Army Navy | MLB Scorching Furnace | Deck The Halls | YouTube Rabbithole
Alright @YouTheReader,
Today marks the end of the ‘23 College Football regular season so we’ll start with the lone game of the weekend….
America’s Game features the Army Cadets facing off against the Navy Midshipmen in one of the oldest traditions in College Football. Navy was one of the first schools ever to have a football program, as its origins occurred in 1879. Army came late to the party, starting their football program on November 29, 1890, when the Navy challenged them to a game on the Gridiron. Army lost the 1st game between the military schools by getting shut out 24-0 in West Point, New York. They recovered the following year in 1891 when they went down to Annapolis, Maryland, and beat the Midshipmen 32-16. All in all, the two schools have played each other 123 times with Navy winning 62 times, Army winning 54, and they tied 7. From ‘02 to ‘15, there was a long stretch in this rivalry where Navy won every game, but Army has now won 5 of the last 7. Both teams go into this game at 5-6 on the season. If Army were to win this game, they would take home the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy for the 1st time since ‘20. If Navy were to win today, the Air Force would retain the CIC Trophy because Army beat Air Force this season while the Navy lost.
Army averages 316.3 total yards of offense per game and they get 209 of them on the ground. The team’s leading rusher is their QB Bryson Daily who has rushed for 817 yards and 7 TDs this season. When asked what his post-graduation plans were, the junior said, “Infantry.” Daily will likely be without his top WR Isaiah Alston who hasn’t played a game since September 23rd and is listed as questionable with an ankle. Alston was an extremely effective deep threat for the Black Knights offense, averaging 29.6 yards per catch. On the defensive of the ball, senior linebacker Leo Lowin leads the team in tackles (75) and forced fumbles (4) while tied as the team’s sack leader with 3. Lowin was huge for Army last year, coming up with a team-high 12 tackles against Navy. The Cadets have won 3 straight games and enter this game with an opportunity to go 4 consecutive seasons without a losing record.
Navy averages 299.5 total yards of offense per game with 200.5 of them coming on the ground. The Midshipmen announced that senior QB Xavier Arline will get the start. Arline, in his lone pass attempt last year against Army, threw a 25-yard TD pass. When asked about the rivalry, Arline said, “To be able to represent the Naval Academy in America’s Game, it’s an honor. For anybody who hasn’t been able to experience this, it’s something you’ll never get to experience anywhere. The atmosphere and just the weight of the game, you feel it as players, as coaches, as fans. It’s truly an honor to play in this game.” Not only is Arline a Navy QB, but in the spring he also plays lacrosse, scoring 17 goals last season. On defense Navy’s S Rayuan Lane III does a bit of everything. He is 3rd on the team in tackles (62), is tied with the most on the team in interceptions (4), and has the team’s only Pick-6. With this game being in Foxborough, expect Bill Belichick to be a part of the game. Belichick’s father, Steve, was in the Navy during WWII and was a coach/scout for the Midshipmen for 43 years. The Navy has its own Belichick Library on campus which is filled with books on football strategy and history.
Prediction: Army 16-13 (-2.5 Army & Over 28)
MLB Scorching Furnace
The New York Yankees made headlines this week with a couple of trades. The first trade they made this week was a rare one with the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees gave up Richard Fitts, Greg Weissert (former Fordham Ram), and Nicholas Judice in exchange for Alex Verdugo.
Alex Verdugo was once a prized prospect in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization. He first reached The Show at 21 years old in ‘17 as a September call up and he played a bit for the ball club in ‘18, but it wasn’t until ‘19 where he made the Opening Day roster among a crowded LA Dodger outfield. Verdugo was considered one of the center pieces in the Boston Red Sox and LA Dodger’s Mookie Betts trade. In his 4 years as a Sox, the lefty outfielder was a .281 hitter that hit for an average of 11 homers per 162 games. By the time the season rolls around, Verdugo will be in his age 28 season and on the last year of his contract.
He did some interacting with the Bronx Bleacher Creatures on a Sunday Night Baseball Game. Allegedly he may have an attitude thing with Sox’s manager Alex Cora, but that’s okay, if he’s a bit of an arsehole, he’s now our arsehole, which might be a good thing. I also like how he is on his contract year, so I think he’ll deserves a fresh start.
These bar graphs show that Alex Verdugo puts the bat on the ball and doesn’t strike out a lot. He doesn’t walk as much as most the guys in the Yankees’ lineup, but that might not be a bad thing because he hits for average and puts the ball in play. While he doesn’t walk, he doesn’t chase pitches outside the zone so he’s still got a good eye. He’s like Anthony Rizzo with half as much power or when Rizzo chokes up with 2 strikes. Defensively, Verdguo should be able to play all 3 outfield spots, but my guess would be either LF or CF on Opening Day.
Verdugo got very used to hitting balls the other way off the Red Sox’s Green Monster. It’ll be interesting to see if playing at Yankee Stadium 81 times will change his approach. Some lefties come to the Bronx and become pull-happy but hopefully he sticks with spraying the ball all around.
The blockbuster trade that became official late on Wednesday night was Juan Soto and Trent Grisham being imported to the Yanks for Michael King, Jhony Brito and Randy Vasquez, starting pitching prospect Drew Thorpe and catcher Kyle Higashioka. King has been a very solid pitcher who would’ve been the Yanks #4 starter or a valuable piece out of the bullpen. Brito and Vasquez both made their MLB debuts last season. They would’ve been depth pieces. Drew Thorpe might have the most upside of anybody going to San Diego. Thorpe was the Yankees Minor League Player of the Year in ‘23. Kyle Higashioka has been a very solid backup catcher for the team since ‘20 and had been in the Yankees organization since ‘08 when he was 18. We at Week to Week Notes wish Higgy and the guys well!
Juan Soto made his MLB Debut with the Washington Nationals as a 19 year old in ‘18. Even as a teenager, Soto excelled in The Show as he came in 2nd place in the NL Rookie of the Year to Ronald Acuna. The Dominican star clearly recovered from his 2nd place finish by winning the World Series in ‘19. At 20 years old, Soto hit 3 homers off the Houston Astros. After 5 stellar seasons with the Nationals, the team knew they couldn’t afford to pay him so they shipped him to the West Coast in ‘22. As a Padre for the last year and a half, the lefty patient power hitter continued his dominance. Soto has led the MLB in walks for the past 3 consecutive seasons and has averaged 33 homers per 162 games played. Oh yeah, and he only JUST turned 25 years old. He’s only under contract for this upcoming season, but the Yankees just added a Hall of Famer in his prime so we’ll worry about that come next winter.
Juan Soto has played in 9 interleague games in the Bronx. In those 9 games, he has hit 5 homers and batted .310 with a .412 on-base percentage. He even hit an opposite field homer to left field as a rookie that I remember looked like a pop-up. Soto already mashes and is going to be scary with the Short Porch.
These bar graphs show that I’m not talking out of my arse. He’s a below average fielder, but who cares. He knows the strike zone better than anybody in the game, he doesn’t strike out, and he hits for immense power.
As mentioned, he’s already gone deep to LF in Yankee Stadium, but he might be the type of hitter that if he decides to pull more with the Short Porch, could hit 45+ homers. Soto will either play LF or RF depending on where the Yanks deploy Aaron Judge.
Trent Grisham started off his baseball career in the Milwakee Brewers farm system. He made The Show in ‘19 and was on the Brewers playoff roster. Unfortunately, Grisham, known as a great defender had a rough error in the NL Wild Card Game that ended up costing Milwakee their season. Grisham that winter would be traded to the Padres. In San Diego, the lefty CF would go on to win 2 Gold Glove awards while averaging 18 homers per 162 games.
Trent Grisham has some positive October playoff experience as well, such as taking Max Scherzer deep at Citi Field in the ‘22 Wild Card Game.
Grisham struggles with contact, but does have a good eye and has power. The past 2 seasons he has hit below the Mendoza line of .200, but his Gold Glove defense and on-base percentage make up for his flaws. Grisham should be a 4th outfielder and defensive replacement late in games.
The lefty already has a tendency to pull the ball. I’m sorta hoping he becomes a full-on dead pull hitter in the Bronx. While I don’t expect him to hit for any average, if he’s batting 8th or 9th and can produce 15+ homers sending them over the Short Porch, that’d be a huge win.
Murmurs
The Yankees are still in on Japanese Star Pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The 25 year old starting pitcher has both the Yankees and Mets vying for his services. The Mets owner, Steve Cohen flew out to Japan to meet him. The Yankees GM, Brian Cashman, was in attendance at Yamamoto’s no-hitter last year. In 7 years as a professional in Japan, Yamamoto has a career record of 75-30 with an ERA of 1.72. His main 3 pitches are his fastball (95 mph), his curveball (it’s a beauty at 77 mph), and his splitter (90 mph and a nightmare for lefties). The fact that he is only 25 years old and has electric stuff is rare. He has already been price posted by his Japanese ball club, we’ll see which New York team wants a future ace more. The Red Sox are also allegedly in the mix too.
Nat King Cole was born on Saint Patrick’s Day 1919, in Montgomery, Alabama. He began playing the piano at age 4 and dropped out of school at 15 to become a jazz pianist full-time. In his early twenties, he became a singer too when a drunk patron demanded he sing while playing the piano. He would go on to form the King Cole Trio which was the 1st and only black act for Capitol Records in the 1940s. Nat King Cole broke barriers as he would go on to become the 1st African American to host a TV Show - The Nat King Cole Show. It was said that Frank Sinatra would listen to Nat King Cole because of his calming and smooth voice. (NPS)
Nat King Cole had quite a few big hits for his time, but he may be best known for his 1960s Christmas album called The Magic of Christmas. Today I went with his version of Deck The Halls, but he also has a very famous renditon of the tune The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas).
The original Deck The Halls came about from a Welsh folk song of the 18th Century. It was actually a New Year’s drinking song that the English decided to adapt about Christmas. (Source: CBC)
The Welsh would play a drinking game around a fire to entertain themselves. They would each have to sing 4 verses and Fa-la-la, la-la-la, la-la-la was used as an instrumental when the group didn’t have instruments. Almost like beatboxing in the 1980s.
Yule was a Germanic winter festival that occurred after Christmas. Shit no wonder we don’t have flying cars, these bastards were just sitting around getting drunk, and making up reasons to party in the freezing cold.
I’ll be honest, I could only listen to this song over & over again 384,012,897 times before I started to think about the Restaurant Scene in A Christmas Story. I know, I know, I’m going to hell for admitting this, but I still find it funny!