As May rolls in, we turn back to last May’s trip to Graceland as Angelina sports a pair of Elvis-ish glasses in one of the many gift shops that support the Elvis Presley empire in the 21st Century.
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#95 – Alejandro de Aza
Name: Alejandro de Aza
Rank: 95
Position: CF/LF
Years With White Sox: 2010-2014
Following the 2009 season, Alejandro de Aza was claimed off waivers from the Marlins by the White Sox. He spent most of the 2010 season in Charlotte, getting only 30 at bats with the White Sox, but putting up a .300 average in his limited opportunities.
2011 saw de Aza again splitting time between Charlotte and Chicago, and he continued to impress in the big leagues. He appeared in 54 games for the White Sox, hitting .329 with an impressive .900 OPS.
de Aza broke in to the starting lineup in 2012, becoming the main center fielder for the White Sox. His production fell off somewhat in the full time role, but he still managed to hit .281 with a .760 OPS. He added a career high 26 stolen bases.
2013 saw de Aza set career highs in games played, at bats, hits, home runs, and RBIs. But his average again dropped, now to .264, as the White Sox ended the year with their worst record since 1970.
2014 started with de Aza relegated to a back up role, thanks to the acquisition of Adam Eaton, but an early injury to Avisail Garcia thrust him back to the starting lineup. His average dropped again, to .243, and his OPS fell under .700 for the first time with the White Sox. At the end of August, with the White Sox again out of contention, de Aza was traded to the Orioles for 2 unheralded minor leaguers.
de Aza’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:
Book 12 (of 52) – Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – J.K. Rowling
The third installment of the Harry Potter series sees our heroes return to Hogwarts for their third year of schooling, with the wizarding world on high alert after Sirius Black, thought to have betrayed Harry’s parents to Voldemort, escaped from the wizard prison of Azkaban. For the third year in a row, the trio of Harry, Ron, and Hermione find themselves as they only ones who can solve the mystery surrounding them, with the help of Dumbledore.
The Harry Potter reading experiment continues and I must admit, I do find myself more immersed in it than I thought I would be. I’ve got 4 books left and just more than a month before returning to Universal Studios and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, not to mention the efforts to get Jeff and Val to stop smoking.
#96 – Gary Redus
Name: Gary Redus
Rank: 96
Position: LF
Years With White Sox: 1987-1988
As spring training was winding down in 1987, the White Sox acquired Gary Redus from the Phillies for pitcher Joe Cowley. “Our priorities have been to get a right-handed hitter with power or a right-handed hitter with speed to hit at the top of the order,” GM Larry Himes said at the time. “We like what we got with Redus. We traded a player who was going to play once every five days for a player who will play every five days.” Redus played 130 games, but did not live up to the offensive promise that the White Sox were looking for when they acquired him. He hit only .236 with 12 home runs, but did finish 3rd in the AL with 52 stolen bases.
Much to his surprise, Redus remained with the White Sox for the beginning of the 1988 season. His offense improved somewhat, with his average rising to .263, but, after a hamstring injury kept him on the shelf for 2 weeks, he was traded to the Pirates for Mike Diaz.
Redus’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:
#97 – Luis Salazar
Name: Luis Salazar
Rank: 97
Position: 3B/OF
Years With White Sox: 1985-1986
Luis Salazar came to the White Sox, along with Tim Lollar, Bill Long, and Ozzie Guillen, in the December 6, 1984 trade that sent LaMarr Hoyt to the Padres. Salazar split time between third base and the outfield for the 1985 White Sox, posting a .245 average with 10 home runs and 45 RBIs. His season came to a premature end when, on September 23, he tore his PCL against the Angels.
After off-season surgery, Salazar spent most of 1986 rehabbing his knee. He was activated off the disabled list on August 8, but went back on the DL on the 16th, appearing in just 4 games. That December, he was released by the White Sox.
Salazar’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:
FB2: Week 12
A good week, and my first with all 7 days above 6000 steps since I got sick in early March. Things got off to a good start on Sunday, when, with the weather finally starting to turn, I took my first walk around the neighborhood of the season. Monday broke past the 10,000 step plateau as I headed down to US Cellular Field after work to watch the White Sox fall to the Angels. The weather turned again on Tuesday, but, thanks to the afternoon coffee run, I managed to stay above 6000 steps, as I did on Wednesday and Thursday. Friday lacked the coffee run and almost didn’t reach my goal, but managed to just sneak by. Saturday was helped along by another trip to the ballpark.
Total steps: 51,058
Daily average: 7294
iTunes Top 200: #65 – 79
3 years ago, we first counted down the then Top 100 songs 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 songs, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2016.
Today, we finish off the remaining songs tied for 79th with 21 listens and start the group of songs tied for 65th with 22 listens since 2007.
#79: The Cast Of Buffy The Vampire Slayer – Under Your Spell
iTunes stats: 21 plays, most recently on 12/11/2015
Previous ranking: #76
Amber Benson performs the song which writer Joss Whedon called “pornography” and “probably the dirtiest lyric I’ve ever written, but also very, very beautiful”.
#79: The Beatles – Eight Days A Week
iTunes stats: 21 plays, most recently on 7/21/2015
Previous ranking: #76
Although it was a huge hit in America, the group did not think highly of the song and they never performed it live.
#65: 10,000 Maniacs – Because The Night
iTunes stats: 22 plays, most recently on 8/4/2015
Previous ranking: #76
This cover of the Patti Smith classic from the band’s MTV Unplugged appearance also appeared on Volume 12 of my mix tapes.
#65: The Wonders – That Thing You Do
iTunes stats: 22 plays, most recently on 7/9/2015
Previous ranking: #96
The theme song from the 1996 movie of the same name, about a band that hits it big in the 60s before disintegrating before they can record a follow up.
#65: Weezer – Dope Nose
iTunes stats: 22 plays, most recently on 10/5/2015
Previous ranking: #41
The first single from the band’s 4th studio album.
#65: Toad The Wet Sprocket – Walk On The Ocean
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Vacation Recap – Florida Roadtrip Part 2
When we left off last time, we were two days into the road trip and had finally made it to Virginia. We pick up the tale the following morning.
Sunday
Things got off to an early start, for me at least, as I found Saturday night’s dinner not agreeing with me very well. After taking care of that particular problem, I found that the guest bathroom in Jeff’s apartment was missing one very important item: toilet paper. Nothing on the roll, nothing under the sink, and nothing in the little closet. Thankfully, there was some Kleenex on the back of the toilet, so I was forced to kill that off in order to go about my night.
When I woke up for real on Sunday morning, Jeff had been out to the market and had returned with bagels and other items and fresh coffee being brewed. After some initial difficulties using the toaster (turns out you need to push the handle all the way down for it to work), I was good to go. Eventually, Val woke up and the three of us spent the morning eating breakfast and watching the Sunday morning news shows.
At some point, either while waiting for Val to wake up or while she was in the shower (I forget the exact order), Jeff pulled out some of his art books for me to look through, most of which focused on the fantasy realm. While I’m not the biggest fan of fantasy, my years of comics reading means I can appreciate good art, so, aesthetically, I could appreciate it. Later, he pulled out his old portfolio and showed Val and me some of his work from college, when he was an art major. Seeing as I can hardly draw a stick figure, I was impressed by his talent.
After taking in a 5th episode of the new season of Daredevil, we decided to head out on the second leg of the trip, with Disney World our next destination. Our first stop was at the Wendy’s in Ridgeway, Virginia, about an hour into the trip. While certain people tried to once again get their bearings, I went in and bought lunch for both Jeff and myself. Val expressed interest in some curly fries, perhaps intrigued by the previous day’s stop at Arby’s, but the Hardy’s across the street did not offer them and there was no Arby’s in sight. Over Val’s objections, Jeff vowed to stop at the next Arby’s we found to get her those curly fries, but we oddly did not see one for the rest of the day.
While traveling through the Carolinas, we kept passing signs for a restaurant called Zaxby’s. Those of us from Chicago have never encountered such a restaurant, to the point that the website won’t even tell me the closest location to my house. Anyway, Val asked what type of restaurant it was and Jeff explained that it was a department store, similar to Nordstrom. Because in the deep south, there is no difference between Zaxby’s and Saks Fifth Avenue.
Around 300 miles into the 750 mile journey, we decided to stop for the night. We found a Hampton Inn in Orangeburg, South Carolina, and, thankfully, this one met with Jeff’s approval. Once again, got 3 hotel rooms and, since everyone was feeling relatively good and it was still pretty early, we decided to order in some dinner. Our first attempt failed when the BBQ joint did not have a dinner-time vegetarian option, so we ordered Papa John’s.
When dinner showed up, we found the smash hit Pitch Perfect II on the television, which apparently every one had seen except me. Once the movie ended, we decided to call it a night a retreat to our separate rooms for the night. Continue reading →
#98 – Esteban Loaiza
Name: Esteban Loaiza
Rank: 98
Position: P
Years With White Sox: 2003-2004, 2008
Esteban Loaiza signed with the White Sox as a free agent on January 24, 2003, with the hopes of shoring up the back end of the rotation. He quickly became the ace of the staff, setting career highs in wins, ERA, innings pitched, and strike outs. When the All Star Game made its way to US Cellular Field, he was selected as the starting pitcher for the American League. By season’s end, he had tied Fernando Valenzuela’s single season win record by a Mexican-born pitcher with 21 and found himself finishing in second place for the AL Cy Young Award.
Loaiza came back down to Earth somewhat in 2004, as his ERA jumped back up from 2.90 to 4.86. He was selected to his second straight All Star team, but, later that month, he was traded to the Yankees for Jose Contreras and cash.
Loaiza returned to the White Sox in 2008 after being cut by the Dodgers. He signed on June 4, made 3 relief appearances, and spent 6 weeks on the disabled list before being released, ending his White Sox, and major league, career.
Loaiza’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:
#99 – Brian Anderson
Name: Brian Anderson
Rank: 99
Position: CF
Years With White Sox: 2005-2009
Brian Anderson joined the White Sox organization as the 15th overall pick in the 2003 draft. He made his major league debut on August 16, 2005, going 2-7 in a 9-4 loss to the Twins at US Cellular Field. He appeared in only 13 games for the big league club in 2005, as the White Sox battle for the division crown went down to the final weekend. Anderson was left off the playoff roster, but still spent the time with the team, joining Aaron Rowand in doubting the walk-off home run Scott Podsednik hit in Game 2 of the World Series.
When Rowand was traded to the Phillies prior to the 2006 season, Anderson became the new starting center fielder. Unfortunately, he was unable to reproduce his minor league success at the major league level, eventually losing playing time to Rob Mackowiak. He finished the year with a .225 average, striking out 90 times in only 365 at bats.
2007 turned in to a lost season for Anderson, as he lost his starting job to Darin Erstad and appeared in only 13 games, with an anemic .118 average, before being sent back to Triple A Charlotte. He managed to boost his average back up in the minors, but an injury ended his season early.
Anderson returned to the big leagues in 2008 with a renewed focus, but it did not translate to better results in the field. He spent most of the year as a backup and as a late inning defensive replacement for Ken Griffey Jr. The highlight of his season was the diving catch he made to end the tiebreaker game 163 that sent the White Sox to the playoffs. This time, Anderson made the playoff roster, but he went hitless in 5 at bats across 3 games in the White Sox loss to the Rays in the ALDS.
Anderson found himself in the same position in 2009, until the trade deadline approached, when he was traded to the Red Sox for Mark Kotsay.
Anderson returned to the White Sox organization on January 15, 2015, signing a minor league deal, but he was released on April 2nd, ending his professional career.
Anderson’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were: