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Yankees All Time Leaders – Through 2019

YankeesWith baseball shut down because of the corona virus, I thought it would be an interesting time to look back at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. We continue today with the New York Yankees.

The Yankees began life in 1901 as the Baltimore Orioles, moving to New York in time for the 1903 season.  I’ve seen them play 26 times, first in 1997 and most recently this past June.

Home Runs

Name Total
Marcus Thames 3
Nick Swisher 3
Jacoby Ellsbury 3

Hits

Name Total
Derek Jeter 18
Jorge Posada 15
Brett Gardner 12

Runs

Name Total
Brett Gardner 11
Derek Jeter 10
5 tied with  6

RBI

Name Total
Jorge Posada 10
Derek Jeter 9
Melky Cabrera 9

Doubles

Name Total
Jorge Posada 7
Melky Cabrera 4
Alfonso Soriano 4

Triples Continue reading →

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200 Things To Do In Illinois – Lake Michigan

Illinois celebrated its bicentennial as a state in December of 2018.  To celebrate, the Chicago Tribune published the Bicentennial Bucket List: 200 Things To Do In Illinois, celebrating the best the state has to offer in history, food, architecture, culture, sports, nature, drink, and oddities.  With the state still shut down due to the corona virus outbreak, I figured this was the second-best time to look through this collection and cover the ones I’ve done/eaten/seen.

We continue things this week with one of the entries from the Nature category: Lake Michigan, from Chicago, IL.

You didn’t think we’d forget about this freshwater ocean at Chicago’s front door, did you?  Don’t just look at it.  Get in it.  And on it.  Departing from Navy Pier, Shoreline Sightseeing’s Classic Lake Tour is a 40-minute nautical jaunt along 6 miles of the Third Coast.  From the water, you get a better appreciation for the city’s skyline, a human-made mountain range.

It’s hard to document my experiences visiting Chicago’s lakefront.  I’ve taken the occasional lunch cruise as part of work outings.  I’ve spent a little time on the beach, most notably for a mid-80s television competition between the Bears, Bulls, and Blackhawks.  The picture above is from the museum campus, over by the Adler Planetarium.

If anything, I wish I could spend more time down by the lake.  Living far out in suburbia doesn’t make it easy, though.

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Fitbit 6: Week 14

Week 7 of sheltering in place due to the corona virus saw another drop downward, thanks in part to bad weather.  Things got off to a decent start on Sunday, coming close to 4900 steps.  Monday saw a slight decline down to 4200 steps.  Tuesday ended up being the best day of the week, as I finally managed to crack 5200 steps.  The rains came on Wednesday, which kept me inside completely and limited me to 2300 steps.  Thursday saw the rains continue, and I managed almost 100 additional steps over the day before.  Friday saw a slight improvement in both the weather and my movement, coming in with only 3150 steps.  The weather improved tremendously on Saturday, but I spent most of the day reading, leading to a mere 2500 steps.

Total steps: 24,866

Daily average: 3552.3

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Marlins All Time Leaders – Through 2019

With baseball shut down because of the corona virus, I thought it would be an interesting time to look back at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. We continue today with the Miami Marlins.

The Marlins began life in 1993, joining the National League along with the Rockies.  In 2012, they rebranded as the Miami Marlins in conjunction with the opening of their new, tax payer funded stadium in the city of Miami.  I’ve seen them play 25 times, including 3 victories during their unlikely triumph in the 2003 NLCS against the Cubs and once, as the home team against the Expos, at US Cellular Field in 2004.

Home Runs

Name Total
Miguel Cabrera 4
Cody Ross 3
Dan Uggla 3
Ivan Rodriguez 3

Hits

Name Total
Miguel Cabrera 18
Luis Castillo 17
Juan Pierre 17

Runs

Name Total
Miguel Cabrera 14
Juan Pierre 13
Luis Castillo 10

RBI

Name Total
Miguel Cabrera 13
Ivan Rodriguez 10
Alex Gonzalez 9
Dan Uggla 9

Doubles

Name Total
Alex Gonzalez 6
Derrek Lee 3
9 tied with 2

Triples Continue reading →

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Book 7 (of 52) – Fractured

Fractured – Karin Slaughter

Fractured, the second entry in the Will Trent series, follows the state investigator, who teams up with a detective from Atlanta PD when a brutal crime scene leads to the discovery of a kidnapped girl.  The investigation leads to old acquaintances and feelings of inadequacy as the police try to find the missing girl before her time runs out.

Last year, I had my first experience with this series from author Karin Slaughter, taking in the 8th and 1st entry in that order. Once again, there was a personal connection between Trent and one of the primary players in the investigation, a crutch that I fear Slaughter leans on way too often.  That said, I finished the book in less than a week, so it must have had something going for it.  I look forward to continuing the series and seeing where it goes from here.  Hopefully in order.

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And Also With You

Today is the first Star Wars Day (May the Fourth… May the Force… get it?) since the conclusion of the Skywalker saga in last year’s Episode IX – The Rise Of Skywalker.  Given that Illinois, at least, is still in lock down due to the corona virus, it may be a good time for me to go back to Disney+ and pick The Mandalorian back up.  After work, of course.

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Rays All Time Leaders – Through 2019

414_tampa_bay-rays-miscellaneous-2012With baseball shut down because of the corona virus, I thought it would be an interesting time to look back at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. We continue things today with the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Rays began life in 1998 as the Devil Rays, dropping the Devil portion of their name in 2008.  I’ve seen them play 24 times, 5 as the Devil Rays and 19 as the Rays, including the 2008 ALDS, where they defeated the White Sox.

Home Runs

Name Total
B.J. Upton 5
Matthew Joyce 3
Ben Zobrist 2

Hits

Name Total
B.J. Upton 18
Ben Zobrist 16
Carlos Pena 9
Evan Longoria 9

Runs

Name Total
Ben Zobrist 11
B.J. Upton 9
Matthew Joyce 7

RBI

Name Total
B.J. Upton 11
Carlos Pena 8
Ben Zobrist 7
Evan Longoria 7

Doubles

Name Total
Ben Zobrist 3
Evan Longoria 3
Jason Bartlett 3

Triples Continue reading →

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200 Things To Do In Illinois – Fighting Illini Basketball

Illinois celebrated its bicentennial as a state in December of 2018. To celebrate, the Chicago Tribune published the Bicentennial Bucket List: 200 Things To Do In Illinois, celebrating the best the state has to offer in history, food, architecture, culture, sports, nature, drink, and oddities. With the state still shut down due to the corona virus outbreak, I figured this was the second-best time to look through this collection and cover the ones I’ve done/eaten/seen.

We kick things off with one of the entries from the Sports category: Fighting Illini Basketball, from Champaign, IL.

Get swept up in Big 10 school spirit at the University of Illinois’ recently renovated State Farm Center.  The space-shiplike dome contains an intense student section, the Orange Krush, created at the urging of former coach Lou Henson in the mid-1970s.

Decades later, the Krush continues to put the squeeze on opposing teams with an intimidating sea of orange and trademark cheers.

I’ve attended 2 Fighting Illini home basketball games, one in 2016 and the second this past January.  In both cases, I’ve left the State Farm Center disappointed as the Illini managed to defeat my beloved Purdue Boilermakers.  With Danny now committed to Purdue, there probably isn’t a reason why I’d need to go back to Champaign to see another game.

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Book 6 (of 52) – The Wife Between Us

The Wife Between Us – Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen

In The Wife Between Us, authors Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen introduce us to two women, Vanessa and Nellie, and the man they share between them.  As Vanessa deals with the tatters of her life following the end of her relationship, Nellie prepares for her upcoming wedding.  But, twist, they are actually the same woman!  Now that their, or her, ex is moving on to a new fiancé, Vanessa decides to warn her of the dangers awaiting her, even if it means putting herself back in danger.

My feelings on the book are sort of split.  Prior to the big twist, I was quickly losing interest in where things were going.  Or not going.  After the twist, things started to pick up, but I feel like too much time was spent getting there.  Overall, I guess I would say I enjoyed the experience, but I feel like there was an opportunity to tighten things up which would have made it more enjoyable.

I see that there is another offering from this author team out in the world.  I guess I saw enough here to give it a chance, if I come across it at a reasonable price on the Kindle store.