Braves big day
Man, times are high for the Atlanta Braves.
Charlie Morton looked like John Smoltz last night as the Braves cooked the Mets 5-0 to move within 3.5 games of the NL East leaders from NYC.
Seriously, Morton was aces. And electric. His curveball was vintage and it made his 95 mph fastball look like Sidd Finch was throwing it.
That was good news part I.
Good news part 10 (as in at least years from now) is the Braves again acted quickly and extended a young star for an exceedingly club-friendly deal.
Braves roster rock-star Alex Antopoulos and 21-year-old centerfield and NL rookie of the year candidate Michael Harris II agreed to an eight-year extension worth $72 million Tuesday. The Braves have a team option in 2031 and '32.
So, the Braves have locked down young and gifted talent at first, second, third, center and right, and could have an impressive top half of an order that goes Ronald Acuña Jr. (right-handed hitter), Harris (left-handed), Austin Riley (right), Matt Olson (left) and Ozzie Albies (switch) for the next five years at least.
And what makes this such a steal for the Braves is because even if this is the best Harris will ever be at the plate, he's going to win multiple Gold Gloves in center field, so eight-years at $9 million per on average is a steal for a defensive star at one of the game's key defensive positions.
The sad news here though, is it's looking more and more likely that AA is going to let Dansby Swanson walk, right?
Especially with the way Vaughn Grissom has emerged this month.
Better Call it quits
So Saul comes clean.
Are we good with it? Is that how we viewed it?
Was 7.5 years fair considering the huge number of crimes and admissions Saul/Jimmy/Gene shared?
Were you happy with the way Kim Wexler left it? Do you think Jimmy came clean for Kim or because of the memories of his brother? Or maybe both?
I am curious what others thought, and am looking for some input. Because, in truth, I was hoping for a bit more from the series finale.But that also is a tricky expectation, too, because series finales seldom can hit every note. It's the end, and, as we discussed last week, there is a certain amount of sadness there.
I'll miss the show, for sure, and making sure there were so many punctuation marks on so many storylines slowed the last half of this final season dramatically. And those tied storylines also lopped back to "Breaking Bad," which was appreciated.
NFL wonderings
So I have not made the move on "Hard Knocks" yet.
Pondering it though. Right now, the dance card is pretty full.
As mentioned in this space before, it centers on the Detroit Lions. As an NFL franchise the Lions are pretty awful.
They have wasted the careers of arguably the best pure running back ever and one of the most physically wide receivers of all time.
If we did a Flushmore - the four worst (see what I did there, thoughts?) - NFL teams to be a diehard fan of, the Lions have to be there.
Who joins them, because news that Jets fans could very well have to watch the artist formerly known as Joe Flacco as their Week 1 starting QB is both hilarious and tragic.Thoughts?
This and that
- Speaking of "Breaking Bad" I thought this was an interesting story that some Republicans are not best pleased with statues of Walter White and and his drug-making-and-dealing cohort Jesse Pinkman. It's pretty surreal that monuments of Thomas Jefferson are being taken down in this country because of slavery in that era, but New Mexico has tributes to arguably the two most famous meth makers in history in the Albuquerque convention center.
- You know the rules. Here's Paschall on UT football.
- More from Paschall on the fight and tasing incident at the Best of Preps football jamboree at Finley Stadium over the weekend.
- So, eventful week for Cam Smith, right? LIV rumors. The costly 18-hour-later penalty. Pulling out of the BMW. It also featured a wayward tee shot that broke a spectator's phone, which Smith replaced with an upgrade.
- Speaking of golf, Patrick Reed suing Brandel Chamblee and the Golf Channel for defamation of character is kind of wild. First, to sue for defamation of character, don't you actually, you know, have to have some character to begin with? Second, $750 million bucks? Egad. And E-gregious.
- So Liz Cheney got trounced. It was not unexpected. Wyoming - and Idaho too for that matter, having been out that way for a spell last month -is bona fide Trump country. Visor tip Liz, for your service and your stance. I appreciate both.
Today's questions
Which way Wednesday starts this way: Which character on "Better Call Saul" was the best?
Which was better, "BCS" or "Breaking Bad" overall?
Which active NFL QB gives your team less hope as a starter than Joe Flacco?
Which will accurately describe Dansby next year, Braves shortstop or Braves opponent?
Answer some Which ways, leave some Which ways.
As for today, Aug. 17, let's review.
The Pulitizer Prize was started on this day in 1903. Spy was a finalist that year I believe.
Robert DeNiro is 79 today. I feel like we have done his Rushmore before. It's pretty strong.
On this day in 1957, Phillies slugger Richie Ashburn hits fan Alice Roth with two foul balls. The first one broke her nose, and the second hit her while she was on the stretch getting medical attention.
Jon Gruden is 59 today. Yeah, that's a career that came to a dead stop.
Sean Penn is 62 today. What's his Rushmore? Go and remember the mailbag.