Craig Brown
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craigbrownkc.bsky.social
Craig Brown
@craigbrownkc.bsky.social
1.7K followers 210 following 1.4K posts
Veteran of the blogs. BBWAA. Currently writing about the Royals at Into the Fountains on Substack. https://intothefountains.substack.com
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craigbrownkc.bsky.social
Beltrán goes in with a Mets cap. Close call, but I think that makes the most sense.
baseballhall.org National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum @baseballhall.org · 2d
Capping it off: We have announced the cap selections that will appear on plaques for members of the Class of 2026. ow.ly/jr7g50Y8eWF
Hall of Fame plaques and three plinths, two inscribed by BBWAA electees Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones, on which will be installed the plaques of the Class of 2026. (Milo Stewart Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum)
February 3, 2026 at 7:27 PM
craigbrownkc.bsky.social
Contract specifics finally drop for The Pasquatch.
passanthalbot.bsky.social Passanthallich @passanthalbot.bsky.social · 2d
@JonHeyman tweeted
Vinnie Pasquantino, Royals deal is for $11.1M over 2 years

$4,200,000 - 2026
$6,900,000 - 2027

Plus incentives for $200K for 450, 500 and 550 plate appearances in 2027

BIG Awards bonuses
February 3, 2026 at 6:29 PM
craigbrownkc.bsky.social
The Alex Gordon voter remains unknown. That's too bad.
notmrtibbs.com Ryan Thibodaux @notmrtibbs.com · 2d
Here is the BBWAA ballot release: bbwaa.com/26-hof-ballo...

Looks like about 100 ballots that will be new to the Tracker. We'll have them in the Tracker later this afternoon.
February 3, 2026 at 6:08 PM
craigbrownkc.bsky.social
Holy Darryn Peterson. What a finish.
February 3, 2026 at 4:12 AM
craigbrownkc.bsky.social
As FanDuel deeply inhales the death vapors, the Royals have announced their games will be televised via Royals.tv next year.
Royals Streaming Coming in 2026 | Kansas City Royals
Beginning with the 2026 season, Royals.TV will be available on cable and satellite television as well as the MLB app.
Royals.tv
February 2, 2026 at 8:38 PM
craigbrownkc.bsky.social
Hey! Are you a subscriber to Into the Fountains? You should be. I wrote this about Pasquantino and the Royals a few weeks ago…

Click here to get gems like this sent directly to your inbox for free.
intothefountains.substack.com/p/royals-set...
I wonder if the failure to reach an agreement with Pasquantino is a prelude to an extension. Both sides were also some distance off from the MLB Trade Rumors estimate, which has me wondering if something is afoot. I’m not thinking it’s anything like the Garcia deal that buys out a year (or potentially two) of free agency. You don’t do that with first basemen like the Pasquatch. However, they could do something like where they reach a two-year deal. That locks in some payroll certainty for the team and gives Pasquantino an opportunity to snag a large raise in his third and final season of arbitration eligibility before he hits the free agent market. That can be something of a win for both sides.
January 31, 2026 at 2:22 AM
craigbrownkc.bsky.social
Cool photo.
January 30, 2026 at 9:52 PM
craigbrownkc.bsky.social
I understand we spend our days upset by the latest hires, cancelling subscriptions and whatnot. But let me tell you, I have never felt this much rage as when I got this notification.
SiriusXM announces Prog Rock Radio. Who asked for that???
January 29, 2026 at 7:55 PM
craigbrownkc.bsky.social
This dude is just as awful as Pocket Himmler.
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 7d
Homan: "I begged for the last two months on TV for the rhetoric to stop. I said in March -- if the rhetoric doesn't stop, there is gonna be bloodshed. And there has been. I wish I wasn't right. I don't want to see anybody die."
January 29, 2026 at 4:35 PM
Reposted by Craig Brown
carlquintanilla.bsky.social
𝘒𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴
𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴
𝘖𝘩, 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴
𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴
𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘰𝘧 '𝘦𝘮, 𝘩𝘢 🎶

Thanks to @jennylsq.bsky.social for cueing up this bad boy today.

@theclash.com

“Know Your Rights” (1982)
January 28, 2026 at 10:53 PM
craigbrownkc.bsky.social
The Champions League is drunj.
January 28, 2026 at 10:03 PM
craigbrownkc.bsky.social
As I wrote today at Into the Fountains, every story about the Royals stadium fiasco should include the following sentence:

"The Royals lease at Kauffman Stadium runs through Jan. 31, 2031, with two five-year extension options."

intothefountains.substack.com/p/ready-for-...
January 28, 2026 at 6:57 PM
craigbrownkc.bsky.social
So impeach, rinse, repeat.
sahilkapur.bsky.social Sahil Kapur @sahilkapur.bsky.social · 8d
Chris Murphy on Kristi Noem: “She’s unqualified, but so will the next DHS secretary. The name on the on the door of DHS doesn’t really matter. This is an operation being run by the president and Stephen Miller.” www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...
Two Republican senators call for Kristi Noem to resign as DHS secretary
Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Thom Tillis are the first GOP members of Congress to call for Noem to step down as secretary of homeland security.
www.nbcnews.com
January 28, 2026 at 12:42 AM
Reposted by Craig Brown
drewmagary.bsky.social
This is great shit
adamserwer.bsky.social Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 9d
One thing I found deeply moving about resistance in the Twin Cities was the universalism of loving your neighbor, the philosophy driving the opposition to the ICE/BP invasion. I couldn't help but notice the contrast with the blood and soil-ism of Miller and Vance. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
Trump-administration officials and MAGA influencers have repeatedly called these activists “violent” and said they are involved in “riots.” But the resistance in Minnesota is largely characterized by a conscious, strategic absence of physical confrontation. Activists have made the decision to emphasize protection, aid, and observation. When matters escalate, it is usually the choice of the federal agents. Of the three homicides in Minneapolis this year, two were committed by federal agents. “There’s been an incredible, incredible response from the community. I’ve seen our neighbors go straight from allies to family—more than family—checking in on each other, offering food and rides for kids and all kinds of support, alerting each other if there’s ICE or any kind of danger,” Malika Dahir, a local activist of Somali descent, told me. If the Minnesota resistance has an overarching ideology, you could call it “neighborism”—a commitment to protecting the people around you, no matter who they are or where they came from. The contrast with the philosophy guiding the Trump administration couldn’t be more extreme. Vice President Vance has said that “it is totally reasonable and acceptable for American citizens to look at their next-door neighbors and say, ‘I want to live next to people who I have something in common with. I don’t want to live next to four families of strangers.’” Minnesotans are insisting that their neighbors are their neighbors whether they were born in Minneapolis or Mogadishu. That is, arguably, a deeply Christian philosophy, one apparently loathed by some of the most powerful Christians in America.
January 27, 2026 at 9:20 PM
craigbrownkc.bsky.social
Are they going to pepper spray Norwegian cross country skiers? Disappear German bobsledders? Murder ski jump spectators?
January 27, 2026 at 5:42 PM
craigbrownkc.bsky.social
It’s a good day but still plenty at stake. Don’t let up for a second. Stay vigilant and continue to stand for what’s right. And fuck that tiny nazi.
nickmiroff.bsky.social Nick Miroff @nickmiroff.bsky.social · 9d
BREAKING Greg Bovino has been removed as Border Patrol "commander at large" and will return to El Centro Calif, where he is expected to retire soon. A stunning turnaround after Pretti killing. Bovino's traveling blue city crackdown is over www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
Gregory Bovino Gets Demoted
The Border Patrol chief was the public face of a traveling immigration crackdown on cities governed by Democrats.
www.theatlantic.com
January 26, 2026 at 11:59 PM
Reposted by Craig Brown
wejustinnocentmen.bsky.social
We’re just innocent men
January 26, 2026 at 5:30 PM
craigbrownkc.bsky.social
Corruption recognize corruption!
carlquintanilla.bsky.social Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 10d
(The Guardian) - Former Fifa president Sepp Blatter on Monday suggested he supports fans boycotting World Cup matches in the United States this year due to security concerns.

@theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/football/202...
January 26, 2026 at 5:46 PM
Reposted by Craig Brown
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
You have to read this. Firsthand affidavit from one of the women who was there and recording the video. She talks about how Alex Pretti was directing traffic when she arrived. She watched him be killed in front of her. She's afraid to go home, worried she'll be arrested.
1. I am a resident of the Whittier neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota. I am over 18 years of age. I am a children's entertainer who specializes in face painting. 2. On Saturday, January 24, 2026, at about 8:50 am, I was getting ready to go to work when I heard whistles outside. I knew the whistles meant that ICE agents were in the area, so I decided to check it out on my way to work. I've been involved in observing in my community because it is so important to document what ICE is doing to my neighbors. Connecting to your local community and knowing who your neighbors are is something I profoundly value. 3. I drove to Nicollet Ave. and 26th where I could hear the whistles coming from. I turned south onto Nicollet. There were already several ICE agents there and they'd set up a sort of vehicle convoy on Nicollet and 28th. There were also about 15 observers there, recording and observing ICE. 4. I saw ICE agents surrounding cars and punching car windows. I also saw them stopping vehicles further down Nicollet, so I backed up because I didn't feel safe continuing on. 5. I noticed a man sort of acting to help traffic move more smoothly. He helped me find a place to park. I got out with my whistle and my camera. I went over to him and said something like, "I'm going to film and use my whistle." 6. It seemed like most ICE activity was happening a little farther down the street from us, near 27th. Someone was being thrown to the ground. 7. I started recording. There was an agent by a car across the street. Two observers were a few feet away from the agent, blowing their whistles. One was wearing a backpack. 8. I and the man who was observing and helping direct traffic were standing in the street. There was a phone in the man's hand recording a video. 9. An agent approached and asked us to back up, so I moved slowly back onto the sidewalk. 10. The man stayed in the street, filming as the other observers I mentioned earlier were being forced backward by another ICE agent threatening them with pepper spray. The man went closer to support them as they got threatened, just with his camera out. I didn't see him reach for or hold a gun. 11. Then the ICE agent shoved one of the other observers to the ground. Then he started pepper spraying all three of them directly in the face and all over. The man with the phone put his hands above his head and the agent sprayed him again and pushed him. 12. Then the man tried to help up the woman the ICE agent had shoved to the ground. The ICE agents just kept spraying. More agents came over and grabbed the man who was still trying to help the woman get up. All three of the observers looked to have been badly affected by the pepper spray. I could feel the pepper spray in my eyes. 13. The agents pulled the man on the ground. I didn't see him touch any of them-he wasn't even turned toward them. It didn't look like he was trying to resist, just trying to help the woman up. I didn't see him with a gun. They threw him to the ground. Four or five agents had him on the ground and they just started shooting him. They shot him so many times. 14.1 don't know why they shot him. He was only helping. I was five feet from him and they just shot him. 15. The video I recorded of what happened accurately depicts the events leading up to the agents shooting him and several minutes afterwards. The video is attached as Exhibit 1. 16. I have read the statement from DHS about what happened and it is wrong. The man did not approach the agents with a gun. He approached them with a camera. He was just trying to help a woman get up and they took him to the ground. 17. I feel afraid. Only hours have passed since they shot a man right in front me and I don't feel like I can go home because I heard agents were looking for me. I don't know what the agents will do when they find me. I do know that they're not telling the truth about what happened. I've heard that other witnesses might have been arrested and taken to the Whipple Building. 18. I am disgusted and gutted at how they are treating my neighbors and my state. I keep alternating between crying and feeling determined it is important to remember the value of documenting injustice. We show up for the people who need us to bear witness, because it can't just be one group of people bearing the brunt of their tyranny. This is a struggle to protect our freedom and democracy, those things are on the line. He lost his life for those values. I declare under penalty of perjury that everything I have stated in this document is true and correct. Dated and signed on Jan 24, 2026 in Hennepin County, State of Minnesota.
January 25, 2026 at 1:15 AM
craigbrownkc.bsky.social
So much of the last several days has been utterly heartbreaking. We will prevail. There is more good than evil. Those who commit and facilitate these crimes must be held accountable. Every. Single. One. Strength to Michael and Susan. May Alex’s memory be a blessing.
jeffrueter.bsky.social Jeff Rueter @jeffrueter.bsky.social · 11d
Kare 11 local news just read, in full, this statement from Michael and Susan Pretti, the parents of Alex Pretti.

"Please get the truth out about our son."
Statement from Michael and Susan Pretti Parents of Alex Jeffrey Pretti “We are heartbroken but also very angry. Alex was a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends and also the American veterans whom he cared for as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital. Alex wanted to make a difference in this world. Unfortunately, he will not be with us to see his impact. I do not throw around the ‘hero’ term lightly. However, his last thought and act was to protect a woman. The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting. Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs. He had his phone in his right hand and his empty left hand is raised above his head while trying to protect the woman ICE just pushed down, all while being pepper sprayed. Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man. Thank you.
January 25, 2026 at 12:57 AM
Reposted by Craig Brown
twincitiesgooners.bsky.social
In times like these, community is all we have.

If you’re able, please consider donating to our fundraising efforts to help support our neighbors and friends. Sharing the info to your own communities helps hugely, too!

Donate at the link in our bio 🔗!
January 24, 2026 at 9:38 PM
craigbrownkc.bsky.social
Go Minneapolis. FUCK ICE.
maxnesterak.bsky.social max nesterak @maxnesterak.bsky.social · 12d
It’s -9 degrees. Downtown Minneapolis is packed for the anti-ICE rally and the crowd keeps growing
January 23, 2026 at 9:17 PM
craigbrownkc.bsky.social
“Baseball is cinema.”
robertsilverman.bsky.social Bobby Silverman @robertsilverman.bsky.social · 13d
No longer having @johndemarsico.bsky.social directing Mets games for SNY is a huge loss for baseball fans. He's the best in the business, full stop x.com/JohnDeMarsic...
January 23, 2026 at 4:20 PM
craigbrownkc.bsky.social
You’re not doing anything tonight. You should watch this.
tcm-up-next.bsky.social Up next on TCM @tcm-up-next.bsky.social · 14d
THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE (1974) — 8:30 pm ET — 1h 44m
(TCM Primetime: 1970s New York)

Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam; directed by Joseph Sargent

Gunmen hold a New York subway train and its passengers for ransom.

#TCM #TCMParty
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
www.tcm.com
January 22, 2026 at 1:02 AM
craigbrownkc.bsky.social
Didn’t have high hopes for Council early in the season. Now? Love that guy.
January 21, 2026 at 5:55 AM