October 28, 2019

"Mr. Trump, who rarely exposes himself to hostile crowds, stood, smiled gamely and clapped as the fans booed loudly."

"Some in the section below him turned to him, shouting and jabbing fingers. The president, who faces impeachment by the House over his efforts to pressure Ukraine to provide incriminating information about Democrats, then found himself on the receiving end of a chant that might have sounded familiar. 'Lock him up!' the crowd chanted, a turnabout from the 'lock her up' his supporters would chant about Hillary Clinton in 2016. Mr. Trump offered no noticeable reaction and took his seat as the game resumed before slipping out in the eighth inning."

From "For Trump, No Joy in Mudville/In his first appearance at a Major League Baseball game since taking office, the president was booed at Game 5 of the World Series at Washington’s Nationals Park" (NYT).

Why did the President go to the game? He had to know he'd be met with this kind of negativity.

One answer is, the man loves baseball. Here are "6 Things You Didn't Know About Donald Trump's Baseball Career": "6. He Was Scouted by the Phillies and Red Sox... 5. He Could 'Throw 80 MPH'... 4. He Smashed His Friends' Bats and Wouldn't Apologize... 3. He Hit Into the Shift to Overpower People... 2. His Dad Wouldn't Buy Him the Latest Glove... 1. Claims He Was 'The Best Baseball Player in New York.'"

Another answer is that he's unconventional, as #3 shows. He was hitting into the shift. Maybe he's doing that with the impeachment too — hitting into the Schiff. From the "6 Things" article:
Even at a young age, Donald liked to use his power to "overpower" people. Donald reportedly had so much pop as a right-handed hitter that the infielders would put the shift on him. Naturally, what did he do? He purposely tried to hit into the shift to "overpower" the defense physically.
Do you understand baseball enough to absorb and analyze that metaphor? Here are "9 things you need to know about the shift/Baseball's biggest defensive trend may not be what you think." Is this the blog post from hell — leading from one list to a longer list, ad infinitum? No. I am genuinely trying to understand what personality trait is expressed by a decision to hit into the shift. Presumably, the infield defensive players reposition themselves because of the likelihood that the batter will hit to the place where they are moving to. So the batter could try to hit elsewhere, if he can.

If Trump "purposely tried to hit into the shift," that has to mean that he had the capacity to do something other than what defensive players were counting on, but he chose not to. Now, did he do that because he thought he was so much stronger in that direction that it was more likely to work than trying to hit the ball to the poorly defended part of the infield or was it about showing off and humiliating the opponents (which is what the "9 things" article seems to be saying)?

The most relevant thing in the "9 things" article for our purposes here is #7, which is that the shift increases home runs. As one ballplayer said "You don't beat the shift by hitting around it or through it, you beat the shift by hitting over it." That is, what Trump isn't evidence of negative character traits special to him but what any ballplayer could or should figure out is the best offensive tactic. Or was Trump hitting through the shift? Maybe that is the hardest and least advisable approach for the average player. But maybe it's the best bet for some players, and Trump was one of those players.

All right. There's your baseball analogy for Trump. Think about it in other contexts. His antagonists have put the shift on, and they think that might get him to try to hit around it, but he's hitting over it. Going to the baseball game even though he knew he'd face a shift — there would be booing and not the usual honoring of a President — was the choice to hit over the shift. To avoid the games altogether would have been to try to hit around the shift. To avoid all the World Series games when they are in Washington, D.C. would have been a display of weakness.

In baseball, if you can tell if the tactic of hitting over the shift works. There will be a hit. In political life, it's more ambiguous, and it may depend on the observer's angle:



133 comments:

Temujin said...

He should have worn an Obama mask. That would have warmed their little hearts.

Temujin said...

Hitting into the shift definitely says something about him. His confidence to take it right at his competitors/antagonists. His belief in his ability to overcome them- win. His disdain for what they do and who they are. And his total, complete confidence in himself. All of which makes him unorthodox and very formidable.

whitney said...

When I hear that there is a chant of lock her up at Trump rallies I don't feel sympathy for Hillary. I do feel sympathy for Trump though. But I think she deserves it and he doesn't so there's that

rhhardin said...

If you hit over them they look glum, if it's anything like sandbaggers in the workplace.

Ralph L said...

I haven't been to a Trump rally yet--does he expose himself to a friendly crowd?

Rusty said...

If you're going to be vilified for everything you do, do whatever you want.

Jeff Weimer said...

The "shift" is a new trend? It's common sense, and has been done for decades. I remember shifting the outfield for right and left handed batters regularly in beer-league *softball* 25 years ago, fer Crissake.

Jeff Weimer said...

The "shift" is a new trend? It's common sense, and has been done for decades. I remember shifting the outfield for right and left handed batters regularly in beer-league *softball* 25 years ago, fer Crissake.

David Begley said...

Those are all WaPo readers.

Brian said...

Why did he go to the White House Correspondent's dinner before he was President?

He had to know they were going to make fun of him. Scott Adams says that people like Trump feed off the negative energy of their enemies. Instead of feeling shame or weakness he derives strength from it.

You think you are weakening him, but in reality he uses it as fuel.

gspencer said...

Before the Series began we in Chez gspencer didn't care who might win.

Last night's treatment of Trump settled that.

Go Go Astros.

And to give them a little more icing on their WS cake, should they take Game 6 (or Game 7 if it comes to that), their celebration will be at home.

SomeoneHasToSayIt said...

How did showing no class, and filling the home stadium with negative energy, work out for the Nationals?

bwebster said...

I suspect Trump went to the game knowing full well what the reaction would be, and that his smile was not "game" but rather satisfied. Those in the crowd who booed and chanted played right into his "me vs the DC swamp" rhetoric, and I am willing to be that he brings this event up in his next few or even his next several rallies. He will pitch it (heh) as showing that the DC crowd is furious with what he's accomplishing, and that he's willing to face their opposition to do so. He'll also pitch it as how out of touch the 'DC crowd' is with most of the rest of the US.

If the crowd had wanted to have a real negative impact on Trump, they should not have booed and chanted. Instead, they should have just sat on their hands and ignored him or, better yet, just given him very tepid and minimal applause. That would have made Trump look uninteresting and irrelevant. Instead, they have just thrown gasoline onto a raging fire.

Marcus Bressler said...

The country can see that the denizens of D.C. loudly booed the president after he took out a piece of human scum terrorist. We expected nothing less from the creatures that live in the swamp. They will be crying again in 2020.

THEOLDMAN

Try that shit in Houston.

rehajm said...

How did showing no class, and filling the home stadium with negative energy, work out for the Nationals?

Yes. Someone had to say it...

Winners smile through adversity. Losers are grouches.

Laslo Spatula said...

No 'hit into the Schiff' wordplay?

I am Laslo.

Laslo Spatula said...

Ignore my last comment. Evidently I was standing in the on-deck circle of embarrassment.

I am Laslo.

Leland said...

Why would the President of the United States attend a World Series in DC? Hmmmm, let me think about this...

Tom T. said...

Booed by DC bureaucrats on the day he decapitated ISIS? That's a campaign ad right there.

Birches said...

I'm going to say he went knowing he'd be booed. How many Americans really care that a bunch of DC lobbyists are booing the President. As the WaPo comments show, these people are deranged.

traditionalguy said...

One man ( the batter) on one man (the infielder) is always a move/counter-move/counter-counter move contest that the fastest thinker wins. Trump does OODA Loops on the baseball field.

Compare that with Slow Joe barely able to know what is going on around him.

wendybar said...

Go ASTROS!!!

Another old lawyer said...

"Some people can read War and Peace and come away thinking it's a simple adventure story. Others can read the ingredients on a chewing gum wrapper and unlock the secrets of the universe."

Law professors and literature professors tend to think of themselves in the latter category.

traditionalguy said...

The enemy Booing is fuel to Trump, as it is to most competitive men. The only people depressed when that happens are the disappointed boo birds when they finally see that they are wasting their time. Try watching Morning Joe postulating about Trump's failure as a sentient human who is always destroying our Democracy by winning.

alanc709 said...

Ted Williams also didn't alter his swing to avoid the shift.

tim in vermont said...

What’s different about the shift today is how pronounced it is. I guess that hitting into the shift is a way to say you are going to go with your strenghts, they did the shift to account for your strengths and to try to blunt them, and to try to hit away from it is to go with a weaker part of your game. Hit into it and make it too hot to handle, I guess.

As for the crowd, you knew it was coming. Those seats mostly cost four figures so unless you could pay that, or walk away from that kind of money if you had season tickets, you weren’t there. This was the "America is already great” crowd. It was another self indulgent Wellstone funeral.

I just watched a documentary on feminism and the men’s right movement on Amazon called “The Red Pill” and the finger jabbing and shouting is not really as attractive as people on the left seem to think, in fact I think that they were a big part of what changed the mind of the feminist who was making the documentary.

John henry said...

What would the press be saying if he had not attended:

"President Trump once again showed that he is afraid of potentially hostile crowds"

John Henry

tim in vermont said...

Hillary had violated actual written laws, Trump refuses to conform and go along with the corruption of the swamp.

MadisonMan said...

Agree with Tom T. and everyone else. The ad writes itself. The USA kills the leader of ISIS, and on that day, the swamp boos the President. 4 more years to finish the swamp-draining.

samanthasmom said...

The more the Left treats him with disrespect, the more support he'll get from me, and I was more anti-Hillary in 2008 than pro-Trump. I suspect I have a lot of company. Go, Astros! (I don't usually care who wins the World Series if it's not the Sox as long as it isn't the Yankees.)

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

The crowds chanted 'Lock him up'.

As ye sow, so shall ye reap.

MayBee said...

I love knowing a stadium full of reporters, government workers, and government contractors paid $1000 a ticket and booed the president.

MountainMan said...

Ted Williams was among the first to face the shift.

And he still hit .406 in 1941.

MountainMan said...

All the news pages I have in my FB feed last night had the video, some with apparent glee. Most of the comments on each posting were along the line of “I was rooting for the Nationals but now switching my allegiance to the Astros.”

It won’t happen but it would be interesting if he were to show up in Houston tomorrow night.

Kevin said...

The real reaction of the press was likely surprise at how many people in DC cheered.

They were told all those people lived “out there”.

chuck said...

The rest of us see the swamp in all its malodorous splendor. The NY Times thinks that is a good thing :)

tim in vermont said...

Supposedly Larry Bird once told an opponent, when he was inbounding the ball, exactly how he was going to score and where he was going to shoot from, then he did it.

tim in vermont said...

“Boos on the road are like cheers at home” some football player once said into a mic. And DC is “on the road” for Trump. Middle America, those are the home games. Democrats seem to think they are representing Washington, DC.

M Jordan said...

Interesting metaphor of Trump hitting into the shift. It’s very alpha: “You can’t beat me.”

More interesting to me is the horrific behavior of the left. Booing the President of the United States in Washington D C. at their first World Series in 80 years? Incredibly déclassé. Incredibly weak.

Hillary has led her party in this three-years long demonstration of weakness. There is no way they can recover in time to beat Trump in 2020.

Bay Area Guy said...

Fake Boos!

tim in vermont said...

We were supposed to overlook the hundreds of millions of dollars in “emoluments” that Hillary took from foreign governments as the price of a meeting with the US Secretary of State, which was the whole basis of the national uproar over the XYZ affair, when the French foreign minister demanded those kinds of payments before he would meet with the United States. The America that was outraged by that isn’t gone, “Millions for defense! Not one penny for tribute!” was the cry then. What kind of country would it be if we overlooked the fact that she destroyed records of her meetings with these people who paid her money, not just emails from that period, but records of the meetings themselves.

We would be in the gangster’s paradise that ARM wants us to live in, I guess.

tim maguire said...

So the people who think Hillary shouldn't face any penalty for her crimes think it's funny to threaten Trump with jail even though they can't name any crimes he committed.

Maybe Trump was smiling because they justified the contempt he holds them in.

M Jordan said...

Every player hits into the shift; that’s why the shift is put on. If a player starts placing the ball where the defenders have vacated— maybe three times — the shift will disappear. That’s analytics, as they now say.

So why don’t players start doing that to grab three hits before the analytics machine adjusts? Because as soon as it adjusts they’ll get only three chances to hit into their natural power zone before it adjusts back. And also ... home runs.

Amadeus 48 said...

It looked like they were all waving MAGA hats (I guess they were Nats hats) on the News 9 clip. Lots of cheering, too.

I heard Obama get booed at something during the Obamacare fight.

tim in vermont said...

I love how Hillary said on TV the other day that the emails were not under subpoena, no, they were under a records preservation order from Congress. Nowadays those things are sacred, but back then, they carried no more weight than a parking ticket from the campus police, right ARM?

Imagine for a minute that Trump got caught destroying thousands of records that the House had ordered him to produce. Well, we saw what happened when Nixon erased a few minutes of tape. He should have just said “I erased them. They were just about yoga lessons and grandchildren.”

tim maguire said...

MountainMan said...It won’t happen but it would be interesting if he were to show up in Houston tomorrow night.

Great point, and really highlighting the swamp theme--having been booed in Washington last night, he'd get extra enthusiastic applause in most other places tonight and I'm sure he knows it.

tim in vermont said...

DC is a company town, and the main product of that company is graft. It is little wonder that they hate Trump.

Phil 314 said...

Agree with bwebster. It does not hurt Donald Trump to be boo’d in DC.

If only DC realized that.

libertariansafetyguy said...

Republicans were mean to Obama when Bin Laden was killed (if they believed he was really dead). Now, Democrats are being mean to Trump now that Baghdadi is dead. I, for one, am shocked.

What should amaze us is that in both cases, we created these monsters. That’s what we should angry about in this whole mess.

Michael K said...

Last night's treatment of Trump settled that.

Go Go Astros.


That happened in our house and probably 30 million other houses. My wife is a huge baseball fan and we had pulling for the Nationals as the gutty little underdogs.

No more. Go Astros. ARM has no clue.

Two others beat me to it with Ted Williams.

Tank said...

MadisonMan said...
Agree with Tom T. and everyone else. The ad writes itself. The USA kills the leader of ISIS, and on that day, the swamp boos the President. 4 more years to finish the swamp-draining


Four years won’t be nearly enough. As soon as he’s gone, it will seep right back in.

Sorry to be a downer.

RAS743 said...

He knew the reception he would get, he knew the rest of the country would see the reception he got, and the part of the country that sees Washington for the corrupt sinkhole that it is will redouble it’s efforts to see him re-elected, if only to drive Washington’s predominant Democrat partisans nuts.

William said...

The business model isn't politics but WWF. If the villain is doing his job properly, he gets booed. If that crowd cheered him, I would think something was amiss. Maybe Trump should be more villain-y. At his next press conference, he should explain how he had a couple of shots of Trump vodka to help him wind down after the Baghdadi event. Maybe give a complementary bottle of Trump vodka as gifts to some in the press corps. Maybe serve Trump steaks at the next state dinner.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

The video you can hear "lock him up" in the beginning - but then the crowd cheers loudly - then yOUtube covers that part up... That's what it sounds like to me.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Did Trump set up a Private Server, ARM?

While running his office?
To hide secret dealings?
To stuff his family foundation coffers - with money from Russia!

no. But he does want to find out all about your party's corruption. Which is illegal, we see.

Andrew said...

There's always a villain in the WWE.

Anyone who wants to understand Trump should read the following article. It's written by a Lutheran pastor, of all people.

https://thefederalist.com/2018/11/05/pro-wrestling-explains-trump-wins-every-battle-media/

There are several other online articles like this worth reading, some pro-Trump and some anti-Trump, but all recognizing how he is using WWE techniques on a grand political scale. Do a Google search for "Trump WWE heel," for example.

I agree with other commenters that the booing and chanting only helps Trump, and he knew exactly what he was doing. Trump vs the Swamp is the greatest show on earth right now. Most regular citizens have long realized that DC politics is as fake as professional wrestling. So now it's just a matter of watching the underdog win against impossible odds. My money is still on Trump.

Darrell said...

Regular people can't afford to go to a World Series game.

These are dandies from NYC and Jersey and the Swamp and those who fly their private planes in from the Left Coast--Hillary's folks.

Andrew said...

@William,
Your comment on wrestling wasn't posted when I wrote mine. Didn't want you to think I was stealing your idea. Great minds, etc.

dreams said...

Trump has no fear, especially of a bunch of democrat government workers...a bunch of democrat government parasites.

Birkel said...

DC residents who largely make their money from the federal government and who voted for Hillary fucking Clinton by 95% do not like Trump, who threatens the status quo.

This is not news.

Beasts of England said...

I don’t really care about baseball, but I was born within three miles of that stadium and it as fun to root for the ‘home team’ the last few days. However...

Go Astros!!

Martin said...

Maybe he went because he loves baseball, but maybe also because he knew he would provoke the response he did from what the rest of the country (outside the Acela Corridor and the Left Coast) views as "swamp creatures"--as in, "Drain the Swamp". You know, people who can get World Series tickets in Washington--not exactly ordinary people.

Isn't that what his most outrageous tweets are about? He is always trolling the other side, and they are always falling into it.

tim in vermont said...

"What should amaze us is that in both cases, we created these monsters. That’s what we should angry about in this whole mess.”

Donald John Trump seems to be the only one trying to end these wars. Or our involvement in them, anyways. I shudder to think where Hillary would have our armies, secret and overt, right now.

tim in vermont said...

And still they can’t figure out why Trump’s supporters stick by him.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

It's illegal to ask anyone to look into democrat corruption.

Meade said...

Andrew said...
@William,
Your comment on wrestling wasn't posted when I wrote mine. Didn't want you to think I was stealing your idea. Great minds, etc.
----------------------

I just finished reading it. Great article.

Tommy Duncan said...

Blogger Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

"The crowds chanted 'Lock him up'.

As ye sow, so shall ye reap."


You are, of course, referring to what the crowd of swamp dwellers has sowed.

Quaestor said...

There was quite a lot of noise coming from that local Deep State crowd, but not as much as one would expect considering the stakes. Another four years of Trump and many of them will need new positions in enterprises where actual productivity counts, an unpleasant prospect to those groomed to expect high salaries, long vacations, and early and very leisurely retirements at taxpayer expense, not to mention the exclusive dining of the DC/Northern Virginia area. One suspects "motivational" pressure is in the offing.

Dave Begley said...

Andrew:

I knew from the campaign that a key thing to understanding Trump was his WWE experience. Look at the tapes. He's in the WWE Hall of Fame.

The Swamp Dwellers hate him. He has the right enemies.

Birkel said...

ARM,
Is it now a tactic of the Left to quote biblical stuff at supposed religious supporters to dampen enthusiasm for Trump?

You don't understand why those efforts are doomed to failure but it's nice that you're trying.

GRW3 said...

I agree with the majority opinion on this thread: It helps Trump. I think most people know the difference between political rally sloganeering and just plain rudeness. This was just rude and it reminds people in the rest of the country with what contempt the DC establishment holds them.

Susan said...

If the Astro owners invite Trump to their box and he goes and they win.... so much winning!

The Nats owners had made it clear that they did not want Trump sitting with them and getting his cooties all over them. They make it known that a Whitehouse visit isn't really welcome, Nats fans booed him and then they lose. Karma.

Leland said...

As an Astros fan, I'm just happy to see them comeback. The 2019 Nats remind me the 2005 Astros, who also won the NL Wildcard and later the Pennant. The Nats are doing better than the '05 Stros, who got swept by the White Sox. It didn't even seem like the Astros showed up to the 2005 World Series.

I do recall in 2017, when every sports figure was virtue signaling by refusing to visit the White House; the LA media was already talking about whether the Dodgers should go before the Series even finished. Well the Astros won, and the AL MVP from Venezuela, the rookie shortstop from Puerto Rico, and the first baseman from Cuba all had no problems visiting the White House.

Bob Boyd said...

He's showing regular Americans what he, and by extension they, are up against in the Capital. He's giving the DC denizens an opportunity to show how disrespectful they are of the decision made by the regular Americans this gesture was aimed at.

Seeing Red said...

The crowds chanted 'Lock him up'.

Spell it out for for me, please. For what?

mockturtle said...

Martin, I was thinking along the same lines. He knew what kind of response he'd get and knew it would play 'bigly' in most of the country. I do feel a little sad for Melania, though. She's not as tough as he.

Go 'Stros!

Drago said...

ARM: "As ye sow, so shall ye reap."

On Friday night during a live interview, James Clapper was informed in real time that Durhams probe had officially become a criminal investigation.....and Clappers unscripted response showed clearly that he believes you ARM.

You could literally see this moron sweat and become utterly befuddled and frightened.

Gee, I wonder why?......

Trump being booed by Washingtonian deep staters??

LOL

The campaign ads for battleground states write themselves!!

That moron Washington crowd didnt realize that its Trump that had them surrounded!

And by the 5th inning the Washington fans were streaming out of the stadium.

Just as you would guess they would.

bbkingfish said...

Before this is over, Trump is going to be sorry he ever approved that "Lock her up!" chant.

Also, once he quit applauding himself and sat back down, it didn't take long for him to wipe his insipid smile off his face. He looked pretty sour, as a matter of fact.

mockturtle said...

Bwebster observes: If the crowd had wanted to have a real negative impact on Trump, they should not have booed and chanted. Instead, they should have just sat on their hands and ignored him or, better yet, just given him very tepid and minimal applause. That would have made Trump look uninteresting and irrelevant. Instead, they have just thrown gasoline onto a raging fire.

Yep. They threw him into the briar patch.

Seeing Red said...

That is the great thing about America.

The world sees you can shout things at the leader and no consequences. No one was dragged out, dragged onto the field and beaten, no consequences.

Then there’s Hong Kong....

Wince said...

The president, who faces impeachment by the House over his efforts to pressure Ukraine to provide incriminating information about Democrats.

I thought it was Joe Biden, his "opponent", which made it a matter of "personal gain"?

Quaestor said...

I shudder to think where Hillary would have our armies, secret and overt, right now.

Making sure the whole Muslim world is safe for the slave trade, no doubt.

Muammar al-Gaddafi wasn't our friend. But he wasn't our enemy, either, at least not recently. He was more of a Marxist than a Muslim and was willing to play ball with the United States regarding the followers of Bin Ladin. In spite of sharing a long and mostly indefensible border with Egypt, a hotbed of Islamic fascism, in the ten years following 9/11 Libya under Gaddafi was remarkably free of jihadi cells and base camps. Gaddafi saw the Muslim Brotherhood and its terrorist offshoots as his rivals for power, not allies. He was the enemy of our enemy, and as such, it served no interest of any American except Hillary Clinton ("We came. We saw. He died," was her cackling boast paraphrasing Caesar.) to encourage and facilitate his demise. Today there are thriving slave markets in Libya where women and children, mainly Black African Christians, are sold to the highest bidder in keeping with Koranic teaching about Allah's approval of non-Muslims held in bondage — something that was not true of Libya under Gaddafi's autocracy and a direct result of Hillary Clinton's — and by the principle of qui tacet consentire videtur the whole Democrat Party edifice — sinful meddling.

Quaestor said...

libertariansafetyguy writes: Republicans were mean to Obama when Bin Laden was killed...

Bullshit.

Cite your examples if they exist.

Ken B said...

The timing is perfect.
Trump: We just got Baghdadi.
Democrat crowd: Lock him up!
How will that play in Peoria?

rcocean said...

Trump - like many good Baseball players - is a good golfer. But of course, that had to be trashed, so a liar from Sports Illustrated wrote a whole book about how Trump was a golf cheat. Who would buy such a book, is beyond me. But I think the whole point was to put it out there to hurt Trump and the Publisher was willing to lose $$ to do it.

That Trump would go his own way, and hit into the shift, doesn't amaze me. He trusts his own judgement over the common wisdom and its served him well.

rightguy said...

I like the way President Trump smiled at his noisy detractors. A winning smile.

rcocean said...

The insanity of the Liberal/Left on full display. "lock him up"? For what? giving us 3.5 unemployment, peace and prosperity? And if you don't like Trump - defeat him in 2020, the election is only one year away. What bothers me more than the Left and their craziness, is the lack of Center-right reaction. People should be getting more upset. The Left is getting more and more totalitarian in their thinking and more and more intolerant of ANY conservative dissent. Like the British Elite with Brexit, the DC elite is telling the average American: "We don't care what you think or who you vote for". People need to push back.

Leslie Graves said...

Many people out in the hinterlands of America think of Washington DC as “the swamp” or “District 13”. If Trump goes to a game there and gets boo’d by the denizens of the Swamp....isn’t that an optic that works for him out in the hinterlands?

Leslie Graves said...

@martin I should have read your comment first !

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

I think James Rickards explanation of Trump's strategy here should clear this up for you Althouse.

https://youtu.be/LgyzFJP4DsY?t=86

Howard said...

Lock him up

Earnest Prole said...

Your comments about Trump hitting into the shift are very insightful. Trump is saying the same thing when he calls himself a counterpuncher.

Bill Peschel said...

"Four years won’t be nearly enough. As soon as he’s gone, it will seep right back in.

Sorry to be a downer."

Don't be. With the blessing of God, he'll be in for eight, and he'll roll back the swamp with our support.

It'll come back. It always does. But it'll take awhile. And in the meantime, we're still here. Watching and remembering.

Be of good cheer.

Beasts of England said...

’Before this is over, Trump is going to be sorry he ever approved that "Lock her up!" chant.’

That comment is going to age about as well as SNL’s puerile skit last weekend. Enjoy the suck, sweetie.

rightguy said...

The Houston Astros are America's team !

Lurker21 said...

Which politicians do "frequently expose themselves to hostile crowds?"

And how literally do they take the "expose themselves" thing?

Martin said...

Ted Williams also insisted on pulling the ball against the shift.

.344 career average, 3rd most career HRs when he retired, played half his games in a park (Fenway) that was NOT friendly to him (a left-handed pull hitter), all while missing 5+ years at his peak due to military service.

Challenging the shift is hardly in and of itself a sign of mental imbalance, as they would have you think. It can be a calculated decision, which was certainly the case with Williams.

tim in vermont said...

The president, who faces impeachment by the House over his efforts to pressure Ukraine to provide incriminating information about Democrats.

It’s pretty telling that you assume, correctly, as a matter of fact, that looking into election interference coming out of the Ukraine in 2016 is going to point the finger at Democrats.

Now do Hillary’s using her lawyers to pay foreign spies to create fake dirt on Trump, her political rival. The facts aren’t with you guys on this, all you can do is jab fingers in the air and shout in unison to try to drown out the plain facts.

Any of you guys want to call me on anything I said here, to call bullshit, I am more than happy to provide the same backup I have posted at least a dozen times for my claims.

Otto said...

Tag - TDS

Big Mike said...

It won’t happen but it would be interesting if he were to show up in Houston tomorrow night.

I'm sure the logistics, including the need for the Secret Service to do their checks, mitigate against it, but, yeah, I think he'd get a different reception in Houston, and a hundred thousand votes November 3rd of next year.

Qwinn said...

When lefties say "Lock him up", the reply is always "For what, exactly?", to which there is no further (non-bullshit) reply.

When we say "Lock her up", lefties *never* ask "For what, exactly?", because they know how incredibly long that list is every bit as much as we do.

Iman said...

Go Astros!!! D.C. is filled with self important people and I cheer the few occasions when things go wrong for them.

They can stuff their little mudshark.

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

Reggie Jackson said, "they don't boo nobodies."

Yancey Ward said...

What a great post, Ms. Althouse!

"His antagonists have put the shift on, and they think that might get him to try to hit around it, but he's hitting over it."

This is what Trump always does. I have not in my lifetime seen the media do this much concern trolling of a President or a candidate for the office, and I have followed politics intensely since I was 10 years old (the Carter-Ford campaign).

A hitter who can do so effectively, will hit away from coverage, and the defense always ends up having to go back to playing such a hitter straight up since the shift always leaves the biggest possible hole in the defense. I think Trump understands this difference, and I think last night's trip to the game is evidence of this- it is Trump who is putting the shift on, and it is the media and his detractors who keep trying to overpower it. The media seems to endlessly play directly into Trump's strengths- Trump knew the crowd at a D.C baseball game would boo him relentlessly, and that is why he went there- he knew how flyover country would view such a thing. It was a no-lose event for Trump. Even better for Trump, though, the Astros won the game completing the sweep of the D.C. leg of the Series. All those fans went home in despair last night.

traditionalguy said...

T rump does showmanship like fake wrestling that is done to please crowds. But never forget that he learned real wrestling where anticipating an opponent's moves and stopping it is the secret to winning.That would be real winning against a real opponent.

Watch Jim Jordan's moves. Why does he never seems worried.

Greg the class traitor said...

Why did the President go to the game? He had to know he'd be met with this kind of negativity.


Yep

The US just killed the #1 terrorist in the world, and the Washington DC crowd is booing the President

After the WaPo headline switch from "ISIS's terrorist in chief" to "austere religious scholar", what it looks like from out here in flyover country is that the people in DX are objectively pro-terrorist.

That the people in DC were booing Trump BECAUSE he ordered the death of the head of ISIS.

That the Democrats are terrorist loving, America hating, human scum.

Those boos are probably worth 2% in the popular vote for Trump next year

gerry said...

What a brilliant political campaign event!

The majority of fans at that game were from Washington, D.C.

They hate him.

They also hate us.

Fuck them.

narayanan said...

As DBQ laid this out on another thread

The Clan leader also stands on the front lines and takes the heat in battle. Like Trump said. "They are really coming for you, I am just in the way." He suffers along with his Clan and earns their respect and even love because is is equal to them and they are equal to him.

Greg the class traitor said...

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...
The crowds chanted 'Lock him up'.

As ye sow, so shall ye reap.


Yep. We're probably start by locking up Comey.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

[Radio Broadcast:]
OK, here we go, we got a real pressure cooker going here
A line shot up the middle, look at Trump go!
This boy can really fly
He's rounding first and really turning it on now
He's not letting up at all, he's gonna try for second
The ball is bobbled out in the center
And here comes the throw and what a throw
He's gonna slide in head first
Here he comes, he's out
No, wait, safe, safe at second base!!
This Trump really makes things happen out there
Trump's trying for third
Here's the throw
It's in the dirt, safe at third
He's taking a pretty big lead out there
Almost daring them to pick him off
The suicide squeeze is on
Here he comes, squeeze play, it's gonna be close
Here's the throw, here's the play at the plate
Holy cow, I think Trump's gonna make it!!


(portions from PBTDBL)

tim in vermont said...

"Before this is over, Trump is going to be sorry he ever approved that 'Lock her up!' chant.”

I think they are going to go full banana republic and try to lock him up in New York State for some unspecified crime they plan to find in his tax returns.

Bay Area Guy said...

Being booed by a buncha DC bureaucrat fans of a team that blew a 2-0 series lead --- is kinda karmic justice, No?

Trump should throw out the first pitch in Houston, Game 6, as the Astros stomp the hapless Nats.

Greg the class traitor said...

libertariansafetyguy said...
Republicans were mean to Obama when Bin Laden was killed (if they believed he was really dead). Now, Democrats are being mean to Trump now that Baghdadi is dead. I, for one, am shocked.

The hell we were

We cheered that OBL was dead. Heck, I even gave Obama credit for making the call, unlike Clinton, who failed to make the call in the 90s

Yancey Ward said...

You can use last night's booing in a campaign ad with the voice over- "Here is what the Swamp of Washington D.C. thinks of President Trump."

Highly effective everywhere not on the coasts.

Lurker21 said...

Why did the President go to the game? He had to know he'd be met with this kind of negativity.

I dunno. I was surprised by the virulence of the comments to the @arlenparsen tweet you linked to. Arlen's own comments were spiteful as well.

But that does seem to be the new normal. We aren't in Eisenhower's America anymore. But it seems like we sometimes expect that other people are.

mockturtle said...

The Left has taken 'sore loser' to unprecedented heights. I wonder what the next four years will be like. Do they think that people will vote against Trump just to pour oil on troubled waters? They misjudge us, just as they misjudge our President.

Bob Smith said...

What was the final score again?

Known Unknown said...

"I remember shifting the outfield for right and left handed batters regularly in beer-league *softball* 25 years ago, fer Crissake."

The Shift™ refers to putting all 4 infielders on the same side of the diamond for a very pull-happy hitter. See here.

Bay Area Guy said...

Sporting events that probably work for Trump:

1. Army-Navy Football game
2. Indianapolis 500
3. Alabama-Clemson Football game
4. Houston Astros baseball game in Houston
5. Jacksonville Jaguars home football game
6. World Wide Wresting match with Hulk Hogan
7. UFC title fight
8. The Masters (PGA tour)
9. Any NHL Hockey game against a Canadian opponent.

Jeff said...

Most batters can hit the ball harder to their pull side because the longer swing gives more time for the bat to accelerate. Not many ballplayers can hit with power to the opposite field, but most of them can do it to their pull side. If you can't hit with power to either field, you better be a really good singles hitter or you're not going to make it as a major league player.

Even though a shift increases the chances that your ball will be intercepted by an infielder, it can still pay off to pull the ball if you can hit it much harder there than to the other side. Many batters have trouble hitting the ball to the opposite field at all.

Gunner said...

If Trump just wanted applause, he could go to any sporting event in the South. Are lefties really so stupid to not believe that?

Jim at said...

And this is precisely why - for the first time ever - I'm pulling for an American League team in the World Series.

The shitheads in DC don't deserve a title.

Quaestor said...

Here ya go, Howard, I'll wager $10,000 that the first person to actually be convicted and sentenced in relation to anything relating to Trump's election — convicted in a court of law as opposed to baselessly accused in the corrupt national press — be one your guys.

Are you in?

Jim at said...

Republicans were mean to Obama when Bin Laden was killed (if they believed he was really dead).

Bullshit.

Some of us simply questioned how and why the the body was quickly buried at sea in order to avoid upsetting the precious Muslims who revered him.

Leora said...



Then again maybe it just wasn't reported when the lightbringer was booed.
https://www.thinkinghousewife.com/2011/12/obama-booed-at-army-navy-game/

stan said...

Ted Williams often chose to hit into the "Ted Williams shift".

mockturtle said...

Jim avows: And this is precisely why - for the first time ever - I'm pulling for an American League team in the World Series.

The shitheads in DC don't deserve a title.


While I've always been an Astros fan, I nonetheless was pulling for the Nats because they hadn't ever been to the WS and because of the baby shark, etc. But no more! Although I doubt very much that the players would have booed Trump and were probably a little embarrassed about their fans' behavior. Yeah, 'Stros in 6.

narayanan said...

If the Austere Scholar brought down the tunnel on himself - there was no need to bury him.

The children is another story indeed. Filicide -

their graves to be marked - killed by cowardly father

If WaPo obituary had said "Austere Scholar turns Filicide due to religion" they should be gifted a MAGA hat.

amirite?

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Quaestor said...
I'll wager $10,000 that the first person to actually be convicted and sentenced in relation to anything relating to Trump's election


Manafort doesn't count?

tim in vermont said...

"Manafort doesn't count?”

Manafort was convicted for other stuff from before the campaign based on leaks out of Ukrainian intelligence intended to help Hillary, like this article in the New York Times that came from Urkraine after being pressured by the Obama administration for dirt.

Paul Manafort, when he consulted for Ukraine’s ruling political party. His furniture and personal items were still there as recently as May.

And Mr. Manafort’s presence remains elsewhere here in the capital, where government investigators examining secret records have found his name, as well as companies he sought business with, as they try to untangle a corrupt network they say was used to loot Ukrainian assets and influence elections during the administration of Mr. Manafort’s main client, former President Viktor F. Yanukovych.


https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/15/us/politics/paul-manafort-ukraine-donald-trump.html

Of course this would all be impeachable now that it’s not Obama, right?

rcocean said...

Its not that Williams "Chose to hit into the shift" - its that Williams thought that adjusting HIS swing for a defensive positioning of the outfielders was self-defeating. He was determined to keep on hitting the ball the same way, HIS WAY, no matter what, confident that in the long run it would mean more hits and more runs. And who can argue with the result?

Officially, I'm now a Houston fan, despite disliking having Major League baseball in Texas. If its so hot and humid during the summer you need an indoor stadium, you should give up baseball - go fishing - and wait for Football season. Fortunately, DC will lose. And what a ridiculous name for the DC Team, "The nationals" - better to call them the "Washington Globalists".

mockturtle said...

Officially, I'm now a Houston fan, despite disliking having Major League baseball in Texas. If its so hot and humid during the summer you need an indoor stadium

Minute Maid Stadium does have a retractable roof.

Nichevo said...

I think they are going to go full banana republic and try to lock him up in New York State for some unspecified crime they plan to find in his tax returns.

That really needs to not happen. One suggestion I would make is that, if not illegal, PDT should make large efforts in NY in 2020; and that before/after, some patriotic billionaire or other should pour money into NYS elections, to elect Republicans who would oppose such a travesty of justice.

President Trump is innocent of any such wrongdoing, but that won't stop the Preet Bhararas and Barbara Underwoods of the world from trying to ham-sandwich him.