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#121 – Chris Getz

getz

Name: Chris Getz

Rank: 121

Position: 2B

Years With White Sox: 2008-2009

Chris Getz was selected by the White Sox in the 6th round of the 2002 draft, but instead elected to attend Wake Forest.  3 years later, following a transfer to Michigan, Getz was again drafted by the White Sox, this time in the 4th round.  By 2008, Getz appeared in the Futures Game before making his major league debut on August 12 against the Royals.  He appeared in 10 games, but managed only 7 at bats for the year as the White Sox won the AL Central.

With Alexei Ramirez moving to shortstop in 2009, second base was left open for Getz and manager Ozzie Guillen awarded him the every day job coming out of spring training.  Getz led the league with a 92.6 stolen base percentage and tied for first among AL rookies with 28 multi-hit games.

Following the season, Getz, along with Josh Fields, was traded to the Royals for Mark Teahen.

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

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Marlins All Time Leaders – Through 2015

marlinsWith 4 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 Miami Marlins.

The Marlins began life in 1993, joining the National League along with the Rockies.  In 2012, they rebranded as the Miami Marlins in conjunction with the opening of their new, tax payer funded stadium in the city of Miami.  I’ve seen them play 25 times, including 3 victories during their unlikely triumph in the 2003 NLCS against the Cubs.

Home Runs

Name Total
Miguel Cabrera 4
Cody Ross 3
Dan Uggla 3
Ivan Rodriguez 3

Hits

Name Total
Miguel Cabrera 18
Luis Castillo 17
Juan Pierre 17

Runs

Name Total
Miguel Cabrera 14
Juan Pierre 13
Luis Castillo 10

RBI

Name Total
Miguel Cabrera 13
Ivan Rodriguez 10
Alex Gonzalez 9
Dan Uggla 9

Doubles

Name Total
Alex Gonzalez 6
Derrek Lee 3
9 tied with 2

Triples Continue reading →

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Fitbit Week 45

Week45_FB

A tremendous week, with my highest total since early October.  Things got off to an inauspicious start on Sunday, where I managed to pass my daily goal, but not by much.  My last work week of the year started on Monday, and was highly productive.  My worst day neared 8000 steps, while the other 3 all passed that mark.  Friday began my Christmas vacation and, thanks to some unseasonably warm weather, I was able to fit in a walk to the bank and back which put me over 9000 steps for the day.  Saturday combined a trip to the grocery store with some household chores, including the removal of my old TV from my office, to finish over 6000 steps.

Total steps: 54,065

Daily average: 7723.6

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Prolific Authors 2015

bookshelfWay back in December of 2011 and again in December of 2013, we took a look back at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 51 books from 42 different authors.  There shouldn’t be much movement over the past 2 years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span.  Once again, we will be limiting ourselves to the now 54 authors from whom I have read more than one book.

Author Name Current Total 2013 Total Difference
Nancy Holder 13 13 0
Greg Rucka 13 12 1

Greg Rucka moves into a tie for my most-prolific author, thanks to his latest which I read last year.  Assuming he stays on the same schedule, he should take the lead by himself sometime next year.

Christopher Golden 12 12 0
Stephen King 12 10 2

After years of being ignored, Stephen King adds 2 new titles to his total over the past 2 years.

Richard Castle 9 5 4
Brad Meltzer 9 8 1

The top 5 rounds out with Brad Meltzer and Richard Castle, who put up the largest increase in the last 2 years. Continue reading →

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Book 27 (of 52) – The Vanished Man

The Vanished Man - Jeffery Deaver

The Vanished Man – Jeffery Deaver

For the first time in 7 years, I returned to the universe of Lincoln Rhyme, the quadriplegic forensic consultant introduced by Jeffery Deaver in 1997’s The Bone Collector.  The Vanished Man is both the fifth in the series and the fifth entry I’ve read.  In it, Rhyme and his crew deal with an illusionist using magic to kill while leading the police on a wild goose chase in regards to his ultimate endgame.

I’ve always enjoyed Deaver’s work, but never quite enough to pay full price for it.  Other than The Bone Collector, which I read in paperback around the time the movie was released, his other works were either remaindered hard covers, which were bought for about 1/4 the original price, or, in the case of this book, an ebook had as part of Amazon’s daily deal.

Due to the nature of the protagonist, there are many twists and turns in this novel.  One could almost say too many, as they kept coming even after the mystery was wrapped up.  That said, it was entertaining and has got me interested enough to think about picking up more of the series.

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Yankees All Time Leaders – Through 2015

YankeesWith 4 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 New York Yankees.

The Yankees began life in 1901 as the Baltimore Orioles, moving to New York in time for the 1903 season.  I’ve seen them play 21 times, first in 1997 and most recently this past August.

Home Runs

Name Total
Marcus Thames 3
Nick Swisher 3
5 tied with 2

Hits

Name Total
Derek Jeter 18
Jorge Posada 15
Melky Cabrera 11

Runs

Name Total
Derek Jeter 10
Jorge Posada 6
Melky Cabrera 6
Robinson Cano 6
Nick Swisher 6

RBI

Name Total
Jorge Posada 10
Derek Jeter 9
Melky Cabrera 9

Doubles

Name Total
Jorge Posada 7
Melky Cabrera 4
Alfonso Soriano 4

Triples Continue reading →

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#122 – Kevin Tapani

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Name: Kevin Tapani

Rank: 122

Position: P

Year With White Sox: 1996

Kevin Tapani signed with the White Sox prior to the 1996 season.  He stepped into the starting rotation, appearing in 34 games, and put up a pedestrian 13-10 record with a 4.59 ERA.  Following the season, he left the White Sox as a free agent.

Tapani’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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Trippin’ On A Hole In A Paper Heart

scott-weilandThe polite thing to say would be that the world was shocked when news broke Friday morning that Scott Weiland, former lead singer for Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver, had died.  But the shock was not so much that Weiland had died, but that he had somehow managed to survive this long.  Weiland was 48 when he was found dead on a tour bus in Bloomington, Minnesota last week, with cocaine found near the body.

Weiland became a superstar in the early 90s as Stone Temple Pilots rode the wave of grunge with their hit albums Core and Purple.  His subsequent drug abuse led to rocky relations with his band mates and numerous arrests, causing numerous break-ups.  During one of those, he joined with former members of Guns N’ Roses to form the supergroup Velvet Revolver, before leaving the group to rejoin with STP.

Weiland leaves behind two children, who seemingly had no relationship with the singer, and a musical legacy marred by the demons that ultimately took his life.

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Fitbit Week 44

Week44_FBA nice bounce back week after the disappointment of Thanksgiving week.  Things got off to a good start on Sunday, the last day of my Thanksgiving vacation.  Monday was time to return to work and lead to a string of good days, save Wednesday, as has become the custom.  Wednesday turned out to be the one disappointing day of the week, failing to reach the 5500 step mark.  Friday started another long weekend, one where I was left alone with Danny while everyone else was off at skating and swimming events.

Total steps: 46,352

Daily average: 6621.7

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Blue Jays All Time Leaders – Through 2015

jaysnewWith 4 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 Toronto Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays began life in 1977, joining the American League along with the Mariners. I’ve seen them play 20 times, first in 1984 and most recently at their home stadium in September during my trip to Toronto.

Home Runs

Name Total
Edwin Encarnacion 2
Josh Donaldson 2
10 tied with 1

Hits

Name Total
Vernon Wells 16
Edwin Encarnacion 8
Reed Johnson 8
Jose Bautista 8

Runs

Name Total
Vernon Wells 7
Reed Johnson 4
Jose Reyes 4
Aaron Hill 4

RBI

Name Total
Jose Bautista 8
Lyle Overbay 6
Vernon Wells 5
Adam Lind 5

Doubles

Name Total
Vernon Wells 6
Jose Bautista 4
Lyle Overbay 3
Adam Lind 3

Triples Continue reading →