Splendid

Damn It!

"I shall make my morning coffee with your tears, peasants!"

I have been trying my level best to avoid writing about the current presidential campaign, as doing so tends to raise my blood pressure to dangerous levels, but this morning's news reports have sent me 'round the bend. Please indulge me...



Sore loser and noted asshat Donald Trump, in the aftermath of his calamitous performance in Monday night's debate, got very defensive about comments he made
in 1996 about then-Miss Universe Alicia Machado. Baited by reminders about those comments during the debate, Trump actually doubled down on his misogyny.

That's garden-variety assholishness from Trump, of course, and it is by no means the worst thing he's ever said. But what gets my goat is the way black-eyed-skank Hillary Clinton responded on her Twitter account:

Really, ma'am? How about a woman whose husband is a rapist who has sexually harassed multiple women and had countless affairs while she has defended him, shaming and slandering his accusers for decades? Should she become President?

"Should a woman so oblivious to irony become President?"

Excellent question...

Three

Last night my beloved Kansas City Royals began their final homestand of the 2016 season with a 4-3 win in 11 innings over the Minnesota Twins at Kauffman Stadium.
It was the team's third straight win, and gives them a decent shot at finishing the season with a winning record for the fourth consecutive season (they need only win two of their remaining five games to accomplish this). Since the Baltimore Orioles lost, the Royals stayed mathematically alive for a Wild Card playoff spot for one more day at least.

Good job, rook!

Royals starter Ian Kennedy had control problems, and departed after just five innings completed when his pitch count went to 106. Seven different Royals relievers held the Twins in check for the next six innings, allowing no runs on just three hits.

Rookie Brooks Pounders picked up his second big-league win when the Royals rallied in the 11th.

Burns gets the Salvy Splash

It wasn't a memorable offensive game for the Royals either, as they managed just seven hits on the night, only one for extra bases.

In the decisive 11th inning rally 2B Raul Mondesi led off with a walk, stole second base, and advanced on a sacrifice bunt.
After the Twins walked to next two batters intentionally, DH Billy Burns (who had come on to pinch run for Kendrys Morales
in the bottom of the 9th) drove in the game- winner with a sacrifice fly to center field to score Mondesi.

"It ain't over till it's over, am I right?"

That's what they say, yes...

Baseball Coincidence

The Splendid Splinter

On September 28, 1941 Boston
Red Sox Hall of Famer Ted Williams went 6-for-8 in a double-header against the Philadelphia Athletics
on the final day of the season.

That performance raised Ted's batting average to .406 for the season, the last time a full-time major league player has batted
.400 or better for an entire season.

19 years later to the day, on September 28, 1960 Williams ended his 21-year career at Fenway Park in a sparsely-attended game against the Baltimore Orioles.

In his final at-bat in that game (and in his career), he hit a home run.

Debate Summary

From the pen of Henry Payne, whose editorial cartoons you should read often, as I do.

Until Next Time...

I had a pretty good year in 1974. I proposed marriage in February (she said "Yes"), started one of the best jobs I ever had in June (running the mail room for a high-end men's clothing store on the Country Club Plaza), and got married on August 10. I have
a sentimental attachment to the music I was listening to around this time that I'm sure will never go away.

Not long after I started that new job the British hard rock band Bad Company popped up on the music scene. Back in those days we used the term "supergroup" to describe any band whose members had belonged to other popular bands first. In this case, the band's members were singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke from Free (one of my blues-rock favorites), guitarist Mick Ralphs from Mott the Hoople, and bassist Boz Burrell from King Crimson. They released their debut album on June 26.

On September 28, 1974  
Bad Company finally hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart.
It would be the group's lone chart-topping album, receiving five platinum certifications from RIAA. They would have four more platinum-sellers, including three more Top 5 albums.

Sales of the album were sparked by the popularity of the album's first single, "Can't Get Enough," which peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart.


I thought the whole album was terrific, but my personal favorite tracks were "Seagull" and the album's title track. The former has been a staple of my hero Joe Bonamassa's acoustic shows for years, and was featured in this section here and here. The latter has been a staple of "classic rock" radio for over 40 years.

Today's send-off is the remastered version of "Bad Company," from the 2015 Deluxe Edition reissue. Enjoy...