Good afternoon, ladies and gents. While St. Louis weather attempts to make up its mind, I offer a stream of consciousness.
~I have a newfound respect for youth sports coaches. This month, I've joined my son's tee ball team as an assistant coach, and it is far from easy. Patience is the name of the game, but communication is the secret ingredient. You are teaching kids the bare essentials of baseball's simplest values and tactics. I lack patience, but I'm slowly building up a tolerance. Send bourbon, please.
~Sterling K. Brown may have made his name with television roles on NBC's This Is Us and FXX's The People Versus O.J. Simpson, but there's an impact settling into the film world as well. St. Louis native Brown played a vital role in the smash hit, Black Panther, and he co-stars with Jodie Foster in this summer's Hotel Artemis, written and directed by Drew Pearce. A film about a near-future society where a nurse runs a hospital built and operated solely for the medical needs of criminals. Like Jon Hamm and Jenna Fisher making a dent, it's a cool thing to see a local guy do well.
~Normally, six man rotations don't make sense, but with the 2018 Cardinals, one could make the argument that the idea is a sound one. With Michael Wacha's shoulder situation and the aging arm of Adam Wainwright along with the ready body of Jack Flaherty, the Cards could use an extra arm. Keeping Carlos Martinez on turn for 33 starts is key, but I'd rather have an extra starter than a bullpen arm who barely ever pitches.
~If you haven't tried Russell's on Macklind, you need to get over there. Try the Sunday brunch, where you can get a BLT sandwich with an egg thrown on top. There's the maple glazed fried chicken and the biscuits n' gravy with a lemon pepper sauce. The bloody Mary's are delicious and the desserts include a cinnamon roll as large as a football. Go see Faron, Justin, and Nicki for great service. You'll need a couch and Cardinals baseball when you are done. Don't go halfway with breakfast; go all the way.
~Bryce Harper hit a broken bat home run Monday night. I don't care if it came in Citi Field, where a pop up can find its way out, because he broke the bat in half and hit it out. If there was room in the outfield next year (let's say the Cards sold high on Tommy Pham in July), Harper would look good in red. Thanks to the Jason Heyward contract, the Cubs probably won't get him either. Like Josh Donaldson, you get loads of skill AND swagger with Harper.
~If you aren't watching The Looming Tower on Hulu, you need to rearrange the schedule. It asks questions about 9/11 that few movies/TV shows have even thought about. Based off Lawrence Wright's book, this show has Jeff Daniels and immovable honesty.
~Amy Schumer can do the funny, but there's something that stinks about I Feel Pretty. Maybe it's the flat plot, insufferable desire to be loved, or just the fact that it comes out a week before Avengers: Infinity War.
~Matt Carpenter is struggling, but his .194 batting average on balls put in play will have to go up, shift or not. It's not necessarily time to move him to leadoff, but could you blame the Cardinals for doing it? Dexter Fowler isn't exactly tearing it up and Tommy Pham can be potent in the #2 spot. When Carpenter hits, the lineup works extremely well.
~Can you name a Presidency that had this much drama? Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon had their colorful hours, but Donald Trump is a constant drama show. Reality show like. Oh wait, I think he had one of those.
~A Quiet Place overcame a strong effort from Dwayne Johnson to hold fort at the box office, and there's a reason. It's a brilliant movie that ratchets up the suspense, dials down on the emotion, and never lets up.
~I have zero desire to watch any late night talk show. There's just nothing there. I miss David Letterman, so I watch his Netflix show.
~Eating clean doesn't mean cut out ALL carbs. It just means eat them when it's right and when it's worth it.
~Follow-up health point: why can't Boston Baked Beans be completely carb free? Those are my absolute weakness.
That's all I got today. I'll be back with more commentary this week and catch me every Tuesday on The Frank O. Pinion Show via 590 The Fan and every Thursday night on Let's Get Comfortable via WGNU 920 AM.
Thanks for reading.
