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#107 – Charles Johnson

cjohnson

Name: Charles Johnson

Rank: 107

Position: C

Year With White Sox: 2000

With the White Sox holding a 9 1/2 game lead in the AL Central just days before the trade deadline in 2000, GM Ron Schueler struck a deal to improve the team for the stretch run and the post-season, picking up Charles Johnson and Harold Baines from the Orioles in exchange for Brook Fordyce and three prospects.  In his first game with the White Sox, Johnson hit a game-winning home run off John Wetteland and guided James Baldwin to his best start in his last 11 outings.

In 44 games over the season’s final two months, Johnson hit .326 with 10 home runs and 36 RBIs.  He also provided a stabilizing effect behind the plate for a pitching staff that fell apart due to injuries as the post-season approached.  As the White Sox battled the Mariners in the ALDS, Johnson was one of the few hitters who showed up, going 3-9 in the 3 game sweep.  After the season, he became a free agent, ending his brief, but successful, White Sox career.

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

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#108 – Dayan Viciedo

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Name: Dayan Viciedo

Rank: 108

Position: LF

Years With White Sox: 2010-2014

Dayan Viciedo signed a 4-year deal with the White Sox in November of 2008, mere months after defecting from Cuba.  He spent the 2009 season in Double A Birmingham and moved to Triple A Charlotte for 2010.  He spent some time with the big league club in 2010, making his major league debut on June 20 against the Nationals.

He returned to Triple A in 2011, until Carlos Quentin went down with an injury in late August. Viciedo returned to Chicago, this time to stay. He became the everyday left fielder in 2012, putting up decent, if underwhelming numbers. Viciedo became a bit of a conundrum in 2013, as his average improved slightly, but his power numbers decreased.

Viciedo was slated for a platoon role with Alejandro de Aza in 2014, until Avisail Garcia’s shoulder injury opened up a spot for him. By the time Garcia returned, de Aza was in Baltimore and Viciedo had left field all to himself. He was unable to capitalize on the opportunity, though, as his average and OBP fell to a career lows.

Viciedo appeared to be the odd man out that offseason, with Melky Cabrera signed to play left field and Adam LaRoche on board as DH.  With spring training 2015 about to begin and no takers on the trade market, the White Sox cut bait and released Viciedo on February 5th.  Viciedo re-signed with the White Sox organization on a minor league deal on August 1st and became a free agent following the season.

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

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2016 Games Of Interest

2016GiveawaysFireworks Night

Aug 27 (Southpaw Star Wars Bobblehead)

Family Day

Apr 10
Apr 24
May 8
May 22
Jun 12 (Southpaw’s Birthday)
Jun 26
Jul 10
Jul 24
Aug 7
Aug 21
Aug 28
Sep 11
Oct 2

Other Fun Stuff

Apr 9 – White Sox Winter Hat
Apr 23 – Abreu Plush Bleacher Creature
May 7 – Chris Sale K-Counter Bobblehead
May 21 – Homecoming Weekend
Jun 11 – White Sox Hawaiian Shirt
Jul 9 – White Sox Cap
Jul 23 – 1976 Throwback Jersey

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FB2: Week 5

FB2_Week5Another great week as 5K February comes to a successful end and March gets off to a good start.  Things got off to a good start on Sunday, where I made a trip up to Rosemont to see The Revenant and traipse around the entertainment district they’ve built there.  The work week was tremendous, with 4 days above 8000 steps and my worst day, Wednesday, still finishing near 7500.  The low point of the week was Saturday, but it still managed to break 6000 steps and the 3.1 miles needed to keep 5K February going into March.

Total steps: 53,973

Daily average: 7710.4

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iTunes Top 200: #118

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 break into the first grouping of songs tied for 118th place with 19 plays apiece since late 2007.

#118: Toad The Wet Sprocket – Something’s Always Wrong
iTunes stats: 19 plays, most recently on 7/20/2015
Previous ranking: Unranked

The second single from the band’s fourth album reached #9 on the Billboard modern rock charts.

#118: Tegan and Sara – I Bet It Stung
iTunes stats: 19 plays, most recently on 7/21/2015
Previous ranking: Unranked

An album track from Tegan and Sara’s fourth studio album.

#118: Mark Snow – X-Files Theme
iTunes stats: 19 plays, most recently on 12/18/2015
Previous ranking: Unranked

The theme song from the long-running sci-fi hit on FOX.

#118: Lustra – Scotty Doesn’t Know
iTunes stats: 19 plays, most recently on 8/20/2015
Previous ranking: Unranked

The main song from the film Eurotrip, explaining how poor Scotty doesn’t know his girlfriend is cheating on him.

#118: Less Than Jake – I Think I Love You
iTunes stats: 19 plays, most recently on 7/21/2015
Previous ranking: #96

This cover of the Partridge Family hit was featured on the Scream 2 soundtrack.

#118: The Knack – My Sharona
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Pirates All Time Leaders – Through 2015

pirates-primaryWith 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 today with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Pirates began life in 1887 as the Alleghenys, before taking on the Pirates moniker in 1891.  I’ve seen them play 42 times, including a double header sweep in 2003, enabling the Cubs to clinch their first NL Central title and a work outing in 2008 against the White Sox.

Home Runs

Name Total
Brian Giles 3
Jack Wilson 2
Nate McLouth 2
Carlos Garcia 2
Craig Wilson 2

Hits

Name Total
Jack Wilson 27
Jason Kendall 14
Aramis Ramirez 14

Runs

Name Total
Jack Wilson 16
Brian Giles 10
Nate McLouth 9

RBI

Name Total
Jason Kendall 12
Brian Giles 11
Jack Wilson 8

Doubles

Name Total
Freddy Sanchez 5
Aramis Ramirez 4
Abraham Nunez 4

Triples Continue reading →

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#109 – Edwin Jackson

ejax

Name: Edwin Jackson

Rank: 109

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 2010-2011

Edwin Jackson came to the White Sox on July 30, 2010 in a trade with the Diamondbacks for David Holmberg and Daniel Hudson.  Word on the street was that the White Sox acquired Jackson in order to flip him to the Nationals for Adam Dunn, but another move was not in the cards.  With Jake Peavy out for the remainder of the season, Jackson moved in to the starting rotation, going 4-2 with a 3.24 ERA in 11 starts as the White Sox finished in second place, 6 games behind the Twins.

Jackson returned for the 2011 season.  As the White Sox hovered around .500, Jackson put up a 7-7 record, with a slightly inflated 3.92 ERA.  With the team failing to make a run and with Jake Peavy back from his injury the year before, the White Sox moved Jackson, along with Mark Teahen, to the Blue Jays in exchange for Jason Frasor and Zack Stewart, ending Jackson’s White Sox career almost a year to the day after it began.

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

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FB2: Week 4

FB2_Week4As 5K February continues, last week turned out to be my best week overall since early October.  Things got off to a good start on Sunday thanks to Danny’s basketball game followed by Angelina’s skating exhibition.  Monday was my second 10,000 step day of the year, thanks mostly to running around the office.  Tuesday and Wednesday were also very successful, finishing near or well above 9000 steps.  Things slowed down on Thursday, but still made it above my goal.  Friday was the worst day of the week, thanks to spending most of the day in a car travelling to and from Kalamazoo.  The week ended with a nice day weather-wise, which led to my first outside walk of the year.

Total steps: 54,121

Daily average: 7731.6

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Book 7 (of 52) – The Willow Files Vol 2

The Willow Files Vol. 2 - Yvonne Navarro

The Willow Files Vol. 2 – Yvonne Navarro

Yvonne Navarro returns with the second volume of novelizations of episodes from Buffy the Vampire Slayer with the framing device of Willow’s online journal.  This time, we cover Gingerbread, where Joyce falls under the influence of a demon and tries to burn Buffy, Willow, and Amy at the stake, Dopplegangland, where Anya tries to get her powers back and instead brings Vamp Willow to Sunnydale, and Choices, where Willow is captured by the Mayor, but catches a look at the Books of Ascension.

Just like last time, there is little new material here.  Navarro does a decent enough job of recreating the episodes covered within, but, beyond an effort to move product based on a popular show, there was little need for these books to exist.

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Book 6 (of 52) – Where They Found Her

Where They Found Her - Kimberly McCreight

Where They Found Her – Kimberly McCreight

In Where They Found Her, Kimberly McCreight brings us a tale of a dead baby and the interweaving players surrounding it.  Along for the ride are a novice reporter recovering from her own tragedy, a young girl looking for her missing mother, and the wife of the town’s police chief who feels her life slipping away.

Considering this was only her second novel, McCreight does a good job shifting between the different stories and interweaving them as they all come together.  I look forward to her next book sometime in the next 2-3 years.