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#228 – Jeff Abbott

jeffabbott

Name: Jeff Abbott

Rank: 228

Position: OF

Years With White Sox: 1997-2000

Jeff Abbott was drafted by the White Sox in the 32nd round of the 1993 draft, but didn’t sign.  The White Sox took another chance on him the following year, selecting him in the 4th round, and this time he signed on.  Abbott rose quickly through the minor league system, making his major league debut nearly 3 years to the day he first signed with the White Sox, grounding out against Andy Pettite of the Yankees.  He would return to the big league club for the rest of the season in September, appearing in 19 games and batting .263.

1998 saw Abbott as the White Sox 4th outfielder, where he performed adequately offensively, but was a butcher in the field, finishing the year with a .971 fielding percentage.  Abbott got off to a slow start in 1999, hitting only .158 over the season’s first month, which resulted in his return to the minor leagues, where he would remain for the rest of the year.

In 2000, Abbott returned to the big leagues and regained his hitting stroke, but lost the power he had shown earlier.  He saw his first post-season action in game 2 of the Division Series against the Mariners, which the White Sox lost in 3 games.  Following the season, Abbott was sent to the Marlins in exchange for Julio Ramirez, and his White Sox career came to an end.

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

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Post Mortem – Mind Games

mindgames-676x250I’ve been a fan of Christian Slater dating back to 1988’s Heathers.  Unlike most, I have enjoyed his recent forays into television, including My Own Worst Enemy, The Forgotten, and Breaking In.  I’m also a fan of Steve Zahn.  That said, putting the two together in this vehicle so the two could shout at each other did not result in a winning formula, which is why ABC pulled Mind Games off the air after only 5 episodes.

Mind Games was the tale of a bi-polar human psychology genius teaming up with his ex-con brother to start a new business where they use the “real science of human motivation and manipulation” to solve the problems of their clients.  Not a great concept, but with two likeable stars, alongside reliable bit players like Megalyn Echikunwoke and Jaime Ray Newman, the show earned a spot in my rotation when it premiered in February.  Unfortunately, with all of the screaming, things never really came together.

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GlobalFit III: Week 46

Y3Week46Well, a good week was on the books from Monday through Friday, then the weekend kind of put the kibosh on things.  The work week all came in over the 6000 mark, with Friday coming in closer to 9000 thanks to the trip to Naperville for the Adam Carolla book signing.  Saturday and Sunday both involved trips down to the Cell for exciting baseball, but neither day was spectacular despite taking the ramps both days.

Total steps: 42,216

Weekly average: 6030.9

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Concert Flashback: Garfunkel & Oates

13gando

As I detailed somewhat last October, Garfunkel and Oates were coming to town.  I had made plans to attend with two friends from work, but they dragged their feet on getting back to me and all of the seated tickets were sold out.  When they found out we would have to *gasp* stand for the show, they bailed, leaving me with 2 extra tickets.  Seeing as it was the start of my birthday weekend, I decided to head down to the Abbey Pub without them and enjoy myslef as much as I could.  And enjoy myself I did.

20131201-205308.jpg The show started with a comic whose name escapes me at this point.  Once he finished his set, the girls came out and did their thing, mixing banter between themselves with their comedic songs.  In addition to the “hits” from their existing albums, they performed some of their newer songs, including Bernadette’s Song, which they wrote and had debuted on The Big Bang Theory the night before, and God’s Loophole, an exciting ditty about anal sex.

Once the show finished, both Riki Lindhome and Kate Micucci came out to sign autographs and take pictures.  I got their autograph on one of my three tickets for the night and got my picture taken with both of them, which has been my Facebook profile picture ever since.  If they were to ever come back to town, I would definately go see them again.  Meanwhile, I’ll look forward to their IFC show, which should be coming out sometime this year.

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#229 – Eric King

ericking

Name: Eric King

Rank: 229

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1989-1990

Eric King came to the White Sox towards the end of spring training in 1989 in the trade that sent future GM Kenny Williams to the Tigers.  King joined the rotation and pitched well, starting 25 games and finishing with a 9-10 record and a 3.39 ERA for a White Sox team that finished 29 games out of first place.

In 1990, the final season at old Comiskey Park, King helped the White Sox achieve an epic turnaround from the year before, as the team improved their record by 25 wins.  His record improved to 12-4 in 25 starts and he finished the year with a career-low 3.28 ERA.

Following the season, the White Sox packaged King with fellow pitcher Shawn Hillegas in a trade to the Indians that would bring slugger Cory Snyder to the south side.

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

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Concert Flashback: Garbage IV

12garbageWith the Cubs on the road, I was able find parking across from Wrigley Field well before the start of the show, Garbage’s first in Chicago in 7 years.  Prior to heading downtown to meet Tina for dinner prior to the show, I walked past the Metro just in time to see Shirley Manson and Butch Vig mingling with the fans, signing autographs and taking pictures.

In the less than 2 years since this show, I have lost any and all thoughts about White Mystery, the opening act.  We showed up in the middle of their performance following a delightful dinner at the Weber Grill.  Once they finished, Garbage came out and, led by Manson, put on a riveting 90 minute show that combined the bands hits from the past 17 years along with songs from their newest effort.

The night was hot, and not just because of the music or Manson.  By the end of the show, my shirt was completely soaked through.  But it was worth it.  While I missed their return performance the following spring, I’m looking forward to them coming back to Chicago once again and dragging my old self out to see them, reliving my youth for an evening.

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The CW Upfronts

arrow-keyart-closeupWith only 10 hours of programming per week, and most of that aimed directly at pre-teen girls, the CW doesn’t have much to talk about as they unveil their fall schedule.  DC gets another show on the schedule with Flash, spun off from Arrow, which will air Tuesday nights and lead in to the 47th season of Supernatural.  Speaking of Arrow, it stays where it is on Wednesday.  And that’s about it.

Waiting for mid-season is yet another DC adaptation, iZombie, brought to us by Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas.

And thus endeth our look at the 2014 upfronts.

 

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#230 – Don Slaught

Don Slaught (1996 White Sox)

Name: Don Slaught

Rank: 230

Position: C

Year With White Sox: 1996

Don Slaught joined the White Sox via an August 31, 1996 trade with the Angels in exchange for a player to be named later.  With the White Sox battling for a playoff spot, and catcher Ron Karkovice suffering from a sore knee, they needed another catcher to take the load off of Pat Borders, who had also been acquired from the Angels earlier in the year.

He appeared in 14 games in the final month, batting .250, as the White Sox fell out of contention, finishing 3 games out of the wild card race.  Following the year, Slaught left as a free agent.

Slaught’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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CBS Upfronts

PersonOfInterestRelevance1CBS, which fell behind NBC in the battle for 18-49 year olds thanks to the NFL and Olympics, mixed up their schedule for the fall at their upfront presentation this week.  After inking a deal to simulcast 8 weeks of Thursday Night Football, The Big Bang Theory will temporarily move back to Mondays, bumping 2 Broke Girls off the schedule until November.  Katharine McPhee stars in Scorpion, which will take the 8:00 hour.

Person of Interest stays where it is on Tuesday and Criminal Minds continues on Wednesdays.  Kevin Williamson brings a new drama, Stalker, to Wednesday featuring Dylan McDermott and Maggie Q.  Once the football commitment ends at the end of October, BBT and Elementary return to Thursdays.  The Amazing Race moves to Fridays, where it will be followed by holdovers Hawaii 5-0 and Blue Bloods.  The Good Wife continues on Sundays, where it will be joined be OG CSI and Tea Leoni’s new show, Madam Secretary.

The Mentalist will start off on the bench, along with a new version of The Odd Couple, starring Matthew Perry and Thomas Lennon.  Missing altogether is How I Met Your Dad, the “spinoff” of How I Met Your Mother that seemed like a shoe-in to get picked up.