Free For All Friday #13

Hello and welcome to Free For All Friday.

I returned from my two-week trip to Poland late yesterday and I’m eager to wrap myself in baseball this weekend.

There are a lot of intriguing matchups on the schedule, starting with Bruce Bochy’s return to San Francisco as the Rangers’ manager four seasons after he retired as a three-time World Series champion manager of the Giants. I’ll also have my eyes on two other interleague series between postseason hopefuls: Twins at the Phillies and Cubs at the Blue Jays. And I’ll be watching to see if the Mariners can continue their winning ways in three games against the American East-leading Orioles.

But first a few thoughts about my Poland experience.

Poland then and now

As I wrote in the last newsletter before my trip, we planned to visit Poland primarily to see the towns where three of my grandparents were born. We did do that, and it was incredibly meaningful to stand in each city’s town square and imagine each of my grandparents' lives in those places a little over 100 years ago.

My paternal grandfather was born in Kanczuga, then a rural Jewish shtetl. Today, Kanczuga is a small town southeast of Krakow with a small main square that features a decorative fountain, a few monuments, and some commercial establishments. The only vestige of the once-thriving Jewish community is the recently restored Jewish cemetery on the outskirts of town.

My paternal grandmother was born in Jaroslaw, only thirty minutes east of Kanczuga but a world away. Jaroslaw was then, and is now, a bustling small city with a large town square and commercial district. Several buildings still in use date to the 1600’s. The former synagogue is now used for other purposes, but a prominent plaque displayed on the outside of the building tells of its history.

My maternal grandfather was born in Opole, west of Krakow on the way to Wroclaw (formerly Breslau when the area was part of Prussia and Germany). Opole is now the largest city of the three towns we visited. Opole’s former Jewish cemetery is large and well-maintained, with large decorative gravestones, which reflects the size and prominence of the Jewish community in Opole before World War II. Nearby, a monument stands at the site of the large synagogue that was destroyed by the Nazis on Kristalnicht—November 9, 1938.

Hitler murdered nearly all of the 3.2 million Jews living in Poland before World War II. Since the fall of Poland’s communist regime, sparks of Jewish life have returned to Warsaw (the capital) and Krakow.

Poland is considered the most successful post-Soviet economy in the European Union. Warsaw, Krakow, and Wroclaw are bustling cities filled with office towers, commercial districts, restaurants, bars, museums and other markers of a rich cultural life. Poland doesn’t have the tourist caché of the Czech Republic but there is a lot to see and do there, even on a budget. And the Tatra Mountains along the country’s southern border with Slovakia, are stunningly beautiful.

Polish-Americans in Major League Baseball

This newsletter will not just be a history lesson. I will get the baseball news of the week. Let’s transition by noting that throughout MLB history, Polish-Americans have played and excelled at our favorite game. If you’re familiar with the Polish language, you’d be able to name a bunch of players who have last names that end in “ski”: A.J. Pierzynski, Bill Mazeroski, Carl (and Mike) Yastrzemski, and Greg Luzinski. But there’s also Stan Musial, Mike Krukow, Allan Trammel, the Niekro brothers (Phil and Joe), and Tony Kubek, among others.

My pre-trip predictions

In my last pre-trip newsletter, I made some predictions about what would happen at the trade deadline and how the standings would look upon my return. I batted about .300, which in baseball is considered pretty darn good.

I was right that the Angels would not trade Ohtani, and that the White Sox would deal both Lance Lynn and Lucas Giolito. I was wrong about everything else. The White Sox didn’t trade Dylan Cease, the Padres didn’t trade Juan Soto, the Dodgers didn’t land Justin Verlander, and neither the Rays nor the Reds made a big splash at the deadline.

All of these non-moves will come back to haunt those teams. The Padres went on a little run just before the deadline, which convinced them not to sell. But ten days later, the Padres find themselves 4.5 games out of the last wildcard spot in the NL, with three teams ahead of them: the surging Cubs (who did make moves at the deadline), and the flailing Diamondbacks and Reds. The Padres have lost 4 in a row and are 4-6 in their last 10 games.

The Reds’ failure to improve at the trade deadline was a big mistake, and a bit confounding. Cincinnati’s run to the top of the NL Central, fueled by young stars like Elly De La Cruz, Spencer Steer, Matt McLain, and Andrew Abbott,. was one of the best storylines of the season before the trade deadline. With booming attendance, the Reds had financial flexibility to plug some holes, but did nothing.

The Rays made a few small moves, but failed to land a solid starting pitcher, which they desperately need. Shane McClanahan is likely done for the year. Tyler Glasnow has been hampered by back spasms. And Taj Bradley is back in AAA. The Rays may make the postseason, but they’re not going to get to or win the World Series with Zack Eflin as the only solid starter.

As for my predictions about what the standings would look like . . . In the American League, I was right about the Orioles and Twins but overestimated the Red Sox and underestimated the Blue Jays. The Rangers also have turned things around since the trade deadline (after acquiring Max Scherzer). The biggest surprise in the AL has been the Mariners, who now sit only 1.5 games out of the third Wild Card—ahead of the Red Sox, Yankees, and Angels.

Ah, the Angels. Keeping Ohtani and making other moves in a push for the postseason was the only option if the Angels had any hope of re-signing Ohtani. Unfortunately for the Angels, the plan completely backfired. The Angels emptied the farm in trades, are 3-7 since the deadline, will most likely miss the postseason, and then watch Ohtani will sign with a new team over the offseason. To add insult to injury, the Dodgers are the leading candidate to land Ohtani.

In the National League, I pretty much nailed it, save for the recent collapse of the Reds. I didn’t think the Giants would still be contending because I envisioned the lackluster trade deadline that came to pass. Like the Rays, the Giants really have no hope of doing much in the postseason with only two reliable starters (Logan Webb and Alex Cobb) and a bunch of openers.

And San Francisco faces an absolutely brutal schedule the rest of the month, starting with this weekend’s series against the Rangers, followed by three against the Rays, three against the Braves in Atlanta, three against the Phillies in Philly, three against Atlanta at home, and three against the Reds at home. What did the Giants do to MLB’s scheduler to deserve this fate? Yikes.

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José Bautista retires

Like with Cole Hamels before him, I didn’t realize that José Bautista had not already retired from MLB when he officially announced his retirement today. And that gives me the opportunity to share a video of perhaps the greatest bat flip in MLB postseason history: Bautista’s bat shove after hitting what proved to be the gam-winning 3-run home run in the bottom of the 7th inning of Game 5 of the 2015 ALDS between the Blue Jays and the Rangers.

Epic.

Have a great weekend everyone.