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iTunes Top 200 Artists: #101-110

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 wrap up the first half of the countdown with today’s batch of 10 artists, the second tied for 110th place, 2 tied for 108th, the single artist at 107th through 103rd, and the 2 tied for 101st.

#110: K’s Choice
iTunes stats: 73 plays
Previous ranking: #101

Only 28 new listens to 5 different tracks from the arguable one hit wonder from Belgium over the past 4 years led to a 9 spot drop.

#108: INXS
iTunes stats: 77 plays
Previous ranking: #117

One of Australia’s highest selling music acts of all time, the band increased their listens by 108% to move up 9 slots.

#108: Sublime
iTunes stats: 77 plays
Previous ranking: #103

The Long Beach based ska band added 33 new plays to the 4 songs they have in my collection.

#107: Pink
iTunes stats: 78 plays
Previous ranking: #123

The 3-time Grammy winner added 43 additional listens to the 4 songs that are in my collection.

#106: Ugly Kid Joe
iTunes stats: 80 plays
Previous ranking: #111

The poorly-timed hard rock band, who started to hit it big just as alternative rock was taking over the world, managed to double their play total.

#105: UB40
Continue reading →

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By The Numbers – 61

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 #61.  18 players have donned #61 while playing in Chicago, 12 for the White Sox and 6 for the Cubs.

Joel McKeon was the White Sox first round pick in the 1982 draft and made his debut in 1986, where he appeared in 30 games out of the bullpen and had a rather successful 2.45 ERA.  His 1987 season, however, was much less successful, with his ERA jumping to 9.43 and, the following February, McKeon was shipped off to the Padres to complete an earlier trade.  While McKeon, the first #61 in White Sox history, did little to make himself memorable on a real baseball diamond, his 1986 appearance with Buffalo, the then Triple A affiliate of the White Sox, made him a superstar of our Micro League Baseball league, where he dominated as a stalwart of the team belonging to my friend Dave.

Backup catcher Babe Phelps, the first player to don #61 for the Cubs, hit .286 in his 2 seasons with the Cubs.  And no, I don’t mean his average across those 2 seasons was .286.  I mean he finished both seasons, 1933 and 1934, with a .286 average.  He would go on to more success with the Dodgers later in the decade, earning MVP votes in 1936 and earning three straight All Star nods from 1938-1940.

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Active Pitching Leaders – Through 2020

baseballs3Last week, we looked at the active leaders in games I’ve attended through 2020 on the offensive side of the ball.  With spring training winding down and opening day less than a week away, let’s take a look at the defensive side of the ball and the active pitching leaders.

Wins

Name Total
Chris Sale 21
Jon Lester 12
Jose Quintana 8
Nate Jones 7
Lucas Giolito 6

Losses

Name Total
Jose Quintana 17
Chris Sale 12
Carlos Rodon 9
Jeff Samardzija 6
Kyle Hendricks 6

ERA (> 35 IP)

Name Total
David Robertson 2.17
Nate Jones 2.21
Zach Duke 2.38
Johnny Cueto 2.43
Cole Hamels 2.59

ERA (> 70 IP)

Name Total
Jon Lester 2.60
Chris Sale Continue reading →
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The Sweet Sixteen

We enter the Sweet 16 with upsets galore. leaving me without my champion pick, An Ohio State University, who lost to a 15 seed in the opening round.  My Boilermakers also crapped out in the first round, making my trip to Indianapolis last weekend a questionable decision.

Gonzaga, the overall #1 seed, has to be even more of a favorite to win the whole thing at this point.

The Big Ten did me wrong in this region, as both Purdue and Ohio State were upset in the first round.   Continue reading →

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Book 12 (of 52) – The Battle Of Betazed

The Battle Of Betazed – Charlotte Douglas and Susan Kearney

With the Dominion War going poorly for the Federation, the Enterprise and Counselor Troi are tasked with a mission to free Betazed from Cardassian control.  While Troi tries to grapple with a decision that may help win the war but will change the Betazoids forever, Riker leads an away team to destroy Sentok Nor, the new space station the Cardassians built in orbit around Betazed, using their knowledge of Deep Space Nine.

Last summer, during the throes of the pandemic, I finally watched all of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.  One of my biggest questions during the Dominion storyline was, “Where is the Enterprise?”  Now, I know the real world reasons, but they never really addressed a in-universe reason as to why the Federation flagship was nowhere to be seen.  In The Battle Of Betazed, Charlotte Douglas and Susan Kearney try to address that question, giving the Enterprise and her crew a decisive battle, even though it was away from the front lines.

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Fitbit VII – Week 8

As we kick off our second year of working remotely, a little good news as, thanks to a March Madness step challenge at work, I managed to finish the week over goal for the first time since early August.  The week got off to a good start on Sunday, where I managed to pick up 9100 steps, my highest single day total since my vacation to Michigan in early September.  Monday fell off, coming in 7 steps shy of 5800 as the weather turned bad.  Tuesday bounced back, as I managed to get back over goal with 7600 steps.  Wednesday went back down again, but to a still respectable 6,666 steps.  Thursday saw another big increase, jumping all the way up to 9100 steps.  Friday was a bit of an adventure, as I drove down to Purdue to pick up Danny before heading to Indianapolis to see Purdue disappoint in the NCAA Tournament, ending up with 9600 steps, although I think I lost a few along the way as I relived the 11 PM hour thanks to the time change between EDT and CDT.  Saturday, despite being sore as all get-out from Friday, I still managed to get 7500 steps.

Total steps: 55,581

Daily average: 7940.1

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iTunes Top 200 Artists: #110-120

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 continue today with our next batch of 10 artists, the second tied for 120th place, 3 tied for 127th, the single artist at 116th and 115th, 3 tied for 112nd, and the first of 2 tied for 110th.  We have our final newcomer making their debut this week.

#120: Bruce Springsteen
iTunes stats: 68 plays
Previous ranking: #119

The Boss adds 32 new listens while dropping one spot on the list thanks to the 4 tunes in my collection.

#117: P.M. Dawn
iTunes stats: 69 plays
Previous ranking: #150

The trip-hop duo jumps 33 spots thanks to 38 new plays for 3 of their hit singles.

#117: John Travolta
iTunes stats: 69 plays
Previous ranking: N/A

The actors combines his contributions to two movie soundtracks, Grease and Pulp Fiction, to make the highest ranking debut.

#117: Color Me Badd
iTunes stats: 69 plays
Previous ranking: #109

The early 90s boy band drops 8 places, with 28 new listens, now one of their three tracks in my collection is no longer being used as the walkup music for former White Sox catcher Tyler Flowers.

#116: Skid Row
iTunes stats: 70 plays
Previous ranking: #119

The New Jersey band added 34 additional listens to the 5 songs that are in my collection.

#115: Oasis
Continue reading →

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By The Numbers – 62

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 #62.  19 players have donned #62 while playing in Chicago, 12 for the White Sox and 7 for the Cubs.

Jose Quintana becomes the next player we’ve come across to wear the same number for both the White Sox and the Cubs.  He originally signed with the White Sox as a minor league free agent on after the 2011 season and made his major league debut on May 7, 2012.  He quickly moved in to the rotation and became a steady, if unlucky, presence on the mound.  As a member of the White Sox, he had a career mark of 50-54 with an unbelievable 65 no decisions.  In his last full season with the team, he made his first All Star team and finished 10th in Cy Young Award voting.

In July of 2017, with the Cubs looking to defend their World Series title and the White Sox looking to rebuild, the two teams pulled off a trade, sending Quintana to the Cubs and Eloy Jimenez and Dylan Cease amongst the haul for the White Sox.  In 3+ seasons with the Cubs, he improved his career winning percentage, but wasn’t the difference maker the team thought they were getting.  He became a free agent following the 2020 season.

Another #62 to appear for both teams was Bob Howry, who pitched for the White Sox from 1998 through 2002 and for the Cubs 2006 through 2008 and again in 2010.  Howry’s most infamous moment came wearing a different number, when, in 2000, he was in the middle of the brawl between the White Sox and the Tigers.

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Book 11 (of 52) – Raise The Bar

Raise The Bar: An Action-Based Method For Maximum Customer Reactions – Jon Taffer

Jon Taffer, the host of TV’s Bar Rescue, offers his no-nonsense strategy for running bars, nightclubs, and restaurants in Raise the Bar.  Taffer’s overall business philosophy, Reaction Management, can be applied to any customer-facing operation, but Taffer’s focus is on the hospitality industry.  He references some of the bars he’s rescued (or tried to rescue) on his show and explains how and why they were failing and what needed to be changed in order to succeed by managing the reactions of their patrons.

While there are some lessons that can be applied to businesses overall, Taffer’s focus is on how to apply his philosophy to bars and nightclubs.  He takes a more subtle approach than he does on the show, with much less yelling and cursing.  It was a decent enough read for an occasional fan of the show who has no direct interest in the bar business.

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Active Batting Leaders – Through 2020

baseballs2Last month, we looked at the overall leaders on both sides of the ball from all of the games I’ve attended between 1984 and 2020.  With spring training managing to keep going despite the continuing pandemic due to the corona virus, Opening Day is right around the corner.  Let’s take another look at those numbers, limiting it to players that are still active heading in to the 2021 season.

Home Runs

Name Total
Jose Abreu 36
Tim Anderson 16
Avisail Garcia 15
Gordon Beckham 15
Melky Cabrera 14

Hits

Name Total
Jose Abreu 193
Gordon Beckham 146
Melky Cabrera 132
Tim Anderson 113
Adam Eaton 105

Runs

Name Total
Jose Abreu 89
Gordon Beckham 85
Tim Anderson 62
Avisail Garcia 58
Adam Eaton 52

RBI

Name Total
Jose Abreu 106
Gordon Beckham 71
Melky Cabrera Continue reading →