Cup of Coffee

April 27, 2013: Burned Bridges?

93 Comments

At work over the past few days, we've been helping out the brother of a fairly famous actress, and he's talked to me about getting me in touch with some people. Now yesterday, out of nowhere, he comes in, livid, because one of my co-workers messed up his order. I'm pretty sure I won't be counting on this guy for connections, even though I didn't make the mistake. Ugh.

93 thoughts on “April 27, 2013: Burned Bridges?”

    2. I would normally say that, but he offered that to me - I didn't ask him (I didn't even know who he was; I mentioned I was an actor through something we were talking about and it came up then). Still, yes, it's always a possibility that it would have ended up going nowhere.

    2. I didn't watch the plate appearance, nor do I know Kinsler's strengths and weaknesses. I'm sure Joe knew what he was doing in that situation.

      But I've always been of the mind is that you're throwing good fastballs, and the hitter can't catch up to your fastballs, keep pumping them in there until he prove he can do it. It baffled me why anyone ever threw a 0-2 breaking pitch to Delmon Young because he couldn't catch up to anything over 90.

      1. Maybe, but when you are a rookie, it's much better to get beat throwing what the ten year vet calls than to shake him off and get beat on your pitch.

        1. "I want to announce my presence with authority!"

          [Droid translated "I" as "Kobe". INteresting.]

        2. True. On the other hand, he says he completely missed his spot. The right pitch is still wrong if you don't execute.

  3. Wild Playoff Chase

    If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. I don't think I emphasized the right part of that yesterday.

    The Wild got destroyed by the Oilers last night 6-1, bringing great joy to Detroit and Columbus fans (and anyone hoping for a great collapse by Minnesota).

    So it will all come down to the final day of the season.

    1. CHI
    2. ANA
    3. VAN
    4. STL - 58 pts
    5. LA - 57 pts
    6. SJ - 57 pts
    7. DET - 54 pts
    8. MIN - 53 pts
    ----------
    9. CLB - 53 pts

    Tonight's games

    Minnesota @ Colorado - hopefully, last night was a wake up call. Colorado is not very good, this should be a winnable game.

    Detroit @ Dallas - The Wings have been playing very well, I don't think the Wild can count on too much help here.

    Nashville @ Columbus - Nashville is not very good. I don't think the Wild can count on too much help here, either.

    Chicago @ St. Louis - for seeding purposes.
    San Jose @ Los Angeles - for seeding purposes.

    SCENARIOS

    TO GET THE 7 SEED.

    Wild win and Detroit loss (OT, SO, or regulation)
    Wild get 1 point and Detroit loss in regulation and Columbus loss (OT, SO, or regulation)

    TO GET THE 8 SEED

    Wild win and Detroit win
    Wild get 1 point, Detroit loss in regulation and Columbus wins
    Wild get 1 point, Detroit gets at least one point, and Columbus loss (OT, SO, or regulation)
    Wild loss in regulation and Columbus loss in regulation

    MISSING THE PLAYOFFS

    Wild get 1 point and Detroit gets at least one point, and Columbus wins
    Wild loss in regulation and Columbus gets at least one point

        1. I'll be all over that game in a couple of hours. If that's as close as we get to a playoff atmosphere in a while, I'd be annoyed if I missed it.

        2. It didn't sound like effort was the problem, but goaltending. If it isn't any better tonight, they're in big trouble.

  4. Most anyone here who'd be joining is already paying attention over there, but before it fills up, I wanted to mention that the next all-writing Spookymilk Survivor season will be in about two months and I'm over halfway to my usual cap. Comment here, comment at CdL or email me if you're in.

    1. No major surprises there for this particular addict, but it's interesting, as attitudes toward coffee seem to be changing all the time.

    2. i have to admit, i was pretty annoyed with the "coffee week" concept. it's like when buffalo and i would foist some lame theme week upon the citizens.

      ...not that we ever did that or anything.

  6. Here's the MLB cap totals from Day One of JazzFest (thanks, spooky, for telling me this game for large gatherings):

    AL East:
    Red Sox: 16
    Yankees: 13
    Orioles: 5
    Rays: 2
    Blue Jays: 1

    AL Central:
    Tigers: 4
    Twins: 2
    Indians: 2

    AL West:
    Astros 2
    Rangers 1

    NL East:
    Braves 4
    Nationals 3
    Phillies 2
    Marlins 1
    Mets 1

    NL Central:
    Cubs 4
    Cardinals 2
    Pirates 2
    Brewers 1
    Reds 1

    NL West:
    Dodgers 2
    Giants 2
    Padres 1

    MLB teams no longer in existence:
    Brooklyn Dodgers 2
    NY Giants 1

    Minor league teams no longer in existence:
    New Orleans Pelicans 1

    Minor league teams who have amazing caps
    Chattanooga Lookouts 1

    Today is the ultimate scheduling doozy: Billy Joel, Charles Bradley, Jill Scott, Ben Harper, and Andrew Bird are all performing AT THE EXACT SAME TIME. Now that I know the lay of the land, I think I should be able to pull off seeing all of them except Bradley for at least fifteen minutes.

    2. lots and lots of BoSox hats around town lately. I'm thinking it's more of a Boston support thing than a BoSox fan thing.

      1. Also, Dr. John is playing tonight at Tipitina's for Fess Jazztival if you're around.

        He'll also be at the MN Zoo 7/19.

      2. I've noticed the same of late. Normally it's Diamondbacks/Indians/Reds/Twins (seriously) around here. The Expos are well-represented too, for some reason. The Yankees have a contingent, but...duh.

    2. Whether they're good or not doesn't affect whether they're anticipated, I suppose. Plus, no matter how terrible some of them are, a lot of the people who go to them have already decided that the movie is awesome, and no amount of proof to the contrary will convince them that they're seeing a bad movie.

    3. I am sure there will be 25 good movies this summer, but how many of them come out of Hollywood is the question.

  9. commercial during FOX national baseball game
    Budweiser: 'you could say we're the largest local brewer in America'
    Im not a beer drinker, but that line made me laugh.

        1. Huh? I didn't mention the average American beer drinker. I'm saying this won't grab anyone new, which is the primary focus of advertising.

          2. It's the primary focus, but I think it could be argued that in the case of a brand like Budweiser, it's not the singular focus. Budweiser's primary competition is not the kind of beer producers that discerning beer drinkers consume. These ads aren't targeted at those kind of consumers, but not all non-discerning beer drinkers already consume Budweiser primarily. I think ads like this, rather, are mainly for brand reinforcement in the minds of consumers who choose between Budweiser and its true competitors. Not all of those consumers choose Budweiser the majority of the time, but if the "we're a local brewery!!" idea gets traction in some of those minds, it might make them more likely to choose Budweiser in the future rather than a case of MGD or whatever.

            1. It's possible (probable?) that they realize that the craft beer set is a lost cause for them, yes.

              I find advertising fascinating, when it's brilliant and particularly when it makes no sense at all. It has to be a strange time for the superpowers of American beer. How do you gain new consumers without getting existing ones interested in something that causes them to leave you?

              1. It’s possible (probable?) that they realize that the craft beer set is a lost cause for them, yes.

                perhaps in advertising, yes, though i'm sure they'll continue to threaten their wholesalers.

                2. I disagree. Both AB Inbev and SAB Miller will continue to try to be all things to all people, through their respective macro brews, their faux micro (Land Shark, Green Valley) and regional brews (Shock Top, Blue Moon, Rolling Rock), and their strategic partnerships with real regionals/micros (Goose Island, Red Hook, Widmer, Kona, Old Dominion, Leinenkugel). And THAT is how they will threaten their wholesalers.

    2. What's the problem? It's a true statement. You could say they're the largest local brewer in America. You might not be telling the truth, but you could say it.

    2. The one they did give up was dumb.

      If you're the third guy into a defensive zone corner, two things.

      1) Don't go into that corner.
      2) Don't stay in that corner while your man goes to the net.

  15. after his time in the NHL is done, Greg Zanon is going to play for ZZ Top, or livei n a log cabin in the middle of Wyoming.

  19. Wild need to score on this power play. Otherwise, the pressure could really be turned up.

  20. well, that second penalty is a gift too.
    I dont watch enough hockey, because I cant recall the last time I saw something like that

  23. The last two minutes looked like the Wild were terrified to have the puck on their sticks.

    It's not a hand grenade, some possession would go a long way toward running down the clock.

    1. the FSN guys were talking about him in the second period. Sounded like he is going to retire.

  28. Minnesota gets Chicago in the first round. Chicago is not in the bottom half of the Western Conference, so based on the results of the last week, I expect the Wild to have no problem with them.

  29. .

    Chicago v. Minnesota
    Anaheim v. Detroit
    Vancouver v. SJ/LA loser*
    St. Louis v. SJ/LA winner*

    * seeding undecided. There is a very small chance that St. Louis ends up the six seed.

  30. I flip over the Baseball Tonight and I should have known better. a 7 minutes segment of Sutcliffe and Nomar standing in front of a tv screen 'debating' who are the top 5 catchers in the league. I should probably invest into mlb.tv or something.

    1. also, when did tv (sports and news) devolve into one or two gasbags standing into front of a tv and pressing icons (CNN calls it the Magic Wall, I think).
      I do know the BBTN crew have been giving dap to Span and Revere since Spring Training.

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