{"id":8350,"date":"2020-04-04T13:33:43","date_gmt":"2020-04-04T17:33:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/?p=8350"},"modified":"2020-04-05T13:12:38","modified_gmt":"2020-04-05T17:12:38","slug":"stick-to-baseball-4-4-20","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/2020\/04\/04\/stick-to-baseball-4-4-20\/","title":{"rendered":"Stick to baseball, 4\/4\/20."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>I had two new pieces for subscribers to the Athletic this\nweek, one on <a href=\"https:\/\/klaw.me\/2X9BpxM\">the great 1980s video game Earl\nWeaver Baseball<\/a> (for which I spoke to one of its lead developers), and one with\nthe latest on <a href=\"https:\/\/klaw.me\/39FPdCM\">MLB&#8217;s plans for minor league\nrealignment and contraction<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the gaming front, I had nothing new this week but have a\nfew more pieces filed. Last week, I <a href=\"https:\/\/klaw.me\/2JlrIoc\">reviewed\nClipCut Parks<\/a>, a new &#8220;flip-and-cut&#8221; game that is great for\nyounger kids who love using scissors but not much of a game for older players,\nfor <em>Paste<\/em>. For Vulture, I updated my <a href=\"https:\/\/klaw.me\/2GuJdP0\">ranking\nof the top 25 board game apps<\/a> available on mobile platforms. For Ars\nTechnica, I reviewed the new <a href=\"https:\/\/klaw.me\/2Umqbob\">app version of\nthe legacy game Charterstone<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My second book, <em>The Inside Game: Bad Calls, Strange Moves,\nand What Baseball Behavior Teaches Us About Ourselves<\/em>, is due out on April\n21<sup>st<\/sup> from Harper Collins, and you can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harpercollins.com\/9780062942722\/the-inside-game\/\">pre-order\nit now<\/a> via their site or wherever fine books are sold. Also, check\nout <a href=\"https:\/\/tinyletter.com\/keithlaw\">my free email newsletter<\/a>, which I\nsay I&#8217;ll write more often than I actually write it. To be perfectly honest, I\njust haven&#8217;t felt up to writing that lately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And now, the links\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The most distressing this I read this week was the <em>Washington Post<\/em>&#8216;s story on how attempts to re-open Wuhan after two weeks of no new (reported) cases of coronavirus failed miserably as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/asia_pacific\/china-revs-its-engine-to-move-past-coronavirus-but-its-stuck-in-second-gear\/2020\/03\/31\/13c81b20-7230-11ea-ad9b-254ec99993bc_story.html\">new infections came back immediately<\/a>. The Chinese government was able to enforce much more draconian measures than we&#8217;ll ever see here, and yet they couldn&#8217;t corral the virus; what does that imply about what June and July will be like here in the U.S.?<\/li><li>A <em>Guardian<\/em> longread asks <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2020\/mar\/31\/how-will-the-world-emerge-from-the-coronavirus-crisis\">how our world will change permanently in the wake of the pandemic<\/a>, highlighting decreasing civil liberties and the potential of a new response to climate change as two possible outcomes.<\/li><li>A column in <em>Foreign Policy<\/em> calls the COVID-19 pandemic <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2020\/03\/25\/coronavirus-worst-intelligence-failure-us-history-covid-19\/\">the worst intelligence failure in U.S. history<\/a>. Ken Klippenstein wrote in the <em>Nation<\/em> that the U.S. military knew years ago <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/article\/politics\/covid-military-shortage-pandemic\/\">that a pandemic caused by a &#8220;novel respiratory disease&#8221; was likely on the horizon<\/a>, so was the failure of intelligence or of the President&#8217;s response to it?<\/li><li>This <em>New York Times<\/em> longread investigates <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/03\/28\/us\/testing-coronavirus-pandemic.html\">how a failure to test early in the U.S.<\/a> \u2013 again, due to the Administration&#8217;s choice to ignore information it received \u2013 led to the pandemic and probably thousands of needless deaths.<\/li><li>The right-wing dark money group Americans for Prosperity, founded by neoconservative billionaire Charles Koch, pushed a $1 billion cut to the Centers Disease Control&#8217;s funding and is now <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2020\/03\/26\/americans-for-prosperity-cdc-coronavirus\/\">attacking shelter-in-place orders for harming businesses<\/a>.<\/li><li>Social distancing can&#8217;t last forever, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/science-and-health\/2020\/3\/26\/21192211\/coronavirus-covid-19-social-distancing-end\">we need a comprehensive testing-and-tracing plan in place<\/a> when the restrictions are inevitably eased.<\/li><li>Arizona Governor Doug Ducey finally issued a stay-at-home order on Monday, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2020\/mar\/30\/arizona-coronavirus-covid-19-lockdown-shelter-in-place\">after weeks of dithering and dismissing the concerns about COVID-19&#8217;s risks<\/a>. Senior citizens make up 17.5% of the state&#8217;s population.<\/li><li>On the other side of the coin, <a href=\"https:\/\/theweek.com\/articles\/905612\/washington-gov-jay-inslee-what-real-coronavirus-leadership-looks-like\">Washington Governor Jay Inslee (D)<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-us-canada-52113186\">Ohio Governor Mike DeWine (R)<\/a> have both earned praise for their fast, definitive moves to try to slow the virus&#8217;s spread in their states.<\/li><li>Kentucky, South Dakota, and West Virginia have used the cover of COVID-19 restrictions <a href=\"https:\/\/www.huffpost.com\/entry\/pipeline-protest-laws-coronavirus_n_5e7e7570c5b6256a7a2aab41\">to criminalize mass protests<\/a>, including those against fossil-fuel projects like Dakota Access.<\/li><li>Senator Kelly Loeffler (GA-guess) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ajc.com\/news\/state--regional-govt--politics\/loeffler-reports-more-stock-sales-denies-wrongdoing\/YFPDT3pChO873nuzNKa44K\/\">sold millions of dollars in shares<\/a> after receiving a confidential briefing on COVID-19 in early February, and bought shares in a company that makes protective equipment.<\/li><li>Kara Swisher at the <em>New York Times<\/em> delineates <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/03\/31\/opinion\/coronavirus-fox-news.html?referringSource=articleShare\">how Fox News spread disinformation and downplayed the threat of COVID-19<\/a> to its viewers, even though they were taking significant precautions behind the scenes.<\/li><li>We have it bad here in the U.S., but the impact of the pandemic and attempts to stop it will lead to massive suffering in the developing world, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-asia-india-52086274?SThisFB&amp;fbclid=IwAR16L7ydQ4iHywSeNp2KjR0PVrD3iUwYIGYsPzVNccLnwi3Qv6UD7kVbVdc\">a lack of shelter or food for millions in India<\/a>.<\/li><li>A charity run by Franklin Graham, who has a long history of anti-gay commentary, has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lgbtqnation.com\/2020\/03\/viciously-anti-lgbtq-group-runs-central-park-tent-hospital-forces-volunteers-reject-gay-rights\/\">refused to allow LGBT people to volunteer in its tent hospital<\/a> in New York&#8217;s Central Park.<\/li><li>Meanwhile, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/amid-virus-outbreak-secret-service-signed-contract-to-rent-golf-carts-at-home-of-trump-club\/2020\/04\/01\/86d249fe-7449-11ea-85cb-8670579b863d_story.html\">the President is going to go golfing again<\/a>.<\/li><li>And <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/lifestyle\/media\/oann-is-booted-from-white-house-press-room-after-correspondent-chanel-rion-makes-second-unauthorized-appearance\/2020\/04\/01\/ae27e19a-7439-11ea-85cb-8670579b863d_story.html?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=newsletter&amp;wpisrc=nl_most\">he&#8217;s allowing a reporter from OANN<\/a> \u2013 an extreme right-wing &#8216;news&#8217; outlet that openly supports the Administration \u2013 to flaunt the White House Correspondents&#8217; Association&#8217;s rules on social distancing. OANN didn&#8217;t belong in the press room in the first place.<\/li><li>LitHub <a href=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/75-covers-of-the-master-and-margarita-ranked-with-comment\/\">ranked 75 different covers of <em>The Master &amp; Margarita<\/em><\/a> from around the world, and commented on them. I&#8217;ve had #25, #8, and #3 over the years.<\/li><li>Hackers or pranksters have been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2020\/04\/03\/826129520\/a-must-for-millions-zoom-has-a-dark-side-and-an-fbi-warning\">breaking into random Zoom meetings<\/a> and defacing peoples&#8217; screens. The FBI has warned that the platform isn&#8217;t secure.<\/li><li>Powell&#8217;s, one of the best independent bookstores in the United States, had laid off 100+ workers when the shutdown first hit Oregon, but has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/03\/30\/business\/powells-books-rehires-workers-trnd\/index.html\">rehired them to meet a surge in online orders<\/a> \u2013 one of which was from me, buying <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.powells.com\/book\/the-mirror-and-the-light-9780805096606\">The Mirror and the Light<\/a><\/em> as a birthday gift for my girlfriend&#8217;s mother. You can pre-order <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.powells.com\/book\/-9780062942722\">The Inside Game<\/a><\/em> from them as well.<\/li><li>Progressive\/instrumental metal band Town Portal and post-metal act Kowloon Walled City worked together on a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.decibelmagazine.com\/2020\/03\/26\/watch-town-portal-kowloon-walled-city-live-collaboration\/\">live mashup of Solange&#8217;s &#8220;Rise&#8221; and Kaki King&#8217;s &#8220;Jessica&#8221;<\/a> when the bands met up last summer, and just released it on YouTube to support Town Portal&#8217;s record label Small Pond.<\/li><li>Rock Manor Games&#8217; two-player game Lawyer Up is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/mikegnade\/lawyer-up\">in its last few days on Kickstarter<\/a>. I&#8217;ve actually played this game with co-designer Mike Gnade, who lives near me, and would definitely recommend it based on that one play of a finished prototype.<\/li><li>And finally, some tweets of note from the week:<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Fauci just admitted that if the Trump Administration had not fumbled the ball so badly on testing many fewer Americans would die from coronavirus.<\/p>&mdash; Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/danpfeiffer\/status\/1245124293467320321?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 31, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Friends, I learned last night over Zoom drinks that ya&#39;ll&#39;re baking so much that there&#39;s a shortage of yeast?! I, your local frumpy yeast geneticist have come here to tell you this: THERE IS NEVER A SHORTAGE OF YEAST. Here&#39;s where I&#39;m a viking. Instructions below.<\/p>&mdash; Sudeep Agarwala (@shoelaces3) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/shoelaces3\/status\/1244252079041974272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 29, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">powerful <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/QuwBc7G42J\">https:\/\/t.co\/QuwBc7G42J<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Daniel Uhlfelder (@DWUhlfelderLaw) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DWUhlfelderLaw\/status\/1244991695151935491?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 31, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I had two new pieces for subscribers to the Athletic this week, one on the great 1980s video game Earl Weaver Baseball (for which I spoke to one of its lead developers), and one with the latest on MLB&#8217;s plans for minor league realignment and contraction. On the gaming front, I had nothing new this [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[794,1083,1162,190,961,870],"class_list":["post-8350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-baking","tag-board-game-news","tag-coronavirus","tag-links","tag-longreads","tag-stick-to-baseball","entry"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8350"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8350\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8356,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8350\/revisions\/8356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}