Author / admin

by admin

FB4: Week 45

After 5 down weeks, we ended the week over goal for the first time since the end of October.  The week got off to a slow start on Sunday, as they are wont to do, finishing with a mere 5400 steps.  Monday was a nice bounce back day, coming in over 9200 steps.  Tuesday came in just over 7300 steps, thanks in part to an after-work trip in to the city to pick up a birthday cake.  A birthday celebration for Val helped Wednesday end with nearly 8300 steps.  Thursday was another strong day, coming in at over 7400 steps.  Friday was another good day, with just under 7300 steps.  Saturday was spent back in Boston to see Angelina, going over many of the same stops as my October trip, though with my mom this time, so my step total was a lowly 13,167.

Total steps: 58,317

Daily average: 8331

by admin

Book 22 (of 52) – The Hike

The Hike – Drew Magary

The Hike, the latest from Deadspin writer Drew Magary, tells the strange tale of Ben, a 38 year old married man with three kids who travels for work.  On one of those trips, he decides to go for a walk in the woods prior to his business meeting and, instead, finds himself in a strange world where a talking crab helps him stick to the path and, hopefully, find his way home.

I must admit, during the early going, I wasn’t sure exactly what I was reading.  In some ways, the surreal nature of it reminded me of the little I have read of Kurt Vonnegut’s work.  Eventually I decided to just go along for the ride and things turned out for the best.

 

by admin

A Shocking Development

Last night, the results of the Today’s Game Era Veteran’s Committee vote was revealed and 2 players will join the Hall of Fame class of 2019: Harold Baines and Lee Smith.  Smith was a unanimous selection by the 16 person committee, while Baines nabbed 12 votes, the minimum needed for election.

Baines, 59, was the first overall selection in the 1977 draft by then-White Sox owner Bill Veeck and reached the majors three years later.  He collected 2,866 hits, the 46th largest total in history, during a 22-year career, with parts of 14 spent with the White Sox.  He was a six-time American League All-Star selection and won the 1989 Silver Slugger award as a DH.  At the time of his retirement after the 2001 season, Baines was the all-time leader among designated hitters in games, hits, home runs and RBIs.

Smith, 61, retired in 1997 with 478 saves after an 18-year career, holding the title of all-time saves leader from 1993 until 2006, when he was surpassed by Trevor Hoffman.  He spent eight seasons with the Cubs, before becoming a journeyman and splitting his final ten seasons between seven teams.  The imposing right-hander was an All-Star seven times and saved 30 or more games 10 times.

Harold Baines’ numbers in games I’ve attended were: Continue reading →

by admin

FB4: Week 44

My fifth down week in a row, done in by lazy weekends.  Sunday finished off the Thanksgiving vacation, a mere step shy of 2400.  Monday was back to work, and an impressive improvement up to 7780.  Tuesday was another good day, coming in 10 steps shy of 7200.  Wednesday used two trips to North for coffee, not to mention lunch at the casino buffet, to finish over 8200 steps.  A lunch and learn on Thursday helped depress that day’s total to 5600.  Friday was the big winner of the week, coming in jest below 9400 steps thanks to another 2 coffee trips and a band concert for Danny.  Perpetual rainfall on Saturday made getting steps difficult, which is what I tell myself for only getting 4200 steps.

Total steps: 44,825

Daily average: 6403.6

by admin

FB4: Week 43

Yet another disappointing week, as I fell below goal for the fourth consecutive week and managed to put up my lowest weekly total of the year.  Sunday was a bad start to the week, as I managed to finish just shy of 3000 steps.  Monday was a nice bounce back, coming in just over 7000 steps, thanks to a trip in to the city for games and lunch.  Tuesday improved on that, with over 7700 steps, thanks to breakfast with Michael and a car wash, amongst other chores.  Wednesday was the high point of the week, and seemed to put me back on track, when a walk to the neighborhood Chase got me up over 10,000 steps.  Thursday, being Thanksgiving and all, is when things really fell apart, as I managed just over 2100 steps.  Friday was technically better, but still but only by 100 steps or so.  Saturday saw an increase, up to 4400 steps, but not enough to salvage the week.

Total steps: 36,438

Daily average: 5205.4

by admin

2019 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Newcomers


baseballhof

The BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2019 on Monday.  The results of the vote are due to be revealed on January 22nd, with induction taking place next July.  After Chipper Jones, Jim Thome, Vladimir Guerrero, and Trevor Hoffman were elected in last year’s voting, the new ballot contains 15 holdovers along with 20 newcomers, which may continue the logjam caused by the current BBWAA rules which limit the number of votes on one ballot to 10 and the ongoing refusal by some writers to vote for players tainted by PEDs, leaving too many qualified candidates fighting for limited spots.  Once again, the BBWAA and the Hall may find themselves with a mess on their hands.

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

Rick Ankiel

Mad props to the man for putting together a viable major league career as an outfielder after imploding as a pitcher, but he has no shot here.

Jason Bay

I can’t imagine a world where Jason Bay earns a Hall of Fame vote.

Lance Berkman

I never really thought I was watching a Hall of Famer during the 31 games I saw Berkman perform in, but I have a feeling he will get some, but not enough, support.

Freddy Garcia
Jon Garland

These two members of the starting rotation for the 2005 World Series Champions will always hold a special place in my heart, but not in Cooperstown.

Travis Hafner

This has been a weak batch of newly eligible players so far, no?

Roy Halladay

I imagine Halladay would have garnered strong support anyway, but his untimely death last year will likely goose his numbers.

Todd Helton

Helton will get in, but he may need to wait a year or two.

Ted Lilly

I guess we’ll see if Bruce Levine gets to vote in these proceedings based on whether the former Cub gets a vote or not.

Derek Lowe

The former Red Sox hurler may get a little support, but not enough to keep him on the ballot for a second go-around.

Darren Oliver

Yeah, no.

Roy Oswalt
Continue reading →

by admin

2019 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Holdovers


baseballhofThe BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2019 yesterday. The results of the vote are due to be revealed on January 22nd, with induction taking place next July. After Chipper Jones, Jim Thome, Vladimir Guerrero, and Trevor Hoffman were elected in last year’s voting, the new ballot contains 15 holdovers along with 20 newcomers, which may continue the logjam caused by the current BBWAA rules which limit the number of votes on one ballot to 10 and the ongoing refusal by some writers to vote for players tainted by PEDs, leaving too many qualified candidates fighting for limited spots.

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

Barry Bonds
Years on ballot: 6
2018 Percentage: 56.4

The all time home run champion saw his vote percentage rise for the fourth straight time last year, so the PED bias holding him back may be subsiding.  With only 4 more shots with the writers, it remains to be seen if he has enough time to get up to 75%.

Roger Clemens
Years on ballot: 6
2018 Percentage: 57.3

Roger Clemens, he of the 354 career victories and 7 Cy Young awards, also found himself with a fourth consecutive rise after his sixth run through the voting process.  For some odd reason, perhaps by having played for more teams, Clemens continues to get marginally more support than his fellow PED poster child Barry Bonds.

Andruw Jones
Years on ballot: 1
2018 Percentage: 7.3

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.  Based on his initial vote total, those final seasons seem to be holding sway.

Jeff Kent
Years on ballot: 5
2018 Percentage: 14.5

The 2000 NL MVP saw his vote percentage go in the wrong direction last year.  He still has a long way to go and not a whole lot of time left, so the future does not look good for him.

Edgar Martinez
Years on ballot: 9
2018 Percentage: 70.4

The longtime DH for the Mariners saw another big jump last year, but has 1 last shot to make up that remaining 5%.

Fred McGriff
Years on ballot: 9
2018 Percentage: 23.2
Continue reading →

by admin

FB4: Week 42

Another disappointing week, my 3rd in a row below target and 7th out of the last 8.  Things got off to a slow start on Sunday, where I barely cracked 1600 steps due to not leaving the house.  Monday was a nice bounce back, as I managed to get over 7100 steps, thanks to a Lunch and Learn in North Plaza.  Tuesday fell just 134 steps shy of my daily goal.  Wednesday was spent in training, so I barely managed to get 5300 steps.  Thursday was another close one, as I fell short by just 242 steps.  Friday was the big day of the week, thanks to two trips to North for coffee, coming in just below 9400 steps.  Saturday used a trip to a grocery store or two to finish at 4400 steps on the nose.

Total steps: 41,559

Daily average: 5937

by admin

The Loss Of A Legend

On Monday, Stan Lee, the father of the Marvel Universe, passed away at the age of 95.  Through his work with Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and others, Lee created or co-created Black Panther, Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Mighty Thor, Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, the Incredible Hulk, Daredevil and Ant-Man, among countless other characters, and catapulted Marvel from a tiny venture into the world’s No. 1 publisher of comic books and, eventually, a multimedia giant.

Beginning in 1985, with the final issue of a TransFormers limited series that would eventually run 80 issues, through 2007’s One More Day story arc that concluded in Amazing Spider-Man 545, the worlds created by Lee provided 22 years of entertainment in comic book form and many more since thanks to the cinematic versions.  His loss will be felt for years to come.