Comics Review: A Review 6-Pack—X-Men Outback, Turtles, Youngblood

Continued from Part 1

X-Men Outback #1

This was hard to resist on the rack with this appealing Psylocke cover. This is her armored warrior phase, before the proper English girl got turned into an ethnic Asian ninja. In retrospect, that was a questionable editorial decision. I guess Jim Lee wanted to draw a hot Asian girl. I’m not really complaining, I think. This did lead to Olivia Munn playing her in an X-Men movie, the part she was born to play.

What does it say about the current state of the X-Men that Marvel is publishing three different “retro” X-Men titles this month and another to come next month? The X-Men 97 cartoon has been enough of a success to merit a second season and convince Marvel to publish a comic book that readers actually want. If they went “backward” with their entire line, they might sell more comics than DC and their Absolute “Hulk/Batman” creature.

This series is meant to supplement the X-Men’s time in the Australian Outback. It was an odd moment where the X-Men were thought dead and were hiding out. An Aboriginal teleporting mutant, Gateway, provided them the ability to easily the travel the world, even from such a remote location. This era didn’t last long and was mostly known for Marc Silvestri’s excellent artwork.

The story is Sabretooth finding the X-Men and attacking them. Psylocke has to adjust his memory afterward, so that he forgets the encounter. I suspect this sort of thing will be happening a lot in this series to explain why nobody knows about these new adventures. The comic is not exactly a throwback. The artwork is half-anime/half-splatter horror film. It’s cute and bloody.

In the dialogue, there’s also a definite undercurrent of current day writing, which is functionally Chris Claremont’s 80’s writing. The subplot is Wolverine telling Storm to take command. I guess it’s trying to explain why Logan isn’t in charge, which didn’t need to be explained. She’s been in charge before; Wolverine hasn’t. It just gives Logan the opportunity to tell Storm how amazing she is several times.

It’s the right idea and reasonably well done. The creative team knew the source material well. (I think this even starts with an off-panel Mojo cameo.) It’s a little too close to Claremont’s 80’s stories and maybe that’s the problem. You would put up with certain things from Claremont, because he’d bring originality with it. If I were planning on going to the comic book store next month, I’d probably pick up the next issue and give it another shot, but I wouldn’t be going just to get it. I doubt you’re going to see anything really fresh or novel in the rest of the series. They have to work within established canon and it’s not like anyone at Marvel has had a good new idea in years.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #20, 300-th Issue Special

I think I’ve only ever had one TMNT comic (11-22-19) and the Palladium RPG book, which included a Turtles story done just for the book. I never had any of the toys, but I enjoyed the original cartoon and some of the movies well enough. In spite of the $7 price tag, I was a sucker for the retro cover and an anniversary issue to boot. I did pass up a couple of “blind bag” issues for the same price with possibly valuable variant covers. It won’t be the first time I’ve made a poor investment decision with a comic.

I was glad I got this. It was most definitely goofy, silly Turtles, but there was a tremendous amount of character motivation, backstory, and a good plot. There are real stakes, emotions, foreshadowing, betrayal, and loyalty. You’re getting the gambit of storytelling. I was impressed. Unfortunately, the main story was continued and I don’t plan on going back next month. The artwork is also very well done and finely detailed.

The other story in this was a nostalgic retrospective on the different styles of Turtles stories that have occurred over the past 299 issues. Mostly, it was meant to show that however much the Turtles change, some things never change with them. If I’d been following along with the comics all this time, I’m sure I’d have more to say. And there’s a gallery of all 300 covers (as thumbnails).

This is another IDW production. It feels like they really take care of their properties. Nickelodeon is listed in the credits. I don’t know if that means that they own the Turtles, but the corporate oversight is paying off in quality material. Now that I’ve read this, I could see getting a TMNT trade if I see one that looks this good.

Giant-Size Youngblood #1

In honor of Rob Liefield’s artwork, I’m writing this review with my mouth open and screaming. I’ve been listening to Rob’s podcast for a while and mostly enjoying it. I appreciate his enthusiasm for the art form and criticisms of the comic book industry, while I’m skeptical of his fanboying of Hollywood.

There’s a trade of Liefield’s run of New Mutants at Zia Comics that I’ve passed over several times. Since I already have the first appearance of Deadpool from that run 11-21-22 and didn’t think much of it, I haven’t been willing to buy it. (It’s also not well-reviewed and it’s full price, unlike the other trades I’ve bought there lately.) There have been a few issues of the new Youngblood on the rack. I’d recently seen a video on Liefield. There was a description of the Youngblood premise in it that made it sound more interesting than I thought it was. Today was the day I decided to try an issue.

In contrast to the standard “Liefield” style, this super-group has a decided lack of small pouches on their uniforms and is totally lacking large firearms. This is a 64-page square-bound book with no ads. This is the nice portion of the review.

Is this the worst comic I’ve purchased on a price-per-page basis? I think it might be. I can’t remember a comic with a more relentless lack of characterization and plot. It’s a context-less fight scene and it even wasn’t much of a fight. Rob’s rants about writers being nearly unnecessary compared to the artist’s contributions are actually how he does comic books. And he seems stunningly unaware that all of his favorite comics that he spotlights are well-written. (He even sued Marvel over not getting credited as a writer in a reprint.)

Oh, and the art, it’s not that great either. In the 90’s, this was a fresh new style and it would be sort of iconic. That’s not to say it’s good; it’s just distinctive. Rob reminds me of my own art. Occasionally, I might make a nice drawing, almost by accident. The difference is that I’m not a professional artist and Rob’s been at this a long time. He should be much better than this in art and storytelling.

Just to rub it in, this large issue is half, if not more than half, just reprinted pinups. You could probably argue that the whole book is nothing but pinups. Four of the pinups featured Obama to let you know how old they are and who Rob voted for.

If I were a long-time fan of Youngblood, I’d be infuriated with this, since I doubt the original series was this bad. As is, I’m wondering if I should ever buy another comic I’m not familiar with . . . if I should buy another comic at all. This sounds like hyperbole, but I’ve declared a moratorium on buying comics until I get this taste out of my mouth. I’m not going to ask Rob for my money back (it won’t help with the emotional damage anyway), but I’m putting everything he says from now on in context with this comic.

Whew! What a roller coaster ride from this trip to the comic book store. Regardless of the highs and lows, I do think I’ve been a little too indulgent buying comics for the last couple of months and need a break. I’d finally cleared out some shelf space and I just filled it right back up. I’ve been done with comic books several times, but I wonder when they’ll be done with me.

Comics Review: A Review 6-Pack—Moonstar, Grimm, Zatanna

It was a successful trip to Zia Comics and a disaster. I’d gone for one comic (Moonstar) and ended up with six comics and a Barbie magnet and $40 lighter. I’d even put back a couple of issues before going to the register. A couple of these were gifts, but I did not mean to go nuts buying comics today. It’s a pretty rare trip that I find this many comics I’m interested in sitting on the rack.

The Barbie magnet was a gift for my co-worker, Toni. I couldn’t find comic for her, though I did on last month’s trip. That time I’d bought another Captain America trade from the 90’s, since I’d enjoyed the other one I’d gotten (6-23-26). (I haven’t finished it yet to review it.)

(Consider these a couple of bonus reviews.) Toni’s fiancé is a Godzilla fan. She’d bought him a couple Godzilla comics from Zia Comic for his birthday. One of them was a series with Godzilla versus America, where he stomps various cities. (This is a lot like the 70’s Marvel series, actually.) A new issue came out with Godzilla vs Portland. It was double-sized and $7. I looked over it (she was on vacation when I’d bought it) and was profoundly disappointed. It mostly was kids with crayons-level artwork and a bunch references that only Portland natives would get. Godzilla’s appearance was an afterthought and a joke. I apologized when I gave this to her.

Over the weekend, I was over at Barnes & Noble and noticed this trade, Godzilla: Rulers of the Earth. This looked a lot more like what I was intending to get. Like the IDW Rocketeer trade I’d gotten (6-22-26), this was very reasonably priced, so I picked it up. It was about 300 pages, so I didn’t have time to read it over the weekend before I gave it away, but it looked great. It had the whole toy box of Toho monsters fighting in it. (The old Marvel series did not have the rights to anything beyond Godzilla.) I’d recommend this for a Godzilla fan, even without reading it. No apologies necessary here.

Boy, did I get a look from the woman cashier buying this while buying the Captain America trade and the Godzilla comic. This one was for another girl, Zee. She’d seen me with some comics and mentioned she loved the old Vampirella magazines from the 70’s. That’s a little surprising. She liked that Vampi kicked ass and looked good.

This issue from Dynamite is #3 (#690 in legacy numbering). What a cover! It was easy enough to buy this based just on that. Regrettably, that was the best of it. The artwork inside was okay, but I was lost on the story. The old magazine featured self-contained stories. This issue was part of an ongoing series and I had no idea what was going on with the characters and their actions. I didn’t understand enough of it to really give an opinion on it, other than I decided this was a mistake. A detailed recap page might have been helpful. I again pretty much apologized when I gave this away, but Zee was very happy with it.

Moonstar #5

This is the comic I went to the store for. It’s the final issue of the series, though it doesn’t say that it is or that it was a limited series. (If it sells well enough, maybe they’ll continue it later.) I won’t reiterate what I’ve said in the previous reviews about the series (7-3-26).

This issue is the big climatic battle with Kyron and his evil sword, Dainsleif. That’s basically the whole issue, except for a quick wrap up at the end. I’d be lying if I said I really understood what happened in the story. I thought I was comfortable with the plot, but I wasn’t really getting what Dani did to end the threat. Was it too complicated or was it BS?

In any case, super-villain defeated and we get a happy ending. This is the first time I’ve seen Dani get romantic. If she’s had any other relationships, I never saw them. This pleased me, but the moment was nearly ruined with Kian literally saying, “You were amazing,” like he was her gay friend at her workplace. I guess Dani was hard up enough for a man that she’d take what she could get.

Also, Kian’s partner, Yanisa, who I thought had been killed, got better. And Beta Ray Bill shows up at the end for some reason. (You’re a little late to the party, pal.) “You are a great warrior, Dani Moonstar. I’m excited to see what you do next.” I swear the writing was not this bad in the previous issues.

Okay, just to see a character that I like in her own series, I’m okay with buying these issues. Unless you feel the same way about Moonstar, you’re likely not getting anything out of these.

Grimm Fairy Tales Vol. 3 #4

This was another gift for Zee. I was determined to get her a good comic. None of the Vampirella comics on the display seemed to have a self-contained story or even a good cover like the other one. It occurred to me that maybe she might like a Zenescope comic.

I’d bought an issue of this title before (11-6-20). My review was so badly written that I didn’t even mention what fairy tale characters were used in it. I don’t remember and I no longer have the comic. I picked up an Oz-inspired trade that I liked better this year (1-13-26). I would have liked something with a better cover and maybe a first issue, but this is what they had available. (Actually, they were stocking the shelves while I was there. I feel like I should have waited around a bit.)

Is this Red Riding Hood fighting wolves? I guess from the cover that’s the motif, though the main character in this issue isn’t wearing one in the comic and isn’t called, “Red.” Another cast member is wearing a red hood, but she’s not in the main action. There’s plenty of action, though not much resolution. I wish I knew more about the setting in this. There is a recap up front, but it assumes you understand the basic premise. This issue doesn’t seem to have anything in common with the previous issue I’d read years ago. (That was from a different volume of the series.)

Honestly, I wish one of these other issues had been there to buy. These Zenescope guys really know how to do an eye-catching cover.

Zatanna #4

I bought a Zatanna trade paperback a couple of months ago, but lent it out (to Toni, who I got the Barbie magnet for) and haven’t gotten it back yet. This issue is probably not related to that series anyway.

Swell cover and Zatana looks really classy. In this issue, we are establishing that she is the Sorcerer Supreme and . . . What’s that? Oh, excuse me. She’s the Prime Magus and consulting with the previous holder of the title, Zehuti, about what this means. “It means you get a mansion in New York City, babe, the Sanctum Sanctorum, and an Asian man-servant.” Actually, she has a hidden city of magicians and a horse that “mews.”

Jokes aside, this issue is well-illustrated. Some pages remind me of artist Alphonse Mucha’s work. The story is a series of three vignettes showing Zantana in her role as the Prime Magus. It’s kind of weird and abstract in presentation, but in a good way. It reminded me of Sandman and Books of Magic. While she’s wearing a top hat and fishnets and speaking spells backward in these scenes, it does not feel silly.

This was likely the best of the bunch. It was even $4, which cost less than the other comics I got. I’d be willing to get more of this, but I’m not going to the comic book store every month. If I’m there and see more, I’ll get them. (I showed this one to Zee and she loved it immediately. I ended up giving it to her, as well.)

Part2

Baseball Journal July: Marsupials

 

7-17-26

The MiLB Free Game was the High-A Asheville Tourists at the Rome Emperors.    Rome’s mascot is a penguin in a toga with laurels.    Julius is a friendly penguin.    One inning, he sat down in the front row and put his arm around a fan.    He was also seated next to a good-looking girl in a tank top and little shorts that walked up and down the stairs a few times.    He didn’t try getting fresh with her.  

In the fifth, Emperors’ pitcher, Ethan Bagwell, gave up back-to-back homers by Tourists. The pitcher was not related to Hall of Famer, Jeff Bagwell, though.    In the sixth, the Emperor’s third baseman made a great play on a grounder.    He then ran off the field to the dugout, who promptly sent him back out.    The announcer explained, “We play to three outs in this league.”    The announcer also kept looking at the skies over Rome.    It was overcast and rain seemed to be on the way.    The teams played fast, at least during the first half of the game.    There ended up not being any rain and Asheville won, 4-0.

Hey, I finally noticed that Aggie pitcher, Jack Turner, was taken by the Tigers in the tenth round of the draft.    He was scouted in his time at NMSU, so this isn’t entirely surprising.    It’d be helpful to the program to get another Aggie in the Majors, but it’ll probably take a little while.   

At tonight’s Chihuahuas’ game against the Space Cowboys, they had a violin Anthem and a light rain before the game.    In the fourth, the pups took a 3-2 lead.    Little did we suspect how long that score would hold up.    In the seventh, a Sugar Land player bunted in front of the plate.    While the batter was arguing that it was foul, he was tagged out, but did advance the runner.

In the top of the eighth, Ethan Routzahn had 4-pitch inning to keep score unchanged for the Chihuahuas.    In the bottom, Nick Pratto, the Chihuahuas’ first baseman, had a swinging strikeout and threw his bat in anger.    This got him ejected.    (I wonder if there were some words, too.)    This had consequences.

In the top of the ninth, the Space Cowboys loaded bases with 2 outs.    There was a weak comebacker to the pitcher.    He had to make a hard throw to first.    The ball went between the replacement first baseman’s legs down the right field line.    Three runs scored on the play.    The fielder held up his glove.    The thrown ball had gone through the mitt’s webbing.    Rawlings should take the error on this play.    Broadcaster Tim Hagerty described this as a “Shocking loss,” as the Chihuahuas went down, 5-3.

7-18-26

I caught part of two Mexican League ball games; one in the morning, one at night.    The morning one was surprising, since they usually play games at night.    It seemed surprising to the fans there too, as it was lightly attended.    The night one was with the Juarez Indios.    Like tonight’s Chihuahuas game against Sugar Land, I was surprised it wasn’t raining at either stadium.    I was surprised it wasn’t raining here in Las Cruces, since rain was all over the area.   

Chihuahuas lost 8-3 for their sixth loss in a row in their game.    I think the Indios beat the Pharaohs.    I’d flipped away for a bit during the seventh inning and it was over when I got back.    Both teams had pitchers like guys from a beer league.    I did see a somewhat disturbing between innings display with the horse mascot in a dress dancing with a batboy.    The batboy got the worst of the encounter.    

In the afternoon, I thought I’d watch the World Cup consolation game between England and France, while listening to the Rangers playing the Braves on the radio.    I got half of that.    None of the Mexican stations were carrying the soccer, which was again surprising.    Downright shocking was the 6-4 English win.    They were up 4-0 at the half, but the French came back on them.    Kind of sorry I missed that second half.   

I’m also sorry I took off for the mall briefly, instead of listening to the whole Rangers’ game.    I basically missed most of the scoring during my absence.    I got back in time to hear Evan Carter hit a 2-run homer in the sixth to tie the game for the Rangers.    Brandon Nimmo brought in what would be the winning run later in the inning.    Mackenzie Gore, in spite of giving up 5 runs, got the win.    Jacob Latz worked a 4-out save for a 7-6 Ranger win.    This was a nice bounce back from yesterday’s 15-1 loss.    Admittedly, I was half paying attention to the game.    I was getting a strong signal, but storms in the area were filling the broadcast with static.         

7-19-26

For the second day in a row, I gave myself a bellyache.    Yesterday, it was a KFC chicken sandwich.    (The Colonel nearly gives you a whole bird between the buns.)    Today, in the height of gastronomic irresponsibility, I went to 5 Guys.    I got a hot dog, which was really good because on a very fresh bun.    The gut-buster was the fries.    They give you a bunch of big, thick fries even with a small order.   

Also, again, I missed some of the Rangers versus the Braves on the radio while getting lunch.    I came back to this comment from Texas broadcaster Jared Sandler, “Was the organist playing My Sharona?” His partner, Matt Hicks, answered, “He certainly has a Knack for it.”    The Rangers got within a run of a Braves’ lead until the seventh.    Ezekiel Duran threw out a runner at the plate for the final out, but a couple of defensive miscues before that had put the Braves back up by multiple runs.    My stomach was not relieved with the 8-5 loss.

NBC’s Sunday Night Game was the Dodgers versus the Yankees.    The Dodgers won earlier in the day, 8-2, because their Saturday game was rained out.    The Dodgers had also won on Friday.    It was a staff game for both teams tonight.    The Yankees took a 1-0 lead in the first.    In the fourth, Max Muncy threw out a Yankee runner at the plate.    In the fifth, the Yankees loaded the bases with no outs.    The Dodgers brought in a reliever, who got two strikeouts and foul pop up to keep the score at 1-0.    The commentators weren’t kidding that the Yankees were having trouble scoring.   

There were a surprising (if not, shocking) number of Dodger fans at Yankee Stadium.    They can’t be leftover Brooklyn Dodger fans; they were too young.    In another segment, Bob Costas defended Babe Ruth over Shohei Ohtani based on the stats.    That definitely shocked me.    Seldom does Ruth get the nod over Ohtani these days.    (Maybe if Shohei was injured less often.)    Tommy Edman’s solo home run tied it in the eighth, but Jazz Chisholm homered in the bottom to give the Yankees back the lead and the win, 2-1.    I feel like I would have enjoyed this game more, if I’d hated the two teams less.

There was light rain in El Paso to start the Chihuahuas’ game against the Space Cowboys, but it didn’t interfere with the proceedings.  In the fourth, the Chihuahuas scored 2 after 3 scoreless innings.    In the seventh, the Space Cowboys had a solo home run and then there was a double error on a grounder.    Cavan Biggio drove in that run and another run tied it at 3.   

The Chihuahuas’ questionable play continued in the bottom of the seventh.    They had a failed squeeze play with the runner out at home.    On a wild pitch, another runner was tagged out at the plate.    In the ninth, Bryce Johnson made a great catch slamming into the wall to end the inning for Sugar Land.    In the bottom, the Chihuahuas got two on to begin the inning.    Johnson did it again with a game-winning single, 4-3 Chihuahuas.    The team finally broke their losing streak, basically in spite of themselves.

7-21-26

It was a late game for the Chihuahuas to start their series in Las Vegas.    It was a chilly 98-degrees there at 7:00pm PST.    The Aviators loaded the bases in the first.    A hit batter and a single brought in 2 runs.  The pups came back in the second inning.    They scored on a passed ball on a swinging strike and put up 2 more to take a 3-2 lead.  

In the fifth inning, Nick Solak hit a 2-run home run or was it a foul ball?    The LV manager argued and the umps conferenced, but the score stood, 5-3.    This got a     standing “boo” from the crowd.    Broadcaster Tim Hagerty commented that the crowds in the Las Vegas are quite involved with the game.    The Chihuahuas added 3 more runs in the sixth.

In the seventh, LV loaded the bases.    The pups brought in a new pitcher and got a double play to end the inning.    In the eighth, the Chihuahuas executed a double steal, taking second and home to make it, 9-3.    This seemed like piling on, but in the bottom of the eighth, the Aviators finally busted out with 4 runs including a homer by El Pasoan, Darell Hernaiz, to make it 11-7.    The Aviators threatened in the ninth.    Again, the Chihuahuas brought in a reliever and another DP ended it.    11-7 Chihuahuas.    Their bullpen came in clutch tonight.

7-23-26

The MiLB Free Game was the Double-A Tulsa Drillers at the Arkansas Travelers in Little Rock.    It was another nice stadium with a second deck of suites with a roof.    There was no wall behind the plate, so it was wide open with the fans sitting behind the netting.    It was a nice night, as opposed to last week when they had a 125-degree heat index game.    It was 93-degrees when the game finished at 9:00pm.   

Otey, the team’s swamp possum mascot was going to be getting a bobblehead day tomorrow.    The trivia question was to name four other marsupials, who would be attending Otey’s family reunion at the event.    The broadcaster was generally stumped, but we got a list the next inning: kangaroo, koala, wallaby, bandicoot, wombat, Tasmanian Devil, among 250 others.    Basically, they all flew in from Australia on Quantas yesterday.    (Yes, you can get a direct flight from Sydney to Little Rock.)    The “Travs” won tonight, 5-4, breaking a 5-game losing streak.

                

There was another free game with Tacoma at Reno.    A weather delay stopped the game for a short period of time.    It must have been lightning, since the field wasn’t wet.    The game finished with a 7-2 Tacoma win.    Down the road, the Chihuahuas were playing the Aviators.    It was 106-degrees at 7:00pm in Las Vegas, though at one point the grounds crew was talking to the umps between innings about the weather.    Nothing materialized overhead.

Broadcaster Tim Hagerty gave a bit of trivia about El Pasoan, Daryl Hernaiz.    He got the final hit for the Oakland A’s.    On field, the Aviators balked in the tying run in the sixth and another balk put a runner in scoring position.    The pitching coach came out to calm the pitcher down, but he gave up a 2-run homer right after.    5-3 Chihuahaus.

The Aviators came back in the seventh with five straight singles, including two slow grounders that stopped between home and third.    The Aviators went ahead, 6-5.    The pups did turn a 6-2-3 double play from shortstop to home to first.    Tim saw some lightning in the distance, but it didn’t interfere with the game.    In the ninth, the Chihuahuas got two on, but left them there.    6-5 Aviators final.    Several challenges got used in that last frame trying to extend the game.

Baseball Journal July: All Star!

7-10-26

Tonight’s MiLB.TV Free Game featured the Double-A Biloxi Shuckers versus the Knoxville Smokies.    The Smokies have a beautiful stadium and they had a great crowd out on Friday.    There were shots of the happy crowd during the breaks.    They had cheerleaders and a really cute on-field host.    The commentators had some degree of southern accent.    When I tuned in, they were talking about buying grilled cheese sandwiches from a guy selling them out of the back of a Bronco for a $1.    Some kids went tarps off in the eighth when the team had the bases loaded to cheer them on.    It looked like a really great place to watch a game.    The Smokies won.    I didn’t take down the score.

   

Meanwhile in OKC, the Chihuahuas were down 10-2 in the ninth to the Comets.    The pups managed to score 3 runs with 2 outs and loaded the bases.    After a comebacker hit the pitcher and the runner was safe and a run scored, the Comets finally brought in a new pitcher to finish it.    10-5 OKC.

7-11-26

I tuned into the MLB Draft this morning.    I’m not that interested in sports drafts, but I hadn’t seen one before.    It was an excuse to bring out my season preview magazine and track along with their preseason prospects.    It was a full house in the Philadelphia venue.    A bunch of mascots were in attendance, along fans of every team and a Philadelphia drum corps.    Roch Cholowsky taken was taken 1/1 by the White Sox.    He was in tears at the announcement though he knew it was coming.    A couple of the top ten guys that were taken were outside the top 20 prospects, so their stock rose during the college season.    There was only one pitcher taken in top ten.

ESPN Radio was broadcasting the Brewers versus the Pirates.    It was a battle between Aggie alums, Joey Ortiz vs Nick Gonzales, who were both playing third.    This was the second game of a double header.    The Pirates took the first game, 7-6.

Joey made a put out on Nick in the third.  Esmerlyn Vadez hit a 2-run homer in the fourth for Pirates.    He’d hit a grand slam homer and a solo home run in the first game.    The Brewers tied it in the fifth on a double by Brice Turang.    Joey just missed a homer in sixth, but was left stranded a second.    Bryan Reynolds later drove in Brandon Lowe to make it, 3-2 Pirates.    That score held and the Bucs swept the double header.    The Brewers left 11 on base for the game.    The Pirates will have a better than .500 record going into the break for the first time in years.    Paul Skenes and Jacob Misorowski were scheduled to face off tomorrow.    I’ll keep an eye on that.

On TV, England beat Norway 2-1 in overtime at the World Cup.    A lot of people were sorry to see the entertaining Norwegian fans go.    (I didn’t see whatever they were doing to charm everyone.)    The Wimbledon Women’s final was on.    It was two Czech women that I’d never heard of.    I kept the sound off to avoid the grunting and found it to be watchable, barely.      

The Rangers and Astros were on the radio.    I wasn’t getting great reception, but the game was pretty much a blowout with the Astros winning, 9-3.    It was 6-0 in the third with Kumar Rocker not looking sharp.    They kept him in to save the bullpen.    Surprisingly, the signal stayed up for the whole game, even after 8:00pm.    The Chihuahuas had a delayed start for weather in OKC, but later cancelled their game for tonight.

The O’Reilly Series NASCAR race at Atlanta was a crash-fest, including a Big One with 12 laps to go.    There were 4 red flags and I lost track of yellow caution flags.    Justin Allgaier won in a second overtime with his car spewing a stream of sparks behind him from a previous wreck.    The race going late delayed a broadcast of the El Paso Locomotive against the New Mexico United from earlier in the evening.    They started the soccer broadcast at 11:00pm.    I couldn’t stay up for the end of that tonight.

7-12-26

The All-Star Futures Game in Philadelphia was mostly a showcase for flashy shoes and other gear.    One catcher was in cool patriotic gear and another had something like Spider-Man colors.    Some Minor League mascots were there.    Where was Chico?    (Well, there weren’t any Chihuahuas in the game.)    There was the Crazy Hot Dog Guy riding an ostrich (a costume, not an actual ostrich) from the Fightin Phils.    I recognized a couple of the players by name.    It was fun in the game trying to identify the teams by their hat logos.   

The American League won 6-1.    Manager Larry Bowa used three pitchers to get the final 3 outs in the seventh inning.    I hope they told the crowd the game was only going 7, because I didn’t know.    Nathan Flewelling from the Rays organization won the MVP for a two-run homer.    He had such a free and easy swing.    It looked effortless.    The crowd was still there after the game.    Apparently there were other activities afterward.    I was at dad’s apartment watching the game.    He didn’t seem to want to get lunch out, so I went back home.

I checked in on the Brewers/Pirates game to see how the Jacob Misorowski/Paul Skenes matchup was going.    It was 11-2 Pirates in the fourth.    I wasn’t expecting that.    Checking the box score, the Miz didn’t start, though Skenes did.    I had assumed they’re both going to the All-Star Game to play anyway.    The Pirates won 14-5.   

On the radio back at home, the Chihuahuas were at OKC.    There was be no double header today to make up for yesterday’s missed game, but the pups will apparently be back in Oklahoma next month and play it then.    (A double header before the All-Star break would be a bit inhumane, anyway.)    The Comets trotted out a new pitcher every inning and the 9 pitchers used threw a shutout.    It was an extreme staff day.    I’m sure some player said to the manager afterward, “Hey Skip, we should do this every game.”    (The manager then said, “Shut up.”)    Broadcaster Tim Hagerty was pretty chatty during this quickly-played game.    He mentioned an El Paso high school baseball player was taken in the draft.

I started listening to the Astros at the Rangers on the radio.    They were about halfway through the game with the Rangers up.    I also started watching the Blue Jays playing the Padres on a Mexican channel.    Dad called and wanted to go for a drive and to get ice cream.    (Why didn’t we do this when I was over with him and we could have gone for lunch?)   

We hit Dairy Queen.    My small Blizzard was fine, but dad’s medium dipped ice cream cone had way more ice cream.    I was then Shanghaied going back home the long way around.    Thankfully, we were listening to the Rangers game during the trip.    In the top of the eighth, the Astros had come back and taken a one-run lead.    In the bottom, Kyle Higashioka hit a solo shot to tie it.   

In the bottom of the ninth, Josh Hader came in for the Astros.    He had no losses and no blown saves this season.    To the first three batters, he gave up 3 hits.    Wyatt Langford nearly scored on the second hit from second base, but inexplicably stopped at third.    No problem.    Brandon Nimmo singled up the middle to drive him in.    Rangers win, 6-5.    Dad seemed to enjoy the game there at the end, so it was a good trip, and I had better reception on his car radio than I had on my home radio.

On the trip, I found the cheapest gas in town.    Since I needed a fill-up, I went back after I got home.    Finally, I got back to the Padres’ game.    It was 3-3 in the eighth and the Blue Jays just scored after a bobble in the outfield by Jackson Merrill.    No problem.    Manny Machado singled in the tying run in the bottom.    He was advanced to second and a pinch runner stole third.    Ty France sac’d him in to give the Padres the lead.    Mason Miller executed a no drama ninth against the top of the Jays’ order.    Padres win, 5-4.    However, there are rumors that “The Reaper” may get traded at the deadline.    This was a surprisingly great sports weekend for me.

7-13-26

Its Home Run Derby time!    Withhold your groans.    (“Back, back, back, back!”)    It will be great this time; they’ve changed the format again.    (Okay, now you can groan.)    The batters are off the clock this time.    There’s no outs.    It’s just 20 swings in the first round and 15 in the next two (I think).    Ties are broken by distance in the first round and then by a swing-off.   

In the first round, Philadelphia home town players, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper, went last, but only Kyle advanced.    In the second round, Schwarber was playing up to the crowd for their support.    Willson Contreras also played up to the crowd, who were mercilessly booing him and cheering his non-home runs.    The crowd roared when he didn’t make it to the finals.

It was Schwarber versus Cardinal Jordan Walker in the final.    Walker was down by 3 and on his last swing, but Jordan still had the bonus ball, which would let him keep swinging if he kept hitting homers.    Jordan went full clutch and hit 4 home runs in a row to tie it and then win it.  My Aunt Judy was so happy with a Cardinals player winning.    I was pretty pleased that I hadn’t wasted my time listening to this profoundly visual event on the radio.    We’ll judge the rules change a success this year.   

Less pleasing was the absolutely oppressive sponsorship messaging.    It was everywhere in the commentary.    There was a fan participation moment during the event that was essentially a promo.    Even the bonus balls used were colored violet as part of the promotion.    Also, the competition was on Netflix, which nobody was pleased with.

 

7-14-26 ASG

Honestly, it wasn’t much of an All-Star Game.    Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal didn’t play.    They both pitched on Sunday and their teams are fighting to get in the playoffs, so it’s sort of excusable.    Jacob Misorowski and Shohei Ohtani didn’t pitch because of some sort of light injury.    I don’t doubt they have some sort of fatigue and they’re being saved for the playoffs.    However taken altogether, it looks bad that four of the biggest stars in the MLB weren’t playing in the league’s showcase game.    I didn’t even recognize a lot of names of the rosters tonight.

A couple of Yankees jumped on Philadelphia starter, Christopher Sanchez, and the AL took a 3-0 lead in the first.    (I’m sure the Philly fans there will remind of this outing during his next start.)    We didn’t know at the time that this was essentially the game.    Junior Caminero was hit on the hand by a pitch and immediately exited the game.    A report came out quickly that nothing was broken, but he was listed as, “day-to-day.”   

In the fifth, there was a prerecorded segment showing kids on bikes in something like a tribute to The Sandlot.    The kids then rode out into the outfield with the players, while Ray Charles sang America the Beautiful with fireworks going off.    The players by the dugouts held sparklers.    It was kind of a silly, but nice moment.    I wonder why they didn’t do it for the seventh inning stretch.

Another nice moment was Willson Contreras and his brother William on field playing against each other.    In the sixth, Tristan Peters came into game.    He was introduced as a former Savannah Banana.    In the eighth, Miguel Vargas from White Sox hit a solo home run to give the AL a 4-0 lead, which would be the final score.    The NL was held to 3 hits with 15 strikeouts, which was nearly an All-Star record for offensive futility.    I hope this motivates next years’ team to do better.