Welp

IAH continues to be ground zero of Donald Trump’s TSA fiasco. That is MAGA on full display.

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“Today” continued to air the conversation between Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb. Heartbreaking. It was announced during the show this morning that Savannah will be returning to Studio 1A on Monday, April 6.

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Welp. The Coogs lost last night. The Longhorns lost last night. The Astros were shut out in our home opener. It wasn’t a good day.

I was there yesterday and saw this. See this from the Chron:

You really can see something new every day at the ballpark. 

A rarely seen call came in even more rare circumstances during the first inning of the Houston Astros’ 3-0 loss to the Los Angeles Angels on opening day Thursday. A ball off the bat of Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez, destined for a home run, instead ended up in the stands foul because of Daikin Park’s roof, a decision that was confirmed by a replay review. 

Alvarez drilled the second pitch he saw from Angels starter José Soriano out towards the right-field bleachers. But the shot was so high that it hit off the scaffolding below the roof. The ball then ricocheted and fell into the stands short and right of the foul pole. 

After home plate umpire and crew chief Chris Conroy called the ball foul, Astros manager Joe Espada came out to confer with him. Conroy then sent the play for review, which came back confirmed as a foul ball. 

Conroy later explained the reason why and how the call was made initially. 

“The roof here closed is covered by universal ground rules, which are when the ball strikes the roof over fair territory, it remains live,” Conroy said. “And then it’s basically wherever it strikes the ground after that is what the call is going to be. So the ball initially struck the roof over fair territory, so it was live. But then it caromed into the stands prior to the foul pole. So that made it a foul ball.” 

Those ground rules are the same that cover other indoor stadiums with exposed scaffolding, such as the Tampa Bay Rays’ Tropicana Field. Situations where balls hit the girders high above the field of play aren’t common but aren’t foreign with them being in play. 

But rarely are there balls hit with such force and on a trajectory like Alvarez’s that strike such beams. The exit velocity of the barrel was 108.9 miles per hour, according to Baseball Savant, which was harder than any ball put in play on Thursday. Baseball Savant also projected the ball would have reached 349 feet had it not been obstructed, more than enough distance for a home run in the park’s confines. 

“That’s probably the second ball I’ve ever seen hit that part of the roof,” Espada said. “He crushed that ball. That ball would have landed upper deck.” 

Here is the entire read: Houston Astros’ Yordan Alvarez hits the roof at Daikin Park.

This literally happened right on top of us. When the ball came off Yordan’s bat, I immediately thought it was a dinger. Then I lost sight of the flight of the ball due to the netting in front of my seats.  The bottom line is the team’s decision to close the roof probably cost Yordan a dinger. I thought it was a good day to have the roof open.

My best friend who went with me to the game told me he had to shell out a lot of dough for parking. Like enough dough to pay for a few rounds of Saint Arnold at Daikin Park. I took the Metro Rail Red Line from the Quitman Station, and it cost me nothing since I have the 70+ free fare card.

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I saw this yesterday on NBC’s live coverage of the Mets and Pirates opening day game. See this from Entertainment Weekly:

Who would think a Founding Father could flub the national anthem?

Hamilton actor Christopher Jackson, who originated the role of George Washington in the Broadway musical, hit a lyrical snafu while belting “The Star Spangled Banner” before the New York Mets’ Opening Day game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Just when he got to the line “O’er the ramparts we watched,” the Tony nominee took a beat before singing, “What so proudly we hailed.”

This has happened before and it will happen again.

The featured photo is the flag being rolled out during yesterday’s National Anthem at Daikin Park.

Have a nice and safe final weekend of March.