Start games when baseball fans can enjoy them
Ridgefield, Conn.: It’s great that the Mets/Phillies playoff game on Tuesday was early, it was a treat. But if the Dodgers/Padres game wasn’t on later that night, New York and Philly fans would have been seeing the first pitch sometime after 8 p.m. Their kids could have watched a few innings, but the game wouldn’t have ended until well after bedtime. Young children who are learning to love baseball don’t get to watch the whole game and root for their team. That’s how it will be in the World Series. Sadly, Major League Baseball doesn’t care.
Youngsters aren’t the ones paying for the products and services that are advertised. Their parents are. Advertisers know that most of those eyeballs won’t be available until later in the evening, so they resist earlier start times. The league generally complies. Baseball fans just want to get out of work and watch the game. They should be able to indulge in the excitement of their team being in the playoffs without being sleep-deprived at work the day after.
So, an early start was tremendous for East Coast fans, right? But I heard grumbling from some Mets fans who couldn’t get out of work early enough to see the first pitch. Some of them were hoping to get home by the middle innings. That stinks. I say tell your boss you’re leaving a little early to watch the game, you won’t be up late tonight, and you’ll be super productive tomorrow. Go watch the Mets beat the Phillies and enjoy yourself. You’ll be back to the drudgery tomorrow, but you’ll have the next game to look forward to. Jim O’Neill
Unfairness abounds
Amityville, L.I.: Regarding Voicer Curtis Izen’s comment that unequal penalties degrade the game’s integrity when it comes to enforcing the rules: Mr. Izen, please be aware that it is not only in Major League Baseball. Glaring disparity is evident in many situations — more than we would be willing to admit. Barbara Reynolds
Implicated implementation
Brentwood, L.I.: To Voicer Michael Schnackenberg: On the pullout of troops from Afghanistan, you are correct that President Trump negotiated it. What you failed to mention was that President Biden didn’t follow it. W.J. Van Sickle
Best of the worst
Scarsdale, N.Y.: When Donald Trump heard the expression that all politicians are liars, he appears to have said to himself, “I’m good at lying, politics is for me!” He has shown to his minions that he can take the art of political lying to its highest level. He is now trying to lie his way back into the White House to once again become president of the United States. Harvey Wielstein
Ducked out
Woodstock, N.Y.: Can you imagine how the coward Drumpf would’ve whined and cried had he not chickened out on the “60 Minutes” interview where his feet would’ve been held to the fire the way they did to Kamala Harris? She proved to be tough as nails even when pressed against the wall, demonstrating that nothing will stop her from getting things done. No-Show Drumpf proves once again that all he’s interested in is having people kiss his ring for doing absolutely nothing. Suzanne Hayes Kelly
Predictable
Hallandale Beach, Fla.: Prediction: If Donald Trump wins on Nov. 5, he will claim that whatever his margin of victory is, he really got many more popular votes, and perhaps some Electoral College ones as well, than the announced numbers. In keeping with their blind devotion to the man, many of his more ardent supporters are sure to agree. Anthony Biancoviso
Feeling shorted
Manhattan: As an American, I paid my taxes and worked hard. My insurance denied my medication. It is total bull. People come here illegally, get free Medicaid, SNAP, Social Security and everything for free. I was born and raised here. I am an American. Something is wrong here. Helen Murphy
Regime change
Sunnyside: Voicer Nick Smith wrote that Hamas’ horrific massacre of 1,200 Israelis occurred because it was the Israelis’ turn to “live miserably.” Is Smith aware that the Israelis left Gaza in 2005 because they thought the Palestinian Authority was going to rule the area? But the PA was driven out by the Hamas terrorists one year later, and they imposed a fascistic, fundamentalist Islamic dictatorship, and the aid money that was supposed to help Palestinians was instead used by Hamas to buy weapons and dig tunnels to attack Israel. If the Palestinians ever want to get their long overdue and well-deserved homeland, they must find a way to drive Hamas out and put the PA back in power. John Francis Fox
Universal challenge
Milwaukee: “As greenhouse gas emissions increase, sea levels are rising, average global temperatures are increasing, and severe weather patterns are accelerating. These changes, coupled with other global dynamics… will devastate homes, land and infrastructure,” according to the 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review, U.S. Department of Defense. The U.S. military has expressed concern about climate change since the George W. Bush administration, and dozens of Defense Department documents on this issue can be accessed at climateandsecurity.org. What I don’t understand is how the department can clearly state that climate change is a national security threat, yet many Republicans, who are usually so supportive of our military, can dismiss it. Our common values, like national security and concern for our children’s future, should unify Americans. It doesn’t make sense to make permanent changes to the Earth’s physics and chemistry without looking at this closely together, across political divides, with open eyes and open hearts. Terry Hansen
Let them breathe
Long Island City: Four new offshore wind farms, totaling seven gigawatts of energy, have been proposed off Long Island. That would take a big bite out of the nine gigawatts the state climate law mandates by 2035, but only if Gov. Hochul and NYSERDA (New York State Energy Research and Development Authority) follow through aggressively and bid swiftly on the rest of our offshore wind needs. The big news for New York City is that one project will connect at the Ravenswood energy complex, previously the city’s biggest gas plant, nestled among NYCHA projects. It polluted the air, raising rates of asthma, low birth weight and heart disease. NYCHA residents are on the front line of dirty energy production, and they’ve waited long enough for the too-long transition to clean power. Grace Mok
Lame duck
Ridgewood, N.J.: Mayor Adams will have his day in court to determine his guilt or innocence of the charges against him. Meanwhile, with the unprecedented mass resignations, the business of the largest city in the nation gets neglected. For the wellbeing of the city, Adams should resign and focus on his legal issues. Ed Houlihan
No protector
Briarwood: I’ll bet that if one of the mayoral campaign straw donors was an advocate for the Elizabeth Street Garden, it wouldn’t be on the chopping block. Disgraceful that this is happening after so many worked so hard to create a beautiful safe haven for all New Yorkers to enjoy. Patricia Nuzzi
Rotten idea
Manhattan: While I completely agree with Voicer James Scotto regarding the absolute cruelty behind glue traps, I do not agree with his statement on the compost bins and their keeping odors at bay in buildings and apartments. My husband is a super. Those bins are anything but clean or helpful. Our property did it because they had to. And now the basement (where residential supers generally live) smells like rotten food every day. Swarms of flies constantly. The bins crawl with maggots and attract roaches. Sanitation hardly ever picks them up and the contents end up in the trash more often than not. So, in an effort to placate New Yorkers not having housing, reasonable food prices or safe subways — let’s compost! Oh, and while we compost, we’re also going to make your sidewalks inaccessible to street sweepers entirely because giant, empty planters are what New Yorkers need. T.S. Fallani
Spell check
Manhattan: Are your proofreaders on vacation? The word “organizational” was spelled incorrectly in the Sept. 21 sports section. Time to go back to school! Albert Tracy Johnson Jr.