88 thoughts on “December 19, 2013: Stress”

  1. Mags mentioned in the podcast that he's made the transition from getting angsty about stats and front office decisions to just enjoying whatever players we have. Good advice, I think. Some of the grumbling after the Pelfrey signing is making me nauseous.

    2. I think there's a comfortable area in between the two: analyze the transaction and move on. I do agree with wattsy on it though; Pelfrey will be better than last year but he's difficult to watch.

    3. I am well known, I think as 1) a stats guy, 2) a Twins front office skeptic, 3) considerably grumpy and cynical. I am also certainly 4) not particularly happy about anything the Pelfrey re-signing signifies or represents. That said, it's certainly a lot easier to avoid getting worked up about anything having cut myself off from all other Twins-related sites, broadcasts, or commentators (including recently/finally ending my engagement with the "Gleeman Drinks His Way Through the Minneapolis Dating Scene While Some Middle-Aged Buffoon Laughs at Him Podcast").

    4. I look at it like a card game: the initial "who dealt this crap??" followed by the "well, let's see what we can do with what was dealt." Of course the front office bears a lot more blame than a dealer would.

                1. Played "Buck" in HS a bit. Not sure if there was any local adaptation of rules, for us it was all about cheating well with secret signs.

      2. In cribbage in college, it was 'Who dealt this? (piece of crap)'.

        Also, our convention was that if you got no points, you had to move your back peg up to behind your front peg.

        1. Picked this up from the in-laws, I don't know the origin...
          Instead of "19" for pointless hands it's "What Johnny shot at".

          I'll have to pay attention to what the "This deal is awful" banter is.

          1. 'Fifteen two, fifteen four, and there ain't no more', said the whore from Allegore.

            No idea where that came from.

              1. I explained before that I learned playing "Cutthroat" (taking opponents points they don't claim) with my dad, but have switched that off playing with the in-laws. It keeps things friendly and moving quicker (because we can reach consensus on trickier looking hands rather than the person who's hand it is having to go over and over.

          2. My late grandmother, when she had "knobs" or "his heels" would just say "he." i.e. Fifteen two, fifteen four, a run is seven, and HE is eight. It would drive us nuts for some reason.

            My best friend, when knobs was cut, would say "That's two for talkin!"

            1. If the first card you play for counting is the same as the cut card, "See one, play one."
              (That doesn't sound quite right, maybe I'm remembering it imprecisely.)

    5. Over the last few years or so, I've made a concerted effort to identify things that fall under "things I can't control", and try not to let those things bother me. To me, personnel moves and player performance fall in the category.

      1. Me, too. I've found that deciding not to worry about things I can do nothing about has done wonders for my personal outlook. I still slip occasionally, but I can usually catch myself and get back again.

      2. I was only nine years old and obviously knew nothing significant about statistics (or life), but I was so angry when Frank Viola was traded. I considered him a traitor and since the Twins sucked in 1990, assumed the worst.

        I felt less angst with Ramos for Capps.

  2. Ahhh... Stress. Definitely feeling it and don't really have much for advice, other than finding a good book to read before your head hits the pillow. If I don't "escape" my daily stressors before I hit the sack, I lay awake obsessing about them. I have been struggling with juggling a 50+ hour work week, a 20+ hour volunteer role in our hockey association, and all the other juggling involved with being a husband and dad.

    To top it all off, my avatar somehow switched out and at first glance, I am not seeing how to replace it.

    1. Replacing Avatar requires going to Gravatar.com and changing things.
      I'm guessing that you changed the e-mail of your ID here, and but don't have that address added to Gravatar. That's what it uses.

      If you're James Cameron, add another few hundred million dollars for special effects.

      1. Thanks! I had changed my email address. Changed it back for now. All is right in the universe again!

    2. Actually, stress has been high here lately too. Mostly work related... more of the same awful management stuff, nothing newsworthy, but extremely stressful and aggravating. The least stress I've felt this week was when I went out Christmas shopping the other night. Seriously, it was relaxing. Weird.

      Of course, with Christmases starting this weekend... things are about to kick into even higher gear. I'll try to take a step back and enjoy it.

          1. I wonder how many of us can juggle here. I have been for quite a few years, and can juggle balls, clubs and rings. It is a good party trick, and my kids love watching me, so that's a plus, too.

            1. I juggle sabers or not at all.

              (I used to be able to juggle a little, but I was going to show my daughter that last summer and found out that the key words are used to.)

              1. I've done that. Other than the weight, there really isn't anything special about swords (Since

                'Juggling Spoiler' SelectShow

                )

            2. I have a set of lacrosse balls I bought at Berkeley that are supposed to be the "standard". I also got clubs as a groomsman gift, but can only do a few tosses before things fall apart.

              I used to be good as "stealing" and exchanges, but don't have anyone here to practice with. Can still do behind the back, clawing, etc. My favorite is synchronizing with music and then attempting to syncopate, triplet, etc. It's good entertainment for the choir kids, but I get tired of the "let me try!" that inevitably occur.

              1. I was juggling hammers the other day, it's definitely tricky getting the rotation right (one flip good, one-and-a-half flips bad). I have more trouble with smaller items- my kids had me juggling quarters, and without any real weight to them, you really have to concentrate on catching them cleanly.

                I need to try behind the back, that's something I hadn't thought of.

                1. I've juggled tic tacs; not easy. The kids enjoy when I juggle a couple balls and a tennis shoe I steal from one of them.

                  I'm only consistent behind the back with my right hand. I think back in college days I could do both, but I'm really out of practice. I should really work on reverse cascade as well.

                  1. it seems like people like the under the leg and the knee bounce, too. I'm pretty versatile with 3 balls. I can do some of those things with clubs, but the behind the back has more probability for disaster (And of course the knee bump is right out).

      2. I've always wanted to know how. I can juggle two balls with one hand (Yes, yes, I know) in some sort of looping pattern, but I never got the 3-ball two-handed down (Yes, geeze)

        1. I can juggle three balls, rings. The trick is to start with cheesecloth. It hangs in the air forever and you can get the rhythm down before moving to heavier things.

        2. I can get the first of three balls juggled, but the other two will fall to the ground.
          I was able to juggle scarves in Middle School, where I wasn't as hindered by my inability to catch anything.
          But I had to be completely focused or I'd lose the pattern. It's basically braiding air.

          1. It's basically braiding air.

            That's a good way of putting it, that's exactly what it feels like to me.

      3. My best juggle move is moving from three tennis balls to just two, whilst holding the third in my hand and just waving it up and down while the other two are in action. Lame, but visually great.

    4. Obviously, I use prayer to help relieve stress, although I realize that's not everyone's cup of coffee around here. Beyond that, just remind yourself that there's always tomorrow. Get as much done as you can today, but if everything doesn't get done today, it's okay. And remember to take care of yourself. If you make yourself sick, there will be a whole lot more that doesn't get done than if you just ease off for a little while.

      2. Another really important thing is to admit that there's a bandwidth limit and then prioritize based on that limit.

        1. a friend of mine (very active politically in Nawlins) just got out of emergency surgery earlier this week for perforated ulcers and sepsis in her abdominal cavity. I know that ulcers often have more to do with H. pylori infections than stress per se, but stress (and not listening to and taking care of your body) surely is involved.

          so, yea. This is a reflective season. Reflect and prioritize. We all gotta go some day, but let's not go until we're good and ready.

  3. Player A: 305/365/442. Played a premium fielding position. Off the HOF ballot after one year.
    Player B; 338/388/459. Played a corner outfield spot. First ballot hall-of-famer.

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      1. I'm not saying A belongs or that B doesn't. But I think they're a bit underrated and overrated respectively.

        1. I don't know. Player B hit over 500 doubles and stole over 300 bases with a 72% success rate. Player A hit 195 fewer doubles and stole 145 fewer bases with at 66% success rate. You could also compare them this way:

          Player A: .358 wOBA, 121 wRC+ over 7372 PA
          Player B: .370 wOBA, 132 wRC+ over 10,232 PA
          Player C: .369 wOBA, 132 wRC+ over 10,550 PA

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            1. Hmm. Good one, Doc.

              Player D (1976-1993): 46.3 rWAR, 16.1 WAA; .357 wOBA, 119 wRC+ over 9040 PA
              Player E (1975-1990): 55.3 rWAR, 29.5 WAA; .356 wOBA, 122 wRC+ over 7874 PA
              Player F (1974-1990): 49.9 rWAR, 24.0 WAA; .372 wOBA, 129 wRC+ over 7923 PA

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            1. Player B might not have been able to steal home like Player C, but it's pretty clear he was a better base stealer over all:

              Player B: 319 SB at 72% success rate
              Player C: 353 SB at 65% success rate

              I'll concede the bunting.

              'However' SelectShow

              That said, I'd still take Player C if I had to choose one.

  4. Spooky, when I'm stressed I find it helps to get myself out of bed early, slap on some red lipstick, and tackle just one thing at a time. YMMV.

        1. They're waiting editing to fit in with the new digs. The black will probably change, but that will take a while to figure out a new color and get things meshed visually.

    2. I also find that slapping on some red lipstick does wonders -- whether it's stress, relationship issues, or just plan self loathing.

  5. Tomorrow is my last day in ND in 2013, barring some unforeseen circumstances. Right now, it's -5 and cloudy. That ain't bad, at least for driving purposes. I hear there's gonna be snow tonight and maybe tomorrow. We'll see. I'm hoping that it's cold and gloomy enough that nothing sticks.

      1. If there's one thing we need, it's more posts. Sometimes I feel we have so much in the Cup it's hard to export for linking elsewhere.

        1. Of course, I've now offered to do something just as I also have received the 60+ finals I need to grade by Monday. Wasn't somebody just talking about learning to juggle during finals?

  7. Aquinas had his preschool Christmas program this morning. Afterward his teacher called him the "entertainer of the year." It wasn't an award...

      1. also, huge break for the Wolves, who will be fighting for the 7th or 8th playoff spot. (although, happily, basketball-reference.com is currently projecting the Wolves to finish 47-35, fractionally ahead of the Warriors, for 6th place in the West, 73 pct chance of making the playoffs).

        Outside looking in in their projections: Dallas and Denver, both at 45-37. It is going to be a dogfight in the West all season for the last 2-3 playoff spots. So many good-but-flawed teams.

  10. Just want you to know that winter baseball postings may be somewhat sporadic for the next couple of weeks. No emergency or anything, just lots of work-related and family-related obligations.

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