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So I can’t recall it being mentioned here, but y’all really need to see Mandy. It’s a sumptuous feast for the whole family to enjoy—if your family doesn’t suck and your kids are super into slime demon bikers, cult leaders who fancy themselves pop gods, chainsaw duels, a bitchin’ score which is so damn good the whole thing is going to be the song of the day, lots of blood, lots of heart, and Nicolas Cage in a return to form so triumphant that it’s all I can think about.
Jeffrey Flanagan looks at the inimitable Chris Young and how he was integral to the 2015 Royals:
Later in the series, once again Young was called upon to stop an opponents’ momentum. Once again it was in a Game 4.
The Mets had won Game 3 to pull within 2-1 in the series. A win by the Mets in Game 4 could have shifted the tide permanently. But on Halloween night, Young again delivered, holding the Mets to two runs over four innings, keeping the Royals in it.
”As a starting pitcher that season,” Young said, “really, our only task was to keep the score down and keep the team close. We had such a dominant bullpen and we had such a knack for rallying late in games that all you wanted to do as a starter was to keep it close.”
Here’s a Nicolas Cage pillowcase that you know you need—I have one but it’s a little different.
Jeff Sullivan writes of the Royals’ greatest hope, Adalberto Mondesí:
Some people might use exit velocity instead of xwOBA on contact, since it’s a truer reflection of bat speed, but the point isn’t just to hit the ball as hard as possible — the point is to hit the ball such that you reach base. Better to hit the ball 105 in the air than 115 on a line. Anyway, in terms of sprint speed this season, Mondesi ranks in the 98th percentile. He’s clearly one of the fastest runners in either league. And then, in terms of xwOBA on contact, Mondesi ranks in the 79th percentile. The dots up there to his right are Ronald Acuna and Trevor Story. Mondesi is very, very fast, and he’s also capable of hitting the ball hard. That establishes a potential star-player foundation.
Rustin Dodd had two good pieces up at the Athletic (obligatory subscription required warning with the added if you’re going to subscribe anyway why not use my code and give me ten Amabucks?). First, Ryan O’Hearn got to measure up to his idol, Joey Votto. Second, meet the best replay coordinator in baseball, Bill Duplissea.
Just where exactly did the Cheddar Goblin come from?
The Royals handed out their minor-league awards.
These two yahoos are more like the Shauns of the Mandy reactors.
At BP, Zach Crizer looks at how Mike Clevinger became yet another workhorse for Cleveland.
Nic Cage talks about his first time doing lots of things with Rolling Stone.
Chris Davis was really bad this year, but not all-time worst.
Your film score of the day, by the dearly departed Jóhann Jóhannson, is Mandy: