-and-6 during the season against the Chicago Cubs and 0-and-4 against the Texas Rangers.

Against the Reds? They were 5-and-2 that included a four-game sweep in Philadelphia in late August.

—QUOTE: From former major league infielder/coach Tim Flannery: “Congratulations to the Yankees who struck out 50 times in four games. Tell me again how analytics work? It’s a hoax and fake, boring baseball.” (Amen. Amen. Amen, Amen, Amen.)

—OH, ANDRE: Forwarded by my great friend Ray Snedegar: During a game in 1991, Chicago Cubs outfielder Andre Dawson was called out on strikes by umpire Cowboy Joe West.

Dawson protested beyond West’s short tolerance level and was ejected. He was fined $500 by the National League office so he wrote them a check.

On the memo line at the bottom of the check, Dawson wrote, “Donation for the blind.”

—QUOTE: From former President Harry S. Truman: “I couldn’t see well enough to play when I was a boy, so they gave me a special job – they made me an umpire.” (The kids must have done the same thing for Joe West and Angel Hernandez.)

—ANOTHER OPINION: It seems as if everybody who ever threw a football for a living is weighing in on the Aaron Rodgers/Tom Brady situation.

The two future Hall of Fame quarterbacks look as if they are playing in slow motion while their teams, the Green Bay Packers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, wallow in mediocrity.

The latest is Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner. He said both Rodgers and Brady look exhausted and perhaps both should just walk away.

The real head-shaker is that Rodgers is blaming everybody but himself for what ails The Pack.

—QUOTE: From Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers: “I know I’m capable of greatness and I’m expecting to reach that level.” (He reached that level, but now is on the other side, sliding down.)

QUOTE: From Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady: “You can’t go out and practice average on Wednesday, average on Thursday, OK on Friday and then expect to play well on Sunday.” (This is from a guy who has been skipping practices for various and curious reasons.)

—LAKERS DROWNING: The Los Angeles Lakers couldn’t drop a ball off the deck of the Titanic and hit an iceberg.

And the Lakers look as if they are aboard a sinking ship with a 0-and-4 record to start their NBA season. They are shooting 22% from down-range. That’s 33 for 148, the worst three-point percentage for any four-game span in NBA history.

—TWIST AND SHOUT: Will the guy who invented those twist-tops for bakery goods please go hang himself with one? By the time I unwind those dang things on the buns my hot dogs are cold.

By HAL McCOY

UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave, killing time (or wasting it) as we await the start of the World Series Friday night. Once again, they are all night games that will last beyond most people’s bed-time, including mine.

—DUST ‘EM OFF: Never has a manager carried a bigger bad rap than Dusty Baker. The pundits always say, “Baker is a great manager, but he can’t win the big games.”

As Sparky Anderson always said, “Players make the manager, not the other way around.”

Example: In 12 years with the New York Yankees, Casey Stengel won 10 American League pennants and seven World Series championships.

A genius? Well, before he managed the Yankees, he managed the Brooklyn Dodgers for three years and the Boston Braves for six years and not once finished higher than fifth in an eight-team league. And, of course, he lost a record 120 games with the 1962 New York Mets.

If Baker can’t manage under pressure, how does he take every team he manages to the post-season and take them to a winner-take-all game.

^2002: He managed the San Francisco Giants to the World Series and lost Game 7 to the Angels.

^2003: He managed the Cubs to the National League Division Series and lost to the Marlins in the third game of the best-of-five.

^2012: He had the Cincinnati Reds leading the National League Division Series two games to none, but his team — not him — lost three straight at home to the Giants.

^2015: As manager of the Washington Nationals he lost Game 5 of the NLDS to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

^2016: Still managing the Nationals, he lost Game 5 of the NLDS to the Cubs.

Now he is back with the Houston Astros in the World Series and is on a seven-game post-season winning streak, three straight over Seattle in the ALDS and four straight over the Yankees in the ALCS.

The Astros are only the third wild-card team to enter the World Series undefeated in the post-season.

—QUOTE: From Houston manager Dusty Baker: “Managers are never 100 per cent in control. You’re at the mercy of the players. A player is the navigator and I’m driving.” (Is that why Dusty always wears batting gloves as if they are driving gloves?)

—‘FESSING UP: Votes for National League Manager of the Year by the baseball writers must be submitted before the playoffs begin. Confession. . .I did not have Philadelphia manager Rob Thomson in my Top Three (We vote the top three).

The Philadelphia Story is absolutely amazing, but during the regular season the Phillies finished third in the National League East, 14 games out of first place.

I plead the fifth. And I’m not allowed to reveal my top three until after they announce the winner. Hint. My top choice won’t win.

—QUOTE: From former Reds manager Trader Jack McKeon when asked after a loss if he would change strategy for the next game: “Baseball ain’t like football. You can’t make up any trick plays.”

—YOU JUDGE IT: Voting for Most Valuable Player by the baseball writers must be submitted before the playoffs begin because only the regular season counts.

There is no question Aaron Judge had a true MVP regular season. But what if they included the post-season. Judge was a dud in the ALDS against Cleveland and a double dud in the ALCS against Houston (1 for 16). Is that an MVP player producing at the most important time of the season?

You be the, uh, Judge.

And don’t dump all the heat on Judge. While losing four straight to the Astros, the Yankee team batting average was .162. Clearly, the Bronx Bummers missed two injured players who were more about getting on base than launching home runs. . .D.J. LeMahieu and Andrew Benintendi.

—HE’S BAAAACK: Does baseball get into your blood and stay there? Of course it does. It courses through your veins like gas through a carburetor.

Just ask Bruce Bochy. After managing the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants for 25 years, Bochy thought he had enough and retired after the 2019 season.

Retirement lasted three years before the 67-year-old Bochy signed on this week to manage the Texas Rangers. “I missed the game, the competition, the clubhouse,” he said.

And the game missed him, one of the nicest guys ever to slip into a baseball uniform.

I had never really met him or interviewed him when he managed the Giants. One night after a game in Great American Ball Park, I was walking in the tunnel toward the exit when Bochy emerged from the clubhouse.

“Hello, Hal, how are you doing?” he said. That nearly put me on the concrete floor and we had a nice conversation as we walked the 100 yards or so to the exit.

Coming out of managerial retirement didn’t work for Tony La Russa and the Chicago White Sox. The hope here is that it works for Bochy and the Texas Rangers.

DOUBLING UP: Only we geezers remember when MLB had only 16 teams and five cities had two teams each.

There were two teams in Boston (Braves, Red Sox), two teams in New York City (Giants, Yankees), two teams in Philadelphia (Phillies, Athletics), two teams in Chicago (Cubs, White Sox) and two teams in St. Louis (Cardinals, Browns).

Two teams from each league moved. In the National League, the Boston Braves moved to Milwaukee and then to Atlanta and the New York Giants moved to San Francisco. In the American League, the Philadelphia A’s moved to Kansas City and then Oakland and the St. Louis Browns moved to Baltimore.

Only Chicago survived with two teams until the New York Mets, an expansion team in 1962, joined the Yankees in New York. But the Mets are not in The Bronx, they are in Queens.

And that’s today’s baseball history lesson.

—REPEAT COMMENT; As I said last week, will somebody please give Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady a wake-up call. They are sleeping through the NFL season.

Meanwhile, quarterback, Dak is back and on the attack for the Dallas Cowboys.

—QUOTE: From ESPN NFL commentator Rex Ryan: “The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are old and slow.” (Did he mean the entire team, or just Tom Brady.)