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Hacksaw’s Thursday Podcast
You Tube-Lee Hacksaw Hamilton
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“SHOOTING HOOPS AND COMMENTS”
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Here-there-everywhere in basketball.

AZTECS…Great story about SDSU star Miles Byrd confirming he is a Type 1-Diabetic and has been dealing with the disease since he was 8-years old.  Byrd is on insulin, and is now becoming a spokesman for youths diagnosed with the same by virtue of his NIL-sponsorship deals.  Gifted young man, dealing with more than basketball in life.

WNBA..Caitlin Clark is so good, so tough, so spirited and so determined to handle all the adversity thrown infront of her by fellow players, officials, and an unrelenting media.  She is the WNBA face-ego-intelligence.

CLIPPERS..Becoming the best team in LA after their two week spending spree that brought them Brad Beal (Suns)…Brook Lopez (Bucks)..and John Collins (Utah).  Pretty good ad-ons to a lineup that already has Kawhi Leonard-James Harden and Ivica Zubak.

LAKERS..So you have Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves.  You add Deandre Ayton, his talent and baggage history.  And that is all you really have in terms of established NBA talent.  You really think it is enough?

SUNS..So owner Matt Ishbia came in, bought the team, fired head coaches, made a GM change.  Traded for Kevin Durant, giving up four first round picks.  Gave a mega contract to Brad Beal after a big trade with Washington.  So they lose a ton of games, fire another coach, trade away Durant, have to eat (99M) of Beal’s contract in a buyout, and do not have any future number one picks.  How’s ownership feel these days?

PORTLAND..That was quite a surprise, Damian Lillard returns home to the Blazers on a 3-year deal after his short tenure in Milwaukee, but he won’t play next year, rehabbing from his ruptured Achilles.  A popular player in Portland-we will see how much he has left after his big buyout by the Bucks.  Yes you can go home.

NBA SUMMER LEAGUE…So much excitement to see all the top picks in the Las Vegas Summer League and then virtually all of them got hurt.  Dallas shutdown Cooper Flagg after two games.  San Antonio, fearing injury, has cancelled out the rest of Dylan Harper’s games.  Utah’s Ace Bailey got hurt early as did the 76ers VJ Edgecomb.  All that is left is Bronny James-Lakers.  Sorry, not watching that.
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Hacksaw’s Thursday Podcast..1:30pm
You Tube-Lee Hacksaw Hamilton
Hot Topics on the Table-Stay for Fan’s Forum
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“A BASEBALL NIGHT TO REMEMBER”
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That has to be one for the record books as far as excitement goes.
That has to be a snapshot in your memory book scrapbook for action.
That has to be a historical night.

Pick any or all of the items on your Bingo card, and it was an All Star game to remember.

Kyle Schwarber’s 3-home runs, the last hitting almost off his knee, as the NL came back to win in a mini-home run derby to decid the 6-6 tie, to give the NL the win.

The winning pitcher was the Dodgers coach Dino Ebel, who became the batting practice pitcher in the 10th inning swing off.

Quite a display by Brent Rooker, of the homeless Oakland-Sacramento A’s, who hit 2-homers for the AL to get them the early lead.

There was Paul Skenes throwing gas in a 1-2-3 first inning.
There was Detroit ace Tarik Skubal getting banged around in his inning.

There was the standing ovation, first to Freddie Freeman, coming home to Atlanta and then to the career of Clayton Kershaw.

There was the first inning matchup that had Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge both getting big swings in that opening inning.

There were great throws by Eugenio Saurez, the game saving smash stop by 1st man 1st baseman Matt Olson.

There was Brewers rookie Jacob Misiorowicz throwing 9-pitches..8-of them fastballs clocked at 100 to 102mph.

There were the legendary in game home runs that brought oohs and ahhs from the crowd.

The pitchers-catchers were mic’d up, and the conversation was cool.

How about the simultaneous two manager interview with managers Aaron Boone and Dave Roberts.

And of course the night before HR-Derby was pretty electric, with all things Cal Raleigh did from the right side and left side of the batters box.

The ‘Stand Up to Cancer’ salute is always moving, more so when Ken Rosenthal of Fox held up his sign with the name ‘Scott Miller’, the just deceased baseball writer who lived here in Carlsbad.

And the memorial salute to the legacy of Hammerin Hank  Aaron-breaking the Babe Ruth home run record.

It may have been old hat for Tatis and Machado to be in the game.  it was surely a rush for Jason  Adam, Robert Suarez and Adrian Morejon to be there.

You only wish that when we went to the mini HR-Derby in the 10th, we could have had a 3-man lineup of say Aaron Judge-Vlad Guerrero-Cal Raleigh, lined up against m Shohei Ohtani-Pete Alonso and Kyle Schwarber.

But it was one for the ages.  Maybe not equal to Ted Williams game winning home run in 1941, or Reggie Jackson hitting one onto the roof at Tigers Stadium, or Pete Rose running over Ray Fosse, but what Schwarber did with his swing on 1-knee was a Hollywood as you could get.

And a Gold Star to Fox for its creative coverage of a game that had so many storylines they let play out before our eyes, with unique technology where the cameras captured the moment rather than the play by play team preaching to us about the moment.

A baseball night to remember from a sport that has so much history on its side.
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‘BASEBALL-OFF THE FIELD–BIG ISSUES’
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The All Star game was fun.
The Baseball Trading deadline is just ahead.
The Rumor mill will be working overtime.
The Wildcard Playoff race will be electric.
The World Series will be worth watching.

Baseball has record TV ratings, all time attendance records, and record revenue.

It also has problems all over the place.

Here’s a scorecard worth paying attention too:

BASEBALL VS IMMIGRATION…Your President has allowed ICE officials to enter schools, churches, workplaces, court rooms to round up immigrants.  Just asking this:  What happens if they show up in a baseball clubhouse?  In El Paso?  In the Arizona complex league?  MLB has issued a memo that all players, born outside the US, carry their legal documents with them at all times.  As of opening day, (28%) of all major leaguers were born outside the US.  The minor league prospect list might be as high as (40%) of the players from outside the US border.  Are we awaiting something bad because of Trump-ICE?

THE CBA…The war of words has already erupted.  The Commissioner saying a Salary Cap could make baseball profitable for players, as well as owners.  Union Chief Tony Clark emphatically says ‘not on my watch’.  Terms like collusion, bloodbath, and profiteering are now part of every question-answer session with the leaders of the game.  The next phrases you will hear will be ‘lockout’

BALLS & STRIKES…The game has technology and the move to fix the problems at home plate are coming.  The experiments are over, and the ABS computer system will be implemented on opening day next year.  It got positive reviews in the experiment phase in spring training.  69% of the fans surveyed after the Cactus League-Grapefruit Circuit liked its use.  72% said they wanted to see it on opening day next year.  Still to be determined, how many challenges for each team, who makes the call, will it be managers, or just the batter’s-catchers-pitchers who can ask for reviews?  But it’s coming because of the poor work by home plate umpires over recent years.

SALARY DISPARITY…The Dodgers-Yankees-Mets all have payrolls that range from (350M-to-383M) as of opening day.  Miami has the lowest payroll (85M) and 16-teams cut payroll last winter, despite record revenues going to virtually everyone.  Yes, the TV landscape has changed.  Yes market size has something to do with revenue streams.  But MLB and its Union have not been able to copy the Blueprint the NFL-NBA-NHL have implemented, where everyone makes money.  The Luxury Tax is in place, but there is no floor to spending, and that is what the other three sports have in place.  And everyone is making money.  Baseball’s financial plan must change.

Enjoy what is just ahead in baseball, games, trades, the post season, but understand how many other problems that are out there that have to be dealt with.

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“AN ALL STAR NIGHT”
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“A Mid Summer Night’s Dream”

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The stars come out tonite in Atlanta.  It’s baseball’s iconic All Star Game.

Color, history, electricity.

The best face the best, in what is really more than just an exhibition game.

It’s flair, dynamics, passion.

It started in 1933 as a charity game in Chicago, to raise funds.  It marked a beginning of a tradition that no one could derail…not World War II…..Baseball Labor strife…nor even Commissioner Bud Selig.

They play tonite , the annual meeting between the two leagues.  Only once, in 1945, was the game postponed.

There have been controversies.  Games rained out.  Played in the rain.  Tie games.  Beanballs, ejections, and All Star game shutdown when they ran out of pitchers in the 2002-Selig era.

Even the most absurd, when baseball sponsored two All Star Games from 1959-to-1962.

Then more recently, the Selig driven rule, that the league that won the All Star Game, would have home field advantage for the World Series.  Glad that’s gone now.

We remember individual accomplishments, but also the sense of honoring the past, like Tony Gwynn did, escorting Ted Williams, in a wheelchair, to the mound at Fenway Park.

Big days and big plays are what we remember, whether we were a kid, or a 70-year old fan.

Babe Ruth won the first ever game with a home run in that 1933-debut.  No one really knew what baseball had stumbled upon with this so-called charity game, that became a treat every summer for fans and players alike.

Big bombs have highlited what we have seen in past July’s.

Tony Perez hit a 15th inning homer in 1967.

Stan Musial of the Cardinals won the game with a blast in 1955

Cal Ripken’s farewell season with the Orioles included an All Star home run forever remembered.

Jackie Robinson became the first colored player to be in the game in 1949, joined by his Brooklyn teammates Don Newcombe, Roy Campanella and the Indians’ Larry Doby.

But it’s the drama, and the accomplishment that forever lives on.

The best moments of all time?

Ted Williams 1946 outing when he went (4-4) coming back from war.

Or Teddy Ballgame’s 3-run home run in the 9th inning, just before baseball went off to war in 1941.

Reggie Jackson, Mr. October, put on a show at Tigers’ Stadium with a 525′ foot homer into the light towers, atop the roof in Detroit.

We have video of Pete Rose’s Charley Hustle head first dive, burying Indians catcher Ray Fosse at home plate in 1970.

And you can find the grainy black and white video of King Carl Hubbell of the New York Giants, striking out 5-Hall of Famers in a row, in 1934.  Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmuy Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin all went down swinging at that impossible to hit screwball in the Polo Grounds..

Baseball has made this a week of Mardi-Gras like festivals during the All Star Break.  Home Run Derby, the Futures Game, the Fan Fest, and then the game itself.

Sit back, relax, remember, and then enjoy all things baseball, what was done in the past, what we have to look forward to, tonite.

A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream….that keeps recurring every July.  A very special time in baseball.
 

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Hacksaw’s Monday Bonus Podcast..1:30pm
You Tube Channel-Lee Hacksaw Hamilton
Hot Topics on Table..Stay for Fans Forum
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Baseball gets to the All Star break in Atlanta.

We take a look at who is hot-who is not..at midseason in baseball.

American League:

BLUE JAYS..A strong middle third of the season from Vlad Guerrero-Bo Bichette-George Springer and a solid rotation has them in first place.  Will the Vlad-man keep slugging is the key?

YANKEES..Bit of a first half surprise considering all the losses of a ton of frontline pitching.  Questions remain-can Aaron Judge continue to carry the order?  Can Max Fried continue his dominance?  Will Carlos Rodon not wilt in the second half?  Do they have a legitimate closer?

DETROIT…Doing it with alot of home grown talent that has grown up together…Tarik Skubal remains as good as anyone on the mound but the back of the rotation seems to be fading right now.

HOUSTON..Look where they are post-Alex Bregman-Kyle Tucker?  Young players from a deep farm system, and Hunter Brown-Ronel Blanco have stepped into the rotation.  Josh Hader has had an electric season as closer too.

BALTIMORE..Lack of pitching has devastated them
CLEVELAND..Can hit but not enough arms
TEXAS..Poor seasons at bat and lots of nagging injuries.
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National League:

METS..Equally as surprising as to what is happening cross town with the Yankees…Putting together this first half record without 5-starting pitchers in the rotation is impressive…Now Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea are rejoining the roster.  And all this despite a lousy first half from Juan Soto.

DODGERS..Big wins, big streaks, big hits, big injury problems.  All this without Blake Snell-Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani, Roki Sasaki on the mound.  All this with a battered bullpen.  All this with some Ohtani slumps, Mookie Betts illness, and injuries to Freddie Freeman-Max Muncy.  Their best baseball may still be ahead of them.

PHILLIES…Not hitting homers like they have in the past, and yet a good first half with Aaron Nola and Bryce Harper having been hurt.  Waiting to see what a full roster does the final 3-months of the season.  Bullpen looks shaky though.

PADRES..Real Jekyl-Hyde team…Gold star bullpen…Red Flag batting order, aside from Machado, a beat up rotation, and yet hanging around staying in the wildcard race.  Starting to hit coming off this Phillies series.  Add Darvish-King to Pivetta and this could be a dangerous team if they can stay close to the Dodgers.  Best-deepest bullpen in baseball.

CUBS…Not even sure the people at Wrigley Field expected this group to be this good.  Shoto Imanaga and Matt Boyd make a good rotation.  Peter Crow-Armstrong is must see TV when at bat.  Role players having good seasons.

MILWAUKEE…This might be a stunner of a season, with kids like Jackson Chourio helping Christian Yelich and a rotation aiding Freddy Peralta.  And now this flamethrower Jacob Misiowicz shows up on the mound.

GIANTS…A good start, but starting to fade a bit.  Power in the lineup.  Not hitting for average as team.  Logan Webb leads a solid rotation.  A feisty bullpen.  And all this while Justin Verlander has gone (0-7) to start.

ATLANTA..Started bad-got worse..Acuna-Strider-Schwellenbach-Sale and more-injuries.
ARIZONA..Can hit-but you lose 4-starters with surgeries-you do not win.  Alot of money on the DL.

 

Bring on the All Star Game-then the trading deadline.  We will wait to see if the first half leaders can finish the second half of the season strong.
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