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A’s All Time Leaders – Through 2015

oakland-athleticsWith 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 Oakland Athletics.

The A’s began life in Philadelphia in 1901, as one of the 8 charter franchises of the American League, before moving to Kansas City in 1955 and, finally, to Oakland in 1968.  I’ve seen them play at least 20 times, including twice in their home stadium.

Home Runs

Name Total
Jason Giambi 3
Ramon Hernandez 2
Matt Stairs 2
Jonny Gomes 2
Frank Thomas 2

Hits

Name Total
Miguel Tejada 7
Rajai Davis 7
Emil Brown 7

Runs

Name Total
Coco Crisp 5
Emil Brown 4
Jason Giambi 4

RBI

Name Total
Ramon Hernandez 5
5 tied with 4

Doubles

Name Total
Coco Crisp 3
6 tied with 2

Triples Continue reading →

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#123 – Clayton Richard

richard

Name: Clayton Richard

Rank: 123

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 2008-2009

Clayton Richard was selected by the White Sox in the 8th round of the 2005 draft.  He made his major league debut on July 23, 2008, starting and going 4 innings in the White Sox 10-8 victory over the Rangers.  He ended up pitching in 13 games that year, starting 8, as the White Sox took home the division crown.  He made 2 appearances during the division series against the Rays, giving up 1 run in 6 1/3 innings pitched.

Richard started the 2009 season in the bullpen, before eventually moving in to the starting rotation.  He would make 14 starts before the trade deadline, when he, along with Dexter Carter, Aaron Poreda, and Adam Russell, was traded to the Padres for Jake Peavy.

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

Continue reading →

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Dodgers All Time Leaders – Through 2015

dodgersWith 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 Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Dodgers began life in Brooklyn in 1883, moving to their current home on the west coast , along with their rival Giants, in 1957.  I’ve seen them play 19 times, including the first two games of their 2008 NLDS sweep against the Cubs.

Home Runs

Name Total
Matt Kemp 2
James Loney 2
Manny Ramirez 2

Hits

Name Total
James Loney 20
Matt Kemp 14
Russell Martin 14

Runs

Name Total
James Loney 12
Russell Martin 8
Rafael Furcal 8

RBI

Name Total
James Loney 12
Matt Kemp 9
Casey Blake 7

Doubles

Name Total
James Loney 5
Matt Kemp 3
Juan Pierre 3

Triples Continue reading →

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Fitbit Week 43

Week43_FBA snowstorm, an injured foot, and the Thanksgiving holiday combined to produce my worst week since the end of 2014.  Things got off to an awfully bad start on Sunday, where the remnants of the previous day’s snowstorm plus unseasonably cold temperatures kept me in the house all day.  Things rebounded, both step wise and weather wise, on Monday and Tuesday, but I somehow hurt my right foot, leading to Wednesday once again falling below my goal.  Thursday just managed to squeak by my 5500 step goal, despite being Thanksgiving.  Friday and Saturday fell back down below the goal, ending the week on a sour note.

Total steps: 31,978

Daily average: 4568.3

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Book 26 (of 52) – Driving Heat

Richard Castle - Driving Heat

Driving Heat – Richard Castle

The latest Nikki Heat novel, from the Nathan Fillion-portrayed author from the television show Castle, arrives with Heat taking over as captain of her precinct, just as Kate Beckett, as played by Stana Katic, has on the show.  She teams once again with Jameson Rook, now her fiance, to figure out who is killing a group of whistle blowers and the NYPD shrink.  After the case is solved, Heat and Rook get married, just as Castle and Beckett did.

As usual, Castle, or the mystery writer using the television character as a pen name, delivers an entertaining tale for fans of the television series.  I don’t know how much one would get out of these novels if you didn’t also enjoy the show, as there are a lot of in-jokes and allusions to the characters and actors, but it is a fun trip for those who do like the show.  I’m not sure if there will be more in this series, as the show’s ratings aren’t stellar in its 8th season, so this may have been the swan song for Mr. Castle.  If so, he’s gone out on a high note.

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Padres All Time Leaders – Through 2015

Padres-Friars-LogoWith 5 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 San Diego Padres.

The Padres began life in 1969, joining the National League along with the Montreal Expos.  I’ve seen them play 18 times at 5 different ballparks, first in 1985 at Wrigley Field and, most recently, 2014 at US Cellular Field.

Home Runs

Name Total
Adrian Gonzalez 2
Ramon Hernandez 2
Mike Cameron 2
Khalil Greene 2

Hits

Name Total
Ryan Klesko 9
Sean Burroughs 9
Brian Giles 8

Runs

Name Total
Adrian Gonzalez 7
Mark Loretta 5
Ramon Hernandez 4
Mike Cameron 4

RBI

Name Total
Khalil Greene 8
Ramon Hernandez 6
Ryan Klesko 6

Doubles

Name Total
Ryan Klesko 3
Adrian Gonzalez 3
Will Venable 3

Triples Continue reading →

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#124 – Darren Lewis

dlewis

Name: Darren Lewis

Rank: 124

Position: OF

Years With White Sox: 1996-1997

Following the 1995 season, Darren Lewis signed with the White Sox as a free agent.  He became the team’s primary center fielder for 1996, but struggled.  He finished the year with a career-worst .228 batting average.

Lewis looked to bounce back in 1997, but it was not to be.  Manager Terry Bevington named Dave Martinez the starter prior to the first spring training game, and the emergence of rookie Mike Cameron pushed him further back on the bench, used mostly late in games for defensive purposes.  By August 26, he had started only 19 games all season, and his average had barely improved over the year before, to .234.  The next day, Lewis was traded to the Dodgers for a player to be named later, who would turn out to be Chad Fonville.

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

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#125 – Ron Hassey

hassey

Name: Ron Hassey

Rank: 125

Position: C/DH

Years With White Sox: 1986-1987

Ron Hassey was originally acquired by the White Sox, along with Joe Cowley, in a December 1985 trade with the Yankees for Britt Burns and some minor leaguers.  Two months later, just as pitchers and catchers were about to report to spring training, he was traded back to the Yankees, along with Matt Winters and 2 other minor leaguers, for Neil Allen, Scott Bradley, a minor leaguer, and cash.  5 months later, at the trade deadline, he was acquired again by the White Sox, along with Carlos Martinez and a player to be named later, for Ron Kittle, Joel Skinner, and Wayne Tolleson.  Hassey put up good numbers over the last 2 months of 1986, hitting .353 in 49 games, driving in 22 runs and scoring 20 himself.

Following off-season knee surgery, Hassey was limited in 1987.  He once again appeared in 49 games for the White Sox, but this time saw his average fall to .214.  Once the season came to an unsatisfactory end, for both Hassey and the White Sox, he became a free agent.

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

Continue reading →

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Book 25 (of 52) – The Girl In The Spider’s Web

The Girl In The Spider's Web - David Lagercrantz

The Girl In The Spider’s Web – David Lagercrantz

More than 10 years after Stieg Larsson’s death and 5 years since the last installment of the Millennium trilogy, Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist return in a new adventure penned by David Lagercrantz.  After a long battle between Larsson’s estate, headed by his father and brother, and his girlfriend, who claims to posses an unfinished fourth manuscript by Larsson, the estate was given the go ahead to hire a new author to carry on Larsson’s series.  The Girl In The Spider’s Web is the first effort under that arrangement.

It’s been over 4 years since I read The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest, so the characters, and Larsson’s feel for them, were not at the top of my mind.  That said, Lagercrantz’s portrayal of Salander felt a little off, though he certainly tried to cover it by limiting the chapters told from her point of view.  The other characters, especially noted journalist Blomkvist, are more in sync with their previous incarnations.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy the book, because I did, but it did feel a little off.  It felt like there was 300 pages of setup with only 100 of payoff.  That said, it couldn’t have been easy for Lagercrantz to step in to Larsson’s shoes and, given the monetary success of this outing, there is bound to be another one.  Hopefully his grasp of the characters improves and helps provide an even better outing.