DAILY DIRT: For every Snitker, there’s a LaRussa

David Bell and Tony LaRussa will likely be looking for employment this fall, if not before … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 338 of The Daily Dirt.

1. We’re basically at the halfway point of the MLB season.

Here’s one man’s opinion about some more first-half highlights and lowlights:

National League

Best managerial job: Brian Snitker, Atlanta. Has anyone noticed that the Braves, who got off to a horrible start, are knocking on the first-place door in the National League East?

Worst managerial job: David Bell will be the sacrificial lamb for the disaster that is the Reds’ 2022 season. Remember when Cincinnati got off to a 3-22 start? Management does.

Best performance by a rookie: Left-hander MacKenzie Gore, who by this time next year will be the ace of the San Diego pitching staff.

Best overall young talent: Have you seen Oneil Cruz of the Pirates? This kid may eventually be the National League version of Julio Rodriguez.

Most likely division winners: New York, Milwaukee, Los Angeles. 

Likely second-half collapse: The Padres rolled over a year ago in the second half, and they are on the verge of heading in the same direction. Maybe the return of Fernando Tatis Jr. will help. Maybe …

American League

Best managerial job: Brandon Hyde, Baltimore. No one, and I repeat no one, expected the Orioles to be respectable. They might even forge a winning record this season.

Worst managerial job: Tony LaRussa, Chicago. There is no chance LaRussa will be entrusted with this team in 2023. The White Sox HAVE to make a move, if not before the end of the season, shortly thereafter. Among the club’s many problems, the Chisox are a fundamental disaster.

Best performance by a rookie: Julio Rodriguez, Seattle. Barring injury, this young phenom could be a triple crown threat some day.

Best overall young talent: Right now, in terms of overall potential, no one can touch Rodriguez. A close runner-up is infielder Bobby Witt Jr. of the Royals. And Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman isn’t too shabby either.

Most likely division winners: New York, Minnesota, Houston.

Likely second-half collapse: The White Sox and/or the Blue Jays look primed to go belly-up.

2. Staying with the baseball theme, here’s my choices for best TV play-by-play man and analyst:

Gold medal: Jason Benetti and Steve Stone, Chicago White Sox.

Silver medal: Don Orsillo and Mark Grant, San Diego Padres.

Bronze medal: Joe Davis and Orel Hershsiser, Los Angeles Dodgers. Davis is a megastar in the making and Hershiser is highly underrated. Hershiser can dissect a pitching staff like few others.

3. And now, the weekly test of your gag reflex, or as we like to call it it, “The Worst Foods In The World”:

If you have ever heard about it, you probably know that aspic is one of the worst-looking foods you’ll ever see. It’s basically a dish based in Poland that consists of processed meat, eggs, and vegetables set into gelatin made from meat stock. Yep, pretty nasty. (Pass the pork-flavored Jell-O, please?)

Another gelatin-based product is jellied bouillon with frankfurters. This is very likely the German version of aspic that includes unflavored gelatin in hot beef broth with pieces of wiener inside the jelly-like offering. If you have ever had an unwanted guest in your house, serving jellied bouillon with frankfurters is a great way to make sure they never come back.

Steve Thought O’ The Day — If you’ve been noticing in our weekly tributes to the worst foods in the world, the majority seem to be found in Europe. Just another reason to stay home and enjoy the good ole U.S. of A.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. The only thing he hates more than Tony LaRussa is winter.