Cup of Coffee: September 11, 2025

Good morning! And welcome to Free Thursday!

Yesterday was a hell of a day, eh?

And That Happened

Here are the scores. Here are the highlights:

Tigers 11, Yankees 1: I talk more about the killing of Charlie Kirk down in Other Stuff, but this was . . . a hell of a thing to see:

I'd be curious to see which other victims of violence the Yankees have had moments of silence for recently. The two Democratic legislators who were recently assassinated in Minnesota? The multiple children shot at that school in Colorado at exactly the same time Kirk's killing occurred? Literally any victim of the many mass-shootings we are forced to endure in this country? Are we only doing moments of silence for right wing podcasters who had absolutely no known associations with the team or the City of New York? I'd be really curious to know the thought-process here.

As for the game, old friend Gleyber Torres knocked in the game's first three runs on a two-run single and a groundout and Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter, and Colt Keith each hit two-run homers. The Yankees deserved to get their asses kicked yesterday. They deserved to have an utterly embarrassing day all around.

Athletics 5, Red Sox 4:  Nick The Colonel Kurtz hit his 30th home run of the season and Lawrence Butler hit a walk-off single in the ninth to allow the A's to avoid being swept at home. Or I should say being swept at the baseball equivalent of a Fairfield Inn near the freeway with an "under new management" sign on it into which you had to move because your wife got tired of your shit and kicked you out and, look, it's not permanent but you just gotta figure some stuff out, OK?

Rangers 6, Brewers 3: Jake Burger homered twice – a solo shot in the second and a two-run blast in the fifth – while Merrill Kelly bent but didn't break. Texas sweeps the three-game set and wins its fourth in a row.

Diamondbacks 5, Giants 3:  Eduardo Rodríguez allowed one hit while pitching into the seventh. Geraldo Perdomo had two hits including a leadoff home run. Alex Thomas, Tim Tawa, and Gabriel Moreno also had two hits apiece. The Snakes end a three-game skid and avoid being swept.

Angels 4, Twins 3: Mike Trout singled in a run, scored on a subsequent two-run homer from Zach Neto, and hit a sac fly. The Angels threw seven pitchers at the problem and it worked out for 'em.

Royals 4, Guardians 3: It was back-and-forth until the seventh when Nick Loftin singled in a run, took second on the throw, advanced to third on an error, and the came home on Maikel García's go-ahead double. Cleveland's five-game winning streak comes to an end.

Orioles 2, Pirates 1: A well-pitched game with Paul Skenes turning in five shutout innings and topping 200 strikeouts on the year (in 178 innings), Tyler Wells allowing just one run into the seventh, and the proceedings standing tied at one at the end of regulation. The O's pitching held serve at the top of the tenth and, in the bottom half, a bunt single moved the Manfred Man to third and Dylan Beavers' RBI single walked it off.

Marlins 8, Nationals 3: The Nats had a 3-0 lead by the sixth but the Fish made it 4-3 before the start of the seventh. Miami would get an insurance run that inning and then Xavier Edwards smacked a three-run homer in the eighth to put things out of reach.

Phillies 11, Mets 3: Max Kepler had a whale of a game, taking a bases-loaded-plunking, hitting a couple of RBI singles, and homering on a five-RBI night. Cristopher Sánchez allowed one over six. The Phillies now have a 10-game lead in the division. Their magic number to win the NL East is seven.

Astros 3, Blue Jays 2: Yanier Díaz doubled in a run early and homered in the ninth to break a 2-2 tie. Carlos Correa homered in the sixth. Jason Alexander got a no-decision for Houston but he turned in seven shutout innings and that ain't hay.

Cubs 3, Atlanta 2: Chris Sale struck out nine dudes in five innings but still took the L after coughing up three runs on a night his bats didn't have his back. Caron Kelly homered and Justin Turner doubled one in. The other Cubs run came on a sac fly. The pen gave Craig Counsell four and two-thirds innings of shutout ball.

White Sox 6, Rays 5:  Mike Tauchman and Lenyn Sosa each hit two-run doubles and Michael A. Taylor had an RBI double during the Chisox's five-run second inning and Andrew Benintendi hit a third-inning home run. The White Sox used eight pitchers in this one so it probably felt like a spring training game on some level. Which, you'd think anyway, shoulda made the Rays feel at home given their ballpark situation these days.

Reds 2, Padres 1: Andrew Abbot gave up a homer to Fernando Tatis Jr. but that's all he gave up on an eight-inning, five-hit, one-run outing. He was more than matched by Nick Pivetta who turned in seven shutout innings, but the Reds bats broke through just enough in the eighth when Elly De La Cruz singled in the tying run and then came around to score on a single from pinch-hitter Miguel Andujar that was paired by a Padres fielding error. Cincinnati pulls even with San Francisco, two games behind the Mets for the NL's final Wild Card.

Mariners 4, Cardinals 2: The witches' anti-curse continues to be effective as Seattle wins its fifth straight game. This one was won in spectacular fashion as Leo Rivas led off the bottom of the 13th inning with a two-run homer. Seattle completes a three-game sweep and remains one game behind Houston for the AL West lead. The Mariners lead Texas by a game and a half for the final American League Wild Card.

Dodgers 9, Rockies 0: Mookie Betts hit a grand slam and doubled in a run and Teoscar Hernández hit a late solo dinger. Blake Snell had a very Blake Snelly night, going six innings and striking out 11 while being his usual inefficient self. With the Padres loss and this win L.A.'s NL West lead is now back up to three games.

The Daily Briefing

The Tigers business offices are profoundly toxic

Yesterday Brittany Ghiroli and Alex Andrejev of The Athletic dropped a bombshell report about the toxic and hostile workplace environment at Ilitch Sports and Entertainment, the company which owns and operates the Detroit Tigers, the Detroit Red Wings, Comerica Park, Little Caesars Arena, and other entertainment entities owned by the Ilitch family.

Specifically, at least eight men employed by the Tigers, its business arm or its broadcast partner, have been accused of misconduct toward women since 2023, including four vice presidents and two other high-ranking employees. Some were disciplined or fired, but not all. One was only suspended after The Athletic contacted the Tigers in the course of its reporting. One man was promoted to vice president after allegations were made against him.

The Athletic began its investigation after Tigers Assistant GM Sam Menzin abruptly resigned last April after it was discovered that he sent female coworkers unsolicited photos of his penis via Snapchat. At the time The Athletic reported that Menzin's behavior was an open secret but that people were loathe to speak out against it because of the perception that the organization wouldn't do anything about it. The Tigers pushed back against that at the time, noting that Menzin's resignation only came because the club was preparing to fire him over his conduct. Still, this new story strongly suggests that the culture within the organization either encourages toxic behavior or looks the other way when it happens. From the article:

In interviews, current and former employees described a “boys club” culture at IS+E where women were told not to wear specific skirts or pants because male colleagues found them distracting. Several women said men routinely commented on their appearance; the executive who was recently suspended allegedly commented on whether or not women were attractive enough to work in sports.

Among the lowlights:

• A vice president of sales, who already had multiple complaints against him, was involved in an inappropriate workplace relationship with a woman during which he allegedly pushed her down a flight of stairs. He resigned under threat of termination and he now works for the Chicago Fire of MLS;
• A vice president of business operations at the Tigers' Lakeland, Florida spring training facility verbally harassed male and female employees, sometimes on the field, and he shoved a female employee at a Lakeland bar;
• A director of video content production was fired after months of his making inappropriate comments about women's bodies and otherwise sexually harassing women in the workplace;
• The Tigers' vice president of game presentation and fan experience, whose job requires him to be on a headset with other stadium workers during games, is alleged to have routinely made inappropriate remarks. Multiple Tigers workers told The Athletic that an effort was made to keep lower-level employees off the headsets so they wouldn’t hear him. He also allegedly told women they weren’t attractive enough to succeed in the sports industry, specifically telling one woman that she was not “hot” enough to make it;
• The Tigers are also one of only three (out of 30) MLB teams that don’t offer paid maternity leave; and
• Separate and apart from the sexist and misogynistic stuff, there is a sense within the organization that the bosses discriminate against older workers and try to force them out. Behavior for which it has been sued at least three times in recent years.

This part is particularly interesting:

Ben Fidelman, IS+E’s vice president of communications and broadcasting, started his sports career with internships for MLB.com and the commissioner’s office. He has a close relationship with MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, whom he refers to as his uncle . . . Since his promotion to director, Fidelman allegedly yelled at a female employee and called her “stupid” within earshot of two people, who conveyed what they heard to The Athletic. Another former employee said she overheard Fidelman make demeaning remarks about her physical appearance. Another woman who worked under Fidelman said that when she told him she didn’t feel included in some workplace matters, he replied: “You shouldn’t feel included.”

“More than once, I’ve heard him screaming at women in the organization,” said a current male employee . . . In all, 10 people – men and women – said they witnessed Fidelman make inappropriate remarks or exhibit behavior that was described by some as “belittling,” “domineering” and “disrespectful.”

Fidelman, the man who tells people he's Rob Manfred's nephew, was investigated by HR. And then, this past June, he was promoted to vice president.

Two things can be true.

The first thing: that this sort of abhorrent behavior happens in places of work in basically every sort of business and industry.

The second thing: the fact that there still remains a prevailing belief that sports are a men's world and that only men are capable of performing certain jobs within sports makes this a particularly bad problem in sports.

Anthony Rizzo to retire as a Cub

The Cubs announced yesterday that, this Saturday, their former first baseman Anthony Rizzo will officially retire as a member of the Cubs and join the organization as a team ambassador.

Rizzo played parts of 14 seasons in the bigs, hitting .261/.361/.467 (123 OPS+) with 1,644 hits, 338 doubles, 303 home runs, 965 RBI, and 922 runs. He was a three-time All-Star and won four Gold Gloves, a Platinum Glove, a Silver Slugger Award, and the Roberto Clemente Award during the course of his career. He was also, of course, a key part of the Cubs' 2016 World Series championship, catching the final out of Series-clinching victory.

The Cubs traded Rizzo to the Yankees in the middle of the 2021 season and he re-signed with New York the subsequent winter. He hit 32 homers and posted a 130 OPS+ in 2022, but after that injuries and age curtailed his effectiveness. He did enjoy an excellent ALCS last season, however, helping the Yankees win the 2024 AL pennant.

Rizzo was well-liked by Yankees fans in his three and a half seasons there, but it was obvious that he'd always be a Chicago Cub. And now he will be. Because, per ancient Cubs custom, he will be entombed, alive, in the scoreboard above the Wrigley Field bleachers, with various treasured and enchanted talismans to aid him as he crosses into the horrible, stygian darkness of Chicago baseball immortality.

Another gambling scandal

From ESPN, three college basketball players have been removed from their teams and kicked out of their schools after they were found to have placed a bunch of prop bets and then intentionally underperformed in games.

It's just part of the sports landscape now.

Other Stuff

Let's raise some money for a food bank

Longtime subscriber Jake S. – who is a great guy even if he thinks that oatmeal cookies are better than chocolate chip cookies – has launched a fundraiser in honor of his father's birthday. From the fundraiser page:

My dad Charlie, has many fantastic qualities, and one of them is his dedication to the Food Bank of Santa Barbara County as a board member. Never one to be idle in retirement, he devotes as much energy as he can to making sure hungry people in the SB area have what they need. Please help me celebrate his birthday by making a donation.

You can donate here if you are so inclined. Happy birthday, Charlie S., even if you raised your son to have some really bad opinions about cookies.

Charlie Kirk shot and killed at a Utah speaking event

Right wing political commentator Charlie Kirk was shot while appearing at an event at Utah Valley University yesterday. He was struck in the neck. He was pronounced dead at the hospital, but as anyone who was unfortunate enough to see the video of the shooting knows, his death was inevitable the moment the bullet hit him. He was 31 years old.

Violence – including political violence – is always bad and it is always wrong. I hope it's not controversial for me to say that, but I truly believe that it's bad. I believe that it's bad no matter who commits it and no matter who the victim is or what the victim has said or has done in the past. It's bad even if, as was the case with Kirk, one makes it one's life‘s work to vehemently argue in favor of a deeply racist politics of which violence was both an essential part and an inevitable and desired outcome. I know that we're not supposed to mention any of that because it’s not seen as polite or respectful, but Kirk himself abhorred the very idea of empathy and I believe that nothing honors the dead more than honoring their truth.

Violence is the antithesis of the sort of civic democracy which is already under attack in this country. It's bad because violence begets more violence, taking us even further away from those virtuous civic ideals than we have already strayed. It's bad in this particular instance because those who align themselves with Charlie Kirk are fascists who will no doubt use his murder as an excuse to incite and inflict even more pain, suffering, and persecution upon those whom they see as their enemy than they already are inciting and inflicting. As my friend Andrea Pitzer said yesterday in the immediate aftermath, "shooting Charlie Kirk was never going to help anyone except those who are already trying to destroy the country." She's right about that. Indeed, I suspect a great many of the people who are trying to destroy the country view Kirk's killing as a gift in this very regard.

I truly do hope that Charlie Kirk rests in peace. A peace he'd never allow or abide, in life or in death, for those whom he made it his life's work to slander and attack.

Uhhh . . .

Yesterday I talked about how someone hired an Etsy witch to cast a spell on the Seattle Mariners to get them to stop losing, since which they've reeled off five wins in a row.

In related news:

For what it's worth, the writer of that article, which was published on Monday, was not calling for violence:

"I want to make it clear, I’m not calling on dark forces to cause him harm. I just want him to wake up every morning with an inexplicable zit. I want his podcast microphone to malfunction every time he hits record. I want his blue blazers to suddenly all be one size too small. I want one of his socks to always be sliding down his foot. I want his thumb to grow too big to tweet. To ruin his day with the collective feminist power of the Etsy coven would be my life’s greatest joy."

But damn.

Protest and oppositon, however, always works

Political violence is self-defeating. But two items of note show us that organized and principled political protest remains effective. First, from Rochester, New York:

Federal agents pulled back from a raid on rooftop workers at a rental site in upstate New York on Tuesday morning, as protesters crowded the street outside the location and forcefully condemned their operation.

About 100 demonstrators joined the scene in Rochester, yelling “shame” and “Gestapo,” as immigration enforcement agents, some of which were masked, tried to arrest people working at the site, eventually forcing them to retreat, according to WXXI. The protesters clapped and made obscene gestures as the agents left, the local outlet said.

Then, on Fox News, Attorney General Pam Bondi was asked why cities like Chicago don’t want federal troops sent there, Bondi said this:

“They are a progressive city, and they don’t want the president’s help. That’s on them. It’s horrific that they don’t want President Trump’s help . . . Chicago should be begging Donald Trump for help to keep Chicago safe, yet they aren’t so we’re going to go into a city who wants us there.”

That was backed by several signs that the Trump Regime is backing off its plans to more aggressively deploy troops in Chicago. Specifically, Trump said on Tuesday that the next operation would be where the state's governor, "would love us to be there," and "the mayor of a certain city in that same state would love us to be there."

So even 100 people mobilizing in the streets like some people did in Rochester works. And forcefully speaking out against the Regime's tyrannical actions, like Illinois governor JB Pritzker has done, works.

Let that be a lesson to those who say people should try to find common ground or to otherwise appease the fascists who run the federal government.

It's looking more like cold-blooded murder

Even if that boat that Trump ordered blown up last week was full of hardened drug traffickers bringing a metric ton of death sticks to a dock just outside of a Florida elementary school, it was a crime to do what he did, as extrajudicial killings are against both international and domestic law. The more we learn about it, though, the worse it turns out to be. From the New York Times:

A Venezuelan boat that the U.S. military destroyed in the Caribbean last week had altered its course and appeared to have turned around before the attack started because the people onboard had apparently spotted a military aircraft stalking it, according to American officials familiar with the matter. The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, added that the military hit the vessel repeatedly before it sank.

Which is to say, even if you buy Trump's manifestly erroneous claim that it's legal under international war and U.S. military protocols to destroy rather than intercept a boat because it represents some sort of threat to the United States hundreds and hundreds of miles away, the fact that the boat had changed direction and was heading back to Venezuela negates such a justification.

Donald Trump straight up ordered a mass murder, and the military chain of command carried out that mass murder. It's is plain as day. It's the sort of thing that, if the United States lived up to its morals, its values, its laws, and the many international treaties to which it is a party, would cause Trump to be put on trial at The Hague for war crimes.

Life on Mars?

So, on Earth, there are these sorts of microbes which leave marks on rocks and creates certain sorts of minerals that would otherwise not exist but for their organic creators. Now NASA is saying they have found such minerals on Mars. Which some folks are saying provides strong evidence of the existence of past life on the red planet:

During a news conference on Wednesday, Sean Duffy, the acting administrator of NASA who is also the Secretary of Transportation, said, “This very well could be the clearest sign of life that we’ve ever found on Mars.”

Duffy's primary qualification for running NASA is the fact that he was on "The Real World: Boston" and has dutifully kissed Trump's butt for a long time. As such, I'm prepared to wait until I get excited about such news. But as you all know, I am utterly incapable of not sharing life-in-outer-space-news whenever and wherever I find it because part of me is still a little kid who thinks space is cool.

Have a great day everyone.