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Midseason Review – Sundays

old-tv-set1With the advent of winter premieres, the start of the premium cable network shows, and with February sweeps around the corner, it’s time to revisit my thoughts from the beginning of the season and look ahead at what’s to come for Sunday nights.

7:00

Once Upon A Time – The fairy tale show is back for season 6, with a refocusing on life in Storybrooke.  With little else in competition, I see no reason not to continue turning in.

Nothing really to say about the show.  I’m still watching, but not really enthused.

8:00

Shameless – Season 7 of the show finds Fiona running the diner and on her own as the fallout from last season’s finale.

The season wrapped up in December with things starting to look up for most members of the Gallagher clan.  Which can only mean that season 8 will tear them all down again.

The Walking Dead – After a disappointing season finale where producers failed to deliver on the long-promised plot point of who would be killed by the new character Negan, the show has some work to do to regain the trust of the audience.

To be honest, the big reveal of who Negan killed at the end of last season was so anti-climatic, that I kind of loss interest in the whole thing.  I have 6 episodes sitting on the DVR waiting to be watched.  I can’t say right now if I ever will.

9:00

Quantico – After a strong first season that started to fizzle towards the end, the show gets rebooted somewhat with the CIA replacing the FBI and a promised reduction in the soapy elements that plagued season 1.

I must admit, a bit of the magic from season 1 has been lost.  I let a number of episodes pile up and, when I did binge through them, I can’t say I didn’t enjoy them.  But watching week to week leaves a little to be desired.  The show is moving to Mondays starting tomorrow.

Elementary – Sherlock and Watson return for their 5th season of crime solving alongside the NYPD.

Nothing too exceptional here.  The show is enjoyable, but not extraordinary. Continue reading →

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#44 – Sandy Alomar

Name: Sandy Alomar Jr.

Rank: 44

Position: C

Years With White Sox: 2001-2002, 2003-2004, 2006

Sandy Alomar Jr., son of former White Sox second baseman Sandy Alomar, signed with the team as a free agent on December 18, 2000.  Alomar, brought in to replace the departed Charles Johnson, split time behind the plate with Mark Johnson as the White Sox looked to defend their Central Division title from the year before.  Alomar appeared in 70 games, hitting .245 with a team low .634 OPS.

Johnson saw more playing time in 2002, as Alomar moved into more of a backup/mentor role.  Appearing in 51 games, Alomar improved his average to .287 and his OPS jumped to .794.  As the trade deadline approached and the White Sox destined to finish in the middle of the pack, Alomar was traded to the Rockies for a middling prospect who never developed.  Following the season, however, he re-signed with the White Sox as a free agent.

With Johnson traded in the offseason, rookie Miguel Olivo became the starting catcher in 2003, with Alomar back in the backup/mentor role.  Appearing in 75 games and garnering 194 at bats, Alomar hit .268 with an OPS of .689.

Alomar returned in 2004 and was one of 4 catchers to appear in at least 45 games for the White Sox.  He got 146 at bats and hit .240 with an OPS of .606.  Following the season, he left as a free agent.

Near the trade deadline in 2006, as the White Sox looked to bolster their roster to defend their World Series championship, Alomar was re-acquired for a third time, via trade from the Dodgers for a middling prospect.  Alomar appeared in 19 games for the White Sox, hitting .217 in 46 at bats, as the team fell short of the playoffs despite posting 90 wins.  Following the season, Alomar became a free agent, leaving the team for good.

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

Continue reading →

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2017 Hall Of Fame Election Thoughts

All eyes turned towards Cooperstown yesterday as the votes were tallied and three new members were announced as the Hall of Fame class of 2017: Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, and Ivan Rodriguez.  Bagwell, in his seventh year of eligibility, garnered 86.2% of the vote.  Raines, in his last year on the ballot, scored 86% of the vote.  Rodriguez, a surprise based on publicly released ballots, surpassed the necessary 75% by 4 votes in his first year of eligibility.

Six others tallied greater than 50% of the vote, led by Trevor Hoffman, who fell a mere 5 votes shy of election, and Vladimir Guerrero, who was 15 votes short.  Following Edgar Martinez, who raised his total to 58.6%, were Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds, who both surpassed 50% for the first time and saw enough increased support to lead one to believe the will eventually be voted in.  Mike Mussina was the final player to finish above 50%, coming in at 51.8%.

Lee Smith garnered 34.2% of the vote in his final time on the ballot.  Jorge Posada and Magglio Ordonez led the 16 first timers who failed to get 5% and will now fall off the ballot.

As for the newest Hall of Famers, I’ve seen Rodriguez play 19 times, mostly during his stint with the Tigers towards the end of his career. I only saw Bagwell play 13 times over the course of his career, followed by 9 career games for Raines.

Jeff Bagwell’s numbers in games I’ve attended were:

Continue reading →

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Book 3 (of 52) – Killing Ruby Rose

Killing Ruby Rose – Jessie Humphries

Every month, Amazon offers its Prime customers a free Kindle ebook, which is how I ended up the owner of this lovely title.  Killing Ruby Rose tells the tale of Ruby Rose, a precocious high school student who, following the death of her father, is forced to kill criminals that her DA mother has, for one reason or another, let slip through the justice system.  She needs to figure out who is setting her up while trying to keep her friends safe and find out the secret her mother is keeping from her.  If it sounds a bit convoluted, that’s because it is.

There’s a decent enough story buried in here somewhere, but it gets overwhelmed by badness that drags things down.  For example, Ruby worries that she’s about to be arrested for the “murders” she’s committed, despite them not being murders and her being legally in the clear.  Once the other characters start calling her out on her illogical approach, you have to wonder why the author continued to hammer home the wrong point.

I obviously have no intention to continue on with the Ruby Rose series.  Hopefully, for those that do, the author learns to tighten up her game.

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FB2: Week 50

What looked like it would turn out to be a great week early on turned out to be so-so. Things got off to a decent enough start on Sunday thanks to an afternoon trip up north to meet Hayley for dinner and a movie (not necessarily in that order).  Monday benefited from multiple meetings in North plaza, leading to my highest step day in over a month.  Tuesday and Wednesday were decent enough days, both easily clearing the 6000 step plateau.  Thursday turned in to a WFH day due to icy conditions, meaning I only managed to get 4700 steps, well below my goal.  Friday was a nice bounce back, before Saturday again fell well short despite a trip out for dinner after seeing Angelina skate.

Total steps: 44,586

Daily average:  6369.4

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iTunes Top 200 Artists: #179-185

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.

Today, we look at the remaining 6 bands tied for 185th with 25 plays apiece before starting with the first 4 bands tied for 179th, with 26.  Again, these are all new entries to the list from the original 2013 edition.

#179: PJ Harvey
iTunes stats: 26 plays
Previous ranking: N/A

The 90s indie darling has a completely even split between 2 songs to make up this total.

#179: Soundgarden
iTunes stats: 26 plays
Previous ranking: N/A

5 different tracks from the bastions of Seattle’s alternative scene place them pretty low on the list.

#179: The B-52’s
iTunes stats: 26 plays
Previous ranking: N/A

The Georgia-based band has 3 songs that make up this total.

#179: The Wonders
iTunes stats: 26 plays
Previous ranking: N/A

The imaginary band from the hit 1996 film That Thing You Do! uses their one hit to make their way on to the chart.

#185: Cardigans
iTunes stats: 25 plays
Previous ranking: N/A

The Swedish band, who I saw live in 2004, make the list thanks to 3 tunes.

#185: Darling Violetta
iTunes stats: 25 plays
Previous ranking: N/A

The outfit responsible for the theme song to Angel rides that track to this spot on the chart.

#185: Firehouse
Continue reading →

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Team Stats: Hit By Pitch

With 3 months until baseball in Chicago returns, I thought it would be interesting to look at the all time rankings in both offensive and defensive categories for all iterations of the current 30 teams for the 833 games I’ve identified that I have attended. We continue today back on the defensive side of the ball with batters hit by a pitch.

Again, based on the raw numbers, the White Sox and Cubs are far and away the leaders in this category, as they are the teams I’ve seen the most. When you adjust the numbers per game, the Devil Rays lead, followed, surprisingly, by the Tigers, who hit a little more than 1 batter every other game.  The Phillies and the Braves are at the bottom, hitting less than 1 batter every 15 games, while the Mets have yet to hit a batter in a game I’ve seen.

Hit By Pitch
Team Name Hit By Pitch
Chicago White Sox 149
Chicago Cubs 125
Minnesota Twins 21
Detroit Tigers 21
Kansas City Royals 17
Cincinnati Reds 16
Cleveland Indians 16
Texas Rangers 14
Houston Astros 14
Pittsburgh Pirates Continue reading →
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#45 – Britt Burns

Name: Britt Burns

Rank: 45

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1978-1985

Britt Burns was selected by the White Sox in the third round of the 1978 draft.  Less than 2 months later, Burns made his major league debut, going 5 innings in a losing start against the Tigers in Detroit.  He made one other start, another loss, before returning to the minor leagues.  He finished the year 0-2 with a 12.91 ERA.

Burns spent most of 1979 starting in Double A, before getting promoted to Triple A and then, briefly, back to Chicago.  He made 6 relief appearances, giving up 10 hits in only 5 innings and finishing with a 5.40 ERA.

Burns found himself in the major leagues to stay in 1980 as he moved in to the rotation for the White Sox.  He found his first bit of success at the big league level, going 15-13 with a 2.84 ERA in 34 appearances, 32 of them starts.  He finished 5th in Rookie of the Year voting, earning 4 first place votes.

1981 saw Burns putting up a repeat performance, despite the strike that split the season.  He earned his first, and only, All Star nod and tied for 7th in Cy Young Award voting.  He finished the year 10-6 with a 2.64 ERA.

Burns regressed a bit in 1982.  His record held steady at 13-5, but his ERA rose to 4.04 in only 28 starts.

In 1983, Burns went 10-11 with a 3.58 ERA as the White Sox ran away with the AL West, earning their first division title.  Burns took the mound in game 4 of the ALCS, with the Orioles looking to clinch the series, and threw the game of his life.  Burns threw 9 scoreless innings, but Oriole pitchers Storm Davis and Tippy Martinez stymied the White Sox offense.  With one out in the 10th, Burns gave up a solo home run to Tito Landrum.  He was replaced and the Orioles tacked on 2 additional runs, ending the White Sox season.

Injuries and ineffectiveness led Burns to split time between the rotation and bullpen in 1984.  He went 4-12 with a 5.00 ERA in 34 appearances, 16 of them starts.  He also earned the only 3 saves of his career.

After an offseason conditioning program improved his physical state, Burns bounced back in 1985.  He 18-11 with a 3.96 ERA in 36 appearances, 34 of them starts, both career highs.  He finished tied for 7th in Cy Young Award voting.  Following the year, he was traded to the Yankees, along with 2 minor leaguers, for Joe Cowley and Ron Hassey.

Burns returned to the White Sox organization in 2013 as pitching coach for Double A Birmingham, a position he held through 2015.

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

Continue reading →

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2016: The Year In Movies Part 2

Movie_Reel_22142 different people starred in the movies I saw last year (starring in being the first two named stars, a tradition dating back to the old Chicago Tribune TV guide which populated the early days of my database), and a whopping 18 of them were in more than 1 film.  Those 18 thespians are:

Name Films
Rupert Grint 7
Daniel Radcliffe 7
Anna Kendrick 4
Jason Bateman 2
Sandra Bullock 2
Brooke Butler 2
Benedict Cumberbatch 2
Robert DeNiro 2
Carla Gugino 2
Tom Hanks 2
Tom Hardy 2
Michael B. Jordan 2
Melissa McCarthy 2
Chloë Grace Moretz 2
Sam Rockwell 2
Miles Teller 2
Christoph Waltz 2
Olivia Wilde 2

Now let’s take a look at the remaining movies that I saw in 2016, following up on Tuesday’s post.

The Sand (2015)
Things go awry at a beach when the sand starts eating people.

Creed (2015)
The Rocky series returns with the focus now on the illegitimate son of Apollo Creed.

The Boy (2016)
A young woman is hired to watch over a doll, but all is not as it seems.

London Has Fallen (2016)
A terrorist attack at a state funeral in London leaves one Secret Service agent to protect the president on the run.

Cas & Dylan (2013)
A dying doctor takes a new acquaintance on a cross country road trip.

Spy (2015)
Melissa McCarthy goes in to the field as a CIA agent to avenge the death of her crush.

Joy (2015)
A woman invents a new mop and bets on herself to beat the longest of odds.

The Intern (2015)
Continue reading →