Cup of Coffee

November 14, 2012: I Could Get Used to It

108 Comments

Yesterday I had to take a conference call, but it was otherwise my day off so I took it from home. I'm already addicted to being able to work at home in my street clothes.

108 thoughts on “November 14, 2012: I Could Get Used to It”

    1. My Christmas wish for Royce White would be some intensive time with a therapist. That's a young man who needs some help dealing with the world. Or so it would appear.

      If he is lucky, he will become the basketball version of Jim Eisenreich -- finding a way to manage his disorders, and having a long, quietly successful career.

      1. The KFAN guys think he should just grow up and get over it. Mark Rosen had to be the voice of compassion this morning.

        2. Every time I think society is making progress in the understanding of mental illnesses, I realize how far we still have to go.

        1. I have no idea which player is better right now, World Peace or White, so I can't decide if this is truly altruistic or some metta-joke.

  3. Sheenie and I are going to the Wolves game tonight. Man, what a turnaround from three seasons ago when I won season tickets and had to endure BAJ holding the ball for twenty seconds at a time, Johnny Flynn driving into the lane to have half his shots blocked, SMB strutting around like an idiot, and Ryan Hollins getting as many minutes as Kevin Love.

  4. Karl's menu ideas may be an improvement. Guy gets paned by the NYT.

    Just a couple of highlights:

    When you hung that sign by the entrance that says, WELCOME TO FLAVOR TOWN!, were you just messing with our heads?

    And when we hear the words Donkey Sauce, which part of the donkey are we supposed to think about?

    SERVICE The well-meaning staff seems to realize that this is not a real restaurant.

  5. In which Guy Fieri gives as good as he takes.

    One of my favorites:

    "Anthony, I gotta ask a question, why do you hate me so much brother? ... Is it because you went to a fancy culinary school and I didn’t? I hear you’re the only one in class who did most of his cooking with a spoon and a Bic lighter." — Guy Fieri

    and another (somewhat sanitized for the home audience:

    [To Guy Fieri] "The man, the legend, the guy who just dropped a 500-seat deuce into Times Square ... Look at this thing, look, look! It’s like TGI Friday’s and Nickelback ****ed Giant’s Stadium, and out came this. Who put up the money for this?" — Anthony Bourdain

      1. o.k. what's weird is that the goal the USMNT scored in the 93rd minute (to tie) was practically a carbon copy of that goal.

        1. Holy smokes, talk about stealing some goals on the road. The WC qualifiers were a little rocky, but Jurgen has the USMNT beating Italy and Mexico on the road and tying Russia on the road in one calendar year.

          1. I thought the WCQ seemed a bit rocky at the time, but looking back, the only result that's actually disappointing is @JAM. Sure, it would have been nice to beat A&B by larger margins, and fewer goals allowed would also have been nice, but it is a bit tricky when there are only 6 group games.

        2. I am no soccer expert (I like watching the matches, but really have no clue on strategy and whatnots), but the US defense was 'poor' at best

          1. That has pretty much described the USMNT defense throughout the entire time I've followed them. I still have nightmares about Jonathan Bornstein.

            1. It would be nice to have a defender or two of the same caliber as Donovan/Dempsey/Bradley/Howard.

                1. Maybe, but doesn't Stoke have him playing RB instead of CB (where he'd play on the NT)? I always get nervous when players play different positions for club and country.

                  1. I think there is greater emphasis on having faster centerbacks now, especially in the way Klinsmann wants to play, so it might not make a difference. He just needs to remember not to push too far up and get caught out.

                    1. I guess I think it's tough to make adjustments like that when you play at the highest levels. If you can't trust your instincts, it's going to make the game harder. It's possible to do, it just makes me nervous.

            2. Bornstein's problems were 1) he wasn't very good at defending and 2) he wasn't very good on the ball. He was pretty quick though.

      1. That isn't that great of study, because their control is simply small sample of generic 'other athlete'. They really need to study a sample of players over time and compare them to other athletes and non-athletes.

        1. Heading other people's heads seems far more dangerous. I remember Chivu fracturing his skull on a head to head. Of course Cech's fracture was a knee.

            2. A large number Chelsea supporters were getting tanked up at Belfast International before the flight to London.

          2. Sure, I just think it's an interesting hypothetical. Corners would be more farcical than they are now, although it would be hard to imagine physical play on corners getting worse than it is now. Height would maybe play less of a role than it does now.

      1. When thinking about all the delicious schadenfreude this could bring, I didn't think of this. Crap.

        We should have a pool on who Torii takes a swing at first in the clubhouse. I'm hoping it's Cabrera!

        1. Nah, what we need a pool on is the first time that he throws a teammate under the bus and a member of the media applauds him for being a leader.

          3. calcaterra today:

            Hunter finished last season with the highest average (.313) of his career while driving in 92. He’s 37, of course, so he’s likely to see some falloff. But he still provides a nice upgrade and is widely regarded to be one of the best clubhouse guys in the game.

          4. Mitch Albom has already agreed to publish a weekly column of Hunter's wise insights into his fellow players, the game, and, ultimately, life itself. They're calling it "Tuesdays with Torii."

    4. ii is pretty good in the postseason, I'll give him that.

      But wow, I wonder if anyone else was anywhere close to this.

    5. Now that Torii's days as an Angel have ended, I feel compelled to point out:

      2002-2007 -- Hunter's last 6 years with Minnesota, 3 playoff appearances, 1 playoff series win

      Hunter leaves MN for LA, says the Angels have the money it takes to win in the postseason.

      2008-2012 -- 5 years with LA, 2 playoff appearances, 1 playoff series win, still hasn't beaten the Yankees in the postseason.

    1. I have no idea about this season, but I wanted Buck to win based on how he didn't even get a vote after 2010.
      I'll just reiterate: in 57 games, won more than the first two managers did in 105.
      Team before Buck: .305 Win Percent, 113-Loss pace
      Team with Buck: .596 Win Pct, 97-Win pace.
      No significant roster moves.

  12. Guys, I'm trying to get something done while at work. Please stop posting so many great links. I have about fifteen tabs open along the top of my screen that are calling to me to read them.

    *Just kidding, of course. Except I'm not reading the one about Torii. I hope he loves Detroit. It'll be just like Anaheim.

  15. I love all the supposed outrage in MLB over the Marlins' fire sale. Am I the only one who remembers all the maneuvering Bud Selig did so Loria could sell/move the Expos and own the Marlins? MLB knew exactly what they were getting in Florida. If, in fact, the owners are unhappy now, they have no one to blame but themselves.

    1. I would imagine that ol' Bud went to Miami and pressured the locals to build Mr. Loria a new stadium, too.

    2. I agree that the owners have only themselves to blame for associating with Loria, but I am also very confused about the outrage from the pundits. Miami won 69 games last year--3 more than the Twins. Most of the time on teams like that, everyone is cheering for the team to get blown up so they can rebuild. Well, the Marlins blew up their unsuccessful team and got a basket of prospects to rebuild with. Now, I haven't looked into the prospects they got in return, but maybe it'll give them a stable foundation on which to build.

      If owners are worried about other owners putting revenue sharing money straight into their own pockets, they should devise a better system. I like the idea of everyone paying into a league salary pot with a fixed percentage of revenue above a certain minimum revenue. (A progressive tax, essentially.) Set the percentage so that the pot is $3B. Each team then gets $100M to spend on players each year, except that each team can have up to 5 players that can be paid as much as the team likes, but count $15M towards the cap. All of the money that isn't put towards payroll goes into a bonus that is distributed straight to the players.

      1. Miami is a location that every sports writer would like to be paid to visit in October/November. That explains the outrage. 😉

      2. the outrage seems to come from a couple of things:
        1) its not the first time the Marlins have blownup their entire roster
        2a) they got a shiny new ballpark with new revenues
        2b) they made promises to not be cheap anymore. That lasted up to July last year.
        3) no one (outside of Bud Selig it seems) likes the owner

        1. I definitely get the outrage to some degree, but from a personal standpoint, it is way harder to be upset about this than it is to be upset about the general lack of parity inherent in the system.

        2. I think you're right. If this was the first time they'd done this, and the owner was someone in whom people had confidence, the reaction would be different. I suspect most people have zero confidence that Loria will actually try to use this trade to build a winner for the future, even if he got a couple of good prospects in the trade.

      1. Geoff Baker (a reporter whose opinion I am generally skeptical of), thinks they've just been sandbagging it the last few years--the Canadian dollar has strengthened, but their payroll hasn't gone up until now. I suspect it's more complicated than he implies, but there could be something to the current exchange rate giving the Blue Jays a boost.

        1. The Canadian dollar is almost at par with the US dollar, and is often times a shade above. It's been there pretty steadily for a while now. It was well above USD for a time back in 2007, but it dropped pretty sharply after that. I can see how they wouldn't have wanted to spend more at that time.

          On a personal note, I wish this would change a bit. Tons of stuff is still priced where they're expecting that $1 CAD is worth around $0.75 to $0.80 USD. It's made a pretty significant difference for me. My wages have certainly increased a lot over the last several years, but my spending power when I'm up there hasn't moved a lot due to the exchange rates. Things can be a bit more painful now for sure.

  16. In the spirit Andrew is in this week, I'd like to just announce how awesome my job is. I have always liked my work, but the agency I work for continues to amaze me. They're not perfect, but I had never worked for a place before that actually seemed to really care that I was there. I feel like my opinion is welcomed and I always feel comfortable suggesting new ideas. The administration has humility, knows everyone by name, and really believes and practices that the organization's general focus should be bottom-up rather than top-down. They successfully reduce our workloads while the company grows and they're making money hand over fist in this economy (which gets pooled back into increased staffing).

    Today we had an agency wide seminar at Como Zoo. They served everyone a great lunch, had a raffle, and handed out a few awards to people who represent the agency's values. Senior management awarded me recognition for innovation. While I'm obviously grateful to receive recognition for what I do, I'm even more grateful I work for a place that allows me to be innovative.

    1. I love hearing stories about people who love their jobs. I'll say it again: if you don't like your job, do something about it. I don't mean to make it sound like it's easy to do that. It may take some time and and a lot of effort. Even in today's economy, though, there are lots of jobs out there for someone willing to work hard. Life's too short to spend that many hours doing something you don't like to do.

    2. Kudos, Beau.

      I'll echo Jeff A as well. Money can't buy you love. There are few greater blessings in life than having a vocation that also serves as an avocation, or at least a source of purpose, accomplishment, pride and joy. I bitch about my job sometimes (who doesn't?), but I am thankful that I found a place where I feel as though I can make a difference in the world.

    3. Congratulations and good for you Beau. Remind me... is this the "new" job that the WGOM heard about within the past few years; you left a different job because you felt this would be a better opportunity?

      1. I left my last job (May, 2011) because I couldn't complete my Master's internship and do my job at the same time. I didn't ask if it was even possible, but I didn't ask for a leave of absence because I was growing tired of increased paperwork requirements in the nursing home industry and really loathed the work atmosphere (and my boss).

        I was optimistic about this job, but I didn't dream I would enjoy it this much.

    1. The wiki page on Rothko is pretty well researched and offers a decent explanation of his intent. I'll say that being surrounded by his work in a gallery can be a pretty moving experience (even for the most jaded artists in the room...). The large price tag reflects that this is one of the earliest examples of what would become his signature addition to the cannon of contemporary art. Rothko's style helped set the table for the radical shift from abstraction to minimalism for which he will always be considered a major figure in the history of art.

      1. Well said, printer. His colors practically vibrate and hum. To come across a room full of Rothkos is an experience most sublime. Easily on my shortlist of favorite painters.

    2. My non-artist opinion: This isn't my favorite style of painting, and I used to share your same confusion, but when I saw some examples of the genre in person, it made more sense to me why they are held in high regard. Take Rothko's No. 61 as an example. If you follow the link, you'll see a 400 pixel by 600 pixel image of the painting, but the painting itself is nearly 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide. If you blew up the 400x600 pixel .jpg file and put it side by side with the painting, it would be more obvious how much different the reproduction of the painting is from the painting itself.

        1. So you're saying I should invest in some vaulted ceilings before I add some Rothkos to my collection?

  20. I knew Dickey wasn't young, but I didn't realize he was 37. No wonder the Twins weren't excited about a 34 year-old with a life-time ERA north of 5.00 and a WHIP over 1.50.

    1. Knuckleballers take a long time to master the pitch. Fortunately, they can also pitch a long time.

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