Dynasty 1973 League Divisional Round Preview Twins vs Orioles, Cubs Vs Reds, Royals vs Brewers, Pirates vs Dodgers

Posted: July 17, 2025 by datechguy in dynasty baseball, fun, gaming, online gaming
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Well the wild cards rounds are done so now it’s time for the divisional rounds

AL

Kansas City Royals (95-67) 3rd Seed at Milwaukee Brewers (92-70) Beta Division title

Season series Milwaukee 6-4

Kansas City Royals

The Royals have one big bat in the person of veteran Frank Robinson who found the fountain of youth this season with 25 HR leading the team. Former MVP Bobby Murcer has not come back to the levels he had in NY but he put up reasonable numbers for the team.

But the strength of the team is their ace Bert Blyleven who dominated the majors winning the AL Cy Young in a walk winning 25 (most in majors) with the 2nd best ERA in the majors 2.41. Bob Reynolds managed 10 wins in relief. Doug Bird picked up 6 saves in six chances and Ramon Hernandez added 18 more but also blew seven. The rest of the rotation Nelson Briles, Bill Greif and Mike Cuellar were adequate with mid range ERA’s (3.69- 4.15)

The individual numbers aren’t earth shattering but they were good enough to be 3rd in the AL in batting and 2nd in the league in doubles. It all added up to 95 wins and kept KC in the fight for the division until the very end of the season.

Secret Weapon: Contact. Only the Yankees and the Cardinals stuck out less that the Royals this season.

Milwaukee Brewers 92-70 1st AL Beta

Milwaukee lives and Dies with Pete Rose who led the league in batting hitting .339 and hits 224 hits including 10 triples and 34 doubles. Rose scored 102 runs and drove in 100 despite only hitting 2 HR all season. This was made possible in part thanks to two things. Ron Fairly (146 walks) and Denis Menke (119 walks) batting ahead of him and Billy Williams last year’s triple crown winner in the NL who not only did not make Atlanta’s cut but somehow dropped to 17th in the draft allowing Milwaukee to pick him up to bat behind Rose, where he hit .296 with 22 HR and 122 runs driven in (2nd in AL). Rookie Catcher Darryl Porter finally got some full time play and kept the balls going out adding power to a team that lacked it. The final pieces came in a trade with Boston which lost them Bernie Carbo’s great bat, OBP and Arm, but gained the Bud Harrelson’s defense and Willie Davis’ range and Bat to round them out.

On the Mound the Rotation of Ken Holtzman 18-14 3.12 , Don Wilson 20-8 3.33 and Al Downing 14-11 2.81 (plus 3 saves in 4 chances) is one of the best in the majors. Add to that George Stone 11-7 3.68 as the #4 man who might be a #2 or 3 on any other team and you have one of the most devastating rotations in the game, particularly 2-4. Ellis Sosa managed 15 saves but led the league with 8 blown and veteran Bob Miller did much better saving 8 and blowing only two.

Secret Weapon OF Steve Byre .286 9 HR & 58 RBI might not seem like much but hit .300 with a .386 OBP vs LHP

Peter’s pick. (Full disclosure I manage Milwaukee) In a five game series Bert Blyleven might get 2 starts which is bad news for Milwaukee but Milwaukee has the advantage both in pitching for games 2-4 and in Batting overall. The wild card that might make the difference is that the Brewers Rotation leans heavily left and KC as a team was 34-18 vs LHP (.654) It’s going to be a tight series thanks to that stat but I just don’t think Kansas City has enough bats to overcome a Milwaukee team that constantly wears down pitching staffs. But of course if it goes to a game 5 and Blyleven starts with the game on the line KC can feel pretty good about themselves.

Brewers in 4

Orioles 101-61 vs Twins 80-82 Season Series even 6-6

Baltimore lived by the long ball. Their 222 HR were not only the most in the AL by 55 they were a full 35 HR over Cincinnati which has one of the most devastating lineups in the game. They lead the majors in slugging and OBS with four players hitting over 30 HR (Amos Otis 36, Doug Rader 34, Davey Johnson 34 and Gene Tenace 32. Otis excelled in almost every category coming in 2nd in the MVP vote by only a point. In a league where only five qualifying batters hit .300 or better Baltimore had two (Otis .308 and Al Bumbry .302) along with Rich Coggins who with 407 plate appearances didn’t qualify but hit .322. That meant plenty of men on base as the balls cleared the fences. Tenace, Coggins, Otis, Bumbry and John Milner all had OBP from .360 (Tenace) to .387 (Otis) Three men scored over 100 runs (Otis, Johnson and Bumbry) and Tenace was only 3 runs short of being the 4th.

If all that power wasn’t enough Baltimore’s 3.72 ERA was very respectable and their top four starters Dave Roberts 18-11 3.22, Steve Renko 18-8 3.40, Andy Messerschmidt 21-11 3.61 and Rookie Jim Slaton 15-8 3.62 (a steal from Milwaukee last season) all with WHIP’s running from 1.16-1.35 means very few teams will get a chance to match them run for run. Closer Bob Locker managed 23 saves with only five blown and a 1.10 WHIP meaning that if they get to the 8th with a lead it’s likely not going anywhere.

Secret Weapon. In a league with few steals Al Bumbry 11 SB 1 CS and Don Baylor 8 SB 1 CS are a threat to run if given a chance

Minnesota Twins 80-82 2nd Wild card:

For the Twins team evaluation from wild card series click here.

Minnesota beats Cleveland 2-1

Game one:

Stan Bashan did his best Bert Blyleven imitation holding the tribe’s bats to five hits and one run over 9 innings. Meanwhile the twins two runs in the second on a Hisle single the third of three to start the inning and a fielders choice was more than enough to do the job even if they hadn’t added 3 in the sixth and another in the 8th

Twins 7 Indians 1

Game 2:

The Twins and the Tribe traded single runs back and forth off of Bob Moose and Dave McNally until Tony Perez went long with a man on in the 6th one of only 5 hits given up by McNally in 7 innings but Moose pitched 9 and gave up only one hit more to even things up

Indians 4 Twins 2

Game 3

The indians had their ace Jon Matlack for game three while the Twins answered with Alexander. The tribe struck first with one in the 3nd off a Hebner error after a walk and single but in the bottom of the inning. Al Oliver singled and Ray Fossie doubled him in to tie the game and then Mark Belanger throwing error plated Fossie and Sent Grich to 2nd with nobody out. He made it to 3rd on an Appricio single and scored on a Sac fly making it 3-1 when Buddy Bell returned the favor with an error of his own loading the bases and allowing Aparicio to score on a fielders choice. They never looked back. Each team traded a run later on but once Sparky Lyle came on the mound in the 9th the series belonged to Minnesota as he retired the side in order.

Twins 5 Indians 2

The pick: Baltimore is facing a Twins team that just won a close and played them even all season but it’s impossible to ignore the combination of this lineup with this rotation. I can’t see Minnesota pulling it off although if they can get a lead Lyle can give them a game

Orioles in 4

Chicago Cubs (79 – 83 ) at Cincinnati Reds: 120-42

Cincy won season series 8-4

Cubs 79-83 Won wild card in 3 games For team eval click here

Game 1 Burt Hooten held the Braves to a single run while Jeff Burroughs went deep on Catfish Hunter who was removed for a pinch hitter after giving up 4 runs in two innings. Those four were all the Cubs would need.

Chicago 9 Atlanta 1

Game 2

It was Fergie Jenkins who went long only giving up a pair of runs over 8 innings while Chicago went hitless with runners in scoring position. Rick Reuschel pitched into the 7th giving up 4 runs and a pair of homers but while Rollie Fingers gave up a solo shot it in the 9th it wasn’t enough to save the day.

Atlanta 6 Cubs 3

Game 3

Neither starter lasted Kooseman out after three innings and two runs while Decker also gave up a pair of runs but lasted an inning longer. However the Cubs advanced getting one in the 6th, two in the 7th and adding one more in the ninth thanks to going 5-17 with runners in scoring position while the Bravos managed only a single hit in seven such opportunities as three Cubs relievers managed six innings of shutout ball.

Chicago 6 Atlanta 2

Biggest surprise: Caesar Cedeno who had a spectacular season managed only one single in 11 trips to the plate

Cincinnati Reds 120-42

Cincinnati dominated the National League and everyone else making deal after deal to improve their team until they rolled up a final lineup Trades brought the Willie Stargell (.280 31 HR 117 RBI) Bill Sudakis (.282 26 HR 66 RBI) John Mayberry (.253 24 HR 80 RBI), Thurman Munson (.302 11 HR 68 RBI) and Ken Singleton ( .302 13 HR 78 RBI’s) Meanwhile hometown talent Joe Morgan scored an amazing 164 runs thanks to an obp of .402 while stealing 54 bases and Toby Harrah managed 16 HR and 69 RBI while batting .278 and Rookie Ken Griffey batted .322 in part time play a sign of great things to come.

Meanwhile when you look at the stats of the arms in Cincy you notice one amazing fact: The worst ERA for any pitcher who even pitched part of a season for the Reds is 4.80 and the WORST on the current roster who pitched 20 innings or more is Don Gullett who went 15-8 with an ERA of 3.83. Again trades made the difference Jim Brewer 6-1 out of the pen with an ERA of 3.50 & a WHIP of 1.27, Starter Jack Billingham acquired early in the season won 19 of his 20 wins for the Reds with a 3.44 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. Bill Bonham 5-3 with a 3.40 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. Mel Stottlemyre 15-3 3.01 ERA and 1.34 WHIP and finally ageless Don McMahon who went 4-0 with an ERA of 0.96 at the age of 43. But home grown relivers like Pedro Borbon 13-8 22 saves and Dick Barney (10-0) certainly did their share.

And if all of that wasn’t enough their .986 fielding percentage was 4th best in the majors and only a single point behind the 3 leaders.

Secret Weapon: In a league full of base stealers Reds Catchers threw out 14 in 29 attempts (.483)

Peter’s pick: One has to give the Cubs credit for pluck they managed to eliminate a stronger Braves team in three games but facing a team 2nd in the majors in pitching (3.23) OBP (.346 1st in NL) slugging (.429 1st in NL) , 4th in fielding (.986) and first in batting (.265) in the Majors I can’t see pluck managing to win more than one game at best.

Reds in 4

Pittsburgh Pirates 95-67 vs Los Angeles Dodgers 110-52 Pittsburgh 6-4 season series

Pirates 1st Wild Card

Rod Carew hit .353 to lead the majors and scored 121 runs thanks to a .419 OBP while driving in 83. Tommy Harper had a resurgent year scoring 117 of his own while hitting 17 HR and stealing 19 bases. George Scott (.295 16 HR 83 RBI) and Bill Melton (,279 23 HR 88 RBI) gave plenty of people fits but Hammering Hank Aaron ruled the roost smacking 53 Home Runs and driving in 147 while scoring 113 of his own with an OBP of .389. Only Cincy drove in more runs than the Pirates

On the Mound Gaylord Perry had another banner year going 15-7 with an ERA of 2.42 and a WHIP of 1.19. Despite giving up 18 HR in 247 innings Jim Colburn went 15-6 and posted a 3.17 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. Bill Singer was the hard luck man in the rotation. Batters only hit .213 against him, he put up a WHIP of 1.21 and an ERA of 3.11 but only managed a 14-14 record. Even worse for the Pirates foes if the game got to the 8th or 9th on came Mike Marshall who saved 25 of 29 and went 13-8 in 63 games of relief.

Finally the Pirates had the best defense in the majors with the fewest errors in the majors.

Secret Weapon. Tom Bradly who worked both a starter and a reliver and was highly effective in both locations.

Add these things together and it means a lot of trouble for a lot of good teams with better records.

LA Dodgers 1st in NL Beta Division:

Batting: Willie McCovey .261 34 HR and 90 RBI was a terror to pitchers in the league, so much so that they walked him 132 times (against only 107 k’s). Joe Ferguson only managed to hit .210 but hit 24 HR and drove in 77 when he did hit. Mike Lum and Garry Maddox both hit over .300 to support the cause which helped them to a +243 run differental.

But the real reason for that number was the pitching. The TEAM ERA of the Dodgers was 2.49! That’s just under 3/4 of a run less than any other major league team. The duo of Tom Seaver (7-3 2.50) acquired from the Daytraders and Don Sutton 22-10 2.32 are a devastating pair. The underrated Wayne Twitchell went 16-7 with a 2.49 ERA a WHIP of 1.07 and an avg against .191 while pitching 3rd in the rotation. To put it all in perspective. The pitcher who did the worst for them was J. R. Richard who had a 3.46 ERA with batters hitting .206 against him. He’s the #5 man.

The Dodgers have a good offense but not overpowering however their rotation is so much better than anyone else how does a team manage to have a chance?

Peter’s Pick

If there was a series of the week this one would be it. Two formidable teams with two excellent managers. By sheer numbers one must make the Dodgers who finished a full 15 games ahead of the Bucks the edge but that didn’t stop Pittsburgh from winning the season series. Basically star studded hitting (Pit) with one great pitcher and plenty of very good ones vs a star studded rotation with one star hitter and an excellent supporting cast. With the #1 & 2 NL Cy Young pitchers and a team ERA almost a full runner better than Pit the Dodgers will be stingy but I have a feeling that Hammering Hank will get the last laugh.

Pirates in 5 but just barely

The Fake Grok Mel Brooks 2000 Year old Man on the rise of Christianity and Bacon

Posted: July 12, 2025 by datechguy in comedy, fun, tech
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Scholars Believe Explosive Growth Of The Early Church Was Due To Christians Being Allowed To Eat Bacon (Babylon Bee who thought of it 1st)

AI Generated 1st Century Christians eating Bacon Strips

As a rule I don’t trust Grok for anything actually important or for opinions. The one time I did try to trust it to work on a baseball schedule for me it messed it up completely, when I pointed out the mistakes it apologized and made a new schedule with different mistakes till I just said forget it.

However it excels on stuff that isn’t important that can be funny. A few days ago I imagined Mel Brooks as the 2000 year old man explaining how BACON was the actual secret to the rise of Christianity.

Since Mel is actually nearing 2000 years old I figured he wasn’t up to doing it himself and Carl Reiner his straight man is suffering from a chronic case of death I decided that this was a task that Grok could do.

The result wasn’t perfect. Brooks’ 2000 year old man would never used “the interviewer’s” first name and and some of the jokes were a tad repetitive but what Grok spat out was not a bad first draft.

So if you’re curious (and even if you’re not) here it is:

My question to Grok:

based on the original 2000 year old man recordings staring Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks as the 2000 year man give me the script for a 3-6 minute exchange where Reiner questions Brooks on how Christianity ended so popular worldwide despite early persecution with Brooks final conclusion being it was all because of Bacon and how delicious it was.

Here is Grok’s answer unabridged:

Below is a 3-6 minute comedic script inspired by the style of Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks’ 2000 Year Old Man recordings. It captures their playful, improvisational dynamic, with Reiner as the straight-man interviewer and Brooks as the ancient, wisecracking 2000 Year Old Man. The exchange focuses on the rise of Christianity despite early persecution, culminating in Brooks’ absurd conclusion that bacon was the key to its success. The dialogue is written to feel spontaneous, peppered with Brooks’ characteristic Yiddish-inflected humor and Reiner’s dry probing, aiming for a runtime of roughly 4-5 minutes when performed at their typical pace.

Carl Reiner (Interviewer): Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, I’m here with the 2000 Year Old Man, a man who has lived through centuries of human history. Sir, you’ve seen empires rise and fall, religions come and go. I want to ask you about Christianity. It started as a small movement, heavily persecuted by the Romans, yet it spread across the world. How did it get so popular despite all that opposition?

Mel Brooks (2000 Year Old Man): (in a thick, gravelly Yiddish accent) Oh, Christianity, yeah, yeah, I was there! Persecution, schmecsecution! You wanna know the real story? It’s not what you think, Carl. It wasn’t the sermons, it wasn’t the miracles, it wasn’t even the “love thy neighbor” stuff—although that was a nice touch, very catchy. No, no, no. It was bacon.

Reiner: Bacon? Wait a minute, sir, are you saying—

Brooks: I’m saying bacon, Carl! B-A-C-O-N, bacon! The greatest food ever invented! You ever smell bacon frying? It’s like God himself is whispering in your nose, “Come to the kitchen, bubbeleh, I got something for ya!” That’s what got Christianity going. Forget the catacombs, forget the martyrs—this was a bacon-based operation.

Reiner: But sir, Christianity emerged from Judaism, which strictly forbids eating pork. How could bacon possibly—

Brooks: (interrupting) Forbidden, shmorbidden! Look, I was around, I saw it happen. Early Christians, they’re hiding in caves, they’re dodging lions, they’re whispering about salvation. But then, one day, some Roman convert—probably a guy named Tony, good guy, big schnoz—he says, “Fellas, I know we’re supposed to stick to the rules, but I snuck some bacon from the market.” And he fries it up. The smell, Carl! The smell! It wafted through the cave like a divine revelation. Suddenly, everybody’s like, “Jesus who? Pass the bacon!”

Reiner: (dryly) So you’re suggesting that the early Christians abandoned kosher dietary laws because of bacon?

Brooks: Abandoned? They didn’t abandon nothin’! They said, “Look, if God didn’t want us to eat bacon, why’d He make it so crispy and delicious?” It was a theological breakthrough! They’re sitting there, munching, and one guy—smart fella, probably a rabbi before he switched teams—he says, “This bacon is so good, we gotta spread this religion to everybody!” And that’s when they started proselytizing. They’d go to a village, hold up a strip of bacon, and say, “Join us, and you get this.” Boom! Converts left and right.

Reiner: But sir, the Romans were feeding Christians to lions! Surely bacon wasn’t enough to overcome that kind of persecution.

Brooks: Lions, shmions! You think a lion’s gonna scare a guy who’s tasted bacon? I saw it myself. A Christian gets thrown in the Colosseum, lion’s roaring, crowd’s cheering, and the Christian pulls out a little piece of bacon from his toga. He waves it at the lion—poof! Lion sits down, wags its tail like a puppy. The crowd goes nuts, they all convert on the spot. “We want what he’s got!” they’re yelling. Bacon was the ultimate PR move.

Reiner: (skeptical) So you’re saying the global spread of Christianity—across Europe, Asia, Africa—was driven by… bacon?

Brooks: Absolutely! Look, Carl, you gotta understand human nature. People don’t join a religion for fancy theology or eternal life—that’s all fine, but it’s abstract, it’s meshuggeh. Bacon is real. You bite it, it crunches, it melts in your mouth. By the time Christianity hit Constantinople, they were building churches with bacon stands out front. You think St. Peter’s Basilica got built on prayers alone? No, they had a bacon cart in the square—two strips for a denarius, best deal in Rome!

Reiner: But what about the spiritual aspects? The teachings of Jesus, the apostles, the—

Brooks: (interrupting) Spiritual, shmiritual! I’m telling ya, Carl, the apostles were smart. They knew bacon was their secret weapon. Paul? That guy was the bacon king! He’d walk into a town, preach a little, then hand out bacon samples. People’d say, “This guy’s got the truth—and a side of crispy!” By the time he left, half the town was Christian, and the other half was just waiting for the next bacon shipment.

Reiner: (deadpan) So your final conclusion is that Christianity’s worldwide success is due to bacon?

Brooks: Final conclusion? Carl, it’s the only conclusion! Bacon was the miracle nobody talks about. You wanna know why Christianity beat out the pagans, the Zoroastrians, the whatevers? Because nobody else had bacon. You try converting someone with a bowl of lentils—good luck! Bacon was the game-changer. And let me tell ya, Carl, to this day, every time I smell bacon frying, I think, “Those Christians, they knew what they were doing.” (pauses, dreamily) Mmm… bacon…

Reiner: (sighs) Thank you, 2000 Year Old Man. That’s… certainly a perspective. Ladies and gentlemen, we’ll be back with more insights from history—or at least, from the kitchen.

With a nod to the Babylon Bee who had the story first:

Dynasty 1973 League Wild Card Preview Indians vs Twins, Cubs vs Braves

Posted: July 10, 2025 by datechguy in baseball, fun, gaming, online gaming
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Well it’s playoff time again in our Dynasty 1973 league and we begin with the best of 3 series Wild card games

Indians 80-82 vs Twins 80-82 (Twins won season series 7-5)

For a while it wasn’t sure that the Indians would make the playoffs, the Yankees, Senators and A’s all made runs but they finished strong to secure a playoff spot.

As always they are led by their bash brothers Tony Perez (23 HR 114 RBI’s) and Sal Bando (28 HR 93 RBI’s) but they had a lot of help from Catcher George Mitterwald and Dave May who who both managed to add over 20 HR each (25 & 20) to be part of the power supply hit not to mention Mitterwald’s glove behind the plate and May’s 14 outfield assists to help things out. Their strength isn’t just the long ball. The team’s .261 avg lead the junior circuit. With Mark Belanger and Dave McAuliffe up the middle the defense is pretty solid. Of playoff teams only Cincinnati and Pittsburgh have better fielding stats than Cleveland.

On the Mound Jon Matlack has been the leader (22-11) but after that it becomes very ordinary with Mickey Lolich (10-15 5.17) , Bob Moose (6-12 4.83) and Steve Busby acquired from Cincy (4-8 4.89) all being very average. Only Alan Foster has an ERA below 4 and didn’t manage a winning record (9-11 3.82) On the plus side no AL team gave up less Home runs (102)

Secret Weapon: Dick McAuliffe who hit .556 with 17 RBI with the bases loaded

The Job is for Matlack to win his game and for the bats to come through for someone else can they do that vs the Twins?

Minnesota Twins 80-82

The Twins have one great bat in Al Oliver .300 27 HR 108 RBI and one very good bat in Richie Hebner (.282 21 HR 91 RBI) who have spent a lot of time driving in Bob Watson (91 Runs scored 90 walks). Oliver has also provided great defense with Bobby Grich taking plenty of hits away from left handed batters and Catcher Ray Fosse throwing out 14 of 21 trying to steal.

But the real strength of the Twins comes from their killer closer Sparky Lyle (7-1 0.86 ERA with 33 saves in 39 chances. Their starting rotation Ross Grimsley (11-10 3.63) , Dave McNally (15-15 3.92 ) and Doyle Alexander (11-9 4,28) have been very average but if they can get the ball to Lyle it’s pretty much all over. He has gotten some help from Cecil Upshaw who spent a fair time on the DL has come back to hold batters to a .214 avg with a WHIP of 0.94

Secret Weapon Lou Pinella who batted .314 with 6 HR and 21 RBI vs LHP

Peter’s Pick On paper the Indians offense outdoes the Twins particularly when facing avg pitching, They hit 50% more homers but Because Matlock pitched game 162 we’re not likely to see him for the opener and that means the twins get a shot against the tribe’s B team. Their pitching overall is practically equal other than the tribe being HR adverse. Logic and the overall stats says Cleveland takes the day but my gut tells me the Twins are able to get leads which means Sparky Lyle ends the discussion, if however they get to a game 3 then the Indians ace gives them an advantage but their closer Ray Corbin is 18 of 24 but I suspect the twins won’t let it get that far and their park doesn’t favor the long ball. Again all logic says otherwise but I’m going with my gut.

Twins in 2

Chicago Cubs 79-83 at Atlanta Bravos (Braves) (86-76) Season Series Even at 5-5

Chicago Cubs

Jeff Buroghes has come in to his own and Rusty Staub put up the best numbers of his career last season Danny Cater managed to hit .356 in 100 games. Meanwhile Steve Garvey put up solid numbers at the plate but exceptional numbers in the field (.994) but however good Garvey and Patek did in the field it pales before Tito Fuentes who has only committed a single error in over 1400 innings and 700+ chances. Everyone knows Freddie Patek is best known for his glove and only hit .210 but he also managed 10 triples to make his a danger to any pitcher and stole 11 bases in 13 chances.

On the mound Burt Hooton (14-10 3.10) and Rich Reuschel (13-10 3,13) have put up pretty good numbers for playing half the season in a hitter’s park and left Jerry Koosman’s 10-11 3.57 has been more than adequate but the bottom pair in the rotation Dick Tidrow (3-15) & Milt Pappas (6-10) have been horrible. Closer John Hiller has managed 26 saves in 34 chances holding hitters to a .199 avg. have combined fore a 9-25 record.

As for their fielding, the less said about the Cubs defense the better, the bad news is they were the 2nd worst fielding team in the majors, the good news is Atlanta was the worst.

Secret Weapon: Long ball averse. Desipte playing in one of the ultimate HR parks and playing all day games Cubs pitchers gave up only 108 HR this season. Only 3 teams gave up fewer

It’s a short series so the Cubs can keep Tidrow & Pappas for garbage time, will that be enough to win?

Atlanta Bravos (Braves)

Last season Atlanta was favored to go to the series but was eliminated early. While they weren’t able to repeat the division they had a strong season despite Dick Allen spending most of it on the DL or on KC. Caesar Cedeno picked up the slack with a triple crown quality line .324 39 HR 110 RBI but after him while many players had respectable number from Al Kaline: (.275 12 HR 58 RBI) to Dusty Baker (.254 19 HR 87 RBI) nobody else brought star power at the bat although Paul Schaal hit .294 and scored 94 runs

The stars were on the mount with Catfish Hunter (16-11 3.25) & Fergie Jenkins (21-16 3.45) giving a powerful 1-2 punch with Rollie Fingers picking up 18 saves and 8 wins with an ERA of 2.80 (along with starting two games). Despite blowing 5 of 7 save chances workhorse reliever Tom HIlgendorf went 11-5 and put in over 100 innings on the mound.

In the field the Bravos were the single worst fielding team in all the majors which makes the performances of Hunter and Jenkins even more impressive.

Secret weapon: Norm Cash hit .294 with runners in scoring position and two outs alas he now plays for KC.

Peter’s pick. At first glance the Braves would seem to have the advantage based on their overall record and their 1-2 punch on the mound but the Cubs top 3 are almost as good and managed to give up over 50 fewer HR’s as a team. Combine this with Dick Allen not expected to be back until late in the next series and it seems to me we’re going to have at least one more day playoff game once this series is over.

Cubs in 3.

Hermit of Loreto 2 Planned Parenthood 0

Posted: July 4, 2025 by datechguy in Always look at the bright side of Trump, catholic, catholic devotions
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Ok let me start this post with the following declaration that I made on twitter yesterday:

I don’t regret my support for either @tedcruz in 2016 or @RonDeSantis in 2024 both of who would have been fine @POTUS But @realDonaldTrump has by any measure been the best president of my lifetime & one of the most successful presidents of all time. I think today he passed TR

Donald Trump by the passage of his “big beautiful bill” has defied all the odds and all the media predictions that it would fail, which in itself is a lot of fun but for me the big beautiful chocolate on top (I don’t like cherries) is the defunding of Planned Parenthood. Coupled with the repeal of Roe vs Wade with Dobbs vs Jackson during the Biden years by a count with three Trump appointees on it this is a stake through the heart for the Abortion industry in America, the single most evil practice that this country has ever embraced.

That being the case this is an excellent time to remind you of the prophecy of the Hermit of Loreto

The Hermit of Loreto was a man by the name of Tom Zimmer who lived a pious life of prayer in in Loreto. He was one of the co-authors of the famous Pieta Prayer Book one of the most popular collections of Catholic Prayers available out there. He was a person who went to multiple masses each day. I posted about this after Roe was overturned:

Capoverdi asked him in English if he was Thomas [Zimmer], and the two had a delightful conversation. When Trump was elected, Dr. Curran called and told him that, back in the 1980s, Tom Zimmer said he had received a “premonition” and that “a certain man would lead America back to God”—and that man would be none other than Donald J. Trump.

“The millionaire playboy from New York?” the incredulous doctor is said to have asked Zimmer.

“Yes,” the Hermit of Loreto responded, adding he was so sure Donald Trump would become a great spiritual leader of America that he wrote his name on a brick and had it placed in the reconstruction of St. Peter’s Holy Door after the Jubilee so Trump would receive blessings from the many Masses that would be said in the Vatican.

The Youtube video is here:

At the time this came out this was evaluated:

After investigating Zimmer, Thomas wrote, “I have no reason to doubt Capoverdi’s statements that Thomas Zimmer communicated to his friend that he received a ‘premonition’ that Donald Trump would ‘lead America back to God.’” He explained that discerning the validity of a prophecy involves evaluating three elements: the prophet’s character, the prophecy’s alignment with Scripture and church teachings, and its ultimate fulfillment.

To the first point, Thomas observed, “Was the prophet a good and virtuous person? Zimmer was.” For the second, he noted, “There is nothing scriptural or in church teachings that would suggest that a political leader cannot lead people to God; on the contrary, Scripture indicates it as a duty.”

Lastly, Thomas acknowledged the importance of whether a prophecy comes true. He added that evidence of Zimmer’s faith in his prophecy could lie in searching for the brick bearing Trump’s name at St. Peter’s door. Thomas concluded, “Here we must wait and see if that happens, but I’m sure whether or not Trump leads America back to God will be open to dispute and interpretation.”

Now I have met people of extraordinary faith and devotion and Mr. Zimmer certainly qualifies. If someone like HE had told me that twenty years ago I would have filed it away in my head and watched because if there is one thing that you can say about God is that he routinely uses that last person you would ever expect from David the young shepherd to Saul of Tarsus the proud Pharisee to bring about extraordinary things. (Trump of course would be more Saul – Paul then David.)

But let’s be blunt I’m VERY catholic so when a person of deep faith says something like this I take it seriously but for most people if someone told them twenty years ago that Donald Trump (whose wife IS a devout Catholic but he is NOT catholic at all) would be responsible for:

  1. The overturning of Roe vs Wade
  2. The Defunding of Planned Parenthood

They would have been thought of him as some kind of nut and if you were a leftist supporter of Planned Parenthood and was told this you would have taken one look at Trump’s history as fell down on the floor laughing

The “kill the babies” left isn’t laughing now, but I suspect Mr. Zimmer, the Hermit of Loreto is smiling and nodding.

I’ll give the last word to the Babylon Bee:

Wail Of Agony Heard From Satan’s Office As Planned Parenthood Defunded

Update: I know this has nothing to do with this post but this is now my favorite audio file: the Catholic version of the famous: “What is best in life?” clip:

With apologies to Arnold and Johnathan

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