Hot Stove #146 – 2020 World Series – Dodgers Win!

Re-live the Brett Phillips historic walk off again and again! - DRaysBay

Three hours before Game 6, I posted Hot Stove #145. The Lonnie’s Jukebox section celebrated some #1 hits from 1970, and the final selection was “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” by Diana Ross. I borrowed from the song and finished the post with this message to the Tampa Bay Rays:

And a final word to the Tampa Bay Rays…Ain’t no mountain high enough…to keep you away from winning the World Series. Well, maybe Mookie. Continue reading

Hot Stove #143 – The Final Four (ALCS/NLCS); Remembering Bob Gibson and Eddie Van Halen

Best Van Halen Guitar Solo 1984 Tour - Very Clean and Crisp - Kansas City 6/20/84 - YouTube

We have advanced from the Sweet Sixteen to the Elite Eight to the Final Four. Just can’t get enough of the March Madness terminology.

In the short 60-game season, the Royals played only nine teams – their counterparts in the Central Divisions of the AL and NL. The idea was to eliminate the amount of travel during the pandemic. Seven of those nine Royals opponents made it to the first round of playoffs, the Sweet Sixteen. None of the seven made it to the second round, the Elite Eight. Now we have the Final Four: Tampa Bay, Houston, LA Dodgers and Atlanta. Continue reading

Hot Stove #142 – September/October Madness – The Baseball Playoffs

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Today feels like March Madness. Eight games being played by the 16 teams in the expanded MLB playoffs. Rita and I plan to have the TV on from noon to midnight, switching among the four channels broadcasting the games. Plus checking in on Game 1 of the NBA finals pitting the Lakers against the Heat in the Orlando bubble. It is a good day to be a sports fan. Continue reading

Hot Stove #140 – Brock Seaver Sachs and Angell

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Last Thursday night, I had a dilemma. Rita and I were watching the Chiefs game, but my Twitter feed was telling me that Brady Singer had allowed no hits through six innings. Then seven innings. I switched channels to DVR the Royals game. Then back to football, but following the Royals on my phone. Two outs in the 8th – then a hit. Damn. But what an exciting night for KC sports fans.

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Hot Stove #139 – Yogi Berra – A Life Behind the Mask; Special Jukebox Edition – Political Campaigns

Casey Stengel, Billy Martin and the 1950s Yankees

I’ll start with a Yogi-ism. “If people don’t want to come out to the ballpark, nobody’s going to stop them.”

 This quote is from the 1960s, and Yogi was referring to the sagging attendance of the Kansas City A’s caused by Charlie Finley’s persistent efforts to relocate the A’s. Charlie got his wish and moved the team to Oakland in 1968. Continue reading