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#14 – Joe Crede

Name: Joe Crede

Rank: 14

Position: 3B

Years With White Sox: 2000-2008

Joe Crede joined the White Sox organization as their 5th round selection in the 1996 draft.  He earned a September call-up from Double A in 2000, and made his major league debut on September 12, replacing Herbert Perry and going 0-1 in the Tigers 10-3 victory at Comiskey Park.  Crede appeared in 7 games, making the most of his 14 at bats, and finished with a .357 average.

Crede was sent to Charlotte for the 2001 season, again getting a cup of coffee with the big league club in September.  With the White Sox not heading to the post-season, Crede got a little more playing time, but was less successful than the year before.  He finished with a .220 average in 50 at bats over 17 games.

2002 saw Crede return to Triple A, before being recalled to the White Sox for good in July.  On August 12, he hit his first major league home run off of former teammate James Baldwin.  “He was someone who always got on me for being a rookie in the clubhouse and on the bus last year,” Crede said.  “Singing on the bus and stuff.  Nothing very harmful, but it was a good way to get him back.”  In 53 games, Crede finished with 12 home runs, 35 RBIs, and a .285 average.

Crede established himself as the starting third baseman in 2003.  He appeared in a career high 151 games and launched 19 home runs with 75 RBIs while posting a .261 average.  He struggled in 2004, seeing his average drop to .239 while hitting 21 home runs with 69 RBIs.

In 2005, Crede started to come in to his own.  While he improved his average to .252 and hit 22 home runs with 62 RBIs, he started to come in to his own in the second half, culminating with a game winning, and possible season saving, home run in the 10th inning against the Indians on September 20, which pushed the White Sox to a 3.5 game lead and propelled them into the playoffs.  Crede had a rough series in the ALDS against the Red Sox, getting only 1 hit in 9 at bats, but rebounded in the ALCS and World Series, hitting .368 and .294 respectively, with 2 home runs in each series.

2006 was Joe Crede’s breakout season.  He hit .283 with career highs in home runs, with 30, and RBIs, with 94.  Following the season, he was awarded his first, and only, Silver Slugger award.

Crede looked to continue his new found dominance at the hot corner in 2007, but a back injury limited him to 47 games and only 4 home runs.  He returned with a bang in 2008, hitting a grand slam on opening day against the Twins.  A good first half saw him earn his first All Star selection, but the back injury recurred and kept him out for most of the second half of the season, including the playoffs.   Crede became a free agent at the end of the year and his White Sox career came to an end.

Crede’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

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Fitbit III: Week 28

A ho-hum week, bolstered by one tremendous day on Sunday.  The week got off to a good start as I finished up my trip to Boston with trips to breakfast, Skywalk Boston, and the Boston Tea Party museum before heading back home.  Due to the weekend away, I took Monday off from work and still somehow managed to come in just over my daily goal of 6500 steps.  Tuesday was back to work, and I put together 8200 steps for my second highest total of the week.  The remainder of the week didn’t even surpass 7000 steps, though each day was above goal.

Total steps: 58,516

Daily average:

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You Ought To Be In (16) Pictures

Movie_Reel_22Many years ago, using the weekly TV guide that came with the Sunday Chicago Tribune, I started keeping track of all of the movies I had seen over the course of my lifetime.  The guide would list the two main stars for each movie, and that is a tradition that I’ve carried on in my database ever since.  So, given those guidelines, it is time to look at all of the actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of July 1st.

Today, we look at the 3 actors that have starred in 16 movies that I have seen, down 1 from 3 years ago.

Drew Barrymore

The most recent of her films that I’ve seen is still Music And Lyrics, which I saw in 2008.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Returning to the role that made him famous, Schwarzenegger moved up one spot thanks to 2015’s Terminator Genisys, which I saw in 2016.

Sylvester Stallone

Returning to the role that made him famous, Stallone moved up one spot thanks to 2015’s Creed, which I saw in 2016.

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#15 – Chris Sale

Name: Chris Sale

Rank: 15

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 2010-2016

Chris Sale was the 13th overall selection by the White Sox in the 2010 draft. After 11 total games in the minor leagues, Sale made his major league debut on August 6, less than 2 months after being drafted, giving up a hit and a walk before getting pulled. Sale worked out of the bullpen for the remainder of the year, earning 4 saves in 21 appearances. Sale returned to the bullpen in 2011, picking up another 8 saves while posting a 2.79 ERA.

In 2012, Sale moved in to the starting rotation full time, where he racked up 5 straight All Star nods and finished between 3rd and 6th in Cy Young award voting each season. In 2015, Sale set the White Sox franchise record with 274 strike outs. Last year, he tied his career high with 17 victories and threw a career high 226 2/3 innings pitched in between spats with the front office over Drake LaRoche and 1970s throwback jerseys.

In December, the rebuilding of the White Sox began when Sale was traded to the Red Sox for Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech, Luis Alexander Basabe, and Victor Diaz.

Sale’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

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#16 – Alexei Ramirez

alexeiName: Alexei Ramirez

Rank: 16

Position: SS

Years With White Sox: 2008-2015

Alexei Ramirez signed with the White Sox on December 21, 2007 after defecting from Cuba.  He made his major league debut the following March 31, going 0-4 against the Indians while playing center field.  When Juan Uribe went down with an injury in May, Ramirez settled in at second base.  On September 19, Ramirez hit his 3rd grand slam of the year, tying the major league rookie record.  10 days later, he grabbed the record for himself, hitting his 4th slam against Gary Glover to push the White Sox to an 8-2 victory and the tiebreaking game 163.  He finished the regular season with .290 average and a career high 21 home runs.

During the ALDS, he hit .250 in the 4 game series against the Rays, with 2 RBI.  Once the season came to an end, Ramirez placed second in Rookie of the Year voting, behind Evan Longoria.

With Orlando Cabrera gone, Ramirez shifted over to shortstop for the 2009 season.  On July 23, he fielded the final out in Mark Buehrle’s perfect game.  He ended the year with a .277 average, 15 home runs, and 68 RBI.

2010 saw Ramirez earn his first Silver Slugger award, thanks to 18 home runs, 70 RBI, and a .282 average.  In 2011, his average dropped somewhat, but he remained consistent, hitting .269 with 15 home runs and 70 RBI.

Ramirez saw his power numbers slip in 2012, dropping to 9 home runs, but the rest of his game remained consistent with a .265 average and 73 RBIs, though he did set a new career high with 20 stolen bases.  His power fell off even further in 2013, finishing with only 6 home runs and 48 RBI, but he logged his highest average, .284, since his rookie year.  He also set a new career high with 30 stolen bases.

2014 may have been the finest season of his career.  On May 5, he notched his 1000th career hit, off Justin Grimm and the Cubs.  In July, he earned his first All Star selection and, after the season, his second Silver Slugger award.  He finished with a .273 average, 15 home runs, and 74 RBIs.

Ramirez struggled for much of the first half in 2015.  He rebounded in the second half, but still finished the year with the lowest batting average, .249, and OPS, .642, of his career.  Following the season, the White Sox declined his option for 2016, making him a free agent.

Ramirez’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

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A 10K Step Record

Sunday, after walking around Boston before flying home, I put up a total of 16,577 steps.  While good enough for my 13th highest total of all time, it also put me at 37 10,000 step days in 2017 and 36 during this 3rd year of Fitbit usage.  The 36, through week 28, ties my previous high from the first year with the Fitbit.  Meanwhile, the 37 surpasses the 36 10,000 step days I put up in 2015, not to mention the 36 days l logged between 2012 and 2014 during the GlobalFit era.

With plenty of time left in the year, these numbers are sure to grow, which will make surpassing them again next year another challenge.  I’m sure I’ll be up to it.

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Where Everybody Knows Your Name

This past weekend, I finally got to use my birthday gift from last year, a trip to Boston to see the White Sox take on the Red Sox with Danny and Michael.  The trip started early Saturday morning, with a trip to O’Hare to catch a 6 AM flight.  After arriving in Boston, we took a bus and a train to get to the Museum of Science, where we spent most of the morning.

With food on our mind, we wandered back over towards where we got off the train and found ourselves in the Beacon Hill neighborhood, where we ended up at The Paramount, rated as one of the 10 best breakfast spots in Boston.  A long wait through the oddly run restaurant, where you order and get your food prior to being seated, ended up in a decent meal.

After eating, we headed to our hotel, which was located in the medical district.  We checked in and relaxed for a bit, before deciding on going for ice cream prior to heading to Fenway Park.  Like nearly everywhere else we went, the ice cream shop was a little hole in the wall, but it certainly served its purpose.  From there, it was short walk up Brookline to the ballpark, which was… a little underwhelming.  From the outside, you could barely tell that it was a stadium.  Michael even asked where it was as we were standing outside it.

The game went about as you would expect.  With James Shields on the mound, the White Sox did not put up much of a fight.  We were sitting down the left field line, with a good view of the Green Monster.  The seats, which may or may not date back to the stadium’s opening in 1912, were not really designed for people well over 6 feet tall, so there was a lot of uncomfortable shifting as our knees were smooshed in to the seats in front of us.

After the game, we went back to the hotel and called it a night.   Continue reading →

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Playoffs?!?

For the third consecutive year, a Chicago team is in position to start selling playoff tickets to their season ticket holders.  While the Cubs have struggled to put together a big run to pull away from the pack, they currently hold a 1 game lead in the National League Central and are looking to defend their World Series championship.

Thanks to a randomly selected combination assignment, I would end up with tickets to a home Wild Card game, should the Cubs drop out of first place, all Division Series home games, home games 2 and 3 of the Championship series, and home games 1 and 3 of the World Series.  Unlike past playoff appearances, it seems I would have my normal tickets for the first two rounds, before moving much closer to home plate but 7 rows up for the World Series.

Prior to last year, the last time the Cubs won the World Series, in 1908, was their second consecutive title.  Do they have what it takes to become the first repeat champions since the Yankees to close out the 20th century?  Will they even make it to the postseason, holding off the Brewers, Cardinals, and Pirates?  Given that they just won the whole thing last year, does it really matter?

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Fitbit III: Week 27

A tremendous day on Saturday helped pick up the slack for a lackluster week and led me to my second straight 60,000 step week.  Things got off to a slow start on Sunday, where I failed to surpass 5400 steps despite going to Guaranteed Rate Field to see the White Sox battle the Indians.  Things bounced back on Monday, where I used some work time walking plus an after work dinner to get over 9000 steps.  Tuesday was back down again, though I did manage to finish over 7000 steps.  Wednesday was another down day, coming in nearly 1000 steps below goal.  Thursday and Friday were both back up to just around my daily goal, with Friday somehow finishing with exactly 6500 steps.  Saturday morning, I headed to O’Hare to board a flight to Boston, where my travels around the city, including stops at the Museum of Science and Fenway Park, put me above 20,000 steps, my fifth such day over the past 7 years.

Total steps: 60,746

Daily average: 8678

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You Ought To Be In (15) Pictures

Movie_Reel_22Many years ago, using the weekly TV guide that came with the Sunday Chicago Tribune, I started keeping track of all of the movies I had seen over the course of my lifetime.  The guide would list the two main stars for each movie, and that is a tradition that I’ve carried on in my database ever since.  So, given those guidelines, it is time to look at all of the actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of July 1st.

Today, we continue with the 5 actors that have starred in 15 movies that I have seen, down 2 from 3 years ago.

Cameron Diaz

After a 3 year gap following 2011, Diaz returned to my notice in 2014 and again in 2015 with The Other Woman, rising 2 slots.

Samuel L. Jackson

Samuel L. Jackson moves up one spot thanks to 2015’s The Kingsman, which I saw in 2016, breaking a 6 year drought.

Angelina Jolie

Her last appearance on my screen is still in 2012, when I saw her in Changeling.

Steve Martin

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