Upon Closer Examination

 I know I tend to examine photos of my favorite ballplayer, Anthony Rizzo, as though they are frames of the Zapruder film. But I found something extraordinary about this celebration shot.

Rizz is sharing an on-field hug after the Yankees punched their ticket to the World Series. Who is #93? Ben Rice. 

Rice is the kid the Yankees brought up to take Rizzo's place when he broke his arm earlier this summer. The player – 10 years his junior – who is considered one of the top contenders to replace him in 2025.*

Both men said they are close, that Rizzo has been a mentor. But that's what players say to reporters.

This photo makes me well up. 

•  Yes, he played through pain for a team that will very likely dump him in a matter of weeks. 

•  Yes, he somehow managed to hit .429 with an OPS of 1.000, despite those two fractured fingers.

•  He's this beloved by his teammates. Even the one he competes with internally.

•   And all of this is on top of the man he is off the field, a Roberto Clemente Award winner, who champions pediatric cancer patients in New York, Chicago and Fort Lauderdale.

On a Monday morning where the world can seem like a teeming cesspool (I'm looking at you, Donald Trump; see post below), I remind myself of the following:

Anthony Rizzo is going to the World Series again.

And then I smile. 

*If they decide to go cheap at first base and spend all their salary on re-signing Juan Soto, which they may.

As MAGA clutches their pearls ...

Oh, the hypocrisy gets thick! I read all the time in blog posts, tweets, etc., that "libs" are vulgar and have no class. We swear all the time, which indicates our lack of respect for the English language, for propriety, and for ourselves and for one another. Thank the Lord we have Donald Trump to rescue us from this liberal degradation!

Meanwhile, during a public appearance, Donald Trump has called Kamala Harris "a shit vice president" and rhapsodized about Arnold Palmer's schlong. 

He showed so little respect for American autoworkers that he said they simply take parts "out of a box, they assemble them, we could have a child do it." 

And then there's this. In a publicity stunt attempting to make Kamala Harris look bad, he worked the fry station. Without previously washing his hands or putting anything on his trademark coif. Apparently we're all supposed to feel honored to consume his germs and/or one of his dyed blond hairs with our fries. YUM!

He's a fucking asshole. And a little pervy for being so fixated on the dick size. Remember when he and Marco Rubio joked about dick size from the debate stage? From. The. Debate. Stage. So please MAGA, keep your righteous indignation to your damn selves. 

Oh, I'm sorry. I used a swear! Let me rephrase: Keep your cognitive dissonance within your cult.

Kamala Harris is right. America deserves better.