Week 2, Aug. '22
deGrom & Judge, NFL Preseason, #Re2pect
For starters, apologies for last week missing my 8:45 AM Friday deadline. I was distraught by the Kim K and Pete breakup. Thought they had something special, but…. I guess we’ll never know.
MLB
deGrom
Jacob deGrom made his 2022 Citi Field debut this past week. He struck out 12 in 5.2 innings. Not that this is much of a surprise but despite his long absence on the mound, his stuff has looked filthier than the A Train subway on an August morning. His warm-up to Simple Man was also pretty great.
Judge Watch
On the other side of town, while the Yankees are sputtering; Aaron Judge continues to be must-see TV any time he’s in the batter’s box. He hit his 45th home run in Seattle this week, putting him on pace for 65 homers this season.
Field of Dreams Game ‘22
Would have loved to have featured this game this week but couldn’t do it because the Cubs and Reds have a combined record of 90-132. Even despite the lackluster matchup, the setting still felt special. Chicago beat Cincinnati 4-2.
Due to the construction of youth sports complexes around the Field of Dreams site, the MLB will not have a game there in 2023. To replace this event next year, there have been rumors that MLB will set up a similar “Field of Dreams style” game on a neutral site in Paterson, NJ. The game would be played in Hinchliffe Stadium, one of the last-standing Negro League ballparks. Other than the historical importance, this site is distinct in that the original field was in the middle of a race track.
NFL Preseason Week 1
Lions on Hard Knocks
Dan Campbell is the perfect football guy head coach caricature for Hard Knocks. A borderline psychopath who gets moved to tears by phrases like “hitting people in the mouth.” You can laugh, but he’ll have his players running through a wall for him. At the very least, Jamaal Williams will.
Jamaal Williams@jswaggdaddy
Don't think these tears are coming from a weak mindset, I will run you over while crying 😤
🎥: @NFLFilms
8:15 PM · Aug 8, 2022
1.74K Reposts · 20.2K Likes
The Lions have a bit of juice on the field this year too. Can Aiden Hutchinson’s play on the field outclass his Billie Jean performance? For fantasy football, will HBO convince you to over draft D’Andre Swift, Amon-Ra St. Brown, or T.J. Hockenson? Watch on HBO Tuesday nights at 10 pm ET (IDK why they made it this late either) the rest of summer to find out.
Training Camp Buzz
Bucs’ center, Ryan Jensen, and Jets’ right tackle, Mekhi Becton, are both likely out for most of the 2022 season with significant knee injuries. Really difficult blow for Becton, the 11th overall pick from 2020, who will likely miss two straight full seasons (injured opening week last year). The Jets have countered the loss by signing the soon-to-be 37-year-old tackle, Duane Brown, to a 2-year deal.
Chargers’ star safety, Derwin James, has held-out the first two weeks of training camp. The safety is hoping to match Minkah Fitzpatrick’s ($18.2m) and Jamal Adams’ ($17.5m) annual salaries. After missing much of 2019 and all of the 2020 seasons, James came in 3rd in Comeback Player of the year in 2021. Durability concerns are likely what is holding up this extension on San Diego’s LA’s end.
Tom Brady (personal matter) and Matthew Stafford (elbow) have both missed most of training camp. For Brady to miss any time on the field means something serious must be up, so hopefully first and foremost, all is well with family/friends. If any QB could miss most of training camp and build chemistry on the fly with a new inexperienced backup center; Brady would clearly be your best bet at overcoming the adversity. On the other coast, Stafford has been on a pitch count for precautionary reasons. Both Super Bowl champions should be good to go by Week 1, just noteworthy.
Medium Dive: “The Captain” Finale
Nitpicks & Endorsements
Wish there was more content on the 90s dynasty (big 90s guy - great times). Can’t hammer it home enough, Paul O’Neill should’ve been featured more. Each championship could’ve had its own episode. How come we didn’t get to hear about a night Coney and Boomer hit the town and then threw a gem on 3 hours of sleep? Where were the Scott Brosius and Luis Sojo interviews? Maybe throw in a few minutes of Chuck Knoblach getting the yips. Alright, I’m reaching.
The 7 part series is now complete, you can binge it on ESPN+. Without spoiling too much, it’s refreshing to get Jeter’s unfiltered perspective. Now that he no longer is an owner of the Marlins, it would be a wise PR move by the Yankees to bring back #2 as some “senior advisor” role. Cashman probably wouldn’t love that, but he’s also never won anything without him.
When he was retiring it was predictable that he’d go from King of NY to a private lifestyle. Two decades of professionalism on the center stage to relative obscurity. Not to throw shade at A-Rod (like they did plenty in this doc), but after retiring he never really left the spotlight - the whole J-Lo relationship and the tough scenes of him broadcasting like a robot. One of the best parts of “The Captain” is it showcases the transformation of the #1 eligible bachelor of NY turning into a girl dad family man, further proof that Hollywood wouldn’t approve this script.
The Walk-Off
I was an attendee of his final home game. No big deal but I thought to hit up StubHub the hour of his retirement announcement - one of the smarter decisions of my college years. The atmosphere felt more like a funeral than it did a celebration. In between innings, they kept playing highlights of his career. When he hit the walk-off, the final signature inside-out-swing liner to right field, it was a high-five any strangers that are in your 15-foot proximity kind of moment. 50-year-old men were teary-eyed. Beers and chicken buckets were being spilled all over the bleachers and the masses were getting in their last “De-rek Je-Tah” chant. Fans stayed in their seats well after the game and nobody wanted to leave the stadium that night. Everybody knew it was the end of a magical era thanks to an icon. #Re2pect.
YouTube Rabbithole
Inspired by this…
