Why can’t we know what caused what we can see?
Manhattan: Re “Judging Aaron’s arm” (Sept. 8): Give sportswriter Gary Phillips kudos for staying with a story that other outlets want to bury! Every baseball fan can see that MVP candidate Aaron Judge can’t throw a baseball from right field effectively at this time.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone sees the same thing but refuses to make his lineup card based on common sense and baseball knowledge. Obviously, that would be to put Judge in the designated hitter spot and Cody Bellinger in right field! He is an excellent outfielder with a strong throwing arm! That raises the suspicion that Boone may not be making out the lineup card! Phillips is correct in calling the responses from Judge, Boone and front office officials “Orwellian”! As they say in politics, the coverup is worse than the crime. The elephant in the room is how does a position player like Judge come up with something called a “strained arm flexor injury”? He’s not a pitcher who throws dozens of pitches per outing and didn’t suffer any on-field arm injuries this season. My guess is it’s similar to the mysterious “tennis elbow” that afflicted Giancarlo Stanton throughout spring training and weeks into the season.
Trainers, teammates, sports doctors, etc. know full well that Judge’s injury emanates from excessive weightlifting. Of course, nobody on the payroll will speak any evil. That’s the coverup! Yankees management has been less than forthcoming regarding how Judge sustained his injury. Sports media have dutifully accepted the press releases of Yankees management as gospel. However, watching the Yankees lose a winnable game because of an outfielder’s inability to throw is inexcusable. This story won’t go away anytime soon. Gerard Rosenthal
Never forgotten
St. Petersburg, Fla.: Re the obituary of FDNY firefighter Leon W. Smith: God bless his mother and family members for publishing Leon’s picture and remembrance each Sept. 11 and on his birthday. He, along with all the others who died that day, are heroes to the rest of us. Just wanted his lovely family to know that we remember and miss them all. Bill Barrett
Double-charged
Massapequa Park, L.I.: I recently made a recording fee payment to the NYC Department of Finance’s Land Records Division. The fee was posted to an incorrect transaction number, which was admittedly my mistake. I contacted the agency. The representative told me how to correct the error and to make a second payment to the correct transaction number. She then told me I could apply for a refund as I paid the fee twice. I corrected the error and applied for a refund for one payment. I was then told by the DOF that they don’t give refunds as there were two transactions. I told the representative that the previous agent should have noticed that the transaction number was incorrect. They then told me that it’s not the agent’s job to correct errors. Now I’m out the second payment because the DOF will not reimburse me. How’s that for government efficiency? Thomas Facchiano
Unreadable
Scarborough, N.Y.: After 55-plus years of being a loyal Daily News reader, you — and I mean you — have finally ended our relationship. The News’ new digital format doesn’t fit on my phone — “Cookies too large.” Did any of your tech geniuses think to take into account that some of us have old iPhones? Hail, and farewell. Thomas F. Comiskey
Out of play
Fairfield, Conn.: I need to go back to the old version. The main reason for my subscription is the puzzles. Now the puzzles come out blurry, don’t fit properly on the page and cut off the crossword question, no matter how I change settings. I can’t enlarge puzzles like I used to, either. Beth Greenawalt
Tragic end
Philadelphia: After eight months in office, with President Trump trying everything in his bag of tricks to deflect his MAGA base’s crosshairs from Jeffrey Epstein, we have the calamitous murder of the MAGA spokesperson of divisiveness against anyone and everyone who is not a white Christian male Republican, Charlie Kirk, who now serves as the mega-MAGA Epstein deflection martyr for Trump. Astonishingly, the MAGA media pundits immediately bombarded the airwaves in a well-coordinated assault, with more Kirk-style hate-and-division rhetoric that now serves as a memorial tribute to his memory. Regardless, rest in peace, Charlie Kirk. While your nonstop hateful invectives against anyone who did not align with your political ideology were shameful in my book, you deserved better than this. Duane Doberman
Fuel to the fire
Dumont, N.J.: A comparison of the reaction to the Kirk murder between the Trump-led MAGA Party and former presidents and Democrats is in order. In typical fashion, Trump and his minions have branded the assassin as a left-wing radical lunatic without knowing the identity of the perpetrator of this heinous act. Nazi Sieg Heil saluter Elon Musk has stated that “the left is the party of murder.” Other right-wingers have declared, “I’m ready for civil war,” “The only way this ends is the complete annihilation of the Democratic Party” and “Every Democratic politician must be arrested,” among other similarly insane rants. Democrats and our former presidents have condemned the violence while calling for peace. Once again, the anger of the MAGA cult is being stoked, and the only question is when will the next J6 Trump-inspired MAGA terrorist attack or assault take place. David G. Kay
Spoke by the sword
Bronx: When Paul Pelosi was attacked by a MAGA maniac with a hammer and almost killed, Kirk said that someone should bail the attacker out. He supported violence and died by it. So while I feel sorry for Kirk’s family, he helped fuel the atmosphere which he was killed by. Randall Borra
Right sentiment, wrong time
Monroe, N.J.: I certainly understand the grief one feels when a friend or relative passes away, and the desire to be with the family. However, Vice President JD Vance not representing the White House at the 9/11 memorial was disrespectful to our country and those who lost family and friends on that terrible day. We will never forget the 3,000 Americans killed that day, but he did. His decision to go to Kirk’s family instead of recognizing the sorrow of this day for our country seems misplaced. As an elected official, country should come first. Katherine A. Moloney
Shooter-spotters
Flushing: There is a way to prevent these political shootings. One or two telescopes would be set up on the dais. They would be very powerful, easily able to see anything within 300 yards. They would be computerized. They would scan every place that a shooter might be well before the speaker starts, record what they see, and when the speaker starts talking, they would continue scanning the area. If anything new appears, they would alert the speaker of the danger possible. This is, of course, a simple description, and it could be much better than I stated, but it would have prevented Trump’s or Kirk’s shootings, as both shooters would have been seen before they were able to shoot. John Procida
Externalized blame
Staten Island: So, after disgraced N.J. Sen. Bob Menendez threw his wife under the bus, they both find themselves guilty of all charges. Now he wants to throw his defense team under the bus because that strategy failed. He should only blame himself, for he was the one who knowingly did what was illegal. What a guy! Brian O’Leary
Other examples
Brooklyn: Voicer Bradley Morris complained that Zohran Mamdani’s “family rented out a loft in the village for $6,500 monthly.” However, Mamdani himself lives in a $2,300-a-month rent-stabilized apartment, which he qualified for when he was earning a $47,000 annual salary. He’s stated that he’d give it up if elected mayor. Perhaps some have forgotten that former Mayor Ed Koch refused to relinquish his rent-controlled apartment while he was living in Gracie Mansion, and that Mayor Adams was accused of residing in the Fort Lee, N.J., co-op he owns with his longtime partner, Tracey Collins, while renting out his Brooklyn apartment. Facts matter. Alana Wilson
