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Midseason Review – Sundays

With 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.

Now, let’s see what interesting tidbits are coming this spring:

Suits: L.A. – A spinoff of the old USA Network series, which became a big hit on Netflix in 2023.

Grosse Pointe Garden Society – Starring Melissa Fumero and Aja Naomi King as members of a suburban gardening club that share a murderous secret.

The White Lotus – The show returns to HBO for its third season, with Leslie Bibb and Carrie Coon in tow.

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Ballpark Tour: Tigers

Spring training is right around the corner as we continue our tour of all of the baseball stadiums I’ve been to over the years. Today we travel northeast to Michigan for the baseball homes of the Detroit Tigers. Between the two stadiums that have been located in Motown, I’ve seen 3 games. So, without further ado, let’s take a deeper look at my history with Tiger Stadium and Comerica Park.

Stadium Name: Tiger Stadium

Years in Service: 1912 – 1999

Visits: 1

Tiger Stadium opened as Navin Field on April 20, 1912, the same date as Boston’s Fenway Park.  It would serve as the home of the Tigers until the final game on September 27, 1999, an 8-2 Tiger victory over the Royals.

My one and only trip to Tiger Stadium was during its final season, on August 2, 1999, when rookie Kip Wells made his major league debut for the White Sox, picking up the win in the victory against the Tigers.  The stadium reminded me of the old Comiskey Park, with the dark ramps and tunnels leading out to the glorious green of the field.

Stadium Name: Comerica Park

Years in Service: 2000 – Present

Visits: 2

After 87 seasons at Tiger Stadium, the Tigers opened their new stadium in 2000 on a snowy afternoon against the Mariners.  In contrast to Tiger Stadium, which had been considered one of the most hitter-friendly parks in baseball, Comerica Park is considered to be extremely friendly to pitchers.  After years of irrelevance, the new stadium was one step leading the Tigers back to contention, which they achieved in 2006, making the World Series and being in the hunt more often than not ever since.

The White Sox were 3.5 games behind the Twins for the AL Central lead heading into a Labor Day holiday series against the Tigers in 2010.  After they split the first 2 games of the series, I decided to head up to Detroit to take in the final two games, my first trip to Comerica Park.  I had booked a room at the Caesars hotel and casino in Windsor, so I drove up to Canada and checked in prior to the night’s game back in Detroit.  I booked a round trip on a bus back to the US which dropped me off near the park, where I took in the Tigers 5-1 victory.  The next afternoon, I drove back to Detroit and stopped for the afternoon’s series finale, which the Tigers once again won.

The stadium itself was a vast improvement over Tiger Stadium.  For the first game, I sat in the upper deck behind home plate and had a good view of the entire field.  For the second game, I was right behind the White Sox dugout, which, while a bit pricey, did provide another nice view.  The only disappointment, besides the play of the south siders, was the food.  Since the Tigers owner also owns Little Caesars pizza, that is the food that is available.  I remember making it through a few bites before leaving the pizza underneath my seat for whoever wanted it.

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Fitbit Year 10

A year ago, I set a goal of 2,730,000 steps, an average of 7500 steps per day. Thanks to a combination of old age and my weight finally getting the better of me, I fell quite a bit short of my challenge, finishing well more than a million steps behind with only 1,540,581, the sixth straight year I’ve failed to surpass my yearly goal.  My average step total per week was 29,626.56, which comes out to about 4232.4 steps per day. The median weekly step total was 29,185.  My best week was Week 26, which just so happened to correspond with my trip to see Val in Amsterdam, propelling me to only 49,240 steps for the week.  My worst week was Week 28, where work woes took a toll.

For reasons I don’t completely understand, I’m going to keep things as is for the upcoming year, now that I have finally managed to stop the downward trend, if only slightly.  I am leaving my goal for steps per day at 7500, which would again bring me to a yearly total of 2,730,000 steps. Hopefully this seventh attempt is the one that sticks.

Also, as you may recall, Google, the parent company of Fitbit, has done away with the web interface completely and left the app as the only way of accessing one’s step data.  The app does not allow me to select a year period that does not match up with the calendar year, which is why there is no graphic to accompany this year’s post.

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A New Class Of Imortals

With temperatures hovering around four degrees Tuesday night in the hamlet of Cooperstown, New York, the attention of the baseball world turns to summer of the past now that the votes have been tallied, and the 2025 Hall of Fame class is complete.  Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia, and Billy Wagner join Dick Allen and Dave Parker, who were elected by the Veteran’s Committee last month, in obtaining baseball immortality.  Suzuki and Sabathia make it on their first try while Wagner made it in his final shot.

Just two others scored greater than 50% of the vote, led by Carlos Beltran, who came just short at 70.3% and seems likely to make it next year.  Andruw Jones rose to 66.2% with two more years to go.

On the local front, Manny Ramirez, who spent a little more than a month with the White Sox at the tail end of his career, saw a small increase in support, finishing with 34.3% of the vote thanks to his multiple PED suspensions.  Jimmy Rollins, who spent the final 41 games of his career on the south side, picked up 18% in his fourth go-around.  The disgraced Omar Vizquel, accused of both sexual abuse of an autistic teen and spousal abuse since being added to the ballot, stayed stagnant with 17.8%.    Mark Buehrle saw a small increase, going up to 11.4% in his fifth time on the ballot, living to fight another day.  Former Cubs Carlos González, Fernando Rodney, and Ben Zobrist nabbed a single vote between them.

Ten players will fall off the ballot after failing to score 5% of the vote.

As for the newest Hall of Famers, I’ve seen Suzuki play fifteen times, Sabathia eight times, and Wagner five times.  They will get their day in the sun on Sunday, July 27.

Ichiro Suzuki’s numbers in games I’ve attended were: Continue reading →

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FB10: Week 52

We wrap up my tenth year using a Fitbit to track my steps on a high-ish note, thanks to a couple of snowstorms.  The week got off to a good start on Sunday, as a session with the snowblower left me 2 additional steps to reach 5500.  Monday saw a slight decrease, dropping to 4700.  Another storm Tuesday morning needing snow blowing pushed me back up to 5900 steps.  Things bottomed out on Wednesday, finishing 10 steps away from 3000.  A trip to drop my sister off at the airport on Thursday left me with only 3100 steps.  Friday saw a nice increase, finishing with 4800 steps.  A late-night trip to the grocery store on Saturday helped end the week on a high note, nabbing 5700 steps.

Total steps: 32,815

Daily average: 4687.9

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So Long, Skipper

Former White Sox manager Jeff Torborg, who was suffering from Parkinson’s disease, died at the age of 83.  Torborg took over the White Sox following the 1988 season, replacing Jim Fregosi.  It was a tough go for the rebuilding White Sox, who finished with a record of 69–92, giving them a last place finish in the AL West.

Things got significantly better in 1990, when the young White Sox surprised the world, going 94-68 in their final season at Comiskey Park and finishing in second behind the A’s.  The 25-game improvement earned Torborg the Manager of the Year award.  As the White Sox opened the new Comiskey Park II across the street in 1991, they posted another second-place finish.  Following the season, Torborg bolted to the Mets, getting a hefty pay raise.

Torborg ended his tenure on the South Side at fifteen games over .500 and became a mentor to future manager Ozzie Guillen.  His son Dale was a roving strength and conditioning coordinator for the White Sox from 2004-22.

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Book 4 (of 52) – Good Me Bad Me

Good Me Bad Me – Ali Land

After turning in her mother for murdering a young boy, Mille goes to live with a therapist and his family to prepare for the trial.  The fresh start is not all it seems, as her new foster sister has made it her mission to make Millie’s life miserable.  As Millie tries to adjust to her new life, she hears her mother’s voice calling to her.  Can she make a clean break?  Or will her upbringing and training come back stronger?

A few years back, I came across an article listing a number of works by female authors that were described as descendants of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl.  Ali Land’s debut, Good Me Bad Me, is the final one that I had saved to read later.  I liked most of this tale, but the end kind of fizzled out for me.  It looks like Land hasn’t published anything since this, so this may be a one and done.

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iTunes Top 200: #183 Part II

Music.  It is a powerful thing that brings people together, creates memories, and evokes emotions.  It is the universal language that speaks to the soul.  It forms the soundtrack of our lives.

It has now been five years since we last counted down the Top 200 songs in my iTunes library, featuring he songs I have listened to the most since 2007.  It is time to do so again, seeing which older songs still resonate and if any newer ones have joined the fray.  So, without further ado, here are my most listened to songs, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2025.

We continue this week with the next batch of songs tied for 183rd place with 36 plays apiece since my stats began in late 2007.

#183: Nirvana – About a Girl
iTunes stats: 36 plays, most recently on 12/7/2023
Previous ranking: NR

Written about Kurt Cobain’s then girlfriend, this live acoustic version was recorded in November of 1993 and was released as a single in October of 1994, the band’s first single after Cobain’s death.

#183: The McCoys – Hang on Sloopy
iTunes stats: 36 plays, most recently on 6/25/2024
Previous ranking: NR

After falling off the chart five years ago, the official rock song of Ohio returns, adding 19 plays over the last nine years.

#183: Mazzy Star – Into Dust
iTunes stats: 36 plays, most recently on 2/9/2024
Previous ranking: NR

Featured on the group’s second studio album and charting twice in the UK despite never being released as a single, the track has picked up 16 plays over these last nine years.

#183: Mark Snow – X-Files Theme
iTunes stats: 36 plays, most recently on 5/24/2023
Previous ranking: #125

My current ringtone, the theme from the 90s FOX hit became just the second instrumental to hit #1 on the French pop charts.

#183: Lustra – Scotty Doesn’t Know
iTunes stats: 36 plays, most recently on 12/13/2024
Previous ranking: #170

Written for the 2004 film Eurotrip, the track picked up six additional plays over these past five years. Continue reading →

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New Duds

Thursday night, on the eve of their annual fan convention, the Cubs unveiled a new alternate uniform for 2025.  According to the press release, the new Blues Alternate “pays tribute to the team’s history and Chicago’s contribution to the electric blues movement that shaped music worldwide.”  Despite having all of the story elements of a City Connect uniform, this is not that.

The jersey, described as baby blue, features a new logo insignia that “combines details from early Cubs uniforms with typography inspired by blues-era instruments.”  The sleeve patch is in the shape of a guitar pick “representing Chicago’s legacy as the birthplace of the electric blues.”  The numbers and nameplate take design elements from past Cub designs.  The jersey looks to be teamed with white pants.  The cap appears to be a darker blue, with a white front panel featuring the same logo as the jersey.  The socks feature references to Sweet Home Chicago, along with a six-string guitar stripe.

The Cubs were the first modern team to wear baby (or powder) blue, incorporating it into their road jerseys from 1941-1942.  It returned in the late 1970s, as most of baseball switched from plain gray to powder blue on the road.  The final full-time appearance was the road pinstripes in 1981.

The number font on the blue jersey gives off very strong Expos vibes, but aside from that, these look pretty good.  We won’t have to wait long to see how these look on the field, as the new uniforms will debut Saturday, April 5.  After that. they will be worn at home on Fridays during the summer months, which was the same schedule as the old City Connects.  Which, again, these are not.