Cup of Coffee: April 9, 2026

Good morning! And welcome to Free Thursday!

And That Happened

Here are the scores. Here are the highlights:

Blue Jays 4, Dodgers 3: L.A. took a 3-1 lead into the seventh but Toronto came back, with George Springer hitting an RBI double and Daulton Varsho singling in a run to tie it at three, after which Davis Schneider scored the tie-breaking run on a Will Smith throwing error on a stolen base attempt in the bottom of the eighth. That comeback spoiled a strong start by Shohei Ohtani, who allowed just one run on four hits over six. The Dodgers five-game winning streak ends and the Jays' six-game skid does as well.

Rockies 9, Astros 1: Michael Lorenzen allowed just one run while scattering seven hits over five and two-thirds, Hunter Goodman homered, and a bunch of other runs came in on singles, sac flies, and a wild pitch. That's a three-game sweep for Colorado and four wins in a row. The Rockies are now at .500 through 12 games. They haven't done that since they were 8-4 through 12 games in 2022. They lost 94 games that year and finished in last place, but given how things have gone lately that'd be pretty swell for them actually. I mean, they didn't win their sixth game until May 1 last season.

Rangers 3, Mariners 0: Four Rangers pitchers, led by MacKenzie Gore (5 IP, 1 H, 0 ER), authored a two-hit, 13-strikeout shutout. Not that Texas shot out the lights offensively, as their three runs all came in the fifth inning via a two-run error and a sac fly. I appreciate good pitching but at some point you're not really feeling the excitement in a game like this, are ya?

Red Sox 5, Brewers 0: Sonny Gray shut the Brewers out over six and a third, allowing just three hits while three relievers combined to allow just one more hit the rest of the way. Boston got its first three runs via three walks and two infield hits in the third inning so, again, no real fireworks but 'twas enough.  

Giants 5, Phillies 0: Another shutout. This one was a four-hitter, with Tyler Mahle handling five and two-thirds of it and four relievers handling the rest. Rafael Devers hit a three-run homer in the sixth and singled in a run in the eighth. San Francisco takes two of three.

Padres 8, Pirates 2: Nick Castellanos hit a two-run double and Jake Cronenworth added a two-run homer in a four-run seventh. The Padres had a four-run ninth as well. Michael King allowed two runs on four hits over six. San Diego takes two of three.

Guardians 10, Royals 2: Ángel Martínez had four hits including a grand slam while four Guardians hitters – Chase DeLauter, Rhys Hoskins, José Ramírez, and Juan Brito – had RBI doubles. Starter Joey Cantillo struck out nine over five and two-thirds innings, allowing one earned run on three hits. Cleveland takes two of three.

Orioles 5, White Sox 3:  Taylor Ward had four hits and drove in two runs on a couple of doubles and Pete Alonso scored on a passed ball. A sac fly and a groundout accounted for the other two runs. The O's pen gave them four shutout innings. Baltimore has now beat the White Sox nine straight times.

Cardinals 6, Nationals 1: Jordan Walker homered for the third consecutive game and Alec Burleson had three hits and drove in three. Yohel Pozo – who used to SLAY on The Ed Sullivan Show back in the day – singled in a run. The Cardinals take two of three. Washington has lost seven of eight.

Atlanta 8, Angels 2: Matt Olson homered, Jonah Heim and Mauricio Dubón doubled in runs, and Drake Baldwin singled one in. Grant Holmes went six and two-thirds allowing just two. Jorge Soler homered for the Angels mere hours after getting a seven-game suspension that he appealed. Atlanta takes two of three.

Diamondbacks 7, Mets 2: Arizona led 5-0 after two and it wasn't any more competitive after that. Corbin Carroll led the offensive charge with three extra base hits including a two-run double. Jorge Barrosa had a two-run double, Ketel Marte had an RBI single, and Gabriel Moreno and Geraldo Perdomo each delivered a sacrifice fly. Ryne Nelson allowed one run into the sixth. David Peterson continues to struggle for New York, having now allowed ten runs in 14.2 innings on the season. Not what they're needing from him, that's for sure.

Cubs 6, Rays 2: A five-run fifth inning decided this one, with Michael Conforto doubling in a run after which two more scored on a throwing error. After that Nico Hoerner doubled in Conforto and then he himself scored on another throwing error, so things sure as hell weren't tight on D for the Rays that inning. Hoerner had hit a solo homer earlier in the game. Chicago takes two of three.

Marlins 7, Reds 4: Miami didn't blow this one like they did on Tuesday, taking a 6-2 lead by the third and never looking back.  Griffin Conine and Connor Norby homered and Xavier Edwards and Jakob Marsee each had two hits and an RBI. The Reds' five-game winning streak is no more.  

Athletics 3, Yankees 2: It was 2-2 in the top of the ninth when Nick Kurtz singled, Shane Langeliers doubled to move Kurtz to third, and then Brent Rooker hit a sac fly to bring him home. Yankees' old friend Luis Severino allowed two over five but four A's relievers combined for four no-it innings to end it.

Twins 8, Tigers 6: The Twins teed off on Framber Valdez, plating six runs off of him in the first inning. No homers or anything, just conga line baserunners and some sloppiness. Luke Keaschall singled in a seventh run in the fourth and Byron Buxton scored from third on a pickoff attempt to make it eight. Detroit mounted little rallies in the middle innings but the hill was too steep to climb. Minnesota has taken three in a row from the Tigers and look to sweep this afternoon.

The Daily Briefing

Pirates, Konnor Griffin finalize a $140 million contract extension

Last week word circulated that the Pittsburgh Pirates and 19 year-old shortstop Konnor Griffin were on the verge of negotiating a long-term deal. That deal was finalized and announced yesterday morning with Griffin and the Bucs agreeing to a nine-year $140 million extension. Griffin, the consensus top prospect in all of baseball, is now locked up through the end of the 2034 season, which covers what would've been his first three years of free agency.

Griffin, the number nine overall pick in the 2024 Draft, raced through the minors last season, hitting .333/.415/.527 with 21 home runs and 65 steals while moving from Low-A to Double-A ball. When he was called up to Pittsburgh last week he became the first teenager to appear in the big leagues since Elvis Luciano and Juan Soto did in 2019. Through yesterday Griffin is just 3-for-18 in his first six games, but no one doubts that the kid will perform. Certainly the Pirates don't, as they've just agreed with him on the largest contract in team history.

Though, this being the Pirates, it's not at all surprising that the official statement on the signing from owner Bob Nutting contains something . . . odd:

“Signing Konnor is a meaningful commitment to this team, this city and our fans. It reflects our belief in Konnor, in this season’s club and in the future of our organization. Konnor represents everything we value in a player: exceptional talent, strong character, a team-first mentality and a maturity that stood out to all of us from the beginning. He is the right person, from the right family, and this is another important step in the work we have been doing to build something lasting.”

What on Earth does "from the right family" mean? What are Pirates evaluators looking for in a players' family, exactly? What does a wrong family look like? Given baseball's long and rich history of questionable demographic dog whistling when it comes to player evaluation, I'd really, really like to ask Bob Nutting what he meant by that.

Reynaldo López, Jorge Soler suspended

The bill has come due for Tuesday night's Angels-Atlanta brawl: Atlanta pitcher Reynaldo López and Angels outfielder Jorge Soler were each handed seven-game suspensions and undisclosed fines yesterday afternoon.

That's a pretty hefty bill, all things considered. Usually a mound-charge or an intentional plunking gets you like four or five games. Indeed, I can't remember a simple fight situation like this getting someone seven games. Victor Robles got ten games for throwing a bat at someone last year and this feels way more than three-games less severe. Maybe they're cracking down harder now? I have no idea.

Both players chose to appeal so the suspensions are on hold for now, but both of them will be missing at least some time sometime soon.

An Opening Day starter has been sent to the minors

It happens every couple of years, but it's still notable when it happens again: the Chicago White Sox have sent Opening Day starter Shane Smith down to Triple-A less than two weeks after the start of the season.

Smith made three starts and allowed 12 runs – 10 earned – on 12 hits and while issuing nine walks in eight and a third innings. So, yeah, something ain't right with him. But even if he never figures it out, I suppose he'll always have "I was the Opening Day pitcher for a major league team" on his resumé.

Great Moments in Double-A

In the second inning of their Tuesday night game the Blue Jays Double-A affiliate, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, scored their first eight runs against the Red Sox Double-A affiliate, the Portland Sea Dogs, without a hit. Indeed, they scored a total of ten runs that inning on just one hit and without the benefit of any errors. They did so because Portland pitchers issued eight walks, hit two batters, threw four wild pitches, and gave up a sacrifice fly and a single.

Afterwards, Portland's president, Geoff Iacuessa, talked about it to a local news outlet:

"I don't ever remember seeing that, here or any other game I've ever seen. It was crazy. I thought maybe something was going on with the scoreboard and then I checked the game changer and it was correct."

Crazy. Like [Fisher] cats and [Sea] dogs living together. Mass hysteria.

Davey Lopes: 1945-2026

Sixteen-year MLB veteran, longtime Los Angeles Dodger second baseman, and base stealer extraordinair Davey Lopes died yesterday. He was 80.

Lopes, who was born and raised in Rhode Island, was a second round draft pick of the Dodgers out of Washburn University in 1968. An outfielder at the time, he spent four years in the minors learning second base under the tutelage of his Triple-A manager, and his future Dodgers manager, Tommy Lasorda. He'd make his big league debut in 1972 and assumed the club's full-time second base job a year later.

In Los Angeles Lopes joined first baseman Steve Garvey, shortstop Bill Russell, and third baseman Ron Cey to form one of the most steady and formidable infields in baseball history. That group helped the Dodgers win pennants in 1974, 1977, 1978, and 1981, with L.A. finally winning the World Series in that final year.

Lopes himself made four All-Star teams during that run while generally leading off for the Dodgers. He led the league in stolen bases with 77 in 1975 and 63 in 1976. During one stretch in 1975 Lopes stole 38 consecutive bases without getting caught, breaking a 53-year-old record set by Max Carey. That record held until Vince Coleman broke it in 1989. Lopes won a Gold Glove in 1978.

Lopes was traded away by the Dodgers prior to the 1982 campaign as the club wanted to make room for a young Steve Sax. He'd continue to be a productive player, often coming off the bench and platooning for the Athletics, the Cubs, and finally the Astros. He continued running too, stealing 47 bases in 51 attempts at the age of 40 and 25 bags at age 41 before retiring following the 1987 season. For his career he was a .263/.349/.388 (107 OPS+) hitter with 155 homers and 557 career stolen bases. Maybe more impressive than his stolen base total, however, was his success rate: 83.01%, which ranks third all time behind Tim Raines and Willie Wilson among players with at least 400 attempts.

Lopes had a long coaching career following his retirement, often serving as a first base coach and base running expert. Almost every time he was hired his team's running would dramatically improve, with players invariably giving credit to Lopes for helping them identify pitcher's habits and pickoff moves and to pick their best spots to run.

Lopes managed the Milwaukee Brewers from 2000 into the 2002 season, posting a record of 144-195. Perhaps his most notable episode as a manager came when he threatened to have his pitchers plunk Rickey Henderson after Henderson, then with the Padres, stole a base in a game against Milwaukee while his team led by seven runs. After Lopes comments the Elias Sports Bureau identified seven different times when Lopes himself stole bases while his team led by at least seven runs. Ballplayers are gonna ballplayer, I guess.

Lopes retired from coaching after his 2016-2017 stint with the Washington Nationals.

Rest in peace Davey Lopes.

Other Stuff

Meanwhile, in Ohio

Remember the Buc-ee's grand opening I wrote about on Monday? Yeah . . .

I've said it before, but Ohio is not a serious state.

Honest question

Yesterday J.D. Vance was in Hungary doing his usual "support right wing authoritarians and spew white supremacist shit" thing. In one of his comments he talked about the importance of eliminating racial discrimination but, naturally, only as it applied to white people, saying that "middle class white kids" face the most pernicious discrimination.

That's obviously insane and evil disinformation on six levels, but it's nothing new for Vance. He has long identified closely with the white supremacist/eugenicist elements of the political right, and has made countless comments espousing long-discredited race science theories and straight-up bigotry. As many have noted, it's basically his speciality.

Vance's wife Usha, as most people know, is the daughter of Indian immigrants, and their children are of half-Indian descent. While I am well aware of the long and rich history of bigots being hypocritical and making massive exceptions for themselves and their loved ones which they'd never make for others, I truly would like to know if and how these sorts of comments Vance constantly makes are discussed at home. Do he and Usha have some sort of "I have to say this sort of thing to get what we want" agreement, with their shared desire for power standing paramount? Or is it weirder? Like, do they engage in some sort of magical "actually, you and the children are white" thinking which squares this seemingly impossible to square circle?

I feel like it has to be the former, because a lot of hardcore right wingers have attacked Vance over the years for marrying a non-white person, and he has said things such as "obviously, she's not a white person, and we've been accused, attacked by some white supremacists over that. But I just, I love Usha." That's meaningful to a white supremacist like Vance, because a lot of those sorts of people engage in extraordinarily complicated (and erroneous) genetic arguments to talk about who is and who isn't white based on, like, how far from the Caucus Mountains their people came from. Some of those types include people from India in that thinking, though only certain people, natch. Again, it's all stupid horseshit, but Vance travels in circles with people believe stuff like that, so that path is certainly open to him if he wanted to take it. But he doesn't.

Which leaves us with only one conclusion: Vance and his wife are both perfectly content with him trashing the heritage and racial identity of both her and their children, but they don't give a shit. I'm struggling like mad to understand how anyone like that can live with themselves. And I'm quite curious to see, a couple of decades from now, what Vance's kids think about all of that.

An Artist I Generally Admire on AI: Part I

Earlier this week Nick Cave, at his mailbag newsletter, The Red Hand Files, answered a collection of reader questions about (a) what makes living in a seemingly meaningless world worthwhile; and (b) whether he has tried out any AI songwriting tools. After first noting that music is what gives his life and the lives of many meaning, he said this:

I believe we value music so highly partly because when we listen to certain songs we perceive, on some level, the inherent human battle waged within them – the struggle of the songwriter and their triumph over that struggle. These songs reassure us by addressing the soul and spirit – concepts that have been almost entirely stripped from this materialistic, secular and degraded age. We weep, laugh, and dance not just because of the song’s rhythm or melody, but because in the music we recognise the struggle intrinsic to the act of creation and the sheer life-affirming audacity of creativity itself, that most elemental of human impulses. These songs speak in a language of inspiration and hope, telling us that we can overcome the many troubles and disillusions we face. Through their very existence, they show us that beauty and goodness can prevail.

So, as a songwriter, David, I find myself despairing over the rise of AI song generators. It’s not that they aren’t good, in fact they are – or soon will be – too good. Before long, they will be able to produce songs indistinguishable from those created by humans. And this is what grieves me. They will be identical in presentation, perhaps even superior, but entirely devoid of soul, cynically undermining the need for matters of the spirit, the sacred, the divine. “What is the purpose of the soul?” they scorn. “What is its material use?” These are the questions that ring out like a final hollow bell tolling at the end of a civilisation, where the last threads of meaning have been severed and discarded. Notions of artistic struggle, of striving, of triumph over adversity, personal pride, desire, delight, inspiration, and resilience are dismissed as mere obstacles or indulgences on the way to the new and gleaming product – the AI-generated song, perfect in its cynicism, magnificent in its emptiness.

I couldn't have said it better myself. Which is yet another reason we should value humans over machines. A lot of them are very good at explaining things the rest of us can only feel.

An Artist I Generally Admire on AI: Part II

I like a lot of Steven Soderbergh films. "Sex, Lies and Videotape" was revelatory – on multiple levels – to 16 year-old me. I think "Out of Sight" and "The Limey" are two of the best crime movies of the last 50 years. I've probably watched "Ocean's Eleven" more times than any movie that has come out in the 21st century by virtue of it being on heavy rotation on HBO when Anna was an extremely colicky newborn, I had the night shift, and watching it with headphones on and a wailing baby in my arms was about the only thing that got me through. Soderbergh is a prolific filmmaker so there is a lot of chaff among the wheat in his filmography, but I generally hold a lot of goodwill for him.

Or at least I did until I saw this at the AV Club yesterday, talking about an interview Soderbergh gave to Filmmaker Magazine:

In the interview, Soderbergh admits that he’s been working with AI to create “thematically surreal images” for a nearly complete documentary about John and Yoko. The documentary will explore the couple’s work outside of music, relying on a three-hour interview the couple did with RKO Radio hours before he was killed. But the only way to create “images that are kind of a surreal version of what their words try to transmit” is by using AI, a process he’s found “really fun because you need a Ph.D. in literature to tell it what to do” . . . In addition to the documentary, Soderbergh tells Filmmaker that he’s using “a lot of AI” for a planned movie about the Spanish-American War, starring Wagner Moura.  

I probably shouldn't be surprised. Because for as much as Soderbergh became an indie darling after "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" came out, he has always been more of a move-fast-and-break-thing/gee-whiz technology guy than some sort of auteur. The same sorts of impulses that have led to his prolificacy and his genre-hopping – and his experiments with making movies on iPhones and his pioneering of the simultaneous release distribution model– are probably what cause someone to be fascinated with technology for its own sake regardless of what it means in artistic terms.

Because he's Steven Soderbergh I assume that he'll end up making better movies with AI than a lot of other people who make movies with AI. But they'll still be AI-created movies which are diminished and, indeed, easily dismissed as art for the precise reasons Nick Cave mentioned above.

The guy who threatened the Pope

A story broke yesterday about how, a few months ago, Undersecretary of Defense Elbridge Colby summoned the Vatican's ambassador to the United States to the Pentagon for the precise purpose of threatening the Pope.

Seriously.

It seems that Trump administration officials were getting angry that the Pope was speaking out about America's treatment of immigrants and its military adventurism and wanted to put the Vicar of Christ in his place:

“America,” Colby and his colleagues told the cardinal, “has the military power to do whatever it wants in the world. The Catholic Church had better take its side.” As tempers rose, one U.S. official reached for a fourteenth-century weapon and invoked the Avignon Papacy, the period when the French Crown used military force to bend the bishop of Rome to its will.

That scene, broken this week by Mattia Ferraresi in an extraordinary piece of journalism for The Free Press, may be the most remarkable moment in the long and knotted history of the American republic’s relationship with the Catholic Church.

That's some pretty hilarious hubris on [checks the name again] Elbridge Colby's part, but nothing really surprises me from this administration anymore. I will say, however, that I was somewhat surprised just how on-the-nose this [once again checking to see if I got that name right] Elbridge Colby looks:

I assume it's just a coincidence that the guy who literally threatened God's infallible representative on Earth looks like every single third-level henchman who dies horribly midway through Act 2 of an action movie after the hero decides that it's finally time to lock and load and take the battle to bad guys. If it was a few years ago he'd 100% be played by Jere Burns or David Patrick Kelly in the movie version, but there are always smug-lookin' jackwagons to play that stock character.

Anyway, that's a hell of a look [honestly cannot believe I'm saying the words] Elbridge Colby. For your sake I'm hoping the Catholics are wrong about how the whole afterlife thing works. In the meantime, good luck setting up your antipope in Avignon or Palm Beach or wherever the hell you think such a thing will take.

Have a great day everyone.