150 thoughts on “November 26, 2013: Cliques”

      1. Were there really any remaining Wolves fans that believed he was going to fulfill #2 pick expectations? The guy wasn't even a role player. Getting any contribution is an upgrade at this point.

      1. also, everything you need to know about Williams in one sentence from the article DW linked:

        The emergence of Robbie Hummel over the course of training camp and the early parts of the season pretty much made Derrick Williams expendable.

        Robbie will be the greatest Boilermaker in Wolves history since the Ghost of Brad Miller. Also, the only. He may make everyone forget about Brian Cardinal.

        1. Joe Mauer:Earl Battey::Robbie Hummel:Brian Cardinal

          Cardinal'd. For those related situations where we'll soon forget both guys.

  3. Prayers and good vibes appreciated: my sister (who has CF) went into the ER last night after coughing up blood, and has been admitted to the hospital. Assessments are being done. She's the one who sent out the FB message to let us know, so it's not like she's incapacitated or anything (her message had snark, so that's good!), but still... coughing up blood/CF are bad things.

      1. Eh... CF is a disease that largely affects the lungs. When you say "cough" you mean a cough. When she says "cough" she means fits that can be minute or longer, that sound like she's dying, and that frequently require her to sit down to recover. But yes. I will hope.

    9. Update: she'll have to stay in for 48 hours, but she's feeling better, and preliminary tests are coming out clean.

  4. Does anyone else have a word they just plain hate? Not a word with the connotations of "moist" that everyone hates, but something specific to you?

    I just emailed Pepper and the word "behoove" was perfect for the sentence, but I find the word so aesthetically irritating that I couldn't type it.

    1. Nascent.

      It came up several times during my grad school visit last week (naturally), and... I think less of people who use it.

      1. You are gonna be in trouble in grad school, Phyllo. The Young Punks (and the old, ponytail-wearing Faculati) like to use Big Words.

        2. As someone who studied Eastern European political thought and then wound his way back to the West, I see those Big Words and raise them philosophical concepts they've never heard of, much less have the context to understand.

          We can all play the "Who's the dumbest person in the seminar?" game.

          2. We can all play the "Who's the dumbest person in the seminar?" game.

            Dr. Chop was once told that aesthetics didn't matter, and that such a subject was too mundane for graduate level thought. She later published an article on new aesthetics in that prof's area. She was met with congratulations from other colleagues and professors, but not from Danny. Good times.

        3. Growing up, my dad would use big words us kids didn't understand. We would ask him what it meant and he would give us a synonym we would understand, and we would ask him why he didn't use that word in the first place.

          1. I actually use big word a lot. My kid has started picking up on 'em/asking about them with some frequncy. The other day when I told him he needed to wash his face again (it having not been done well enough the first time) he objected that it was "redunkant" to wash it twice. (Not that "redundant" is a particularly big word.)

    2. I cant think of any words off the top of my head, but a friend in college hated the word 'scrumptious'. So yeah, that became a running joke for a year.

      2. Ugh, my m-i-l always says "anyhoo" and it drives me crazy. Of course, my own mother always says "supposably" and it also drives me crazy. Now, let me see if I can think of any actual words that annoy me.

        1. Does she use "youse" as the second-person plural?
          (In place of the formal "you" and the informal "y'all")

          1. I helped on that one.
            Shoulda been in the dictionary from the get-go.
            Highbrow British and East-Coast types din't like the way the hoi polloi spoke, decided to prescribe against common usage.

    5. I was thinking I didn't have one, then I remembered "hearth". I hate how it's pronounced. Why is it not "earth" with an aitch sound at the beginning? Why is it "heart" with an aitch tacked on the end (and the softened tee)?

      Now that's gonna bug me all day.

        2. There might be a perfectly reasonable and well-supported explanation for why it's one way or not the other.

          Doesn't mean I have to go along with it. Fireplace it is!

    6. You guys all realize that Kelly's collecting these as words to use in rebuttals when we send him to Conger image search results, right?

        1. Sorry, lapse in brain mode between the two websites.
          That's why I always demand no one ever use my name at either site.

          You want me to edit that?

              1. Pepper, hungry joe, and a handful of others over there (Melissa, for one). Beau and Melissa have very good reasons.

                I don't think RPZ is that way. He didn't object to the use of his name during Survivor, did he? VII was a long time ago.

                  2. That's on purpose. I'm hipper than all you fixed gear riding mofos what with my ironic belt buckle collection that's only viewable by appointment. How do you get an appointment? You have to send me a picture of you, or your mustache, wearing a belt buckle and a valid credit card number with expiration date and ccv number through registered mail. You'll receive written notice that your application has been received and your credit card will be charged a non-refundable 25 dollar review fee. It may take several months, possibly up to a year, for your application to be reviewed. You'll be given 24 hours notice of your appointed time for viewing 'the collection'. If for some reason you can't make your appointed time slot it will be given to a homeless man or woman who will be chosen at random from downtown Milwaukee and bussed to my doorstep at your expense. You can't get this kind of hipness on Facebook. That's why I don't have a page there. I'm beyond Facebook. I'm living in the post-Facebook world suckers.

                2. At first, I thought rob was a nice nondescript name, but then I realized that if one names his children Gwendolyn, Odelia and Regina, it makes one more descript, so I switched to intials. Then I realized that I don't really post (anything objectionable) so it probably doesn't matter much either way.

    7. I dislike the word "copacetic." Partly because it sounds like a medical term, so it never sounds right to me when people use it in conversation. Secondly, it's too fancy a sounding word for how mundane its definition. One definition from Merriam-Webster is "very satisfactory," which is a lot like saying something is "quite unique." Blarg

        1. Pronunciation Guide has a horrible coverage gap on this word. Here's the closest I could find:
          httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAFxmNtpfEs

      1. Ah, there's another question entirely. There's no shortage of those.

        I know I've typed this, but was it here? Also tangentially related: people in Arizona routinely abuse the word "barely," opting to make it mean "recently."

        "I barely started shopping here. I just barely got my paycheck."

      2. Really it's just a consonant shift in unaccented syllables. From /əd/ to /əb/, both consonants are voiced stops.
        This is the sort of thing that's happened in spoken language for æons.

        Furthermore, the fact that both are cromulent words with similar meanings ("-edly" would refer to a specifically purported belief while "-ably" just to something anyone could potentially believe) makes them easily confusable.
        How many people say (and pedantically correct to) "-edly" when "-ably" is at least possibly correct if not actually the better word choice? Sure, it's more passive, but if you can't find a specific case of the conjecture being supposed and are just musing that someone could suppose it, then maybe "-ably" is the weasel-word for you!

        1. I have no issue with the fact that it isn't a word. I use words that aren't words all the time.

          I have great issue with the fact that it just sounds so... horrible.

    9. Heretofore . . . "not withstanding the foregoing" . . . aforementioned . . .

      /waits for the lawyers to jump on me

      1. Sounds like they have too much already.
        I'm personally quite taken with "herein", "thereof", "whereby", etc.

        1. yea. It's pretty funny to hear a lawyer complaining about academics using unnecessary Big Words.

          *gives phyllo a hard look*

    10. I have a couple. "Seen" instead of "saw." "Orientated" instead of "oriented." I also loathe the British spelling of tire. "Tyre" just makes me think of awful rapper Tyga. What a grotesque spelling. And due to the amount of time I've spent in Canada I have no issue with "cheque," "colour," et al.

    11. I hate it when people say something was a near-miss. In my mind, this should mean that you just barely hit something (almost missed).

      1. think of it as a compound, not a phrase.
        It was near and a miss.
        Not that something was nearly missed.

    12. I forget the song I heard on the radio the other day, but third word in was "axed" instead of "asked".

      Anyone else out there hear "alblum" being pronounced for "album"?

    13. Should have known this would end up being the longest thread of the day. I'll add some more:

      Should of instead of should have (just thought of that when writing the first sentence).

      invaluable, inflammable and unthaw. Completely useless words since all three are used instead for valuable, flammable and thaw.

      1. Should have known this would end up being the longest thread of the day.

        I had that feeling shortly after I typed it. It's a very...WGOM...thing.

    15. Here's another one. Biweekly. You just have to love words that have two meanings where the context helps very little.

      1. I just used that one on a facebook!
        I meant once per two weeks. Bimonthly subscriptions come every-other month.
        Biennials happen every second year.

        Something that happens twice per period of time is "semi-".
        Or, twice-weekly.

        1. biennials are every other year, biannuals are twice a year. Actual, different words.

          But, worse, there is also the word "biyearly". It's a direct partner with "biweekly" and "bimonthly". Ugh.

          Usage Note: Bimonthly and biweekly mean "once every two months" and "once every two weeks." For "twice a month" and "twice a week," the words semimonthly and semiweekly should be used. Since there is a great deal of confusion over the distinction, a writer is well advised to substitute expressions like every two months or twice a month where possible. However, each noun form has only one sense in the publishing world. Thus, a bimonthly is published every two months, and a biweekly every two weeks.

          1. I think we should start interpreting "semi-" frequences as happening in half of all time periods.
            So Semi-annual means it happens in half of the years, or once per two years.

            I thought "biennial" was a noun, "biannual" the adjective.

    16. I'm a little late to this party, but I despise the word needless. It is always followed by "to say", and then whoever said or wrote it will always still say what I was lead to believe was not needed to be said.

  6. Twins interested in Dionner Navarro. Supposedly good defender coming off a career season. A switch-hitter that is much better right-handed. I would be OK with this if he's teamed with Doumit behind the plate. Article says he would be viewed as a mentor for Pinto since both are Venezuelan. However it wouldn't make much sense to have him alternate with a right-handed catcher. Doumit at least is better left-handed for his career.

    1. I'm thinking that I'd rather Doumit not be teamed with anyone behind the plate. He can play DH on defense.

      1. I wouldn't mind Doumit teamed up with Navarro. Navarro will catch the ball while Doumit will get anything that he misses.

          1. His career numbers are .268/.329/.438. That may be the best the Twins can do at DH, but in my opinion it's a long way from "fine" for a player who contributes nothing on defense.

              1. That may be the average for all people who were used as a DH, but it's not the average among players who were used as full-time DHs.

                  1. You should have included their average salary in there, too. I'll take Pujols production at Doumit's price. Plus Doumit can actually play in the corner OF and catcher, if not very well, but it's not like he's Jim Thome where if he were on the bench and he pinch hit for a fielder, he would have to be replaced on defense

  8. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

    Darren Wolfson ‏@DarrenWolfson
    Per @JonHeymanCBS, who is rock-solid tight with Boras, the #MNTwins have made Pelfrey a 2-year offer to return.

      1. that made me laugh

        I honestly hope Pelfrey turns it down. I said it a few times last time but Pelfrey seems like a good guy and a good teammate, but his outings are just painful to sit through. And when pone is invested in watching bad baseball, making the game longer is the last thing one wants.

        1. Doogie writes that they're looking for at least two starters... so Pelfrey and Arroyo would be about it. 93 losses, here we come!

          1. I could accept signing Arroyo as the B tier guy behind a Garza or Jiminez or Tanaka. Ehhh, even Nolasco I guess. But if a 37 year old junkballer is the best pitcher they sign, I have very little hope for the team.

            1. Bronson Arroyo has been a legitimate big league starter most of his career. He'll be 37 next year, so I certainly wouldn't want to see him get a long-term contract, but I'd be fine with having him next year. Of course, on the Twins, being a "legitimate big league starter" probably makes him the ace of the staff.

              1. I guess I should've elaborated with "a 37 year old on a 3 year contract worth close to $30 million." I'd be fine with Arroyo for a year or two, and he'd easily be the best pitcher on the team... but that probably says more about the team than Arroyo. 🙁

                1. Arroyo would certainly be better than anything the Twins have now unless Gibson suddenly figures things out or Meyer is allowed to make the team out of spring training. I think Pelfrey, now that he'll be 2 years from surgery, will be better than Correia. Not saying much, but Correia certainly wasn't part of the problem last year. Pelfrey will only be 30 in January, so would be the youngest of the three by far. He's always said he wants to come back, so I would think he would be pretty affordable, but there's always the Boras factor. How many Boras free agents have the Twins signed?

    2. A quick scan tells me that I'd vote for 17 (give or take 2 maybe upon contemplation).
      Can I write in Kenny Lofton?

    2. I haven't frequented deadspin in years but my favorite local baseball writer hack is so full of outrage that I can't help but laugh. He is calling deadspin scum. I think below is my favorite.

      @PromenadeView Giving fans a vote is about the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. No shock the idea came from a #Mets fan.— Mike Harrington (@BNHarrington) November 27, 2013

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