With September, and Labor Day, upon us, this month’s photo takes us back to last summer’s trip to Disney World. We have Danny posing with Goofy during a character breakfast.
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#212 – J.J. Putz
Name: J. J. Putz
Rank: 212
Position: P
Year With White Sox: 2010
J.J. Putz joined the White Sox as a free agent on December 11, 2009. Following a disappointing year with the Mets, Putz was looking to rebuild his worth. As part of a rebuilt bullpen, Putz helped the White Sox to a second place finish in the AL Central. He set a franchise record on July 20 with his 25th consecutive scoreless outing. He finished the year with a 2.83 ERA in 60 appearances.
Following the year, Putz became a free agent and signed with the Diamondbacks, bringing his White Sox career to an end.
Putz’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:
He Gone?
News broke this morning that Ken “Hawk” Harrelson, the play by play man for White Sox television broadcasts since 1990, is considering cutting back next year, giving up road games to concentrate on the home schedule. Harrelson, who turns 73 next week, has a 4 hour commute (one way!) and reportedly would like to spend more time with his grandchildren, who are 10 and 7.
Harrelson is certainly a polarizing figure amongst White Sox fans, where just as many fans love his homer philosophy and corny catchphrases as hate them. As time has gone by, however, Harrelson’s routine has moved from being a broadcaster who used corny catchphrases to a spewer of corny catchphrases who occasionally broadcasts. Thanks to the recent Hall of Fame induction of Frank Thomas, we’ve been able to see many clips of Harrelson from the early 90s though the mid 2000s, and the difference between that announcer and the Harrelson we get today is striking.
Sooner or later, the White Sox are going to need to address their broadcast teams. Even if Harrelson decides to do a full slate next year, he will still turn 74 towards the end of the season. His partner, Steve Stone, will be 68 by the end of 2015. Radio play-by-play man Ed Farmer will be 65. At some point, fresh blood will be needed.
#213 – Billy Jo Robidoux
Name: Billy Jo Robidoux
Rank: 213
Position: 1B
Year With White Sox: 1989
Billy Jo Robidoux signed a minor league deal with the White Sox following the 1988 season and was a non-roster invitee to spring training in 1989. Despite hitting a robust .143 during Grapefruit League play, he managed to impress manager Jeff Torborg, who decided to add Robidoux to the roster and bring him north with the big league club. “I like Billy in pinch-hitting roles,” Torborg said. “He makes contact.”
To say Robidoux squandered his opportunity may be putting it lightly. He managed just 5 hits and 1 RBI in 39 at bats before being sent down to Triple A on May 7. He would not return. Following the season, he was allowed to leave the organization as a free agent.
Robidoux’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:
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GF4 – Week 7
Overall, a disappointing week with 3 days falling below the 5000 step mark. Nothing too out of the ordinary for the work week, with most days consisting of a trip over to North Plaza for coffee and exercise. Saturday included a trip down to Wrigley Field for an autograph session with superstar John Baker and 2 innings of baseball (before the rains came). Sunday’s total would lead one to believe I didn’t leave the house, but that measly total was thanks to a trip to the Rosemont Theatre for a reunion panel between Matt Smith and Karen Gillan.
Total steps: 36,628
Daily average: 5232.6
You Ought To Be In (26) Pictures
Many years ago, using the weekly TV guide that came with the Sunday Chicago Tribune, I started keeping track of all of the movies I had seen over the course of my lifetime. The guide would list the two main stars for each movie, and that is a tradition that I’ve carried on in my database ever since. So, given those guidelines, it is time to look at all of the actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of May 30th.
Today, we have our penultimate look at the 2 actors that have starred in 26 movies that I have seen.
Raymond Burr
Raymond Burr is a bit of an anomaly as every single one of his appearances have been TV movies where he has played the same character. In 1985, NBC brought back Perry Mason, Raymond Burr’s starring vehicle from the 50s and 60s, for a TV movie. The ratings were high enough to justify a recurring series of films, 26 in fact, over the next several years, ending in 1994 following Burr’s death the previous year.
Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage can also point to special circumstances behind his high film total: real estate issues and IRS trouble. After being accused of owing the government over $6.5 million in unpaid taxes and losing millions in bad real estate deals, Cage filed a $20 million lawsuit against his business manager and started taking any and every role offered to him. 6 of his films that I have seen have come since, including 4 in 2010 alone. My first exposure to a starring Cage role was likely 1987’s Raising Arizona. There have been 8 years since where I have seen multiple Cage films. I haven’t seen any Cage vehicles since 2012, when I saw the sparkling duo of Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance and Drive Angry.
2014 Emmy Awards – Drama
With the Emmy Awards scheduled for Monday night, it’s time for day three of my predictions for the awards. Today, we’re focusing on the awards for Dramas. I most likely have seen most of these shows, so, unlike my annual Oscar predictions, I will not mostly be going on gut feel and word of mouth, but will have a somewhat informed decision.
Outstanding Drama
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
House of Cards
Mad Men
True Detective
Well, so much for having seen most of these. True Detective was the only one of these nominees that I’ve seen. This is a tough call, but I imagine that the final season of Breaking Bad takes home the prize.
Outstanding Actress In A Drama
Lizzy Caplan, Masters of Sex
Claire Danes, Homeland
Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey
Julianne Margulies, The Good Wife
Kerry Washington, Scandal
Robin Wright, House of Cards
This past season of The Good Wife was spectacular, and a lot of that was due to Julianne Margulies. She should definitely take home the trophy, especially since Tatiana Maslany was overlooked again for her work in Orphan Black.
Outstanding Actor In A Drama
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Woody Harrelson, True Detective
Matthew McConaughey, True Detective
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards
My guess is that this is a person race, between Oscar-winner Matthew McConaughey and Bryan Cranston. I think this will be Breaking Bad‘s night once again, which means that Bryan Cranston will have another trophy to lord over the Adam Carollas of the world.
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2014 Emmy Awards – Reality and Movies
With the Emmy Awards scheduled for Monday night, here’s day two of my predictions for the awards, today focusing on reality shows and made for TV movies. I likely have seen not seen most (any?) of these, so I will probably not have an informed decision, but when has that ever stopped me.
Outstanding Reality Show Host
Jane Lynch, Hollywood Game Night
Betty White, Betty White’s Off Their Rockers
Tom Bergeron, Dancing With the Stars
Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn, Project Runway
Cat Deeley, So You Think You Can Dance
Anthony Bourdain, The Taste
Tom Bergeron has won this in the past, and that seems like as good a reason as any for him to win it again.
Outstanding Reality Show Competition
The Amazing Race
Dancing With the Stars
Project Runway
So You Think You Can Dance
Top Chef
The Voice
The Voice broke The Amazing Race‘s winning streak last year, but I’m thinking the CBS adventure show takes back the crown this year.
Outstanding Variety, Music, or Comedy Series
The Colbert Report
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
Jimmy Kimmel Live
The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon
Real Time With Bill Maher
Saturday Night Live
The Colbert Report broke through last year and wrestled the award away from his pals at TDS. Given that the show will be wrapping up soon so that Colbert can move over to CBS to take over for Letterman, I would think he will win another award as a going away gift.
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Wasted Potential
Gordon Beckham’s tenure on the south side came to an end yesterday when he was traded to the Angels for either a player to be named later or cash considerations. His White Sox career, which started with such great promise, had failed to meet expectations and has consistently struggled to hit consistently since his rookie year in 2009.
Beckham was the 8th pick of the 2008 draft and was rushed through the White Sox system. He made his major league debut on June 3, 2009, less than a year after being drafted. He struggled from the get go, going 2 for 28 in his first eight games, but rebounded to put up a .270 average with 14 home runs and 28 doubles while playing third base.
The future looked bright for Beckham entering the 2010 season as he moved over to second base. Unfortunately, he was unable to duplicate the success he had enjoyed the year before. Early struggles relegated him to the bottom of the lineup, but he was able to rebound somewhat, getting his average back up to .252. However, his OPS was down over 100 points from the year before.
2011 and 2012 saw Beckham’s offensive struggles continue. His average dropped to the .230s during both seasons and his OPS continued to fall. It seemed that he was finally putting things together in 2013, until he broke the hamate bone in his left wrist, which led to a career low in home runs and RBIs.
This year has been more of the same. At the time of the trade, his average was a career-low .221, while his paycheck had expanded to $4.5 million. He likely would have been moved prior to the trading deadline, but his offense cratered in July. My expectation was that he would be non-tendered this off-season anyway, so hopefully he can do something useful for the Angels and brings back something that will help the White Sox moving forward.
Beckham’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:
#214 – Dale Sveum
Name: Dale Sveum
Rank: 214
Position: SS
Year With White Sox: 1992
In 1992, when Ozzie Guillen went down for the season with a knee injury in late April and replacement Craig Grebeck broke his foot in August, the White Sox were looking for a replacement and swung a deal with the Phillies to acquire Dale Sveum in exchange for minor league pitcher Keith Shepherd.
Sveum appeared in 40 games down the stretch for the White Sox, hitting a robust .219. Following the season, he was allowed to leave as a free agent.
Sveum’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were: