Tuesday's podcast: Happy Halloween., The Acapulco mess. Texas vs Biden on the border & more

Happy Halloween...The Acapulco mess...Texas vs Biden on the border......And other stories.....

Tuesday's video: Happy Halloween, The Acapulco mess. Texas vs Biden on the border & more

Happy Halloween, The Acapulco mess. Texas vs Biden on the border & more.....

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

                               

Happy Halloween: Our first Halloween in the US many years ago

(My new American Thinker post)

Another Halloween and another time to remember our first Halloween in the U.S.  Back in Cuba, it was "El Dia de los Santos" or All Saints Day on November 1st.  Of course, it was a "day of obligation" or don't forget the mass today.  And there was no candy on All Saints Day!  

We had been in the U.S. about six weeks when Halloween came up on the calendar in 1964.  My Uncle Orlando and family told us about the night.  They suggested wearing a costume, walk around and say “trick or treat” when standing at the door.  

We followed his advice and got lots of candy, especially the lady in the neighborhood who made the brownies that reminded us of the Cuban chocolate cake we had before food shortages and rationing spoiled everything in the island.

Our mother came along to help our little sister who was dressed up as Cinderella. My brother and I went as cowboys.  It was a wonderful night. My favorite part of Halloween is hearing my mother say “trick or treat.”  It sounded a lot like “tree ka tree.” And explaining to her why there were so many “calabazas” or pumpkins.

So many Halloweens have come and gone since that night in 1964.  Things changed and then it was our sons' turn to dress up as Indians or should I say indigenous people so no one is offended.  Another year it was Dallas Cowboys about to play the Washington Redskins, another thing of the past. Or one year they just took off with their friends and came home with lots of bags full of everything.  Of course, everyone remembers the morning after when all that chocolate had kids saying that they couldn't go to school because their stomachs were upset.

Today, our Halloween is hearing about the little grandchildren going "trick treating" and watching videos and photos by phone.  Last but not least, we have candy ready in case the new generation knocks on the door.

Nothing will replace that first Halloween and especially explaining so many things to our mother who was proud of my sister's dress and had no clue of what the holiday was about.

 P.S.  Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos. If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

Monday's podcast: The week in review with Bill Katz the editor of Urgent Agenda

Monday's podcast:   

The week in review with Bill Katz the editor of Urgent Agenda....

Monday's video: The week in review with Bill Katz the editor of Urgen...

Guest:.......Bill Katz the editor of Urgent Agenda....

Israel-Gaza week 4....Biden vs Squad....Speaker Johnson.....Federal debt a time bomb?...and other stories......

 

Madness in Acapulco

( My new American Thinker post)

It's not fair to blame the hurricane on President Andres Lopez-Obrador, but he is getting the blame. As President Bush learned with Katrina, those local governments can make you look really bad. Things are not going well, especially now that looting is everywhere. 

This is the story:

Looting ravaged the Mexican city of Acapulco after the iconic beach resort was hammered this week by Hurricane Otis, a record-breaking storm that killed at least 27 people and left thousands of residents struggling to get food and water.

Otis pounded Acapulco with winds of 165 miles per hour (266 km per hour) early on Wednesday, flooding the city, tearing roofs from homes, stores and hotels, submerging vehicles, and severing communications as well as road and air connections.

The cost of devastation left by the Category 5 storm was estimated at billions of dollars, and over 8,000 armed forces members were sent to help the stricken port recover.  "Right now, money's no use to us because there's nothing to buy, everything's been looted," 57-year-old Acapulco resident Rodolfo Villagomez said after Otis tore through the city. "It was total chaos. You could hear it here hissing like a bull."

It's a mess. We heard Sunday morning that people went to sleep knowing that there was a tropical storm in the neighborhood. They suddenly woke up to broken windows and things flying everywhere. One family hid in the bathroom. Others found some protection in the staircasess connecting the floors of apartment buildings. One friend said that the Princess, a very popular hotel for tourists, was demolished.  

Then things got worse. No one could come in or get out of Acapulco. So the residents were helpless without water or protection from looters.

Where was the government? Well, the local government was impotent, in large part because their facilities were devastated too. What about the federal government? The soldiers are on their way but getting in is a hard task.

So it’s a total mess in Acapulco. At one point, President Lopez-Obrador’s car was stuck in the mud and the criticism is growing. His opponents are saying that the citizens did not get ample warning.  Category 5 hurricanes can turn politics upside down.

P.S. Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos.

Happy # 88 Jim Perry

We remember Jim Perry, who was born on this day in 1935.

Jim Perry was the other good pitcher in the family.  His brother is Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry.

Jim broke with the Indians in 1959 and won 18 in his second year.   He was traded to Minnesota in 1963 and that's where he won the 1970 AL Cy Young:  24-12 with a 3.04 ERA.

Perry retired with 215 wins and a 3.45 ERA.   He was a very good pitcher.     

 P.S.  Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos. If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

Happy # 84 Grace Slick

We say happy birthday to Grace Slick.  She was born Grace Barnett Wing in Illinois on this day in 1939.

“Somebody to love” was the first big hit by “Jefferson Airplane“, a California band. The lead singer was Gracie Slick.    This band eventually became “Jefferson Starship“.

PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).

Our 2015 Halloween show with Leslie Eastman & Daisy Viktoria.

2015: Our annual Halloween show with Leslie Eastman & Daisy Viktoria.... https://t.co/cH4RfkE4kG

 P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

That old cash flow problem

 (My new American Thinker post)

Years ago, I remember my late father, a lifelong banker, say that it's all "cash in and cash out."   

 

"Show me your cash flow sheet and I will tell you where you stand" was his wise advice.

 

Well, I was thinking about that when I saw this article about the U.S. economy.   

 

Check this out:

 

Americans are having a harder time making interest payments as savings are shrinking and a barrage of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve has jacked up the cost of financing.

 

Delinquency rates on credit cards, mortgages and auto payments have all been ticking up as the level of household savings, which swelled under stimulus payments handed out during the pandemic, have been declining.

 

Sixty-day car payment delinquencies for people with bad credit hit an all-time record of 6.1 percent in September, up from 5.8 percent in August, according to data from Fitch Ratings. That’s the highest level of lateness since the company first started tallying rates in 1994.

 

Ninety-day delinquency on credit cards has increased to 5.1 percent, up from 3.4 percent in the second quarter of last year, Federal Reserve data shows.

 

“The steady increase in delinquencies for three consecutive quarters signals stress on consumer ability to repay balances on general-purpose credit cards,” Herman Poon, a senior director at Fitch, wrote in a July analysis of consumer behavior.

 

Stress on consumer ability to repay?  That's what happens when you live in an inflationary cycle.  Also, it shows how words such as "recession" or "GDP" mean little to people.  What matters is my income and my expenses and how much is left in my pocket.   

 

At the moment, there is nothing left in the pocket and that's why this economy is a problem for President Biden.

 

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Our 2016 Halloween chat with Leslie Eastman

CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO LISTEN:

Our annual Halloween chat with Leslie Eastman 10/26 by Silvio Canto Jr | News Podcasts:

Guest: Leslie Eastman joins us for our annual Halloween show......we will the website that Leslie has been the Project Manager for, which Girl Scout Emma Kahn created as part of her Gold Star Project: Black Cats Need Love! The purpose of the site is to encourage people to adopt black cats from animal shelters.............and a few stories about the 2016 election.......

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

Saturday's podcast: Inflation and the family budget, Speaker Johnson, Halloween & baseball

Saturday's podcast:   

Inflation and the family budget, Speaker Johnson, Halloween & baseball.....

Saturday's video: Inflation and the family budget, Speaker Johnson, Halloween & baseball

Saturday's video: 

Inflation and the family budget, Speaker Johnson, Halloween & baseball

Dressing up as ‘Hakeem Election denier’ for Halloween

 

(My new American Thinker post)

Let me alert you:  I am planning to dress up as Hakeem Jeffries and knock on your door saying that Trump was an illegitimate president.  Why Jeffries?  Let me tell you:

Did you know this?

Hakeem Jeffries -- the new leader of House Democrats -- is a massive election denier -- just like Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and so many other Democrats.

Here are 13 times Jeffries denied election results.  Jeffries said, "there is a cloud of illegitimacy around the election of Donald Trump" because of the "fake news industry.”

Jeffries said the “legitimacy” of the 2016 presidential election was “in doubt.”

Jeffries claimed there is “a cloud of illegitimacy… hanging over” the Trump White House.  Jeffries tweeted “the more we learn about 2016 election the more ILLEGITIMATE it becomes.”

Jeffries said “there is clearly a cloud of illegitimacy hanging over 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue that’s growing bigger by the day.”

Jeffries claimed Republicans “cheat[ed]” in the 2016 presidential election.  

Jeffries suggested multiple congressional seats were “stolen by rogue Republican operatives.” 

Jeffries suggested Trump was an “illegitimate president” or a “Russian asset.”   Jeffries claimed Russia “artificially” put Trump in the White House.

Jeffries said there was a "cloud of illegitimacy that continues to hang over" the Trump presidency.

Jeffries tweeted “the cloud of illegitimacy hanging over 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. grows stronger by the day.”

Jeffries accused Republicans of “trying to steal the [2020] election.”

Jeffries said “history will never accept” Trump “as a legitimate President.”

Wow.  I have 13 different ideas that I can promote from home to home.  I will bring 3x5 cards to share the information with people dropping a treat in my bag.  Someone will ask me about my costume and I can cite examples of how Jeffries denied the election.

Of course, the larger issue is that "election denial" is a one-way street these days.  It's okay for Democrats to question the Bush election and reelection in 2000 and 2004.  And of course there was 2016 and everything that followed that, from Hollywood actors encouraging electors not to vote for Trump to stories about Russia based on people familiar with the investigation.

See you Halloween!

P.S.  Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos.

Friday's podcast: World Series Texas vs Arizona.....and more

 

Friday's podcast:    

World Series Texas vs Arizona.....and more....

Friday's video: World Series Texas vs Arizona.....Paying to go to the border

Friday's video: 

 World Series Texas vs Arizona.....Paying to go to the border...

                                 

Where do poor Haitians or Cubans get $5,000?

 (My new American Thinker post)

The entire "migrant to border" story is complex and confusing. Let's add more to the confusion and the Haitians to Nicaragua angle:   

Nicaragua has long been used as a migratory springboard for people fleeing struggling nations like Cuba and Mauritania in Africa, because it is one of the few countries that doesn't require visas for many of them to enter.

Such flights from Cuba were already gaining steam late last year amid a historic exodus from the island. 

In August, Orozco said the Nicaraguan government allowed charter airlines to carry out the flights.  The journeys are not on official air routes, but flight tracking data that has been analyzed by Orozco and The Associated Press shows that 268 of the charter flights went from Haiti to Nicaragua since the beginning of August.

The charter airlines have flown as many as 31,000 people out of Haiti, which would represent nearly 60 percent of the Haitians arriving to the U.S. border, Orozco's data shows. 

Over the same period, some 172 flights have carried 17,000 people from Cuba to Nicaragua.  The Associated Press spoke to three Haitian migrants who were aboard the charter flights, who said they doled out thousands of dollars to leave the poorest country in the hemisphere in hopes of reaching the United States. 

Orozco said most tickets range between $3,000 and $5,000 a seat.

Again, where does a Haitian or Cuban get money like that?  I know a thing or two about the current state of Cuba.  I don't think that there are a lot of Cubans who can write a check or put that kind of money on their credit card.

So how are they paying that kind of money?  Who is behind this?  Is someone advancing the money and expecting to get paid once they are in the U.S.?  I don't know but it's all very strange to me.

Another question.  Are these governments sending people because they've grown accustomed to remittances? We know that Mexico gets billions annually and that keeps a lot of Mexicans surviving from month to month.  Check these numbers:

Remittances to Mexico reached $61.1 billion in 2022, representing an increase of 12.9 percent. Mexico received the highest level of remittances in the region by far and is the world’s second-largest recipient of remittances. The growth of remittances varied widely across countries in 2022, ranging from a rise of 50 percent in Nicaragua to 18 percent in Guatemala, 17.8 percent in Honduras, and 9.7 percent in Colombia. Remittances to Nicaragua surged by 50 percent during this period, driven by the country’s political situation. However, remittances constitute a much larger share of GDP for a number of countries in the Caribbean and Central America.

So these countries have figured something out? Send people and they send remittances back.  

We've come a long way from our family leaving Cuba because my parents wanted freedom in their children's future to this scam where migrants are sent to the U.S. to send the money that keeps corrupt governments in place. Am I too cynical or on target?

P.S.  Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos.

Thursday's podcast: The Texas report with George Rodriguez

Guest: George Rodriguez, South Texas conservative....New House Speaker....AG Paxton vs Biden administration.....School choice Texas.....And other stories.....

Thursday's video: The Texas report with George Rodriguez

Thursday's video: 

 The Texas report with George Rodriguez

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

 

Texas AG back at the office

 (My new American Thinker post)

As you probably know, our Attorney General Ken Paxton is back to work after surviving conviction following impeachment.   I said back then that he should focus on the Biden administration rather than getting even with GOP members who voted for his impeachment.  I don't know for sure if he took my advice but I like this:

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Biden administration on Tuesday, claiming that the Border Patrol illegally destroyed state property when its agents cut through concertina wire on the banks of the Rio Grande to “assist” migrants to “illegally cross” the border.

Within the past three years, the Texas Military Department has spent $11 million to place 70,000 rolls of concertina wire in different parts of the Texas-Mexico border, most notably in Eagle Pass, where migrants have been seriously injured trying to get through the wire.

The concertina wire is part of Gov. Greg Abbott’s efforts to stem illegal immigration at the 1,200-mile border.    

According to the lawsuit, filed in the Western District of Texas, Border Patrol agents “not only cut Texas’ concertina wire, but also attach ropes or cables from the back of pickup trucks to ease” migrants’ ability to get onto the U.S. side of the river.

Good move.  The attorney general has a duty to fight a Biden administration that will not protect the U.S. border.  It is not Texas' job but someone has to do it if the federal government won't do theirs.

Politically speaking, this is a smart move by AG Paxton.  His best work has been fighting the Biden administration over the border and other overreaching executive orders.

P.S.  Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos.

Happy # 74 Mike Hargrove

We remember Hargrove known as "The Human Rain Delay", was born in Perryton, Texas on this day in 1949.      

Mike broke with the Rangers in 1974, hit .323 and named Rookie of the Year.   Mike had a great eye and walked 965 over 13 seasons.   He retired with a .290 batting average and a .396 OBP.   

After playing, Hargrove became the Indians manager in 1991.   He won 2 AL pennants in 1995 & 1997 and made the post season in 1996, 1998 & 1999.    

Overall, he won 1,188 in 16 seasons with Cleveland, Baltimore and Seattle.

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Happy # 75 Toby Harrah

We say happy birthday to Toby Harrah, one of the most popular Rangers ever.

Toby Harrah was born on this day in West Virginia and broke with the old Senators before they moved to Texas for the 1972 season.   He was a member of that very first Rangers' team managed by Ted Williams.

As a Ranger, Toby hit .257 over 11 seasons.   His best year was 1977:  27 HR & 87 RBI.   As an Indian, he hit .281 over 5 seasons.     He finished his career in Texas in 1986 after a stop in New York.

 

 P.S.  Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos. If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

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Wednesday's podcast: Abbott vs Biden, Toxic colleges, Mexico elections and other stories

Wednesday's podcast:   

Abbott vs Biden, Toxic colleges, Mexico elections and other stories....

Wednesday's video: Abbott vs Biden, Toxic colleges, Mexico elections and other stories

Wednesday's video: 

 Abbott vs Biden, Toxic colleges, Mexico elections and other stories

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

 

Mexicans hope that the next president can fight crime

 (My new American Thinker post)

Let's get this out of the way quickly. The next president of Mexico is going to be a woman. Well 99% chance, unless something happens. So we applaud the progress that women have made in business and politics. Honestly, no one would have believed this 20 years ago.

The ladies are Senator Xochitl Gálvez, a huge critic of President Lopez Obrador, and Claudia Sheinbaum, former mayor of Mexico City and supporter of the incumbent. It's early, but most of the campaign so far has been about the incumbent president. Xochitl hates him and Claudia loves him. My guess is that we will hear some governing details as the campaign gets going after the first of the year.

And now we come meet reality. The main problem facing Mexico is insecurity, and that's what everyone is talking about. Ask any Mexican about what concerns him or her and the word is "inseguridad.” Other issues matter but every conversation starts with "inseguridad."

According to InsightCrime, the numbers are not pretty:

Although there was a slight drop in homicides in 2022, the total number of murder victims in Mexico topped 30,000 for the fifth consecutive year.

Last year, Mexican authorities recorded at least 30,968 homicide victims, or 85 per day, according to government data, while 947 femicides were also reported. This figure is tallied separately.

Combined, the total number of murders in Mexico at 31,915, giving the country a homicide rate of 25.2 per 100,000 residents, a slight drop from 2021’s rate.  Almost 50% of these killings were concentrated in the same six states as 2021: Guanajuato, which saw the most murders of any state with 3,260, Baja California, Chihuahua, Jalisco, Michoacán, the State of Mexico. 

The border states of Baja California and Chihuahua are long-standing areas of violence in Mexico, as organized crime groups fight continually for control of drug trafficking routes into the United States. Meanwhile, Jalisco is located north of Michoacán and Colima, whose ports -- Lázaro Cárdenas and Manzanillo -- are arrival points for precursor chemicals from Asia that are needed to produce synthetic drugs.

So the crime problem is real, as Mexicans will tell you. This is going to be the biggest challenge for the next president. She will have to convince Mexicans that "la presidenta" will go after criminal elements. So far neither lady has been very specific, but they have time to present their plan.

P.S. Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos.

Tuesday's podcast: Argentina elections, Mexico elections & more

Tuesday's podcast:    

Argentina elections, Mexico elections & more.....

Tuesday's video: Argentina elections, Mexico elections & more

Tuesday's video: 

 Argentina elections, Mexico elections & more...

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

    
                          

Argentina heading to an electoral game 7

 (My new American Thinker post)

In a month, Argentina will elect a new president. They did vote on Sunday but nobody won a majority so a new election is on the schedule. Let's review what happened:

The battle to decide who will run crisis-wracked Argentina is heading to a runoff vote next month between left-wing candidate Sergio Massa and far right libertarian Javier Milei, according to data released by Argentina’s National Electoral Chamber after the first round of voting on Sunday.

After polls closed Massa received the highest number of votes -- 8,877,325, accounting for 36.33% of the total, data revealed. Milei received 7,373,876 votes -- roughly 30.18%.

Third place candidate Patricia Bullrich got 23.82% and conceded defeat late Sunday night.

So I guess we will have to wait another 30 days. My friend from Argentina sent an email late Sunday night wondering if they will have a country by the time he gets to vote. It's not an exaggeration that Argentina is a mess, or "desastre" as they say in Spanish.

The new president will take office in December but can anyone fix the country?

I remember someone saying that there are four types of countries in the world: developed, undeveloped, Japan, and Argentina. I'm not sure about Japan but I understand the reference to Argentina, the world's best example of an underachiever.

How can a country that rich in resources and well-educated people be so dysfunctional? My friends say "Peronismo" or a reference to Evita's husband. Others say that the bureaucrats suck the economy dry. One guy blamed it on tango or meaning that Argentines are too dramatic. I don't know but it's hard to understand Argentina.

We'll see how the runoff election goes. My guess is that Massa, the house candidate, will win but Melei, the opposition candidate, will make the campaign loud and interesting.

P.S. Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos.

Monday's podcast: The week in review with Bill Katz the editor of Urgent Agenda

Monday's podcast:   

The week in review with Bill Katz the editor of Urgent Agenda.....

Monday's video: The week in review with Bill Katz the editor of Urgen...

Guest:.......Bill Katz the editor of Urgent Agenda....Israel-Gaza week 3......The media and the hospital story.....US troops on the ground.....and other stories.....

                               

The worst since Carter

 (My new American Thinker post)

Former President Jimmy Carter left office in 1981 -- 42 years ago, if you remember.  Today, the former president and Mrs. Carter are in Georgia gracefully facing the end.  For the record, I always thought that Carter was a decent man who should have never been president.  He won the "Watergate" election and there is not a lot about his presidency that we care to remember.

Today, we remember President Carter because of President Biden, or Carter II as John Kaas wrote:    

Watching Biden draw unintended but altogether feeble comparisons between himself, and failed President Jimmy Carter, gives me no satisfaction. It offered only dread as if the best course of action would be to pull the covers back over our heads and hide from the world. But we can’t.

At least when Carter was exposing himself to the world as a weak man, when his name became a joke synonymous with feebleness, when the Americans were taken hostage in Iran.  Carter only cemented the notion he was a weakling when he literally panicked and feared he was being threatened by a rabbit near a fishing hole.   

Yet even through that, as inflation tore through our wallets and our savings, as Iran burned our flag, as our hostages waited helplessly because the president was so seemingly powerless, the Democrats were behind him and we called him president. 

Yes, I always felt that Carter was a patriot but weak and at least surrounded by people who loved the country.  I am sorry but that's not how I feel today.  Carter made mistakes, but he was in charge.  Biden is making mistakes because he is not in charge.  Biden allowed climate change fanatics to run his energy policy.  He let immigration activists open the border and create chaos everywhere.  He withdrew from Afghanistan in the worst possible way.  

So Carter was doing his best but Biden doesn't have a clue.  Someday we’ll refer to a president as Biden II the new standard to measure incompetence.

P.S.  Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos.

Happy # 67 Dwight Yoakam

We say happy # 66 to Dwight Yoakam.  In 1993, he released "This Time", a great country album. It still sounds years later.  It hit # 2 in the country LP charts and 3 hits singles, including "A thousands miles to nowhere."

We have a lot of country music in Texas.

Yoakam is one of my favorites because of the guitar rifts!

Yoakam has recorded about 20 albums and charted 30 singles. He was also recognized by CMA for his contributions to promoting country music outside of North America.

 P.S.  Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos. If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

The electric car and the future of transportation with Frank Burke

The electric car and the future of transportation with Frank Burke 10/23 by Silvio Canto Jr | Politics: 

Guest: Frank Burke, businessman and author.....We will look at the electric car as a transportation option.........

and other stories.............click to listen:

Umpires reading minds?

 (My new American Thinker post)

It got rather heated between the Astros and Rangers at Game 5 of the ALCS.  As we hear, these two teams don’t like each other and have had their confrontations over the season.  It’s what usually happens when a team from Houston meets one from Dallas-Ft. Worth.  I like it as a fan and let’s play ball.

In the bottom of the 8th, things got out of control, especially when the umpires decided to read minds. This is the story:

There was plenty to go around in Game 5 between the Rangers and Astros.

Three were ejected after a brawl in the bottom of the eighth — Rangers’ Adolis Garcia and Astros’ Bryan Abreu and Astros manager Dusty Baker.  The fight happened after Garcia was hit by a pitch from Abreu. He immediately turned and yelled at catcher Martin Maldonado, as he believed the hit was intentional. In the sixth inning, Garcia hit a go-ahead three-run homer on the first pitch. His next at-bat, he was hit. On the very first pitch, no less. Regardless, it was a clear ejection.

After a discussion between the umpires, Abreu was thrown out, too, for what was determined a purposeful hit-by-pitch, which is grounds for an automatic ejection. Baker was up in arms about this decision, not understanding how it was ruled intentional. The Rangers were leading 4-2, at this point, with one runner on base and no one out.

There were no punches, but a few words went back and forth.  We’ve seen this a million times in rivalry games.  Garcia got hit by a 90-something fastball that was a little too inside.  Abreu, the pitcher, had no reason to hit the batter and extend the rally.  So I saw it as a pitch that got away.  It happens, but that didn’t stop Garcia from yelling at Maldonado, the catcher with red hair.  I wonder what my late father would say about a catcher with a red hair.  He’d probably say that “eso está extraño,” or that’s strange.  My late mother would have probably yell something labeled as homophobic these days.

Then the umpires decided to gather and talk.  They concluded that the pitch was intentional, an incredibly stupid conclusion.  Just warn both sides and keep playing.

How much of this stoppage hurt the Rangers’ pitcher watching from the dugout?  We will never know that he didn’t look sharp and put two men on base.  Then Altuve hit one over the fence and spoiled the local party.

The series resumes on Sunday night, and we hope that the umpires call balls and strikes rather than read minds.

PS: Check out my blog for posts, podcasts, and videos.