75 thoughts on “December 19, 2011: Hacking”

        1. Oops, forgot about him. I was thinking Slowey was for the Rockies, and...

          ...yeah, Cuddyer too. I was hoping I wouldn't miss his low-and-away strikeouts.

      1. I would have to agree with Dave in that it's a weird signing and doesn't really help Arizona. On the plus side, another draft pick for the Twins!

        1. Seems like a lot to pay for Kubel. A 5/4/3 weighting of fWAR gives roughly 1.1 fWAR this year and 0.6 fWAR next year for Kubel's services. At $15M over those two years, that's nearly $9M per win. They must disagree strongly with fWAR's evaluation of his defense (or something.) This legitimately surprises me, I would not have expected him to be signed as a regular left fielder. I mean, the Twins signed Willingham for a lower AAV than Kubel, and Willingham's career wOBA is .364 compared to Kubel's .342. Plus, Kubel has a huge platoon split.

          It's really too bad that Kubel destroyed his knee back in the AFL, though. He could've been a lot better than he was.

            1. I don't know...I've heard that Carlos Beltran's going rate is something like 1yr/$12M or 2yr/$20M, which is not that far from what Kubel is getting. Obviously, being a 2-year deal, it's not going to sink the franchise for years and years to come, but to me it just seems like a lot of money for a guy who probably ought to be a DH at this point in his career.

              1. Also, now that I think about it, this means Kubel is getting (barely) more than Joe Nathan. Who thought that was likely?

                1. also, what's with Kubel going to play in Arizona of all places. Does he need to face his fear? If so, I suggest the Litany Against Fear.

                  Cameron's piece has a pretty fair assessment of Kubel, IMO.

    1. As with Cuddyer, I will miss Kubel. I understand it, I'm not upset with anyone, but I'll miss him. I wish him well.

  1. This weekend was one long series of hacking and wiping noses. Unfortunately, so far, it's primarily GRZ. I swear, there's nothing more heart-wrenching than waking up to a 19 mo. old hacking and balling, alternately.

      1. I love that Petunia spent more than double the length of time at the plate last season (15+ hours to 7+). By love, I mean something besides love, but which indicates a feeling slightly akin to bemusement.

    1. That's exactly who I guessed. As they timed only from first pitch, I'm surprised all those unos didn't total total time standing at the plate of about 15 minutes..

  2. For convenience's sake, last night was our Christmas with the Milkmaid's parents.

    It seems this is the year that a lot of people figured out that my daughters and I like jigsaw puzzles. Combined, we got seven of them. One of them is this appallingly-colored Thomas Kinkade abomination, but what are ya gonna do?

    The best one by far is a first-print "Top Cat" puzzle, well-used. The box is beautifully dated..."not too hard...not too easy! Every piece interlocks...for boys and girls who want REAL puzzles"

  3. DK, I am prepared to discuss Homeland today.

    Spoiler SelectShow
      1. You posted it too early. Or perhaps should have referenced it in the CoC, since I missed it too until noticing it in the LTE sidebar.

    1. Hopefully Hitman (and Bootsy) will come back and see this.

      Spoiler SelectShow
      1. Spoiler SelectShow

        The ensemble acting was pretty damn stellar throughout.

  4. this is just... wow.
    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSWN6Qj98Iw
    i think the word i'm looking for is amazing creepy.

      1. The best part about the loss is seeing Lions fans on another message board I read crowing about how bad the Packers suck now.

        1. Packer's O-line lost some key pieces yesterday. They already could barely run the ball, we'll see if they can protect Rodgers with whoever the replacements are.

          1. Yeah, I'm not optimistic about their chances if Newhouse & Dietrich-Smith are spending a lot of time on the line come playoff time. However, once they finally acknowledged that the o-line was butt and lined up Rodgers in the shotgun (I think it was after he got sacked in the middle of his five step drop!), the offense looked a lot better. It would also help if receivers caught the ball again.

            I'm thinking this week's performance combined with Brees & Brady looking great will bring out a lot of "Maybe we were wrong about Rodgers, he's overrated!" articles from the talking heads. That ought to give Rodgers enough fuel to make it through the playoffs!

  5. I am just realizing now that Nathan, Cuddyer, and Kubel (combined 4.2 fWAR in '11) are going to be collectively making about $25M next year.

    Question: if you had to choose one or the other, would you have Joe Mauer or the group of Nathan, Cuddyer, and Kubel?

      1. for one year, with the rest of the roster pretty much as-is? I'd rather have Mauer. Neither choice, given the s.q. on the rest of the roster, gives me much hope for the playoffs. So I'm hoping for greatness from one rather than hoping for above-average from each of the other three.

    1. Mauer has been worth more than 4.2 fWAR in three of the last four seasons and is younger than the others, so I think it would make sense to stick with Mauer. Plus, it seems it would be a lot easier to replace two corner OFs and an aging reliever than an All-Star catcher.

  6. I know it's three days old, but I really enjoyed this breakdown of the Cuddyer for Willingham swap by Gleeman. Thanks for the heads-up sean.

    Also, today's post makes for some interesting reading regarding TR's next step. I am now really curious who they'll pick up for the rotation/pen.

        1. Couple of good songs right off the bat. GBV albums need to grow on me, but this will be good. Not part of the pantheon but decent.

    1. If it's black, they'll be way behind the times. All the cool schools are now doing Grey and and All-White. I don't believe I've seen a matte maroon helmet yet, so there may be hope that they're not going BFBS ("Black For Black's Sake", uni-watch acronym).

      I'd like a compression undershirt with sleeve-stripes.

      1. I actually like the current uniforms (Maroon jersey Gold pants) but hate when they wear white (same with the Gophers hoopsters). I just fear Nike is going to make some ugly unis, or 1500 variations like Oregon.

  7. I got a Christmas card from Grandpa R:

    Grandma is slowly getting worse in her memory. Most mornings when I get there she thinks I'm one of her brothers. I just think of all the good years we have had together and I feel better.

    It was my family's year for Christmas (over my wife's), but Mom's anxiety/insomnia/depression has been so bad, that rather than hosting us, she and Dad are coming up on Christmas Eve and leaving Christmas afternoon. We're going over to her brother's house in St. Paul for a potluck lunch on Christmas Eve, and she's so uninterested in seeing people that she said they'd probably plan on getting to our house as we're getting home from her brother's house. Grandma R's been in a home for Alzheimer's for about 15 months now, and my mom's been feeling so poorly that we've visited once. With a baby coming in February, I don't know if the next time I'll see Grandma R again will be at her funeral.

    I'm almost tempted to skip my uncle's house, so I can spend time with my folks (I do see my Dad a bit more, he's been up by himself a few times, and we go hunting with my in-laws). But Grandma S will be at my uncle's house. She hasn't been to her house in NU since the weekend before Halloween, when she fell on her way walking home from church, and broke her neck. (She made herself lunch before realizing she couldn't shake it off, and called her son that lives in NU.) I was able to visit her once at the hospital in St.Paul, and haven't since. She'll be going home the day after Christmas. She's now into her 80's, and a survived breast cancer and a broken neck. She's also survived her second husband (the one who married her when she was a divorced single mother of five under ten, whom she still refers to as "my prince"), and most of her brothers and sisters (as the youngest of 14). She reminds me a bit of the title character of Patty Griffin's song "Mary." "Grandma S breaks her neck/starts fixing herself lunch." She also makes fantastic pies, with crusts that are almost like fried gelatin, so she reminds me of another song by Ms. Griffin as well.

    Mom just got out of a week inpatient in Mankato for sleeplessness. After trying many homeopathic solutions and "sleep-training", it now sounds like she's running out of drugs to try. Many have been quickly abandoned due to her sensitivity to the various side-effects. I really don't know how much of her sensitivity is real and how much is imagined. She's built herself a very restrictive diet (quinoa, boiled chicken, I don't even remember what else) based on what she's had bad reactions to in the past, even though she admits her diet really doesn't help.

    It seems that most of the drugs for that stuff are of the form "This works for some people, try this," without really any way to know if it'll be better or worse than any of the last five things taken. I was really hoping this last inpatient stay would lead to something, even if temporary, but it hasn't. She said her best night of sleep there was 3.5 hours. Since she's been home, it's been less than two. She's mentioned before when things were bad wishing that she wasn't alive anymore. I'm guessing those feelings will be coming back soon (if they haven't already and she's just keeping it all inside).

    I don't know what the point of writing this was, but I don't want to post this on fb or my rarely-used blog, where people that I know can see it. Grandpa R's card just got me going, and I guess I feel like sharing.

  8. I'm sorry AMR. Most of the time, prescriptions drugs make the market because they do work for many people. But there are always ailments that perplex well-meaning physicians and psychiatrists, and sometimes the guess and check method is the best they can do. The whole concept of sleep is one of those things that still baffle scientists. I wish I had some advice to give.

    1. My best wishes as well, AMR.

      I understand that sleep problems are endemic amongst older Americans. Since I am a doctor, I can suggest looking into how much physical activity she gets. Is she sedentary, or does she go for walks, do housekeeping, grocery shopping, etc.? (I assume that she is in her early? 60s and generally in good health?)

      30-60 minutes per day of physical activity, even if it is broken up into shorter stints, can do wonders.

      1. Well, it's a feedback cycle. The less sleep she gets, the more tired she is and the less active she gets while awake. Depression does the same thing, and that hits her more in winter (so there is some aspect of seasonal affective disorder, and she's used a light to little effect). With the diet, she's pretty lightweight (I'd guess under 150 at 5'9"), because she really doesn't enjoy anything she eats.

        Other than when she's at her worst, she regularly walks with a neighbor and visits her mom and other stuff. Her conditions have left her unable to keep her job (which last was medical filing about five years ago). She occasionally (2 or 3 times I can think of) has had near-manic periods, so she may be bipolar just with her normal state being mild depression and few highs.

        Mom is 58, Dad is 61.

        1. If the SAD is an issue, I assume she's taking vitamin D, right? I'm a believer in the benefits of staying active, too. Once my grandma broke her hip (87 years old) and couldn't stay in her house and stay active, she started showing a lot of the symptoms you're describing.
          Hang in there, man. I know she's got to be a little excited about the grandkid on the way?

    2. Thanks for the well-wishes. I'm not really looking for advice; I know my mother isn't.
      I wish there was like a Dr. House for this stuff. Maybe there'd be someone better for her to see, but I don't know how to even find someone like that, and then broach the subject, to say nothing about whether her insurance could cover it. And I'd be pretty skeptical of anyone who says he's got a solution unless it's something the FDA hasn't approved, or just illegal (she said the laced brownies 5 or so years ago did nothing for her either, and now it'd be hard to get her to eat brownies).

      She tried ECT once and it was painful and she wanted to quit seeing her doctor.

      1. That's a shame. ECT is so much better than it used to be, and many of my clients who have had it have reported little to no pain and significant improvement in mood (with the usual side effect of short-term memory loss). How long ago did she have it?

        I don't know much about physicians. I know a couple of good psychiatrists but your mother's concerns do seem quite complex.

        1. It was almost exactly 4 years ago. My sister and her husband and first son came to MN for Christmas. They stayed at my parents' house, as did I and my wife and first two kids: nine in all in one house, right as my mom started ECT.

          Yeah, I don't doubt that the doctors my mother's seen have been good, but I think that small-town and small-city docs she's seen may have been a bit out of their depth.

    3. Sorry to hear that, AMR. One of my family members has also been unable to sleep recently and is just starting to see a doctor to try and figure out the root of the problem and find ways to try to fix it.

  9. Second power outage in the MNF game and a fan ran on the field being chased by security. Camera cut to Ben shouting, "Where's James Harrison when you need him?"

    1. the Vikings should be doing that to the Metrodome and claim its antiquated. Maybe they'll get their new stadium

  10. PM Bouchard is set to play tonight. West coast hockey is about as fun as wet coast baseball.

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