Month / April 2017

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#32 – Julio Cruz

Name: Julio Cruz

Rank: 32

Position: 2B

Years With White Sox: 1983-1986

Acquired by the White Sox on June 15, 1983 from the Mariners for counterpart Tony Bernazard, Julio Cruz gave the White Sox the spark they were looking for, helping the team go on a 72-31 run to finish the season and go from 6 1/2 games back to 20 games ahead.  Cruz scored the winning run on a Harold Baines sacrifice fly against, of all teams, the Mariners on September 17, clinching the first division title in White Sox history.  Cruz hit .333 during the ALCS against the Orioles, swiping 2 bases in the 4 game series.

In January of 1984, after nearly leaving to join the Angels, Cruz re-signed with the White Sox on a 6 year deal, thought to be worth between $3.6 to $4.8 million.  Unfortunately, time, and injuries, were starting to take their toll.  1984 was the best year of the deal, and Cruz saw his average drop to .222 and he stole only 14 bases, a career low to date.

1985 saw the bottom fall out for Cruz.  Dealing with a toe injury, he was limited to 91 games and he finished the year with a .197 average with only 8 stolen bases.  1986 was more of the same, as he managed to only get in to 81 games, swiping a mere 7 bases while hitting .215.

With Donnie Hill, Jerry Royster, and Fred Manrique in camp in 1987, things did not look good for Cruz.  General Manager Larry Himes hoped that a deal could be made to find Cruz a new home, but nothing materialized and, on March 23, Cruz was told he was being released.  He never played in the major leagues again.

Cruz’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

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Book 10 (of 52) – The Knife Slipped

The Knife Slipped – Erle Stanley Gardner as A.A. Fair

Intended to be the second installment of the Cool and Lam series in 1939, The Knife Slipped, by Erle Stanley Gardner writing under the pseudonym of A.A. Fair, was rejected by the publisher for being too crude.  Rather than rework the idea, Gardner moved on to others and the manuscript sat for more than 75 years until last year, where it finally saw print thanks to the folks at Hard Case Crime.

In this tale, the firm takes on a case of a woman who believes her daughter’s husband is cheating on her, which leads Lam on to police corruption, politics, and, of course, murder.  Blamed for the death of his target, Lam goes on the, well, lam to find out who was really behind the murder and how the corruption played in while Cool tries to work herself in to the corruption, getting herself a piece of the action.

My first experience with Gardner’s work, aside from watching Perry Mason on television, was a later book in this series which I read 2 years ago.  These pulps bring you back to a different, simpler time, where the world wasn’t wired (in more ways than one) the way it is today.  Another installment is planned to be published later this year, and I look forward to getting my hands on it.

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Something’s Different At The Old Ballpark

The Cubs opened the home portion of the 2017 schedule Monday night and there were quite a few changes in and around Wrigley Field. First, outside the ballpark, construction finished on the long-awaited Triangle building and an open plaza area named the Park at Wrigley.
The plaza contains seating areas, beverages, and view of a large video screen.  On game days, admission is limited to ticket holders for that day’s contest, so crowd size should be manageable.  The triangle building itself, which is outside the plaza, contains a new team store and a Starbucks, in addition to team offices.  I must admit, I wasn’t really too excited about this, but, after stopping in prior to Monday’s game, it was a nice place to stop and relax if you’re meeting someone prior to the game or arrive before the gates open.  An additional bonus is a new gate providing entry (and exit) from the ballpark.

This new gate should make it much easier for me to get out after games, as it is right off the ramp I come down from the upper deck.  Entry should also be a breeze, especially if coming in from the plaza.

Once inside the ballpark, you notice the other big change to the surrounding rooftops:
All of the counters have been set back to zero.  I guess the World Series victory really happened.

There were plenty of changes inside the ballpark as well.  Chief among them are the new bullpens.
The new bullpens are under the bleachers, with opaque doors blocking the view inside.  The old bullpens down the lines have been converted into additional seating.  The other big change is the addition of 4 new flag poles in center field, 2 on either side of the old scoreboard.

From left to right, the new banners on the poles represent the 1907 World Series championship, the 1908 World Series championship, the 2016 NL pennant, and the 2016 World Series championship.  No word on what happens to the 2016 pennant after this season, as there are no special banners for the teams previous 16 pennants, dating back to 1876.

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iTunes Top 200 Artists: #81-88

3 years ago, we first counted down the then Top 100 artists in my iTunes library.  Since that time, I’ve successfully managed to migrate my music collection to a new PC with the stats intact.  So, I figured it was time to take another look, expanding out the field to the top 200 artists, based on number of plays from late 2007 through January 1, 2017.

We continue our march up through the the top 100 with this next batch of artists, which includes:

#88: Soul Asylum
iTunes stats: 54 plays
Previous ranking: #70

20 new listens for the Minneapolis-based band causes them to drop 18 spots in the rankings.

#88: John Morris
iTunes stats: 54 plays
Previous ranking: N/A

The composer of the score from the best movie ever made, Clue: The Movie.

#88: Artie Lange
iTunes stats: 54 plays
Previous ranking: #76

The comedy stylings of Arthur Lange drop 12 spots despite 23 new listens in the past 3 years.

#84: The Cranberries
iTunes stats: 56 plays
Previous ranking: #80

A small 4 spot drop for the Irish band, who picked up 26 new listens to their 8 tracks over the last 3 years.

#84: The Beastie Boys
iTunes stats: 56 plays
Previous ranking: #91

30 new listens in the last 3 years bumps the Beastie Boys up 7 spots in the rankings.

#84: Gin Blossoms
iTunes stats: 56 plays
Previous ranking: #63

25 years after the release of their debut album, the Arizona group drops 21 spots due to a small increase of 18 listens over the past 3 years.

#84: Christina Aguilera
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Fitbit III: Week 10

Another good week, though not as good as the last few weeks thanks to the end of the Jiff step challenge and my streak of consecutive days over goal came to an end at a record breaking 75 days.  Things got off to a decent start on Sunday thanks to some neighborhood treks which got me over 7000 steps.  Monday was the scheduled start of the baseball season, but rain meant I spent a lot of time pacing the 300 level of Guaranteed Rate Field, putting me over 9500 steps.  Tuesday was back to work in the morning and then an afternoon trip back to Guaranteed Rate Field for the make-up Opening Day.  Wednesday parlayed a trip to North Plaza in to nearly 8000 steps.  Thursday just barely managed to meet the daily goal, finishing a mere 45 steps above 6500.  Friday was a nice bounce back day thanks to a lunch time spent shooting baskets and a release which kept me up all night.  Saturday was the downer of the week, as my streak of being above goal came to an end, despite being awake until 6 AM and then going back to the south side for more baseball.

Total steps: 53,467

Daily average: 7638.1

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#33 – Ron Kittle

Name: Ron Kittle

Rank: 33

Position: LF/DH

Years With White Sox: 1982-1986, 1989-1990, 1991

Ron Kittle joined the White Sox organization in Septmber of 1978.  He worked his way through the minor leagues before making his major league debut on September 2, 1982, pinch hitting for Aurelio Rodriguez and striking out in the White Sox 6-5 victory over the Rangers at Comiskey Park.  Kittle got sporadic playing time over the final month of the season, earning just 29 at bats in 20 games.  He hit .241 with a single home run.

Kittle, and the White Sox, broke out in a big way in 1983.  While the team charged towards their first division title, Kittle earned an All Star nod and finished the year with a team rookie record of 35 home runs while hitting .254 and driving in 100.  Kittle was knocked out of the ALCS against the Orioles after getting hit by a pitch in Game 3, finishing the series with just 2 hits in 7 at bats.  His season earned him Rookie of the Year honors.

1984 was a bit of a letdown for both Kittle and the White Sox.  While the team failed to perform up to the expectations set the previous year, Kittle did the same, falling to a .215 average.  His power numbers remained, as he clubbed 32 home runs, but his OPS was down by 70 points.  There was a slight improvement in 1985, with his average improving to .230, but he hit only 26 home runs and drove in just 58 runs in 116 games.

In 1986, Kittle was hitting .213 with 17 home runs at the trade deadline when he, along with Joel Skinner and Wayne Tolleson, were sent to the Yankees for Ron Hassey, Carlos Martinez, and a player to be named later.  He rejoined the White Sox a year and a half later, signing as a free agent after the 1988 season.

Injuries limited Kittle to just 51 games in 1989.  In 169 at bats, he hit .302 with 11 home runs and 37 RBI.  He returned in 1990, seeing his average drop to .245 with 16 home runs in 83 games when, again at the trade deadline, he was sent to the Orioles in exchange for Phil Bradley.

Kittle returned for one final hurrah with the White Sox in 1991, signing as a free agent on June 19 before being released on August 15.  In between, he appeared in 17 games and hit only .191 with 2 home runs.

Kittle’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

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#34 – John Danks

Name: John Danks

Rank: 34

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 2007-2016

John Danks was acquired by the White Sox, along with Nick Masset, from the Rangers for Brandon McCarthy following the 2006 season.  He broke camp with the Sox in 2007 and made his major league debut on April 8, picking up the loss against the Twins at US Cellular Field.  Danks, along with the rest of the White Sox, struggled through 2007, finishing the year with a 6-13 record and a 5.50 ERA.

2008 was a different story for both the White Sox and Danks.  Posting a career-best 3.32 ERA, Danks finished the year at 12-9 and had quite possibly the best outing of his career in game 163, throwing 8 scoreless innings of 2 hit ball against the Twins to secure the Central Division title.  Less than a week later, he picked up the lone White Sox victory in the ALDS against the Rays.

Danks had continued success in both 2009 and 2010, combining for a 28-22 record over the two years, with an ERA in the 3.70s both years.  2011 went south for both the White Sox and John Danks, as his ERA jumped to 4.33 while manager Ozzie Guillen lost control of the team before leaving in the final week to head to the Marlins.  Following the season, the White Sox signaled their faith in Danks, signing him to a 5 year extension worth $65 million.

Danks struggled through 9 starts in 2012 before hitting the disabled list with a mysterious shoulder injury.  When he finally underwent surgery, doctors found a torn shoulder capsule.  Very few pitchers have undergone this surgery, and even fewer have successfully returned to the same level they were before the injury.

Sadly, Danks’ recovery did not happen as anyone would have wanted, though not for a lack of effort.  He returned in 2013, making 22 starts and going 4-14 with a 4.75 ERA.  2014 was more of the same, as his ERA was 4.74, though his record improved to 11-11.  And 2015, again, saw Danks put up an ERA of 4.71 in 30 starts.

In 2016, Danks, in the final season of his contract and due $14.25 million, went 0-4 with a 7.25 ERA in April.  With the surprising White Sox in first place after 1 month and with Danks accounting for half of the team’s losses, being an innings eater was no longer good enough.  He was designated for assignment on May 3, ending his White Sox career.

Danks’ numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

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March Madness Steps Challenge

As I may have mentioned a time or two, we had a steps challenge at work that wrapped up on Tuesday.  The goal: to take 780,000 steps in 21 days.  My team managed to surpass this in 13 days, finishing 203rd out of 2567 teams.

As a team, we finished with 1,193,351 steps.  I finished fourth on my team, with 206,044 steps, averaging over 9811 steps per day.  I scored 11 days over 10,000 steps during the challenge, which is more than I notched during all of 2011 and 2013.

Now that the challenge is over, I’m looking forward to taking a bit of a break to rest up.  My left knee has been bothering me for a while and I may have worn a path in the carpet upstairs.  Eventually, the next challenge will come down the pike.  I look forward to it.

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Fitbit III: Week 9

Yet another tremendous week, as I averaged over 10,000 steps for the second consecutive week and my consecutive days over goal streak reached 69 days.  The week got off to a good start on Sunday, my first of 5 10,000 step days in the week.  The work week got off to a fast start with another 10,000 step day on Monday and then nearly 13,000 steps on Tuesday.  Wednesday, my team finished the Jiff challenge at work, so I was able to relax a bit, falling way back to just over 6500 steps.  Thursday was more of the same, before a big bounce back on Friday, where I again came near 13,000 steps thanks to a long walk around the hood after work.  Saturday used yet another neighborhood walk to again surpass the 10,000 step plateau, ensuring my highest weekly step total since June.

Total steps: 70,448

Daily average: 10,064