Baseball Cruelty & Medieval Misogyny

The baseball gods finally woke up and decided we were having entirely too much fun in New England. The Red Sox have no one to blame but themselves for last night’s implosion. Leading 2-1 late, their gifted young reliever grooves a hittable fastball to the notorious first ball hitting Altuve who didn’t need a trash can to tell him to swing and the game was suddenly tied. A lot of people will blame the home plate umpire who did have a horrendous night behind the plate including a missed third strike on a batter who would later drive in the winning run in the same at at bat. That umpire was bad all night long though and the Astros were the only ones who seemed to take advantage of it. When they figured he was calling strikes on pitches off the plate, that’s where they threw it while the Sox did not. It was a definite reality check for the over achieving Sox and it will be interesting to see how they respond today. If recent history is any guide they’ll respond well. Hopefully Houston burned out their “good” bullpen over the past few games.

The Missed Call

Ouch

I missed Facetime calls from both of my “kids” last night because I was in a movie marathon, actually it was only one movie but it felt like three. The Last Duel is based on a true story and tells that story three times through the viewpoints of the main characters. Matt Damon plays a grizzled French knight at odds with his former best friend Adam Driver who attacks Damon’s wife, Jodie Comer, while her husband is away from the castle. While I understand the intent and the interesting choice to tell the story this way, the movie became a bit of a slog by the time the woman’s point of view finally rolled around. It was a searing comment on the misogyny of the time. The most telling response is that women face a lot of the same challenges 800 years later. As long as the movie is, it brings you in, to be enfolded in the ancient times with Ridley’s Scott’s deft epic touches as well as the acting, most notably Comer. It would be easy to get caught up in the rivalry between Damon and Driver but this truly is Comer’s movie and she dazzles. Ben Affleck plays the liege lord and object of Driver’s sycophancy and does so with a degree of nuance I didn’t think he was capable of as his part changes during the three points of view. The climatic duel is every bit as brutal as promised as both characters pound the hell out of each other as Damon’s characters acquires even more scars which he seems to collect. A great movie and eloquent comment on the human condition and how little progress has been made in some areas over the last 800 years.

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RECURRING CHARACTERS                                           

BR3 – granddaughter #3, BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter, ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete = my daughter in law; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Soxfather - my brother in law; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Pittsburgh College Roommate– high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd musquetera (musketeer); Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; PanaGals – female relatives /friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member, Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn