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2016 New Fall Season – Sundays

old-tv-set1We finish up our yearly look at the new fall lineups with the Sunday night offerings, which features some returning favorites, but nothing new to watch, except on cable.

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.

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 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.

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.

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

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#63 – Mike Sirotka

sirotka

Name: Mike Sirotka

Rank: 63

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1995-2000

Mike Sirotka joined the White Sox organization after being selected in the 15th round of the 1993 draft.  He made his major league debut 2 years later on July 19, 1995, going 6 2/3 innings and giving up 11 hits while picking up the loss against the Red Sox at Comiskey Park.  He made 5 additional starts in the big leagues, finishing the year 1-2 with a respectable 4.19 ERA.

1996 saw Sirotka splitting time between Chicago and Triple A Nashville.  His time in the big leagues did not go well, as he worked mostly out of the bullpen and finished the year with 7.18 ERA in 15 appearances.

Sirotka again split time between Triple A and Chicago in 1997, but saw markedly better results.  In 7 games with the White Sox, he went 3-0 with a sparkling 2.25 ERA.

Sirotka earned a spot in the White Sox rotation coming out of spring training in 1998.  He started 33 games, going 14-15 with an elevated 5.06 ERA.

1999 saw improvement in Sirotka’s numbers, as he lowered his ERA by over a run to 4.00 while finishing the year with an 11-13 record.

Sirotka got off to an inauspicious start in 2000, giving up a hit to country singer Garth Brooks, who was playing with the Padres, in spring training.  Once the games counted for real, though, Sirotka put up the best season of his young career, going 15-10 with a 3.79 ERA as the White Sox won their first AL Central crown.  Sirotka started, and lost, game 2 of the ALDS against the Mariners at Comiskey Park.

The following January, Sirotka, along with Mike Williams, Kevin Beirne, and Brian Simmons, was traded to the Blue Jays for David Wells and Matt DeWitt.  When Sirotka was found to have a shoulder injury, Blue Jays GM Gord Ash accused Kenny Williams of withholding information and labeling Sirotka as “damaged goods”.  Ash appealed to Commissioner Bud Selig, who refused to overturn the trade.  Sirotka never pitched in the major leagues again.

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

Continue reading →

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2016 New Fall Season – Fridays

old-tv-set1Our penultimate look at the new fall season gives us Friday’s amazing slate of shows.

7:30

Dr. Ken – Ken Jeong returns for season 2 of his show that, while not great, is watchable, especially with nothing of note on against it.

8:00

Hawaii Five-0 – A seventh season of the show that doesn’t really impress, but doesn’t really disappoint, adds Claire Forlani to the cast.

The Exorcist – FOX’s reboot of the movie franchise may be worth a look.

9:00

Blue Bloods – The first family of the NYPD returns for a seventh season.

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2016 New Fall Season – Thursdays

old-tv-set1Thursday night is traditionally the busiest night of the week for my television viewing habits. Here’s what’s on the slate for this season.

7:00

Grey’s Anatomy – The medical drama enters its 13th season, with the last 8 episodes of season 12 still sitting on the DVR waiting to be watched.  Since I don’t know how last season ended, I’ve avoided looking at what lies ahead this year.

The Big Bang Theory – The show returns to Thursdays in late October, following the midpoint of the NFL season.

DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow – The grouping of DC’s also-rans returns for its second season, with a promised appearance from the Legion of Doom.

7:30

The Great Indoors – Former Community star Joel McHale returns to network TV with this comedy about the new generation gap in the workplace.

8:00

Pitch – Strangely, I don’t usually enjoy movies or TV shows about baseball despite loving the sport in real life, which means I don’t know if I’ll get in to this tale of the first female professional baseball player.  Having Gregg Olson and Chad Kreuter on board as technical advisers certainly can’t hurt.

9:00

The Good Place – Kristen Bell stars as a new arrival to the afterlife in this new comedy from the creator of Parks and Rec. Continue reading →

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2016 New Fall Season – Wednesdays

old-tv-set1We have reached the half way point of our look at the offerings for the new fall season.  Here’s what Wednesdays have on tap for the fall.

7:00

Arrow – Season 5 finds Oliver Queen trying to save the city, both as the Arrow and as mayor.  This also promises to be the last season of flashbacks, making me look forward to season 6.

Lethal Weapon – FOX reboots the movie series with Damon Wayans.  Might be worth a look, at least.

8:00

Modern Family – The comedy, entering its eighth season, is really starting to show its age.  It’s still fun, but the plots are starting to get a little out there.

Criminal Minds – The show returns for its twelfth season minus original stars Shemar Moore, who left last spring, and Thomas Gibson, who was fired for attacking a writer in the early going of this season.  To fill the void, Aisha Tyler has been bumped up to a regular cast member and Paget Brewster returns as Emily Prentiss.

Frequency – The CW reboots the movie, replacing Dennis Quaid with the fetching Peyton List.

8:30

Black-ish – After a strong second season, the show returns looking to improve yet again.

9:00

Continue reading →

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2016 New Fall Season – Tuesdays

old-tv-set1Continuing our look at the new fall season, here are the offerings that I may find myself interested in for Tuesdays.

7:00

Brooklyn Nine-Nine – Similar to Gotham, I still have the final 4 episodes from last season sitting on the DVR waiting to be watched.  Unlike Gotham, I am looking forward to doing so.

The Flash – The end of season 2 seemingly rewrote the entire timeline of the first two years of the show, so who knows what we will get as season 3 kicks off.

7:30

New Girl – The quirky comedy returns for its 6th season, with some changes in the relationship statuses amongst the roommates causing issues.

9:00

This Is Us – To be honest, I’m not entirely sure what this show is about.  But, I’ve seen some good things online and it has a few stars I like, so I might give it a chance.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – Season 4 moves back an hour and, following the events of Captain America: Civil War, has yet another new status quo.  Oh, and Ghost Rider is slated to show up.

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2016 New Fall Season – Mondays

old-tv-set1It is time once again to dive in to the new fall lineups for the television season that kicks into gear tonight. We start this year, thanks to last night’s Emmy Awards, with Monday night’s offerings, which features some returning favorites and a few new potentials.

7:00

The Big Bang Theory – Once again, The Big Bang Theory moves back to Mondays until late October to accommodate the NFL.  The show continues to be a ratings powerhouse, so I assume the move won’t shake things up too much.

Supergirl – Despite a successful first season, CBS jettisoned the show and now the second season will air on The CW.

Gotham – I still have the last 9 episodes of season 2 sitting on the DVR, so things don’t look that great for my continued interest in Gotham this year.  But, you never know.

7:30

Man With A Plan – Matt LeBlanc returns to network television in this comedy about a contractor who takes more responsibility at home after his wife returns to work.  It should be worth at least a shot.

8:00

Jane The Virgin – At this time last year, I was worried that this show would be a one-season wonder and that I would tire of the telenovela aspect of the show.  Those worries turned out to be unfounded, as the show continued to be a solid, entertaining watch.  I’m expecting more of the same this year.

2 Broke Girls – A 6th season for this crass show that has never been as good as it should be, given the talents of the leads.

9:00 Continue reading →

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2016 Emmy Awards – Drama

Emmy_statueTonight’s the night for the Emmy Awards, so it’s time to finish off my predictions for the awards.  Today, we’re focusing on the awards for Dramas.  I most likely have seen most of these shows, so, unlike my annual Oscar predictions, I will not mostly be going on gut feel and word of mouth, but will have a somewhat informed decision.

Outstanding Drama

The Americans

Better Call Saul

Downton Abbey

Game of Thrones

Homeland

House of Cards

Mr. Robot

As much as I would like to see The Americans take home the trophy, I’m assuming that the love affair with Game of Thrones will continue.

Outstanding Actress In A Drama

Claire Danes, Homeland

Viola Davis, How To Get Away With Murder

Taraji P. Henson, Empire

Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black

Keri Russell, The Americans

Robin Wright, House of Cards

If it were up to me, I’d give the award to either Keri Russell or Tatiana Maslany, but I assume that Viola Davis will take home the prize.

Outstanding Actor In A Drama

Kyle Chandler, Bloodline

Rami Malek, Mr. Robot

Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul

Matthew Rhys, The Americans

Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan

Kevin Spacey, House of Cards

Some new blood in this category.  I’m going with the long shot and picking Matthew Rhys.

Continue reading →

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#64 – Jose DeLeon

deleonName: Jose DeLeon

Rank: 64

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1986-1987, 1993-1995

Jose DeLeon was acquired by the White Sox on July 23, 1986 from the Pirates for Bobby Bonilla.  As the White Sox rolled towards a 5th place finish and a 90 loss season, DeLeon was a bright spot, going 4-5 in his 13 starts with a 2.96 ERA.

1987 was another disappointing year for the White Sox, but DeLeon was a stalwart of the rotation, going 11-12 with a 4.02 ERA.  The following February, he was traded to the Cardinals for Ricky Horton and Lance Johnson.

DeLeon rejoined the White Sox on August 10, 1993, acquired from the Phillies for Bobby Thigpen.   He appeared in 11 games over the final two months of the season, putting up a 1.74 ERA as the White Sox won their first division title in 10 years.  DeLeon did not appear in the ALCS, which the White Sox lost to the Blue Jays in 6 games.

DeLeon returned to the White Sox bullpen for the 1994 season, going 3-2 with a 3.36 ERA in 42 games before the strike ended the year on August 12.  When play resumed the following year, DeLeon had lost his mojo.  He went 5-3 with a 5.19 ERA in 38 games prior to being traded to the Expos on August 28 for Jeff Shaw.

DeLeon’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

Continue reading →

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Back To The Postseason

2016centralchampsFor the second consecutive year, the Cubs are heading to the postseason after clinching their first division title since 2008 with last night’s Cardinals loss to the Giants.  Their next target is to clinch home field advantage throughout the NL playoffs, where they hold a 6 game lead in the loss column over the Nationals with 15 games left to play.  The Cubs hope to avenge last year’s sweep in the NLCS at the hands of the Mets.

The downside to clinching his early is that the next important game the Cubs play will be 3 weeks from today when the NLDS kicks off.  Hopefully they will be able to kick off the rust as they attempt to end their 108 year championship drought.