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FB8 – Week 43

Another lost week, thanks in part to too much work and cold weather.  The week got off to a slow week on Sunday, registering only 3100 steps.  Things were worse on Monday, as I ended up with just over 2600 steps.  Things fell off again on Tuesday, needing an additional 21 steps just to reach 1900.  Wednesday was the high point of the week, jumping up to 4500 steps.  Thursday started another decline, dropping down to 4000 steps.  Friday fell off again, dropping down to 3700 steps.  Saturday saw another decline, coming 26 steps shy of 3600.

Total steps: 23,514

Daily average: 3359.1

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2023 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Newcomers

On Monday, the BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2023, with the results of the vote are due to be revealed on January 24th, and induction taking place July 23rd.  With David Ortiz as the sole electee last year, the new ballot contains fourteen holdovers along with another fourteen newcomers.

Yesterday, we looked at the returning candidates.  Today, it’s time to look at the newcomers and who may be thankful come January.

Bronson Arroyo

The long time Red and Red Sox hurler really has no chance at election.

Carlos Beltran

A first look at how the voters will treat the players associated to the Astros cheating scandal.

Matt Cain

I can’t imagine that Cain, who threw a perfect game in 2012, will get the necessary support.

R.A. Dickey

The long-time knuckleballer would be lucky to survive to a second ballot.

Jacoby Ellsbury

I mean, he had a nice career and all, with 1300 hits and 104 home runs, but no.

Andre Ethier

The long time Dodger will need to purchase a ticket if he wants to get in.

J.J. Hardy

Yeah, that’s going to be a no.

John Lackey

The three-time World Series Champion ended up having a pretty nice career, but nice career’s do not get you to Cooperstown.

Mike Napoli

No.

Jhonny Peralta

Another no.

Francisco Rodriguez

That’s going to be yet another no.

Houston Street

Man, this year’s crop of additions, while solid players, is lacking in star power.

Jered Weaver

See what I mean?

Jayson Werth

Well, at least we’re done.

 

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2023 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Holdovers

Yesterday, the BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2023.  The results of the vote are due to be revealed on January 24th, with induction taking place July 23rd.  David Ortiz was elected in last year’s voting and notable PED suspects Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Sammy Sosa fell off the ballot after reaching their ten-year limit, the new ballot contains fourteen holdovers along with another fourteen newcomers.  For the first time in a decade, the logjam caused by a combination of BBWAA rules limiting the number of votes on one ballot to ten and the ongoing refusal by some writers to vote for players tainted by PEDs has come to an end.

Let’s take a look at the returning candidates today before moving on to the newcomers tomorrow.

Bobby Abreu
Years on ballot: 3
2022 Percentage: 8.6

A miniscule decrease for Abreu last year means he is trending in the wrong direction.

Mark Buehrle
Years on ballot: 2
2022 Percentage: 5.8

A big drop left the former White Sox hurler on the precipice of getting dropped off the ballot.  With the logjam removed and spaces open on ballots that were full last year, we’ll see if he regains some support.

Todd Helton
Years on ballot: 4
2022 Percentage: 52.0

Helton seems to be moving on the right track, getting over 50% for the first time, but I don’t think this will be his year.  He should make it eventually though.

Torii Hunter
Years on ballot: 2
2022 Percentage: 5.3

Hunter had the lowest percentage of the vote while remaining on the ballot from last year’s election.  Things do not look good for the long time Twin and Angel.

Andruw Jones
Years on ballot: 5
2022 Percentage: 41.4

If voters were to stick to his first 11 seasons, Jones looks like a shoe-in for the Hall.  His last 7 seasons, though, were so bad that it makes it hard to consider him.  Despite another big increase in votes, those final seasons seem to be holding sway.

Jeff Kent
Years on ballot: 9
2022 Percentage: 32.7

Continue reading →

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Book 48 (of 52) – The Lovely Bones

The Lovely Bones – Alice Sebold

When Susie Salmon was 14, she was murdered by a neighbor.  As she adjusts to the afterlife, her family tries to find a way forward while her killer tries to cover his tracks.  Nearly ten years later, her family finally gets to the point where they are ready to come to terms with what happened, allowing Susie to move on.

Originally published in 2002, I first came across The Lovely Bones in 2010 when the movie adaptation, starring Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, and Saoirse Ronan, was released.  Alice Sebold’s novel is able to expand the story, showing the effects on the Salmon family and Susie’s friends over time without worrying about the ages of the actors.

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Travelling The 50 States – Maryland

Over my 47 years, I’ve done my fair share of travelling across these United States.  I thought it would be an interesting experiment go look back at those trips to each of the 31 states I have visited (62% isn’t bad, is it?) and see if, and when, I may be returning.  Working in alphabetical order, we continue today with the 7th state to be added to the Union: Maryland.

State: Maryland
Joined the Union: 1788
Visits: 1

My first, and only, so far, visit to the Chesapeake Bay State came at the beginning of our family trip to Washington DC in 2019 to celebrate Michael’s graduation from junior high.

On a Sunday morning in the beginning of June, the family flew into Baltimore.  While the girls headed to the train to Washington, the boys went for a nice breakfast followed by a quick impromptu sight-seeing tour.  After seeing the grave of Edgar Allen Poe and a museum celebrating the birthplace of Babe Ruth, we found ourselves at Oriole Park at Camden Yards to see the Orioles battle their rival San Francisco Giants.

Things got a little hairy late in the game when we realized that the train we were planning to take to Washington didn’t run on weekends.  We left the game early and hoofed it to a bus depot, where we booked passage on a bus route headed to DC.

Will I return?  Maybe, for baseball reasons.  But outside of that, I don’t see what would draw me back.

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Team Stats: Saves

It will be five months until baseball returns to Chicago, so I thought it would be a good time to revisit, for the first time in six years, the all-time rankings in both offensive and defensive categories for all iterations of the current 30 teams for the 1040 games I’ve identified that I have attended.  We continue today on the defensive side of the ball with saves.

Based on the raw numbers, the White Sox and Cubs are once again the leaders in this category, seeing as they are the teams I’ve seen most often.  When you adjust the numbers per game, the Blue Jays lead the way with a little more than one save every other game.  At the bottom end of the spectrum are the Anaheim incarnation of the Angels, the Miami version of the Marlins, and the Devil Rays, who did not, or have yet to, manage to earn a single save.

Saves

Team Name Saves
Chicago White Sox 145
Chicago Cubs 98
Kansas City Royals 19
Minnesota Twins 17
Detroit Tigers 17
Toronto Blue Jays 14
Cleveland Indians 14
Los Angeles Angels 13
New York Yankees 12
Pittsburgh Pirates 11
Cincinnati Reds 11
Houston Astros 11
Boston Red Sox 10
Philadelphia Phillies 9
Florida Marlins Continue reading →
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Pruning The Roster

Following a disappointing 2022 campaign on the south side of Chicago, the White Sox started their roster overhaul tonight by declining to tender a contract for 2023 to Adam Engel, Danny Mendick, and Mark Payton.  Engel, who turns 31 next month, struggled to produce this season after missing the majority of 2021 due to injury.  Mendick, 29, was putting together the best season of his career filling in for the injured Tim Anderson when he suffered a season-ending ACL tear in his right knee after a collision with Adam Haseley against the Blue Jays in late June 22.  Payton, a 30-year-old journeyman out of St. Rita, notched three hits in eight games for the White Sox last season.

Engel should have little trouble catching on somewhere as a fourth or fifth outfielder.  Even when he has struggled offensively, his defense will play anywhere.  I can see the White Sox trying to bring Mendick back on a minor league deal to see how he recovers from his surgery.  Payton is organizational filler and will likely sign on somewhere with a minor league deal.

 

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FB8 – Week 42

A lost week, thanks in part to a dead battery and too much work, ending my streak of finishing above 30,000 steps at three weeks.  The week went off the rails on Sunday, since I forgot to bring my Fitbit charger with me to Boston and my battery died on my flight home, meaning I lost a lot of airport steps, registering only 3100 steps.  Things picked up considerably on Monday, as I ended up with just over 4300 steps.  Things fell off again on Tuesday, as meetings left me at 2900 steps.  Wednesday was even worse, dropping down to 2500 steps.  The promise of the final 70-degree fay of the year on Thursday led to the best day of the week as I played hooky in the afternoon, spending some time at a beach by Lake Michigan and finishing with 4800 steps.  Friday fell off again, dropping down to 3500 steps.  Saturday was spent making sure Michael was fed, which left me with a mere 2800 steps.

Total steps: 24,120

Daily average: 3445.7

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Team Stats: Walks

With 3 months until baseball in Chicago returns, I thought it would be interesting to look at the all time rankings in both offensive and defensive categories for all iterations of the current 30 teams for the 833 games I’ve identified that I have attended. We continue today on the offensive side of the ball with walks.

Based on the raw numbers, the White Sox and Cubs are far and away the leaders in this category, as they are, once again, the teams I’ve seen the most.  When you adjust the numbers per game, however, the California iteration of the Angels lead the way with an exceedingly high 5.5 walks per game.  Only four teams averaged less than three walks per game, cut in half from the last time we looked at these numbers, with the Miami version of the Marlins continuing to bring up the rear with just 2.5 walks per game.

Walks

Team Name BB
Chicago White Sox 2031
Chicago Cubs 1413
Minnesota Twins 212
Cleveland Indians 186
Kansas City Royals 179
Detroit Tigers 178
Milwaukee Brewers 165
Houston Astros 164
Pittsburgh Pirates 158
Cincinnati Reds 151
Texas Rangers 127
New York Yankees Continue reading →