5 Things On My Mind: Cardinals return to normal altitude during rough June
Smoking in April, flying high in May, and shot down in June.
Baseball can be a taxing game, and that’s an effect that can touch even the most casual of sports entertainment consumers. Case in point: The St. Louis Cardinals.
#5 May the real Redbirds please stand up? Who are these people? Nolan Gorman goes from “couldn’t hit a pig in the ass with a snow shovel” to “galaxy-reaching home runs,” and Lars Nootbaar becomes allergic to hits. Matthew Liberatore may be human and still solid, but where has this version of Steven Matz been all our lives?
After tasting a 34-27 record, St. Louis is back to barely keeping their heads above .500 water, skipping down in the N.L. Central standings to the hangout room with Cincinnati and Milwaukee. Speaking of the Brewers, the Cardinals couldn’t handle them this past weekend, losing three of four. At 37-35, this team plays well enough to stay above water, but their ceiling doesn’t resemble a playoff team.
It’s not April anymore, so save the hesitation. As July gets closer and closer, the identity of a team takes shape.
#4 I need to read more books, and a friend named Rod may get this guy to finally pick up a novel. Rod Lurie, a great filmmaker behind The Last Castle and The Outpost, is a good egg who gave me the absolute pleasure of interviewing him a few years ago. His talented wife, Kyra Davis Laurie.
Her new book, The Great Mann, spins a different look on The Great Gatsby, providing readers with an African American perspective to the celebrated tale. The Lauries are making the rounds with the provocative new novel, a worthy story that the right storyteller can reload to give a new emotional experience. If you’re a book addict, pick it up right here without lifting more than a finger. For people who need to get back in the game and read non-internet articles again, follow me.
#3 Palm Springs for the win. Seriously, if you can watch the Hulu original comedy and not laugh, check your blood’s temperature. It’s the movie that made me like Andy Samberg, and the world’s first complete look at Cristin Milioti, aka Sofia Falcone on HBO Max’s The Penguin. The time loop formula can run dry after so many renditions of Groundhog Day, but this one cracked the code perfectly. The right edgy without being abrasive comedy, good casting, and a crisp runtime. The screenplay is the MVP here. Whipsmart and honest. It’s 93 minutes well spent.
J.K. Simmons and June Squibb have good roles. If that doesn’t get you in, I don’t know what will.
#2 So many sequels, so little time. James Gunn is very defensive of all of his film projects, and that’s not a bad thing. He resists the level of threat in Zack Snyder films trying to destroy his movie. In more or less words, Gunn told them to bring it on. His take on Superman hits next month, and I am mostly indifferent to its prospects. I hope it’s good and worth the hype, but I also don’t care enough to get too invested. It’s another movie, a sequel or reboot with a clear goal of proving its need to exist.
Jurassic Park or World or whatever gets a fresh sequel. Scarlett Johansson and Mahershala Ali lead a decent-looking cast, but why are they going in there again? How many unseen parts of the dinosaur park can really go undetected? They make a lot of money, so that’s why they exist. I wish the “why” and “how” were better after 30-plus years of swings.
#1 Chicken wings and nachos. When life throws you curveballs, eat some chicken wings and nachos. Maybe the former will be slathered in buffalo or Korean BBQ sauce, and the latter may have pulled pork on top. If you’re a vegetarian, lean in the nachos and bring some cheese relatives into that topping mix. Run down some plant-based protein if you like. Just never doubt the appeal of some chicken wings and nachos.
I may have eaten dinner already, but if you bring home those two items, I’m making room. Something to be said for a redundancy performed well-enough above the belt to be edible or better. It’s the little things in life.
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