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Midseason Review – Mondays

old-tv-set1Day 2 of our look back at my thoughts on the new fall television season and what is new for the winter and spring.

7:00

The Big Bang Theory – CBS spent $275 million to broadcast 8 Thursday night NFL games, so The Big Bang Theory moves back to Mondays until late October.  The show continues to be a ratings powerhouse, so hopefully the move doesn’t shake things up too much.

Now that the football season is over, the show has moved back to Thursdays, so I will save my comments for then.

2 Broke Girls – Once The Big Bang Theory returns to its Thursday perch, 2 Broke Girls will return to the Monday slot it inherited last spring from How I Met Your Mother.  At this point, the show is what it is, so there is no point on hoping that the writers move away from their lowest common denominator form of comedy.  As long as Beth Behrs and Kat Dennings continue to charm, I will continue to watch.  But their charms only go so far.

At this point, there is no sense in hoping that the show becomes more than what it already is.  As I said in the fall, the charms of Beth Behrs and Kat Dennings are really the only reason to keep watching.

Gotham – FOX gets in the superhero game with this Batman prequel, set in the days just after a young Bruce Wayne has witnessed the death of his parents.  The show has been sold as more of the Gotham police force dealing with the criminals that will one day become Batman’s fiercest foes.

After a rocky start, the show came around to be a pretty solid entry in the super hero universe.

8:00

Sleepy Hollow – I am going to be completely honest and say I don’t really remember much about the first season of this show, other than it was a little crazy and it didn’t exactly grab me as much as it seemigly did everyone else.  I guess I’ll stick around until/unless I find something to take its place.

I let the first half of the season pile up on the DVR before burning through them mostly in November.  The show is kind of crazy, and I did seem to enjoy it when I watched a paid attention.  Otherwise, it is still a bit of a blur.

Jane The Virgin – The first CW pilot in years to not feature either vampires or superheroes is an adaptation of a Venezuelen telenovela.  Early reports are that it is one of the better pilots of the fall, so I guess I can give it a shot.

I’ve been impressed with the show so far, but I can tell that the novelty will wear off rather quickly.

9:00 Continue reading →

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Midseason Review – Sundays

old-tv-set1With the advent of winter premieres, the start of the premium cable network shows, and with February sweeps around the corner, it’s time to revisit my thoughts from the beginning of the season and look ahead at what’s to come for Sunday nights.

7:00

Once Upon A Time – The fairy tale show is back for season 4, after an uptick in quality during the past season.  With little else in competition, I see no reason not to continue turning in.

The first half of the season was a shameless attempt at cashing in on the Frozen phenomenon.  We shall see what the producers have up their sleeve for the spring.

7:30

Brooklyn Nine-Nine – FOX has moved its breakout comedy hit from Tuesday nights, where it was ill-matched with New Girl and The Mindy Project.  Now it will compete along side more like minded, if animated, comedies.

The show still has a tendency to treat Andy Samberg’s character as too much of a simpleton to be taken seriously as a successful detective, but, beyond that, it is still bringing the funny.

8:00

Resurrection – ABC’s tale of what happens when the dead start to return, as though nothing had happened, became the surprise hit of the spring.  The mystery of why seems to be a big part of the show, so I imagine they will need to tackle that sooner rather than later, and I can’t imagine how they can come up with something reasonable.

The show is burning through its cast of characters, and hasn’t really addressed much of the mythology behind the how and why the dead have returned.  I still think they will need to do so soon.

The Good Wife – More like the Great Wife, if you catch my drift.  Rarely do you see a show hit a creative high point in season 5, but that is exactly what The Good Wife did last season.  The status quo was upset once again in the season finale, so it will be interesting to see things play out once again.

Interesting point about the show: Julianna Margulies and Archie Panjabi have not shared a scene together since episode 14 of season 4, which aired on February 17, 2013.

The Newsroom – HBO’s and Aaron Sorkin’s take on 24 hour cable news returns for a third and final season, dealing with the fallout of last season’s faked story storyline.

The show, and possibly Aaron Sorkin’s television career, wrapped up in December after a final season dealing with a fake Edward Snowden and the real Edward Snowden.

Homeland – The fourth season gives the show a fresh start, with Brody finally dead.  Time will tell if they are able to pull out of the talespin that overextending the Brody story put them in to.

When dealing with CIA spy stuff in Islamabad, the show was as good as its ever been.  When dealing with Carrie’s personal life, opinions diverged.

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Let’s Play Two

295-banks-e-05-70cA week before his 84th birthday, Ernie Banks passed away Friday.  Nicknamed Mr. Cub, Banks, who was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1977, played his entire 19 year career with the Cubs, earning back-to-back MVP honors in 1958 and 1959.  When he retired following the 1971 season, he ranked 9th all-time in home runs, with 512.

Never seen without a smile on his face, Banks became a team ambassador after his playing days.  He unexpectedly missed last weekend’s Cub Convention, which led to speculation that he must be ill.  I never had the opportunity to meet the man, which is a shame since, by all accounts, he was twice the man that he was a player.

As work continues on the renovation of Wrigley Field, installing video screens for the first time, it is somewhat ironic that one of the first things to be shown on those screen will be a tribute to the player who poularized the building’s nickname as the Friendly Confines.

RIP Ernie Banks.

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#174 – Orlando Cabrera

072008-Cabrera-03Name: Orlando Cabrera

Rank: 174

Position: SS

Year With White Sox: 2008

On November 19, 2007, Orlando Cabrera was traded to the White Sox from the Angels in exchange for Jon Garland.  The thinking was that Cabrera, fresh off a Gold Glove season, would help to stabilize the left side of the infield.  Unfortunately, stabilize is not quite what he did.

In May, Cabrera made waves by calling the press box to complain about two errors that were charged against him.  When questioned about the calls, Cabrera claimed that he had no choice as manager Ozzie Guillen was not supporting him.

In July, he got in to a dugout confrontation with Jermaine Dye over stealing third base while Dye was at bat.  Cabrera had to be restrained by Jose Contreras before the argument spilled in to the clubhouse.

As September was coming to an end, and the White Sox were the Twins for the AL Central title, Cabrera again became a distraction, this time calling out his teammates for not having the right attitude going in to games.  A little more than a week later, Cabrera tried to start something with Ray’s pitcher Grant Balfour in the 7th inning of game 1 of the ALDS.  Down 6-3 with the bases loaded and 2 out, Cabrera, for reasons that I’m sure made sense to him, took exception to an outside pitch, causing a bit of a brouhaha.  Once tempers calmed, Balfour struck out Cabrera and the Rays went on to win the game, and, eventually, the series, ending Cabrera’s tenure with the White Sox.  He left as a free agent after the season.

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

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#175 – Adam Russell

Name: Adam Russell

Rank: 175

Position: P

Year With White Sox: 2008

Adam Russell joined the White Sox as their 6th round draft pick in 2004.  He was called up to the major leagues in early May, 2008, but did not make it into a game before being returned to the minor leagues.  He returned and finally made his major league debut on June 17, pitching a perfect inning in the White Sox 16-5 drubbing of the Pirates.

As the year continued, Russell bounced back and forth between the White Sox bullpen and Triple A.  He finished the year with a 4-0 record and a 5.19 ERA in 22 appearances.  He was left off the playoff roster as the White Sox lost the ALDS to the Rays.

Russell spent all of 2009 in Triple A until July 31, when he was traded, along with Dexter Carter, Aaron Poreda, and Clayton Richard, to the Padres in exchange for Jake Peavy.

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

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GF4 – The Final Week

Y4Week28Last week was supposed to be the end of the Global Fit era, with the program due to shut down on Friday.  However, the trackers kept on tracking and the website was still operating through yesterday, so we were able to finish off one final week.  My totals for Monday and Tuesday of this week, sadly, are now lost forever.

As for last week, my string of 6000 step days ended on Tuesday at 8, my string of 5500 step days ended Friday (by a measly 168 steps) at 11, and my string of 5000 step days ended the following day at 12, thanks to another lousy weekend.

Total steps: 34,608

Daily average: 4944

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Book 2 (of 52) – Ball Four

Ball Four - Jim Bouton

Ball Four – Jim Bouton

The year was 1969, and an aging pitcher, trying to reinvent himself as a knuckleballer, chronicles the ups and downs of his season with the expansion Seattle Pilots in this seminal baseball book.  Jim Bouton broke all the rules by telling the real stories about what happens in behind the clubhouse doors and, in the process, ruffles some feathers and finds himself blackballed from the game he loves.

Bouton gives a day by day account of his year with the newly christened Seattle Pilots, starting in spring training and taking us through the long season, including his late August trade to the Astros.  This edition includes epilogues from the 10 year anniversary, which covered his comeback attempt in 1978 with Ted Turner and the Braves, the 20 year anniversary, and the 30 year anniversary, covering the death of his daughter and his finally being invited back to Old Timers Day with the Yankees.

45 years after its initial release, some of the shocks are no longer shocking.  There have been plenty of tell-all books since, but this was the first.  As a baseball fan, I’m surprised I never read this earlier.  Now, I’m glad that I did, not just for Bouton’s story, but for the chronicling of the Pilots one and only season.

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Top 200 Albums – #65 – 73

itunes_imageMy latest desktop computer arrived in late 2007, at which point I transitioned all of my music off of my laptop. 2 iPods, 3 iPhones, and an iPad later, that computer is still my main repository of music, with iTunes updating its stats every time I listen to something.

Having already gone through cassette tapes and CDs, and digital music, it’s time to roll everything up with the Top 200 albums whose songs I’ve listened to as of September 2014, according to iTunes. Today, we crack the top 70, looking at the 9 albums that rank between 73 and 65 with 46 to 51 listens.

#65: David Cross – It’s Not Funny
iTunes stats: 51 plays
This 2004 comedy album from David Cross would be significantly higher if I were to sync my old phone again, as I have listened to it while falling asleep plenty of times.

#65: Various Artists – Millennium Hip-Hop Party Vol. 2
iTunes stats: 51 plays
7 tracks, from artists like Coolio, Naughty By Nature, and Paperboy, make up the total for this turn-of-the-century compilation.

#67: Tegan and Sara – Sainthood
iTunes stats: 50 plays
11 of the 13 tracks on this album make up the total.

#68: Various Artists – The First 1000 Years- Rock
iTunes stats: 48 plays
7 songs, from artists like The Breeders, Everclear, and Jane’s Addiction, make upthe total for this MTV sponsored compilation.

#68: Van Halen – The Best Of Both Worlds
iTunes stats: 48 plays
This greatest hits compilation makes the list thanks to 8 tracks, split between David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar.

#70: Various Artists – Private Parts: The Album
iTunes stats: 47 plays
The soundtrack to Howard Stern’s love letter to his now ex-wife uses 6 tracks, 2 of which are clips from the movie, to make up its total.

#70: The Beatles – Past Masters, Vol. 1 [2009 Stereo Remaster]
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No Place To Sit

B7lCcWaCcAAeiq8To the surprise of nobody not wearing blue and red-colored glasses, the Cubs announced yesterday that the rebuild of the bleachers, being done to support the new video boards and outfield signage that is key to the renovations of Wrigley Field, will not be complete by opening day.  Or anytime soon after.

The current plan, announced during the Cubs Convention, is for the left field bleachers to be ready by the May 11 game against the Mets, the start of a 7 game homestand.  The right field bleachers are not expected to be open until late May.  While they are not part of the renovations, the center field bleachers will not open until the left field portion is available, due to safety concerns.

Assuming they meet the new deadlines, there will be 15 games, including the nationally broadcast opening night game against the Cardinals, that will be without any bleachers whatsoever.  If the right field bleachers open for the Memorial Day game against Nationals, that would mean the Cubs will play 22 home games, over 27% of the season, without their full capacity.

Season ticket holders in the bleachers will be given the option of getting a refund for the missed games, getting credit for future ticket purchases, or relocating to the main seating bowl.  Single game tickets will not be sold for those 15 games.

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#176 – Greg Norton

nortonName: Greg Norton

Rank: 176

Position: 3B

Years With White Sox: 1996-2000

Greg Norton was the 2nd round draft choice of the White Sox in 1993.  He made his major league debut on August 10, 1996, appearing as a pinch runner for Harold Baines in the 8th inning of the White Sox 8-7 loss against the Brewers.  The next night, he got hits in his first 2 plate appearances against the Tigers.  He appeared in only 11 games for the big league club that year, finishing with a .217 average.

He returned to Triple A Nashville in 1997 and made another token appearance with the White Sox.  He appeared in 18 games this time, putting up a .265 average in his limited playing time.

Norton stuck with the big league club in 1998, appearing in 132 games, mostly at first base as Frank Thomas transitioned to strictly being a DH.  In his first shot at extensive playing time, Norton struggled, hitting a lowly .237 with only 9 home runs and 36 RBI.

When Robin Ventura left as a free agent, Norton became the team’s starting third baseman in 1999.  He improved his average to .255 and hit 16 home runs while driving in 50.  Norton ran into some problems trying to replace a legend, as he was subjected to taunts from the fans.  Things boiled over in early September, when he committed 2 errors in one inning, leading to chants of “We want Robin” from the crowd.  Norton responded by hitting his second homer of the game, glaring at the fans as he ran to first and bowing to the crowd after crossing home plate.

2000 saw the White Sox run away with the Central Division title, but things continued to not go well for Norton.  His playing time diminished, and he was sent back to Triple A for a bit.  He finished the year with a .244 average, hitting only 6 home runs with 28 RBI.  Norton was left off the playoff roster in place of, ironically, Harold Baines, the same player he pinch ran for to start his career 5 years earlier.  Following the season, Norton was allowed to leave the organization as a free agent.

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

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