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Cardinals All Time Leaders – Through 2015

cardinalsWith 3 months 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 St. Louis Cardinals.

The Cardinals began life in 1891, joining the National League the following year after the dissolution of the old American Association.  They took on the Cardinal name starting in 1900.  I’ve seen them play 30 times, most recently in a loss against the Cubs in the 2015 NLDS.

Home Runs

Name Total
Scott Rolen 7
Jim Edmonds 6
Albert Pujols 6

Hits

Name Total
Scott Rolen 22
Albert Pujols 22
Jim Edmonds 20

Runs

Name Total
Jim Edmonds 16
Albert Pujols 14
Scott Rolen 13

RBI

Name Total
Albert Pujols 16
Scott Rolen 15
Jim Edmonds 14

Doubles

Name Total
Ryan Ludwick 4
Albert Pujols 3
Scott Rolen 3
Jim Edmonds 3
Fernando Vina 3
Jason Heyward 3

Triples Continue reading →

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#119 – Tim Belcher

belcher

Name: Tim Belcher

Rank: 119

Position: P

Year With White Sox: 1993

With the White Sox looking for their first division title in a decade, the team bolstered their pitching staff at the trade deadline in 1993, acquiring Tim Belcher from the Reds for Jeff Pierce and Johnny Ruffin.  Belcher was inserted into the rotation, starting 11 games down the stretch and finishing with a pedestrian 3-5 record and a 4.40 ERA.

Belcher made one appearance in the ALCS, picking up the win in relief in game 4 against the Blue Jays by giving up 1 run in 3 2/3 innings.  Following the season, Belcher left the White Sox as a free agent.

Belcher’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

Continue reading →

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2015: The Year In Movies Part 2

Movie_Reel_22128 different people starred in the movies I saw last year (starring in being the first two named stars, a tradition dating back to the old Chicago Tribune TV guide which populated the early days of my database), and a whopping 10 of them were in more than 1.  Those 10 thespians are:

Name Films
Jason Bateman 2
Ashley Bell 2
Tom Cruise 2
Karen Gillan 2
Kevin Hart 2
Leslie Mann 2
Paul Rudd 2
Emma Stone 2
Aaron Taylor-Johnson 2
Shailene Woodley 2

Now let’s take a look at the remaining movies that I saw in 2015, following up on Tuesday’s post.

Not Another Happy Ending (2014)
Karen Gillan’s first project post-Doctor Who.

Nice Guys Finish Last (2011)
A short where Danielle Harris tries to date a normal guy but misses the excitement of the bad boys.

Idiocracy (2006)
An army slacker and a prostitute wake up in a future populated by stupid people.

Three Fugitives (1989)
Martin Short and Nick Nolte avoid the police.

Interstellar (2014)
In a near future where the Earth can no longer sustain human life, a group of astronauts look for a new home for the human race.

Aloha (2015)
A military consultant falls in love and turns on his boss in this mess of a film.

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)
Michael Keaton’s comeback performance that earned him a Golden Globe and an Academy Award nomination.

Get Hard (2015)
Continue reading →

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HOF Election Thoughts

baseballhofAll eyes turned towards Cooperstown yesterday as the votes were tallied and two new members were announced as the Hall of Fame class of 2016: Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza.  Griffey, in his first year of eligibility, set the all time record by being named on 99.3% of the ballots, eclipsing Tom Seaver’s mark of 98.8% in 1992.  Piazza earned 83% of the vote in his 4th year of eligibility, an increase 13.1 point increase from last year.

Four others tallied greater than 50% of the vote, led by Jeff Bagwell, who fell a mere 15 votes shy of election.  Next was Tim Raines, who only has one more chance to boost his total from 69.8% to the required 75%.  Trevor Hoffman had a surprisingly strong showing in his first year, garnering 67.3% of the vote.  Finally, Curt Schilling showed a big improvement in his 4th year on the ballot, going from 39.2% to 52.3%.

The news continued to be bleak for the alleged PED users, as Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire, and Sammy Sosa still failed to gain entry.  McGwire, in his 10th year of eligibility, now falls off the ballot, as does former Tigers shortstop Alan Trammel.  13 others failed to reach 5% and will also fall off the ballot.

As for the newest Hall of Famers, I’ve seen Griffey play 37 times, mostly during his stint with the White Sox in 2008, including the ALDS against the Rays. I only saw Piazza play 7 times over the course of his career.

Ken Griffey Jr’s numbers in games I attended were:

Continue reading →

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Fitbit Week 48

Week48_FBThe last week of 2015 got off to a good, if infuriating, start as I was forced to make a return trip to the Apple Store to replace a bum laptop.  A winter storm kept me stuck inside the house on Monday, my only day below my goal throughout the week.  Tuesday bounced back, thanks in part to my efforts to remove snow from the driveway.  Wednesday and Thursday were pretty non-descript days, but 2015 came to an end with 3 straight days above my target.  2016 got off to a decent start on Friday, though it was my lowest total of the week save Monday.  Saturday was another decent day, thanks to a trip to the grocery store.

Total steps: 43,145

Daily average: 6163.6

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2015: The Year In Movies

Movie_Reel_22

2015 was a bit of a letdown after last year’s improvement in movie watching for me, with the vacation over the past 3 weeks of December helping to greatly boost my total.  I managed to watch 69 movies last year, 9 less than last year and my fourth consecutive year under 100.  Again, many things contributed to this, chiefly the insane amount of TV I’ve been watching, the greater effort made towards going out for walks, and the awful amount of time I spend either at work or getting to and from work.

Here’s a look back at the first 50 movies I did manage to watch last year and what recollection, if any, I have of them. The films are listed in the order I saw them.

Labor Day (2014)
A bit of a dud of a film and a poor way to start the year.

Bachelorette (2012)
This received nowhere near as much publicity as the similar themed Bridesmaids, but I enjoyed it much more.

The Last Exorcism Part II (2013)
Turns out I never saw the first one, which could explain why this made little sense to me.

The Factory (2012)
John Cusack and Jennifer Carpenter team up to do cop stuff.

Godzilla (2014)
A much better remake attempt than the Matthew Broderick endeavor in 1998.

Drinking Buddies (2013)
An interesting indie film about a Chicago brewery and the people that work there.

Life After Beth (2014)
The latest zombie rom-com.

Butter (2011)
Who knew butter carving could be so entertaining?

Devil’s Due (2014)
A newlywed becomes impregnated with a hellspawn.

Tusk (2014)
Kevin Smith’s latest makes me think it may be time for me to stop watching Kevin Smith films. Continue reading →

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Mariners All Time Leaders – Through 2015

marinersWith 3 months 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 Seattle Mariners.

The Mariners began life in 1977, joining the American League along with the Toronto Blue Jays. I’ve seen them play 30 times, including the final night game at the original Comiskey Park and the first 2 games of their sweep of the White Sox in the 2000 ALDS.

Home Runs

Name Total
Kyle Seager 4
Franklin Gutierrez 3
Richie Sexson 3

Hits

Name Total
Ichiro Suzuki 19
Michael Saunders 12
Raul Ibanez 11

Runs

Name Total
Ichiro Suzuki 8
Raul Ibanez 6
Michael Saunders 5
Jose Lopez 5

RBI

Name Total
Kyle Seager 8
Mike Cameron 8
Alvin Davis 7

Doubles

Name Total
Michael Saunders 3
6 tied with 2

Triples Continue reading →

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#120 – Tyler Flowers

tyler-flowers

Name: Tyler Flowers

Rank: 120

Position: C

Years With White Sox: 2009-2015

Tyler Flowers came to the White Sox following the 2008 season, acquired from the Braves, along with Jon Gilmore, Santos Rodriguez, and Brent Lillibridge, for Javier Vazquez and Boone Logan.  Flowers performed well in 2009, splitting time between Double A Birmingham and Triple A Charlotte, hitting .297 with 15 home runs.  He earned a call-up to the big leagues when rosters expanded on September 1, but his hot hitting did not follow.  He appeared in 10 games for the White Sox, hitting .188 without driving in a run.

Flowers opened the 2010 season back in Charlotte, where, unfortunately, his hitting woes continued.  Despite a .220 average, he got another late season call-up, this time garnering only 1 hit in 11 at bats.

Flowers returned to Charlotte to start the 2011 season, but returned to the big leagues in July when Ramon Castro went down with an injury.  Flowers got a chance to start every day in August when A.J. Pierzynski got hurt, enabling him to garner both his first home run and, later in the month, his first grand slam.

2012 saw Flowers break camp with the White Sox for the first time, becoming the backup to Pierzynski.  Appearing in 52 games, he managed to “raise” his average to .213, but saw his on base percentage fall below .300 for the first time in his short career.  Despite the troubling offensive performance he had put up to date, the White Sox decided it was time to let Flowers take control behind the plate and they allowed A.J. Pierzynski to leave as a free agent following the season.

As the starter in 2013, Flowers continued to struggle offensively, finishing with a batting average below .200, though a shoulder injury ended his season early, limiting him to 84 games.  With his shoulder recovered, he returned behind the plate as the primary receiver in 2014, appearing in 127 games and rebounding to a .241 average, though his OPS failed to break .700.

2015 was more of the same for Flowers, appearing in 112 games and struggling offensively, finishing with a .239 average and a weak .652 OPS.  Following the season, the White Sox decided not to tender him a contract for 2016, and his tenure on the south side came to an end one month ago.

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

Continue reading →

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Book 31 (of 52) – The Willow Files Vol 1

The Willow Files Vol 1 - Yvonne Navarro

The Willow Files Vol 1 – Yvonne Navarro

For what is likely my last book of the year, I went into the to-read drawer and pulled out this gem, a rehash of 3 episodes of Buffy The Vampire Slayer (“I, Robot… You, Jane”, “Phases”, and “Dead Man’s Party”) with a framing device of Willow writing in her journal.  The joy of reading these media tie-ins is to get a new adventure in a familiar setting.  Reading the plots of episodes that I’ve already seen seems somewhat pointless, but I’m sure was a way to churn out product back in the day.