Officer Taylor Shelton Is Back, The NFL's Harassing Myles Garrett Again & Kid Offers His Mom To Messi
Wait, does Buster Olney read Morning Screencaps?
Remember the recent Morning Screencaps post where I complained about Red Sox and Astros yanking starting pitchers in the third inning? Of course you do. You guys are insanely loyal to this column. It turns out I'm not a crazy, know-nothing blogger who just doesn't get baseball.
I LOVED baseball as a kid. I would race to the mailbox to get the Dayton Daily News to see if the Mr. Red logo on the masthead was smiling, frowning or indifferent -- which happened when the Reds were on the west coast and we received the early edition of the DDN without the score which meant I had to call a 1-900 number to get the score results. I fell asleep to the sweet sounds of Marty & Joe on The Big One, 700 WLW. My great-grandmother was a member of the Rosie Reds fan club that traveled to games all across the country. My dad would see Pete Rose at the Lebanon horse track. I was at Game One of the 1990 World Series and thought my dad had lost his financial mind in the process. Baseball was life.
I know when a product has changed for the worse, and it turns out ESPN's baseball old-timer Buster Olney is on the same page here. It took FOUR hours and 14 minutes to play 8 1/2 innings Tuesday in Los Angeles. Fourteen pitchers were used. Yes, the 8th inning was filled with dramatics and I enjoyed it, but HOLY CRAP could we move these games along a little bit? Could we get some flow going?
And what's up with the pitchers now busting out little notecards on the mound? When did that start? THROW THE DAMN BALL! GET ON THE MOUND AND LET'S GO.
In the ALCS, the game went FOUR HOURS and four minutes. Zack Grienke went 1 1/3, gave up two runs, walked three, and headed for the showers. He threw 37 pitches, which means he threw more pitches warming up in the bullpen than he did in the game. Zack made $35 million this season.
While it would be insane to limit managers to how many pitchers they can use in a game or put an innings rule into the game, this sport has a major issue and I'm way too busy with life to nerd out with ideas on how to fix things.
I'll just be over here mowing my grass, watching football, and watching a 25-minute 1-2-3 inning here and there.
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com
• I know so many of you are highly invested in this cross-country trip Mike T. in Idaho and his wife Cindy T. are on. You might remember last week when Screencaps reader Jake suggested a trip modification. I connected Cindy T. and Jake who worked through the itinerary and there's great news to report.
Cindy T. writes:
Thank you Jake for all your wonderful suggestions and recommendations. We had an excellent time in the Fingerlakes. We stayed in Seneca Falls and enjoyed the small-town feel (I’m a “It’s a Wonderful Life” fan!). We also loved all the beautiful homes throughout the Fingerlake villages, and we enjoyed our drive through the Adirondacks. The colors were fabulous. Thanks for the warnings about the Mounties. They were out in force!
Thanks again. Your help was much appreciated.
• That's what this community is all about. Like I've said many times, Screencaps readers have a wide variety of expertise. That's why I ask so many questions to the readers. 99.9% of the websites out there don't care what you think. Again, when the 99.9% zig, I zag. You're damn right I want to know if I'm making a huge mistake with a grill purchase. You're damn right I want to know if my travel itinerary is a mess. I want to know the hidden gem restaurants that even Guy Fieri doesn't know about.
And in this case, Jake made Mike & Cindy's vacation so much better. Great work, Jake.
• Mike in Kentucky has a report on product shortages he's noticing at his job:
I saw your request for what's currently in short supply, and I happen to be in prime position to report. I do order fulfillment for online orders at the world's largest retailer, and for the past 18 months, it feels like things chosen at random are just inexplicably unavailable for 4-6 weeks.
The current shortage of note is pre-packed snack lunches (Lunchables and Lunchmakers, specifically). This is pushing more sales on lunch meat in general, and that section is starting to have spotty shelves as well. In other areas, toilet paper is hit or miss depending on the brand/type/size you want, but I'm not seeing the outright panic of March 2020 just yet.
TNML (Sunday edition) has had some weather and life difficulties, but with night temps in 40s now, we should be able to wrap the season soon. Keep up the great work.
• An Astros fan sent an email before last night's first pitch:
Another thing that we can't buy these days... James Hardie siding. And its a big challenge for the apartment development & construction business. See attached. If you choose to post this, please don't put my name on it. I think this is pretty public info, but I looked on Google for articles about it and didn't see anything, which I don't understand. I expected to find pages of articles.
You got alot of feedback previously when you asked about lumber. The theory on that was based on stock prices for lumber like this:
https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/@LB.1
and this
https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/future/lb.1
It looks like lumber prices are coming down, but real prices for real boards (not stocks) isn't coming down. And apartment builders can't get siding. It's a crazy world.
• Joe T. in Phoenix writes:
Hey Joe!I want to thank you for your daily screencaps. I enjoy reading them for both a laugh and information from you and other readers. I’ll keep it short but want to touch on a lot.
Growing up in Strongsville, Ohio and being near Cleveland it was always a treat to head up to Little Italy for the best Italian food. Trattoria has the best homemade gnocchi. It’s a must whenever I get back to Ohio. Another spot is at Norwalk Raceway Park where I drag raced for years. They have a pound of ice cream for $1! Awesome!
Do you have any recommendations for food in Sacramento, Ca.? I’m going to do an Ironman there next week and need some places to eat.
I love that you have golf trips with your father. It’s the best. My father has been gone for 9 years but one trip we took in 2004 was to Swan Lake Resort in Plymouth, Indiana. It’s hidden in the middle of cornfields but is an incredible place to stay and play. Good memories of myself, my brother, and my father playing there. I now go there every year with a group that’s been golfing together for 25 years. The last 11 have been at Swan Lake. There are players from 7 different states that join in. Everything is there. 36 great holes, huge practice facility, hotel rooms and cabins, pool, and very good restaurant and bar. We get there Thursday and don’t have to get back in our car until after the Sunday round. Good place to take your father!
Lastly, I do enjoy the section of “stuff sent in and stuff you like”. Can I request more of the Elizabeth Hurley type? I’m getting a bunch older (50) and appreciate that vintage in that kind of shape.
Thanks, Joe! Keep up the good work!
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• Let's help out Joe T. with some Sacramento suggestions. He sent this email on Friday, so I have to assume he's doing the Ironman this upcoming weekend.
Next, here's the things about Joe's request for the 50+ Instagram models/influencers -- there's a limited supply and the 50+ crowd doesn't update their content fast enough. Let's take Donna D'Errico as an example. I published a standalone post on Donna on October 11. Donna has updated her Instagram once since then.
I'm pretty sure Screencaps has missed one day since Labor Day weekend.
There's a ton of content being pumped through this post, and the 50+ IG models just aren't keeping up with that type of content production schedule.
I'm always open for suggestions on IG models. This is your post to help edit. Send suggestions. The DMs are always open. IG: joekinseyexp -- Twitter: joekinseyexp
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com