{"id":9566,"date":"2022-10-01T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-01T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/?p=9566"},"modified":"2022-09-30T15:35:05","modified_gmt":"2022-09-30T19:35:05","slug":"stick-to-baseball-10-1-22","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/2022\/10\/01\/stick-to-baseball-10-1-22\/","title":{"rendered":"Stick to baseball, 10\/1\/22."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Since my last weekend post, I\u2019ve had three few posts up for subscribers to the Athletic, including my annual column on <a href=\"https:\/\/theathletic.com\/3612326\/2022\/09\/21\/keith-law-prospects-wrong-scouting\/\">players I was wrong about<\/a>, my annual <a href=\"https:\/\/theathletic.com\/3636116\/2022\/09\/29\/mlb-prospect-award-angels-ohoppe\/\">Prospect of the Year column<\/a>, and a quick scouting take on last weekend\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/theathletic.com\/3635308\/2022\/09\/28\/baseball-prospects-future-stars-main-event\/\">Future Stars Main Event showcase<\/a> for the 2023 draft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For <em>Paste<\/em> I <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pastemagazine.com\/games\/cellulose-board-game-review\/\">reviewed the board game Cellulose<\/a>, from Genius Games, which produces science-themed games that try to be both accurate and educational. It\u2019s definitely the former, but I\u2019m not sure about the latter, as it\u2019s a good worker-placement game that you can play well without getting into a lot of the technical stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the Keith Law Show this week, my guest was author and sportswriter Will Leitch, who wrote the wonderful 2021 novel <em><a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/2960\/9780063073050\">How Lucky<\/a><\/em> and who has a new novel coming out in May that <a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/2960\/9780063238510\">you can pre-order here<\/a>. <a>We discussed his writing, his beloved Cardinals, and the upcoming slate of movies for this fall and winter. You can listen and subscribe via <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/the-keith-law-show\/id1499877854\">iTunes<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/SpotKlawPod\">Spotify<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stitcher.com\/show\/the-keith-law-show\">Stitcher<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3s1basB\">amazon<\/a>, or wherever you get your podcasts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My <a href=\"https:\/\/tinyletter.com\/keithlaw\">free email newsletter<\/a> should return next week. COVID and some travel and other stuff just knocked me for a loop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And now, the links\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Longreads first: This story has gone beyond this one subtopic, but it\u2019s worth reading about how Brett Favre <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mississippifreepress.org\/27465\/in-depth-how-brett-favre-secured-6-million-in-welfare-funds-for-a-volleyball-stadium\">took $6 million in welfare funds and gave it to Southern Miss to build a volleyball stadium<\/a>.<\/li><li>Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed won a Nobel Peace Prize by ending the decades-long conflict with Eritrea, a former Ethiopian province that took Ethiopia\u2019s only coastline when it became independent. Now Ahmed stands accused of starting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/magazine\/2022\/10\/03\/did-a-nobel-peace-laureate-stoke-a-civil-war\">a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the minority Tigrayans<\/a> and fomenting a civil war less than a year after earning the honor.<\/li><li>Vigilante \u201cpredator catchers,\u201d using techniques similar to those from <em>To Catch a Predator<\/em>, are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/dc-md-va\/2022\/09\/22\/prredator-catchers-vigilante-justice\/\">infiltrating and often interfering with the criminal justice system<\/a>.<\/li><li>Yet another author thinks he\u2019s identified the Zodiac killer \u2013 although this time, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lamag.com\/citythinkblog\/zodiac-killer-paul-alfred-doerr\/\">the suspect\u2019s daughter thinks it might be true<\/a>.<\/li><li>Fifth Circuit judge Andy Oldham ruled that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techdirt.com\/2022\/09\/16\/5th-circuit-rewrites-a-century-of-1st-amendment-law-to-argue-internet-companies-have-no-right-to-moderate\/\">internet companies no longer have any right to moderate content on their sites<\/a>, which doesn\u2019t jibe well with the First Amendment. The <em>Atlantic<\/em>\u2019s Charlie Wurzel asks if <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/ideas\/archive\/2022\/09\/netchoice-paxton-first-amendment-social-media-content-moderation\/671574\/\">this is the end of the internet<\/a>. The subreddit r\/PoliticalHumor is <a href=\"https:\/\/reason.com\/2022\/09\/27\/subreddit-gets-users-to-call-texas-gov-greg-abbott-a-little-piss-baby-to-defy-content-moderation-law\/\">protesting the ruling and the Texas law in question<\/a> in a rather clever way.<\/li><li>Virginia is trying to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcwashington.com\/news\/local\/northern-virginia\/virginia-releases-new-school-guidelines-for-lgbtq-students\/3159565\/\">enact a set of policies to deny trans kids\u2019 rights in schools<\/a>, such as prohibiting the use of their preferred pronouns or their use of bathrooms that match their gender identities. It\u2019s cruel, and it solves no problem other than catering to transphobic voters. If you live in Virginia, the public comment period is open and <a href=\"https:\/\/townhall.virginia.gov\/L\/GDocForum.cfm?GDocForumID=1953\">you can comment here<\/a>.<\/li><li>An editorial in <em>Nature<\/em> argues that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/d41586-022-03036-5\">we need to let science and data determine transgender policy<\/a>, not anti-trans politicians. \u201cThe current spate of anti-trans positions has little to do with evidence-based research, science or data,\u201d such as bogus claims of sexual assaults by trans people (or people pretending to be trans) in bathrooms.<\/li><li>Meanwhile, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediamatters.org\/libs-tiktok\/right-wing-medias-campaign-against-childrens-hospitals-making-it-harder-trans-people\">right-wing trolls are targeting children\u2019s hospitals<\/a> that provide gender-affirming care, going after facilities in Akron and at Vanderbilt just weeks after a similar misinformation campaign led to bomb threats against Boston Children\u2019s Hospital. And, as usual, Twitter does nothing.<\/li><li>Libraries under attack: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vice.com\/en\/article\/v7vyvb\/libraries-across-the-us-are-receiving-violent-threats\">A dozen public libraries across the country received bomb or active shooter threats in the last two weeks<\/a>, which might be part of a coordinated effort targeted at LGBTQ+ communities. Last week was Banned Books Week, and yet <a href=\"https:\/\/newrepublic.com\/article\/167823\/banned-book-week-lgbtq-schools\">schools across the country continue to target LGBTQ+-themed books<\/a>. A librarian in a St. Louis-area school received two visits from a police officer <a href=\"https:\/\/news.stlpublicradio.org\/education\/2022-09-22\/school-librarian-recalls-surreal-police-visits-over-books-months-before-new-missouri-law\">because parents complained about \u201cpornographic\u201d books on the shelves<\/a>. In Greenville, South Carolina, Republicans have stolen several LGBTQ+ books from the library and are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.postandcourier.com\/greenville\/politics\/greenville-gop-wants-lgbtq-library-books-blocked-from-kids-sections\/article_a4fcf4fc-35fc-11ed-8aea-4f723685f741.html?utm_source=pocket_mylist\">trying to get the system to remove any such books from the kids\u2019 sections<\/a> (where, say, a child questioning their sexual orientation or gender identity might find them). Cory Doctorow points out that <a href=\"https:\/\/pluralistic.net\/2022\/09\/20\/the-moral-majority\/#is-neither\">vast majorities of Americans oppose book-banning efforts<\/a>, but the other side is louder.<\/li><li>A French scientist who pushed the thoroughly discredited notion that hydroxychloroquinone could treat COVID-19 <a href=\"https:\/\/retractionwatch.com\/2022\/09\/08\/didier-raoult-papers-earn-expressions-of-concern-as-criminal-investigation-gets-underway\/\">now faces a criminal investigation and possible retraction of six of his published papers<\/a>.<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/covid-health-zimbabwe-united-nations-southern-africa-1fa7cd6102aa8281e27163a8bf81fa02\">A measles outbreak in Zimbabwe has killed 700 children<\/a>.<\/li><li>ProPublica explains <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/whats-a-pig-butchering-scam-heres-how-to-avoid-falling-victim-to-one\">how \u201cpig-butchering\u201d scams work<\/a>. If you\u2019ve been getting texts from random numbers or similar messages on Whatsapp\/Instagram, sometimes saying \u201chi\u201d or \u201cyour number is in my phone\u201d or something, that\u2019s often the first step in the scam.<\/li><li>In a new documentary about Mario Batali, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/09\/21\/dining\/mario-batali-film-sexual-assault.html\">a former employee alleges that he sexually assaulted her<\/a>.<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/aaronrupar.substack.com\/p\/kevin-mccarthy-fentanyl\">Fentanyl is the new bugaboo<\/a> for Republican politicians and a lot of MAGA accounts on Twitter. The problem is it\u2019s arrant nonsense: You can\u2019t overdose from touching it, and it\u2019s not in random Halloween candy.<\/li><li>I loved this MLB.com story and video about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/news\/most-beautiful-baseball-field-in-europe\">a lovely new ballpark in Bavaria<\/a>, built to house a Bundesliga (the German professional league) team in F\u00fcssen.<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalgeographic.com\/environment\/article\/bornholm-island-denmark-goes-trash-free-by-recycling\">The Danish island of Bornholm is trying to go trash-free<\/a>, reusing or recycling all waste, as their waste-incineration plant is nearing the end of its life and officials there chose not to replace it.<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/2022-election\/dozens-trumps-phony-electors-many-investigation-still-hold-powerful-go-rcna47468\">A number of Trump\u2019s phony electors from 2020 still hold powerful positions<\/a> in their states, are on the ballot this November for the same, or are working for major campaigns like those of Blake Masters (Arizona) or Sen. Ron Johnson (Wisconsin).<\/li><li>Speaking of Sen. Johnson, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msnbc.com\/opinion\/msnbc-opinion\/wisconsin-republican-senator-s-gay-marriage-pivot-flawed-n1298923\">he flip-flopped on the bill to protect marriage equality<\/a>, pandering to a small but vocal minority of voters.<\/li><li>Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tampabay.com\/news\/florida-politics\/2022\/09\/22\/florida-migrant-flight-money-went-company-tied-desantis-adviser\/\">hired a company tied to one of his closest advisers<\/a> to fly migrants from Texas to Massachusetts, and his office has refused to explain how the company won this contract.<\/li><li>John Fetterman <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/think\/opinion\/fox-news-tucker-carlson-attack-john-fetterman-tattoos-ignorant-rcna48573\">responds to the strange attacks against his tattoos<\/a>, including a rant from Tucker Carlson. Are we really still worried about people with tattoos in the year 2022?<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2022\/09\/23\/well\/mind\/brown-noise.html\">Can \u201cbrown noise\u201d help your brain relax<\/a>? There isn\u2019t much research on this, and the research on \u201cpink noise,\u201d which allegedly helps with deep sleep, is limited to one real study.<\/li><li>Board game news: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/strongholdgames\/terraforming-mars-dice-game\">Terraforming Mars: The Dice Game<\/a> is already 10x funded on Kickstarter with 12 days to go.<\/li><li>Daybreak, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.backerkit.com\/c\/alex-hague\/daybreak\">the new cooperative game about fighting climate change<\/a> co-designed by Matt Leacock (Pandemic), is over $300,000 already with 20 days to go on Kickstarter.<\/li><li>LX News has a story on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lx.com\/health\/mental-health\/for-some-dd-players-tabletop-roleplaying-is-more-than-dice-and-magic-its-a-sanity-saving-mental-health-boost\/58032\/\">Dungeons &amp; Dragons players who tout mental health benefits from playing<\/a>, which isn\u2019t exactly backed by research but does talk up some of the benefits of gaming in general. The article does note the actual research on how reading fiction increases your empathy, though.<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/codeswitch\/2022\/09\/26\/1125115438\/what-dungeons-and-dragons-tells-us-about-race\">NPR\u2019s Code Switch looks at race in Dungeons &amp; Dragons<\/a> \u2013 how the game\u2019s fictional races bring in real-world stereotypes, and how some players are trying to rewrite some of the rules to eliminate or confront those issues.<\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Since my last weekend post, I\u2019ve had three few posts up for subscribers to the Athletic, including my annual column on players I was wrong about, my annual Prospect of the Year column, and a quick scouting take on last weekend\u2019s Future Stars Main Event showcase for the 2023 draft. For Paste I reviewed the [&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":[899,49,1083,1312,938,1203,959,137,1112,190,961,971,799,870,1239,345],"class_list":["post-9566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-africa","tag-baseball","tag-board-game-news","tag-book-banning","tag-books","tag-ethiopia","tag-first-amendment","tag-frauds","tag-lgbt-rights","tag-links","tag-longreads","tag-metoo","tag-science","tag-stick-to-baseball","tag-trans-rights","tag-true-crime","entry"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9566","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=9566"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9566\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9567,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9566\/revisions\/9567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}