At MLB, Anne Rogers wrote about a turning point<\/a> for Carlos Est\u00e9vez:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Just a few hours after Carlos Est\u00e9vez recorded a blown save in the Royals\u2019 Game 1 loss against the Cardinals on June 5 at Busch Stadium — a walk-off single from Willson Contreras in the bottom of the 10th inning — Est\u00e9vez was running in from the \u2018pen in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 2. He shut down the same part of the order he faced in Game 1, but this time, it didn\u2019t get to Contreras. Est\u00e9vez notched his 18th save of the season instead.<\/p>\n \u201cOh yeah, I remember that day. The whole time that [Game 2] was playing out, I was just like, \u2018Get me into this game,\u2019\u201d Est\u00e9vez said. \u201cI was praying. I couldn\u2019t wait. And it was funny because it was the same guys, and a 1-2-3 inning. I was like, \u2018There we go. I can put this day behind me.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cI remember that [pitching coach] Brian Sweeney didn\u2019t even come talk to me in between games, no one was talking to me. I was really mad about that first game. But then when we went out to the bullpen for Game 2, I told them I was good to go.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n The Urban Youth Academy is in the middle of a sporting goods drive<\/a> and at least one Royals Hall of Famer is helping out:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cNot only baseball, but just sports it taught me worth ethic, discipline, overcoming adversity, being a good teammate, a good leader, all these kinds of things, these kids are going to benefit when they get involved in sports,\u201d Gordon said. \u201cSo having this equipment is going to motivate them to come out here and be a part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n How about lots of listicles?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n At The Athletic ($), Jim Bowden lists \u201cthe biggest concern for each MLB contending team down the stretch<\/a>\u201d:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Kansas City Royals \u2014 run production from the bottom of the lineup<\/strong><\/p>\n The Royals\u2019 staff is second in the AL in ERA and features a strong rotation that includes Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Noah Cameron and Ryan Bergert \u2014 not to mention Cole Ragans, who is on the IL with a rotator cuff strain. Their bullpen is led by All-Star closer Carlos Est\u00e9vez and set-up relievers Lucas Erceg, Angel Zerpa, Taylor Clarke and John Schreiber. The pen ranks fourth in the AL in ERA and first in saves.<\/p>\n Offense has been the Royals\u2019 main issue all season. They rank 26th in runs scored and 26th in home runs. The top of the lineup is solid with Bobby Witt Jr., Maikel Garcia, Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez, but the rest of the lineup needs to produce more runs if the Royals are going to return to the playoffs.<\/p>\n Their trade deadline acquisitions of Mike Yastrzemski, Adam Frazier and Randal Grichuk have helped, but will they be enough? They have the strong pitching and defense needed to play in October, but offensive questions remain.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n R.J. Anderson at CBS Sports looks back at the trade deadline<\/a>:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Encouraging deadline so far: Kansas City Royals<\/strong><\/p>\n The Royals need to make up about a game per week in order to reach the playoffs for a second consecutive year. Stay tuned on that front, but Kansas City being (for now) the first team out on the American League side of the ledger can be credited to its deadline adds.<\/p>\n Remember, it wasn\u2019t clear heading into the mad season if the Royals would even buy — there were, at the time, rumors they could sell. Instead, Kansas City extended ace Seth Lugo and added a handful of players to its collection through various trades: outfielders Mike Yastrzemski and Randal Grichuk, infielder Adam Frazier, and pitchers Ryan Berget, Bailey Falter, and Stephen Kolek. Those additions haven\u2019t all paid off to date, but Yastrzemski, Frazier, and Berget sure have.<\/p>\n The Royals have set a new season high in runs scored in a month in August, and you can draw a straight line from that statistic to another: Yastrzemski and Frazier upping the number of Kansas City hitters with an OPS+ above 100 from four to six. Berget, by the way, has helped stabilize the Royals rotation that lost Kris Bubic and Cole Ragans to injury over the summer by surrendering two runs or fewer in each of his first four starts.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n I\u2019m not familiar with TJStats (that\u2019s on me, not them). Over there, Thomas Nestico profiled Carter Jensen (and others) in yesterday\u2019s Prospect Parade<\/a>:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Carter Jensen – C – KC<\/strong><\/p>\n Carter Jensen (TJStats #45 Prospect) has thoroughly enjoyed his time in AAA, slashing a .292\/.404\/.646 en route to an immaculate 165 wRC+, fuelled by 13 HR and an elite 15.7 BB%. He has been selling out for power since his promotion as both his K% and Whiff% have ballooned +6%. While this is a concerning trend, he makes up for it with jaw-dropping power including a ridiculous 62.4 HardHit%. Jensen rounds out his intriguing offensive profile with a keen eye and an impressive 20.0 O-Swing%.<\/p>\n This power upside packed into a catcher is extremely compelling, and become more tantalizing given his improvements to his defense this season. He is a strong framer and has posted plus pop times to support his average arm. Jensen has all the making of the next big-slugging catcher and given his dominance in AAA, he may get a taste of the Majors before the 2025 season ends.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n At Bleacher Report, Tim Kelly runs down the AL MVP Candidates<\/a>. Maikel Garcia comes in at 10th and Bobby Witt Jr is 6th.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n David Lesky ($) writes about Wednesday\u2019s game<\/a>:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n If you\u2019re thinking to yourself that only Perez can hit that pitch for a home run, I\u2019ll tell you that you\u2019re wrong, but not that<\/em> wrong. Coming into yesterday, there were 195 total home runs hit by right-handed batters up and off the plate. Not this year. Since 2008. The leader of that group is Albert Pujols. He hit eight of them. Third in that group is Paul Goldschmidt with four (tied with Evan Gattis). You might notice I skipped second. That\u2019s because it belongs to Perez, who now has six home runs on pitches up and away. We all hate the chases when they don\u2019t come through, but it\u2019s hard to stop chasing when you can do that<\/em> on a pitch that most guys don\u2019t even hit hard, let alone 396 feet the other way.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Sure, today\u2019s Royals stories were a little short, but OT is going a smidge long so it all evens out, right?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n At the beginning of the month, I went to a \u201cWeird\u201d Al Yankovic concert. It was my third and all have been generally good experiences. Even when it poured rain at Starlight. Or that time I got shushed for quietly talking with friends between songs during the opening act in Manhattan. Aside: Weird Al fans, you can actually stand up for the music – you don\u2019t have to just sit on your hands.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In the couple of weeks before and after the concert, I went through and re-listened to all of his music again. That brought up the question of \u201cWhich is his best album\u201d. And there\u2019s no clear cut favorite. Heck, I searched for some lists online and it\u2019s amazing how little consensus there is on which are his best and worst albums. So I started doing my own rankings and here we are. The below are in order from \u201cworst\u201d to best. But we\u2019re also talking about \u201cWeird Al\u201d so there\u2019s no \u201cworst\u201d, really.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Bookkeeping note: Any long quotes – the type in quotation marks that sound like they\u2019re not from me – those are from either the Wikipedia pages for the songs, the album, or just Weird Al\u2019s page. Speaking of Wiki, here\u2019s Weird Al\u2019s discography.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Notable: Weird: The Al Yankovic Story soundtrack (2022)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n I mention this as it\u2019s not considered a \u201cstudio album\u201d and mostly a greatest hits CD. It also has some of the score and some short movie clips. The most notable new song is \u201cNow You Know\u201d. At the concert, Al comes on stage and says something to the effect of \u201cThere\u2019s this song that\u2019s in the credits of Weird: the Al Yankovic story. It only makes sense in the context of the credits and at no other time whatsoever\u2026 so we\u2019re going to play it now!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n 14. UHF \u2013 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Other Stuff (1989)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n This is considered a \u201cstudio album\u201d and it does feature the Beverly Hillbillies \u201cMoney for Nothing\u201d parody that is shown in the movie in its entirety. But there\u2019s also a lot of noodling around and some sketches from the movie like \u201cSpatula City\u201d and \u201cGhandi\u201d II. Both \u201cGeneric Blues\u201d and \u201cSpam\u201d are good in different ways. Would you consider \u201cThe Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota\u201d one of Al\u2019s epic ballads? It\u2019s his 5th longest song but feels more cohesive and less meandering than all of the longer ones.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n I\u2019d say \u201cnot much here has survived the test of time\u201d, but I guess it wasn\u2019t popular at the time, either. The wiki for the album says: \u201cPeaking at No. 177 on the Billboard 200, Polka Party! was met with mixed-to-negative reviews and was considered a commercial and critical failure. Despite this, the album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Recording in 1988. Polka Party! is one of Yankovic\u2019s few studio albums not to be certified either Gold or Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).\u201d<\/em> Though I don\u2019t really care for it, \u201cDog Eat Dog\u201d became one of Al\u2019s top 20 concert songs<\/a>. \u201cChristmas at Ground Zero\u201d is his second best Christmas song. I want to love \u201cLiving With a Hernia\u201d, but the medical jargon filler part of the song drags it down.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n 12. \u201cWeird Al\u201d Yankovic in 3D (1984)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Al\u2019s sophomore album is a mixed bag. \u201cEat It\u201d is an unimpeachable smash hit. But what\u2019s the next best song from the album? \u201cI Lost on Jeopardy\u201d, I guess? \u201cThe Brady Bunch\u201d? I like the one-trick parody ponies \u201cTheme from Rocky XIII\u201d and \u201cKing of Suede\u201d. \u201cNature Trail to Hell\u201d is a catchy, epic original that\u2019s not particularly popular and runs a bit long, but I like it. \u201cPolkas on 45\u201d is the first of many polka medleys. On the strength of \u201cEat It\u201d, it sold enough to solidify Weird Al as a music sensation, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s a great album.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n This was my first Al album, and, though it has its charms, it\u2019s not one of his best. There is a feeling that it was rushed as he was writing it while doing production for Off the Deep End<\/em>. \u201cJurassic Park\u201d is a classic. \u201cBedrock Anthem\u201d is in his concert rotation. Using \u201cBohemian Rhapsody\u201d for polka was inspired, particularly after Off the Deep End<\/em> had just used many of the recent popular songs in its polka. Personally, I like \u201cYoung, Dumb, and Ugly\u201d (even though Al doesn\u2019t), \u201cFrank\u2019s 2000 inch TV\u201d, and \u201cLivin\u2019 in the Fridge\u201d. But I also like those styles of music and I might just be looking through sepia-toned nostalgia glasses. After Alapalooza, Yankovic\u2019s release schedule slowed down. His first eight albums were released ten years apart. It took more than twenty years to release his other six albums.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n 10. \u201cWeird Al\u201d Yankovic (1983)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n I originally had this debut album lower, but after another pass on the list, I have to move it up. This isn\u2019t some mediocre debut we grudgingly accept, saying \u201cwell, without it, we don\u2019t get the other 13 albums\u201d. There are major songs like \u201cI Love Rocky Road\u201d, \u201cAnother One Rides the Bus\u201d, and \u201cMy Bologna\u201d. Without them, Al\u2019s catalog of hits would not be complete. \u201cRicky\u201d reminds me that Al is two decades older than I am, and I\u2019m not old enough to get all the parodies. Sure, some of the songs like \u201cMy Bologna\u201d sound like they were recorded in a tiled bathroom (the original was<\/a>). And there\u2019s a bit of low-end filler and songs that lack the sophistication of later parodies. But there\u2019s more than enough good here to justify its spot.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n A lot of this album\u2019s ranking hinges on how you feel about \u201cPerform This Way\u201d. Was it a smash hit that was the perfect Weird Al concert song with a light bit of controversy, ridiculous lyrics, and lots of silly costume changes? Or was it a predictable paint-by-numbers parody of an artist who is already a bit over-the top? If you split the difference and it\u2019s a top 20 or 30 Al song, then that\u2019s how we end up with this ranking. There are a number of mostly ephemeral songs about the changing face of pop culture: \u201cTMZ\u201d, \u201cRingtone\u201d, \u201cCraigslist\u201d, and \u201cStop Forwarding That Crap to Me\u201d. I enjoy \u201cParty in the CIA\u201d and, especially, the video. \u201cSkipper Dan\u201d is definitely original, but a bit of a downer. We\u2019re about to get into albums where we have to decide to how to rank \u201cSmash hit plus mediocre rest of album\u201d against \u201cstrong album but lacking in big hits\u201d. This is a bit of a mediocre album with no huge hits, so it\u2019s on the tier below.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n This was the hardest one for me to place. Al\u2019s last full album was his only #1 on the Billboard charts and was his second to win a Grammy (Poodle Hat also did; the song \u201cEat It\u201d and video for \u201cFat\u201d also won). However, it\u2019s \u201conly\u201d been a decade since it came out, and the odd distribution method makes it harder to stack this up against some previous albums. He didn\u2019t promote any singles, but released eight different music videos online the same week as the album. \u201cWord Crimes\u201d still became a top 40 hit, \u201cmaking him one of few artists to achieve such a feat in four separate decades\u201d. \u201cHandy\u201d (\u201cFancy\u201d), \u201cTacky\u201d (\u201cHappy\u201d), and \u201cFoil\u201d (\u201cRoyals\u201d) are all single-word parodies based on single-word #1 hits. He\u2019s in top form with his imitations but the songs lack a bit of comedic punch (though \u201cFoil\u201d has a funny last verse twist). Personally, I don\u2019t really care for the epic-ly long \u201cJackson Park Express\u201d. Maybe I\u2019m just getting old and had mostly left music behind by the time this had come out.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n This album is like a better version of \u201cIn 3-D\u201d. \u201cFat\u201d is on the Mount Rushmore of Weird Al songs. The video is even better – squeezing tons of jokes into a shot-for-shot parody of one of the biggest videos of the 1980s. But after the hit Michael Jackson parody, the album is a hair thin. The other singles are the parodies \u201cLasagna\u201d and \u201cI Think I\u2019m a Clone Now\u201d, but they haven\u2019t had a lot of staying power. I absolutely love the witty and catchy \u201c(This Song\u2019s Just) Six Words Long\u201d. There are dozens of us. Dozens! I get a decent chuckle out of the Beastie Boys parody, \u201cTwister\u201d. \u201cMelanie\u201d is a concert staple, but I don\u2019t care for it – it\u2019s very much a product of the 80s. The floor of the weaker songs is much higher than when Al started, but there\u2019s not a lot of depth past the leadoff superstar.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n 6. Off the Deep End (1992)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n After the mixed reception for UHF, this album revived his career. Like many of his better albums, it starts off with a smash hit in \u201cSmells Like Nirvana\u201d. The song and video are both excellent. The concert regular \u201cYou Don\u2019t Love Me Anymore\u201d and parody \u201cI Can\u2019t Watch This\u201d are both quality as we weren\u2019t to the point in his career where he\u2019s made too many demented love songs or TV jokes (yet). Originals \u201cWhen I was Your Age\u201d, \u201cTrigger Happy\u201d, and \u201cI Was Only Kidding\u201d are some personal favorites. There\u2019s some filler, but it\u2019s a solid outing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The more I listen to the album, the more underrated it feels. There\u2019s no big smash hit. \u201cCouch Potato\u201d was supposed to be the lead song, but there was a permissions controversy. Eminen allowed Al to parody the song but wouldn\u2019t allow for a video. It\u2019s also \u201cyet another song making fun of TV\u201d. At some point, yet another TV or food or profession or movie song stops feeling fresh. That means it falls to either \u201cEbay\u201d, \u201cA Complicated Song\u201d, or \u201cOde to a Superhero\u201d as the biggest hit. So why is this one ranked so highly? It feels like the album of a mature artist – someone who knows his voice but isn\u2019t yet too stale. \u201cBob\u201d is a brilliant original idea: all palindrome lyrics, sung in an unexpectedly good impersonation of Dylan. \u201cHardware Store\u201d isn\u2019t a gut-buster, but it\u2019s got an amazing vocal range. Just try to sing it. Almost every song on the album goes down smooth or has something creative and\/or interesting going for it. This album also contains my least favorite of Al\u2019s four long songs, \u201cGenius in France\u201d, but \u201cWanna B Ur Lovr\u201d is the only song I might routinely skip on the album.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Side note: While touring for Poodle Hat<\/em>, tragedy struck Yankovic when his parents died of accidental carbon monoxide poisoning in their California home.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n 4. Straight Outta Lynwood (2006)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Unless you think it\u2019s too much self-parody, it\u2019s hard not to see \u201cWhite & Nerdy\u201d as the quintessential Weird Al song. I mean, just look at him (and much of his audience). Most of the jokes are on the nose, both lyrically and visually, in the video: Dungeons and Dragons, Star Trek<\/em>, math, etc. But my favorite is the subtle moment where the two tough guys frantically lock the car door on their convertible before escaping. Or his little quip about his rims being quite stationary. \u201cCanadian Idiot\u201d is a distant second single for the album, but it\u2019s quite popular. There are a couple of skippable songs like \u201cPancreas\u201d, \u201cConfession Part III\u201d, and \u201cDo I Creep You Out\u201d. But the rest of the album is quality. \u201cTrapped in the Drive-Thru\u201d is his second-longest song and, while it has the opposite energy of \u201cAlbuquerque\u201d, I really enjoy it, even as it just keeps droning on and on. One I wish got more love? The 80s fundraiser styled \u201cDon\u2019t Download This Song\u201d is tremendous. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s quite as even as Poodle Hat<\/em>, but it has more high highs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n When I started writing these rankings, it was easy to skim off the lowest albums. But it wasn\u2019t until I wrote up all the other that three rose to the top. I adore this album and it\u2019s Al\u2019s highest-selling of all time. \u201cAmish Paradise\u201d leads off and it\u2019s on the short list of \u201cbest Weird Al songs of all time\u201d. The next biggest single is \u201cGump\u201d, a quality movie parody. But it\u2019s not as timeless as a parody about a franchise like Star Wars, Spider-Man,<\/em> or Jurassic Park<\/em>. After that, \u201cCavity Search\u201d, the formulaic job parody from \u201cHold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me\u201d and the TLC parody \u201cPhony Calls\u201d struggle to compare with other albums\u2019 second and third parodies. I love the two demented style-parodies in this album: \u201cEverything You Know is Wrong\u201d and \u201cI Remember Larry\u201d. Sorry, \u201cChristmas at Ground Zero\u201d fans. \u201cThe Night Santa Went Crazy\u201d is the far superior holiday song. If there was another heavy hitter to move everyone else down in the lineup, so to speak, the album could challenge for the top spot.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n 2. Running with Scissors (1999)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n This was the first album with Al\u2019s new look: his glasses, mustache, and long hair replaced with Lasik, no mustache, and (still) long hair. The album boasts four singles – only our top album and Alpocalypse<\/em> had more. \u201cThe Saga Begins\u201d is almost always one of the encore songs (along with \u201cYoda\u201d). \u201cAll About the Pentiums\u201d is a solid number 2 and \u201cMy Baby\u2019s in Love with Eddie Vedder\u201d is played more frequently at Al concerts than I\u2019d like. \u201cPretty Fly for a Rabbi\u201d and \u201cPolka Power\u201d were also released as singles. Parodies like \u201cJerry Springer\u201d and \u201cGrapefruit Diet\u201d may veer a little into cliche, but they\u2019re easy listens, and I\u2019m a fan of the original \u201cYour Horoscope for Today\u201d. The album ends with the crazed masterpiece \u201cAlbuquerque\u201d. Al never expected it to be popular, but his longest song became such a fan favorite that it has been on tour setlists and even expanded past its original 11-minute runtime. It\u2019s not a perfect album, but it\u2019s one of the best.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n 1. Dare to be Stupid (1985)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Speaking of perfection, side one of Dare to be Stupid<\/em> is just that: \u201cLike a Surgeon\u201d, \u201cDare to be Stupid\u201d, \u201cI Want a New Duck\u201d, \u201cOne More Minute\u201d, and \u201cYoda\u201d. All but \u201cYoda\u201d were released as singles. All but \u201cI Want a New Duck\u201d are on his concert top 10 played list<\/a> and two of them (\u201cYoda\u201d and \u201cOne More Minute\u201d) often get special concert treatment. \u201cDare to be Stupid\u201d has cult status due to its inclusion in Transformers: The Movie<\/em>. I\u2019d even argue that it is somehow underrated and one of Al\u2019s smartest songs, with the mix of turning idioms on their head and inverted commercial slogans set to a perfect Devo-style parody. The only thing it lacks is a killer video. The second half of the album is weaker, but notable songs include the polka medley \u201cHooked on Polkas\u201d, Al\u2019s only cover (\u201cGeorge of the Jungle\u201d), and \u201cThis is the Life\u201d, the theme song from the movie Johnny Dangerously<\/em>. When I started this list, going through the albums chronologically, it was the first one that stood out. Nothing was able to top it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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