Monday Clutter: Trump, Joe Biden, Boston Red Sox, NBA Free Agents, Taylor Swift, the Killers and Pet Shop Boys, and more
07/01/2019
Hi everyone,
Welcome back, and a happy July 1 to you all! Six months down, six months to go for 2019. What are you looking for out of the second half of the year? Right now, I'm just hoping gardening season will run a little longer than usual since we got off to a late start. BDH and Little Buddha are pulling for more nice weather and to continue hanging out with all of you. (They always ask how soon you'll be back every time you leave!) In the meantime, our mutual top goal is to enjoy some coffee. The guys made a fresh pot, so grab yourself a nice medium DD, and let's clear out some Monday Clutter.
(As always, if you'd like to support our coffee budget, please consider using the Clutter Amazon page for your shopping needs.)
Kim Jong Un got his picture of Donald Trump visiting him in North Korea, and it appears the most the United States will get out of the deal is...nothing but accepting North Korea as a nuclear power. Chalk up yet another fail for the weakest White House occupant in memory.
A political cartoonist was fired after his cartoon criticizing Donald Trump's immigration policies went viral. Michael de Adder depicted Donald Trump playing golf over the bodies of two drowned migrants, recalling that haunting photo from last week. To review, the Trump administration has kidnapped children, is keeping them in inhumane conditions, and the only person who has been fired is a guy who drew a picture.
Former Vice President Joe Biden is being criticized for suggesting homophobic comments would have gone unchallenged as little as five years ago. Democrats need a nominee who is more in touch with the world around him, not someone who continues to campaign like this is 1988.
Obviously Thursday is July 4, but be warned - that's not the day with the worst expected traffic this week.
The MBTA is a disaster, with major problems seemingly happening every day. It needs a dramatic overhaul, and that comes with a price tag that can't be solved by just a fare increase, so what is the MBTA doing? Implementing a fare increase today. It's an insult to riders, a hike that disproportionately hits lower to middle income people who rely on its services, and a clear sign that Massachusetts officials don't take public transportation seriously. It is also bad for the environment, on top of everything else.
The Boston Red Sox lost 12-8 to the New York Yankees yesterday, and the best thing we can say about this London series is that it's over. Actually, (and we would say this even if the Sox won both games), we enjoyed watching the two teams play in a different setting, but these should have been exhibition games. To play in a new stadium that has a faster field than either team is used to, odd lighting, weird wind conditions, and white seats, doesn't bring out the best baseball, as evidenced by the 400 runs the two teams scored over the weekend.
Now that we've got that out of the way, Eduardo Rodriguez had a mixed outing, only giving up two runs over 5 1/3 innings, but he's lucky his four walks didn't come back to haunt him. The Sox jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning, and were up 4-2 after six. Everything was fine until the bottom fell out, and the Yankees scored nine runs in the 7th inning. The Red Sox still managed to make something of a game out of it with four runs of their own in the eighth, but they came up short and are now 11 games behind the Yankees in the AL East.
It was an ugly weekend for Xander Bogaerts and the Boston Red Sox. (pic via mlb.nbanewsnow.com)
Boston faces a daunting challenge if they want to get back into things in the second half of the year. Their starters aren't going deep enough with any consistency, and the bullpen, which doesn't have any stars to begin with, could really implode due to overwork. We were fine/good with getting rid of Craig Kimbrel and Joe Kelly, but to not replace them with anyone at all was a huge mistake by Dave Dombrowski. In any case, the Sox have today off, and then they start a series against the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday.
In more positive Red Sox news, Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez were named as All-Star reserves yesterday (although Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers deserve it more this year.)
NBA free agency season is officially underway. As expected, Kemba Walker is on his way to the Boston Celtics, and the Charlotte Hornets are getting Terry Rozier in exchange as part of a sign-and-trade. Looks like a double win to us. Not sure that Walker is worth the reported 4-year/$141 million deal, but there's no doubt he's a talented player who should add a calming veteran presence to a looker room desperately in need of some help. Meanwhile, Rozier, who seems to think he won a championship that no one else remembers, becomes someone else's problem.
People on Twitter last night seemed to think at one point there was some chance that Al Horford would return to the Celtics after all. However, it was not mean to be, as Horford agreed to a four-year/$109 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers. That stings a bit for Celtics fans. However, while the 76ers are Boston's longtime rival in the East, it's hard to imagine them turning Horford into public enemy #1 next season. We all know who will get that title.
Speaking of which, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, and DeAndre Jordan are all reportedly on their way to the Brooklyn Nets. All of the deals are for four years and have possible max values of $141 million/$164 million/$10 million. Durant will of course miss the upcoming season due to his Achilles injury. Making $41 million to sit on the bench for the year is great work if you can get it. The Nets will certainly become interesting to watch, but history says they've got two years at most before Irving wrecks it.
Taylor Swift is unhappy that her Big Machine music catalog was sold to Scooter Braun, who she said has bullied her for years.
Okay kids, that's going to do it for now. Here's a treat - we've got the Killers and the Pet Shop Boys teaming up to cover the Willie Nelson classic, "Always on my Mind," for today's, "Song of the Day."
Thanks for stopping by, everyone. It was great to see you, as always. Enjoy the rest of your day, we hope the second half of 2019 gets off to a great start for all of you, and we'll catch up with you again for more fun soon. Until next time, that's today's Clearing out the Clutter, and we are outta here.
If you enjoy Clearing out the Clutter, please consider a $5 monthly donation! You can click here or on the "Donations" category on the right-hand side of the page.
Check out our new Patreon page!