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National League Wild Card Game Notes

Disappointing outcome for my favorite team last night, but protocol dictates that I should provide some coverage of the uni-notable news, so here we go:

•  The Giants, like all of the playoff teams, had the Postseason logo patch added to their right sleeve. The thing is, they already had two memorial patches on that sleeve — one for Monte Irvin and another for Jim Davenport — so the sleeve was looking a bit crowded last night:

This arrangement, with the memorial patches underneath the Postseason patch, is the opposite of how things were handled in the All-Star Game, when the memorial patches were positioned above the All-Star patch.

•  Remember my interview last week with Pittsburgh Steelers safety Mike Mitchell, who wears a hand-warmer pouch even in warm weather? That’s nothing compared to Mets outfielder Yoenis Céspedes, who wore a hoodie last night even though the temperature at gametime was 62 º. Yeah, I know Yo’s from Cuba and all, but come on (click to enlarge):

•  Giants outfielder Angel Pagán had a memorial to José Fernández inscribed on one of his jersey numerals. I know it’s the thought that counts, but it would have been better if he had included the missing period:

•  For reasons that aren’t clear (at least to me), Mets second baseman T.J. Rivera had “714” written inside his batting helmet. For my generation, that number says, “Babe Ruth,” but I have no idea what it signifies for a guy like Rivera, who grew up with Aaron’s 755 as the magic number:

And yes, Rivera’s helmet also had a strip of tape with “Believe” written on it, but that’s a word steeped in Mets history — not so hard to figure out.

•  The maker’s marks on the caps looked brutal. The only good thing about the Mets’ loss is that I won’t have to see their logo-crept game cap on the field again for the next six months.

With the Mets out of the running, I’m now rooting for a Cubs/Bosox series. Two great-looking uniform sets, two beautiful old ballparks, the whole “We broke our curse, now can you break your curse?” thing, the Theo Epstein connection — here’s hoping the baseball gods make it happen.

(My thanks to @Coach_KT for the T.J. Rivera item)

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Click to enlarge

PermaRec update: You’d expect a letterhead manufacturer to use really nice letterhead for its correspondence — and you’d be right! Get the full story over on Permanent Record.

• • • • •

The Ticker
By Mike Chamernik

Baseball News: The Blue Jays’ postgame celebration after Tuesday night’s Wild Card win included a “2016 East Division Champions” logo in background. The Jays, of course, did not win the division — the Red Sox did (from Mike Guterman). … MLB released some special hashtags and emojis for the postseason (from Ted Arnold). … Check out the unis that this Swiss baseball team used to wear. The country is celebrating 35 years of organized baseball. To get around the paywall, just Google the headline (from Douglas Keklak). … Miller Park in Milwaukee uses a wolf decoy to scare away pigeons (from @JohnnyOeleven). … A writer argues that MLB teams should stop hazing rookies by having them dress up as women. … The Braves apparently used a mix of vertical and radial arching on their NOBs back in 2000 (from Scott Turner). … TBS ran a promo for Friday’s ALDS game in Texas, only the network showed an Orioles logo instead of a Blue Jays logo. “Really twisting the dagger on us O’s fans,” says Zach Spencer.

NFL News: NFL players will be permitted to wear cleats with personal messages in Week 13 — the first weekend in December. The idea is to allow the players to draw attention to charitable causes. … Riddell introduced a line of collectible white/silver helmets. They are meant for autographs and will not be worn on the field. More info here.

College Football News: Indiana unveiled a new alternate uniform with candy-striped sleeves. More photos here, more information here. The unis are a homage to the pants the basketball team wears. … Vanderbilt QB Kyle Shurmur was poked in the eye during last Saturday’s game, so he’ll wear an eye shield this weekend. … New Mexico will wear all-red with white helmets on Saturday (from Frank Mercogliano). … Washington State is letting fans vote on which uniform the team will wear for the homecoming game against UCLA on Oct. 15 (from Kenny Ocker).

Hockey News: Sounds like the name, logo, and colors of the NHL’s new Las Vegas team will be unveiled on November 18th. … Colgate’s men’s hockey team wore maroon at home in its season opener against Army (from Joe Makowiec). … The Islanders are holding a T-shirt design contest. The winning shirt will be distributed to fans at the home opener (from Uni Watch alumnus Garrett McGrath). … The Penguins’ new strength and conditioning shirts feature the new black-and-yellow color scheme (from @redbuppy). … The Pens even updated the logo on their bubble hockey game in the team facility (from David Shucosky). … Lots of good shots of the captain’s C being applied to an Oilers jersey in this video (from Steven Schapansky). … Speaking of the Oilers, they’re adding a patch for their new arena. … New mask for Wisconsin goalie Matt Jurusik (from Chad Jorgenson).

NBA News: The Clippers’ Jamal Crawford lost his shoe during the middle of a play last night. Blake Griffin tried to clear the sneaker, but instead tossed it at Cory Joseph’s face. … The Lakers’ Metta World Peace said he wanted to change his number to 60 to honor Kobe Bryant, who scored 60 points in his final game. … The Jazz will have a new floor design this year. More photos here. … Kristaps Porzingis reached a multiyear shoe and apparel deal with Adidas. Nike is not expected to match. … Great question from Reddit: Do Jaylen Brown and Dee Brown, who both wore No. 7 for the Celtics, mark the first time an NBA fan can recycle an old jersey? It is not.

College Hoops News: New home unis for Iowa State. The previous version had “Iowa State” in cardinal (from Phillip Santos and Taylor Atkinson). … SMU’s new uniforms feature the Dallas skyline (from Phil).

Grab Bag: New logo for the Bulgarian soccer team. Here it is on the uniforms (from Ed Å»elaski). … An underground UK firefighting station, including uniforms, went untouched and forgotten for nearly 60 years before recently being rediscovered (from Chris Weber). … Formula One driver Daniel Ricciardo drank champagne from his racing shoe after winning the Malaysian Grand Prix this past Sunday (from David Firestone). … Also from David: Some spectators wore Union Jack suits at the Ryder Cup.

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Special shout-out to Uni Watch readers in Florida and Georgia. Hope you get through the hurricane okay — be safe!

 
  
 
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MLB
Comments (114)

    “…I’m now rooting for a Cubs/Bosox series…”

    Yes! Yes! A thousand times, YES!

    I’ll be rooting against the Red Sox and Giants, who have both won way, way too often. If there’s a God, a team with a long championship drought this year will snap it this year.

    For righting historical wrongs, I’m rooting for Nats v3.0 over Nats v2.0. #shortstillstinks

    Cubs/BoSawx would’ve been great in ’03. That ship has sailed. Cubs/Tribe would be better this year, not counting the uniforms.

    I find the shiny nameplate on Pagan’s batting helmet awkward when the font (not the same as jersey or logo by a long shot) and finish (matte helmet after all) doesn’t match anything else.

    I haven’t been watching closely, but when did they move away from the embossed Dymo lettering tape? Now it appears it’s glossy vinyl label stock. Cheaper for sure, but with much less character.

    Giants have used that style of tape for helmet NOBs for many years now. Did they ever use Dymo tape? If so, I have no memory of it.

    Regarding Ricciardo drinking champagne from his shoe: that has become a thing for Australians in motorsport. It started with a motorcycle racer earlier this year and has quickly turned into the default celebration for race-winning Aussies.

    Even if I were the first man on Mars, there’s no way in hell I’m celebrating by using my shoe as a drinking vessel.

    It’s called a “shoey” and it’s disgusting
    Worst, he managed to make Horner, Verstappen and Rosberg drink from his boot.
    Earlier this year he did it and Webber drank with him

    Is this carried over from rugby? When I played rugby in college on the East Coast, “shooting the boot” was drinking from a shoe and a playful form of punishment…

    Ricciardo was doing it prior to this year (it may be that he started it) but yeah, no thanks on the shoepagne–especially after that race which was described as being one of the hottest races

    It’s pretty hard to top Werth’s Smurfs (2010 Nats) for rookie hazing.

    Have the NL playoff uniforms for these playoffs ever been collectively better than this year? Provided, of course, that the Nats don’t wear their alts. As ArrScott once said, “don’t forget, the guy in the red shirt dies!”

    Rivera’s from the Bronx, and according to his Wikipedia entry he grew up a Yankees fan, though he still liked the Mets as well. So I would think that it likely is a reference to Ruth.

    Could be, but I think 714 has a lot less significance to people who did not live through Aaron’s pursuit. Maybe it was his address growing up…or someone’s birthday…or his helmet size (7 1/4)?

    Is he from southern California? That is an area code there.

    I know how folks love to prop their area code (as silly at it may be).

    As I noted, he’s from the Bronx, Throggs Neck in particular, and he went to Troy University in Alabama. So it’s unlikely he’s repping Anaheim. (Unless he’s a closet Ducks fan?)

    That was my initial inclination, too (beyond the obvious Babe Ruth thing).
    Not only was he born in NY (as others have observed), and played his college ball in Alabama (as Rob noted just a little above me), but as best as I can tell, the only team he’s played for west of the Mississippi is the Mets AAA team in Vegas.
    He’s no slugger–only 35 HR in 2400+ career MiLB ABs–so it’s just gotta be the Bronx/Ruth connection.

    re: the 714 on TJ Rivera’s helmet, possibly its the helmet size 7 1/4? Also about the “believe” tape, he talks about it during a Q & A session with the New York Post, heres the link for anybody interested: link

    If it’s written that big, wouldn’t it be written in the proper fractional notation then, with a diagonal slash between the 1 and the 4?

    Show me teammates with a “738”, “712” etc., and I’ll buy the size explanation.

    Re: the Penguins – they’ve even got the new arena name on that bubble game, but they haven’t yet updated the players to reflect the new retro uniforms.

    Not a fan of the new name, though: PPG Paints Arena just doesn’t sound all that great. Then again, Consol Energy Center sounded more like a power station than a sports arena. Of course, any name that’s not a corporate advertiser would be better, but that should go without saying around these parts.

    Now, if the Pens could just get a new wordmark. I’ve never been a fan of the current one, and changing the accents from Vegas gold to Pittsburgh gold just makes it look worse.

    What’s going on with those Indiana football pants? Looks like they go to mid-shin. Maybe with so many players wearing compression sleeves and tights, Addidas just decided to integrate them into a one-piece garment?

    The press release has no mention of the pants being anything special. Might just be lazy art direction at the photo shoot.

    But at least it gives me an excuse to remind everyone about the long pants that were worn in the 2011 Pro Bowl!:
    link
    link

    I believe the Indiana candystripes go back to the Doc Counsilman/Hobie Billingsley swimming and diving teams at Indiana in the late 60’s/early 70’s that produced Mark Spitz. They’re more famously known for Bob Knight’s teams that adopted the stripes in the early 70’s as warmup bottoms. In the world of Indiana football alternates, this has so far hit with a resounding success among the fan base.

    And yet that’s what we’ll probably get stuck with, sadly. The last thing we need is another month of ESPN obsession with a DH.

    The question is, who will they fawn over more: Big Papi or MadBum? They won’t know what to do with themselves when those two face each other.

    Related to the #7 Mr. Browns of the Celtics, Dan Boyle immediately succeeded Brian Boyle as #22 for the New York Rangers. The way my mind works, I thought “wow what a great coincidence, the gift shops don’t have to slash prices!”

    RE: letterhead/letter….

    I like the the way he thanks him for the friendly tone of his letter.

    We always talk about email etiquette and such (not shouting in all caps, etc.). I guess there was a certain amount of potential intent ambiguity back in the “old days” too!

    “Harper Illustrating Syndicate” is now “Harper Stationers.” They should have stuck with the original – and very cool – name.

    link

    Sorry, Paul. I didn’t scroll a couple extra clicks to see that you’d covered this already. Thanks for sharing, tho!

    Yea, when Gerald Wilkins played for the Magic they sold his #21 replica jersey, Dominique joined for the following season as the Wilkins brothers wanted to end their careers as teammates. It was also the first year of the new re-design, and so since ‘Nique got his #21, Gerald switched to #9. Anyway, those Champion replicas from the prior seasons with the old design were being sold as “Dominique Wilkins” jerseys, and to this day still see it on eBay.

    Isn’t Cespedes wearing one of these?:

    link

    Especially since in this photo he doesn’t have sweatshirt sleeves?

    link

    Still totally unnecessary though…

    While Cubs/Red Sox would look better uni-wise (and is the likely World Series IMO), I personally would love to see Chicago vs Cleveland. Two “cursed” teams with the longest vs second longest drought facing off, 1908 vs 1948. If the Tribe wins they prolong the Cubs misery, if the Cubs win they break their “curse” and saddle Cleveland with the longest drought.

    “If the Tribe wins they prolong the Cubs misery, if the Cubs win they break their ‘curse’ and saddle Cleveland with the longest drought.”

    So for baseball fans – TRUE baseball fans – it’s win/win!

    As a dyed-in-the-wool Indians fan, I’m praying for some of the magic that Tito (Terry Francona) delivered to BoSox fans. My call: Tribe/Nats – Tribe in 5. Then comes the Party at Napoli’s.

    link

    I agree that a Cubs/Indians WS is much more appealing than Cubs/Red Sox.
    That said the Indians drought is 40 years younger than the Cubs. That and the Indians have visited the WS as recently as 1997 while the Cubs haven’t been to a WS since 1945. I’m rooting for the Cubs. Over the past 14 years we’ve seen the Angels. Red Sox and White Sox all break their so called “Curses”. It’s time for the Cubs to join that club.

    Brian,
    I concur.
    As a Pirates fan, I loathe — loathe — the Cubs.
    However, if they do win it all (SI cover jinx be damned), the only good I can take from it is knowing that Steve Bartman will finally be able to get on with his life again. Poor guy’s lived in misery unfairly long enough.
    -C.

    I’m pulling for Rangers Washington. Neither team has won it all before and you have the whole Senators Rangers thing.Then of course, a Ranger win would be phenomenal.

    As a Nats fan, Rangers-Nats would be my ideal matchup from among this year’s possibilities. The idea of a team that relocated away from Washington and a team that relocated to Washington meeting in the World Series is just too perfect. If it goes less than seven games, I’d want the Nats to win, but if they play a full seven, I’ll be happy either way.

    Provided of course that we remember that link.

    I’m hoping that Nats win it all. I like the storyline of a Rangers/Nats match-up, but I’m physically incapable of rooting for a team from Texas to win anything. I’ve been living in LA for a long time, so I just cannot sit through another Giants series, especially against the Red Sox.

    With the O’s out, I’m rooting for the Indians in the AL, but I suppose I could live with the Jays in the Series.

    If the Tribe win then that city can brag even more that they are “The City Of Champions.” I watched the first Cavs broadcast of the season on NBA TV and there are references and mentions of “The City Of Champions” everywhere.

    A title drought the length of which we here in the CLE had experienced has unleashed decades worth of fan douchebaggery, so be prepared to hate us for a little while. We don’t care since we know all too well that it doesn’t last.

    And now I’m gonna say it ’cause it still feels so effin’ good… the 2016 World Champion Cleveland Cavaliers.

    The whole “City of Champions” thing – in case you’re not familiar with the IHL – is in reference to not only the Cavs championship, but the Lake Erie (now Cleveland) Monsters 2015-16 championship win that came a couple weeks before the Cavs win. Both are owned by Dan Gilbert and both play at the Q. Lots of pride going on over there these. Gilbert has even picked up the tab for championship rings for employees of both franchises and the arena.

    I’m not a huge fan of any Cleveland team, but I’ll happily deal with your douchebaggery over the constant and apparently permanent Red Sox douchebaggery.

    Please, baseball gods … for the love of Bart Giamatti, anyone but the Red Sox.

    It’s so interesting to hear how people feel about other cities’ fans.

    I have no problem with the Red Sox for the simple reason that I hate the Yankees, which makes me a Bosox fan by default. The nice uniforms and historic ballpark don’t hurt, either. As for the fan base, I dunno — aside from email from readers, I don’t really deal with any team’s fan base on a personal basis except for the ones here in NYC, so I don’t really care. I guess I have a somewhat negative impression of Philly fans, for all the well-documented reasons. Aside from that, I don’t really think about the fans in other cities — I just think about the teams.

    But that’s just me.

    “It’s so interesting to hear how people feel about other cities’ fans.”

    It interested me because whenever a team would win it all and their fans would respond with looting and mayhem, I always thought to myself “Man, I really hope that doesn’t happen when Cleveland finally gets a championship.” We’ve had enough bad happen in this city in my lifetime, we didn’t need another reason for others to mock us.

    That said, I have never been more proud of my hometown than when I experienced the citywide lovefest after the Cavs won game 7. It was exactly what you’d want a celebration to be. The victory parade that came later drew over a million people downtown and again, no major incidents. Pretty amazing considering the volatility and anger that’s been simmering throughout the country lately.

    Live in Connecticut for a few years, and you’ll see the light!

    In all seriousness, though, fandom is just like everything else. There are good fans and total asshats for every team. Unfortunately, the asshats tend to make a stronger impression.

    I have good friends who are Bosox fans (for those that don’t know, I’m an Uncle Sam top hat tattooed Yankees fan). I have much respect for honest to God old school Sox fans. I singled out Red Sox Nation in a different comment because, to me, that describes a very specific group of fans. Guys in their 40s who can’t tell you what position Mike Greenwell played. Guys that jumped on the bandwagon during the John Henry era.

    I try to avoid painting with a broad brush for the most part. Like you yourself once said, Paul, it’s the same church, different denominations.

    “I’d rather have Cleveland brag than Boston.”

    Why is that? Just curious. I’m always interested in how we’re perceived by fans in other towns especially now since we seem to be losing our seemingly perpetual woe-is-me, sad-sack fan persona.

    I’m guessing he’s tired of Boston winning, as since the dawn of the millennium the Greater Hub Region has had four Super Bowl titles, three World Series titles, one NBA title, and one Stanley Cup.

    Its also that they’ve won all those titles and still find reasons to complain about their sports teams.

    Boston fans have often rubbed me the wrong way, but I guess it’s just a testament to their passion. Either that or a testament to their penchant for douchebaggery. ;)

    Despite that, I had the opportunity to visit Boston this past summer for the first time and truly loved it.

    It’s the accent, it’s ok, you can say it. I grew up and live in MA, so I’ll be the first in line to say that anything stated in the boston accent just sounds more annoying lol

    My buddy Tom (Sox fan) and I still laugh about the abuse thrown at a guy wearing an Orioles cap by the drunken Sullys at Fenway. “Hey, Jawny! Tawmy! Look at this fackin guy! He thinks he’s a behd (bird)! Hey, buddy, ah you a behd?”

    I’d still like to see a “712” or “738” or some other number on another player that would be able to confirm that it is indeed a size thing.

    Well, on the one hand, it makes sense… but on the other hand, like I said earlier, I don’t get why it’s written out like a single 3-digit number.

    But, at least it’s settled.

    My wife hails from Chicago, and although she’s a White Sox fan, her whole family is made up of obnoxious Cubs fans. They’d be insufferable if they ever won. So, Tribe over Cubs in seven. Preferably in the most heartbreaking manner possible. Schadenfreude 4 Life!

    I lived in CHI for a short while and despite the fact I like the Cubs and lived a short walk from Wrigley, that’s the general impression I have of a lot of their fans. Sox fans are alright in my book.

    She became a Sox fan for the sole purpose of annoying her family. I think I’ll keep her.

    So, who’s the obnoxious fan? It seems becoming a fan of a rival team just to annoy your family is rather obnoxious. (I’m sure she’s a wonderful person; I’m just saying…)

    Isn’t there an old proverb about people who annoy people you find annoying are your friends, or something? Maybe not. Still, being passive aggressive towards one’s family is something I understand completely. And condone. ;)

    Re: The MLB rookie hazing issue
    It’s exhausting to read opinions from women journalists who have no sense of humor.
    Life is too damn short, ladies.
    -C.

    … and for the record, those AAWBL uniforms looked really well made. I wonder where the Mets’ veterans purchased them?

    I don’t have a problem with the hazing. If teams want to dress their rookies up as oopma loompas or Catholic schoolgirls or whatever, that’s fine. Anyone who’s ever been a member of a team will understand why they do it.

    That having been said, though, teams and players need to understand that they invite a lot of this criticism when they throw this stuff on social media. We live in a hypersensitive society and someone will complain loudly about EVERYTHING. Don’t believe me? Find a video on YouTube. Of anything. Cuddly kittens. Whatever. Read the comments. Someone will have a problem with it.

    Of course it will still get out. But screaming to everyone in earshot “Look at what we did!” is just asking for trouble in my opinion. Be smart, guys.

    We live in a hypersensitive society and someone will complain loudly about EVERYTHING.

    There’s nothing “hypersensitive” about pointing out that rituals that stigmatize and demean women’s clothing and women’s roles are (a) bad for women and (b) bad for society at large, because they reinforce a bunch of bullshit gender stereotypes that are bad for all of us.

    It’s disappointing that you chose to critique YouTube commenters, rather than to deal with the arguments made in the Ticker-linked article. That’s classic straw-man posturing, and it has no place here.

    According to your logic, no critique of anything is valid, because you’ll always be able to say, “Everyone has an issue with SOMETHING — look at YouTube!” It’s a standard reductionist fallacy, and it doesn’t fly, at least not on this site.

    If you’d like to refute specific points made in the Ticker-linked article, feel free. Otherwise, let’s move on. Thanks.

    I was just using the YouTube example to illustrate that no matter how innocuous something might seem, someone is going to be upset about it.

    Honestly, I’d tell my daughter that these guys are knuckleheads that think they’re being funny. Whether they are or not is entirely subjective. But I’d make sure she understood that knucklehead ballplayers don’t have any Bering on her or her worth as a human being. Not everything is life or death or meant to be an example to live by.

    Anyway, the point I was making is that if they’re putting it out there for all to see, then they should expect backlash. The whole consequences thing.

    I have an absolutely fantastic sense of humor, I truly do. And I don’t get my feathers ruffled by a lot. Nobody is ever going to accuse me of being overly sensitive. All of that being said, I’m damned sick and tired of being told that there’s something wrong with ME because I think that men in sports should understand that it’s beyond time to stop calling other players “ladies” or “girls” (or other words that I won’t post here, but I’m sure you know what I’m referring to) and dressing up as women, as if being a female were the most degrading and/or embarrassing thing a “real man” could be.

    You tell your daughters or whatever that these guys are just buffoons who think they’re being funny? Then the next question is, why is it funny? It’s called hazing for a reason, and inherent in hazing is the whole idea that people are made to do something humiliating. You want to explain to your daughter or your sister or your mother or your wife WHY dressing as a woman is humiliating?

    I didn’t say it was funny. I said they think they’re being funny. Whether or not anyone finds it funny is up to them. I don’t think it’s meant to be humiliating. I think it’s meant to see if the new guys are part of the team and can take a joke.

    Look, you’re not going to run into any of these guys in the astrophysics section at Barnes & Noble. It’s immature young guys doing what immature young guys do. Any woman or girl in my life understands that.

    Honestly, if a grown person equates their self worth with Yasiel Puig wearing a cheerleader outfit, then they have problems beyond baseball. And if a child does, then that doesn’t say much about their parents.

    “It’s meant to see if the new guys are part of the team and can take a joke.”

    Yes, and the “joke” is how silly and embarrassing it is to have to go out in public dressed like a girl.

    I don’t equate my self worth with Yasiel Puig wearing a cheerleader outfit, but once again you’ve found a way to blame women for being offended, rather than taking one tiny second to understand that women have enough shit to deal with without having to explain why it’s offensive for a bunch of guys to think that dressing like women ballplayers is a joke.

    Where, exactly, do I blame women for being offended? I specifically stated that I understand people will have a problem with it, and that players should think about that before they publicize these things. I understand and respect your viewpoint, Judy. I don’t agree with it. That doesn’t mean I’m bashing women.

    Where, exactly, do I blame women for being offended?

    Here, exactly, is where you did that: The part where you said that people who agreed with the opposing point of view are “hypersensitive.” Instead of engaging with the argument being made, you chose to belittle the person making it (or agreeing with it) with a condescending insult. That’s not only a lazy argumentative technique, it is also the very definition of “blaming” someone.

    Stop being so sensitive, lighten up, where’s your sense of humor, get over it — these are all phrases that (a) are lazy attempts to blame the messenger instead of engaging with the message, and (b) are incredibly condescending. Not surprisingly, these phrases are almost always used by more powerful or privileged people talking down to less powerful/privileged people, which means the phrases are also (c) cowardly.

    We’re done here. Let’s please move on. Thanks.

    I never said those people were being hypersensitive, Paul. I said we live in a hypersensitive society, and that players should understand that before they put these things out there. In my city, as I type this, if you call the police and say you’ve spotted a clown, you will get a priority one response. That means lights and sirens. That’s a hypersensitive society.

    Also, the original article was much more dismissive of dissenting viewpoints than I could ever dream of being. If you disagree, you’re part of a crowd, and therefore your individual opinion is irrelevant. It *is* possible to rationally think about the subject and come to a different conclusion.

    And, for the record, I never used any of the “cowardly” phrases you’ve listed above. I think I’ve been fair and respectful. I deserve the same in return.

    For those who ordered the semi-monthly t-shirt, did you get one without a series distinction on the lower front? The others had a “x out of 6” label, but this did not.

    I hate both of Boston’s alt jerseys. Their regular home and road unis are close to perfect, but their alts look like they can’t decide whether they’re a blue team or a red team.

    I have a love/hate thing going on with the Jays’ font. It’s ugly, but it’s completely identifiable as Toronto.

    The Cleveland “C” is horrible and boring.

    Texas Rangers have 3 alts? Why???

    I wish the Cubs would use their secondary bear logo on the home pinstripe uni.

    I hate the Giants. Hate them. But their cream home uni is about as good as it gets.

    I’m not too much of a homer to admit that the Nats are another team that can’t decide if their primary color is red or blue. But I love the curly W.

    The Dodgers have the best uni in the playoffs.

    I loved the first generation Nats batting practice caps. The ones with the interlocking DC. I wish that was their primary logo. The curly w just screams “Walgreens” to me.

    For the record, a Chicago – Cleveland World Series smacks of the end times.

    Whenever I see a three digit number on a sports figure, my first reaction is Bible verse. Matthew 7:14 is rather nice:

    Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

    Hey, I just thought of something. Every time the Indians win the pennant, the Yankees win it the following year. GO TRIBE!

    The obnoxious Boston fan is a real thing. When they won that first series recently, I don’t think I ever pulled harder for a non north Texas team ever. It was cool and I have no connection.

    But then the next year at a Ranger game, somehow I’m surrounded by Red Sox fan transplants. They were not polite guests. I made conversation with one guy that didn’t know who Wade Boggs was. These weren’t bandwagon Texans off rooting. I could tell by the accent. Same thing when the Bruins came to town for a Stars game. Its like ok, I get it. Your team won.Boston rules (but apparently you’d rather live here). Just very off putting. And these weren’t front runners, they actually had a Boston area connection. Even eagles fans were better behaved at a Cowboy game. Ive never experienced Celtic fans. So maybe they are better.

    The 714 in TJ Rivera’s helmet stands for his helmet size 7 1/4. For some reason the Mets write the player’s helmet size number like this (as one number and not as a fraction) in all of their helmets. I’m not sure of its real significance, but I have noticed this in other Mets game used helmets as well.

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