Michael celebrates his golden birthday today, turning 11 on the 11th. To celebrate, here is a photo of him from last summer waiting in line to run the bases after a White Sox game at US Cellular Field.
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Keeping Up With The Jonses
The White Sox opened the home portion of the 2016 campaign on Friday, showing off the changes made to US Cellular Field over the winter, centered around the new scoreboards.
The main center field board, which had the smallest screen in the big leagues, has been replaced with a whole new video board. The change allows the White Sox to show the actual score of the game and the team lineups on the main scoreboard for the first time in years.
The pinwheels at the top of the scoreboard are also video screens, enabling them to show game specific information, like when a White Sox player hits a home run, as viewed above.
The dot matrix board in left field has been replaced with a video board, which is being used to show the current pitcher’s information for the game, the current batter’s information for the game, Twitter and Instagram photos from fans, along with ads. The batter’s information could use some improvement, with very minimal data provided along with the useless average for the day’s game. Hopefully, as the season goes on, the presentation is refined.
The out of town scoreboard in right field has also been replaced with a new video board, which continues to show the other scores around the league along with some in-game information and a few ads.
Overall, the changes are a vast improvement over the outdated boards that were there before. As the year goes on, I expect the use of the boards will continue to improve as the team tries out new things and sees what works and what doesn’t.
#102 – Juan Agosto
Name: Juan Agosto
Rank: 102
Position: P
Years With White Sox: 1981-1986
Juan Agosto signed with the White Sox organization as a free agent on January 18, 1980. He made his major league debut the following year, giving up 3 earned runs in 5 innings of relief work in the White Sox 9-5 loss to the Mariners at Comiskey Park on September 7. He made one other appearance before the season came to an end.
Agosto returned to Triple A for 1982, appearing in only 1 game for the big league club where he gave up 4 runs in only 2 innings of work. The 1983 season again saw Agosto starting the year in Triple A, but he was recalled on June 2 to replace outfielder Rusty Kuntz and remained for the rest of the season. He would appear in 39 games, picking up 7 saves and posting a 4.10 ERA as the White Sox earned their first post-season berth since 1959. Agosto saw limited action during the ALCS, facing one Oriole batter for a perfect 1/3 of an inning pitched.
While the White Sox struggled to repeat their success of the previous season, 1984 was Agosto’s best as a member of the south siders. In 49 appearances, he tied his career high with 7 saves, lowered his ERA to 3.09 and finished the year with a winning record. On the negative side, he walked more batters than he struck out and gave up more hits than innings pitched.
Things rebounded for the White Sox in 1985 and Juan Agosto continued to be a useful cog in the bullpen. He lowered his WHIP to a career low, though his ERA jumped up to 3.58. He got off to a slow start in 1986, giving up 4 earned runs in just under 5 innings pitched. At the end of April, Agosto was traded to the Twins, along with Kurt Walker, for pitcher Pete Filson.
Agosto’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:
Book 10 (of 52) – Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – J.K. Rowling
The second installment of the Harry Potter series sees Harry, Ron, and Hermione return to Hogwarts for their second year of wizard school. Once again, the trio stumble upon an evil plot at the school that only they can deal with.
As I explained last time, I’m not exactly reading these books because I want to, but out of a sense of obligation. That said, I did find myself enjoying this one more than the first. Whether that was just out of familiarity with the characters or actual enjoyment, I haven’t figured out yet. Anyway, on to the next one!
FB2: Week 9
A momentous week, as I passed 3,000,000 total steps since starting with the Fitbit a year and 9 weeks ago. The week got off to a slow start on Easter Sunday, barely surpassing 4000 steps. Things picked up as I headed back to work on Monday and continued throughout the week. Saturday was another disappointing weekend day.
Total steps: 46,306
Daily average: 6615.1
Book 9 (of 52) – House Of Evil
House of Evil: The Indiana Torture Slaying – John Dean
On October 26, 1965, 16-year old Sylvia Likens died after 3 months of abuse at the hands of the woman being paid to watch her and her younger sister. In House of Evil, John Dean details the torture and the subsequent trial that found Gertrude Baniszewski, two of her children, and two other neighborhood kids convicted of charges ranging from first degree murder to manslaughter.
The horrific story, which was the basis for Jack Ketchum’s The Girl Next Door, rocked the Indianapolis community after Sylvia’s death was discovered. Dean, who both covered the trial for the local newspaper and was called as a witness during the proceedings, paints a horrid picture of a girl forced to waste away while an entire family takes out their frustrations on her, ruining her both mentally and physically. By the time she finally succumbs to her injuries, death must have been a welcome relief.
All Time Team Records
Another exciting baseball season is upon us, and it is time once again to look at the all-time team records for games that I have attended. Despite disparate seasons on the two sides of town last season, both the White Sox and the Cubs saw their overall winning percentage drop. The 2016 season looks to be hopeful for both teams, so this trend should reverse itself.
| TeamName | Won | Loss | Winning Pctg |
|---|---|---|---|
| California Angels | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Arizone Diamondbacks | 13 | 2 | 0.866666666666667 |
| Florida Marlins | 15 | 8 | 0.652173913043478 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 10 | 6 | 0.625 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 12 | 8 | 0.6 |
| New York Yankees | 12 | 9 | 0.571428571428571 |
| Colorado Rockies | 7 | 6 | 0.538461538461538 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 15 | 13 | 0.535714285714286 |
| San Francisco Giants | 8 | 7 | 0.533333333333333 |
| Chicago White Sox | 250 | 222 | 0.529661016949153 |
| Chicago Cubs | 197 | 177 | 0.526737967914439 |
| Detroit Tigers Continue reading → |
iTunes Top 200: #79 – 96
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 start the final 100 songs of the countdown with the last grouping of songs tied for 96th place with 20 plays apiece and the first tied for 79th place with 21 plays since late 2007.
#96: The Cast of Buffy The Vampire Slayer – Standing
iTunes stats: 20 plays, most recently on 12/11/2015
Previous ranking: #76
Performed by Anthony Stewart Head as a ballad to Buffy that she does not hear, unlike the songs revealing truths elsewhere in the episode.
#96: The Breeders – Cannonball
iTunes stats: 20 plays, most recently on 8/4/2015
Previous ranking: #54
The first single for the new band fronted by former Pixie Kim Deal and her sister Kelley.
#96: The Beatles – Getting Better
iTunes stats: 20 plays, most recently on 12/16/2015
Previous ranking: #58
The initial idea for the song’s title came from a phrase often spoken by Jimmie Nicol, the group’s stand-in drummer for the Australian leg of a 1964 tour.
#96: The Beatles – A Hard Day’s Night
iTunes stats: 20 plays, most recently on 8/25/2015
Previous ranking: #96
From 1964, the song is the title track to both the album and the movie.
#96: AC/DC – Back In Black
iTunes stats: 20 plays, most recently on 9/10/2015
Previous ranking: #58
Written as a tribute to former lead singer Bon Scott, who had died during the songwriting for the album.
#79: 10,000 Maniacs – Candy Everybody Wants
Continue reading →
2016 Predictions
The 2016 baseball season is scheduled to kick off today, with 3 games scheduled for the first time. For the sixth consecutive year, I’ve looked into the crystal ball to make my picks for the upcoming season.
American League
East: Blue Jays
Central: Indians
West: Rangers
Wild Cards: Red Sox, White Sox
AL Champion: Blue Jays
Cy Young: Chris Sale
MVP: Mike Trout
National League
#103 – Roberto Alomar
Name: Roberto Alomar
Rank: 103
Position: 2B
Years With White Sox: 2003, 2004
With the White Sox just 3 1/2 games behind the Twins on July 1, 2003, they tried to upgrade the right side of their infield by acquiring Roberto Alomar from the Mets for prospects Royce Ring, Edwin Almonte, and Andrew Salvo. Alomar, nearing the end of a Hall of Fame career, struggled both offensively and defensively with the White Sox, hitting .253 in 67 games with an OPS of just .670.
Following the season, Alomar became a free agent and signed with the Diamondbacks. In August, he was again acquired by the White Sox, this time for a player to be named later. This second stint went much worse, as Alomar, thought to be suffering from vision problems, appeared in only 18 games for the White Sox, hitting an anemic .180 in what would become the final games of his major league career.
Alomar’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were: