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Cubs All Time Leaders – Through 2015

chc_logoWith less than a month until baseball in Chicago returns, I thought it would be interesting to look at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. We continue things today with the Chicago Cubs.

I’ve seen the Cubs play 374 times at 9 different stadiums in 7 different cities, with the earliest identified game at Wrigley Field on August 4, 1984 against the Mets, through the final two games of last year’s NLCS loss to those same Mets.

Home Runs

Name Total
Sammy Sosa 42
Aramis Ramirez 41
Derrek Lee 38

Hits

Name Total
Derrek Lee 245
Aramis Ramirez 216
Sammy Sosa 136

Runs

Name Total
Derrek Lee 136
Aramis Ramirez 114
Sammy Sosa 102

RBI

Name Total
Aramis Ramirez 151
Derrek Lee 128
Sammy Sosa 97

Doubles

Name Total
Derrek Lee 51
Aramis Ramirez 48
Michael Barrett 29

Triples Continue reading →

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#105 – Juan Pierre

juanpierre

Name: Juan Pierre

Rank: 105

Position: LF

Years With White Sox: 2010-2011

Juan Pierre came to the White Sox from the Dodgers in exchange for Jon Link and John Ely on December 15, 2009.  He moved in to the leadoff spot and left field for the 2010 White Sox, putting up a solid season offensively with a .275 average with 22 extra base hits.  He led all of MLB with 68 stolen bases, the second highest total in franchise history behind Rudy Law’s total of 77 in 1983.

2011 saw Pierre just as effective with the bat, but saw large drop-offs both on the basepaths and in the outfield.  His stolen base total dropped to 27, while he was caught 17 times.  He also tied for the league lead for all left fielders with 7 errors.  Following the season, he became a free agent.

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

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Return To The House Of The Mouse

disney_worldLater this afternoon, I’ll be heading out for a week long road trip, with stops in Virginia, Florida, and many stops in between.  The plan is to head to Roanoke tonight, spend the weekend there taking in the sights, and then head down to Florida and Disney World on Monday.  After spending Tuesday at Hollywood Studios, we’ll be heading to Universal on Wednesday for all things Harry Potter, before returning to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot on Thursday.  After that, it will time to take the long ride home, with a few interesting stops along the way.

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Tournament Time

It’s that time of year again, as the nation’s attention turns to the college hoops scene for the next few weeks. I’m in three different pools again this year, one at work, one at my mom’s work, and one run by a friend.  The Purdue Boilermakers return to the tournament for the second straight year, though they will likely not have an easy go of it.

2016SouthThe South bracket has the overall #1 seed in Kansas, who is also my pick to win the whole shebang.

2016EastThe Big 10 is well represented in the East region, with both IU and Wisconsin picked to make it to the Sweet Sixteen.

 

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FB2: Week 6

FB2_Week6The week got off to a nice start, but quickly fell apart as I fell victim to a flu bug that knocked me down for a few days.  Sunday started off well, with nearly 7000 steps.  By night time, though, I was overcome with a nasty flu bug that kept me home and in bed for most of the next 2 days, leading to low totals, my first time finishing below goal since the end of January.  Wednesday was back to work time, but I ended up leaving early and finished the day just under 5000 steps.  Thursday and Friday were back to normal and back over the 6000 step threshold.  Saturday was a lazy day spent trying to fight off the last of the illness.

Total steps: 34,973

Daily average: 4996.1

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Happy Trails

larocheShocking developments out of Glendale today as Adam LaRoche walked out of White Sox camp and is expected to retire.  After telling team management and his teammates about his plans, they spent an hour trying to change his mind.  He is expected to take the next few days mulling over his decision before making things official.

LaRoche signed as a free agent on November 25, 2014, and was expected to provide some left handed power in the middle of the White Sox lineup in 2015.  To say things did not work out as planned would be a tremendous understatement.  His production fell off a cliff, finishing the year with a .207 batting average with only 12 home runs and 44 RBIs.  His second half was even worse, with a .231 OBP and a slugging percentage under .285.

He had appeared in only 2 games this spring while battling a back injury.  By walking away now, he leaves $13 million on the table, money the White Sox can use creatively should they find themselves in contention at the trade deadline.  Meanwhile, this should give Robin Ventura more flexibility while juggling Melky Cabrera, Adam Eaton, Austin Jackson, and Avisail Garcia.

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

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Book 8 (of 52) – The Girl Next Door

The Girl Next Door - Jack Ketchum

The Girl Next Door – Jack Ketchum

The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum, a tale of two orphans who move in with a family that slowly abuses them, is disturbing enough on its own.  Then, you learn that it is based on a true story and it makes you wonder where humanity began to run off the rails.

After the death of their parents, Meg and Susan go to live with their Aunt Ruth and her three sons.  Slowly, Ruth begins to allow the boys, along with some of the neighborhood kids, to abuse Meg.  When she tries to go to the police, the abuse intensifies, eventually turning into rape and, finally, death.

Ketchum tells the tale through the point of view of a neighbor, who is both infatuated with Meg yet a willing voyeur, if not participant, in the abuse heaped upon her.  He does try to tell his parents twice, and eventually decides to help Meg escape.  When that goes south, he himself is locked in the basement with her, leading to the final confrontation that ended Meg’s life.

This was my first exposure to Ketchum’s work.  While I enjoyed his approach to the story, I’m not sure if I’ll be heading back for more.

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iTunes Top 200: #118 Continued

itunes_image3 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 continue with the second grouping of songs tied for 118th place with 19 plays apiece since late 2007.

#118: Faith No More – Epic
iTunes stats: 19 plays, most recently on 9/28/2015
Previous ranking: Unranked

The biggest hit of the band’s career, the song ranked #30 on VH1’s list of 40 Greatest Metal Songs and #67 on their list of the top 100 one-hit wonders.

#118: Dr. Dre – Forgot About Dre
iTunes stats: 19 plays, most recently on 8/26/2015
Previous ranking: #96

Winner of the Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 2001 Grammy Awards.

#118: DJ Danger Mouse – 99 Problems
iTunes stats: 19 plays, most recently on 11/20/2015
Previous ranking: Unranked

A mash-up of Jay Z’s smash hit with the Beatles’ Helter Skelter.

#118: Dakota Fanning – Cherry Bomb
iTunes stats: 19 plays, most recently on 6/23/2015
Previous ranking: Unranked

The signature song from The Runaways, as performed by Dakota Fanning in the movie based on the band’s life story.

#118: Cee Lo Green – Fuck You
iTunes stats: 19 plays, most recently on 7/21/2015
Previous ranking: Unranked

The first single from Green’s third album, it peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

#118: The Cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Overture/Going Through The Motions
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Twins All Time Leaders – Through 2015

Minnesota-TwinsWith 1 month until baseball in Chicago returns, I thought it would be interesting to look at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. We continue things today with the Minnesota Twins.

The Twins originated in 1901 as the Washington Senators, one of the charter members of the American League.  When Minneapolis was given an expansion team to begin play in 1961, owner Calvin Griffith requested to move the Senators to Minnesota, becoming the Twins, and to have the expansion franchise take over the Senators name in Washington.  I’ve seen them play 48 times at 3 different stadiums, including the division-title deciding game 163 in 2008.

Home Runs

Name Total
Oswaldo Arcia 5
Jason Kubel 4
Brian Dozier 4
Torii Hunter 4

Hits

Name Total
Joe Mauer 36
Justin Morneau 25
Trevor Plouffe 22

Runs

Name Total
Joe Mauer 16
Brian Dozier 11
Trevor Plouffe 10

RBI

Name Total
Justin Morneau 15
Torii Hunter 11
Oswaldo Arcia 11

Doubles

Name Total
Justin Morneau 5
Oswaldo Arcia 5
Joe Mauer 5
Trevor Plouffe 5

Triples Continue reading →

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#106 – Octavio Dotel

odotel

Name: Octavio Dotel

Rank: 106

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 2008-2009

Octavio Dotel joined the White Sox as a free agent on January 21, 2008, signing a two-year deal.  He became a work horse out of the bullpen for Ozzie Guillen during the 2008 season, going 4-4 with a 3.76 ERA in 72 games as the White Sox took home the Central Division title.  Dotel then appeared in all 4 games of the ALDS against the Rays, giving up 2 runs in 1 1/3 innings pitched.

2009 was more of the same for Dotel.  In 10 fewer appearances, he went 3-3, lowering his ERA to 3.32.  Following the season, Dotel became a free agent, ending his White Sox career.

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

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