71. Triple Double

[rjy]

Late to it - the two biggies this weekend grabbed all my weekend solving time. But what fun grid fill!

And I'm sorry your Cubbies didn't have more triples and doubles down the stretch... maybe Schwarber can fill a little of that void today!

Cheers!

[MikeyG]

Late to it - the two biggies this weekend grabbed all my weekend solving time. But what fun grid fill!

And I'm sorry your Cubbies didn't have more triples and doubles down the stretch... maybe Schwarber can fill a little of that void today!

Cheers!

I was completely engulfed by the WSJ all Friday afternoon, so I'm surprised I got this out on time Saturday, haha. And, of course, no worries! Mine has a longer window, typically.

Yeah, that would've been nice...this is surprisingly not a baseball meta. The Phillies are fine in my book; I like them, I love how they play, and they have the coolest mascot ever, of course.

Up to 41 on what is probably more a Level 1.5, since this does require a bit of outside knowledge once you glean the three sets of double letters. Another nudge-a-rino or two down the line.

Mikey G

[rjy]

... The Phillies are fine in my book; I like them, I love how they play, and they have the coolest mascot ever, of course.

Just for the record, I mentioned Schwarber purely because he's a notable Cubbie still playing. Will never forget his epic moments with the Cubs.

So not posting for Phillies in general - I'm a Nats fan, so that's hard to do (though right now, the top third of the Phillies lineup is all former Nats... go figure!)

Anyhoo, we now return you to your scheduled cruciverbal programming, already in progress.

[MikeyG]

... The Phillies are fine in my book; I like them, I love how they play, and they have the coolest mascot ever, of course.

Just for the record, I mentioned Schwarber purely because he's a notable Cubbie still playing. Will never forget his epic moments with the Cubs.

So not posting for Phillies in general - I'm a Nats fan, so that's hard to do (though right now, the top third of the Phillies lineup is all former Nats... go figure!)

Anyhoo, we now return you to your scheduled cruciverbal programming, already in progress.

Oh, I knew that! You always want your former teammates to do well - at least I do. Many former Cubs (Baez, Bryant, Contreras, Rizzo), however, have struggled since leaving Wrigley.

Now we're back to crosswords (and I send my Nats condolences also).

[MikeyG]

A few nudges, in increasingly blatant order (as our friend @benchen71 would say!):

1. You should notice three sets of double letters in the each themer.

2. The meta answer, a famous individual, has all three sets of double letters in that order (the first in the first name, the last two in the second name).

3. Note the first, middle, and last across entries. You can sound them out to form a beverage!

4. That beverage was featured in a hallmark song of our individual.

[CPJohnson]

Finally got it...needed first two nudges. Thanks, Mikey!

[Cinny]

Solved with the first couple nudges. Thanks, Mikey!

[KayW]

Wowza! I solved earlier, but didn't notice the contents of "spoiler 3" until you spelled it out for me. Fantastic icing on this tasty meta cake!

[DrTom]

Diabolical grid, but fitting and fun meta. Of course now I am hungry. I too missed the BIG Easter egg, very clever as usual.

[Qmark]

Had to let this sit for too many days after filling in the grid...finally came to me with the deadline looming. Thanks for another fun meta, Mikey!

[MikeyG]

We finished with 56, which is solid! The diabolical grid (I never intend to make these diabolical, but I hope to make a Level 1 meta in meta-nism and cluing for my mother, who is not a fan, haha, in early '24!) may have kept us below the "hour" (60)-mark.



Thanks for solving (and thanks, @BrennerTJ, as always!). Stay warm and tropical, and we'll be back next Saturday for #72!

Mikey G