Cup of Coffee

December 11, 2011: Decisions

63 Comments

Right now it seems my two options in Washington are to live in a house with four people and two dogs - too cramped for my blood - or in a hotel room with one other person...who happens to be the most undeservedly vain person I've ever met in the business. Oy.

63 thoughts on “December 11, 2011: Decisions”

  1. I'll trade you your vain roommate / paycheck for my cold water flat with no heat. I'm not complaining, but with the temperatures here dipping into the negative at night it's been a bit uncomfortable.

  2. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrAwK9juhhY

    The fairytale of New York is being played here almost non stop. While I realize that this song is about christmas it really isn't about a merry christmas. I also find it pretty amusing that the tune is being used to hock cheap holiday gifts at the local shopping center.

    1. Yeah, it's like American Woman being played constantly on Independence Day. It doesn't really capture the intended spirit of the holiday.

      Any excuse to hear this song is a good one, though.

  3. Got my return flight changed, so I'll be home in time for Christmas. I'll definitely miss Prague, but it'll be nice to be home for the holidays rather than keep burning through money here with no real job prospects.

  4. CC to buffalo (and anyone who likes the english strong style of beer): This was pretty awesome. The haters on BA are pretty far off base.

  5. You can't just get a cheap 1 bedroom somewhere? I thought you were making megabucks now. 🙂

    1. There's actually a place my in-laws own right there in town - they plan to retire there - that I could use for cheap. The plan on production's part was to have all the flown-in actors do the same thing to avoid bitching (there are a couple of real divas in this one), but I might have to put my foot down and insist I shouldn't waste the space.

      As for the money, what I'm making is good, but if I have to pay for my own place during the shoot, I wouldn't be taking home all that much more than I am now in this retail job.

        1. That would suck. I can't imagine there are many recorded instances of people having their houses stolen.

  6. Five people in one house in Yakima? Is it a McMansion or something? I guess I'd have figured housing was relatively cheap out there.

    1. It's not bad. I think a couple of them are pressing for it because they want a party atmosphere. I'm just not that guy anymore - at least to the point that I'd want to live in the party house.

      1. I hear ya. These days, the party house seems like it might be a nice place to visit but a terrible place to call home.

    1. The Hardball Talk story says Willingham is deciding on an offer from the Twins. Rosenthal says Twins see him as an alternative, which would mean they are waiting to make an offer. One of these are wrong. If Twins made an offer, then either they are willing to sign both Willingham and Cuddyer or they have moved on from Cuddyer. That would be interesting if they sign both. Hopefully, that doesn't mean they are trying to trade Span. Maybe they are looking for depth with Revere being the fourth OF and PR/def. rep. and insurance in case Span or Morneau suffer a setback.

      1. Seems to me that, if we take the Twins at their word and they are actually building a roster that can compete without Mauer and Morneau, then they could have offers out to both players. If Mauer is readby but Morneau is limited to DH that means they have openings in RF and 1b, which likely means they can mix Doumit, Willingham, and Cuddyer. If Morneau is out entirely, that means they have three openings for three players.

        With TR back in the GM's seat I'm less concerned about trading Span, but I also think they'd stand to receive less in trade than Span's worth simply because of the health concerns. Hopefully the Twins are monitoring his progress and TR can make the right decision based on where Span's at with the concussion and his recurrent vertigo.

        1. Plus, haven't they said after signing Doumit that they're looking at him mainly as a catcher? I wouldn't be surprised if Revere starts the year in AAA or a bench/depth guy, just since he's younger.

  8. David West signs for 2-years, $20M with Pacers

    It's this sort of thing that has me mis-believing all of the owners' whining about losing money. Dude has ligament replacement surgery for an ACL in April, opts out of his deal that would have paid $7.5M this season, and signs for a 33 pct raise?? How does a 31-year old guy coming over reconstructive knee surgery merit a 33 pct pay raise?

      1. hey, Magoo. Did you get a chance to catch the highlights of your Hoosiers against UK? I saw the last 5 minutes of the game and totally spookied the buzzer beater.

    2. I remember when David West played for the Twins. He wasn't worth it then, and he's not worth it now.

        1. from the NYT story on the trade:

          It came together after the Twins had rejected the Mets' offer of Aguilera, West and Tapani, and insisted on more players. The deal finally was made on this basis: Viola for Aguilera, West and three players not named publicly. But it was understood that the three would include Tapani, now pitching for the Mets' Tidewater farm team, and two other young players. who will probably not be delivered to the Twins until September.

          the others (Tim Drummond, Jack Savage) never amounted to much. Drummond accumulate 0.7 rWAR with the Twins in 107 1/3 innings (and over his career of 113 1/3). Savage was worth -1.0 rWAR in 26 innings with Minny.

          According to a Chicago Tribune article I ran across, West was considered "the key man" in the trade. I don't know about that, but I do seem to recall that West was expected to be the biggest piece of the deal, not Aguilera or Tap.

  9. I finished season 4 of "Sons of Anarchy" today.

    Spoiler SelectShow

  12. According to this, the prohibited substance Ryan Braun tested positive for was not a performance-enhancing drug. Presumably, more will come out on this eventually.

  13. Tebow does it again! He leads his team to all of 13 points in an overtime win and manages a worse QB rating than the Bears' Caleb Hannie. His leadership led to his FG kicker making a 59-yarder at the end or regulation and a 51-yarder in OT and he willed his defense to force a fumble in OT when the Bears were in FG range.

    1. I flipped to SportsCenter at 6:30 tonight and heard this brilliant analysis of this game:

      Chris Berman: 'What happened?'
      Tom Jackson: 'I dont know, I cant explain it. Its just magic'
      Trent Dilfer: (blah blah blah)... 'I cant put it into words'

      THIS is what drives me nuts about Tebow. ESPN spends 15 minutes talking about Tebow and their conclusion: its magic!
      Thansk guys, I'll just look into my Magic 8 Ball for a breakdown the next time Denver plays

      1. Every now and then I miss the dull, predictable buzz of ESPN in the background when I'm doing other things, but then you guys post something like this and I don't miss it at all.

        1. This.

          It's been my #1 favorite part of the no-cable thing. I really only miss the Twins and random college/Wild hockey games, and I might miss some of the crappy bowls I used to enjoy.

      2. The worst thing about it is that people feel so compelled to ascribe it to Tebow. Here's a thought (which I have been espousing for years): maybe the QB just isn't as important as the media is always making the position out to be.

          1. "Look guys, do you think I'm the main reason I won the Super Bowl?"

            or

            "Look guys, if I could win the Super Bowl, then so can Tim Tebow."

        2. I think it is still probably the most important position in sports other than possibly a hockey goalie or a closer! (heh) For a team to succeed with a lousy QB, it needs a great defense, running game and special teams, which the Broncos have. But a team with a great QB can get by with mediocre defense, lousy special teams and a nonexistent running game. This is the frustrating part of football is that it is so team oriented that it is very difficult to evaluate individual performances. If a pitcher was getting a ton of wins but was giving up a bunch of runs and base runners, it wouldn't be too difficult to figure out his offense and bullpen was bailing him out. It probably helps Tebow that he's running such a unique offense, but there's a reason no one uses it in the NFL. If they do get to the playoffs, I imagine the teams with a first-round bye (assuming its not the Broncos) will dedicate someone on their defensive staff to take the two weeks to develop a scheme to confuse Tebow. It also helps Tebow in the media that he always deflects the credit.
          "You're great, Tim!"
          "No, really. It was my teammates."
          "And he's humble, too. Isn't he dreamy?"

          1. You might want to inform the Hart Trophy voters that hockey goalie is the most important position in sports, since it doesn't seem to even be the most important position in hockey. 2002 was the last time a goalie won the Hart Trophy, and it's only been awarded to a goalie 7 times since 1924.

            At any rate, QB can both be an important position and also drastically overrated. There are 11 people on each side of the ball, and while a QB has a big impact, even if he's 30-40% of the offense's success (which I doubt, given the average salary breakdown by position goes), he gets (conservatively) 60-70% of the credit/blame and probably 70-80% of the media coverage.

            1. another way to read the income data is that QB salaries might dramatically understate their marginal impact on team success because of a lack of a free market, whereas endorsement dollars seem to flow disproportionately to QBs Peyton Manning.

            2. In a sport full of guys with helmets who all look alike, I suppose it's easy to keep the "faces" to a minimum and sell the league using those guys, too.

            3. also, hockey has a separate MVP-Goalie award (Vezina), just as baseball has the Cy Young.

              According to the Repository, "Donated in May 1927, the Trophy was initially to be awarded annually to the 'most valuable' goaltender in the league."

              1. I think goalscorers are more valuable in hockey than goalies are. Sure, you don't want a bad goalie, but the whole "hot goalie" phenomenon does little justice to the work that a good defense can put in, or for that matter the advantages to having a bunch of skaters who can dominate possession.

                For that matter, I think that the best position players are more valuable in baseball than the best pitchers are.

              1. “He’s a good running back,” said Chicago linebacker Brian Urlacher when asked his thoughts on Tebow after the game.

                so, maybe the Broncos should consider bringing in the backup QB once in a while to run the Un-Wildcat, since they run the Wildcat as their standard set.

                  1. Yeah I can't stand Urlacher, but that's a pretty good backhand. It might've been a better backhand if they didn't lose the game, though.

                    I always find it amusing when players try to show someone up when they're losing. Like that Atlanta defensive end doing the Aaron Rodgers belt thing after sacking him while they were getting debacled in the playoffs last year. There's a time and a place. Getting a sack when you're down by 3 scores? Not the time and place!

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