Sketch Dump: Ilya 2, Drop 24

 

The one on the left is an Ilya Kuvshinov drawing.  The other one might be.  I found the picture on the Internet.

Voodoo and Zealot from Jim Lee's WildCATS.  The original drawing had Voodoo hugging Grifter (what an unfortunate superhero name).  

Black Canary after Jim Lee.

A overly ambitious sketch of Yara Wonder Girl.

A nice Ilya sketch and a terrible Yara sketch.

NM State Aggies vs UTRGV Vaqueros Baseball 3-26-23

It was another beautiful day in the Mesilla Valley.  I waited outside my apartment for Ron to pick me up for today’s noon game between the Aggies and the Vaqueros.  The parking lot at Presley Askew Field was a little empty, as we were way early.  There was a tailgate going on with a knot of Vaquero fans.  They’d be out in force again and probably make up about half of crowd for the game.

 

Inside, oh boy, we were in the shade and discovered there was cold breeze blowing.  It dropped the temperature about 20 degrees.  Ron went back for a jacket.  I just had to settle for being cold.  Luckily, we started getting some sunlight after a couple of innings and then everything was fine.  More ominously, Adam Young on the radio call said there’d be high winds before the end of the game.  That forecast was correct, but at least for the fans, the wind was blowing out and not into the stands.

 

Ron said yesterday that he thought the guys were having more fun without Coach Kirby around.  Out on field, the guys were involved in a serious game of hacky sack, as they used to under Coach Green.  UTRGV wasn’t taking BP on the field.  They appeared to be working out at the batting facility instead.  There was a bit smaller crowd (and they were better prepared for the cold than we were), but it was still pretty good at 710.

 

Meanwhile during the game, new Men’s Basketball coach, Jason Hooten, was introduced at a press conference at the Pan-Am Center.  I never saw a picture, but apparently there was a large number of fans there.  Athletic Director Mario Moccia said he first found out that Coach Hooten had taken the job from his teenage daughter.  She’d befriended the coach’s daughter and had the inside scoop.  Mario also went out of his way to thank Sam Houston State.  They were very gracious and accommodating in allowing NM State to poach their coach.  

The starter in last Tuesday’s Aggie victory over the Lobos was Darius Garcia.  On short rest, he was coming out to start today.  Darius looked small and very thin out on the mound.  He was on a pitch count on Tuesday and the Aggie bullpen was already active in the first inning.  However, it was a quick start with a couple of strikeouts to begin the game.  The umpire was calling strikes, perhaps slightly concerned about the weather later. 

 

In the bottom of the first with two outs, catcher Nick Gore, who was pushed up in the order after yesterday’s performance, worked a walk.  Christian Perez came up next and jacked one out to left.  The Vaquero left fielder seemed to have a bead on it, but the wind carried it over the fence for a two-run homer.  The Aggie dugout was pumped.  The Aggies got another walk and a single, but left the inning without further damage.  2-0 Aggies.

 

The first pitch of the top of the second went right out over the left field wall, as well.  A single and a walk followed for the Vaqueros.  Next came a play that pissed me off.  Not for the play, but for the scoring.  What I saw was a bunt attempt at the plate and Nolan Funke at third fielding the ball and way overthrowing first base.  The runner at second scored and there were runners at second and third at the end of the play.  Next, there was a three-run homer that cleared the bases.  I had two unearned runs for the inning.

 

The official scorer had the batter getting an infield hit, Perez at first making an error that advanced the runner, and the runner at second somehow scored on the infield hit, but not the error.  All five runs in the inning were considered earned and charged to Darius.  No, I can’t make sense of this.  It’s hard enough keeping a scorecard without fighting the official scorer on top of it.  Regardless, the Vaqueros were now up 5-2.

 

In the bottom, Vaquero Kade York made a good jump catch on a liner to short to start the inning.  Romeo Ballesteros beat out an infield hit and Mitch Namie singled after.  Unfortunately for the second game in a row, Kevin Jimenez hit into a double play that involved his liner getting caught and the runner on first getting doubled off. 

 

Darius worked the third as his last inning.  He gave up a walk, but no further damage.  The Aggies went down in order in the bottom.  Gore hit Vaqueros pitcher Colten Davis on a comebacker to start the inning, but Davis stayed with it and got the out.  The fourth was fairly quiet for both sides as well.

 

Brandon Pimentel started the fifth with a monster shot over the batter’s eye in center.  That one was on Adam.  He’d just said that Aggie reliever Saul Soto hadn’t allowed a homer this season right before it happened.  After a couple of singles, the Aggies brought out another reliever.  Jacob Sanchez, who’d already hit a three-run homer, did it again.  After that blast, Funke had his second or first error of the game depending on how you’re counting it, as his throw pulled Perez off the bag.  The runner was caught stealing to end the inning.  9-2 UTRGV.

 

In the bottom, KJ doubled and Gore drove him in to make it 9-3.  That was Kevin’s 200-th hit for the program.  In the sixth, the Vaqueros hit their fifth home run of the game to make it 10-3.  The wind was picking up as predicted and definitely took that one out.  In the bottom, Vaquero second base Isaac Lopez was either showboating or was practicing DP’s on a grounder by Romeo.  He fielded the ball and tossed it to York covering second, who then threw to first for the out.  If that razzle-dazzle hadn’t worked, his coach might have pulled him immediately.  I couldn’t get angry over the play.  It was something I’d never seen before at the park.   

 

Several members of Aggie Softball came in around this time and sat right below me and Ron.  We were both too shy to say anything.  It occurred to me, I could have mentioned knowing their previous teammate, Melika Ofoia.  I could have also asked how their coaches were doing, since they’ve been out.  I recognized Kayla Bowen right in front of me.  I think Jayleen Burton was in front of Ron.  My favorite, Jillian Taylor, may have been hiding under a hoodie another row down.  Ron noticed one of the girls was carrying a yellow Pokemon doll.  He wondered if it was team punishment for something.  Maybe she just wanted to take her doll to a ball game.  (Is this cool?  Could I bring my teddy bears?)

 

In the seventh, Romeo made a sliding catch and a long throw to nip a runner at first.  However, a walk and a single scored another run to make it 11-3 Vaqueros.  In the bottom, Davis made a catch on a comebacker to start the frame.  He got one more out before the coach came out to get him.  Davis did not want to leave, but he’d thrown 102 pitches. 

 

The Vaqueros tacked on another run in the eighth to make it 12-3.  It could have been worse.  Sakemi Sato was brought in with the bases loaded and two outs.  He got a strikeout to end the inning.  The Aggies threatened with two on in the bottom, but didn’t score.  Sato gave up a single in the ninth, but then got three quick outs.  The Aggies mounted a comeback in the last frame.  They scored three runs, including a two-run homer by KJ.  The final was 12-6 Vaqueros.    

 

At least it was fairly quick at two hours and 41 minutes.  Easy Vaquero gameballs go to Colten Davis getting the win in six and 2/3 innings, giving up 3 runs, and getting 9 strikeouts.  Jacob Sanchez had a monster game with two 3-run home runs for 6 RBI’s.  For the Aggies, Christian Perez, who I don’t think deserved an error, went 2 for 5 with 2 RBI’s with a 2-run home runs.  Kevin Jimenez did the same on his way to his milestone hit.  For pitching, Sakemi Sato did well not giving up a run when he was inserted into a difficult situation and had a scoreless inning, something the other five Aggie pitchers did not have.

 

This morning, dad was having reception issues for watching NCAA Tournament games.  I offered to let him come over to watch, instead of me going to baseball today, but he didn’t want to.  He thought he’d be able to watch anyway.  After Ron and I had lunch at Burger King, we went over to visit him to see the second half of one of the games.

 

We found him watching NASCAR instead.  He wasn’t able to get the basketball game to come in.  Ron kept him an updated on the basketball score, while we watched the end of the race.  They were at COTA and it looked like a good race.  My favorite NASCAR driver, Chase Elliot, was a guest commentator during the race.  Also, my favorite F1 driver, Jenson Button, was in the race.  Man, I totally made a bad choice today for sports viewing.  I should have told everyone I was staying home and watching the race.  Shoot. 

NM State Aggies vs UTRGV Vaqueros Baseball 3-25-23

When last we left Aggie Baseball, they were 0-10.  This blossomed to 0-13, as expected against GCU.  Finally, against NAIA team OUAZ (Ottawa University Arizona), the team broke out and won to the tune of 23-2.  (And the game took under three hours to play.  Everyone thought there was a run rule in place for the game, but they did play out all nine innings.)  The Aggies then went 1 and 2 against Utah Tech.  Earlier this week, the team beat the Lobos in Albuquerque 2-0 in a clutch nail-biter.  Friday, they came from behind to beat the Vaqueros, 9-5. 

 

I was glad I called Ron Friday afternoon and he told me about the games this weekend.  I didn’t know about them.  I’d totally missed putting this series on my calendar.  Oops.  I adjusted my weekend plans to go to the game with him.  Also on Friday, NM State announced that they’d poached Sam Houston State coach, Jason Hooten, for their Men’s Basketball team.  Both programs will be in the new Conference-USA next season. 

 

Today was a brilliant day for baseball.  It was bright and sunny with only a light, cold breeze.  I was warned from listening to last night’s radio call and from Ron, who was there, that would be a lot of UTRGV fans in the crowd.  They had five players from El Paso on the team and one from Las Cruces.  That one was Zerek Saenz.  Yes, that’s the former Aggie from last year that was likely chased off the team by Coach Kirby for having a bad start to his season, after having a stellar season the previous year.  I’d estimate 40% of today’s 862 in attendance were wearing orange.  And they were loud.

 

Inside, I picked up a corn-in-a-cup and a Brisk tea.  What I did not pick up was a program.  There weren't any.  I made some good guesses on spelling and only missed a couple of late game subs.  Inside, fan Michael informed me that Logan Galina was out with a broken pinky finger.  I greeted broadcaster, Adam Young, and congratulated him on having a baby on the way.  

 

Behind the seats where we were sitting, I noticed a kid’s mitt.  Ron took it up to the press box thinking it might have been left last night.  A lady from a nearby section walked by a bit later, searching around.  Ron asked if she was looking for a mitt.  She was, and he directed her to the press box.  She came back and said her son needed it for a couple of games this evening.  The kid was in uniform and kept his mitt on for the rest of the game.        

 

Fashion-wise in the crowd, I counted three USA WBC hats, along with two Mexico and one Puerto Rico.  There was also a UTRGV fan with an orange San Francisco Giants City Connect hat.  Several of their fans were wearing orange from other teams, but mostly they were wearing a wide variety of Vaquero merch.  A couple of kids in the crowd were adorably wearing their sleepers.  (It was cute, but a little weird, especially for a day game.)  My favorite item though was a lady wearing a classic Dale Earnhardt Jr. Bud red jacket.  Retro cool.     

Pablo Cortes started for the Aggies.  Kevin Jimenez helped him out in the first with a great running catch and throw on a slow grounder to second.  Romeo Ballesteros at short connected with KJ on a sharp force out to end the inning.  When Kevin came up in the bottom, he got a big boo from the UTRGV fans.  I don’t think it was anything to do with last night.  I don’t know.  They erupted when he grounded into an inning-ending double play. 

Home plate ump, Dominic Toledo, did have a rough inning with inconsistent calls.  One pitch went for a ball.  Another pitch in the same place went for a strike.  It was a bad way to start off a game in front of a 50/50 highly partisan crowd.  For the rest of the game, his calls were being questioned (including by myself).  If you’re an ump, don’t screw up early.  

Cortes was a bit wild in the second with a hit batter, a walk, and a wild pitch.  This resulted in a run-scoring single.  1-0 Vaqueros.  Keith Jones II worked a walk in the bottom, but was thrown out trying to steal second to end the inning. 

 

In the third, Nolan Funke from third made a nice catch of a foul by the Aggie dugout.  It’s noteworthy because of the large amount of foul area at Presley Askew Field.  Next batter, Mitch Namie in center made a great dive for a ball and nearly an even better acting job in showing ball in his mitt, but it was a trap and a double.  6’ 5” Montclair Cain with long curly blond hair came to the plate.  No MLB shift rules for College ball, as shortstop Romeo Ballesteros came to play second, while KJ played short right.  Cain singled anyway and brought in another run.  2-0 Vaqueros.  In the bottom, Preston Godfrey hit a laser out of the park to right field.  The Aggie fans in the crowd finally had something to cheer about.  2-1 Vaqueros.

 

Cortes led off with a walk in the fourth.  He then advanced the runner to third with a two-base throwing error on a pickoff attempt.  The Vaqueros cashed the runner in with a ground out.  3-1 Vaqueros.  The next play seemed to be a tailor-made double play, but after getting the out at second, Romeo declined to throw the ball to first.  Adam on the radio call was baffled.  “Did he forget the number of outs?”  Coach Zuniga was also confused and had a meeting with the infield right after.  Meanwhile on the next batter, the crowd was “helping” the home plate ump.  “Helen Keller thought that was strike!” yelled one fan,

 

In the bottom of the fourth, Cain made a good catch of a foul by his dugout.  Again, lots of space to cover.  To the top of the fifth, Christian Perez, filling in at first, made a good jump on a grounder to end that inning.  In the bottom, Brandon Pimentel for UTRGV made about the same play to start the inning.  Catcher Nick Gore came up next and smashed a bomb to center.  That one wasn’t going to be playable.  3-2 Vaqueros. 

 

Jacob Sanchez led off the sixth with home run to keep UTRGV up 4-2.  KJ then had a running catch and jump throw for an out and another addition to his highlight reel.  Unfortunately, he hit into a double play in the bottom.  A low liner to right field that looked like a sure single, stayed up long enough for Cain to catch it and double Cal Villareal off first.  He was rounding second at the time.  Maybe he forgot the number of outs, too.

 

Cortes gave way for the rest of the game to a parade of relievers.  Aaron Treloar worked a quick seventh.  Angelo Cabral, UTRGV’s starter, got the first two outs in the bottom.  After giving up a double to KJII, he was replaced by Alex Verdugo.  I thought he was with the Red Sox?  And was an outfielder?  Verdugo gave up a double to Gore, who drove in the runner to make it 4-3.

 

Will Sierra came in for the top of the eighth for the Aggies and was helped out with a double play.  No problems triggering it this time for Romeo.  So far, so good with Aggie relievers.  Namie nearly fouled a ball off a bird in flight, but the Aggies otherwise went down quickly in the bottom. 

 

To this point, it had been a very crisp, reasonably well-played, tense, close game.  Karl Koerper had pinch hit for Romeo in the eighth.  This resulted in complete defensive reshuffle for the Aggies in the ninth with four players changing position.  The first batter of the inning hit first base with a grounder that went over Namie’s head, who was now playing that base.  That went for a double.  It went downhill from there to the tune of four runs, three pitchers, and 10 batters.  8-3 Vaqueros. 

 

The large contingent of UTRGV fans went crazy as the runs poured in.  There was a “Let’s go Brandon!” chant for Pimentel, who walked on a pitch clock violation.  Exiting pitchers were serenaded out.  With a little self-awareness, one fan yelled out, “We’re just here to have fun!  It’s all about the friendship!”  It was hard to get angry at them. 

    

The Aggies did mount a comeback attempt in the final frame.  Funke doubled.  The UTRGV coach argued he missed first on an appeal, but the umps met and ruled Funke safe.  KJII drove him in with a double.  Gore was hit by a pitch next, but both runners were left stranded to end the game.  8-4 Vaqueros final.

 

There was no fight song played at the end of the game.  It was a very tidy affair in two hours and 36 minutes.  A large crowd of UTRGV fans milled around the entrance waiting for their team.  Ron and I ran into Zerek Saenz with his family before we left.  We both said, “Hello,” and congratulated him on his team’s win.  He seemed pleased that a couple of Aggie fans hadn’t forgotten him and weren’t holding a grudge. 

 

We’ll hand out some Gameballs.  Both starters, Vaquero Angelo Cabral and Aggie Pablo Cortes, pitched well enough to win with similar stats.  Alex Verdugo for UTRGV was the difference in his relief effort.  The two catchers were the offensive high performers.  UTRGV’s RJ Ochoa and the Aggies’ Nick Gore had the same line, 2 for 3 with 2 RBI’s. 

 

Ron’s suggestion for dinner was Raising Cane’s.  Last night, the team had scored enough runs to activate the Challenge for a free dinner with a purchased dinner.  I was a little skeptical they’d honor that, but they did.  After, we went to Sonic for Blasts.  For I think the second time in a row, their ice cream machine was broken.  Are the guys from McDonald’s handling their machines?  It’s a conspiracy!  Well, a disappointing ending, but an otherwise entertaining game today.  If the Aggies were going to lose, at least they didn’t take a long time to do it.    

MLB Season Preview 2023 Part 2

Part 1

This year, I did go out and buy a preseason preview magazine, so you can tell I’m serious about my predictions.  Just like it says above the title, “The Baseball Preview for Smart Fans.”  That’s me.  Well, in an ironic twist, I lent the magazine out to my dad before writing this, but I did read it. 

 

Last years’ preview mags were kind of useless because of the lockout.  This year there was only one choice for previews, the Lindy’s.  There wasn’t an Athlon one like there usually is.  Baseball Digest put one out later, but the articles and even the previews weren’t very interesting-looking.  I’m waiting on the Sports Illustrated one to come out.  I’ll take a look at it.

 

The only out-of-date news in the issue involved Carlos Correa going back to the Twins.  I didn’t have his deal with the Mets finalized when I wrote my Hot Stove article last year.  That was about the only deal, as many of the free agents signed quickly.  I have some quibbles with the team articles.  Parts seemed to be written independently of each other or last second changes weren’t properly edited to harmonize the coverage.

 

The up-front general baseball articles were not that great frankly.  There was an article on the Astros really earning last years’ championship and that the media and fans should let their grudge against them go.  I agree.  The last page commentary was arguing that rich owners overspending was great for the sport.  Sure.  I was surprised from reading it that it was the Player’s Union that wouldn’t allow a minimum payroll for all teams.  They said it would be the start of a salary cap. 

 

Their league picks were (I took some quick notes before I lent out the magazine) the Yankees and the Braves.  They didn’t pick a World Series winner.  (I don’t know why, but that’s the way they’ve done it in previous previews.)  I don’t think the Correa deal would have changed their NL pick (maybe?), certainly not their AL Central pick.  They had the Mets as a Wild Card, but finishing third in the East even with him. 

 

They thought the Rangers would be much improved and would be a Wild Card team.  They’re not high on the Orioles, but do think they’re trending up.  As much as they loved the Yankees, their article on them mostly only listed their potential problems.  They thought that the Dodgers were curiously inactive.  Experts think they’re saving their money to go after Shohei Ohtani next offseason.  They picked the Padres to finish ahead of them.  In their college prospects section, they had LSU with four players in the top 50.  Troubling for my NM State Aggies, they had Jacob Wilson from GCU on their list.

 

I plucked out a few interesting stats from the magazine.  The Dodgers were number one in payroll (Mets #2) and in attendance (Cardinals were #2, #13 in payroll).  The Orioles were #30 in payroll, and the A’s last in attendance.  Payroll and attendance were usually close to one another for teams.  The biggest discrepancy I saw was the White Sox.  They were #19 in attendance, but seventh in payroll.

 

In the AL, the Blue Jays were best in hitting, and the Astros were best in pitching.  For the NL, it was the Mets in hitting, and the Dodgers in pitching.  Unsurprisingly, the Rockies were best in home batting, but worst in overall pitching.  This is as much of a Fantasy Baseball forecast as I’m doing. 

 

As for my picks, I’ll break it down by division.  (Albeit, a little rushed, since this is going way long.)

 

AL East

Do I pick the Yankees every year?  I picked the Blue Jays last year.  That was a disappointment.  I think Aaron Judge will have maybe two good years before he’ll be better known for being injured all the time.  This may be their year, though.  The Jays are good enough to get in with the expanded playoffs.  Is this the year the smoke and mirrors of the Rays finally gets exposed and they end up in the cellar?  Probably not this year, but it’s coming.  I don’t know what the Red Sox are doing.  I think their GM is actually covertly working for the Yankees to sabotage the Sox.  The Orioles are my favorite East Coast team.  They’re in the playoffs.  They nudge out the Rays.   

 

AL Central

This division is so bad I refuse to talk about it. 

 

Oh wait, my contract?  Shoot.  Okay, fine.  The Cleveland baseball team is a continual irritation in my enjoyment of the MLB.  It’s much worse than the Washington football team, because I’ve always hated those guys.  I liked the Indians.  Anyway, I’ll pick Guindians to win here.  (There, I met you guys half way with your new name.)  With the new balanced schedule, it might be with a losing record.  The Royals, Tigers, Twins, and White Sox will be in a fight to the death (of their fans) to stay out of last place.  Okay, the Twins might be better than that.  Carlos Correa is certainly going to go out on the field with something to prove.  If his foot breaks during the season, expect thinly disguised snickering from the Mets and Giants.        

 

AL West

Another year of horrific disappointment for every team not named the Astros.  The Mariners collapse.  (Julio Rodriguez will sophomore slump.)  The Rangers do nothing, except backup another dump truck of money to send down a hole.  The A’s just keep doing whatever they’re doing.  (No change there, though according to the baseball preview magazine, they’re going to be busy packing to move to Las Vegas.)  The Angels?  The owner even botched selling the team, forget about even improving it.  Angel fans, enjoy the Shohei Ohtani Farewell season.    

 

NL East

Bryce Harper is out again for part of the season, but with Trea Turner added, I like the Phillies’ chances to somehow win the division.  Yes, the Mets have better hitting and pitching, as do the Braves, but I can see all three of these teams making the playoffs, regardless of how.  The Nationals, or the Padres East, are going to waiting for a while for their Juan Soto trade prospects to mature.  The Marlins genuinely have talent, surrounded by a bunch of bad players.  They might put it all together in the near future, or trade off their good stuff for nothing.  I’d put money on the latter option. 

 

NL Central

It’s gonna be the Cardinals.  The Brewers’ heroic efforts to remain relevant aren’t going to materialize this season.  The Cubs made some moves, loser moves.  Management is attempting to look like they’re trying to win, but they aren’t.  The Reds and Pirates are still hopeless.

 

NL West

This is the Padres’ year.  They win the division this year.  The Dodgers will have to settle for beating them during the season and possibly the postseason, but they won’t take the division from them.  I’m told the Diamondbacks are an up-and-coming team.  I’ll believe it when I see it.  The Giants will try again to figure out how they won all those games two years ago (hint: it was Buster Posey) and will fail.  The only high Rockies fans will get this season will be from their local weed dispensary.  (They really should just put one of those in Coors Field to distract their fans from what’s going on on the field.)

 

Oh, that was fun.  Now, how will the playoffs play out?  Errr . . . Hold on.  Mumble, mumble.  Carry the two.  Okay, here it is. 

 

I don’t see any reason why it won’t be the Yankees and Astros in the AL again.  If either team has significant injuries (Jose Altuve has already had one in the WBC and, no, that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t have played), the Blue Jays could be an alternate for either.  If the Guindians trade for some hitting, they could also be there.  Otherwise, the Yankees out-muscle the Astros in pitching and hitting.

 

In the NL, assuming the Dodgers are in striking distance of winning the West before the trade deadline, look for them to make a splashy move.  That may or may not be the difference in them moving on in the playoffs, as they may holding their powder to get Shohei in the offseason.  The Padres will counter.  As good as the Mets are, I think injuries will take them out.  I don’t think the Braves have the heart (Freddie Freeman).  The Phillies, riding on Bryce Harper’s back, get to the league championship again.  If the Padres stay healthy, they win.  If not, the Phillies beat the Dodgers.

 

The Yankees will beat the Padres in the World Series . . . on paper.  In reality, Gerrit Cole comes up small again in the playoffs and drags down the whole Yankee pitching staff with him.  Aaron Judge’s back breaks from carrying their offense (figuratively, perhaps literally).  The Padres aren’t prefect and almost certainly will have their own major injuries and poor performances (expect a big trade deadline move), but I think they’ve got enough players who will play big on the big stage (namely Juan Soto and Fernando Tatis Jr. on a redemption tour) to finally deliver a championship to San Diego.                 

 

As much as I’ve spoiled the upcoming season for you, you might want to watch anyway, just in case of the unlikely event that something I didn’t foresee happens. 

MLB Season Preview 2023 Part 1

That’s it!  The World Baseball Classic must be stopped!  Players are getting injured.  It’s a catastrophe!  The MLB cannot keep sending its players into this meat grinder.  These are completely meaningless games!  For that matter, why the hell are we playing the All-Star Game!  That has to go, too.  You know, Spring Training is also where players get hurt all the time.  Let’s replace it with Spring Warmup.  The guys will only do light exercises for a couple of weeks to get into shape, like Tai Chi and stuff.  Don’t get me started on the Pitch Clock!  “Arm-Destroying Clock” is more like it!  Every tick will be shaving years off Major Leaguers’ careers!  The MLB is killing all their players!

 

Baseball commentators may have outlived their usefulness.  The commentary I’ve heard lately has made me feel like a genius.  (Then again, so does everybody.)  In a fit of sheer futility, these professionals have been railing against the WBC and the upcoming rules changes.  I don’t know what motivates these people other than a paycheck.  It’s definitely not a love of the game.

 

First, the primary rationale against the WBC is that MLB players shouldn’t be in it.  It’s a senseless endangerment of highly-paid professionals in an exhibition.  Their moment of vindication came when Mets’ closer, Edwin Diaz, was injured . . . while celebrating after a win like an idiot.  It was further pounded in as Jose Altuve was hit on hand by a pitch and will be out for weeks. 

 

Please. 

 

I’m sorry you’re a Mets fan and that you’re worried that the championship your owner tried to purchase this season might not happen.  Oh dear, the Astros will suddenly have to rely on a backup player for their stacked team.  But look, did you watch any of these WBC games?  Did you see how much the players were enjoying playing?  Did you see all those enthusiastic fans?  They were filling stadiums and cheering out of their minds for an “exhibition.”  (Admittedly, I’m not sure the US team ever really got a home game.  They could play the Mexican team on the moon and American fans would be outnumbered.) 

 

I, at least, got to watch a couple of great games.  I followed along with some others.  (I don’t know why FOX didn’t broadcast more games and instead put them on FS1, never to be seen by anyone.)  In storybook fashion, we all got to see the dream faceoff between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout in a one-run game with two outs in the ninth in the championship game.  (Okay, kind of sucked that Shohei struck out Trout to win it for Japan over the US, but still, it was awesome.)    

 

Players get injured in Spring Training in games that don’t count every season.  At least here, it was a worthwhile endeavor.  The fans and players loved it.  Case closed.  Further, anyone complaining that the US team choked with an All-Star lineup, shut up.  It was an All-Star batting lineup, not an All-Star pitching rotation.  Apparently, a bunch of great American pitchers listened to the commentators and focused on getting ready for the season instead of representing their country.  Meanwhile, Japan had no trouble recruiting two of their best pitchers out of the Major Leagues.  The result speaks for itself. 

 

In any case, these were the last pro games played under the old rules.  After only a couple Spring Training games, a consensus of news and podcasters had all the evidence they needed against this abomination called: the pitch clock.  A game ended on an automatic strike.  Oh, the humanity!  A new rules change at the beginning of training had a predictable result; players getting dinged for not abiding by them.  Big deal.  It’ll probably happen during the regular season, too.  I’ve seen a balk win a game.  Stuff happens.     

 

“It’s going to cause all the pitchers’ arms to fall off!” the experts screamed.  It’s as if they haven’t been using pitch clock in Triple-A since 2015.  “You’re messing with the tradition of the game!  You’re modernizing it into something unrecognizable as baseball!”  I got news for you junior, that’s the game today.  This pitch clock rule is putting the game back to where it was.  Oh, and about injuries, like that doesn’t happen all the time as is.  How could you possibly tell the difference?     

 

No, baseball games were not always three-and-half to four hours.  Last season, when Triple-A fully implemented pace of play rules, it knocked a half hour off the games.    Were they less enjoyable?  Heck, no!  Were there still high-scoring games and low-scoring games?  Yeah.  It was baseball as usual.  The only thing missing was all of the posturing, posing, and adjusting by the players.  Who knew this was the reason why all of the non-fans kept saying, “Baseball is boring.”  The rules change has apparently done the same in College Baseball and Spring Training games this season.   

 

Some pitchers did start off training trying to screw with the pitch clock for an advantage.  I assure you, the first guy to break the system will get it changed to something restrictive for the all pitchers.  I’d suggest you guys knock it off and focus on pitching, especially since there’s going to be a ban on infield shifts.  No more dudes sitting in the “lagoon” in right field waiting for lefty batters.  I’ll predict this will have the biggest effect on play.  Once again, this is only putting the game back to the way it was.   

 

One other issue that I can’t find updated information on, but may be super important, is the broadcast of MLB games on their regional networks.  Some of these cable networks have gone bankrupt.  (Too bad MLB ran off national cable networks doing team broadcasts, like WGN and TBS, and that showing games over-the-air is apparently a non-starter.)  MLB.TV has offered to step in to start producing these broadcasts and make them streaming-only.  This might even eliminate all of the local blackouts that are currently plaguing their streams.  Again, I don’t know how this plays out to this point.    

 

Enough bitching.  Next, I’ll make some predictions.

Part 2 

Sketch Dump: Ilya 2, Drop 23

Actress Xochitl Gomez from the second Doctor Strange movie.  This sketch is even worse than the movie.

Another bad sketch of Xochitl.  Her outfit is from the red carpet premiere of the movie.  The red-head is an Ilya Kuvshinov sketch.

 

The next three pages are all Ilya sketches from his Momentary book.  Three of the sketches are pretty good.

Sketch Dump: Ilya 2, Drop 22

A couple of Twitch girls: Addie from Halocene and Galadrix.

Another quick art page.  Top left going down: Twitch streamers Susu and  Frivvy Fox, and a piece of Internet art.  Down the right side are Ilya Kuvshinov sketches.  The man likes drawing girls with bangs.

   

Here's a full page of Susu.  I probably undersized her best known assets.  (I get embarrassed.)  

Yet another bad sketch of Audrey Hepburn in a series of bad drawings.  

Lastly, it's a sketch of Spider-Gwen . . . err . . . Ghost-Spider.  She's not a real character, she's just a pinup.

Sketch Dump: Ilya 2, Drop 21

A somewhat salacious Indycar model from an ad on the left.  An Ilya Kuvshinov drawing that I apparently rushed badly.

  

Twitch streamer, Galadrix.  She recently came back to streaming after being away for a couple of months.  Normally very confident, she said she got so nervous before coming back on that she almost didn't do it.  It was so cute.  Gala was swarmed by viewers (including myself) when she came back.

Brazilian actress, Isis Valverde.  I had to look at the note to see who it was.  Bad.

This is some Internet art.  Very bad.

Here's my favorite Twitch streamer, Dizzykitten.  This one is really bad,too.  I must have contemplated quitting art after drawing this.  Apparently, it was drawn from a piece done by her friend, Nabi.    

Sketch Dump: Ilya 2, Drop 20

I'm going to say it; this is probably my best quick-sketch-day page ever.  What did I do different?  I drew with the sketchbook in portrait?  I don't know.  Starting at the top left and going clockwise, an Ilya Kuvshinov sketch, a sketch from a Crossgen comic, and two Internet art sketches.

A couple of Twitch streamers: Nemo and Frivvy.  

And two more of them.  I wish I could have Nemo's waist to do over again.

A full-page sketch of Fathom.  It's an anatomical mess, but it does look like the original drawing and has a sense of underwater weightlessness.  

  

Lastly, there's poor sketch of Wonder Woman and a slightly better pencil drawing of Cassie Wonder Girl.

Sketch Dump: Ilya 2, Drop 19

On the left, opera singer, Patricia Janeckova, and that's some Internet art on the right.

 

This is a terrible drawing of the most beautiful girl on Twitch, Dizzykitten.

That's an Ilya Kuvshinov sketch on the left and Mexican newscaster, Lucero Alvarado.

The caption says that's Twitch singer, Jordan Laine.  I don't see the resemblance.  The attempt at drawing fingers there is truly incredible.  That's an Ilya drawing on the right.  

At least I kind of like the Cassie Wonder Girl sketch on the left, but the Lucero Alvarado sketch is more crap.

Sketch Dump: Ilya 2, Drop 18

Voodoo portrait.  

A couple of Ilya Kuvshinov sketches.

Twitch streamer Frivvy Fox on the left, and opera singer, Patricia Janekova.  Unfortunately, it's just another failed 3/4 view drawing for my portfolio.  

Twitch streamer, Pokimane, showed up with her curly hair one day and I tried sketching her (badly).  That's Seum (Sam), another Twitch streamer, on the right.

Lastly, this is Twitch streamer, Shubble (Shelby).