Friday, March 29, 2019

Opening Day


We are back. It has been two months since our last blog, this writer has many projects (thankfully we are finished) and apologizes for my absence.

Dodger Stadium, Opening Day March 28, 2019

After an off-season spent waiting patiently for free agents to get signed and, in turn, debating whether baseball's economic system is broken (sure seems like it!), Opening Day is finally upon us. I know many people think baseball is losing it’s popularity, but to this OG baseball is still a great game.

The big picture: Here are the trends and story-lines that could define the 2019 campaign:

Walks, strikeouts, homers: Off the field, MLB took some major steps toward change this spring. But the exhibition season showed us that fans should anticipate another year of games loaded with the three true outcomes.

A dying breed of managers: 10 of the winningest managers in history have worked in this decade, and when Giants skipper Bruce Bochy retires at the end of the year, only one of them (Terry Francona) will remain.

So many pitchers: With starters working fewer innings and bullpens becoming more specialized, a record 751 pitchers played in the big leagues last season. Expect even more in 2019.

Baseball has problems, attendance is down three straight years, games are too long, realistically six to seven teams have a chance at winning the World Series out of thirty teams. But Major League Baseball is still in my mind, America’s past time. And for a few fractions of a second, you don't have to worry about what's happening in Washington, D.C. because you're worried about the American League East.

Everybody loves predictions...

The Swami 2019 MLB picks -

AL: Cleveland, Yankees, Houston, Red Sox, Angels
NL: Cubs, Atlanta, Dodgers, Milwaukee, St. Louis
World Series: Yankees over Cardinals

COLLEGE CHRONICLES – It has not been the best 2019 for many Colleges and Universities across America. From the Varsity Blues admissions scandal, to unionization, to student debt eclipsing one trillion dollars, to diversity uneasiness.

American higher education is at a crossroads. Technological innovations and disruptive market forces are buffeting colleges and universities at the very time their financial structure grows increasingly fragile. Disinvestment by states has driven up tuition prices at public colleges, questionable leadership, out of touch boards, disengaged faculty, have not helped. Cost-minded students and their families--and the public at large--are questioning the worth of a college education, even as study after study shows how important it is to economic and social mobility. And as institutions add layer and layer of bureaucracy and change other business practices in search of more sustainable business models, racial and economic stratification in American higher education is only growing.

Want to Fix College? Admissions is not the biggest problem. No change in whom the most selective colleges admit would have a fraction of the good effect on the country that increasing the proportion of college graduates would have. What's the barrier to this? It isn't that we don't have a big enough higher-education system. These days, about ninety per cent of young people have some interaction with college. The problem is that not enough of them graduate, and so they cannot reap the copious benefits that a degree provides. 

NOTHING IS ROTTEN IN DENMARK - Finland, Denmark, and Norway hold the top three spots in the latest World Happiness Report. Meanwhile. the US dropped to 19th on the list, its lowest ranking ever. Researchers suggested America's drop could be attributed to the "prevalence of addictions — including gambling, watching Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, social media use, video gaming, shopping, consuming unhealthy foods, exercising, and engaging in extreme sports or risky sexual behaviors — in American society." (I think they might be missing one other little factor…)

Six hundred sixty-one days until POTUS inauguration day.

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to Reba McIntyre (63), Tara Pugliese … famous niece.

UNPLUGGED – In January I closed my Facebook account.  I was tired of my privacy being compromised.

By now, plenty of people have told you to stop using weak passwords. So, let's move on to something more advanced. Last year a groundbreaking report about how a multitude of mobile apps are tracking your location and sharing the details with advertisers, retailers and even hedge funds.

Creepy, right? Here's what you should do about it. Go into your phone settings and check which apps are tracking your location. Then, to be extra safe, delete all data you’re not using: every unloved app, photo, contact, memo and text message. This will go a long way to keep your location data out of the wrong hands.

MARKET WEEK - For all our readers parlaying Duke winning the national championship with the Fed holding interest rates steady, you're one down, one to go.

And not only did Fed officials decide not to hike rates this time around...the majority forecast zero additional rate hikes for the rest of the year. That’s quite the turnaround from December, when they projected two rate increases in 2019.

And we finally got a date (September) for when the bank will stop unwinding the massive amount of Treasury holdings it bought to stimulate the economy post-crisis.

What it all means:

Well, it shows Fed Chair Jerome Powell is slightly worried about slowing economic growth, specifically household spending and business fixed investment. And he’s right, we couldn’t make the slip ’n slide work financially.

But with a strong labor market, wages on the way up, and inflation close to the Fed’s sweet spot, “The U.S. economy is in a good place,” Powell said.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield fell for the sixth consecutive session Wednesday, its longest streak since early December, when the yield fell for eight consecutive trading days. It closed at 2.374% Wednesday, a new 15-month low.

If commodities continue as the market's best-performing asset class, this year will mark the first time they have led the market since 2002, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

ON THIS DATE - in 1985, after 193 years, a sitting U.S. President visited the floor of the New York Stock Exchange for the first time when Ronald Reagan went to ring the bell that opens trading.

SUBSCRIPTION FATIGUE - In the U.S., there are 300+ over-the-top video options. And the average U.S. consumer has to remember their passwords for three video streaming services, per Deloitte research.

The biggest players include—inhale now—Netflix, CBS All Access, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube Premium, HBO, Showtime...and (soon) Apple, Disney, WarnerMedia, and NBCUniversal.

It’s getting to be a bit much. 47% of U.S. consumers are frustrated by the number of services required to watch what they want, Deloitte found.

“Consumers want choice—but only up to a point...We may be entering a time of subscription fatigue,” Deloitte Vice Chairman Kevin Westcott said.

Seems like an opportunity for larger players to “reaggregate” these services in a way that creates a better experience for the consumer, Variety suggests.

We may have reached peak subscription service with the NY Mets’s new “Netflix-style subscription deal.” The $39/month service allows fans to download standing-room-only tickets on their smartphones...right up until the start of the game. Stop the madness!

EXPENSIVE CITIES - Singapore was named the most expensive city in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit, which compared over 400 prices across 160 products and services.

While Singapore topped the list for the sixth year in a row, it has company at No. 1 in 2019:

·         Paris, Hong Kong, and Singapore (tie)
·         Zurich, Switzerland
·         Geneva, Switzerland, and Osaka, Japan (tie)
·         Seoul, South Korea; Copenhagen, Denmark; and New York City (tie)
·         Tel Aviv, Israel, and Los Angeles (tie)

Strong economic growth in the United States in 2018 led to a sharp appreciation of the dollar and a rise up the rankings for 14 of the 16 American cities.

The top three cheapest cities: Caracas, Venezuela; Damascus, Syria; and Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

TED LINDSAY – The pride of Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Ted Lindsay, passed away on March 4 at ninety-three. Mr. Lindsay was a fierce competitor, a founder of the National Hockey League Players Union, a community advocate, and above all else a caring man. From helping high school athletes to reach their potential, through his foundation raising money to battle autism, to playing ball hockey in the driveway with the neighborhood kids, Ted Lindsay will be missed.

SWAMI’S WEEK TOP PICKS

NHL Game of the Week – Saturday 3/30 7:00 PM PT CBC; Montreal Canadians (41-29-8) visit Winnipeg Jets (45-28-4), a must win for Les Habitants who are battling for an eastern conference wild card playoff spot. Jets win 4 – 2. (Season to date 8-3)

College Hockey Game of the Week – Regional NCAA hockey tournament games are this weekend, we like St. Cloud State Huskies (30-5-3), Notre Dame Fighting Irish (22-13-3), Minnesota State Stompers (32-7-2), and Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs (25-11-2) to head to the Frozen Four in Buffalo April 11, 13.

2019 Season to Date (12 - 8)

Next Blog:  Jack Ass of the Month, Words of the Month, the usual.

Until next time, Adios

Claremont, California

March 29, 2019
#IX-19-387

CARTOON OF THE WEEK – The New Yorker


RINK RATS POLL –

What is your favorite ballpark food?

___ hot dog
___ cracker jack
___ Ku Ku fries (Seattle)
___ bacon wrapped chicken wings (Texas)
___ pretzel
___ peanut butter and bacon sandwich (Minneapolis)
___ belgian waffle
___ donut burger (Philadelphia)
___ bratwurst
___ peanuts

QUOTE OF THE MONTH“Baseball is like church. Many attend few understand.” – Leo Durocher

Rink Rats is a blog of weekly observations, predictions and commentary. We welcome your comments and questions. Also participate in our monthly poll. Rink Rats is now viewed in Europe, Canada, South America and the United States.

Posted at Rink Rats The Blog: First Published – May 3, 2010


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