A win and a win!

The Red Sox beat the White Sox 5-0 last night and with that win, they earned their second 5-game winning streak in the last two weeks.

The Red Sox beat the White Sox 2-1 this afternoon and with that win, they earned their first 6-game winning streak of the season!

If they can keep this up, they will definitely make the playoffs.

They are currently on the road heading to Queens where tomorrow they will start a 3-game series against the Mets. This will be their last series before the All Star break

My hope-o-meter has moved into the upper levels.

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I don't know why but I have a strong dislike of this.

I've sat in a bar and watched people gamble. I've been to Las Vegas on business and watched people gamble. Hell, I've even bought the occasional lottery ticket and I once placed a longshot $10.00 bet that the Red Sox would win the World Series (they didn't). Gambling is something that most people do because they find it fun to try and win a few dollars.

Sports gambling is something different altogether. I'm not talking about the "Buy a Super Bowl square for $5.00" kind of gambling, I'm talking about the "Bet $10.00 that the next batter hits a home run" kind of gambling. That is the kind of gambling that people who can't afford it are doing. It is an addiction that may very well be worse than a drug addiction. They can't stop doing it, not matter how they try.

And it is that kind of gambling that the MLB seems to have embraced. Before every baseball game, the pre-game talking heads will usually give a series of odds on certain things happening, like how many hits someone will get or how many batters the pitcher will strike out. They encourage people to bet using apps on their cellphones and they tell them how much fund they'll have doing it.

This shit is wrong and it is ruining peoples lives. In my opinion this is no different than if they were encouraging people to shoot heroin into their veins or snort cocaine so they can enjoy the game with a nice high.

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Here are some links:

• Remember when Trump was running around accusing Goofy Joe of "weaponizing the justice department"...



• This seems appropriate.



• People that steal from the elderly should get life in prison or maybe the death penalty.

Yet another win

No, I did not make it through all 9 innings last night. I made it through 7 innings before briefly falling asleep, waking up and going to bed.

When I went to bed, the score was 4-1 in favor of the Red Sox and when I woke up this morning, I learned the final score was 8-1 in favor of the Red Sox.

What I also discovered is that the Red Sox are no longer in last place in the ALEast

I also noticed that FanGraphs is now giving them a 23.6% chance of making the playoffs:

Tonights game has Bennett with the start. First pitch is at 7:40.

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I found these meme's and they made me laugh:

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Here are some links:

• When I read this story about Mitch McConnell, all I could think of was this scene from the West Wing.



• I guess the president of peace is still having some issues.
  (I'm actually a little surprised he didn't bomb the funeral of the stinky dead guy.)



• This seems pretty weird...

Baseball at a decent time

The Red Sox are in Chicago to play the White Sox and the game is scheduled to start at 7:40.

Tolle has the start tonight and he is always a joy to watch pitch. The kid has such a good time playing baseball. Actually, I suspect he has a good time doing pretty much anything. He strikes me as a guy who would make jokes and screw around while mucking out a stable.

The White Sox lead the ALCentral divsion and are a solid 6½ games ahead of the Red Sox in the standings so the hope-o-meter isn't as high as it could be but I'm nowhere near as optimistic as this guy is.

Oh, and Fangraphs has raised the odds of the Red Sox making the playoffs to 20.7%

In all honesty, I'm just glad I'll be able to watch more than half an inning of baseball this evening.

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This made me laugh.

This made me laugh out loud.

For those of you that don't get it, the Belgium team beat the US team even after Trump asked the soccer people to overturn the suspension of a US player. The Belgium players are doing the famous "Trump dance" but in my opinion, they are doing it wrong. When Trump does it, it's more like he's giving Putin a blowjob...

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I really, really need to mow my lawn. I'm hoping that it stops raining tonight and at some point tomorrow the lawn will be dry enough for me to mow it.

It's pretty damned long.

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Here are some links:

• This doesn't sound good. Not good at all.



• Looks like Ukraine ain't rolling over.



• If you have never seen it, you really need to watch the movie SPACEBALLS.



• It's looking like the European NATO members are starting to pay their fair share.

They swept the Angels.

I stayed awake long enough to watch the first inning and things did not look good for the Red Sox. The Angles pitcher was throwing gas and the Red Sox batters were struggling to find the ball. When I went to bed, the Angels were up 2-0.

I woke up this morning to find that the Red Sox beat the Angels 7-5 and swept the series.

They still aren't doing great in the standings and are in dire need of a lengthy winning streak but they are only 4 games out of the wildcard.

Once again, my hope-o-meter is above the middle.

They are off today so I guess it's a DVR kind of night for me.

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Here's a thought:

The "news media" really needs to stop reporting on hot dog eating contests.

There is nothing more disgusting than seeing someone jamming numerous hot dogs into their open maw while slobbering all over the themselves.

It's not a sport, it's not a contest, it's not entertainment and it's absolutely not news.

This is just my humble opinion.

Others may have differing opinions.

Those people are wrong.

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Here are some links:

• Alaska: Land of the most bored people on the planet.



• Looks like it might be an interesting hurricane season.



• No. Just No.

Busy day

We spent the day in Boston being entertained by our granddaughter.

I was gonna brag but I won't. Instead I'll just say she is a healthy, happy and beautiful little girl.

Her parents, however, are mostly healthy, very happy and kinda tired. The "very happy, kinda tired" part is what all parents are. The "mostly healthy" is because my son decided to twist his ankle while on a run and he's now wearing some kind of ankle brace.

This has been an update on our newest granddaughter.

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I was going to try and mow my lawn but by the time we got home, the last thing I wanted to do was mow.

Besides, I'm pretty sure no one has ever killed their lawn by letting it get a little long.

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The Red Sox won again last night, beating the Angels 8-1.

Traditionaly, the Red Sox go into a deep slump just after the All Star break. I hoping that this year, they have decided to reverese their slump schedule. I'm hoping they have been in a major slump prior to the break and once the break is over, they are going to go on a major winning streak. Like one of those awe-inspiring 20 game winning streak.

Hey, I can dream, right?

Anyways, tonights game is the 3^rd and final game in their 3-game series against the Angels. First pitch is at 9:30 and Suarez is scheduled to start.

Once they are done with this series, they go to Chicago where on Tuesday they will start a 3-game series against the White Sox. Those game will be at a much saner hour which means I might be able to watch them.

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Here are some links:

• In a move that will cause numerous baseball fans much joy and happiness, Christopher Blake Bucknor has decided to retire.



• This guy is 86 years old and Ubers are available everywhere. It's time to take his drivers license away before he kills some kid on the sidewalk.



• Guess I don't have to worry about watering my lawn over the next few days.