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How a Scout Killed Jose Fernandez

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As most sports fans know, stud pitcher Jose Fernandez tragically died in 2016 in a boating accident at the age of 24. Clearly drugs and alcohol are to blame for the crash, but I can prove there was another cause. The 2011 MLB Draft.

The 2011 draft class was STACKED.

2011 is one of the best draft classes in recent history, and this is only the first 14 picks of round 1!

Back to my theory… If you ever watched Fernandez pitch, it was clear that he was a generational type talent. At the age of just 24 he already had 4 seasons under his belt, all of which he had under a 2.92 or lower ERA, 2 All-Star selections, CY Young votes and his 2013 NL Rookie of the year. So how did 13 teams pass up on this guy?

Well, not all 13 got it wrong. Gerrit Cole, Trever Bauer, Anthony Rendon, Frankie Lindor, Javier Baez, and George Springer all panned out. Multiple rings, WS MVPs, Billions in contracts, silver sluggers, you name it, these 6 guys have it. You can even argue Archie Bradley as a competent pick, FINE. But the other 6 on the other hand, yikes.

WHO THE FUCK ARE THESE GUYS!?!? Danny Hultzan?!?? Bubba Starling?? BEFORE JOSE FERNANDEZ?? Those scouts should never be able to work in talent evaluation again.

The six teams that missed were:

  1. Seattle Mariners
  2. Baltimore Orioles
  3. Kansas City Royals
  4. San Diego Padres
  5. Milwaukee Brewers
  6. New York Mets (Nimmo stinks stfu)

If any of these teams pick Hernandez, he is still in this league today playing the game he loves, smiling, and dominating hitters? Why? Here’s why

  • Seattle: not driving a boat in September.
  • Baltimore: not driving a boat in September.
  • Kansas City: not driving a boat in September.
  • San Diego: maybe, but less jetty’s.
  • Milwaukee: not driving a boat in September.
  • New York: not driving a boat in September.

Listen, obviously there’s a million things that could have happened between the day he was born and the day he died that would have changed the outcome. But it’s hard not to say that the scouts who passed up for such a superstar talent for such duds is not a huge impact.

It’s an absolute shame that professional talent evaluators missed so badly here. In any other city, in any other situation, we are sitting here at the edge of our seats waiting to see if Fernandez will sign for more than Cole & Strasburg. If Fernandez was not in Miami that night, he may have developed into one of the greatest pitchers of all time.

Crazy how things work out. Stay woke.

Pecks

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Movies

‘Parasite’ Was The Best Movie of 2019

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Although it’s in Korean and has limited theatrical release in the U.S., there’s no doubt in my mind that Parasite was the best movie of 2019. Sorry to burst your bubble, comic book movie stans. I won’t give away the plot at all, but just give a general overview of Parasite and why you need to find a theater that’s showing this movie.

Living in Los Angeles, I’m lucky that this is the capital of the movie industry, but even here, I had to drive a solid 25 minutes to the closest theater showing Parasite; so I can see the challenge if you live in a more rural area. But man was it worth the trek. I’ll admit I was hesitant at first being that I’d never seen a Korean movie before and wasn’t sure if the culture would translate – but it definitely did. The movie seldom used Korean-specific references, so my American brain was not thrown off by anything. And this isn’t a dialogue-filled movie, so even if you’re a person who hates subtitles, it’s not hard to follow along with at all.

I also kept getting asked if this was a horror movie because of the title, but it’s not. Maybe some people thought it had to do with an infestation of bugs or something, but ‘parasite’ is meant to describe the characters in the film, who are metaphorically parasites to society.

Movie Summary (No Spoilers)

So this movie follows the Kim family – a poor family living in basically the slums of South Korea. None of them (father, mother, son, daughter) have steady work, so they basically just do freelance work for random businesses – they’re folding pizza boxes for a pizza shop in the beginning of the movie. Then, the son’s (Ki-woo) wealthy friend (Min) visits him and tells him to take over as an English tutor for the family of a wealthy family’s daughter (Da-hye). This wealthy family is the Park’s, and they have no idea that the Kim family is going to change their lives.

The Park family consists of a father, mother, son, and daughter as well. The father (Dong-ik) is a rich businessman, so he leaves all of the family stuff to his stay-at-home wife (Yeon-kyo). She is very impressionable, and the Kim’s take advantage of that. Ki-woo establishes a relationship with the Park’s and eventually convinces Yeon-ko to hire each member of his family to work for them. His sister (Ki-jung) gets hired as an art tutor for the Park’s youngest son, the father becomes the family chauffeur, and the mother becomes the maid. And at no time do they tell the Park’s that they’re related – which makes things veryyyy interesting.

It might sound simple enough to convince a wealthy family to hire help, but the way they do it is savagely executed. They lie, get people fired, and there is one hell of a twist(s) at the end. This film might redefine what a thriller is…it’s so unique because in between the tense moments, they work in comedy and bring you back down to earth. What a gem.

Trust me, it doesn’t have a 99% on Rotten Tomatoes for nothing. Go see ‘Parasite’, trust me.

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Rick and Morty: Season 4 Episode 4

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“Claw and Hoarder: Special Ricktim’s Morty” was the most bizarre episode of season 4. SPOILERS

This episode begins with Morty begging Rick for a dragon. After enough prodding, Rick, reluctantly breaks and gets Morty his dragon from a Wizard in a magic realm/planet. Morty quickly realizes that the Dragon is super boring and loses interest. But Morty has already signed a contract in blood, to soul bond with the dragon forever.

The Dragon, Balthromaw, lives under ground and hoards cars, gold, action figures, and anything humans believe holds any significant value. Rick goes down to slay Balthromaw but ends up “soul bonding” this soul bonding is some type of sexual act for the dragons being that in brings them a type of sexual euphoria. Pretty funny at first but it’ll get weirder as the episode goes on.

The wizard who soul bonded the Dragon to Morty finds out that the Dragon had broken its soul bond and condemned Balthromaw to die. In the meantime Balthromaw is only referred to as a “slut dragon” and is banished to live with the other slut dragons who broke their soul bonds. Within this plot line there’s a lot of sexual dragon innuendos implying soul bonding is like sex for dragons, and that if you have more than one soul bond, you’re a slut dragon.

Rick, Morty, & Summer travel to this dragon world where Ricks powers are rendered useless so they essentially need to use magic from Morty’s magic book, that he received when he bonded with the dragon. They finally free Balthromaw by having a soul bond orgy with like 4 other dragons, and kill the wizard. They get back home, and Rick & Morty, now over Balthromaw, basically tells him to kick rocks.

In the secondary plot of the episode, Jerry finds himself with a cat who can talk. Jerry asks where the cats from and why it can talk, but never gives him any good answers. The cat is kind of creepy being that he talks without his mouth moving and that you never find out why he can talk. The cat goes brings Jerry to Florida to party and to show him that people down there don’t care that the cat can talk. Weird story line, didn’t get the premise, until the end!

The episode ends with Rick going to take the cat back where it’s from, but after lack of any good enough answers, Rick decides to scan the cat’s memory to see what it has seen. They don’t show the viewer, but when Rick looks into his goggles and hears what sounds like screaming and horror, the sight caused Jerry to throw up and curl up in fetal position and caused Rick to almost kill himself. Rick then wipes Jerrys memory, with the device from Morty’s mind blowers, stating “Someone has to remember.” The cat scurries off and reconvenes with Balthromaw in the ending credit scene.

I liked the episode as whole. While I was watching it, I didn’t understand the importance of the cat plot but at the end it was made very apparent that this cat will have implications later on in the series. The main plot was underwhelming, there were a couple funny moments and innuendos with the slut dragons, but at times it was actually kind of weird. Not bad weird, but just different weird.

The cat plot made 0 sense, and I had no clue where Roiland was going with it up until he last 30 seconds of the episode. It was apparent that the cat was kind of creepy/ominous but it wasn’t made clear until the end. I’m very curious to see how this cat comes into play moving forward.

Looking ahead, this weekend is the mid season finale, which I’ve heard is supposed to be REALLY good. There hasn’t been any Morty’s Mind Blowers, Interdimensional Cable, Citedel of Rick’s, or Evil Morty yet this season. That being said, next episode should offer some insight into the over plot and character development of the series.

Post Credits with the Cat & Balthromaw potentiality teaming up?!??

So far this season has been IMO middle of the pack, and can definitely be cleaned up with a strong mid season finale. Was it worth the 2 year wait so far? No tbh, but hey, Roiland is a genius and has 6 episodes to prove me wrong.

Pecks R&M Season 4 Ratings:

  • Episode 1: 6.2
  • Episode 2: 4.7
  • Episode 3: 8.6
  • Episode 4: 6.7

Pecks

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The Dodgers Should Prioritize Starting Pitching Over Anthony Rendon in Free Agency Market

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The Dodgers are considered one of the frontrunners for free-agent slugger Anthony Rendon, along with the Texas Rangers. While I’ll admit it would be a great addition to the Dodgers’ lineup that already includes MVP Cody Bellinger and Justin Turner, is his addition necessary? This free agent market is stacked with starting pitching, which I think the Dodgers should prioritize.

Don’t get me wrong…Rendon is a very good player, and before the 2019 season, was probably the most underrated player in MLB. However, the Dodgers still had the best offense in the National League, and the fifth-best in MLB. My feelings would be much different if Rendon wasn’t so expensive. He placed third in MVP voting last season, and is no doubt looking for a long-term home, which means more $$$. In a perfect world, I would welcome him with open arms, putting Rendon at third and sliding JT over to first base. But, signing Rendon means the Dodgers are probably out on other players that I believe they need more.

With Kershaw not looking as great as he has in the past, Rich Hill hurt every other start it seems like, and Hyun-jin Ryu’s future with the team uncertain, the Dodgers should be prioritizing pitching right now. I’ll admit, it may be tough to believe that since they were the #1 staff in the league last season, it’s a new year. We may not get Ryu back, Kershaw could blow out his back again, and Hill could get another blister. We all know Gerrit Cole is still on the market, and Stephen Strasburg just signed an extension with the Nationals today, so he’s off the table. Of course Cole will be expensive, but as I look at the Dodgers starting rotation for next year, I will be a little disappointed if their only addition is Jake Odorizzi or some shit, given who was available.

 

 

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Rams Embarrass Seahawks on SNF – Are Playoffs Likely?

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It has been two weeks since the Rams got destroyed by the Ravens on Monday Night Football, and I am fully back in on them. They were 100% in charge of last night’s Sunday Night Football game against the Seahawks, as they routed them to a 28-12 victory. As I predicted was going to happen, Russell Wilson had a rough night; although even I thought he would’ve thrown for at least ONE touchdown.

The Rams jumped out to an early lead, executing on both sides of the ball to take a 21-3 lead into halftime. The only spark in the game for the Seahawks was when Quandre Diggs intercepted Jared Goff for a 55-yard pick-six.

They were able to kick another field goal midway through the fourth quarter, but with it being a 14-point game and the Rams playing lockdown defense, Seattle was done for.  I’d say the nail in the coffin came when Todd Gurley threw down Tre Flowers on the Rams’ last scoring drive:

That’s the Todd Gurley people thought we had seen the last of…apparently not!! Gurley was dynamic in probably his best game of the season, having rushed for 79 yards and receiving for another 34. And while Goff threw two picks – his first can be partly blamed on Robert Woods (insert video/post), and his second was basically an elite punt, as it pinned Seattle on their own two-yard line – he still wound up with 293 yards and two touchdowns.

The only irritating part about last night’s win was realizing that the Rams should’ve beaten Seattle twice this year. Thinking about Zuerlein’s missed field goal in their first matchup is frustrating mostly because of how automatic “Greg the Leg” has been. I guess nerves just got the best of him. Had the Rams won that game, they’d be tied with the Vikings for the second Wild Card spot, and even closer to taking the Seahawks’ spot. The Rams can definitely win out, but if they can at least take 2/3 of their remaining games against the Cowboys and Cardinals, they have a good shot at the ‘yoffs. Their toughest opponent will be the 49ers, who they struggled to get any offense going last time. But this is a team playing more dynamically on both sides of the ball now, so you never know what could happen.

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‘The Mandalorian’ Episode 5 Confirms It Is Just a Space Western

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After the first three episodes of The Mandalorian, I wasn’t quite sure what angle they were going to take as the show progressed. After watching the fourth and fifth (which dropped today) episodes, it’s clear that this show is a western. And that is FINE with me.

This show doesn’t have a whole lot of depth, and that is okay. Does every show have to have some huge underlying plot that leads to a huge reveal like Watchmen likely will? No. But, the The Mandalorian does give us a bunch of badass action scenes from an intergalactic bounty hunter….plus Baby Yoda.

The fifth episode was the first where we saw Baby Yoda in real danger at the hands of Toro Calican (Jake Cannavale). We all knew this whole episode that Toro was gonna do something stupid, but threaten Mando with Baby Yoda? Even I thought he was smarter than that.

And that’s exactly where the western elements start to play in. This whole show is basically just Mando jumping from planet to planet doing bounty hunter-y things…like you would see in a classic Western.  For example, tell me if this plot sounds familiar: an outlaw comes across an quaint little town and finds that there’s trouble brewing. He feels it is his duty to rid the town of the evil that is corrupting the area. That’s more or less the plot of The Lone Ranger. Point proven. Additionally, there isn’t an ensemble cast – it’s basically just Mando and Baby Yoda, with Greef Carga (Carl Weathers) making the occasional appearance.

Episode 5

Mando and Toro (honestly kind of a badass bounty hunter team name) go to hunt down Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen), who is an absolute master with that rifle of hers. And they make Toro out to look like this young punk who has clearly bitten off more than he can chew, but continues to act like he knows better than Mando.

When Shand gives Toro the information that killing Mando would make him a legend, he stupidly kills her and goes to capture Baby Yoda. Mando eventually gets back to the hangar where Baby Yoda and his ship are. Of course Mando kills Toro and Baby Yoda is saved, but the whole point to this rant is that there’s not much substance behind each individual episode – which like I said, is fine.

Of course they gave us a nice little cliffhanger at the end of the episode where we see the legs of someone whom we don’t know walking toward Shand’s lifeless body. Now THAT’S what I’m talking about! Give me a character that’s gonna hunt down Mando. I’m hoping this creates a little more continuity besides just the Baby Yoda storyline.

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Clay Helton Will Remain USC Head Football Coach – Twitter Reacts

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To literally everyone’s astonishment, newly-instated USC athletic director Mike Bohn has announced to keep Clay Helton as the head football coach via Twitter:

What a Bohn-head move! (Let it be known in the history books that I came up with that saying all on my own). Fans of the once-football powerhouse have been disappointed with Helton’s head coaching tenure that started in November 2015. In a decade that has been racked with controversy and dissatisfaction, Helton did sneak in a couple solid years. They won the Rose Bowl against Penn State in 2017 and the Pac-12 title the following season. However, he followed up those seasons with a terrible 5-7 record last year, and an decent 8-4 record this year.

Helton’s tenure wouldn’t be a big deal at most colleges, but this is USC football we’re talking about. They’re one of the winningest programs in college football history with 11 national championships, and a plethora (big vocab guy) of NFL stars.

So as you can see, fans and alumni demand excellence. I mean, after all those years of winning it’s what
people expect from the program. Thinking back to those Pete Carroll years in which they won two
national championships, which don’t seem that long ago, it’s amazing how far they’ve fallen. Of course,
a lot of that had to do with the NCAA sanctions.

Not to mention the blue balls every USC fan got after expecting Bohn to announce that Urban Meyer
would take over the reigns as head coach. However, that whole situation involving Meyer was
unfounded because he never even said he wanted the job! Everybody basically just thought he was the
logical choice and made up these fantasies that he wanted the job – which is obvious now that he
doesn’t…at least for now.

But, it’s good to see USC fans are taking the news well!

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CFP Preview – Who Has the Best Shot at a Natty?

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Who’s In? Who’s Out? Who’s on the Outside Looking In?

Personally, I think this has been one of the best seasons of college football in a while. Mainly because the ‘Harvard of the South’ (Alabama) won’t be in the College Football Playoff. This will be the first time since the CFB Playoff’s inaugural season in 2014 that Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide won’t be in attendance. Now, can they sneak in? Sure, maybe, whatever. They won’t. I think every single college football fan owes Auburn a huge “thank you” for ending their National Championship dreams. So, now that Bama is toast, who gets a chance to sneak into that 4th spot?

The amount of moving parts this weekend is unreal. I can’t wait to sit my happy ass on a barstool, crush some flaming rum punches, and watch these Championship games.

PAC12 Championship Game

#5 Utah (-6.5) vs. #13 Oregon

As of November 23rd, Oregon was pretty much in the drivers’ seat to snag the 4th and final CFB Playoff spot. “Not so fast, my friend,” says Herm Edwards (word to lee Corso). ASU upset the Ducks and crushed their playoff dreams in the process. If you weren’t #HardForHerm before that game, you better be now. 

Utah pretty much has to dominate 4 quarters of this game if they want a shot of grabbing that 4th playoff spot. In saying that, don’t be surprised if the Ducks come into Levi’s Stadium and pull off an upset. Oregon has been solid all year, and I’m sure they would love nothing more than to ruin Utah’s playoff hopes. 

Prediction: 35-32, Oregon pulls off the upset

BIG12 Championship Game

#6 Oklahoma (-8) vs. #8 Baylor

Baylor is a fraud. More overrated than Popeye’s Chicken Sandwich. The BIG12 had a decent showing this year, but Baylor had way too many sub-par performances to be considered a playoff team. Close wins against TCU(5-7) and West Virginia(5-7) aren’t great for the resume either. Sure, it’s hard to beat the same team twice in one season, but I don’t see Oklahoma slipping up in this one. I think most of America is pulling for OU strictly because of Jalen Hurts. I would pull for that too, if Hurts had more than an ounce of personality.

Prediction: 38-27, Oklahoma

SEC Championship Game

#1 LSU (7.5) vs. #4 Georgia

LSU is legit, everyone knows that. It’s clear to me that they have been the most impressive team in college football this year with at least 4 notable wins (Texas, Florida, Auburn, Alabama). With those 4 wins, LSU could have slipped up in any of their other games and still had solid playoff hopes. Georgia had the luxury of coasting through the ‘mighty’ SEC East, so the Bulldogs should come into December as healthy as can be. The SEC Championship game will take place in Atlanta, so you best believe those drunk, obnoxious ‘Jawja’ fans will be out in full force. I would love to see Georgia upset the Tigers, just to see what the committee does with the 4 seed. If we get an upset on Saturday, I think Georgia will get the 4 seed, with LSU moving to 3. 

Prediction: 34-29, LSU 

BIG10 Championship Game

#2 Ohio State (-16) vs. #10 Wisconsin

There would be nothing more ‘Wisconsin football’ than beating Ohio State on Saturday. I feel like Wisconsin and Iowa are those two teams in the BIG10 that can beat anyone on any day. Probably because both teams have 400lb. corn-fed country boys on the Offensive and Defensive Line. Would I like to see it happen? Yes, Ohio State fans are the worst in college football. Will it happen? No. It will be the second time this season that ‘Sconnie and the Buckeyes meet up with Ohio State winning 38-7 on October 26th. Just like the BIG12 Title game, this game will be a rematch from the regular season. I think this one will be a close one, with OSU winning by 10. 

Prediction: 31-21, Ohio State

ACC Championship Game 

#3 Clemson (-29) vs. #22 Virginia

Congrats to UVA on winning the Coastal division!!! Your reward? Playing a Clemson team that has allowed 9.7 points per game. Nothing more needs to be said about this game.

Prediction: 42-14, Clemson  

Who’s In?

  1. Ohio State
  2. LSU
  3. Clemson
  4. Oklahoma
  5. Georgia
  6. Utah
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HBO’s Watchmen: Episode 7 – Major Questions Answered

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Fair warning, I am by no means a Watchman expert. I didn’t read the comics and have only seen the movie once, but I am super into this show. So comic book nerds, if I’m off about something that the comics or movie answers, please don’t roast me. 

Episode 7 of HBO’s Watchmen aired on Sunday night, and like after every episode, I have some questions. First of all, if you haven’t been watching this show, I highly recommend it; I’ve been a big fan of Regina King since Southland, so my interest was peakedright off the bat. You also may remember The Watchmen movie came out a few years ago, but from what I’ve heard, you don’t need to have seen the movie to understand the show. 

Alright so episode 7…is Will an elephant?? What was up with that Adrian Veidt trial?? and Cal has been Dr. Manhattan this whole time?? If you haven’t been watching this show, that last sentence is going to sound insane, and if you have been watching the show it’s still pretty insane. 

Is Will An Elephant??

No, probably not, but the way this show is going I wouldn’t rule it out. So we all know that Will is Angela’s grandfather/Hooded Justice, but why was her IV hooked up to an elephant? I’ll attribute it to the fact that elephants are known for having a great memory, and being that Angela is struggling with hers right now, there’s some scientific explanation for this. That still leads to the question: “Where is Will Reeves?” After Lady Trieu dropped that bomb on us that the Millennium Clock would be used to save the world, I’m assuming he’s probably up there. 

 

Why Is Adrian Veidt on Trial?? 

This was the oddest scene of possibly ~the entire series~. I think the main reason for this scene was to give us some background info on Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias, thanks to Attorney Ms. Crookshanks, who gave us a rundown of all the things that led to him being banished. Then we had a trial conducted by the Game Warden and a jury of several Ms. Crookshanks and Mr. Phillips. The Game Warden also said that it was day 365 of his trial, but we are not sure why he is on trial or who put him there. This storyline is definitely the most unexplained and “far out” in the show, but still intriguing. I am looking forward to learning more about Mr. Veidt. 

 

Cal is Dr. Manhattan?? 

In one of the biggest plot twists of the season, it appears that Angela’s husband, Cal has been Dr. Manhattan in disguise. After Lady Trieu alluded to Angela knowing that she knew Dr. Manhattan has been in Tulsa this whole time, I thought the only logical person it could’ve been was Cal. I’m sure other die-hard Watchmen fans predicted it several episodes ago, but I still knew it before the unveiling so HA. Angela of course calls him Jon (Dr. Manhattan’s birth name – he wasn’t always a jacked blue man capable of unearthly powers), and proceeds to smash his skull in, then pulling out a hydrogen atom – Dr. Manhattan’s symbol. We were told that Cal had an accident in Saigon and lost his memory, which we now know was just a cover-up. We still do not know Angela and Dr. Manhattan’s relationship or how they met, but episode 8 should answer those questions….then undeniable add more. 

In this episode we also learn that anyone who has ever been close to Angela has died, specifically her parents (Vietnamese suicide bomber) and her grandmother (heart attack while rescuing her from Vietnam). Also can’t forget that the 7th Cavalry knows Dr. Manhattan is in Tulsa and is planning on taking his powers….aaand has kidnapped Laurie Blake. Quite a ‘sode for those fucks.

I feel like every episode answers my questions I had from the previous episode, but adds several more than I previously had. I can’t wait to see how they wrap up this first season, being that there are only two episodes left. I am definitely not looking forward to the hiatus until season two.

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Down Goes BAMA…and Their CFP Hopes

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We will finally see what the College Football Playoff looks like without Alabama, after today’s loss to Auburn. The 15th-ranked Tigers were in the entire game against the 5th-ranked, and Tua-less Crimson Tide, trailing at most by 7 in this year’s Iron Bowl.  This game will no doubt go down as the best game of rivalry week 2019, mostly because of its playoff implications.

Since the inception of the CFP in 2014, Alabama has not missed it. They’ve no doubt deserved to be there every year, but isn’t it kinda boring seeing the same teams compete every year? I was definitely not looking forward to another Clemson vs. Alabama matchup. But now we don’t have to worry about that because there’s no way in hell a two-loss team could make it now!

BIG MAD

This is how the CFP rankings stand as of November 30th:

  1. Ohio State
  2. LSU
  3. Clemson
  4. Georgia

While this list still contains some very familiar faces, the one newcomer is LSU, who has failed to make the CFP since its inception. Alabama’s loss also keeps one-loss (as of now) teams like Utah and Oklahoma in the mix. We’ll see how the SEC championship between Georgia and LSU impacts the rankings, knowing that one of these teams will have another loss on their record. Since Utah has the edge over Oklahoma in the rankings(6 & 7), they have to win out to keep their CFP chances alive. I would love to see some Pac-12 representation in there.

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