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Fitbit III: Week 23

A good week, as I posted my highest total in a month.  Things got off to another slow start as, despite a trip to Guaranteed Rate Field, I failed to reach my daily goal on Sunday for the 5th straight week.  Monday was a good bounce back, coming in just under 9000 steps thanks to a long walk on the day off.  Tuesday was Independence Day, which, again, used a long neighborhood walk to surpass 8300 steps.  Wednesday was back to work, where I managed to surpass 9000 steps.  Another off day on Thursday, thanks to a make-up date at Wrigley Field from a May rainout, ended with 7500 steps.  Friday was the big day of the week, combining an exciting work day with an afternoon walk for a 10,000 step day.  Saturday combined a trip to the grocery store, a haircut, and going in to the city for Roscoe Village Burger Fest and an evening showing of Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Total steps: 57,433

Daily average: 8204.7

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2017 All Star Break Pitching Leaders

Now that the All Star Game is behind us and we await tomorrow’s start of the second half of the season, let’s take a look at the first half leaders on the defensive side of the ball for the 24 games I attended:

Wins

Name Total
David Robertson 2
Dan Jennings 2
Miguel Gonzalez 2
13 tied with 18

Losses

Name Total
Jose Quintana 3
Derek Holland 2
Pedro Strop 2
17 tied with 1

ERA (> 6 IP)

Name Total
Buck Farmer 0.00
Carlos Carrasco 0.00
Anthony Swarzak 0.00
Sonny Gray 1.29
Luis Severino 1.29

Strikeouts

Name Total
Derek Holland 26
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2017 All Star Break Batting Leaders

With the All Star Game on tap for tonight in Miami, with only one representative from both the Cubs and White Sox, let’s take a look at the first half offensive leaders for the 24 games I attended:

Home Runs

Name Total
Melky Cabrera 4
Kris Bryant 3
Todd Frazier 2
Mike Napoli 2
Deven Marrero 2
Matt Olson 2
Avisail Garcia 2

Hits

Name Total
Jose Abreu 18
Melky Cabrera 17
Avisail Garcia 14
Todd Frazier 12
Yolmer Sanchez 12

Runs

Name Total
Todd Frazier 9
Jose Abreu 9
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You Ought To Be In (11) 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 10 actors that have starred in 11 movies that I have seen, down 1 from the number at this level 3 years ago.

Jim Carrey

There has been no change for Carrey since I last encountered him back in 2009, when I saw the previous year’s Yes Man.

Woody Harrelson

No starring roles for Woody Harrelson on my screen since 2011, when I watched 2009’s Defendor.

Katherine Heigl

The one-time romantic comedy sweetheart has seen her movie career falter, which is part of why I haven’t seen her in anything since 2011.

Helen Hunt Continue reading →

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2017 All Star Break Standings

As the baseball world turns its sights to Miami for Tuesday night’s All Star Game, it’s time to take a look at the team records for the 24 games I attended in the first half of the baseball season, a mish-mash of excitement, followed by disappointment, giving way to uncertainty about what the second half will hold.

2017 Team Records
Team Name Won Loss Winning Pctg
Oakland Athletics 2 0 1.000
Pittsburgh Pirates 1 0 1.000
Milwaukee Brewers 1 0 1.000
Colorado Rockies 1 0 1.000
New York Yankees 2 1 0.667
Chicago White Sox 9 8 0.529
Detroit Tigers 2 2 0.500
Texas Rangers 1 1 0.500
Minnesota Twins 1 1 0.500
Los Angeles Dodgers 1 1 0.500
Cleveland Indians 1 1 0.500
Boston Red Sox 1 1 0.500
Chicago Cubs 1 6 0.143
San Diego Padres 0 1 0.000
Kansas City Royals 0 1 0.000
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#21 – Alex Fernandez

Name: Alex Fernandez

Rank: 21

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1990-1996

Selected 4th overall by the White Sox in the 1990 draft, Alex Fernandez started 8 games in the minor leagues before making his major league debut on August 2, getting a no decision despite throwing 7 strong innings against the Brewers at County Stadium.  Over the last 2 months of the season, he made a total of 13 starts for the White Sox, going 5-5 with a 3.80 ERA.

Fernandez struggled in 1991, setting career highs in walks, WHIP, and ERA.  He finished the year 9-13 with a 4.51 ERA.  1992 saw a slight improvement, thanks to a drastic reduction in walks.  While he still had a losing record, at 8-11, his ERA fell to 4.27.

1993 was Fernandez’s breakout season.  He went 18-9 with a 3.13 ERA as the White Sox took home their first division championship in a decade.  He set a career high with over 247 innings and a career low WHIP of 1.164.  Despite giving up only 3 earned runs in 15 innings, he lost 2 games in the ALCS against the Blue Jays.  His season was good enough to earn 4 MVP votes from the BBWAA.

Fernandez was having another strong year in 1994.  He was 11-7 with a 3.86 ERA in 24 starts when the season came to a premature end thanks to the strike.  When baseball resumed in 1995, he picked up where he had left off, going 12-8 with a 3.80 ERA.

1996 was another strong year for Fernandez, his best since 1993.  He went 16-10 with a 3.45 ERA in a career high 35 starts.  He finished 6th in Cy Young Award voting.  Following the season, he became a free agent.

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

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Post Mortem – 24: Legacy

FOX put a lot of eggs in the revival basket last fall, bringing back new editions of both Prison Break and 24.  While Prison Break brought back all of the familiar faces, 24: Legacy brought a new cast together for a trip through the familiar formula of moles in CTU causing trouble.  Unfortunately, sometimes you can’t go home again, and the 13 episode season turned out to be… honestly, I’m not sure.  I’ve only made it through 2 episodes, with the remaining 11 still sitting on the DVR waiting to be watched.

With Kiefer Sutherland still working on Designated Survivor, it seems unlikely that the 24 people want to see will be back any time soon.  Given that, it’s probably for the best that this pale imitator was shut down after one season.

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Post Mortem – Prison Break

FOX put a lot of eggs in the revival basket last fall, bringing back new editions of both 24 and Prison Break.  While 24 had a mostly new cast, Prison Break brought back all of the familiar faces for another trip through the familiar formula of breaking out of jail and fighting against a corrupt government agent.  Unfortunately, sometimes you can’t go home again, and the 9 episode season turned out to mostly be a slog.  It seems like the idea to come back came first, and then someone decided to come up with a story.

FOX claims that it may bring the show back again at some time in the future.  If that is the case, I hope they have a better story behind it.

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Fitbit III: Week 22

Another decent week, my second straight back over 50,000 steps.  The week got off to what is starting to be a typical slow start, as I just managed to get past 5000 steps on Sunday despite going to Guaranteed Rate Field to watch the White Sox.  Monday was the big day of the week, as I walked over to Willow for my biometric screening and then did some additional walking during the day to make up for my poor numbers.  Tuesday was another big day, surpassing 9200 steps, thanks to another trip to the South side after work to see the Yankees battle the Pale Hose.  Wednesday just barely managed to surpass 6500 steps, due to a post-work trip to CarMax to see what, if anything, the Prius was worth.  Thursday had a trip to North plaza and an extra trip back and forth to the car to make up its total of 8800 steps.  Friday was just shy of 7400 steps, thanks to work, a trip to Tesla to pick up my new car, and then a wake.  Saturday eked past my step goal by 27 steps, aided in part by a third trip to the ballyard.

Total steps: 54,375

Daily average: 7767.9

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You Ought To Be In (10) Pictures

Many 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 start with the 22 actors that have starred in 10 movies that I have seen, a big increase from the 14 at this level 3 years ago.

Jessica Alba

There has been no change for Jessica Alba since I saw her in 2010’s Valentine’s Day in 2011.

Dan Aykroyd

No change in Aykroyd’s total, with 2002 being the last year I saw one of his starring roles.

Kate Beckinsale

Our first new entry, the comely British actress first came to my attention in 1998, when I saw her in both Cold Comfort Farm and Last Days of Disco.  Her heyday was 2006-2008, when I saw her in 4 films over the 3 year span.  2010 had been my last experience with her work, until I was coerced into seeing Underworld: Blood Wars earlier this year.

Kristen Bell

The Veronica Mars star made her first “big screen” appearance in my life with the television remake of Reefer Madness in 2005.  She’s been a pretty steady presence since, with a 2 year gap in 2015 and 2016 being her largest.  The Boss, which I saw earlier this year, is my most recent exposure to her.

Chevy Chase Continue reading →