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iTunes Top 200 Artists: #61-70

3 years ago, we first counted down the then Top 100 artists in my iTunes library.  Since that time, I’ve successfully managed to migrate my music collection to a new PC with the stats intact.  So, I figured it was time to take another look, expanding out the field to the top 200 artists, based on number of plays from late 2007 through January 1, 2017.

We continue the long slog towards the top with today’s entry, which includes:

#70: The Muffs
iTunes stats: 62 plays
Previous ranking: #67

A slight 3 spot drop for the band most well known for a Fruitopia commercial back in the day.

#69: Bush
iTunes stats: 63 plays
Previous ranking: #68

The British band rode the alternative wave of the early to mid 90s to have 6 songs make up their total, with 28 additional listens in the past 3 years.

#68: DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
iTunes stats: 64 plays
Previous ranking: #80

An impressive 12 spot jump for the rap duo, who added 1 new track and 34 new listens over the past 3 years.

#66: Mazzy Star
iTunes stats: 65 plays
Previous ranking: #59

Only 25 new listens contributed to the 7 spot drop for the tippy band.

#66: John Williams
iTunes stats: 65 plays
Previous ranking: #98

The composer of some of the most popular and recognizable film scores in cinematic history, including the Star Wars and Superman series, has a nice 32 spot jump thanks to 42 new listens over the last 3 years.

#65: Warrant
iTunes stats: 66 plays
Previous ranking: #74

The favorite of strip clubs everywhere, and the Adam Carolla Show, added 34 new listens, good enough for a 9 spot jump.

#64: TLC
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Fitbit III: Week 12

My streak of 50,000+ step weeks hits 12 and closes on in last summer’s record of 14 straight weeks.  Things got off to a slow start on Sunday thanks to Easter activities, which left me just under 2500 steps.  A big bounce back once the work week got under way, as I put together a streak of 3 10,000 step days.  Monday benefited from a midday escape to bowl with my friends from the lab.  Tuesday had a lunch meeting in North plaza, which helped boost my total.  Wednesday was more time spent with my lab friends, including a game (or 2) of ping pong.  Thursday surpassed 9000 steps, thanks to more time up in the lab and then an after work farewell to Hayley.  Friday managed to just surpass 6500 steps, thanks to more time spent in the lab with Val.  Saturday finished with a little more thanks to the White Sox/Indians tilt at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Total steps: 56,743

Daily average: 8106.1

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#31 – Tadahito Iguchi

Name: Tadahito Iguchi

Rank: 31

Position: 2B

Years With White Sox: 2005-2007

After an impressive career in the Japanese league, Tadahito Iguchi signed with the White Sox prior to the 2005 season.  As a 30 year old rookie, the second baseman locked down the #2 spot in the batting order, hitting .278 with 15 home runs.  The personal highlight of his season came in Game 2 of the ALDS against the Red Sox, hitting a 3 run homer off of David Wells to give the White Sox the lead.  Later that month, when the White Sox won their first title in 88 years, he became the first Japanese-born position player to win a World Series.  His numbers earned him fourth place in the Rookie of the Year voting.

2006 was an even more impressive year for Iguchi.  He made his mark on defense, going horizontal to make a tremendous play against the Blue Jays on April 15.  Offensively, he shined on June 25, hitting a 3 run homer in the bottom of the 8th to cut the Astros lead to 4 and then smacking a grand slam in the 9th to send the game to extra innings.  He finished the year with a .281 average, 18 home runs, and 67 RBIs.

2007 was a rough year for both Iguchi and the White Sox.  After signing a contract extension, he struggled as the White Sox fell to 4th in the AL Central, losing 90 games for the first time since 1989.  Iguchi’s average dropped to .251 with only 6 home runs.  With the White Sox not going anywhere, they traded Iguchi to the Philles on July 27 for a busted prospect.

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

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What A Long, Strange Trip It’s Been

Last June, my friend Hayley came over from Northern Ireland for an extended stay that, apart from a few weeks here and there for visa issues and the holidays, came to an end today.  There were many adventures, a lot of good times, a few bad times, and a strengthening of a bond that has grown over the last 8 years.  I will miss having her here and look forward to our next adventure together.

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iTunes Top 200 Artists: #71-79

3 years ago, we first counted down the then Top 100 artists in my iTunes library.  Since that time, I’ve successfully managed to migrate my music collection to a new PC with the stats intact.  So, I figured it was time to take another look, expanding out the field to the top 200 artists, based on number of plays from late 2007 through January 1, 2017.

An eclectic group of musicians as we continue our march towards the top of the charts.

#79: Ludacris
iTunes stats: 58 plays
Previous ranking: #63

A 16 spot drop for the Atlanta-based rapper, despite 20 additional listens to his 3 songs over the past 3 years.

#79: Florence + The Machine
iTunes stats: 58 plays
Previous ranking: N/A

An impressive debut appearance, thanks mostly to their inclusion in last year’s road trip mix to placate Val.

#76: Ron Funches
iTunes stats: 59 plays
Previous ranking: N/A

The comic makes his debut thanks to the tracks from his first album.

#76: Nancy Faust
iTunes stats: 59 plays
Previous ranking: #57

The former organist for the White Sox drops 19 spots due to the removal of her final performance of Take Me Out To The Ballgame from my victory playlist.

#76: Bell Biv DeVoe
iTunes stats: 59 plays
Previous ranking: #66

22 new listens for the former members of New Edition cause them to drop 10 spots in the rankings.

#74: Red Hot Chili Peppers
iTunes stats: 60 plays
Previous ranking: #84

A 10 spot leap for the California-based rockers due in part to 32 new listens over the past 3 years.

#74: Black Eyed Peas
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Fitbit III: Week 11

The good times continue, as my streak of 50,000 step weeks hits 11 and a new streak of days over goal makes it to 7.  The week got off to a decent start on Sunday, thanks to a trip down to Guaranteed Rate Field followed by a trek out to Medieval Times to celebrate Hayley’s birthday.  Monday was the big day of the week, as I went down to Wrigley Field for the raising of the Cubs World Series banner at their home opener.  Tuesday barely managed to get past my daily step goal, thanks in part to the late night the day before and the need for sleep.  I worked from home on Wednesday, which ordinarily would have been a down day, but another Cubs game pushed me well across my goal.  Thursday was another close one, again due to the need for sleep.  Friday used a trip over to North Plaza for coffee to get over the hump.  Saturday was my second highest day of the week, thanks to yet another Cub game followed by some grocery shopping.

Total steps: 56,049

Daily average: 8007

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#32 – Julio Cruz

Name: Julio Cruz

Rank: 32

Position: 2B

Years With White Sox: 1983-1986

Acquired by the White Sox on June 15, 1983 from the Mariners for counterpart Tony Bernazard, Julio Cruz gave the White Sox the spark they were looking for, helping the team go on a 72-31 run to finish the season and go from 6 1/2 games back to 20 games ahead.  Cruz scored the winning run on a Harold Baines sacrifice fly against, of all teams, the Mariners on September 17, clinching the first division title in White Sox history.  Cruz hit .333 during the ALCS against the Orioles, swiping 2 bases in the 4 game series.

In January of 1984, after nearly leaving to join the Angels, Cruz re-signed with the White Sox on a 6 year deal, thought to be worth between $3.6 to $4.8 million.  Unfortunately, time, and injuries, were starting to take their toll.  1984 was the best year of the deal, and Cruz saw his average drop to .222 and he stole only 14 bases, a career low to date.

1985 saw the bottom fall out for Cruz.  Dealing with a toe injury, he was limited to 91 games and he finished the year with a .197 average with only 8 stolen bases.  1986 was more of the same, as he managed to only get in to 81 games, swiping a mere 7 bases while hitting .215.

With Donnie Hill, Jerry Royster, and Fred Manrique in camp in 1987, things did not look good for Cruz.  General Manager Larry Himes hoped that a deal could be made to find Cruz a new home, but nothing materialized and, on March 23, Cruz was told he was being released.  He never played in the major leagues again.

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

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Book 10 (of 52) – The Knife Slipped

The Knife Slipped – Erle Stanley Gardner as A.A. Fair

Intended to be the second installment of the Cool and Lam series in 1939, The Knife Slipped, by Erle Stanley Gardner writing under the pseudonym of A.A. Fair, was rejected by the publisher for being too crude.  Rather than rework the idea, Gardner moved on to others and the manuscript sat for more than 75 years until last year, where it finally saw print thanks to the folks at Hard Case Crime.

In this tale, the firm takes on a case of a woman who believes her daughter’s husband is cheating on her, which leads Lam on to police corruption, politics, and, of course, murder.  Blamed for the death of his target, Lam goes on the, well, lam to find out who was really behind the murder and how the corruption played in while Cool tries to work herself in to the corruption, getting herself a piece of the action.

My first experience with Gardner’s work, aside from watching Perry Mason on television, was a later book in this series which I read 2 years ago.  These pulps bring you back to a different, simpler time, where the world wasn’t wired (in more ways than one) the way it is today.  Another installment is planned to be published later this year, and I look forward to getting my hands on it.

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Something’s Different At The Old Ballpark

The Cubs opened the home portion of the 2017 schedule Monday night and there were quite a few changes in and around Wrigley Field. First, outside the ballpark, construction finished on the long-awaited Triangle building and an open plaza area named the Park at Wrigley.
The plaza contains seating areas, beverages, and view of a large video screen.  On game days, admission is limited to ticket holders for that day’s contest, so crowd size should be manageable.  The triangle building itself, which is outside the plaza, contains a new team store and a Starbucks, in addition to team offices.  I must admit, I wasn’t really too excited about this, but, after stopping in prior to Monday’s game, it was a nice place to stop and relax if you’re meeting someone prior to the game or arrive before the gates open.  An additional bonus is a new gate providing entry (and exit) from the ballpark.

This new gate should make it much easier for me to get out after games, as it is right off the ramp I come down from the upper deck.  Entry should also be a breeze, especially if coming in from the plaza.

Once inside the ballpark, you notice the other big change to the surrounding rooftops:
All of the counters have been set back to zero.  I guess the World Series victory really happened.

There were plenty of changes inside the ballpark as well.  Chief among them are the new bullpens.
The new bullpens are under the bleachers, with opaque doors blocking the view inside.  The old bullpens down the lines have been converted into additional seating.  The other big change is the addition of 4 new flag poles in center field, 2 on either side of the old scoreboard.

From left to right, the new banners on the poles represent the 1907 World Series championship, the 1908 World Series championship, the 2016 NL pennant, and the 2016 World Series championship.  No word on what happens to the 2016 pennant after this season, as there are no special banners for the teams previous 16 pennants, dating back to 1876.