Lee Lowenfish

Happy April, dear readers.  I can now focus again on baseball with the college basketball season over. Kudos to Connecticut, the men's winner over Purdue for a second straight title and huzzahs to undefeated South Carolina copping the women's title over Caitlin Clark's Iowa. In a fascinating development that was driven in large part by Clark's popularity, the women's championship drew far better TV ratings than the men's game. 

And now onto to baseball.  It always helps to get off to a good start and rise comfortably above .500 to have a cushion for the inevitable losing streak

that occurs in the long long season. 

One of the most pleasant surprises in the first handful of 2024 games comes from Pittsburgh where the Pirates are tied with the Yankees for the best record in baseball at 9-2 (after games of Mon Apr 8). They just won a weekend series against my Orioles thanks to two walkoff victories.

In the Sa Apr 6 Pirate victory, another truism about baseball came true: Beware The Traded Player In First Games With New Team. Catcher Joey Bart, once the number two draft pick in the nation for the San Francisco Giants, hit a two-run HR in his first AB as a starter for Pittsburgh.  Bart followed that with a double and even had a chance to win the game with the bases loaded and two outs in the 10th inning but struck out.  

Not to worry. The young and improved Buccos won it in the 11th on a single by their budding young star shortstop O'Neill Cruz that scored the ghost runner - the Manfred man - from second base. (Cruz, incidentally, is named for former Yankee right fielder and current Yankee color man Paul O'Neill). Writing with tongue firmly in cheek, I suggest that perhaps freed from the pressures of the Bay area and its BART public transit system (Bay Area Transit System), Joey Bart may find more success in Pittsburgh where the Pirates have used TWELVE catchers in the last two seasons and still haven't decided on a regular. 

There are 153 games left in the Orioles regular season so the Prince of Paranoia yours truly will not agonize over the back-to-back walkoff losses.  The Sunday game was marked by brilliant defense by the Baltimore outfield and a wonderful relay throw by Jorge Mateo, new to playing second base, that cut down a Pirate run at the plate. 

But with regular Baltimore closer Craig Kimbrel unavailable after working two games in a row, setup man Yennier Cano couldn't hold a 2-1 lead in bottom of the 9th. In a very dramatic ending with two outs and the bases loaded, the winning runs were scored on DH Edward Olivares' hot smash up the middle that Bird shortstop Gunnar Henderson snared with a diving stop behind the second base bag.

Last year's American League Rookie of the Year tagged second base with his glove but threw wildly to first and the tying and winning runs scored. 

Running towards second from first base, beefy Rowdy Tellez, not exactly known for his swiftness, made a very smart decision by not sliding into second but came in standing up.

MLB has been enforcing obstruction rules against runners who slide too aggressively and Tellez's decision forced Henderson into a difficult angle for his throw to first. Head down after his error, Henderson almost broke into tears, another example of his zealous intensity - perhaps overzealous - which makes him easy to root for.

A loss is a loss and the Orioles have slipped to 5-4 as they prepare for Boston's home opener on Tu Apr 9.  After pounding the Los Angeles Angels in the first two games of the season, Baltimore bats have gone very cold. 

Some impatient fans are already howling for the immediate callup of some of the sluggers at Triple-A Norfolk who are pounding the ball at record rates. I say it is too early to panic.  The pitching has been excellent and the defense often spectacular, but the bats of such veterans as outfielders Austin Hays and Cedric Mullins and third baseman-second baseman Ramon Urias do need to awaken soon.   

The Mets started the season losing 5 games in a row at home before salvaging the second game of a doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers in walkoff fashion.  Going on the road has been a tonic because after winning a weekend series in Cincinnati, they held on to beat the Atlanta Braves, 8-7, on M night April 8.  Brandon Nimmo had 2 HRs and 5 RBI, a career offensive night for the leadoff man.

April 8 marked the 50th anniversary of Hank Aaron breaking Babe Ruth's career HR record of 715 and the Mets SNY cablecast team did themselves proud.  Before the game they ran a lengthy excerpt of Kevin Burkhardt's interview in 2014 of Al Downing who threw the fateful home run pitch. 

Burkhardt, a graduate of William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey who used to do commentary on Mets telecasts and now is the top voice on Fox Sports NFL football coverage, asked probing questions of the classy Downing, a former 20-game winner for the Yankees and their first African-American pitcher.  He finished his fine career with a 123-107 W-L record and 3.22 ERA and later became a broadcaster himself. 

Born in Trenton, NJ a year and a day before me, June 28, 1941, Downing made it clear how much he treasured his friendship with Aaron and how much his stoic poise in the face of hatred meant to not only black people in the U.S. but all decent people of any color. Downing recently appeared as an insightful talking head in moving Yogi Berra documentary, "It Ain't Over". 

During the game, Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez invited Dusty Baker into the SNY booth for his remembrances of being on-deck on the night that Aaron broke Ruth's record. Dusty is one of the great raconteurs in the sport and he described how his locker and teammate Ralph Garr's locker were on each side of Aaron.  Hank never talked about the hate mail he got for daring to break Babe Ruth's record, but they could see his concerned reaction to the venomous bigoted words.   

Thank you SNY for making it a broadcast that made me feel proud to be both a passionate baseball fan and a concerned citizen that sees the larger good that baseball has done for American society in its pioneering role in racial desegregation. The cherry on the sundae last night was the Mets narrowly holding on to their come-from-behind 8-7 victory.    

On the college baseball front, I am happy to report that my alma mater Columbia is riding a 8-game Ivy League winning streak into Homecoming weekend against Yale this weekend April 13-14. At 8-1, the Lions are 2 games up on Cornell (6-3) and 3 ahead of defending champ Penn (5-4)   

Columbia's 2014 Ivy League champions will be honored between games of the Sat Apr 13 twinbill with first game starting at 1130P and second game approximately at 3p.  The single game will be Su Apr 14 at noon.  There is no charge for the games played at Satow Stadium/Robertson Field in the Baker Field complex, north of Broadway/218th Street. 

BTW After sweeping Dartmouth this past weekend in Hanover, NH, Columbia coach Brett Boretti has become the winningest coach in school history, 351 and counting.

St. John's is on a roll, too - 3-0 in the Big East, 22-5-1 overall. 

After playing the April 12-14 weekend at UConn in Storrs (605P, 205P, 105p), the Red Storm host Columbia

in a non-league game on Tu Apr 16 at 330p at Kaiser Stadium in Queens not far from Union Turnpike.

They host Butler of Indianapolis the weekend of Apr 19-21 (6P, 3P, 1P)

The Big Ten's Rutgers come in for non-league game on Tu Apr 23 at 3P

Rutgers is enduring a 5-game losing streak and is 1-5 in Big Ten though 19-12 overall.

Tu Apr 9 they head to Seton Hall at Shepard Stadium/Carroll Field at 4p in South Orange NJ in a non-league game.

Weekend of Apr 12-14 Nebraska comes in to Bainton Field in Piscataway at 6P, 3P, 1P

Tu Apr 16 3P Monmouth (from Long Branch NJ) comes to Bainton Field.

Tu Apr 23 6P St John's visits. 

Seton Hall is 1-2 in Big East and 17-14 overall but pitcher Ryan Reich nearly threw a no-hitter at Georgetown on Sa Apr 6.   

Division III NYU (3-5 in Univ. Ath. Assn., 16-8 overall) returns to the Staten Island Hospital Stadium near the ferry on the weekend of Apr 19-21 to play a top rated Case Western Reserve team from Cleveland (7-1, 21-6).  Fri at 4p, Sa doubleheader 12N & approx. 3p, Su 11A.   

And before I wrap up this first April post, here is word of a special Noir Alley ahead on Sat midnight/repeated on Sun 10A April 14:

"The Breaking Point" (1950) John Garfield's last commercial film for Warner Brothers. His testimony before the Red-baiting Hollywood committee

led Warners to cease promoting this film which is a classic and extremely worth seeing. 

Directed by Michael "Casablanca" Curtiz, based on the Ernest Hemingway story "To Have and To Have Not".

Screenplay by Ranald McDougall who wrote "Mildred Pierce" and later Harry Belafonte's fascinating exploration of race in a nuclear-destroyed NYC,

"The World, Flesh, and the Devil" (1959). 

Co-starring Patricia Neal as a femme fatale to end femme fatales.

With other fine actors Wallace Ford, Juano Hernandez, Phyllis Thaxter.

The intro and outro will feature commentary by Noir Alley creator Eddie Muller and the late Robert Osborne.

That's all for now.  Always remember:  Stay positive, test negative, and take it easy but take it.   

I must admit I don't watch the Mets on SNY very often.  I'm too busy draining my emotions rooting for the Orioles and when not doing that, I'm rooting against the Yankees on the YES Network.

Today Sunday August 6 the Yankees were not on YES network - the game must have been on a "premium" network so I was focused entirely on the Orioles successfully pulling off a sweep against the bedraggled Mets on the SNY network. (Without too much agonizing on my part, I let Houston salvage a split with the Yankees in a four-game series in New York.)

I also watched the Fri and Sat night games on SNY with Gary Cohen and Ron Darling providing a pleasant and informative listen. As the cameras zeroed in on Mets southpaw Jose Quintana kicking the dirt to create an ideal landing area, Darling said he used to imitate Gerry Cheevers clearing the goal crease with his skates for Darling's beloved Boston Bruins.  (Quintana deserved a much better fate than a 2-0 loss but such is life

these days for the unmoored Mets.) 

The Orioles put on a defensive clinic the whole weekend. Near the end of Sunday's 2-0 shutout, Jeff MacNeil

was shaking his head in disbelief when Ryan McKenna robbed him with a running catch in left field foul

territory. Every Oriole player this season has been flashing the leather which is wonderful to see, and virtually every batter hustles out of the box thinking extra bases.   

A sense of humility is also evident. On Sat night the camera caught Oriole starter Kyle Gibson saying "Wow!" when MacNeil pulled an inner half fast ball for a two-run homer just inside the right field foul pole.  It brought the Mets within a run but as they have done so often this season, the O's quickly answered the runs and went on to a relatively stress-free 7-3 win. 

Same was true of the 10-3 Friday night opener as 22-year-old shortstop Gunnar Henderson (who also plays a very good third base) delivered big hits. Vengeance was also sweet for backup catcher James McCann who had a five-RBI game against his former team that is still paying most of the salary from the Mets' four-year deal he signed.  

My only nitpick with the broadcasts was when Gary Cohen criticized the larger left field playing area at Camden Yards.  I still maintain the triple and being thrown out trying for a triple are the most exciting plays in baseball, and the new acreage in left-center adds to that possibility.  IMO, Cohen's criticism should be leveled at the bandboxes in the new stadia in Cincinnati, Philly, and yes the third Yankee Stadium, too.

There are still more than 50 games of regular season baseball left, and the Orioles must travel twice to the West Coast and also play 6 games with defending champion Houston beginning with a three-game series in Charm City, first game on Tuesday night Aug 8. 

But the Birds have met every challenge so far in 2023.  They possess the "deep depth" that Hall of Famers Yogi Berra and Earl Weaver emphasized as the key to success. 

So far the Orioles new right-handed mound additions, starter Jack Flaherty from Cardinals and reliever Shintaro Fujinami from Oakland, have looked promising. 

Over 10 years ago, Fujinami and Shohei Ohtani were considered the two best prospects in Japan.  Ohtani is already a deserved legend as hitter as well as pitcher. Alas, all the trade deadline additions to the Angels have not helped the team and the odds of Ohtani leaving for a better team after the season are increasing. 

As for Fujinami, after many years in minors, Fujinami failed as a starter in Oakland. The Orioles took a chance on his improved early summer work as a reliever and he almost threw an "immaculate" 8th inning in Sunday's 2-0 shutout.  He struck out first two batters on three pitches and then got an easy out after going 0-2 on the third batter. 

The caveats with Fujinami are his bouts of wildness and his high-strung nature that may make him only

successful when he starts a "clean" inning, i.e. with no runners on.  Lurking in the minors for my Birds is D.L.

Hall, once hailed as a can't-miss starter drafted out of a Georgia high school in 2017 (!).  He's now regaining his strength in Triple A and could be a wild card bullpen addition come September/October.   

That's all the baseball for now.   Let me close with some TCM tips starting with

MON AUG 7 a cornicopia of Robert Ryan films starting at 6A with Fritz Lang's "Woman on the Beach" (1947) a triangle with Joan Bennett and Charles Bickford; at 730A Fred Zinnemann's searing "Act of Violence" (1949) with Van Heflin and Janet Leigh; 1030A Anthony Mann's "Naked Spur" (1953) with Janet Leigh and Jimmy Stewart; and also at 545P "Billy Budd" (1962); and 945P Robert Wise's "The Set Up" (1949) perhaps the greatest boxing movie ever, at 1115P Nicholas Ray's "On Dangerous Ground" with Ida Lupino, music by Bernard Herrmann, and ending at 430A Tues with "Secret Fury" (1950). 

TUES AUG 8 has three Busby Berkeley classics from the Great Depression 1930s:

315P "We're In the Money" (1935);  8P "Golddiggers of 1933" and "Footlight Parade" (1933) 

TH AUG 10 has three Noir classics back-to-back:

6P "Out of the Past" (1947) a triangle among Robert Mitchum, Kirk Douglas, Jane Greer

8P "While The City Sleeps" (1956) I believe Fritz Lang's last American film set in a newspaper office with Dana Andrews, Rhonda Fleming, Sally Forrest, Ida Lupino, Thomas Mitchell, Vincent Price

10P "The Killer Is Loose" (1956) - former Ohio State footballer Budd Boetticher directs Wendell Corey, Joseph Cotten, Rhonda Fleming

F AUG 11 a lot of Alan Ladd including: 

8P "Shane" (1953) with Brandon DeWilde wanting Shane to come back

10P "This Gun For Hire" (1942) an early Noir with Veronica Lake at height of pageboy craze - soon government urged her to get haircut because too many women were getting hair caught at defense jobs  

SA AUG 12 12A "Blue Dahlia" (1946)

2A "The Glass Key" (1942)

SU AUG 13 - A Paul Newman day starting at 6A

And coming on W Aug 16 8p "High Noon" (1952) 

That's all for now.  Take it easy but take it and stay positive test negative.