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Sprinting And Striding Yet Again

spandstFor the third year in a row, I’ve registered for the Sprint & Stride 5K race held on the campus of the old workplace next month.  I’ll be trying to break my time from last year of 57:32 at a minimum, if not my “personal record” of 54:10, from the first BTN 5K I did back in 2012.  Standing in my way will likely be the same issues as last year, walking with friends and narrow terrain that makes it hard to pass slower walkers.  Hopefully I can figure out how to get my time to register this year, something I’ve failed to do the past 2 years.

Either way, it should be a fun event and one that benefits a good cause.  Not to mention getting an afternoon away from my desk and spending some time with Hayley and Val.

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#75 – Donn Pall

thepopeName: Donn Pall

Rank: 75

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1988-1993

Chicago native Donn Pall joined the White Sox organization via the 23rd round of the draft in 1985.  He made his major league debut 3 years later, throwing a mop-up inning of relief at the end of the Sox 10-2 loss to the A’s on August 1 at Comiskey Park.  Pall appeared in 16 additional games down the stretch for a miserable White Sox squad, finishing the year with a respectable 3.45 ERA.

Pall returned to the White Sox bullpen in 1989, earning his first career win on April 27 in a 16 inning victory over the Red Sox.  He finished the year 4-5 with a 3.31 ERA and 6 saves in 53 appearances for the last place White Sox.

The surprising White Sox found themselves in a pennant race in 1990 as they said goodbye to Comiskey Park.  Pall continued to be a mainstay in the bullpen, going 3-5 with a 3.32 ERA in 56 appearances, including one appearance during the final weekend at the park he grew up attending.

Pall and the White Sox moved across the street for the 1991 season, where Pall put up the best numbers of his career.  He finished the year 7-2 with a sparkling 2.41 ERA in 51 appearances, including a scoreless inning of relief in the first game at new Comiskey Park.  Pall struggled in 1992, seeing his ERA jump to 4.93 and his appearances drop to 39 despite a 5-2 record.

In 1993, as the White Sox headed towards their first division title since 1983, Pall bounced back to put up 3.22 ERA in 39 appearances heading into September.  However, he found himself in a roster crunch and, to make room for the re-acquired Ivan Calderon, he was traded to the Phillies on August 31 for a player to be named later.  Pall, along with Carlton Fisk, who had been released earlier in the year, came to Comiskey Park before game 1 of the ALCS to wish their former teammates well.  Sadly, they were both turned away, souring Fisk’s relationship with the organization for years.

Pall returned to the White Sox organization in 1995, spending the entire year in Triple A before leaving at the end of the year as a free agent.

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

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FB2: Week 27

FB2_Week27The week got off to another slow start as I woke up in the city on Sunday morning before coming home to celebrate Angela’s birthday.  Monday and Tuesday both hovered around the 5000 step mark, before things picked up on Wednesday for my first 6000 step day of the week thanks to a trip to North Plaza for coffee.  Thursday was a good day, thanks to a post-work trip in to the city for dinner and drinks at Goose Island with Val and Hayley.  Friday managed to just squeak past the 6000 step mark.  A good day on Saturday, thanks to a morning walk followed by a Sox game at night, managed to even out the rest of the week, finishing with my lowest total since March.

Total steps: 42,709

Daily average: 6101.3

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It’s The End Of The World As They Knew It

Over the last week, 3 perennial All Stars announced their retirement, either due to diminished skills, an upcoming outright release, or injury.  Yankee first baseman Mark Teixeira got things started last Friday when he held a press conference announcing he would retire at the end of the season.  The 36-year old, in the final year of his contract, has struggled this year after suffering numerous injuries over the past few seasons.  Teixeira started his career with the Rangers in 2003, before moving to the Braves and Angels before his long term deal with the Yankees, whom he helped lead to the 2009 World Series title.

2 days later, the Yankees held another press conference, this time announcing that Alex Rodriguez would play his final game tomorrow, after which he will be released.  The 41 year old was at one time considered to be the best player in the game, and perhaps of all time, but PED confessions, and a year long suspension that cost him the 2014 season, had left him as mostly a pariah.  As he struggled this year in limited playing time, the Yankees decided it was finally time to cut their loses.  Rodriguez came up with the Mariners in 1994, before signing record-setting deals with Texas and, finally, the Yankees.

Finally, Ranger first baseman Prince Fielder announced that he would no longer be able to play following his second spinal fusion surgery.  Fielder missed most of the 2014 season following his first surgery, but worked his way back to win the Comeback Player of the Year award last year.  This year did not fare as well for the slugger.  After debuting with the Brewers, Fielder also spent time with the Tigers before finishing his run with the Rangers.

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FB2: Week 26

FB2_Week26Another week got off to a slow start, despite a trip down to US Cellular Field for exciting White Sox baseball.  Monday was another disappointment, not ever cracking 5000 steps.  Tuesday saw a big increase, nearly totaling 9000 steps, thanks to game 2 of the Crosstown Cup.  Wednesday was another good day, due to a post-work trip to the Glen with Hayley to have dinner and see Star Trek Beyond.  Thursday and Friday were down days once again, with the week saved by Saturday’s total of over 13,000 steps thanks to a trip in to the city for Lollapalooza with Hayley and Val.

Total steps: 47,611

Daily average: 6801.6

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FB2: Week 25

FB2_Week25The week got off to a slow start, with Sunday finishing well below 5000 steps.  The work week managed to hover just above my daily goal of 6000 steps until Friday, when a post-work trip down to US Cellular Field led to my best day of the week with nearly 10,000 steps.  Despite another game on Saturday, it was another disappointing day, again ending under 5000 steps.

Total steps: 44,873

Daily average: 6410.4

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#76 – Gavin Floyd

MLB: APR 05 White Sox v TigersName: Gavin Floyd

Rank: 76

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 2007-2013

The White Sox acquired Gavin Floyd following the 2006 season in a trade with the Phillies for Freddy Garcia.  After an inauspicious debut with the White Sox during the ill-fated 2007 campaign, Floyd busted out of the gate in 2008, finishing with a 17-8 record and helping to lead the White Sox to the Central Division title.  Ever since, though, Floyd has become increasingly worse, never finishing above .500 again until last season’s 12-11 mark.  The 2013 season had been his worst to date, as he had lost 4 of his 5 starts and the White Sox had dropped all 5.  The maddening thing about Floyd over the past 4+ seasons is that he always had the stuff to succeed, but always seemed unable to string together a run of quality appearances.  Every time you thought he had turned the corner, he imploded again and went into another funk.

After 7 years of up and down service, Gavin Floyd has likely thrown his last pitch as a member of the White Sox, thanks to a tear in his flexor muscle near his right elbow, which has caused an unstable ulnar collateral ligament.

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

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Fitbit Year 2 – Half Year Checkpoint

 

FB2_Halfway2
As the first half of my second year using the Fitbit draws to a close, it is time to check in on my progress towards my goal of 2,184,000 steps, or an average of 6000 per day. One half of that total would be 1,092,000. So how did I do?

In a word, tremendously.  I put up 63.3% of my goal for the year in the first six months, finishing with 1,381,526 steps.  That translates to a little over 705 miles, which is a little mind-blowing.  Along the way, I also managed to climb nearly 1400 steps.

Other than the one week where the flu knocked me out for a few days, every week has surpassed my weekly goal of 42,000 steps.  Hopefully things continue at this pace, especially once the weather starts to cool down.

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#77 – Mike Squires

squiresName: Mike Squires

Rank: 77

Position: 1B

Years With White Sox: 1975, 1977-1985

Mike Squires joined the White Sox organization as their 18th round draft pick in 1973.  He made his major league debut on September 1, 1975, going 2-3 in the White Sox loss to the Royals at Comiskey Park.  He appeared in 19 additional games down the stretch, hitting .231 in 74 plate appearances.

After spending all of 1976 back in Triple A, Squires returned to the South Side for 3 games in 1977, going hitless in 3 at bats.  He was up in the big leagues to stay in 1978, appearing in 46 games and hitting .280 in 150 at bats.

1979 saw Squires getting his most extensive playing time to date, appearing in 122 games and hitting a modest .264, including his first major league home run.  1980 was more of the same for Squires, hitting a career-high .283 in 131 games.  He also became the first left-handed catcher in the major leagues since 1961 when he replaced Bruce Kimm in the 9th inning of an 11-1 loss to the Brewers on May 4.

During the strike-shortened season of 1981, Squires hit .265 in 92 games, failing to homer for the first time since 1978 and earning the Gold Glove award for first basemen.  1982 was more of the same for Squires, as he put up a .267 average in only 195 at bats, his lowest total since 1978.  As the White Sox ran away with the division title in 1983, Squires set a career high in games played with 143, but garnered only 153 at bats, hitting a meek .222.  He became the first left handed third baseman in at least 50 years when he replaced Vance Law in the 8th inning of a 10-2 loss to the Royals.  He went 0-4 in the ALCS against the Orioles, appearing in all 4 games.

1984 was the beginning of the end for Squires, as his average slipped to a career low .183 in only 82 at bats.  He was released during spring training in 1985, before being re-signed in September, appearing in 2 games without a plate appearance.  Following the season, his career came to an end.

Squires’ numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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