My Thoughts on Recent Tweets (X) -6/20/25
- Paul Semendinger
- 3 hours ago
- 4 min read
by Paul Semendinger
June 20, 2025
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Note - I collect these tweets over time so the actual content might not be the most up-to-date, but the thoughts remain very relevant.
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My Thoughts - So often people talk about "momentum" as if it is this thing that has some amazing super power that propels teams to victory. Announcers use this all the time saying things like, "The Yankees now have all the momentum..."
When announcers use the word, they're also often quick to point out that "The momentum has shifted." If momentum has such power, and if it means anything related to wins and losses, how can it shift, often so quickly?
If there ever was a moment when a team should have had momentum, it would have been after Judge hit the homer above in the Red Sox series. What happened after the home run? The Yankees did nothing offensively. They lost. They then went on a long losing streak. Aaron Judge hasn't done much of anything with the bat since.
There is no such power that "momentum" has. That game and that moment should prove it beyond any reasonable doubt.
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My Thoughts - I think this tweet speaks volumes. No, not in the stats. It's the phrase "Where the haters at?"
I talk to many Yankees fans. I do not know of any who ever hated Anthony Volpe. Many, myself included, have pointed out concerns with his overall play.
But, I never hated Anthony Volpe. In fact, among fans, I do not know any who have hated Anthony Volpe. It is quite the opposite, even those critical of his performance like the kid and root for the kid and hope he does well and becomes a star.
Too often, I believe too many today conflate honest criticism, honest critique, with hate. Too many conversations go as follows:
Person A: "Player X isn't getting the job done."
Person B: "You just hate him."
For years I have been critical of the D.J. LeMahieu contract. I think it was a bad contract, bad decision-making, and it's turned out to be a drain on the team both because he has to play and the cost in years and value have prevented the Yankees from getting other and better players. The LeMahieu contract has hurt the Yankees. Still, I like DJ as a player. I root for him. Of course.
I was all-in on the Giancarlo Stanton trade. 100%. I like Giancarlo. Long time readers know of the way Ethan and I used Kit Kats to stay close regarding Stanton homers when Ethan was away at college. I've never hated Giancarlo Stanton. I have not been happy with Stanton's performance as a Yankee, and I have been critical of that and the way he has been used, but I still root for the guy.
In the end, I think far too many people confuse criticism with hate.
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My Thoughts - I think the card industry lost its way. I believe they ruined collecting a long long time ago.
Now in their effort to create interest in the hobby, they are making serial editioned cards of... the Pope? Really? Is nothing sacred?
Anything for a dollar I guess.
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My Thoughts - It is always sad when a legend passes away. Rest in Peace Brian Wilson.
I am a huge Beatles fan. The Beatles are and will always be my favorite band. But, my favorite album, by far, ever, is Pet Sounds.
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QUICK BREAK.....
IT IS SPORTS QUIZ TIME.
Name a boxing heavyweight champion from the 1940s :
Name a boxing heavyweight champion from the 1950s:
Name a boxing heavyweight champion from the 1960s:
Name a boxing heavyweight champion from the 1970s:
Name a boxing heavyweight champion from the 1980s:
(You get the idea.)
Now, name the current Heavyweight Champion of the World:
My Thoughts - I used to love boxing. I loved the stories about Ali and Frazier. I loved watching Mike Tyson on Channel 7 (ABC) when he was just starting out. I loved rooting for Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis. (On and on...) My favorite movie is Rocky.
Boxing was a big time sport; sometimes the biggest of them all. But, the people who run boxing took the sport away from the fans. They made it so in order to see the big fights, you had to pay. If I said in the 1980s that the decision to take the fights away from the fans would kill the sport, everyone would have told me I was crazy. "Kill boxing? You're nuts. It can't be done." This was also the era when the middleweights had Hagler, Leonard, Hearns, and Duran. Boxing was huge. It was gigantic. It looked like it would remain one of the biggest sports.
Boxing is no longer a big time sport. I do not believe many sports fans, let alone the average person, can name the Heavyweight Champion of the World. I can't. That wasn't always the case. People knew who Ali was. And Joe Frazier. And Rocky Marciano. And Joe Louis. On and on...
The tweet above says that Oleksandr Usyk has had a legendary career. Maybe he has, but I never heard of him.
Save this article. Refer to it in 10 or 15 years.
By taking the game away from the fans with all the streaming services and such, the people who run the MLB are slowly killing the sport. You cannot create fans for a game people don't see. You also can't retain fans if they can't watch the games.
What baseball is doing is shortsighted and, plainly, stupid. They are cashing dollars today only to be bankrupt in the future.
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Note - I am always more thaqn happy to respectfully discuss any of these points, but for a period this afternoon I'll be unavailable to comment as I plan to be at Fanatics Fest.
