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Fitbit VII – Week 10

The final week of the March Madness Step Challenge fell short of my weekly goal, as I fell off as the week went on.  The week got off to a good start on Sunday, as I picked up 8900 steps.  Monday I fell off a bit, going down to 6200 steps.  Tuesday fell even more, as I just managed to surpass 4900 steps.  Wednesday was easily the worst day of the week, as I finished with only 2200 steps, my lowest total since early February.  Thursday bounced back a bit, rising up to 4100 steps.  Friday was down again, dropping back to 3600 steps.  Saturday saw a nice bounce back, with 5500 steps, thanks to an afternoon trip to the local Jewel.

Total steps: 35,756

Daily average: 5108

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Book 13 (of 52) – The Other Mrs.

The Other Mrs. – Mary Kubica

Dr. Sadie Foust has seen her world turned upside down.  She’s moved across the country from Chicago to Maine after her husband’s sister commits suicide.  She suspects her husband has been cheating.  Her niece and children act strangely around her.  And when a neighbor is killed in the middle of the night, she finds that she is the chief suspect, despite having never met the woman.  Or has she?

The Other Mrs., the sixth entry from Mary Kubica, moves the action outside of Chicago and heads to the east coast, to a tiny island off the coast of Maine, where claustrophobia may as well have been another main character.  There are two big twists, which turns out to be a good thing because the first you could see coming from a mile away.  The second was probably just as predictable if you weren’t so focused on the first.

Netflix is said to be making a movie based on the book, but there’s been no word on casting, let alone a release date.  In the meanwhile, Kubica has another new book due out next month.  Like her previous outings, I’ll be sure to enjoy it once it shows up on sale for the Kindle.

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Fitbit VII – Week 9

The second week of the March Madness Step Challenge puts me over goal for the second consecutive week, the first time I’ve managed that since early August.  The week got off to a good start on Sunday, as I picked up 7800 steps.  Monday I managed to garner my first 10,000 step day since my August trip to the zoo with Danny, finishing over 10,300 as I ventured out to a not-so-local CVS to get my first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.  Tuesday fell back down to 8100 steps, which I guess is still acceptable.  Wednesday finished with only 6300 steps.  Thursday bounced back, rising up to 7700 steps.  Friday was nearly as good, with over 7500 steps.  Saturday was the down day of the week, with only 4700 steps.

Total steps: 52,716

Daily average: 7530.9

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iTunes Top 200 Artists: #89-98

It’s been 4 years since we last counted down the Top 200 artists in my iTunes library.  Since my iTunes stats are still intact, across multiple PCs, iPods, iPads, and iPhones, I figured it was time to take another look at the artists that have entertained me the most based on number of plays from late 2007 through January 1, 2021.

We kick off the second half of the countdown with today’s batch of 10 artists, the three tied for 98th place, 2 tied for 96th, the single artist at 95th through 92nd, and the first of 3 tied for 89th.

#98: Gin Blossoms
iTunes stats: 85 plays
Previous ranking: #84

A slight 52% increase in plays for the 5 different tracks in my collection from the Arizona-based band leads to a 15 spot drop.

#98: Smash Mouth
iTunes stats: 85 plays
Previous ranking: #97

The former ska band, who traded in their roots for a more pop sound, picked up 39 new listens to drop just a single slot.

#98: Carpenters
iTunes stats: 85 plays
Previous ranking: #129

The king and queen of 70s soft rock raised their plays by 150% for the 6 separate tracks in my collection to jump 31 spots on the list.

#96: Tommy James & The Shondells
iTunes stats: 88 plays
Previous ranking: #129

The Michigan-based psychedelic group added 54 additional listens to the 4 songs that are in my collection.

#96: Mazzy Star
iTunes stats: 88 plays
Previous ranking: #66

While they have 6 tracks in my collection, only 4 contributed to the play total for this trippy band, which managed a mere 35% increase.

#95: Sam Phillips
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By The Numbers – 60

In 1929, uniform numbers appeared on the back of baseball jerseys for the first time, thanks to the Indians and the Yankees.  By 1937, numbers finally appeared across all uniforms, both home and away, across both major leagues.  Since that time, 81 distinct numbers have been worn by members of the White Sox, while the Cubs boast 76.

Today, we continue our look at those players, picking our favorite, if not the best, player to wear each uniform number for both Chicago teams with #60.  23 players have donned #60 while playing in Chicago, 17 for the White Sox and 6 for the Cubs.

Dallas Keuchel is the latest member of the White Sox to don #60.  He joined the team in 2020 after signing a 3 year deal during the offseason.  He went 6-2 with a 1.99 ERA in the corona virus shortened season, helping the White Sox to the postseason for the first time since 2008.  He is expected to be a big part of the rotation this year as the team looks to make the postseason in consecutive seasons for the first time in franchise history.

Manny Corpas spent one season with the Cubs, wearing #60 during the 2012 campaign.  He was not very good, going 0-2 with an ERA over 5.00, but he’s one of the few #60s for the Cubs that I recognized.

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All Time Team Records

In a shocking development, the 2021 baseball season got underway last night without issue or delay.  With hopefully a full 162 game schedule on the docket, it is time once again to look at the all-time team records for games that I have identified as having attended dating back to 1984.  Thanks to some eBaying of pocket schedules from the 80s, I was able to identify one additional game that I attended in 1988, a California Angels victory at Comiskey Park against the White Sox.

The Cubs look to contend in a weak NL Central with one final year of having the core of their World Series Championship team under contract, while the White Sox hope their offseason additions put them over the top and make them true World Series contenders.  The 2021 season should be an interesting one on both sides of town, even more interesting if we are able to see it in person.

All-Time Team Records
Team Name Won Loss Winning Pctg
California Angels 2 0 1.000
Arizona Diamondbacks 13 2 0.867
Florida Marlins 15 8 0.652
Colorado Rockies 10 6 0.625
Boston Red Sox 18 13 0.581
Toronto Blue Jays 15 11 0.577
New York Yankees 15 11 0.577
Los Angeles Angels 19 14 0.576
Cleveland Indians 28 24 0.538
Chicago Cubs 219 197 0.526
Philadelphia Phillies 10 9 0.526
Houston Astros 22 20 0.524
Chicago White Sox 306 287 0.516
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April Showers

As we kick off Michael’s birthday month, we go back over a year, to the last sporting event I attended in February of 2020 before the corona virus shut down everything a few weeks later.  After the Boilermakers made a late run to hold off Northwestern at Welsh-Ryan arena, Michael and I got our picture taken by the court as we were walking out.  Little did I know that this would be the last live event I would attend.

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March All Time Leaders – Through 2020

With a full year of baseball on tap after last year’s troubles due to a combination of the corona virus and needless labor squabbles, I thought it would be interesting to look at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for each month in games that I have attended.

Thanks to the recent collective bargaining agreement adding more off days during the regular season,  opening day has been moving earlier into March over the past couple of seasons.  Despite that, I have only attended 2 March games coming in to this year, with both of them coming on the 31st, in 2003 and 2014.

Home Runs

Name Total
Alejandro de Aza 2
Corey Patterson 2

Hits

Name Total
Corey Patterson 4
Mark Grudzielanek 3
11 tied with 2

Runs

Name Total
Sammy Sosa 3
Hee Seop Choi 3
5 tied with 2

RBI

Name Total
Corey Patterson 7
Mark Bellhorn 4
Alejandro de Aza 3
Kurt Suzuki 3

Doubles

Name Total
Jeromy Burnitz 2
8 tied with 1

Triples Continue reading →

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2021 Predictions

After a year of pandemic-related shut downs and a truncated 60-game schedule last year, the 2021 baseball season is scheduled to kick off on Thursday with a full slate of games and some percentage of fans back in the stands.  For the eleventh consecutive year, I’ve looked into the crystal ball to make my picks for the upcoming season.

American League

East: Yankees

Central: Twins

West: Astros

Wild Cards: White Sox, Blue Jays

AL Champion: Yankees

Cy Young: Lucas Giolito

MVP: Aaron Judge

National League

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